#*Moon and Toffee are a year apart in this

[frmamnac]

Theory about considering that Marco and Toffee were connected

Do you remember the theory that Marco and Toffee are connected? It is a theory with a lot of negative opinions, but I tried my best to think about it.

Marco and Toffee both have a planned and meticulous personality. I think... their gestures are sometimes similar, I was making comparisons (1-5).

Besides, The following are the ones that appear in Toffee's first appearance episode.

Star's penstand with holes. I think it's similar to the symptoms of victims of Solaria's magic.

Dead End signs, Star and monsters.

A fortune cookie message that Toffee sent to Star says "Love is always the answer".

Toffee sees Star helping Marco.

Toffee say that "You're not the only one who is the victim of magic" to Ludo's gang.

What if these are things that foreshadowing something? When Marco is involved in magic, he often combines with purple things. The monster arm emits purple liquid, Marco's corpse in the closet (with Mewberty Star's hearts) has purple skin, his hands turn purple when he touches Mewberty Star, Princess Turdina wears a purple dress, and the purple cloth he wears has nothing to do with magic, but look at the shape. Doesn't the drape look like a Septarian's tail?

Purple-ish black unicorn stabbed Marco. What if Toffee and unicorn's dark magic (I guess) were related to Marco's monster arm?

Toffee said he knows the future. What if Star, her friends, and monsters are killed by Mina's forces' magic, when Star won't destroy magic? (In fact, most of her friends and monsters were almost killed) Then, What if Mewni was destroyed in the battle between Mina and Eclipsa?

Daron Nefcy said Toffee as Magneto-type villain. Magneto was Professor X's best friend, Marco was Star's best friend. So, if Star fails to destroy the magic, maybe Marco'll shapeshifted to Septarian by unicorn's dark magic and time-traveled to the ancient Mewni. (It may sound silly) Glossaryck may have created a weird time loop. (He had access to the River of Time) so, Toffee could have been Other Marco who come from such bad future timeline.

Toffee may knew that he would be killed as Star's first enemy, so he probably decided to give Star the idea of destroy the magic for change the wrong future, but in the process, probably he entered Realm of Magic and went crazy, and died as like "Toffee" who was in his original timeline. Glossaryck may has seen Marco as Toffee's 14 year old version. When they first met, Glossaryck said he wouldn't let Marco read magic spells book. I feel like he disliked Marco until day that Star rode the bike.

Even if Marco was influenced by evil monster arm, he is not necessarily evil. In this case, Toffee wouldn't kill Comet, but his subordinates would do it at their discretion. Glossaryck's been acting like a pet for a while after Toffee's death, Maybe that was because he felt guilty about making Star killed "Marco".

Well, Marco is just a boy from Earth, but he tried to become a knight because he wanted to get close to Star, the princess of Mewni. Marco's exploits with Toffee's death gave Marco the idea of ​​becoming a knight. I wrote that about Toffee was acting like a knight. And what if Marco's Blood Moon's nightmare warns his fate that he will be killed by Star when he falls in love with her? Toffee lives in Star's past, and Marco lives in Star's future. Star and Marco, who are tied by Curse of Blood Moon, will be bound in weird time loop forever, untill Cleaved canceled bad future.

I don't know why Toffee stole Ludo's castle and his gang. He manipulated Ludo a lot but it also made Buff Frog a Star's friend, it triggered that Star wants Mewni to stop the monster abuse and protect monsters.

I think Toffee's apparent age is 30s. Marco at Neverzone is still child with an adult body. too childish. Star and Toffee's mental age is too far apart, he maybe saw Star as his old best friend. Throughout the show, Star and Toffee barely had a chance to speak. Marco is the type who is into the role he plays, and he is good at hiding his emotions. If he felt responsible for Star's grandma's death, he wouldn't be able to tell the truth. He may have been acting like a crazy, cruel man to Star and her friends on purpose, in order not to kill his childhood. "Surprise" is a word when the Diaz family celebrates Star every day, so it may be a symbol of friendship.

Toffee has existed since he was a teenager. The reason why he was shocked when Marco said, "You're boring" would because he had the time he was able to live as his true self was too short, and he forgot what he was like living as himself. On the other hand, he may have despised his past self who had no power or knowledge to protect the important things. Toffee's last words were probably a warning or mocking to his past self, and were probably the answer to "boring".

"Code name is Sailor V", a spinoff of Sailor Moon came to my mind. The villain in this story was just a common soldier who wanted to become a knight to get closer to the princess of Venus, Minako's previous life. However, after everyone died in the war and the queen of the moon let reborn everyone with magical powers. Even though he was Minako's enemy, he tried to help her grow, but he died when doing fortune-telling that Minako was destined to kill the person she loved. Minako will ended up killing her boyfriend who became an enemy. Daron loves Sailor Moon, and Mina's name is taken from Minako, but Minako looks like Star a bit.

But how can Marco be so dark and conspiratorial?

I think Marco knew very little about monster abuse in Mewni. He would be angry if he knows that, and he will try to protect the monsters from Mewmans as one of the earthlings because he knows Mewmans were earthlings, and would be thoroughly research magic and Mewni's history. And Marco's charisma will be gather the support of Septarians. In order to protect the existence of Star, he may had to keep Butterfly family alive while dealing with the monster's hatred for Butterfly family, and he would have been afraid of losing the support of the monsters.

Marco was once unable to oppose princesses in St. Olga for fear of losing the support of them. Perhaps his harsh environment has made him ruthless. He may have been bound by his past as Septarian and had limited things to do. I think he has reason for hating Glossaryck. Glossaryck made Star's ancestors, the colonists of Earth, into Butterfly family and Mewman.

The reason he wore a suit instead of a general's uniform in front of Star and Marco was because that's the style of Earth politicians, and he wanted things to be resolved by negotiation, not fighting. And he didn't stand in the way of Marco (his past self) going to Blood Moon Ball and getting cursed with Star by curse of Blood Moon.

Unfortunately, Dark magic that Toffee was melting in Realm of Magic will strengthen the desire for revenge. He may have wanted to inactive MHC and Moon because them empower Mina's rebellion. What if the magic and Star's family destroyed his life? What if magic doesn't exist? What if the colonists from Earth, the ancestors of Star, didn't go to Mewni? What if Star was born as an earthling? What if Marco chose Jackie instead of Star? Almost everything he has experienced could give him reason to hate magic.

His purpose in S1 would to protect Star, but in S2 may have changed to save Marco's life from Star. The reason he was so obsessed with his lost finger was probably because it was the only point of contact between his past self and his present self. The motivation in that case will be self-love. Realm of Magic will not kill Star, but there will make her suffer. He may have locked Star there to teach her his suffering, instead of telling her who he is. In my native language Toffee said "bye-bye" to Star. it is the farewell word between Star and Marco. (in English that's "bye")

(I think this has a "you're fired" kind of nuance, but Marco does something like this when comforting his friends. What's interesting to me personally is that Buff Frog will soon be a father to babies.)

Edit:2024/07/17, Fix

[peonierose]

Under the Mistletoe

Pairing: Bryce Lahela (M!MC) x Luna Auclair (F!OC)

Words: 2,274

Rating: General

Summary: Luna and Bryce spend some time with their friends Ethan and Hayley and the open heart gang in Boston.

A/N: I’ll be participating in the Holiday event for @choicesficwriterscreations as well as @choicesflashfics I used these prompts they’re going to appear in bold: “Have I told you how much I hate Christmas shopping?” / “You know, when you said ‘Christmas party,’ this isn’t what I was expecting.” / ”You’re lucky you’re cute.“

I used the prompt @choicesdecember2022 You & I

A few days earlier

Hayley

“Have I told you how much I hate Christmas shopping?” Ethan says carrying shopping bags.

I hope he won’t fall. I grin. It would be fun though. I could definitely steal a kiss in the snow.

”Come on grumpy face. Don’t leave me hanging. I want to get Luna something special. She and Bryce will only stay a couple of days before they go back to Hawaii, and I want this visit to feel special for them.“

I can see Ethan sigh.

”Alright, fine. But only because I like Luna.“ He smiles.

”You’re like her big brother, it’s so cute.“

I grin and together we walk through the snow, crunching under our soled boots. White air is coming out of our mouths like puffy clouds.

It’s a beautiful white Christmas in Boston. As Ethan and I go from store to store to find a nice gift for Luna. Bryce’s is already wrapped. But we’re still looking for something for Luna.

Ethan heard of this local artist who makes beautiful art pieces. From handmade jewelry to paintings, even little glass figurines.

There’s something for everyone.

We enter the shop and see a woman with dark toffee-colored curls held back by a purple headband standing in front of a sculpture.

She looks up when she sees us and smiles. Her big brown eyes sparkle with joy.

”I’ll be right with you. Just give me a second.“

Ethan and I nod and admire the craftsmanship she has on display.

I can see that Ethan is standing next to the jewelry cases.

”Something caught your eye?“

I ask him and he nods towards a moon necklace. I admire the pretty golden moon hanging on a dainty gold chain.

The artist just walks towards us as Ethan is about to ask a question.

The artist smiles at us.

”I’m Teresa. How can I help you?“

”We were interested in that necklace. You don’t do engravings by any chance, do you?“

Teresa nods.

”I do. I can do it by the end of the day. Would that work for you?“

Ethan and I nod.

”It’s for a friend of ours she’s expecting twins next year.“

”Oh wow that’s wonderful. I might have an idea in regards to the necklace.“

Ethan and I look at each other and just shrug. Then we nod at Teresa to go ahead.

”Why don’t you combine a silver and a gold moon necklace? That way you can write both names on separate necklaces.“

”That’s a wonderful idea.“ I nod enthusiastically.

”Alright, perfect. I’ll need the names of the twins and an address where I can deliver the present.“

We give Teresa the names.

”It’s Kehlani Mae and Alaia Rose.“

Teresa writes it down, we pay, and exit her shop. I look at Ethan and smile at him.

”This was the easiest Christmas purchase we ever made.“

We pass some Christmas carolers who sing jingle bells on the way to our apartment.

We need to get some last Christmas decorations done. Then later we’ll pick up Luna and Bryce from the airport.

I smile at Ethan. Snowflakes glisten in his dark hair.

It’s so beautiful to celebrate Christmas in Boston.

Luna

Ethan and Hayley picked us up from the airport. And we are on our way to their apartment.

Jenner nestled between us. I pet him and he leans into me.

Bryce just stares at me.

”Lunes kept asking if you guys will bring Jenner along. It’s like I don’t even exist anymore.“ He says and pouts like a three-year-old.

”Look at that Bryce got replaced by a dog. That’s truly precious.“ Ethan grins.

”Don’t worry B. We‘ll have plenty of snuggle time together.“

I grin and he smiles.

”Thank god I bought new earplugs. So go ahead and have fun.“

Ethan mutters.

”Aww Ethan, that's so cute of you.“

Hayley says and we all grin.

We arrive at Ethan and Hayley’s place and Ethan helps us with our suitcases. We rode the elevator to their place. As soon as they open the door we get greeted by our friends.

”Surprise.“

Bryce and I grin. Poor Ethan looks like he just got the scare of his life.

Sienna, Rafael, Elijah, Jackie, and Aurora stand there looking super festive in their ugly Christmas sweaters.

Ethan turns to Hayley as Bryce and I walk inside exchanging hugs and kisses.

“You know, when you said ‘Christmas party,’ this isn’t what I was expecting,” Ethan says.

Hayley smirks.

”I gave them a key. So that they could make this surprise happen.“

Ethan just nods.

We all laugh at that.

Four days later…

Bryce

It’s our last day in Boston before we have to fly back home to Hawaii tomorrow. It’s been a lot of fun. We’ve gone to the Christmas market, been in a snowball fight which I won fair and square. Had a competition for decorating gingerbread houses and made some snow angels.

Though the best part is right now. Spending time with our friends.

We’re all sitting, eating, and having a great time. With some festive Christmas music, Hayley put on.

The Christmas tree is decorated and glows. The presents have been put under the tree. It’s perfect.

Luna grins at me and points to her gingerbread man. The poor gingerbread man looks slightly disfigured as she’s dunking the gingerbread man in her hot cocoa, topped with whipped cream.

”Look at the drunk gingerbread man.“

”More like the gingerbread man enjoying his jacuzzi.“ I grin.

”Filled with cream.“

Everyone laughs.

”You guys are just weird.“ Jackie remarks.

Luna just grins at her while I pull her close.

”Are you ready to pop?“ Jackie asks.

Luna leans back in her chair.

”I still have 2 and a half months to go.“

Luna groans and looks at me while I’m enjoying some whiskey. Courtesy of Ethan getting out the good stuff.

”I had to pee five times last night because your kids decided to sit on my bladder last night.“

”Oh so they’re my kids now?“

Luna grins while I just smile and shake my head at her.

Jackie grins at Luna.

”You know that’s always something I liked about you, Luna. You don’t take Bryce’s bullshit. You serve it right up to him.“

”I have ovaries of steel. I wanted to say balls of steel, but that’ll offend Ethan’s poor sensibilities.“ She smirks and grins her blue-green eyes twinkling with mischief.

Ethan turns in Luna's direction.

”Excuse me?“ He exclaims while everyone else just laughs.

Luna smiles softly at Ethan.

”It’s okay for a man to be sensitive Ethan. We still love you. It doesn’t make you less of a man if you’re in tune with your emotions.“

Ethan stares at her and then just smiles and shakes his head at her.

Luna

Bryce and Ethan stand together talking, not realizing they‘re standing under a mistletoe.

I clear my throat and both guys look up.

Ethan raises an eyebrow. His blue eyes were eyeing me questioningly.

”Do you realize where you’re standing under?“

They both look up with horror.

”Dibs not it.“ Bryce says.

I grin, having the time of my life.

”Oh that won’t work here babe. Just give him a kiss.“

Everyone waits with bated breath.

”Why do I have to kiss him? Can’t he initiate the kiss? He’s the taller one.“

Bryce complains.

”I’m not letting you out of this one. You too Ramsey. Be a dear and give my very hot fiancé a kiss. It can be on the nose too. I won’t judge.“

Ethan just stares at her.

Bryce tries to back up.

”Dude no. Don’t listen to her. Don’t let her bully you into doing everything she tells you, just because she’s pregnant. Lu stop it.“

I laugh and wait for them to kiss.

Meanwhile, Ethan gives Bryce a kiss on his cheek. Thankfully Bryce hasn’t turned around. Otherwise, it would’ve been a kiss for the ages.

I capture the moment on my phone.

Bryce pouts, but soon he smiles again and tugs me towards him to give me a loud kiss.

”I can’t believe it. Your lips almost made contact with Ethan Ramsey.“

Bryce grins.

”Yeah. Yeah. Let’s go get some food and pretend this never happened.“

”Fat chance. I’ll be teasing you over this for a while.“

”Oh, shocker.“

I slap his ass.

Bryce looks shocked, but then he grins.

”You’re lucky you’re cute.“ B says while pulling me close. I grin and kiss him.

Bryce

Elijah and Aurora had to go because they were both on call. The hospital is short-staffed, and with other doctors being on vacation they volunteered to be on call if they were needed.

They both hugged me and Luna wishing us a merry Christmas.

So now it’s Ethan, Sienna, Hayley, Rafael, Luna, Jenner, and me.

We sat around the Christmas tree.

”Is it time to open presents? So freaking exciting.“ Lunes sits there looking super cute in her white cashmere dress and her hair pulled up in a bun.

Sienna grins looking eager to open some presents too.

”Anyone who says they don’t care about the presents is just lying.“ I comment earning a fist bump from Rafael.

Hayley grins.

”Trust me Hayley dragged me from store to store until we found the right gift.“

Hayley rolls her eyes.

”He’s lying through his teeth. He loved every second of it.“ Hayley grins.

I pick a dark green present and gently push it toward Ethan.

”You go first. Lunes and I both chose the present for you. Hope you’ll like it.“

Ethan eyes us as he gently opens the present.

”It’s nothing weird is it?“ He asks afraid, it’ll be some weird shit.

”It’s not sex toys. Just open it.“

”That makes me feel only slightly better.“ Ethan says.

He peels away the wrapping paper.

”Whiskey?“ He asks.

I grin.

”Read the label.“

He sighs but reads the label out loud.

”Only the best friends get promoted to godfather.“

He looks shocked and slightly uncomfortable by all the attention focused on him.

Sienna, Rafael, and Hayley lean closer to Ethan to read the label too.

Even Jenner leans into Ethan, thinking it might be treats for him. Sorry, buddy whiskey isn’t for dogs.

Sienna sniffles.

”That is so beautiful.“ She grabs a tissue.

”I don’t know what to say. I feel very honored. I’d love to be the twin's godfather.“

Ethan says and holds the whiskey bottle close. As if it’s his most prized possession.

”Thank you, I haven't expected this at all.“ He looks so touched as if he’s about to cry.

I smile and have tears in my eyes too. Luna leans into me and I snuggle her close.

Hayley clears her throat.

”I don’t know if we can top that. But Ethan and I got you two something.“

Hayley hands both of us a present.

I tear into mine and hold out two onesies.

When I see the onesies I smile.

One says ”If you think I’m good-looking you should see my dad“

The other says ”Best Daddy ever“

I look down and start to realize March is going to be here faster than we think. It’s all hitting me now. I’m going to be a dad in just 2 and half months. Holy shit.

That’s pretty scary, to be honest, but as I look around and see laughter and love in my friend's eyes and Luna who is so touched I know I can do this. Because I’m not alone.

Luna starts to cry and Sienna hands her the box of tissues. Luna takes one and daps at her eyes.

I am excited to see what Luna got from Ethan and Hayley.

She unwraps the present and sees a box that says Artemis. Must be some jewelry store.

