RJ Writing Ink

Hello, everyone, Roderick J Fritz here with another round of Fan A&A Spotlight. Today, we’ll be taking a look at a fanfic writer that I should have covered months ago. He’s one of my personal favorites on fanfic.com, I talk to him frequently in PM’s, and I consider him to be a good friend. Meet the Wandering Hippie!

If you’re reading this, Hippie, I’m only saying what you’ve told us on Fanfic.com. No personal info.

The Life of the Hippie

Hippie’s been very open about the details on his life, enough that I can get a clear picture of him. He grew up in Pittsburgh and is currently in his early-mid twenties and an aspiring writer. From what I can gather, he was a huge geek growing up, being a fan of many popular cartoons, anime, and comics. In addition, he’s also an avid play of Dungeons & Dragons and a proficient Dungeon Master.

However, it seems his early years of adulthood were rough on him. According to his author’s notes, he made some poor decisions in his last years of college that made him feel like he wasted his time. On top of that, his friends started to drift apart, and he lost a ton of money to an online scam. As a result, he wasn’t in a good place for a while. All that changed, though, in June, 2017, when the Wandering Hippie published the first chapter of a fanfic story called “A Tale of Moon and Monsters.”

As it turned out, working on his fan writings was just what the doctor ordered. It gave him a sense of purpose in life, and within months, he turned things around. He got a full time job as a caretaker and bird handler at a pet store, joined a volunteer fire department, and found a new group to play D & D with. Most importantly, though, he found recognition from the fans he gained from his stories.

As A Writer

Thanks to his time as a Dungeon Master, the Wandering Hippie became proficient in the delicate art of world-building. That skill would translate well into his recreation of the universe of Star vs. The Forces of Evil, letting him build up a complex and storied world that not only builds upon the show, but even improves it in some aspects. At the time of this writing, it’s basically at Game of Thrones levels of complexity. Some may think that’s a bit much, but I see it as pushing the concept of Star vs. beyond what Disney allowed. If you read my character analysis for his stories, you’ll know he gets bonus points for fixing characters with less than desirable personalities (*cough* Rhombulus *cough*)

The best way I can describe the Wandering Hippie’s writing style is taking the comedy and drama of Star vs., mixing in PG-13 elements. Then he stirs in some tastefully chosen soundtracks and songs from shows and movies, the complex history of a Game of Thrones world, add fourth wall breaking Author’s notes and numerous pop culture references. The result is a story that, somehow, manages to work really well.

Messing with the Fourth Wall

One of Hippie’s trademarks is that he likes to use his Author’s Notes to mess with the fourth wall of the story. By the time he starts Star the Monster Princess, he uses them to speak to the readers directly. More often than not, he uses it to tell jokes or act out some cool scene he wants to do. I.E. pretending to be a thief, facing down the embodiment of reality, fighting an evil squid version of himself. However, he also uses them to discuss serious elements, letting us know when something’s of personal importance to him. Heck, he even admits that he cried during some of the more serious moments of Monster Princess, which he says is a sign of a good writer. I’d have to agree with him.

He’s also not alone in the author’s notes, either. He’s joined by three other people who help him. The first one is Omnitraxus Prime who, thanks to being aware of the multiverse, can somehow hang out with Hippie. There’s also the Narrator Guy from Spongebob Squarepants, who gets into arguments with Hippie every now and then. Lastly, we have Janna, who’s trolling abilities in his story have risen to fourth-wall breaking levels. Hippie tried getting rid of her at first, but since she’s Janna, he gave up on that; now she just hangs out with them.

Pop Culture Aficionado

I dub the Wandering Hippie as a pop culture aficionado because his stories are filled with references to various cartoons, books, and other mediums of story-telling. In fact, this goes beyond simple references and using other brands soundtracks. Many chapters of his stories include characters from the many cartoons and movies he watched growing up. Since this is a fan work, he can get away with it without those pesky ownership rules.

