RJ Writing Ink

Remember that week of Star vs fan fiction I did a few months ago? There was actually another pick I had that I ultimately chose not to include. However, I’ve decided that this story’s just too good to not talk about. It captures the spirit of the show in writing style and in artwork. Not to mention I’ve become good friends with the author on Twitter. So, time to get a little weird and a little wild when two worlds collide!

When Two Worlds Collide

Author: KPRS4ever

Type of Fan Work: Fanmade Sequel

First Published: May 23, 2019

Status: ongoing

Synopsis

In just the blink of an eye, Earth and Mewni were fused into one, creating Earthni. Equal parts wondrous and terrifying, this new world’s going to require some adjustments for everyone. Despite all the chaos, though, Star Butterfly and Marco Diaz couldn’t care less! They’re able to spend the rest of their lives together going on adventures. No royal responsibilities, no Magic High Commission, no magic to ruin everything! Were it only so simple.

As with many things in their lives, Star and Marco’s solving of one problem gives rise to a new one. While keeping peace between the people of both worlds is hard enough, they soon discover that magic may not be gone for good. Worse still, it looks like some figures from Mewni’s past have come back to haunt them. With their friends by their side and their unbreakable bond, Star and Marco set off on new adventures when two worlds collide!

Review

If you want to hear me praise KPRS4ever, then I’d recommend you read my shout-out to her that accompanies this review. All you need to know here is that she manages to continue the story of the show as though it never ended. When Two Worlds Collide takes full advantage of the new world of Earthni and the best elements of Star vs. The Forces of Evil to create a story that fans of the show will enjoy. And yes, there’s plenty of romantic moments between Star and Marco, along with a few other ships.

What I like most about When Two Worlds Collide, aside from the amazing artwork, is how KP goes beyond the show’s material to write her story. A large part of the plot comes from info found in the real life “Book of Spells.” As a result, it creates a unique story that keeps the spirit of the show intact while telling something new. If you’ve read the Book of Spells, or just read the chapters on the show’s wiki, then you’ll find some hints as to how the plot’s going to unfold.

Now, this next thing may just be because I was so distracted reading a bunch of other fan fics after the show ended, so I’m sorry, KP. When Two Worlds Collide can be a slow burn at first, taking a few chapters to help us start to piece together the plot. Once it gets going, though, it starts to get wild, especially once magic returns.

I know that’s a spoiler, but it had to be done. As it turns out, the Law of Conservation of Mass applies to magic, as well. While I’ll leave the rest for you to read, I’ll add two things. Firstly, only Star can use magic, and this happens:

Go Read This Story

I’m not sure if I say this a lot, but KPRS4ever’s got some serious talent. Years from now, when and if she’s working on some big cartoon, we’ll be able to look back and say this story is where she got her start. When Two Worlds collide is a worthy successor to Star vs. The Forces of Evil, and if Disney+ decides to give the show a fifth season, I’d want it to be this. That, or I want to see Starco wedding!

Click here to read my shoutout to KPRS4ever

Monster Love Character Analysis Part 2- Star the Monster Princess

Welcome to part two of my character analysis The Wandering Hippie’s Monster Love fan fiction. Based on the show Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Hippie has some of the best fan writing that I’ve seen. I wanted to take a look at how he portrays the characters, but my initial post was too long. So I chose to split it into smaller posts about the main characters from each story and the supporting. In this portion, I analyze the heroes of his sequel, Star the Monster Princess.

Whereas his previous story was more or less his own creation, here Hippie follows the show as much as possible. At least, he does at first. As time passes, he plans on diverging from the show and make his own story.

Star Butterfly

The one and only heroine of Star vs. The Forces of Evil, Princess Star Butterfly. Born the daughter of Moon and Toffee six years after the defeat of the Shadow Clause, she got her name from her parents hopes that she would become the star of hope for Mewni. However, the road to becoming that shining star hasn’t been easy. Star’s had to face great hardship due to being half-monster, and that’s deeply impacted her personality. So when her wand inheritance ceremony goes awry, she takes it poorly. As a result, her parents send her to Earth where she can make friends and master the wand away from Mewni’s prying eyes. Thus begins her adventures with Marco and her friends as she works to master the Wand and become the Princess that Mewni needs.

Unique Mix of Characters

From the outset, I was impressed at how Hippie strove to make his version of Star so unique. On the surface, Star retains many of the positive and endearing traits she has in the show. While not as hyper, Star retains her friendly attitude and tries making friends with everyone she meets. Steadfast and loyal, Star already has plenty of friends even before she came to Earth and won’t hesitate to help them. Even if her attempts sometimes backfire.

Ironically, though, Hippie’s version of Star can be less a social butterfly and more a wallflower at times. To put it bluntly, she’s got a lot in common with Fluttershy from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Star can be incredibly shy and socially awkward at times, and she even has anxiety issues that she deals with. However, this isn’t an inherent personality trait. Rather, it’s the product of a lifetime of stigma for being a Mewman-Monster hybrid.