She opens the box and gets out two necklaces.

One silver and one gold moon necklace. She stares at it and then gives it a closer look.

When she hands me the necklaces and starts to cry again I take a look.

The necklaces are engraved.

It’s the names we’ve chosen for the twins.

Kehlani Mae on the gold necklace and Alaia Rose on the silver necklace.

”We bought two pairs for both you and Bryce. In case you both wanted to wear them.“

Hayley says and hands me a golden-wrapped present too. I open it and find the same two necklaces as Luna does.

”Wow, guys. I don’t know what to say. You made this Christmas very special for both of us.“

Ethan and Hayley smile.

”Christmas lost its special side to me a long time ago … but you’ve brought some of that magic back.” Ethan says.

”Aww. We love you too Ethan.“ Luna says and hugs him. He endures it but smiles softly.

When Luna and Ethan break apart everyone else opens up their presents.

Sienna got some lush products she wanted. Hayley’s gift.

A red sweater for Sienna. A blue one for Hayley from Rafael.

Grinch socks for Ethan from me.

Luna and I got Sienna and Hayley matching bracelets with an engraved dolphin. They were both excited, to say the least.

Rafael got a colorful painting made by Luna with all the wonderful places in Brazil. So that he might miss his home less. He was very touched by the gesture.

On the next day, we hugged each other goodbye and boarded our flight back home to Honolulu.

All in all. We had a beautiful exchange of gifts. There were some tears and laughs, but we spent some wonderful days with our friends. Ones that we consider family.

[twilightknight17]

Last night on P3R: food, friends, full moon, and Featherman!

I learned something new today! Mitsuru wants to hang out and make karume-yaki, which I looked up, because I’ve never heard of it. Karume-yaki translates roughly to English as “baked caramel”, and is also known as honeycomb toffee. You make it with brown sugar and baking soda, which makes the melted sugar bubble and gives it the honeycomb texture.

Apparently it’s a popular recipe for children, and in Japan specifically they use egg white to give it a more domed shape like a cookie?

But I dunno. This doesn’t seem like a good recipe for children?

She calls it simple, but Mitsuru, I’m pretty sure anything with a candy thermometer and molten sugar maybe shouldn’t be done by a kid. Molten sugar can fuck you up. X’’’D

But they actually do sound good. I kind of want to try that now.

Anyway, it’s the first day back to school, and listening to my fellow students talk, it’s becoming very clear that everyone is just getting used to Apathy Syndrome. Some were even talking about how it would be better to have Apathy Syndrome, because then you wouldn’t be stressed, or something. Which, okay. You wouldn’t be stressed. You would be a shambling zombie person standing around in the mall or something, though.

After answering a question correctly about superconductors and planning to make a kimono with Bebe, we head home for the day, where we discover that Aigis wants to attend school. And Ikutsuki thinks it’s a great idea, so she’s transferring in tomorrow.

Nevermind that this could go terribly wrong. I mean, won’t things fall apart as soon as a teacher asks her to take her “headphones” off?

Oh, come on. Akira took Morgana to school for a year! He can be Aigis’s emotional support dog or something.

After that, we’re off to the mall to cash in stuff from my last Tartarus trip, check for new stuff in Escapade, and meet up with Tanaka. Escapade has some new dialogue, but no new sketchy websites.

ALSO, the ABSOLUTE TRAGEDY of my favorite Escapade patron succumbing to Apathy Syndrome. Why, dude?? You were so close to the groove!

Tanaka continues to be charming as always.

Not by you!! My mom is somewhere in the Velvet Room. :/

Day 2 of school goes well. No one really bats an eye at Aigis, but she does take the seat right beside Minato and announce out loud that all she cares about is staying by his side. So, definitely ulterior motives for coming to school.

Welp, can’t social link with her yet, but I’ve got other things to do, so--

Senpai, I’m begging you. It’s the second day of school. I have five social links ready to rank up right this second. Please run your own errands. I am trying to improve my relationships so I can kick more ass with my personas. It’s for the TEAM.

THIS is your errand??? You could have done this yourself; he literally changes his mind and decides to come back as soon as you mention Ken joined the team. I didn’t say a WORD.

Apparently not because Akihiko-senpai just dragged me here without permission. Also I’m not allowed to go to Tartarus without third-year supervision. I’m basically a figurehead. Or a toddler.

Whatever. I’m going home to read yakuza books with Aigis.

...all of my friends are still lunatics.

I rank-up with Kenji, and I think that if I decide to do a social link and the link immediately bails on me, I should get to do a second one. Kenji asked if I wanted to go out for ramen and then decided, nope, he’s gonna go check out a cram school, because he’s thinking about colleges. Apparently his “girlfriend” (the ethics teacher) mentioned that he needs to be thinking about his future.

He thinks Minato should be thinking about his, too.

We can’t think about our future, Kenji. Sorry.

But yeah, Kenji runs off and Minato just goes home. I totally could have called one of my other FOUR links that are ready to rank up. -_-;;; Worth it, I guess, because back at home, Shinji wants me to explain the rules for using the kitchen.

This man cooks like a professional.

Sir, this is the best food I’ve had all year. The leftovers in my inventory are described as “exquisite”. Please. I am begging you to cook for the dorm as much as possible. Koromaru will thank you, too.

Junpei is still stopping on the way home to talk to Chidori, who is posing philosophical questions on this fine afternoon.

Junpei explains that he feels alive when he’s getting to be a hero. He likes feeling like the main character, the brave superhero using his powers to defend the world in its darkest hour (literally).

She does sound… kind of genuine here? But its hard to say. Junpei eats up the positive attention, though, and starts explaining about personas and how he works with a team. He calls himself the leader, though.

My guy, you don’t know it, but I know who you’re talking to, and I have a nasty feeling that you’re gonna get snatched by our enemies.

...oh, hey, max courage! I can hang out with Fuuka now if I want. Still no academics rank-up, though.

...welp.

She wants him to call off “his” team. End this operation and any future ones. But unfortunately the team is already at Paulownia Mall, looking for the big shadow. Fuuka tracks down the signal as coming from a “web” underground, which turns out to be the power cables. Escapade has been having power problems for a while, and they’ve just been getting worse recently.

Awww. No concert means no chance to see baby Rise. She’s… what, 13? God.

Either way, time to fight a shadow up in the club!

But first I gotta be an edgelord for a second in front of the blood fountain.

Xurkitree, is that you? You’re the Hermit? XD

This one’s gimmick is spending a turn or two charging up so it can do powerful lightning skills, otherwise it’s stuck with base-level zio. You can stop it from charging by attacking it, so it’s just a matter of timing. At least until the last quarter if its health or so, when it goes permanently charged.

I’m slightly disappointed that even though we’re in a nightclub with a shadow hooked into the electrical system, it was just a normal fight. Like, the Priestess got that monorail to move. Why can’t the Hermit cut on the rainbow disco lights and play me a dance remix of the battle theme? XD

Just the one shadow this time, too. Hermit was all alone, which I guess is appropriate.

Chidori has dragged Junpei up to the roof of the dorm, and can’t understand why he would lie about being the leader of SEES. (To impress you, you silly girl.) Everyone storms the roof, with Ikutsuki on our heels (since he apparently didn’t hear anything??), and Chidori tries to call her persona, Medea. Junpei knocks her evoker away before she can, and Aigis gets hold of her so she can’t run.

...not what she asked, Chidori! Besides, we don’t kill people.

She’s completely overwrought, so Mitsuru and Ikutsuki make the decision to have her sent to a Kirijo hospital so that they can keep an eye on her while we figure out what to do.

That goes well. She wont answer questions, won’t even talk unless Junpei is there, and freaks out at the mention of her evoker because not being able to summon her persona is completely destabilizing her mental state.

Mitsuru wants to know where she would have gotten the evoker, but it’s impossible to get anything else out of her.

I can’t go to Tartarus even if I wanted to because Mitsuru and Akihiko are spending their evenings at the hospital, so I guess I’m gonna chill and do social links.

Kaz, my track team buddy, has inflamed the tendons in his knee, and his doctor says he’s not gonna be able to walk if he keeps pushing it. Which… dude, track is not so important that you should permanently screw up your physical health. Even if you promised your nephew.

...oh my god Kaz.

Apparently his nephew doesn’t want to do physical therapy, so Kaz made a deal that if he becomes number one in Japan, the kid will do it. Which… Kaz, still. Your health. Your nephew wouldn’t want YOU to not be able to walk either!

At midnight, Strega is having a meeting in wherever the hell they live, trying to figure out what to do about Chidori.

Glad that Jin seems to be a relatively normal person outside of the assassin-ing. You know, showing basic concern for your teammates? Takaya, on the other hand, wants to get her evoker back first, because “It would mean nothing to free Chidori without it. For us, our persona is as precious as our very lives.”

Dude, you have a problem. X’’’D

He’s also got… Okay, so I didn’t mention it before because I didn’t know enough to speculate, but when we fought that fucked-up Abbadon on the bridge, it dropped something vaguely gun-shaped, and Takaya took it with him. He’s got it now, and, uh…

So, human experimentation. Great.

So, we killed a former human experiment who lost control of their persona and turned into a demon. I love knowing that even more terrible things happened on this island.

Takaya apparently doesn’t use an evoker because he’s above needing tools to summon. Which… if he wasn’t clearly still forcing it, I’d say that makes him the most stable of all of us. X’’’D He’s impressed by Minato’s ability to summon multiple personas, though.

After that we make a quick stop back at the hospital, where Chidori still isn’t talking, but they have noticed that she heals faster than normal from cuts and stuff. Junpei is still worried about her, much to Akihiko’s annoyance.

The healing probably has something to do with her persona, since she has navigator abilities? Fuuka can do a group heal as her theurgy.

Mitsuru and Akihiko want the rest of us to keep our regular routines as much as possible, so I’m gonna vibe with Koromaru.

We end up helping a kid cornered on the playground by a stray dog, and guys, I gotta say…

You know how in Japanese, there’s this specific way that “delinquents” talk? This dog’s bark sounds like that. XDDD

Keeping up the theme of hanging out with my smallest teammates, I head up to check on Ken next, because he’s been acting weird. He claims he’s fine, but he’s hungry, so we go out for ramen.

That’s because you’re a kid. Seriously.

He almost immediately asks whether I come here with Akihiko and Shinjiro, and what kind of things we talk about. First of all, no. Second of all, nosy. Gonna tell me why you’re being weird about Shinji, Ken? Isn’t that the point of social links? Everyone else has spilled their deepest darkest secret on the second hangout. XD

Ikutsuki is WRONG, unsurprisingly. Maybe he should have stayed in contact with the Nanjo Group.

I really am worried about Ken. Shinji asked if he joined willingly, but like I said before, even if he was willing, he should have been told n--

HOLD UP, FEATHERMAN COMMERCIAL

New Featherman details!! New Featherman details!!! Time to add more to my big dumb giant document. :D

Anyway, Ken, I think you’re doing a great job, but try not to burn yourself out. Also it’s fine if you like Featherman. So do I. Or, I keep trying to, at least.

...and maybe stop… whatever mindset is causing that? Jeeze, kid.

We walk by one of his classmates on the way home, too, who practically begs him to join the soccer team because he’s really good. But Ken says no.

Honey, you’re in… what, fifth grade? And we go to Tartarus like twice a month. Go play soccer. Exist. Be a kid.

September is off to a rough start. Maybe the culture festival will be better.

[aj-thegreatest]

What if Star really put the “Mon” in Monster?

[daughter-of-melpomene]

INTRODUCING... MY MOON KNIGHT ORIGINAL CHARACTER, ANNIE LIU

❝ Annie had wanted to move to England since she was a little girl. Upon reading the first Harry Potter book, she rapidly became obsessed with all things British, learning all she could about the United Kingdom's history, and even teaching herself how to make an authentic sticky toffee pudding by the time she was twelve. Given her fierce love for both the country and baking, no one in the Liu family was surprised when Annie attended culinary school in London, graduating top of her class and almost immediately opening her own bakery, with help from her loving and supportive family.

As the owner and only baker at Bake Me Crazy, Annie quickly became well-known throughout all of London, with her sweets being something many people became unable to go through their day without tasting at least once. And when she got her first real catering job - providing sweets for the opening of the National Art Gallery's new Egyptian exhibit - it appeared that life was becoming very sweet, indeed.

While catering the exhibit's opening, Annie quite literally ran into Steven Grant, a sweet, nervous gift shop worker who adored her dark chocolate cupcakes. After discovering that they actually lived in the same apartment building, Annie spent the rest of the night talking to Steven, striking up a sweet friendship that would ultimately flip her entire life upside down.

One year later, Annie is enjoying the routine she's slipped into in London, spending her days running the bakery and her nights laughing with Steven as she listens to him ramble about ancient Egyptian gods. That is, until she discovers that not only does Steven have a whole other personality, but that that personality (who is seriously getting on her nerves) is the avatar of an Egyptian god, and that a deluded cult leader is trying to free another, much more dangerous Egyptian god. Suddenly, Annie is dragged into a high-stakes adventure with the man she has feelings for, his infuriating other personality, and his other personality's unfairly attractive ex-wife.

Well, this isn't exactly Harry Potter. But Annie's still getting her London adventure, so she supposes this will have to do. ❞

General Taglist: @hiddenqveendom, @auxiliarydetective, @foxesandmagic.

[nwbeerguide]

A pub-exclusive at all Von Ebert locations, get your hands on Embodied Cognition, Cask-Aged Strong Stout.

Press Release

image courtesy Von Ebert Brewing

PORTLAND, Ore. … Von Ebert Brewing, winner of the 2021 Oregon Beer Awards’ Medium Size Brewery of the Year, this week will release a new draft-only beer at both of its brewpub locations.

Embodied Cognition is a 9.4% ABV Strong Stout aged in Bourbon and Port casks for two years, then further conditioned on turmeric and roasted dandelion root. The beer has a feeling of holiday cheer and oak warmth, with flavors of Mexican hot chocolate and dried red fruit.

“This is a beer more than two years in the making,” remarked Jason Hansen, Lead Brewer and Blender, Von Ebert Glendoveer. “Many moons ago, we brewed a double-mash strong stout. While we used the second runnings of these mashes to create a Belgian dark table beer called Blind Time, we used the high-sugar first runnings to create a rich and strong beer that would hold up for long-term barrel aging.”

A portion of that rich, strong beer spent an extended slumber in bourbon casks, which contributed vanilla and toffee character to the beer. The other portion was aged in Port casks, producing a fruit-forward vinous flavor profile. After blending the beer from the two casks, turmeric was added to produce a subtle earthy spice, while dandelion root was added to contribute a pleasant coffee-like roast character.

“This is a beer with a lot going on,” explained Hansen. “It dynamically changes in the glass between the first and last sip, and is perfect for warming the soul during the dark, wet winter months or while contemplating the complex development of my favorite theory of mind.”

Embodied Cognition will be available on draft at both the Von Ebert Glendoveer and Pearl brewpubs by Friday, December 10.

Find Von Ebert on social media: @vebrewing and facebook.com/VonEbertBrewing.

About Von Ebert Brewing Von Ebert Brewing, winner of Brewery of the Year, Medium Size, at the 2021 Oregon Beer Awards, sits at the crossroads where storied traditions meet bold new ideas in brewing. Independently owned and operated, the Portland, OR-based brewery produces award-winning beers in a variety of styles. Von Ebert beers have received medals at numerous competitions, world-class ratings from top blind tasting panels, and recognition as one of the top 20 beers in the world over the past year. In addition to modern IPAs and crisp lagers, the oak-aged, bottle-conditioned Heritage beer program sets the brewery apart. All of the beers pair perfectly with the elevated American pub cuisine served at both brewpub locations. For more information, please visit www.vonebertbrewing.com. 

from Northwest Beer Guide - News - The Northwest Beer Guide https://bit.ly/3oHblYh

[thdorkmagnet]

Moments in a New World

Hey everyone!! Happy one year anniversary of the “Cleaved” finale and belated Starco day!!! Can't believe it's already been a year! It's still so fresh in my mind it might as well have been yesterday. Star vs has been a huge part of my life for five years now and I hope it continues to be well into the future and that others continue to like and enjoy this series and the fans who help keep it alive and kicking!!

Anyways, I have a little something here for the occasion that I hope and think you'll like. Just a sappy, fluffy Starco story about their lives after the finale. You know the drill. So now I'll leave you to it!! Please enjoy!!

Disclaimer: Star vs and all its characters belong to Daron Nefcy and Disney. All rights go to them.

More post-Earthni fics: Marco's Birthday Blowup Blast, Starco Wedding

One Minute After Cleaving

Star and Marco stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, standing mere inches apart as their eyes gleamed with love and unparalleled joy as they were reunited once more. The world only consisted of the two of them, the sounds of chaos drowned out in the background, their new collided world an afterthought for the young couple, all that mattered was that they were together again, face to face, able to get lost in each other's shimmering eyes. The two had been completely silent save for a simple greeting, both teens too chocked up to produce any word more than “Hey” or “Hi”.

But finally it was as if the spell was broken, Marco inexplicably flinging his arms around the girl, bringing her into a tight hug that he never wanted to end, burying his head into her shoulder as his body shook with relief.

“Marco,” Star whispered out, surprised by the boy's sudden action.

“I thought I-” the hooded teen began, his voice choked and tight, like he was fighting back tears with every word, his grip on Star's small frame tightening. “I thought you were- you were-” Marco let out a shaky breath, unable to even finish the horrifying sentence.

“Shhh,” Star soothed, rubbing her arms up and down his back as tears gently dripped from her blue orbs. “It's okay. I'm here, I've got you and I'm never letting you go again.”

