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agalychnisspranneusroseus · 25 days ago

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What do you think would have happened if Anne remained at Newtopia with Marcy at the end of A Day at the Acquarium?

Ooh what an interesting question! I think it'd depend a lot on why she stayed behind, because if she stayed because Marcy insisted that she had to it would be very different from her staying because she wanted to help Marcy.

I think Anne leaving Marcy behind is very thematically relevant because it show her forming bonds and connections outside of her two middle school friends. She and the Plantars refer to each other as family repeatedly during that episode, with Polly jokingly calling her "sister", and when they're leaving, Anne says "let's go home". She's really come to see Wartwood as her home and the Plantars as her family, and rewatching that episode I kept thinking about how the calamity trio drifted apart as they grew up and I realized... if course they did, and that isn't a bad thing. It means their world grew. They grew. Losing friends, making new friends, leaving some people behind, reconnecting with them... it's all an important coming-of-age process. It's also worth noting the Plantars are the healthiest bond Anne has in Amphibia, with Sprig and Polly being the only people that never betrayed her and were consistenly honest with her. Sprig in particular helped her heal from Sasha's abuse and break free from her influence. No wonder she put him above Sasha and Marcy during True Colors 😭 like at this point he was the only person she could trust.

So, Anne choosing the Plantars over Marcy in ADATA has a double meaning for her.

Firstly, it's an important step forward in Anne's arc. It's her loosening her ties with her old friends a little bit in favor of expanding her world and making more connections. I think this is ultimately a positive thing, because her relationship with Marcy and Sasha was a very toxic one and the distance, growth and perspective that represents her relationship with the Plantars is what eventually saves the original friend group, not to mention Anne's relationship with herself, since her bond with the Plantars encouraged her to grow and form a stronger sense of self (something her friendship with Sasha stunted).

Secondly, it's a step backwards in her relationship with Marcy. You can't have everything. Anne and Marcy's relationship before Amphibia was defined by Anne's lack of interest for Marcy's inner world (not only her interests but her insecurities, her passions, her fears etc) and Marcy's comformity with the crumbs of affection Anne gave her. Marcy repressed her pain until it exploded in the most destructive way possible, kidnapping her friends, taking their lives, families and futures from them so she could have them all for herself. That's some very toxic yuri if I've ever seen any. In this case, Marcy is asking Anne to stay with her, and Anne chooses the Plantars over helping her friend who she hasn't seen in months. She doesn't care much that she's leaving Marcy to do the bulk of the work before their mission alone, or that Marcy may want to keep her friend close after so many months away. You could easily read this as Anne disregarding Marcy's needs and feelings.

Now, I think there were a lot of assumptions Anne made there that contributed to her making that choice. If Marcy had explicitly told her she wanted her close because she missed her and didn't want to be separated again, or that she'd be moving away with her family once their adventure was over, I think Anne might have seriously considered staying. Anne's decision to leave with the Plantars was greatly influenced by her fear of not seeing them again and her desire to make the most of their time together. She also saw Marcy thrive in Newtopia and likely believed she didn't really need her. Marcy kept giving these "logical" explanations instead of telling Anne how she felt, and Anne bought it, so as soon as Marcy told her her presence wouldn't be so crucially required, Anne felt free to go, not to mention Marcy herself validated her desire to leave.

So when we ask what would change if Anne stayed, I think it's important to consider what that would mean for both Anne and Marcy, and that would be determined by what made Anne stay in the first place. It'd be entirely different if Anne stayed because Marcy didn't tell her to leave vs. If Marcy had opened up about why she wanted Anne to stay and Anne made the decision to be with her. And even then, it would vary depending on how much Marcy tells her. Does she just tell her she didn't want them to be separate again? Or did she also tell her she'd move away when they went back home? The more honest Marcy is here, the "healthier" it is when Anne stays.

In that way, we have a spectrum, from More Healthy ( + Marcy honesty) to Less Healthy (- Marcy Honesty).

Best case scenario: Marcy tells Anne why she wants her to be with her and Anne freely chooses to stay in Newtopia. She says goodbye to the Plantars and tells them she really needs to be with Marcy, and that Marcy really needs her. It makes her realize she hasn't really been all that aware of Marcy's emotional needs and she takes note to pay more attention. It would also be a miraculously big jump in Marcy's character arc, since she's pretty much not in the place to open up like that yet. Still, let's imagine something pushed her, maybe they had a bit of an argument paralleling the one they had in Marcy at the Gates in which Anne admitted to being overprotective because she was scared of losing Marcy again. A great step, since she would realize that, huh, maybe being honest about your emotions DOES work!