A Lifetime of Stigma

To say Star got bullied a lot growing up is an understatement. She’s been the subject of everything from cruel pranks by other kids, been called an abomination, to even multiple attempts on her life. It also doesn’t help that most boys who try to court her do so only for the throne. In other words, Star’s been put through hell because of what she was born as.

All these horrible events took a toll on Star’s personality. As a result, she can suffer from low self-esteem and anxiety attacks, and is very insecure about her appearance. This is in spite of the fact that nearly everyone on Earth considers her to be very pretty and charming.

I can tell that Hippie put a lot of thought into Star’s personality, and that he didn’t pull his punches regarding her past trauma. He even admits in the author’s notes that he cried while writing some of the things about Star’s past. I almost cried when I read them. If Hippie’s reading this, then he should know that he deserves the highest praise for what he did with Star.

Marco Diaz

Still the resident safe kid of Echo Creek, Marco gets tapped to be Star’s guide to Earth. It goes as well as it did in the show, but once they get past the rough start, they develop the strong friendship that fans know and love. In this story, though, Marco’s role as Star’s best friend becomes magnified. Having learned of her past trauma early on, Marco takes it upon himself to help Star heal. As a result, he becomes the emotional rock that Star never knew she needed in her life, moreso than in the show.

A More Confident Marco

Early in the story, it became apparent that Marco already had some of the self-confidence he would display as the show progressed. According to Marco himself, about a year before meeting Star, he was assigned to look after Janna and Oskar. As a result of interacting with them, Marco became more willing to stand up for himself and try new experiences. Case in point, when Ponyhead tries to intimidate him during their first meeting, he doesn’t take it lying down. Instead, he pushes back.

From a reader’s perspective, it felt like Hippie took some of Star’s confidence from the show and injected it into Marco. Besides being pleasantly surprised, I thought that this was a smart move. It helps to offset how shy and insecure Star can be in this story, so their dynamic remains balanced as a whole.

The downside to this newfound confidence, though, is that this can lead to Marco being somewhat reckless. Firstly, in Monster Princess, it’s Marco who proposes that they break Ponyhead out of St. Olga’s rather than Star. Moreover, this can even lead to him inadvertently hurting Star. Fortunately, his concern for Star’s well being, plus some criticism from Toffee, helps him to grow out of this.

Star’s Protector

While Marco more or less took his role as Star’s guide and friend in the show seriously, it gets magnified in Monster Princess due to her past. While most of her friends from Earth know she’s been through awful experiences, Marco’s the only one who knows the full extent of what she’s gone through. As a result, Marco becomes fiercely protective of the princess, vowing to never let anyone else hurt her again. His concern’s so great, that when that brat Jeremy called Star “a lizard freak”, he went berserk with rage. In other words, don’t mess with Star around him.

Star & Marco’s Relationship

Whether you’re a fan of the ship or not, there’s no denying that Star and Marco’s relationship is an integral part of the show. As it just so happens, Hippie’s a big Starco shipper, and makes no attempts to try to hide it. In fact, around the time he gets to “Brittney’s Party”, he flat out admits he has plans for Starco. Why did I spoil it for you? Because Hippie does so in the author’s notes. His exact words were:

Well I’M AT MY WITS END WITH THE WAY THE SHOW IS DANCING AROUND STARCO LIKE THIS AND YOU DESERVE SOME STRAIGHT ANSWERS FOR ONCE! *pants for a few seconds to compose myself*

Brittney’s Party, part 1, Star the Monster Princess

Hippie’s very passionate about his work, and I respect him for that.

Angry fan rants aside, Hippie does his best to develop Starco without compromising what makes it one of the best couples I’ve ever seen in fiction. I honestly think that he succeeds in doing so, and in less time than the show takes. Props to you, Hippie!

Like in the show, in Monster Princess, Star and Marco’s relationship is incredibly strong. The two become the most important people in each other’s lives, and try to support each other as best as possible. As I said before, Marco becomes the emotional support Star needed; meanwhile, Star becomes Marco’s motivation to improve himself. The two are so close that almost everyone realizes they’ve fallen for each other before they do.

Laying the Foundations

In the story, Hippie drops hints early on that Star’s fallen for Marco earlier than in the show. The biggest hint has to be during the whole “Mewberty” thing. The last thing she thinks of before sucumbing to her Mewberty form was the thought of a shirtless, toned Marco offering to protect her. Also, she eventually goes after Marco and him alone, something she doesn’t do in the show. Star does eventually realize that she’s fallen for Marco, which worries her even more than it does in the show.

Like in the show, Star tries to keep her crush a secret at first. However, it’s not just because Marco likes Jackie, but something more troubling. The combination of a lack of confidence in her appearance, cruel rejection by past crushes, and the few relationships she has had ending poorly, took their toll on Star. Simply put, she doesn’t see herself as someone people would find attractive. Again, this is despite most guys her age on Earth considering her pretty cute.

