#this is the only way I can contribute to this fandom lmao

[boviform]

Shoot From The Hip + AO3 Tags, Part 2

(Part 1)

[coldsaturn]

hiii! i have a question i thought you might be able to answer: how did aftg originally get so popular? i know it was mostly word of mouth on tumblr (still is, i think) (who says this website is unmarketable!!) but what were the early days of the fandom like? personally i've "only" been here since 2016, and by then the series was already decently popular. i remember at that time that the fandom was really welcoming and kind in a way that felt really exceptional to me, and it definitely contributed to me picking up the books, which is the only explanation i can really think of for why it got a bigger following than some to other books which did receive a whole big-publisher marketing campaign aside from it just being well-written. do you have any theories for why it got so massive on here? and do you know how the first readers found it? i hope you don't mind me asking you this, but i remember your blog from wayyyy back when and thought that if anyone had the answer, it would probably be you :)

Hello! I always get so happy when I can talk about the early days of the fandom <3 Sit down here around the fire, let me tell you about this wondrous tale.

So, story time: it was spring 2013, I had just finished a thorough read of In The Company Of Shadows and I was starving for another black hole. It was automatic for me to look up the goodread lists ICoS was featured in, to see what other titles I could pick up, and ended up on the list called "Online M/M stories that deserve to be published". The Foxhole Court was right there (it's not anymore because it IS published <3), so I read it. That was the start of the end lmao

If I remember correctly I didn't wait too long before reading TRK, but TKM didn't come out until the end of the following year, so in the meantime I all but shelved it as something that had incredible potential but that was possibly doomed to never be completed. Fast forward I think the start of 2015 when I accidentally stumbled upon TKM and I couldn't believe I could finally know how the story ended. Nora had a blogspot where she talked about the books (including updates between TRK and TKM), and I remember trying to get as much info as I could on this series. And that was it. For a bit.

So, by the first half of 2015, the fandom was made by people commenting on her blogspot, on her livejournal, the book pages on goodreads, and Ao3 literally had 2 fics ( webarchive gives you what we saw - btw Don't Speak Against The Sun is FIRE and instantly became a new standard for f/f for me). You can still find all this content online. Tumblr had a handful of scattered posts about TFC, mostly Nora's mutuals/friends on tumblr, and a couple of readers screaming into the void with no one answering their call.

I was pretty active on here, especially in the bellarke fandom, and I engaged with mutuals and other blogs often enough that I knew if I talked about something, at least someone would reply. A mutual was reading The Raven Cycle and got me curious enough to liveblog it myself. Instant love, of course, and if you've read TRC you know how strong the found family vibe is. So at the end of my liveblog (we've reached July 2015) I threw out a comment where I recommended AFTG as another worthy title. With the first book being free while the other two were only a dollar each, it sounded a fairly easy commitment. One mutual decided to read it (if you're reading, hi!!!) and liveblog it, and that got the party started.

A party of 2, and I'm not kidding. While we chatted and made up headcanon after headcanon on the phone, the intention was to get others interested in this story. But they'd never do it if there wasn't enough content around to engage with and motivate them to blog themselves, so we started with quote posts, liveblog reactions, a few timid edits and poems. An important choice was figuring out which tag to use (at the time tumblr search only scrolled through tags, not post content): "all for the game" was an actual sports tag, "the raven king" was the title announced for the next TRC installment, "the king's men" was the last book of the trilogy and it wasn't even the free one, so we settled for "the foxhole court" which was an empty tag. Even now my blog content is organized around "tfc" because of it, even though we took over all the relevant tags. A couple other mutuals I had from bellarke fandom got curious as well, and now we could consider ourselves a proper group. We were so starved for fan content that whatever you put out would be automatically reblogged and enthusiastically engaged with. It was a happy little fandom bubble. Then Nora noticed us and started interacting with us, and you got the birth of what would become the extra content page as she replied to our questions.

I possibly had a little bit too much time on my hands because I appointed myself as fandom archivist and tour guide. I reblogged every single post I saw in the tags, and I started a welcome page where I could keep track of everyone announcing they were reading the series. It was meant as a way to find mutuals to interact with since tumblr hadn't yet "canonized" all the tags, and it was entirely possible to lose each other in dashboard chains. I used to reply to everyone reading the series by "officially" welcoming them into the fandom, linking them the page where they could find mutuals, Nora's blog, and the extra content present up to that point. Oh and there was a fictional exy team where you could choose your position and then put it in your blog for fun or roleplay it. I also used smashword's gift system to buy the series for whoever said they couldn't pay for it, just to try and avoid pirating the book (good for word of mouth, bad for sales). This was on my side, but this fandom had so many people pouring their entire heart out I still get emotional thinking about it.

Everyone (before January 2016) made as much content as they could, be it meta, fanart, fanfics, headcanons, edits, wikia pages etc. We had fandom challenges where we pronounced the names of the characters and aftg keywords with our native accent, others where we said our favorite scene. Every headcanon was the first headcanon ever seen in the fandom. The fun thing was that at the time there was a strong etiquette toward "if you have nothing nice to say then don't say anything" so fan content really went in all directions with basically no limits. We tagged for triggers and that was it, we had free reign. For those who were around at the time, the sin squad was a group of us fans churning out the saddest/filthiest/fluffiest/most problematic content we could think of.

Then we reached January 2016. We were around 300 in the fandom at that point (I know because I counted them, literally), it had been slow but constant growth where each new fan brought at least other two people with them, and we had around 20 posts per day in the main tag. Then someone bridged the gap between us and the TRC fandom. If you ask me how the fandom got really popular, that's it. The TRC fandom was stuck in hiatus waiting for The Raven King, and now you had 300 rabid foxes spamming aftg content on tumblr, using trk as tag, too. Popular fanartists that were active in that fandom helped making aftg known, and semi viral posts did the rest. We went from 300 to 700 people in a couple of months, and shortly after I had to stop adding people to the welcome page because the post broke. I didn't even know that could happen. It wasn't long after that we were featured in the tumblr end of year recap for book ships. We were so many it was suddenly possible to meet in real life! Cosplays, tattoos, merch. You name it, someone in the fandom did it.

But how did it feel when we were only 20 people and a cardboard dog cutout? It felt like the most chaotic book club ever, and every new fan was automatically a friend. Nostalgia is a lying bitch, but I really don't think I'm making shit up here. We had fun and made great memories.

By the way, if you want to see how things were in 2015, you can! Just go through my archive starting from July 2015 (I think 17th) and onward. You can also search my blog for the tags "fandom history" and "started from nothing and now we're here", whereas here you can find a list of aftg fandom tags I used.

Tl;dr We were starving for good content, we wanted to have fun together, and we were lucky enough to half-hijack a bigger fandom in hiatus. That was all the marketing AFTG needed on tumblr.

[kyri45]

✨ShadowPeach Bio Parents Bio AU Q&A! 05/03✨

Welcome to the Q&A! A space where I can answer related or similar question about the Shadowpeach Bio Parents AU! If you submitted your ask anonimously, then you’ll have to check the whole post if it’s answered here, if it’s not, worry not! Your asks might have been used for a future comic or just in the queue~

@roseville140 ha chiesto Love your art so much 💗 💜 💖 💕 ❤️ 💓 💗 💜 💖 💕 ❤️ Also question ask this a few times(sorry): What will mk do? Will he make them immortal or be next to them till their last breath?

I don't think he would force them of make them immortal without their consent. He is too good for that

@blossomships ha chiesto: Okay, first ask, but hey, what the heck! Your art is awesome, and the story, It went from "Oh, this boy might be our son" to "omg he's our son and let's fixed our relationship" that's what I think about this in a nutshell lmao and it's crazy how far it has come. So thank you for your contribution to gay monkies- I mean to the fandom, and you are awesome.

Aww thank you!

@anidiotkid ha chiesto: What's going to happen when the comic ends? Do you have any more big projects in mind?

I have other life things to focus on, the ISAT comic, but also I want to share here all the art that I've made in the past 2 years that I never posted on Tumblr

@yuistarlmk ha chiesto: I don't think I'm ready for it to end but i knew this would happen so thank you soooo much for all the stuff you have done for all of us, making us believe in ourselves and more so I'm happy for being a HUGE fan of you. Thank you ⭐⭐

THANK YOUU!!

@jamcyote ha chiesto: Not really a question but... I'm so glad I'm not the only one who thought that it would be a cool idea if the writers made it so that chaos energy/ magic is a perfect mixture of Shadow and what I like to call physical magic (which is what Wu kon has) Slight rant. Chaos magic I don't think is as chaotic as people think. Chaos is more like not seeing or understanding the pattern of something, but everything has a rhyme or reason chaos magic is just rare so people don't know how it works and it probably works very differently than other magic and doesn't have an easy to see pattern (when people don't understand how things work, they become afraid of it). Therefore it's chaos. Chaos tends to have a bad rap but it is not always bad. It just needs to be understood and once it's understood it's no longer "chaos" and is instead another form of magic (that is most likely more powerful than the other forms), but magic itself isn't good or bad it's the person wielding it that makes it One way or the other.

I'll also share my own thoughts about it: I know the whole "Harbinger" thing doesn't mean that he brings chaos, but the connection between that kind of energy and MK for me it always has been "cool, he is a SYMBOL of chaos" like, he's a big ass chaos flag that, once born, has been flying screaming at everyone "HEY YALL! IT'S CHAOS TIME SOON!". Like, the chaos that is coming is literally the primordial chaos that will come once the cycle end because from it must start a new one. But it would make sense that, since there seems to be a whole ass society of people in the chaos realm, that he would at the very least be one of them, like when you are sending someone from your country as an ambassador to give a message

@lordmushroomkat ha chiesto: Ohhh he's never tried to use Wukong and Macaque's powers at the same time before, has he? Ohhhhhhh my stars

nope.

