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thechildoflightning · 4 years

Text

Pumpkin Ch3- Pick

Title: Pumpkin [Masterpost]

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Pairings: LAMP/CALM

~~~

Chapter Title: Pick- Chapter Three

Summary:

Family traditions are something Virgil’s never really had in a good way before. He had traditions- rituals- in his life once. But they weren’t the good kind. After, well his father had tried and they did have small traditions. But for the most part, Virgil never had that chance, never had the chance to create small little traditions with his family.

And now he does. He has that chance.

Warnings: Brief Panic, Overstimulation

[ao3 link]

~~~

Pick- Chapter Three

Knowing them- well more- knowing Roman, they got detoured once more. They were headed towards the actual pumpkin patch, but suddenly, Roman had them staring out at a bath of yellow, filled with kids screeching as they threw corn in the air.

“What… is it?” Logan asked, “I mean. It’s a pit with corn. But- what is it?”

“It’s a corn pit!” Roman says, spinning to gesture at the pit as if that explains it all. Logan frowns slightly.

“Yes.”

“It’s a pit! Of corn!” He says with the same excitement, practically bouncing in place.

“Yes. It is.”

“You play in it!”

Logan looks towards the pit with assorted people playing in it, creating corn angels and sinking into the yellow substance.

“...Why?”

Roman frowns, and seems to take a moment to actually think about instead of bounding to conclusions for once.

“...Because it’s fun?” He says uncertainty, as if Logan’s question was a trick.

“But it’s...corn,” Logan observes, still looking at the substance.

“Yup.”

“You don’t play in corn,” Logan states, as if it is a simple fact. Which fair- Virgil can get behind that. He’s a big supporter of the idea that corn is generally better eaten than played in. Especially as popcorn/

“Other people are,” Roman points out, gesturing as the groups of people playing in the kernels.

“Kids are,” Logan acknowledges, “We aren’t kids.”

“So? There’s no rule saying that we can’t.”,” Roman challenges.

Logan shifts, and seems to consider.

“There isn’t an explicitly stated rule, no,” he admits while still not giving way to the activity. Roman offers a shrug in response.

“Okay. Well I’m going to jump into the pit once. Because it’s fun. If kinda gross. You can if you want or you don’t have to.”

And with that, Roman shoves Kit in Virgil’s arm and leaps into the pit. Corn goes flying, and Roman starts to genly sink, comically slow. He lays out on his back as he slowly becomes covered, before sitting up suddenly before his head can disappear, and shaking the corn out of his hair.

Logan observes Roman, and Virgil and Patton observe Logan. Trixie observes Virgil. Kit observes the scents nearby.

Eventually, Logan seems to make a decision, and after looking around once more, he gives a firm nod, and enters the pit of corn. Roman brightens up at the sight and wades through corn towards him.

Logan’s face morphs from hesitant, to surprised, to curious. He threads his finger through the corn, letting it spill through his fingers and back into the pit. When all the corn drops he flaps one of his hands once before grabbing more corn and letting it run through his hands again.

“I like it,” Logan tells Roman, who’s obviously waiting for an evaluation. “The corn feels nice.”

Logan stares, transfixed by the corn as he continues to stim by running his hands through it. Kit wiggles in Virgil’s arms, and Virgil lets him down, watching as Roman and Logan play in the corn pit.

With his attention on his husbands, Virgil doesn’t notice Kit charging for Logan, directly into the corn pit.

Kit whines at the side, trying to figure out how to enter, and Virgil is just about to call him back over, heart already hammering in his chest as he realizes what Kit’s going to try.

But he freezes, and a millisecond is all Kit needs to make a decision and leap into the pit.

“Kit!” Virgil yelps. Patton gasps at his side.

Kit struggles towards Logan, making a bit of headway before starting to sink in the corn. When he realizes what’s happening he starts to cry, and scrambles to reach the top, but his desperate attempts only make him sink further in.

It’s barely a second later before Logan’s grabbing him, and scooping the pup up into his arms, murmuring words of comfort. Kit clings to him desperately.

Virgil’s heart is pounding and his breath comes out in wheezes. His mind is filled with worry for Kit. Kit almost- he almost drowned in corn. What the fuck. He could get hurt so easily, Virgil hadn’t even noticed-

His cut out of his spiralling by a familiar nose nudging his hand. He has enough sense to follow Trixie’s lead, sitting heavily on a free bench behind them. Trixie jumps up, settling in his lap, and Virgil takes some deep breaths as she performs the grounding exercise.

Seconds later, he notices Patton at his side and leans into him, still a little out of breath and suddenly exhausted at the startling wave of panic.

He takes a deep breath and looks for Kit.

“Kit’s fine,” Patton soothes at his side.

Virgil nods, as he watches his pup continue to cling onto a Logan that’s trying to get out of a corn pit with a puppy attached to him.

Kit is fine. He definitely seems a bit startled and is firmly latched onto Logan, but Logan and Roman are both giving him so much comfort and keeping a careful eye on him. Kit is fine.

