#staying in wartwood just makes you a better person

[liminal-lesbian]

In regards to marcy finding her niche…well forgive me for being cynical, but I don’t think she has one. Both Anne and Sasha found their niches in Amphibia, but Marcy couldn’t. And it wasn’t a lack of trying either, as seen with new wartwood and the journal. If she couldn’t make friends in Amphibia, I don’t think could on earth.

You're also gonna have to forgive me for being an obnoxious optimist (it's a result of hitting rock bottom multiple times and somehow still gettin thru things), but I like to imagine things get better for Marcy after Amphibia!

I know her story wasn't well executed in the show, but I really do feel the idea of Amphibia's end being the true start of her journey makes sense to me. Marcy's biggest struggle was finding security in her identity outside of other people, hence her deep fear of being alone (if I have no one, who am I?) and her need to gain approval (if I'm useful people will stay).

The problem with this is by doing this she created a structure of self-identification that relied on her eschewing her sense of self in favour of, in essence, making herself lesser for others. She flattened herself to be the smart one, the mediator, Master Marcy of Newtopia, etc. All are identities inherently created to be someone for someone else. Needless to say the loss of these relationships, perceived or in reality, is a world shattering event because she loses not just the relationship but herself.

In Marcy's mind, for good reason mind you, people don't want her for HER. They want her for what she gives them, thus she moulds and contorts herself to be who THEY want, losing herself in the process, becoming less a person and more thing for them to use.

I think this is the message her experiences in the Core were MEANT to convey; Marcy's feelings toward Anne and Sasha were absolutely founded in reality—they neglected her when she tried to express her true self—but she also needed to learn that people will love her for her, as the holistic, flawed, true Marcy that she is. In the end Marcy needed to value herself as much in order for that relationship to ever succeed.

Obviously this could've been executed MUCH better, maybe with more emphasis on people expressing that they loved Marcy for who she was rather than what she did, but I guess that's what fanfics for, eh?

With all this in mind though, this is why I think post-Amphibia Marcy would've found a niche for herself. She's learned that she's loved beyond her acts of service for others. She doesn't need to earn people's love, she is valued and loved because she's Marcy Wu, plain and simple, proven by Anne and Sasha coming back for her (altho this could've been done better as well, ie an earlier attempt to rescue Marcy, but I do think the overall intention was there story wise). Taking this to heart I think she'd find people who share her interests and be able to interact with them in a healthy manner, meeting them as equals and not as a tool to be used. This self-respect, understanding her value and viewing herself as an equal in her relationships, is the door to finding and thriving in new friend groups outside of Anne and Sasha.

I think this is where her guarded nature would develop. She understands her self-worth, and therefore would protect herself from people who might want to exploit her again (ANDRI-ASS looking at u), but I do think she'd get to a point where she'd know when to open up.

I understand a more cynical take for sure! Looking at how she was treated in the show that's absolutely an interpretation that could come from it. Personally, as a big sap at heart, I like to imagine a future where she's happy.

Source: I spent 23+ years viewing myself in a very similar manner and project onto Marcy perhaps a bit more than is healthy

#amphibia #marcy wu

[eleviathan]

I just had an idea for an amphibia au

Sasha and Anne swap starting locations (sasha in wartwood/anne in toad tower)

Sasha ends up waiting to go to the lake like in best fronds, and does her whole manipulation thing, but seeing Sprig almost get killed makes her question her actions. Over the course of her stay (Season 1) she learns from her froggy family and neighbors how to be a better person, closer to how she was in Season 3b.

Anne, on the other hand, is stuck in the dingy, decrepit toad tower with Grime. The toads take the box from anne, but have no idea how to use it, and neither does Anne. The longer she stays, the more she starts to resent Sasha for "making her" steal the box and her getting her trapped. Eventually, the herons attack, and Anne actually helps fend them off after they attack her cell. This impresses grime and says that he might let her go and give the box back if she works for him, Anne agrees and is recruited into the army. This is no partnership however, and the harsh military environment only makes Anne more vindictive and cruel.

The toads find out about Sasha after toad tax and thing lead up to reunion. Sasha is thrilled to see her friend again, and Anne appears to be too, though it feels a bit disingenuous. Same old party trap to execute Hop Pop, and we end up at the top of the tower. Anne is surprised that Sasha would do so much for these frogs but tells her to drop the act and join her and the toads. Sasha looks back at the frogs and refuses to give them up.

Anne is exasperated, "You don't actually 'care' for these things, do you? Listen here Sash your going to come over here and leave those country bumkins, END OF DISCUSSION."

Sasha is taken aback, "Anne, what happened to you?"

"What do you mean?" Anne says." I'm only doing what you would do.

"I would never do something like that."

"THEN WHAT WERE YOU DOING WHEN YOU FORCED ME TO STEAL THE FROGGING BOX!"

Silence...

"I just wanted to go home to my parents, but no, YOU made me skip class, YOU made me graffiti the wall and steal a shopping cart, and it was YOU who made me take the box that got us stuck here!"

"I'm sorry, Anne, I really am. But I'm not going to let my friends down, not again."

Fight ensues, Sasha has the upper hand, but Anne lands a clean cut on her face, and she falters. Then the Boomshrooms go off, Sasha catches Anne, Anne trys to take her down with her, Planters catch Sasha, Grime catches Anne, Toads leave, cue depression.

That's all I got for now, make make more, probably not.

#amphibia #amphibia au #sasha waybright #anne boonchuy #sashanne

[mdhwrites]

For all that Sasha's character is about having control and feeling like she's on top, I can't help but feel like Sasha's time in Amphibia showed that she can be oddly...passive as well.

She only stayed with Grime in S1 when she recognised he could be of help to find the other two, despite having to know that he had to hold some sort of power over others and the plan to overthrow the king wasn't even hers, but Grime's.

Why is this so? Could one argue that, without a goal and someone else to motivate her worst traits, Sasha doesn't actually care that much about having power?

Yes. Boy it feels nice to just say yes to one of these asks. Okay, to go into greater detail though, it's actually that Sasha is a very realistic teenager in this way. She has little personal ambition in part because she has never seemed to feel the need to. Things come easy for her so she assumes that her first plan is often the correct one. She also understands people well enough and has normally had the right leverage over people for that to be true. She wants for nothing but her own enjoyment so her version of painting Amphibia red isn't mass slaughter or conquering, she'll leave that to Grime, but just base creature comforts like showers and fine food that these other people don't have. They still signify she's better than you but she doesn't give a shit about being a ruler. It actually leads to the easy thought that at the start of the show, the first well to do guy who caught Sasha's eye probably would have become her sugar daddy because she'd rather get to be a trophy wife enjoying her interests at home rather than actually fulfilling a grand, personal ambition. She'd have control but she doesn't want to ever work for it.

It eventually explains her attitude in Wartwood. She has taken up Grime's ambitions as they fall in line with reasserting her dominance over Anne and gives her SOMETHING to do. However, when she can tell victory is close at hand, she doesn't want to have to pretend. She doesn't want to make nice. She wants things to be as simple and easy as they always were for her back home. It's probably part of why she clearly has NO plans for actually ruling Amphibia. She likes the title as the ultimate fuck you to her friends and to say she's still the best, to deny the voices in her head that Anne introduced, but she doesn't have any desires for Amphibia. She doesn't care about grand wealth, power or legions of slaves. She just wants to go back to playing DDR with her friends and watching television probably.

It's not until Turning Point that she finally gets a life's mission: Make things genuinely better for those around her. To make her hero complex honest. No more grand gestures, no more false promises, she is ready to actually help people. And then when confronted with the real world, she finds a way to do that by becoming a therapist.

And I honestly really like how small scale Sasha is about all of this. She is content helping one person at a time in the end. She is happy defending a town and taking their desire to save the world as a way to push her forwards but her focus is on their survival FIRST. It's a great way to not have her do atrocities in the name of power while being a very accurate representation of someone we don't see very often: A control freak who is capable of being content. Of just having a comfortable existence instead of needing to control the ENTIRE WORLD!

Because Sasha isn't a supervillain. She's just a teenage girl.

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

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.

#sasha waybright #amphibia

[diamond-vic]

With it being the holidays and with my mind being back on Froggy Little Christmas big time, I wanted to share one of my favorite headcanons of how Anne’s effects stick around after the girls leave Amphibia (tying into Christmas, of course!)

So, in Froggy Little Christmas, Hop Pop comments on how Christmas sounds like ‘Swamp Hollow’s Eve, but without the ritual sacrifices’. This means there is some holiday in Amphibia that is at least functionally similar to Christmas in some form, though seemingly without certain details, like decoration and gift giving, and with their own Amphibian twists (sacrifice of. Something. Let’s just say grubhogs and not other frogs haha). With that background out of the way:

It’s the first winter after Anne’s departure. Amphibia has begun to recover, and they’re finding their footing without the monarchy, and the Plantars are still learning to adjust to their life now without Anne.