So, Anne tries to stays in her room in the Hemisphere Hotel for one full night but the loneliness is haunting. Insert some typical Amphibia episode hijinks in which she tries to beat feeling alone and kinda anxious in her lonely hotel room by going to some kind of bar inside the hotel to chat with some tourists until she unexpectedly has an emotional conversation with some stranger about how this is her first time being all alone in a big city, or something like that, which leads her to realize that 1) she's not all alone - Marcy is in the palace! And 2) this was probably how Marcy has been feeling for the past three months. Am I saying she sneaks into the castle for an improptu sleepover and almost gets killed by the security measures installed by Marcy herself? Probably. But she does show up knocking on her balcony door with a few cuts and scratches, and with a bag full of snacks to convince Marcy to let her sleep in her room for the night.

Marcy didn't need to be asked twice.

The next day, she's assigned a new room in the palace, likely in the same hallway as Marcy's. Palace hijinks ensue: sleepovers every week, Anne helping out with the research (though mostly she just provides snacks), little adventures in Newtopia in which Marcy shows Anne all her favorite spots in the city and teaches her about its secrets, and eventually, Anne beginning to realize Andrias means bad bussiness and trying to talk to Marcy about it, though Marcy denies the possibility a little too much.

The whole Temple stuff is a lot more lonely without the Plantars, though I imagine Anne may want to ask Marcy to take her on visits to Wartwood regularly. It's also likely that the Plantars might want to join them in the temples, though I think it's more interesting, for the sake of this AU, to wonder how the first and second temples would have been like if we only have marcanne around. It'd possibly be more personal? I don't think it'd change toooo much at this point, the meat of this AU would really just be marcanne adventures in Newtopia together.

Now, worst case scenario: Anne stays because Marcy just insisted so much, but she never really opens up to her about anything. Plot-wise it's similar to the first scenario but more depressing. Instead of Anne going out of her way to have fun adventures with her best friend before they have to separate, she's just dragging her feet through the preparations for the journey, trying to smile whenever she sees Marcy being happy, but it's not easy. She keeps wondering if she'll ever see the Plantars again. She jumps at any oportunityn to leave Newtopia on Joe Sparrow in hopes of convincing Marcy to take her to visit Wartwood. Marcy originally thinks this is Anne wanting to join her on her travels, only to slowly realize Anne keeps thinking about places far away from her with people who aren't her. This is a scenario in which Marcy doesn't make the selfless decision to send Anne back with the Plantars, so she's being pretty morally questionable here, priorizing her own desires over Anne's in a very possesive way. This Marcy probably feels a lot of guilt about keeping Anne trapped with her but whenever she thinks about sending her back to Wartwood, she's overcome with the fear of losing her together. In her mind, she's just trying to spend time with her best friend and strengthen their friendship. She tries to take Anne on little trips and adventures that she thinks she will like, and Anne does enjoy a lot of these, don't get me wrong. It's not all bad times. But she does miss her frog family.

In the end, I think a different understanding of Marcy's motivations (like the fact that she's scared of losing her friends, and that she was going to move away) might affect how Anne sees her betrayal later on.

#amphibia #anne boonchuy #marcy wu #marcanne #my posts #amphibia meta #this post was so hard to write 😭😭 i couldn't save it on my drafts fffffuCK #but i finished it so here you have it!#TL;DR: fun marcanne adventures in newtopia! little romantic Newtopia dates!

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krysmcscience · 5 months ago

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It’s finally done, guys – five whole pages of Narilamb AU comic AND MORE be upon you! (If you have trouble reading any of the text, view the full-size! These pages are huge!)

Yeesh, this took forever. <:)

There’s probably a ton of inconsistencies and anatomy/perspective wonkeries, but this was mostly just comic practice, so Oh Hekkin Well, Lol <:D

(Yes, I am aware the Gateway’s door isn’t present in the Afterlife, and the actual way in is just a pentagram portal. Yes, I put the door in there anyway because Artistic License, i.e. it felt more impactful for there to be a prison door of sorts to walk through to freedom, rather than just a bland boring portal on the ground. 😠)

anyway, i hate backgrounds so much lmao

Alternate ending and a buttload of bonus art under the cut, followed by goofy AU rambles and headcanon stuff:

I’m calling it the Revival AU. It’s not all that creative a title, and someone else has probably used it already, but I am too lazy to really care, LOL

Alternate ending page, which you will Definitely need to view the full-size for, Whoopsie Daisy:

The alternate ending was actually the first ending I finished things off with, because I had a brief badbrain moment where I forgot the emotional beat I initially wanted the comic to end on, and I tend to write comedy, anyway. I later remembered and drew out the proper ending, but I preserved and finished this one, too, because it still makes me giggle.

