Author's Note:
Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing well. I want to let you know the reason why I took down my Amphibia story. As an artist, we look back at all the work we do over the years. Sometimes we reflect on all the progress we make our work. And when we look back, we also see the mistakes we make. And we can learn from them by either fixing them, or leaving it entirely while working on a new project. In my case, I looked back at my story and realized that I rushed it the whole time the series was on the air. And another fact that only my human OC had more focus than the other OC's I've created. While looking through the reviews of my story I have also received constructive criticism that I failed to look back at. So, in order to make a great story, I decided to rewrite the entire thing. And after reviewing speculations about my OC, I wanted to clear up that my OC is not a self insert. My OC is completely different from me. Now, without further adieu. May I present to you all; Amphibia: Loyalty Among Worlds.
"Dyllan Loyalitat," said a voice. A thirteen year old boy was laying on his side, on his bed looking at the wall with a blank stare on his face. Dyllan Loyalitat had messy brown hair, but not too messy to cover up his face. He was wearing his night gear, a white undershirt with black shorts and socks to keep his feet warm.
A rare distinct feature about him was that he had a scar on his left hand between his middle finger and his ring finger.
The voice of the figure stepped out of the shadows revealing an older man with a thinning hair line. He is wearing pilot work clothes; A white shirt with gold buttons and small shoulder pads, light brown dress pants, and black fancy shoes.
He turned to sit on his bed and lightly shook Dyllan's shoulder. Dyllan turned to face him with small tears in his eyes. "Dyllan..." He took his hand off his shoulder, but Dyllan looked back at the wall. He sighed in defeat. "I don't understand. This isn't like you, getting into trouble. You should be lucky you didn't get suspended. Why would you do that?"
Dyllan couldn't find the words to speak to him. The man couldn't bear that he wouldn't make a sound. Or something to express how sorry he is for what he did. "I don't know what I'm going to do with you."
"Relax Matthew," Dyllan said. "The principal let me off with a warning. Everything's fine."
"And that's another problem." said Matthew. "You try to ignore the consequences of your actions. And you to try to defend your friends, even when you know they're in the wrong."
"Dad always said that us Loyalitats have to remain loyal to those we care about," Darrell said. "How is protecting my friends wrong?"
"When you know your friends are getting you into trouble," said Matthew. "The problem is that your friends drag you along with everything they do, and you're too innocent to stand up for yourself. That's why I'm trying to tell you to make new friends, be better to yourse-."
"No Matthew!" Dyllan shouted. He clenched his fists, not wanting to hear another word about new friends. The thought of moving on from what he knows scared him horribly. "I don't want new friends! I will never replace them!" His eyes closed, and tears started to drip down from his face.
Matthew perked up at his yelling, and stood back up. He looked down at him, and knew that this wasn't about making new friends. It was about something much more. Matthew took a long deep sigh and gave a gloom frustrated look.
"I get it, it's hard. But eventually things change. Our friends, our family, and our lives. That's why you have to expand your horizons, or the only things you've grown too attached to will just be a memory. Like your old home, your grandfather, your father,... and soon… her." The sound of his voice was choked up. But he had to remain strong. "One of these days, you're going to have to learn that you can't let others push you around. And to have faith that things will get better." He turns away to leave his room. "What am I going to do with him Sarah?"
Dyllan takes out two photos he had hidden under his pillow. One photo reveals his family; himself, his father, and his mother. The other photo, recently taken, showed himself, and three girls, his best friends. He takes both his photos and hugs them until he falls asleep. Another fact about Dyllan is that he's realistic about the real world, but little did he know that his behavior would be his downfall.
The very next morning, Dyllan woke up after a rough night and having that long talk with his step father. But his mood was much different from last night. Today, he appeared more cheerful and bright. He looked at his calendar and looked at the circled date today. The day said 'Her Birthday's Today!'
"Today's the day!" Dyllan cheered. He jumps out of bed, rushes to get himself cleaned up, then speeds down the stairs to eat breakfast.
Down in the kitchen, there were two younger girls that were eating breakfast. One of them is known as the most athletic daughter in the family. At twelve years old, she is shown wearing a purple jersey with the number eight on the center. She wears gray gym shorts, basketball shoes and wristbands matching her jersey. She has her brown hair tied up in a bun and wears black face paint across her freckled cheeks.
The other girl looks like the little ballet princess of the family. She is shy, but is reliable to her family. At age nine, she is dressed in her little pink ballerina attire, with light purple dance shoes. Her light brown hair is tied up in a ponytail.
