#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!

[agalychnisspranneusroseus]

@doyouremem8erme I was thinking something like that! Or maybe it's the other way around: the power of the gems could only become attached to a triad of soulmates (explaining how it remained on Earth for so long. Those are just really rare).

Aldrich would have tried to separate Andrias from Leif and Barrel so they wouldn't absorb the power themselves, so they cound continue to use the box. Now that Andrias has a user of one of the gems in his hands, he's desperately trying to find the other two to extract their power. He would have known Marcy had powers just from the fact she was there at all: she could have only traveled to amphibia if she came with her two soulmates, and that would automatically mean they absorb the gems' power. The plot would change very little unless we do something like... remove the temples... but the symbolism tho... Andrias being bittee that he couldn't be with his soulmates so he enacts the same punishment on Marcy. If he couldn't be whole then neither can she.

Sashannarcy Soulmates AU but soulmates aren't a thing on Earth, only in Amphibia. Or rather, on Earth there's nothing that indicates soulmatehood(? but on Amphibia there is: you feel your soulmate's pain, and the more they love you, the more you feel it.

So the girls have been soulmates since forever, obviously, but their ability to notice it only came when they landed in Amphibia. Anne and Sasha wake up feeling sore and limping when Marcy breaks her leg. Sasha and Marcy gasp and hold their right arms when the tax toads strike Anne. Both Anne and Marcy feel the right side of their faces burning when Anne cuts Sasha, and her heart breaks because it's only now that the realization hits her.

Both Anne and Sasha scream in pain when Marcy is killed. They wake up in cold sweat holding their heads when she's brought back wrong. And the long slash up Sasha's spine is what makes Darcy falter, body twitching in pain as it remembered that it belonged to someone that Sasha loved.

It's a dangerous thing: loving someone means hurting them, but you can't really help it, can you? Your only option is being careful.

Cue Anne waking up every day feeling like she was beaten up in her sleep after Marcy fell down the stairs again and Sasha hurt herself sparring/training with Grime and Hop Pop just says "huh, that soulmate of yours looks like he keeps getting himself into trouble", much to Anne's shock that 1) Hop Pop thinks she likes boys 2) There are soulmates in Amphibia 3) he assumed she knew what soulmates are.

[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."

[problematicsashawaybright]

Genuinely how is Anne ever supposed to trust anyone ever again after amphibia? Like she got betrayed by the people (or amphibians) who were in the absolute center of her life and survival. She knew Sasha and Marcy for the majority of her life before amphibia and trusted them wholeheartedly, and by extension, she also trusted King Andrias and Grime. The Plantars saved her life and kept her sane, so she trusted Hop Pop with her only way back home. They all ultimately betrayed her in the worst way possible when she least expected it. Even if she cognitively understands why they did these things and she consciously forgives them, there's always going to be doubt and fear in her subconscious. If her lifelong best friends betrayed her in a way that endangered her and her frog family's lives, how is she supposed to trust a new friend? Or a coworker? Or a casual romantic partner? There's always going to be some distrust there in her mind......

[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.

[neverniko101]

Follower count: 1287 why are there so many of you

Blog Rules & Info!

HELLO I am Niko, tho I also go by Never and Cheesecake!!! He/they pronouns!!!!! I love UTMV/Undertale/Deltarune and that will mostly be what I post about and reblog!

I also like: Slay the Princess, TGWDLM/Black Friday/NPMD The Stanley Parable, Percy Jackson, The Owl House, Amphibia, Rainworld, Gravity Falls, The Amazing Digital Circus, Welcome Home, Warrior Cats, Wings of Fire, Pokémon, Pressure, FNAF, Just Shapes & Beats, Sanders Sides, Dandy's World, Niche: A Genetics Survival Game, and a whole bunch of other things :333

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can you tell that I am sick and tired of this discourse.

Additionally, the above only applies to fictional ships. Any irl instances of incest, extreme age gaps, nonconsensual romantic/sexual content, abuse, or any related topics is of course absolutely awful.

I’m sorry for the serious stuff btw, this is generally a lighthearted and silly blog— just wanted to set clear boundaries^^

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Undertale AUs:

Other blogs:

- @phantasmverse [Active Comic]

- @greek-mythology-utmv [On hiatus]

Slay the Princess x Utmv (Stp x Utmv) [Active Comic]

Unnamed swapped Dreamtale AU [May add more]

Empty Sun AU [On hiatus until Phantasmverse is complete]

Gravity Falls x UTMV [May add more]

Lost in the Deep [On hiatus until i inevitably get obsessed with mermaids again]

🍂Horror!Dreamtale [Completed]

Krakentale [On hiatus until stp x utmv is complete]

Fractal!Ink [May add more]

[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.

[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)

[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.

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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.

[agalychnisspranneusroseus]

Sasha going from thin popular cheerleader popular pretty girl before Amphibia and coming back taller and with muscle and covered in scars and maybe missing an eye and with hair short like a boy and she's no longer considered as pretty as she was before, to the point her mother takes hoursssss doing her daughter's makeup to cover her face scar or getting her an uncomfortable but hyperrealistic eye prosthetic (when she wanted one custom-made to look like Grime's eye) and trying to put her on some weird diet to make her lose muscle?? Which just made her feel tired and sick because she got it from shady internet articles. Getting kicked out of the cheerleading team despite being 10 times better than she was before with her amazing strength and agility because she has too many scars and looks scary to her old teammates instead of attractive now (why her coach is concerned about how attractive a middle-schoolers are is never questioned though). She's still popular and has a lot of cool made up stories about being missing in the woods and having to fight mountain lions with her bare hands or something, but it's different now. The new friendships she makes are more genuine, maybe she gets into some other team sport and while she can never tell anyone everything, she's a lot more emotionally honest now. Marcy designs her a beautiful prosthetic that looks exactly how she wanted and is a lot more comfortable and wears it despite her mother's complains. Now she almost kinda looks like the man (toad?) she actually wishes were her parent! How cool is that? Ugh, she just knows he would help her cope with the headaches and poor vision far better than her parents do. Her dad doesn't really care. He just looks at her weird when she does anything that requires even the littlest bit of strength, like helping him change a tire or carrying big boxes lmao. She's not even that butchy! Just a lil bit sometimes, she does like her sports and short hair, and picking up her girlfriends like they weight nothing (oh it gives her such a power rush!) but she still loves her skirts and dresses too! And she still thinks she looks great in them! She tells herself this must be how Captain Beatrix looked like during military galas, if she ever took off that uniform of her. It's certainly how Braddock would look. Somehow seeing herself through toad beauty standards helps a lot. Reminds her of how Anne would come back home dirty and sweaty and covered in mud after her parents took her on some day-long family trip to the mountains to look for frogs, happy and smiling so brightly, because "Hop Pop used to say 'if it ain't a little bit muddy, it ain't honest work'". And she knows Marcy feels a little bit better about her cane and crutches and wheelchair thinking about Andrias, and how much he changed his body to stay alive and look strong and healthy. Her body may not work the way it used to, but at least it doesn't have anything weird in it, at least she doesn't have robot parts - they got rid of the ports in her arms and legs just fine - at least it's all hers again. Plus, the weakness in her legs gives her a great excuse to ask for piggyback rides from her strong, beautiful girlfriend.

[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.

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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. :)