Star and Marco’s relationship is as complicated in Monster Princess as it was for them in the show. However, I think that helps makes the hurdles they face even sweeter to look at in the end. While I won’t say how Hippie resolves this, I will say that the payoff is more than worth it, and as sweet as it is in the show. Also, he does resolve it sooner than the show did, so I have to give Hippie points for that.

That’s All for Now

I think I’ve bent people’s ears enough, already. Next up I will looking at all the secondary characters in the Monster Love series, both from the show and original characters.

And click here to go to Hippie’s Page on Fanfiction.net. From there, you can find all his stories in the Monster Love series.

Click here to see my other animation stuff.

Star vs. Fan Week, Day 5

I have been having a blast writing about the different fan works for Star vs. The Forces of Evil this week. Even if people don’t read them now, it’s been as fun writing about these works as it was reading them. This next one, though, is going to be darker than any of the other ones I’ve done. Marco Diaz becomes an unlikely hero in The Royal Protector.

The Royal Protector

First Released: November 16, 2016

Author: The Eternal Winter

Type of Fan Fic: AU

Status: Ongoing (I hope)

Synopsis:

Unlike in the show, The Royal Protector never has Star sent to Earth, so she and Marco never meet like in the show. Instead, Marco’s put in charge of helping Janna and Oskar Greason become better students, while Star gets sent straight to St. Olga’s, where she’s basically a prisoner.

The abuse that Star ensures for the next two years becomes so bad, it fractures her mind in two. When she finally prays for someone to help her, the universe answers and sends her none other than Marco. Together, the two escape St. Olga’s and set out on a quest to repair the damage to Star’s mind and get her home. With monsters, assassin’s, and more after them, Marco and Star will need each other if they wish to survive.

Review

If this story sounds dark, that’s because it is. It’s one of the darkest and most mature stories in the Star vs. fandom that I could find. The author’s not afraid to include mature themes that Disney would never approve of, but that’s part of the appeal The Royal Protector has. The best way I can describe it is that it’s like if Star vs. was written like Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

For those wondering how St. Olga’s could break Star so badly, remember what it was like in the show? Here, it’s even worse. They took her wand, locked Glossaryck up, and forged every letter she sent to her parents so they wouldn’t know what was happening.

It gets worse. Ms. Heinous subjects Star to what’s essentially mind rape, forcibly separating all her so-called “negative traits” to suppress them. The end result leaves a boring, stereotypical Disney Princess that won’t even defend herself.

I’ve seen a lot of messed up things in fiction, but reading what happened to this version of Star makes me sick to my stomach, especially since the torture backfires, and leaves her with a split personality. You can barely recognize her afterwards. This is the Star Butterfly that Marco meets.

Red Star, Blue Star, And Marco

Marco’s more or less the same as he is in the show, but there are a few key differences. First, he’s a lot stronger since he spent an extra two years practicing karate and other physical activities; he’s got abs. Second, and most importantly, having added Janna and Oskar to his pool of friends has made him less socially awkward and more confident in himself. At the least, when he’s thrust into another world as Star’s Protector, he handles it calmer than canon Marco would have. That’s how I think, at least.

It’s a good thing Marco’s like this, too, because he gets thrown in the deep end right away. Aside from battling monsters and the guards at St. O’s, he has to deal with the antics of both halves of Star. For conveniences sake, he eventually dubs the two personalities Red and Blue.

Blue Star’s all the positive aspects of the Star we know and love. She’s kind and compassionate, but she’s also the result of Ms. Heinous’ horrendous abuse. She’s the stereotypical princess who won’t fight back. Red Star’s like the Hulk: she’s all of Star’s pent-up emotions and passions, and above all, she’s angry. Angry at her parents, Heinous, and the world for what happened to her.

One of the things I liked about this story is Marco’s interactions with both halves of Star. Both are smitten with Marco, but Red’s more aggressive with her feelings, to Marco’s irritation. Despite everything, though, Marco understands that Star’s a broken mess and needs help, which spurs him to stay at her side through everything. It’s a very unconventional relationship, but they both end up caring as much for each other as they do in the show.

A Story I Want More Of

As of now, there are only eight chapters of The Royal Protector out, with the last one released almost a year ago. The author claims to have wanted to wait until the final season ended for more inspiration, but we have yet to get anything so far. Despite the lack of activity, though, this is one fan story that I want to read more of.

The Royal Protector is darker than what we see on the show, and seeing what happened to Star makes my stomach churn. In spite of this, I couldn’t stop reading the story. The writing’s good and the relationship between Star and Marco is among the most unique of all the versions I’ve seen of them. There’s a lot more I want to say, but I think you guys should read it for yourself. It’s a good read, and I hope we get more now that the show’s over.

Click here to see my other animation stuff.