They had to go back for the followers off-screen in the AU’s real ending. And by ‘they’ I mean just the Lamb, because they weren’t about to ask three newly freed cats to go back into what used to be their prison. The Lamb DID spend some time watching Narinder and the bois enjoying the outdoors first, though:

In other news, here’s the Lamb and me making fun of my anatomy-drawing ‘skills’:

Meanwhile, if you’re wondering why the Lamb is just a-okay with how things went down vis a vis Their Murder, this bonus comic should answer at least some of your questions:

Ah, yes, also this is how they get engaged outside of the alternate ending. Forgot to mention that bit. XD (I already refuse to believe that Narinder is capable of flirting normally, so why would his initial marriage proposal be any better???)

Oh, and before any of them get a chance to actually head back to the cult grounds, there is one potential problem:

And by ‘problem’ I mean something Narinder intends to ignore for At Minimum a thousand years. Cuz he’s a petty bitch like that. :D

what do you mean i drew the lamb too tall compared to the background? clearly they’re standing on top of baal and aym lmao, why else would you think those two aren’t in this one??? (aym and baal got way too excited about finally being outside, you see, and their silly modes are nothing to sneeze at)

And, speaking of heading back to the cult grounds, I’m sure y’all would love to know how the Lamb’s followers felt about the brand new change in management:

It all went better than expected. <:D Tiny ramble now, feel free to skip down to the next comic.

Before you ask, no, the Lamb does not have any actual powers anymore, other than the immortality Narinder definitely grants them. The Red Crown just thinks it’s funny to suggest otherwise, and Narinder does nothing to discourage this. Also, the Lamb and Narinder aren’t actually married here yet, but, uh. Pretty safe to say that particular ritual directly follows the events of this comic. XD

Given how quickly he mellows out in canon, Narinder probably chills out a lot in this AU once he’s in charge of the cult, too, if only because 1.) He’s finally free, and 2.) He’s equally smitten with and distracted by the Lamb. He’s definitely in charge at least 95% of the time, though, because the Lamb never actually wanted to be a cult leader and, now that their time as a vessel is done, they just want to be a normal(ish) sheep who’s wholly devoted to their hot new divine husband.

Some followers do still have some valid concerns about these two being together, though, which I’m sure at least a few of you might share…

Unfortunately for any such concerns, the Lamb is a bonafide masochist in this AU. :D

They’re also 100% a sub, obviously

Anyone at all: Your relationship is problematic and potentially toxic

The Lamb: fuck yeah it is, it’s so hot~ OuO

Here’s just the last panel, made transparent for whatever nefarious purposes y’all might have for it:

Additional exchange Narinder and the Lamb have at some point, probably after the Lamb does a fatal whoopsie while out on a mission trip or in response to things getting a little too sadistic in the bedroom, ahaha:

Look, there is a very important distinction between life and death, and if you don’t understand that, then you’re probably not worthy of being the God of Death, anyway. (At least, according to Narinder, and ONLY Narinder.)

Last but not least, have these shittens:

~Such creative naming conventions I have utilized, lololol~ :D Anyway, there's a few deets on them in the rambles down below.

The rest is all ramble, so before I get to that, I’ll just say – likes and especially reblogs are very much appreciated!!! :D If you happen to really really REALLY like my stuff, meanwhile, I do have a link in my bio to my ko-fi page, where I’m accepting commissions and donations if you’re especially generous… ÓuÒ

Now, BE FREE IF YOU AIN’T DOWN FOR READING MY GOOFY RAMBLES

First ramble is re: Baal’s question of ‘Did it really work?’, since I didn’t feel like expanding on it in the comic proper, and it’s arguably pretty vague? He doesn’t ask because he doubts Narinder or his capabilities, exactly, but because neither Baal nor Aym have ever actually seen their god at full power before (he’s still technically not at full power here, either). It’s not expressly stated how soon the brothers were brought to Narinder after his imprisonment, but whether it was early on or after a length of time for Shamura to (somewhat) recover from his attack, he must have already been weakened, since I have no doubts that there was a huge battle that accompanied the Bishops working together to trap him. So, between that fight with all four of his siblings, sharing his power with a variety of vessels over time, and being chained immobile for a thousand years, he must have been severely weakened by the time he lent the Red Crown out to the Lamb, which would have only weakened him further.