Sprig has Anne’s phone. They have access to the calendar on it, can see what day it is on Earth. The Plantars remember their Christmas with the Boonchuys fondly, of course, but they’re missing their Anne. The calendar makes it impossible to simply ignore the day’s approach. Rather than let it pass silently between them and ruminate in gloom, they decide; why not share some parts of Christmas with Wartwood, implementing them into their Swamp Hollow’s Eve? Wartwood all adore and miss Anne, too, after all. And Anne has already brought some of her culture into the town to stay in the form of Stumpy’s, featuring her culture’s food with a froggy ingredient twist.

Wartwood is thrilled! They’re excited to hear the details of a holiday from another world! But the Plantars’ somewhat inaccurate memories (it’s been months, and they did only had the one Christmas), their only partial understanding of the holiday to begin with, and the Wartwoodian’s differing personal interpretations of the stories they hear lead to an.. inaccurate execution. But its heart (spending time with the people you love and expressing that love through gestures) gets through; the Plantars make sure of that. Swamp Hollow’s Eve is slightly different from this year forward. Strings of lights made of fireflies, presents exchanged with loved ones. Maybe the town decorates Anne’s sculpture in the square. Perhaps they get shrubs to decorate in their homes rather than trees (and these are just ideas, since we don’t know what Swamp Hollow’s Eve is actually like). Whatever it is, it’s not pure Christmas plopped into Amphibia, it’s a loving attempt by the town to surround themselves with the memories of Anne and her family by the town that misses her so. They adjust things to suit their own customs as needed

I know personally the idea of Anne’s touch on Amphibia sticking around after she’s left really helps me look at the show’s finale and better accept it. She doesn’t just vanish, she stays in the amphibian’s memories, and they keep her there the best they can. Maybe, eventually, the touches of human culture cultivated in Wartwood disperse into the whole of Amphibia, until Swamp Hollow’s Eves featuring firefly lights around town becomes more of a norm than not. Maybe Polly develops minor technology in Amphibia based partly off what she learned on Earth, powered by the movement of dragonflies or water or wind. However it happens, whatever changes, it’s Amphibian development at its core. It’s growth. It’s holding on and moving on

#amphibia #froggy little christmas #anne boonchuy #anne amphibia #the plantars #hop pop amphibia #hop pop plantar #sprig amphibia #sprig plantar #polly amphibia #polly plantar #mr and mrs boonchuy #this is like. the third froggy little Christmas post I’ve made today and I’m sorry abt that #but this one means the most cause it genuinely has been a big help to accepting the show’s end #even if I still wrestle wth it very often haha

[ordinaryschmuck]

Luz and Marcy mightve gotten mocked for thinking the world's their in run on fantasy tropes, but those worlds, writhing the first few minutes, already operate on an Isekai/visiting another world trope. Namely, that despite both worlds clearly having their own WRITTEN language that isn't English, ALL of their inhabitants, none of who'm are even human beings, speak English perfectly.

That is true, I can see why they both would immediately think it's the same as their fantasies. Although, while there is no difference between how they saw their worlds, there is one difference in how they reacted. And I've said it in my Final Verdict Review for Amphibia, but Marcy is kind of the anti-Luz Noceda. Here's an excerpt of it:

"And I’m not just saying that because they’re both nerds with high energy and constant optimism. You see, Luz is a character that, just like Marcy, wanted to escape to a fantasy world and live out everything she read in her favorite books, seen in her favorite movies, and loved in her favorite anime. There’s just one key difference: Luz learned fairly quickly that all of that is nonsense. In “Witches Before Wizards,” Luz went on a quest that could have confirmed she’s just like the protagonists of her favorite stories, only to find out that reality is a lot darker and not everything is going to be like a fantasy story brought to life. It’s not just that episode, either, as, throughout the course of the series, Luz learns more and more that life is complicated. While she might have a better life on the Boiling Isles, there are times when she faces the cold reality of living in a fantasy world. Times when she makes decisions that help someone she cares about, but comes at the consequence of possibly losing someone she loves forever.

For Marcy, she doesn’t get that. Before “True Colors,” her whole experience in Amphibia was non-stop wish fulfillment, gaining everything that she ever wanted without a single consequence. Look at “The First Temple” and “New Wartwood.” These were times when Marcy saw that bad stuff happened because of stuff she caused, but in the end, everything all worked out. Similar to what happens to most protagonists. They caused something bad to happen, but they fixed it and everything ended up alright by the story’s conclusion. Because the same thing happens to Marcy, she never learns that there’s a downside to living in a fantasy world. She never learned that one can’t escape the cold, harshness that is reality.

Not until it was too late.

Marcy is the worst case scenario of what Luz could have been. A character that refused to step out of fantasy and acknowledge that bad stuff can and will happen to a person who lives their life by what they’ve read, what they saw, and what they loved. It’s something that I think some kids should take note of, telling them that you can’t escape to a life that you prefer just because the real world is a little harsh. And you definitely shouldn’t drag your friends with you.

The reveal that Marcy is the reason the girls got stuck in Amphibia was a shocking one, to say the very least. It’s another example that makes her the Anti-Luz. Both willingly wanted to stay in their fantasy world, but there’s another significant difference. Luz wanting to stay was a choice, but trapping herself in the Isles became a sacrifice. For Marcy, wanting to stay and trapping herself were both a choice and never a sacrifice. Oh, she does get trapped for real, but not because she forced it upon herself. In actuality, being stuck in Amphibia the second time was more or less a punishment. In her last moments in “True Colors,” Marcy fiddling with the music box is still an attempt at wish fulfillment just like in “The First Temple” and “New Wartwood.” She messed up, but if she fixes things again, everything will work out just like last time. Except that they don’t. Marcy finally meets her first consequence and is forced to learn that what she did was wrong. And given what happens to her…

Yeah, I’d say she learned her lesson. She really learned her lesson…Cheese and crackers, Matt Braly is messed up."

#the owl house #amphibia #owlphibia #luz noceda #marcy wu #asks #ask me anything #send asks if you want

[writesailingdreams]

What are your ideas on Amphibia’s idea of self-love and how it’s tackled?

I’m afraid I don’t have very in-depth thoughts (or more precisely I hadn’t thought about this idea until asked*). But from my few days brewing on it my answer is: I think it’s idea of self-love is something I would have been grateful for when I was Anne’s age and I think it’s tackled pretty well.

As an addendum, I felt only Anne really had an arc defined by discovering self-love. To me, Marcy’s arc was about coming to term with facing unpleasant things, and Sasha’s was recognizing how she wanted to be a better person/grow. I also don’t see any of the Plantars needing to learn self-love. Sprig might come closest but to me, his arc is more about finding a friend, someone who will actually like him/spend time with him, and it’s less him learning to love himself but finding the friend who will love the himself he already is pretty open about expressing/seems to like.

As to what I mean in more specifics (because of course), I’m having a hard time arranging it my head coherently. But essentially: I felt Anne’s arc to self-love was handled very gradually.

She’s starts out (Best Fronds) as very concerned with what her friends will think if she isn’t agreeable to what they say; she has to be likable, she has to be what others want her to be. But then she meets Sprig (and family) and live in Wartwood, where she has to make decisions on her own/withiut her usual friends. Wartwood is disturbed & distrustful but she earns their trust & respect (Toad Tax). Then later there’s Wally’s bit of “you can be whoever you want to be here” advice and her becoming less worried about whether she’s the “town weirdo” (Wally and Anne). Then there’s the whole Reunion bit with Sprig defending her and saying she’s a good person & brave & not going to be pushed around; she’s someone—as she has presented herself in Wartwood—of value and love (at least in the eyes of this pink frog boy. See this is why I get so emotional about these two?)

I’d say there’s less direct instances in S2a (at least nothing immediately jumps to mind), but by the time she’s there she has had some growth. I think this is most evident in her relationship with Marcy. By the end of her stay in Newtopia, she’s opened up to Sprig (and vice versus) (Hopping Mall). She’s learning to express how she feels and be okay with that. So by the time the show gets to Bessie and Microangelo (I love that ep), she’s happy with herself. (Oh, Tritonio helped, less in his ultimate goal reveal but in instilling in Anne an actually desire to work at something and see herself as worthy as be capable of working at something. Oh, and Stumpy’s statement that her parents would proud of what she did feels like it boosted some kind of ‘You’re ideas may be over the top but they come from a good place.”)

Like omg! To 13 yr old me those kinds subtle and but very clear & audial expressions of my value and worth would have been amazing. Maybe it’s okay to just be the weirdo you are. Maybe others *will* like you. Maybe someone will be your friend even if you share your weird and sentimental feelings. Aaaah! (Heck, I’m in my 30s and I’d still love this).

In that sense, to me, Anne’s self-love grew very much from the space where others (frogs) allowed her to be who she was and as she grew more expressive, she became more sure of herself and the more sure she became the more self-love was genuine. Anyway, I think it’s beautiful.

