I Heart Blondes

girlies from memory

It doesn’t excuse her behavior, but Sasha’s actions in reunion are so much deeper than “these gross frogs are annoying and I don’t want to share my best friend with them”. Sure, it may be some of it, but it’s so much more than that. (A rambly analysis of Sasha Waybright’s behavior and what led up to her suicide attempt in reunion)

Sasha perhaps had the most traumatic entry into amphibia. She went from hanging out with her friends on Anne’s birthday to being suddenly transported into a bizarre unfamiliar world filled with scary creatures she’s never seen before. And immediately after that, before she even got a chance to process, she was held at spear point, arrested, and thrown in prison in horrible conditions. It’s unclear for exactly how long, but for at least a few weeks to a month, she was kept in that prison being constantly interrogated. At this point she had no idea where her friends were, if they were even ALIVE or in the same place as her, and she didn’t know if the toads would decide to torture or even kill her.

She had to use every single manipulation tactic she had ever learned (most likely from her traumatic childhood) just to improve her conditions and chance of survival. It’s written as a joke and glossed over in the show, but that entire situation is HEAVY and TRAUMATIC. And she is 13 years old.

Sasha’s introduction, her very first perception of this strange new world, was one of trauma and pain and fear. Anne was alone and then she met the Plantars. Marcy was immediately taken in by the newts. Sasha was completely alone and for all she knew, she was the only person in that entire world that she knew she could count on.

And then…. She receives news that ANNE is there. She went from torturing herself mentally thinking about all the scenarios where she possibly lost her friends forever, to learning that there’s HOPE. But even then, the only evidence is Anne’s singular shoe. She doesn’t know if Anne is hurt or even alive. She only knows that this scary strange toad captain who is holding her captive is interrogating her on the whereabouts of her friend. Realizing that even the captain of the toad army doesn’t know where Anne is, she feels like NO ONE does.

Finally, after prison break, she’s out. Not only is she out, she is lieutenant of the entire toad army. Again, she is 13 years old. She got there by desperately manipulating her way into freedom. Suddenly, she went from being captive in a cell for a month, to having the mission of finding both of her friends alive and finding a way to get them back home AND also becoming an entire lieutenant soldier in order to uphold the end of her deal with captain Grime.

FINALLY after a really long time of trying to find her friends, she receives word that Anne is alive and well in Wartwood. And everything changes. The hope she’s been running on has been refilled. And if Anne is alive, Marcy might be too. She learns that Hop Pop is the face of the frog rebellion, but due to the news about Anne, she’s sort of tunnel visioned. People forget that before reunion, Sasha probably didn’t even really trust Grime. Later in the show they have more of a familial relationship, but at this point, their alliance is purely out of convenience. She doesn’t trust him. But she NEEDS him to get home. And he needs her. So when she learns that Grime needs to smash the rebellion, she only thinks of amphibians as the people who have kept her captive and tormented her since the moment she got there. She thinks she doesn’t owe them anything. She just needs to get home with her friends. She’s willing to do whatever it takes.

They make a plan and arrive at Wartwood. She finds out that not only is the frog that is charged with starting the rebellion Anne’s FRIEND, but she has a new family, and someone she calls her best friend. Sasha’s entire world shatters as she hears that Anne replaced her. In her mind, Anne replaced her and started over exactly like her parents when they divorced and started new families. Anne was the only constant in her life, and now not only is she replacing her, she’s also aiding and friendly with the very creatures that have been traumatizing her. This is earth shattering to her. She can’t think straight. She feels raw emotional pain and has NO time to process it. So she does the only thing she knows how to do. Continue with the plan.

She thinks that maybe Anne will realize that they’re just frogs, and this entire thing will be over and they can go home, like how things were before. She’s not the same Sasha that originally got transported to amphibia, but she expects Anne to still be the same Anne.

She’s so caught up in the emotional pain and trying to cover it up with the happiness and relief that comes with finding Anne and (in her mind) being SO CLOSE to going home, that her world ends AGAIN when Anne takes a stand against her. She takes a stand against her for the first time in their 8 years of friendship AND it’s the replacement best friend AND an amphibian that encourages her to do it.

She didn’t mean to fight Anne, but the white hot rage took over her body. She got through her entire childhood by being ANGRY and fighting back, and this was her knee jerk response.

When toad tower crumbled, her change of heart that led to her suicide attempt wasn’t due to her believing that everything she did was wrong. She wasn’t quite there yet (as shown in toad catcher). It was in response to the fact that Anne was doing fine without her. It’s the fact that Sasha thought she was so replaceable, Anne allowed a strange evil creature, who is also highly annoying, to become her new best friend and companion. Anne didn’t need her. Anne was better off without her.

So she let go.

we'll be okay

...

Happy three years to the gayest scene in amphibia

bringing back amphibia art is 2025 real quick

healing from arcane by watching hilda

long haired darcy? long haired darcy

Huntlow ˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

April 9, 2023

*gasp* what is this? A commission by the lovely @glacecakes for her fic series Wandering Stars which you can (and should!!) read here it's very good y'all. Anyway this was a lot of fun! I can't wait for the next installment!