#but it's super pretty and has rainbow crystals and colorful trees

[noxcomnia-a]

Whose gonna volunteer to go to the forest of dreams with Owen, he’ll make sure to protect you

[harmonytre]

Comic Plans

Current Projects:

Prismtale (Mondays): An Undertale AU involving NPCs and multiverse travelling. Multi-chapter comic and ongoing.

Mistbreak (Tuesdays): A Steven Universe AU with about 5 pages left of the comic. Then it will become an ask/drabble/design blog.

Flicker of a Neon Soul (Wednesdays): An Undertale AU where monsters have colored soul traits and humans have white soul traits. 10+ chaptered comic with many plans and plot.

Taffy and Steven (Thursdays): A Steven Universe where Steven and his gem are split into different people and Taffy is a wholesome boyo. One page left of the comic, then will become an ask/edit blog with occasional comics.

Future Fandom Projects:

Pokemon Nuzlocke Comics: Multiple regions and an overarching plot. I need to finish playing and writing the first arc before starting the comic. (long term)

Who I Am: A Pokemon comic where James from Team Rocket is a were-pokemon. I need to rewrite it first. About 7 to 8 chapters. (medium length)

Other Undertale AUs: Certain AUs will be revealed in Prismtale and turn into side blogs, and others will be one time comics. (varies)

Future Original Projects:

(One of these I want to make extremely interactive. Like the audience makes choices for the characters.)

Phantulfurs: A comic about teens with powers to see creatures no one else can. I’ve rewritten the first chapter multiple times, but I need to really write it out before starting the comic. About ten arcs. (long term)

Skryculars: A sequel to the above story. (medium length)

The Journeyers: A multi-book series with my cousin. About ten books. Involves animals, powers, and romance. Won’t give information beyond that. (long term)

Unnamed Animated Series: Still need to design the two main characters, but they’ll travel through many worlds from my dream world. (long term youtube series)

Unnamed Wings Story: Decided many many characters for a high school story with wings. Lots of diversity and LGBTQ. Problem is I don’t like writing high school stories and have no plot. ;^; (medium? short?)

Unnamed Long Term Comic: A story about a space girl with wings, a nonbinary person that can shapeshift and communicate with animals, twins with water and plant powers, and an angsty wholesome skeleton bean. No plot yet. (long term)

Short Term (below the cut, any catch your interest?)

(keep in mind many of these I wrote the descriptions for years ago or based off of dreams.)

“Orphan Dog” and “Martha’s Pack” An orphan finds out she can talk to dogs and realizes they are the key to finding her missing parents. (Wrote when I was 8, rewrote partially when I was 13. So very cheezy. Would be even cheezier if I didn’t rewrite it, but still drew quality serious art XD.)

“The Agency” A girl named Jill has secrets. Major secrets. For one, she can turn into any animal at will including extinct, Fantasy, or hybrids. Don’t forget that she can also turn invisible and do telepathy. (Not to mention she runs an entire secret animal spy community…) When her best friend and spy ally, Izabella the opossum, goes missing, she must find what it means to be a true friend and showing that it’s what’s inside that counts. (Actually liked this one too. Even if it’s also cheezy.)

1. “Moos” A boy is adopted by cows and is granted the power to understand animals and turn into a cow.

2. “Moos: Vile Meat” Hoover is back and he must defeat the evil Haystack, a human entrapping calfs in little domes for eternity.

3. “Moos: Cold Cuts” Hoover finds a new ally, one who creates...snow?

4. “Moos: Wakey Wakey Eggs and Bakey” Haystack is back and Hoover and his friends must defeat him before he turns all pigs into stone. (Cheezy series?)

“Extraordinaries” Emma, her friend, Millie, her brother, Clark, and her dog, Charlie, have to travel to a faraway land to save Emma’s mother, who has been poisoned. Along the way Emma and the team must find how to deal with their newfound powers of Imagination. (This one was also pretty good! A story from Nanowrimo a few years ago.)

“The Hummingbird Did It” A hummingbird turns a lazy boy into a dog. The boy must venture across country to find the cure. (Was kinda boring and just me having fun with google maps lol.)

“Sunshine and Rainbows” A girl is taken to another world by rainbow dust and must find her way back to Earth. (Can’t actually remember this one.)

“Nature’s Lifeforce” A boy and girl are given the power to turn into any woodland creature and talk to trees. (Also can’t remember, but sounds cool.)

“Ravens” A girl named Hannah, a boy named Billy, a boy named Cameron, a girl named Lyla, and a boy named Clark, among other students, have their wishes come true. This creates a problem as Cameron becomes a dog, Lyla becomes a cat and Hannah and Billy become ravens. They fix the problem for everyone except Hannah and Billy, but embark on an adventure to find the scientist who can help them. (Based on a dream, I think.)

“Dragon wings” Hiccup and Toothless accidentally sit down someplace weird. They switch bodies and Toothless claims to have heard someone press a button. (ASDFGHJKL WHAT?! HTTYD short story)

“Melody Dreambubble” A weird new pony arrives in Ponyville. Twilight is curious to find that she has no Cutie Mark, was raised by wolves, and bears mysterious powers. (My Little Pony, kinda self insert, short story)

“Eyes of Gold/The Tower” A Fan Fiction based on The Ever Afters series and two stories rolled into one. Rory finds that her two best friends have been poisoned by a new dragon species/As Rory is about to enter a tower to save Chase a random girl shows up out of nowhere and has a weird habit of annoying Adelaide. (Was my first ever self insert? And based on a book series unlike the rest? Cool! Oh I even wrote ten whole pages! Neat. Featuring a girl chasing a dragon with a bedpan!)

“Roadkill” A man purposely runs over a deer on a freeway. The deer’s best friend curses the man, later to regret it because he has to undo the curse himself. (Lol, this was interesting.)

“Melissa and Steven Started a Food Fight” A completely random book that takes the characters through an adventure of explosions, unicorns, and talking squirrels. (Used a random prompt generator. Very random. And funny.)

“Before it’s Gone” A snooty teen crashes in her car and finds a surprise when she wakes up. (Oh yeah, another old story. She turned into a dog and none of the other dogs believed her.)

“The Unicorn Killer” A short story about poachers and Julia. (Yep. Short story.)

1. “Feathers of Gold” A logical young bird griffin, Gabriel, wants to find a way to stop to war between bird and lion in his land, Genetica.

2. “Scales of Emerald” A shy young dragon, Emmie, tries to keep her land, Reptilia, from destruction.

3. “Hair of Crystal” A brave young unicorn, Crystal, tries to find a way to join together the leaders of the land of Equinsta.

4. “Flames of Ruby” A vain young phoenix, Flaxter, tries to capture the eyes of girls. Taken place in the land of Flamia.

5. “Gems Unite” Gabriel, Emmie, Crystal, and Flaxter find out they are The Gems, the only ones who can save their world, Animagicia, from the beings, called Humurns, that are trying to destroy it. They must come together and find who they truly are. (Might have fun with this series. I’ve always loved mythical animals.)

“The Distance from Sam” An 8 year-old St. Bernard named Barry, a 3 year-old Golden Retriever named Mick, and a 1 year-old Sheltie named Sandy set off to return to their owner Sam, after being kidnapped and sent across country. (Kinda like Homeward Bound. Came in mind when I saw these three dogs alone by a street, no humans around.)

“The Skilled” Andy and Ashley(both fifteen) and their eight year-old siblings, twins Alex and Alexa, gain powers from the sewers. All: understand animals and fly, Andy: talk to toys, Ashley: speak to plants, Alex and Alexa: psychic powers. “I used to think my toys would come to life when I was gone. I guess I was right.”-Andy. Based on a dream. (Too many “A” names, oof. Also, toy Story much?)

“The Moon’s Eye” A teenage girl named April gets trapped under a snow drift and wakes up to be a wolf. A nearby wolf pack needs her aid and calls her The Mooneye, a changeling. (Cool. Cool.)

“Unusual Forces of Omnipotence” A woman and her horse are supposedly crushed by a U.F.O. When Tanaya wakes up she finds out she has super strong senses and can run as fast as her horse. Pluto the alien knows he’s going to be in trouble if his planet finds out he crash landed and accidentally gave a human the powers of her horse. He tries to fix it. Told from Tanaya, Sunray (the horse), and Pluto’s point of view. Based on a dream. (Sounds interesting! Title came from before I knew UFO was an acronym lol.)

“The Lawn” Unknown to humans, a yard full of statues come alive at night. There is an elk, two bears, four buffalo, a wolf, an eagle, three horses, a small boy, a moose, a bighorn sheep, and a rabbit. (Based on a real lawn I’d see on the way to school.)

“Dragon Eyes” Max has an ordinary life, until his family, him, and his three friends, Alice, Peter, and Samuel, are transported to another world. His parents are then kidnapped and they have to fight against an evil Mother Nature. Based on a dream. (Interesting. The dream was freaky.)

“Sweet Treat” Emily’s dad works at a candy factory, and one day she visits him and realizes his work is not all it seems… Based on a dream. (What? I don’t remember what was different about his work???)

