#sprig tries the hardest

[sidetongue]

they try

[caw4brandon]

How to End a Story

Stories are often told through two styles. It's either a recollection of something that has already happened. Or, it's an ongoing event happening to the character's life.

The story can be told through just one main character or multiple characters but like all stories. They have to end. Let's discuss the ending of three shows that I recently watched. (I'll try not to get into the spoilers)

- They're Not just Frogs -

< Amphibia > by Matt Braly; follows three girls; Anne, Sasha and Marcy who stole a mysterious music box that transported them into another world of talking frogs, toads, newts and other horrifying monsters.

Our main character is Anne Boonchuy who found her temporary home with the Plantars; Hop Pop, Sprig and Polly. A small family of frogs who took Anne in and helped her better understand the world. The show is good at using little segments to build the world. Such as a mind manipulation sentient spore, the divisions between the main races and the mystery behind the music box.

Story-wise, the show tried to make the flow of events happen at a nicer pace. Season 1 was used on Anne to better understand the world and how things have changed between her friends. Season 2 used that change to add another twist to their relationship. As the seasons progress, the cast slowly expands.

The show eases in the main trio and their new friends. Some episodes foreshadowed what was coming for the characters, and some felt pointless. With a cast that big, it would slow the story down but surprisingly, it felt okay.

You get to spend some time with them, learn what makes them tick, what changed them and how they felt about the current state of the story. As a person who had some regrets in life, I really liked Sasha Waybright's development. She went from someone who took charge to becoming a character who matured into a better person. Giving her time to improve, showed that she improved but is still a work in progress.

As far as the ending goes, I felt a little bittersweet. I liked that it ended and that the big arc of the main trio is resolved but I would really like to see an expansion for how they deal with all the events they went through as it was rather traumatic. Thankfully, we have fan artists for that!

- Eat This Sucka!!! -

It would be impossible to avoid spoilers when < The Owl House > by Dana Terrace was at its peak. Spoilers were happening left and right!

Context, The Owl House follows the outcast teen; Luz Noceda who was meant to go to a summer camp. On the day she was about to go. Luz got distracted by a thief who went through a mysterious door that led Luz into the Demon Realm.

The series takes on a familiar arc where the outsider; Luz learns the ways of the witches but with her own creativity and innovation. Luz also resides under the care of the Owl Lady; Eda Clawthorne, King and Hooty (The house itself)

As the seasons progress, Luz helps the other witches her age improve and come out of their shells. Importantly, she finds new friends she never had in the human realm.

The Owl House is a show of obviously coded Queer characters and individuals that don't fit with the norm. Dana is a genius that never made a big fuss over the fact that some characters are openly Queer. Although the studio; Disney tried to limit the screentime to avoid public outcry.

The show is my first-ever witness to openly Queer characters being completely normal about it instead of being preachy. Perhaps this has to do with the title; Demon Realm.

"Where the general belief of the overzealous conservatives in a so-called Good and Righteous God thinks that's where Queer people and other abnormal people belong."

The main villain; Belos tries his hardest to "purify" the realm by limiting how witches use magic and violently persecute anyone who opposes these new rules. It's a symbolic view of the Puritan tyrant. That their ways are destined to be divine when it was all a ruse to further their own personal agenda.

The show suffered a mess of developments as Disney has a strong Anti-Queer policy with their shows. But Dana, the sneaky bastard that she is. (he says affectionately) Slipped in undeniable proof that the characters are proudly Queer and the Puritian miserably fails.

The ending was pure cinema! The show uses Luz's perspective to show that kids can have their own complexities and what we may think is good may not be what is right for said person. The show also displays good values of being open to change, that it's never too late to right the wrongs and Weirdos Gotta Stick Together.

- The Freaky Friends -

We finally came to my favourite show of this batch. < Hilda > by Luke Pearson is a fun and adventurous show about a young girl who loves adventures living in a world that is brimming with magic. I would like to talk more about it but I've already covered that in [The Beautiful World of Hilda]

For the sake of this post, I'm only focusing on Season 3. The final season of the series. While the show is not as plot-driven as the latter mentions. I think there is much to be said about the breath of fresh air Hilda brings to the table.

Hilda has a special place in my heart for how she managed to bring wonder and joy into my viewing experience. This season, took on a more ominous turn where the adventures get deadlier and the stakes get higher in this little world of the blue-haired adventurer.

Season 3 was commented on by the viewers as "underwhelming and inconclusive" and that it tore its own "fan theories" apart. Personally, I loved that the showrunner revealed everything and also nothing because that's the point.

Hilda is not about a big mystery, it's a pure adventure and curious exploration of the mythology surrounding Trollberg and the rest of the world in Hilda. The feeling of fulfilment but also, melancholy that the series has ended is in my opinion, the best conclusion.

Admittedly, I didn't know how to end the post. I just wanted to get my thoughts out about these three shows and how it ended. It feels like the end of another era. A close to another chapter for animation and the stories it can tell.

These three shows; Amphibia, The Owl House and Hilda proved that animation is still taking new heights but still maintains the charm of what stories are. A good ending where the arc may be over but the adventures will still carry on.

It's been a fun and tear-jerking journey with Hilda, Luz and Anne. Their worlds are unique and brimming with excitement that I haven't felt in years and a desire to catch up more.

I'll miss them dearly but hey, such is the life of an adventurer. Don't be sad that it's over. Be happy that it happened and above all. Go make your own stories!

