#yes I used an Amphibia I was feel nostalgic

[phantomram-b00]

Sometime reading Aziraphale bad takes make me remember how my folks (at least two of them) had some bad hottakes. I’ve said it before but one of them called Aziraphale stupid and an asshole for doing what he did because they said he should’ve told metatron to wait a moment and run up to Crowley to tell them about the second coming despite the fact Metatron figurative and literally trapped Aziraphale. Like-

[mdhwrites]

Here's a question I'm surprised I haven't put to you before, given how many times I've mulled it over: what do you make of "The Magic Goes Away" trope?

On paper, it's a simple thing: the magic/technology/miracle whatever that enabled fantastical things to happen (granting characters superpowers, interdimensional travel, etc) disappears by the end of the story, leaving the characters to navigate a world without it.

What's given me a lot of thought about the trope recently is the way it's often portrayed/interpreted as a metaphor for growing up. I'm kind of a sucker for metaphorical storytelling, albeit when it's subtle, very well done, or both. So I like it when the "magic" represents something bigger than itself and its departure conveys a lesson true to real life. But some argue the trope can be (unintentionally) needlessly depressing, implying that becoming an adult means you have to cast aside wonder and imagination to live in the "real world."

Any thoughts?

So the problem with the argument people make of having to abandon whimsy is that it implies an all or nothing mentality with this trope when the point is more often more nuanced than that. Because yes, the trope does say that you need to come back to reality eventually. That for as grand and whimsical as the fantasy is, the world you need to be prepared for is, you know, real.

But that doesn't mean those lessons or the impact of the magic is gone, does it?

For me, stories like this are analogous to cartoons and fairy tales in reality. Those stories which shape us, that help the world feel so big and special, and that teach us lessons that for many eventually feel quaint or too small or not close enough to the reality which we live in. After all, a kid needs dragons to understand the hugeness of reality. All an adult needs is one quick look at the trending topics on Twitter. It can be hard as an adult for many of us to look at these simple resolutions or the promise that magic can fix all of our problems when you are constantly worn down by the endless grind that is adulting.

However... Who are the common villains in stories like these? They're usually the most adult character in the room. Not the most mature, the most adult. The one who sees the world as cruel, evil and crushing all that is good. They may literally be someone who is hunting the magic, thus forcing it to leave so that it may be safe instead of exploited. These people have no morals, no ethics no consideration for others. They have no lessons to teach except those taught to them by the cruelty of the adult world...

Because they forgot the lessons they learned as a child. Because rather than inspired to be better, having been forged in pixie dust to whether the storm of life, they broke and had to pick themselves back up to face a harsh reality. Honestly, a lot of these characters have pretty sympathetic backstories for this reason. Meet the Robinsons isn't technically in this genre of fiction but the villain is. They were someone who rejected the kindness and compassion of the world and sank deeper and deeper into their misery and contempt for others. This even manifests, as it does for villains of this story who are hunting a past no longer theirs, as a need for those nostalgic elements. He lives in his old orphanage, he wears his old clothes. He has not grown up because while having become cruel, he has not recognized the actual complexity of the world. He treats adult life with the same simplicity a child does.

The kid in these stories contrasts this by not being selfish. Not being desperate for the warm blanket of better times and simple answers. They instead take what they have learned and stride forward, ready to face the world and the magic of its complexity thanks to the strength and lessons that the fantasy taught them. They do not cling to the fantasy or wish to destroy/exploit it.

This can easily be applied to Amphibia's ending. Instead of the girls breaking from losing their access to these people who changed and shaped them, those memories still exist and instead EMPOWER them. It led Anne to a career that she'd never have considered, especially since at the beginning of the series she didn't have any career aspirations. A frog that looks like Sprig doesn't make her cry, it makes her smile. It warms her heart because you don't have to discard the world entirely just because it's not there anymore. It still is, because it's in your heart, like most magic. Like that which touches us deepest and shapes who we are.

So hold on loosely, but don't let go. 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.

[borkthemork]

It’s been a while since I talked about this but since a few people wanted a masterpost on what one of my other AUs was all about, I want to finally introduce it and basically summarize what it’s about.

