Wartwood Cinema
"Ah, Theater night." Hop Pop sighed, "The one night a month we come together, watch our stories, and forget all our horrible, horrible troubles."
"Seriously dude, stop making that face!" Sasha replied, "You're making me feel sad too just by looking at it!"
"That's the face I make every time I face my own existential drama," Hop Pop said in a grave tone, before immediately turning back to a happy one. "Now, who wants popcorn?"
"Oh, me, me!"
"I do!"
"Hands off Boonchuy!"
"Sasha, stop being such a bully!"
As the Plantars made their way to the audience area, they were quick to notice the main issue: most of the available seats had been already occupied, with many frogs sharing their sitting place in groups of two or three or furiously quarreling for their right of commodity. Maddie's little sisters were already sharing one, stacked on top of each other like a native totem pole, while their oldest sister was already sharing a different log with Ivy and another frog. So far, just a few frogs like Mrs. Croaker and Soggy Joe had a private log all by themselves.
"Oh!" Sprig exclaimed, as his eyes laid on an empty log, in the front row. "Right in the middle! Dibs!"
"That seat is mine!" Polly announced.
"Not if I get there first!"
The two began a race for the place. Polly had a head-start, and for a moment looked like she was going to win, before Sprig managed to land on the log, face-first.
"Oh!"
"Boom!" Sprig celebrated, happy of his victory.
"No fair! You have appendages."
"Tut-tut." Hop Pop walked in, "Sprig, give Polly the seat."
"Say what?! Come on, Hop Pop. I got here first! I got this place fair and square!"
"That's what older brothers do, Sprig. They look out for their little sisters. Now, move that rump over to that stump."
Sprig looked with disgust at the rotten log his grandfather was pointing at. Luckily for him, someone looking at him took piety on him, and decided to give him a better option.
"Hey, Sprig!" Jacob called out, from the wooden bench he and James had brought and were currently sitting on, "There is still a spot on Macho Island, if you want to join."
"Really?" The young frog said with admiration, quickly joining them. "Thank you, guys! Hey, this place is even better than that one!"
"Happy to help, kiddo. Believe me, I know what it's like being forced to give up what you have to your annoying little sister." He looked back at the log where Amelia had joined Polly, his cousin blowing a raspberry in retaliation.
"You have no idea, Jacob. Just because she's a little younger, she always gets special treatment!"
"Hey!" Sasha called from the log to their left, where Anne and Marcy were sitting with her. "Being the little sister is not much better! This is something I learned from my own personal experience."
"What about you, Anne?" Sprig looked at his best friend and adoptive sister, "Do you have any issues with your little brother or sister?"
"Sorry Sprig, but I'm an only child, so I cannot relate. All my parents' full, undivided attention was focused on me. And it was... awesome." She pulled out some glamorous sunglasses, wearing them with a smile.
"Ditto for me," James nodded, earning an irked look from Jacob. There was someone who did not know the trouble of dealing with a younger sibling, all day, every day.
"Hey, Marcy, how about you? Did your parents even mention having another child?"
"M-me?", the dark-haired girl said, feeling slightly embarrassed. "N-no, my parents said they were happy with just me..."
Jacob raised an eyebrow, as he noticed the odd choice of words out of Marcy's part. Was that nervousness he perceived in the girls' voice? Did Marcy have issues with her parents as well?
However, before he could ask Marcy for clarifications, another familiar voice caught his attention.
"All right, now. Everybody settle down." Toadstool announced, walking on the stage floor, "I have some bad news. The acting troupe had to cancel on account of...well, being eaten on the way here."
As soon as the mayor announced this, everyone in the public started booing at him. Apparently, the fact that the whole acting troupe had been eaten by vicious predators was less important to them than the fact that, due to this, there wouldn't have been no Theater Night.
"We need our stories!" Mrs. Croaker protested, as the crowd began to turn hostile. The humans realized that Wartwood's easy tendency to turn into unruly mobs, for once, was playing against Toadstool's interests and safety.
"Hey, calm down everyone, ok?" Sasha jumped on feet, "I know you're disappointed, but you cannot blame Toadstool for this. For once, he is innocent!" Frog, I cannot believe I'm saying this.
"I am? Oh yes, I am! I am not at fault! It's not my fault the troupe was so rude to let themselves be eaten before the spectacle.
That is what you're worried about?, James wondered.
As Jacob wondered what the best action to take was, he suddenly realized he still had his phone in the pocket of his trousers. His phone, which he often used to watch movies and Tv-series on streaming before being trapped in Amphibia. Thanks to the auto-download and the wonders of modern data, many shows he loved to watch were still there. And as James once said, movies were evolution of theater, no?
"Hold up everyone!" The boy announced, everyone shutting up and listening to him, "The theater night might be no more feasible, however, me and my friends might have something you can watch in replacement. They're called movies: they're similar to plays, but totally better."
"What's a movie?" Loggle asked from his spot, who he was sharing with Felicia.
"Now you'll see." Sasha nodded, realizing that Jacob had, for once, come up with a good idea.
A few minutes later, Jacob has now propped his phone against his hammer, while a giant glass in front of it magnified the screen.
"Thank you for the screen glass, Chad."
"No problem at all."
"OK, people!" The boy turned to the audience, "What you're going to see is one of the most popular sagas of our world. A story of heroes and villains, of power within and corruption, where large fleets battle for-"
"Just start the movie!" Someone called out.
"You got it!" The boy smirked, pressing the button and playing the movie. Soon after, a triumphant music played in the background, and a short famous incipit appeared.
"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..."
"Wait, what is a galaxy?"
"And how far away are we talking?"
"Jacob!" Sasha looked at him, her eyes widened in surprise "Are you-"
"Indeed, young padawan." The boy smirked in a smug expression, "There is no way I cannot cut off Wartwood's people from the most famous movie of all history."
Marcy's eyes were now filled with enthusiasm, feeling like she was going to have a nerdgasm. Instinctively, her eyes darted aside, to the spot where Maddie was sitting: her master and friend were looking at the screen with an interested look, her mouth agape.
"Check it out Corporal. We'll cover you."
"Roger, roger." One of the droid soldiers in the movie said, before he noticed two flashing swords flying out in the deadly fog. "Uh-oh!"
"Violence, carnage, unrepentant massacre of enemies," Polly murmured, as she watched the two so-called "Jedi knights" cutting through the battle droids as if they were nothing. "Hmm, Polly likey."
(…)
"Oyi, mooie-mooie! I luv yous!"
"Who is that?" A murmur ran through the audience, as a funny-looking, yet somehow familiar creature appeared on the screen. From his sitting place, Sprig suddenly looked with renewed interest at the new character.
