#a softer amphibia

[ganiling]

656: Please don't leave me alone with our stupid children

#amphibia #a softer world #a softer amphibia #amphibia all in #marcy wu #sashannarcy #my stuff #q #had this one planned for Months my golay

[mdhwrites]

Did TOH Need More Time For Its Ambitions?

No. Because Amphibia exists. Why can I say that so confidently? Because Sasha and Amity show a VERY clear comparison in how the storytelling in each show is handled and how that shows that even with a similar amount of appearances, TOH is just lacking in actually doing anything with its concepts.

(Quick interjection: Consider this effectively a part 2/rehash on why Anne's arc in S1 is so much better than Amity's arc period, which is a blog I did a LONG time ago that analyzed critical portions of character arcs in general. This one though uses the more obvious pairing and also the two with much closer screen time and narrative importance... though with TOH that term is entirely fucked.)

Both characters are enemies to allies. Both have complicated relationships with the main character and are motivated by that relationship to change themselves for the better. Both have positions in the world and priorities that explicitly makes them opposed to the main character not only ideologically but sociologically. And, above all else:

Sasha's redemption arc, from her first appearance to Turning Point when she explicitly turns full good, is 9 segments. Ten/Eleven if you count Reunion/True Colors as two.

Amity's redemption can range anywhere from seven A plots to nine/ten depending on if A: you count Hooty's Moving Hassle, which I don't, and B: if you count the end of her redemption arc at Winging it Like Witches (when she rebukes her old friends), Escaping Expulsion (when she rebukes her parents) or Looking Glass Ruins, the first episode where she is 100% an ally. Or hell, you could actually for FIVE episodes and say it's Understanding Willow as she apologizes for the past and promises to stop bullying at least Willow at that point, which was her first antagonistic act before.

And mind you... Understanding Willow is in S1. LONG before the shortening took effect. Even the latest one of these puts it at before the shortening. So I think these are fair comparisons of just how the two's arcs were handled with the amount of time spent on them. Which raises the question: What did we get in that time?

Well... We got an actual arc with Sasha while Amity just changes randomly. That's not even really a joke. I'll try to bounce between the two to really highlight the difference, especially in storytelling.

In her first appearance, we get pretty much all possible suspicions about Sasha based on Anne confirmed. She is manipulative, self serving, self aggrandizing and tells people what they want to hear to get them to do what she wants. She is your friend so she can control you. However, she isn't all bad. She could have just ran during the Heron attack but instead helps save the day though it's very possible that she recognized she was better off staying as an equal of Grime's than running off on her own. The Toads are opposed to the Frogs in Amphibia's society though, creating an inherent conflict between Sasha and Anne due to the social dynamics of the world they are in.

Meanwhile, Amity in her first appearance actually makes a strong case for herself. She looks down on those magically challenged, which Luz is, is a bully while Luz is an outcast who has struggled with friends and has a drive to succeed conventionally while Luz uses more unconventional methods. The opposing elements are actually lined up really well between the two but we don't get a lot of Amity's actual personality. She just comes off as an entertaining, almost neurotic bitch. We get more of her personality in her second episode where she is a little more in control of her emotions, shows a potential softer side, and also sets up another sociological conflict in that Luz inherently is on the side of the wild witches due to her mentor and her magic style while Amity is full on the coven train, even to the point to wanting to one day potentially lead the Emperor's Coven. Though, importantly... The only thing that's challenged about Amity's worldview in this episode is the idea that someone she thinks is weak could actually be strong, something that theoretically could have been said to have been covered by the end of Teenage Abomination when Willow proves herself with the seed. Hell, it's also reinforced in an episode I don't usually count for this but is kind of important: Hooty's Moving Hassle. So that's one problem addressed but only tangentially and it's by no means the biggest issue between Amity and Luz. Amity is still a bully after all.

Meanwhile, Reunion goes for the core, both sociologically and personally. The Toads want Hop Pop dead and Sasha doesn't care. Not only that but Sasha assumes that if she tells Anne not to care, Anne won't because in her eyes, Anne serves her. She is the one in charge after all and she won't take no for an answer. Period. We're even shown this explicitly in the flashbacks. The problem is... Anne has gone through an entire character arc to make it so she can stand up to Sasha and challenges pretty much all of Sasha's beliefs. Her need for control, her callousness towards others and her warped view of reality where she is the hero and all else are best off listening to her. Sasha even gives in for a moment in an act of genuine selflessness by letting go of Anne's hand so her and the Plantars can live. It does a lot of work but... It might be considered rushed if that were the end of her primary antagonism.

You know where this is going. In her third major appearance, forth appearance overall... Amity is a neutral entity and a friend by the end of Lost in Language. Honestly, if you wanted to argue that the majority of Amity's arc, especially friends to allies, was three episodes, you'd be actually making a very compelling point. This episode after all is the one where she effectively stops being a bully. She just is now the overly dedicated smart girl. She is explicitly not the antagonist though but instead the victim and the one we're primarily supposed to sympathize with. Then, thanks to Azura, she befriends Luz by the end of the episode. They are already allies and... There isn't much reason for it besides one time teaming up. Sure, Luz has challenged Amity's perceptions but even she calls out in this episode that each time they meet up, Amity gets in trouble or/amd embarrassed. Luz has actually done extremely little to deserve this because all Luz has actually done with Amity before this episode is a declaration of combat and then their last talk in Covention which was just about maybe rethinking if someone could or couldn't do something, not about Amity's morality. Also, Luz is important to consider here. These sorts of arcs involve the MC in a pretty crucial way because they're the one the antagonist wants to become allies with and so the MC needs to accept them. Amity hasn't done fuck all at this point to deserve Luz's attention because she's a bully and is cruel to her mostly besides her final act in Covention. It is literally NARRATIVE TROPES that make Luz forgive Amity and want to befriend. Literally. Nothing about Amity's actions or actual character, Luz just wants to live out her fanfic.

And that brings up the fact that Anne does keep giving Sasha chances but they have an established history and that push and pull of trust is a large part of this. It's the main driving factor for why Sasha will change at all and why the lengths she goes both for manipulation and redemption are important. It's also important to show WHY Anne might have wanted someone like Sasha around. Toad Catcher is not crucial for Sasha's arc, Barrel's Warhammer also shows how much Anne's rebuke of her and choosing the Plantars over her fucks with her mentally, but it does let you see why people follow her. The motivation she can bring them because Sasha does see the best in people... But mostly because people's bests are also the most useful for her. It also doubles down on her good quality that she rarely gives up on someone she chooses to ally with. All while still making it clear that if given the chance, she'll try to get back at Anne because accepting Anne was right is too antithetical to how she sees the world.

And then for both, we get episodes that mostly just explore the characters. A sort of holding pattern for both arcs with Barrel's Warhammer, Third Temple, The Sleepover and The Battle of the Bands for Sasha while we have Adventure in the Elements, Understanding Willow and Grom for Amity. This is also where you can extend this to include Winging it Like Witches and/or Escaping Expulsion depending on where you count Amity's arc as fully ending. For both characters though, the status quote they're primarily in doesn't change a lot. Amity is a tentative ally who has to get dragged into things and is generally a good person but not hanging out with everyone else casually yet. Meanwhile, Sasha is barely controlling her growing rage and insecurity about losing her power over Anne, exacerbated by Marcy coming into the mix and, from Sasha's perspective, siding with Anne. Though, there is a critical difference.

One is actually exploring the character, their motivations and their mindset. In all the episodes I listed for Amity, Amity gets small steps but they're NOTHING we don't already know. She's a generally good person who has a compulsion to succeed until suddenly in Escaping Expulsion that she's let her grades slip. There's nothing about what drives her towards success, no exploration on if these changes are difficult on her, both of which are actually in Battle of the Bands to some extent for Sasha. We don't see how this stuff is affecting her besides her growing crush and if that's getting her to act out. That takes until fucking Looking Glass Ruins to actually manifest while Barrel's Warhammer shows how much the idea of changing is fucking with Sasha's head but also why her behavior is toxic. How her best traits can also be her worst. Amity's traits are barely even being examined. She's just slowly becoming more and more obsessed with Luz and bleeding personality for it by becoming a very generically good person.

THEN we get Sasha's big relapse. Her denial of her arc. The attempt to wrestle back control because she saw an oppurtunity to be on top and took it. This is book 2's ending for Zuko. A moment of weakness where the character's vices means they at least have to question their character arc. If that's what they want or if they want to continue being who they always were. True Colors is this for Sasha, even to the point where she is willing to throw out parts of her past if she can't find a way to keep them. It is that same weakness that makes her plans fail though because once she can try to justify her actions and bring Anne back to her, she can't fight Anne properly and loses for a second time. Again, that push and pull of trust and control.

And Amity doesn't have this. The closest there is to it is Escaping Expulsion... Where she doesn't do shit. Calling that an Amity episode is FRUSTRATING for me because she is barely in it. Not only that, but she doesn't decide to do villainy. Instead, it's that she is a teenager with a controlling mother. But don't worry, despite only showing up for like four minutes of the episode, Amity can just tell her mom to piss off and that's that. It isn't motivated by a push or pull, Amity doesn't want to go back at all and she actively is miserable the entire episode despite having explicitly chosen to be a bully for YEARS before this. After all, her parents only told her she couldn't be friends with Willow. They never told Amity to bully her for years and become queen bitch of the school over all. That was Amity's choice.