"Good morning Dyllan," said the athletic girl in a peppy voice.
"Good morning Amelia," said Dyllan as he chomps down on breakfast.
"You look happy today," said the second girl. "Why are you so happy after getting in trouble at school yesterday?"
"Because Jane," said Dyllan. "It's my best friend's birthday today!" He takes out a piece of paper from his pants pocket. "I've got great plans today: One, wish her a happy birthday. Two, survive another school day. Three, attend her birthday celebration. Four, give my friend her birthday present. And five, spare my step sisters some cake."
"I love me some cake," said Jane, licking her lips. "Mmmm."
"I wish I could come to the celebration, if it weren't conflicted with my basketball game," said Amelia. She tries spinning her basketball on her finger. "I could school your girlfriend in more party games than I could count."
Dyllan chuckled, "You wish. Last time you went up against her, she won."
Amelia stopped smiling when her step brother brought that up. "I can take a loss," she said. "But I don't like her showing off. She gets too rough,"
Dyllan shrugged, "I'm sure she didn't mean it."
"If she didn't mean it," said Jane in a fearful tone. "She wouldn't have done it in the first place."
"Are you saying she's not worth trying to get along?" Dyllan asked in an irritated tone. Jane backed up a bit out of fear of his mood change.
"Now, now, kids," said a woman's voice. They turn to see Dyllan's mother and the girls' step mother, Sarah Loyalitat-Sampson, walk in the kitchen. She was dressed with a white sweater with a red cross on the front. She wore dark purple sweatpants and light blue socks. She comes in slowly with a cane in her hand, having trouble walking. And most of her hair is gone.
"The last thing I want to see is you all arguing," she said. She coughed a bit and took her medication. "Now Dyllan, I know you're trying to defend your girlfriend. But just remember, we're always here for you, and we want what's best for you."
Dyllan looked down with a hidden glum look on her face, but then perked up with a hidden smile. "I know, I know." He finishes his breakfast and hugs her tightly. "I love you, Mom."
Sarah hugs her son back gently. "I love you too, Dyllan," she said. "Now get going, you're going to be late for school."
Dyllan nodded as he went up to get his school shirt from his closet. As he did, his mother looked down at her hands and trembled with sadness. 'How is he going to cope with this?' she thought. 'It's gonna happen soon.' She coughs again, and Jane and Amelia give her some water. She takes the offer and the three smile in tears.
Dyllan comes down with his school shirt on and his blue backpack. His school shirt is a pale blue, and green collared polo shirt with the initials SJMS on the front. "Goodbye guys! I'll see you tonight!" he called out.
"Hold up, Dyllan!" called Matthew.
He turned to him just as he was about to open the door. He held out his lunch and gave it to him. Dyllan took his lunch without looking at him in shameful tone.
"Please keep in mind with what I said last night," said Matthew. "At least try to have faith."
Dyllan, without saying a word, exited the front door. He grew worried, but knew he had good intentions. He goes over to Sarah. "I'm worried about him Sarah," he said.
"Life is hitting him hard," said Sarah. "Cough, cough, cough!"
Matthew pats on his wife's back with concern and looks back to the front door. 'I wish he never heard that phone call.'
Dyllan peddled as fast as he could on his red bike. He raced through the streets, but always stopped whenever he crossed the street. He takes a right turn and reaches Saint James Middle School. His middle school is known as a private school, where kids wear specific school uniforms. Some of the students wear the same shirt with different colored collars.
Dyllan goes to the bike rack where he parks his bike and locks it up with his special chains. He couldn't be too careful with bike thieves. He waits by the school flagpole until the school bell rings.
While waiting, he takes out a black book and makes small doodles in them. He was very creative and punctual with details. Then, he gets bumped by a couple of students, dropping his little sketch book.
"Our bad, Loyalitat!" they said while walking away. Dyllan didn't speak out to them, not wanting to start a fight. Especially since he got in trouble just yesterday. He takes his book back in his hands and gets back up. He closed his eyes and looked up to the partly sunny sky, hoping things would be cheerful.
He finds that cheer when a Thai-American girl pulls up on her bike. That girl is one of his best friends from his photo. Her attire consists of her Saint James school shirt with a light purple collar. Her skirt matches the color of her collar, and wore yellow sneakers. She takes her bike chain and locks it up next to Dyllan's.
Dyllan smiled and rushed over to greet the birthday girl. "Anne!"
Anne looks up to see Dyllan running up to her. She removes something from her mouth and puts it in her hand. "Dyllan!"
"Happy…" Dyllan takes a small leap and hugs her with excitement. "Birthday!" Anne hugs him back.