Marco let out what sounded like a cross between a chuckle and a sob as tears now ran down his own cheeks, dripping onto his girlfriend's shoulder, though neither of them cared. “Please don't ever scare me like that again.”

Star giggled before sniffing, finally pulling away as she rubbed tears out of her eyes with the back of her hand. “I won't. Trust me that was probably the most afraid I've ever been in my life!”

“More afraid than that time you got stuck inside of Toffee?” Marco asked, a smile on his face despite the red swelling in his eyes and the tearstains on his cheeks.

Star nodded. “Definitely... but it's a close second.”

The two shared a laugh together, letting all the anxiety and worry that had been plaguing them melt off until only their love remained. Finally, Marco paused, staring thoughtfully at the ground, before meeting his girlfriend's eye again, whispering under his breath, “I love you.”

Star smiled softly at her Marco, repeating in a chocked tone, “I love you, too.”

Then, without warning, Marco moved in for a kiss, catching Star's lips between his own as he poured every inch of his heart and self into the simple affectionate act. Star smiled against him, before closing her eyes and letting it deepen, a spark rising up in her as she cherished this precious moment with the love of her life and Marco happily doing the same. While all around them, the two worlds of Earth and Mewni collided into a beautiful chaos, as the first day of a new world began.

One Day After Cleaving

Star and Marco sat side by side on the couch in the Diaz's living room, as they stared blankly at the TV, watching as the news crew filmed random situations happening all over Earthni: an apartment complex covered in webs from a giant spider, warnicorns and piggoats blocking traffic on busy crossroads, giant Monster footprints crushing poor Principal Skeeves's car. And there were many, many more of these images, all accompanied by the confused ramblings of a startled news crew, struggled to make sense of it all, stuttering out halfhearted explanations and theories. Eventually, Eclipsa appeared on the screen, providing an explanation for this bizarre new world that had been formed, speaking clearly and calmly into the microphone being offered her by a wide-eyed news anchor, who kept casting weary glances at Globgore, who stood at his wife's side. 

Star bit her lip, letting out a low groan as she slumped over some on the couch. Marco looked over to his girlfriend with a puzzled look, before spotting the worry etched into her features and asked, “Hey, you want me to turn this off?”

“What's the point?” Star mumbled out, crossing her arms in front of her chest. 

Marco, sensing how serious this all was picked up the remote and turned off the TV before directing his full attention onto his girlfriend. “Star, c'mon talk to me, what's wrong?”

Star sighed, before giving her boyfriend a lost look, saying brokenheartedly, “I don't know, it just feels like we made things worse instead of better.”

“Do you... regret what we did?” Marco asked nervously, not quite sure if he could stand knowing the answer.

Star shook her head. “No. I'm glad we did what we did,” the blond stated no hesitation in her tone as she gave her boyfriend a small smile. But it quickly turned to a sad frown as she added, “I guess I just thought destroying the magic would fix everything. But things are just as crazy now as they were before, maybe even crazier! How are we gonna fix this?”

Marco put a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder, giving it a small squeeze as he smiled reassuringly down at her. “We'll figure it out, we always do.”

“Uh, did you not see the news report, Marco,” Star asked sarcastically. “Everyone is freaking out!”

Marco laughed, before saying, “Well yeah, it's only been a day, Star, of course they're freaking out. They just need time to adjust is all.” The boy put an arm around his girlfriend's waist, causing both of them to blush a deep red. But the boy added in a confident tone, “They'll come around once they get used to all this, trust me.”

Star raised a skeptical eyebrow at her boyfriend, before asking, “How can you be so sure?”

Marco shrugged, fixing his girlfriend with a loving stare as he said, “Well see, a few years ago, this crazy, magical princess came crashing into my world out of nowhere and I thought that she was gonna ruin my life or something.” 

Star laughed, before playfully elbowing her boyfriend in the ribs, “Heeeyy.” 

Marco smiled, but continued, “But then, the craziest thing happened, I discovered I loved spending time with her and being near her...” Star blushed, staring shyly into Marco's brown orbs as he continued. “And that the magical chaos that I was so afraid was gonna ruin my life, ended up changing it and me for the better. I wouldn't be the same without her and I wouldn't change a single minute of it, no matter how weird or wild it got.”

“Me either,” Star said, moving so her back now rested on his side, giving the arm now wrapped around her frame a tight squeeze. 

“So, you see, if this safe kid could learn to embrace Mewni and all its strangeness, than anyone can,” Marco finished, placing a gentle peck at the top of her head.

Star nodded, letting out a content sigh as she nuzzled Marco's form with the back of her head (causing the boy to blush like crazy), replying softly, “Yeah, I guess you're right.” 

One Month After Cleaving

Marco lay awake in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He didn't know how late it was, though he guessed easily after midnight, yet sleep still continued to evade him. Not that he was actively trying to fall asleep, the concept of a good night's rest about as far from his mind as possible, not when he had a million other things on his mind to worry about, his thoughts running wild and refusing to release him from their cruel hold.

The nights were always the hardest for him, during the day it was easy to distract himself, his life full and busy since Earthni had come to be. He was constantly coming and going from meetings and speeches as he, Star, Moon, and Eclipsa worked hard to create peace amongst the three races that now dwelled on this dimension, trying to appease everyone to the best of their abilities, trying to set up boundaries, a new ruling system and constitution, and most importantly making sure everyone would be considered equal in their new home. All of this alone was exhausting but add in spending time with his friends, taking care of his new baby sister, and regular dates with Star and Marco barely had time to breath, much less think.

So at night, when everything finally quieted down and there was nothing but him and the empty silence of his room, that was when the flashbacks would start. He would lay there for hours on end thinking about that day in the Realm of Magic, the fear and sorrow he had felt when the two had separated for what might have been forever. How, in his moment of despair, he had been incapable of returning to Earth, planning on going to Mewni, to Star, only to find his only way back was now closed, leaving him stranded and alone. He remembered how relieved he had been to see Star, to hug her and cling to her for what might have been the end, only to be separated from her once more.

He could still feel his desperation as he raced across town to the portal, to the last chance he had of being with the one he loved again, only to have his final hope shattered and destroyed in a massive explosion, his own stupid legs incapable of reaching the portal in time.

The boy shuddered, letting out a shaky sigh, as he rolled over onto his side. Every night it was the same thing, Marco would lie there and think about how he almost lost his soulmate, his love, his Star forever. About how close he had come to losing his better half. What would his life even be like without Star in it? He dreaded to think about it and yet, he couldn't quite stifle the thoughts in his head... or the occasional nightmare he had about said topic.

Marco blinked away the few stray tears, before rolling over yet again, staring at his wall as he debated getting up and getting a glass of milk or something. It beat laying there in misery, right?

Suddenly, though Marco was pulled from his depressing thoughts as he heard his door gently squeaking open and a small ray of light shining through the crack, blinding the boy for a moment. Marco sat up, looking in shock at the doorway as a head pocked through the entrance, staring at him with startling blue orbs that made his heart dance.

“Star?” Marco asked, his voice tight and he coughed once to clear it. He moved so he was now sitting off the edge watching as Star slowly sauntered over to him, ignoring how adorable she looked in her nightgown. “What are you doing up so late?”

“Couldn't sleep,” Star admitted, staring down at her hands instead of Marco, biting her lip as her eyes filled with worry. Marco didn't even have to ask to know just what was bothering his girlfriend, her expression a perfect match to his.

“Me either,” Marco confessed, giving her a small smile as he patted a spot next to him on the bed. The girl plopped down beside him, bringing her bare knees up to her chest as the two stared off into space. They let out a simultaneous sigh, but made no other attempts at conversation, simply resigning themselves to their uncomfortable thoughts.

“Will we ever stop doing this?” Star finally asked, her voice so low and soft Marco barely heard it.

“We will,” Marco said as comfortingly as possible. “It's just gonna take a while, it's not gonna happen overnight.”

“I wish it did,” Star grumbled bitterly.

Marco put a hand on top of Star's. “Believe me, I do too.” The two finally locked eyes, as Marco gave his girlfriend a loving smile. “But it'll get easier, I promise.”

Star grinned back, before saying, “Well until it does, I'll be here for you, whenever you need me.”

Marco chuckled a little, before adding, “Me too.” And then he planted the softest kiss on Star's forehead.

“Well I better be getting back to bed,” Star said, reluctantly rising up off the soft mattress, walking slowly toward the door. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Marco replied, watching with suppressed sadness as his girlfriend left his room. The moment she was gone and the door closed, Marco let out a breath to sooth his nerves. It's okay, she's only going to her room, it's right down the hall, she's not going away forever, he reassured himself, using the breathing technique Sensai had taught him. You don't need to get her. You don't need to get her.

You need to get her. Marco whimpered as the panic set in and the boy was unable to stop himself as he jumped to his feet, running to the door and throwing it open, already calling out for his girlfriend. “Star!”

The boy froze as he came face to face with Star who hadn't moved an inch since closing the door, just standing silently out in the hallway unable to return to her own room. Marco panted as he stared into Star's startled eyes and he quickly gasped out, “I need you here with me, I don't want to be alone.”

“Me too!” Star squeaked out, the worry on her face clear.

“You wanna sleep in my room tonight?”

“Yes, please!”

Star quickly wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's neck, practically hanging off him as Marco pushed the door closed with his foot, slowly shuffling them over to the bed. The boy laid down, pulling Star with him so she was now laying on top of him, Star gently laying her head on his chest, letting the sound of his heartbeat sooth her. Marco pulled the covers up over them, before wrapping his arms around his girlfriend's waist.

“Comfortable?” he asked and Star nodded.

“Mm-hmm,” she replied sweetly.

“Good,” Marco said, kissing the top of her head and causing his girlfriend to grin ear to ear.

The two settled down deeper into their warm sheets, their minds finally calm enough to allow them to rest. The two were asleep within minutes, snoring softly as they held onto one another, dreaming pleasant dreams, safe and secure in the knowledge that against all odds, they were together.

One Year After Cleaving

The loud sound of clashing could be heard echoing through the treetops, alerting everyone to the violent struggle taking place as Star and Marco were engaged in combat with Earthni's most wanted criminal: Mina. The woman, despite no longer having magic, was still putting up quite the fight, even though she was more of a nuisance for the veteran fighters than an actual threat. The crazy woman, armed with a broad sword, was swinging recklessly at them in the hopes of maiming one of her two opponents. While Star and Marco flowed around her attacks with precision and grace, their movements near synchronized, almost as if they were of the same mind.

Marco would do most of the countering for the two, since he was armed with the sword Star had gotten for him for this birthday earlier that year. Which left Star open to lash out at Mina with a brutal kick, her karate lessons from Marco paying off well, her foot practically a lethal weapon at this point. Mina seemed to be growing more and more reckless with every second that passed, clearly running out of steam as she struggled to hold the two off, growling in anger as she lashed out at them. It was obvious the fight was soon drawing to a close.

In a last desperate attempt she tried stabbing at Star, Marco quickly sliding into his girlfriend's rescue, his sword clanging loudly against Mina's, as he held her at bay. Star took this opportunity to strike, ducking low under Marco's arm and catching Mina by surprise as she suddenly rose to full height and punched Mina smack in the face.

The woman cried out in pain, stumbling back away from the two and dropping her sword. Star and Marco shared a look before running at her as one and swinging their legs around and kicking her square in the chest as one, sending Mina flying back and nearly into the rushing river behind her.

Star and Marco panted, the boy sheathing his sword, their exhaustion only as relevant as the joyful smiles on their faces as they shared a loving look. It felt great to be fighting together again like old times, it reminded them of why they fell in love in the first place.

Mina rose awkwardly to her feet, swaying unevenly as she shouted out, “Hey what gives, why are you attacking me, anyways? I didn't do nothin' wrong. Just wait till I tell the proper authorities you two attacked a helpless old lady!”

Star and Marco rolled their eyes, the blond arguing, “Mina, give it up already, we know you've been trying to poison the Monster's water supply.”

“Yeah, we already have multiple eyewitnesses,” Marco added.

Mina crossed her arms, childishly turning her head away from them. “I don't know what you're talking about,” she denied.

The two gave her a deadpanned stare as Marco pointed out, “We can see the vat of toxic waste behind you.”

Mina froze, turning to where a vat sat beside her, green smoke coming out of the top, with a massive symbol for 'biohazzard' was on the front. She scoffed, waving a dismissive hand at the two, before claiming, “Big deal. You monster smoochers can't stop me with your puny fighting technique, I was Queen Solaria's most trusted general, I don't go down so easily!”

“Oh, you mean the queen who helped us destroy the magic to take down you!” Star taunted.

Mina's eyebrow twitched, before exclaiming, “That was probably just a fake you made to fool me with your magic! Oh yeah, I'm onto you, I saw through your act in a heartbeat cause my mind is magic-proof, you see.” She pointed at her head with a superior grin.

“Could have fooled me,” Marco muttered under his breath.

“Now then, if you'll excuse me, I have a river to poison.” With that, Mina blew a sharp whistle, Manfred emerging from the trees a second later. “Manfred, hurry up and knock this over for me, I got two nuisances to take care of.”

“Yes, Lady Mina,” Manfred replied, already pushing on the large container, bringing it closer and closer to the river bed.

Star and Marco gasped, before turning to each other, the boy saying quickly, “You get Mina, I'll stop Manfred.”

Star nodded. “Sounds good.”

With that the two rushed at Mina, the boy in the lead, his sword already raised to strike. Mina, who had picked hers back up, rose to counter him, only to freeze in surprise as the boy dropped his sword.

Just before it hit the ground, Star slid out from under Marco's legs, catching the sword and bouncing to her feet, knocking Mina's sword out of her hands, with a single swing.

Marco altered course, running around the two and now headed for Manfred. Once he was close, he lashed out with a kick, being sure to get at an angle he wouldn't accidentally knock the waste into the river. The man went down with a hurt grunt, laying in a bruised heap on the floor, as Marco towered over him, a hand on the poisonous container to keep it steady.

He looked over to Star who was making quick work of Mina and allowed a grin to spread across his face at how beautiful she looked in combat. Finally, the crazy lady gave up, running for the treetops as she shouted to her partner, “Manfred, let's get out of here!”

“Yes, milady,” the man replied, rising shakily to his feet and running after Mina. Once the two reached the treeline, Mina turned and declared, “You may have won this round, monster smoochers, but next time I'll beat'cha,  I'll beat you all!” She raised an angry fist at them before disappearing from sight with a sinister cackle.

Star and Marco stared blankly at the treeline, before Marco turned to Star and asked, “Should we be worried about that?”

“Marco, it's Mina,” his girlfriend reminded him. “She threatens us every other day.”

“True,” the boy said with a quick nod.

“We should probably call Eclipsa, though and let her know the water is safe,” Star suggested.

“Yeah,” Marco agreed, digging into his pocket for his phone. “Not to mention picking up this toxic waste.” But as the boy turned on his phone, he gasped in shock.

“What, what is it?” Star asked nervously, instantly hovering closer to him with worry.

Marco let out a disappointed sigh, before showing her his phone or more importantly the time display. “It's after six, we'll never make it to the restaurant in time,” the hooded teen muttered sadly.

“Oh no,” Star said in dismay, but seeing the sorrowful look on her boyfriend's face she quickly added, “I'm sorry Marco.” She placed a comforting hand on Marco's shoulder, giving him a sympathetic look. “I know you really wanted to take me.”

“Well yeah,” the boy muttered, sulking as he stared at his feet. “It's our one year anniversary, I wanted to make it special. I even payed big money to hook us up with a table at Chez Platypus. But now it looks like our whole date is ruined.”

Star gently cupped his face in her hand, turning it so he could face her, giving him a bright, loving smile. “Marco, nothing's ruined,” she told him and the boy's eyes widened in surprise.

“Wait, really?” he asked, almost in disbelief she felt that way.

“Of course,” his girlfriend told him, her confident tone causing all his insides to dance. “Sure it would be cool to eat in some fancy restaurant, but all I really want is to spend time with my best friend. I don't care how we spend it, so long as we spend it together.”

Marco smiled, tenderly grabbing her wrists as he stared at his wonderful girlfriend. She was so good to him. There was no way he deserved to be dating someone as cool as Star. And the fact that he was made him happier than anything in the entire world.

“So,” Star continued, finally pulling her hands away from his face. “How about we call Eclipsa, head back to your place, and watch a bunch of cheesy movies and eat nachos until we puke?”

Marco laughed, putting his arm around his girlfriend, the girl hugging his small frame. “Nothing could make me happier,” the boy replied, as he led Star away to finish their date.

Three Years After the Cleaving

Star and Marco sat on the roof of the Diaz's home, a picnic blanket sprawled out underneath, an opened basket beside them and a plate of half eaten eggs next to them.  Star leaned her head against Marco's shoulder, sighing in contentment as the young couple watched the sun setting on the horizon. "Its beautiful," Star whispered and Marco nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it is," the boy agreed softly.

Star snuggled a little deeper into Marco's arm, her mind reminiscing the wonderful day the two had spent together, saying out loud, "I don't think today could get any better."

Marco hid a smile, the bubbly eagerness in his chest almost making him float. He was about to prove her wrong. What Star didn't know was that he had a very special surprise for his girlfriend in store. So as subtly as he could he reached over to the plate of eggs and lightly tapped them with his hand causing them to slip off the roof and onto the ground, shattering. 

Star looked down in surprise while Marco let out a fake gasp. "Oh no, our roof eggs!" He said, making his voice sound as disappointed as possible. He clicked his tongue, before turning to Star and asking, "Think you can get some more from the basket?"

"Sure," Star said pleasantly, pulling away from her bestie so she could dig around in the basket. "Hmmm," she muttered in concentration. "I'm not seeing it."

"Check the bottom," Marco suggested, barely able to suppress the excited squeak in his voice, a wide smile on his face. 