@steadylandface ha chiesto: What’s Nüwa’s reaction to what has completely happened so far in your Shadowpeach Bio parents Au?

She still is dissapointed by MK choice to not end the cycle, so she hasn't been so present. I would suspect she's surprised mostly for the fact that all of this resulted in the biggest un-divorce of the millenia

@candlefox1 ha chiesto: Hi so I hope it’s not too much to ask but I thought mei was also part immortal as well since her great grandfather the dragon of the east was a dragon so doesn’t that make her part immoral or could she visit her dragon relatives to ask ??

She can live longer than a normal human, and, if she only stays as a spiritual dragon, she could, theoretically, live even longer. But not forever.

@primroseprime2019 ha chiesto: You just loooove hurting me with the immortal bit, don'tcha?

yes. Becaue it hurts me too.

@emmabuggy ha chiesto: Are pigs, and tang scared that Mk only will have the monkeys as parents to guide him?

I mean, he has a bunch of people immortal that will also help him.

@injuvanillafruit ha chiesto: Do the monkie trio like bubbles? 🥰🥰

I guess Macaque and MK do. But Wukong doesn't really like anything with water too much.

@vinnillastrawberry ha chiesto: So since you confirmed their will be a dance party I wonder, How many chapters will the dance party be maybe like 4 or 5 ?

3.

@xaelanyx ha chiesto: hello!!!! I love your comic so much. when will you draw another spicy scene for spicynoodles and shadowpeach???

Not soon, the story is ending.

@roseltelle ha chiesto: Do they celebrate the day he was adopted by pigsy and tang as his birthday? I would assume so since they wouldn't know when his stone was cracked.

Yes, since it's also the same day when his stone hatched.

@shadowlilly101 ha chiesto: How did Macaque and Princess Iron Fan meet and become sworn siblings?

They knew each other from the brotherhood, but then bonded over having lost their housbands

@vevebcu ha chiesto: Can I make a fanart with my OC inside your comic? 🥺👉👈

yes

@atrocity101 ha chiesto: Hi! Sorry if I am bothering you in any way, shape, or form by messaging you, but I wanted to ask an important question. I have tried several times to research the details in how demons go about the rules of courting their chosen mate and what they can or not do beforehand or afterwards. You seem like one of the more detailed people to ask for info, could you possibly provide any details of the whole demon courting rules and such? Or provide a link to anywhere that’ll help me understand the logistics of it? (PS: I am in love with your AU and I adore every bit of it, thank you for all the hard work you put into it and please continue it! Have a wonderful day/night, and stay safe out there.)

It's mostly a fan-made thing. I don't have many resources except fanfictions that explain it more in details, like this one: https://archiveofourown.org/works/56963272

@ava115 ha chiesto: Is Redson in your au immortal like Mk? Or can he just live long sense he's a demon?

He's not exactly immortal, but can live an absurd long time.

@thenerdycupcake ha chiesto: I just realized something. Since MK can hear the past, that means he can hear his loved ones’ voices whenever he wants. No matter how much time has passed.

yes, similar to watching videos of your loved ones.

@alixzanrite ha chiesto: I thought that Pigsy, Tang, and Sandy were stuck in a reincarnation cycle because of Journey to the west? And if not wouldn't Mk be able to see them in heaven?

*sighs* I'm in no way qualified to talk about those religions, but technically if they are reincarnations of the old gang, they could be stuck in reincarnation still and might be reincarnated in the future again, bu they wont be the same people of course. If they reached buddahood they could stay in heaven. I think

@s-p-r-i-n-g-t-i-m-e ha chiesto: okay newest chapter was devastating. BUT. WUkong shirtless and Mac wearing his husband's pyjamas?????? (also Wukong spooning Mac when he originally allowed Mac to be the big spoon so he'd maintain control over the situation but now Mac trusts Wukong enough to give up that control???)

technically they were facing each other, and Mac had his arm over Wukong waist, but sweet nonetheless

@kiwi-kiwidraws ha chiesto: More heart break till the very end, right Kyri?

yes

@fresastar ha chiesto: just have to say is Will mk and wukong have a talk about everything that will happen from mk becoming immortal because wukongs friends later on dies naturally and wukong may have been sad and devastated about it, So maybe wukong can tell mk how to handle this realization or he tries to help because again he lived his whole life seeing his family go on and his friends leave and dies. sorry if this is much, you don't have to answer this😅

Yes, they will talk about it, but that's more a future conversation.

@worddraws ha chiesto: Wait so is MK immortal in the until the heat death of the universe way, in the immortal immortal way, or in the there’s no heat death of the universe and the earth exists forever way? I wish to know how angsty him being immortal is

He is "there’s no heat death of the universe and the earth exists forever way" immortal, but he's NOT INVINCIBLE! He is still capable to being killed.

@angelikis1 ha chiesto: HI!! 😁 I'M A BIG FAN OF YOUR COMICS!! also i have a question: are we ever gonna see any of MK's clones?

Eh, not for now.

@5hiny5tar-ceph ha chiesto: Heyyyyy!!!! So! I've really liked this last ep (almost made me cry ngl-) But- Shouldn't Pigsy and Tang spend more time with Xiaotian know that they know that he's immortal, and have more moments as a family, instead of doing that cooking activity with Wukong and Mac (like, I get why but still- (no offense))? Or do they just make this activity when Xiaotian is not around (Maybe hanging out with Mei or Red Son I dunno-)?

MK was with Mei when they did this.

@purplemango26 ha chiesto: Random question, but this popped up into my head a few seconds ago. Since you know and watch Lego Monkid Kid and even have an amazing au of it, I'm curious. Do you also know/watch Ninjago? Considering the whole thing with the switch of animation for Lego Monkie Kid from Flying Bark to Wild Brain who just happened to animate Ninjago, I want to know if you have at any point watched the series and or movie. By the way, huge thanks for all that you've done for feeding the LMK community. You are my top 1 provider of Shadowpeach content so I hope that you'll stay nice and healthy in the long run 💜 It's amazing how consistent you are when staying on schedule!

I watched Ninjago when I was a kid, but like only up to the 6th season (yes, I know, I'm very much behind). I also saw the movie

@roonotrue ha chiesto: Hi, Kyri!! This is my first ask on your blog, but I was just curious, with your ShadowPeach Bio Parents AU, what are your height headcanons for all the characters?? I've been trying to find some to use as reference for some of my own Ao3 fanfics/what everyone generally seems to agree on, and I figured since you're literally my favorite lmk artist, I'd ask for your headcanons!! (Idk if maybe you've answered something like this before, so feel free to ignore it you have, lol) Okie, thank you for your time, and I love your art a lot, and I'm super excited for the next update, okay byeeeee-

I'm not gonna list all the character, just the main ones, also I'm using the international metric scale because I'm a normal human being.

Macaque: 180cm

Wukong: 175cm

MK: 166cm

Mei: 172cm

Red Son (glamoured): 179cm

Red Son (True Form): 205cm

Tang: 178cm

Pigsy: 140cm

@peanut-with-wifi-access ha chiesto: Would you be okay with people writing their own sequels/continuations of the shadowpeach bio parent au when it eventually ends?

yeah sure, as long as you credit me and the au

@alastair-1205 ha chiesto: SOBBING OMFG but I also have a question lol. What exactly did MK mean when he asked Nezha to "check his aura"? As in like see if he's immortal or something else? I'm just a bit confused lol

yes it was for his immortality

@roseltelle ha chiesto: I'm curious in a universe where Wukong raised Mk when would macaque have met mk?

there are several fics exploring this concept, like A Son of Two Dads or Squished Apricots. Some of them consider that Macaque knew from almost the beginning, in others Macaque discover it after they met in the show.

@internet-grab-my-tumblr ha chiesto: So i have a baby monkie OC, but I’ve never been able to decide how to start it…if I were to, I’m, use your AU as a springboard (after all this nonsense Nuwa decides to give the monkies an apology gift in the form of a child they can actually raise together), would this be okay? It would you prefer any fics inspired by your work leave out OCs?

you can use your OC as long as you credit the AU part you want to use in your story.

@lagt-trinket-box ha chiesto: Sorry to bother But are you gonna create a thread of all the redraws of the art event road from parenthood? Just asking because I am curious to see more people redraws!

I’ll try to reblog as many as I can!

@twilight-bai-he ha chiesto: Is mei gonna be the maid of honor for spicynoodles wedding 🥰🥰? High chance she will be 🐉

of course!

@shay-bug ha chiesto: Hi! Sorry to bother you, but would it be possible if you could make car stickers for your shadowpeach bio parents au? You don't have too I just thought it would be cool since I got a new car Also, I thought I read a while back that you said after shadowpeach bio parents au comic you were might make a sonadow comic? Is that true, or did I make it up in my head? Even if you changed your plans, I'm sure the next comic you make is going to be wonderful! I love you work! Sending lost of kudos! Also, at this point, I think the shadowpeach bio parents au is a graphic novel, lol.

unfortunately RedBubble doesn’t have the option for car decals….

@darker-moon ha chiesto: are panel compilations allowed in the new shadowpeach bio-parents takeover?? i have zero talent and zero time to do anything else :'D

up to 10 panels yes.