*this ask reminded me that I’ve been wanting to rewatch Amphibia; I have been reminded that I usually dig my teeth into fandom media when it’s complete, One Piece being the nearest thing to an exception and even then (1) it’s a lot easier to analyze Ace than other characters and (2) I usually narrowly focus or broadly react

#amphibia #anne boonchuy #all my feelings forever #frog friendship #spranne against the world #sprig plantar #best fronds #walls and anne #bessie and microangelo #hopping mall #toad tax #wsd replies #anonymous #now that I’m thinking of it #there’s the whole hair thing with sprig and ivy #hmmmm #typing this made me realize I’m doing this in an original story I’m writing/revising #the originals from which I’m extracting were written c. 2010 to 2018 I think? #but the friendship angle is more 2018 #bug yeah there’s some amphibia friendship emotions there apparently! #wsd shares #not edited

[mira-blue]

I posted 11,746 times in 2022

That's 7,107 more posts than 2021!

530 posts created (5%)

11,216 posts reblogged (95%)

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I tagged 5,697 of my posts in 2022

#fav - 1,321 posts

#amphibia spoilers - 340 posts

#asks - 230 posts

#hk - 223 posts

#mirambles - 199 posts

#moots - 185 posts

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#sashanne - 110 posts

#absolute fav - 57 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#pour it all on me/you know what/shower me with what you're giving/human behaviour forgotten/da dum da dum dum dum/how can i be vanilla baby

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

and by frog, it paid off

3,064 notes - Posted May 8, 2022

#4

i need to talk about the fact that...what stopped andrias was just. a simple letter of love. not a grand reveal of some secret ex machina. not blackmail. not leif telling him he should've known better.

no. no, it was just - her love. it was her imploring him to not turn into the very thing he did turn to. because despite it all, despite years apart and a friendship that ended up shattered into a thousand little pieces, she remembers him well. remembers him fondly, believes that he's good, that he deserves better than turning into some cruel, unfeeling monster. because she loved him, and never stopped loving either him or barrel, two ghosts that haunted her as she built wartwood from the ground up.

and. and it got him to stop, for a moment. got him to crumble, to allow a thousand years' worth of feelings to barrel (ha) through.

it was enough to do that. but andrias was right - it was too late.

the things he's done are unforgivable, the person he's become too...unflexible and broken. i sincerely hope he dies in the next episode, if he hasn't already. but this moment - this shred of humanity - is so, so important. because the most powerful thing isn't a weapon, or immorality, or lacking any emotion. the most powerful thing is love. love in the moment, or the echo of it - that's what breaks and builds. and i don't mean romantically! love and change are the core (ha!) of amphibia! as my dear friend @bloop-arts put it: love is the driving force behind every character! love pushed anne into harnassing her powers for a longer time! love and her inherent nature of wanting to protect drove sasha to defeat darcy! love had the plantars facing their worst nightmare in order to save the boonchuys! love and the belief she had in her friends pushed marcy into refusing the core! love!

even when it was too late, love managed to save. and i think that alone makes this episode a complete masterpiece, at least to me.

3,564 notes - Posted May 8, 2022

#3

the ending of one thing is always the beginning of another

4,535 notes - Posted May 15, 2022

#2

*through tears* WE STAYED TUNED!!!! AND WE WON!!!!!

9,456 notes - Posted May 15, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

See the full post

11,061 notes - Posted May 15, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #wooooo riv being my top most reblogged #all my top posts are amp. as it shld

[froggydoodles]

I made a thread on Twitter about the Amphibia finale and i thought i should share it here as well just in case if anyone here wondered what i think about it.

First of all, i loved the future designs of every character i saw and the animation during the battle with core was stunning. I'm happy Yulivia became canon and i love the future Wartwood and interactions of all amphibians in it. And of course, Sasha is canon bi now!  Those were the parts i liked about the episode. Now about the things i didn't like..

Well honestly i didn't like the way how the trio's friendship changed in the future and some of the parts of it didn't make much sense to me. I'll start with Sasha cause that was the part that most confused me.  She said she lost touch with Anne and does not hang out as they used because of different high school groups? Wasn't Sasha the one who changed her whole life and personality just to be a better and closer friend to Anne?  Why would she let something like school take space between them, they could still hang out after school and their friendship could stay the same. I mean it feels like all Sasha's affords to make her relationship stronger with Anne has gone to waste now.  They were rebuilding their relationship and it was getting better, during the time ship their friendship should get stronger, not weaker. Seeing the way they end up really doesn't make sense to me.  And what about Marcy? The way she asked how they were doing after she left made me believe that she never made contact with her friends in 10 years!  Wasn't she the one who was most obsessed with her friendship with Sasha and Anne? After everything that happened, she should have at least called them once in a while if she still cares about their friendship.  They even made a talk in All In episode that distance doesn't matter but from what i see here Marcy didn't even bother to reach her friends once in 10 years to know how they were doing and that doesn't make any sense to me.  And for the last, the new BFF photo. Don't get me wrong i really like how they get a new BFF photo and happy together again at the end but after learning how their friendship changed in 10 years even that photo didn't make any sense.  Like you were barely seeing one of your friends and didn't even see or hear anything from the other in 10 years and now you suddenly decided to have a new BFF photo again? I'm sorry but i couldn't see single logic in any of these     

#amphibia spoilers #i apologize for any possible typos and grammar errors

[ramblingguy54]

     Been seeing some criticism toward Sasha having conflicting feelings being mad at Marcy, since she got them stranded in Amphibia, calling it mean spirited or outright hypocritical. As for my two cents, I don’t see it that way, as this is supposed to be the point here for Sasha. It is dramatic irony after the crap she has done, but in all fairness too she never got the chance to really speak her mind whatsoever about Marcy’s betrayal, either. Sasha has been so focused on building the rebellion, trying to make herself a better person, fixing her friendship with Anne after everything that’s happened, and most importantly become more honest about intentions, surrounding why she wants to help them this time.

    In True Colors Anne got the chance to voice her heartbroken disappointment toward Marcy’s actions, whereas Sasha was beyond angered at her and couldn’t find those proper words to describe it. That’s always been a key issue of Sasha she has struggled with, overall. Sasha has plenty of compassion in her, hence the rebellion to save Marcy from Andrias, but always had serious anger issues. It’s why things went down the way they did in True Colors’ run time. Sasha was impulsively going to maliciously tear Anne away from the Plantars as a personal, “Fuck you!”, to her at one point. Honestly, I loved the way they wrote this moment here with Waybright because it shows issues of her nature don’t go away with the flip of a switch. Sure, she wants to become someone anyone deserves to have for a friend now. However, it doesn’t change a simple fact, she’s been hurt by Marcy too and those scars of betrayal affected her, as well.

     I mean, Sasha was the first one to break away in frustration against Marcy’s desperate pleas to be understood after all. This action speaks loads of the weight Sasha carries from these revelations about Marcy, as a whole. Sasha obviously wants to save her dear friend, although now that she is reaching said final destination there’s another anxiety Waybright hasn’t spoken of, how it’ll affect their bond permanently afterwards. Sasha has been so laser focused on defeating Andrias and saving Marcy from the tyrant there hasn’t been any time for her to properly reflect on all these game changing perspectives. Anne has been able to have plenty of time, considering she was temporarily back on Earth. Granted, Anne was pushing herself to an unhealthy level in rushing to get themselves back to Amphibia, but my point is Boonchuy got moments of relaxation with her parents. Sasha never got many moments of mental peace, due to how severe conditions have become in Amphibia recently and it seriously shows.     Sasha has been fighting for her life, as well as Wartwood’s denizens, to stay alive long enough, until Anne returned to really kick things into high gear. These thoughts may have been lingering in her mind for awhile, but Sasha chose to ignore them. It wasn’t until they finally set their big plan into motion finally that these bottled up feelings resurfaced because it needs to be stated now. She wants to save Marcy, but restoring their connections to a healthy status quo? That’s a gigantic different matter Sasha has been too afraid to confront head on aloud. Can she be forgiving against Marcy ripping her away from a normal life, or learn to understand, much like Anne has, why her friend did this all stuff in the first place? Sasha may have changed, but old habits die super hard, as they say.

     It’s very true to life when you want to change for the better, where unfortunate other qualities can rear their head once again when circumstances become terrible. Sasha’s anger comes from an understandable place of hurting, which Anne doesn’t judge her for feeling this way. Just as Anne understands why Marcy got them sucked into Amphibia, she empathizes with Sasha’s plea to an extent. Anne isn’t going to demonize Sasha for feeling conflicted because Boonchuy knows forgiveness isn’t easy. Anne once again shows her best quality in understanding others’ perspectives, showing how far she has come from Season 1′s humble beginnings. Anne understands these concerns about the future because she felt that exact way about giving Sasha another chance. Anne’s best quality is her empathetic nature shining brightly here for Marcy & Sasha.