[agalychnisspranneusroseus]

ok here is every sleeping at last song on my amphibia playlists. a lot of my playlists are more specific like "true colors" or "marcy angst" or "marcy in the pickle jar" or "emo(tionally vulnerable) sasha" or "amphibia characters dealing with trauma" but i tried to give each one just. the main character i apply it to

heart (marcanne)

two (anne, marcanne, sashannarcy)

silhouettes (marcy, newt moms)

woodwork (anne)

breathe again (anne)

north (anne)

page 28 (anne)

chandeliers (anne)

you are enough (sashannarcy, newt moms)

neptune (marcy, andrias)

nine (marcy, anne)

atom 2 (marcy)

hourglass (marcy)

mind (marcy)

snow (anne)

south (marcy)

east (sasha)

hurry (marcy)

eight (sasha)

west (marcanne)

emphasis (marcy, anne)

five (marcy)

next to me (sashannarcy)

accidental light (marcy, leif)

land or sea (marcy)

all that is beautiful (yulivia)

uneven odds (sprig)

dreamlife (marcy)

mars (sasha, anne, marcy)

porcelain (marcy)

daughter (newt moms)

wires (marcy)

venus (marcanne)

saturn (marcanne)

pluto (sasha)

son (anne)

four (marcy)

homesick (the hardest thing)

ill keep you safe (yulivia, marcanne)

asleep (marcy)

bright and early (sasha)

no argument (sashanne, barreleifdrias, marcanne)

slow & steady (leif)

mercury (leif, barrel, anne)

tethered (yulivia)

side by side (sashannarcy, barreleifdrias)

bad blood (sashannarcy, barreliefdrias)

learning curve (marcy)

im normal. im so normal

We're both certainly very normal about amphibia and SaL *nods nods* I'm not gonna just copy and paste your whole playlist into mine but I might take some..... inspiration...... if that's okay. Because yeah a lot of these are VERY fitting, I had put the corresponding enneagram songs in their respective playlists already, with Nine being Anne's song and enneatype (at least that's how I see it) but I really debated between typying Anne and Marcy as a type 9 because they both show very strong 9 traits (though the more I think about it the more I think Marcy is a 5) and I'm just. Happy to see we share the same vision!! Nine IS a very Anne and Marcy song. Though now I'm listening to Two as I write this and I can't help but wonder if that enneatype would fit Anne better?? Anyway. You have big brain 😭😭 and a great music taste!

[thisbelongsto-nohbodys]

your art style is beautiful, you were very creative in creating the sashannarcy and spraddivy children. Have you ever imagined them in Matt Braly's artistic version?

Thanks? I mean, I tried to make them fit with the style of the show. For the Calamity Siblings, I used their birth parents and grandparents as reference for how they’d likely look and also used some of the background humans from S3A to fill out any gaps needed along with some unique flair I’d imagined when designing them in my head. The Spraddivy kids was a bit harder since we don’t have too many family members to go off of when deciding on if they might carry some traits their grandparents had (like Maddie’s mom or Ivy’s dad…if the Wally theory isn’t true or both of Sprig’s parents). So they were more of a speculative mixture of the families. The Yulivia kids were the hardest since they’re adopted and have no physical genetic traits from Olivia or Yunan. Not to mention how they’d b raised considering their parents were Newtopian high class now living a simple life in Wartwood.

I know it’s not 100% on model but I’d like to think it’s somewhat close enough to pass a smell check.

[rechicken-and-waffles]

You know what time it is! Chaotix Member Tangle headcanons PT 4. Warning: There's a lot of angst

-In an alternate version of the Metal Virus arc, Tangle encounters Charmy slowly being infected, Charmy was scared and constantly begged his sister to help him. Tangle, being obviously horrified, told Charmy to not say anything else anymore and let her deal with it. However, the Metal Virus started to infect her, the most horrific part, it began to fuse body with Charmy's. After they we're infected, they were grotesquely fused together, like Amalgamate from Undertale level of grotesque

-While Tangle and Espio were doing a training session, Espio was noticeably more down and a lot more monotone that day. Tangle and Espio had a talk and Espio confessed that despite his cool demeanor and hardworking nature, he secretly suffered from major depression. Espio's depression was greatly more frequent after the Metal Virus arc, I'm which he had voices in his head to end it and violent thoughts towards himself and his family. Tangle, obviously heartbroken by this, hugged her big bro and became his personal therapist from that day forward.

-Tangle and Charmy's favorite show to watch together is Amphibia, mainly pointing out how their dynamic is similar to that of Anne and Sprig, they would also tease Vector by calling him Hop Pop. They also both had a 1 hour cry session after watching True Colors and The Season 3 finale. Tangle's favorite is Marcy and Charmy's favorite is Ivy, they both despised Sasha at first, but grew to like her during Season 3

-Charmy doesn't like Lanolin mainly because of the way she treats Tangle and the other's. Whenever he visits Restoration HQ, he always sticks his tounge out at her and whenever she tries to talk to Tangle or anyone else, he immediately leaves and would sometimes drag Tangle away. Tangle would notice this and said that it's sometimes her own fault because she sometimes wouldn't take things seriously, but Charmy obviously dismissed her and tells Tangle that Lanolin is the way she is is because she never does things to fix herself and always pour more work onto herself.

-Charmy may be attached to Tangle, but he surprisingly isn't that clingy, whenever she needs to go on a mission alone, Charmy would accept and tell her to do her best to come back home in one piece.

Yayyy more of these!!!

-I would have never thought about an amalgamation between zombots, and omg that would be terrifying to see. Imagine if Espio got to see them like that... more trauma for him 😭

-Ngl, I too headcanon that Espio has some sort of depression and became worse after MV, so I am glad I am not the only one who thought this. AND YES TANGLE BEST THERAPIST

-Omg Charmy and Tangle have amazing taste it seems (Amphibia is my favorite animated show lol). And yeah, I too cried with True Colors and The Hardest Thing so I get them dfghgfds

-I love this one. Lanolin and Charmy may be some of my favorite characters but yeah they would not like each other. Charmy would think she's too bossy and Lanolin would think he's annoying and why is a 6 year-old part of a detective agency dfghjkjhgf (This reminds me I have a whole idea of throwing Lanolin into the Chaotix for a day and see what happens, but that's a story for another day)

-Charmy may not be(e) that clingy, but I feel there would be days where he sits in front of the door waiting for Tangle to arrive XD

[dalliansss]

What funeral rites the Noldor knew were mostly adapted from their Sindar and Avari neighbors. Before Finwe’s death, a funeral was mostly an alien concept. Even Finwe’s wife Miriel Serinde didn’t have one, after the unexpected end of her first life. 

The Sindar and Avari burned the bodies of their dead, to prevent the orcs and other fell creatures from feasting on them. Sometimes, they were buried. But always, burning was the ideal for disposing of a dead one’s remains, for even buried elves may be dug out, and by foul craft and wizardry, be given some form of corrupt life, reanimated, and then used in the Black Enemy’s armies. No need to give Morgoth even more fodder, so to speak.