@shadowlilly101 ha chiesto: So was she going to put mk into the piller or was she saying that if wukong had gotten mk he would have died

that if Wukong would have found it in one way or the other also heaven would have noticed.

@domo-fan1 ha chiesto: I love that Wukong acknowledges that whole yes they were happy in the past, it wasn't exactly healthy. And when they met again after years, they weren't happy but it was more healthy just because they weren't holding back their thoughts as much. True, it was mostly negative but honestly is nice. But!! As they move forward as a couple, they have to leave the past behind as it's nice but it's riddled with problems of the variety and that the future should be better. Also I feel like they'll be that sickening sweet couple every now and then, before returning to typically them. But their sweet moments are just so random that just makes everyone around facepalm. I mean we already saw them do that when they free fall in the sky to kiss. If MK follows in their footsteps, Redson is gonna have speed run in adjusting lol.

poor redson he’s going to print a tshirt that says “do not interrupt him, or else” since MK is never gonna let him go and will remain climbed to his man 24/7

@straightally2001 ha chiesto: I'm confused though. Wasn't MK a kid, not a baby, when he ended up at Pigsy's Noodles? Also, I love your Shadowpeach Bio Parents au comic series! You are one of my favorite artists ever Kyri! If you are open to suggestions, I have an idea for an au you can make after you complete this one. How about an au where Macaque was never brought back to life by LBD and was instead reincarnated. Obviously with the ships Shadowpeach, Spicynoodles, and Freenoodles

he is around 3 years old, he looks much smaller because Guanyin is wayy taller than a normal human being.

also I’m 70% sure I read a fic about that.

@raspberrymixin ha chiesto: O k we've got kai in the fray of spicy noodles child but what about Nya? His sister? I have an idea for her to me like Mei's adoptive child? And them growing up be be close as siblings? Cuz you know nya is the water ninja and Mei's family blood line are Chinese water dragons - just a thought- It's okay if you don't answer

yes Nya is Mei child and the two of them are so close that they consider themself siblings, much like MK and Mei.

@green000moth ha chiesto: Do You plan to do more spicy scenes in Shadowpeach biologic parents au?

nope

@lordmushroomkat ha chiesto: I'm a spicynoodles shipper now and I blame you <3

good

@fanficmaniatic ha chiesto: I mean this in the best possible way but the way you draw Macaque makes me want to hit him rEALLY hard in the facee with a commically large harmer. It activates my cute agression in the worst possible way I need to smash his head. I undertand JTTW Wukong on a molecular level. It wasnt a fight, It was cute agression.

when I draw Macaque I get hit by a comically large hammer because In realise I will never get a man like him.

@shadowlilly101 ha chiesto: He can hear and see the past and show others?

yesss

@king-ryuusei ha chiesto: okay. So first off, i LOVE this serie. Always excited for every chapter drop ! Your art is amazing, love what you did. now on to my question : how does Chaos energy does exactly in your au ? (Went on the lmk wiki and the lack of explication of what it dies exacly is criminal) so could you explain to us what exactly it does ? Pretty Please ? (PS: i know i said it once but i love the comic. Can’t believe we're almost at the end. Hope you have a great day/night. Byeeee!)

i’ll redirect you to THIS post

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

Istg C@tra stans are cry babies

Aint no way Cat's hate bigger than HORDAK'S, like my brother in christ did you forgot 2020?

They can't handle someone saying that C@tra sucks (with reason) and they start crying and whining and "ooOohh liking C@tra's character is so haaardd" dude you have 90% of them fandom on your side what are you even talking about.

Meanwhile Hordak's stans r just there 🧍‍♂️<- them

like they know their fav character is an ass and they just accept that and live on lmao (there's at least 1 person saying that hordak did nothing wrong on a C@tra like vibe but idk?? Never seen 1 of them lmao?) They most of the time just:

A) Ignore the hate

B) debunk some of the arguments

C) "cool" *walks away*

Plus the way people presents their hate is so diff, most of the C@tra's hate ive seen is actually very logical and have good points, you can easily make a post on that vibe with Hordak, BUT NOOoooOOo

Is easier to harass anyone who likes the character 😀

And Im basically glad that a lot of Hordak and Entrapdak fans are older/adults bcuz Im sure SOMEONE would come off of the fandom mentally scarred for life with the scary amount of hate Spop fandom managed to summon.

it's so funny to me when spop stans are like "catra is overhated! unpopular opinion but catra is actually innocent" like no babes, that's a very popular opinion. catra is loved by 99.9% of the fandom. sure, hordak has fans and apologists too but catra is definitely the fan favorite.

and it's even funnier that they call hordak "abusive" or entrapdak "toxic" but then refuse to elaborate. like i'm willing to hear them out if they have something to support their argument. but no, it's just "hordak is a villain so he's an abuser".

and i agree that hordak is not some innocent little baby. he is, just like catra, a sympathetic villain, with emphasis on villain. but it should be acknowledged that while he was a shitty person in general, he was a good partner to entrapta.

“y'all are contributing to romanticizing colonization, g3nocide and abuse” right, because catra was not a part of any of that. she only tried to end the entire world, that's not genocide! /s

i would have agreed with that particular fan if they were talking about the spop fandom as a whole, and not just hordak and entrapdak fans. like how are you this hypocritical?

i am personally desensitized to the death threats and shit but you're right, if any of the younger audience had seen this, they would have been traumatized.

[rc-catalog]

At long last, we finally commence the Creator of the Month event! Without further ado, we present to you a short interview with @webanglikethat, March COTM winner, from which you can get to know her better. Congratulations JB!

Enjoy!

INTRODUCE YOURSELF

hi everyone!! I’m really exicited to be the first creator to be represented 🥺 you may call me JB and I’m 19 years old! I go by she/him pronouns and I’m a desi italian 🫶🏽

WHEN DID YOU JOIN ROMANCE CLUB?

2022-11-04, which I could’ve never guessed! I thought I’d started playing mid 2023. according to my gallery, my first stories were chasing you and heaven’s secret! the fandom I joined way later, and that’s how I never understood why sometimes my choices were ‘free’ aka Diamond Rush – I thought I bypassed something 😭 seeing the reddit fandom explained a lot haha ! 

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN CREATING?

for the RC fandom specifically, I started creating in May 2024 when I made a Ram edit! before that, I was mostly posting about RC on my Instagram stories and editing them, sharing my thoughts, and occasionally ranting about the characters. I actually had another Tumblr account before this one, but it was focused on different fandoms. at some point, I stumbled across the RC Tumblr community, and at first, I just lurked, reading posts and getting a feel for the fandom. I loved seeing everyone’s discussions, edits, and writing, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to jump in just yet. eventually, though, I decided I wanted to be part of it, so I made this account for two reasons: first, to fully immerse myself back into Tumblr (aka I forgot the password to the OG account lmao / but I did remember it!), and second, to actually engage with the RC fandom rather than just observing from the sidelines.

in general, probably since I was 11-12 for the kpop fandom, which I’m still actively doing !! my passion for creating just keeps evolving and it’s crazy how the things I started with have led me to where I am now !! I’m always pushing myself to try new things and level up my skills and the way I express myself has definitely evolved over the years. I started off with small edits, and random posts, and over time, I got more confident in sharing my work. I’ve written a bunch of poems, edited a lot of stories/videos and I’ve picked up moodboards and graphic design again! the RC fandom has been such a fun and welcoming space, and I love being able to contribute to it (✿◠‿◠)

DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST EVER CREATION?

for the rc fandom? it was a ram video edit (insert link) but if we are saying in general, it was probably one of those kpop profile pictures with heart crowns lmao! I was 11 or 12, experimenting with filters and thinking I was so cool — looking back at it now, it’s cringy, but it was the start of everything. and who says cringe can’t be good? normalize being cringe !! normalize growth !! those little edits sparked something that I’ve carried with me ever since! after that, I started making moodboard edits for kpop artists and umh, here I shall expose myself just for you guys lmaoo. these are the first few “'edits”’ I found from my archived posts (no, I never finished teen wolf …) (yes, I still make seunghyun content).

CHOOSE 3-5 OF YOUR FAVOURITE WORKS AND RAMBLE AWAY!

there’s a lot of creations that I’m thinking of! one of the hardest was probably the two part web weave I made of cainlane for a friend at the time, but it’s definitely not my fave

