#amphibia home again

[hello-its-j10]

just thought id post my fandom interests here

[full intro posted on tiktok]

edit: forgot to tag bfdi/bfdia srry

edit 2: oh also im into inanimate insanity ^^

edit 3: im not posting on tiktok anymore

[drawbudd]

hey wait the protagonist showed up in a whole new world unable to leave, the one that found them bonded and then they fought off a giant beast together?? sounds a bit familiar huh

[diloph]

's funny, but I only stumbled across the leaked pilots because I was absently refreshing youtube on the off chance there was a new Alien: Romulus trailer, then they popped up in my suggested feed.

So asides from my Pepe Silvia-style corkboard theories, it turns out I've finally got a tenuous reason for me to associate Marcy with a Xenomorph after all!

[disneytva]

"Gravity Falls: The Book Of Bill" Panel Brings Insight In The Nightmares.

Gravity Falls fans went trought behind the secrets of The Book Of Bill who took the internet by storm, the panel also had the book artists Ian Worrel ("Gravity Falls", "Amphibia") and Joe Pitt ("Gravity Falls", Disney TVA pilot "Park Poppers")

Photos by Karla Garcia and Disney Publishing Worldwide

-Ian Worrel, Joe Pitt and Alex Hirsch all met in an Animation summer camp in High School

-Adrian Molina (Pixar Animation Studios "Coco", "Elio") was also one of the fellow classmates of Alex, Ian and Pitt at CalArts

-One of the reasons to make The Book of Bill was to work again with the former Gravity Falls crew

-Bill started as an inside joke in the Gravity Falls production as Alex wanted him to be a foil and to make Dipper crazy with his conspiracy theories and the crew decided to put it on every episode and the opening credits sequence

-Bill was almost a meme before it was a character, the zodiac was made up at last minute

-The Book Of Bill has been a New York Times Seller for 3 months in a row

-One fan who owns a book store told Alex, Pitt and Worrel that The Book Of Bill sold out on his book store

-Alex Hirsch reaction to the reception of The Book Of Bill has been terryfing and surprising as he thanks the fans for still loving Gravity Falls after all these years

-Ian Worrel's favorite pages where the "Dream Statues" page and the Pines Family group photo who didn't knew it was going to be burned at the end

-Alex Hirsch favorite joke was Bill playing the Xylophone apologizing for Weirdmaggedon

-Ian Worrel's process for the statue page was made all in VR

-Joe Pitt's favorite page was the bad end alternate universes of Dipper and Mabel

-Alex being asked about an Alternate Reality we’re Dipper was trapped in a Bubble rather than Mabel with the awnser being Dipper's Bubble being him and Ford having an X-Files show and Mabel saving him by the same way he saved her.

-Alex being asked if Bill loves The Duchess Approves with Alex awnsering that he loves it and likes fan-art on his alt-account

-Alex being asked what were Bill and the Axolotls’ prior relationship? Alex awnsers that he dosn't want to give lore for free

-Alex being asked for some more information on Bill’s Home Dimension? Alex had two pages with many information on Bill's Dimension but he kept it secret and decided to release them as of yet.

-Alex being asked before creating the Book of Bill did he ever consider creating something on his own or continuing Gravity Falls? Alex is very open to make more Gravity Falls books after the explosive sucess of The Book Of Bill that surprised Disney Press, Ian Worrel, Alex and Joe Pitt.

-Alex being asked about the process of editing and adding all the Ciphers and Codes into Gravity Falls? The codes and ciphers where added at last minute on the episodes for Alex the codes where so much fun.

-Alex being asked if he could tell us any additional canon about the secrets of Dipper and Mabel and anything beyond the Book of Bill? As of yet Alex cannot speak on Mabel and Dipper's backstory

-Alex being asked to elaborate more on Stan’s Nightmare? Alex talks about a story of Bill entering Stan’s mind to try and strike a deal with him with Stan not being fooled by Bill's tricks.

-Alex being asked since originally The Book of Bill was meant to be more of a “Bible of Bill” did he at one point want to lean more into the idea of “Ciphertology”? There's more and maybe one day he will reveal it.

-Alex on Billford relationship on The Book Of Bill: If anyone in your life is like Bill Cipher RUN AWAY FROM IT!

[genericnam]

Why, out of GF, Amphibia, and TOH, only Luz didn't have to leave her new world behind:

I've seen people complain about Amphibia and to a lesser extent, Gravity Falls, for having their series end with a goodbye; the main characters having to leave their found families and this world they've grown to love and return to regular life. But the thing is, the three shows all have MASSIVELY different morals, that each fit in with how the goodbyes (or lack thereof) work into the finales.

