calamity wedding

amphibia really said “you may not always be physically present in someone’s life, but you will always be there in their heart. love cannot be forced or coerced, but it is worth working for and worth having. every heart you change and love you create is worth it along the journey of life”

What’s 10 years between family?

There is a melancholy and bittersweetness to Barrel’s story now that we know how the trio’s separation happened.

Because out of anyone who tried during the disappearance of the box, we know that Barrel was following Andrias. He wanted to help his friend get back the box to its “rightful” place and was working his hardest throughout the chase to get that artifact back.

But since he showed hesitation, Andrias saw him nothing more as a failure, someone he couldn’t rely on, and inevitably ordered him away from the capital once as a Newtopian guard to now an outskirts guard — protecting his people, others who couldn’t fend for themselves, all far away from the people he loved.

And he would follow this order without hesitancy.

Up until his inevitable death.

But the thing that makes it bittersweet is how in his job, he showed how dedicated he was as a person.

He followed Andrias’s orders till he died, he defended villages even when his body couldn’t move anymore, he was so revered and noticed for his dedication and loyalty to the people around him that he became a legend to the toad community — a legend spoken now with reverence, kindness, and even through common slang.

“It is said that the one who wields this hammer is the true leader of all toads.”

“Barrel gave his life defending a helpless village from a terrifying beast.”

“By Barrel’s Belly.”

“Barrel the Brave.”

The toads never forgot him even as robots decayed and the ancient world turned into nothing more than memories, and he became a symbol of what the toads could be when united.

Strong, sturdy, and full of loyalty.

So in The Beginning of the End, we have been given confirmation that in the pre-Amphibia trio dynamic, Anne and Sasha didn’t invest or put in the work when it came to understanding and listening to Marcy’s needs, interests, and investments as friends during their time on Earth.

Darcy even confirming this with the analysis of Marcy’s memories and the flashback that showed said neglect.

And the thing that is breaking me about this is that throughout the series it has been shown that, in particular, Anne and Marcy did grow and redefine their relationship and how they invest in one another as Amphibia went on.

We could see glimpses from the flashback and Marcy at the Gates, that Anne had been enthusiastic to be with her friend, yet never really was shown to be interested with what she was talking about.

Mainly we were shown Anne being confused, focused more on Sasha’s presence in the group (Reunion), or oriented more toward the idea of helping Marcy rather than treating each other as capable equals (The First Temple / Marcy at the Gates).

But as the Season 2 episodes went on, one could notice that the relationship between Marcy and Anne began to grow honest in some degrees. They became honest over their jealousy (Scavenger Hunt).

They became more honest/straightforward over their emotional capabilities (Marcy at the Gates).

And they even had some moments where they showed at some level of vulnerability, not too much, but enough to show that both are important to one another (The First Temple).

In seeing this, we begin to see a progression where both of them are actively redefining their pre-Amphibia friendship to a friendship that is more invested, open, and emotionally trusting as they matured and grew.

And in hindsight you could see evidence of Anne getting more and more invested in Marcy’s interests, emotional state, and life in a way that wasn’t neglectful, but more so out of genuine intrigue and work toward their friendship. Even when Marcy wasn’t there.

Yet the tragedy comes in the fact that no matter how much they developed genuine interest in each other’s friendships and needs during Season 2, there had been moments where miscommunication and neglect did come back and create cracks in their relationship’s foundation. Where Marcy was unable to talk about her fears and secrets, where Anne chose the Plantars over her, and where a King’s manipulation created a fate that both of them couldn’t ignore when Andrias’s betrayal began.

They were both human to react the way they did in their different scenarios, but it’s heartbreaking to know that as Season 2 went on, their friendship deepened a lot more than their pre-Amphibia dynamic ever did, and both of them didn’t know they were walking straight toward a cliff to something inevitable that they couldn’t control.

That Anne trusted Marcy so much that she was blind-sided over her plans. That Marcy wanted so much for Anne to agree and believe in what she wanted to do, but was heartbroken to see that the damage had been done.

And despite all of it, Anne still wants to forgive Marcy.

She still wants to forgive her, to understand why she did the things she did, and it makes the scene on Domino 2 even more poignant, because it implies that Anne had thought long and hard over the reasons why Marcy went with Andrias’s plan in the first place.

Being that Sasha and Anne weren’t good friends when Marcy needed them.

They neglected her needs, they didn’t confide or listen to her when she needed love and affection, and to have Anne go from a kid who did mischievous delinquency without an inch of awareness of it, to someone who is so self-aware over her relationships is such a massive character growth for her specifically.

Anne may have messed up in communicating in the past, but in allowing forgiveness, she is able to see through Marcy’s pain and why — at these desperate moments — unconditional love is so crucial in being able to get through to Marcy when both are readying for their confrontation.

Because Anne knows that these relationships are worth it, and Anne isn’t going to let go of them anytime soon.

And she needs to tell Marcy she’s not going to let go of her.

That she’s not going to lose her again.

i will never shut up about the lotus imagery in anne’s calamity powers

FORGET ABOUT EVERYTHING- THESE TWO ARE CANON AND HAVE A CHILD

i find it very cool interesting that the girls all ended up with jobs that aren't what was expected of them.

sasha chose not to use her leadership skills to pursue a career, because she knows how her being a leader feeds into her worst qualities, like being controlling and manipulative. no, instead of "bossing her way through life" she chooses to help people. specifically by giving kids the therapy and help she so desperately needed when she was a kid.

and marcy, who has always been very intelligent, and was expected by everyone to take a very academic career path instead chose to become an artist. she creates a webcomic because she loves fiction. she pursues something she is incredibly passionate about and not what people (i have to assume including her parents) expect of her.

and anne who didn't know what she wanted to do, and who didn't really have any expectations placed on her... well, she was offered a job by god, declined, and then chose to become a herpetologist. seriously though the fact that she pursued science, and specifically biology, is also something unexpected considering how she was barely passing school, and always chose "the easy path". but she found her passion, and a way to keep her memories of amphibia alive, and she followed that path that she chose for herself.

“Cartoon backgrounds are simple and never have that much detail”

Come again?

[Edit: for anyone saying ”no one ever said that” i have personally had two different people on different occasions say that to my face and a another few online]

So one thing i like about the Amphibia ending is how each of the girls became, not what they could have become, but what they WANTED to be.

Sasha who was horribly emotionally scarred by her parents divorce and the subsequent complete breakdown of their relationship, ultimately decided to become a therapist to help kids like her through therapy, something she never got as a child.

The girl could have become pretty much anything she wanted, given her wealth, smarts, charisma and beauty. Instead she choose to help emotionally damaged children, because she wants to prevent other kids from becoming like she was.

Marcy, with her incredible intellect could probably have become one of the greatest scientists of all time. Instead, she became an independent comic book creator specializing in fantasy, finally finding a healthy outlet for her love of the genre.

Anne, who had no direction in her life, whose only real talent was her amazing, natural sports skills, instead found a calling in life through her time in Amphibia, and now became an expert in Amphibian life on Earth. The girl could probably have become the greatest female athlete of all time, and if not could probably have coasted by on her fame as the savior of L.A for the rest of her life through an acting career if she wanted.

Instead, she, just like Sasha and Marcy, chose a career that made her happy.

I've been saying this for years and I'm glad somebody else has

May I remind you Marcy never believed the box would work in the first place? Her entire plan was based on wishful thinking, like one would with a shooting star or wishbone. 

The only thing she’s truly guilty for is lying to Anne and Sasha.

She’s going through hell and worst of all, is blaming herself for all of it.

Sasha your girlfriends have zero survival instincts

if it’s a music box where’s the music