Hey, everyone, and Merry Christmas! I know that I said I’d be on break until after Christmas, but I had some free time, so I thought I’d go back and look over old posts. See if I could spice them up. Then I remembered the review that I did for this Star vs. Fanfic in July 2019, Light of the Sun and Stars. In hindsight, I could’ve done better with it. So, as a Christmas gift to ThDorkMagnet, I’m going back and doing the review over. Now more in-depth, with better clarity! 

Light of the Sun and Stars

Written by: ThDorkMagnet

First Published: July 13, 2017

Type of Fan Work: AU

Status: Ongoing

Synopsis-

Since he was born, Marco Diaz has never seen another Mewman like him. He’s never gone far outside his home, never had any friends, or enjoyed all life has to offer. All he’s known are the Monsters who raised him. And while he loves his adopted family, he can’t help but long to see the world. Yet the Monsters cold leader, Toffee, refuses to let him leave. But when an innocent walk in the woods leads to a terrifying punishment from the lizard man, Marco’s father, Buffrog, realizes he’s no longer safe with them, and, in the dead of night, sends him away, telling him to go and never look back.

Now all alone, Marco doesn’t know where to go, or what to do. Until, by chance or by fate, he’s found by a certain blonde, magic-wielding princess. Before he even knows what’s happening, this girl, Star Butterfly, brings him to her home, showing him a universe full of wonders that he never knew existed. Yet for all the joy they both bring, neither Star nor Marco can escape the secrets of their pasts. Together, though, they may change not just each other’s lives, but their entire world, forever.

Mewni Reimagined

Unlike the show, where the primary setting was Earth before switching to Mewni, Light of the Sun and Stars focuses almost exclusively on Mewni. However, ThDorkMagnet must have taken notes on compelling world-building as they rebuild Mewni from the ground up.

One big change to note is Mewni’s relationship with Earth. Whereas in the show, Earth was more or less isolated from everyone, here they’ve been an established part of the Universe for decades. Mewni tried to conquer them once, but when that failed, thanks to humanity’s scientific know-how, they gave up. Now the two are firm allies, with humans traveling to and from Earth at their leisure. 

Another big change is that here, cheekmarks are a universal trait for Mewmans, with each one giving a Mewman an innate talent or trait. DorkMagnet says they got it from RWBY, but it reminds me more of cutie marks from My Little Pony. 

The last thing to know that this fanfic puts a lot more focus on the Monsters and their lives. They’ve got their own society away from the Mewmans, but like in the show, they don’t have it as nice as them. 

Now, for the characters themselves.

The Main Characters

ThDorkMagnet manages to stay more or less faithful to the character’s portrayals in the show. Whatever they have to change, they do a great job of justifying it in the writing context.

Marco Diaz

Unlike in the show, here Marco’s reimagined as a Mewman. Well, half-Mewman. His father was from Earth, and his mother was Mewni. His parents were the only people to try and help the Monsters, making them beloved by them. Thus, they took him in as a baby when his parents died. And while he may have been one of their hated Mewman enemies, the Monsters grew to love him, anyway. Except for Toffee.

Initially, Marco doesn’t seem to have much in common with his canon counterpart. He doesn’t know how to fight, he’s not as streetsmart, and his lack of self-confidence and insecurities are initially more prevalent than in the show. However, these are less of actual personality traits and more the result of his isolated upbringing. Once he gets out to see the larger world, his true personality starts to shine through. 

At his core, this version of Marco’s comparable to Steven Universe. He’s got a childlike curiosity about the world and is eager to learn as much as he can about it. Many find his enthusiasm, compassion, and genuine desire to be nice to everyone to be very charming, helping him make friends fairly quickly. More importantly, like Steven, Marco seems to bring out the best in others, often without meaning to. 

Marco’s not without his problems, though. Besides the insecurities mentioned above, he’s got a deep-rooted fear of Toffee that seems to haunt him for a very long time.

Star Butterfly

When we’re first introduced to her as she’s practicing spells in the woods, this version of Star looks like the same happy and upbeat girl fans of the show know and love. And for the most part, she is: she’s kind, friendly, helpful, and draws people to her like a magnet. Being the first person he ever meets from the outside world, Marco’s instantly drawn to her. He thinks she’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. 

I did say for the most part, though. It’s established early on that this version of Star has more in common with her counterpart in the latter half of the show. In other words, she’s more responsible and level-headed than she was in the pilot, trying to do her best to help the Kingdom of Mewni. She’s already trying to use her magic to help other people and, most notably, opened her family’s castle to those orphaned by war. It’s this very nature that leads her to take Marco in with few questions asked.

However, these actions aren’t entirely by choice. Different circumstances forced her to mature far earlier in life than she does in the show. While avoiding spoiler territory, let’s say that she went through a very traumatic experience that left her emotionally broken when she was younger. While she seemed to recover from it, those closest know that it’s partially an act to keep people from worrying about her. On top of this, her parents are away on business when the story starts, leaving Star to run the Kingdom on her own. In other words, she’s got a lot of issues to work through, but no one knows how to help her. That is until Marco comes into her life.

Janna Ordonia

The show’s resident troublemaker, here Janna’s reimagined as one of Star’s closest friends. Star first met her trapped in an abandoned village when they were kids. While Janna was initially hostile to Star, the latter’s willingness to help her won the former over. From then on, Janna’s lived in Butterfly Castle with Star, spending her time researching the weird and getting into trouble. Oh, and her Mewman Trait lets her turn into a bat. Fitting.

On the surface, Janna seems to be the same weird girl from the show that loves to mess with others (much to Marco’s dismay). However, DorkMagnet gives her a lot more emotional depth as time goes on. And it takes a character I already liked and makes her a thousand times better! Without going into spoiler territory, we learn that part of her tough act is a front to keep her from getting close to others. This came about because someone very close to her that she thought she could trust abandoned her when she needed them the most. Yet, she can’t help but open up to Marco when he wants to help her. 