“The Flight of the Supernatural” Randy thinks he is mostly a normal kid. Sure, he and his dad live inside a mountain, and sure, some flying species of human killed his mother, that doesn’t mean he can’t live normal life homeschooling and watching TV. But unfortunately, Randy’s life turns around when he finds out he can fly. Is his father telling the truth? Did his own species kill his mother? Based on a dream. (Actually REALLY loved this story.)

“Whispering Willow” A girl named Willow helps 20 wolf cubs escape a pet store and then is recruited by a zoo. Pretty soon all of the animals know her as Whisper. Based on a dream. (Cool. another animal whisperer.)

“The Invasion of Our Minds” Little black aliens invade Earth and only one person can stop them: Julia. Based on a dream. (Oh RIGHT! Yeah I remember that.)

“The Marble Island(Possibly a short story?)” Julia goes on a trip to a new marble island only to find the owner turns people into stone figurines. Based on a dream. (Links to the previous story, I think.)

“Have some candy!” Violet, an expert on strange occurrences, needs to help a group of people who mysteriously turned into animals after attempting to grab candy bars from a bin in a local store. Based on a dream. (More animal transformation.)

“The Guide to Mythical Creatures I Made Up” A guide to everything from the Mystic Melody to the Gollan. (I don’t remember either of their designs! :P )

“Trying to Get Back to Mom” Michael and Annabelle meet new friends, while they frantically try to reunite with their mother. (Don’t remember.)

“Surprise of the Future” Pearl travels to the future and has to fight her now-evil brother in his stone mansion. (Not Pearl from SU. Based on a dream.)

“All for You” A man has to overcome many obstacles, such as mermaids, yellow smoke wolves, and magic maps, to save the world and his girl. (Oh yeah, this was a cool one. Based on a song, but I can’t remember which one.)

“The Stranger at the Door” Keith and Amber have lived with their grandmother for many years, but now they live alone and nobody knows. Then a strange girl arrives at the door. She claims they will have to leave town within 2 hours or risk being stuck in a quarantine zone. There will be traffic jams and other hindrances, so it's best to leave right now without taking anything with you. Unsure about everything, including this strange girl, the teenage boy disagrees to the proposal, if all this turns out to be true, this choice will seem foolish. His younger sister does agree. But what if this strange girl can't be trusted. Or what if all this is an elaborate trap. How could an ordinary teenage girl and boy end up in a situation like this. Time to find out. (Oh, a quarantine story? How long ago was this? 2017 I think.)

“The Beginning of the Hybrid Brothers” A backstory that shines a light on how Ralph the Rat-Man and Dr. Discord came to be evil. (YES, MY TWO VILLAINS NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT BUT ARE STILL DEAR TO MY HEART HNNNNNNNG.)

“Unnamed but same as the blank” A girl named, _____, lives in a family of nine. She and her mother are the only ones who aren’t “Morhumals”, or people who can turn into one animal. After the twins mess-up and send a “Morhumals” hunter after them, it is up to ___ and her sister, ____ to rescue them.

“Song of the Siren” ____ is back after her fourteenth birthday. She finally has received her animal and must follow her family to the mythed Siren hideout.

[thdorkmagnet]

Chapter 2: When Star Met Marco

Summary: His whole life Marco Diaz has been raised by monsters, living under the cruel rule of their leader, Toffee. But one day Marco escapes into Mewni where he meets a magical princess and Mewman like himself, who begins teaching him all about her world. Together they will learn about life, love, and the lights within each of them, as they change their world forever.

Chapter Synopsis: Marco, now on his own, wanders through the woods, feeling lost and confused, until he meets a pretty blond girl with a magical wand.

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

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Marco had been walking for what felt like hours. He had no idea where he was, or where he was going, just having to blindly follow the path he had eventually found himself on. The sun rose into the sky, turning night to day and still Marco walked on. He felt miserable as he trudged on, his legs and feet sore and aching from the long trip, heavy bags hung thickly under his tired eyes, and the fresh scars from Toffee still stung his arms and back.

But the thing that seemed the worse for him were the thoughts that troubled his tired mind. Buff Frog's words looped through his head over and over again. He had no idea what Buff Frog had been talking about, but if what he said was true then everything Marco had ever known was a lie. That apparently the monsters that had raised him since birth had been lying to him about their true purpose and intentions. Marco felt lost, both literally and figuratively, and now he was completely on his own, there was no one here to help him figure out what he should do. Marco had never felt so alone.

Marco stopped, letting his sore legs rest for a moment, looking on at the unending path in front of him. He was in some kind of forest, but on what dimension he had no clue. He could be anywhere and he wished more than anything to know where exactly he was. Was this what Buff Frog wanted? he wondered. To bring me to this place and then let me walk forever. Is this my punishment for disobeying?

The boy sighed, rubbing his sore eyes with the palms of his hands, softly whispering to himself, “What am I supposed to do?”

Suddenly, a loud explosion shook the silence of the morning. Marco screamed and jumped at the ear-splitting rattle, tripping over his own feet and falling to the hard, forest floor. Marco swerved, looked over in the direction he had heard the sound, only to see a giant, rainbow-colored mushroom cloud rising into the air just a short distance away.

To say Marco was in shock by what he was seeing was an understatement. Marco felt a mixture of different emotions rush through him at once, fear, curiosity, awe, wonder, fear again, excitement, his whole body petrified, as he lay there on the forest path, unable to do anything but stare in wonder at the colorful phenomenon that now invaded his frazzled senses.

And just as suddenly as it had come, the puff of color-coded smoke was gone again, disappearing into the morning sky, leaving Marco panting for breath, his heart hammering away in his chest. He blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision from the spots that now coated the majority of sight, his mind trying to make sense of the wonder he had just witnessed, almost unable to believe it had been real. Finally, he managed to calm his breathing and racing heart, as he stared intensely at the sight of the explosion, waiting to see if anything would happen again.

Sure enough, after a few moments of silence Marco was rewarded with another loud boom that seemed to rattle the forest itself, a thick, pink blast, immediately spreading outward in a large shock-wave, forcing the flora and fauna to blow against their normal current and instead bend to its powerful will. Marco was overtaken by the pink energy, feeling a hot breeze on his face as rocks and dust scattered around him, shifted around by the force of the wind. Then just like before, the wave passed, the forest returning to its normal, silent state, any evidence to the contrary nonexistent.

Marco breathed, his eyes shining with wonder at the strange experience, his mind reeling with new, unanswered questions. What was that? Marco thought, his thoughts quickly spiraling out of control. His curiosity overwhelmed him as a deep burning rose up in his chest, feeling an intense need to learn more about this strange, unknown occurrence. But at the same time, Marco knew going toward large explosions was probably a bad idea. He thought carefully for a moment,  weighed his options back and forth, battling between his safety instincts and his burning curiosity. Finally, he came to the conclusion that while the explosion was dangerous, it was the first sign of life he had seen since he had arrived here. And besides, he rationalized. What other options did he have? Keep walking with no clue where he was or where he was going?

Marco took a deep breath, before rising to his shaky feet and heading off in the direction of the two previous explosions. As he crept forward he heard the tell-tale signs of another explosion before the forest was engulfed in a bright pink light, that left Marco blind for a few seconds. A few moments later, he heard the sound again this time accompanied by a sweet smell, that reminded him of pancakes. Marco's stomach growled and he became suddenly aware of the fact that he hadn't eaten any breakfast yet and he pushed on a little faster this time.

As Marco continued on through the forest, accompanied only by the sound of explosions, he found the tree line thinning more and more as he went, the passage become much clearer as he walked. Eventually, the boy made it to a small clearing, a bright, shining lake surrounded by tree stumps and burnt grass, probably due to all the explosions. Marco quickly hid behind the closest tree to him as he finally saw the source of the loud, dangerous racket. A girl.

She had long, golden hair that seemed to shine whenever the light caught it, pretty pink hearts beneath her bright, sky blue eyes that seemed to sparkle with her sweet, carefree smile. She wore a green dress with a little pink creature on it that Marco didn't recognize, purple and orange leggings and stylish purple boots. As Marco watched the girl, he found himself entranced by her, as his heart hammered away in his chest and his eyes shined with wonder. He had never seen a girl before but he was sure they weren't supposed to be that pretty.

To Marco's amazement and confusion the girl turned on her heels, holding out a small pink and purple wand with a star crystal in its center. She began waving the colorful object around in the air, a pink energy gathering around it. Before Marco could ponder the meaning behind it, the girl stopped, holding the wand directly in front of her, and shouted, “Super Rainbow Explosion!”

Marco's mouth dropped open as a rainbow came streaking out of her wand, zipping high into the air, before crashing down on a unknowing tree, disappearing into a colorful explosion that closely resembled the one from before. Marco was frozen in shock, unable to believe that this pretty girl was capable of such violent destruction. He had never seen magic before and he had no idea what he was supposed to do now that he had.

But the girl seemed unaffected by the fantastic, yet destructive, display, as she continued to shoot off more spells, blast after blast being released from her magical stick, each more impressive than the last. Rainbows, lasers, cupcakes, pineapples, flowers, kittens, and even some kind of aquatic creatures she called “narwhals” came flying out of the wand, decimating the forest around her. At one point the girl lost her balance after shooting off a spell she called, “Super Rainbow Kitten Explosion Nightmare!” falling uncomfortably to the floor. Marco flinched, wanting to run over to her and help her up, but finding himself frozen in place.