Gravity Falls has a large theme of temporary goodbyes and reconciling. Stan and Ford being the primary example. But there are others: Soos and Melony, Wendy and Robbie, even Dipper and Mabel to an extent. The show builds upon this with Gravity Falls being a VACATION, they aren't trapped there, they could theoretically go home at any time. Episodes such as Summerween and Dipper and Mabel Vs. The Future also build on the tone, telling that it's okay to both grow up and move on, but you don't have to leave behind what you once loved in doing so.

The final conflicts (Wierdmaggedon) are caused because of characters not being able to let go. Stan couldn't let go of Ford, Mabel couldn't let go of Gravity Falls, Gideon couldn't let go of Mabel.

Gravity Falls teaches the viewer that even if you love something, you have to let it go, and eventually it will return. In the words of Bill Cipher: "We'l meet again. Don't know where, don't know when. I just knew we'll meet again, some sunny day."

Amphibia has a similar theme of Gravity Falls, but it takes it further. Amphibia tells you that if you don't let go, sometimes things will only get worse. The primary example for this is the show's catalyst event: Marcy getting Anne to steal the Music Box. Marcy chose to go to Amphibia, rather than move away, and she dragged her friends into it with her. Instead of having a long distance friendship with Sasha and Anne, she took them to an alternate dimension in order to spend eternity on a massive adventure, and it got her killed. Marcy and Anne died and Sasha tried to kill herself.

And that's only Marcy. Sasha was a control freak that bordered on yandere at the height of her villain arc. Sasha couldn't accept that Anne was beginning to move on from the toxic friendship that the Calamity Trio had locked themselves into.

The trio were horrible to eachother, pre-character arcs, and they needed to focus on self improvement before they could even hope to be good friends. In the time between 'All In' and the epilog, the Calamity Trio would not have actually been able to be good for eachtoher. They say they forgive eachother, but that was forgiveness given during a WAR. Post show, the real feelings would start to bubble up. Anne's resentment for the betrayals, Marcy’s abandonment issues, Sasha's definite self hatred. The trio HAD to split up to have any semblance of a friendship.

Amphibia tells its audience that not all good things can last, and if you obsess and force it to stay, it can destroy you.

The Owl House has a completely opposite moral. It tells you to find your people, and fight for them.

Luz lived in the Human Realm, but it was never her home. Her home was with Camila and Manny, but when Manny died, Camila and Luz's relationship began to falter. That world wasn't her home. When Luz found the Boiling Isles, she was always supposed to be able to leave. This wasn't a summer trip she didn't want at first, or a one way portal. The Boiling Isles was HER choice.

Luz picked Bonesburrow. Luz picked Hexside. Luz picked The Owl House. Her home was always meant to be The Boiling Isles. She only started trying to find a way back to Earth because the choice was taken from her. Luz no longer had the choice to go back to the Human Realm. In fact, the only time Luz chose Humans over Isles was when she was PUNISHING herself for helping Belos.

Luz got to stay in the Boiling Isles because TOH tells its audience that where you start isn't where you should always stay. Find your place and find your people. And when you do, hold it dear and never let go. "Us weirdos have to stick together."

[theaccidentfactory]

I think I figured out how to verbalize why Sashanne makes me so insane. People often joke that Sasha didn't have to do all that, but really, she didn't. Amphibia, at its very center, is about being afraid of change and losing people. Despite her independent front, Sasha has been abandoned by both of her parents, and is deeply terrified of losing the only real people she has in her life, Anne and Marcy. Before Amphibia, Sasha was never in danger of losing Anne. If she had let go control even a small amount, Anne still would have stayed with her and loved her. If she had just been like "oh ok, let's hang out and celebrate your birthday tomorrow then instead" after Anne told her she didn't want to skip school and miss her parent's party, they would have hung out the next day. They never would have went to Amphibia. Even after they went to Amphibia, if Sasha had seen Anne's defiance at toad tower as a wake up call, and heard her out about the amphibians not being terrible and dangerous, she never would have fought Anne and subsequently fell from toad tower. If she had seen falling from toad tower as a wake up call, she would have found Anne so they could work together to find Marcy and get home, not betraying her again and taking part in causing the events of true colors and s3 (it wasn't entirely her fault because she couldn't have anticipated King Andrias or Marcy's betrayals, but she did contribute to the domino effect of events). In fact, in the rare moments where Sasha DID relinquish control, I would argue that she was the closest to Anne she had ever been, such as in BotB when she joined Anne & Marcy on stage and actually had fun and felt seen and loved. When she started giving up control in s3, she and Anne made genuine progress, however it was almost too late because they still ended up drifting apart in high school when all was said and done. Everything would have been different if Sasha was able to have some self awareness and give up control, she would still get the love and loyalty she so desperately craved, but she just couldn't see past her own fear and trauma and terror to be alone, so she consistently self sabotaged, desperately trying to cling onto Anne, when all it would have taken was letting go just a little bit.