And then finally resolution. When the character themselves accepts the change and stops shifting morality. This is actually why I consider Turning Point the end of Sasha'a arc. Commander Anne is follow through but it's just reinforcing the version of Sasha that takes form in this moment. The Sasha, who reading how much her betrayal hurt Anne but how much trust she had for the mean girl, who has to face all she's lost in her pursuit of power, takes the mantle of guardian seriously. It is not a moment of weakness like in Reunion that makes her put other lives over hers but instead a moment self actualization and determination. A moment of strength and one she'll stick to for the most part. She is no longer manipulative, she is a commander, even if she doesn't have the title yet. This is especially satisfying because... Well, we've seen EVERYTHING that motivates this moment. Not just Anne's stuff but Grime's loyalty to her and how much that means to her. Percy and Braddock abandoning her and her trying to use the calculus of war to be okay with that. We can see MOUNTAINS of evidence for why she would choose this over her old self. Over one more time to try to conquer Amphibia like Grime suggests.

I... Genuinely can't really say when this happens for Amity. This actually has way less to do with how many times she rejects her past self and more to do with... Why does she? Why does she ever change in fact? What are her motivations? Because even in Escaping Expulsion, Luz's conversation with Amity isn't "You need to stand up to your parents because you shouldn't let others dictate your life." It's instead, "You should stand up to your parents so I can go back to witch school." And this happens CONSTANTLY. Remember: You can argue her villain role ends on her third major appearance and Luz NEVER talks morality with her. Never has Amity actually learn something.

It actually comes down to an inherent storytelling choice with TOH as a whole: Very few episodes are about anyone other than Luz and Luz actually really sucks at helping people during their episodes. Gus actually has some of the best episodes dedicated to a side character as they're actually addressing a core element of the character... And in his first one, Luz is a bystander. She does fucking NOTHING except maybe give Gus a pep talk. She is mcguffin than anything. With Amity though? Covention is mostly about Luz learning about the coven system. Lost in Language is about Luz and the twins and her want to befriend Amity, not the why she wants to befriend Amity. Adventure in the Elements: About Luz having a Winter Adventure where Amity is a perfectly good person. Understanding Willow is actually one of the better ones because at least for that one, Amity makes her final choice because she's nostalgic for an old friend. Grom has her only stand up though when Luz in trouble. Winging it Like Witches? It's just Luz being in danger that motivates her. Escaping Expulsion? Luz being in danger. Looking Glass? Luz needs her.

This is why Amity feels like she changes just for a pretty girl. Luz actually does NOTHING to ever try and change Amity. To ever actually interact with Amity's arc. Reaching Out will be the pinnacle of this where Amity has suddenly written off the entire coven system, one of the only things besides Luz we've been told she cares about... And Luz has never once talked to her about the coven system or Belos. Because Luz has barely actually talked to her about her besides to call her cool and pretty. It is remarkable how little Luz actually interacts properly with Amity and how few real conversations they have, especially about their differences and feelings about each other. Each time Sasha and Anne are in the same room, you know their philosophies and relationship is going to come up in some way. It's too omnipresent for both to ignore. Meanwhile... There's a lot of episodes where Lumity exchange cute jokes and that's it, despite the main plot focusing on those two characters for that episode. And remember: TOH's A plots explicitly have more time to include those sorts of slower conversations. Oh, and, you know, one of these pairs are just friends while the other GETS INTO A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP.

And the pinnacle of all of this: Amphibia does this amazing character arc while also making it plot relevant and REALLY important to its themes. Sasha is a primary antagonist for two seasons technically. She genuinely challenges both the message of change being good from a meta perspective but also challenges Anne's own character arc from a narrative perspective. Her degradation of care is contrasted by how Amphibia makes Anne care so much about others that it makes it harder and harder for her to write off Sasha despite what Sasha did. Then, Sasha changing her perspective and treatment of others, while keeping the core of herself true, is what helps keep Wartwood alive while Anne is gone while also demonstrating the power of change but also that you don't have to change literally EVERYTHING about you.

Meanwhile, it was a fucking meme in the TOH community that if Amity was on screen, nothing could happen and that stayed almost true for literally half the series. Not only that but Amity's complete change for Luz doesn't really feel coherent with the themes of self acceptance and not changing for others. It tries because the show posits that Amity just needed a better environment to go back to being the good person she always was but A: that's never explored because challenging her environment is not actually a part of what motivates her changes, just B: Luz is the whole reason for her change and she changes effectively into Azura, Luz's favorite character. That doesn't feel like becoming her own person and instead changing literally every aspect of yourself for your partner which... Yikes. To put it mildly.

You can cut EVERYTHING to do with Amity out of the show and you lose literally nothing except representation. You cut Sasha out of Amphibia though? You do not have the same story. Period. You have to rewrite a good bit because despite her lack of appearances, she is important. A lot of elements of Amphibia are important like that.

And Amphibia did it with smart storytelling that actually explored its own elements, not because it had three full seasons. Not when Sasha takes up so much less time of her show than Amity does.

This is all because Amphibia actually was interested in telling a character arc instead of just kind of weakly being able to claim it had a character arc. You can even extend that to almost literally any element that TOH and Amphibia both did. And not because of time, simply because one is written a hell of a lot better and was more interested in actually telling its story rather than making a bunch of statements that Twitter could freak out about.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

#the owl house criticism #toh critical #toh #the owl house #amphibia #sasha waybright #Sasha #amity blight #Character Arcs

[trevorendeavors]

Currently thinking about all the side character friendships we never got to fully explore in TOH

Amity & Tinella Nosa

These two have definitely conversed off screen. I wonder what they talk about. Maybe they met at the library, since Nosa is shown to be a lover of books (or at least John DePlume in S1E11). It would also make sense that they’d befriend each other at the library since Amity is shown to have a softer side there (it’s her safe space).

Maybe Nosa asked her for help researching her theories and they started a conversation from there. Whatever the case, Amity is close enough to her that she feels comfortable confiding about her nerves around Luz.

(Second screenshot from 10:09 of the TOH/Amphibia crossover MAP.)

That’s one friendship I think about sometimes. The other one is…

Gus & King

The show has hinted that these two have interacted offscreen. Most notably I think of the voice mail from S2E5.

I think these two bond over being the baby of most friend groups. Also interest in human things, maybe. Imagine if King brought Gus some stuff from Owlbert’s human junk runs.

Last but not least,

Steve & Lilith

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that Steve was possibly Lilith’s only friend inside the coven.

We never see Lilith interacting amicably with any other member in the coven. Aside from Lilith’s family, Hooty, and Flora Desplora (who was deliberately sent there to piss Lilith off) no one else attends her job party.

I also find Steve as a character interesting. Just about everyone who enters the Emperor’s coven seems to lose a part of their soul in the work. Hunter, having been raised there, developed a warped sense of friendship in which backstabbing is normal and expected. Lilith, in pursuit of the EC, cursed her sister, her best friend.

Yet somehow, for reasons never truly explained in the show, Steve never seems to lose his spark. He remains just that normal helpful guy that somehow, no one has problems with. Both Hunter and Lilith get along well with him.

I seriously wonder how that happened.

Also it’s confirmed that Steve Tholomule and Matt Tholomule (can’t believe that’s their last name) are half brothers. In the show, it’s said that once you join the coven, you abandon your friends and family forever. And yet, in S2E5, it’s implied that Matt got the map to the Galderstones from Steve in exchange for 35 nuggies. I so wish we got more screen time for Steve. I wanna know more about this dude, I wanna go out for coffee and talk about life with this guy. Just seems so chill.

Which underrated friendship would y’all like to have seen more of?

#trevor talks #the owl house #will forever resent Disney for cutting this show short #lilith clawthorne #steve tholomule #king clawthorne #Gus porter #amity blight #tinella nosa

[angelltheninth]

To the New Us

Pairing: Anne x Sasha x Marcy

Tags: post-canon, reunions, confessions, sleepovers, polyamory, polyamory negotiations

Word count: 2k

Ao3

A/N: I'm gonna miss the Calamity Trio! I'm glad to see that they're all doing good though and that they found their way to each other again. There's so many possibilities to how their relationship can go from here so this is just one of my idea.

10 years is a long time for people to change. For relationships to change. For people to drift apart. But also to grow and to find each other again. And Anne, Sasha and Marcy did just that. They’ve been through a lot in Amphibia, it changed them for the better.

Some things though, some things don’t change. And that thing, was their traditional sleepover. Maintaining her title of Sleepover Queen it was Sasha who suggested a spontaneous sleepover after the three finished their lunch. It took no further convincing, actually both Anne and Mary jumped in joy at the suggestion.

“Can we just swing by my place real quick? I need to feed Domino III and get something to sleep in.”

“Sure thing Anne. You need to do anything Mar-Mar?” Sasha couldn’t keep the smile of her face when she saw the small blush on Marcy’s cheeks when she called her by her nickname.

“Nah, I got a few things in my backpack. The rest is coming by plane tomorrow.”

They packed their things up, quickly swing by Anne’s house and then went to Sasha’s apartment. It was smaller than her usual place, with pictures and drawings of the trio, of Grime and the Plantars. Lots of books on emotions, anger management and working with kids. And a few movies Marcy recognized as her old favorites.

“Finally watched them. They were cool.” Sasha shrugged as she guided the two other girls to her room.