The girl stood with a groan, looking at her wand with uncertainty. But she took a deep breath, trying a much easier spell, still looking a little hesitant doing so. The girl continued on for a while, getting into a steady rhythm as she sent narwhals, cupcakes, and all manors of adorable destruction hurtling around the forest, her body moving with a delicate grace.

Marco began finding it harder to keep up with the girl as she continued her magic show, her movements often taking her out of sight from the curious boy, who remained crouched behind the tree. He began to feel impatient not wanting to take his eyes off the girl, some strange, unknown emotion overpowering him. Finally, he pushed aside his safety instincts, quickly hauling himself up the nearest tree branch.

He climbed up a few branches, until he had a good view of the clearing and, more importantly, the Mewman girl. The blond flung spell after spell into the air, looking happy and carefree, and Marco couldn't help but smile along with her. His eyes shined with wonder as he followed the girl's every movement, studying her intensely, his twin suns glowing softly without his knowledge. For a while, the two seemed content in that reality, the girl flinging colorful spells into the air, Marco watching her from a safe distance in the tree, and for a bit Marco felt blissfully attached to the girl, all his worries forgotten, his universe reducing down to just the two of them.

Finally, the girl stopped, lowering the wand to her side, taking deep breaths. She ran a hand through her flowing, golden hair, letting it dance around her fingertips. As she did, the early morning sun reflected off the lake, making the whole girl's body seem to glow. Marco unknowingly leaned forward on the branch, wanting to see the girl's face, needing to look into those bright, blue eyes, his stomach flipping uncontrollably. As he did though, he shifted his weight too much and the branch, now overwhelmed, gave a loud snap. Marco heard the noise, but before he had time to ponder what it meant, the branch caved and the boy found himself free-falling to the hard floor below.

He released a scream as he began his descent, his body hitting some of the branches on his way down, messing with his scars and causing them to begin their cycle of pain all over again. Finally, Marco hit the hard, forest ground and he felt the air rush out of him, his whole body throbbing. He struggled to regain his breath, giving weak little coughs as he tried to fill his lungs with oxygen once again. He shakily sat up, rubbing the back of his head, his eyes squeezed shut as he tried to fight through his pain. He opened his eyes, giving a deep sigh, only to freeze seeing the girl staring at him with a surprised look on her cheerful face, her blond hair still blowing freely in the breeze.

Marco felt his cheeks grow bright red at both the embarrassment at being seen and the strange feeling he got as the girl's sky blue eyes focused solely on him. He panicked, not sure what to do now, this was his very first encounter with a Mewman and it wasn't going great so far. So, in his embarrassed state he did the only thing he could think of, he jumped to his feet and ran, ran as far away from the girl as he could, trying desperately to escape from both her and the strange feelings that seemed to have been brought on by overexposure to her.

He heard her call after him but he didn't slow down, his cheeks still burning from his blush. He was confused, he had never felt that way before. Was it because of the girl? Or was it just him? Marco kept running, turning to look behind him, making sure the girl wasn't following. But suddenly Marco's foot slipped and he turned just in time to see he had reached the top of a rocky hill.

His arms flailed wildly, as he tried desperately to regain some sense of balance, but it was to no avail, as the cruel force of gravity took its hold over him and sent the boy falling over the edge. Marco screamed as, for the second time that day, he felt a moment of weightlessness, before he crashed hard into the rocky surface, releasing a loud grunt. He rolled quickly down the hill, his body seeming to collide with every rock possible before he finally reached the bottom.

Marco released a pained groan as his whole body throbbed with discomfort. He lay there for a moment waiting for his weak, fragile body to recover from his wounds, filling sick as the world spun around him in an unending loop, the only comfort his sluggish mind could find in that pain-filled moment was that Toffee's scars were currently the least painful part of his body at the moment.

“Are you okay?”

Marco jumped at the sound of the voice above, instantly regretting the pain that accompanied the quick movement, and he looked up to see the girl from before staring down at him from the top of the hill, concern on her cute face. Marco felt his cheeks burn once again, his mouth clamping shut, all thoughts frozen in his mind, as he squinted up at the girl with a shocked stare, admiring the light still dancing off her blond hair. The girl, seeing Marco wasn't going to answer her, leapt forward, sliding down the hill (more gracefully than Marco) landing lightly on her feet, close to where Marco lay.

Marco immediately began backing up away from the girl, his pain subsiding immensely, the strange feelings he was experiencing confusing him and making him skittish. The blond turned to the frightened boy, confusion shining in her blue eyes, as she took a few steps closer to him. “Are you hurt?” she asked, looking him up and down, her eyes focused on him and him alone.

Marco said nothing, his back hitting the cliff-side, realizing too late that he had literally backed himself into a corner. The girl, either not noticing his strange behavior (or most likely) not caring, continued forward bending down to the boy's level, making his blush worsen. “Here let me see,” she said, holding her hand out.

Marco eyed the outstretched hand, suspiciously. The girl gave a small smile saying, “I just want to help.” The boy, however, didn't seem convinced, pushing himself farther against the cliff as he could, ignoring the stinging in his back, keeping a weary eye on the blond's hand.

The girl was surprised by the boy's reaction to her, but kept the smile on her face as she softly whispered, “I'm not going to hurt you.”

Marco felt shivers run down his spine as the girl spoke and he finally looked away from the hand, his eyes immediately catching her own. The two were both thrown off guard as brown met blue, both surprised by how vast the others eyes were, finding themselves easily able to get lost in them. “I'm Star,” the girl continued, putting her free hand to her chest, a bright smile on her face, her eyes remaining locked with his. Marco just stared at her for a moment, studying her stunning face, until it clicked in his brain that he was supposed to say his name back to her. Words failed him as he tried desperately to remember what his name was and how to say it, the girl's stare burning into his skin.

Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, he took a deep breath, trying to ignore the feelings in his gut and heat in his cheeks as the girl continued to smile at him. “I'm Marco,” he said, his voice a small squeak. He flinched at the sound of his voice cracking, really wishing the ground beneath him would just open up and swallow him whole.

But Star, to Marco's surprise, didn't seem to notice and instead smiled at him, the brightest smile he had ever seen, her eyes shining with unparalleled joy. “Oh, you can talk,” she said excitedly, as if this was the best news she had ever heard. “I was starting to be afraid you couldn't. But I guess you can, huh? You just must be shy.” As she spoke she slowly closed the distance between the two, their faces just inches apart.

Marco lowered his head in embarrassment, conforming Star's suspicions. “Aww, you don't have to be shy. I don't bite,” she said, giggling a little at her own joke. Marco couldn't help but smile, this girl's laughter was contagious, in fact, it occurred to Marco that Star's happiness in general seemed like it was infectious.

“Look at that, I got you to smile,” she exclaimed clapping her hands together in joy. She stood to her full height, offering Marco her hand once again. Marco eyed the hand, unsure if he should take it or not, his safety instincts making him cautious once again.

“C'mon,” she said in a soft, soothing voice. “I can't help you if you won't let me.” Marco looked up at Star, her bright, smiling face making his heart skip a beat. Slowly, he reached his hand out to hers. He hesitated for a moment, before taking her hand into his own. Marco was instantly surprised by how soft Star's hand was, finding a bizarre comfort in her touch. But before he could over-think it, Star pulled him to his feet.

Once he was standing and steady again, she let go of his hand and he instantly missed the warmth it had brought. Marco let his hand fall to his side, his fingers tingling from her touch. “So what exactly were you doing in that tree?” she asked, her voice with just the slightest hint of suspicion.

“I-I was just trying to get a better look at you,” Marco stuttered, his eyes darting around looking at anything except Star.

Star gave him a suspicious look, suddenly put off by the boy. “Why?”

“I'd never seen anyone so pretty before,” Marco admitted, his voice without a hint of hesitation as he voiced his thoughts aloud.

Star gave him a deadpanned stare and Marco could feel himself sweating, suddenly unsure what he had done to upset her. “Are you hitting on me?” she asked with a clearly annoyed tone.

“What, no!” Marco panicked, waving his arms up and down, his voice clearly distressed. “I'd never hit you! Why would I hit you?! I mean, we just met!”

There was a short, awkward moment of silence between the two, Marco with his hands still raised in gesture, grimacing at his new companion, and Star just staring at him with a surprised look on her face. Oh boy, Marco thought. Here it comes. She's gonna hate me now for sure.

Instead, Star burst into laughter, her cute, smiling face making her look cuter than ever and making the confused Marco blush even harder. He was at a complete loss for words, this girl kept flip-flopping so much, Marco had no way to keep up. One moment she was mad, now she was laughing. Marco had no idea what he was supposed to do now. The girl continued to giggle, tears now welling up in her eyes. And now she's crying. Marco really didn't understand Mewmans at all.

Star finally managing to overcome her giggle fit, brushing the tears out of her eyes, gasping out, “Man I really needed that. I haven't laughed that hard in years.”