[detentiontrack]

It doesn’t excuse her behavior, but Sasha’s actions in reunion are so much deeper than “these gross frogs are annoying and I don’t want to share my best friend with them”. Sure, it may be some of it, but it’s so much more than that. (A rambly analysis of Sasha Waybright’s behavior and what led up to her suicide attempt in reunion)

Sasha perhaps had the most traumatic entry into amphibia. She went from hanging out with her friends on Anne’s birthday to being suddenly transported into a bizarre unfamiliar world filled with scary creatures she’s never seen before. And immediately after that, before she even got a chance to process, she was held at spear point, arrested, and thrown in prison in horrible conditions. It’s unclear for exactly how long, but for at least a few weeks to a month, she was kept in that prison being constantly interrogated. At this point she had no idea where her friends were, if they were even ALIVE or in the same place as her, and she didn’t know if the toads would decide to torture or even kill her.

She had to use every single manipulation tactic she had ever learned (most likely from her traumatic childhood) just to improve her conditions and chance of survival. It’s written as a joke and glossed over in the show, but that entire situation is HEAVY and TRAUMATIC. And she is 13 years old.

Sasha’s introduction, her very first perception of this strange new world, was one of trauma and pain and fear. Anne was alone and then she met the Plantars. Marcy was immediately taken in by the newts. Sasha was completely alone and for all she knew, she was the only person in that entire world that she knew she could count on.

And then…. She receives news that ANNE is there. She went from torturing herself mentally thinking about all the scenarios where she possibly lost her friends forever, to learning that there’s HOPE. But even then, the only evidence is Anne’s singular shoe. She doesn’t know if Anne is hurt or even alive. She only knows that this scary strange toad captain who is holding her captive is interrogating her on the whereabouts of her friend. Realizing that even the captain of the toad army doesn’t know where Anne is, she feels like NO ONE does.

Finally, after prison break, she’s out. Not only is she out, she is lieutenant of the entire toad army. Again, she is 13 years old. She got there by desperately manipulating her way into freedom. Suddenly, she went from being captive in a cell for a month, to having the mission of finding both of her friends alive and finding a way to get them back home AND also becoming an entire lieutenant soldier in order to uphold the end of her deal with captain Grime.

FINALLY after a really long time of trying to find her friends, she receives word that Anne is alive and well in Wartwood. And everything changes. The hope she’s been running on has been refilled. And if Anne is alive, Marcy might be too. She learns that Hop Pop is the face of the frog rebellion, but due to the news about Anne, she’s sort of tunnel visioned. People forget that before reunion, Sasha probably didn’t even really trust Grime. Later in the show they have more of a familial relationship, but at this point, their alliance is purely out of convenience. She doesn’t trust him. But she NEEDS him to get home. And he needs her. So when she learns that Grime needs to smash the rebellion, she only thinks of amphibians as the people who have kept her captive and tormented her since the moment she got there. She thinks she doesn’t owe them anything. She just needs to get home with her friends. She’s willing to do whatever it takes.

They make a plan and arrive at Wartwood. She finds out that not only is the frog that is charged with starting the rebellion Anne’s FRIEND, but she has a new family, and someone she calls her best friend. Sasha’s entire world shatters as she hears that Anne replaced her. In her mind, Anne replaced her and started over exactly like her parents when they divorced and started new families. Anne was the only constant in her life, and now not only is she replacing her, she’s also aiding and friendly with the very creatures that have been traumatizing her. This is earth shattering to her. She can’t think straight. She feels raw emotional pain and has NO time to process it. So she does the only thing she knows how to do. Continue with the plan.

She thinks that maybe Anne will realize that they’re just frogs, and this entire thing will be over and they can go home, like how things were before. She’s not the same Sasha that originally got transported to amphibia, but she expects Anne to still be the same Anne.

She’s so caught up in the emotional pain and trying to cover it up with the happiness and relief that comes with finding Anne and (in her mind) being SO CLOSE to going home, that her world ends AGAIN when Anne takes a stand against her. She takes a stand against her for the first time in their 8 years of friendship AND it’s the replacement best friend AND an amphibian that encourages her to do it.

She didn’t mean to fight Anne, but the white hot rage took over her body. She got through her entire childhood by being ANGRY and fighting back, and this was her knee jerk response.

