Chapter Text
The sun rose in the Plantar’s farm and fwagon. Over the door was a sign saying, “Marcy is here,” as the door was kicked open. “First day of Wartwood!!” Marcy shouted as she ran from the fwagon and to the basement. She was excited about getting to meet the frogs that were helping Fungal adapt to their new life. Marcy looked over at the bed by the window while celebrating. Fungal's sleeping body was hugging their mushroom dragon plush close to their chest. The black caterpillar plush she saw in Newtopia lay by Fungal’s feet. Their curtains were drawn, so Marcy opened them to let the sun in.
“See you outside, Fun-girl.” Marcy said as Fungal smiles and nuzzles their dragon's mushroom, “5 more minutes..” Marcy smiles and leaves the basement and farm. She wanted a head start to meet Wartwood. Fungal can join her later when they fully wake.
Marcy had sparkled eyes seeing the tiny town. She walked up to a light purple, older, frog with a basket on her arm. “Hi! I'm Marcy, how are you?” The frog was startled by the night ranger and faced her annoyed, “oh great… Another one.” The frog walked off and before Marcy could ask the frog running a stand nearby, they slammed a closed sign down. Everywhere Marcy went, frogs either ignored her or ran from her. A one eyed frog playing an accordion even fled after Marcy asked too many questions.
Marcy sat at the Wartwood fountain, “Why are these frogs not respecting me?”
“Marbles!” The night ranger saw Fungal walking up, carrying the mushroom dragon plush in one arm. “How is your first day in Wartwood?” Marcy smiles, “Fine, it is just as you described it, Spores.” She groans, “But no frog wants to interact with me!” Fungal chuckles nervously, “Well, the town motto is, “slow to accept, even slower to respect.” Fungal even pointed at the entrance of the town where the motto could be seen hanging over the gate.
“Well, if it isn't our favorite fungi..”
Fungal saw Miss Croaker walk up, her spider Archie ran and grabbed Fungal's leg. “Good morning, Miss Croaker and hello Archie. How are you two doing?” The old frog smiles at the fungi girl, “Oh, We are just fine, Fungal. I see you like the little guy I made for ya.” Fungal hugs Marsh in excitement, “Yes, thank you for making him!” Miss Croaker giggles at Fungal's excitement, she loves seeing the fungi happy. “I figured you could use a little mushroom buddy while sick, did you name him?” Fungal nods, “Yes, his name is Marsh. He's my little protector against nightmares.”
Miss Croaker giggled, “Good to know, dear. Well, I got more errands to do today. I am glad you are feeling better and love the dragon.” Fungal nods, petting Archie on the head. “Come find me or Hop Pop if you need a spider sitter. I hope you have a great day, Miss Croaker.” Miss Croaker nods and walks off, Archie licks Fungal’s leg before racing to catch up with his owner.
“See?”
Fungal looked at Marcy as she was holding her arms out at the fungi girl. “What?”
“I tried to talk to that frog earlier and she was annoyed with me.” Fungal nods, “Yes? She was like that with me as well in the beginning..”
“But now she's kind to you and even gave you a plush when sick! What's your secret, Spores?” Fungal blinks confused, “It's not a secret thing I did.. I just was patient with the frogs. They didn't start to respect me until 2 months after I started living with the Plantars.”
“And the last human we saw wanted to kill one of us!” Marcy looked at a small mob behind her as Fungal glared at the frogs. “Guys! She's with me!” Fungal's annoyance vanished seeing a certain tadpole on a frog's head holding a torch.
“Polly? You know Marcy..”
“I go with the crowd, Fungal!” The mob left with Polly as Fungal sighs, “Be back before lunchtime, Polly!” Marcy looked at Fungal, “You seriously had to wait 2 months for these frogs to start respecting you?” Fungal kinda nods, “I didn't really try at first.. I was mostly confused and never paid attention to what the frogs said about me.. I had the Plantars, but they didn't trust me right away either..”
Marcy gained a confident smile, “Maybe it took you 2 months cause you didn't try! Maybe I can get these Wartwood frogs to respect me in less time than that! Operation: ‘get the Wartwood frogs to like me’ is a go!” Marcy jumped up with her fist in the air, accidentally striking the fountain's statue off its feet, making several frogs groan and glare at the night ranger.
“No worries, I can fix that.” Pulling out two bottles, Marcy mixed the two potions together, matching the colors of Fungal's spores, and placed it on the broken sections of the statues. She then tied a rope around the statue, looping it over a wooden stand, and tying the rope to a bug about the size of an earth pig. Slamming the bug as it oinked and ran off, lifting the statue back where it was. The glue dried immediately as Marcy cleaned the areas around it.