“Sooo your not mad,” Marco asked, hesitantly, bracing himself in case he upset her again.

“Nah, it's all good,” she said, putting an arm around him. “You don't seem like a creep or anything. So it's fine.”

“A creep?” Marco whispered in confusion, but Star didn't hear him, looking around now for any signs of life other than them.

“So do you live around here?” she asked, still scanning the area

“No,” he said with a shake of his head. “Actually I'm kinda lost. Do you know what dimension this is?”

“Uh, Mewni, of course,” Star said, confused, raising a skeptical eyebrow at the boy.

“W-Wait I'm still on Mewni!” Marco exclaimed, looking around at the lively jungle.

“Yeah, of course,” Star said, pulling away from the boy, staring into his eyes with a questioning gaze. “Why would you ask?”

“Uh, guess I just got kinda turned around,” Marco said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Oh, well, my town's just a little ways off from here,” she added, pointing off into the distance. “Maybe your home is back that way.”

“No I don't really have a home at the moment.” Marco said hesitantly, not meeting Star's eyes.

“Oh,” Star said, unsure what to make of the new information, feeling the awkward tension that had sprung up between the two. “Wellll, maybe we could look around and see if we could find your parents,” she suggested, her voice unsure.

Marco flinched, his eyes filling with hurt and loss, as Star instantly regretted saying anything, her awkward smile vanishing as she took in the sad look on the boy's face.

“My parents are... dead,” he said, his eyes slowly drifting down to the floor, each word feeling like a stab to the gut. Star stared at him silently, her eyes filling with sympathy.

“I'm so sorry,” she whispered softly, bending down so she could look into the disheartened boy's eyes. Marco merely shook his head, his eyes welling up with tears and that was all Star could take.

Without another word, she closed the distance between the two, wrapping her arms gently around the crying boy. Marco stiffened as she pulled him in close to her, burying her head into his shoulder, her warmth suddenly blending in with his. Marco felt his heart rate speeding up rapidly, his blurry eyes now shining with the strange, confusing emotion that seemed to be radiating off the girl. “I'm so sorry,” she whispered softly into his ear, in the most comforting voice she could manage. Marco felt a warmth fill him, as the girl held him close, trying to comfort him in his fragile state. The two stayed like that for a moment, Star comforting him, running a hand gently up and down his back, Marco slowly relaxing underneath her soothing touch. Finally, she pulled away from him, staring deep into his brown eyes.

“Are you okay?” she asked, taking his hand into her own, once again, giving it a gentle squeeze. Marco nodded, wiping his eyes free of tears. He gave her a thankful smile, which she easily returned, her eyes drifting down to their intertwined hands. The blond gasped and Marco quickly followed her gaze to the scar Toffee had left the day before. He panicked, quickly covering the wound from her sight, but she pushed his hand out of the way, drawing his arm in closer to her for inspection, Marco feeling more nervous in that moment, then he had ever felt in his entire life.

“Oh, Marco,” she gently breathed, and Marco felt his stomach twist with guilt. This is it, Marco thought. She's going to know how useless and disobedient I am. She's gonna hate me forever. Marco closed his eyes, awaiting her scorn and scolding. “Your hurt!”

Marco's eyes flew open, staring shocked at the girl, who had tears in her sky, blue eyes. “You poor thing. I knew you had to be hurt after falling so many times.” Marco just stared at her in utter confusion, barely able to process her words. “Come on, you can come home with me! We need to get that looked at.”

“W-What?” Marco stuttered, flushing bright red again as Star began dragging him behind her. “But we just met.”

“Aww, that's okay. I can tell you're a good person, Marco,” she said over her shoulder, giving him another soft smile, all signs of sadness or worry gone, replaced with an infectious joy once again.

“O-Okay,” Marco whispered, allowing Star to lead him away to some unknown town. Maybe it wasn't the safest choice but he saw no other option and if he was being honest, he wanted to be around this strange, pretty girl. As they walked, Marco couldn't help but look down at their intertwined hands. Was this the first Mewman he had ever really interacted with before? He had never met any others, all his interactions consisting entirely of Toffee and the rest of the monsters. Was Star really his first Mewman, was she the first one to ever hold his hand or smile at him? The very thought of it made Marco's hand tingle, the warmth of his new companion's own hand making his heart pound. He smiled, glad to be around this pretty, yet strange girl, content in being in her presence.

…

As the two finally exited the forest, still hand in hand, Marco got his first glimpse of town. He stared wide-eyed at the medieval-esce town, taking everything in as Star led him quickly through the crowded streets. It was early morning so people were up and about, heading off to work and preparing for the long day ahead of them. Everywhere Marco looked he saw Mewmans, young and old, pushing past in the crowd, carrying carts of trade able goods and all manors of magical objects for bartering. As Star led him through the chaotic streets, he quickly noticed that everyone was stopping to stare at the two, watching their every move as they passed. Some people even bowed their heads, not daring to look either of them in the eyes. Marco, with his limited knowledge of Mewman ways, was unsure if this was normal behavior but he felt quite uncomfortable being the center of everyone's attention. Star didn't seem bothered, though, staring straight ahead, keeping a firm grip on Marco as she pushed her way through the crowded streets, giving everyone she passed a small smile.

Soon the crowd began to thin as Star led him to the very edge of her town, now walking along a small dirt road leading to a very large building, towering over the rest of the village. Marco stared in disbelief as he slowly took in the complex, beauty of Star's home . Unlike the small houses and huts the other Mewmans had seemed to live in, this house was huge, a large purple structure towering over all to see, its regal beauty almost blinding, its towers and pillars reaching so high, clouds covered some of them. A wall also wound its way around the structure, separating it even more from the lesser buildings in town, the only entrance in being a large gate, which the two were currently heading towards. There was no doubt about it, this building was a castle.

“You live in a castle?” Marco asked, unable to believe he and Star shared this rather strange thing in common.

“Of course,” Star replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the universe. “Princesses usually do.”

“Wait! You're a princess!!” Marco exclaimed, suddenly in awe of the blond girl his hand was currently intertwined with. Well, more than he already was.

“Yep, I'm Star Butterfly, magical princess of Mewni!” she said, giving her free arm a wave in front of her for emphasis, her wand creating a rainbow over the two.

“Whoa,” Marco whispered in awe, a grin on his face, not noticing the rainbow behind the two catching fire as they walked.

“So should I bow or something?” Marco asked, suddenly unsure what to do next, now that he was in the presence of royalty.

“Nah, you don't have to be so formal with me, Marco,” she said giving him a gentle push. “We're friends.”

“We are?” Marco asked in confusion, unsure how they could be friends after they had just met.

“Of course,” Star replied, almost sounding offended at the idea of them not being.

“Huh,” Marco said softly, deep in thought. “I've never had a friend before,” he admitted, looking at Star with the corner of his eye. Star gave him a look of sympathy.

“Well, now you do!” she exclaimed, squeezing his hand a little tighter, giving him a brain-numbing smile, which Marco returned.

“Now come on!” Star shouted, taking off at a faster pace, practically dragging Marco behind her.

…

Once the two reached the gates, Marco saw two guards standing at attention, holding large spears up, staring out at the rest of Mewni with blank, alert stares. They looked down at the two, hearing them approach quickly shouting, “Halt, who goes there!” They crossed their spears, glaring down at them, coldly. Marco, suddenly frightened, moved a little behind the girl, watching the two guards wearily.

Star, however, didn't seem put off at all over the two's behavior.  “Hi Jak! Hi Dex!” she yelled, waving at the two with a smile.

“Princess Star!” the two exclaimed, immediately dropping to their knees, Marco jumping at the sudden action. “We're so sorry for not recognizing you right away, Your Majesty!” Jak said, keeping his eyes on the ground.

“Did you enjoy your trip into town?” Dex asked, giving her a smile. Jak immediately hit his friend and Dex recovered, staring at the ground once again.

“Yep,” Star said, giving a cute little nod. “And I found a friend. He'll be staying with us for a while, right Marco?” She turned to Marco, who stiffened as the guard's narrowing eyes came to rest on him and him alone. Marco gulped and hid further behind Star.

The two guards raised their eyebrows in confusion, turning to Star. “He's shy,” she explained. The two exchanged a look, before shrugging, the gates suddenly swinging open behind them. They stood at attention on either side, giving a salute, as they provided passage into the castle. Star dragged her new friend past the two, the boy eying them wearily, keeping himself as close to Star as he could.

The two continued on into the castle, hand in hand, the two guards watching them all the way.

Jak sighed turning to his companion. “Another orphan,” he said, shaking his head in sadness. “What's this world coming to?”

“I know, right,” Dex said, shaking his head in unison with his partner. “Those rotten monsters just never seem to stop. I don't know why the King and Queen don't just kill all of them and get it over with already.”

“Well at least the princess is still doing her part, bless her soul.”

“Yeah, keeping everyone's spirits up, taking in all those orphans, and now with the King and Queen off trying to resolve the monster issues, she's practically ruling Mewni all by herself.”

“And don't forget she just inherited the wand!”

“Man, that's gotta be tough.”

“I don't know how she does it.”