Star obeyed, rooting around at the bottom of the basket, only for her fingers to brush up against something. Star paused, an eyebrow slowly raising as she looked over to her boyfriend, who was grinning ear to ear as he watched Star, the mischievous look on his face, telling her this had to be his doing. The blond pulled out the small object from the basket and examined it closely for a minute. It was a small velvet box and her mouth dropped open at the sight of it, looking over to Marco with a hopeful expression.

He gave her the tiniest of nods, saying in anticipation, "Why don't you open it up?"

Star grinned and instantly flipped the top open, gasping at what she saw inside. Sitting a tiny pillow was a golden ring with a diamond cut clearly in the center. A hand went to her mouth as tears began welling up in her eyes, muttering out in a chocked tone, "Is this- Are you- Are we really gonna-" 

Marco gently took Stars hand, wrapping his own around hers, as he said in a loving tone, "Yep. Sorry I can't get down on one knee but I though this was the best way to ask." He sucked in a deep breath, gathering his nerves before blurting out, "Star Butterfly, will you marry me?"

Star smiled at the proposal, her eyes shimmering with unparalleled joy, but to Marco's surprise, her answer was simply, "No fair."

"Huh?" Marco replied in confusion, a sudden fear rushing through him. Did I do something wrong? Am I rushing things?  Does she not want to? 

The blond reached into her small cloud purse, pulling out a matching velvet box to his. She waved it around in the air for a moment, shooting him a wink as she explained, "I was going to wait until after dinner, but you beat me to the punch." 

Marco stared at her silently for a second before bursting into laughter, which Star soon shared, tears welling up in their eyes but not quite falling. 

"Now what am I supposed to get you for our anniversary," Star said with a fake huff, her cheeks puffing up in the cutest way.

"Well, you saying yes would be nice," Marco said in a flirting tone.

  Star smiled, moving so their faces were mere inches apart, her fingers gently tracing lines on the front of his hood. "I'll say yes, only if you do," she offered, giving him the gentlest kiss on the lips.

Marco nodded, his cheeks painted pink from the kiss. "On the count of three?" he asked and Star grinned and nodded vigorously. 

"One...." the two said as one, their eyes shimmering with expectation. "Two... THREE!" 

Star and Marco sucked in deep breaths, before pumping their fists in the air and screaming, "Of course I'll marry you!" 

The two just smiled at each other for a moment as the tears finally burst free from their eyes, flowing down their cheeks in streams. Star laughed, throwing her arms around her now-fiance, nearly causing Marco to slide off the roof, his free arm gripping the siding in desperation. "Ah, Star, careful!" the boy screamed in panic.

"Who cares about being careful when I'm going to marry the guy of my dreams!" The blond squealed. 

Marco just laughed clinging onto his girlfriend, listening as she spoke a mile a minute, going on and on about their future wedding plans and how incredible everything was and how much she loved him, while he simply smiled and enjoyed this precious moment with the love of his life.

Five Years After Cleaving

Star and Marco sat across from each other, eating their dinner in silence, enjoying their time together and the delicious food in front of them. It was a simple dinner of just tacos from Britta's but they both were enjoying their meal immensely. It was once again their anniversary but the two had agreed to keep things simple this time, no gifts, no extravagant restaurants, just some take-out and maybe watching a movie or two. Too bad they were both terrible at keeping that promise, both having surprises lined up for their significant other.

Marco looked up from his taco to stare at his loving wife, mesmerized by her beauty even as she stuffed what had to be at least her third taco down her throat, his heart overflowing with love over how adorable Star was. And he couldn't help himself as he laughed at the sight of his wife's puffed up cheeks from cramming yet another taco whole into her mouth, chewing loudly. “Geez, Star, you sure have been eating a lot lately,” he commented playfully. “What are you planning on hibernating this year?”

Star swallowed before sarcastically rolling her eyes and saying, “Oh ha ha, very funny.” She stuck her tongue out at her husband, who laughed again and she soon was giggling along with him. Finally, once the two calmed down, Star quickly asked, “Hey can you pass me the syrup?”

An eyebrow immediately shot up as Marco asked, “Syrup, what do you need that for?”

“My tacos, silly,” Star replied with a scoff, as if the answer should be obvious.

Marco looked confused and slightly disgusted for a second before shrugging and standing up to get her the bottle. The moment the syrup was in her hands, Star was licking her lips and pouring endless amounts of the sugary substance all over her tacos, bathing them in an unhealthy layer of sticky maple. Marco could only watch in awe, he had seen Star have some bizarre food combinations before but this had to take the cake. Finally, once Star had what she believed to be a proper amount of syrup covered tacos, she quickly wolfed them down without a care, her hands soon dripping with syrup.

Marco, after a few seconds of watching her, pushed his plate away, no longer interested in eating as he watched his wife scarfing down more and more tacos until there wasn't a single left on the table.

The two cleaned up the kitchen in record time, working together to form the ultimate cleaning duo, and in less than two minutes the two collapsed on the living room couch, holding their full bellies and groaning in both discomfort and satisfaction. The two sat back to back on the sofa, staring off into space as Star said, “That was delicious! What was a great idea for dinner, Marco!!”

“Thanks,” the boy said brightly. “I mean you can't go wrong with Britta's Tacos!”

“Agreed,” Star said sitting up. She gave her husband a loving smile as she said, “This has been a great date so far! I'm glad we decided to keep things simple for once. Don't want a repeat of last year's anniversary.”

The two shuddered in unison at the memory, Marco nervously whispering, “Soo many pig-goats. I can still see their eyes.”

“It took them a week to put out the fire,” Star added, her own eyes distant and disturbed.

“I told you making it a double date with Tom and Janna was a bad idea,” Marco pointed out, his voice still in a dazed monotone.

But the two seemed to instantly snap out of it, after that, as Star added in her typically cheerful demeanor, “Buutt at least this year we both got to have a great anniversary without causing permanent damage to the city.”

Marco chuckled, before agreeing, “Yeah.” He paused for a moment before, adding sheepishly, “Uh but I do have a bit of a confession to make.”

Star gave him a confused look, watching as he rubbed at the back of his neck in that adorable way he always did whenever he was embarrassed about something. “What's that?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Marco coughed into his hand. “Okay, I know we said no gifts... but I couldn't help myself. I got you something,” he admitted, flashing her an apologetic grin.

But Star just smiled lovingly at her husband, taking his hands into her own as she said, “Aww, Marco you are so sweet! Of course I don't mind.” She hid her mischievous grin as she added cryptically, “Besides, I may have gotten you a little something myself.”

“Guess neither of us could resist, huh?” Marco joked, laughing at their inability to resist spoiling the other.

“Nope, guess not,” Star said, laughing along with her husband, doing her best to hide the knowing glint in her eyes. She wanted to keep her surprise secret right until the last second. Marco could read her like a book most times, if she showed too much emotion she'd give it away before it was time.

“I bet my gift is better than yours,” Marco said in challenge and Star gave him a playful smirk.

“Oh yeah, well prove it then, Mr. Diaz,” the blond replied. I seriously doubt that, she couldn't help but think to herself.

The young man gave his wife a confident smirk, slowly pulling his hands out of his pocket, while muttering, “Booooossshh.” Once, the gift was in sight, Star gasped, a hand flying to her mouth as she whispered, “Oh Marco.”

It was a locket in the perfect shape of a heart, dangling from a golden chain. The inside of the locket was opened, revealing a very familiar picture fit neatly inside: the Beach Day photo. The two smiling faces of their teenage selves, looking happy and blissful together enough to bring tears to her eyes at the wonderful memory. She grabbed the necklace out of her husband's hands in a second, examining it closely as she said in a chocked tone, “It's beautiful.”

“You like it?” Marco asked softly, a feeling of immense joy for making his Star smile like that filling his being and making his insides flutter.

She locked eyes with him, her familiar blue piercing his soul and making permanent residence in his melted heart. “I love it,” she said sweetly.

“I thought you might,” he said, moving over to help put the necklace on, Star moving her long hair out of the way as he did. “Well, nobody knows me better than you,” the blond replied flirtingly and Marco nearly fumbled with the clasp as blood pooled into his flushed cheeks. Once the boy was finished with the necklace, he sat back with a nod of satisfaction, saying, “There, perfect.”

“I hope you know I'm never taking his off, ever,” Star commented, wrapping a hand around the golden heart.

Marco laughed. “I figured as much.” He winked at her adding confidently, “Let's see you top that.”

Star inwardly smirked. Oh just wait and see, Diaz. “I'll try my best,” she said in a fake disheartened tone, putting a hand dramatically to her forehead.

Marco laughed again, before asking impatiently, “Okay but seriously, enough of the suspense already, what'd ya get me?”

“Welll I wasn't the only one who made it,” Star said cryptically. “Let's just say it was a... joint effort.” She winked at him and her husband, to her amusement, only cocked his head cutely to the side.

“Huh? What's that supposed to mean?” Marco asked, his eyebrows scrunched together in confusion and Star could almost gush over how adorable her husband looked in that moment.

But instead of answering, Star just gently grabbed his hand and placed it over her belly, giving him a knowing and hinting smile.

Marco's eyes darted from his wife's face to her belly than back to her face than to her belly again as his look of confusion slowly turned into realization and then to shock as his mouth fell open in disbelief. He gave Star a hopeful look, as he stuttered out, “Wait, y-you mean y-y-your gonna...”

Star's smile was incapable of growing any wider as she nodded, squealing out, “Yes! We're gonna have a baby, Marco!”

A look of pure joy crossed her husband's face, goofy grin on his face as he stared thoughtfully into the distance. “I'm-I'm gonna be a dad!” he muttered breathlessly.

“And I'm gonna be a mom!” Star shouted enthusiastically, wrapping her arms around him in a bone-crushing hug. “Aren't you excited, Marco?! We're gonna be parents!”

“Uh yeah! Of course I'm excited!” Marco screamed and the two immediately hopped off the couch, jumping up and down as they still clung to each other in a tight hug. “We're gonna be parents! We're gonna be parents!” the two screamed as one. Eventually, Marco lifted Star off the ground and began twirling her around in a circle the two giggling in delight all the while.

But suddenly, Marco stopped, a look of fear crossing his face as he said, “Oh my gosh, Star! I'm so sorry!” He gently set her back down, before asking in a nervous ramble, “Are you okay? Did I hurt the baby? Do you need anything?”

“Marco,” Star spoke up, putting a hand on his cheek, instantly stilling his fears with a warm smile. “It's fine.”

Marco nodded, still looking so completely overwhelmed with emotion, his smile bright and infectious, his eyes filled with protective instincts for his wife and unborn child with tears brimming at the very corner of his vision. Star sat back down on the couch, pulling Marco with her, not releasing his hands for anything. “Everything's gonna be just fine, okay?”

Marco nodded, his eyes drifting down to his wife's stomach unable to keep his eyes off of it now, so many emotions flowing through him at once he nearly lost his breath. “I was wrong, Star,” Marco said, his voice chocked with emotion. “I couldn't have asked for a greater gift. This... this is the happiest day of my life.”

Star smiled, leaning over and planting a loving kiss to his lips. “Diddo,” she said sweetly as she pressed their foreheads together. The two stayed like that for a moment, before Marco asked, “Star?”

“Yeah?”

“Can-Can I feel?” he asked softly, almost nervously.

Star laughed. “Duh, of course you can, silly,” Star said, pulling away and leaning back so Marco could feel her belly. The boy reached out a shaky hand, setting it gingerly, if not hesitantly down on his wife's stomach. For a few second, Marco just sat there in awe, his eyes shimmering as he stared at Star's belly. He slowly grew more confident as he lay his head against it, his heart swelling with joy as he curled up in Star's lap.

Star just smiled down at her husband, running a hand through his soft, brown hair, her own heart almost bursting at this point.

“I didn't think it was possible,” the boy said in a breathless sigh.

“What was possible?” Star asked curiously.

“To love you any more than I already did,” Marco replied, in the softest, most tender voice Star had ever heard and her heart melted, her cheeks flushing against her will.

Star smiled wrapping her arms around her husband's neck and burying her face into his hair, chuckling softly as she just whispered out, “You dork.”

And the two, soon to be three of them, stayed just like that for what felt like an eternity.

Ten Years After Cleaving

Four-year-old Illumina Angela Diaz-Butterfly slowly crept down the stairs, listening to the sound of her parents chatting in the kitchen of their home. She peeked her head in, seeing her dad hard at work on their dinner, while her mom sat on the counter, the two laughing at some unheard joke. This was their typical routine every evening and sometimes every meal, and as Illumina snuck closer she could see that they were too deep in their conversation to notice her, causing the four-year-old to smile. Perfect.

She eyed her target hungrily, a plate of freshly baked cookies sitting out on a tray opposite her parents and licked her lips in want. Illumina slowly tip-toed over to the plate, keeping a weary eye on her parents in case they spotted her. But as she got closer, her attention was grabbed by the tray of sweets and a hand slowly rose to snatch one up.

“Illy,” came a scolding tone and the little girl flinched. She turned to see her mom and dad had spotted her, her father giving her a stern look, his hands on his hips. “Illy, were you about to eat a cookie without permission?”

Illumina quickly shook her head, giving her dad the most innocent smile she could. “I just wanted a teeny tiny one,” the little girl said with a begging pout.

Marco's eyebrow slowly raised, as he asked knowingly, “And how many have you already had?”

The girl shrugged, before admitting softly, “Umm, maybe one or two.”

“Illy, you know dinner is gonna be soon,” Marco reminded her in a semi-stern voice, trying to reason with his child. “And three cookies is way too much sugar for you.”

“But if your good and eat all your vegetables we'll think about letting you have one more after dinner,” Star spoke up, giving her daughter a bright grin.

“Yeah,” Marco agreed with a nod, smiling proudly at his wife, before turning his attention back to his daughter. “How does that sound, Illy?”

“Okay, I guess,” the little girl muttered sourly.

“That's my girl,” Marco praised, giving Illumina a warm grin. He quickly directed his attention back on the meal he was preparing, stuffing on his oven mitts and sliding the pan into the oven to cook.

The moment her husband's back was turned, Star leaned over and picked up a cookie, shoving it into her daughter’s hands. “Quick before he sees you,” she whispered and Illumina nodded before running off.

Marco watched his daughter run out of the room, before fixing his wife with an accusing glare, while she whistled innocently, staring up at the ceiling. “You know I saw that right?” he asked Star.

“I don't know what your talking about,” Star said with a shrug, feigning ignorance.

Marco sighed, but couldn't stop himself from grinning. He couldn't stay mad at the love of his life, Star had him wrapped around her finger and they both knew it. “You're gonna end up giving her a cavity, y'know,” he said, giving his wife a playful smile.

“No way, if she gets one it'll be your fault for not stopping me,” Star argued, her voice light and bubbly.

Marco rolled his eyes, before saying in a fake annoyed tone, “What am I gonna do with you?”

“Come on, you know you love it,” Star said with a teasing wink.

“Yeah, I do,” Marco admitted, before wrapping an arm around his wife's waist, pulling her closer. Star just laughed, before the two's lips meeting in a passionate, if not playful kiss. The two stayed like that for at least a minute before the smoke detector started going off in the background and Illumina's voice called from upstairs, “Mom, dad, I smell smoke!”

Marco gasped and pulled away rushing over to the oven as he yelled in panic, “Oh no, my casserole!”

…

Marco managed to recover the casserole without it ending up too burnt and the family happily enjoyed their dinner, Star and Marco listening as little Illumina described her fun time being babysat while her parents were out of their date.

“It was soo much cool, mom and dad!” Illumina exclaimed, her eyes shining with joy as she practically bounced in her seat. “Aunt Janna showed me a bunch of card tricks and then Uncle Tom set them on fire by accident.”

Star nodded. “That sounds like Tom, alright,” she said cheerfully.

“Yeah and then Aunt Janna showed me how to scam suckers out of their cash,” the little girl added innocently and Marco nearly chocked on his water, Star having to pat his back to try and keep him from chocking.

“She did what?!” Marco exclaimed, slamming his cup down on the table.

“No, no, it's okay,” Illumina reassured her dad. “She said that they were a bunch of criminals anyways, so it was fine. Besides, she said if things got really bad she would just have Uncle Tom set everything on fire to cover our tracks!”

Marco face-palmed groaning in disbelief. “Janna, whhhyy?!” the boy muttered, before slamming his head down on the table.

“Well what did you expect, asking those two to babysit Illumina?” Star asked in a clear I-told-you-so tone.

“We didn't have many other options, Star,” Marco pointed out bitterly.

“Look, Marco's it's fine, it could have been a lot worse,” Star reminded him, grabbing his hand and giving it a small squeeze.

“Mommy, daddy, how come you never make me Mewman-man cakes? Gradma Eclipsa and Grampy Globgore let me have it all the time when they babysit and Grampy even let me have the head because he said that's the most delicious part!” Illumina suddenly blurted out, lost in her own little world as she finished her plate.

Star and Marco shared a quick look, before the latter said dryly, “So agree to only ever let Jackie and Chloe babysit her?”

“Agreed,” the blond said with a nod.

Illumina suddenly spoke up again, pushing her plate away before asking, “Daddy I ate all my vegetables, can I please have another cookie now?”

Marco shook his head, saying, “I don't know Illumina, four cookies is way too many.”

“Yeah, I think we should wait until tomorrow for another one,” Star agreed.

“But I reallly want it! I promise I'll be good, please, please, please?!” Illimina begged, giving her parents a pouting lip and shimmering, hopeful eyes.

Star and Marco stared blankly into their daughter's pleading eyes, feeling their resolve instantly crack and they shared a quick look before Marco said, “Just make sure to brush your teeth, afterwards.”