“There we are, good as new.”
Fungal stared at the display, “Woah, where did you learn to do that, Mar-Mar?” Marcy faced Fungal, “I took some sculpture classes in Newtopia.” Marcy blinked as an idea formed, “Maybe if I help repair Wartwood, that can get the frogs to like me!” Fungal looked unsure, “Are you sure? I don't know if that will help..”
“Come on, Fun-girl! It's how I got the Newtopia newts to like me.” Marcy looked so excited, Fungal couldn't bring themself to counter anymore. “Alright.. but we should start small.” Marcy nodded and raced to do so; repairing broken lamps and Fungal helped fill in potholes. The pair tried the school, but a giant centipede stopped the girls.
Marcy and Fungal sat by the squeaky clean fountain, “Okay, that has to be it! These frogs should be thanking me for fixing their town right about.. now!” But none of the frogs did, they only glared at Marcy and waved at Fungal. Fungal sighs, “Maybe you should give them time, Marbles.”
“Fungal!”
Wally went to Fungal as they looked at the one eyed frog. “Stumpy sent me, he is requesting your assistance for the lunch rush.” Fungal blinked and stood, “Oh, tell him I'll be there, just need to stop by the house first.” Wally nods and heads back to Stumpy's as Fungal moves to face Marcy. “Sorry Marcy, i got to go..”
“It's fine, Fungal. Wow those frogs with your cooking. I'll meet you there.” Fungal smiled and left the fountain area to get ready.
Marcy sighs, “I must be doing something wrong..”
“I can help with that!” Marcy looked as a balloon floated down to her. A green toad jumped out with a smaller frog dressed in a tux following. “I am Mayor Toadstool, this is my second hand frog, Toadie. And are you the one repairing our tiny town?” Marcy happily nodded and held out her hand for a handshake, “Yes, I am, sir! The name's Marcy Wu, Newtopia's finest night ranger.” Toadstool accepted the handshake, “Ah, that great! See, I wanted to update this little town, but could never afford the upgrades. I don't suppose you can offer to help me here?” Marcy grinned and immediately accepted the offer, pleasing Toadstool.
“Excellent! Here's the plan for what I have in store. Give it a good look through.” Toadstool looked at Toadie, “Toadie, get the balloon.” Toadie looked up, “Um sir, we didn't tie the balloon down..” The Toadstool balloon was drifting away in a wind as Toadstool sighs, “Well, there goes that. Toadie, you are the balloon now.” Toadstool jumped for Toadie as the frog carried the mayor off. “Just join me later and we'll start.” Marcy smiled and ran to Stumpy's to tell Fungal.
Fungal had on the green and white dress and served several frogs their ordered lunch. The door opened as Marcy appeared, “Hello Marcy, table for one?” Marcy nods, “Yes, Fungal.” Fungal checked the table guide before guiding Marcy to her table. “I'll be right back to get your order.”
Marcy watched Fungal head to other tables, taking orders, and either deliver them to Stumpy or head to the kitchen to help. It was like seeing Anne working at her family restaurant again, Fungal looked like a natural. Most of the frogs loved talking with the fungi girl and not just to say their orders. They acted casually with Fungal, telling them about their day, happy to see the fungi girl, or saying positive things about their cooking abilities. Marcy pulled out Toadstool's plans, “You will help me earn these frogs’ respect..”
“Sorry about the wait, Marbles. How are we helping you today?” Fungal walked back to Marcy, seeing the rolled up paper by the night ranger. “Oh, I'll take the chef's special.” Fungal wrote the order down, “What's that you got there, Marcy?” Marcy unrolled the paper, “Mayor Toadstool gave me this! He's asking for my help to fix up Wartwood!” Fungal looked unsure, “I don't know Marcy.. Toadstool isn't entirely liked among us. Maybe you should think it over more before accepting.”
“But this can let Wartwood respect me!” Fungal sighs, Marcy must be in her little world. “Alright.. just promise me you won't overdo it.” Marcy nods as Fungal goes back to the kitchen to deliver the order request. Their mind lingered on Marcy’s actions. “What is spawning her behavior?”
French Narrator:The Next Day
Fungal awoke to a strange feeling, but didn't know why. Looking at their vessel hands, they didn't feel like theirs. Fungal shrugged off the feeling and went to start breakfast. The reflection of Fungal from any reflected surface only increased this strange feeling. They didn't see the face staring at them as theirs, but why? But Fungal kept this feeling to themself, maybe this must be normal for their fungi. They are known for using different vessels. Once breakfast was served, Fungal went to grab Anne's jacket. “Maybe this will pass on its own..” The jacket had pockets that covered their hands, so that looked like a temporary situation. Maybe Fungal should ask Marcy about the strange feeling.