“You have a nice place dude.” Anne looked around the room, taking in the band posters, the MMA posters, the guitar, and once again, the picture of the trio.

“I’ll frame this new one too. Do you girls have anything you wanna do, I have snacks, or I can order us some food if you’re still hungry. We can watch a movie or two.” Sasha didn’t really have a solid plan for this one, she was more than happy to go along with whatever. Honestly she was just happy to have the two of them back.

“I kinda just wanna talk to you guys. There’s still a lot we have to catch up on.” Marcy spoke up and looked at Anne.

“Yeah. But also I really wanna do this!” Anne ran toward Sasha’s bed and threw herself on it. She bounced up a few times before she settled in the middle of it, “It’s even softer then it looks!”

“Oh I wanna try!” Marcy joined in, landing on Anne’s left, laughing along.

Sasha chuckled at the two’s antics. “Come on, I know my bed is great and all but you don’t need to break it on the first try.”

Anne snorted, “Wait... has that happened before?”

A blush spread across Sasha’s cheeks, “N-No. Although I swear that last girl I dated tried.” The blonde shook her head at the memory.

“What kind of people are you dating dude?!” Anne sat up suddenly interested in this love story. Marcy sighed, yet another thing that hasn’t changed, Anne’s love of romance.

“Very normal ones. I have great taste.” Sasha crossed her arms in mock challenge.

“Right... like that one guy in high school who broke his leg trying to do a flip on a moving bike.”

“What now?! How did no one mention that yet?! Was he ok?!” Marcy waived her arms, grabbing Anne but looking at Sasha, eager to learn more.

“He was fine... after a few months...” Sasha groaned, “I still stand by what I said.”

The trio laughed at Sasha poor attempt at defending her claim. “Come on, let’s get changed. You’re all cool with changing in the same room right?” Anne looked at the two. There was a brief moment of silence. “Hey, uh... we don’t have to if you two are still...”

“I’m fine!” Marcy broke the silence and without warning pulled her shirt off, “See?!” Her smile faded when she realized that her two friends were gaping at her, both with blushes on their cheeks as they stared at the scar between her chest. “Oh, sorry about that. I’m so used to living alone... I guess.” Sheepishly she walked to her back pack and pulled out her pajamas.

“Hey Mar-Mar.” Sasha called. The two now turned to the blonde. She turned her back to them and took off her own shirt, “We match girl.” There was a scar across her back, longer than the one Marcy had on her back and chest.

Anne looked back and forth between the two, her blush now forgotten, her state of embarrassment now replaced by guilt.

“I didn’t mean to make this awkward. Or bring up bad memories for you guys.” Anne’s voice was quiet, almost unheard.

“Anne I see this scar every day. I’ve more than had time... and therapy to help me deal with it. It has some bad memories but... it also reminds me of the things we’ve been though. I’d never want to forget that. Again.” Marcy pulled her pajama shirt over her head and flipped her hair over her shoulder, smoothing it over.

“Same here. I want to be reminded. It’s part of the reason I keep my hair short. You know, other that I look hot.” There was a small chuckle before she continued, “It helps me realize how long I’ve come from who I used to be. How the two of you helped me change for the better. How Amphibia changed all us for the better.”

Anne felt tears prickling at the corner of her eyes, “Yeah. I know it did. I... I miss them you know.”

“We know Anna-Bananna. We all do.” Marcy pulled the bottoms out and glanced at the bag Anne brought. It had three frog key chains on it, each one looking like one of the Plantars. “We all do.”

There was a moment of silence between them as they reminisced on their time in Amphibia.

Sasha broke the silence by clapping her hands, “Come on, we’re here to have fun. A little break from stress is crucial to leading a happy life.”

“One of you psychiatrist nuggets of wisdom?” Marcy smirked as she made her way back to the bed.

“Nah, just common sense.” The blonde pulled her sleeping shirt over her head and picked up a pair of sleep shorts. Anne sighed, smiled and went to change as well. They all got changed in silence after that. It was a comfortable silence. At least until Sasha screamed, “Pillow fight!”

They room descended into chaos, the girls running to grab a pillow, avoiding each others attempts to pull each other back, laughing with all their hearts while they tried to smack each other with said pillows.

The trio collapsed on the bed in a fit of giggles.

“I missed this.” Marcy lifted herself up on her elbows, looking to the side at her two friends.

“Well hey, you’re back so maybe we’ll get to do this more often.” Anne sat up, the pillow held tight against her chest in excitement.

“I’d like that.” A smallest hint of a blush appeared in Marcy’s cheeks.

“We’ll try to match up our schedules. That’s where you come in Marcy, you’re always awesome with those.” Sasha winked and watched with satisfaction as Marcy’s blush deepened at her compliment. Maybe her suspicions were correct after all. “So Mar-Mar, anyone special in your life? Anne over here is always too busy for relationships when ever I ask, I need someone to share my woes with.”

Marcy nervously chuckled and rubbed the back of her neck, “Not really. My editor actually asked me out to diner once, but I didn’t realize she meant it as a date. We only ever talked about my webcomic so I assumed that’s what she wanted. She’s really cool but I don’t think she’s quite my type you know.”

“You two are hopeless.” Sasha was immediately descended upon by the other two, her hands being held to the side of her head as the blonde playfully tried to kick them off, “Alright, alright, sorry, I take that back.”

“For your information, I’ve had plenty of people ask me out.” Anne grinned triumphantly, “I just didn’t have time for many dates so it never really went on for too long. Guess none of us are lucky when it comes to romance.”

“Don’t say that! We just gotta find someone we click with.”

“We click well with each other.” Sasha commented, more to herself that to the other two. She was surprised when she was met with wide eyes staring down at her.

“Sasha...” Marcy started.

“Is this your weird way of confessing?” Anne joked, a teasing smile appearing on her face, her finger playfully poking Sasha’s scared cheek.

Sasha’s cheeks lit up, “Shut up Boonchuy! If I was confessing, I’d make it so good the two off you would be all over me in a heartbeat. I’ll have you know I’ve swept people off their feet!”

Anne and Marcy shared a look. Sasha knew that look. She knew she was in trouble somehow. “All over you huh?” Marcy grinned.

“Oh no. No hold on!” Sasha couldn’t defend against their joined tickle attack.

After what felt like an eternity, and Sasha’s eyes watering to the point she actually cried from laughter, Anne and Marcy stopped, collapsing to Sasha’s sides.

“You two are terrible. I changed my mind.” Sasha took a few deep breaths to calm down from her laughing fit.

The three of them were silent, each pondering what Sasha said before.

“Do you guys think that would work? The three of us?” There was a hint of a tremble to Anne’s question.

“I mean we always did make a good team. We grew apart over the years, we changed, but it’s still so... easy with you two. Getting back to the way things used to be. I always thought that the three of us kind of... fit. Like a puzzle.” Marcy lifted her hands and animated solving a puzzle.

“And you were always so good at solving those Mar-Mar.” Anne leaned over Sasha and smiled at the adorable nerd.

Sasha hummed, “Are you two... actually considering this?”

“Well now that you said it, its all in my head you know.” Marcy clapped her hands together, the puzzle seemingly solved in her mind.

“Hold on! Don’t move, I gotta go get something!” Sasha suddenly jumped off the bed, her voice high pitched as she almost stumbled over the clothes on the floor and out the door. There was some commotion accompanied by a few curse words and a loud pop before the blonde re-appeared with three glasses and a bottle. “Gotta do this at least somewhat right.”

Sasha jumped back down on the bed and handed Anne and Marcy a glass each.

“Did you seriously have that just sitting around this whole time?” Anne couldn't help but laugh at the idea of Sasha just having a bottle of champagne ready.

“This one is special. So yes.” She expertly poured each of them a glass. “Anne, Marcy... do you wanna go on a date?” The words came out a little fast, a bit high pitched, and very nervous. “You two are right, we all changed and before we make anything official, we should go on a few dates right? To see how it’ll work.”

Marcy was the first one to chug the glass, much to Anna and Sasha’s surprise. “We should definitely do a test run. I’ve went through a lot of teams before I settled for one that I wanted to have working on my webcomic. It only makes sense to test the waters.”

“And... if things don’t work out, no hard feelings right? I’d really like them to work though, I missed you guys so much.” Anne watched as Marcy asked Sasha for another glass.

Sasha smiled, “A toast. To reunions, best friends forever... and to the new us. What ever that ends up meaning.”

“To the new us.” Anne echoed.

“The new us.” Marcy repeated.

The trio clicked their glasses and slipped the drink. They ended up watching just one movie, but they did somehow make it just barely past midnight before they all fell asleep in a big cuddle pile on Sasha’s bed. Neither was sure what their future held, the important thing was that they had each other. Always, in what ever way it was meant to be.

#amphibia #amphibia spoilers #amphibia fanfic #sashannarcy #anne boonchuy #sasha waybright #marcy wu #calamity trio

[spectralscathath]

do you have any voice headcanons for Antares? how they talk, stuff like that?

Okay well here’s the characters that I think would keep the voices similar to what they have in show, because the performances given were excellent and really defined the character to me. The cadence, the tone, all that, these ones work well.

Winter, Ironwood, Tyrian, Watts, Salem, Hazel, Oscar, Ozpin, the Ace Ops are all solid, Robyn, Whitley, Sienna, Raven, Mercury, Vernal.