…

Later that night, in Illumina's room the girl's gentle snoring and soft breathing indicated to the two parents their daughter was truly asleep and they shared a quick smile. Marco turned off the lamp on Illumina's dresser, as well as switching on Illumina's night light (since she had grown an irrational fear of the dark recently) while Star made sure Illumina was nice and tucked in, pulling the covers up to her daughter's chin. Star and Marco took turns planting a kiss on their daughter's forehead, before quietly exiting the room, Star turning for only a moment to whisper softly, “Goodnight Illumina.”

Marco gently shut the door and the two let out a relieved sigh in the safety of the hallway, the two leaning up against the wall, exhausted. “Man, I thought she'd never get to sleep,” Marco commented tiredly.

“Well it was kinda our own fault for letting her eat so many cookies before bed,” Star pointed out.

“Good point,” Marco agreed with a nod. “We should really have a sugar limit for her from now on.”

“Sounds good,” the blond replied, the two now headed for their bedroom. “How about no more than three cookies before bed from now on?”

“Three?” Marco asked skeptically, with an eyebrow slowly raising. “Do you want her bouncing off the walls every night?”

“Okay, Mr. Diaz, how many do you think she should have?” Star inquired with a playful smirk.

Marco thought about it for a moment before replying, “Two, but only if she eats all her dinner first.”

Star nodded in agreement, saying sweetly, “That sounds fair to me.”

The two entered into their bedroom, before collapsing on the bed with tired sighs, Marco's body hanging off the left side and Star's body hanging off the right. “Man, it was a long day today,” Marco muttered.

“Yep, sure was,” Star agreed.

The two paused, staring up at their ceiling deep in thought as a comfortable silence settled over them. Both just laid there thinking about their life together, there was no denying that their life was without problems but they were nothing the two couldn't handle together and the joyful moments easily overshadowed the unpleasant ones and neither would change their lives for a second. And after a moment or two Marco slowly turned his head, so he was now staring at Star, saying, “Hey Star.”

Star turned her head so chocolate brown and sky blue met in a hypnotic dance. “Yeah, Marco.”

“I'm glad I met you,” he said with an affectionate smile.

Star felt her cheeks slightly flush as she added, “I'm glad I met you, too.”

The two leaned closer, giving each other a small kiss on the lips, pouring all their love and tenderness into one single act. As the two parted, both breathless from the wonderful emotion coursing through their bodies, Star asked, “What brought that on, anyways?”

Marco shrugged. “Just thinking out loud. I'm always grateful we found each other when we did. I couldn't imagine my life without you in it.”

“Aww, Marco you are such a sap,” Star said with a  playful wink.

Marco laughed, before admitting, “I'm always a sap when it comes to you, I love you, Star.”

“I love you too, Marco,” the blond said sweetly.

The two sat up before giving each other a loving hug, their minds for just a moment flashing back to all those years ago, when they had embraced for the first time in their new world. “Happy Anniversary, Star,” Marco whispered, squeezing his wife tight, knowing nothing could ever part them again.

“Happy Anniversary, Marco,” Star replied, snuggling deeper into the loving hold of her wonderful husband as a single tear dripped down her cheek.

The two stayed like that for far longer than either of them cared to count. And when the moment finally did come to an end, the two weren't worried knowing they had countless more moments to share, for many years to come.

Thank you for reading!!! I hope you enjoyed!! This actually might be the sappiest thing I've ever written, like seriously I was getting teared up writing this ending but I like to think that Star and Marco get super sentimental and sappy on their anniversaries. I also have a headcannon that they both became extremely clingy for a while after the Cleaving and had trouble being apart, which I of course put in here. Sorry for no big description on my Starco child Illumina, she's a recent idea I had but I don't have many details down for her yet like her looks or outfit so I had to leave it to you guys imagination, she just fit really well in here for the ending. 

Oh also, I drew some heavy inspiration from the second part from my good friend @jcabrera35 fanatstic comic “Lingering Baggage”. If you haven’t seen it I highly recommend because it’s amazing and I try my best to promite it every chance I get!! Also huge thank you to my other good friend @kikithefox231 who came up with the idea for the cookie snatching going on in this chapter! If you haven’t seen her stuff go check it out cause it’s great also!! These two are both very talanted individuals and they deserve more love!!!

So anyways I'm gonna sign off now, hope everyone has a great anniversary Stardom!! Stay amazing, guys!! :)

[letsbeexistential]

A Look Back At This Blog

Hey there,

I haven’t touched this blog for years but it’s really been haunting me haha. I don’t think this blog experiences much activity and I generally don’t have an online presence, so there probably isn’t any need to make a post like this. I guess it’s mostly for my own sake and to put to rest some concerns I’ve had about the content I put out on the site. 

When I look back and really think about the ship discourse and content I created (i.e the moontoffee debacle), it kind of makes me feel embarrassed. I’d always been very mindful of the fact that younger people checked the tags, and I never wanted to make anything M rated for the community, especially as I was 21 at the time the blog was made. I liked being able to keep my content accessible to the demographic star vs was aimed at. I still feel uncomfortable with the moontoffee art that I made, though, despite me shipping them more platonically as friends rather than potential romantic partners. Before the canon backstories of these characters were established, I was enamored with the idea of two characters who were once close friends being forced apart by political ideology and their cultural environments. The moment the trailer for Battle for Mewni came out, my interest in the ship dropped. First, it was because it was shown in the trailer that Toffee was responsible for Moon’s mother’s death, and that he had no prior involvement in the butterfly family’s history. Then the episodes aired and it was established Moon was 14 when she first met Toffee. That was definitely the nail in the coffin and the reason I feel really uncomfortable when I think about the art I made on the blog. I never saw the two as being anything other than platonic but the ship leaves a bad taste in my mouth now for obvious reasons. 

Over the past couple of years, I’ve often considered deleting the blog completely without a word, but I certainly don’t want to run away from the content I put on out in the tag. I’d like to address it rather than pretend it never happened. All this to explain why the art on my blog might be taken off. I struggle with the question of whether or not my content should stay posted. I think for now, I’ll ruminate on it, but I may remove the moontoffee content later on.

Star vs still has a place in my heart, and it was the first time I’d ever gotten deeply involved with an online community. I hate the idea that I made problematic material for the show and didn’t address it sooner. I’m really sorry about that. 

I don’t know if anyone will read this, but I feel better knowing I’ve addressed it. Of course, no one has to feel the need to forgive me, but I’m glad I’ve expressed my feelings regardless. 

Thanks for the good times, tumblr.

[sagesilentfire]

I'm looking for a trans sensitivity reader (for Marcie) and possibly a poc sensitivity reader (for the monsters vs mewmans plot), so if you're available, please tell me, and we'll figure something out.

Forgive my inability to draw humans, please.

I know this is a big departure from my usual content, so I'd like to make sure you know that watching SVTFOE is not necessary to enjoy this AU, as everything needed to understand the plot is explained in-story. In fact, I'd love to have someone who's never even heard of a svftoe to read it so I can make sure it makes its own logical sense.

Anyways... 

(putting this under a read more for your scrolling purposes)

Hi. I'm Sage, and I would like to talk about a show I really liked. The past tense being the operative, as it used to be good, but...

I started watching SVTFOE after watching the great Steven Universe, which meant I had high expectations for it. And it met those expectations! From the beginning I was hooked. It was a good show. But as the seasons went on, it started to... rot.

Now, something to know about me is that I do not invest myself wisely. I love the things I love deeply and with passion. I get attached easily, and I love to theorize about the things I love. So I was heartbroken when SVTFOE ended the way it did, with none of my questions answered.

And when my theories were better than canon, well, that meant I had a new project: a complete rewrite of Star vs. the Forces of Evil. This AU will start similar to canon, but gradually diverge from it until it's something completely new. It will also have five separate "seasons".

So here's my AU: Star and Marcie and The Forces Of Evil (aka samatfoe). This AU will tear apart the scraps of lore that we got from SVTFOE and expand on it and make new lore, all narrated by my lovely OC, Sílthéy. And I promise I will get to as much as possible. If you're worried, check the titles of all of the chapters, which will hopefully reassure you that, yes, I will get to everything (or at least everything I've thought of ;)).

Dramatis Personae:

Star: Star will mostly stay the same in the first few seasons, but I'll try to have her actually grow and mature while staying a good person in the later seasons. She'll also be a bit more fire-aligned, because I wanted to be able to tell my Star and the canon Star apart easily. (She also doesn't get those wings until Mewberty.)

Marcie: is a trans girl. The entire second "episode" will be about her being trans. And I will, again, try to not have her act like a jerk in later seasons. She also won't be an adult trapped in a teenager's body, as that was waaay too weird for me. Instead she won't age in the Neverzone, period, and there will be an episode dedicated to her re-adjusting to Earth and discussing what the whole "spent a decade and a half in eight minutes" thing means for her. And, of course, she'll be more involved with the Mewni plot, as she will be interested in learning the lore behind Mewni from the beginning and push Star to find out more about Mewni.

Ludo: Ludo's story will not effectively end with the Battle for Mewni. He will get a redemption arc, with all the pitfalls and trip-ups that come with that. And all of his flaws and issues will be brought up, now just forgiving him for everything he did because he had bad parents. And Dennis will continue to be a cinnamon roll. Some things never change.

Buff Frog/Yvgeny: will not change. He is good lad.

Toffee: This is the big one. Where to start, and how to start it without spoiling everything I have planned? Well, let me tell you this: Toffee is getting a complete overhaul. For one thing, I now made them agender for various complicated reasons that will be revealed in-story, eventually. And for another thing, they will get an actual backstory and personality! Isn't that a novel idea! And they will not die abruptly and nonsensically in Battle for Mewni, so don't worry about that.

Jackie: Oh, Jackie. You poor dear. Jackie will not be delegated to the role of "one-time love interest who just skateboards out of the plot". First of all, Marcie will only have a squish (a platonic crush) on her, because I don't trust my aro/ace self with the weird things people in romantic love do to get together, but I do know what it's like to desperately want to be friends with someone. Secondly, while she will be out of the spotlight in later seasons, it'll be because she's on an exchange trip to France, not because we're abandoning her character and her world for no good reason.

Janna: never changes. Pretty sure she's the one constant of the multiverse.

Tom: will have his redemption arc earlier in the story so I can use him for things, but other than that will not change much.

Moon: First of all, she will not betray everything her daughter stands for by siding with Mina this time. There are plenty of other ways Mina could rise to power, so there's no need to ruin her character by making her do a stupid, illogical thing that even a five-year-old would see was stupid. I mean, she's still going to be kind of racist, but she's well-established to be level-headed and even a little clever, so she will not do something that would so obviously blow up in her face. Secondly, she will be a bad ruler, hence why Mewni is a total mess, but she will learn and become better and help Star's efforts to improve Mewni.

Glossaryck: is... changing. He won't "lose" his sanity for season three, but he will also not be in a totally heroic role. It's a complicated thing and a bit of a spoiler, so I'll leave it at that. Also, he's a dragon now Because Reasons (no, seriously, I have a reason for it. It's also a spoiler).

River: River will be goofy, like usual, but he won't be plot-destroyingly stupid. I'll try my best to not make you question why he's even king while still making him a foil to Moon. It's the tightrope I must walk.

Angie and Raphael: Will not completely disappear from the plot in later seasons, but will instead be like a second family to Star and will be a refuge when her overbearing Butterfly side gets too much.

Kelly: Will not be involved in a stupid romantic subplot with Marcie. Sorry. Other than that, Kelly will remain pretty much the same, aside from now being tiny, because that's just how she came out in my art. She's pretty cool.

Miss Heinous: Will not be Meteora this time around. I disliked how Heinous hurt so many people and was a horrible person, but as soon as her Tragic Backstory™ was revealed, all that pain and suffering she caused was ignored in favor of making her Super Duper Tragic™. So I'm separating the characters. Don't worry, though, she'll get the backstory and character arc she deserves.

Saint Olga: Saint Olga will be the main motivator for Miss Heinous's actions, as she is desperate to please the robot. Other than that, Saint Olga won't actually get much character. She's a bad guy, pure and simple.

Meteora: will not turn into a baby. She will deal with the consequences of her actions like a mature, responsible sixteen-year-old. But because she's sixteen, things won't be too harsh when she does snap. She'll still have her mother and father to help her and guide her.

Eclipsa: Regarding Eclipsa's design, I tried to make her fat, but... I don't know if it translates well in my art. I'm just not that good at art yet. But aside from that, making her cheekmarks dark gray (spades are a black card, not a red card! That bugged me so unreasonably much), and giving her as much of a connection to Toffee as the show implied, I'm not changing much about her. She was one of the good characters.

Globgor: Will have fought against mewmans in the past, but not have eaten them (what were the writers thinking?! Making your metaphorical poc eat people is... not good). And it will be more of a case of Star and Eclipsa knowing he is good and should be released from the crystal, but the general mewman populace not accepting it, until Cornonation, where he proves he's a good guy.

Shinjai: Is a new character I am thrilled to introduce to you all! She came from me thinking that for someone who supposedly wants to end mewman-monster racism, Star sure doesn't have any monster friends (Buff Frog doesn't count. He's an adult, and they don't really hang out so much). So here's Shinjai! She's a septarian, and is introduced instead of Princess Smooshy in Sleep Spells. She's a very minor minor monster noble, and her family has about as much political power as your average worm on a sidewalk after it rains, but all noble monsters must go to Saint Olga's Reform School for Wayward Royalty, so she runs away and gets help from Star and Marcie. She's mostly made to replace Pony Head: she's spunky and... uh, actually she's nothing like Pony Head. She's also unafraid of asking difficult questions and knows more about the plot than she lets on.

Rasticore: is very different from his canon counterpart: he only allies with Heinous and Saint Olga to keep an eye on them for ~someone~, and thoroughly dislikes them, despite agreeing to their mission. He also can regenerate as quickly as Toffee, he just chooses not to for ~reasons~. He also has a mysterious partner, but we all know it's – *gets clubbed over the head by Síthéy*

Mina: Making fun of mental illnesses isn't funny kids. Therefore, Mina is the only neurotypical member of the cast. She does boring neurotypical things like... I dunno, cleaning? And she's still a threat: bigotry and hatred are not exclusive to people with mental illnesses, after all.

Lilacia: Now, Lilacia Pegasus, the horse formerly known as Pony Head, will... exist. She won't be as overwhelmingly annoying, hopefully, as she is in canon. And to make sure she feels consequences for her actions, there will be a subplot in season two about her and Star growing apart as Star grows and leaves Lilacia's annoying party girl antics behind. Lilacia will have to realize that her immature actions are making Star leave her behind, and she'll have to grow as a person because of it.

Then there's a mysterious character who is very mysterious and does mysterious things and has a mysterious personality and is generally mysterious... mysterious. She'll be introduced in the second season and will be as mysterious as promised, I swear.

And finally, of course, it will be narrated by Sílthéy. She will tell this story, and her part in it, for all to hear. Or read? It's a bit of a strange medium, storytelling on paper. Or on a screen, whatever.

Now, of course, by now you must be wondering: What about the shipping? The shipping's the most important part, right? Well, here is my answer: There will be no ship wars. There will be no love dodecahedrons. There will be no cheating, no lies, no throwing other characters under the bus for stupid romantic drama. Why? BECAUSE STAR AND MARCIE ARE BOTH ARO/ACE. Suck on that, Starco! I am the last person to trust romantic drama with, so all of the romantic relationships in this bandwagon will be established, healthy relationships that have decades of chosen love and appreciation for one another behind them. And past!Tomstar and brief, schoolchild-crush-esque Star/Oskar but that doesn't count.

So, I believe that about wraps things up for this post. I'll start posting chapters soon, and will post two chapters every other week, and I'll release the descriptions of them two weeks before I post them. If you have any questions, please ask them! I want to work on my drawing skills, so I might even draw something for them!

Description for next episodes:

Star's Birthday: Star is a young, wild princess who is about to receive her family's most precious heirlooms.

Trouble in Diazland: Star is put under the care of the Diaz family, but can't quite seem to connect with their son, Marco.

And, finally, I have thank yous! These are mostly people I watched but haven't really interacted with yet, so if you get tagged know that you don't know me, I just followed you for svtfoe content. And for, you know, your personality.

Thanks to ankle-beez for being hilarious and reminding me why I made this AU when you relentlessly drag svtfoe. Thank you to @full-moon-phoenix, @dappercritter, and the lizard squad for my regular dose of Toffee. Thank you morningmark and @jess-the-vampire for keeping me invested in svtfoe as a whole. Thanks to svtfoe-critical and @twinklecupcake for good ideas. Thank you to TBlofeld on AO3 for your amazing AU, Monsters, Mewmans, Magic, that, while we took things and ran in completely opposite directions, still inspired me to complete mine. And thank you to Blue Order, whose deeply hilarious and deeply accurate video "How Star Vs the Forces of Evil Fell From Grace" inspired me to create this story in the first place. And, of course, thank you to whoever on the svtfoe wiki writes down the transcripts to every episode. You've helped me so much. I admit that I didn't follow all of your guys' advice, but you did help me get here, every one of you. So thank you.