    I love this scene so much because it captures how rough friendship can be. Anne isn’t focused anymore about the actions of what one does, but the why they commit them. Anne realizes Marcy was getting ignored by Sasha & herself staying passively silent in solitude and feared permanent separation, her own issues about the betrayal aside. Anne isn’t going to let her own anger blind her from seeing the bigger picture, as it once did in True Colors when Sasha tried to warn her, regarding Andrias’ real intentions about what he plans to do with the box. This scene is a prime example of Amphibia’s greatest strength, character growth.

#amphibia spoilers #amphibia season 3 #the beginning of the end #anne boonchuy #sasha waybright #marcy wu #this scene struck a big chord with me #anne has come so far

[thdorkmagnet]

Cries in the Dark

Slight spoiler for “All In” ahead, you have been warned.  

Hello everyone, thDorkMagnet here! Today I bring to you all something from Amphibia, a fantastic series and one of my favorite cartoons this decade! The finale left me hungry for more and my only way to process feelings is through writing so here we are. Plus I wanted to honor the show by creating a little something to celebrate its fantastic run. This one is all about Sprig, easily my favorite character from the series, following my personal interpretations of the event that killed his parents. Lots of angst and blood and tearshed in this one. Have some tissues on hand and thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: Amphibia and all its characters belongs to Matt Braly and Disney. All rights go to them. 

A shriek pierced the blood-soaked air, a warning of death and despair to all who heard its shrill call, those that still breathed that is. Wartwood lay in shambles, buildings ripped apart by thick claws and bodies torn to shreds by razor-sharp beaks, the countryside stained red in the aftermath. 

And yet, still the hunt wasn't finished. The twin herons no longer seeked to fill their bellies with flesh and bones, their appetite had already been quenched by the frightened townsfolk. No, now they were driven by something much simpler: the instinctual desire to kill. And luckily for them, they had smelt new flesh to consume. 

"Get them below ground!"

"I know, I'm going!"

 "Have you seen my scythe?"

"That won't do any good against those beasts." A shriek echoed through the cottage. The small tadpole was woken from his slumber, barely peeking open a tired eye. He knew it wasn’t time to get up, there was no light shining through the windows and yet they were awake for some reason. He was being carried by someone, their hold familiar and safe. 

"Oh frog, I can hear them!"

"They're getting close, we need to get them away from the kids!" 

He recognized the voices, it was mommy and daddy. And they sounded upset about something. That put the tiny tadpole on edge.

"I'll go, I'm faster."

The tadpole heard a door swing open and they started down a few steps.

"No, you need to stay with Sprig and Polly. I'll go."

"No! You can't!" His mom grabbed daddy's arm, leaving only one arm to support his weight. It wasn’t enough in Sprig’s opinion and he shifted around to try and get his mom’s attention, hoping to show her his discomfort.

"We don't have time for this! They'll be here any minute!" Sprig saw his mom’s eyes fill with tears. No, no. This was all wrong. Why was mommy crying? Mommy didn’t cry. His daddy pressed his forehead to his mom’s, closing his eyes tightly and she did the same. “Look, I'll be careful, I'm gonna lure them towards Toad Tower. Hopefully those brutes will have some idea of how to handle them."

"Please be safe." Mommy sounded so sad. A few tears rolled down her cheeks, dripping onto Sprig’s blanket. He tried to reach up and touch her, wanting to catch her tears. Maybe if he did he could make her smile again. He liked it better when she smiled.

"I love you." Why was daddy so sad too? Sprig wanted to understand but he didn’t. 

"I love you too." 

Sprig watched his daddy hand a bundle of something to mommy before walking away. He could hear the creak of a door, the light slowly draining away from the room, soon they would be in total darkness. Sprig protested this, crying and wriggling in his mother’s grasp. “No! No dark! No dark!” He grabbed on tightly to her arm with his little nubs, burying his head so he wouldn’t have to see the spooky darkness. His arms had only just started growing in, only tiny stumps had managed to form but he still clung to his mommy with all his might. 

“Sprig we have to close the door. Otherwise they’ll find us.” 

“No dark!” Sprig cried again stubbornly. He was used to getting his way. 

“Shhhh, Sprig you’ll wake Polly.”

There was a pause before he heard his daddy talk again. “I’ll leave it cracked. Close it if they get too close.” 

He heard his daddy hop away, his steps getting softer until they were completely gone. Again Sprig didn’t like this. If he was gonna have to be in this smelly, dark room he wanted both his parents there. “Daddy! Want daddy!” 

“Shhh, shhh, there, there, my darling.” His mommy rocked him back and forth, slowly relaxing Sprig back down. He closed his eyes ready to drift back into the realm of sleep, only for a sharp cry to pierce through his peaceful dreams. It sounded big and dangerous and even in the safety of his mom’s arms he couldn’t help but shiver a little in fear. 

“Mommy, bad noise,” he whispered. 

“I know, honey. I know.” His mommy didn’t even look at him. She was looking at the door and her face was filled with worry. It made Sprig uneasy. 

A few minutes passed, every so often interrupted by the feral cries of the deadly birds, the grip on Sprig getting stronger each time. Every time he heard the horrible wail he buried his head a little deeper in his blanket, hoping the horrible sound would just go away and leave them alone. He wanted this to all just be a bad dream. He wanted to wake up and see his mommy and daddy smiling down at him. Instead, he stayed in the dark, musty basement, listening to those awful, awful noises. 

It got closer and closer, each more frightening and vicious than the last… until suddenly it stopped. The silence was somehow more scary than the noise. Everything was eerily quiet, like all sound had been banished, save for the breathing of his mother and the pounding heart of her heart.

Minutes passed and Sprig could no longer hear the wailing. His mom seemed to relax some and he began to calm as well, maybe it was over after all. But then the peace couldn’t last.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash from above, Sprig crying out in fear, his mother covering his mouth to muffle the cry. He heard the noise again, that horrible, ear-piercing wail, only now it seemed to be right over their heads. He felt his mom’s grip tense again, her eyes focused on the door. 

She swallowed hard, glancing down at her baby tearfully. She kissed his head before gently laying him down on the cold, basement floor. Sprig felt a chill and whined in protest but his mom shushed him softly. “Sprig. I’m going to be right back, okay. Whatever happens, don’t leave this room until someone comes and gets you okay?”

“No mommy. No leave,” Sprig cried, tears surfacing in the small tadpole’s eyes. 

“I have to, baby. But you’ll be okay. Just stay as quiet as you can. Can you do that for mommy?”

She lovingly rubbed his cheek and he nodded, holding back tears. “Mmhmm.” 

“Good boy,” she whispered, kissing him once more. 

Sprig watched as his mom leaned down and kissed Polly, who was still amazingly asleep after everything that happened, then slowly started up the stairs. She glanced back one last time at her babies before shutting the door, leaving Sprig engulfed in darkness.

He whined once as he shivered on the dark basement floor but swallowed back anymore tears. He told mommy he would stay quiet. He curled up under his blanket, listening for any more bad noises while he waited for his eyes to adjust. 

It didn't take long for him to hear another one, this so much worse now that he had no one to comfort him through it all. The horrific howl burned deep into Sprig's subconscious, his blood turning to ice as he shuddered uncontrollably, pulling the blanket tighter around him. His pounding heart was starting to hurt with each heavy beat and Sprig briefly wondered if he was dying. He hoped he was wrong. He didn't want the last thing he heard to be that horrible screeching sound. 

He wished his mommy or daddy were there, maybe then this would all fell much less scary. Maybe he could even be brave like they wanted him too. Instead all he could do was cower in the dark and wait for the nightmare to end. 

There was another horrific screech, this one as deadly as the last, but it was what followed that shook Sprig to his core. A blood-curdling scream, one oddly familiar. It didn’t sound monstrous like the other bad noises, it sounded scared. It sounded like it was in pain. 

Sprig whimpered, tears streaming down his cheeks. He wanted his mom. He wanted her so bad. 

The scream was finally enough to wake up Polly, his baby sister bawling and crying uncontrollably as she demanded attention and care. Sprig knew it was bad for her to be making noise. He needed to stop her, before whatever was making those awful sounds heard them. So, gathering his courage he left the safety of his warm blanket and slowly crawled across the cold, basement floor over to his sister. 

Tears streamed down Polly’s face as he finally reached her. He tried to shush her a few times, before finally getting her attention. His baby sister immediately stopped her cries, staring up at her brother with big, teary eyes. Polly giggled up at her brother, happy and content once more. Sprig wished it was that easy for him but he couldn’t stop shaking. 

Another awful shriek from above, followed by violent crashes and banging. It sounded like the house was being ripped apart, wood snapping and breaking with ease as entire walls caved in to an unseen pressure, falling loudly to the floor below. It was deafening for the poor tadpole and Sprig covered his ears as best he could with his tiny stump hands, waiting for it to end. Polly started to cry again as her fragile ears were assaulted by the thundering crashes, which echoed painfully in their hiding spot. Sprig didn’t worry about quieting her this time, nothing could be heard over the chaos above. 