So here's the ones I'd mess with:

Ruby: I’d want to still have her sound light and innocent, but I’d definitely make her way less squeaky then she was in the show. A voice that can still have a bit of grit, if she needs it. I’m picturing something like Dani Phantom in Danny Phantom, or X-23 in x-men evolution (Andrea Libman’s version). Childish but able to get dangerous.

Weiss: definitely something posh but not necessarily snooty. She should have a very clear voice, one that’s clearly been through a million dictation lessons and speaks quite musically at that. Pick a soprano broadway singer, go from there.

Blake: I think she’d probably have the deepest voice of the main four girls? Not raspy, but resonant. Able to soften up, I picture something like Vi from Arcane or Korra from Legend of Korra.

Yang: Not as deep as Blake’s voice, but definitely with a bit of grit to it that gives her that tough vibe. Where Blake has resonance, Yang does have rasp. Sorta Ryuko Matoi-esque, or like Amethyst from Steven Universe.

Qrow: as much as I like Jason Liebrecht’s work I don’t think he works quite as well for Qrow, which is not anything against him just the voice doesn’t fit as much as I’d prefer. I’ve always felt Qrow should have a voice with a deeper register anyway, so I’d be picking a performance like Wolverine from X-Men Evolution, or Ghazan, Legend of Korra.

Sun: I really like Lego Monkie Kid and all the voice actors are great, I just can’t decide if Sun gets MK’s voice (younger, peppy, excited, also Sokka) or Monkey King’s (equally peppy, a little more deep, a bit tricksy, also Goku).

Ilia: I think Cherami Leigh’s voice acting is great (maybe she can be Blake?) but my Ilia is a bit younger and a lot softer so I’d want her to have more of a higher voice, to contrast Antares-Blake’s lower register. Something that still cracks, a bit like Luz from Owl House, mayhaps, or Marcy from Amphibia.

Summer: if any of you have watched Critical Role 3 Bells Hells and have listened to Ashley Johnson’s voice for Fearne, that’s it exactly. Really soft and breathy and gentle, really distinctive from the rest of the cast.

Tortuga: Tortuga had a very deep voice compared to the other Ace Ops, but not gravelly. Not quite on the levels of like, James Earl Jones, but more like Keith Davids in his Dr Facilier role, able to be quick but with gravitas.

Cinder: needs to be huskier, definitely able to have charisma behind it rather than risking sounding childish, or whiny. I picture something like Meg from Hades or Lust from FMA.

Jaune: I think he’d have one of the higher pitched voices of the male cast? Definitely a tenor, speaks fast and nervously, I picture kinda like Martin Blackwood’s voice from the Magnus Archives (I have no idea what anyone’s accents are and I don’t want to think about it), or Rocky from Lackadaisy.

Nora: super high pitched and nasally, but really sweet and cute nonetheless. I’d say kinda like, Molly from Epithet Erased, or Ivy, Lackadaisy again.

Pyrrha: I think she should have the most standard teenager voice? She deserves it, she deserves normal and not exceptional. I picture, like Gwen Stacy from Spiderverse, or Wendy from Gravity Falls?

Ren: a very subdued, almost monotone voice, its not necessarily particularly low or high, but could totally drop down to something very menacing if pushed. I’m thinking, like, a chilled out version of Percy from Vox Machina, with that same ability to go right down into a danger zone.

Emerald: what if we took Cherami Leigh's Ilia voice and just moved it here what then? Other options I think would suit her would be something like Miriam from Dragon Age (Kimberly Brooks is always a win)

Penny: If Nora was high pitched I think Penny should sound like a literal child, on account of Pietro really leaning into the 'innocent little girl' thing when he was downloading voice clips to make into her synthesizer- or, hear me out: Penny voiced by a vocaloid.

#asks #scorruby au #I watch a lot of media I promise but I have FAVOURITES #this is all purely based on Vibes #I don't hate most of the mainstay rwby voice actors (except for Arryn and Miles and Barb) #but I don't think everyone's performance is great #Kara's is maybe the strongest of the main non-professional cast but there's still a slight quality gap particularly in earlier seasons #Shit I forgot adam uhhhh animated Clone Wars Anakin there we go

[boobchuy]

OK so. post amphibia anne right. it's been interesting and super fun to read people's takes on her since, like what others have mentioned, there seems to be so little of what we see about her in the show compared to sasha and marcy. and with her last bit of monologue about change, it's almost ironic how little we get to SEE that change in time skip anne.

before I go any further- this post is in no way gonna be me theorizing or rationally trying to make sense of what we were given BTW! it's just an amalgamation of brainrot the show and others have given and me trying to get those thoughts and feelings about the finale and timeskip's inbetween in order through written form. so enjoy the ride, I guess HAHA.

so. the hardest thing. Amphibia finale. the finale Matt has stated in the past was gonna be super controversial. AND BOY WAS HE RIGHT LMAO. whatever the case, if you felt strongly for this finale whether through tears, sadness or anger. that goes to show they did their job, lol

I've come to agree with all sides to an extent. I enjoy the finale for what it is, and I wouldn't ask it to be changed since its what Matt wanted to share. but the gripes people had about it are completely valid as well, I think.

particularly the bit about Anne not fighting to stay in connection with the plantars. the goodbye scenes kill me inside so hard, not because I hated that they were getting separated, but by how well they were done. I think that softened the blow for me, ironically. I think it would have been an even softer blow if the foreshadowing about them getting separated wasn't just sprig's moments of uncertainties in all in. 

anne died for Amphibia to live. she was willing to do this sacrifice for everyone. it's a little sad to rationalize that by meeting the guardian, by seeing what she's seen throughout her young life, that she should just accept what has happened, or will happen.

the choice they made in the end, if you think there was one at all, was not the easy way out no matter way you look at it. its a hard to decision to leave amphibia, but the finale made it seem like the girls would have chosen living on earth over it any other day. they made connections, they accepted those connections whether those bonds were or werent as strong as they ought to be. and it just felt, like they didnt get frustrated by having to choose.

and back to anne. who accepted that she may never see these people again by agreeing to sacrifice her life for them. she gets another chance, and yet.

what goes through the mind of a little girl who was brought back to life and was told that she has to say goodbye to people she considers family forever? what is she saying to herself to justify this crushing realization that she may never see them again? that she won't see sprig and Polly grow up? that hop pop won't be able to show her his home cooked meals anymore? that Wartwood would soon no longer be anything but a memory only two other people on earth will be able to understand?

dying felt like there was no other choice. this is should be a good ending, they all get to live life fully and happy but. they have to say goodbye. and anne accepts this without much fanfare.

and it reminds me of how much a juxtaposition this is compared to her going off the shits crazy when Andrias dropped sprig from the castle in true colors. 'give him back.' is a cry of anger and remorse, its irrational, it's a tantrum. she wants him back, give him back.

AND DONT GET ME WRONG. THESE TWO SCENARIOS ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, WHEREIN LIKE. THERES ANOTHER PARTY THREATENING THEM. but, in connection, I think its completely valid to think that Anne seemed to be the type of person who would have been more against the idea of never seeing them again, and by default, would have fought harder to find a way to be able to meet with the plantars, rather than just accept it and say their goodbyes. (I feel like this part is more so that the crew could fit everything into a 22 minute episode, since there's only so much you can do in this medium and not to mention the other *cough* things they have to consider.)

BUT WHATEVER!! WHATS HAPPENED HAPPENED. I said this was gonna be about post Amphibia Anne so here I go. only took me like 13 paragraphs to get here but WHATEVVEERRR THIS IS MY HOUSE LAY ON UR BED.

I think it's important for people to know that the reason this brainrot even happened was because of this dumb joke I have in my twitter drafts. give me a thumbs up if u get it. ignore the image it's hard to crop. (ok but legitimately if any of u get the joke please tell me bc my ass is on the edge of my seat trying to figure out if ANYONE GOT IT. EXPLANATION ON THE TIP OF MY TONGUE)

but basically, I think Anne post Amphibia would have been. gosh. I don't even know. it's hard to be in her position bc even if I do relate to her predicament very largely, it's not like I'm never seeing those people in my life again. it's also why Anne hits me so hard. just. getting used to being around people constantly, she's an only child who became an eldest sister. how do you deal with that being gone?

you will miss these people, you will miss them so badly that it feels like the hole in your chest will swallow you alive. but that doesn't stop the sun rising. doesn't stop the clock ticking, doesn't stop anyone from living, not even you

but. it's easier with time, at least

 that gaping ache in your heart may never go really away, but they would want you to live and be happy even without them. as you probably feel the same in their case too. and youre reminded that the time you spent with them was real. and it mattered. you just never realized that you were making memories with them. you were just having fun.

and maybe that's enough of a reason for Anne to power through the moments where she misses them most. to remember that there are more memories to be made, with or without them, she’s grateful to have spent time with them at all. even if it does feel unfair, to not be in each other’s lives.

one last ramble about Anne and her career, haha. when I first watched the finale, I think this was the single most prominent gripe I had about it! Anne's road to herpetology. (as some of u might have known)

 It felt like she's sticking herself to the past, that she can't move on. but going by the hcs of many and my own, of how she would have avoided everything that reminded her of Amphibia bc it hurt too much. I think it would be super fucking funny if there was a point where it just pissed her the fuck off. like. 'THATS IT. FINE. IF YOU DONT WANNA LEAVE ME. THEN ILL COME TO YOU.' and that's the story of how she came to having a breakdown when her vision for the amphibians sector at the aquarium was finished