[broomsandbrews]

The Beauty of Seasons Through my Eyes

I wake up on a hot Summer morning to the sound of the birds singing. There are just a few bubbly clouds in the bright blue sky, announcing a lovely day. I spot a butterfly. I think it's a Monarch. Funny how butterflies can't see their wings and see how beautiful they are, but yet others can. I guess we, as people, are a little like that too. I now walk to the kitchen and make some homemade iced tea with fresh lemons, adding some honey for a touch of sweetness. The sun is shining through the window, forming a pool of golden light on the hardwood floor. I do my laundry and hang my clothes on the clothing line, a warm breeze caresses my cheeks. The cotton sheets are swaying in the air; they will smell so good when they're dry. I love that linen, clean smell. The sound of the leaves rustling in the wind is delightful, as well as the calm and gentle ringing noise the wind chimes are making. I do a bit of cleaning, let the animals out so they can run in the field, and go check on my garden. I water the crops and notice they will be ready for harvest soon. I visit my barn and do some early morning chores. I then decide to get inside my greenhouse, where I tend to my plants and fresh culinary herbs. Some will pair gorgeously with today's recipe. I release a lady bug as I think that tonight will be a perfect night to light a bonfire and make some S'mores. I'll sit on a blanket under the mystical moon and the stars, sing and play guitar as I watch the embers glow. All is well. I feel peaceful.

I wake up on a cozy Fall morning and hear the sound of the rain hitting the window as well as the low rumbling of thunder. I get up, and since it's a bit chilly, I put on a knitted sweater, fuzzy socks and light some candles. I turn on an old 80's horror movie; they're my favorite. After it is over, I burn some Sandalwood incense and cleanse my crystals with the smoke. It's almost Samhain. My ultimate favorite Holiday. I put up pictures of loved ones and pets that have passed away and put them on the mantelpiece. They never really leave us, do they? I pour myself some spiced apple cider while I meditate. Then, I open the door; it's still raining, but the air is crisp and cool. I see there's a few carved pumpkins on the patio, and a bunch of Halloween decorations. Ghouls, skeletons, ghosts, witches, you name it. The trees have turned from green, to yellow, to orange, to red, a symphony of colors. I read somewhere that "Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go." I like that quote. I like it a lot. My heart starts racing as I think about going apple picking in my own backyard; Cortlands, Granny Smiths, Golden Delicious...I'm contemplating the many pies I'll be able to make with all this delectable goodness when it stops raining. Fast forward to now, it is time to go pick some tart, wild cranberries. I will also go forage edible mushrooms in the woods later, to put in my spaghetti squash dish. I can't wait to feel the crunching of the autumn leaves under my boots. I feel magical.

I wake up on a cold Winter morning and realize there's a blizzard outside. The first real snowfall of the year. There are icicles hanging from the window sill. The visibility is low, but some snowflakes are sticking to the glass; they are all unique in themselves. We should all be like the snow and beautify everything we touch. With gentleness. With kindness. With resilience. With fierceness. All I can hear are the strong gusts and howling of the arctic winds, but apart from that, everything is quiet. I suddenly get excited for Christmas, I take out some traditional decorations and dress our entire home in Holiday and Yule spirit while sipping on candy cane flavored hot chocolate and listening to old Christmas classics. I’m ecstatic to put up my Christmas tree and start decorating it with fairy lights, garlands and festive ornaments. I put chopped firewood in the fireplace and light it up; a nice, toasty feeling envelops me as I snuggle and curl up in a fluffy blanket by the flames; they're almost as warm as my heart. I take a break, write in my Book of Shadows, documenting some new spells I invented. I re-read the Harry Potter series happily until it's time for dinner. I wanna make something hearty, maybe a vegetable soup, a stew, or some pork roast, perhaps? I also bake some sugar and chocolate chip cookies in the oven, waiting for the rich and sweet aroma to fill up the cabin. I bundle up. Hat, mittens, scarf, snow pants, winter jacket and I turn into a child as I go outside and decide to make snow angels and build snowmen. Memories of childhood flood through me. My cheeks are rosy. I feel nostalgic.

I wake up on a mild Spring morning. The first thing I do is tie my hair in a high ponytail and go for a hike; the snow is starting to melt. The delicate sound of water trickling and flowing freely on the ground tickles my ears. It's like hearing a sweet, comforting song. I take a deep breath of fresh air; there is definitely a feeling of playfulness, but also revival in the air. Wildlife is not quite awake, yet, but everything slowly starts to come back to life, foreshadowing and promising the coming of warm days ahead. The flowers and branches will surely bloom in a short time. The earth scents the air with its fragrance; soon the grass will sprout, drink the rain and color the ground in its new growth, evergreen. The flowers will soon reappear; they are a reminder that everything and everyone grows at its own pace and that there is nothing wrong with it. The winds are now picking up and a wild thought crosses my mind; maybe I should fly a kite or be creative and paint, write or draw. When I get back home, exhausted but joyful, I do some light spring cleaning, and hang some bird feeders outside on the porch. I notice a few flies are starting to buzz about. I start gathering the seeds I have ordered a few weeks back, and plan out my garden. I take a trip to the nearest sugar shack and enjoy some maple toffee. It is a period of starting over. Spirits are lifted. As we see nature being transformed, let's not forget that we are being transformed, too. I feel infinite.

An original work by: @broomsandbrews​.

[chaseatinydream]

late night adventure || p.sh (atz)

➳ pairing: reader x park seonghwa (ateez)

➳ word count: 1588

➳ genre: fluff

➳ synopsis: what does seonghwa do when you can’t sleep? take you out on a late night adventure, of course!

>>>

“A late night adventure?” You ask Seonghwa, looking mildly amused. He smiles, nods back and you glance at the clock above the television to check the time.

11:49PM.

“Oh wow. You’re serious.” You say, pushing your chair back and rising to your feet as you rub at your eyes. It been a good week since you’ve had a good night’s of rest, instead snatching a few hours here and there when you’ve been able to close your eyes. There are just too many things to do, too many problems to worry about, and while you know Seonghwa has been worried about you, trying to get you to rest, everything he’s suggested just hasn’t been working; your mind refuses to calm.

It seems that today, he’s changing his strategy up a little, though.

Seonghwa’s eyes brighten when he sees you getting to your feet, he’s already dressed nicely in a comfortable navy blue knit jumper to protect him from the cold winds, toes bunching up around Pikachu’s face on his socks. “I’ll wait for you in the hallway,” he tells you, dropping a light kiss on the crease of your cheek and stepping outside before you can ask him where the two of you are going.

Raising your eyebrows in curiosity, you glance over your shoulder as you grab a woolen coat to put over your shoulders. Seonghwa’s been amazing at taking you out on dates, researching and planning meticulous for festivals, events and what not, but one so out of the blue? That’s a first.

Slipping the coat on, you step outside, flinching a little as the cold pinches at your cheeks with their fingertips. After you lock the door, you turn to your boyfriend, who’s simply standing there and smiling at you. “So... now what?”

His smile widens. “So, now what?” He repeats back at you and you cock your head to the side in curiosity.

“Where are we going?” You enunciate back at him, and he laughs, shaking his head.

“We’re going anywhere you want us to.”

Your eyes widen a little. Go anywhere? With no destination in mind? “Seonghwa, I don’t have anywhere I want to go-”

“Yes you do.” He interrupts quickly, a mischievous smile touching his lips, one privy between the two of you that rarely appears with others. “You’ve been cooped up for the last week at home, doing nothing but work. There has to be some place you want to go to, something you want to do.”

At that, you pause, wondering. Has it really been that long since you had the choice to do something that you wanted, without the pressures of needing a goal in mind, something to accomplish. Seonghwa waits patiently, fingers playing with the woolen knots along the end of his coat as you ponder to yourself, searching around an empty field of white for something.

Then it comes to you. “I want to go to the ice cream shop.”

Seonghwa takes a moment to look at you, warm brown eyes merry with a hint of bemusement. “It’s... snowing a bit, you know?”

“You said we could go anywhere I wanted to.” You say, unsure why you’re suddenly so fixated on this ice cream, but you tug on his hand, pulling him after you as you make your way to the stairs of your apartment. Seonghwa shakes his head, but there’s a smile tucked into the corners of his cheeks as he follows after you, one of his strides matching every two of yours.

One walk and three slips on the wet pavement later, the two of you are sitting in a booth in “Sweet Winter”, watching the first of the tiny snowflakes fall against the glass as you wait for the shopkeeper to dig around in the back of his shop for cups. You press your nose against the glass and breathe out, strangely enraptured by the way your breathe fogs up the glass before it recedes once again.

You’ve been doing this for about five minutes or so until you realise that you’ve quite forgotten about Seonghwa sitting opposite you. Turning back around with an apology on the tip of your tongue, you see him sitting there, chin resting on his hands with his elbows on the table, just kind of... watching you with a gently smile that makes you feel a little warm on the inside, a lot hot on the cheeks.

“Stop looking at me like that, you goof.” You say, attempting to cover his eyes with your hands and he only laughs, catching you by the wrists to plant a kiss on the inside of each one; the red spreads down your cheeks to where his lips touch your skin.

Luckily, you’re saved by the shopkeeper handing the two of you your ice creams, you tug your hands away from his to clasp around your cup, studying its contents. It’s a soft grey color, and you stab at it with your spoon curiously. “What did you get?” Seonghwa looks over curiously, peering into your cup as you raise one spoonful to your eye critically.

“Fish sherbet.”

Seonghwa balks at the sound of that. “That sounds... disgusting.”

“Never know till you try. In the name of adventure, am I right?” You shrug a shoulder, and clink your spoon of fish sherbet against his toffee caramel. “Cheers.” Then you stick the spoon into your mouth, tongue sucking against the spoon as you try to decide whether it’s on your hit or nah list.

Maybe nah.

“How does it taste?” Seonghwa asks and you make a face, unable to distinguish the unfamiliar myriad of flavors that don’t seem to want to work together. “Pretty bad.” You reply and laugh, sticking another spoon in your mouth. All in the name of adventure, like you said. At least it gave you a good laugh, and that’s even more important than the ice cream.

“Let me try.” Seonghwa says, but before you can offer him your cup, he leans forward, cups your face with two warn hands and plants a gentle kiss against your lips, tongue darting along your lips to catch the flavor and sucking so gently against the bottom one that your eyes flutter shut, and when he moves to pull away with a smile against your lips you are the one to grab his wrists instead, kissing him back gently until he sighs against your mouth, forehead knocking gently against yours.

“So, how does it taste?” You ask finally when you pull your mouth away from his, watching the tip of his tongue flick against his lips, as if trying to catch the last taste of you there. He gives you a sly smile with pink cheeks, eyes warming.

“It taste like you.” He concludes, pressing one last kiss to the back of your hand. “It tastes good.”

Cheesy, you tell him, but he replies with, no, fishy and points to the ice cream you have in hand instead. Giggling under your breath, you rise to your feet and tug on his hand, when he looks up at you with curious eyes, you declare that the two of you are going to the park.

“The park?” He repeats after you again, one corner of his lip curling up in amusement. “It’s… almost winter and all the trees are dead.”

When you pull at the sleeve of his sweater once more, however, he doesn’t say another word and instead lets you pull him after you, watching your back with fond eyes. When the two of you reach the park, he wipes off the snow that has built up on the bench and the two of you sit in the silence, breathing in crisp, cold air and watching the moon hover above in the stark, clear night.

“It’s nice being in the park.” You say suddenly, head against his shoulder as you continue to look up. When he turns to look at you, you add, “the city’s always changing, things come so fast and are gone the next... it’s exciting, sure, but sometimes it’s just... exhausting. But the park... it stays the same. Even if it’s winter or summer or whatever time of the year, the trees are still here.”

Seonghwa raises an eyebrow, a soft smile playing on his lips as one of his arms come up to rest around your shoulders, protective, warm, strong. “And what about me?”

“You’re always here too, like one of the trees.” You add with a sleepy mumble, heavy eyes already fluttering shut as you snuggle into his side, burying yourself into his warmth. “I... I think I wanna sleep now... Let me nap for just... five minutes, then we’ll go home, okay?”

“Okay,” he says, but you don’t hear it, eyes shut tight and snoozing into the crook of his neck, right where his pulse rushes and beats for you.

He looks up at the trees and think that if they can last for hundreds of years, one lifetime is going to be a few centuries short to spend by your side.

A few weeks later...

“Hey, Seonghwa.” You call from across the room, and he looks up to see his sweater flying straight into his face. Letting out an amused huff as he pulls the fabric from his eyes, he sees you standing in front of him, dark circles under your eyes gone, cheeks returned to a radiant pink as you smile down at him, excitement bright in your gaze.

“Let’s go on a late night adventure!”

[harrypotterpovs]

Sooo...here's my Fred Yuleball fanfic aka the first fanfic I'm publishing. Please remember I'm not a native english speaker so neither my grammar nor my translations are perfect. I hope you can still enjoy.

Backstory: You're a Gryffindor in the same year as the golden trio and share a dorm with Hermione and Lavender Brown. You're pretty popular and got asked out by a lot of guys who wanted to take you to the ball, but you only said yes to one of them: Fred. In this ff Fred shares a dorm with George and Oliver Wood (I know he's not in their year but I like himmm sm). You're somewhat close friends with the golden trio but spend most of your time with the twins. You already know about your feelings for Fred deep down but never made it too obvious.

,,Are you ready?“ Hermiones voice rings through the door just as she walks in. I look at her in awe. She wears the prettiest dress I've ever seen and has put her hair up into a beautiful knot. ,,You look stunning,“ I gasp. She laughs: ,,So do you. Who are you taking to the ball again? Fred or George?“ I smile widely just thinking about him. ,,Fred. I hope he likes the dress....“ Hermione puts her hand on my shoulder: ,,Don't worry, you look beautiful.“ I smile at her and hook arms with her. Together we walk down into the common room. The boys had to wait in front of the great hall until their dates arrived. So we make our way down the moving stairs. My heart pounds against my ribcage heavily. I felt so anxious. Fred was the kindest guy I knew but how would he react if the dress wasn't quite his taste? 

Hermione lets go of my arm and smiles: ,,You should hurry, they're over there.“ I look around and spot them waiting next the statue in front of the great hall. I nod, my knees shaking and get down the stairs. I see George spotting me first and his eyes widen. He elbows Fred who then turns around and looks me up and down. His facial expression was a mixture of surprise and pride. I smile at him happily as I walk towards him. ,,Ready?“ I ask. Suddenly George steps up: ,,Sure.“ Fred frowns at him and pushes him away: ,,You know she can tell us apart, idiot.“ George laughs and so do I. Fred looks at me: ,,You look stunning.“ I laugh and look at his suit. It was pretty worn down but he tried to spice it up with some golden buttons and a nice tie. ,,You're the one to say that...Look at you. Handsome as ever.“ He looks down his suit and smiles uncertainly. ,,Well, I tried my best.“ He holds out his arm and I take it. ,,Have fun, you two,“ George says happily and walks towards a girl that seems to be his date for tonight. 

Fred and I walk towards the great hall. ,,Try to not get into trouble tonight, alright?“ I say and look straight into Freds hazel eyes. He giggles: ,,I'll try my best, I promise.“ Seeing him smiling so genuinely was the most heartwarming thing I've ever experienced. The dancefloor was already crowded. ,,Shall we eat first?“ I ask. ,,You can read minds, I always knew,“ Fred says in a serious tone. Then he laughs and we push ourselves through the people towards the buffet. ,,You had the whole school to choose from and you take Weaslebee?“ I hear Pansy Parkinson snarl. I turn around and look at her. Her dress was pretty, not gonna lie. She and Zabini stare us down. ,,Obviously. Jealous that you didn't make the cut, huh?“ Pansy snorts angrily: ,,Why would I take something like this to the ball? He can't even afford a decent suit, look at this lump he's wearing.“ I see Fred checking his suit again. ,,Girl, have you checked the mirror before you left your room? You look like a whole gremlin.“ I take Freds arm and we distance ourselves from Pansy and Zabini. ,,I'm sorry, I really wanted to get a new suit but-“ ,,No, stop it.“ I interrupt him. He looks at me sadly. I grab his hands: ,,I love the suit and I love the tie. You look great, no matter what. Trust me.“ He looks at me for a while and then nods. ,,Let's dance first, then,“ I say and point to a less crowded corner. Fred smiles and takes my hand, leading me to the dancefloor. 

It was a slow song, very relaxing and classic. Fred puts his hand around my waist and holds my right hand with the other. He takes the lead and swirls me around. He's definitely better at dancing than I am. ,,Did you really have a lot of guys asking you out?“ Fred asks, trying to sound unbothered. I wasn't sure if I should tell him the truth. But lying to him was no option. ,,Yes. Even Malfoy asked me...as if...“ I shudder and Fred laughs: ,,And you still said yes to me?“ I nod: ,,Of course. I like you. A lot. Why wouldn't I go with you?“ Fred smiles happily and his cheeks turn rosé. He pulls me a bit closer, I almost touch his chest. I smell his cologne and a sweet fragrance, vanilla mixed with toffee and a hint of something that smells like gunpowder. I'm pretty sure I was never this close to him. I'd have noticed how good he smells. His hands are warm and soft and his movements pretty smooth. I've never felt so warm and secure before. ,,Is that glitter in your hair?“ he asks suddenly. I laugh: ,,A bit. Hermione said it'd look nice. You don't like it, do you?“ Fred shakes his head: ,,No. I mean yes. I do. Absolutely. It's just...The sheer effort you put into that...“ I laugh: ,,Well, to be honest...I was afraid you wouldn't like my dress or my hairstyle at first.“ Fred frowns: ,,How could I not?“ 

The song ends and I look at the buffet. ,,I think they're gone. Let's get some food,“ I say and pull Fred through the crowd. ,,Fred, looking good tonight...“ Ron says, as he passes by with Lavender Brown. He stops to look at me and then back to Fred. ,,I don't know what you did to get her to say yes, but man...Good job,“ he adds, looking me up and down. Lavender eyes me a with a hint of jealousy in her eyes. ,,What are you talking about, look at your date,“ I say. ,,Lavender, you look astonishing tonight,“ I add and look at her happily. Her whole face changes. ,,Really? Thank you,“ she says. Ron sighs and pulls her away. I wave at them, as they disappear into the crowd. ,,What is your favorite food?“ Fred asks suddenly. I frown. ,,We're working on a new trickster candy and we're still looking for good flavours,“ he adds as he takes two glasses of firewhiskey from a tablet. He hands me one of the glasses. ,,Like sweet stuff or...?“ I ask. Fred nods: ,,Preferably sweet yeah.“ I take a sip and shudder: ,,Ugh, definitely not this.“ I cough and Fred takes it away from me. ,,Sorry,“ he says and puts it away. ,,Try this...“ he says and reaches for a glass with a golden liquid. I take it. ,,I think marshmellows are always a good choice. Or nougat. I personally love pancakes too,“ I say, before I take another sip. This one was smooth. Still burning in my throat but in a less aggressive way. ,,Bit better?“ Fred asks. I nod: ,,Way better.“ Fred reaches for a plate and so do I. As we're done filling our plates we go to sit down. I see Hermione swirl by with Krum, not taking her eyes of him for even a second. She was beautiful. My eyes wander towards Fred who seems to have stared at me for a while now. ,,You good?“ I laugh. He nods: ,,Sure. Just appreciating your efforts.“ I smile and turn towards him. ,,Are you staying at Hogwarts this christmas again?“ he asks thoughtfully. I shrug my shoulders: ,,I guess. My parents are still in France. Couldn't you stay too?“ Fred rests his chin on his hand, eyeing me: ,,No, I'm afraid I can't. Mom always wants us home at christmas. But you could come to our place, if you want.“ I look up, my heart racing. ,,Oh, I don't want to bother your family...“ I say. ,,God, no way. Mom would love to meet you, I'm sure. If you'd like to come, I'll just ask her.“ I smile: ,,I'd love to. But please make sure, no one is annoyed by my presence.“ Fred shakes his head: ,,There's no way.“ I shove a spoon of chocolate pudding into my mouth and stare at him in silence.