Did Virgil really almost have a panic attack about his puppy falling into a pile of corn?

Well, it wouldn’t be the first time he’s panicked over his dogs getting hurt. He never thought it would involve corn, but hey, Kit’s always been a bit more chaotic then his two previous dogs.

Kit is fine. But then Logan’s face twists into something more resembling distress than comfort.

Virgil directs Trixie off him and races over, trying to figure out what’s wrong.

But he can’t find anything wrong, Kit looks fine. Logan doesn’t even seem to be paying as much attention anymore.

“Is Kit hurt, is he okay?” Virgil demands, still lost. Logan shakes his head and hands over Kit. Virgil quickly takes him in his arms scooping him close. Kit whines a bit, and scrabbles at his arms trying to get back to Logan, still shaken up. But Virgil isn’t ready to let him go, and he brings him close, hugging him tight. Trixie presses up against his side.

Virgil’s paying so much attention to Kit, he doesn’t take notice of Logan starting to stim by flapping his arms. The motion does catch his attention after a moment, especially considering Logan is generally uncomfortable stimming so visibly in public.

Virgil smiles at him, happy to see his husband feeling free to stim visibly, until he takes note of the fact that the flaps Logan is doing don’t seem to be happy at all. Instead of joyful and waving, their desperate and hard, and Logan’s face twists into something uncomfortable.

Roman also seems to notice, and takes a step closer to Logan, who jerks away and shakes his head and biting his lip, hands still flapping.

“Hey Lo,” Patton said, “You seem upset. Is that right?”

Logan gives a firm nod.

“Okay. That's good to know. Are you overstimulated?”

Logan nods once more and continues flapping. He pulls his head up and starts looking around.

“Are you emotionally overstimulated?” Patton asks, considering the recent corn-drowning encounter with Kit.

Logan shakes his head.

“Physically overstimulated?”

A nod.

“Okay. I’m going to run through the senses and we’ll try to figure this out.”

Logan nods. He brings his arms in tight to his chest, and start rubbing at his forearm and hand with his other hand, twisting his hand around the limb as he continues to look around. The motion doesn’t escape them.

“Touch?” Patton asks.

Logan nods fiercely, and continues to rub at his arms.

“Film. Dust. Get off,” Logan states.

“From the corn?” Patton asks.

Logan nods.

“Okay, well I know there were bathrooms somewhere around here. Do you want to try washing your hands and arms?”

Logan nods.

Roman darts away to find where the bathrooms are located, and when he returns, the four of them wake their way over.

Logan vigorously washes his hands in the sink for a few minutes, eyebrows scrunching in and mouth tight as he scrubs up and down his arms and hands.

Eventually, he seems to be satisfied, and turns the water off, looking much calmer. He’s stopped stimming as anxiously and his features are no longer tight.

“Sorry,” he mutters to the three of them.

“You don’t need to be sorry,” Virgil says.

Logan nods in acknowledgment.

“You’re right,” Logan says, “I’m not sorry. I say that I am but that’s not- I’m not sorry. I don’t like bad textures.”

Kit squirms in Virgil’s arms.

“I think someone was worried about you,” Virgil comments, “want him back?”

Logan nods in agreement and Virgil passes over the puppy who instantly curls up in Logan's arms, leaning into his chest. Logan smiles at him and gives him a small kiss on the forehead.

“He’s babey,” Roman declares, causing Virgil to snort in laughter and Patton to smile and coo at Kit.

“Pumpkins?” Virgil suggests.

The group agrees, and slowly but surely they finally make their way to the pumpkin patch.

The field stretches out to agree in front of them. Virgil can only imagine that it goes for miles, stretching past the horizon. Green leaves on brown ground with bright orange spheres sitting throughout them cover the field.

They could have grabbed pre-picked pumpkins near the front, but this is much more fun.

They begin together, but Roman is quickly gone, looking for “the best pumpkin ever.”

His definition of best usually involves picking the largest pumpkin he can reasonably carry back to the car. And while Roman isn’t partially strong, he has his height going for him. The pumpkin is going to be big.

Virgil follows Logan and Patton instead. Logan is much more hands on with pumpkins, sitting them up and frowning at them, checking to see if they stand without falling over, and if there would be a good surface for carving.

Patton is much more visual, pointing out all the different pumpkins in ranging shapes and sizes. Eventually, he lets out a gasp as he sees a yellow one and immediately announces that’s the pumpkin he’s going to get.

“Check it over first,” Logan suggests even as Patton is already on the ground and reaching for the stem to break it off. Luckily enough, the pumpkin seems to be fine, and it’s only slightly lopsided when sitting up.

Logan takes the pumpkin as Virgil helps Patton up off the ground and they continue on.

Logan finds one that he’s satisfied with soon enough. It’s perfectly round and sits nicely on the ground. Virgil’s pretty sure this is the pumpkin they use in promotional pictures it seems so well put together. Virgil’s surprised plants can even grow things like that.