“Thank goodness for the princess, that's all I gotta say.”

The two were silent for a moment, each lost deep in their own thoughts.

“Seems like Star's the only light left in Mewni,” Jak whispered, Dex nodding in agreement.

…

Star left Marco alone in his new room, while she went and got the doctor. The moment the two parted, the door closing shut behind the blond, Marco felt lonely, already missing his new friend. Marco had no way to explain it but he felt a longing for her, wanting desperately to be in her company.

Marco sighed and looked around his new room. It was a fairly comfortable layout, the furniture well-furnished and, unlike his old room, it was more bright and colorful, giving him a warm, cozy feeling. Marco could see himself easily considering this place home, his worry and tension suddenly melting off of him, as his exhaustion finally caught up with him, his body still sore from the extremely eventful last twelve hours.  

Marco walked over to the bed, running a hand along the comforter, admiring how soft if felt under his touch. He let out a deep yawn, feeling his whole swaying, barely able to keep himself standing. The bed suddenly felt like it was calling to him, begging him to envelop himself in its warmth. Marco did his best to stay awake, but he suddenly had no more energy to spare. He fell onto the bed, losing himself in its warmth and comfort, as he drifted off to sleep.

…

“He's right in here, doctor,” Star said, leading the doctor into Marco's new room. As they entered Star was surprised to find Marco was already asleep, his whole face peaceful, his body spread out on the bed, on top of his covers. The two just stared at the boy for a moment, an awkward silence filling the air.

“My,” the doctor finally said, adjusting his glasses. “He must have been through quite the ordeal.”

Star remained silent, just staring at the boy, as the doctor quickly went to work, examining his patient. He took his blood pressure, checked his heart and lungs, examined his scars, the whole process. After a while, Star took a seat at his desk, watching the medical professional at work. After about ten minutes or so the doctor finished his inspection as he began to put his instruments away. His movements were slow and Star noticed he seemed very worried about something. She felt fear overtake her as she slowly rose from the chair, coming to stand beside the distressed medic, with a questioning gaze.

“So doctor,” Star began slowly, her face the picture of worry as she addressed the doctor. “Is there a problem?”

“Well, he should be fine, he'll be sore for a while, but the injuries should heal in a few days. I'll prescribe some medicine to help with the aching,” the doctor spoke in a very professional manner, keeping his voice steady as he continued to pack his tools away into the small leather bag. But his face was still clearly unsettled, his professional demeanor still not able to mask his obvious fears.

“But...” Star said, urging the doctor to continue.

The doctor turned to her, he seemed hesitant but finally, he snapped his bag shut and asked, “How exactly did you say the boy got his injuries?”

Star was surprised by the question but she quickly replied, “He... fell out of a tree. Why, is there something else wrong with him?” Her voice cracked with fear, as she held the wand tightly up to her face, her eyes brimming with worried tears.

“While there are signs of simple scratches that could be caused by what you said, it's this one that worries me,” the doctor said pointing to a large scratch on Marco's arm, the one Star had spotted earlier. She looked at it closer, unlike the others it seemed to be in a more identical pattern, three long marks running across his skin, but Star saw little wrong with it. “What about it?”

“There is also one almost identical to it on his back. But from the looks of them they weren't caused from his falling. They seem to be... claw marks.”

“Claw marks!” Star screamed, before putting a hand over her mouth as Marco shifted uncomfortably in his sleep.

“It would seem so,” the doctor continued, adjusting his glasses.

“Like from a monster,” Star said, fear lacing her voice. Every Mewman knew that the monsters were dangerous killers. With every passing year they became more violent and destructive, openly opposing and killing them. No one was safe: man, women, or child. Star looked at the sleeping boy and couldn't help but fill a need to protect him, his mysterious past making her sympathetic and concerned. He had said he lost his parents, was this how. Had they died at the hands of horrid monster.

“Not just any monster,” the doctor said, his tone dark and Star waited with a held breath. “These claw marks could only be the work of Toffee.”

Star felt sick. “T-Toffee.” Every Mewman knew the name of the monster's feared leader. Fourteen years ago he had started a personal assault on the Mewmans and had killed an unimaginable number of them, pronouncing that they would pay for the deeds of the past. Everyone had grown to fear his name, any who faced him were guaranteed death. “But... that's impossible. No Mewman has ever come face to face with Toffee and lived.”

“I know, it confuses me too,” the doctor said, removing his glasses. “But I've examined hundred of bodies and the markings match up perfectly. It is definitely Toffee. I have no doubts.” Star went silent looking at the young boy, sleeping peacefully next to her. He looked so sweet and innocent, it made Star sick to think that he had not only lost his parents, to the monster's, but that he had come face to face with Toffee himself.

“It's also possible that the trauma could be causing memory loss, and from what you've told me this seems to be the case, it's best to distance him from anything that might trigger uncomfortable memories, best to allow them to come back on their own.” Star nodded but remained silent, staring at the boy. “On the other hand,” the doctor continued, more hesitant and Star turned to him. “He is the only Mewman to ever encounter Toffee and live, whatever information he has could prove-”

“No!” Star exclaimed, suddenly making the doctor jump, Marco moving in his sleep once again. “Marco has been through enough,” she continued, more quietly this time, but her voice still intense. “He doesn't need everyone getting into his head, making him remember things he doesn't want to.” Star's voice drifted off, her face suddenly sad, her eyes lost in a distant memory. “Nobody deserves to have their worst moments thrown back at them.”

The doctor watched the distraught princess realizing his mistake. “Forgive me, princess,” he said, bowing. “That was unacceptable behavior.”

Star gave him a wain smile, her eyes still glossed over with hurtful memories. “I-It's okay,” she said, her voice strained with hurt. The doctor, feeling it best to leave, rose once again and exited the room taking his bag with him. Star called to him just as he began stepping out the door and he turned back to his future ruler.

“Keep this between us. This conversation doesn't leave this room,” Star said, authority in her voice.

The doctor nodded. “Of course, princess,” he said, before closing the door, leaving Star and Marco alone. Star's eyes remained glossed over with pain, as she looked down at the snoozing Marco. She couldn't help but smile at him, finding the boy irresistibly cute. He seemed to be content in his sleep, a smile never leaving his lips. Star walked over to him, her facial features relaxing as she watched the boy breathing softly. After a moment, she reached a hand down and pulled the covers over him, tucking them in around the boy's slumbering form. Her hand lingered near his face and she gently smoothed out his messy hair. Unknowingly, the boy pulled into her touch and she felt a sudden urge to kiss his cheek. But she held it back, they had just met after all, she didn't want to rush things. Still there was something different about him, something Star wanted to learn more about. She felt close to him already, content in his presence, despite the fact they had known each other for less than an hour. But he was so easy to get along with, his wide-eyed innocence making him comfortable to be near, her normally forced cheer, feeling far less forced the more she was around the boy. Star wanted to spend more time with Marco, she wanted to get to know him, felt herself seeking his friendship.

Finally, she leaned in closer to him, whispering softly into his ear, “Don't worry Marco, I won't let anything happen to you. I'll take care of you.” Star's eyes shimmered as the boy subconsciously smiled at her words, not noticing her twin hearts shining bright pink in the early morning light. “I promise.”

[astradella]

My top ten cartoon characters!

I know that no one cares but I like finding gifs and singing praise.

10. Dendy from OK KO!

Everyone loves an adorable nerd side character, but Dendy is something special to me. She never had any friends before meeting KO, and has learned a lot about friendship and helping those in need since her debut. She reminds me a little on Hatsume from BNHA (which is kind of like the anime version of OKKO anyway) in the sense that she isn’t bound to the limits of her power. Even though she has the power to jump super high by charging up her feet, she does most of her amazing feats with her inventing and coding skills. A 10/10 friend!

9. Commander Peepers from WOY!

Out of the four main characters from Wander Over Yonder, it wasn’t until the very end of the series that I had decided on a favorite. Another nerd here, but very confident and a master at getting shit done! Even though some of the reason that I love Peepers so much is his legendary voice actor, I still admire his creative design and role in the series. Some of his best moments, in my opinion, are when he and Sylvia put aside their fighting tendencies and work together to do something badass. 10/10 fucking superb you funky little eyeball

8. Oscar from SCI!

Summer Camp Island hasn’t been around for very long yet, but Oscar’s design, voice, and passion immediately caught my eye. His never-ending friendship with Hedgehog is just what this age needs: an innocent friendship between different genders without drama about crushes or anything. Oscar has so much passion for everything, and even though he gets picked on about it by Susie, a kind heart and a child’s spirit. 10/10 best friend material.

7. Radicles from OKKO!

This dude deserves a ten on every list. His telekinetic powers go well with his beefy alien appearance, but below the surface he has heart of gold and a pure soul. He’s passionate about pretty much everything, and loves his friends more than anything. His love for cats and playing with cars is something that he is reluctant to admit, but everyone still loves him for it. 10/10 good boy

6. Nerris from CC!

Camp Campbell is full of personality, from our spunky wild child to this determined D+D mage. Nerris, apart from having a unique design and adorable voice, is one of Camp Camp’s best side characters. Her spontaneous and mildly violent nature at the beginning of the show has shown a lot of growth through bonding with her fellow campers and learning to put aside differences with her former magic camp rival, Harrison. 10/10 would recommend on a quest.