With that said...

Welcome to 48 Years, a sitcom-esque Marcanne AU where I take the concept of slow burn and basically fling more gasoline at it until it’s practically self-perpetuating.

UPDATES (1/15/2022): Slowly getting back into writing after a nice break, new links updated.

Co-created with @bloop-arts​, who decided to enable my insanity and never looked back.

TV Guide Summary ⦿ 30 MINS ⦿ Comedy/Drama/Romance ⦿ TV-14 ⦿  2021

Anne Boonchuy has lived quite a life for herself. She’s traveled many places, settled down with someone, had a kid, and got the dream ending every sitcom yearns for. However, this all ends when she and her husband decide to break up, both realizing that they’re gay after twenty years of stable marriage.

Newly divorced and struggling to understand herself, Anne settles down into her long-time friend’s apartment until she can find a permanent home. In her self-discovery, Anne will not only navigate the new-found freedoms of experimentation, but she’ll be confronted with the questions of motherhood, past childhood mistakes, and how to create silver-linings in her separation.

Especially when her best friends and family are along for the ride.

NOTES

⦿ Anne has been in a stable marriage for twenty years with her husband. However, instead of the separation being done out of abuse or miscommunication, it actually comes from a mutually-assured realization that even if the marriage was stable and full of respect/trust, they both wanted the other to explore themselves and their opportunities.

⦿ Her son is named Kamon. They don’t talk much for the beginning of 48 Years, mainly writing stuff down or using text-to-speech to communicate. They’re also a tiny gentleman who deserves the world.

⦿ Sasha works at her own physical studio where she teaches people kickboxing, Tai Chi, and swordfighting.

⦿ All of them are 48 years old throughout the main focus of the AU, unless the show refutes me regarding their birthdays.

⦿ Marcy works as a software engineer at an independent company. She does freelancing on the side.

⦿ Anne is currently juggling as a restaurant chef and a university student, is not having a good time in managing...well...time.

⦿ Sasha’s home is not that far from Marcy’s apartment. This leads to Sasha being able to walk in, help drop Kamon off at school, and overall being a consistent presence for hanging out.

⦿ Anne gets her own bedroom. They basically replaced Marcy’s prior office space to do this, meaning Anne and Marcy do online work at the dining table, their beds, or on the balcony. This will change at some point.

⦿ As time goes on, the environment and space that Anne once believed was temporary grows less temporary.

⦿ Yes, the moment that Anne starts to realize she can experiment with her identity, in her room she blasted every nostalgic 2000s to 2020s sapphic song she can find just to feel something. This includes dodie, and girl in red. They’re music classics now.

⦿ Anne’s identity journey also includes a lot more than blasting dodie, I promise.

⦿  Yes, there’s also an explanation to why it took so long for her to realize she’s gay.

⦿ All three girls actively teleport from Earth to Amphibia just to check on families, friends, and also to see the progress on Amphibia’s new political structure and reconstruction. Yes, that means the toads, newts, and frogs jump on over to Earth whenever they want to.

⦿ Since I stylize this AU as a sitcom format, meaning that I try to interpret the whole thing in a manner to its own standalone narrative from a TV show, that means the details of Anne’s “adventures” slowly seep into the picture, much to the audience’s confusion. Sasha could talk about being a lieutenant all that she wants, but the audience will believe she’s talking about the US military until the talk of “toads” hits them like a sack of bricks.

⦿ As time goes on, the audience begins to see that Anne, Marcy, and Sasha are post-journey adventurers, and the AU dives into the consequences and ramifications of that important year in their lives.

⦿ This is not only a slow burn but a SLOW BURN WITH OLDER QUEERS, BABY.

⦿ I am still working on a lot of WIPS, but to an introduction of this concept, feel free to read this drabble here.

POST INFORMATION/TIMELINE

Note - Shall update over time with new information posts and fics. Any questions over the timeline is encouraged.

Fanfics are in italics to differentiate.