"Mesa stay...Mesa culled Ja Ja Binksss. Mesa yous humble servaunt."
"He talks funny," Sprig chuckled, "He's exotic, yet so similar to us. And he looks amusing: I like him already!"
No way, Jacob thought in puzzlement, someone likes Jar Jar Binks?
His own bewilderment grew as Jar Jar accompanied the two Jedi to the underwater Gungan city, and the Wartwood frogs realized their own similarity with them.
"No way!" Mrs. Croaker gasped, "They're Amphibians like us?"
"Their city is so magnificent!" Loggle admired Otoh Gunga's architecture, "Even better than Newtopia!"
"Ok, I have officially a favorite!" Ivy smiled.
"We all do, Sundew!" Maddie retorted.
Ok, I suppose I should have seen this coming, Jacob grimaced. I wonder how George Lucas would take that his scrappy ended up adored by some giant frogs of a parallel world…
(…)
Sitting on a large chair on the final row, Toadstool looked with interest at the strange…show that the humans had arranged. A part of him was grateful that he had been "saved" by the fallout of the theater troupe being eaten and leaving them with no show, and yet… he wondered what kind of "spectacle" such a thing was. It looked like a theater, but it was better under many aspects. And those aquatic creatures in the underwater city resembled a bit too much his own citizens to not generate empathy within him as well.
The mayor surprise grew again when the scene changed, and he now saw the two "Jedi Knights" talking with the leader of the city.
"Yousa cannot bees hair." Boss Nass said on the movie "Dis army of mackineeks up dare tis new weesong!"
"Sir," Toadie said, at Toadstool's side. "Have you noticed? That guy, whoever it is, it looks a lot like you."
"Indeed he does," The mayor admitted, "He is well-dressed, holds an important position, and has a charismatic face…"
"Wesa give yousa una bongo. Da speedest way tooda Naboo tis goen through da core. Now go!"
"And he speaks posh and high-class too!"
(…)
"Uh-oh. Big gooberfish. Huge Opee!" Jar Jar cried, as the Opee Sea Killer attacked their ship. The audience gasped, suddenly worried for their survival…before an even larger creature attacked the first monster.
"There's always a bigger fish." Jacob said, verbatim with Qui-Gon, enjoying the shocked expression of those who hadn't seen this scene already.
(…)
As the movie progressed, the Wartwood citizen witnessed the Trade Federation's attempt to conquer the planet, the escape to Tatooine, the meeting with young Anakin, the Pod Race, Queen Amidala facing the Senate and her return to Naboo, to fight for the freedom of his people.
As Marcy realized by the comments around her, the Gungans had immediately become Wartwood's favorite, thanks to their similarity with local frogs, and Jar Jar Binks, a character who many hated on her world, was even more loved than the "real" main characters. Every time he messed up, the audience laughed; and every time he did something good, the audience cheered.
When the Gungans joined hands with Padme, and assembled a large army to fight the droids, everyone rooted for them. Even Toadstool, who usually kept a detached approach from any kind of show, started to stir when the droid appeared, cheering for his "fictional brethren" to destroy the droids. Even the fact the Gungans had technically "lost" wasn't enough to demoralize them, and when the droid army shut off after their mothership was destroyed, everyone in Wartwood cried in happiness.
And when the movie ended, and the credits started rolling…
"That…that was amazing!" Mrs. Croaker said, his pet spider Archie barking in approval.
"I didn't think such an amazing thing could exist!" Wally mused.
"Sprig," Ivy called out to her friend, "That was the best show I ever attended to Too bad it's over now…"
"Who said it's over?" Marcy jerked up, "This is just the first movie of the prequel trilogy. And that's not even counting the original trilogy-"
"Wait, there's more?" Everyone (minus the humans) asked.
"Six movies and several series associated." Jacob smiled.
"Polly, did you know?" Rosemary asked, earning a smug look from the older pollywog.
"Indeed we knew. Anne and the others have so many movies on their èhones, so sometimes if Hop Pop allows us-"
"There are others?" Again, everyone gasped.
"Huh, yeah?" Anne replied, feeling a little embarrassed as everyone focused on them, "We have romantic movies, comedy movies, adventure movies…"
"Can you show us another one?" Toadstool walked upfront, his eyes gleaming, "Maybe, tomorrow evening?"
Sasha looked with shock as she realized everyone was very interested in the movies they had. Suddenly, she was hit by realization: they had the movies, and thanks to the glass made by Chad, they could show them to large audiences. The locals were interested, and as long as they'd continue to show new movies every once in a while, they would come and see them. And if every time someone came to watch a movie paid something small, let's say just one copper…
The blonde smirked, the clink-clink-clink of coins dripping on each other as she imagined an endless queue of paying frogs coming to see the movies only she and her friends could give to them…
"Create a cinema?" Hop Pop asked, looking at Sasha with a bewildered expression.
"Yup. Is there any problem?"
"Well, first thing…what's this cinema supposed to be?"
"In our world, a cinema is a place where people usually gather to see movies." Anne quickly answered him, "What Sasha is suggesting is to making a place where shows movies regularly, and have everyone coming to see them pay a fee."
"A small fee." Marcy corrected, "Just a copper each for every movie. It may sound too few, but-"
"Wait wait, kids!" Hop Pop shushed. "Why are you suggesting this? It's not like our family is having economic difficulties."
"No?" Jacob looked at him, "Do you remember when we were discussing about using cousin Alfred's money to expand the family stand? Then we had to use all the money to pay the taxes for all of Wartwood, and we're now penniless."
"We're not penniless!" Hop Pop retorted. "Sure, the stand may not be making much, but we have more than enough to keep up with the expenses…"
"Hop Pop, please stop lying." Sasha grumbled, almost as she was tired of the frog keeping the truth from her. "Marcy showed us the family accounts."
"Say what?"
"I'm sorry Mr. Plantar, but Sasha's right." The dark-haired girl nodded. The other might have not been able to keep up with Hop Pop's lesson on tax-paying and domestic economy, but she did. "So far, the family still holds, but we're on the brink. If the stand ends up losing clients, or the next time the farm get a bad harvest, our whole family might end up in financial trouble."
"Say what?" Polly and Sprig walked in, "We're going bankrupt?"
"No! We're not going bankrupt" Hop Pop sternly replied, before looking back at the kids, "And you, don't get scared for the family's finances. That's for me to worry about!"
Yet, Anne was on the roll now, and didn't want to drop the issue.