my jayniecarter web weave is a really important creation for me. I don’t remember exactly when I got the idea, but even within the first five episodes of 7B, Jaynie’s storyline hit me hard; her role as the oldest and only daughter that everyone relied on and how everyone just expected her to push away all of her plans to be there to fix the problems caused by everyone else. there was something so raw and so real about her struggles and the way she carried so much weight on her shoulders, often without acknowledgment that it made me really pause. it was supposed to be a funny little story but it turned into so much more. I found myself deeply relating to her — her imposter syndrome, her sense of responsibility, and that feeling of being stretched too thin while trying to be everything for everyone. some chapters were genuinely difficult to read because they felt so personal, almost like I was looking into a mirror. at first, I wasn’t sure how to process those feelings. it’s one thing to read something that resonates with you, but another to actually put those emotions into words. that’s when I started thinking about the best way to express it, and I landed on making a web weave. I’ve always loved the way web weaves allow for layered storytelling — how they can bring together different pieces of media, emotions, and themes into something cohesive. it felt like the perfect medium to explore Jaynie’s journey, not just as a character, but as an experience that so many people can relate to. I started by gathering all my screenshots — Carter scenes, moments where Jaynie’s imposter syndrome was on full display, her struggling with the expectations placed on her, and the way she felt like her first year of college wasn’t turning out the way it was “supposed” to and that the experience had been robbed from her. from there, I began thinking about songs and other pieces of media that resonated with those emotions. I wanted to find lyrics that captured that overwhelming pressure of being the person others depend on, that deep-rooted insecurity of feeling like you’re never quite doing enough, even when you are. the process was honestly a mix of research and instinct—some songs immediately came to mind because they just fit, while others took time to find. I also pulled quotes from books, movies, and shows that carried similar themes of responsibility, burnout, and the complicated emotions that come with being an eldest daughter. one of the best song to describe Jaynie and Carter imo is ESOEMOEHOED by Leanna Firestone, so that was the first thing I did, along with 'this is me trying’ by Taylor Swift. some of the photos included are actually taken by me! there is a quote by a book I really like, 'Final Offer’ that made it into the final draft “You always deserved better than me.” / “No. I deserved better from you.” aside from the angst, I also wanted to portray the amazing love a sister has for her brother, so I looked through my pinterest board and found comments people, mostly sisters, left on how they loved their siblings, how they felt like they didn’t exist until they arrived. while Jaynie and Carter’s journey is undoubtedly hard and complex, that doesn’t erase the love, and that was something I wanted to make sure wasn’t lost. one little detail I really liked was, when choosing Hansel and Gretel photos, they were always holding hands! and isn’t that siblinghood? holding hands through all of the shit the world puts you through? the certainty of that warm hold? honestly, putting the web weave together was both fun and unexpectedly emotional. it was therapeutic in a way I didn’t expect and I’m glad it also resonated with the ones who saw it!

My Nova and religious guilty web weave: this one was something I planned almost from the start! I started playing wt:c for my friend andy’s birthday so she could finally talk to me about it. the obvious religious guilt / religious trauma topic stood out to me and I began gathering screenshots as I played. as a girlie who can relate to those kinds of feeling, I was sooo excited to edit this !! from the start, I knew I wanted to turn this into a web weave. I started reading articles, researching people’s thoughts on reddit / quora / any website of that sort, trying to gather their feelings. one of the best sources was an article that began with

'Let me ask you this — have you ever felt like faith was supposed to be a comfort, but instead, it turned into a burden?’,

written by Gary L Ellis. I read that and thought, damn I struck the goldmine! I’m heading in the right direction! honestly, this one was easier to edit because I already had a lot of photos of this topic saved from my previous luke castellan web weaves and some genshin screenshots (the wanderer’s iconic line of 'the first to betray me was a god, my creator … my mother’). it was also easier because I had been gathering screenshots as I played instead of thinking about it later. that saved a lot of time. another line that really fit perfectly was

“I was raised Catholic,” he began. “But you’re not now?” the judge asked, frowning. “No,” he said. He had worked for years to keep the apology out of his voice when he said this.”

and that made me even more excited because everything was fitting together so well !! another obvious source was going to be, 'Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve’ by Taylor Swift, a song about grooming and religious guilt which ugh, Nova would SOOO relate to. overall, I believe this took me less than a week to edit! maybe 3-4 days? I was so excited that I stayed up late editing, and I’m honestly really proud of it. I’d love to make a part two in the future!

my jaynie-ray web weave: it’s been a long time coming – is how I would describe this one. I made it for the catalog’s 14 days of love event and I knew I wanted to choose these two for the platonic prompt. their relationship is so important to me 🥺 their bond is not just a promise of 'I’ll be there’, it’s a certainty. it’s something so much deeper, that it’s impossible to unravel. my main source for this one was my favourite book, 'Happy Place’ by none other than my mother Emily Henry! if you like crying and found family, give it a read ( •̀ .̫ •́ )✧ what really stuck with me, while reading about Ray, was the way Ray’s story doesn’t just expose the pain of being kicked out but also highlights the power of acceptance!! I can’t even begin to explain how much that meant to me. so many stories about queer trauma focus solely on the suffering, and while that’s important, 7B goes beyond that. it doesn’t just show the pain of rejection but it shows the love that comes after. the way Ray finds a new family, a new support system, people who actually love and accept them, is so important. because yes, being rejected by your family is devastating. but what makes it bearable is finding the people who choose you. I wanted to make their relationship justice and hopefully I did <3 I once again used photos I took myself (the quote from the seven husbands of evelyn hugo) and honestly, this one was so easy because I can relate to their friendship as I’ve found it in my best friend Kelly, and I already have like hundreds of photos/quotes/media pieces saved on friendship and found family! honestly teared up a few times making this.

my audrey-deviya web weave: I could not answer this interview without mentioning my wife deviya, could I? this one is recent, so you’d think I remember how or why I made this but honestly, my memory is really bad! I think I screenshotted a few things while playing the old abh update and I was like, wait, that’s sacrificial lamb coded! and who is THE original one? deviya. I knew in that moment I wanted to connect their journeys, to depict their roles as both a weapon and a shield, as a human but also a tool. there were many similarities. – one of the most painful ones was I noticed how both of them die/almost die feeling like they hadn’t lived enough. there’s this lingering sense of unfinishedness, this deep grief over the life they weren’t allowed to have. it’s heartbreaking. their stories reinforce the idea that their blood is almost worth more than their existence, that they need to bleed in order to be important. this was a little harder to edit because I had to go through abh walkthroughs on youtube because I had never screenshotted her dialogues from this point of view! my friend vee was kind enough to send me a few screenshots she had, which saved me so much time !! and they were SO helpful too, I could build a whole edit out of them alone. aside from gathering screenshots, I had no issues because sacrificial lamb is part of yet another pinterest board I have. I hope I did Audrey justice! I’m not an ABH girlie, my focus is on KFS, so hopefully I got her character well !!

now that I mentioned sacrifice and blood, I HAVE to talk about Amala. so I have two versions of my Amala web weave; purple and red. this one I made because I was joking in a discord server about how I was going to make a web weave if my friend Mira (@a-cloud-for-dreams) wasn’t gonna stop sending sad Amala screenshots. we were all joking around until I was like, well … eldest daughter angst? and every other desi girlie in the discord server was like WELL YES ! so I immediately started editing cause when you get a bunch of girls asking you to do something, you do it (follow for more life advices).

I felt a lot of pressure making this one because it had been a while since I played KCD and I had never closely looked at Amala’s character. Mira was able to give me 99% of the screenshots included in my post and, while I struggled with Amala’s character, I didn’t struggle with her characterization – does that make sense? she’s the eldest daughter who takes care of everyone, who puts her own needs aside and is struggling between her indian and english side (something that sooo many immigrant children, me included, can relate to). from there, it was easy to gather photos because again, I have a bunch of pinterest boards on topic of being the older sister, the third parent and the immigrant guilt! I had the most fun editing the last photo !!!

I’m very shy about my writing so I purposefully decided to highlight my webweaves 😭 but here are some of my fanfictions: -> if you wanted avery to be a love interest, I got a fic for you ( •̀ .̫ •́ )✧ The taste of your lips is my idea of luxury is one of my proudest works. it was hard to get Avery’s voice right because he has very little screentime (I screenshotted every scene in which he spoke) and at some point I gave up, so if you find it OOC just close your eyes lmaoo. -> did you want Vyxaria to talk to Walter about Xantheia? do you cry to peace by taylor swift? don’t look further then! Lonely winter, cradle my heart explores angsty Vyxaria -> do you instead want to break your heart by having unrequited!Walter and brokenhearted!Vyxaria x Xantheia? Thalassophile, do you remember our crestfallen hearts? awaits you ! for more, look at my masterlist!

[jules-ln]

Tbh I find it very funny that people are doing the whole "let men characters be manly" with Viktor in JayVik fanart

Like

There's a fair criticism about fandom taking two characters in a ship that canonically have similar body types and making one of them very feminine and tiny and the other big with lots of muscles

But Jayce and Viktor... They just look like that in canon lmao

I mean look at Viktor when he's in his jesus form. he let his hair grow, he literally uses something very similar to a dress, his puppets and his Herald form all have body types that emphasized their hips and shoulder making their waist look very tiny and

Ok, queer men don't need to present feminine but Viktor IS choosing to present more traditionally feminine than masculine; that's a decision the character is doing in the text

It's not something made up by the fans

So this whole "stop making Viktor feminine" is weird to me because, buddy, pal, friend, Viktor is the one making himself look more feminine?

And I think this is part of like a more recent trend in fandom where people are tying to fit characters back into the hetero normative roles of their gender; because it's definitely not the first time I've seen it happen

Like chill guys, men can be feminine and that's ok?

