Fanfic / Meanwhile, Back on Earth

Five dimensionally displaced children: a witch-in-training, a Wisconsin runaway, and three close friends, all stuck in a world not their own and searching for a way back.

Three unusual online “shows", altogether revealing to Earth the shocking existence of otherworldly adventures with actual magic, talking frogs, and infinite trains.

One cosmic storyteller, both watching its newest audience melt down from such earthshaking revelations, and recording the currently unfolding stories of its unwitting protagonists.

In other words, welcome one and all to an absolutely buck wild crossover between Amphibia, Infinity Train, and The Owl House (plus a little Gravity Falls for bonus flavor!) source

Meanwhile, Back on Earth is a crossover between The Owl House, Amphibia, Infinity Train, and Gravity Falls, operating on the idea of the canon shows being released onto Earth's internet after the protagonists of the first three shows ended up in their respective alternate dimensions, focusing on how people react, how society changes, and how each of the protagonists' and their families handle the attention back on Earth. Spoilers from the original seires are unmarked, so proceed at your own risk...

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This fanfic provides examples of:

• Alien Invasion: The Newtopian Empires invasion of Earth during the Dimensional War.
• All Issues Are Political Issues: In the snipppet "Channel Flipping", is revealed that Vee joining the Gravesfield School District is unpopular to say the least amongst many parents, and that a bill to give permanent citizenship to Lake and the Plantar Family faces Republican opposition in the Senate due to the possibility of the bill "opening the floodgates for other denizens and displaced aliens to come and stay in the United States en masse."
• Aside Glance: After Anne returns to Earth, it is shown that the Transmission still follows her even after she goes back home. As a result, every person that goes near her would be paranoid and looks for the 'camera' because they knew the Transmission are probably recording them. The Transmission has a sense of humor and draws attention to this, intentionally having its view on their eyes as a form of meta joke. Anne indulges in this sometimes, glancing in random directions and even making small quips directed to her viewers.
• Body Horror: Failed Earth Grimwalkers tend to be this, a particular example being the Grimhorror created using Luz's hair. What makes it worse is that sometimes Grimwalkers look like they are okay... Just for them to melt into a Grimhorror at random, as you are oftentimes helpless to stop their suffering, as they slowly melt and suffer a horrible death.
• Badass Preacher: The vigilantie Violence Breaker after he repents his old human supremacist and anti-magic ways becomes this. Hell, it is even stated as such in his own Case File:
  "Violent Breaker changed his name, going from one who broke others violently to one who would shatter the violence with his own two hands."
• Caught on Tape:
  • Phillip Whittebane/Emperor Belos is hated by the world due to his cold-bloded murder of his own brother, his hazing of his gimwalkers including Hunter, and his attempted genocide of all of the inhabitans of the Boilling Isles, among other things, being broadcasted on the internet and television.
  • In flashbacks from first Andrias's and then Leif's perspective, we get a first hand look at just how oppressive and nightmarish the Newtopian Empire was at its height towards its conquered worlds, and (as is shown with the plight of the olms) many times its own people, with the former having all of their resources extracted and their people used as slaves at the whims of a small elite.
• Dawn of an Era: With the Transmissions revealing magic and other dimensions to the world, the course of human history is changed forever:
  "Suddenly, everything is now possible. There are now countless worlds to explore. You have scientists and engineers tearing their hair out as new physics and technologies are being slam right in their faces. Magic, honest to God, MAGIC, is real and you kids are playing around with it...We are living history here kid. You have a front row seat to all of this. You are going to get to explore, to discover, and to wonder. The next decade are going to change everything and you will be a part of it!"
• Darker and Edgier