Oh, and for JanTom shippers out there, rejoice.

Jackie Lynn Thomas

Like in the show, Jackie was born on Earth to human parents, who she got her love for sports from. And while it has yet to be revealed, I think DorkMagnet implied that she lost her parents to a freak sporting accident on Mewni. However, Star was there to give her a hand and take her in. Now, she’s living in Butterfly Castle as Janna’s roommate and the voice of reason.

The big difference between this Jackie and the one in the show is that she’s not meant to be a love interest for Marco. At all. Instead, she’s more like a big sister to Marco, always there to help explain things he doesn’t understand or help him with something. And DorkMagnet manages to make it work very well here! In the show, Jackie could be very nurturing and encouraging to others, so it fits with her personality. 

Buffrog

Of the many Monster characters in the show, Buffrog had to be my favorite. After Ludo threw him out, we saw how kind-hearted and fatherly he was, becoming one of Star and Marco’s closest friends and allies. In Light of the Sun and Stars, that paternal nature’s on full display when it comes to Marco.

For context, Buffrog was a close friend of Marco’s parents before they died. He vowed to keep their son safe in honor of their memory, but due to Toffee, he couldn’t bring him to other Mewmans and had to raise him under the lizard’s eyes. When it became clear Toffee would never let Marco be free, Buffrog felt he had no choice but to send his adoptive son away, kickstarting the story.

At his core, Buffrog is a good person who’s forced to do bad things. Things that he’s deeply ashamed of and desperate to atone for, especially when it comes to Marco. While this makes a very good father for Marco, it can also lead him to do very dangerous things in the process. Part of his ongoing arc is to come to terms with his past and to learn to forgive himself for his failures.  

There are plenty of other characters in the show that appear in this story, by the way. Some in ways that you may not expect!

The Villains are Scarier

Star vs. the Forces of Evil never lacked for any colorful villains throughout it’s run. Some were better than others, admittedly. In Light of the Sun and Stars, though, the big villains managed to get an overhaul that makes them even more menacing.

I owe it to the fact that the restraints of Disney don’t confine fanfics. Case in point, we have Toffee.

Toffee

By far the best villain on the show, ThDorkMagnet takes him and cranks the evil factor up to 11. As a result, we get a Toffee that’s not restrained by the standards of children’s cartoons that the show had to follow. And the result’s downright terrifying. 

Retaining the hatred of Mewmans that his counterpart has, Toffee rose to become leader of the Monsters many years ago. By the start of the story, he’s led them in a brutal war to reclaim Mewni from the Mewmans for years. And he’s winning! He’s razed hundreds of villages and slaughtered countless Mewmans to the point that no Mewman has seen him and lived. He’s less of a person and more of a boogeyman to Mewni.

While already a formidable warrior, Toffee’s greatest strength lies in his ability to manipulate others to do what he wants. In Light of the Sun and Stars, through a mixture of fear and charisma, he forces the Monsters under him to obey his commands even when they know its wrong. Perhaps more chillingly, though, is how he’s able to emotionally manipulate Marco for years, making him feel guilty for wanting to leave. It’s the epitome of a toxic relationship.

I compare this version of Toffee with Claude Frollo from Disney’s version of Hunchback of Notre Dame. Both are psychopaths with an unwanted ward that they keep imprisoned through emotional abuse. The big difference is that, unlike Frollo, Toffee’s willing to resort to physically beating Marco to force him into line.

All told, this is one of the most effective uses of Toffee that I’ve seen. 

If you want to learn what happens to Toffee, and what the show’s other big villains are like, then I urge you to read the story. 

A Meaningful Title

One of the more abstract things I love about this story is the title. There’s a good reason why the story’s called “Light of the Sun and Stars.” It’s referring to the relationship that Star and Marco develop and how much they mean to each other.

Star becomes this shining star that draws Marco in, lighting up his world and showing him things he never thought were possible. Conversely, Marco’s warmth and kindness help Star begin to recover from her past trauma, something that everyone around her notices. Marco becomes her sun, radiating warmth and making her happier than she’s been in a long time.

The way Star and Marco’s relationship develops may seem cliche to some, but I love it. The way they quickly become friends and the most important people in each other’s lives is delightful. I couldn’t help but feel it tugging at my heartstrings a bit. Everyone needs at least one friendship like the one Star and Marco have.

Yes, they do fall for each other. The cute thing about it, though, is that Marco doesn’t even realize its love. All he knows that being around Star makes him happier than he’s ever been. It makes you want to go, “aww.”

A Fan Fiction On Par With the Show

Light of the Sun and Stars is one of the best fanfictions that I have ever read, hitting all the right notes. It keeps the show’s mythology intact and remains faithful to its source material. At the same time, it’s not afraid to come up with new and original stories, each of which ends up being very entertaining. ThDorkMagnet updates every two-three weeks, and she says that she plans on continuing it even though the show’s over. That shows that she’s committed to seeing this story through to the end.

As far as I’m concerned, ThDorkMagnet’s a true fan of Star vs., and it shows in the care and attention to detail She puts into her writing. If you haven’t read Light of the Sun and Stars yet, then I urge you to do so. Its one fan work that you won’t be able to stop once you start.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! And Click Here to See DorkMagnet’s Christmas One-Shot

Click here to see my other animation stuff.

The following’s meant to be a special interlude chapter from my fanfiction, Comet vs. The Forces of Evil. As such, it will be written in the same, fourth-wall-breaking writing style that I use for the author’s notes for that story. Also, I’m writing it for my blog so I can include the video itself.

*In the area of space-time known as Jay’s Workspace, RJ Writing Ink is sitting at a desk, having finished watching Nostalgia Critic’s review of Star vs. The Forces of Evil. Satisfied, Jay smiles before getting out of his chair to stretch before turning to look at the reader*

Jay: Not bad at all, Critic. Hello, everyone; it’s me, RJ “Jay” Writing Ink. And this interlude chapter’s extra special as I’m posting it on Fanfiction.Net and my blog of the same name. 