They carry on, Roman rejoining them with an absolutely massive pumpkin as Virgil is taking the stem off a long narrow one he found. It’s an odd shape, but should work well with the idea he has for carving.

They wander away from the pumpkin patch as a group, heading towards the front to pay.

As they leave the patch and enter the area of pre-picked pumpkins, Virgil quickly selects two mini ones. He carries one himself before holding the other out to Trixie.

“Take it nice. Gentle,” he tells her, and she carefully takes the pumpkin in her mouth, carrying it herself to the register. Kit looks curiously over from where he’s still wrapped up in Logan’s arms.

“You get one too Kit,” Logan tells him, “You can have yours at home, as long as you don’t eat it. Alright?”

Kit snuffles and buries further into Logan while letting out a large yawn. Virgil can’t help but agree with his actions completely. The outing has been fun, but Virgil’s social meter is running low.

They purchase the pumpkins, and leave the pumpkin patch, travelling towards their car when Logan stops. The three of them halt around him.

Virgil turns to him, about to ask why he stopped when he sees the sight in his arms.

Kit, in Logan’s arms, lying on his back, completely splayed out with head and limbs flailing, completely fast asleep.

“Awww,” Patton coos.

“He’s so small,” Roman marvels, “And oh! Look at his little toes.”

Virgil does, seeing the little beans flail a bit as Kit most likely dreams. It’s the cutest little movement.

“He’s tired,” Logan says, “It’s been a long day.”

Yeah. Yeah it has. A long day, but a good one.

“Let’s go home,” Virgil says.