  • Because this crossover meant that the shows happens in Real Life, people see the dangerous events in the show this way. To the viewers, there is no plot armor, and the girls can die at any moment. Every dark comedic moment becomes this and Dude, Not Funny!, because it seems like the Transmitter just made fun of the girls potentially dying.
  • Anne's reaction to Marcy's death is much more visceral, she straight up had a ''panic attack'' after several bystanders recognized and questioned her on what she has been doing in Amphibia.
  • Cloakbot is much more dangerous and merciless, as it is able to recognize that stealth is impossible because of the Transmission. It attacks without hesitation, and its chase for Anne causes a lot of casualties.
  • Andrias are more proactive once it is informed of the Transmission, and gives extra effort in killing Anne. Rather than just relying on Cloakbot, he sent reinforcements in the form of hundreds of frobot drones. Anne-sterminator became much more action heavy and bloody, as the city of LA is becomes a battlefield with the US military and local citizen militias trying their best to distract the frobots and help Anne escape to safety.
  • Even with how evil the Newtopian Empire already is in cannon, here it is somehow infinitely worse. We get to see just how horrific it is, especially in the flashback episodes, and how it is built upon the rape of its subject worlds for resources and the enslavement of it conquered races. It even ends up enslaving its own citizens and captured humans using Apothecary Gary's Zombie Mushrooms, and sends them to mindlessly fight in the meatgrinder of the Dimensional War.
• Eldritch Abomination: M̷̛̟̞̀̐Ŏ̶̞̻̻T̶̜̫̱̄͐̓Ḧ̵͈̦E̸̺͍̣͌͋̊R̶̬̈͒͝ is the paragon of this trope in the fic. A near endless cluster of metal wires and tubes brought out of her slumber after the Infinity Train itself fails, her emotionless programing shows no empathy or concern for the lives in the Train whatsoever. Her only goal is her quest to keep the Train running, even if it means wiping the slate clean by destroying all cars and their residents, and converting the Solar (or as it is later know Horizon System) into resources to repair the Train. She ends up being narrowly stopped by Calamity Tulip and Lake, One-One, and Tulip-One. What is most disturbing however is that after Tulip-One takes over the Train, she finds that some code is locked, bringing up the uncomtherble idea that ''M̷̛̟̞̀̐Ŏ̶̞̻̻T̶̜̫̱̄͐̓Ḧ̵͈̦E̸̺͍̣͌͋̊R̶̬̈͒͝'' may still be alive and could at any moment try and retake control...
• Fun with Acronyms: Several organizations created as a result of the Transmission have this in mind.
  • I.S.E.K.A.I.D (Inter-dimensional Skills, Experiences, and Knowledge Administration & Investigation Division)
  • R.A.I.L.W.A.Y.S (Recovery and Allocation of Isekai'd Locals Whisked away by Anomalous, Yonder, Scenarios)
  • G.L.Y.P.H.S. (Goverment, Legislation & Yields for Planets beyond the Horizon System)
  • M.A.G.I.C.K (Magical Act Governance and Imposition of Charters Keep)
  • C.R.O.A.C (Cross-dimensional Rift - Observation and Action Crew)
  • C.L.D.R.N (Containment Lookout Division of Replicant Naturalization)
• Godzilla Threshold: Stanford Pines considers asking Rick Sanchez for help with the Isekai'd kids to be this. He knows Rick well enough to realize he's a Jerkass at the best of times and may not even help at all, or will cause more problems than he solves due to his negligence. He almost seems relieved when he gets Rick's answering machine.
  Stan: Geeze, you make him sound like he's the devil.
  Ford: In some cultures, he is.
• Les Collaborateurs: Even with how oppressive the Newtopian Empire is the allure of weilding its advanced technology and ruling over the Mushroom Zombies, as well as not join said Zombies ranks, many people, organizations, and even entire nations become 'Quilsings" and join forces with the Newtopians. Notable Qulsings include a person known as Anderson, who had his life destroyed when it is revealed by the Transmissions he tased Spring when he returned to Earth, and the nation of North Korea.
• "Let's Watch Our Show" Plot: The idea of the story is that the Owl House, Amphibia, and Infinity Train shows are being released onto the internet back on Earth while the girls are gone, focusing on how the people there react to them.
• Massive Multiplayer Crossover: The story operates on the idea that The Owl House, Amphibia, Gravity Falls, and Infinity Train all take place in the same universe. Admittedly, the first three were already hinted to all exist in the same world, but still.
• Medium Awareness: In a non-cannon snippet Shasha realizes that the world is actually a fanfic on a forum during a nightmare.