AU-Inspired Fanworks

⦿ Marcy and Sasha’s Dance by @/cute-as-buttons

⦿ Unexpected by @/nexstage

Overall

⦿ Info on the Plantars

⦿ Info on the Boonchuys and the Amphibious Council

⦿ Age Clarification

⦿ Husband Information

⦿ Sexualities

⦿ Marcy’s Crush

⦿ Anne’s Crush

⦿ Marcy’s Tattoo Design

⦿ Trio’s Adult Designs

⦿ Sasha and Kamon

Pre-48

⦿ Kamon

⦿ The Zipline

⦿ Uncle Sprig

⦿ Honorary Council Member

⦿ Sasha and Kamon

⦿ The Agreement on Florentine Street

June

⦿ Bonding with the Kiddo

July

⦿ Dodie Night

⦿ Raining Stars

[sepublic]

New Wartwood, Friend or Frobo!

           This was ANOTHER great episode you guys, two exciting things culminating, and I just… YES!

           I love how a recurring theme in both parts of this episode is two strangers who are added to the Plantar family and status quo in Wartwood (I mean Marcy technically isn’t a stranger but she’s a new addition in terms of permanence), and how both episodes have the townsfolk react suspiciously! The people of Wartwood calling back to Anne’s own destruction was neat, it was nice to see Anne guide someone else through the same things she went through, except Marcy doesn’t quite have to do it alone- And Marcy herself seems pretty mature! All things considered, it wasn’t like she just chose to renovate the town against everyone’s wishes, she was following Mayor Toadstool… Which granted, she should’ve listened to Anne’s warning, but still!

           In general, I like how this episode has both the gags of the townspeople being ready to be an angry mob, but also there’s this sense of… Newcomers like in the beginning of the show, except we have a more developed Plantar family to help them through it! It’s incredibly sweet and I love it… And I’m SO hyped to see Marcy and Frobo interact more, I was looking forward to her reaction to them- And I want to see the two bond over being the newcomers to Wartwood, as recent adoptees to the Plantar family, more or less, etc.! I want to see Marcy freak out over Frobo and help them explore their abilities and function, and add her own knowledge and research…

           …But I AM wary of Marcy inevitably writing back to Andrias about the whole thing. Goodness, what if Frobo is broken down for spare parts, or used to help power and heal his master? Is there some connection, would Frobo recognize the Night- Will the Night possess Frobo like Calamity Ganon with the Guardians? We already have so many Breath of the Wild parallels, in addition to Frobo having destructive laser beams… We could get a tragic Iron Giant plot, with Frobo struggling against the Night, maybe even a permanent destruction! That’d really hurt, while also providing more context and background to what the Night was capable of and probably did, what happened in the past, etc.!

           I like how Marcy had the maturity to learn to apologize herself, instead of hiding behind Anne- And it’s neat seeing how she tries to earn love with big, grandiose gestures… I wonder if she learned this from Sasha? Who seems like the kind of person who’d make friends by doing things for people, given how rich she is and how kids are invited to her parties and so forth; And what with it being part of Sasha’s manipulative nature, innocent Marcy picked up on it? Thought this was normal? OH DANG, that could be a toxic trait she learned from Sasha, and we could see her unlearn Sasha’s toxicity the way Anne did! Again, it’s fascinating to see this same storyline redone but with a different character, it’s almost like watching an AU but within canon!

           Also, I know Toadstool insisted that he wouldn’t learn, but he went out of his way to try to vouch for Marcy at least a little, or at least take his part in the blame; And what with his upcoming redemption episode, it’s neat to see him slowly grow as a character too! Again, I liked the callbacks and seeing Anne become more of a seasoned veteran whose seen things for people, like how she warns Marcy about Toadstool’s schemes… But just in general, like how she lectures Sprig and Polly about how they need to know Bessie’s story to drive her, and so forth! It’s this proud sense of people growing up, and then passing things on to the next generation, a passing of the torch and maturity!

           Speaking of which- We also get to see that with Polly! Polly learning to be an older sibling to Frobo is great, that’s such a neat idea we’ve never seen before, and it adds to her character’s development as she continues to appreciate what others have to go through with her! I like how Frobo is technically younger than Polly in a sense, but also incredibly destructive like her, so you got the baby siblings being destructive… And again, seeing our main cast teach others is incredibly heartwarming, it makes the journey feel all the more well-rounded and nostalgic; We’re seeing how they’ve grown by watching how they become mentors to others, I love this SO much!

