Hello! I hope you’re all having a lively day! Someone requested I make redesigning characters from shows a series so here we are with 3Below designs. 3Below is a Netflix original series created by Guillemoro Del Toro. It is the second part in a (soon to be) three part trilogy called Tales of Arcadia. It takes place in Arcadia Oaks, a fictional town where many strange things seem to be happening and it follows Krel and Aja: two aliens (excuse me, Akiridians, my apologies.) who have escaped their homeland (Akiridian 5) and ended up on the pile of dirt that is Earth. It follows the two as they struggle to return home and fit in amongst their classmates. I love 3Below. I honestly think it’s better than Troll Hunters, which isn’t saying much but y’know. Aja is absolute baby and we must protec at all costs. The alien designs are absolutely beautiful and every time Aja shouts lively! it brings a smile to my face. Despite that, I think the designs and story could use some work. So please enjoy my not-really-a-thought-process-because-this-has-just-been-simmering-in-my-mind-for-months chaotic thought process (this is mainly me just ranting (you have been warned)): I do have my gripes with the show. The way race and racial issues were handled was not amazing. For instance, in one episode we learn that Krel’s math teacher only ever gives out one A+ on any given test, for som reason. This sparks a conflict between Krel and a white boy’s dad who is a full believer in white supremacy and that sorta thing. Despite this, and Krel constantly being poked at with lines like “people like him”, we never have the conversation about race. Krel never is confused about why this conflict has arisen, despite being an alien unaware of Earth’s conflicts, and never goes to his white alien friend who’s lived on earth far longer than them and could have that conversation with him. Furthermore, when the dad challenges Krel to a math fight with his son, the teacher should have realized the blatant racism at hand and put a stop to it. Did she though? No. What happened instead, is we come to the end of this fight and Krel, being the smarter of the two boys, could win. But he doesn’t. He decides to lose to the white boy and his dad and his dad. What a horrible way to being up racial conflicts then end it by saying white people are always the winners. Don’t think I haven’t noticed there’s only one person who isn’t white in either of the two shows, and he’s an ALIEN. It would also have been nice to talk about why Mother said girls are invisible and that sort of thing but whatever. Gender is one thing, race is another, and we can easily say girls can do things too by making Aja a warrior. We already have that conflict between Varvatos Vex and Aja. In my story, both Aja and Krel are Latinx. It seems odd to have one white sibling and one latinx sibling. That’s definitely something that would draw attention to the family as a whole. The story is now less about Krel and Aja worrying about aliens trying to attack them, and more about learning about earth and the culture of it. I want to see more conversations. We’re gonna talk about racism. We’re gonna talk about sexism. And we’re gonna talk about homo/trans/bi/queer phobia. That’s a tall ticket, I know, but this is my fantasy world, one I’m writing, one I’m not pitching for a kids streaming service. Krel and Aja are going to make friends. They’re going to learn how it is to be close with someone who isn’t your family and no will support you to the end. In my story, Krel is somewhere on the nb spectrum. I’m thinking genderfluid, but I haven’t settled on an specific identity yet. Back on Akiridion 5, Krel was much more in touch with his feminine side. His body was curvier though still with the typical male form and he enjoys hanging out with Aja and doing all the typical male and female activities with her. Because of this, he is extremely uncomfortable with his human form. He hates his body and his chiseled features, and only ever wears baggy clothing. This will symbolize the disconnect between his two forms: whereas his human form wears baggy clothing, his alien form wears skintight clothing and moves much more freely and expressively. Because of this, he is much quicker to take on his alien form whenever possible. I’m thinking we can address these issues near the end at like a pool party, where all of the friends they’ve accumulated during their time there come over in their swimsuits. Aja persuades Krel to put on his bathing suit, but later on Krel admits his discomfort and Aja lends him her swim shirt. Afterwards they talk about his gender and everything. Wouldn’t it be so awesome if she asked what pronouns He wanted Her to use?? Oh my gosh that would make me so happy! Maybe after that everyone Subtly begins to use they/them pronouns for him. That is a non-binary person’s DREAM right there. That’s when he gets his ears pierced with Aja and they wear matching earrings!! Oh my gosh!
One of the big things I want is more Eli. Eli is my FAVORITE character and he deserves all the love in the world but we didn’t get enough time with him in the slightest. So to remedy that, Eli is now Aja’s best friend. With this in mind, and keeping the Staja thing going though I disagree immensely, we have them both dealing with Steve liking Aja together. Aja is not interested in Steve in the slightest, but Eli is. And he’s JEALOUS. He’s angry at Aja because he can’t be mad at Steve and Steve doesn’t realize Eli’s affections. Aja struggles with turning him down despite this. Steve hasn’t quite done a complete 180 yet from his bullying and uses a lot of force to get Aja to go out with him. It’s not until Steve tries to kiss her in the tree that she puts her foot down. She tells him off and explains how gross he’s been to her. He’s sorry, explaining he’s trying to learn better. This is where she tells him that Eli’s been trying to help him, but he hasn’t been listening, and on top of that, Eli likes him, but Steve has practically ground his heart to a pulp by pursuing her. Afterwards we steadily see the progression of Steve and Eli’s relationship playing out in the background. I’d also like them and the Troll Hunters interact more because we don’t get enough of that and it’d help with the timeline. Aja struggles with not being “like the other girls”. Probably because Claire invites her to a sleepover with her friends and Aja just doesn’t enjoy the things they do. She believes those are things she should like because that’s what girls like. In the end she learns that’s not true and decides to be herself. Also like, the two chess guys are totally gay. Just saying. I”d like to see Varvatos Vex stand up for Krel and Aja more as a white person for these latinx children he is supposedly raising. Like, seriously. We have stepped into unthought-through territory So uh now it’s just random thoughts I have. They should have more experiences where they notice things left behind by the trollhunters because again timeline. Also, Rudolph. You know who I’m talking about. You probably don’t. I’ll explain if you ask. Mother does not have a gender and therefore everyone uses they/them pronouns for the ship. Aja does not take on responsibility as queen in waiting until the very end when mama and papa’s cores are destroyed. They are both devastated but Aja pushes through and convinces Krel to tell the people that the cores have not been crushed (a lie) so the spirits of the akiridians is not diminished. Eli is trans and probably helps Krel understand himself better. The taco truck white guy friend now looks like he’s actually is Spanish and is now bilingual. I hope you read all of this and enjoyed it! I hope you like the concept and I hope you like the designs! I hope because of this you’ll go check out 3Below on Netflix and I hope because of this you'll talk to me about it! Maybe next time I’ll redesign Jim’s little gang ;) Comment 3B! If you read it all!