The Plantars walked to the main part of town as Miss Croaker pointed something out. “What did that stupid toad do this time?” Fungal looked around the upgraded Wartwood. It looked like a fancy town with white marble walls and a bigger fountain. A patch by the fountain had Toadstool's face made from various flowers. “She didn't…” Fungal said as a patch of smoke appeared by the new golden statue of Wartwood's founder. In the smoke was Marcy and Toadstool, both wearing tuxs and top hats.
“Welcome to the New Wartwood, frogs!” Marcy said excited as Toadstool listed off the changes they made all night. “All made with Newtopia escorted marble, thanks to my helper, Marcy.” Marcy smirked at the praise, “And everything on display here is free to explore! So come on in!” The frogs walked in as Fungal raced to where Marcy was.
“Marcy, you promised you wouldn't overdo it!” Marcy looked at Fungal, barely noticing their shrooms looked pinker in the sun. Maybe the fungi was feeling embarrassed about their friend's behavior. “It's fine, Fun-girl. Now with this, Wartwood has to respect me like they do for you.” Before Fungal could try to counter, a rumbling was felt throughout the new Wartwood.
Several cracks in the ground formed as water flooded from underneath. Marcy had a panicked expression, “Oh no, the marble is too heavy for the swamp to keep up!” Several frogs fell victim to the cracks. Fungal raced to grab some of the frogs and get them out of the area. For some risky spots of water and cracks, Fungal drew the plant glyph and made lilypads for the frogs to rest on. “We gotta remove the marble!” Fungal looked at Marcy as she whistled into the sky. Joe Sparrow squeaked as he let Marcy on, swinging over to fetch Fungal. “How strong is Joe?”
“Stronger than us, now you supply me with your vine magic to act as ropes.” Fungal nods and held out multiple plant glyphs. Joe Sparrow started by lifting lighter sections of marble, throwing them away from the sinking town. Fungal would place the glyph on the bird's talons, throwing the newly formed vines down to larger or heavier parts. “Now for the grand finale! Fungal, I need three vines; we gotta remove the gold statue.” Fungal held the asked vines and threw the vines down at the statue. But Joe didn't move right away, the statue was testing his limits for lifting.
“Come on, Joe Sparrow! I know you can do this!” Joe Sparrow kept flapping as the statue's head cracked. After a couple seconds, the head came off and Joe threw it far away from Wartwood. The remains of the town stopped sinking as the bird landed and let Marcy and Fungal off. “Good job, Joe Sparrow.” Marcy praised as the bird chirped proudly, but exhausted.
Fungal saw the Wartwood frogs walking to them and gained a worried look. Marcy saw the frogs coming and held her hands together in front of her. She felt guilty for almost destroying Wartwood. She doubted the frogs would want to trust or even respect her for this. “I'm so sorry about helping Toadstool with this idea! I guess I should plan to leave for almost destroying your home.”
But to Marcy’s surprise, the frogs started laughing. The older frog, Miss Croaker, walked up to Marcy with her spider in hand. “Where what you did was wrong, it's clear you were desperate to give our respect, right?” Marcy nods as Miss Croaker smiles, looking at Fungal. “This one also did a reckless thing to get our respect at first. Sure, they didn't destroy the town, but if they didn't stop the toads. I doubt this town would still be here.”
Marcy looked at Fungal, “What did you do?” Fungal shrugged, “Some toad tax collectors came looking for missing taxes. I had heard what the frogs were calling me and felt the urge to want their respect.. I stopped the toads when they dared to take Bessie from us.”
“It was that moment when we stopped calling them names and tried to learn more about them.” Wally said as Stumpy nods, “Ay, Miss Fungal was something we could trust. Even if they lied about what they were, they did that to protect themself.” Fungal smiled as Marcy did the same.
“I wanted to get to know the frogs that helped my fungi friend. But will I have to wait to gain respect?” Miss Croaker nods, “Yes dear, just be patient with us. We do apologize for our behavior, the last human we encountered tried to kill Hopediah. We were a bit on edge if you attempted to hurt Fungal like the one named Sasha wanted to.” Marcy shakes her head, hands outward to show she wasn't lying. “I would never dream of wanting to hurt Fungal. I'm helping them in Newtopia find more information about their species.”