"How can you say that, Hop Pop?!" She replied "Besides our paychecks, the stand is this family's one and only source of income; and we could still lose it! What do you expect us to do? If we're part of this family, let us help!"
"I'm going to figure it out, just like I always have!"
"Hop Pop, I know you want to protect us, like you always do," James spoke up, "But we know the family is facing new expenses. Expenses that have started since we arrived."
That was the issue: extra paychecks or not, having to feed and take care of six kids was not cheap. Especially if those six kids were humans, and thus, required different conditions and help that frogs could usually afford.
"Hop Pop, please." Anne walked up to him, her hands grabbing the old frog's and looking directly in the eyes "I know you want to protect us, but this time, we are not talking about facing some giant bug, or going on some quest. We simply want to help this family, and we can do it without any danger. Wouldn't you allow us to help you, just as you did for us?"
The old frog sighed. He still had his own doubts about the whole thing, and yet, he had to admit that Anne was right in her words. Plus, he already had experimented with those "movies" that they had on their phones and, apart from the occasional time-sucking binging, they didn't have too many side effects.
"Fine," He finally conceded. "I'm still unsure about the whole thing, but I trust you. I just hope you know what you're doing."
"We do!" Marcy gleamed enthusiastically, sitting down and starting to sketch something on a paper from her journal. "Toadstool said we can use the former theater area as we see fit. I'm thinking about adding an entrance ticket booth here, some loudspeakers there…"
"Huh, Mar-Mar?" Amelia raised her hands, "Before planning the cinema, shouldn't we check how many movies or tv series we have among us?"
"Good idea, Amelia!" James nodded, "Everyone, check out your phones."
"I have romantic movies," Anne said, moving the screen with her finger, "From Point to Poppin, some comedies…oh, Love Choice! This is something everyone might appreciate."
"Is that movie about a girl torn between that muscular bruiser and the meek, gentle boy?" James asked. "Not a fan."
"Joke's on you, they have already announced the sequel."
"I have some classic movies." Sasha took over, "Plus a couple of adventure ones, some- huh-oh!"
"Sasha, everything alright?" Asked Amelia, noticing an odd expression on the blonde girls' face.
"Yes, everything's fine!" She replied, as her fingers hurried to close the stream application. "Anyway, I have more than enough movies with a wide range on interests."
"I have many fantasy movies, with focus on magic. I have War of the Warlocks, the adaptation of Good Witch Azura…"
"How about Cynthia Coven?" Jacob suggested, "If I remember correctly, it's your favorite series. Have you seen the movie already?"
"Well, actually…I didn't."
"What?" Anne, Sasha and Jacob said at the same time. Somehow, the idea that their best friend had missed out on the live-action adaptation of her favorite book ever sounded unrealistic.
"Mar-Mar, are you serious? The movie was released months ago!"
"Were you hoping to watch it together with us? Because-"
"No, it's not that. It's just that…from what I was able to hear, they adapted out many details from the book, replacing or completely removing them. And so, I didn't bother to download it before…"
"I did." James replied with smugness. "I have it on my phone, if you're interested. Alongside the first four seasons of Dr. Zone, a sci-fi movie called Jack Aldrin of Mars, some documentaries…"
"Ok, I guess we pretty much cover fantasy, comedy, romance and culture so far." Sasha concluded, "Jacob, considering you're the one who has Star Wars on his phone, I guess you can cover the sci-fi angle."
"Hey, Star Wars is not the only saga I have on my phone! I also have adventure and action movies, some of which Polly liked!"
"Consider yourself terminated!" The pollywog jumped on approval, trying to imitate a movie's quote.
"Anyway, since the crowd loved the Phantom Menace, I guess we should proceed with the next one."
"You mean Attack of the Clones? Roger-roger!"
"Jacob, please! Amelia, you're the last one, but I guess the movies you watch are either with samurai and lone warriors as protagonists, or anime."
"What do you have against anime?" The samurai girl replied, feeling offended, "Marcy watches them too, but you don't say anything to her."
"At least her anime are better! Yours are mostly isekai!"
"And what's wrong with them?"
As Sasha and Amelia's quarrel grew, the other kids acted to divide them, Jacob and James comforting Amelia while Anne and Marcy went with Sasha. As the blonde girl put back her phone in her pocket, the rubbing against the cloth momentarily unlocked it, showing back what she had strived to hide to Amelia a few minutes ago, up to the point of pretending to be angry and dismissive.
You are currently watching: My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!- Episode nine. Do you wish to resume?
(…)
"Greetings everyone!" Sasha announced as the frogs gathered in front of her "and welcome to Wartwood's first cinema!"
"Huh, what is a cinema?" Someone asked, in the back.
"A cinema it's a place where people go to watch movies." Anne explained to her side, "With your mayor's approval, the former theater area has been converted into a cinema in order to give you a proper place to see movies, every day."
"Every day? New movies?"
"Well, kind of. Right now, we are preparing the schedules for today. As you can see, the first movie we are showing today is Dinner with Anders, a romantic comedy. Then, next time we have the first movie of the Cynthia Coven saga…"
"Wait, Cynthia Coven?" Some voices squeaked. As the crowd opened, the girls realized they were Maddie and her sisters, looking at them with an estranged expression.
"Marcy!" Rosemary called out "You mean there is a Cynthia Coven movie, and you didn't tell us anything?"
"Were you trying to keep it a secret?"
"How could you?"
Under the sudden assault, Marcy took a few steps back, until the triplets stopped as their oldest sister took action.
"Something tells me we need to have a personal discussion, Marcy." Maddie said in her usual emotionless tone, "Maybe, somewhere more…private."
The dark-haired girl nodded, signaling the azure skinned frog to follow her as Sasha and Anne kept on answering the crowd's questions. Then, once they were alone, she turned around, preparing herself to tell the truth.
But, she couldn't.
"Look, girls, I am sorry. I wasn't expecting for James to have the movie on his phone-"
"So, that means you knew that it existed?" Maddie was able to read through her words. "Yet, not even once you talked about it. Were you trying to keep it a secret from us, like Ginger suggested?"
"No!" Marcy yelled, "I mean…not voluntarily. The thing is…I never saw the movies myself, because I know I won't like it."
"How can you know you won't like it, if you've never seen it before?" Lavender jumped up, "That's like thinking a dish will taste bad without even trying it!"
"But I hear people talking about it!" Marcy remembered the endless discussions she had on forums and chats all over the Internet, "They say they changed so many details, no true fan would ever appreciate it! Like, did you know they changed Cynthia's best friends hair color from green to pink just because…"
Marcy went on with her rambling, explaining in detail how much the plot has been changed from the book to the movie, how many very important scenes has been reduced or outright cut, how much the plot has been crippled by such cuts, how the new additions made no sense at all and only create more and more confusion, how much such adaptations were an outright insult to the canon lore and so on, Maddie and her sisters unable to do anything but listen.