“E-Everything gonna be okay,” he whispered, less to Polly and more to himself. “W-We’ll be okay.” Sprig rocked back and forth, his voice choked by tears as he tried to comfort his terrified mind. “Mommy is gonna come. She fix it.” 

He could smell smoke in the air, hear the crackling of flames over their heads. Were they even safe anymore?

“Mommy gonna be back.” 

The smoke was thicker with Sprig’s next breath and he coughed. “M-Mommy’s coming,” he whimpered, fresh tears surfacing. 

It was becoming difficult to breathe, each new inhale filling his aching lungs with the poisonous smoke, the small tadpole choking and gasping in the tainted air. “Mommy’s coming,” he coughed one last time. 

His head spun, the world going dark. Sprig couldn’t breathe. He didn’t want to breathe. It hurt so bad to breathe.  

And through it all, the monstrous shrieks continued.

“Mommy… come back,” Sprig cried, desperate tears clouding his vision. 

There was a new sound above: a yell, this one not of pain but of anger. Sprig could hear muffled shouting as well as the ever-present shriek but it sounded different somehow. Less hungry.

And somehow, someway, the noises fled. The banging ceased, the piercing shrieks growing softer and distant, until at last the farm was quiet once again, save for the crackle of the fire and Sprig’s heavy breaths.

He checked on his baby sister but she had gone quiet too, staring up at Sprig with curious eyes. He had no explanation to offer her, he was just as lost as she was. Though he felt a bit hopeful now. Maybe mommy and daddy would come back now that the scary noises were gone. 

 He suddenly coughed, reminding him the air was still filled with suffocating smoke. He wanted to leave the basement but his mom had said to stay and wait for her. He didn't want to break his promise. Luckily, the door to the basement started to open, Sprig's eyes filling with excitement as he waited to greet his mom and dad, holding out his stubby hands towards them.

But it wasn't the familiar faces of his parents that greeted Sprig, it was his grandfather's. "Hop Pop," Sprig said in confusion. 

The old frog looked about as far from his cheerful self as possible, his cheeks stained with tears and his features twisted in worry. His clothes were torn and disheveled, covered in soot and blood, several cuts littering his body. As his eyes landed on the two tadpoles something indescribable flashed in his eyes, a mixture of so many emotions at once it nearly gave the old frog whiplash. Pain, grief, relief, guilt, fear, so many feelings circled through Hop Pop as he rushed over to his only two living relatives. 

"Oh thank frog! I thought they got you too!" he cried, a broken whimper replacing his normally chipper tone. He didn't even sound like the Hop Pop Sprig knew. He ran over, pulling both kids into a crushing hug, Polly starting another crying fit in protest. "I was so worried!" he sobbed, holding his grandkids close to his heart, the relief palpable in his voice. "I was so sure that those birds had… had…" 

Hop Pop couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence, instead pulling away from the kids, studying Polly and Sprig closely. "You ain't hurt, are ya?" Sprig shook his head gazing up at his grandpa with wide, confused eyes. The older frog did a quick check just to be sure they were fine, taking an extra moment to just memorize their features. For a moment there he had been sure he would never see them again… alive at least. It was a miracle he was holding them in his arms at all and a part of Hop Pop still didn't believe this was real, but real or not he would cherish the second chance he had been given. 

“Where mommy and daddy go?” Sprig asked and Hop Pop felt his heart shatter at the innocent question. He was still so young, how could one still so new to this world possibly comprehend the tragedy that just occured? He couldn’t help but feel unequipped to deal with this situation but Hop Pop no longer had a choice.

“They’re… they’re gone,” he whispered softly, trying to keep new tears from springing to his eyes. 

“When they coming back?” Sprig innocently asked. 

Hop Pop sighed. “They aren’t, little one.” 

The tiny tadpole gasped before tears started dripping down his face. “No, no, no! Want mommy! Want daddy!” Sprig screamed, wiggling around unhappily, hitting the older frog’s arms with his small stumps. Hop Pop didn’t stop the child’s tantrum, holding back tears as he just let his grandson get the anger and hurt out of his system. Hop Pop wanted so much to join in, to let go and weep brokenly until all the pain and guilt became numb emptiness, but he couldn't. He had to try and stay strong for the two tadpoles in his care now, he was all they had left. It was his duty to be a strong figure in their lives, no matter how much it tore him apart on the inside. 

The tiny tadpole continued to cry and scream, demanding his parents be brought back to him but no amount of tears could undo the tragedy of that night. He expected his Hop Pop to give in to his tantrum or scold him for his fits but his grandpa only watched on sadly. Eventually, Sprig wore himself out, his angry scream fading into silent sobs, burying his face in the old frog's chest. 

"I know… I know," was all Hop Pop could say, his voice a broken whisper. He sucked in a shaky breath, fighting back the sob lingering at the back of his throat. "It'll be okay," he lied. 

Hop Pop gathered the little strength he had left in his tired body to try and comfort his kids, saying gently, "It's gonna be just us from now on. But we'll be alright, you'll see." He was more talking to himself than the two tadpoles but maybe he needed to hear it more than them. "And I promise you as long as there's breath in this old frog's body I'm gonna protect ya. Nothin's ever gonna hurt ya again." He held his two grandkids close to him, feeling their warm bodies cling on tightly to him. In that moment the only thing stronger than Hop Pop's grief was his promise. "I'll keep you safe, no matter what." 

The words echoed through the dark room, overpowering the thick stench of smoke and decay until only the promise remained. "…No matter what."

Time passed and life in Amphibia continued on. The destruction was cleared away, as the repairs began on Wartwood. The bodies were buried and blessed, including those of the two fallen Planters. Soon the tragedy was but a distant memory for the townsfolk, loss was often in Amphibia and life had to be cherished while it lasted. 

The Planters farm was built anew, Hop Pop spending his life's savings to fix his broken childhood home. Seasons passed and with each harvest the crops grew bigger and healthier than the year before. The same could be said of young Sprig and Polly. The eldest sprouted legs and grew into a fine, young frog full of life and adventure. Polly's arms grew in and her fiery spirit was unmatched by any unlucky enough to cross paths with her. Although the pain never went away, Hop Pop soon began to move on from the tragedy, the joy of raising his two grandkids easing his aching heart. 

For Sprig, the memories of that blood-soaked night were lost to time. And with it, his parents faded from his mind as well. Soon he couldn't picture their faces or hear their voice, until the pain of his loss morphed into something far more complicated. They had left a hole in his heart, one that couldn't be mended no matter how he tried. The feelings cut deep and yet were so foreign to young Sprig he couldn't make sense of them. And as the years passed the longing etched deep into his soul grew steadily deeper. 

But no matter how faded the memory or conflicted the feelings, one thing remained the same: that sound, that deadly shriek, always lingered in the back of his mind. It followed Sprig, haunted him at his lowest moments, echoed in his head late at night when sleep was just out of reach. No matter where Sprig went or what he did the sound followed and with it all the fear and trauma from that night came rushing back to drown him. 

Even as he made friends with a creature from another world the herons’ cries followed. As he traveled across the treacherous countryside with the people he loved most it followed. Even in the safety of Newtopia it followed. 

Soon Sprig entered into a new dimension, cut off from the world he always knew, far from the reminders of his family's tragedy. 

And still… it followed. 

Maybe this was his fate, to forever be haunted by a memory he no longer had. To let echos control him. 

But when faced with the very source of all his pain and trauma, Sprig was given a choice: to cower or overcome. 

And Sprig overcame.

#Amphibia #My Writing #sprig plantar #Slight spoilers #angst #headcanon

[mostlymilkwood]

How are you feeling about the Amphibia finale?

Honestly, I didn't like it that much lol. It's not super bad or anything! It's what I was expecting, but I think I was only expecting it to go that way because I'd read interviews where Matt mentioned his friends, who he based the girls around, fell out of touch on and off throughout their lives. Yes, it's realistic that a middle school friendship group drift apart but Amphibia is a show with talking frogs and anime powers, I feel like it should have been trying to hit an aspirational tone, not a clinically realistic one.

I think them drifting apart for 10 years also kind of flies in the face of Sasha’s whole character arc too. A few weeks ago when everyone was talking about the possibility of a timeskip I remember thinking ‘if Marcy moves then Sasha is going to get punished for it.’ Because it’s not ‘fair’ to have Marcy be the only one who drifts due to the physical distance and have Anne and Sasha stay close, right? So the “”””fair”””” thing to do is to have them all part ways over time.

And I’m not just saying this as a sashanne fan lol. But it's weird that the back half of season 3 made so much of an effort to show Anne and Sasha on equal footing with each other, forming a ‘partnership’, being in perfect sync, having Anne say "look at what you and I have now," only for it to actually mean nothing? What they had was only enough to last a year or so before they went to high school I guess?