Marcy noticed Fungal's shrooms were still a bright shade of pink. It wasn’t a normal color for them, “you good, Fungal? Your shrooms look a little pink.” Fungal put their hands in their jacket pockets, several emotions appearing on their face. “It's.. it's possibly nothing serious.” Marcy narrowed her eyes, “Fungal, what's wrong?”
“I don't know.. I just woke up feeling disconnected from.. from Anne's body..” Fungal's shrooms went full pink as they looked away. “It's gotta be a normal thing for my species, right?” Marcy had a thinking expression before snapping her fingers. “Or you are having a body dysphoria episode.” Fungal stared at Marcy, “Body dys-what?”
Marcy nods, “Body dysphoria. It's when you don't feel right in your body. Mostly happens in those that change genders.” Fungal stared at Marcy, even the Wartwood frogs looked at the night ranger. “Fungal discovered they were non binary in Newtopia, meaning they don't identify with a gender. Body dysphoria can mean Anne's body, or parts of it, aren't matching this change. Why do you think Fungal is wearing a jacket right now?” The frogs nods as Marcy explains further, “The jacket isn't to stay warm, but to cover possible sources of this dysphoria.”
“But does this pass, Marbles?” Marcy nods at Fungal's question, “Yes. It doesn't last forever, my celium friend. Normally some reassurances can help tame the emotions connected to it.” Marcy pulled out her hammer, “I'll let the citizens of Wartwood do that for you, Fun-girl. I got a town to fix.” Marcy heads off, repairing any damaged house or building in Wartwood.
Miss Croaker walked up to Fungal, “do you wish to not be prefer to as female anymore?” Fungal shook their head, “No.. I mean, I never correct the Plantars from calling me ‘sister’ or ‘granddaughter.’ And I know this will take time to get used to for you guys. I can learn to be patient with you guys.” Wally also walked up, placing a hand on Fungal's sleeve. “We can learn what to do with you, Fungal. Right, Wartwood?” Every frog nods as Fungal smiles, their shrooms start to lose their pink color. “I live in the best town in all of Amphibia.”
“And it's better, thanks to our favorite fungi girl.” Fungal smiles and pulled as many frogs as possible into a big hug. Wally chose to speak, “And if you need someone to talk to about anything, love. I'm sure someone here can give time to hear you out. It can be that dysphoria thing or anything else troubling you, someone will make time for you.” Miss Croaker nods, “it's worth it for you, dearie.”
“Thank you.. Thank you for everything, you guys!”
Fungal's entry:
Something new happened today. I think Marcy called it, ‘body dysphoria’ (Hopefully I spelled that right).
It went like this: As I woke up this morning, I stared down at my hands. Nothing had changed, they were still the same as normal, but this feeling just wouldn’t shake, I swear they weren’t mine, like this body wasn’t mine. Something felt off, my face felt distorted despite the fact it was the exact same as it always had been. For a while, my mushrooms had turned pink. Something was definitely wrong. Supposedly this is common in those who had changed their gender. I don’t know, I’ll have to study this further.
For now, I’m wearing a hoodie and trying my best not to look at myself, even as I write this now, my hands just don’t feel normal. My whole body feels warped, but I just can’t see any difference. I’ll speak to Marcy about this later..
Marcy’s entry:
That could have gone better, Jo. My first days in Wartwood didn't go as I imagined it would. Fungal wasn't kidding when they said the frogs needed time to respect. Fungal needed about 2 months to start earning their respect and I thought I could do it a bit faster. I think it was a jealousy spell cause I tried to talk with a frog Fungal called Miss Croaker and she was annoyed with me. While talking freely with Fungal about her plans, confirming she made the mushroom dragon plush Fungal holds close, and that Fungal is often hired to look after her spider.
So I tried helping the mayor with a plan and went overboard. I failed to take into account Fungal's warning about Toadstool, guessing the fungi has seen what the mayor can do before. The plan made Wartwood too heavy, causing the entire town to start sinking into the swamp! Thanks to Joe Sparrow and Fungal, we saved what we could and I repaired the town back to the way it was before.
Update on Fungal:
They apparently awoke to having a body dysphoria episode. They felt disconnected from Anne's body, not seeing their reflection as theirs. Their reaction tells me it was likely the first one reported or noticed. The selfish spell in Newtopia could have been a different form of body dysphoria, which according to Lady Olivia, wasn't even the first time this happened! Fungal should feel grateful for their town, they were completely supportive of this change.
Secret messages update:
Was busy building New Wartwood and didn't attempt to decipher the messages, but decided to read them after dinner. It must be a basic cipher.. I gotta make some cipher wheels, Jo.