I personally enjoy the entire concept, because almost every reference or character he uses are from things I’m already familiar with. The latest chapter alone included cameos from Hellboy, Jackie Chan Adventures, Ed Edd n’ Eddy, and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy.

Say Hello to the Hippie

Now, there’s another reason why I wanted to make this post. A while back, I had suggested to Hippie that he get a new logo for himself. So to surprise him, I hired a fan artist by the name of Gogola on Instagram to make a drawing of him. Thus, I figured that this post would be the best way to share it with him. Hippie, this is for you, man!

Hope you enjoyed this, guys!

Click here to read Hippie’s awesome stories.

Click here to see more of Gogola’s work

Monster Love Character Analysis, Part 3- Everyone Else

I’ve made my love for Daron Nefcy’s show, Star vs The Forces of Evil, very obvious on this blog. However, as much as I love the show, it bums me out how some of the supporting cast eventually fell by the wayside. Which is why I’m a fan of The Wandering Hippie’s fan fiction series, Monster Love. He not only manages to keep several secondary characters involved, but even has time to throw in his own creations. Not to mention that his series is filled with references and cameos from pop culture.

In order to wrap up my character analysis of the Monster Love series, this post will take a look at Hippie’s versions of the supporting cast and his original characters. I’ll try and cover most of them, but some will get more focus than others due to the changes to characters.

Supporting Cast

Alfonso and Fergurson

Daron Nefcy may not have found a good way to use Marco’s two guy friends, but I think Hippie was able to. Firstly, he gave Alfonso and Fergurson actual personalities. In Monster Love, Fergurson’s close friends with Janna, due to them sharing an interest in magic and a penchant for mischief. Alfonso’s shown himself to be tech-savvy and capable, something that’s come in handy every now and then. In addition, Hippie made it so the two aren’t dead weight for Star and Marco. As a result, the two participate more in some of Star’s adventures without getting too much in the way.

Eclipsa

While she has yet to make any impact on the story in the present day, Eclipsa has a big impact on the story as a whole. Without spoiling too much, let’s just say that here, her monster love was a jerk. Like in the show, she’s trapped in crystal by Rhombulus, only this time its due to the manipulation of the Shadow Clause. Thankfully, the MHC doesn’t persecute her once she’s eventually freed, realizing they were all played by the Shadow Clause. Instead, they put her on probation. Other than that, Eclipsa’s perfect the way she is.

Higgs

Despite only making two appearances in the show, this girl keeps appearing in fan fiction for some reason. Thankfully, Hippie takes her obnoxious personality and gives it an upgrade. While she still doesn’t get along with Marco at first, in Monster Love she soon warms up to him and even befriends Star. I’d go so far to say that Higgs’ become a part of Star’s circle of friends and a valuable ally. Considering everything that Hippie has in the pipeline, this is probably a good thing, too.

Janna

Still the bane of authority figures everywhere, Hippie only had to make some subtle changes to Janna’s character. Already an established friend of Marco, she doesn’t tease him nearly as much as she does in the show. Despite maintaining her love of causing trouble, Janna proves to be one of Star and Marco’s most loyal friends, and is quick to help either of them out. Considering how she’s learning how to use actual magic, something tells me that she’ll remain a powerful ally to Star as the story progresses.

Also, she has the ability to break the fourth wall and talk to the author, to his annoyance.

Jackie Lynn Thomas

Still the cool skater girl of Echo Creek Academy and the object of Marco’s affections, Hippie went out of his way to include Jackie more in the story. To help with this, he made a few changes to Jackie. Firstly, not only is she aware of Marco’s crush on her, but she’s the one who approaches him about it. However, Jackie later admits that she made that leap because she saw how close Star was with Marco. She thought that if she didn’t make her move when she did, she’d lose her chance altogether.

One of the hangups I have about the show is how it never addressed how Jackie reacted to Star’s crush on Marco. That would have made for a great character arc, and the show just wasted it. Hippie, on the other hand, dives right into this. I even give him extra points for having her handle this while staying in line with her character. Furthermore, Jackie continues to be a part of the story.