He gets three versions of agreement, and they carry on, together.

~~~

Taglist Below

-message me to be added or removed-

@mewithanie @eddies-spaghetti @lemonyellowlogic @savioursailor @goldteethandacurseforthistown @you-betcha-weirdo @gattonero17

#lamp #calm #ts patton #ts virgil #ts roman #ts logan #fluff #pumpkin patch #no hurt #colupdate #jksf

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ngame989 · 4 years

Text

“Loon” - TGG SVTFOE Fanfic Collection Ch. 10

Writing: @ngame989

Art: @toxicpsychox

Editing: @ubercelloczar, @toxicpsychox, @seddm

Alternate fic links - FFnet, AO3

Summary: While Marco, Tom, and Janna have a birthday bash in the Underworld, Star gets dragged into a standoff with an old foe on the surface. It's up to the Butterflies once more to defend the legacy Mewni will leave in the history books... or is it?

Comic Page

Masterpost

Out with a new chapter in record time, and more to come before Christmas! We plan to update either Sun-Fri-Tues on a 2 week cycle, or once per week if we’re particularly busy, so just keep an eye out. Something EXTRA special is lined up for next chapter courtesy of @ubercelloczar, still figuring out how best to include it but it’s going to be amazing. Hope you enjoy!

“...and the foul beast looked me right in the eye as I tore it limb from limb! It put up a spectacular fight, but it was no match in the end.”

Moon placed a hand on her husband’s arm and raised a stern eyebrow. “River, dear, we don’t need to hear the story of every meal you eat. I think it’s making Globgor uncomfortable.” Globgor raised a giant hand, waving it in a so-so motion, and Eclipsa rubbed his neck reassuringly.

“Really? But it was vegetarian! Ate it too quickly to know if it was chicken or turkey,” he quickly mumbled before resuming his usual boisterous shouting, “but it was fowl alright!” Moon could only sigh in response; some things would never change with him, but she supposed that was part of his charm. From their position on Globgor’s shoulder at his current size, she could see half the town at a glance. Though many Mewmans still went by the old names for the various smaller kingdoms, there was a general agreement to still call the whole merged area Echo Creek. She’d been against it until Marco pointed out that just calling the small area carved out by the seven kingdoms “Mewni” was as silly as the prospect of only labeling his modest town “Earth,” and she couldn’t argue that. Abandoning even the very name of the home she’d ruled for decades, and known for even longer, wasn’t her first solution, but perhaps it was fitting. As their destination came into focus, she was reminded that giving up the ways of old could be for the best.

The ruins of Butterfly Castle, untouched for the last year and a half, loomed before them. Globgor gave a signal and began to shrink, keeping his upper body large enough to support them until they were a safe distance from the ground. “Remind me to stretch before carrying three people again,” he said, huffing and puffing as he windmilled his arm.

Eclipsa giggled behind her hand and got on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Thank you, Globby.”

“Yes, thank you,” Moon warmly added. “We got here just in time for-”

A stout, older man in a blue uniform sprinted over to the group with a form in hand. He stopped to catch his breath for long enough that the four of them all had time to look around at each other in confusion. “Saw ya comin’ from a mile away but ya went to the other side of this here castle from what I was expectin’,” he wheezed. “Is one of you Butterfly?”

“Yes,” all four answered, much to the dismay of the man.

Moon got a closer look at the badge on his chest which read, “Police”. Ah, so he’s with the city. “Is this about the renovation clearance?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the officer drawled.

“That would be me, then. Are you the one performing the inspection of the premises?”

He shook his head. “No, ma’am, I was called by the inspector because there seems to be a bit of a mixup. A real noggin-scratcher, let me tell you. I can show you, if you’ll all just follow me.” River leaned over to Globgor and whispered something in his ear that made both snicker. Moon rolled her eyes and elbowed both before leading the others behind the policeman; though she normally found their shenanigans charming, today of all days was not the right time for nonsense..

Ever since magic had been destroyed, Moon had spent far too many hours idly dwelling on the next step of her life without feeling like she was taking meaningful action. Almost a year ago, on the eve of the newly christened Christumpmasday - a dreadful portmanteau, Moon thought, but at least the Stump itself had been no more - Star and Marco had first made her consider the legacy she wanted for the Butterfly Kingdom. Queen Moon the Undaunted might have focused on projecting its strength and valor to the world, but she was just Moon Butterfly now, and she was well aware of how many flaws it had always had - some of them her own doing. The people of Earthni deserved to get to know the history of magic and the seven kingdoms as it truly was, and the castle she’d always called home seemed like the perfect place to do that. But if she was going to do things the right way this time, she needed to go through the proper channels, and that’s what brought them here today.

“So officer,” Globgor asked as they continued around the base of the castle, “what exactly is the issue here?”

“Well, I just got here a minute before I saw ya coming in so I only got to take a quick look, Mr…”

“We’re all Butterflies.”

“Ah, yes.” He slowed down briefly and spoke to River and Globgor directly, eyeing them curiously. “Pardon my prying, but I wouldn’t have thought you two were, how do I put this… related?”

“Oh, heavens, no,” Eclipsa chuckled. “Moon and I are, um… well, it’s still quite complicated, but we’re the related ones. Our husbands took our names.” It took a moment to click why anything would’ve seemed odd, but Moon did recall hearing about Earth’s marriage customs (though they still felt foreign to her).

The officer scratched his head with both eyebrows raised. “Gosh, Mewni was like that? That’s awfully neat. Can’t go a day around this here town anymore without learning something new. Anywho, some lady showed up hootin’ and hollerin’ to the heavens about how whatever plans ya had for this place were a sham, I think, and she stormed past the inspector to keep anyone from entering. Made a real big fuss over it. We’ll see what we can do but I’m afraid I can’t let ya onto the premises if it puts you in any danger.”