When toad tower crumbled, her change of heart that led to her suicide attempt wasn’t due to her believing that everything she did was wrong. She wasn’t quite there yet (as shown in toad catcher). It was in response to the fact that Anne was doing fine without her. It’s the fact that Sasha thought she was so replaceable, Anne allowed a strange evil creature, who is also highly annoying, to become her new best friend and companion. Anne didn’t need her. Anne was better off without her.

So she let go.

[agalychnisspranneusroseus]

More on my "marcanne counts as toxic yuri" agenda because what if Marcy's plan WORKED.

She succeeded at keeping her friends trapped in Amphibia with her. Whatever happened with Andrias never reached the point of interdimensional invasions, cyborg possesions or child murder. He never got to tell Anne and Sasha the truth.

The music box is destroyed. Our three girls remain trapped in Amphibia for years and years after Andrias. Maybe Lady Olivia takes him place. Marcy continues to work as the crown's Chief Ranger, Sasha becomes master of the South Toad Tower and Anne works as some sort of councelor between all three species, traveling around Amphibia to help people solve conflicts. She visits the Plantars every week to lend a hand at the farm and just be with them, but most of the time she lives in Newtopia now, with Marcy. She married Marcy.

So now they're in their 20s and they all have their lives there. It was hard at first - their only hope to go back home and see their families was crushed before their eyes. Anne had it worst, crying herself to sleep for months, horrified to know she'd never see her family again. Sasha tried to be strong, but she could usually be seen crying alongside Anne out of sheer desperation. Processing their grief took them years.

But that wasn't the case for Marcy. Anne thought she just had her own way of dealing with grief, that she needed time, but as the years passed, Marcy never showed any sign of even missing Earth or her family. In fact, she was happier in Amphibia than she'd ever been back home. Anne would love to know why.

But Anne and Sasha both found their happiness in time. They were young and had their whole life ahead of them. To Marcy, it all just seems so perfect. She was right, right? She gave her friends something wonderful. She made their lives unquestionably better! Everything they have now - she gave it to them! Their friendship is now stronger than ever and she even married her favorite girl in this world and the next!

But maybe this girl is growing suspicios, because the ten year anniversary of their arrival to Amphibia is nearing and both she and Sasha are suddenly hit all over again with the utter horror of their situation, and Anne though she'd see something, anything coming from her wife now. Sasha agrees - she got her psychology degree at the University of Newtopia, okay? She knows what she's talking about. This isn't just a "Marcy needs time" kind of issue - not missing her family at all after 10 years - not even feeling a little bit of worry knowing they probably think their daughter is dead or worse - is something to be looked into, but whenever they ask, Marcy insists on how great her life in Amphibia is, how she knows her parents would want her to be happy, so even if they don't know it, she's living the life they would want for her, isn't she? Wouldn't her parents want her to live a happy life?

...yeah, they both call bullshit.

Sasha must return to Toad Tower at dawn after the little anniversary ceremony they hold between the three of them every year. Despite all of them having their different missions and responsabilities, no matter what's going on in their lives at that moment, they make the time to meet for their birthdays, particularly Anne's, for obvious reasons. It breaks Anne's heart a little to think all the birthdays she has left will be only bittersweet, but she tries to smile regardless - she has a new family with the Plantars, her friendship with Sasha has never been this healthy and strong, and she's married to the girl of her dreams. If she's honest to herself, she is happy. Really happy. But inside her happiness there would always be a small but persistent seed of grief.

Marcy is late this year. She has never been late before - and it's less understandable considering this year's ceremony takes place in her own palace. Joe Sparrow is perched outside, so she shouldn't be far. She arrives two hours too late looking nervous and disheveled, hand pressed against her heart, but she quickly draws a wide smile and hugs both her friends, beginning a new ramble to update Sasha on her projects and research. Sasha, bless her heart, listens to her every word and lets herself be distracted by everything Marcy has to say, but Anne can see right through her. She notices Marcy avoiding her gaze, she sees her fidgeting, she hears the high-pitched strain in her voice. Sasha sees them only a few times a month these days, so she wouldn't notice like Anne does.

After Sasha leaves and Marcy falls asleep, she has to make a decision: ask the guards whether or not Marcy had visited him, or trust her wife and oldest friend that she wouldn't. Ha! She can't imagine why she would! What a stupid idea, why would Marcy want to see him after what he'd done to her? What did he even have to offer? She has two huge vertical scars marring her body, one on her chest and one down her back. Her memory of him is one of the few things that keep her up at night out of utter and complete pain. Nonsense. She wouldn't betray Anne's trust like that. She wouldn't.