So it was burning. Or a ritual burning, if no body could be found. Then dried flowers were also burned in offering. 

==

Finrod watched the lavender sprigs shrivel up in the flames. He supposes they give out a wonderful scent but he does not have the heart nor mind to appreciate it. The pale purple hues turn orange, then black, then become indistinguishable from the rest of the small mound of ash beneath everything else. 

Fire and death.

Barahir told him that the capital of Dorthonion burned under the onslaught of liquid fire from Angband; that thousands perished, unable to outrun the blaze. Soldiers cooked alive in their armor, and civilians reduced to ashy representations of their last moments. The flames came first, Barahir said, and then the multitude of orcs, trolls and werewolves, herded by the flaming Balrogs that cracked their whips. 

Angrod and Aegnor, it was said, survived the first onslaught of the flame, but not when the iron fist of Angband smashed against Dorthonion. They died, it was said, not by the rivers of flame, but by the flames of the dragons. 

But Finrod can only repeat in his mind, over and over, in hellish recreation, how terrified Aegnor must have been. Angrod must have tried his best to get Edhellos to escape, to rejoin Orodreth and his family in Minas Tirith. But, knowing Edhellos, she refused, clad herself in armor and wielded a sword just like everybody else. She would have perished first, for she may know a bit of the sword, but she is Vanya, and she was never a fighter. Her staying would have caused Angrod to falter, and in so faltering, he might have been outsmarted by an orc, or moved too late to dodge the poisoned arrows. 

And Aegnor, Egg– Egg whom Finrod raised himself as if he were his own son – Egg who would not have abandoned Angrod. Who would have tried to get him to safety, fending off the orcs, even if the swarm that advanced around them came from all sides, and there was no safety nor rescue to be had.

Finrod weeps bitterly, but his mourning is soundless. Just a great, silent torrent of tears.

He, stuck at Serech, trying his hardest in his despair to breach the bottleneck, mindlessly sacrificing Eldar and Edain just to get to Dorthonion. 

Egg would have been so afraid.

Egg would have called for him, in the end.

He would have called – hanno! – and no elder brother came to his rescue.

The lavender sprigs are ash.

Finrod, absently, fumbles for the knife sheathed by his side. He pulls the blade out, and he surveys his gaunt reflection on the perfect steel, before he takes the blade to his long, golden hair, and hacks away at the strands.

He hacks at his own hair with such viciousness he skins his own scalp. Blood trickles down his temples. But he hacks, hacks, hacks. The pain is distant. The pain is nothing, compared to what Angrod and Aegnor would have endured until at last the world faded into nothing.

Every inch of this pain, Finrod deserved, and more.

He lets go of the dagger from sticky, bloodstained fingers. By his feet, a pool of red and gold. He is bald and his head is injured. A crown of blood, for a failure of a king.

All his life he had been beholden to the Valar.

He might have been imperfect, but he did his best to obey the Dooms, to pray, to be thankful, to be kind. To be noble, generous and perfect. Why is it that he is the one who gets to taste the bitterness of failure; to be unable to save his brothers?

(The last of the reports before everything went dead silent confirmed all the Feanorians are alive, but their whereabouts unknown, except Maedhros, still at Himring. Himring, that stood unfailing against the onslaught that burned the Lothlann.)

Why is he the one who gets to fail?

Why is he the one who gets to live with the fact that he was so close, yet so far?

Why?

Someone is screaming at the door. Finrod doesn’t care who it is. Then the next thing he knows, Finduilas is by his side, weeping and babbling, trying to get him to move, to take him to the healers.

Finrod pulls his arm from her grasp.

His gaze trails to the mess of blood and hair on the floor.

The tears don’t dry.

[scribicronus-v02]

Amphibia: Switched AU Ficlet

Been a long while since I posted any of my writing on here (got Writer’s Block, what can you do?)

@eeveearoace wrote a thing last night that had the gears in my head going. I remember I wrote this before my first account got the axe, so I figured I’ll go with the theme Kai and @arcadiii started and repost my old drabble from a potential AU I had where Anne was fatally injured in TC instead of Marcy.

Tag List:

@karamelys, @popcornbee, @borkthemork, @themissakat, @sashimi-buttons, @maritasdump, @kaseyskat, @marcy-wu-on-the-brain, @cynthiacoven, @slymanner, @space-lynn, @camomile-t, @calamity-unlocked, @weedplantar, @mira-blue, @pyroclastic727, @goodartitude, @yourpersonaltimebomb, @honneibun, @tharrb​, @sonofrose​

If anyone can point me towards Skibs’ new acct, that would be great and I can add them back onto the tag list.

Switched AU Drabble

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Marcy shot to a sitting position, her pajama top soaked in sweat. She clutched at her chest and fought to control her breathing.

“Marcy? You all right?”

She looked down to see Hop Pop looking up at her with concern.

“Umm, bad dream,” Marcy said with a nervous laugh. “I'll be fine, Hop Pop. You just get back to sleep.” Even as she turned around in bed, she could still feel the old frog's stare boring into her back.

She clamped her eyes shut and tried her hardest to even her breathing but she immediately regretted it. She felt tears at the corners of her eyes as the events of hours ago unfolded before her in perfectly grim detail...

*-----*-----*-----*-----*

The castle around them rumbled as she took the box from its pedestal and turned the key a few times.

“Please work, please work, please work...” she pleaded. A portal of white light started to form in the air in front of her.

“No!” Andrias' voice boomed behind her.

“Me and Grime will hold him! Just go!” Sasha ordered. Marcy turned around to see Anne and the Plantars getting up and shuffling towards them, Polly dragging Frobo's head behind her while Hop Pop and Sprig were helping Anne amble towards her.

“Quick, into the portal, everyone! Hurry!”

Anne and the Plantars were partially through but turned round and waited expectantly for Marcy.

“Marcy, hurry!”

“I just need to...”

What happened next was a complete blur but also felt like an eternity, a scant few seconds that would brand itself into her brain and haunt her nightmares forever.

She felt Anne clutch at the shell pin on her cloak.

She saw Anne's glowing blue eyes, staring just past her and filled with dread.

She felt the box being wrested from her grasp.