And in the end…
"…besides, many other fans of the book said…"
"Have you finished?"
Caught by surprise, Marcy looked at her friend. "W-what do you mean?"
"So far, I've heard you ramble on how much the movie should suck, because they changed that little detail or added something that wasn't in the book, and yet, you said earlier that you never saw the movie before."
"But everyone agrees-"
"Everyone? Even if you talked with many people who said that the movie was bad, that doesn't mean you shouldn't check with your own eyes. What if everyone suggested me to not read the book when you first lent it to me? Should I have never read it in the first place?"
"Well…"
Before Marcy could come up with a good excuse, however, Maddie came forward and grabbed her by her hands, her little sister surrounding them.
"Marcy, you're the best thing that ever happened to me and my family. You are an amazing magic student, you're the best help my father could ever ask for, my sisters all like you..."
"You do?"
"Yes, we do!"
"…and yet, even you can act foolish sometimes."
"What?" Marcy yelled, embarrassed (and a bit angry) of being called foolish.
"Don't let the judgement of others manipulate your own point of view, this is a lesson I myself learned a long time ago. Even if you think the movie may not be that great, have you ever tried to see it at least once before judging it? Of course, if you still don't like it, no one forces you to watch it anymore."
"Let's do this!" The triplets nodded, "Today let's watch it together, and help Marcy!"
"What?" Marcy blushed, this time feeling even more embarrassed. "I-I don't need help."
"Oh yes, you do." Maddie glared back at her, "You never watched the movie before, right? Then, today's the right occasion. We are not asking you much: just watch it once, with us."
The "fundamentalist geek" part of Marcy wanted to refuse, as she still "Knew" she wouldn't like the movie as much as she did with the book. And yet… how could she refuse a request from her best friend and magic teacher?
I wonder why I feel like this whole situation is odd, Marcy puzzled silently. I feel like I'm experiencing something I already faced in the past, but...from another point of view.
"Fine," The girl sighed, "I'm still sure I won't like it, but… I can do it for you at least."
"Yay!" Maddie's triplets said in joy. "Cynthia Coven!"
(…)
"Well, this is a positive surprise: the cinema is a hit!"
"I know, Jacob. Look how many coppers we made already!" Sasha gleamed over the small pile of coins, each one representing a frog who came to see a movie. Even James and Anne were positively surprised by the results.
"Jolly' we're making a mint! I look forward to seeing Hop Pop's reaction when he finds out…"
"Ok, then. Let's review the schedule for the rest of the week!" Sasha called for everyone. "On the final slot for today, we're showing Attack of the Clones. Jacob?"
"Movie's ready!"
"Ok, tomorrow! I'll go first with The Secret of the Green Island, and then we'll show Marcy's War of the Warlocks-"
"Now that I've noticed, where's Marcy?" Jacob looked around "I expected for her to be here with us."
"Oh, she is watching the movie." Amelia replied with nonchalance, too busy petting little Akitsu. "Earlier, she went with Maddie and her sisters-"
Meanwhile, unaware of the ruckus the whole revelation had caused among her friends, Marcy was sitting among the audience, Maddie to her right, the triplets on her lap. And she was facing trillions of thoughts in her mind.
Every minute it passes, I can see more and more inconsistencies, the dark-haired girl sighed in her head. And yet… it's not that bad. Sure, it can never be as good as the book, but if you're not a hardline fan and you have not completely understood the lore plot…
Moreover, Marcy and her sisters looked like they were enjoying it, the triples getting excited every time they saw the girl portraying Cynthia (who, according to Marcy, was a bit too old and good-looking to even resemble the original Cynthia from the book) learning a new magic and have adventures with her friends. It was clear that they were enjoying it.
Watching a movie with your friends is a great thing, she thought with amusement, enjoying the moment she was sharing with Maddie more than the actual movie, even if it's full of wrong details…
(…)
Marcy sighed, as her eyes once again fell on the sleeping Sasha and Marcy at her sides. Even after convincing them to watch War of the Warlocks together, it was like there was an abyss dividing them from her. Even if they were her friends, they didn't share all of her interests.
"I wonder why they always end up asleep before the coolest scenes," Marcy sighed, while on the screen, the Lich King declared his intent to annihilate the resistance once more.
It was then that she heard the sound of something hitting the mirror of her window. Intrigued, she put the movie on pause and opened it.
"Hello, fair maiden," A familiar male voice greeted her.
"Jacob!" Marcy squeaked, careful not to wake up her friends. She remembered the last time Jacob came uninvited to one of their sleepovers, and how badly Sasha had reacted. "You came to see us? Where's Amelia?"
"If I'm lucky, I won't see her again for a while." The boy chuckled, "So, they fell asleep again, huh?"
"Sometimes I wonder if they're getting enough sleep. I mean, you and I can see movies longer than three hours, why can't they?"
"I guess not everyone is as energetic and awake as us. Sorry if I'm not passing by the door, but…I don't want to create misunderstandings with your parents. I mean, you know what they would think if they saw a boy coming to see their daughter?"
Marcy chuckled at the idea. Yep, that would be awkward to explain. "Would you like to come and join us? Sasha and Anne are sleeping, and I'm watching War of the Warlocks."
"Sorry Mars but I've barely any time left." The boy apologized, "You see, the reason why I stopped to see you is-"
"There you are!" A younger female voice called out from the house's private yard. "Jacob, you're in big trouble! I'm telling your mom!"
"I'll tell you another time! See around, Mar-Mar!"
The boy rushed away, attempting to lose Amelia once again, as Marcy watched the scene unfold from her window, as the warmth that Jacob's visit brought her quickly disappearing and she started to feel alone once again…
(…)
Marcy gasped, as memories of the past came back at her. How much she wished for her friends to share her interests, for even once being able to see her favorite movie without falling asleep…
She blinked, her gaze falling on Maddie and her sister, enjoying the movie. She didn't like it very much, but she agreed to watch it with them for they were her friends.
Was fate ironically putting her on the same situation she had felt, but on the reversed role? Was she now on Sasha and Anna-Banana's shoes?
Ok, either karma exists, or the universe is ruled by a very ironic being…
As Wartwood's people began to grow accustomed to the new evening shows and the stories they could watch every day, the unforeseen consequences of the human's project began to manifest.