“The inspector said this afternoon was the only opening she had for months,” Moon muttered, aghast.

“Awfully sorry, just doing my job, ma’am.” When their destination came into view, Moon spotted a woman with a hard hat and orange vest among the gawking crowd- the inspector, she recalled from her previous meetings. Though the expressions among those gathered varied from amused to unsettled, all pointed in the clear direction of the entryway to the castle.

“Who would even want to cause such a kerfuffle around this?” River asked, echoing Moon’s own thoughts. They’d kept it quiet, hadn’t they? Though her expertise in Earth government was limited, she was fairly certain this sort of thing wasn’t public. No one outside of the city officials they’d made contact with should have known… she’d simply submitted a letter with some information and set up an appointment with the receptionist, who surprisingly enough had turned out to be Manfred. Wait, when she’d last seen Manfred… Everything clicked in her mind just a moment before they came face to face with the answer to her unspoken question.

“Well, well, well... we meet again, monster smoocher.”

***

The telltale whoosh of the flame column signalled to Star that she had arrived at her destination. Hopping out of the carriage, she rounded the corner and bounded towards the front door of the Diaz house. She hadn’t thought Tom would be so into event planning, but Marco was going to love it. Even though they’d gotten into a nice rhythm managing work and school and free time with friends, a relaxing day off was just what the doctor ordered.

She was so distracted she didn’t even realize her foot was colliding with the door, kicking it open and revealing the Diaz living room. Marco was lounging on the couch in his hoodie and a pair of shorts; his only reaction to her sudden entrance was to nonchalantly move the TV remote and soda can out of the way, barely in time to catch her when she pounced on top of him.

“You’re getting better at that,” Star commented, propping herself up on her elbows to look Marco in the eye and bop his nose with hers.

“Have to be if I don’t want to have to scrub juice out of the couch all the time,” he retorted, rolling his eyes and pecking her on the lips. His fingers idly twirled her hair as she settled down into their usual couch cuddling position, her head resting on his chest. Happy, sad, angry, lonely… there was no situation that couldn’t be improved by a Marco hug. She sank into the warmth of his embrace and let the stress wash off of her for a few moments, sighing softly. “So, everything go OK with Janna?”

“Wha?” Pegasus feathers, Butterfly, did he find out?

“You said you were helping Janna with something?”

Right, that’s what she’d told him. “Yes, Janna! Totally, totally, totally… just helping Janna Banana with... girl stuff. And Janna stuff. You wouldn’t get it.”

“Not sure I’d want to.”

Having sufficiently recharged her snuggle battery, she hopped off the couch and bounced in place with excitement, helping him up as well. “Enough of that. You ready for one of the best days of the year?”

“Underworld Beach Day!” They both shouted.

Marco pounded a fist into his other hand with a determined grin on his face. “We’ve gotta find the Skellies for that volleyball rematch after last year. I know we can take them this time.”

“Yeah, Skellies…” She nodded along with a sly smile, knowing the true plans for today would be that much better.

“Let me get my sunblock.”

“It’s underground, Marco!”

“The lava glow can still mess with my pores!” he whined before disappearing into the kitchen.

Looking out the front door, she discreetly motioned over the skeleton horse that was barely visible through the bushes. Nothing was going to ruin this surprise! Poking her head back into the house and checking to make sure she hadn’t been found out, she called out in Marco’s direction. “Oh hey, the carriage is already here! It’s so convenient, we probably just shouldn’t question it at all! C’mon Marco!” She turned back around and took one step out the door, immediately bumping into someone with enough force to send her onto her butt. Star shook her head and took the offered hand to stand up, finally seeing who it was. “Hi Mom! How are yo-”

“Star, could I borrow you for a short while?”

“What? Mom, nooooo, it’s Marco’s birthday.... tomorrow, which is why we’re just having a totally normal day at the beach today!” Star shouted, aiming her voice back into the house for Marco’s benefit since her mom already knew about the secret surprise party plans.

“I’m terribly sorry, sweetie… this is rather important. It shouldn’t take too long, I hope.” Underneath the apologetic smile was a serious tone that made Star hesitate before protesting further. A normal Mom worry was more like “Star, don’t try to stack warnicorns” or “River, you’ll get sick if you eat that entire mewffalo” and she’d heard it enough times before to know it instantly, but this was something else entirely. It reminded her of how Tom had spoken earlier, which only concerned her more. Maybe Janna had been onto something earlier, which meant maybe this was something important… Yeah, guess I’m doing this. Still though, there wasn’t much they couldn’t accomplish quickly if they put their minds to it, so maybe it could be a quick and easy thing, and they could still have a blast at Marco’s party. When she’d finally gotten the experience of a birthday all to herself after years of dealing with the Stump, she’d immediately resolved to never again let a friend miss their own birthday fun. Never mind that it wasn’t his actual birthday yet, dangit, no errand was going to derail the super special surprise party for her Marco!

As if on cue, Marco emerged from the kitchen with a pack full of supplies. “Alright, Star, I’m- oh, hey, Moon.”

“Marco, you should get going to the beach… Tom’s waiting for you. I mean… probably. Why else would the carriage be here? Mom just needs me to help with an errand for a teeeeensy bit. Peasy squeezy, breezy wheezy!” Her eye twitched. Great job, Star, totally sold it!

“Oooooookay, then.” Marco raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “Let me know if you need any help, you know I don’t mind.”