She felt her cloak whipping around her as she was lifted off her feet.

She watched as Anne twisted around, flinging her in the direction of the portal.

She saw darkness shroud Anne as Andrias loomed over her.

She saw a blade of fire burst out of Anne's chest.

She saw Anne's eyes, fading from their glowing blue into their normal chestnut brown. She saw pain but at the same time she saw...a resigned peace in them.

She heard Andrias' voice, dripping with venom and condescension.

“Now look what you've made me do.”

She saw tears forming in Anne's eyes while a weak smile played across her lips.

“Good...” Anne managed as she locked eyes with Marcy. “You're safe...”

She didn't even recognize her own voice desperately calling Anne's name as her best friend pitched forward and fell to the floor, dropping the box.

She saw the box open, and her vision was seared by a bright white light...

[soiasan]

Solas scoffed into his wine glass. Love, infatuation, justice… what difference did it make? “Nevertheless, the consequences are the same.” He finished his wine quickly. There was a sprig of bitter elfroot at the bottom of his glass. That meant what he was looking for would be in the kitchen. Though he had somewhere else to be, his heart kept his feet from moving. But instead of a plea of sincerity forcing itself through him, he traded one sense of passion for another. His mind generated points of debate.

Yes, there was a murder and yes, Solas had suggested it. But that was only the surface of the issue! “Try as Dirthamen might, interloping does not grant one access to internal truths.” As defensive as he was, Solas couldn’t bring himself to tell Mythal an outright lie. He longed to be able to tell her the truth of his plan but, even if he did, she would refuse part in it. So be it. She shall have no part in him.

Of course, that was easier said than done.

While Solas fumed in silence, Mythal was speaking softly. Her voice made offerings of peace, in spite of the conflict Solas’ clenched jaw communicated. She was the same as she was the last time he’d seen her. Kind.

He tried not to melt under her gaze. Oh, it was the hardest thing he’s ever done.

And now, letters? His eyebrows knit together. How many? For how long? He hadn't received a single one. Solas couldn’t stop himself. A hushed chorus of gasps alerted him that his hand was wrapped around her forearm. In a split second, he made the decision to pull her with him down the corridor, towards the kitchen. Gossip among nobility couldn’t be helped. Mythal had the benefit of the People's doubt in him. This didn’t need to escalate beyond the castle. Solas only needed a single moment alone with her.

The kitchen was empty, as his contact promised. Solas looked down at his hand, holding Mythal’s arm. His hold was firm but tender. He let his hand slide down to take hers. “I need to hear it— what you wrote in the letters.”

sometimes mythal felt that her sincerity might be her downfall -- her heart was too large for her chest. she only wished her courage could be of a similar size. she wasn't sure if it was bravery or folly that had her continue to try and be the salve to elgarn'an's wound. there was a love there once, deep and true. but she could not recognize that man -- she wondered if he felt the same or if he was too consumed with his own image to even see hers.

she would have fought for fen'harel if the threat was not too large, the weight of her people not so HEAVY. elgarn'an made promises that mythal was not so wanting to see come to fruition if she were to turn her back on him fully.

there was a sigh that she could not hold back from its escape through her lips at his words. "infatuation is not necessarily love, you and i both know that." a pause, she spoke through her teeth. "i would be known more for justice -- how am i supposed to view these events?" it was complicated, she knew... but it was also about to be a thorn in her side.

she was not so proud as to not admit to herself that just the brief closeness between them had her nerves singing, a pit deep in her stomach growing heavier. she MISSED him, though she would not say as much out loud. by admitting to him that he was still her heart after so much time had passed was already a mistake that she would not make twice... not while this tension was so strong between them. "so dirthamen was lying when he spoke to me of murder?"

a murmured thanks and a nod of her head to the servant, but dark eyes remained ever fixed on fen'harel. his reasons were his own. was she so single minded as to hope that she could have been a reason? was she truly so selfish as to want such a thing? "if you tell me that the rumors are false, i will believe you." a quiet promise, an offer of trust. so close, yet she felt as though they were oceans apart.

mythal could not stop herself from letting out a soft laugh, a smile growing on her lips but it was full of sadness. "that can't possibly be true." a pause. too long, maybe. but curiosity grew stronger in her chest.

" -- i take it you did not receive my letters, then."

[iwantescapism13]

Marcy Wu - The saddest character I have ever seen

Marcy was introduced in Season 2 - a decision that Matt Braly admitted was very risky because we wouldn’t have known who she is if Disney didn’t renew Amphibia.

And that’s just the beginning of this character’s luck on this show.

----

Amphibia started off in Season 1, with all the world-building of the show’s premise and the introduction to our main character, Anne Boonchuy, and the temporary villain at that point, Sasha Waybright.

Then Season 2 comes in and it introduces the hidden plot of Amphibia - how did the girls get in this dimension, how will they ever get back, and what’s the deal with the Calamity Box. And with it, comes the introduction of our loveable, dorky, and clumsy Marcy Wu - the catalyst to everything.

It isn’t new information to anyone that Marcy (along with Sasha) made Anne steal the Calamity Box without knowing the consequences of that action.

She hoped that it will transport them to another world because she wanted to get away from reality. It was her escapism. She said it in her confession that she “didn’t want to be alone”, so if there is ever a slim chance that she will be transported to another world (as mentioned in the book that she so happened to have come across), she wants to share that experience with her best friends.

It was such a simple plot point: Marcy just wanted to escape reality because the fear of moving physically away from her best friends hurt her so much.

But then... ‘The Beginning of the End’ aired and... we got more information.

And it’s the saddest thing I’ve ever seen.

The episode clearly showed how Anne and Sasha really couldn’t care less about Marcy’s interests. Which was something I was so shocked about. 

I understand that it’s a very “Sasha thing” to not really be interested in nerdy stuff like that. But Anne? Her best friend since kindergarten? Who protected her no matter the circumstance? I could see that Anne tried her hardest to pay attention, but...

...in the end, Marcy was ignored, neglected, and even worse...

...she was just the second option.

Right then, I understood that the desperation she showed in ‘True Colors’ was valid and understandable. If she can’t get her friends to like her interests by normal means, then she’s willing to try another way - even if it meant indirectly forcing them.