5. Nikki from CC!

Another Camp Camp character! Whooo! Nikki stole my heart immediately, shortly followed by Nerris. Nikki’s wild personality is always apparent, whether she is climbing trees, eating bugs, or digging up human bones. Her energy seems to hold the main three together, somehow always finding a way to rope her best friends Max and Neil into wild adventures. 10/10 Nature child

4. Marceline the Vampire Queen from AT!

All the way from her debut back at the start of Adventure Time, Marceline has always been a big favorite of mine. Her personality, design, voice, and fire-as-hell music will always hold a special place in my heart. Her amazing character development has turned her from a bossy fun-loving goth to a passionate, friendly bisexual icon :) Marcy’s character arc was one of my favorites in the whole series, added to her healing relationship with Simon and Princess Bubblegum, making for an amazing iconic character with multiple layers. 10/10 at everything

3. Milo from MML!

Milo Murphy’s Law can never beat it’s creators’ previous timeless masterpeice, Phineas and Ferb, but with a main character like this, people will certainly remember this one. Despite his genetic condition to attract the worst possible scenarios, he is always on step ahead and ready for anything Murphy’s Law throws at him and his friends. Milo is well designed and has a great personality, not to mention he is voiced by the legendary Weird Al! He would almost definitely go to hell and back for his friends, add with his luck, he probably will at some point :D 10/10 amazing

2. Connie from SU!

Connie’s character development throughout Steven Universe is one of the most amazing things in the show. She started out as a shy book nerd without any friends, but after meeting Steven, her life turned upside down completely. One of my favorite details is how her former self was seeing things through a rose-colored glass, literally. Her glasses were tinted pink and a big part of her personality. But after Steven magically heals her eyes, she has a revalation about the gems and their war. She pops out her lenses and becomes a whole new person after that. Since then, Connie has become a master swordfighter, a brave warrior, and a crystal gem! 10/10 strong independent warrior

Aaaaaand...

1. Mabel from GF!

Ah, Gravity Falls. A classic. Mabel, as well as being my favorite cartoon character of all time, very much has the potential to be one of the best. Her spunky, bubbly personality is a perfect touch to this amazing mystery show, adding sparkles and rainbows in even the darkest of times. Her love for her family and friends will always be one of my favorite parts of this show, and her sweaters made for a great Halloween costume in seventh grade! Keep shining Mabel! We all love you!

[kittykat-creations]

Flower Crown

Person A: “You made me a flower crown?” Person B: *Shyly smiles and nods* Person A: *Puts hands on hips, puffs out chest and straightens back* “I am never taking this off.”

@the-moon-dust-writings

I’m stealing another. These are super cute. I’m on a little writing binge anyways.

Fidds and Ford: 13

-----

It was their first official date, and Stanford was way more nervous than he thought was normal.

It was considered a date, right? They weren’t exactly at a fancy restaurant or a movie like it was on TV. Then again, he’d never even seen a gay couple on TV before. And he never was a fan of anything romantic, so he didn’t ever see many date scenes. Was anything supposed to be different? Fiddleford seemed to be having fun, so maybe everything was ok.

He should probably be saying something, though. You were supposed to talk during dates, right?

“So- er- are you having fun?” He asked, cringing at the slight break in his voice.

“A’course Ah am,” Fiddleford smiled. That smile that almost seemed to melt Ford’s heart, the one that made Fiddleford’s eyes light up. “Are you?”

“Yeah,” Ford smiled back. “I am.”

“There’s this neat lil’ clearin’ not far from here,” Fiddleford spoke, pointing with the hand that wasn’t currently holding Ford’s own six-fingered one. “It’s real pretty like, an’ if ya want we could go check it out.”

“Sure! That sounds nice,” Ford nodded. Fiddleford grinned as he led the boy over to the clearing. The were silent for a few minutes as they made their way through the forest. Ford thought he had seen a fairy, but paid the tiny winged lady no attention. He had his boyfriend. Who cared about anomalies right now?

“An’ here it is.”

Ford looked at the area in awe. There was a small, crystal-clear pond in the center. The pond was surrounded by wildflowers that grew to the edge of the trees surrounding the clearing in a perfect circle.

“Wow Fidds, this is amazing!” Ford smiled.

“Heh, ain’t it?” Fiddleford smiled shyly. “Me an’ Bella foun’ this place a couple years ago. It’s been like a lil’ get-away spot fer us.”

“Ha, I could see why,” Ford chuckled, sitting down among the flowers. Sure, they were extremely girly, but who cared if he was acting ‘manly’ anyways? It was only him and Fiddleford, and the other boy certainly didn’t mind. Fiddleford, he had learned, liked flowers and even wore dresses from time to time. In Stanford’s opinion, it was actually rather... cute.

“Yer red,” Fiddleford giggled, sitting beside his boyfriend. Ford blushed harder and covered his cheeks, mumbling an excuse. “Hehe, it’s alright. Ah think it’s kinda cute.”

“Now you’re red,” Ford chuckled. Fiddleford shrugged and grinned, plucking flowers from the ground in front of him. Ford looked around the clearing some more, noting the sun shining off the water and a few bees collecting pollen from the wildflowers. The spot was filled with an almost-silent but consistent hum. It was quiet, but not insanely quiet. It was perfect.

Ford felt more than saw Fiddleford gently lower something onto his head. The something fell down around his hair, although he couldn’t quite see what it was. He lifted it off his head and held it in his hands carefully.

“You... you made me a flower crown?” Ford asked, mildly surprised. The flowers included every color of the rainbow, and Ford had the distinct impression that Fiddleford had chosen those colors on purpose. Sure enough, when he looked, Fiddleford was shyly weaving purple, pink, and blue flowers into a second crown.

“Uh-huh,” Fiddleford nodded, a faint blush on his cheeks, smiling over at Ford. The younger boy looked at the flower crown again before setting it back on his head, placing his hands on his hips, and puffing his chest out proudly.

“I am never taking this off,” he beamed. Fiddleford squeaked and grinned. Ford laughed and smiled back, pouncing on Fiddleford so that he fell backwards into the flowers. The two boys laughed as Ford leaned over the other, both of their faces equally red. Ford planted a soft kiss on Fiddleford’s nose, making him close his eyes and smile widely.

“I love you, Fidds.”

[heartfullofpony]

What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been

Recently, somepony asked for a recap of Seasons 4-6, so that they wouldn't be lost when Season 7 premieres two weeks from now.  (Just the basics, not every detail).  I decided to accept the challenge.  

Below is my crazy recap.  Writing It made me realize just how wild a ride this show has been - how far the characters have come - how insane it sounds when you rattle it off all at once.

It's been well over four years since Twilight Sparkle got her wings.   At this point, she's been a princess longer than she hasn't.  I am, of course tempted to get analytical as I write this - to talk about how the season that a person first discovers really impacts their perspective on the show - but that's not what this post is about.  I'm tempted to wax philosophical – to pick at themes that tickle my soul, and evaluate: the long character arcs; the long evolution of the shows' message, (from discovering friendship, to spreading the word of friendship, and all the different forms of altruism in between) - but I've already written about most of that in other posts.

Instead, I'm just going to get sentimental.

As someone who cares deeply about the show, and the universe, I, like many others, sometimes linger on details that don't quite sit right with me.  I try not to be negative, or to pick too many nits, but when you're actively in the middle of a season, and trying to guess its future course, there's rather a lot to obsess about.  Not every episode is going to be perfect, (or even every direction the show chooses to go in).  It's easy to get hung up on that.

The act of summarizing the major occurrences of a 78 episode arc, however, really put things in perspective for me.  It made me realize how insane this show is, and how much I love it, even after all these years. So here goes the summary.  Let me know how I did!

*     *     *

The Elements of Harmony have taken a few different forms, the most recent of which, being a Cutie Map, which sends the Mane Six on missions to spread the ideals of friendship across the land.  It basically functions like a pager. The map is in a castle where Twilight now resides, (still in Ponyville).  The old tree library exploded in a fight with an ancient demon from G1.  Her new digs were magically bestowed unto her after the Elements took on this new form.  So now she is the Princess of Friendship.  You heard that right.  The Princess of Friendship.

She has a pupil of her own, who is a reformed villainess - a powerful unicorn named Starlight Glimmer, who had created an egalitarian dystopian cult in the boonies of Equestria.  Glim had a change of heart, and now she's a super powerful dork who takes friendship lessons from Twilight.

Shining Armor and Cadence had an alicorn baby named Princess Flurry Heart, (who is being tutored / babysat by Starlight Glimmer's recently re-united childhood friend, Sunburst - also a dork - a very likable dork).

What else? -Dash is a Wonderbolt. -Daring Do is real. -Spike is revered as a folk hero in the Crystal Empire. -The Cutie Mark Crusaders got their cute marks (in helping other ponies solve their cutie mark problems). -Rarity has boutiques all over the place. -And Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon finally got over themselves. We've seen Manehattan, Las Pegasus, the Dragonlands, Griffonstone, and Yak-Yakistan. The changelings recently revolted against Queen Chrysalis when they learned that love can be reciprocated.  They're pastel rainbow-colored now.  Of course.  Why wouldn't they be? And that's pretty much where the show left off.