Magical High Commission

Of all the characters in the show, the MHC are the ones who needed an overhaul the most. First and foremost, Hippie rewrites them so that they’re no longer as opposed to monsters as they were in the show. On a more subtler note, Hippie changes their personalities so that they acknowledge that they’re not perfect and can screw up. Case in point, they’re as surprised about the existence of the Shadow Clause as Moon. As a result, they all agree to back Moon in Moon and Monsters.

Hekapoo befriends Moon when she’s still a teenager, and even sneaks out with her to party with monsters. Even more incredible, she actually starts dating a monster girl! It’s a far cry from her stance in the show, but not an unwelcome change.

Omnitraxus more or less remains the same as he was in the show. However, for some reason he has the power to see past the fourth wall and hang out with the author.

Lekmet also remains the same as in the show, only he never actively fights in the rebellion.

Rhombulus actually gets the biggest change in personality. He’s nowhere near as vocal about hating monsters or Eclipsa. In fact, when it’s revealed that the Shadow Clause was behind her imprisonment, he seems to feel remorse for it, and actively tries to make up for it.

Oskar Greason

In the show, Oskar was a one dimensional character created to serve as Star’s initial love interest. Hippie went to town and gave him an actual personality; and a brain. Serving as the laid-back member of Marco’s circle of friends, he’s quick to accept Star into their group. He’s essentially the friend that people can talk to when they have problems, and can even provide some insightful remarks at times.

In addition, Oskar also comes into ownership of Floyd, a giant bird of paradise accidentally created by Star’s magic. The group uses Floyd as a mode of transportation and ally in combat. Which I personally think is awesome.

Tom Lucitor

In the Monster Love timeline, Tom’s one of Star’s oldest friends and cares deeply about her safety. In fact, his main reason for dating her was to protect her from bullies. However, this led to him become very controlling of her. While I won’t say why exactly they broke up, I will say that the fallout left scars on both of them.

I feel like Hippie was trying to bring attention to the fact that some fans can’t forgive Tom for his early actions in the show. That said, he ends up rewriting Tom’s character so that he acknowledges his mistakes sooner than he did in the show. Thanks to the aid of Marco and Jackie, Tom slowly learns to control his anger and make amends with Star. While Star’s initially weary of him, the two do eventually start to mend their friendship. Say what you will, but I don’t hold a grudge against him, either in the show or in Monster Love.

Original Characters

Mavis

First introduced as a minor character in Moon and Monsters, Mavis is Moon’s snobbish cousin who thinks she’s better suited to be Queen. After Moon’s rebellion succeeds, she chooses to go into hiding and wage a decades long guerrilla war against Moon’s new regime. By the start of Monster Princess, she leads a small band of rebels to Earth in order to seize the Butterfly Wand. Her ultimate goal is to overthrow Moon and return Mewni to it’s monster-hating ways.

Mavis’ essentially the Monster Love version of Ludo, albeit one that’s much more dangerous. Unlike Ludo, Mavis is a skilled combatant who can go toe to toe with Star and Marco. More importantly, she’s a much more capable leader who genuinely cares for the well-being of her followers. This makes her all the more dangerous in the long run, especially once Monster Princess reaches its equivalent of Season Two. Now she has her own wand, and in a page from the book of Daenaerys Targaryen, she has a dragon. I am not joking, she has an actual dragon! While she and Star have yet to meet again, it’s clear she’s going to be a huge threat.

Dumronix

One of Mavis’ two lieutenants, Dumronix is a tough old soldier and a veteran of Mewni’s Civil War. Like many of his comrades, he chose to wage guerrilla war against Moon’s rule, helping Mavis lead the insurgency. With his massive size and decades of experience, Dumronix is one of the few in Mavis’ group that can not only go toe to toe with Star and Marco, but even overpower them.