And If you want to see it in a more within the text kind of way

It's curious that he only started presenting more feminine after the hexcore changed his body

Because Viktor it's a character that has internalized ableism (this probably comes from the fact that the writers had a subconscious bias, though I think this is a waaay more complex subject than for just a tumblr post lmao) and he sees his disabilities as something to fix, so he probably didn't feel comfortable in his old body

So as soon as he was in a body he found himself more comfortable in, he started to change his gender expression from fairly traditionally masculine to more feminine; honestly it is very possible that Viktor always wanted to express himself in a more feminine way to begin with, but never felt safe to do so

Mind you, like I know that queerphobia isn't supposed to exist in this universe (and I have a lot of thoughts about that), but I can't help but also think that maybe the fact that he's a disabled Zaunite in Piltover contributed to him wanted to blend in with society around him, so he avoided calling attention as much as he could that included not bending the gender norms (mind you this is me pulling a death of the author and creating my own meaning, I don't know if the characters designers actually thought about that)

Anyway, Have I mentioned that I love the headcanon of Viktor being trans? Lmao

[wetcatspellcaster]

Not sure if this was ever asked so sorry if that’s the case but - how do you feel about Ascended Astarions character (as a player not in the context of Rosalie per say), do you see why some people understand the appeal and not to poke the bear but do you think that AA blowing up on social media may have contributed more to the discourse over the characterizations?

hmmm. how many people can I upset in one ask? my aim is literally none, and yet I'm 3 predrinks in and feeling very silly, and if any ask is going to do it it'll be this one.

under the cut not bc I'm a coward, but bc this is a long post.

so first off, anon, thank you for asking the question! I'm going to be quite honest and direct, which means that I might not give you the answer you want or want to hear, as I'm not certain what your motivations for asking this question might be. but, as this is something I have thought very deeply about, I always welcome the opportunity to talk about it, so thank you for being interested in my thoughts.

firstly, yes. of course I see the appeal of Ascended Astarion. To be quite frank, I do not have the infinite free time to be wasting, writing 100s of 1000s of words of fic about something I don't see the appeal of. despite the unprecedented reaction to Pieces that I had no way of predicting, I don't write for attention or clout - I wrote Pieces bc I liked Ascended Astarion, and I wanted to write for him. I love villain/heroine, I love gothic romance, I love vampires, I love tsundere and yandere dynamics, and I love writing flirtatious dialogue. Ascended Astarion caters to all of these things perfectly for me.

Pieces is a thesis (lol, rhyme), on the appeal I see in Ascended Astarion's character. I loved writing his character. And, if we want to be really candid, I lovingly crafted many, many lines of dialogue in which an attractive man who was obsessed/downbad for the heroine, no matter what she did or how good a person she was, promising her a life of safety where he'd be the one to dirty his hands for her, and she'd never have to work hard or try or put in effort or work herself to the bone ever again.... in the final year of my PhD thesis submission. in case it's not clear who's id I was feeding then, I will say the quiet part out loud: I was very, very tired. I am not a good person the way that my Tav is a good person. These speeches waiver Rosalie's resolve bc they would absolutely work on me.

So, when I get asks like this, asking me if I like Ascended Astarion.... I have to wonder. I'm not mad about being asked, but it does make me worry... what am I doing wrong? what am I doing that suggests I don't like him? or that I don't obviously find him hot?

And every single time, it comes down to one thing: Pieces makes a moral judgement on his character. lmao.

We live in a period of fandom culture where people either think or want their morality and attraction to line up perfectly. People feel bad - or are made to feel bad - about finding 'problematic' characters or dynamics attractive. and conversely, people also seem to think that if they find something hot, it can't be bad or wrong or problematic, bc that would make them a bad person. ergo, if I say something is bad in a fic, there's no way I'm horny for it. bc I said it's bad.

beloveds, I don't really ascribe to this. for one thing, morality is only at play in Pieces bc I wanted to write a gothic romance, and ideas of virtue - and the yearning to both preserve and be virtue's corruption - are a central motif of that genre. its what makes phantom of the opera horny. it's what makes all the labyrinth fanfiction i have bookmarked horny. it's what makes nosferatu, to some extent, horny. if anything, Pieces was trying to show how many ideas of virtue are just self-destructive repression - I said in asks at the very beginning, that if Rosalie was a little more well-adjusted and a little less depressed, she would've just fucked Ascended Astarion in chapter 7 and that would actually have been the healthier decision, because it would've gotten all that shame out of her system.

but secondly... girlies. morality and attraction rarely, if ever, line up, and to police such things isn't just a headlong dive into purity culture it's a headlong dive into puritanical thinking. i do think that if people find certain things attractive - particularly around race and its fetishisation - they should do the work to examine what cultural biases and privileges are at play in their own attraction and do their own mental inventory, perhaps even understand why there are consequences to this way of thinking, particularly in today's political climate, and accept that others are going to be extremely extremely uncomfortable or not want to associate with you as a result. i think that this is especially true when it relates to how you treat real people in the real world, and if fiction contributes to stereotyping or encourages people to treat certain groups as less than people, then this should be examined. but my guys, Astarion is the whitest of white boys. white man of the century, even. and the bleed of anti-culture into every facet of media consumption, to the point where people feel like what is 'good' and 'moral' and what is 'hot' should align, is insane to me. it will literally never work, and it does in fact contribute to the conservative curve of culture more generally.

to be frank, i don't think it's about Astarion blowing up on social media that made ascended diskhorse so radioactive. tumblr is the only social media I use, and if it still made it's way to me without a tiktok, a twitter, ora bluesky, then clearly it's more than that. if you want my opinion, I think it's because Larian created a character who's central of his arc is desire and a relationship to desire, which people find relatable from a number of angles, many of which are personally charged... and then the ending to that arc involves a moral choice. then, people found him hot in both aspects that result out of that moral choice, and we enter the torment nexus of morality/purity culture where people have to find moral justifications for what they find hot. when really... it's ok to find it hot. get the cop out of your brain, and enjoy your devil's sacrament. the fact that my ascended fic is my most popular story suggests that a lot of people are at that sacrament in the first place.

(but howlsmovinglibrary, you created a redemption arc story! you resouled him rather than admit that's who he is! you contributed to that puritanical thinking! it must mean you hate ascended astarion!)

beloveds. I just love spike/buffy and villain/heroine. that's what's hot to me. which vampire gets resouled after several seasons of adjusting his moral code out of insane levels of romantic pining? and again, please look at exhibit A: all my labyrinth bookmarks.

hopefully, this answers your question. if I'm going to end this ask on my most honest opinion, I do think that Ascension is Astarion's evil ending. but I don't think that, because of the dynamic he has with Tav. I do not particularly care about discourse that calls it abusive, possessive, etc. This is a man made of pixels. We're in a fictional, imaginary space.

For me, what makes the ascended ending 'evil' is the fact that it involves a moral event horizon of 7000 deaths. I personally believe that what makes characters and villains interesting is identifying their points of no return, (in my other villain/heroine works, one takes place with that moral event horizon happening, and the other one it's averted, so this is already a preoccupation of mine), and... the ascension ritual feels like that, to me. You get confronted with the manifestation of Astarion's trauma and guilt over his victimisation under Cazador, but also his knowledge that he was somewhat complicit in extending that out to others, and you can choose to either free him from that by forgiving him, or free him from that by erasing it all from existence. Neither of those choices are wholly good or wholly bad, but the fact that one of them results in the death of 7000 people kind of tips the scale for me personally, honestly.

but... does identifying that as a moral event horizon within a fictional story where characters will deliberately have brutal turning points that give the player ultimate agency in the 'fantasy protagonist' rpg mean that I don't understand the appeal? no. absolutely not. I see the appeal of both the character, and honestly, the decision itself. the power fantasy of murdering your abuser brutally, taking his power, and erasing all evidence of your own oppression is so completely understandable!! that's why Astarion is such a cool character!!! bc he has such sympathetic, clear motives for what he does, even when those choices are villainous or bad.

honestly, I think my most controversial take in this entire discussion is that I don't think the 'morality' conversation of Astarion's character should revolve around his relationship with Tav or another companion at all. it should be about that moment, not what comes after.

anyway. that's my rant. sorry anon if it wasn't what you wanted, or if this feels a little intense in any way. As I say, Im tipsy, and this is something I've overthought and can infodump on for hours. thank you for being interested xx

[ender1821]

re: shinyduo/gempearl being so not normal about each other after life series. other anon was so right why are they freaky.

pearl is definitely just as at fault imo. gem’s excellent at innuendos and tone of voice (“your red skin is my favorite~”) but pearl’s yes and filter falls apart in front of gem. the pickles a prime example, and the ren stream disaster wedding of course. she’s also very genuine and i love that for her. but that results in crazy lines like the “love you gem. always will. even if you dont want me, ill still be there.” TO STREAM WHEN GEM WASNT EVEN THERE.

and i need to mention the latest stream. Pearl “I only get asked if im gay when you’re in the picture” and how they both have to take a minute of silence to process that flejelejwkej. whose fault is that pearl? whose fault ?? to her credit she seems genuinely confused by the extent of her actions. the most damning evidence for her straightness i fear. rip gem though, she seems to be having fun anyway.

theyre both professionals and follow up in that stream with how the fandom will always play around with them as characters etc etc. good communication, very healthy, good for them. but this post is about why they graduated from shenanigans and innuendos to 2 hours of fanservice and it doesn’t even feel intentional half the time.

as for next life series, i would be shocked if they didn’t keep up this befuddling yuri bit. theyve mentioned seeing all the tierlist maker dream team posts and pearl had to ask her chat “OTHER than gem, who should I team with” so theyre well aware demand is there. theyre fantastic as enemies and well aware of that, but they could get some scarian level drama by teaming together, and i dont say that lightly. since pearl keeps stalling pvp on hermitcraft, theyre never getting that 1v1 without cosmic intervention or a declaration of love 😭

rambling now. love to hear your thoughts xoxo

yippee i love anon rambles!!! im glad we’re all unwell

im NOT gonna go on another rant about the life series alliance situation because as i’ve just demonstrated yesterday i can literally rant. for hours. and we don’t need that lmao. at this point whether or not they team up in the next one SOMETHING will happen. i have that much faith in them. they’re bound to run into each other and do something and that’s the shiny duo connection speaking god bless

like the other anon said, i do think they can work with just about any dynamic and it’ll be insanity-inducing either way. one of my favourite things about them just as a pairing (in any context, platonic, romantic, etc.) is just the way they will drift towards one another, to be linked in a way that’s indescribable, to always carry a piece of each other with themselves wherever they wander because the influence they’ve had on the other is irrefutable— and okay yeah they’re getting way too freaky about it get out of my fan fiction-esque rant. what are you doing here. why are you like this. what. like there’s something going on when what they’re getting up to creeps more and more into being what i usually read in fics. i. hello???