• Nothing Is Scarier: Part of what's so disturbing about the whole situation is that no one knows who's releasing the shows online and why.
• Nothing Is the Same Anymore: The confirmed existence of magic and other dimensions completely shatters the worldview of everyone on Earth.
• Our Homunculi Are Different: Grimwalkers made with earth-based ingredients are a thing, with the group that would become C.L.D.R.N originally being formed to clean up failed attempts.
• Real After All: People initially don't believe that the videos are anything more than an elaborate hoax, but then people start trying the light glyph and get a demonstratable result, if not an actual spell. It is only further confirmed as being real once Amphiba and Infinity Train are Transmitted, and video of an undisguised Vee fleeing from the police and F.B.I makes the rounds on the internet.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: In the The Queen & The Core: Revelation, Devastation and Confrontation, Marcy Wu absolutely the Core, who appears to her separately as Aldrich and Darcy.
  Marcy: The funny part is that we’re so different on the surface— well, I guess you and I are actually pretty similar on the surface, since you’re literally wearing my body, but that’s besides the point. The point is, when you get right down to it, we’re pretty much the same! Seriously, listening to you guys was like if I went up to a fun house mirror, and my reflection suddenly started talking!
  Aldrich: You little worm! You, a single, measly human, dare equate yourself to us? To a god!?
  Marcy: Oh, you'd love to be a god, wouldn't you? To be omnipotent? To never have to worry about dying, or making mistakes, or not knowing everything, or feeling anything?
  Darcy: Are you suggesting that we are not?
  Marcy: I know you're not. You can fool yourselves and everyone else, but you can’t fool me. I know what you are. You’re no god. You’re not even a real computer. You’re just a bunch of 20th level escapists, the biggest cowards in the multiverse.
  Aldrich: Wh…What nonsense! We are the esteemed House of Leviathan, the greatest conquerors who have ever lived! We have never cowered from anything! All others cower before us!
  Marcy: Oh, puh-lease. The entire history of your "esteemed house" is basically you guys running and hiding from all of your problems. In fact, since I apparently have nothing left to lose, how about I list some of the highlights? First of all, you ran away from death. I’m guessing that somewhere down the line, one of you had an existential crisis. For most folks, that would lead to an epiphany about how valuable life is or something, but since the very idea of change is an affront to your senses, it led to you hiding yourselves inside a giant, metal beach ball instead.
  Aldrich: Be silent, you impudent whelp!
  Marcy: No, I don’t think I will. Where was I? Oh, right. That time when the Calamity Box was lost, and you spent the next millennium camping out in your basement. Did you even try to figure out a way to maintain your civilization that didn’t involve colonizing other worlds? I guess not, huh? Better to wallow in self-pity and let Andrias clean up your mess for you.
  Darcy: Shut your mouth! You couldn't possibly fathom what it was like! Our way of life was ruined overnight, and all because of Andrias’ sentimentality! That fool’s trust in his "friends" led to the regression and stagnation of our empire!
  Marcy: As I just said, you chose to let that happen. Blaming Andrias for your problems is just another form of cowardice. And even after a thousand years, after all the things he’s done to redeem himself in your eyes, even after he literally stabbed me in the back, he’ll never really be good enough for you, will he? Honestly, it’s no wonder he’s so screwed up when his family is this awful. Really puts my own family life into perspective.
  Aldrich: You would deign to lecture us on how we raise our—
  Marcy: And that’s just the stuff I know about! With how much you’ve probably whitewashed Amphibia’s history, there’s got to be a million other examples that will go unmentioned, because no records of them exist anymore! I just realized. That whole thing with the Order of the Olm was your doing, wasn’t it? You were Ernst’s mysterious benefactors! All those libraries, all of that knowledge, culture, and history, and you had them burned down! Why? Even if you were afraid that I’d learn the truth about the box, did everything have to be destroyed?!