Earlier today, famed online reviewer Doug Walker, AKA the Nostalgia Critic, posted the second review for his 2020 round of Disneycember. It’s this thing he does every December where he reviews Disney films and shows all month. What’s most important about today’s entry is that he chose to review Star vs. The Forces of Evil. And as a fan of the show, I decided to watch it and compare our thoughts on the show.

Firstly, I think that Walker did an excellent job at making his review as unbiased as possible. He looked at it professionally, even admitting that he watched the whole on Disney+. Given how passionate fans of the show are about certain things (especially how we reacted to the ending), this was the best thing he could do as a critic. It did detach him from the passion that fans had while the show still ran, which I think plays a big part in why some people still like it so much. But hey, beggars can’t be choosers.

As far as points made, Walker didn’t say anything I didn’t already know. He praised a lot of what I liked about the show (the world-building, drama, overarching story) while also criticizing many things. Like, how the show let the StarCo plot drag on longer than necessary. All the plot points that ended up not being used or got forgotten. And, of course, the reaction to Season Four and how it didn’t seem to be what the show had been building towards. In short, things that I figured after months of retrospect and reflection.

However, one thing that he praised, in particular, struck a chord in me and why I like this show so much that I keep coming back to it. It’s the world-building aspect. You have to admit, the show’s premise about magic, other dimensions, and things like historical revisionism were among its strongest selling points. And when done right, you can get very invested in what’s happening. After listening to Walker, though, I had to face the truth. As much as fans want to say that rivals Adventure Time and Steven Universe in terms of lore and world-building, Star vs. never reaches those heights. The potential was there, but it never fully realized it, in the end.

Ironically, this is why I keep coming back to the fanfics for this show. It’s because a lot of the best fanfic writers for Star vs. are the ones who don’t just build on the foundation the show leaves but even actively fix its shortcomings. When done correctly, we get works of writing that rival even the best novels and shows. 

In other words, Doug’s review reaffirmed why I like the show despite its flaws. And more importantly, why I push myself with my own fanfic, Comet vs. the Forces of Evil. To see how far we can take Star vs. as a concept. 

Click here to read my fanfiction.

Or, if you’re already on Fanfiction.Net, go check out my Blog on WordPress, RJ Writing Ink!

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A Look Back on the ending to Star vs. The Forces of Evil

Okay, people, on this day one year ago, we saw the ending to two awesome shows. One of them was an animated cartoon, while the other was an adaptation of the life’s work of a guy that’s dragging his heels on finishing his work. Rather than talk about the ending to Game of Thrones since there’s enough hate for that, I wanted to talk about the end to the other good show on May 19th, 2019.

Look, I’ve talked about this series to death already on this blog. I can’t help it: I like it, and as much as I like the finale, I think Disney can do more with it. So, with a year between now and the end of the show, I wanted to give my thoughts on it.

The Finale In Hindsight

You know in hindsight, I think I may have given the finale a bit more credit than it should have gotten. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still happy that Star and Marco get to be together and go on adventures in an awesome new dimension. However, that doesn’t change the fact that Star’s decision to destroy magic was very irrational.

If you watched the eight episode arc leading up to “Cleaved”, then you know Star went through a lot of emotional turmoil in a short amount of time. Tom broke up with her, she realized she and Marco still loved each other and they got together. Right as they do, though, Star’s Mom betrays everything she stands for and condemns Mewni to be destroyed. In other words, she wasn’t thinking straight. Hell, there may have still been a way to stop Mina without destroying magic altogether. As LockandKey989 points out in their fan fic “Averting the End”, there was another option. Which I will now share in the form of a skit that would be seen on the popular web series How it Should Have Ended:

Star: All right, guys. I’ve decided that magic is now evil and can’t be trusted with anyone. So I’m just gonna go and destroy it and stop Mina from using it to destroy Mewni.

“Bright Idea” Guy: Here’s a bright idea. Why don’t you use that magic severing stone that can sever anything in existence to strip Mina of her magical steroids before you destroy the thing that connects the entire universe together. And for that matter, use it to sever the dark magic from the rest of the Real of Magic.

Star: Huh. You know what, that sounds like a much better idea. MARCO, WE’RE GOING TO THE UNDERWORLD!

That would have made much more sense. LockandKey989, you’re a genius!

I Like the Concept More

So, yeah, the show was amazing, and probably one of the best shows that Disney gave us in the 2010s. But after reading through the various fanworks, I have come to a conclusion. They could have done a lot more with the show if Disney had wanted to.

Star vs. The Forces of Evil goes from being this light-hearted comedy about magic and narwhals into this tale about overcoming prejudice and hatred. The problem is, it’s status as a kid’s show also holds it back. I’ve seen fanworks that dive deeper than the show ever did into some concepts.

What I’m saying is that while I like the show itself, I think I’ve come to love the concept of Star vs. The Forces of Evil as a medium for storytelling. It’s a show filled with all sorts of amazing characters, backstory and lore, and the fans have built on that. That’s the stuff that I’m interested in.

It Helped Me Make New Friends

I’m not joking on this point. Star vs. is what got me into the concept of fanfic’s and fanworks. I would eat up any good stories I could find, and it turns out, the show still has a sizable following. At least, it does right now. As I got more and more into it, something cool happened: I made friends.

I normally prefer to make friends with people in real life, as there’s the fact that you actually know them and can spend time with them. However, through social media, I wound up connecting with a bunch of fans of the show. KPRS4Ever, the Wandering Hippie, ROTHEM, BlackWolf, Andrew “Acuna” and many others. I may not know them in real life, but I still enjoy being able to chat with them online about various things, including the stories they write. That’s pretty much what friends do, so I think that this counts. And I like that.

Happy Starverserary

Okay, rant’s over now. I said all that I wanted to say about the show. Happy anniversary to this awesome show, and I can’t wait to see what the people who worked on it will do next. And to all the fan writers out there, keep moving forward. You never know if Disney brings it back or gives us a sequel spin-off.