She falls asleep by her side and by the time she wakes up, Marcy is gone, sneaking out to frog knows where again.

[kneeboy-jensen]

"It's been 2 years since Anne and her friends went back home. The moon has somehow formed itself back into its familiar shape. It's like an act of Frog, I'd say. Heck, with what she did to that thing, I thought I was gonna leave Sprig and Polly behind before it managed to spin around Amphibia again, HAH! Time is a cruel mistress, isn't it? Though tonight, I happen to find her quite comforting. I don't need to grow older but I'm happy I get to see the kids do. And to that, I thought I would give the girls my flowers once more".

[easthigh]

LGBT+ REPRESENTATION ON DISNEY CHANNEL

*only including characters who are explicitly queer in their media and not revealed to be by a creator outside of their work

Nikki (transgender) in Raven’s Home (2017-present)

Sasha Waybright (bisexual) in Amphibia (2019-2022)

Tai (non-binary) in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (2023-present)

Papa Titan (gender-fluid) in The Owl House (2020-2023)

Gerry (mlm) and Bruce (mlm) in Christmas… Again?! (2021)

Nicholas (mlm) and Wayne (mlm) in Bunk’d (2015-present)

Sheriff Blubs (mlm) and Deputy Durland (mlm) in Gravity Falls (2012-2016)

Isaac Goldberg-Calderon (mlm) and Antonio Goldberg-Calderon (mlm) in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (2023-present)

Eda Clawthorne (bisexual) and Raine Whispers (non-binary) in The Owl House (2020-2023)

Cami Rivera (bisexual) in Raven’s Home (2017-present)

Susan (wlw) and Cheryl (wlw) in Good Luck Charlie (2010-2014)

Jackie-Lynn Thomas (bisexual) and Chloe (wlw) in Star vs. the Forces of Evil (2015-2019)

Terri (non-binary) in Amphibia (2019-2022)

Luz Noceda (bisexual) and Amity Blight (lesbian) in The Owl House (2020-2023)

A-Spen (non-binary, bisexual) and Willa Lykensen (queer) in Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 3 (2022)

Harvey Park (mlm) and Gilbert Park (mlm) in The Owl House (2020-2023)

General Yunan Longclaw (wlw) and Lady Olivia (wlw) in Amphibia (2019-2022)

Penumbra (lesbian) in DuckTales (2017-2021)

Terry (mlm) and Alexander (mlm) in Big City Greens (2018-present)

Masha (non-binary) in The Owl House (2020-2023)

Cyrus Goodman (gay) in Andi Mack (2017-2019)

Ally (pansexual) and Jess (bisexual) in Amphibia (2019-2022)

Brooklyn (transgender) in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (2023-present)

The Collector (non-binary) in The Owl House (2020-2023)

Ty Sabrewing (mlm) and Indy Sabrewing (mlm) in DuckTales (2017-2021)

TJ Kippen (gay) in Andi Mack (2017-2019)

Mr. X (mlm) in Amphibia (2019-2022)

Mike (mlm) and Carl (mlm) in Under Wraps 2 (2022)

[let-us-cultivate-our-garden]

With that other ask saying Luz has no future in the human realm right now, especially since she’s a nonwhite LGBT girl who Republicans would want dead for existing, I thought of something else:

If TOH’s finale aired now, would people react more negatively to Luz living in the human realm and going to human school at the end? She was definitely shown to be more at home in the BI, and again, everyone in power would want her dead or deported or *something*. Recently someone made a joke to me about how you couldn’t do The Wizard of Oz nowadays since Dorothy would have absolutely no reason to go back to Kansas. Luz was better off in the Boiling Isles than in a world that hates her for existing.

Please reply.

[Rubs temples]. Guys, guys. Luz is fictional. Her world is not our own. Gravesfield is not depicted as being an unwelcoming place. Her "not fitting in" was just her having trouble in school and two bitchy ladies in the park that she didn't even overhear. She is "more at home" in the BI because it's the place where she can actually do magic, not because Gravesfield was such a horrible place to live in. Camilla and Vee live there full time and no one is worried about them.

Heck, when we do see Gravesfield, it's really not a bad place to live! Masha is able to be out about their gender identity at work, Vee finds friends, Jacob loses his job and gets arrested for assault, two random students praise Luz after her classroom freakout! How is this place so terrible?

Y'all need to stop projecting your own fears and anxieties onto the show, especially when the text demonstrates the opposite of what you're afraid of.

As for that joke your friend made about The Wizard of Oz, you know when that movie came out?

1939.