And hey, if the core idea that Amphibia was trying to show was that sometimes people need to find themselves outside their small circle of friends and family so they can come back to those circles later as a fuller person then they literally showed that across 3 seasons with Anne and Sasha, without needing a massive timeskip. Anne’s time with the Plantars and Sasha’s time with Grime, and later Wartwood, makes them grow and change for the better, so when they finally come back to each other they’re far better equipped to form a healthy relationship.

And none of this is even touching the wild deus machina stuff, Anne maybe being a clone now, and Marcy suffering massively by not getting any real closure to her arc thanks to her limited screen time in s3.

All that said, I still love Amphibia and the ending hasn’t soured me on the whole series or anything. This might read like I really hate the ending but I’m honestly just more apathetic towards it. I get why they wrote it that way, I just think it’s kind of weak. BIG SHRUG I GUESS. Anyway, I’m still going to stick around in fandom and I’m looking forward to reading Marcy’s journal when that comes out this year.

#amphibia spoilers #frog thoughts #tbh just having the timeskip be 5 years and having them meet up at the start of college would have solved some of the issues I have

[ardeidaze]

alright buddy hit me with it. how did u kill sasha and what is ghost-her up to afterwards

well it just so happens that grime was just slow enough in this particular universe that sasha elizabeth waybright became one of those fifth grade science projects where you try and package an egg properly so itll survive being dropped from the third storey of a building. anne did not get a very good grade on this project.

ghost sasha regains awareness on top of the crumbling tower, remembers none of this and Also is unaware that shes a ghost. anything that might clue her in just doesnt process so she's really confused as to why anne is screaming and sobbing at the ground cause girl theres nothing fucking there. she is Pissed that the toads are leaving without her but the tower is unstable so she is like oh my Fuck anne calm Down get off this tower before we all *die* and anne looks at her like. well like shes seen a ghost. they leave and anne and the plantars are like okay what the hell are we supposed to do with this teenage ghost who will probably kill us and also doesnt seem to understand shes dead and anne who is Not having a good time is like Please can we bring her with us i promise ill make this work and theyre skeptical but also. this kids best friend just died in front of her what are you going to do say no? so thats the story of how ghost sasha ends up living in wartwood and plaguing anne with her existence every single day.

sasha getting less terrible is a bit of a Process but it happens. when they meet up w marcy marcys like. oh my god what have i done and spills the truth but in a grand turn of events anne is way more mad abt this than sasha is bc to anne amphibia was "get stuck in the woods get stuck in a town that doesnt trust you break your arm watch your friend try to kill your grandpa and then sacrifice herself for you and get haunted by a ghost" meanwhile amphibia to sasha was "get put in jail have an adventure realize you can be a better person and then do some self improvement" so anne goes back to wartwood w the plantars like in canon but sasha stays with marcy.

temple time! first two temples go exactly as in canon. third temple? well when sasha goes to charge the stone she almost disappears. sasha being a ghost is directly tied to the strength gem's power so. well that has some consequences and the weakening of her ghost form un-represses all the fun memories of going splat like a bug on a windshield. so sasha gets to have a little oh my god im dead crisis

they go back to the king like sorry were not charging the fucking box sasha will die he gets mad shit happens i havent gotten this part planned out well they beat him up yk the drill

...aaaand then moon time. it goes the same as in canon except for the little detail that with taking the power of the gems that means no gem for sasha and she dies. and the guardian is a little bitch asshole so while itll revive anne bc it wants to retire it doesnt give a shit about sasha. and anne has marcy and her family to go back to so she gets sent back. sasha effectively dies twice its great im having so much fun (/lying. this au makes me feel ill. in a cathartic way but still)

#bany im so glad you asked and i hope this is coherent #i literally do not give a fuck about spoiling my wips if i dont talk about them i dont get motivation to write them and then not spoiling - #them doesnt matter

[cometblaster2070]

These smiles are so adorable and genuine, I’m going to cry

#amphibia #amphibia season 3 #amphibia spoilers #amphibia s3 ep 3 #turning point #sasha waybright #captain grime #my daughter finally got herself a redemption arc #im so proud #its funny in all honesty #staying in wartwood just makes you a better person #sasha was there for like a day and a hlaf #and she was ready to DIE for these people #i mean #she's kinda suicidal #but still #it was cute #and grime being such a dad #its adorable #'beatrix may have weapons and soldiers #but she doesn't have you' #my heart #ima really excited for #season 3 #and sasha's arc #and when she eventually meets with marcy #it'll be good #but ill cry

[cyndavilachase]

Marcanne happening in season 3 could be a good thing for the characters and the shows’ themes as a whole

I don’t usually post my theories here on tumblr these days as traction has died a lot, so they all end up on twitter. But since tumblr is essentially just my art archive I thought I’d give a recent one of mine a go from a couple days ago, regarding marcanne:

The entire time that I've watched Amphibia and shipped marcanne it was mostly for fun- not that I thought it impossible, but I never expected it to happen. However, with recent trailers, promos, and interviews released, I really do think marcanne is now a high possibility.

I will be using Shera as reference-- particularly Save the Cat, and Glimmer & Bows relationship development, but you don’t need to have watched Shera.

We still don't know for sure at this point if Anne and/or Sasha is going to rescue Marcy, or if Olivia & Yunan will, but either way, it’s highly likely it'll happen by or on the mid season finale- in order to give enough time for the characters to make amends and heal in season 3b.

In order to give the audience a satisfactory conclusion to the characters’ developments, Anne and Marcy need a lot of time to talk, for Anne to forgive her, and for them to go through the healing process for the rest of season 3b. When we compare Anne & Marcy to Glimmer & Bow, as well as remember the pace of Anne forgiving Hop Pop, this will take a number of episodes. We can get a glimpse of how this will play out.

Marcy fucked up. Anne is and will continue to be hurt, and it'll take a lot of time (way more time than with Hop Pop) for them to make proper repairs even if Marcy says sorry again and explains her reasoning. Things will be awkward and their dynamic will have changed entirely.

However, there is this added layer of childhood best friends, Anne being protective of Marcy, as well as Marcy being stabbed and now, possessed, like Catra was. They're gonna want to go back to the way things were, but things have changed.

At this point in Shera, even after Bow and Glimmer reconciled, things were different and despite them healing and going back to being close and touchy-feely, they obviously had to overcome this huge hurdle. They managed to do that which strengthened their relationship and made them closer than ever. After that, it became evident that they were in love with each other since they were both willing to put the work into getting through a really rough spot. 

With that in mind, it wouldn’t feel unnatural for Anne & Marcy to go through the same thing, as there has been a lot of romantic subtext a la Anne blushing at Marcy in New Wartwood, and the fact that they are the most physically affectionate out of everyone in the show. It can be read platonic, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t romantic. We don’t know that yet.

Some extra treats for y’all shippers out there:

-Some of the crew has liked a pretty decent amount of lowkey marcanne and sashanne fanart, but mostly leaning into marcanne.

-Matt and crew have explicitly avoided answering any questions about the girls’ sexualities or if their feelings will ever be romantic. When you think about it, not confirming this is odd since Matt and crew are incredibly active in fandom, taking feedback and applying that to the show. Many members of the team are also queer so it would be odd to continue letting fans feel as though they're being queerbaited (not saying Marcy and Anne are queerbait, just that it would make sense to say whether or not they are early on since it's so popular).

-Back in last year's Reddit AMA Matt stated that the show is "an ode to old friendships." Old friendships can in fact turn into something else!

-It recently came out in an interview that Disney aged the girls down to 13 years old; they were originally going to be 15. While they were “aged down” absolutely nothing about their characters, interests, and personalities have been changed from the original writing. So despite the studio saying they’re 13, they’re basically high schoolers. This means dating isn’t partially out of the question, since tween dating can be a weird topic.

-The best one: Matt said in another interview that he knows that fans are hoping for certain things to happen, and without stating what will happen, he did say “it do happen."

As for why this development would be good for the characters and the show as whole- I know a lot of people don't like the idea of romance being thrown into the show, but Amphibia is about the girls’ growth & dealing with change.

Sasha in particular has issues with feeling left out & being in control, and Marcy and Anne getting together could only boost that insecurity as now they would have a new, personal dynamic without her involved. We know she’s going to be hanging out in Wartwood for a while. She will likely be redeemed a la interactions with the Wartwoodians. If Marcy and Anne get together and she’s actually totally cool with a dramatic change like this, it would be a fantastic development for her and a great representation of that idea.

Now, I always leaned into Marcy moving away to show that she has accepted change and getting over her fear of abandonment. However, with Marcy being stabbed and now possessed, it seems rather cruel to take her away from her friends. From her personality alone, we can assume that Anne and Sasha are her only friends and she may struggle a lot with making true friends at school because she’s so high energy. By the end of the show, the three of them will have gone through way too much to be separated in my opinion. 