           Also, I like how Marcy and Hop Pop are getting along more! We got a glimpse of this beforehand, but now we’re really getting into it, especially with Marcy’s fascination with Wartwood- I think it’s neat the detail of it essentially being a bunch of buoyant sod and topsoil placed over swampwater! It doesn’t add much beyond the peril of this little episode, but it’s very neat worldbuilding and a fun concept, and it reminds me of how some cultures created floating gardens! Which, fits Wartwood being an agricultural society, and it just fleshes out how the Amphibians manage to interact with the wild and cultivate it more, it’s so fun! I wonder if this subterranean swamp has anything to do with the various animals we see… Were the herons attracted to the water and perhaps fish beneath? Those monstrous lampreys that flooded the basement, was that from the swamp below? It’s all incredibly fascinating worldbuilding with so much fun, neat implications, I’m genuinely obsessed with it!

           But, back to Marcy and Hop Pop- It’s neat that Hop Pop is finding someone who can appreciate his old-fashioned interests more… It feels like this family is becoming more fulfilled and less lonely as people find each other and bond, fulfill one another in different ways! This old frog is being understood more and more, and now he has a fellow nerd! I’d love to see Marcy learn how to drive Bessie, and I like that Hop Pop has another human stranger who’s enriching his life, and acting as someone he can count on to help him with his grandkids, an older child he can relate to! It just warms my heart after seeing him get along with Anne during the trip back to Wartwood, the more the merrier! And it’s incredibly sweet that Marcy gets the Fwagon all to herself… Which again, would make it hurt if it got destroyed, but whatever;

           My point is, it’s neat how this journey in this home that brought them to Marcy, it ends up being for her too! It’s like the journey hasn’t quite ended yet, they brought someone back with them… And Marcy gets to sleep where Anne slept, get to live where the others lived! It just feels incredibly heartwarming and it’s such a kind and homely, nostalgic gesture… Again, she really feels more like a part of the family, so I can see things changing where Marcy doesn’t just want to be with Anne, but the rest of the Plantars too! Seeing her develop her relationship with them is great.

           Again, I’d like to see Marcy maybe interact with Sprig and Polly more too- Maybe she and Polly can bond over liking Frobo? Frobo and Polly become friends? And while Frobo as an individual does not concern me in regards to intentions; Their design is a bit sus, given the eye-lasers. Though, Amphibia is such a dangerous place that Frobo having defensive capabilities makes sense… But the idea of there being an entire army of Frobos, many of whom could’ve gone destructive and ravaged Amphibia? Genuinely terrifying with how powerful, with such a diverse range of abilities, that Frobo has- They could lift all of Stumpy’s casually! Again, like the Guardians from Breath of the Wild…

           But yeah, it’s really fun these evened-out, pairings among the family now; You have Sprig and Anne… Hop Pop and Marcy… And Frobo and Polly! But also, Marcy and Anne are close to one another as well, Hop Pop has everything with his pre-existing kids… So it’ll be fascinating to see Frobo adjust, and maybe see Marcy try her hand at being a guide to them as well! Maybe they can both bond over being clumsy and not meaning to cause accidents, but also being adept and having a wide range of skills, and perhaps being seen as ‘robotic’ in the sense that they don’t understand social cues and are figuring them out… It’d be SUCH a neurodivergent mood! Then we have Anne, Marcy, and Frobo being the local freak shows and adopted family, Hop Pop, Polly, and Sprig the ‘normals’ acclimating them to Wartwood, etc.!

           All in all this was another fascinating episode, in terms of character dynamics, themes, the development of our protagonists getting to shine, glimpses into lore, changes to the status quo… It’s all wonderful, I knew I’d love this episode, but WOW it was good! Animation for Frobo was superb and I loved Marcy’s outfit from Toadstool, and Mrs. Croaker’s little joke about being suspicious with Marcy for a while, it reminds me of the fandom in a meta sense! Here’s looking forward to the next one, F-Anne’s!