The final year of the Great Depression. Does the movie go into the world's worst economic crisis? No, because it's about a young girl learning to stand up for herself and not run away from her problems. Kansas is boring and dreary in comparison to the bright and whimsical Oz, but it's still her home, it's where her family is. You could absolutely make it today because it's styled like a classic fairy tale instead of dealing with the gritty reality of 1930s America.

Toh is also a fairy tale. It has straight forward morals, simple characterization, clear distinctions between good and evil, and a happy ending. Any gestures at complexity or subversions are superficial at best. It does not deal with politics or current events. Luz is never in any danger in Gravesfield, she just wants to live out her fantasies and quite frankly, the show is not very good at showing that her life is terrible. We don't even see her get bullied, it's simply told to us.

On a final note, since some people get upset when the hero has to leave the cool fantasy world, the Hero usually has to return home from the Fantasy World because it's a metaphor for growing up/growth/accepting change, etc. Anne is separated from Amphibia seemingly forever. Dipper and Mabel were only supposed to be in Gravity Falls for the summer. Dorothy leaves Oz. Change is inevitable and you can't live in the Fantasy World forever. There are exceptions of course, but that all depends on how the Fantasy World functions in the story. In toh's case, the function of the BI is muddled because there's no clear contrast between it and Gravesfield. The show wants you to think that this place is better for her but it never put in the work to demonstrate why. Luz doesn't really grow much as a character either, her priorities just shift. So in the end, the BI is basically a power fantasy for Luz. She would only find Gravesfield intolerable to live in because she can't do magic, not because of some fault with the town.

Here are the previous asks for anyone curious.

[mdhwrites]

I’m honest to god baffled that fantasy shows like Steven Universe, Amphibia, Star Vs The Forces Of Evil, and Gravity Falls have an abundance of memorable human characters with memorable locations that make you want to live in that human community while The Owl House BARELY has any of that.

Camila, Jacob, and Masha are probably the only human side characters that are memorable and have a impact on the story, and Gravesfield is too forgettable and full of not so good people (which even then is questionable considering Luz’s antics) that it makes it hard to want to live there.

It’s almost as if TOH is desperate to want people to want to live in the demon realm and forget about appreciating Earth and being human, which ends up making it even more immature compared to other shows that at least TRY to express how important it is to appreciate your human side and it makes the main human characters much more likable cause they know being human is just as important.

If Luz doesn’t bother to appreciate her human world more, why should I care about her?

This isn't a bug; It's a feature.

(Before I begin, just as a reminder: Fuck JK Rowling. I hate how much I have to praise Harry Potter for this.)

There is a LOT to say about TOH wanting to be the Harry Potter for a new generation. The concept that all of humanity is worthless so you should escape into our other side of reality is a big thing there too. Part of why Harry Potter, and ESPECIALLY Hogwarts, means so much to people that they literally can't give it up is because of the escapist fantasy involved with it. The story made one believe anyone could be whisked away to a fantasy realm where they were important. Where they could face the bullies and win. Where they could be so much more than reality made them feel.

The Isles is pretty clearly meant to feel similar. It's the ONLY explanation for why Belos' tyranny isn't actually present besides to make being an apprentice to Eda even cooler than it normally would be. The Coven System could be inspired by a lot of things, like D&D, but it's hard to deny that Harry Potter is the easiest example, especially with The First Day reinforcing that even the school is divided up by these covens. There is ZERO bigotry, of literally any sort, even magical preference, because that would make the Isles unappealing. It wouldn't be somewhere anyone would want to escape to because the world would be too much like our own.

This is further reinforced by how Harry Potter has the Dursleys while TOH has just implied repression of Luz... Except that it DOES have more, doesn't it?

This is part of why I think TOH fails in this regard. Why we don't see a lot of TOH OCs, or Hexside OCs, minus future kids which is just mashing the canon characters together. It's too insincere and too modern a work in order to actually be the escapist fiction it wants to be. Again: There are MAJOR storytelling concessions to make it more attractive as escapist fiction but it won't commit.

This is why we have Camila as our main representative of humanity. The 'trope' is to make her awful. The worst person imaginable. The Dursleys fit that after all. But modern writing trends are too self aware for that sort of thing. They need to try and twist tropes to look clever (I would date the start of this somewhere around Frozen) or else they look silly and are to be thrown away. So instead of the evil home life to run away from like in Harry Potter, where that gives Harry permission to only care about the new world he's entering, even if it's just a secret society, we instead have Camila. The saint. The one who is first wronged by Luz and never really gets made up to by Luz because, well, that goes against the fact that Luz is clearly meant to, even by the end of S1, want to choose the Isles over humanity EVERY TIME. Why she starts an entirely new life there without even thinking about things like, I dunno, how the fuck do I keep dating this witch when I go home. Amity and her never do have a real conversation about the promise because that's inconvenient to the escapist fantasy.