“Pssssht, naaaaaaaw. Ain’t nothin’ two Butterflies can’t handle.”

“Alright, see you there,” he said, pecking her on the cheek on his way out the door. He smiled and waved goodbye before the carriage whooshed into the ground.

Globgor lifted Star up to his shoulder to sit next to her mother. The cool fall air rippled through Star’s hair as they ascended above the buildings around them; Globgor only got this big for travel when they needed to be somewhere fast. “Alright, spill. What’s going on?”

Moon sighed and folded her hands together, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. “Well, you see, Star... I know you and I have had our differences when it comes to our former kingdom. I’ve spent a lot of time the past year reflecting on its ways, its history, and especially its legacy. Time and time again, we- I repeated the mistakes of our ancestors, and the people of Earthni deserve to know the full story.” She unfurled a thick document from her satchel and handed it to Star, who immediately began skimming the pages. Wait, what was she doing with-

“The old Butterfly Castle?”

“We’re beginning restoration efforts soon to turn it into a place where people can remember and learn. This was actually supposed to be a birthday gift of sorts for you.”

Star crossed her arms and arched her brow inquisitively. “Uh-huh... how exactly is this for me?”

“I want you to advise the project.” Star’s eyes widened in shock. After everything they’d been through, she was being dragged into a big Mewni project again? Any angry retorts were stifled when her mom rested a hand on Star’s own, keeping the other for balance on their precarious perch in the sky. “Star, dear, I know this isn’t the sort of thing you want to do anymore, and it doesn’t need your undivided commitment. I’m not asking as Queen, or even as your mother. Time and time again you’ve displayed wisdom pertaining to these matters well beyond your years, and I shouldn’t- I can’t turn it into a place where anyone can see our history, our people, and all our flaws and strengths for what they truly were without the help of someone who could already do that for herself long before I could.”

Both fell silent for a few moments, deep in thought. The motherly pride and respect warmed Star’s heart immensely, and though it felt weird to think about, she was proud of her mother as well. But… was this the sort of legacy Star Butterfly wanted to leave behind? Hadn’t all of her last efforts on Mewni been to cast aside the undeserved authority her family had? It was certainly a noble aim, but something about it still bothered her. “I’ll… I’ll have to think about it.”

The warmth in the smile Star received proved beyond any doubt that there was no lingering trace of Queen Moon in her solicitation. “I understand.”

“Sooooo what’s the deal with all this, then?” Star flailed her hands wildly in their general direction of travel.

“Our initial construction plans were scheduled to be approved today, but then there was… an unfortunate incident. Mina has returned.”

Star felt her eyes try to bulge the whole way out of her head, as if forced out by her brain exploding at this reveal. “The Mina? Mewman soldier Mina? Evil push-all-monsters-off-a-cliff Mina? Cuckoo-bananas bathe-in-mud Mina? What the heck are we taking any time talking for, then? The whole town could be in danger!”

“No, Star, it’s not- well, yes, it is, but she has no powers. She’s just a regular person who is slightly, as you said, ‘cuckoo-bananas’, though I don’t recall any mud involved. Before we arrived, she had broken into the castle ruins and is now holding it hostage. Manfred might be involved, as well. You’re the only one who might be able to talk some sense into her, or at least figure out how to get her to leave. The city has given us until midnight to get the permit.”

Midnight? But that’s when the Soulrise was… Star had a sinking feeling that this day wasn’t going to be a short one, but this mattered too much to her mother to say no. “I can try,” she said, squeezing her mom’s hand.

Globgor began to shrink as they approached their destination, where she could see Eclipsa’s billowing purple dress and her dad sporting an uncharacteristically formal outfit - heck, they must have really planned for this if he was wearing a shirt and pants at all. She shivered a bit as her feet touched the ground; of all the superhuman genes the Johansens seemed to possess, immunity to the cold just had to be the one she didn’t inherit.

“Thank goodness you’re here, Star,” Eclipsa said gratefully. “It’s far too chilly out today. Mina won’t hear a word from me, I’m afraid… perhaps she’ll listen to you.” She pointed up towards a jagged shard of a ruined wall where Star saw the telltale purple braids.

“Mina!” Star shouted.

“Oh look, it’s my traitorous ex-mud-sister. Back for another round with little old me? I can still take ya any day of the week, you know!” Mina rocked back and forth, still clinging to a stone outcropping. There was no way that was comfortable in the slightest. Did she even feel pain?

“I just want to talk! I’m coming up there!”

Star took one step forward before Mina shrieked. “Bup bup bup! This here castle is for real Mewman patriots only! I got nothin’ to say to you. You can talk to my associate.”

A snobbish man stepped out from the ground-level entryway quickly enough to suggest he’d been waiting there. With his sharp black suit and slicked back hair, it took all the Butterflies only a moment to realize who it was, and they all groaned at the realization. “At your service, m’ladies,” he said sarcastically. Star hadn’t particularly missed Manfred’s snooty meddling in her day to day life, and it wasn’t any more welcomed now. “I will deliver a message to Ms. Loveberry if you so wish, as long as it’s not from the brutish monster.”

Only two minutes into this debacle and Star felt her patience run out entirely. She might have been sardonically impressed if she wasn’t already over this entire affair. “No, I’m going up there.”

River poked her shoulder and leaned in, his eyes narrowing and darting back and forth. “Actually, I wouldn’t mind asking - has she seen the stash of jelly tarts I left in a cupboard years ago?” Star rolled her eyes and walked forward despite Manfred’s protests, with Moon and Eclipsa not far behind. “Alright, nevermind sweetie! Go get ‘em!”