  Darcy: For your information, we didn’t give that order out of fear of you, so don’t flatter yourself. We had always planned to do so eventually, but your arrival made it more of a priority, so really, you’re the one to blame. Why are you so concerned, anyway? Surely, the few scrolls you recovered from those libraries showed you that they contained nothing but lies and foolish thoughts. Better to free up the space for more useful things.
  Marcy: Lies and foolish thoughts? What, like how people realized the way you were living back then was unsustainable? Like them thinking that conquering other worlds and destroying their civilizations just to bolster your own is wrong? You guys are hacks! You don’t care about knowledge, culture, history, philosophy, or anything like that, unless it serves as proof of your bogus "greatness!" No one in their right mind would ever want to join you!
  Aldrich: Preposterous! Did you not pay attention to all that we showed you? Our endless list of accomplishments, conquests, and victories?! We are great! Anyone would want to be one of us! How can you possibly not be smart enough to understand that!?
  Marcy: News flash, your Highness! Greatness is subjective! What’s considered great changes with the times, and both Amphibia and Earth have moved on from your sick, twisted definition. How are you not smart enough to realize that!? No, my mistake. You have realized it, haven’t you? You just can’t accept it, because the only thing that’s really great about you guys is your great, big EGOS! (Aldrich and Darcy don't respond, Marcy can tell she truly shook them with her words) Heh, what's the matter? Are you allergic to the truth, too? We're not so different after all, are we?
  Aldrich: You… you want your olms-forsaken truth?
  Darcy: Fine!
  Aldrich & Darcy: THEN TAKE IT!
  (They send a tornado of negative thoughts toward Marcy, intent on fully breaking her)
  Aldrich: You dare to call us cowards? To question our greatness!?
  Darcy: No one speaks to us that way!
  Aldrich & Darcy: FOR WE ARE THE CORE, THE GOD IN THE MACHINE, THE RIGHTFUL RULERS OF ALL OF EXISTENCE!!!
  (They dissipate the tornado, revealing Marcy is completely unaffected)
  Marcy: You know, if what you’ve told me is true, then I’m willing to bet the Transmitter is showing this conversation to everyone on Earth right now. I really hope so. I hope they're all seeing this and realizing the truth. That you’re nothing but a bunch of cowardly, selfish, heartless, outdated, miserable bullies who refused to let go of the past and decided to drag everyone down with you.
• Shout-Out:
  • When Stan and Ford are first mentioned, Dipper says that they're currently exploring R'yleh.
  • Some members of the CROAC Task force that reinforces Anne and the Resistance in Amphibia are clearly inspired from the main characters of Red vs. Blue.
  • Several characters are shout outs to the Kamen Rider series, with a primary example being Violent/Violence Breaker, with it being mentioned that people use magic to turn toys of the franchise into a functioning Transformation Trinket
  • In the informational snippet on the United Nations Office for ExtraTerrestrial and Extradimensional Affairs (U.N.O.E.E.A for short), Agents K and J from the Men In Black franchise are briefly mentioned as being instrumental in the organizations' founding.
• Simultaneous Arcs: The Owl House, Amphibia, and Infinity Train storylines start at approximately the same time, though The Owl House has a little bit of Year Inside, Hour Outside situation.
• Slave Liberation:
  • It is the Clean Up Crew's and later C.L.D.R.N's job to try and save Earth-based Grimwalkers from a life of toil and servitude.
  • This Trope is also invoked when U.E.D.A soldiers liberate Mushroom Collared Slaves.
• The Magic Comes Back: Earth once was magical long before the Transmissions, with interactions between the Boilling Isles and Amphibia giving humanity much of European culture in the former case, and tales of a Frog Godess in the latter case. Now with the Transmissions, magic is once again discovered, and quickly becomes an intergral part of society.
• The Unmasqued World: After the Transmissions has gone public, everyone in the world now knows that magic exists. On top of that, glyphs are now usable by everyone, as long as they draw it just like in the show.
• Yanks with Tanks: After it is revealed that an alien invasion is incoming from the Amphibia transmission, the US military goes into action. They participate in destroying Cloakbot, enact a national alert and eventually martial law, call up the reserves, and even send a military contingent into Amphibia to help the Resistance.

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