Despite being comparable to The Mountain, Dumronix is not a simple brute. He’s a capable leader in his own right, and shows genuine care for his comrades. In addition, he also develops a begrudging respect for Marco as a warrior. As a whole, I think he’s a good person; he just ended up on the wrong side of a war that, for him, never stopped.

Helsinki Greyjoy

One of my favorite original character’s, Helsinki Greyjoy is Moon’s tomboyish cousin/soul sister. A mechanical genius and inventor, Helsinki was one of the first people to join Moon in her rebellion, putting her skills to work helping the rebellion win the war. By the time of Monster Princess, Helsinki’s Mewni’s chief engineer, helping to pioneer all sorts of new inventions.

I like Helsinki so much because she reminds me a lot of Bulma from the Dragon Ball franchise. Both are feisty women with tomboy tendencies and geniuses. I go so far as to imagine Helsinki voiced by Monica Rial.

Selene Dragon

The second of Mavis’ two lieutenants, Selene’s described as looking like a prepubescent version of Higgs; despite the fact that she’s actually 22. Born the daughter of a Noble family, Mewni’s Civil War saw most of her family wiped out by a band of rogue monsters. As a result, Selene’s Mom left her at an orphanage in the hopes of giving her a better life.

The first chance Selene got, she left the orphanage and sought out Mavis, who took her and trained/raised her. Armed with her twin trench knives and lightning speed, Selene’s a deadly assassin able to keep up with Star and Marco. The latter of the two she holds a grudge against for beating her several times.

Despite how vicious she may act, I can tell that Selene’s not a bad person; she just wants to find her mom. If Mavis were to get the Butterfly Wand, she could use the All-Seeing Eye spell to find her mother. However, when Monster Princess’ version of Season One ends with Mavis’ hideout destroyed, Selene runs off on her own. No one knows where she is, but I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of her.

The Shadow Clause

The main antagonists of A Tale of Moon and Monsters, this shadowy group’s existed since Mewni’s founding. I believe they were founded with the purpose of protecting Mewni from the shadows. As time passed, though, they became corrupt and power-hungry, and sought to control Mewni at the expense of its people, Mewmans and Monsters alike. Ultimately, though, they meet their match in the form of Moon and Toffee, who proceed to free Mewni from their tyranny. However, their dark legacy lives on in those who oppose Moon’s rule.

Most of the Shadow Clause members seen are the typical villains you’d find in a secret organization. I can’t even remember most of their names. The only ones that need to be remembered are Etheria and Mildrew. Etheria is Moon’s Aunt and has been consistently portrayed in fanfics as a very unpleasant Mewman, so she’s the leader of the Shadow Clause. Mildrew’s that prettyboy that tried courting Moon in the show, but lost to River. Here he’s a ruthless warrior who commits several atrocities to defeat Moon. Like I said, typical “evil organization” villains, not that that’s a bad thing.

The Wandering Hippie

If Daron Nefcy can take part in her own creation as Starfan13, then so can the Wandering Hippie. Starting from Star the Monster Princess, Hippie alternates between being the storyteller and being an actual character in his story. In the story itself, Hippie takes the place of Brian as Tom’s anger management counselor. That doesn’t seem to last long, though, as Tom starts working out his anger issues.

Most of the time, Hippie can be found in the Author’s Comments and notes at the beginning of each chapter where he talks about the story. Oftentimes, he’s assisted in doing this by Omnitraxus, Janna, and for some reason, the French Narrator from Spongebob. It’s part of what makes the story so fun, though.

This Concludes the Monster Love Posts

Well, that’s every that I could possibly want to say about Hippie’s Monster Love stories. I know I missed a lot of characters, both canon and original, but I don’t want to take up anymore of your time. If you’re still reading this, then I have a little surprise for you. I found this great artist on Instagram called Andychipss who does fan-art comissions for shows like Star. Click here to see her work, and message her if you want something done. She made this great piece from my favorite Star fan fic, Light of the Sun and Stars:

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.

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.