i really, really want to give them the benefit of the doubt. okay. listen. for every mention of feet and poking at pearl’s straightness, there’s a chat message behind it that warranted it, i’m sure. this isn’t the post to be getting into how fans are with cc boundaries and how we’re STILL bad at figuring our tags out, but i feel like this discussion eventually HAS to touch on the fact that it’s been made clear that they don’t want to see shipping stuff, and bringing it up in chat crosses that boundary just as well. i think they’ve handled it well in acknowledging that they’re aware it’s for their characters, drawing clear lines between what they’re comfortable with and what they’re not, etc. i think just the muddled lines from people continuously bringing stuff from a fandom space up to a cc contributes a lot to why we got. whatever happened on that wednesday stream. honestly, from these instances on stream i think it’s been shown that they just find this stuff amusing, and good for them, y’know? still doesn’t mean we should be regularly poking them about ships and. well. i dunno. literally bringing it up in chat?

but still. BUT STILL. god the ways they “yes, and” each other just keep getting worse. stuff like the pickles and the wedding (and the SL ep 4 ender dragon fight! still one of the most baffling “yes, and”s i’ve ever seen from them, i swear to god) were almost completely just them. that was just them. there’s no blaming chat for gem saying “wait, i don’t have a beard” right after pearl rejects ren for having a beard, and CERTAINLY NOBODY ELSE TO BLAME when pearl takes that and literally proposes to her. that was all them. and why. girl. huh??? i do believe, at least to some extent, that pearl is oblivious to the implications of what she does/says. but that only goes so far. sorry man i can only give so much benefit of the doubt for like 2-3 streams of 2 hour fan service. good lord

i was texting a friend who isn’t into mcyt about this whole. thing. and the way i described it was: imagine being a gempearl shipper, and you’re enjoying life, driving this train with fanfics and fanart and everything’s all good… and then for some reason gem and pearl jump on the train, hijack the conductor seat and starts directing the train elsewhere. nearing the end of that stream i was questioning my life and screaming for a way off this train. that’s how it felt to me. of course i’m exaggerating but like. genuinely how did we get here

[amrass]

My Colm O'Driscoll/Micah Bell ship HCs

I originally posted this on my Twitter (yeah I know, the site's politics are icky as hell, but it's also where all the cool NSFW artists are and also the new, miniature Colm/Micah fandom) but I thought some people here could like it ☺️

Warning: This is a villain/villain ship, and dark. I'll list the SFW HCs first, and then the NSFW ones, and the latter can get intense.

Suggested ship names: Drisbell, O'Bell, Micolm, and Cah. Yes, like the crow sound. CAH! That's my contribution ofc ......

Feel free to reply with your own HCs. List after the cut.

SFW

At the core, there's this weird understanding between them, because both are emotionally numb and need to stay numb to survive as cruel, violent outlaws. They try not to reflect too much about death and damnation but can't help it as they're surrounded by it. 

After his brutal upbringing, Micah finds more homeliness and peace with the O'Driscolls than the Van der Lindes. Colm's cruelty is different than his family's, but still familiar enough to feel homely and safer than actual safety would.

A bit like Dutch reminds Micah of his father, Colm reminds Micah of his grandfather. Not only because Colm has that sexy Nosferatu look going on, but because he's got a quiet and sinister influence, and is knowledgeable in torture. He also reacts with pride at Micah's killings, liking it when he is covered head to toe in blood, telling him he's such a good boy. 

Colm uses different methods of indoctrination on his boys, and he finds Micah surprisingly easy to deal with. With Micah, simple attention goes a long way, and so do extreme but precise punishments like tooth/fingernail extraction. 

They both have a disdain for religion; Colm grew up Roman Catholic, and Micah saw Amos be "snatched up" by a local Pentecostal church. They both secretly enjoy choir music, but rob churches to "compensate" for sometimes sitting outside and listening. 

They have a similar sense of black humor. They hate purple things and have a complicated relationship with Colm's brother. They love cocaine, guns and in modern AU, listening to metal together in Colm's car.

NSFW

Colm is an ass-man (same) and his brain just zaps out if he's staring at Micah's ass. Micah learns to manipulate this in turn, wearing tighter pants, but sometimes this backfired because he can’t run away and Colm fucks him so roughly he forgets what he originally wanted lolol. 

Micah has an oral fixation (smokes like a chimney from an early age) and secretly loves sucking dick. Colm enjoys having his dick sucked. But sometimes Micah gets way too possessive and keeps sucking after he's come, so Colm has to drag him off by his green neckerchief like a mad dog, and Micah just sticks out his tongue in retaliation before he swallows slowly with triumph.  

Colm likes giving Micah piercings as a sign of ownership. Micah is bad at caring for them so they mostly get rejected and scar, which Colm also likes, if not only so he can re-do them. 

In the biker AU, Colm once fucked Micah over his motorbike, Micah naked and him in full leather gear, and Micah is still jerking off about that memory twenty years later. 

Both enjoy pushing each other's boundaries. Kind of obvious I guess, but the numbness adds a dimension to this where they don't always realize that their own boundaries have been crossed until it's too late. And they have more boundaries within emotional exchanges than sexual ones. This is where the love grows, like a tiny poison tree, unwillingly so for both. 

Micah loves shot-gunning cigarette smoke and gets turned on by leather gloves and Colm makes full use of this. 

This is the ship at its most advanced stage lmao: Colm likes getting fisted but rarely trusts anyone to let them do it, and Micah gets to experience this once (1) and never feels as powerful and in love as in this moment.

In the Micussy verse (thanks Skibiborg) Colm is so into period sex he acts like a blood hound. Micah crawls under the bed to get away but he's dragged out before Colm has him on the floor. He gets between his legs and chomps down like it's his last meal. Likes blood on his lips, his chin, his shirt, his cock, all over really. Bites Micah's inner thighs and neck just to see if the blood tastes different there. Will probably make out with Micah while he fucks him, endeared by his disgust at tasting himself. "Heady, isn't it?" "D-do ya, ghh, have f-fucking, iron deficiency, boss?"

[obsidianpen]

i so agree with your gift economy stance!! i also think promoting fics on tiktok is...............interesting lmao. but it rubbed me the wrong way bcus i really do feel like fandom should be niche. its for and by people who are usually deeply obsessed with a media and it Shows in their work/contributions. theres real love and passion for the media behind these works. i love this aspect of fandom! i love you fellow obsessives! this is how fandom has been across the globe for DECADES. another thing is that you want to engage w fandom, you have to go out and seek it. its unlikely to just pop up across your feed (unless you have friends who engage in fandom) and i think this is a fundamental aspect of fandom as well. its niche, for the obsessives and the fanatics. if things were to start being heavily promoted it would disrupt this, i believe. less passion projects, more projects to gain notoriety. less genuine and earnest works. (like those ppl using AI to write fics...... yikes) it will become more about who can become The Biggest Name In (a) Fandom. i hope im conveying my thoughts well. i dont think every aspect of fandom should be mainstream and it should be reserved for the people who love it. not shoved in "outsiders" faces in the hopes of gaining views and clicks.

💯 agree! Yeah and the people who post and promote their stuff on algorithm based sites do tend to be the ones who use alts and bots and AI in order to be able to pump out stuff quickly because - you guessed it - they desperately want to be the ‘number one’ in a given category. Which is sad because fics shouldn’t be ranked like that, but the obsession with stats has grown to perilous levels as of late. Just because a fic has a lot of hits or kudos or whatever doesn’t mean it will be for you!

This also gets into the whole ‘needing fic recs’ to find something to read thing. TikTok is becoming a big place for this as fanfiction goes from being niche to mainstream - which I think is both good and bad, really, but that’s another rant for another day. A lot of new readers really have no idea how to use the tagging system on ao3 to find stories to their liking, and it shows. It’s pretty sad hearing someone say they’ve only read one story with a specific pairing because they saw it on TikTok (and that story is often a horrid example of what that fandom has to offer. Not always, but often), and now they desperately need something to read… but have no idea how to just GO FIND IT lmao it’s actually so easy and requires just a bit of gd effort 🥲.

[ramblingidk]

I'll get shot for this but it's why I'm staying anon, it's funny being around antis as someone who just lurks as unlabelled and idgaf what ppl do, because I can say the exact same words abt why someone will proship but just replace the word proship with selfship,,, AND ITS THE EXACT SAME!!! THERE IS 0 REASON TO BEEF ON THIS STUFF, only reason I don't get "caught" is just saying "ew yeah I hate (insert group)" which I really don't and it sucks having to do sm bs to avoid life endangerment over a damn ship.

Genuinely I've lost friends over the harassment that antis do because they just can't be online anymore or literally kill themselves after about the 5th time they get doxxed.

Anti harassment goes both ways, but antis seem to act like they were cut first when someone bites back.

Also very real more ppl should be touching grass bc the biggest "proshippers" I've met have been irl or just regular ass people because no one circle jerks their superiority over shit that isn't real 🎉

I don't understand what the big deal is and why it is about fictional pairs. I remember when I was in the Undertale fandom back in the late 2010s there would be a TON of people shipping things like Frans, sansceet and so on. Yeah there were plenty of people saying it's bad and weird, but there was way, WAY less drama then before 2020 when normies flooded the internet. I do know there have been life endangering dramas even then about stupid things like a Frans artist or someone supposedly drawing Rose Quartz from SU "too thin", but I don't believe those issues were as big as nowadays. I wonder how things even got to this point...