I like to think this is how the Lamb is able to defeat him if they refuse to be sacrificed, despite how it took all four Bishops working together to subdue and chain Narinder in the first place.

All that aside, the three cats have been trapped in the Afterlife for so long that Baal also wanted verbal reassurance that they are all, indeed, actually able to leave it now – something that I headcanon isn’t possible without a significant amount of power (i.e. the Red Crown’s cooperation with its bearer/vessel).

(On a semi-related note, I don’t headcanon Aym and Baal as twins. I like sweetheart big bro Baal and snarky little goth bro Aym too much to have them be that close in age.)

Ah, teeny thing: If you noticed I switched up the art style for Narinder on the second page, that was intentional. It's sort of a visual indicator that there has been a Big Change for him - that being, how much power he has after sacrificing the Lamb. As for why I changed up his arms in the grass rollin' pic, I don't really subscribe to the notion that his arms are spooky bones because they're horrifically injured (beyond chain-chafing scars, that is), but rather just because he's the Bishop of Death, so he can change how normal-to-spooky they look at will. At some point I might doodle out how I imagine his appearance to range between least to most eldritch... 🤔

Next ramble, regarding Narinder’s feelings towards the Lamb...he was initially too focused on being freed from his imprisonment to form any real attachment to them. They were a tool for his use, first and foremost, but he did notice their intense devotion towards him. It was impossible not to notice, because the Lamb was always very happy to see him, even if it was because they died during a crusade (yet again). He wasn’t originally planning to revive them once he was freed, either, because he saw no real point to it – after all, they were already dead when they first met him, just as any other mortal would be when meeting him in the Afterlife, so death has very little real consequence in his eyes. But, once the chains were off, and it really sank in that he stood to lose the most devoted follower he’s ever had, he decided…why put their soul to rest for good or leave them stuck in the Afterlife when he could just as easily revive them again? And why not reward them for their hard work, anyway? Not only would it cost him nothing by comparison, but the future devotion that could come of it would surely make up for his (bare minimum) effort in reviving them.

He wasn’t expecting to get a full dose of that devotion and a smiling face so soon after killing them, though~ :3c (because the Lamb is a bonafide freak, and not-so-secretly into the fucked up power dynamics going on here, lol)

I should mention here that I am firmly of the belief that any non-god/vessel who crosses through the Gateway and into the Afterlife just straight up dies. So, Aym and Baal? Also straight up dead, from the second Shamura brought them through. Their souls were just never put to rest so that Narinder could have some company – if only according to Shamura. Narinder kept the two around mostly out of bewilderment, because honestly, who are these kittens, and what is Shamura’s game here, anyway??? They never even explained anything, they just tossed these kittens into the Afterlife and LEFT!!! At any rate, Aym and Baal being dead is how I explain why their souls apparently become lost in the void if they’re killed, along with the added complications required to revive the two because of it.

So, with those deets in mind, and given a bit of time, if Narinder hadn’t chosen to revive the Lamb, and also hadn’t chosen to put their soul to rest, they still would have woken up at some point, despite being as straight up dead as Aym and Baal. Who, don’t worry, were also properly revived while Narinder was waiting for the Lamb to wake up. Because I am also firmly of the belief that, first, the dead cannot leave the Afterlife without the use of a ritual/relic (and can't stay in the living world for long regardless), and second, dead followers’ devotion isn’t anywhere near as potent as that of the living, given how much more the living stand to lose.

Final ramble, regarding the Lamb’s feelings towards Narinder, and why they’re so devoted to him…

Well, you don’t spend most of your life on the run with your steadily-dwindling herd, trying to evade the ongoing genocide of your species, without becoming a little fucked up in the head. Maybe a lot fucked up in the head. Life is suffering, so might as well have fun with it, right? Maybe start finding death and pain to be kind of hilarious, even a little bit hot, once everyone you know and love is dead and gone, leaving you all alone? And maybe after that, there’s something comforting in how, despite the cold, cruel uncertainties of life, at least you can always count on the inevitability of death, patiently waiting for you until your very last breath? Who knows. Either way, as soon as the Lamb was killed, and they learned that the literal God of Death was offering them a second chance at life and vengeance via effective immortality, they were 100% ride-or-die-devoted all at once. Turns out death is kinder than life – go figure. (Of course, it helps that Narinder is 100% their type.)