I will never forget those sad expressions. 

She probably couldn’t help but did the things she did because she loves them (platonically, in this post) and she just wants to be loved the same amount back.

It was selfish, and she definitely realized that by ‘True Colors’.

That was why she fought the CloakBots without needing Anne or anyone to tell her to do so.

That was why she took it upon herself to save Sprig when he was thrown out of Newtopia Castle.

That was why she apologized... “for everything”.

She didn’t mean to do the things she did. At the heat of the moment of learning that she’ll be moving away, she never stopped to think about the pros and cons of what she was about to do. For someone so smart, Marcy did something very dumb for the sake of attaining happiness.

She even admitted it herself when her greatest fear was shown in ‘Olivia & Yunan’. 

And because plot have to move forward and make things interesting, Marcy had to be possessed in order for The Core to have a body.

Although I had experienced immense trauma in ‘Olivia & Yunan’ (because who in the name of fuck would even expect a possession scene with an agonizing scream coming out of the character’s mouth from a “KID’S SHOW ON DISNEY CHANNEL”), I was so damn excited for the Dark Marcy arc because I thought it’ll give Marcy an avenue to go berserk. To get justifiably angry; to get childishly salty about how Anne and Sasha had treated her for the past several years.

Communication is key to any relationship, whether romantic or platonic. Marcy had never been honest with Anne and Sasha about how hurt she was with their decisions. So if it takes getting her possessed so agonizingly like that for her to finally be honest and show her true colors, then by all means! It’s good!

It gives more meaning to her confession in ‘True Colors’.

It gives more meaning to her possession in ‘Olivia & Yunan’.

However... what did we get?

She was locked in the deepest room of The Core’s mind, seemingly having an amnesia (but then had her memories partially back once she saw Anne and Sasha which was so, so weird), and was being tricked by Former King Aldrich in staying by showing her the fantasy that she had always dreamed of. In other words, she returned to her escapism... again. Even after she admitted it was dumb and she was so, so sorry about it a few episodes ago.

Sigh.

Seeing Marcy just succumb to the fact that she will never be able to get her friends to like the same things as her or be as excited was so darn painful to watch (in fact, it hits too close to home that I literally felt a pain in my heart when I saw that scene). Her shaky voice, the expression, the tears... god. Superb performance by Haley Tju as always.

But... this also means that she realized this all on her own. And the way she said it made it sound like she was the ONLY one at fault.

Which is fucking sad because... it’s not true.

Anne and Sasha are extroverts. They are able to converse with people and “make connections” which Marcy admitted she couldn’t do since she can’t even hold proper eye contact with people. She was obviously getting indirectly hurt whenever they do their thing and she couldn’t participate because she’s just not that type of person.

What I would’ve wanted was for Anne and Sasha to confront Marcy on why SHE’S wrong, and at the same time for Marcy to confront Anne and Sasha on why THEY’RE wrong - establishing a proper discussion between the three of them so they can learn to appreciate each other more, to forgive each other of their individual mistakes, and for their friendship to grow stronger than before.

Why is it so damn hard to put this in the canon show?

I don’t want Anne, Sasha, and Marcy to realize their shortcomings behind-the-scenes or individually without the affected parties. Again, it’s all about communication. This can tie in with Amphibia’s message of “change”. Because the three of them are working hard to get their friendship stronger as ever. Marcy never established any form of companionship or anything resembling a found family in Newtopia. She was just respected because she was smart. Lady Olivia probably cares for her, but to the extent of a “higher-up towards an important guest”. Don’t even get me started on King Andrias because we all know what that pompous idiot had done. It’s just so sad that Marcy had to do this all on her own, no guidance, no discussion, no one to tell her that her feelings are valid but it’s still something that she shouldn’t do. Look at Anne being Sasha’s support when the blonde-haired girl was doubtful about forgiving Marcy.

At the end of this mini arc regarding Marcy, when The Core has been defeated and she was able to get back to her body...

...we get another apology from her. And another confession.

And after Anne’s speech, she just... went back to normal. She was forgiven. The “emotional baggage” that was ‘True Colors’ was never properly discussed. The three of them had their own discoveries all on their own and they just... forgive each other and that’s it.

Sigh.

The Core did a fucking good job in intimidating Anne and Sasha.

If only this was Marcy herself.

Up until the end, Marcy was just a tool for others to use. Her body was used as a vessel for the hundreds(?) of amphibians / Leviathan ancestors. She was only mentioned because she contributed something useful (her journal, her knowledge of Domino 2’s species that Anne somehow remembered, her favorite movie that was used as reference for battle strategy). She never had her own development, never had the opportunity to go apeshit and tell her best friends her real feelings and intentions. 

She thinks she’s the only one who did anything wrong.

No one had ever worried about her well-being.

It’s... It’s just... so sad.

[cacaocheri]

I’ve been seeing a lot of people defend Marcy by saying things like “she was thirteen! She made a mistake! Everyone does something they regret at that age!”

And don’t get me wrong, those are some totally valid points, but I feel like people are missing an extremely important part of Marcy’s character.

She makes mistakes and holds herself accountable. 

When she realized how badly she screwed up, how serious the situation ACTUALLY was, Marcy jumped into action. She wiped away her tears and actively fought against King Andrias, even though he was like a father figure to her. That’s a really hard thing to do!

She fought by Anne and Sasha’s side, even though from her point of view they probably wouldn’t want to talk to her ever again. 

She risked her life to save Sprig and died trying to send Anne back home to her family.

In her dying moments, the last thing she did was apologize to Anne. You can see in her eyes how sorry she is for everything. 

And sure, this isn’t exactly something Marcy should be praised for because a few of those problems were caused by her, but at THIRTEEN Marcy is doing so much to hold herself accountable.

Marcy did some bad things, but she isn’t a bad person. She tried her hardest to make things up to the people she hurt, even if it meant she could end up alone. She shows her desire to be a good person through her actions.

Marcy rules, and I will die protecting her.

[acartoonaddict]

HEYY PART TWO OF THAT ONE-SHOT WHERE Y/N DIDN'T GET TRANSPORTED!!!! WELL A CERTAIN SOMEBODY IS BACK AND IT'S TIME FOR THEM TO TALK! Reader uses They/Them pronouns 🤩

It had been a while since you've tried to accept that your three best friends were basically gone. You had been thinking of them almost all the time. And in hindsight you saw that your friendship wasn't really all the great. The hardest part for you was accepting that you'll probably never get to fix that friendship with them.