This attempt at being 'clever' over being sincere is also why Hogwarts is a much more magical, literally and figuratively, setting than the ENTIRE ISLES. There is magic and secrets and interesting discoveries at literally every turn at this one school. Meanwhile, TOH wants to be able to make modern social commentary despite the fantasy land its in, and also wants to be taken more seriously than fantasy often is, so it needs to be grounded and mundane and mostly like our own world because otherwise they might actually have to make a world that's interesting. It fits into modern writing trends that give Twitter easy fodder to talk about THEMES, regardless of how well those are actually tackled, but get in the way of being escapist. Of creating a world that you'd actively beg to live in.

This is actually something I'll give modern isekai and is a large part of why it's so popular: It is extremely escapist. Even the more serious ones still make the main character be the biggest badass ever and the 'dark' elements actually conform just to make him a bigger badass. To give him more than he already would have by genre convention. They do that mostly through sincerity of concepts. By going "This is what we're doing, this is what we're giving the audience, FUCKING GO."

TOH never has that unity of purpose.

BUT

This lack of unity of purpose also meant that while PLENTY of anime are bigger, more popular and more influential than TOH, as far as western media goes, it was a strength. Like I said, it leans into current trends with writing. It is unique, even amongst anime, for having an explicitly LGBTQIA+ main character, adding to the escapism for those specific groups. All while packaged as a kids show for those who don't like kids shows, much like how Avatar for many is anime for those who don't like anime.

Now this is where I might talk about the other shows you brought up, especially Amphibia but, well... None of them are going for such pure escapism. Bare minimum, their main influences aren't pure escapism. They're more rooted in old isekai or just straight aren't influenced by isekai or Harry Potter. They're genuinely more complex about the relationship between the worlds because for their stories, both worlds actually matter. Neither is meant to be entirely abandoned like TOH wants to abandon the human realm.

There is a reason why Luz ends the series only learning about magic after all despite claiming to live in both realms because she has no interest in the human realm. There's a reason the villain is pro-human realm. It's all meant to point to not just wanting to run away but encouraging it. That's not even always a bad thing. I've written porn for god's sake, the last thing I can criticize is the desire for escapist fiction. It has its place.

TOH would fill that place better if it would just be honest about what it was. I'm still glad it comforts those who need it to be their escape though. See you next tale.

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

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.

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

Meaningless Suffering ≠ Consequences: An SPOP Rant Analysis

so one huge argument i've seen from SPOP fans, when it comes to Catra's redemption is that “she got tortured and mind controlled by Horde Prime. she almost died at his hands. therefore, she faced the consequences of her actions.”

now.. could this be considered a consequence of her actions? the important question here is: why did Catra get punished by Prime? for going against his rules and freeing Glimmer. she got punished for doing one good thing. this was the consequence of her doing something right. if anything, she would be more discouraged to do good in the future, because the first time she does something good, she almost gets murdered for it.

but i digress. i've seen this trope be used with quite a few characters in media. the other example of this i want to talk about is Marcy from Amphibia. (spoilers for Amphibia below)

in the s2 finale, Marcy is revealed to have stranded her friends Anne and Sasha on Amphibia on purpose, because she didn't want to be alone. while this wasn't as bad as any of the shit that Catra pulled, it was still a fucked up thing to do. Marcy deliberately took Anne and Sasha away from their home and their parents, for her own selfish reasons.

like Catra, Marcy also has abandonment issues. her parents had informed her that they had to move and Marcy was terrified at the idea of having to leave Anne and Sasha behind. but that was still not an excuse for what she did.

not long after her secret was exposed, Marcy gets stabbed by King Andrias while trying to escape Amphibia. she doesn't die, of course, it's still a kid's show.

but to make things worse, she gets possessed by the Core later on, which is shown to be an extremely painful and traumatizing process (which they barely touch upon later). and then they show in a flashback that Anne and Sasha used to ignore Marcy and make her feel lonely, when this was not touched upon earlier in the series. in fact, Anne was shown to be very caring and attentive to Marcy up until this episode.

at this point, it's clear that the writers are trying to make the viewers feel sorry for Marcy. if they keep adding reasons why she's so miserable and traumatized, maybe the viewers would forget what she did to Anne and Sasha. right?

there is a small scene in s3 where Sasha questions why she should forgive Marcy, but it is quickly fixed by Anne telling Sasha that she should forgive Marcy. there's also a moment of realization for Marcy but even that is done in such a cliché and lighthearted manner, where the severity of her actions aren't addressed. and that's it. Marcy is rescued, she apologizes, and is immediately forgiven.