I think Anne would have accepted and moved on by then. that she's doing this more so to look back on them fondly and a way to honor them through sharing the joy of their earth counterparts with other people.

and I wish. I really really wish and hope that she's genuinely happy with her job, and is content with it this way

I also think if by this point she was told theres a way for her to get back to Amphibia she would absolutely totally explode 100% but this is already ungodly long so that thought can be unpacked another time.ty for reading this far. if u did that ur insane <3

note: edited all this to be tumblr friendly and erase the mistakes or like... revised them. is that something you can do? i also added a bit more of my thoughts bc getting comprehensible on a rambly twitter thread is far more impossible with its character limit. again. thank u for reading :)

#.txt #ok im done

[clover-creations]

These are Toxifarce and Suncrower, the monsters representing toxic and nature types in Ban Mah. They were really fun to do :)

Poltegoat+Luscangel

Micelium+Powketroo

Dracumulus+Canaroc

Jelvysprite+Cruistacean

any feedback is appreciated! reading the other posts is not needed but could provide more context. under the read more is a more in-depth talk about these guys

Toxifarce is supposed to be poisonous frog (eventually became more toady) and a clown/mime

Suncrower is a mix between a sunflower and scarecrow (kinda-)

Design Changes

Other versions of Toxifarce can be seen here, and here , though this design was made May 21st, 2022 ( I never posted the page). There’s slight changes made to accommodate it having colors (since i usually design things without color in mind... which is something i need to work on), and make it look more appealing in  general. its the stripes on the belly and the back- its a softer shape to resemble poisonous. I had a really hard with Toxifarce’s design, especially the last stage, for a While. watching amphibia helped me design it lol. First stage is unchanged because its just so cute... the only change is the pattern it has.

I didn’t mean to make it the nonbinary flag colors. i always thought that it’d be white/black/purple, and i added a yellow to complement the purple and since i needed another color to make it look good.... happy accident

this was suncrower’s original design, also never posted! the only change is the last stage (and, as you can see on the main page, i struggled with it also, lol)

Foils

I decided to change how I did the foil sheet this time! the sheet is way cleaner and its recolored sprites now. I think this looks way nicer, and it saves me time. I also included the color palettes, and ordered them the same way so its clearer what color is swapping where. I will probably re-do other foil sheets to look like this at some point.

Toxifarce: The 1st palette was supposed to resemble toxic frogs more, and i just thought it looked nice. 2nd foil is suncrower’s palette. the brown doesnt replace the purple in the first stage since suncrower-1 doesnt have it. the 3rd foil is supposed to represent how it’s toxic, so i chose purple + pink (poison+warning color/looks nice), black, and a radioactive green

Suncrower: The 1st set it supposed to represent the different colors corn have, though I’m not sure how clear that is. what matters is that it looks cool. 2nd foil is toxicroak’s colors, and the 3rd is supposed to represent how it’s nature-y. I didn’t want to make it just green, so i made it pink (because it complements the green, looks nice, and there are pink plants), and brown (bark, mud)

Sprites

i kept the new sprite style. I’m still trying to figure it out, like when to color the inside lines or not, but i’m really liking it! It’s based off of pokemon’s style, but i feel like im mixing my own style, which is good! i like it.

Here are their heights:

Toxifarce:

1'0" / 30 cm 2'2" / 66 cm 3'7" / 109 cm

Suncrower:

0'7" / 17 cm 2'1" / 63 cm 5'2" / 157 cm

#Ban Ma #Toxifarce #Suncrower #11/2 #plant talk #creature design

[grendelsmilf]

this is a hilarious description of sasha waybright but also from what I remember of the movie heathers (which, granted, isn’t much, bc I haven’t seen it since middle school) theyre vitriolic and cruel just for the sake of abusing their privilege, but at the end of the day they’re actually quite pathetic. outside of their very insular bubble in which they rule with an iron fist, they wouldn’t actually last a day. sasha manipulates an entire army while trapped in a prison cell in abject conditions, fights off two giant herons, becomes the lieutenant of said army, and eventually the absolute commander who unites all the warring factions together to overthrow the all-powerful tyrannical king not once, but twice. and despite her popularity and control freak tendencies, she isn’t a heather at all. for one thing, she’s actually suicidal. for another, she loves her friends deeply. she cares. she cares so much it’s embarrassing. sasha is the most popular girl in school. she’s a pretty blonde cheerleader. but she’s also scrappy and fierce as fuck. the juxtaposition between popular blonde teenage girl and leader of an army is incredibly entertaining, yes, but even more than that, what makes sasha such an interesting character is how she makes horrible situations work to her advantage time and time again. from what we do see of her in amphibia, it’s clear that she’s already had prior experience of having to fight to survive. appearances are deceiving: she’s not some pampered girl who had to learn how to get tougher. no, she’s always been scrappy and shrewd and incredibly strong. ultimately, amphibia didn’t make her harder, it made her softer. not only kinder and more forgiving towards others, but to herself. she learned how to rely on other people. she learned how to trust. sasha has always known how to survive, how to rebel, how to control—in a way that clearly has always gone deeper than simply petty middle school drama. but amphibia shows her how to heal.

#frogshowposting #shes just..... such a good character..... on so many levels

[kookies2000]

Here’s yet another big question to ask of any hypothetical “Owl House” or “Amphibia” musical adaptation…what should each show’s respective finale (and Eleven O’Clock number if they have one) be like and sound like?

We have to wait for season three of The Owl House to give a proper answer. Since that will have the conclusion.

As for Amphibia, I say that number hits around the battle between King Andrias and Anne/Sasha and The Core. And that scene is incredibly badass!!! And the reason it's so amazing is because of the representation, symbolism to Thia culture, the color, the crowd chanting for Anne, the way Anne and Sashas fight are paralleling each other, AH! I get good bumps and my face goes red at just the thought of this scene. So this scene has to make you feel like going outside and fight the nearest killer giant robot!!!

Props!!! Speakers!!! Pull out some big speaker like in the show. Lights, makes those lotus petals! And I would love if the musical number was a K Pop style. It can be an original song but some lyrics from Black Pink would be great. And this is how the scene would play out.

I think Sasha and Anne should take turns singing. When ever Anne is the one fighting, have Sasha sing. When ever Sasha is fighting, have Anne sing. I would love if during Sashas fight scene, Anne's voice was some what muffled like in the show. There's just something about the song being muffled during the Cores nightmare for Sasha that just added it's creep factor. Loved it. And it could end with a softer melody for Marcy when the scene ships to her fantasy world.

And as for lyrics, a reprise to their want song from the beginning. They already shared what they wanted in the beginning. Marcy wants adventure and her freinds to love her topics. Sasha wants power and control and Anne doesn't know what she wants. This scene is where it changes. Anne now knows she wants to protect her loved ones, help them in an emotional way, and most of all to improve herself and she self reflects on it. Sasha still wants power and control but in a way where she's a good leader. She wants to guid others to victory and a better life. Marcy still wants adventure but respects her friends wishes and doesn't force them in it anymore. She would much rather go alone and make new freinds.

So yeah, I wish I can say for The Owl House but I want to see what season three has in store first.

#the owl house #owl house #amphibia #musicals #ask me #ask

[ramblies]

eptesicus amphibia - minubyte

The minubyte (Eptesicus amphibia) is a four-limbed ectothermic vertebrate. With the wings adapted from their forelimbs, they are one of the only amphibious flying creatures on the planet. Being one of the most agile aerial animals and the ability of echolocation, the minubytes are one of the most powerful creatures to roam the land. Being nocturnal, most minubytes roost in subterranean lakes or similar low light level areas, this doesn’t mean they cannot go out in the day, it's just a lot harder for them to do so. 

 skulls and dentitions 

The minubytes are known for having reduced snouts, this is because of their rather large incisors and canines. Also, minubytes have larger eye sockets and smaller ears, giving them a more of a cute look. Having about 34 teeth, the minubytes are insectivores but they’ve also been known to eat small to medium sized fish for larger meals. Because they feed on more hard-shelled insects and hard-skinned fish, the minubyte have larger teeth, long canines and lower jaws than species that Prey on softer bodies as they need to be able to tear into the shell / skin to get the nutrients. The upper incisors of minubytes lack enamel, which is what keeps them razor-sharp. Although all of this, the minubyte isn’t very strong due to its size, however, through the combined action of jaw muscles and muscle-bone mechanisms, minubytes generate a mechanical advantage that creates pressure during biting. 

 wings and flight 

At ground speed the minubyte can achieve speeds up to 70 to 85 mph on average, with record speeds of 103 mph. The finger bones of minubyte’s are much more flexible than those of other mammals, this is because of their low levels of calcium near their tips. The long fingers allow for great wing development due to the up regulation of the bone morphogenetic proteins (Bmps). During flight, the bones of the minubyte undergo bending and shearing stress, more specifically bending stresses felt are smaller, but the shearing stress is larger. (“Shear force is defined as the algebraic sum of all the forces acting on either side of the section. Bending moment is defined as the algebraic sum of all the moments of the forces ((the magnitude of the force) × (the perpendicular distance of the line of action of the force from the point)) acting on either side of the section.”). Having five long fingers, which all can diverge around the wrist, the thumb points forward and supports the leading edge of the wing, whilst the other fingers support the tension held in the wing membrane. Due to the second and third fingers going along the wings tip, this allows the wings to be pulled forward against aerodynamic drag, without having to have thicker wings, course then meaning being slower. The fourth and fifth fingers go from the wrist to the trailing edge, and repel the bending force caused by air pushing up against the stiff membrane. Due to their flexible joints, minubytes are more maneuverable and dexterous than nearly any gliding mammal. Minubytes are known for their ability to traverse quickly through hard winding objects, this is because of their wings. This is because the wings on a minubyte are much thinner and bonier than most winged birds, allowing for such movements to occur. Although The membranes are delicate, they can regrow quite quickly. The surface of the wings is also equipped with touch-sensitive receptors on small bumps called Merkel cells. These are sensitive, as each bump has a tiny hair in the center, allowing the minubytes to detect and adapt to changing airflow; using this to judge the most efficient speed at which to fly at. 