When Manfred tried to get in their way, Globgor stepped between them with his arms crossed, causing the feeble man to cower in overstated fear. “Oh, goodness me, help! The evil monster, he’s intimidating me to oppress my free spee-” Out of the corner of her eye, Star noted no one in the crowd had stepped up to join Manfred or oppose their group, and it lifted her spirit the tiniest bit. Moon took the lead, navigating around all the rubble and climbing up to a safer portion of the wall more level with Mina’s position. So this is what’s left of it. Despite everything, Star hadn’t checked out the castle at all in the years since it stopped being her home. It had been right there, ready for her to make peace with at any time since the dimensions fused, but she just… hadn’t. Maybe it was guilt, maybe it was disdain, maybe it was just being so much happier with what she had now that there was no reason to look back. Narrowly dodging the shards of a broken bust, they continued forward towards the stairs. Seeing it all again, though, made Star think her mother had a point. Their kingdom’s history was full of vital lessons and cautionary tales, but how could the people of Earthni learn them from piles of rubble?

Though Manfred had switched to prim and proper Earth fashion, Mina clung to the remnants of the architecture in the same outfit as always, twirling the braids she’d often used as propellers. From the rips and tears, Star suspected it was literally the same outfit and shuddered. When Mina noticed their presence, she wheeled to face them.

“What do you even want, Mina?” Moon asked. “What’s your game here?”

“Game? This ain’t no game, Moony. I’ve been alive and kicking for even longer than she has,” Mina jeered as she pointed at Eclipsa, “and I’ve spent my whole time fighting for Mewni and the Mewmans - real Mewmans - and I’m not about to let you make a mockery of everything that made our kingdom great.”

“There is no Mewni anymore!” Star huffed as she threw her hands in the air. “There hasn’t been for over a year! And it happened right after you lost!”

“Pfft, you had to give up everything just to keep me from obliterating every last one of you, and it got rid of all your little unicorn stampedes and rainbow blasts, too. Do you think I’m scared of you now? I’d be more worried about that little half-monster brat than whatever half-baked excuse for queens you all are, and she’s not even here!” A giggle erupted down below. Eclipsa scurried over and peeked, gasping as she reached over the edge of the wall and pulled up… Meteora? How had she-

“She must have been nesting in my beard!” River’s voice boomed from the ground below.

The baby cooed at her mother but got a glimpse at the fuming Mina and frowned. “Bad!” She shouted. “Badbadbadbadbad!” Eclipsa struggled to keep her secure in her arms but ultimately won out, lulling the child back to calm.

Mina took the opportunity to hop across a few footholds closer to the tower, still acting dominant and in control. “So you have the little snot now, big whoop! I’ve got an army again, too!” She backed off and ducked behind a pillar in the courtyard. Moments later, they were greeted by… a carefully decorated sock on her hand?

“Mina’s right, monsters are bad!” it said in Mina’s obvious attempt at a deep man’s voice. A second sock joined it, adorned with grass for hair. “Yes,” it chimed in with a high-pitched effeminate cadence, “I can’t stand living in this world with all these lazy monsters hogging stuff from the hard-working people that deserve it!” Confusingly, a third popped in. “And I’m terribly frightened of what they might do to my children!”

“Say what you will, but she is quite talented at puppetry. I didn’t know toes could wiggle quite like that,” Eclipsa snickered from over Star’s shoulder. If she wasn’t just so incredibly done with all of this already, Star might have laughed along - it was becoming increasingly clear how little of a threat Mina posed.

A second later, Mina popped back out and stood before them, visibly missing the sock on her left foot. “See, everyone is saying it!”

Moon buried her face in her hands out of frustration and dragged them down with enough force that her features momentarily sagged. “I don’t have time for these charades, Mina. Your childish tomfoolery ends now. The people of Earthni deserve to see this place and its history that actually existed, not whatever made up fantasy land you’ve concocted in your mind.”

“Hmmph, you do-gooders aren’t gonna budge, eh? Well, you know what, maybe I will let you rebuild this castle. That’d be swell, it was a beautiful place, alright. But Mewni was meant for Mewmans, so if you want to take that and turn it into some big dumb monument to monsters, you’ll have to go through me, and I don’t give up easy, and I ain’t leavin. Wonder how many folks are gonna want to come ‘round when Mina jumps out at em and bops them in the schnozz?”

Eclipsa stepped forward, still rocking Meteora gently back and forth to keep her at bay through all the commotion. “Stand down. The world’s changed, Mina. It doesn’t need any more of this lunacy. Wouldn’t you rather simply live out your life and find happiness?”

“Ha! As if! Seems a lot of people have fallen for your fabricated Mewni malarkey, but not me! I won’t put up with your fake Mews! If you want to stop me, you’ll have to catch meeee!” She rocketed off into the castle. The Butterflies glanced into the corridors in disbelief at just how pointless this all was, but Mina had vanished.

Star folded her arms and curled up into herself a bit as she started to walk away, but felt her mother’s hand pat and squeeze her shoulder sympathetically. “Sorry, dear…”

“Go get Dad and Globgor,” she responded exasperatedly, ignoring her mother’s apology. She knew that there were honest good intentions here, and she did want to at least get Mina out of their hair, but she couldn’t help but be a bit grumpy at the situation she’d been dragged into. “Let’s find her.”

The family, along with a few of the officers who’d shown up, went their separate ways looking for the former kingdom’s final foe. Sunset had come and gone while they searched to no avail and Star found herself slowing down and thinking about her friends and the fun they were probably having. Trying to stave off the mopiness, she idly scrolled through the Marco album on her phone while she searched, her eyes spending equal amounts of time roving the dusty remains of the castle and fondly gazing at the smiles and joy on her friends’ faces. And maybe a bit of ogling Marco’s cute butt in those swim trunks; it never failed to do funny things to her. The most recent picture Janna had sent her as part of their weird tradition was instead centered on Tom trying (and failing) to sneak a pained look at Janna, and had an attached message corroborating the vibe from earlier. So it’s not just me that thinks he was acting really dodgy about something.