Two plates of a variety of foods, three firewhiskeys and four glasses of this weird golden liquor later we go back to slowdancing. I was a bit tipsy already and so was Fred. His cheeks are glowing red and his hands are warmer than they were earlier. ,,George thought I was kidding when I told him that you're my date for the ball,“ Fred says as I lean against his chest. I hear his heart beating faster and faster. ,,First I wasn't sure if you were kidding, too,“ he adds. I put my hand onto his shoulder and close my eyes: ,,I'd never.“ I hear him sigh. The room was way emptier now. A few Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were still on the dancefloor. Neville and Ginny were slowdancing as well just like Krum and Hermione. Ron and Harry sat down to eat and stare at Hermione a while ago and Pansy ran off a couple minutes ago, after Zabini yelled at her for stepping on his feet when they were dancing. I was content and happy like I never was, feeling Freds hand on my waist, smelling his fragrance and hearing his heartbeat. ,,Do you wanna go outside for a bit?“ Fred suddenly asks. I open my eyes and nod: ,,Sure. Are you alright?“ Fred runs his hand through his hair and takes a deep breath. ,,I'm feeling a bit dizzy to be honest.“ 

We walk towards he big balcony and away from the loud music and the smells of the buffet into the cold, dark, silent night. The moon was shining and hundreds of stars sparkle in the sky. They were beautiful. It's been a long time since I saw them shimmer this brightly. Maybe it was the alcohol but I felt very sentimental all of sudden. Tears stream down my face. ,,y/n?“ Fred gasps. I wipe the tears away and blink rapidly: ,,I'm just a bit...It's such a beautiful night. I don't want it to end.“ Fred looks at me shocked. Then he pulls me closer, one hand around my waist, his head resting on my shoulder. ,,There's still so much time left. Don't worry,“ he says softly. My heart feels like it's burning. It wasn't the night I was sentimental about. I think it was Fred. The knowledge that he will never look at me like he did a few hours ago again. That he'll just act like nothing happened in a few days. ,,Can I ask you for a favour?“ he suddenly asks. I look up at him. ,,Can I kiss you?“ he asks. My heart misses out a  few beats. I stare at him for a second, completely paralized. ,,Of course...“ I gasp. He pulls me closer and I close my eyes. I feel his burning lips on mine, a wave of heat streaming through my whole body, my heart crashing against my ribs. It feels like eternity. Then he pulls back, his cheeks blushing and looking pretty flustered. I pull him into a hug and lean my head on his chest. He wraps his arms around me and rests his head on mine. We stay like that for at least half an hour, talking about the music playing in the background.

,,Let's dance a little more,“ Fred says and pulls me inside the great hall again, holding me close. I follow his lead and we dance all night. Only when the room was completely empty we came to a halt. ,,I think I'm passing out any second now...“ I joke and look at Fred. All the alcohol in our systems was gone at this point. ,,Let's go up then,“ he answers and takes my hand. We walk out of the great hall and up to the common room. Just when I was about to say goodbye to Fred, Hermione comes down the stairs thats lead to the girls rooms. ,,y/n, we've got somewhat of a problem...Lavender brought Ron up with her. He was very very drunk and...vomited all over your bed.“ I look at Fred who just rolls his eyes at the mention of his younger brother. ,,I'll take her in tonight and make him regret what he did tomorrow,“ Fred says. I look at him. He takes me to his room? Is that even allowed? ,,I hope I'm around,“ Hermione says with an evil smile. Fred looks at me: ,,Only if it's alright for you of course. I can go and wake this idiot up to clean up his mess.“ I shake my head: ,,Let him rest. As long as it's alright with Oliver and George...“ Fred nods and we go up the stairs to the boys dorms. 

Fred walks in first. ,,Turn out the light, you idiot!“ I hear George groan. ,,We've got trainig in the morning...“ Oliver sighs. ,,Guys, is it okay if y/n spends the night?“ Fred asks. Silence. ,,Depends on what you're trying to-“ ,,Shut up, George. Ron puked into her bed.“ A sigh follows. ,,I don't care but turn out the bloody lights...“ Oliver says. Fred comes out, a self knitted pullover with an F on it and a pair of jogging pants in his hands. ,,You can change in the bathroom...“ He points to a door at the end of the corridor. I nod and step into the cold room, closing the door behind me and looking around. It was smaller than the girls bathroom. I'm slipping off the heels and dress and change into the way more comfortable clothes Fred gave me. My dress folded neatly, I open the door and walk towards Fred. He shoves me into the dorm silently and leads me towards the bed in complete darkness. I feel around for the end of his bed and then lay down carefully. It smelled just like him. I feel him laying down next to me and covering me with the blanket. ,,Night...“ he mumbles. I turn towards him and snuggle against his chest. He puts an arm around me.

[jihyosforehead]

also on ao3

shoutout 2 marina im pretending like this isnt almost a month late; hbd u foooool lov uuuuu!!!

based v loosely on @bbygirldahyun ‘s cheer au

...

Summary: 

“You’re the prettiest, most beautiful girl in this whole entire world.” Nayeon resumed swinging herself around the lamp post again. “And you picked me. Out of all the people in the world. You picked me! You picked Nayeonnie!”

Dahyun felt her ears grow hot. How could a person be so annoying and so cute at the same time.

“Hey!” Nayeon suddenly yelled into the night sky, shaking one gloved fist at the moon. “Hey! She picked me! She! Picked! Me!”

...

“Have I ever told you about your eyes?”

There was a long suffering sigh. 

“Yes. You haven’t stopped talking about it since I picked you up.”

Nayeon carried on, ignoring Dahyun's amused smile. The answer didn’t stop her.

 “They’re so brown...” Nayeon sniffled, the tip of her nose going pink. She looked up at the sky, having a silent conversation with the stars. She jammed her hands deep into her coat pockets. “Hot coffee with honey swirls. A rock in the pond and the sun hits it and it's like a shiny and shimmery and special? Chocolate and hard toffee pieces with the swirlies in the middle—” Nayeon stopped in her tracks, heels trailing in the melting snow, “—golden amber when the sunlight hits you in the morning. Did you know? They light up like honey-bronze when you smile? Especially when you’re happy. Like you got the stars stuck in your eyes. Hey did you know—” Nayeon turns around to look at her, suddenly serious, “you look like you have fireworks in your eyes when you’re happy.” She gave a long, wistful sigh. “I love them. They’re one of my favourite things about you. I can’t get enough. I could probably never get enough.”

Dahyun felt the back of her neck get hotter and hotter with every word Nayeon spoke. 

 “Have I told you that I love your eyes?”

 “Yes. You mentioned that earlier when I came to get you from the bar.”

 “And your hair—” Nayeon scampered under a nearby lamp post and grabbed onto the metal pole with one gloved hand. Then proceeded to swing herself around it, letting her head hang carelessly, dark hair falling loosely down her back in waves. “Oh my god, your hair. I never thought much of it. I don’t think I thought about it all in school. And then you started dying it. Gosh. When you walked into school that day with your blue hair—” her voice lowered into a whisper so loud that the wind howling around them was barely audible. “—I remember thinking you were the prettiest girl I had ever seen in my whole life. My whole, entire life. Do you know! How many years my life is!” Nayeon waved her hands around in the air frantically, her coat sleeves flapping around, her gloved hands appearing smaller than usual. Dahyun thought it made it look especially snuggly. “You know when you live- like-when you- like- are alive for a long time, I-I don’t know - I remember you walking into school with your blue hair. You were so- I knew I was ruined.”

She spun around the lamp post again before pulling herself upright, rocking slightly on her toes. She swung herself around once more and staggered to a stop.

“I can’t believe I thought nothing about your hair. Until you dyed it blue. Because now it’s black. Like before we met properly. It was black back then." Dahyun scrunched her nose, trying to follow Nayeon's thought process. Nayeon turned to face her with wide eyes. "God. Baby. I love your hair. But I still think about your hair all the time. Like all the time. Someone said you’d look bad with green hair—” Nayeon looked at Dahyun earnestly, a solemn expression crossing her features. Her eyebrows furrowed together in a stupidly cute frown. “—I don’t think you could ever look bad. You could never look bad.” She scowled deeply for a moment, then her expression cleared to give way to a pompous smile.

“You’re the prettiest, most beautiful girl in this whole entire world.” Nayeon resumed swinging herself around the lamp post again. “And you picked me. Out of all the people in the world. You picked me! You picked Nayeonnie!”

Dahyun felt her ears grow hot. How could a person be so annoying and so cute at the same time.  

“Hey!” Nayeon suddenly yelled into the night sky, shaking one gloved fist at the moon. “Hey! She picked me! She! Picked! Me!”

Dahyun rushed to clamp a hand over Nayeon's mouth, looking around the streets in a panic. Nayeon continued her announcement, completely unbothered by her predicament. Her eyebrows came together, perplexed by Dahyun's panicked expression. Dahyun sighed exasperatedly when Nayeon turned big, confused eyes at her.

There was a group of teenagers milling around a park bench, who whooped wildly at Nayeon's loud declaration. Nayeon turned to grace Dahyun with a dopey smile. Big, adoring, brown eyes focussed intensely on her face, tracing her features like she was trying to memorise them; regarding her with open affection. Dahyun felt her cheeks redden at the intensity.

It's mid-winter. It’s the coldest it's going to ever be this year, but the bone-chilling wind is non-existent. No frost in her bones. Her nose doesn't feel the cold sting. Not when Nayeon’s words radiate pure warmth. Dahyun feels like she’s got a permanent fireplace, happily crackling away in her chest. The embers burning red hot and settling into a steady, slow fire. Comfortable. Perfectly warm.

How she makes her feel cosy and snug under a big, wooly blanket; cold hands wrapped around a steaming mug of hot chocolate; coming home to her love asleep on the sofa because she tried to stay up waiting for her. Nayeon's ability to make her feel safe and hopelessly in love, a constant. 

Nayeon’s wrapped her arms around Dahyun’s waist and buried a cold nose in the spot where her neck meets her shoulder. Nayeon pulled away suddenly.

“You picked me,” Nayeon whispered, awestruck. She cupped Dahyun’s face carefully, like she was holding something made of delicate glass, she brushed  a strand of hair from falling into her eyes. Her gloved thumbs rubbed gentle lines across Dahyun’s pink cheeks. And then turning away abruptly to bellow into the sky, “you hear that! She picked me!”

Dahyun knocked her head forward onto Nayeon's cheek, fondly exasperated. Then suddenly very serious. Nayeon's voice dropped into a whisper.

"I rescued you that one time, remember?"

Dahyun briefly thinks back to the previous night. And how Nayeon had turned into a world-class rock climber and scaled the counter in order to sit on top of the fridge. All because she'd seen a bug crawling across the floor. 

("It's winter! There's no such thing as bugs in winter!") 

“I’m not sure that you’re remembering that night very well, sweetheart,” Dahyun tells her dryly, voice muffled by Nayeon’s shoulder. She breathes in the scent of fresh pine needles and hot chocolate. Nayeon smells like Christmas and happiness, Dahyun’s not really sure how.

“From those scientologists?" 

Dahyun scowls at the memory. Of all the situations to pick. Of all the days Nayeon had chosen to remember.

She had been walking back to their apartment, earphones in, volume turned all the way up, when she had been approached by a few middle-aged people dressed in suits, asking for directions. They’d seemed pretty normal, at first glance. Their attempt at making small talk and asking personal questions was innocuous at first, if a little, intrusive. They talked about her relationships with friends and family, even romantic; to her job, her education and future goals. The immediate switch from deeply invasive and nudges at her potential to be successful, was tempting. But a little weird. Dahyun had just chalked it up to old-people-nosiness. Some old-fashioned tough love, she’d thought. Prodding lightly at her insecurities and then balancing it with a solution; dangling it on a string, enticingly.

That is, until, they had approached a discreet building. Dahyun cursed herself when she realised she’d been scammed. This seemed very… cult-y, all of a sudden. Just as she was about to walk in, a girl had come flying at them. And rather deliberately spilled her coffee all over Dahyun's right sleeve. Dahyun watched in disbelief as the liquid — thankfully cold — seeped through her clothes and dramatically dropped onto their shoes and the footpath. The sound of liquid hitting cement, dramatically punctuating the scene. 

"God I'm so sorry!"

And then she kept dabbing at Dahyun's stomach with a tissue, apologising profusely the whole time. Dahyun was so distracted by how gently she was guided away. The steady weight of a slender hand at her elbow, the familiar fresh scent of barely there flowery perfume and coffee. Nayeon’s teasing laugh in her ear. 

Nayeon pulled back to give a deep curtsy, nearly cracking her forehead open on the frost-coated footpath. Dahyun caught her by the scarf and straightened her girlfriend up with a muffled grunt, gripping her firmly by the waist. She could feel Nayeon wobbling unsteadily and grabbing wherever she could reach to keep upright. 

They soon started wandering. One hand down the small of Dahyun's back, the other wrapping tightly around her shoulders, almost drawing her into a hug. Dahyun huffed an amused sigh. 

“Yes. I’m sure you felt very chivalrous.” Dahyun’s voice was dry, muffled by Nayeon's shoulder. 

Nayeon nodded heavily, wrapping her arms tightly around Dahyun's shoulders and drawing herself up before cockily saying, “I am a lady...”

There was a pause. She faltered, her expression shut down. 

“I try—to be a lady. I try to be a good person.” Her voice wobbled dangerously. “I am trying to be a good person, I promise. I’m trying to be a good person. I promise, Dahyunnie.”

Dahyun looked up, inhaling sharply when she found Nayeon staring down at her. Her warm brown eyes were big and shiny, and starting to swim with unshed tears, the deep guilt beginning to creep through. Years upon years of guilt and regret behind a wide, vulnerable stare. Her jaw was trembling. She sniffled and wiped at her nose with the back of a gloved hand. Dahyun felt her heart clench tightly. 

How could someone look so impossibly pretty with tears running down their cheeks, it was beyond all logic; ocean deep eyes swirling with something. Dahyun can see the waves crash to shore. 

“God—Dahyunnie—” Nayeon’s voice cracked, she gave another soft sniffle, “I’m so so so sorry for everything I did at school—how I treated you—I know you might never be able to forgive me—God I’ve been so horrible—you didn’t deserve any of that, you were so wonderful and always kind, how could I have been so—how could I have treated you so cruelly—”

Nayeon wrung her hands together and brought them up to her face, the heels of her palms covering both eyes as she tried to reign in her emotions. “I treated you so terribly just because it took me three seconds to fall in love with you and I didn’t know what to do with those feelings. God — I am so sorry. I’m trying to be good. I promise I’m trying my best. I know I’ve been—”

Dahyun cut her off hastily, unable to stand how sad Nayeon sounded. “What do you think of my ears?”

Nayeon blinked at her, dazed and thrown off for a loop. “Your—ears?”

“Yes,” Dahyun told her quickly, “my ears. What do you think of them?” She walked them briskly down the street, hooking an arm around Nayeon’s waist and pulling her close, while speaking. “I’ve always thought they were a bit funny looking and kind of big. They stick out too much. Don’t you think?

“No!” Nayeon inhaled sharply, aghast at the mere thought of Dahyun not liking her own ears. “Your ears are perfect. So so adorable and SO perfect. Like-like—little pink sea-shells. But…” her voice was loudly conspiratorial, furtive, “my favourite thing about you, my absolute favourite thing in the WHOLE entire UNIVERSE about you,” she was getting louder and louder with every word she spoke as they turned the corner, “despite how much I love your pretty eyes and your pretty ears and your pretty hair, are the little noises and grunts you make when I lick your pu—“

Dahyun clamped her hand firmly over Nayeon’s mouth and held it there until her jaw stopped moving. She glared at Nayeon when she finally ripped her hand away. Nayeon’s eyes were wide as she stared at Dahyun expectantly. 

“Will you lower your voice, you absolutely incredible idiot?” Her face was visibly dark red, even in the dim of the streetlights. She could feel a furious blush travel all the way from her cheeks down to her spine.