*     *     *

Wow.  What a long, strange trip it's been.  

-Sprocket

Please support Heart Full of Pony on Patreon.  You can also follow my essays on FimFic

[echoslammin]

Press Start 2018 Letter

Dear Press Starter, Thanks so much for checking out this letter! Video games have been my favorite hobby for as long as I can remember, and I’m super excited to participate in an exchange revolving around them. 

General Information: DNW: Body waste kinks, futa, bestiality, character bashing, inflation kink, vore,  unrequested pairings as the main focus. Likes: Any kind of AU, friendship, worldbuilding, smut, canon-appropriate pop culture references, humor (all kinds - characters poking fun at each other or snarking, running gags, memes, etc. Seriously, if you've ever wanted to experiment with bizarre crack, I'd be happy to be your guinea pig). I also *love* metafiction and nods to quirky game mechanics and canon in-jokes. Most of my favorite works tend to be character studies and fluffy romance, but I definitely enjoy darker stuff as well. If you have an idea that doesn't exactly match with my likes/prompts, please feel free to go with that! Art likes: High contrast, portrait-style, characters posing in different outfits or showing off abilities, couples being cute together Video likes: Shipping montage, parody/humor - fake trailer, meme vid etc. (I would prefer it if you used in-game footage only). Defense of the Ancients (DOTA) - Any Character You can probably guess from my username who my favorite hero is! That said, you definitely don't have to force yourself to make something about Earthshaker or any character in particular (I like everybody in the tagset). I would definitely appreciate worldbuilding for this request, especially if it references abilities, item builds, or strategies. I'm more familiar with the Allstars version of the game, but I do play DotA 2 as well, so if you're more familiar with that, feel free to go by the new lore. Some of the changes did weird me out a little, like how Rylai and Lina became sisters and Mirana went from "priestess" to "princess." Other than that, I don't really mind. Prompts: -Shipfic for any of the following: Crystal Maiden/Invoker, Crystal Maiden/Drow, or Drow/Mirana. For the first two pairs, I imagine there could be some sort of common ground given their shared proficiency in ice magic, and for Drow/Mirana I like the idea of a contentious rivalry between two skilled archers. -Something meta-ish about the teams squabbling over how to spend resources at the beginning of the match. (Of course Crytal Maiden still gets stuck with buying the courier). -Anything referencing some of the weird mechanics of the items in this game. Ex: How the heck do Tangoes work? What does a tree even taste like? -Anyone remember the song "DOTA" by Basshunter? Anything referencing that song or the music video would be hilarious. Dungeon Fighter Online - Any Character

I originally started playing this game as a part of my ~research~ for a King's Avatar fanfic, and now I'm seriously hooked. Playing it really makes me feel like a kid again and makes me so nostalgic for old school 2D dungeon runners like Diablo 2 and Ragnarok Online, and I absolutely love the dozens of subclasses and their flashy skills. (I am a big fan of ridiculous rainbow-colored animations that take up your entire screen).

Prompts: -I love the idea of a female slayer interacting with a female priest. They both have a history of abuse at the hand of authority figures (the slayer by the De Los Empire and the priest by the False Prophet) and have some parallels in the theming of their subclasses. It would be really cool to compare and contrast the Slayer as a Dark Templar or Demon Slayer with the Priest as an Inquisitor or Mistress.

-Any kind of worldbuilding about Arad and Empyrean would be cool as well as any exploration of the backstories of the main player characters/NPCs. What does the daily life of a dungeon fighter look like? Are they actually having fun running into Hell all the time or is it just a terrible grind? (Yeah, I love meta stuff).

I generally like player characters to be referred to by their class only (as in being called just "the slayer" or "the priestess") but if there are specific names you prefer, feel free to use them. Master X Master - Any Character RIP dead game. This was basically NCSoft’s version of Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm, and boy was I sad when the servers closed down in January. Flashback to last summer: The English version of MXM debuted with mild hype, and everyone's guild was named after one of the teams from The King's Avatar. This was a really fun MOBA with some very cool characters concepts and mechanics. So much lost potential :(

Prompts: -Anything Lua x Sizuka! These two were everyone's starter Masters, and it really amused me how they played off of one another in story mode with Sizuka's seriousness contrasting with Lua's overeager attitude.

-I loved Lorraine and her flashbang camera! Something about her combat paparazzi Master abilities would be awesome.

-For Vita, I would be amused by anything referencing "Upside Down" (aka MXM's meme song that people played on the lobby jukebox nonstop)

Liar! Uncover the Truth - Any Character

I'm a huge fan of this mystery/romance app with its feisty heroine and the quirky Liars she has to unmask before finding her Mr. Right. If you're interested, I maintain a sideblog dedicated to it over @whoistheliar (Warning for spoilers at the link). Kazumi and Haruichi are my favorite love interests, but I would definitely be happy to receive something revolving around other characters. I love how MC isn’t a blank slate and is very much her own character. She can be quite a mess at home and has a lot of insecurity about her humble background, seeing as she’s originally from a small country town (IIRC one of Joe’s side stories mentions that she’s from Akita prefecture). 

Prompts (just suggestions - please feel free to go with your own ideas!):

-Scenes from the Ayumi/MC route that Voltage is never going to give us.

-Out of all of the Liars, I felt that #8 was the most outright malicious. I wasn't convinced by the ending of his Lover's Route, and I would be curious to see something showing his mindset and feelings towards MC at the end of the game.

-It seems that people are really divided when it comes to the guy who ends up being "Mr. Right." Some see him as the most precious cinnamon roll, but I've also had people tell me that he comes off as a creepy stalker. I'm pretty sympathetic towards him myself, but I'd love to see your own take on him, whether romantic and sentimental or super dark.

-I really feel like the 9th Liar got the short end of the stick in the main story. His interactions with MC kept getting interrupted by unnecessary drama, and it felt like they never got the chance to really get to know each other. Fix-it fic with them ending up together would be great. BTW, I would love it if Rumi showed up - she was truly the savior of his route, imo.

I generally prefer for MC to be left nameless, but I do feel kind of bad for being so demanding about it in the past, so if there's a name you prefer, please feel free to use it.

Liar! Office Deception - Any Character

I love the Liar! sequel every bit as much as the original game. Workaholic MC is amazing, and you can bet that I'm super thrilled that Voltage is going to be releasing Office Deception Lover's Routes in the future.

-Post-game or redemption story revolving around any of the Liars, with the exception of the 2nd, 3rd and 5th. Ideally, this would end on a positive note with them being able to have a reciprocal friendship/romance with MC.

-Office Battle! I was so amused by the Star Wars parody that kept popping up throughout the story and how everyone seemed to be totally into it except for MC, who's just completely out of the loop. Maybe one of the Office Liars tries to teach her about the series or something like an Office Battle AU that's basically Office Deception in space?

-Narration of some part of the game from James' POV. I love MC's cat and found it hilarious how she kept spoiling him at home while being so disciplined at the office.

-The 9th Liar did some horrible things to get what they wanted, even putting the 8th Liar in the hospital. I’d like to see something that shows some of their inner conflict once they realize they're hurting someone that has actually become a friend to them. 

Thanks so much again, and hope you have a great exchange experience!

[yesterdaysdreams]

Elsie’s Den Tour (Before + After)

Well, this is by far the longest I’ve ever spent decorating a room and maybe the most challenging room in our home, but the payoffs are SO BIG. This den is the living space we spend the most time in as a family. I completed it right before we left for China. It’s where we spent Nova’s first Christmas and I have a strong feeling that someday when we move away it will be the room we miss the most.

I have a zillion photos to share. But first, a walk down memory lane! (You can see all the before pics here.)

This is more before/after pics that I would normally do, but I wanted to show all the angles to really explain the transformation.

From this view, the most obvious thing that stands out is that, yes, we painted the stone fireplace. You can read all about how to paint brick and stone here. Jeremy and I painted this ourselves with an inexpensive sprayer and it was a lot of work, but worth it in my eyes. When we first viewed the home, I disliked the style of the dark stone fireplace so much that I wanted to remove it completely and start over. Now I love it and am amazed what paint can do!

The other big note from this room was the dark carpeted floors and painted walls along with heavy drapes (we actually REALLY opened them for this “before” photo if you can believe that). This is still one of the darker rooms in our home because of a large magnolia tree outside the front window so brightening up the color scheme and lighting up the curtains went a long way. I love the feeling of it now because it’s bright, yet diffused.

This room was tricky because there really was no place for a television. The previous owners had a large TV in the corner you can see there between the fireplace and the window (on a stand) and the sofas were facing the windows. Since we knew we wanted to have this as our TV room, we had the choices of either: a. mounting one on the fireplace stone, b. configuring a TV into the bookshelves or c. facing the sofa away from the fireplace and putting the TV where we put the record player set up.