Over the last few months, I’ve covered a lot of fan fiction revolving around Star vs. The Forces of Evil. It’s my way of dealing with the need I have for more Star vs. content because, despite enjoying the finale, I was left wanting more. Lucky for me, a lot of the fan fics I find end up being pretty good. However, I don’t think I’ve found a fan fic quite like Royal Secrets by BlackWolfWrites.

Royal Secrets

Author: BlackWolfWrites

Type of Fan Work: Alternate Re-telling

First Published: June 19th, 2019

Status: Ongoing

This fan fiction’s an alternate re-telling of Season Four of SvTFOE. Unlike in the show, following the fight against Meteora, Star and Tom did not remain a couple. Having realized that she still has feelings for Marco, the two proceed to become boyfriend and girlfriend before they go looking for her mom. However, with tension between Mewmans and Monsters at an all time high, Star and Marco have to deal with royal secrets while keeping a big one of their own…

…which I will now tell you. You saw the episode “Britta’s Tacos”? Remember the joke about how everyone thought Mariposa was Star and Marco’s kid? That’s not a joke anymore. Star and Marco gave into their feelings, “quested”, and now Star’s pregnant.

Review

Before I get into the royal secrets nonsense, I just want to say this to Blackwolfwrites. I think that they’re a very good writer, and that Royal Secrets is among the best of their fan fictions. I’ve covered some of their other works, but I think he should know that. Any critiquing me or others do for your work only comes from a place of love and we want it to be the best it can be.

Secondly, while I love the show, I think the final Season was its weakest. Season Three, while not fully cohesive at times, was the best the show had. It started off with the final battle against Toffee, then worked its way through the various plots of the season, from Star’s sleep-portaling to the final battle against Meteora. Season Four, though, lacked that cohesion beyond the vague plot of Mina. Blackwolf, though, ties their version of Season Four together with two unifying threads: Starco and the fact that Star’s with child.

A More Realistic Approach

As sweet as it was for the show to give us StarCo in the show’s 11th hour, in hindsight it would have made more sense to do it after the fight with Meteora. We saw Star and Marco both realize they still had feelings for each other in “Booth Buddies”, and that infamous kiss left them both a wreck. The proceeding disappearance of Moon and the fight against Meteora forced them to leave the feelings about what happened unresolved. Yet in the Season Four premiere, we learn that they’ve been looking for Star’s mom for months, and were within contact with Tom. How did they not bring any of this up during that time?

Blackwolf takes a bit of a realistic approach to this whole scenario. In their story, the realization that they still love each other, combined with the fact that they almost died, leads them to do what many young couples would do in those circumstances: they give into their feelings. As a result, they’re a couple when the story starts. This gives Blackwolf time to make Star and Marco’s status as romantic partners develop. The result is every bit as sweet and heartwarming as you’d expect.

Starco Child

Now, for the narwhal in the room: their unborn child. I chatted with Blackwolf, and they told me they felt worried about how fans would react to it. I can’t blame him either. Teen pregnancy can be an awkward subject for many people. The fact that the show’s writers were able to sneak in those teen parent jokes into “Britta’s Tacos” is beyond me.

That said, I honestly think they shouldn’t have worried about it as much as they did. they chose to handle the matter in a very mature and respectful fashion, not playing it for jokes or making light about it in any way. Even more impressive, they had the two lovers remain in-character as they react to the news.

On Star’s part, she freaks out at first, which is understandable considering how she’s fifteen and all she’s got in her life. Yet any fear she has gets replaced by sheer joy. She loves Marco more than anything and knows that they’re meant for each other. As terrifying as it is to become a parent at such a young age, she can’t help but feel overjoyed. As for Marco, despite knowing the odds of teen parents (and almost fainting), he refuses to run away. Both decide to stand by their decision, even if all of Mewni hates them for it. Better yet, all of their loved ones who know about it thus far have been nothing but patient and supportive of them. They’ll need that support to beat the odds.

Tom Reverts Into Total Jerk

This is the one critique I have of Royal Secrets, and that’s how he’s dealt with Tom. When we first met him back in Season One, he was a total jerk, but he eventually started to change for the better. By the end of the show, he’s calm enough to break up with Star because he knows they’re not meant to be. Here, though, it feels like Tom not only didn’t get that message, but becomes even worse than before.

Apparently, Tom didn’t actually break up with Star, and the whole thing was a big misunderstanding. Thanks to circumstances beyond their control, Star can’t tell him the truth, and then he starts getting possessive and creepy. Even after confirming what he already knew, Tom still tries to get her back, which makes it even creepier than in the show.

I get what Blackwolf’s trying to do. Not everyone can get over Tom’s 180 by the end of the show and think he got off too easily for his earlier actions. That said, it still feels a little out of left field for me. Really hope he goes into more detail about it before the story ends.

What Could Have Been

At the end of the day, though, it feels like Royal Secrets is a look at what Season Four of Star vs. The Forces of Evil could have been. It keeps most of the plot threads of the final season, but it does a better job of tying them together than the show seemed to do. Granted, I know that straight-laced Disney would never agree to the “Star’s pregnant” story since it’s a kids show. That’s not the point, though; the point is that they could have done a better job with the story, and I think Blackwolf’s doing just that. If you’re reading this, Blackwolf, don’t stop this story! I want to see how this ends and how it will affect the ending to the show!

Special thanks goes to h2so3_art, who was kind enough to do this commission for me for the fan fiction. Go check them out on Instagram when you have a free minute; they’re good!

Click here to see my other reviews of fan fiction

Even though I have spoken enthusiastically about Star vs. The Forces of Evil in the past, I think we can all agree that it could have done some things better. However, if there’s one thing that I think was a missed opportunity, it was the Blood Moon Ball. Some Starco shippers saw it as the moment that decided that the two were meant for each other. Then Season Four’s “Curse of the Blood Moon” seemed to kill it for good. Only, not only did they end up together anyway, but the Blood Moon had nothing to do with it.