At first, they were positive, as with so many movies about spells and magic users as heroes, everyone stopped to see magic as something scary and dangerous, and Maddie found herself more appreciated than before. Many customers of her father shop greeted her openly every time they saw her, or asked her what spells she was working on today; some, mostly farmers, even came to ask her if there were spells that they could ask her, to make their own crops grow larger and faster, to keep away the pests and so on. Children who once kept her at distance now were suddenly curious to know her and befriend her, sometimes even wanting to help her with her magic studies. Even his father, noticing this, even proposed to change the shop's name to "Flour and daughter: bread and spells". It didn't go anywhere, but just the fact he actually proposed it showed Maddie how once again, Marcy's intervention had indirectly helped her and her family.
Unfortunately, as more and more time passed, multitude of fandoms appeared and with them the rivalries between them. At first, each fandom's supporters faced each other's with discussions and conversations, trying to out-logic each other; then, the fandoms rallied against each other, and now-
"I can't believe this!" Anne said in shock, looking at the various buildings roofs and wall painted in different colors, "The town is split in several parts!"
"And every piece is calling itself an independent sovereign!" Sasha said in shock
"All Hail the Empire!" Some white-painted frogs, dressed in clothes resembling stoormtroopers, acclaimed as Jacob walked in and greeted, his blue-colored armor now equipped with a mask that made him look like Darth Vader.
"Anne, Jacob joined the dark side of the Force!"
"If you think that's bad, Marcy, you should check what's happening on the next street at New Yakamashi!"
The houses were painted in red, a small fishing boat was tied to a house's roof in an attempt to give it an orientalish-look as Amelia stood in the middle, another small crowd of frogs chanting as she rallied them Maddie's sisters and Polly standing at her side.
"By the Glory of the Rising Sun! Banzai!"
"Banzai!" The crowd roared.
"This cannot be!" Marcy gasped, her eyes laying all over Wartwood. "It really ended up just like an Internet discussion forum! But in Real Life? How is this even possible?"
"Were things on this "Internet" resolved in peaceful and civilized ways?" Hop Pop asked hopeful.
Sasha scolded. "Nope! To tell the truth, discussions always ended up degenerating into large conflict and free violence."
"This is bad! We need to do something: it's our fault all of this happened!"
"Mar-Mar, it's not our fault! It's their fault if they cannot comprehend is dumb to quarrel for inexistent things!"
"But we started the Cinema! It's our fault if now the whole city is divided!"
"Girls, calm down!" Anne interjected, trying to made them refocus on the real sensitive issue. "This is no time to discuss who is guilty or not. If we don't do something fast, this whole town is going to tear itself apart."
"We have to get Toadstool's help!" Hop Pop concluded, "If we convince him to use his authority as the mayor to bring all parties together, we'll be fine!"
"Huh, are we sure about that?" Sasha pointed to the town hollow, currently covered in green pain alongside a good chunk of nearby building. "What if he's got into it as well?"
"Don't worry about such a possibility, Sasha." Hop Pop laughed, "Toadstool may not be the best mayor we ever had, but he's connected with reality and level-headed. There is no way he would ever allow himself to be dragged in this whole mess…"
(…)
"Mesa say, gonna elevate ustogether! Mesa say, uss-en will prepare for upcomingtime!"
"W-what the frog is going on?" Hop Pop said in shock, as he saw the scene in front of them. Mayor Toadstool was currently dressed in clothes strongly resembling the ones worn by the Gungan's leader Boss Nass in the movie of that first evening, and talked with a strong accent resembling his. To make things look even weirder, all of his subordinates (even Toadie) wore clothes like him.
"Looks like not even our esteemed mayor was spared by the ongoing madness," Sasha sighted with a snarky voice. The whole mission had become a lot harder to accomplish, and since Jacob was not available (due to the fact he got tangled as well), they couldn't count on their local Star Wars expert.
Unless…
"Mar-Mar, I have an idea, but I need your cooperation."
"Huh, Sash?" Anne asked in puzzlement, "What are you doing?"
"If Toadstool thinks he's Boss Nass, I'm sure he will react positively if Princess Padme ask him for help. Come on, Boonchuy, give me and hand."
"W-Sasha!" Marcy exclaimed, "What are you doing with my hair?"
"Nothing much, I'm just shaping them to Padme's hairstyle. Can you speak like her?"
"Huh I guess. I mean, I didn't watch the movie that much…"
"How many times have you seen it before?"
"Ehm…nineteen times?"
"That's more than enough. Just try keep it as close to the real Padme as you can."
Marcy looked to her left, her image mirroring in a nearby window, as she realized that Anne and Sasha had curled her hairs in a hairstyle resembling Queen Amidala. The fact that she did look like her would have made her feel pride…if it wasn't for the situation they were…
"You can do this, Mar-Mar. I trust you!"
"If you do not know what to say, signal me for help. I'll suggest you what to say, and you repeat it aloud!"
"Thank you for the help, Sash," Marcy replied, sighing as she prepared to face them. "Ok, let's do this."
She walked toward them, Sasha and Anne at her side, Hop Pop hiding behind them, in short steps to avoid and provoke the.
"Who's da uss-en others?" Toadstool said, noticing them. Immediately, the frogs around him gathered in a defensive position, holding small balls of glops. Some even had large elliptical shields made of wood, and held them tightly as the humans approached them.
"Great Boss, I am Marcy Wu, human ranger and defender of Wartwood." Marcy said, summoning all her Star Wars fangirlness "We come before you… in peace."
"Yousa welcome to Gungantown. Wassa is your state of thingt? Wassa business you have with uss-en?"
"Great boss, we came here to ask for your help. As you can see, Wartwood is now divided into many pieces and the place now is on the edge of a civil war. We want to ask you, Mayor Toadstool, to use your authority and stop this madness at once!"
"Ah!" Toadstool laughed, and the girls realized something was wrong. Like, very wrong. "Yousa tinken yousa greater den da Gungans. Yousa tinken you can tricken the Gungans. Wesa know who yousa are…yousa the close one of the Empire!"
"The Empire? No, we aren't-"
Yet, before Marcy could disprove Toadstool's accusation, one of the nearest frog-Gungans was hit in the face with some blue paint, and fell to the ground. A second later, other two were hit in a similar manner, and the girls saw other frogs in white, resembling stoormtroopers, walking toward the City Hollow, a giant in a blue armor at their head.
"For the Empire!" Jacob shouted, holding a red-painted sword like it was a lightsaber "Stomp out their hope!"
"By Gungans! Toadstool and his troop cried, launching a counterattack.