We decided on option b. And instead of using a TV, we traded it out for a projector set up. When you see the bookshelves below, you can barely even tell a projector comes out of there, as it’s hidden really well. This turned out to be a great choice. Initially we were SO nervous because this is the only TV in our home. But we have never once missed having a “real TV”. This view toward the kitchen changed so much. The kitchen is really blown out in this photo, but if you’re curious how our kitchen started out, you can see it here. I had a really strong visualization of a record player set up being a main element in this room. It’s nostalgic to me and I knew we would use it a LOT for entertaining, Saturday mornings making breakfast together and random “dance parties” with children.

The bookshelves view makes me extra happy! It was one of the first things I painted right after we got the keys to this house. It’s much bigger than it looks in photos! I struggled for a long time over styling these shelves and eventually decided that since we already have rainbow books in another room that I would keep these shelves mostly neutral. It’s also mainly cookbooks since it’s right near the kitchen and we plan meals in here a lot. Jeremy and I both collect cookbooks (although very different ones), so it’s nice to have a mix of our only mutual collection here.

I know painting wood is another subject of debate, but I say love what you love. And I love white shelves!

I always loved this little built-in desk and knew I wanted to keep it. My friend kept telling me to rip it our since it was so “outdated,” but I loved the vintage feel of it. Although we really updated this home, I wanted to maintain some of those 1970s vibes.

You’ll notice that the art is different here than in the photo above. The (new) print here came one day after we shot the rest of the room—haha. But I still wanted to show it because I love it so much. It’s by my good friend Arielle Vey. I love her photography so much, and she has the most gorgeous Instagram account as well.

The gold hardware is from Schoolhouse Electric. I love their hexagon pulls, we used both sizes on these drawers and cabinets. The chair is from Wayfair, but it’s no longer in stock (here’s a similar one).

Augh! The memories we are making in this room are JUST INSANE. It is by far our most used room in the house. We hang out in here on and off all throughout the day (lotsss of playing in here), and at night (after Nova is asleep) it’s where Jeremy and I unwind with a glass of wine and an episode or two of The Office.

First, let’s talk about this fireplace! Painting stone was, is and will always be one of the great debates in home renovations. I’m sure some people will say they liked it better before, and that’s cool with me. I LOVE IT and I am so happy we took the leap to paint it. If you’re considering a DIY project to paint a stone or brick fireplace, read this post first.

For the inside of the fireplace, we were originally going to keep the gas insert it came with. When I called the gas company to get assistance lighting it for the first time (I am super careful and paranoid about all things gas), they very strongly recommended that we upgraded it for both safety and efficiency reasons. After spending wayyyy too much time looking at options we decided to go with a new gas insert that is covered in glass crystals. To use it, you just turn the key (it is not accessible for Nova) and then light the top of the crystals with a lighter. We had a fireplace like this at an Airbnb in Palm Springs and it always stuck with us. I’m really happy with how it turned out.

The macrame I have above the fireplace is this one (I think the plain colored one is out of stock, sorry). Also, I get a lot of questions about the fireplace screen. It’s from Horchow. I searched for SO LONG to find this style in this size, as it was very specific. I went with two white poufs by the fireplace because I was visualizing s’mores and sitting by the fire. We move them around the coffee table when we have a lot of guests over, though. So it’s nice to have some portable seating.

I’ve never been asked more questions about ANYTHING than I have this sectional. It’s from Article and I’ll tell you all about it. We actually have the same style sofas in our living room and after having them for over a year I decided to get the same thing for our den. I debated it for a long time because I do realize it’s slightly lame to get the same sofas in different rooms (haha), but they are SO GOOD that I gave in.

Here’s my quick, honest review of the Sven sectional. I picked our first sofas (they’re in the other living room) on the recommendation of my friend Katie, who said they are great for both kids and pets. I definitely agree with her on this. Our dogs LIVE on this sofa and it gets spilled on and abused on a daily basis. We even spilled some oily Chinese takeout on it when we first got it and it has all cleaned up really well. I wipe it down regularly with just a wet washcloth and it has held up as well as any sofa could. In addition, we had a HUGE dog hair problem with our last sofa and so I love this much more because dog hair doesn’t stick to it or seem to collect nearly as much.

In terms of the style of the sofas, they are pretty “slouchy,” which I love. Highly-tailored sofas age really quick with high traffic (we’ve had quite a few of them over the years) and these really hold their shape over time. I fluff the back pillows once in a while, but otherwise I don’t really think about it.

So, yes, I highly recommend these sofas for anyone who is open to a leather sofa or is specifically looking for something that will hold up with kids and pets. They are also extremely comfortable. This is probably TMI, but when we first got home from China, we were all sick and had bad jet lag and I slept out here a couple nights and it wasn’t bad at all.

OK, I guess I’m done ranting about my love for this sofa. I could have just said, “it’s comfortable and easy to clean.” Haha!

The coffee table is my absolute DREAM coffee table. It’s the shroom coffee table from CB2. It comes unsealed, so you do have to seal it (or be OK with color change). We sealed ours with concrete sealer and it’s been really great. You can also use car wax, but I chose the concrete sealer since it didn’t require as much maintenance. Brass light fixtures are a theme all throughout our home. These lights were actually the first purchase I made for this room. They’re from Lucent Lightshop, one of my favorite small businesses. Their level of quality for real brass fixtures is unmatched (make sure your contractor wears gloves when installing, as they are real brass).

We also painted the wood beams along the ceiling. Funny story, they aren’t wood! They are actually made of plastic and foam. We found that out when we were doing the projector install and it was WAY easier to modify them than we thought (we cut them with a utility knife). I actually think light wood beams would be pretty magical in here as well, but since the ceilings aren’t crazy high, maybe white is best.

Oh! And the shiplap wall. There’s a DIY for that. I didn’t initially want any shiplap in this home because I didn’t think the style fit, but it’s just so damn cozy I couldn’t help myself. Doing just the one wall added just the right amount of texture. Since this room isn’t very colorful, the texture is carrying a lot of the load.

Plants are a big part of this room and most of them are fake. I know some of you have strong feelings about fake plants, but as a new mom I am feeling ZERO shame about them. Plus, this is one of the darker rooms in our home and I have killed a lot more plants in here than other rooms.

My personal rule of thumb is that if I kill a plant in a certain area in my home more than twice (two plants), then I have to replace it with a fake one. I wrote more about fake plants here.

 This standing plant stand is from Modernica.  Our large bookshelves holds mostly sentimental items like photo books from vacations, cookbooks and neutral decor pieces like baskets. I recently added a few more family photos here. I also store all my white ceramics and vases here since they look nice as a collection, and a borrow from them anytime we get fresh flowers.

Bookshelf item sources: Eye bookends/Target, Disco Ball, Wooden Checker Game/Schoolhouse Electric.

These binoculars belonged to Jeremy’s grandpa.

This little 1970s rattan rocking horse was a vintage find from my hometown. I impulse bought it since it was a good deal, but it has been one of Nova’s most used and most loved toys. Bonus points that it matches the decor, I guess. She loves to rock on it while we listen to her Chinese songs.

You didn’t think I was going to pass up an opportunity to post a photo of our little cutie, did you?

Our record player set up is one of our most loved indulgences. I love that it is the centerpiece of our room instead of a television. Playing our records seems to be the only time we still get to experience the full album format (as opposed to playlists) which was a big part of our teenage years and something we are not wanting to give up. I did a full post on the turntable and speakers and everything here.

Record table sources: Console Table/West Elm, Palm Tree Print by Moonlight Magpie on Etsy, U-Turn Audio/Orbit Basic Turntable, Speakers/Audioengine, Alvvays record, Wooden Beads.Nova has good taste in music already (actually I don’t think we’ve even played Violents for her, she just loves the purple record).

I love the quote from Dorothy Draper, “I always put in one controversial item, it makes people talk.” I guess our hand chair counts as that? It’s definitely a love it or hate it piece. I get a lot of strong reactions from it. But it is a DREAM chair to me … it looks just like the vintage ones (it’s new from Wayfair, and it’s out of stock, but Anthropologie has a very similar one). It’s so iconic to me!!!!

Our curtains are from Anthropologie. We used them in every room of our home except for the bathrooms and I LOVE them. I find it really difficult to choose curtains and these were the perfect fit.

Oh! And the rug I got on super sale from Anthropologie (here’s a similar style). Choosing a rug for a high traffic room is not easy and I think the quilted cowhide is a great option for a room like this.

Here’s another view of the little desk. I keep my stationery here and letter from my main penpal (my grandmother, Norma).

Well, I hope you have enjoyed this tour! After so many phases and some trial and error I am happy to call this room complete! It was worth all the paint mistakes. Haha!

Coffee table sources: Gold Tray and Vase/Target

A little disco sparkle before I go! People always ask how I get the “disco lights” in my Instagram photos, and all it is is a disco ball (12 inches) sitting on the book shelf opposite the window. At about 7:30 a.m., the room gets the prettiest sparkles. Get your own disco ball, you won’t regret it.

Thank you so much for coming along on this tour! If you have any questions about details, I’ll get them in the comments! xx! Elsie

Credits//Author: Elsie Larson. Project Assistant: Collin DuPree. Photography: Amber Ulmer. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.

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