 Roosting and gaits 

When the minubytes aren't flying or hunting they are resting. Known for hanging upside down, the femurs are attached to the hips in a way that allows them to bend outward and upwards in flight. minubytes roost with the head tucked towards the belly, this is reflected in the structure of the cervical or neck vertebrae. Tendons allow E.amphibia's to lock their feet closed when hanging from a roost. Although they have great abilities in air and water, their true weakness comes from walking as they can only crawl slowly, which means if attacked, the minubytes are left defenseless. 

 internal system 

Like most other vertebrates, the minubytes share a similar nervous system to other species, however the minubytes are structurally similar to that of reptiles as their brains are elongated and contain the usual motor and sensory areas. In minubytes, some possess electroreceptors that allow them to locate objects around them when within water, this helps them greatly when hunting. Minubytes possess a pancreas, liver and gallbladder. Changing size with the seasons, the liver is usually bigger than most with two lobes, this is because the size is determined by the amount of glycogen and fat needed to store. Another important thing for the minubytes is adipose tissue, this is because it is for storing energy. This is found in the abdomen. Minubytes also possess two kidneys located near the roof of the body cavity, their job, similar to any other is to filter out the blood from its metabolic waste, then transport its urine out. Most minubytes excrete the nitrogen as ammonia in large batches of dilute urine, meaning fewer toxic products in the body. In minubytes, the longs are primitive compared to others, only possessing a few internal septa and large alveoli, and consequently having a harder, slower diffusion rate for oxygen comparatively. However, the minubytes use ventilation via buccal pumping. However, the solution is that minubytes can breathe through their skin. To achieve optimal cutaneous respiration, the surface of their kin must remain moist to allow oxygen to diffuse at a high rate, this is helped by their thick fur, which helps hold the water in place so the minubytes can collect as much as possible. Due to different subspecies of minubytes some have posed the possibility of a minubyte without lungs or gills, however none have been documented. 

 echolocation 

Minubytes are quite clever in the fact they can emit ultrasonic sounds to produce echoes, similar to that of bats. These echoes are dependent on subglottic pressure, the pressure in the lungs during speech that supplies the energy that generates vocalization. The minubytes cricothyroid muscle controls the orientation pulse frequency, which is essential for the minubytes using echolocation. This muscle is inside the larynx. Gathering information on their surroundings, the minubytes do this by comparing the outgoing pulse with the returning echoes, thereby comparing the distance between them. This allows them to detect prey in darkness which for a nocturnal species, is essential. The minubytes call is also no feat to laugh at as the animal can emit signals ranging in frequencies of 17,000 to well over 125,000 Hz. The minubytes use the doppler effect of their motion in flight in order to emit a continuous call and separate pulse and echo in frequency. This helps greatly as the animal can then locate not only its prey, but at what speed and direction. In addition to this, the minubytes ears are sensitive to sounds made by prey, such as birds fluttering. This is done by the complex ridges on the inner surfaces allowing the minubytes to focus on signals, and still passively listen to the prey. By the minubytes repetitive scanning, they can mentally construct an accurate image of their environment, without even needing to have seen the location before. Of course, some species can exploit this, which is done by the species producing aposematic ultrasound signals to make the minubyte feel safe. 

 Thermoregulation 

Minubytes are homeothermic, meaning they have a stable body temperature, compared to other animals, they have high thermal conductivity. The wings of the minubyte are filled with blood vessels and lose body heat when doing activities or even when extended. Due to this, the minubytes have been known to wrap themselves with their wings in order to trap a warm layer of air. Minubytes might also avoid flying during overheating to prevent overheating, since their dark wing-membranes absorb solar radiation, they need to stay in dark places if they are to be awake during the day, they use wing-fanning to cool itself while roosting during the hottest part of the day. They also are known for licking their fur to promote evaporative cooling; this is sufficient to dissipate twice their metabolic heat production. Minubytes also possess a system of sphincter valves on the arterial side of the vascular network that runs along the edge of their wings. This allows them to control how much heat is exchanged through the flight membrane, allowing them to release heat during flight. 

 torpor 

Torpor is a state of decreased activity where the body temperature and metabolism decreases, is especially useful for minubytes, as they use a large amount of energy while active, and depend upon an unreliable food source, and have a limited ability to store fat. The typical body temperature can drop in this state to about 4~27 °C and reduce their energy expenditure by fifty three to ninety seven percent. They may use it to avoid predation, by reducing the amount of time spent on foraging and thus reducing the chance of being caught by a predator. During hibernation, minubytes enter a torpid state and decrease their body temperature for a percentage of their hibernation period. even during periods of arousal, when they return their body temperature to normal, they can sometimes enter a shallow torpid state, known as "heterothermic arousal". Some minubytes become dormant during higher temperatures to keep cool in the summer months. Minubytes during longer migrations may fly at night and go into a torpid state in the daytime. The energy saved reduces their need to feed and decreases the migration duration, which may prevent them from spending too much time in unfamiliar places and decrease predation. 

#spec bio #speculative biology #speculative evolution #speculative zoology #minubytes #eptesicus amphibia #worldbuild #worldbuilding

[ganiling]

334: those with 'something to fall back on' invariably fall back on it.

#amphibia #a softer world #a softer amphibia #marcy wu #my stuff #q

[violetscacti-art]

Something about seeing your loved ones change for the better

#amphibia #sashanne #anne boonchuy #sasha waybright #ivy sundew #amphibia spoilers #mostly for sasha's new look #i like this ship a lot but i dont think that anne would truly develop feelings until witnessing sasha's kindness upfront #like i think something about seeing her softer and more vulnerable side would make her fall hard #the same way that i dont think she started crushing on marcy until seeing her more confident side #anyway i hope i managed to convey the right amount of fondness in these drawings #nikasart #posting this at 2 in the morn' plz dont let it flop

[incorrectfrogs]

king andrias: I'm not unreasonable. I don't want to live forever.

king andrias: I just want to live longer than everyone else.

#amphibia #amphibia incorrect quotes #incorrect quotes #king andrias #source: a softer world #comic 1204 to be exact #mod marcy

[sparkthespork]

I don’t think Sasha’s parents are that bad. Not perfect, just not bad.

Hello amphibians, if you don’t have time to engage in a COLOSSAL reading right now please save this post for later and move along ‘cause I have never worked harder on an analysis and it’d mean the world to me if you read it but I’m not gonna lie to you it’s LONG.

So a solid forever ago I made this post and it gained enough traction that I decided to finally write it out!

I’m pretty much convinced beyond a doubt that Sasha’s parents aren’t controlling, or at least it wouldn’t make much sense if they were. I see other people say they’re neglectful which I understand much better, but wherever they’re doing wrong I think is done in a very well intentioned way, maybe they even think they’re doing something good! Allow me to give a lengthy explanation on why that may be true:

1. Bad parents is sort of “expected.”

I’m gonna refrain from using the word “trope-y,” since a rough childhood is definitely too broad to be a trope, but regardless, Matt Braly is no stranger to trope subversion and I could definitely see him pulling some fake-out like “Sasha’s parents are introduced as scary and intimidating but soon turn out to be sweethearts, confusing everyone.���

Still, the controlling parent is definitely the go-to backstory for Sasha’s character type. We see it in both of Amphibia’s sister shows, Gravity Falls and The Owl House, that also have a character who’s popular, domineering, and competitive. Yet they never have much of a voice at home.

Characters with that sort of home life go outside of Disney Channel too (I immediately think of RWBY but I know there’s more) so it clearly has appeal. It makes sense, but it’s not the only option, and Amphibia likes to explore new paths a lot.

Going the controlling parent route would also put Sasha in a similar scenario as Marcy, who doesn’t seem to be listened to at home as well. And if that’s a backstory that’s already going to be explored in the show, why do it twice?

Beyond that, I don’t think it even works for Sasha’s arc where it works for the other characters. As for the two I mentioned above, they both end up having some moment of defiance that serves as a turning point for their character, where they stand up to their parents.

But Sasha’s already pretty good at defiance. She’s rebellious and proud of it, and doesn’t take anything from authority. The only authority figure she listens to is Grime, and Matt has said himself that they are more like “equals,” so it comes from a place of respect instead of giving in. If anything, she has a habit of lashing out around authority too much, so I think the last thing she needs is more defiance. It would be much more impactful if her turning point with her parents was something “softer,” so to speak.

2. Sasha WANTED to go home

The biggest argument for Sasha’s bad home life is that she didn’t want to leave Amphibia, but this is false. Sasha says so herself:

So what changed? It would make sense for Sasha to decide that a dysfunctional family was better than actual prison. But it’s telling that she STILL wants to go home even after she’s second in command of a military fortress, with a giant room including a statue of her, all her favorite foods prepared whenever she wants and a shower.