I really think Marcy going through her dynamic with her friends changing because of her mistake will be enough of a lesson for her. 

If she does move, her and Anne could still do long distance.

Even BETTER is the fact that the show can totally show that romantic relationships and platonic relationships are equal. Third wheels are common but they're also garbage. I couldn’t ever see Anne and Marcy prioritizing themselves over Sasha if they decide to stay friends with her. Sasha is likely going to still be important to the both of them if they decide to stay friends after her redemption. This would be really different from the usual trio of a cartoon having the main character and his girl best friend slammed together at the very end, and entirely positive. It isn’t uncommon for two in a trio of friends to start dating in real life and remain stable as long as the work is put in! I know from personal experience.

Overall, there’s many possibilities for where the writers are headed with these characters. Romance or not, I’m really excited to see what they do.

#marcanne #amphibia #the dork speaks #theory #meta #amphibia theory

[borkthemork]

You know, it’ll never stop hitting me about how, when you think about it, Marcy has kind of never actually gotten a truly representative example of the normally incredibly uneven social dynamics in Amphibia yet.

She stayed in Newtopia with tons of likely very biased records/records full of technical jargon that doesn’t actually represent the messed up structure of the caste system as well as all the support and benefits gained from her close position to the king and the city that profits the most from the entire caste system. Because of her study of Frobo, she completely missed the officials from Newtopia who tried to strongarm Toadstool with the threat of being unfairly imprisoned and later explicitly made it clear that they wanted a leader of the South Temple without a heart. And in a way, from her perspective of Wartwood, she likely saw a mayor who was genuinely trying but not knowing how to improve a town that might have looked like it had more fallen through the cracks in the system, rather than a town whose disheveled state had been exacerbated by the same mayor and because of the system, and whose current state at the time was a very large exception to the norm due to Anne’s own effects on the town.

I know people have talked about the odd way Marcy tried to come up with a plan that involved making sure that “this sort of uprising never happens again,” but even up to Yunan and Olivia, it just strikes me as utterly and strangely fascinating that she still hasn’t seen a proper example of the typical injustices of Amphibia’s caste system. Prior to that episode, I suspected that due to her closeness to Andrias, seeing a proper example would’ve sent her down an rabbit hole eventually leading to her pedestal of him crumbling out of questioning and investigating how he could even allow such injustices under his reign and probably not liking the answer before the grand reveal.

However, with the Core and Darcy currently going on, it kind of makes me wonder if we may later see Marcy get an up close perspective of Andrias’ probable impact on Amphibia’s social dynamics over the centuries through her current situation in some manner. Anne had her experience with the institutionalized tax collection and the tower’s response to Hop Pop accidentally inspiring a social rebellion among frogs, and Sasha had the way Newtopia branded Grime a traitor and sent Yunan after him for the tower’s destruction, so perhaps Marcy’s is yet to come.

Personally, I suspect it might happen later in a way to give Marcy a better perspective of the way Andrias unhealthily responded to his friends’ “betrayals” and how he may or may not have restructured/created the caste system to take his anger out on others - kind of like an exploration into how letting feelings fester like Andrias did can affect those around you - but what are your thoughts on this whole thing with Marcy and Amphibia’s social dynamics?

Fermented, how is it like to have the greatest take I've ever seen?

Because you're right. It begs the question of how much Marcy had seen throughout her time in Amphibia, especially with the current information we know of Newtopia's constant history revision and political control. Marcy had said she'd been on a warship. She'd been "here and there, but mostly here", and since we never see Marcy's true thoughts on those scenes of corruption it probably had the intention of truly cloaking Marcy's intentions unknown up until True Colors.

Even if Marcy's alignment as amoral is not the most pedantic description of her biases, Marcy is definitely the kind of person who is influenced by what she emotionally believes is correct based on the situation and her emotional state.

She'd rather omit her Plan B because it is driven by an intense fear of loneliness. She would rather remain silent than be hit by the emotional turmoil that comes from self-disclosure. Marcy's actions change on what information she knows and what she doesn't focus upon, which could be showcased in The First Temple, where her focus on getting the music box charged and proving she's capable overwhelms the fact that she is not being considerate of what Anne and the Plantars are going through until it finally hits her.

With Newtopia and its tendency to lie and shroud itself in escapism/fantasy clothes, I always liked to imagine that the emphasis and love towards the world and what it represents helps cover up the corruption in the first place.

Marcy doesn't question that the newts call toads or frogs "peasants" or beneath them because wouldn't that be part of the course in a fantasy-oriented setting? And even if she did, hence her specific mention and notice of the caste system, Marcy is so removed from the actual conflicts that it's more of a thing to analyze and potentially fix if it actually becomes a priority in Marcy's mind.

If Marcy gets pulled out of her Darcy stupor and sees the absolute carnage that has been created on Amphibia from an environmental, political, and tyrannical scale it's going to hit her hard.

I'd find it quite tragic too if any of the episodes confirm that Marcy has been protected away from that reality, or just never realized how serious it was. Girl doesn't deserve being emotionally smacked in rapid succession.

#asks #fermented-writers-block #amphibia

[heart-stomper]

Unspoken Trust, Unspoken Fears

Gathering my thoughts on Sasha and Marcy’s dynamic before S3 proves me wrong shows us what’s going on with these two.

It’s time to look at The Dinner and Battle of the Bands, and then use it as a guide to read the room in True Colors.

No worries! You just gotta speak their language. - Sasha, Reunion

Or in this case, know when to stay quiet. 

Sasha gets really really frustrated this episode. Like, so bad, that if that Volcakeno didn’t erupt, she might have been the one to end the friendship. Even Marcy and Grime couldn’t calm her down. But that’s the thing, before this point, they were the only ones to get through to Sasha without provoking her.

Grime keeps Sasha in line; she rolls her eyes and is clearly annoyed every time she has to hold herself back, but her willingness to keep it cool shows she ultimately agrees with Grime’s plan and sees it as the best path to success.  When Marcy chimes in, it’s with a helpful answer to Sasha’s question. She reminds Sasha of why they stopped Doing Thing by explaining how their plan failed. She avoids judging Sasha for it, and frames it as the repercussions of their actions, as a group. Marcy is on Sasha’s side, so Sasha doesn’t put up any defenses. When Sasha decides to avoid arguing with Anne however, it isn’t for Anne. It’s for the plan, for her and Grime.

Marcy has enough faith in Sasha to believe she’d never want to purposefully hurt Anne, but is careful about broaching the subject. Sasha feels attacked very easily, and will quickly trivialize or downplay things if she feels the other person is being unreasonable or doesn’t ‘get’ her.

And that is the only time Marcy speaks up besides The Big Argument. She only jumps into actual conflicts if things get too heated. Otherwise, she just lets Sasha do her thing, and lets Anne argue with Sasha... sort of.

This isn’t collaboration. It’s a hostile takeover. Why do things always have to be your way?

Now, for the bait and switch. Let’s talk about Marcy’s behavior in Day at the Aquarium and New Wartwood, and Sasha’s in Toadcatcher and Barrel’s Warhammer… while tying it all back to Battle of Bands!

You didn’t tell me you were writing a song! Let’s do it! I mean, if that’s okay with you, Sasha.

In A Day at the Aquarium, Marcy’s first instinct to Anne saying she’s going back with the Plantars is to make a plan. To show that it isn’t actually what will benefit Anne’s Goals. She doesn’t even consider opening up as an option, and avoids saying anything that could cause conflict. New Wartwood, Marcy tries to chat with the citizens of Wartwood and get to know them. But when that doesn’t work, she decides that impressing them with her knowledge and usefulness is bound to make them like her. It has to.

It does seem simpler.

Trying to win people over by claiming a plan is of mutual interest and necessary, carefully choosing which words to use, viewing relationships as a puzzle to be solved… this isn’t the sort of thing Marcy needs to do to get along with someone like Anne. It’s how Marcy copes with Sasha. Sasha lashes out and belittles bad ideas. Sasha has to be convinced the plan benefits her, suits her. Vulnerability and love aren’t enough to make her care, so Marcy does what she can to prove she’s worth being around. She might even sometimes wonder if Sasha actually likes her, or just likes what she can do for her. She rather not find out.

Whenever she’s afraid of people not liking her, or is worried that she’ll lose them, she dives right into those bad habits. She can give her opinions, but they aren’t supposed to get in the way of what Sasha wants. She’s supposed to say “That’s amazing! What do you think Sash’?” not “Let’s do it!”

Listen. There’s another reason why I’ve been training so hard. To protect the one person I know I can count on right now. You. You’re right, I already lost one friend. I’m not about to lose another. - Sasha, Toadcatcher

In Toadcatcher, there’s that scene, where Sasha looks at the BFF picture and the wind cuts off Anne for a second so it’s just her and Marcy. This is where Sasha is at. Anne might have rebelled, but when Sasha reunites with Marcy? Oh, she’ll show Anne, one way or another. They’ll get her back (like, joining the team or revenge wise, depending on Sasha’s mood.)