While I personally didn’t want Starco to happen because of some soul-binding, I see why some fans would be upset. The show doesn’t even explain how it’s a “curse” that well, making it even more of a letdown. However, a fan going by Blackwolfwrites decided to explore the potential of the blood moon in his own writing. The result is a trio of compelling stories that explore what could have been. This is what I like to call The Blood Moon Trilogy.

Minor Spoiler Warning, though

Sign of the Moon

Author: Blackwolfwrites

Type of Fanfic: AU/Shipping/Drama

First Published: Dec. 31, 2017

Status: Complete (Redux in progress)

Synopsis

Following the events of the first half of Season Three, Star Butterfly’s life is a mess. Her attempts to bring Mewman-Monster equality have stalled, her relationship with Tom is becoming strained, and she just found out that one of her worst enemies may be related to her! Through all these trials, though, she’s had her loyal best friend, Marco, by her side. Their bond, forged through countless adventures, has always been strong, in spite of feelings left unrequited and issues left unsolved.

Then, one fateful mission brings them back to the site of the Blood Moon Ball, and what they experience affirms what they already knew from the start: they’re meant for each other. Finally acknowledging their feelings for each other, the two best friends vow to be together, no matter what Mewni may think of them. They’ve overcome monsters, the Neverzone, St. Olga’s, Toffee, and more; what are some scheming nobles compared to that?

Little do the two realize, there’s a dark conspiracy in play that could decide to the future of Mewni itself…

Star vs. The Forces of Evil Holiday Special Review- Stump Day

I know I said I wasn’t going to be doing this 25 days of Christmas thing this year. However, Star vs the Forces of Evil came out on Disney+, and its the first day of December. In other words, I couldn’t resist. So, here’s my review of the first half of the Star vs. Christmas Special, “Stump Day.”

All Hail Stump Day

It’s the most wonderful time of the year in Mewni, Stump Day. When the first Mewmans found their way to Mewni, they were struck by a terrible winter storm. In order to survive they had to huddle behind a giant tree stump and forge bonds of friendship. ThentheylearnedmagicandusedittobeatuptheMonsters, the end!

To honor that memory, every year the Mewmans honor the Stump, or else. However, Stump Day’s not just Star’s favorite holiday, it also happens to be her birthday!

It may just be me, but the fact that Star’s birthday falls on Stump Day seems like a continuity wrinkle. Wouldn’t that mean the Wand Ceremony in the first episode should have had snow and holiday decorations or what not? Or did they move it to a different day to honor the Stump?

Unwelcome Birthday Party

Not realizing how important Stump Day is, and wanting to surprise his best friend, Marco throws a surprise party for Star that very night. This causes Star to freak out and try to destroy her own party. She never celebrates her birthday on her actual birthday out of respect/fear of the Stump.

Everything goes downhill from there. Marco and Tom start fighting when Marco calls him a bad boyfriend, then everyone’s yelling at each other and Janna throws the Stump in the fireplace. As a result of everyone’s actions, they anger the real Stump, and it tries to kill everyone present.

Personally, I found it a little ironic that no one believed the Stump was real aside from Star. Everyone present comes from other dimensions and sees magic on a regular basis. Given everything they’ve seen, is a giant, ax-crazy Mewman version of Santa hard to believe? In the end, it doesn’t matter, though: Stump Day comes to an end before the Stump can kill them all, and everyone comes together to celebrate Star’s birthday. The end.

Don’t Trust the Stump

I’ve seen several fanfictions re-use the concept of Stump Day since this episode, and a lot of them don’t paint the Stump in a good light. My personal favorite, though, is MoringMark’s story involving the Stump in his webcomic Echo Creek. Long story short, Mariposa and Meteora fight the Stump, and it reveals that it caused the storm that led to it being worshipped. It was revenge for them cutting down its tree.

Basically, I see the Stump as an axe-crazy hunk of wood that’s not to be trusted. However, it’s also the same kind of crazy you’d expect from a show like Star vs. The Forces of Evil. I know the chances of the story being continued anytime soon are low, but at least we get some great fanworks out of it.

This should be the part where I insert some cheesy Aesop about the importance of coming together for the holidays and/or possible death, but I got nothing. All I can say is that that rotting piece of bark is not to be trusted! Happy holidays, everyone!

Click here to see my other animation stuff.

I’ve spent the last week going over some of the best fan works for Star vs. The Forces of Evil. More so I wanted to do this for my enjoyment. I’ve saved the best for last, though. This AU’s good enough to be it’s own show, hitting all the right notes to tell an original story that retains all the hallmarks of Star. This is the story of a boy who was raised by monsters, Light of the Sun and Stars.

Light of the Sun and Stars

Written by: ThDorkMagnet

First Published: July 13, 2017

Type of Fan Work: AU

Status: Ongoing

Synopsis:

All his life, Marco Diaz has only ever known the monsters who raised him. Despite being one of the their hated Mewman enemies, the monsters consider the boy one of their own, save for their leader, Toffee. Then one day, Marco’s longing to see the outside world leads him to escape the cruel lizard and set out on his own into Mewni where he meets a certain blonde princess. This young girl takes it upon herself to be Marco’s guide to a world that’s filled with wonders he never knew existed. Together, the two become the closest of friends as they change each other’s lives, and their world, forever.

Review

I’m going to come out and say it: I absolutely love this fan fic! It’s incredibly well-written, the characters are faithful to their show counterparts, and the premise is so much fun. I couldn’t stop reading it until I got to the latest chapter.

First, let me give you an overview of how Star and Marco are portrayed in this story. I know it contradicts what I said about them being faithful to the show, but their core personalities remain the same.

Marco Diaz

Instead of being a human, here Marco’s a human-mewman hybrid. His parents died when he was a baby, so Buff Frog raised him as part of Toffee’s army. While he considers the monsters his family and loves them very much, his true desire is to one day go out and see everything the world has to offer. When the story begins, events force him to leave behind the only home he’s ever known and enter a world he knows nothing about.