There is in fact an obvious moment when Sasha changes her mind in Toadcatcher, after she and Grime decide to rule Amphibia, she says this:

This contrasts the ending of Prison Break when Sasha’s “path” was to get her and her friends home. Both she and Anne had wanted to go back, but now Sasha has decided to stay so she can overthrow the king.

This seems to be directly tied to her losing Anne. After all, Grime tells her in this episode that things will never be the same between them, and then later on, she attempts to restore some normalcy in their relationship by offering her friends to help her in her takeover in True Colors, just like how they always would have followed her beforehand.

Overall, I think Sasha decided to stay not because home was bad, but because Amphibia eventually became better. She says it herself that she would rather rule a Kingdom than a school, since she gains much more power that way. It’s also a power that’s more certain to always be there than what she had back home. She could lose her status at school if everyone has moved on, and now she might not even have her friends to stick by her through it. It’s better to stay somewhere where she knows what’s going on and can keep rising up.

3. Sasha needs to end up somewhere, and it’s not Amphibia

Not gonna hide it, I think Amphibia has been the worst for Sash.

She’s gained a positive lesson or two along the way, but for the most part she’s only been surrounded by those who either enable her or leave. Sasha’s never going to learn anything this way, and now she’s in a place where being manipulative and controlling become assets to her most of the time, so it’s rare that she has to break her mold.

Of course Wartwood will probably be better, but it can never really be Sasha’s place. She’ll always be second to Anne there, so while it could teach her plenty of good lessons (like how she can’t always be the best and that’s okay), it’s not a place Sasha can really settle in. Even if she gets over comparing herself, she’ll always be seen as “the other Anne” by the frogs just by being another human and her friend. She needs to find someone who will help her grow and change, but also be Sasha’s person/people, because everyone deserves that.

With only one season left, I don’t think there’s enough time to introduce an entirely new place. So the one spot left is Sasha’s home. This further makes me think that her arc is going to involve having a more heartfelt discussion with her family, and they’ll begin to learn from each other. All roads point to home for her.

At the end of the day, it would be a disappointment to see any of these characters end their stories with nowhere to go. Anne has two families to support her from now on, Marcy is a little more iffy but maybe has Yunan and Olivia, but who is there for Sasha? While the dad headcannons for Grime are awesome, he would not make a great father figure in the long run since he enables her so much. (And I just saw Turning Point while wrapping this up and heck, Grime’s encouraging Sasha to make the wrong decision when even she doesn’t want to) It would be nice if they still get to see each other by the end of the series, but Sasha really needs someone else, and currently we haven’t been presented with any other options besides her family or whoever is in her life back home.

4. Sasha’s strangely comfortable around adults

Sasha’s unique quality is that she doesn’t seem to care about authority at all, which makes her far different from previous characters like her.

I’m not going to analyze Pacifica because the only other adults we see her interact with aren’t her superiors, but Amity has a very different relationship with adult characters.

Amity admires the adults in her life and wants to impress them, even when it’s something small like a gold star. She’s also ashamed when she disappoints them. Even when she’s not with an over-controlling person, she recognizes her place beneath someone in a way that Sasha doesn’t. I certainly can’t imagine Amity putting her foot down in front of the highest ranking war general within seconds of meeting him, and Sasha was never even looking to impress even him as much as looking for her own power.

Other characters and Sasha share the desire for attention, but Sasha doesn’t care for a good grade or seal of approval like them. She’d rather become the authority figure than be rewarded by one. She sees adults on too equal footing as her for me to imagine that she had parents who would tell her this wasn’t so. Where a lot of characters will act above their peers but then readily accept that they’re below authority, Sasha won’t allow herself to be below anyone. She’ll trick a teacher, talk back to an army captain, and overthrow a king. Even when she’s kind to adults, she’ll talk more like their friend than as someone younger than them.

So... What ARE her parents like anyway???

In a nutshell, well-intentioned but doing something horribly wrong.

A little more Sasha analysis first: It’s important to understand, it’s not that she wants to be an adult, exactly. She naturally gravitates to so many typical “kid” things after all, no matter how much she tries to say she resents them.

It’s more that she thinks she NEEDS to be an adult, or might as well already be one. However naturally, as a kid who shouldn’t be in that position, she doesn’t recognize that adulthood as much more than being on top and admired.

I do have a previous analysis on how Sasha has a very limited idea on what she should be, a protector, a leader, and a hero. And notably, all of these are things that kids typically associate with their seniors. This isn’t to say that Sasha literally thinks she should be older than she is, but rather that she’s capable of (or even SUPPOSED to be) taking on some adult level responsibilities in spite of her age, because she is special in some way.

Needless to say, Sasha probably got this mentality from her parents. They treated her like an adult since she was very young. It could be that they were neglectful of her, which is a solid theory I’ve seen, but I’ve also wondered if it comes from something less apathetic than outright neglect. Maybe it all comes from them wanting to empower her.

In this case, Sasha thinks her parents are great, probably one of few adults she feels have earned her respect, but it’s all because they enable her bad habits. Sash is encouraged to reach her goals and her parents trust her to know when to stop. But thing is Sasha DOESN’T know when to stop, and instead she starts interpreting this constant encouragement as the irrefutable need to push forward despite everything and keep climbing up. Meanwhile, her parents don’t stop her and even support her in all this because it’s what their kid wants, and they think she’ll ask for help if she really needs it.

In a sense, Sasha’s spoiled. She’s never told “no” or that she “can’t,” even if achieving what she wants it’s coming at the expense of herself or her relationships with others. Her parents are probably too lenient, they trust her to do whatever she pleases with her day and be fine, because she still has passions and goals and works hard. Meanwhile this leniency is almost a rule in of itself to Sash. She starts to see it as she’s given this freedom because she HAS to know what to do with it, and she’s trusted like an adult because she really IS just a stronger, more authoritative person somehow. She’s probably never been told otherwise, and nothing seems wrong because her parents aren’t great at communication. Sasha probably never gets checked in on because she’s “entitled to her privacy” or something of that sort. All in all, Sasha has parents who want her to feel like her own, independent person, but take it so ridiculously far that she just ends up feeling completely alone and with unreasonably large shoes to fill.

Sasha generally only looks at what is on the surface. She has a very straightforward way of thinking where rising up to the challenge is always good, and the success she can physically see is what’s truly fulfilling. She probably has parents who think the same, hence also why they don’t realize that a lot of her success comes from trying to prove an impossible role to herself. They just see her feeling proud of herself and think that’s what’s best for her, since she seems content with it. And Sasha thought that that was the best too until recently.

I have more guesses beyond that, and I do also understand theories that Sasha is a victim of circumstances. (perhaps having divorced parents, overworked parents, no parents at all, etc) But what I like about this theory is that it gives Sash the chance to be vulnerable with someone who can help her, something I think is crucial to her arc. And it would benefit the arc of her parents as well when they realize that they can’t just sit back and assume everything’s fine, even when that’s what it initially looks like. Wartwood may be able to teach Sasha to be a good leader, but I think the best thing for her would be to have a moment of not needing to lead at all. And that’s something she’ll only get by being with someone who’s supposed to take care of her, like her parents are.

As for counterarguments...

The biggest thing that I can think of against this theory is that we are simply running out of time. A relationship like this would take a while to play out, and I wonder if it would have been set up earlier because of that. All the alternative theories I’ve heard are certainly much easier to cover in a single episode, which could very well be what happens since Sasha has never had much screentime.

I also initially saw a dent in my argument when Sasha says this line:

It implies that she’s resentful to parents in general, which would lead to hers probably not treating her especially well. However, my theory says that she actually thinks her parents are great and doesn’t realize there’s a problem, so how does that work?

I have one idea: right before that line, she teases Anne for having a party with more childish things.

She might just think of normal parents as the pestering “mommy and daddy” that don’t care what you think, but hers don’t count as regular parents. They treat her like an adult, so would never throw such childish parties! She is almost pitying Anne for being stuck with a more “typical” family. Going off my interpretation, it’s a line that is directed more at how “basic” Anne’s family is rather than that parents in general are just uncaring and stubborn. But I wanted to acknowledge that since it’s probably the biggest stretch.

Conclusion

I’ve never seen a family like this one on television, and I think it would make a fantastic addition to Amphibia’s unique cast. It adds a whole new layer to Sasha’s character. The season 3 trailer has pretty much guaranteed that she’s gonna realize that she’s been in the wrong, but it would be so compelling to watch her struggle to understand what exactly went “wrong” in the first place when her life has only ever been great (in her eyes).

Most of the time, antagonistic or morally grey characters end up working through some negative event in their past in order to become better, but that becomes so much harder when it seems like the past was something positive. It’s a route I’m dying to see explored and Sasha’s a great character to do it.

Anyway, thank you so much for getting to the end of this. This is the culmination of discussions I’ve had with friends for months, and it took me forever to pull all of my thoughts together and write this out. This analysis is quite personal to me, so any interaction with it honestly means the world. But otherwise, I really appreciate you just reading, thank you <3

#amphibia #amphibia spoilers #amphibia analysis #amphibia sasha #sasha waybright #amphibia season 3 #disney

[ilovetvtoons]

FUCK ANDRIAS!!! YUNAN AND OLIVIA ARE MARCY'S REAL FOUND FAMILY FIGURES IN AMPHIBIA!!!