"Aw, thank you so much," she replied. "I can't wait for the celebration tonight. You're gonna be there, right?"
"You bet I am!" said Dyllan. "I've cleared my calendar for this special occasion."
The two chuckled until another girl came up behind her. She had white boots with dark socks and light leggings going up to her pink skirt. She wore a Saint James sweatshirt covering her traditional polo school shirt with a pink collar. She had pigtails in her hair and a baseball cap facing the back of her head.
"Hey 'Boobchuy'," she called out. "Whatcha eating there? You gonna share that puke bun with 'Loselitat'?" she laughed.
Dyllan was not interested in her insults, but insulting his best friend is where he stands with them. "Yeah, yeah, very funny Maggie," he said in a monotone. "But it's not a puke bun, it's a…it's a..." Dyllan stalled with words, not knowing what kind of snack Anne has.
"...It's a khao niew bing," finished Anne. "A traditional Thai snack made up of rice and coconut milk." She shows the two students her snack. Dyllan found it really interesting and delicious. "My mom made this for me because it's my birthday."
"Oh," said Maggie. "Well, happy birthday." She stood unamused and uninterested. Then out of nowhere she lunged in at Anne and tried to steal her Thai snack. "Gimmie that!"
Anne held her ground and kept hold of her snack. "Hey! Get your own Thai Mom!"
If there was one thing Dyllan wouldn't stand for, it's other kids picking on his friends. So while the two were fighting, he jumps in and grabs both their arms. "Knock it off, Maggie!" he cried. "Leave her alone!"
As he struggled to pull their arms apart, Maggie smacks Dyllan in the face, knocking him to the ground. He drags his elbow on the pavement. "Back off Loselitat!" she said. "This is why you're too easy," she said as she continued to take Anne's snack. "You don't fight back, so you'll never win!" She smirked evilly down at the fallen teen with a small scratch on his arm and heard him trying to hold back his tears.
"Hey Margot!" The three kids look to see a proud caucasian blonde take a stand. She wore a ponytail, and a small mole was hanging right under her left eye. She wore the traditional school shirt with a blue-green open jacket over it. She also wore a pink skirt, long light blue socks, and dress shoes. At the same time, another student was playing a guitar riff in the background. That girl is Dyllan's girlfriend, and Anne's other best friend.
"Sasha," whispered Dyllan, with a comforting smile.
With a defiant stance, Sasha stared down at Maggie. "Leave them alone!" she ordered. She looks back at the guitar player just as he finished his rift. "Also, nice guitar solo, Vince." The guitar player, Vince, gave a rock on sign in response.
Maggie stood in embarrassment, knowing how influential Sasha is, and the fact that she knocked down her boyfriend. But she kept her tough girl attitude in check. "Oh yeah!?" She points to her, "Or else what!?"
"Uh oh," said Dyllan, knowing what Sasha is going to do next. "She shouldn't have said that."
"Or else, you can forget about coming to my awesome house party next week," said Sasha. "It'll be really sad when the whole class is enjoying the pool, without you." Sasha smirks, knowing that she has Maggie in the palm of her hand.
Maggie knew that she wanted to go to the house party, but had to stop her antics with Anne and Dyllan right now. "Aw geez, Sash. I was just playing." She shoves Anne's Thai snack back at her chest "here," she said as she left.
Anne helped Dyllan get back on his feet. "Are you okay, dude?" she asked.
"Yeah, this isn't the first time I got knocked down," said Dyllan. He brushes the dirt off his shirt and elbow. "I'm used to it." He turns to Sasha, who placed her hand on his shoulder. "Thanks Sash,"
"No problem, Dyllan," she replied. She brushes his cheek where Maggie smacked him with her thumb. "There, that should help you feel better. And don't worry, you just got to learn how to speak their language."
"I wish I could do that," said Dyllan. "I'm not good at speaking other people's languages."
"Never mind that," said Sasha. "Today's a big day for our Anna Banana!" Sasha turns to Anne and smiles with glee. "Happy Birthday girl!"
The three celebrate with light cheers, twirls, and quick dance jigs. Only for their celebrations to be interrupted by the school bell. Sasha was so annoyed by the school's choice of timing. "Ugh, Buzzkill," she said.
"Guess we better start heading to class," said Dyllan.
"Guess so," said Sasha. She takes his hand and the three walk in.
The three students walk into the school halls, finding school students going to their lockers and going to their homerooms. Some traveled alone, some in pairs, and few racing through halls with skateboards and parkour moves. Dyllan watched in amazement that other students were just chill and talkative. He didn't dare himself to come out of his shell, not after what happened to him yesterday.