This version of Marco has a childlike curiosity about the world, being constantly left in awe at all the new and amazing sights he sees. At the same time, he’s very shy and a little insecure. This is more due to having never another Mewman, though, rather than an inherent personality trait. Once he gets past that, though, he has no trouble making friends, winning people over with his kind-hearted nature and infectious, childlike enthusiasm.

He does share plenty of canon Marco’s traits. He’s kind and friendly to everyone he meets, he still likes red hoodies, and shares his counterparts talent for cooking and dancing. Yet he still carries the scars of his past, and sooner or later, he will have to confront them.

Star Butterfly

When we first meet her in the story, Star’s closer to the way she was in the second half of Star vs. The Forces of Evil. Events in her life, though, have forced her to mature faster than she did in the show. With her parents away on business, she’s left to run Mewni on her own on top of mastering her wand. That’s a lot of pressure!

Despite all this, Star remains the same kind-hearted and outgoing girl fans know and love. She doesn’t hesitate to help others, even taking dozens of orphans into her home when they nowhere else to go. Unlike in the latter half of the show, here most of Mewni loves Star and sees her as a guiding light in dark times.

While she appears happy and upbeat on the surface, she’s gone through some traumatic events of her own in the past. These events not only led her to almost abandon the happy-go-lucky demeanor she once had, but even feel ashamed of it at times. Her loved ones notice the problems she’s dealing with, but don’t know how to help her. That is, until Marco comes into her life.

A Meaningful Title

One of the more abstract things I love about this story is the title. There’s a good reason why the story’s called “Light of the Sun and Stars.” It’s referring to the relationship that Star and Marco develop and how much they come to mean to each other.

Having never seen another mewman before, much less magic, Marco’s completely captivated when he first meets Star practicing her spells. He thinks she’s the most amazing, beautiful person he’s ever seen and can’t help wanting to be around her. He just lights up whenever he sees her. She becomes the guiding star in his life, showing him all the amazing things the universe has to offer.

Conversely, Star finds herself drawn to Marco, as her initial curiousity and compassion compel her to take him in. She takes a vested interest in his well-being, and without realizing it, grows to deeply care about him. Little by little, Marco’s warmth and kindness help to heal from her past trauma. Everyone, literally everyone, notices that how being around him makes her happy, happier than she’s been in a long time. Marco becomes her sun, radiating warmth and happiness on her.

As an aside, the “sun” aspect refers to Marco’s cheekmarks, which are suns in this story.

The way Star and Marco’s relationship develops may seem cliche to some, but I love it. The way they quickly become friends and the most important people in each other’s lives is really sweet. I couldn’t help but feel it tugging at my heartstrings a bit. Everyone needs at least one friendship like the one Star and Marco have.

Yes, they do fall for each other. The cute thing about it, though, is that Marco doesn’t even realize its love. All he knows that being around Star makes him happier than he’s ever been. It makes you want to go “aww.”

A Re-Imagined Mewni and Cast

ThDorkMagnet changes up Mewni and the cast as well, with Earth taking a backseat. Unlike in the show, Earth and Mewni already have an established relationship. While they were once rivals due to Mewni trying to invade Earth, the two dimensions are now close allies. People travel regularly between the two dimensions, and some humans even emigrate to Mewni.

With the focus on Mewni, the castmembers from Earth are re-imagined as living on Mewni, such as Jackie and Janna. Jackie’s human, but has lived on Mewni most of her life, while Janna’s a monster-mewman hybrid. The two are Star’s oldest friends and live with her in the castle, and are among the first to recognize how much Marco means to her.

I won’t spoil anything else, but plenty of the other characters from the show make appearances, so you have that to forward to.

Better Monsters

Of course, it wouldn’t be Star vs. without the monsters. Sadly, from season two onwards, the show only focused on a handful of monsters as main characters. Buff Frog makes an appearance as an important secondary character, and his paternal side’s on full display with his relationship with Marco. As Marco’s adopted dad, Buff Frog gets the most importance out of the monsters in Toffee’s army.

Fortunately, the story also makes efforts to make the other monsters more than simple mooks. They have more three-dimensional personalities and motivations. Case in point, despite being a mewman, they genuinely care about Marco and his well-being. In turn, Marco knows that they’re not the heartless enemies mewmans think they are. Except for Toffee.

Using Toffee Right

Which brings me to the last thing that I love about this story. Unlike in the show, Light of the Sun and Stars uses Toffee to the fullest extent of his evil nature. While a scary enemy in the show, here he’s downright terrifying. He’s led the monsters on a brutal guerilla war against Mewni for years, slaughtering villages and killing thousands of people. He’s pretty much the boogeyman of Mewni.

Already a deadly warrior and strategist, Toffee’s also a master manipulator that I compare to Disney’s version of Claude Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Both are psychopathic villains forced to take in an unwanted ward. Both try to keep them prisoner by emotionally manipulating them into feeling guilty for wanting to leave. The big difference is that, unlike Frollo, Toffee’s willing to resort to physically beating Marco to force him into line.

This is how you use a villain like Toffee. He’s ruthless, terrifying, and one of the deadliest beings in Mewni. The only reason he even lets Marco live is because of how fond the monsters are of him. So when he escapes, Toffee will stop at nothing to get him back. What happens next, I urge you to read for yourself.

A Fan Fiction On Par With the Show

Light of the Sun and Stars is one of the best fan fictions that I have ever read, hitting all the right notes. It keeps the show’s mythology intact and remains faithful to its source material. At the same time, it’s not afraid to come up with new and original stories, each of which ends up being very entertaining. ThDorkMagnet updates every two-three weeks, and she says that she plans on continuing it even though the show’s over. That shows that she’s committed to seeing this story through to the end.

As far as I’m concerned, ThDorkMagnet’s a true fan of Star vs., and it shows in the care and attention to detail She puts into her writing. If you haven’t read Light of the Sun and Stars yet, then I urge you to do so. Its one fan work that you won’t be able to stop once you start.