I'm so sorry to hear about your friends. It's obvious, but no one should ever have to go through that. It's crazy to think that so many people out there are willing to leak someone's real life location (or in other words literally commit a crime) over things that most definitely don't harm anyone. Again, I wonder how it got to the point where that is normalized...

Yeah, a lot of antis seem to have a giant victim complex lmao. I never understood what's with them and actively infiltrating our community spaces after they specifically tell us to find or make our own, especially when they're an older age (15+). I'll never forget that I literally had a 26yo anti trying to argue with me (a minor) about proshippers in the self ship communit, can you imagine being an adult but still being an anti

And absolutely! Most of the time the proshippers are the normal ones living a good if not decent life. We touch grass and shower and are cool unlike these basement dweller gremlins who spend their time contributing nothing but damage to everyone 👍

[ace4thespades]

(( OOC BUT I'M CLAWING AT THE BARS OF MY CELL I'M CLAWING AND SCRATCHING AND OHHHHOHGGHH IM BEING FED SO WELL I'M BEING FED I'M sorry I forgot I need to be normal. um. Wooww hahaSORRY i'll be normal.

Tahnk you very much for all the food you're feeding me and for all the art and even the writing and all the yummy interactions . Uum.

Hey by the way why are you Cooking . Genuinely Why do you cook not only with chance hcs but with like. 007n7 hcs. and with writing two time.

So Sorry I couldn't send in anything for when 007n7 was around I've been hopping in and out of the forsaken fandom but! I'm still here! I still scroll all the new asks on this blog every morning and scream in the dms of everyone I know about how awesome this blog is Please keep cooking ^_^

also I adore how u write interactions with other blogs, like. Ok from my experience mods are usually pretty biased and only respond properly to stuff from their friends or other in universe characters but the fact you actually let people interact freely regardless of whether they're an anon, an oc, an au, or a canon character makes me so jolly I wish more ask blogs were like this

I Might start an askblog for my main forsaken au since I don't have any solid headcanons yet so if u have tips for running an askblog I would: appreciate ^_^

have a lovely day, mod !! ))

-☼

\\\ Getting this ask really made my day when you first sent this, ☼ anon. Your support is appreciated greatly and I wish I have the better vocab to express how much these sort of things really mean to me. I honestly never expected people to enjoy my art and writing— through the drawings or dialouges I make.

[IM GONNA START YAPPING HERE !!]

Happy to have fed you! 🥹 Characters that lack of information about themselves give other people alot of opportunities to try and work out what their personalities are like with the very few information they have. I did that with Chance, 007n7 and definitely the other characters.

With the little information [personality based] of a few characters like 007n7, I work with what I have usually. A single father who was the entire world to a child, now in a damned hell with no recollection of his own son? Now that I can work with— along with other characters and how it affects them. Two Time is from a cult so of course I made them religious. Too religious. Theres still much to write about them!

[Here are a few drawings I made when I was figuring out how I wanted them to act. I made sure they kept mentioning the Spawn to make them seem like they’re too deep in their beliefs. Sorry if you can’t read my handwriting LMAO. TW// Sacrificial self harm scars…]

When it comes to other blogs, I happily accept their interactions! It’s always so nice to see roleplay alot as it contributes to my writing and it helps me A TON with working a character’s personality. Thats why I draw comics— mainly characters speaking to each other to show their traits, subtle or not. It also helps me think: ‘How would this guy act in a situation?’ or a ‘How would they respond/act if this happened?’ I LOVE thinking of the many possibilities— testing out one’s character.

☼ anon, if you ever do make a Forsaken AU blog, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEA/ref/nf. Do not EVER back away to interact with this blog, me or other blogs. Seeing other people’s creativity really motivates me and I would be SO HAPPY to see yours— ESPECIALLY IF YOU EVER INTERACT! If you ever reveal yourself of course, but thats up to you. ;]

For tips? I would suggest observing other blogs and see the rules they enforced. With rules, you can know what fits you best and apply the same on your blog. For my first blog @/blackrocks-king, there was alot of trial and error— things I realised that I didn’t like doing and had to edit the introduction of the blog MULTIPLE TIMES with new rules and other warnings. So when I started this second blog, I made sure to see what I was okay with and NOT okay with so I could work at a steady pace so everyone is satisfied including me.

You’re free to try new things but always tell your audience whats new, they’ll always be supportive and considerate. Don’t be afraid to give a heads up for others… and NEVER STOP GAMBLING ! ! ! /j

I do hope you see this, ☼ anon. I hope all goes well for you! :] Even if you don’t make that blog, just do what makes you happy. Work at your own pace, you don’t need to feel like you need to appeal your audience all the time.

I hope you have a wonderful day. Feel free to hop in the askbox and ask me a few things or just little comments! I’m always so happy reading other people’s appreciation for this blog.

[Ignore King on the right I missed drawing him 🥹💔]

[monstermoviedean]

you're totally right about the "it's only bad when Dean does it" dynamic in fandom discussions and it's really odd. it's not like Dean (who I love!) doesn't have his flaws, but why do so many people want to imagine another guy with all these other flaws and then say that's Dean? like when people get in fandom arguments and say Deangirls are being too biased towards Dean and him being 'good', but aren't fans who exaggerate / make up Dean's flaws doing the same thing, just in making Dean 'bad'??

thank you! definitely can't take credit for identifying the dynamic but i'm happy to contribute to it. dean does have flaws - he's a person! - but i feel like they often get exaggerated or amplified. or just straight-up fabricated lmao. i think a lot of people also stop at a surface-level reading of dean. and that's fine, obviously, people should engage how they want. but i think that's part of why the invented dean pops up - because he's extrapolated from a skim of dean's character, often out of context, with those extrapolations often tending towards the critical and/or bad faith.

as an example: dean doesn't talk about his feelings. actual event: dean not wanting to talk about hell. extrapolation: dean doesn't want to talk about hell because he hates talking about his feelings / is repressed / is unwilling to show emotion. removed context: it's literal hell, he feels deep shame, pain, and guilt for what he did, he doubts sam's trustworthiness as a confidant, it is difficult for him to talk about, dean doesn't always process feelings by talking. critical/bad faith additions: men don't talk about their feelings and dean is overly concerned with his manliness, dean has no good reason to question sam's trustworthiness, dean is bad at processing feelings and will not do it unless specifically prompted. add that all up, and you get dean doesn't talk about his feelings when that is demonstrably false.

and listen i am absolutely biased towards dean. no doubt. i make no secret of that. but yeah, bias *against* dean is also real, and i think it can be kind of sneaky? like, people definitely will come out and say "dean is a horrible monster." but there's a lot more that comes down to "haha isn't it funny that dean [does a "bad" thing] [feels a certain way] [has an "embarrassing" behavior or trait]." it's not necessarily critical but it associates dean with a bad thing, or creates a laugh at dean's expense. and honestly i think some of that comes from the show itself doing that. but as for why it is seen as acceptable to make dean the butt of the joke when it is not acceptable for other characters...i don't know. i have some theories but nothing i can really articulate.

i can't claim to be completely innocent of laughing at other characters' expense or associating them with bad things. i've done that. i try to keep it more positive though. i try to talk about things i like and admire and appreciate about the characters. not always successful! but it feels better to me to focus more on the good, less on the bad. i'm making a concerted effort to not make fun of people as much, and characters count for that too.

[f-imaginings]

Ugh, thanks to your brilliant brain I can't stop imagining doomed yuri!billford to Halsey's Young God😩💖💖💖💖💖 im so weak for that au already

That is a great song for this au. I did churn out 22 pages of the fanfic already (my poor work, whenever I WFH I am so not productive, I just wanna write all the time) and have sent it out to some friends for their opinions so since that's going well, I may as well finish the story, scale it waaaaaay back from my usual length lmao. It will have to be a one shot! One shot only (if I can manage it) with the idea that when it's out there it's free real estate for other ppl in the fandom and we can all make content with this idea in mind, contributing to the "oh sweet two cakes" mindset.

I've just written Ford and Billie's first date so it can only go up from here!

And here is a sneaky snippet from the fic for the ppl who are curious. As much as I could screenshot poorly on my phone on the way to work.

Ford's frantic pre-date phone call to Stanley after Billie asks her out.

And it cuts off here but Stanley's taunt is "Ooooh I'm Stanford, I'm not like other girls. I have a braaaaain!" In typical teasing Stanley fashion lmao.

Tell me if you're keen for more!

[chobbemoe-art]

Okay so about what you said, is your proposed solution to fixing the fandom situation to contribute to it more with healthy content instead of boycotting the fandom?

Which would make it morally correct and needed to contribute to it as much as you want and can?

I didn't know the fandom was being boycotted but if it is, it shows rn lmao. I feel that we as a fandom need to do something about the problems plaguing it and the material running rampant rather than abandoning it, we need to do various measures, some range from easily doable to more complex, but for what I know there are a lot to tackle, which have been affecting fandom culture for decades.

These I think are the main ones

1. Problematic materials

2. Harassment

3. Low media literacy and young audiences

4. Inattentive or enabling creators

5. Algorithm-rotted behaviors

☆Mind you these problems have been around in all types of fandoms before, and while I think compared to how those problems looked in other big fandoms that came before it we have evolved a lot, mouthwashing has become the prime example as to how a fandom can ruin a piece of media and its message. I don't fully blame the creators, since it's clear it's their first time handling such a big following, but I do think they have become complicit in some of the detrimental activities that occur even in their own server.☆

I will try giving out some solutions, but my main outlook is the following, problematic creators and fans will always exist, whether we like it or not, the only way to avoid them poisoning the content they interact with is by being more resilient than them.