If they were to come back.. You thought for a moment before remembering that they're most likely gone for a good.

You were at the grocery store getting some snacks for the following week, nothing to much.

You had paid for your snacks and walked out the store, it wasn't far from your house so you decided to not use your scooter.

You were on your phone while walking which was already stupid enough, but of course you had bumped into someone causing you fall on the concrete sidewalk.

"oh god, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-" you stopped as you turned up to see your best friend, Anne Boonchuy standing in front of you. And next to her were huge frogs??

"Oh, oh, haha, my god, I've finally lost it haven't I?" You laughed, Anne seemed in too much shock to even say anything, you saw tears start to form in the corner of her eyes.

"Y/N?" Anne whispered, before pulling you into a hug.

You stood there for a second, and that's when it clicked that this was real, she was real. This is when you started tearing up and hugged back.

The two of you stood there for a few minutes just sobbing, you didn't get any strange looks from anyone besides THE GIANT FROGS, but you were to happy to care.

You two finally let go as you placed your hands on Anne's shoulders. "Anne- your back?"

"Yeah, yeah I am." She nodded still slight tearing up, but she was happy, and you were happy.

"You have so much explaining to do." You laughed as you let her go.

"I know, and I will, but I need to go to my parents." Anne agreed.

"Oh my god, your parents, they're gonna be so happy, of course go, you have my contact right?"

"Wait, no, can you come with me? Please?" Anne asked, as she grabbed my hand.

"Of course." You smiled gently.

"So uh, you gonna introduce us or-"

"WAIT I RECOGNIZE YOU!" You saw a pink frog jump up from the corner of your vision.

"Oh right! Y/N these are the Plantars, Plantars, my best friend, Y/N!" Anne introduced, you waved at the frogs who hesitantly waved back.

"That's Hop-pop, Sprig, and Polly!" She motioned to each of them.

"How do we know we can trust her?" Sprig questioned.

"Yeah, what if she also completely back stabs you, and betrays us!" Polly chimed in.

"I'm sorry- what? Why would I do that?" You asked, you then turned to Anne, who you noticed was now squeezing your hand.

"Anne?" You asked, you looked up to face you, "uhm- my hand-" you chuckled.

"oh! Sorry!" She apologized and then let go, you could tell something was bothering her.

"Hey, let's get to your parents!" You smiled. As the five of you started walking.

~~~

You were sat on Anne's couch after she had explained the whole thing, basically you were right.

They did get transported to another world, but who knew all of that had gone down. Anne's parents wanted to give the Plantars to the government but eventually they agreed they could stay.

But now they were on lock down. Anne walked up to you. "Heyyyy, uhm so I actually have to talk to you.." Anne started.

"Oh yeah sure, I'm all ears." You grinned.

"But not here, let's take the Plantars to my room! So they can see how cool it is!" She spoke really loudly on the last two parts.

"Cmon!" She grabbed you hand and pull you along.

"WOAH OKAY I'M GOING THIS WAY-" you reacted, noticing she had gotten way stronger now.

~~~

"So wait, I'm sorry, I'm having a hard time understanding, Marcy knew about the music box beforehand?" You wondered.

"Yeah, that's not all though, she still planned to use it to take us to more worlds." Anne quietly spoke. You could believe what you were hearing.

"Okay, okay, so what happened afterwards? The king Newt person is evil? Right?" You asked. She nodded.

"Uhm, yeah, we all teamed up, during that. And Andrias kinda threw Sprig out the window, which also activated some crazy blue powers I didn't know I had!" Anne explained.

"WHAT? How did we go from, oh my best friend betrayed me, to powers?!" You were still processing all that Anne had told you.

"There's uhm, one more thing through." You noticed the tone in her voice change. You immediately put your serious face on and nodded to her. "Marcy, she, uhm, she-" that's when Anne started sobbing, just full on sobbing.

"Hey- it's okay, you don't have to tell me." You comfort as you pulled her into a hug.

"No, Y/N, he stabbed her, straight through the heart." She continued to cry out, this is when you felt tears start to form in your eyes. As you two sat there crying, on her bed.

"We're gonna get them back, I promise"

HOPE Y'ALL ENJOYED IT!! IF YOU WANT MORE UPDATES ON ONE SHOTS LIKE THIS I HAVE A BOOK ON WATTPAD WHERE I TAKE REQUEST AND THINGS MY USER IS cartoon_adict SOO IF Y'ALL WANNA CHECK THAT OUT YOU CAN!! (I'LL STILL WRITE HERE IT'LL JUST TAKE awhile) also sorry for being a bit dead I just got diagnosed with anemia so I'm dealing with that BUT YEAH ANYWAYS I'LL STOP TALKING BYEEE!!

[marvelfangeek09]

I think they might have to destroy the music box

The only reason that Anne still has a connection to the gem is that she never actually finished transferring her power into it. While that allowed her to gain access to her powers after Andrias tried to kill Sprig.

But her powers have always been very limited. Bc most of her powers did drain out of her fairly quickly. In that final battle Anne had to restart her powers multiple times. I think there’s a good chance that it’s because most of her power did go into the gem.

And then there’s the fact that Sasha still didn’t activate her powers. If Grime being so brutally hurt like that didn’t trigger it, what possibly will? I think there’s a good chance that they’ll need to destroy it for Sasha and Marcy to regain their powers.

And there’s the title of the next episode title, the hardest thing. What’s harder than destroying the way to return home, even if it means saving the world that’s been their home for the past five months

[vrisrezis]

Amphibia the hardest thing spoilers

X reader fic but tbh . can be platonic or romantic idk I don’t care I’m insane abt the new ep just have this

“You think this portal will work?” You wonder aloud, as you stare at the portal Anne had been working on for years now. 10 years to be exact. 10 long years since you’ve seen your found family, 10 years. You miss them dearly, just as much as Anne does. They were the closest thing you ever had to a real, good, healthy, loving family. Your family here.. aren’t so great. But them.. they’re your real family.