"Let's get outta here!" Hop Pop said, making sign to the girls to follow him as they ran away, taking advantage of the fact both sides were too busy fighting against each other to notice they were leaving. The old frog and the humans managed to avoid being hit by runaway slugs before jumping on a still-open door, closing it behind them
"Now we're safe!" Anne nodded, "Frog, I knew fandoms were addictive, but up to this point-"
"Anne? Anne Boonchuy, is that…you?"
"James?" The girls replied, seeing the boy was now dressed in a star-decorated dress that made him look like an old wizard, "You're here?"
"We lost you, what happened at you?"
"How you were hiding here?"
"And why are you dressed like that?"
"Many things have happened since we last saw each other, girls," The British boy sighed, "Before the rise of the Empire and the fracture of the old Wartwood, before the Samurai takeover and the age of fandom-fueled anarchy , I realized there was need for a place where people who never wanted to be part of the conflict could hide themselves and live a squalid life, but devoid of fear. As the fight grew stronger, I managed to find this place and I reconverted it to be a safe haven for everyone in need. Welcome to my sanctuary, welcome…to the Star Tower!"
As he concluded, he pushed on some light mushroom on the wall, activating them. The girls now saw the roof of the building was covered in star-shaped stone that absorbed the mushroom biological light and reflected it, making the ceiling look like a starred sky in the night. And in the room with them…
"Girls! Hoppy!" Sylvia gasped, rushing to meet them. "I'm so glad to see you again! It's a madhouse out there"
"What happened to Felicia?" Sasha asked, genuinely worried, "And Ivy?"
"Ivy went with Sprig, when he joined The Republic of Illyrilya before it was crushed by the Rising Sun Warriors, I have no notice of them since then. Felicia, is a general of the Little Ladies Federacy: I tried to convince her to leave it behind her, but she refused to listen me."
"Everyone refused to listen," Maddie said, emerging from the shadow with a sad voice "My father, my sisters, even I refused to listen, before the fall of New Fantasya!"
"New Fantasya?" Marcy gasped, "Don't tell me…"
"Yes, our former Ranger Queen," Maddie said, some small tears leaking out of her eyes, "The army of Shogun Amelia marched toward us, and in the end, we couldn't resist. We barely managed to give our people time to run, before they overran us…"
"New Fantasya…" Marcy looked down, tears forming off of her eyes, "It was like my second home... And now it's gone!"
"Marbles, we did tell you that joining this whole mess was a bad idea."
"Yeah Mar-Mar, Boonchuy is right. It's no big deal, it was just one fandom."
"But it was my fandom!" The former Ranger Queen replied in over-dramatic tone, "And now-now I feel like Tyrein Allestein in front of the Gates of the Ice Throne-"
"Girl, please: focus!" Sasha grumbled with irritation. "It's a mess out of here, and everyone is too taken off to stop this. Even Toadstool, the one whose authority we were supposed to ask for help, didn't listen to us. Worse, even Jacob and Amelia fell for the whole thing, and are now leading their factions in this mess!"
"Hey, you too were in it too before!" Sylvia reprimanded her adoptive granddaughter, "Am I right, Sasha the Warrior Queen?"
"Please!" Sasha tried to look away, her face red in embarrassment as Sylvia reminded her of her failed attempt of kingdom-ship. "Ok, ok, I understand. I let myself into it as well, but now I'm sane again."
"You tried to make your followers build you a castle in your likeness…"
"Oh, like you didn't like being the Queen Ranger, Marcy?"
"Girls, please!" Sylvia walked among them, giving them all stern looks like a grandmother reprimanding her granddaughters. "This is no time to quarrel! If we want this whole mess to end, we have all but one choice-"
"Let me guess: cooperate?"
"Anne, how did you know?"
"Hop Pop, that's so cliché that it ends up being basic! Anyway, someone has an idea?"
"If only we could convince everyone to talk and get them to get back again," Maddie thought about it, "maybe the conflict would stop."
"That's what we tried already," James sighed. "And now the conflict has grown too violent that no side is willing to ever consider diplomacy and talk. When I went to Amelia and told her she had to come to her senses, she decided to sakoku me."
"That sounds terrible!" Hop Popo gritted.
"Nah, she only exiled me from New Yakamashi. At least she's now getting the names right."
"How are we supposed to force them to make up if they won't even see one another?"
"I know, right?" Anne nodded "We've got to get them together. But how..." Suddenly, she had an idea. "Hey girls, you remember about Vince and Cheyenne?"
"Who are Vince and Cheyenne?" Hop Pop and Sylvia asked at the same time
"They're…" Sasha spoke, "Friends of ours, back at school. One day, due to a misunderstanding, they ended up quarreling and they refused to speak with each other, but then we deceived them into meeting again and forced them to confront each other. Therefore, the misunderstanding was cleared and they returned to being friends. Frog, they even started dating before we ended up in here!"
"I think what Sasha is suggesting," Marcy spoke in turn, "Is that we could do what we did then again. We could trick all parties into meeting, and thus they would realize the whole issue is moot."
"And how can we trick them?"
Anne smiled, quickly imitated by Sasha and Marcy "With the same trick we used back then…"
(…)
Sprig Plantar, Captain of the Never-ending Rebellion, looked around with a worried look, as the other main factions walked in sight. Among them to their left, the New Yakamashi samurai, led by their Martial Artist Amelia, with Polly to her side; while to their right, the Imperial Army led by Jacob, victorious against the recently-annexed Gungantown.
"Ok, little guys!" Jacob said in harsh voice, "Tell me, why you wanted to see me? Are you ready to submit to the glory of the Empire?"
"What? Don't say nonsense!" Ivy, Sprig's right-frog and friend, yelled behind him "You're the one who called this!"
"You both called for this! By the Rising Sun, I demand to know the truth!"
"Ha ha! Tricked you all!" Anne announced, coming out of her hiding spot with Sasha and Marcy
"Girls, you did this?" Amelia glared at her with anger.
"Yup!" Sasha smiled "Now that you're face-to-face, how about discussing this like civilized-Whoa!"
"So, dear cousin of mine," Jacob faced Amelia in his Darth Vader voice, looking at her with cold, emotionless eyes, "Are you ready to join the Dark Side of the Force and submit…to the Empire?"
"On my honor, I would never surrender! The true destiny of a samurai is victory…or death!"
"Then death shall you have!"
The Empire and the Samurai clashed with each other, the other fandoms joining into the brawl as frogs tried to hit each other with fruits. Even Hop Pop, Sylvia and the girls were forced to stay low, to avoid being hit in the crossfire.
"Well, at least we brought them together to clear the air, right?"
"More like vent it, Boonchuy!"
"Too bad our attempt fail- ah!"