'Just get through the day quietly, and calmly,' he thought.
Later that day, the three friends were in science class together. But the timing couldn't be better for them. "Alright class," said the science teacher. "Today's your lucky day. Cause it's frog dissection day!"
The classroom groaned and complained with disgust. "Aw!" "Gross!"
Dyllan and Anne look down at their frogs, flipping them face up. Staring down in their dead eyes, made Darrell quiver in fear and disgust. "Ugh," he groaned. Then, he started to turn green and feel a queasiness coming from his stomach.
"Ugh!" groaned Anne. "Frogs are the worst!"
Sasha rolled up next to her. "Right," she said. "Let's get out of here." She started acting like she was going to throw up in front of the whole classroom. Which did not sit well with Dyllan. The last thing he wanted to hear was someone else throwing up, which would make him throw up much quicker.
"Mrs. Verke," said Sasha in an acting tone. "The sight of blood…ugh. I'm gonna be sick!"
Mrs Verke looked with worry. "Oh dear." She walks up with a frog in her hands. "Anne, why don't you take Sasha to the sick room before she desecrates these beautiful frog bodies with her vomit. Thank you." She squeezes the frog like a stress ball, then walks back to her desk.
Dyllan watches the two get out of a dissection session, leaving him all alone with his frog. With his hand shaking in disgust, he takes a scalpel and slowly points the blade down at the frog's chest. The foresight of a dissected frog was not doing him wonders with his breakfast. Then, he hears someone complain. "Eww. I got frog juice in my mouth."
Reaching his limits, Dyllan drops the scalpel and races off to the nearest bathroom. "Oh dear," said Mrs Verke. "Poor Mr. Loyalitat." Dyllan rushed through the halls, until he found the bathrooms. He goes in, and waits for nature to call out his breakfast.
After what seemed like a very long time, Dyllan exits the bathroom looking a bit pale. He knew after an event like this he would be excused from school. But his mind thought back to getting in trouble yesterday. He decided to power on through the rest of the day, and return to his science class.
Later on, Dyllan exits his last class for the day, and decides to take his free period at the public library. Along the way, he encounters his third best friend from the photo. This student is another girl. A Chinese American teenager with black short hair with a green hair clip. She wore her Saint James sweatshirt, a green skirt and brown shoes.
"Hey, Marcy!" Dyllan called out. He was most happy to see Marcy out of the three friends. Dyllan and Marcy are known to share the same interests, the same fictional ideas. They even share the same favorite movies, games, and activities together. Despite being Sasha's boyfriend, the two share a great friendship.
Marcy looked up from her journal to see Dyllan waving at her. She was so happy to see him, she raced up to him. "Dyllan!" The two share a quick hug and make their way to the library. "How's your day been so far, dungeon buddy?" she asked.
"Balancing between good and bad," replied Dyllan. "Despite being knocked down by Maggie and losing my breakfast in science class, I'm keeping my composure and staying out of trouble."
"Oh that's good," said Marcy. "Any idea where Anne is? I want to wish her a happy birthday."
Dyllan shook his head and said, "Last time I saw her, she went to take Sasha to the sick room. But little does the school know is that they're skipping school again, and celebrating the day in style. Guess that means we'll meet up with them after school."
The two enter the library and sit down at one of the tables. Dyllan takes the time to get a head start on his homework. While he was writing for his astronomy assignment, he looked at Marcy reading a PSAT prep book. "Don't we have to worry about those in high school?" he asked.
"You can worry about them later," said Marcy. "I'm the kind of gal that should be prepared for anything and everything."
"Even preparing for our next Creatures and Caverns session?" Dyllan asked. He sees Marcy smile with glee. He knew how much it meant to her, spending time with her favorite roleplaying game. "I wonder what we are going to encounter this weekend, head ranger?"
"It's a surprise, great wizard," replied Marcy.
Dyllan's phone suddenly vibrates silently. He picks it up to see a text message from Sasha. It says, 'Meet us downtown, and bring our nerd friend.' "I'm on it, Sash," said Dyllan. "Come on Marcy, Anne's birthday celebration won't last forever."
He picks up his backpack and makes his way out of the library. Marcy was in tow behind him. "Hang on, Dyllan. I'll meet you outside." Dyllan nodded and makes his way to his bike.
Dyllan waits for Marcy outside the library doors. Then, he waited for what seemed like a very long time. "Geez Marcy," he said to himself. "You can't resist seeing a new book?"