“It will y/n. It just has to.” Anne says, with some certainty. She had planned this for so long, Marcy and Sasha right behind her. They missed their loved ones back in amphibia too. You’ve talked to them about it, there’s times Sasha wonders where grime is, that she hopes he’s not too lonely without her around. That she thinks of him very often, he was the father figure she needed in her life. Marcy thinks about Olivia and Yunan, how they tried to protect her from andrias all the way back when. How she wished she spent more time with them, how she wished she connected better with them.

And Anne, of course. She talks about the plantars all the time, especially sprig. That little guy.. was her best friend. In this world or any other, that was her ride or die. The reason she finally found self worth, the reason she was able to use her powers, the reason she became the person she is now. Anybody could see the bond they shared and the impact sprig had on her life. He was the one person to never betray her, to be honest with her, always. He was not just her best friend, he was her brother.

You can’t even imagine how much has changed in the span of 10 years, but you’re excited to find out.

You know Anne is too.

[waybrights]

Amfibbya prompts! I'll give you a variety depending on your mood, pick one! (And if I said fluff you can make it angsty and vice versa)

Romantic Fluff: Anne is struggling with an assignment, so she meets Marcy and Sasha at the library.

Romantic Angst: Sasha ends up in the pickle jar alongside Marcy.

Nonromantic Fluff: Sprig makes a social media account.

Nonromantic Angst: The Boonchuys' Thai temple meetup before the most recent one.

okay i actually debated on this for a while but went for some good ol' sasharcy angst <33

marcy always had a plan, it was a fact sasha had figured out pretty early on. everything marcy did had been meticulously planned and calculated so nothing could possibly go wrong. of course, when they were together there as always something bound to go wrong, or push them off the perfectly formed schedule, but marcy had probably planned for that too. she always seemed to know what was going to happen before anyone else did. sasha used to consider it marcy's superpower.

but then the king turned out to be a power crazy lunatic, and sasha knew that marcy hadn't planned for that. it hurt, in all honesty, watching her shoulders tense and tears pool in the corners of her eyes as the king spoke about his plan, how he'd lied from the start and used her blind trust to get what he wanted. (if they ever got out o this, sasha was certain marcy wouldn't be able to trust again, not to the extent she had before).

when sasha got smacked into a wall, only one voice had been able to cut through the haze that had settled over her mind. marcy's cry had echoed through her mind as the world spun above her. the golds and blues of the throne room's ceiling seemed to twist and melt together as sasha slowly blinked, unable to push herself up. wow, he must've hit me hard, she thought to herself, a small huff leaving her body.

she wasn't sure if she dreamed marcy's face above her, a worried expression cutting through the blur. "it's okay, sash, i have a plan. you're going to be okay." her touch was almost none existent, nothing more than a flutter of warmth on sasha's cheek, but she was certain she felt it. "you don't have to cry, we'll be okay. promise," she whispered, her smile wobbling as she looked across the throne room to where the box was. "i just have to go do something real quick, i'll be right back for you, kay?"

sasha didn't even know she was crying until marcy mentioned it. she opened her mouth to say something (whether it was to giggle or tell marcy to be safe she hadn't yet decided), but her friend was already gone, sprinting out of sight like she'd never been there at all.

it felt like hours before anything else happened. it might've only been seconds, but time seemed to stretch on forever as sasha lay there, trying her hardest to keep her eyes open so she could see marcy.

but it wasn't marcy that appeared over her. a large blue head swum into her vision. his mouth was moving, but sasha couldn't hear anything over the blood rushing through her ears. something had gone wrong. marcy's plan had gone wrong, she's not coming back for me.

she definitely started crying then, not even bothering to fight as the king's giant hand wrapped around her waist and hefted her up, hardly bothering to support her swaying head as he carried her out of the throne room. sasha didn't even care that she was probably quite quickly nearing the end of her life. marcy didn't come back for me. her plan failed. but marcy's plans had never failed before, sure there were anomalies she didn't expect, but nothing had ever failed...

"-your marcy thought she was being smart," the kings voice was muffled, but it was certainly him, no other voice made sasha feel both so scared and so angry at the same time. "but you were too far for her to reach, and now you're both to be of use to him," he laughed loudly, and a rough hand came down on sasha's head, ruffling her hair for a moment as something was placed over her face.

she tried to force her eyes to focus, but the room they were in was so dark and the only source of light was coming from behind her. a bright blue light was reflecting against the king's skin, but it was hardly enough for sasha to see anything.

by the time the feeling of being dunked into a vat of freezing cold water had registered, sasha found her hand already taken hold of something warm. it was a hand, she quickly realized, a wet hand, but a familiar one all the same. marcy.

as her grip on reality finally started to slip, sasha tightened her hold on marcy. maybe if she held on as tightly as she could, marcy's hand would squeeze back and she would know, that even in their current predicament, marcy had the beginnings of a plan. marcy always has a plan.

[thekingofwinterblog]

Some worries about Amphibia 3B

So just something that worries me now that we have seen a full list of all the episode synopsis. also, SPOILERS, obviously.

"Commander Anne": Anne is made leader of the Wartwood Resistance, even though she's not good at the job.

"Sprivy": Sprig and Ivy devise a scheme to be together.

"Sasha's Angels": A team of Resistance fighters gets captured by ruthless marauders.

"Olm Town Road": Anne and her friends search for the ancient city of Proteus.

"Mother of Olms": Anne and the crew meet with Mother Olm, the keeper of ancient prophecies.

"Grime's Pupil": Due to dire circumstances, Grime is forced to train an apprentice.

"The Root of Evil": Anne and the Plantars get stuck in a strange village of plant lovers.

"The Core & the King": King Andrias confronts the demons of his past.

"Newts in Tights": While on a recon mission, Anne and Sprig confront an old mentor.

"Fight or Flight": Anne tries to rescue an old friend from one of King Andrias' robot camps.

"The Three Armies": Anne and Sasha must convince the frogs, newts and toads to work together.

"The Beginning of the End": The final battle begins.

"All In"

"The Hardest Thing"

Not counting the 3 part finale as separate episodes, there are exactly 14 episodes left of Amphibia.

And frankly, just looking at these episode blurbs, it seems a ludicrous amount of these look like they will feature neither Sasha nor Marcy as a main focus.