AFTER ALL, THEY SIGNED THEIR NAMES ON A CAST OF AN STRANGE AND INJURED CHILD THAT JUST CAME FROM ANOTHER WORLD. (I colored King Andrias's name out because he doesn't really care about Marcy, and purely out of spite towards the Giant Newt King. HE DIDN'T DESERVE TO WRITE HIS NAME THERE. I HATE HIM!!!)

OLIVIA HOLDS MARCY IN HIGH REGARD. SHE TRULY RESPECTS MARCY FOR ALL OF HER ACCOMPLISHMENTS. ALTHOUGH SHE SOMETIMES GETS ANNOYED BY MARCY'S ENERGETIC PERSONALITY, SHE DOES SEEM TO CARE ABOUT MARCY. EVEN LETTING HER STUDY HER BRAIN AT SOME POINT.

WHILE WE HAVEN'T SEEN MUCH INTERACTION BETWEEN MARCY AND YUNAN IN THE SERIES YET. MARCY'S THEME SONG TAKEOVER SHOWS US A SOFTER SIDE TO YUNAN'S PERSONALITY THAN WHAT WE GOT IN "TOADCATCHER". SHE'S ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE TO SIGN MARCY'S CAST, AND EVEN HAPPILY FIGHTS ALONGSIDE HER AGAINST PIRATES.

BOTTOM LINE IS THAT THESE GAY NEWTS TRULY CARE ABOUT MARCY. ALTHOUGH THEY KNOW THAT MARCY PURPOSELY STRANDED ANNE AND SASHA IN AMPHIBIA WITH HER. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT MARCY HAD A POSITIVE IMPACT ON YUNAN AND OLIVIA MORE THAN SHE REALIZES. WHICH IS WHY THEY ARE GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND TO SAVE HER FROM ANDRIAS FROM THE NIGHT'S POSESSION. AND WHY THEY STEADILY GETTING HER TO SAFTEY (or least as safe as possible, assuming that she hasn't been completely freed from The Night's control in the aftermath yet).

NO MATTER HOW THIS GOES, I'M REALLY EXCITED TO SEE THE KIND OF IMPACT THAT THIS KID HAD ON THESE 2 NEWTS IN SEASON 3. THEY REALLY GREW FOND OF HER, AND I CAN'T WAIT FOR SEASON 3 INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THESE THREE.

#STILL THE NUMBER 1 THING I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO IN SEASON 3!!! #sorry for all of the big letters #I'M JUST REALLY EXCITED TO SEE MARCY AND HER NEWT MOMS MOMENTS!!! #I WOULD BE THE MOST PRECIOUS THING #especially after everything she's going through #she'll need a lot of love and comfort from these two afterwards #amphibia #amphibia spoilers #spoilers #amphibia season 3 #theme song takeover #marcy wu #lady olivia #general yunan #yunlivia #frogbots #the night #froghulu

[pensandpencil]

Hey remember that drabble u asked for forever ago??? Well here it is, my only warning is I didn’t edit :D

Marcy didn’t fight as Yunan and Olivia carried her out of the room. They had just defeated the eyes projecting their worst nightmares, something Marcy knew was happening but still struggled to beat. It took help from Olivia and Yunan, she always seemed to be needing help these days.

The pair of newts were carrying her as they exited the room, Olivia mumbling in a soft tone, “All right, up and at ‘em. Here we go—”

A hand flew out of the tunnel they were heading towards, slamming into all of them. Marcy crashed against the floor hard, the newts grunting as Marcy yelped. She sat up but didn’t get a chance to process the pain she was in, not as Andrias walked in.

“Leaving so soon?” His voice sent a shiver down her spine, “But we have so much to discuss.”

Marcy’s mouth fell open, there he was. And with the eyes all destroyed, she couldn’t even convince herself that it was just a projection. She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. The last time she was in a room with him, outside of a tank, she was getting stabbed.

“But how did you—”

“Simple.” Andrias cut off Lady Olivia, “We’ve been watching you the whole time.”

Marcy looked up at his crown, an orange eye opening, one that looked just like the one on her chest. Before any of the three could respond a whirring could be heard, like the sound effect for a machine.

Marcy turned around. Her confusion quickly turned into horror as several long spindly limbs came down. Sort of like Doc Ock’s arms in Spider-man. Only for the rest of it to lower, a creature that was a huge circle, that had about seven orange eyes. It had cables that connected it to some unseen part of the roof.

So, not like Doc Ock after all…

It let out this terrible shrieking noise.

Marcy’s hands slammed over her ears, teeth gritting, as its shriek made the whole room shake. But just as soon as it started, it fell silent.

“What the heck is that?”

Marcy’s only response was one of the arms shooting out towards her face.

Oh fr—

Before she could do anything the clawed hand crashed into her face, holding onto her tight as the force knocked her back.

Marcy screamed.

Unbothered, the machine launched her towards it. Olivia and Yunan shouted her name, but she was moving too fast to do anything. Before she knew it, she was slammed down on a chair and restrained by her ankles and wrists.

In the back of her mind she noted that it must’ve appeared from the floor, since it wasn’t there before.

What she was most focused on was trying to get out.

“Behold!” Andrias began, “Our ultimate creation.”

Marcy grunted as she tugged on her arms, none of the restraints were budging.

“A collection of Amphibia’s greatest minds, preserved for all eternity.”

She couldn’t get out.

“What are you doing, Andrias?” Olivia demanded.

Nothing she was doing was working.

“Stop it, you maniac!” Yunan commanded.

She wasn’t strong enough.

“Studying the Mossman improved our medical technology.”

She never would be.

“But it wasn’t until we met the Shadowfish that we truly learned to conquer death,”

This wasn’t working.

“and thus, the core was born.”

None of her plans worked.

Marcy grunted one more time as she pulled on her arm. She had to get out! Make things right! But Andrias was in the way, he always was!

“Let me go!” Marcy shouted, not bothering to hide the anger creeping in her voice.

Andrias hardly looked interested in her, “I wish I could.” His tone deepend, “But my lord craves a host.” The King turned to the side, raising a hand as he spoke, “And it wanted the best, the smartest,” Andrias turned back to look at her, a glare on his face, “the only one who could beat me at Flipwart.”

Marcy felt the blood drain from her face, eyes widening, as she let out a small gasp.

No.

No no no nonononononononono.

Over a game?

Andrais’ voice came out softer, “Honestly, Marcy? I like you” He bent closer to her, smiling at her, “Always have.”

Marcy could hardly feel herself breathe as Andrias kept speaking, the smile never leaving his face. Was this how she sounded to Sasha and Anne?

Trying to get them to see her side, like some maniac?

“I begged the core to consider an alternative host,” the King’s tone darkened, smile dropping from his face, “but alas.”

What?

Not alas!

Alas made it sound so off hand! She was about to be possessed and he’s making it sound like no big deal!

Cables shot out from the pedestal the chair was on, connecting to different points of the suit she had on.

“What?” Marcy’s voice came as a whisper, before she started panicking, “What is this?”

Something opened up above her.

“Huh?”

Slowly a helmet began lowering. Marcy didn't even take the chance to look at it, opting on trying to break out.

But she couldn’t.

She started letting out whimpers.

Not even in a panic could she free herself.

Olvia and Yunan shouted at her, but neither moved closer.

Marcy sent a glance at Andrias, the King turning away.

Just as the helmet moved closer Marcy leaned as far as she could to the right.

And it couldn’t be put on.

Was….

Was it really that easy?

She braced herself for the helmet to turn, to launch at her head, because surely they had considered the odds that someone would just lean really far.

The creature behind her shrieked, getting Andrias’ attention.

Apparently they hadn’t.

Marcy took the chance to struggle more as Andrias knocked Olivia and Yunan aside, striding over to her.

She had to get out before he got there.

But again, she couldn’t.

The King looked down at her, a sad look in his eyes as the helmet raised a good way up and stayed up there.

For a moment she thought the King was going to let her go.

But then he put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing tight.

And she knew.

She knew.

He was there to hold her in place.

“Andrias?” Marcy’s voice cracked, she could feel tears gathering in her eyes, “Please. Please don’t do this!”

The King ignored her, slowly moving her back into place.

Marcy started wrestling her shoulders out of his grasp, grunting as he just kept moving her, “Don’t do this! I’m sorry! Please! Don’t!”

Andrias continued, face becoming sadder as he turned away. Finally putting her back in line with the helmet.

“Andrias, please!” Marcy’s voice cracked as she looked at the helmet beginning to lower again, anger winning for a second, “STOP!”

The King grimaced, as if her shouts were hurting him.

Good.

“LOOK AT ME THEN!!” Marcy shouted, ignoring the tears running down her face, “LOOK AT WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO DO!”

The helmet got closer.

“ANDRIAS! DON’T! PLEASE!”

The helmet was just about on her head now.

“LOOK ME IN THE EYE!!”

The helmet came on.

And she screamed.

OMG THIS IS SOOO GOOOOD AND SO PAINFUL I CANTTTTT

YOU TOOK MY BROKEN HEART AND YOU SHREDDED IT AND I LOVE YOU FOR IT

You made this scene 1000000x more painful and its amazing, having Andrias hold her down made it even sadder

#skibs you are the best #skibs scribbles #amphibia fic #its tear time🤠 #amphibia #olivia and yunan #marcy wu