Then, Dyllan's phone vibrated again. He looks on his phone to reveal that Matthew left a voicemail. As he was about to open it up, Marcy came out with her hood on.
"You go on ahead Dyllan," said Marcy. "My dad has something he needs to tell me. I'll meet you and the girls shortly afterward."
"Okay Marcy," said Dyllan. "I'll see you later." The two wave goodbye and Dyllan is left to head downtown.
He pushes the button to hear the voicemail. "Hey Dyllan," said Matthew. "It's Matthew. Listen, once you finish school, you need to come home straight away. This is more important than you hanging out at your friend's birthday celeb-" He angrily pauses his step father's message, and gets on his bike as he. Along the way, Dyllan grows upset with every passing second. Then, Dyllan comes to a sudden stop.
He finds an alleyway close by and slowly walks in. His shock and sadness turned into rage and despair. He started taking out his anger by stomping on empty cans, ripping trash bags, cardboard boxes, throwing his bike helmet on the ground, and screaming his heart out to the world.
"It's not fair!" he shouted. "Why does he have to make this hard for me?! I…I'd… I don't…" His rage turns back into sadness as he leans with his back against the wall. He cries with his legs curled up and wraps his arms around them.
He feels his phone vibrate again, he gets a text from Sasha that says, 'Where are you two!?' Wanting to get away from his problems, he replies to Sasha. 'I took a wrong turn, where are you guys?'
Then, another message from Marcy appears. She texted a photo of a strange music box. Ornamented with gold lining, a small key on the side of the box, and a frog icon on the lid. Also on the lid are four gems with the colors blue, pink, green, and red. In the next message, Marcy said, 'I found the perfect gift for Anne downtown. Come to the thrift store.'
Before he could reply, his phone shows Matthew trying to call him again. Not wanting to hear any more from his step father, and deciding to spend time with his only friends, he pushes the ignore button and gets up. He replies to his friends, 'On my way.'
Dyllan races to the thrift store to find Sasha and Marcy outside. "Hey girls," he said. "I'm sorry I lagged behind. I got sidetracked." He looks around, and finds no sign of Anne. "Where's Anne?"
"She's in the thrift store getting her birthday present," said Sasha. The three look inside to see Anne looking at the box.
"That box looks expensive," said Dyllan. "How did we get the money for it?"
"We didn't," said Sasha. "Anne's going to get her present for free."
Dyllan looked inside to see what Sasha was talking about. "Wait, what!? Y-You're not saying she's stealing it, right?"
"It's the only way," said Marcy. Dyllan was shocked to hear Marcy say something like that.
"Marcy, how could you agree to something like this?!" asked Dyllan. "It's bad enough that we break school rules, but stealing?! That's against the law!"
"But this is Anne's birthday," said Sasha. "She deserves to be happy."
Dyllan didn't want to have any more of what's happening to him right now. "S-Sasha, s-she's making a mistake. I...I really think we should-"
Sasha didn't want to hear any more objections from her boyfriend. She puts her hand up and stares down at Dyllan. "Dyllan. This isn't fun anymore. Like it or not, this is happening. Anne is going to get her birthday gift, and you are going to keep your mouth shut." She glares down with a stern look in her eyes, locking them on Dyllan's fearful eyes. "End. Of. Discussion."
Dyllan was really scared at that moment. He didn't want him and his friends to get into more trouble. But he didn't want to lose them either. He already made his choice by ignoring his step father's phone call. So without uttering a single word, he quietly nodded in shame.
Then, Sasha looks at him with a calm and positive manner. "There," said Sasha. She caresses his bruised cheek to lighten his mood. "Now was that so bad?" He shakes his head no, and then she lightly kisses him on the same cheek.
"Gaw! You two are so cute," said Marcy.
The three quietly look to see Anne grabbing the box while the owner wasn't looking. Sasha gave her two thumbs up in approval. Marcy watched with delight. But while Dyllan watched, he rubbed his arm with unease. He didn't want to see his friend get into more trouble. But, before he could say anything else, Anne stuffs the box in her backpack and leaves the store. Dyllan sighed in defeat, now knowing they've crossed a line.
The four friends make their way to the park, and Anne sits the music box on her legs. They have never seen anything like it before. All its beauty and glory, but also its mystery and wonder. Anne slowly opened the box to look inside. There was nothing at first.
But suddenly, there was a flash of colorful lights coming from the box. The light blinded the four teens. Then all of a sudden, Anne Boonchuy, Sasha Waybright, Marcy Wu, and Dyllan Loyalitat disappeared.
Without a trace...