I Headcanon That In Winkie Country, All Royal Family Members Are Assigned A Steed To Acompany Them Wherever

Fiyero: He is not just an Animal, he’s intelligent, he’s brave, he has heart- he’s my best friend! I’d die without him! Feldspur is just as, or even more, important to me than anyone!!

Feldspur: Fiyero is my pet.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I’m working on one rn but it’s still being brainstormed ahaha

i need more fics talking abt fiyero’s existential crisis/depression bcz im so madddd it isn’t talked about enough (he is me)

🚨 ‼️ EXCUSE ME MR JON M CHU STOP TEASING US WITH BTS AND SHOW US THE FINAL PRODUCT IN ITS FULL GLORY PRETTY PLEASE WINKIE PROMISE 🥺🥺🥺🥺

Fiyero and Elphaba come from a ruling class in families I assume have held power for generations , so they’re both old money. Glinda is the poster child of new money.

Fiyero is old money rich while Glinda is new money rich.

Idk why but I feel this in my gut.

I headcanon that! I’ve decided that musical/movie canon is different from the book like entirely so this seems to track as well. Good that someone else noticed! I was gonna say something but I wasn’t sure if I should in case I upset the book fans ahaha

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

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

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

Musings on Part 2 Promo....

I know we have such a long wait until we have wicked round 2, but at least we'll have promo to hold us over and I am practically DYING to see more of Jonathan/Fiyero in his cunty lil captains costume.

Universal, please feed us well with posters and promo vids 🥹🥹🥹

I think what really fucking gets me how is how a lot of yall don’t even TRY to consider who Elphaba is outside of her relationship to Glinda.

Because like. You don’t have to ship fiyeraba. But to not even consider how important he is to Elphaba, what he means to her and how important it is that he loves her and she loves him. To bemoan how Elphaba and glinda don’t end up together while somehow not getting that glinda treated Elphaba like garbage so of course she wasn’t going to end up with her. Note how Fiyero and elphaba are the only couple in the show to not be saying they “deserve each other” because they’re the only ones that actually DO. You’re allowed to have preferences but to say that Fiyero is irrelevant and to deny his love for elphaba is just. Wrong. Fiyero drives a lot of act two and for a good reason. Fiyero is a foil to glinda because he was willing to do for Elphaba what she wasn’t, and she suffers for that forever.

Obviously he’s not perfect in this situation. But what he did to glinda did not warrant the disgusting response she gave, to try to help them kidnap Elphaba by hitting her where it hurts. Glinda signed nessas death warrant and she signed fiyeros and Elphaba’s too, and she knows it. She knows that it’s all her fault, and that’s why she can’t end up with elphaba. Because she has to fix the mess she aided and abetted, and the only thing that would motivate her to do that was the deaths of the two people she loves the most. She didn’t intend for any of this. But actions matter. And that’s the tragedy of it all and that’s what makes her such a well written character, that’s what makes all of them so well written. Fiyero does suffer from the breakneck pace of the musical, but the substance of him is there. I think it does a disservice to glindas character to rob her of her autonomy and try to eliminate everyone else important to elphabas significance in the story, particularly Fiyeros. This is elphabas story. Fiyero is there for a reason, because she needs something good. She needs someone who is willing to give up everything for her the way she is willing to give up everything for everyone.

omg feldspar seeing fiyero at the end of wicked part 2 is gonna be like us seeing a giant animated french fry

This is so spooky that you posted this cuz I was literally thinking about this on my way home! I headcanon (and might do a post later this week after my exams HAHAHA) that he grew up with a lot of animals because his lands and people were known for their respect and reverence for animals, and the royal family was no different. Half their staff were animals and they played a huge role in fiyero’s upbringing. His nanny was a bear (I headcanon that bears were the most common nannies in oz) and his tutors were a monkey, a crow, and a cat.

As for the grass eating, it was a secret between him and feldspar for the longest time until his younger sister caught them and told others. They didn’t mind though. They thought it was hilarious. Everyone did. Especially feldspar, who still makes fun of fiyero about it into adulthood.

Fiyero said he ate grass as a child because his friend is a Horse!

Can't you just see little Fiyero copying his friend?! 🤣

That just occurred to me 🤦‍♀️