“Rude,” Nayeon muttered under her breath, her lips jutting into a prominent frown. A frown that Dahyun was struggling not to lean over and kiss. Nayeon crossed her arms over her chest and repeated to herself, “rude. Rude. Rude. Rude. Rude. You are very, very VERY rude.”

Nayeon pulled away from her sulkily, and then pouted while walking over to a short wall. Dahyun watched as she leaned against the brick and proceeded to slither down it slowly, theatrically planting herself on the damp footpath. She swayed unsteadily, eyes closing, eyelashes fluttering.

Dahyun groaned, torn between feeling very annoyed very fond. She grabbed at the lapels of Nayeon’s thick coat and shook her gently, while also trying to pull her to her feet. Nayeon’s head lolled lazily at the movement. “No-no, no, Nayeonnie, keep your eyes open— oh for f— don’t close your eyes,” Dahyun shook her again and then hissed, “don’t you dare close your eyes.” 

“Leave me alone, lady. I am spoken for,” Nayeon said slowly, turning the words over carefully in her mouth, eyes closed. She slapped at the air in front of her, uselessly swatting at Dahyun’s scarf. Her voice was slurring more thoroughly with every word she spoke, while sliding further down the wall.

Dahyun eyed her girlfriend exasperatedly. Somehow, despite all this, Nayeon still managed to look like the prettiest person she’d ever seen, drunk off her ass and half passed out in the middle of the street. Dahyun rubbed at the middle of her forehead, deeply pained. What was she supposed to do? Nayeon let out a soft snuffle. God, she was so cute.

“Come on.” Dahyun grunted. She hooked her arms around Nayeon’s middle and dug her heels into the ground, nearly falling backwards as she attempted to pull Nayeon off the pavement. She heaved another grunt when Nayeon fell into her arms as they stumbled into each other. Dahyun slung Nayeon’s arm around her shoulders, and held steadfastly to her waist. 

Nayeon’s head lolled forward and she leaned heavily against her, nearly folding the both of them over as they stumbled down the street, snow beginning to lightly fall from the sky. Dahyun dragged her past three more buildings, not for lack of effort. Nayeon was completely enamoured by all the christmas lights. Forcing them to stop in front of every house that had visible decorations, which meant that they stopped at every house on the way back to their building. 

They’d managed to finally make it to their building. Dahyun had bargained hard and promised her girlfriend at least six different types of dessert. She leaned Nayeon against a pillar, one hand firmly gripping onto the lapels of Nayeon’s coat and the other trying to fish out their key. It was a fight to keep her girlfriend on her feet, Nayeon was determined to slither down to the floor every time Dahyun so much as thought of looking the other direction. Dahyun managed to get them in front of the elevator. Then, with great effort, dragged Nayeon up the stairs and into their apartment. Only stopping halfway up the staircase to catch her breath, and brush stray wisps of hair from Nayeon’s face. Nayeon rewarded her with a dopey, sleepy grin and patted Dahyun’s cheek clumsily. 

“Here we are.” Dahyun breathed out, breathless, as she fumbled at the doorknob, balancing Nayeon against the doorframe and they fell through the doorway landing in a heap on the carpeted floor.

Dahyun lay on the floor, gulping air into her lungs for several long seconds and then rolled Nayeon out of the way and kicked the door closed behind them. She coaxed a boneless Nayeon off the floor with gentle ministrations and helped her out of her heavy coat. Shucked off her shoes, peeled through the layers of clothes, and pulled an oversized hoodie over Nayeon’s head. She rubbed up and down Nayeon’s shoulders in a mostly unsuccessful attempt to keep her girlfriend awake. Nayeon was pliant and soft under her touch and Dahyun couldn’t help but feel intense affection fill her entire body when Nayeon gifted her with another wide, sleepy smile, eyes disappearing into happy crescents.

Dahyun propped Nayeon on the toilet seat and brushed her teeth carefully. Taking in Nayeon’s sleepy expression, Dahyun held Nayeon’s head up with one hand, thumb brushing Nayeon’s jawline fondly. She removed Nayeon’s makeup with slow, thorough movements, and somehow managed to take out her contacts without much of a fuss. 

She tucked Nayeon carefully under the covers, pulling them up to her chin and patting the space around her. She gave Nayeon’s shoulder one last pat and made a noise of satisfaction before disappearing into the bathroom to carry out her own nighttime routine. She returned to the room and crawled into bed as quietly as possible; nudging herself into Nayeon’s shoulder, Nayeon’s arms automatically wrapped around her and pulled her close. 

Dahyun lifted her head, angled herself just so, and pressed a kiss square on Nayeon’s lips before settling back into her shoulder with a satisfied sigh.

There was a moment there where the night stood still, the earth seemed to stop in its tracks just to remember. 

Where only Dahyun and Nayeon existed. 

Nayeon's eyes immediately snapped open and she snatched her arm from around Dahyun with a violent jolt, nearly tumbling off the bed. 

Dahyun sat up, covers pulled to her chest and watched with wide, confused eyes as Nayeon hurriedly sat up, roughly grabbed her pillow and held it against her chest as she stood, back against the wall directly facing their bed. Nayeon blinked, squinting around their bedroom, as if looking for something before making a beeline to the far end, just behind the bedside table. She glanced around the room one final time and dropped her pillow on the floor and planted herself there, shuffling around a few times before settling. She plumped up her pillow under her head and closed her eyes with a deep sigh. 

Dahyun stared at her for several long seconds, completely baffled, before finally speaking. “Nayeon...what on earth are you doing? Come to bed. It’s cold down there. Aren’t you going to sleep up here with me?” 

Nayeon opened one eye blearily, to fix her with an intense stare. She shook her head so vehemently that her hair swished this way and that around her head. “No. You seem like a perfectly nice person. I’m sure you’re great, but I have a girlfriend. I’m not messing that up for anything. She’s my entire world. She’s the best person ever. And I love her and I want to be with her forever.” Nayeon shut her eyes and continued speaking. Meanwhile Dahyun grew warmer, and warmer with every word that came out of her mouth. Her ability to wrap her up in a warm blanket. Dahyun’s heartbeat quickened. “I’m going to marry that girl one day. I can’t mess this up. I already messed up once. I’m not going to mess it up. Not for anything.” 

Nayeon closed her eyes again and promptly went to sleep. How could someone just say all those things without any regard for her heart, thrashing violently in her chest. She could hear Nayeon’s long, even breathing from where she lay, the sound of it soothing her bones.

Dahyun had never really understood the falling in love more everyday thing, until she met Nayeon. And really it wasn’t like she even had a choice. Nayeon loved effortlessly and with her whole heart, no reservations. No hesitation. Threw her soul in there too, for good measure. Dahyun knew she held Nayeon’s heart in her hands, but wasn’t sure of how long, until tonight. 

They had fallen together so easily, Dahyun thought, buried under the covers, patting at the empty space next to her. But still feeling like her whole chest had ripped itself open. Finally realising the infinite galaxy-wide chasm of how deeply her love ran for Nayeon. And it should have been scary, in theory. To give yourself so completely, so wholly, to someone else. The strength of it, confused her as much as reassured her. 

The incredible risk. 

Dahyun had never thought she’d ever be capable of loving someone so intensely, so deeply. The way she loves Nayeon, sometimes it feels like she’s drowning. Like the ocean feels deep enough to swallow her completely. But they’re only little birds just on the verge of learning how to take flight. Young deer taking their very first steps, and losing balance. Because aren’t embers still tiny flames, even if they’re still fluttering and quivering now. Because one day, the stumbling will have turned into a graceful dance. And the embers will be a steady, unwavering fire.

But their love goes like this: in tiny, baby steps. With room to grow. Always with room to grow.  

So here they are, in the still quiet of night, and Dahyun can hear Nayeon’s soft snores from across the room. The quiet hum of the heater overhead. 

Because Nayeon doesn’t want anything from her except, maybe, lazy Sunday mornings watching the world rush by, while having a coffee on their balcony. Maybe, to go grocery shopping after work, and debate the importance of ice cream flavours in the freezer section but buys Dahyun’s favourite anyway. Wants to listen to music in their car, with the windows rolled down to let the gentle breeze in, and maybe have a quiet conversation about her day and everything in between.

She knows that Nayeon wants nothing more than to spend some time together, just them, for a little while. 

Maybe while they’re at it, they may as well  watch sunrises and sunsets together for the rest of their lives. Point out the purples and oranges and pinks and reds, no one else can see, from where they’re sitting together. Side by side, tucked into a quiet pocket. 

And Dahyun’s okay with that. She climbed out of bed to drape a second blanket over Nayeon’s sleeping form, dropped a tiny, featherlight kiss onto Nayeon’s temple and tucked another pillow behind her shoulder. 

She’d make them breakfast in the morning. 

[aj-thegreatest]

I’m 5 pages into a MonStar Au

I’m still in the Moon/Toffee* section

Star hasn’t been born yet

[seddm]

Seddm’s Top 10 Greatest Starco Moments

Long post under the cut, moments in chronological order, not a ranking

Blood Moon Ball - as usual, I don’t list this episode as a fundamental Starco moment for the dance (even though it’s super nice and fancy and the music is perfect), but the talk on the balcony. In this moment Marco truly shows that he understand Star, who she is as a person, and that he’s ready to swallow his pride for the sake of their friendship. Star bares her vulnerabilities, for the first time she (even if not directly) admits that not being trusted by the people she cares about hurts her greatly, that she doesn’t want to feel like a little kid who has to be protected and told what to do, and Marco understands that he overstepped his boundaries as a friend and tried to act more like a “parent”. This became EVEN more important in recent times, since The Knight Shift indirectly put importance on both parts of a relationship being equals (both get their capes, both are “knights” in their friendship).

This sets the mood for their relationship as a whole, Marco is going to always be at her side, and especially during the rest of S1 and S2 he’s often going to advise her, teach her things, but he’s never going to put himself over her level, he’s always going to be a friend talking to a friend, helping her figure things out on her own (the best example is Mewnipendence Day, where he spends the whole episode gently nudging her toward realizing how unfair her people have been to monsters for centuries, without straight out telling her “Your people racist!”).

Storm the Castle - the episode that suddenly turned up the stakes of the series, and the one that forced Star and Marco to face an “adult” for the first time (no Ludo doesn’t count), a new world for them. The episodes opens up with the duo arguing for the first time in the series over Star being too immature and reckless in her pursue of fun at all costs. Star values her and Marco’s lives less than a sandwich.

By the end of the episode she doesn’t hesitate in valuing Marco’s life more than the wand, one of the most powerful and precious items in the universe.

Their hug is still one of the warmest and most intimate in the series, with their eyes and body language screaming “We need this”. Star lost a lot (or so she thought, obviously the wand was back soon after), but she didn’t lose Marco, and their bond got strengthened even more. Cleaved apart, cleaved together.

Mr. Candle Cares - this is the first episode that makes it clear just how special Marco is to Star compared to everyone else in her life. After a whole episode spent having a panic attack over her future, feeling like she was trapped in something she didn’t choose and didn’t want, Marco’s words are enough to snap her out of it, and help her find her identity back. 

Obviously this is outdated compared to the current arc about choices and free will, but at this point of the season this was what Star absolutely needed to hear, to know that just because being Queen was set in stone in her future, it didn’t mean she had to follow the example of previous rulers, or her mother’s. She could be her own person, Star Butterfly. Without having to change her look and style. Nor maiming a mermaid. 

Bonus point for the dork stopping in the middle of a ping pong game for his life to smile over the thought of how much he admires and likes Star’s unique personality (admittedly Tom then chimes in saying her likes it too, even if it infuriates him at time, but this is a post about Starco moments so shush).

Star Vs Echo Creek - an underwhelming episode that apparently doesn’t change anything in Star, but it shows a huge contrast with her early self which. S1 Star would have done literally anything to keep her freedom intact, to the point of getting paralyzed by fear at the mere mention of St. Olga. In this episode, after some moments of self realization, she saw going to jail as a preferable alternative to never being able to see Marco again.

Obviously this moment is larger than Starco - it’s a sign of maturity for Star overall, a first step toward being able to take hard decisions that might damage herself for the good of others (from Toffee to trying to change Mewni to helping Eclipsa), but as many moments of growth, especially in the first two seasons, it begins with Marco.

Starcrushed - the whole episode. It uses Starco as a way to give Star the ultimate push she needed to go from the princess who used to run away from all responsibilities and unpleasant duties, to the princess who blew herself up to stop Toffee and who dedicated almost a year of her life to changing Mewni. And her love for Marco (in a broad sense, at this point of the series she wasn’t IN LOVE with Marco yet) ultimately leads her to confess her crush. She could have left without saying anything, it would have been easier both on her and Marco, but she couldn’t leave with what could have been the last thing she ever told Marco being a lie.

Honesty and communication are fundamental to their relationship, even if sadly it has always been hard for both of them to always fully be honest about their feelings. But they always try, even if it usually takes half a season, and in this case Star tried.

Also it has Marco being super depressed over things being weird with Star while trying to convince himself that he has suuuuch a deep bond with Jackie, which is frustrating and explains why it took him until Lava Lake Beach to begin understanding things, but it’s also sweet and meaningful.

Night Life - it literally has Marco telling Star that the things he likes the most is keeping her safe, even if at the time just being at her side brought unpleasant feelings. 

Also, while it’s not framed as something sweet in the context of the episode since it’s in situations of frustration, it’s just one of the many instances of S3 showing just how necessary Marco is to Star - not just as a practical help, but as a moral one, as the one person who can help her navigate through her life.

And the first person who comments something like “Star is a nagging wife who bosses Marco around!” gets a slap in the face and a link to this.

Booth Buddies - I really don’t think I have to say anything about this episode. Sure, it didn’t lead to changes nearly as much as I hoped, it took until Curse of the Blood Moon for Star’s feelings to be relevant, but it’s still an outstanding episode that has all the emotional intimacy that makes Star special to me. It’s the talk on the balcony in Blood Moon Ball, squared.

It’s the payoff to a season worth of tension, and it tells us that NO, THEIR RELATIONSHIP CAN’T GO BACK TO SIMPLE FRIENDSHIP (not even with the curse bullshit). Things are different, their feelings and their friendship are one and the same.

Divide - ‘Nuff said. Obviously the hug in Conquer is even more powerful in a way, it truly shows how important Star is to Marco, and how lost she’d be without him, but the one in Divide, in this calmer context, is a better example of the core of Star and Marco’s relationship, a friendship based on mutual trust and help.

Curse of the Blood Moon - I made a whole post about the dance scene in this episode so I’m just going to link it. But for brevity: Star and Marco enter the severing stone with the intention to break the curse and rid themselves of unwanted feelings, but as soon as they start dancing they forget every other problem and distraction, losing themselves in their happiness, and they understand that they cherish those feelings, that they are painful but worth being felt, as Eclipsa told Marco, and that they’d love to act on them but it’s too late now.

One minute of being alone and they fell in love.

The Knight Shift - I don’t like making rankings, but this would easily be the number 1 Starco episode in the show. It’s perfect, it has everything, from Star being distraught at the idea of Marco leaving Mewni (even if this wouldn’t have meant not seeing him again, obviously), to Star and Marco knowing that they had to talk with the other even if the subject was unpleasant, to Star recognizing Marco’s individuality and giving him his spaces. But obviously THE Starco moment is the one at the end, the one that shows the utter commitment they have for each other more than any other.

In this episode Marco thinks about his life and what he wants to do in the future, and he realizes that he doesn’t want to forever commit himself to a single knight task, not yet at least, he wants to do other things, explore, find his own goal in life. But he doesn’t hesitate a moment in making Star his lifelong post. 

The episode was only platonic in universe, obviously, but this is the essence of Star and Marco’s relationship: commitment. Something that lacked from any other romantic relationship in the show. This is the closest we can probably get to a wedding, Marco and Star essentially promise that they’ll spend their lives at the other’s side in this moment. Also, as a minor note, this moment made Star and Marco truly equal: not princess and boy, not queen and squire, but two friends with a badass cape reminding them that their friendship is the most important things they have.

The heart on the capes, their love, is quite literally made up by their special moments as friends. Friendship as the only solid basis for long lasting, deep, committed love.

BONUS MOMENT

Beach Day - pure happiness. Nothing more. Just having all the fun they can, together.

[new-moon-over-septarsis]

Let's talk about Lazlo Marmalade (I'll put more attempts to design him in another post):

The Book of Spells said Lazlo was a multiverse chef: never said he was from Mewni. So he's not. He's an glacial satyr from the Great Andromeda dimension, and for the past few decades he's been the head chef for a traveling interdimensional circus. Fun fact about Comet: something she and Toffee have in common is their repressed xenophilia; they both have a thing for exotic-looking people (though Comet tends to commodify this to a racist level).

While married to Lazlo, Comet traveled with this circus with him, some other Andromedans she grew close, and even some Septarians from Mewni. They were all chefs for the circus, and despite Comet's narcissism, codependency, and racist tendencies, they were all close-knit as family. But Lazlo and Comet's marriage fell apart the more apparent it became that she had to take the throne soon. Lazlo knew she didn't really want to become queen, and urged her to reevaluate her wants and needs, but her pressure to fulfill an obligation got the better of her. They got into many huge fights about it that eventually led to their divorce, and she took baby Moon with her.

Lazlo tried one last time to go back to Mewni; he wanted to be there for Moon in her grief after Comet's death, but Mina threatened him never to return. She even cracked the crystal heart on his chest to prove she meant it, and he left permanently. When Toffee went to Andromeda to work as a historian in the Alexandrite Library, he encounter the circus and befriended Lazlo, but never found out he was Moon's father until many MANY years later.