Listen here you buffoon! What’s it gonna take to prove that you should follow us? - Barrel’s Warhammer

Aaaand Sasha freaks out royally when she learns the two are alone together and doing just fine. On some level, she fears Anne and Marcy “getting along without her” because it means they might decide they don’t actually need her to make plans; that she isn’t necessary to have fun. In the The Sleepover to End All Sleepovers, we see that isn’t as big a catastrophe as Sasha seems to think it’d be. As time goes on, the girls do gain a healthier relationship to their feelings about Sasha, but that doesn’t mean they’d want her gone even if they don’t need her there. But Sasha doesn’t know that, she doesn’t even consider it till reuniting in The Third Temple. All she knows for now, is that she can be a bit... much... so if she isn’t in control, if her way isn’t “the best”, why would Marcy put up with her either? 

Listen. If things get too wild out here, just give me a signal and I’ll call the whole thing off. 

 For sure, teach it to us Anne. 

Every Sasha plan starts with an empty reassurance. So much of Sasha’s dialogue follows a pattern where she says stuff like “we’ll call it off” (she did not call it off) and “for sure, I don’t mind” (she did mind) that it could be it’s own game. Sasha talks the talk, until it gets in the way of what she wants.

Sorry guys, but we’re way to close to bail. I am not going back empty-handed.

It’s good. I just have a few tiny notes that I think could make it even better. ... Boom! Fiixed it! 

If they just follow her lead and let her fix it, everything will work out. They should believe in her and trust her. After all...

That’s not true! Besides, we did it. ... You’re not actually gonna throw this all away are you?

I just wanted all of us to succeed. I was just being a good friend. Why couldn’t they see that?

It all worked out, right? Percy and Braddock made it out okay even if she didn’t follow through on her promise. They won, she’s reliable. But of course, Sasha lost something more important than their belief in her abilities, she lost their trust. In Battle of the Bands however, Sasha recognizes that Anne and Marcy don’t want to follow her ambitions and will be pushed away by them just like Percy and Braddock were. So she takes it upon herself to end things, accepting that she’s lost.

Sorry it took so long.

Except this time, she manages to realize that maybe “what she wants” is to be there for her friends. Sasha’s finally had the space to relax and really think about what she wants, at least a little. This isn’t a real battle after all. Doing things her way all the time isn’t as important as she thought. Maybe she should trust in her friends more. A change of pace isn’t “wrong”, just different. It’s fun.

Sorry we lost, Sash’.

Just like Percy and Braddock, Marcy knows Sasha is capable. She understands that Sasha just wants the team to succeed. That’s why she apologizes when Grime beats them in the competition. She wants Sasha to know she appreciates what she did, but keeps it a bit indirect. She gets Sasha probably didn’t want to push them away. Marcy tried to catch herself and back Sasha up, but when Sasha had her argument with Anne, she stayed quiet. She couldn’t bring herself to go against Anne. 

That was ultimately for the best, as Sasha learned a valuable lesson. Except... She’s in too deep with the rebellion to back out now. This is the episode she’d spill the truth and give up on the whole thing, except... Grime. A part of her knows leaving would make Grime her enemy. She can’t risk that. So, she keeps going with the plan. She decides she’ll somehow win it all back. Because the thing she’s actually most afraid of, is losing another friend. 

Sorry things got a little crazy back there. You guys good? ... Sheesh, don’t be a sore loser. Look, I’m gonna stay here and get this toad regime off the ground, but I can totally send you two home if you want. Or, you can stick around and give me a hand! So what’d’ya say?

Sasha’s final offer; the last chance she’s giving the girls to stop acting weird and go back to being her obedient friends who do what she wants. Sasha lost at Toad Tower, but now she’s won. So Anne should go back to normal, she’s supposed to, like some unspoken “rule”.

And Marcy is supposed fall back in line too. The offer and apology are just as much a plea directed at her. Sasha’s trying to be generous, in her own awkward way. She has bit her tongue so far. She’s thrown a temper tantrum or two, but she hasn’t been this forward in asking Marcy for help till now. She wants Marcy to say that everything’s okay. Make it clear she doesn’t think she’s the bad guy, and that she forgives her and wants to be there for her. That they’re on the same page again. She wants Marcy to help make Anne look overly dramatic and silly for making such a big deal of all this. Sure, if Anne figures that out by herself, that’d be great, but if Marcy could just speak up.

But she doesn’t. Of course she doesn’t.

Marcy’s too busy worrying about Anne’s reaction. Knowing that she’ll be upset about this. She doesn’t dare side with Sasha, and is disappointed and betrayed that she actually did something like this. Marcy already has her own secret plans, so when she finally tries to calm things down, all she can give is a non-descript “we can still fix this”. And then, she’s once again shocked when she sees Sasha threaten Anne and the Plantars. Seeing Sasha act so willing to actually hurt people rather than just push them around... it finally hits her just how serious “tried to kill them” was. And of course, losing Anne or being sent home with her would completely mess up her own plans.

Sasha’s isn’t a vulnerable person. She’ll go on about loving her friends if it makes her look good, but she actively avoids doing anything that could be seen as “weak”. She wouldn’t dare ask Marcy to drop Anne and choose her. If Marcy isn’t speaking up, she can take the hint. She still isn’t on her side, and so she gets sent to the dungeon along with the rest of them.

Marcy accepts that Sasha has become an obstacle, but a part of her still hopes the three of them can work through all this. If they do things her way, nobody has to get hurt. She'll figure out a way hold everything together, fix everything, like always.

And then Andrias betrays her.

Yeah, what plan?

Sasha stops talking once she realizes what’s going on. Quietly fuming as Marcy explains herself. The music box, the suggestion to take it back to Andrias... that wasn’t Marcy being the sweet, supportive friend who Sasha thought she could always rely on, who believed in her... that was Marcy using her. It was never going to become their plan; Marcy never trusted her and was actively working against her. Sasha lost Anne, and she never had a chance at getting Marcy back, either. 

Sasha smacks Marcy away when she desperately tries to justify herself. She doesn’t want to hear it anymore. She’s furious that Marcy thinks they could be friends after something like this, after she’s manipulated them and claimed it was for their sakes. This whole time, her goal had been avoiding the move with her parents. And coming here has only torn them apart even worse.

Marcy reaches out to both girls. And when Sasha rejects her, she clings to Anne, hoping at least she’ll find it in her to forgive her. That she’ll understand she cares about them even if she messed up. Marcy knows they’d probably never pick her over their families or ambitions, so she told herself this place offered those things too. Made them all better people. But as she says her excuses out loud, she can’t find a single one that feels right. She was just afraid of losing them, and now, she’s managed to hurt them on top of that. 

But the thing is. After all that. Despite how betrayed and hurt and angry Sasha was, she looks like this:

Sasha realizes this must be exactly how Anne felt about her betrayal. It isn’t just an abstract “hurt” or “bad thing” anymore. She can also sympathize with how Marcy feels and why she did it, at least a little. She can’t imagine being able to forgive this, and yet... when she looks to Anne with that apologetic look, she isn’t just hoping Anne will forgive her. She’s also asking for permission to forgive Marcy. Pleading that they all still have a chance to move past this together.

#implying toadcatcher is subtextually about Marcy #naturally these are all just my assumptions and guesses #jottin down theories and observations #and often the tone is 'what sasha thinks' or 'what marcy thinks' rather than a birds eye opinion on the situation #anne gets through to sasha and marcy with a mixture of vulnerability and honesty #it sometimes backfires and they still tend to hide a lot of their feelings #but standing her ground and finding herself really did inspire others too #sasha seems to trust marcy even if anne's messed the group dynamic up #so I wrote this under the assumption she's paying more attention to anne because well #anne is the one who 'betrayed' her #she doesn't need to worry about marcy (so she thinks) #sasha also seems to think she's 'manipulating' and 'convincing' her friends when she's simply invoking fear in them #because while she does like control the idea of them not sincerely adoring her screws her up #sasha and marcy both seem to get into these situations where they feel helpless #where their plans are 'the only option' #and they become so focused on it they fail to realize what they're sacrificing in the process #sasha straight up refuses to believe grime's warnings that she'll push people away #and marcy is desperate and doesn't think she has anyone to rely on except andrias #while marcy probably does play the game to get sasha to do what she wants sometimes #I kinda love how they've deconstructed the whole concept of a 'leader' #neither of them are really 'in control' #they're just needlessly overcomplicating their friendship #learning marcy knows how to play sasha does explain why she falls so easily into the lieutenant role though #sasha really takes other people's plans and goes 'our plans <3' haha #amphibia #sasha waybright #marcy wu #amphibia spoilers