"I'm hit! I'm hit!"
As the fight kept going, all the smaller fandoms were annihilated down to the last frogs, leaving only Jacob and Amelia's supporters to face each other. Jacob's stoormtroopers, however, were more disciplined, and soon pushed forward, trapping Amelia's forces between the buildings and their offensive, cutting their retreat.
"You have nowhere to hide and nowhere to run now, Amelia!" Jacob looked at her with an evil glaze. "This is the end…of your pathetic insurrection!"
"Then come at get me, bad boy!"
"It will be my pleasure, fake sister!"
"Yah!" Polly rushed into attack, Maddie's sisters right behind her, attempting to attack Jacob to protect their master, The blue-armored boy, however, saw them incoming and he hit all of them with his would-be laser sword, sending them away and knocking them.
"You hide behind children, Amelia? You disappoint me: for all your talks about honor and respect, you fight like a coward!"
"Yeah? And what about you? All that potential of yours, all you could ever be… and you waste it by being a bad guy? Have you no courage to be more? Are you so afraid of your weaknesses, that you do not dare to face them?"
Amelia's words hit something inside Jacob, prompting him to charge: their swords clashed, the two humans so focused against each other that they no longer paid attention to their surroundings, as they ended up back into New Yakamashi.
"You know nothing about me! How can you call me out of my actions, when you were the one that forced my path?"
"What are you saying? I never wanted you to become like this!"
"No? Before you arrived in my home, I was happy! My parents looked up to me, they congratulated me for my grades and my studies, they actually cared for me! It was just like for Anne: being an only child made my life awesome! But then, you arrived! And after you arrived, they stopped paying attention to me!"
"What?" Amelia replied in shock, and so did everyone who was still listening.
"Yeah! After your arrival, after you were accepted in my house like a sister, my parents stopped paying any attention to me! No matter how I exceeded in my studies, no matter how much I strived to make them proud, I found nothing could ever get their attention anymore! I was alone, with no one who even paid attention to me! One night, I was so angry about this, that I ended up throwing a rock against a street lamp, and I shattered its glass right on time for someone to catch me. But even as mom and dad were reprimanding me, I was happy, and you know why? Because they were paying attention to me again!"
Amelia could only manage to defend herself, her mouth agape, as the adrenaline-fueled Jacob revealed the reason behind his "bad boy" personality. Even the other humans, hearing that, couldn't stop themselves but react in shock and surprise.
"Shoot."
"Did he-"
"Oh frog!"
"This is why I started to be bad boy! This is why I keep ignoring rules,: because it's the only way I can have mom and dad pay attention to me once again. It's not something you could ever understand!"
Jacob's sword swung again, but this time, Amelie blocked it with her own. Her cousin suddenly realized she was crying.
"Who says I don't?!" Amelia reacted all of a sudden, her face red, her sudden yell enough to stop Jacob's assault and make him recede of a couple of steps.
"I never wanted to take your place in your family! I wanted you to be my older brother!"
"What?"
"No way!"
"Oh frog!" Sasha repeated, her brain unable to formulate further thoughts as she watched the drama unfold in front of her.
"Do you…do you think it was easy for me, to leave everything behind and start living with some parents I never knew? Parents I was told they had another child already?" Amelia yelled, swinging her katana and trying to hit Jacob, even as her leaking eyes made it difficult for her to aim straight. "I never wanted to take your place, I simply wanted a place to belong! I wanted to be cared for just like you! And when I met you for the first time…I wanted you to be my brother!"
"You-you wanted for me to…" The blue-armored boy switched to defensive, as Amelia's words cut deep through him.
But before Jacob could fully process what Amelia had confessed to him, both humans heard a crack. Apparently, their fight on New Yakamashi had brought them dangerously close to the building that Amelia and her followers had previously tried to make look more orientalist by tying a fishing boat on its roof. And now the rope tying the boat had weakened, right up at the worst moment ever.
What have I done?, Jacob thought, as the realization of his actions and their consequences crushed him. As the remaining ropes started to fray and unravel, he realized he had a couple of seconds before it would fall on both of them. He was wearing armor, so he would probably been fine, but…what of Amelia.
Amelia, who had just confessed she always wanted for him to be his brother.
Amelia, who now he knew she never wanted to take his parent's attention away of him.
Amelia, who he always treated like a parasite until today.
Amelia, his cousin by blood.
Amelia, who was trapped in Amphibia because of him.
…
He knew what he had to do.
Before Amelia could ever get up on her fit and try to move, she felt Jacob's hands grabbing her and throwing her afar, out of the area where the boat was now falling, before he darted out himself…just as the boat came crashing down, breaking in several wood pieces and splinters.
"Jacob!" Amelia yelled in horror as he realized what happened, rushing back to try and help him, quickly imitated by Anne and the others. At first, the blue-armored boy was nowhere to be seen, leading to Amelia to briefly fear for the worst…until she realized there was heavy painting from under the boat half-cracked hull.
"Jacob, you idiot!" Sasha yelled at him, as James and Anne raised the hull enough for him to crawl out, his face and arms scratched but still alive. "Don't you dare do that again, you hear me? I don't care if you end up hurting yourself, but if you scare us like that ever again…I will kill you! I'm not lying."
"Sure, sure." The boy half-chuckled, not believing an ounce in the blonde girl's words.
"Why did you do that?" Hop Pop said, his voice still full of worry, "You could've died, if you were a second late!"
"Because- because..." the boy tried to reply, only to realize he didn't knew too. Why did he do that?Why did he choose such a risky option? But then, she looked at Amelia and he could feel the answer coming. to him naturally
"Because it was the only thing to do."
Amelia stood silent for a second, before the expressions in her face turning into a smile. "I knew there was still good in you." She said, referencing a movie Jacob knew very well. "Well, thanks for saving me."
"You're welcome," the boy got back on his feet. "However, this doesn't change things among us."
"Of course not! You're still the same reckless idiot boy that keeps getting into trouble-"
"And you're still the same annoying, ignorant brat!"
"-But! We are still related by blood, for better or for worse. So…" she extended her hand to her cousin "Truce?"
The boy said nothing for a second, before extending his own hand around hers and shake it "Truce."
That wasn't the end of their conflict; that wasn't even the beginning of the end. But for each one of them, it was the first step toward a possible reconciliation.
"You're welcome," the boy got back on his feet. "However, this doesn't change things among us."
"Of course not, but at least…it's a first step."
"All right, everyone!" Toadstool announced, walking in as he tore off his Boss Nass clothes "Pack it in, we're done for today!"
"I guess this thing is pretty much played out."