Let’s go over all of them.

commander Anne will undoubtledly feature Sasha front and center in some way, so that ones not a problem.

Sprivy will be focused on Ivy and Sprigg, and maybe Sasha and Anne will be featured, but they probably will not be all that much in the spotlight.

Sasha’s Angels will be a Sasha focused episode.

Olm Town Road speciffically mentions Anne and her “Friends” So Sasha may, or may not be amongst that catagory depending on wheter or not she and Sasha make up very, very quickly.

Mother of Olms is a sequel, so it will feature the same cast. So wheter Sasha will be amongst those depends on the previous episode.

The Root of Evil speciffically notes Anne and the Plantars, and not Anne and her friends.

The Core and the king is the big flashback episode, and so will probably feature Darcy in some capacity.

Newts in Tights speciffically mentions Anne and Sprig on a mission, and an old mentor. Probably neither Sasha nor Marcy.

Fight or Flight will probably be the big confrontation episode between Anne and Darcy.

The Three Armies is an episode where Anne and Sasha will work together to convince the three main races of Amphibia to work together as one in preparation for the final battle. Darcy might be featured.

The beginning of the end, is where the endgame begins. Darcy will probably be featured here in a major role.

All in is the point of no return. So Anne, marcy and Sasha.

And the hardest Thing is of course the finale, so undoubtedly will be all about Anne, Marcy and Sasha.

So i might have to admitt i was completely off about 3B once it’s done, but frankly just from looking at these episode guides, im noticing that a lot of them seem to go out of their way to note that she either wont be in them, or leave it very ambigious wheter she’ll be featured.

In fact, lets break down which she HAS to feature a major role.

Commander Anne, Sasha’s Angels, The Three Armies, The beginning of the end, All in, and the hardest thing.

that’s 6 out of 14.

and 4 of those are literarily at the end.

Now maybe i have to eat these words in time, but frankly it sounds from these like Sasha is going to be a side player in the first half of season 3A, only to come back and be a main character only when the show reaches the endgame.

And Darcy? Darcy is even WORSE somehow. if these aren’t misleading, and Marcy actually shows up in 3 armies, then she will be a main focus in 6 out of 14, just like Sasha, and unlike Sasha, she seemingly won’t be showing up as a main character until 7 episodes in. that’s half the season. And She’s the main final villain. It really does sound like the writers took the whole tuxedo mask meme “my work here is done” “but you didnt do anything” that some people linked her with to heart.

And then there is the final episode. The Hardest Thing.

fermented-writers-block had a theory that The ultimate endgame of the story is simply Anne, Marcy and Sasha letting go of each other, not in a bad way, but simply accept that they had too toxic a relationship and that wheter or not they can truly be friends or not in the future they need to break off at the moment.

so “the hardest thing” is to let go/move on.

And frankly im starting to believe that too. because it seems to me that despite promising that this part of the series will be all about anne, sasha and Marcy and their bonds, these really do make it sound like that for half the season the three won’t actually interact much in these plots.

frankly it sounds like all the trio’s interactions will mostly be crammed in at the end rather than actually being developed over the course of the season. If so, and if the trio actually does go their separate ways as suggested by the title, then it sounds to me like we’re heading for a repeat of the final season of Steven universe. where the big final arc that the entire series was all built on, on the trio moving on, is going to be too rushed and crammed into too little space to actually work.

and even if “the hardest thing is to forgive”, then it really does sound like none of the girls will get the focus needed to make this an organic development.

I really, REALLY hope im wrong, but it really does sound like the trio will only be interacting together for real, true development in the final end portion of the series. Essentially doing the exact same thing that Season 2 did, with them only getting together near the end, only this time its the actual ending, and there is NOTHING after this.

Again, i hope im wrong. i hope that both Sasha and Darcy gets plenty and consistent screentime this season, but if these summaries are generally on the level, it sounds like the team spent way too much time on Earth, realized that they had to get back to Amphibia, then realised that they had plenty of other stories they wanted to tell besides the main trio, and as such had to either cut those stories, or make Sasha and Darcy’s roles much smaller, and they choose the second option.

[random-bi-writer]

Okay, this is how Corruptianne Theory can still work in the finale

The title of the finale is “The Hardest Thing.”

Once again, there’s a rule of three.

Season 1 has word in the title, Season 2 has two, and Season 3 has three.

But the titles and their plots have deeper meanings, and a bigger play for the series finale.

Reunion is about Anne reuniting with Sasha, and in season 2, she reunites with Marcy and Sasha again.

True Colors is Anne finding out about both of her friends motives.

So you’re probably thinking that The Hardest Thing could reference Anne trying to accept that fact, no it’s not.

Both s1 and s2 finales also have something in common that was the hardest thing for Anne; being separated from her friends again.

I’ve theorized in a previous post that Anne living in a cave for who knows how long causes her to have dependancy towards the Plantars.

And there was another tumblr user that noticed that even if Sasha and Marcy hurt her a million times, Anne still wants to be with them.

So The Hardest Thing for Anne to do is to say goodbye.

The Calamity Box is too dangerous to be around, even if the war is over, who’s to say that no one will find it and use it for their own gain? The box has to be destroyed.

Which meant that the girls have to say goodbye to their amphibian friends forever.

And maybe that’s not the only thing, what if Sasha’s and Marcy’s parents all now live far away in L.A and obviously want to spend more time with their daughters.

So even if Anne managed to patch things up with her childhood friends, she still has to say goodbye.

Anne wouldn’t want that, no one would want that.

And here’s another thing to point out, Anne rarely thinks for herself.

So if she tries to trap Sasha and Marcy in Amphibia, her mindset is giving what everyone wants. The Plantars with Anne, Sasha ruling the kingdom, Marcy having many adventures with them.

One last thing to point out, there have been a lot of times where Anne hallucinated or tried to recreate her old life; Stakeout, Domino 2, Anne Hunter, Swamp in Sensibility, Happy Birthday Sprig.

So if Corruptianne ever happens in the finale, it would be Anne thinking that she’s helping everyone but she’s only helping herself.

TLDR; The Hardest Thing for Anne to do is Anne saying goodbye to everyone and talking about her problems.