Click here to see my other animation stuff.

Star vs. Fan Week, Day 2

What would happen if your future kids came back from the future to make sure your parents get together and preserve their existence? It sounds like a version of “Back to the Future” or other time travel stories, but this one has a twist. In this case, the kids are from two separate futures… and have two different moms. This scenario is precisely the dilemma that Marco Diaz faces in this next fan work, Ship War AU by MoringMark.

Ship War AU

Written by: MoringMark

Type of Fanwork: AU Comic/Shipping

Status: Uncertain/Incomplete

Synopsis:

The comic starts in the middle of Season Two episode “Bon Bon the Birthday Clown.” Only in Ship War AU, Marco and Jackie’s date gets interrupted by two unexpected visitors. One’s Elizabeth Butterfly, Star and Marco’s future daughter, and the other’s Jam Diaz, Jackie and Marco’s future son. Both came back in time with different motives, but they’re each determined to ensure their existences.

The rest of Season Two unfolds as Jam and Elizabeth try to blend in and make sure Marco ends up with their respective moms. Meanwhile, Marco’s just trying to keep his relationship with Jackie intact while dealing with the fact he has two teenage kids to handle, plus Star.

Review

I don’t know where the author, MoringMark, learned to draw, but man he’s good. Looking at Ship War AU, it almost perfectly captures the art style of the show, right down to the backgrounds. You can almost mistake it for the show itself, at times. The resemblance is more than just skin-deep though, as MoringMark nails the characters personalities, or even expands on them. Since the whole premise behind the fan comic’s a shipping war, it focuses less on the events of the show at first and more on the shipping. The events of season two eventually play a significant role, but that comes closer to the end.

In terms of the shipping dynamic, one thing the comic succeeds in doing while the show fails is demonstrating the effect that Star’s feelings for Marco have on Jackie. In the show, Jackie eventually broke up with Marco because she knew he liked Star but moved on. Here, though, we see how that could have affected Jackie in the show. We see her openly admit to feeling jealous of Star for her looks, personality, and popularity. Then just when she thinks she has Marco, his future daughter with Star shows up, and that jealousy gets a lot worse.

Speaking of the future children, it’s time for some character analysis regarding Elizabeth and Jam. This will get a little long since I want to cover both their backstories and personalities. I can’t help it.

Elizabeth Butterfly

This is Princess Elizabeth Butterfly, Star and Marco’s future daughter in Ship War AU. In her timeline, Star and Marco are happily married as the rulers of a futuristic Mewni. Glossaryck tasked her with traveling back to the events of the show to deal with a space-time anomaly, only to run into Jam, who has his own goals. Now she has to ensure her existence while keeping Star from figuring out her identity.

Appearance-wise, Elizabeth’s practically the spitting image of Star, inheriting her eyes, cheek marks, and physical appearance, while getting Marco’s hair color. As far as personality goes, Elizabeth takes mostly after her mother, albeit more subdued. She’s got a giant sweet tooth, capable of being as reckless as Star, and loves fighting bad guys and bullies. Fortunately, she got Star’s magic and wand and Marco’s skill in martial arts.

While her personality reminds a little too much of Star to call her wholly original, I like Elizabeth because she has some of the best aspects of Star and Marco. She can be snarky and sarcastic at times, but she’s every bit as selfless as her parents and quick to make friends. After some time passes, she even tries to reach out to Jam, despite their initial attempts to ensure their existence. Underneath her confident exterior, though, is someone whose worried that they won’t be able to live up to Star’s legacy. It’s learning how to stop comparing herself to her mom and the rest of the family that drives her character near the end of the series.

Jam Diaz

This is Jam Diaz, Marco and Jackie’s son from the future. His name comes from the acronym “Jackie And Marco.” Unlike Elizabeth’s happy childhood, though, Jam’s was hell on Earth. In his timeline, Star disappeared a few months after the events of Bon Bon the Birthday Clown, and then a phenomenon known as the “Stapocalpyse” saw Earth overrun by monsters. With both Jackie and Marco dead, Jam came back in time not to ensure his existence, but to stop the Stapocalpyse. Then he has to deal with Elizabeth.

Appearance-wise, he got Jackie’s eyes and the blue streak in the otherwise brown-hair he got from Marco. He also wears his late mother’s seashell necklace as a memento, and always carries a skateboard and helmet on him at all time. Ironically, his severe and stoic personality resembles the “bad boy” image that we saw Marco trying so hard to create before he met Star. Also ironically, his good looks and personality lead him to become as big a chick magnet as Marco was in the show: just look.

I like Jam because he reminds me of Future Trunks, and Future Trunks is my favorite character in DBZ. Both are time-traveling warriors trying to stop an apocalyptic future and are super awesome. Unlike Trunks, though, Jam’s slower to trust others since he’s been on his own since he was a kid. He also serves a good foil for Elizabeth. While Liz is more emotional, Jam’s stoic. More importantly, though, Jam’s goal is to stop the apocalypse that kills his parents; he’s okay with sacrificing his existence if necessary.

Original Content vs Canon

I’m still new to the whole fan works thing, so my opinion on what makes a good fan work is yet being formulated. One thing I do know that I like, though, is fan works that try to remain faithful to the source’s canon, but also tell their own story. It’s hard to explain. In the case of Ship War AU, we have a fan comic that, while telling a new story, more or less follows the plot of the show from Season Two onwards. Most of the significant events from the episodes still take place: some happen as they did in the show, and others end up having different outcomes entirely. It’s enough, though, to keep me interested in the end. Sadly, we may never know what happens, as the series was never finished.

Stuck in Hiatus

The comics end around the start of Season Three of the show, just as we get to the big fight against Toffee. Unfortunately, we never see what happens, as MoringMark seems to have moved on to other projects. It is a shame, because with SvTFOE over, I’d love to see how he’d end the comic. There’s always hope, though. In the meantime, Elizabeth and Jam have made appearances in other fanworks done by MoringMark and fans of the show, so they’ll be around.