"I have to admit it was fun until it lasted."
"Now, that was exciting."
"Glad I finally got a chance to use this bad boy."
"Wait, what?" Anne said in surprise. "You guys were at each other's throats just a second ago. Are you seriously over this already?"
"I have to agree with Boonchuy on this point," Sasha said, looking around as the crowd dispersed and some frogs started to clean up the whole mess. "I mean, the battle was so fierce until a few minutes ago, and now you're all no harm, no foul? The whole things is solved already?"
"I have to admit, Mr. Plantar: that was anti-climatic." Marcy pointed out.
"Oh, that's just the way we are, kids." The old frog shrugged it off "You should have seen last year's cabbages versus lettuce fiasco. We almost tore this place to the ground!"
"So, you mean such violent riots are common in Wartwood?" Sasha asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Indeed, Sasha." Sylvia walked in with Felicia and Ivy. "It's one of the main selling point of this place. You may not used to it, but it's fun!"
"Whew, good thing it's over." Felicia said, "I don't even remember what we were fighting about."
"I can't believe we almost killed each other over a work of fiction!"
"I guess movies are more immersive than we expected. Hey, do you think we will be able to watch another this evening?"
"How about this? Today's treat will be chosen by Amelia."
"Fine for me. As long as we don't have another fight tomorrow…"
"Don't worry about that, Sash!" The young samurai smirked. "I may have the perfect movie in mind-"
"I don't know," Anne scratched her head, looking back. "I mean, if there is something we have learned from today, is that every action have consequences, even something apparently innocuous like watching a movie. Maybe…we are taking things a little too fast?"
"What does that ever mean?"
"Sprig, can you and the others leave us for a minute? Sasha, Marcy and I have to discuss something important…alone."
Sprig, even without understanding what was going on nodded, as they walked away, leaving the three girls alone.
"Anne, what do you mean with, a little too fast?"
"I mean, Marcy, that ever since we have arrived here, we have tried to introduce more and more knowledge from our world. Yet, if even something innocuous as a cinema can lead to a riot, what would happen with something that's not innocuous at all? What about Jacob's gunpowder, what will happen once we leave? Maybe…we should take it easy and slow down a bit?"
"Slow down a bit? Come on Boonchuy, don't be overdramatic!" Sasha dismissed her friends' fear, "It's not our fault if people here cannot understand our way of life."
"But what did we comprehend about theirs?" Anne replied back, something on her irked by Sasha's easy dismissal, "Ever since…that night, we have tried to impose our way of life to the locals, but we're doing nothing to understand Amphibian culture; rather, we keep rejecting it."
"Hey!" Marcy protested, "I am very interested in Amphibian culture; it's not dull at all!"
"My point is, if we really want to truly help everyone, maybe we should do our best to accept Wartwood's way of life first. To comprehend rather than ignore-"
"Boonchuy, you're overthinking it," Sasha replied, her gaze turning cold. "I know you have a desire to being accepted, but that does not mean you have to lower yourself or drag us as well! You're worried, and I understand it, but I'm sure a good night of sleep will be enough to clear your head of such nasty thinking."
"But Sasha-"
"Enough!" The blonde girl replied, a familiar scowl forming up on her forehead, "This is not the time nor the place to talk about such things. We are not talking about it further."
"Sash?" Marcy glimpsed, only to meet an authoritarian expression.
"We're done. End of discussion!"
Hearing that familiar sentence, something in Anne's guts started to rebel, as after so much personal growth she could no longer accept to submit to her friend's tyrannical rule. Anne could feel her hands shake, her heart starting to beat faster. What was she going to do, hit Sasha? She had never dared to hit her friend before, and yet, she'd never felt the impulse to it so strongly.
Yet, once again, her mind chose to yield, deciding the issue wasn't worth the hassle. "Fine then. Issue closed."
"Now you're thinking straight," Sasha smirked, walking away and leaving her two friends looking at her.
"Anna-Banana, is there something wrong?"
"Marcy, why do we have to always do what Sasha wants? And why can't we ever suggest something on our own?"
"B-but Anne! Sasha's our friend! And we have always been like this!"
Then why sometimes I don't feel like it anymore?
(…)
"I have to concede you this, Amelia," Jacob leaned in his seat, "Sometimes you can choose good movies- Especially if it's a movie about kaju!"
"What is a Kaiju?" Sprig asked, sitting nearby Polly.
"Can we eat it?"
"Not exactly," Amelia chuckled and then pointed to the screen, "That, is a Kaiju. The most famous one of our world, Godzilla!"
"Godzilla…" Maddie's little sisters said in awe, looking with enthusiasm as the large monster on the screen leveled the city.
"Sprig, I have to admit you surprised me this time." Anne nodded, looking as Polly and him were now good enough to share the same sitting spot without issues.
"I saved him a spot!"
"And I brought sweets!"
"You're a good older brother, Sprig."
Amelia and Jacob looked at each other for a couple of seconds, with the ghost of a smile on their lips, before realizing what they were doing and turning around. Even if they were secretly happy with each other, their relationship was still awkward.
"Aww, well, ain't that nice." Hop Pop walked in, "Now scooch over. I need a seat."
"There is still that empty log if you need it," James pointed to the same old rotten log Hop Pop had pointed to Sprig at the beginning of the whole adventure. The old frog grumbled, but he still walked to it and reticently sat on it, sinking on the half-decomposed wood.
"So," Ivy asked. "Is this Godzilla a creature of our world? Is he a newt?"
"Actually, no." Sasha replied hearing her, without moving her eyes from the screen. "Godzilla is a giant lizard who obtained nuclear breath after absorbing the radiation or nearby experiments. This is the first movie where such a creature appears, but in our world, there is a whole series of movies with him as the protagonist, many of them where he is a good guy. This movie in particular is the debuting one of Godzilla, released in 1954 and directed by Ishirō Honda, his creator and original author…"
The blonde girl however stopped, as she realized the eyes of all her human friends were over her. Oh frog!
"Sasha, I thought you didn't like Japanese movies."
"I don't? That's…That's right Boonchuy, I don't! Just like anime, and manga or-"
"But then, how do you know all these things?" Jacob pounded in.
"That's' because…I'm always with Mar-Mar, of course! Even if I don't like such shows, I cannot help but learn about them."
"But Sasha, I never-"
Sasha's nudge hit Marcy, her eyes screaming "Please stay silent!"
As the movie continued, the event was quickly forgotten and Sasha's secret was quietly upheld, no one the wiser.
Well, almost no one.
Sasha did not notice it, but behind her, a certain Sundew frog looked at her with a knowing smile…