They weren’t put off by Narinder’s thinly-veiled sadism or manipulations, either – they’re not too different in those regards, albeit opting for vastly different methods. It’s a very ‘two sides of the same coin’ sort of deal. In order to stay alive once they were made the last of their kind, the Lamb had no qualms with using others to their advantage, and that did not change once they were revived and expected to run a cult. They didn’t care for the position of authority, though – being a sheep and all, they’re much more of a follower than a leader, and thus greatly appreciated Narinder’s need for control. With how they had to keep on their toes for so long, the Lamb was also pretty good at reading people by the time they died, so they could recognize that a lot of Narinder’s posturing was just that – posturing. Dude’s 95% bluster and only 5% bite. He could obviously be vicious when he wanted or needed to (the Bishops' injuries were clear proof of that), but underneath his outer layer of cruelty was a generous layer of tsundere, and underneath all THAT was a soft squishy middle sibling velcro cat in desperate need of attention and affection.

(Which, for the record, he Did Not feel comfortable getting from Aym and Baal – Narinder still has no idea why the fuck Shamura sent them to him, beyond acting as keepers at best or trying to sabotage his attempts to escape at worst. Which, he thought HE sabotaged in turn, by guiding the kittens into being his devoted disciples instead. He thought he was very clever for it. ‘I outsmarted Shamura!’ he thought, despite that there was never anything there to outsmart. ‘What do you mean, Shamura sent your kittens to me for company?’ he demands of Forneus later. It may or may not lead him to pull Shamura out of Purgatory just so he can shake them and scream about how they should have Fucking Explained that!!!)

But, getting back on track as to why the Lamb was so willing to be sacrificed, I cannot stress this enough – if you pay even a minimal amount of attention to what he’s saying, Narinder is REALLY NOT SUBTLE about his intentions. ‘Death is of little consequence.’ ‘Followers are for you to use to your advantage.’ ‘Sacrifice a follower to absorb more power.’ So, yeah, the Lamb knew exactly what would be expected of them once the other Bishops were dead. They knew Narinder would expect them to die for him one last time. But, after all, death is of little consequence (not to mention hot), so when the time came, they wanted to see him freed, even if it meant oblivion for them in the end.

He’d given them a second life, and the ability to avenge their kin, and they felt indebted to him for that – so, while they were still pretty glum about the possibility that they might not get to see him free of his chains, nothing beyond their devotion and debt to him mattered. They never wanted all the drama and expectations that came with the Red Crown’s power, anyway, so, better for Narinder to have it back so that he could deal with it. What he did with the Lamb afterward would be up to him, and seeing as he was their god, they’d accept his decision gladly.

Were they in love with him by that point? Oh, obsessively so, but only in the devotional sense – romance was nowhere on their mind nor radar. That is, until he unexpectedly revived them again, told them he still needed them, and then offered down his hand to help them up.

The Lamb fell HARD for him in that moment. :3c

And now, a tiny shitten ramble. Lu and Li are twins, because sheep tend to have those a lot, and are conceived not long after the Lamb and Narinder’s marriage ceremony. Lu is the minutes older one, but Li is much more mature. I have put no further thought into these two, other than that they are utter menaces, birthed by the Lamb, cling hard to both their parents but especially Narinder (who spoils them rotten), and they are both genderfluid, using whichever pronouns/names they feel like at any given time. They are also both intersex, same as the Lamb, who was initially infertile up until Something Something Vague Magic, which I have also put no further thought into ¯\_(シ)_/¯

oh, and before anyone tries to suggest i headcanon this AU’s lamb as trending more female due to them giving birth or whatever, no, no, a thousand times no, they might have a vag, but they've also got a dick, and even if it's not as big as they'd like, they still know how to use it

Finally, the very tentative name for the Lamb in this AU is Yazdi, which is really just another name for the Baluchi breed of sheep XD (Not that the Lamb is this specific breed, I just didn’t like any of the other sheep-related names I found, ahaha...)

THAT’S ALL FOR NOW (collapses into an exhausted pile of goopy limbs)