1. Problematic materials:

I think it's important to state that handling and talking about taboo subjects shouldn't be problematic in itself, Mouthwashing is special because the game addressed hard topics like rape, misogyny, toxic relationships, violence, cannibalism and more, with its owed respect. Letting fans try to tackle those themes in their fan creations with respect is important because it opens dialogue and an exchange of perspectives.

It's possible people accidently glorify or mishandle subjects like that, and that shouldn't be a reason to allow harassment to run rampant, understanding that people have different visions that may go against your preconceived notions is important, and the first thing should be an open respectful dialogue with the creator if they did mishandle the subject. However, and I want to make this really clear, once that discourse is had and the person is still maliciously depicting those subjects with disrespect, then actions should be taken and the benefit of doubt given prior should be revoked.

What actions? This is when we have to be smart, harassing them will only give problematic creators an alley to make themselves the victim, which allows them to usually garner sympathy and get away with what they have done. Simple, we I.B.R depending on the degree of their actions in the platforms that allow it:

Ignore: usually reserved to minor behaviour but that you personally may find distasteful, for example to me the ship Daisuke×Swansea makes me gag, that's why I ignore creators that show it, because even if I don't like it, I do more by ignoring it when it appears and creating my own content than by spending the same time harassing the people that do create that.

For content that isn't explicitly problematic but it isn't clean either.

Block: this is for creators you don't want to see at all, people think blocking is extreme but genuinely, the peace of mind it grants is impressive. I usually use it for people that uwufy Jimmy, because although it isn't explicitly harmful to like Jimmy as a character, his fans tend to erase and even glorify his actions, and I find that really distasteful, so avoiding interaction is best. If enough people block problematic creators, their engagement drop and less people see them, it's a silent but app compliant way to ensure you don't accidentally participate in the spread of that content.

For purposeful mishandling heavy subjects and characters, glorifying terrible actions.

Report: it should encompass everything before it, and it should be used when real criminal behavior is being shown. If enough people do it when necessary, I bet a lit of the noncon material that sadly is available in this fandom, would dwindle.

For explicit noncon, abusive shipping (Anya and Jimmy) (Jimmy and Curly) (Just Jimmy with any of his victims).

2. Harassment

*Shudders remembering Voltron fandom* We have evolved, there aren't as many cases of big doxxing and harassment as old fandoms sadly had, but it doesn't mean it hasn't happened (Looks at the Joestatic situations).

Some people that are conscious of the game having septic tank levels of horrible in the fanbase, seem to try to overcompensate with overcorrective measures to the slightest misdemeanor (like with ocshipping for example), having that well deserved panic misdirected towards things that are frankly not that important, and usually shifting the attention away from truly problematic behaviour. (I have seen more people having backlash about Curlya [which isn't great yeah I know] than when some freak does ship art of Jimmy and Anya)

Again, we need to remember that being in the fandom should also mean having fun, and people being stressed to post their ocs kissing idk Daisuke in case they get backlash is detrimental to the health of the fandom. We need more people to be cringe, to create and learn from their mistakes if need be, because if we overpolice every aspect of the fandom, that just creates a sterile wasteland were nothing creative comes out because people fear harassment.

I will once more refer to the I.B rules, since curating your own fandom is crucial to make the experience your own, the important factor is allowing people that may be weird but not problematic to create, to nerd out and coexist. Always using dialogue first if need be, and respect first and foremost.

3. Low media literacy and young audiences

Here is where we might be in a pickle, fanbases have and always will have people of all ages interacting with the material, even if unintentionally. From MLP acquiring a big adult fandom to FNAF getting a lot of young children in the fandom (me included), if people like it, they will interact with it, even more if it becomes famous.

What does take me aback is that Mouthwashing, being a mature and even explicit game with mature subjects, has such a low bar of age interaction in the server (13+) I know minors won't stop interacting with mw content, but that doesn't mean we should ease access to them either.

I always believed that fandoms should have some divisions, because sometimes having it all so mix takes away from the experience and quality of discourse. I think creating adult only spaces that aren't NSFW is important, so talking about the subjects tackled, showing fanart and more without overcensoring for minor audiences is possible. I find it tiring that in a server for a game talking about sexual assault and violence I have to tiptoe about the same subjects because the unintended audience is there.

If Wrong organ doesn't want to keep all the minors out (even if I think it would be best), at least making it 16+ would be nice, nobody younger than that has any business seeing gore and other graphic topics.

Some division ideas:

- Mixed chatroom (all ages, just like it is now I guess)

- 16 and up chatroom (it can handle harsher topics but nothing explicit)

-Adult only chatroom (SFW) (all the topics can be handled without the need to oversee if it's adequate for minor audiences)

And because freaks will always exist, I know it you know it, we know it. (I'm not better, I love me a shirtless Swansea from time to time)

-Adult only chatroom (NSFW) **highly regulated plss I beg**

Now with the media literacy, part of it being low is kids not knowing what that is and running around like headless chickens with the first misinterpreting action they see instead of analysing the content. I think book recommendations, video analysis and genuine dialogue is the cure (God knows that helped me understand Curly’s character grayness so much better than on my first viewing of the game). Not much else can be done in that department.

4. Inattentive or enabling creators

Wrong organ, ily so much but please, yall are letting so much worrying content pass in the showoff chat that sometimes I don't even want to bother enter it. I know the devs and mods cannot control every fan, but at least a verbal denounce of proship (as in problematic) content would be nice. Or trying to hold accountable problematic creators that run around your server, at least enough as to not spit on the games message that enabling is just as bad as letting things rot in the name of the bigger picture.

Also I hope I don't need to clarify this but please don't harass the devs, let's be normal guys, this is constructive criticism not a brawl.

So yeah, let's start holding people accountable to their responsibilities just like the cautionary tale of the Tulpar warned us about!

5. Algorithm-rotted behaviours

Last but not least, imma curse out short form content based algorithms for making fandom lifespan shorten severely. Material that in times prior to tiktok could feed a fanbase for years now rot in a few months, and that is genuinely infuriating.

Creators cannot take time to curate long projects anymore in fear that leaving the algorithm alone for some time to do so will leave them out of the hype train, and I can't blame them, but that creation model is truly exhausting. Expecting people to create polished masterpieces everyday isn't only detrimental to the big creators but the the lil guys starting out too, since if from day 1 you don't post 500 post a week the algorithm can leave you talking to the void, and that as an artist sucks balls.

Let's go back to having patience for projects to come out, let's be fans of fans and their fan projects, if it takes time we fanart and theorise and talk until that voice dub does come, until that writer does post and until that singer does sing. Because being fans of fans feeds us past the original works and makes the bonds of the fandom stronger.

Give that smaller artist a like, redraw a silly post, engage in the comments of that post, we need to make the most of the social media outlet and make it last longer than a couple months.

☆In conclusion, let's create more, talk more, learn more (and block more), to make the fandom grow healthy☆

[professorspork]

Nice comments about the evolution of Fiyero. About the increase in bland, "don't rock the boat" Fiyeros... Do you think this is because "the powers that be" realized how fixated the fandom is on Gelphie, and so they tried to downplay Fiyero because they thought that was what the public wanted?

it's a question worth asking, but no, I don't think that's quite it -- because if that were true, a) they'd be coaching their gelphie actors to play it up more too and it's very clear that they haven't been, that's absolutely still at actor discretion, and b) if you want to downplay Fiyero you don't hire Xavier McKinnon lmao

I think there is a component of them coming to understand the public loves this story much more as one of female friendship, intimacy and empowerment and see THAT as the story engine rather than "conflict is generated bc two girls fight over a guy." not GELPHIE, the ship, but Elphaba & Glinda, the two-hand leads that take their bows together and who both got leading actress tony noms. that was always the goal/hope/expectation, but there was also a doubt about whether it would WORK, which is why Fiyero is positioned the way he is. but yeah, i do think that after the 10th anniversary when there was a sort of undeniable proof of concept, there was a decline in quality of Fiyeros overall because there was a bit of a sense of "well lmao no one's coming to the show for Fiyero anyway so maybe the standards don't need to be so rigorous"

but also i think it's about maintaining backstage harmony, too. obviously people are not their characters, but there IS a correlation there in how they choose to play them. i can only assume that jordan litz (for example) is what in baseball we'd refer to as a "clubhouse glue guy" -- someone whose contribution to the team may be less about how good he is at winning games, and more about establishing vibes and making sure everyone is happy and healthy and getting along. part of what's kept Wicked Inc running so long is that they've gotten very good at creating environments where people like their coworkers -- and there is no doubt in my mind they will prioritize keeping people that their company wants to be around, regardless of how much "sparkle" he has, as long as he can reach the notes and hit his spots

I do also wonder if it's partially a pipeline/pool of talent issue. at this point, there will ALWAYS be ingenue women coming up who *dreamed* of being Elphaba or Glinda and will fight hard for it; at the end of her Positively Emerald vlog Mary Kate Morrissey went into almost horrifying detail re: how difficult her journey to being principal Broadway Elphaba was, how many rounds of cutthroat auditions there were, etc. Fiyero just... isn't quite as much that kind of role, and it's possible that the further we get the more the guys who CAN sparkle have their sights set on parts that give them more to do. I have no way of proving it, but it does sound plausible to me.