Conclusion

If you’re one of those people who’s into Star vs. for the shipping, then this should be right up your alley. If you’re not into the shipping, then this story will at least entertain you. It captures the essence of the show in a very reliable manner, both stylistically and in terms of tone and characters. We may never know how it ends, but that hasn’t stopped me from enjoying Ship War AU. Full disclosure, this won’t be the last time we see MoringMark or his work this week. What can I say? He’s just good. You should go check out his Tumblr page, right now. Click the link here

Here’s a hint about tomorrow’s fan work choice: it involves another fan-made child character.

Click here to see my review of yesterday’s fan work, Starfall

Star vs. The Forces of Evil Fanfic Week Pt. 1

Hello everyone, and welcome to my week of Star vs The Forces of Evil Fanfiction. After getting inspired by the SvTFOE event on Tumblr, I decided to do a week of talking the best fan works from the Star vs fan base. Unfortunately, I started too late last week, so I’m starting this week. We’re starting off with a crossover story of epic proportions, Starfall.

Warning: The following story does contain explicit content. All characters involved are above the age of 18. You have been warned.

Starfall

Written by: GolfAlphaMike

Type of Fanwork: Crossover with Gravity Falls

First Published: 11/4/2015

Status: Complete

Synopsis

It’s been four years since Star began living on Earth with Marco, and the two are about to graduate high school. Years of adventures have given them an unbreakable bond, as best friends, and as lovers. Just as the two prepare for their future together, though, things change for Star. Her mother doesn’t have long to live, forcing Star to assume the throne soon than anyone planned. According to the laws of her world, she must take a husband, but when she tries to summon Marco, something terrible happens. Earth’s sealed off from the Multiverse; Star and Marco are literally worlds apart.

On Earth, all memory or trace of Star’s been erased, with only Marco able to remember her. While everyone he knows thinks he’s crazy, the boy knows that none of it was a lie. Thus, Marco Diaz sets off on a quest that will take him from a familiar town in Oregon and beyond to reunite with Star. Little do either know that there are dark forces at work and a centuries-old conspiracy that covets Star’s magical bloodline, and will stop at nothing to keep the two apart.

Review

I will be blunt: I think Starfall’s one of the best pieces of fan literature that I’ve ever read. I daresay it, but it’s good enough to publish into a book. It’s an epic romance novel that spans years of the characters lives as they live, grow, and fight. I can tell that GolfAlphaMike put his heart and soul into this work because it shows from the first chapter. It grabs hold of you and refuses to let go until the very end. The fact that GolfAlphaMike started writing Starfall in 2015, with only the first season to go on, makes it even more impressive.

Star and Marco’s Relationship

Considering that the author only had one season to go off of, it’s impressive that he was able to correctly guess that Star and Marco end up together in the end. He also wasn’t that far off when it comes to their character development, either. Star becomes more responsible than when we first met her, but she’s still the same fun-loving girl. Marco’s learned to be more of a risk-taker, but is cautious enough to avoid being reckless. Above all, the bond between them is the main focus of the story. No matter how big it may get, it always comes back to them.

The Crossover

Like I said in the description, Starfall’s a story that combines Star vs. The Forces of Evil with Gravity Falls. Since the latter show had ended by the time this was written, it had more to work with. The cast of Gravity Falls comes in at the right moments, but they never steal the spotlight from Star and Marco. They play a big role in helping Marco get to Mewni, and their personalities are the same as when we left them in 2016. The main difference is that eight years have passed since Weirdmageddon, so Dipper and Mabel are adults now. Otherwise, they’re the same.

The Characters

Being a fanfiction, Starfall has a mixture of both canon and original characters. Most of the casts from both shows plays a secondary role, helping Star and Marco on their journeys, but that’s about it. The only other canon character who plays a big role is Tom, who, ironically, mellowed out as much as he did in the show. The difference here is that its because he fell in love with another girl, an original character named Marina. So he no longer sees Star as anything more than a friend, yet he’s being forced to marry her by somone else.

That someone is Tom’s mother, who in this story is called Empress Ishtar, not Wrathmelior. Unlike Tom’s mother in the show, who genuinely cares about her son and his happiness, Ishtar barely does. In Starfall, she uses any means to keep Star and Marco apart, from blackmail and political red tape to outright attempting to murder Marco. She’s a good antagonist, and her motivations are very dark. Think Cersei Lannister; only she’s smart.

Original Concepts

Since Starfall’s written in the gap between the first and second seasons, a lot of elements from the show don’t exist in this. There’s no Eclipsa and Globgor, no Magic High Commission, among other things. GolfAlphaMike more than makes up for it, though, by coming up with some great original concepts. I don’t want to spoil them, but if you’re a fan of the show, you’ll recognize them. Golf’s acknowledged that they directly contradict the show, yet the concepts are interesting enough that I give them a pass.

Very Good Read

So this fanfic doesn’t follow the show that well, but to be fair, it was written when the show had only one season under its belt. The fact that the writer’s ability to create a great story from that one season is an impressive feat. Making it enjoyable enough that you can’t stop reading it, though, is a sign that this is worth your time. It does contain explicit moments of “adult things,” but all the characters involved have reached adulthood by that point.

I know fanworks aren’t for everyone; I’m still not that into that, honestly. I made an exception for Star because I’ve seen how passionate the fanbase can be about the show, and it hasn’t let me down. Its works like Starfall that give me hope that the fandom will keep the show alive for years to come. If you like SvTFOE and don’t want to say goodbye, then this is for you.

Click here to see my other animation stuff

Click here to read the story for yourself

This is why I am such a big fan of Star and Marco. They bring out the best in each other, make each other want to be better people. They’re the best of friends and nothing can tear them apart, and falling in love with your best friend is one of the best things that can a person can experience. It’s the kind of romantic relationship that I want to have in my life someday.