but then again, like SPOP, the last season of Amphibia was trashfire. i refuse to believe that people genuinely liked that season, it was so badly written and ruined everything that was set up prior to it.

anyway, let's come back to SPOP. it's clear that the writers of SPOP were also trying to do the same thing. put poor catgirl through the wringer, have her almost die and come back to life and voila! she is absolved of all her crimes.

for those of you who are still not convinced, let me try to make a real world comparison. let's just say i'm someone who bullies or abuses people. one day while getting home from school/work, i get hit by a car. i get grievously injured and go through a lot of pain. heck, maybe it even leaves some kind of permanent disability or injury.

is that a punishment for my actions? you can call it karma, but let's be real, karma doesn't exist. it's just a coincidence. and you bet i'm not going to wake up in the hospital thinking “this must be my punishment for abusing people”. if i really am an abuser who has no remorse for my actions, a random accident isn't going to change my mind.

and that's what happened with Catra too. she didn't consider Horde Prime's torture as a consequence of her actions. if anything, she used that as an excuse to mistreat Adora and the others even more. it's clear that she pitied herself for what happened. and everyone else pitied her, including the audience.

imagine if the good redemption arcs were written this way. imagine if, instead of working through his issues and facing actual consequences of his actions, Zuko was just tortured and traumatized even more by Ozai, and the Gaang just forgave him because they felt bad for him. yeah, people wouldn't be praising his arc anymore. or they would, who knows. i know i wouldn't be praising his arc.

because this is not the way to redeem a villain. the only way to redeem a villain is to have them face consequences of their actions and work for forgiveness. to show them consistently trying to make up for what they did and trying to be a better person, not because they want to be forgiven or accepted by the heroes, but because it's the right thing to do.

[arcadiii]

Their first kiss hadn’t been long after they’d met, Marcy remembers.

Even now, Marcy doesn’t know why she thinks of it. Not when they’re both thousands of miles apart and she’s the one left alone in a hollowed empty room, one that doesn’t feel like home.

---

3 times Marcy and Anne kiss as friends and 1 time they kiss as something more.

a late birthday fic for the amazing @bardicspiration, hope y'all like it. :)

[hughjidiot]

Quick mini-rant about Amphibia season 3 again.

Lately been thinking which half of the final season I dislike more, and ultimately I decided it's 3B. 3A may have had more individual elements I didn't care for, but 3B contained my biggest problem with the whole series: Darcy.

When it comes to 3A, I can at least see what the crew was going for most of the time.

- More of a focus on comedy? They wanna give some levity after True Colors.

- Don't bring up the events of TC directly, even from Anne herself? Understandable that they were cautious after the fiasco with TC being delayed, and for Anne they just imply she's repressing.

- Don't show Sasha and Marcy's families? They didn't want to imply the girls' rough home lives were an excuse for their actions.

Even if I think all of the above could have been handled better, I can at least see what they were going for.

But the whole concept of Darcy? Taking away Marcy's agancy as a character, denying her proper character development, thereby harming the show's overall message of growing and accepting change? That I do not understand or agree with at all, and to this day, I can't believe Matt and the rest of the crew thought it was a good idea.

[thisbelongsto-nohbodys]

[The Trio are putting their kids to bed and are finishing the story of how they saved Amphibia]

Anne: And then we came home and the portal was closed. We wouldn’t see them again for 10 years.

Lily: Wow. Oh hey Mom, if you died then were you a ghost? Is there a ghost you?

Percy: If Mom was a ghost then how can we see her?

Maddi: Mom, is the ghost you still on Amphibia watching over our frog family? If she is then does she know about the new portal and have gone through and could she be here haunting you?

Percy: Why would Mom’s ghost be haunting, Mom?

Lily: Maybe she’s angry that Mom “replaced” her and got to go back home to Grandma and Grandpa B and got to marry Mommy and Mama——

Sasha: Okay, I’m gonna cut you three off there. It’s time for bed now. Goodnight my sweet angels.

Calamity Siblings: Night Mommy!

[The Trio leave the room and are walking to their bedroom]

Marcy: Are you okay, Anna-Banana? We know that it’s a problematic subject for you.

Anne: It’s fine, I’ve gotten over it.

Sasha: Okay honey but it’s late and so if you want I can give you one of my recorders so you can talk about your feelings and then bring it to your therapist.

Anne: It’s fine my loves. I already worked through it and besides it’s not like I’m gonna lie awake thinking about it.

[3 am, Anne is staring at the bedroom ceiling while sandwiched between her sleeping wives who’s using her as a pillow]

Anne: ……oh no…………