A moment later, her Space Unicorn tone - one that was reserved for Marco - went off. Before she’d even finished reading the first text, it played a second time.

“Hey, how’s your thingy with Moon going? We’re missing you here! Let me know when you’re done, we saved half the cake for you. ♥”

“Also, let me know if you need me for anything, I’m here for you.”

Ugh, Marco, why do you have to be so dang sweet and caring? Another set of eyes could maybe help, and she wouldn’t mind having him around to ease the boredom at all, but Star wasn’t going to yank him out of his birthday party even if he’d go willingly. And admittedly she was curious what the deal was with Tom. Janna Banana was near and dear to her, but Star still would’ve been insane to rely exclusively on her if Tom needed a heart-to-heart.

After scanning the empty closet she’d wandered towards, she hastily punched in a message to Marco. “Mina’s back. Long story, not what you think, we’re fine here 👍. Kinda crazy tho. 😵 Will tell you later. 😈 acting a bit strange, stay and try to see why? 🤔 Also have fun, it’s your party!!!!🎊🥳🎉🎈 Hopefully will be done soon, would never miss 👻rise with you 💕💞💏 Love you 😘🥰😻”

With that out of the way, and a small smile returned to her face, she slid her phone into her purse and buckled down on the task at hand. Phone pictures of Marco and a fun birthday party were nice, but she had to get to work if she wanted any chance of the real thing. She nimbly hopped over the crumbled busts and assorted rusty parts of weapons and armor that covered most of the floors and stairways she encountered. Whatever her mom wanted to do here would require a ton of work, and Star could see why she was so eager to get started. Her explorations finally led her to a hallway that stopped her in her tracks. The tapestries of many of the former Queens of Mewni hung before her. Celena, Jushtin, her actual grandma, Comet… all had been torn nearly to shreds and reassembled. Her mom had mentioned what Mina had done here when they sat down not long after the Cleaving to share everything that had happened and make up - a conversation that lasted through more pots of tea than Star could count on her hands - but it was still jarring to see up close. Star slowly made her way to the end of the hallway and into the secret room, where- wasn’t Solaria’s portrait supposed to be here?

“Hyah!” Star was blinded and wrestled to the ground, all movement impeded by a thick canvas on top of her entire body. She was pushed sideways and had the fabric rolled around her like a tube constricting her arms. Pushing forward on her knees, she managed to wiggle the top of her head. Dangit, dangit, dangit. Suspicions confirmed: Mina had pounced on her with Solaria’s tapestry and a bit of help from Manfred. “Gotcha now! I’m slipperier than a slime snake!” Mina gloated, plopping down on top of Star and knocking the breath out of her. “Maybe they’ll take a hostage situation a bit more seriously, hehe!”

“Oh, my goodness, is the little ex-princess in trouble? ‘Tis an awful shame,” Manfred joined her, his voice dripping with gleeful sarcasm. “M’lady, we should abscond soon. The others should be arriving shortly.”

Mina patronizingly patted the top of Star’s head. “Aw nuts, I wanted to have a little bit more fun with my new caterpillar buddy! How’s it feel, Star? As long as I’ve still got eight fingers, eleven toes, and three beating lungs, this world ain’t gonna be taken over by ‘equality’ horsedoodie, you hear me? Monsters are scum, and the world would be a better place if they all took a nice long vacation to Off-a-Cliffsville.”

Star wanted to kick and punch and scream her lungs out. How many times can you ruin everything I care about? While flailing about, she tried to keep herself from grinning too obviously when she noticed a new arrival. She redoubled her efforts to cause a scene and keep the focus on herself so that Mina wouldn’t notice her real hope of escape crawling across the ceiling. Just need to distract… “You’re right, Mina, I can’t beat you. There aren’t any warriors like you.”

“Lookie here, Manny, she’s having a change of heart? What did I tell you? Glad to see someone’s finally letting the logical facts into her thick little noggin.”

“Yep, that’s exactly what I’m doing. But I do have a fun fact for you, though.”

“Oh?”

“There is a warrior a lot more adorable than you, with way sharper teeth.” Star looked above Mina and nodded, and by the time Mina followed her gaze it was too late. Meteora dive-bombed and lashed out, knocking Mina to the ground and forcing her to deal with a pawing, clawing toddler. Manfred cowered in the corner uselessly while Meteora continued to thrash about. The noise must have echoed throughout the castle, as she heard the search squad’s footsteps approaching the scene. Without the two bodies sitting on top of her, Star freed herself from her binding in a minute, by which point everyone else had arrived just in time to corner Mina. Globgor called out to Meteora and got her to back off, leaving behind a very battered and bruised Mina and an indignant Manfred.

Mina glared daggers at the crowd gathering around her, who all seemed a bit too concerned at her instability to make any sudden moves. “Oh, so that’s how it’s gonna be with you mooks. Little old me just has a slight difference of opinion and this is how I’m treated? Don’t we live in a society? Instead I’m getting stomped on like a masochistic bushel of grapes!” Her beady green eyes darted frantically around the crowd, causing most to shrivel from the ferocity of her deranged gaze. Tense seconds went by before she finally softened up, gently smiling. “Y’know what, you win. If you want the castle so bad, it’s yours. Just gonna need a friendly barter in return…” The Butterflies all exchanged nervous glances. “You can have your little phony dream house here, but I get to enact my brand of Mewman justice on that ugly rock you monster-smoochers call a temple!”

Moon stepped forward to grab Mina’s arm but was narrowly dodged. “Mina, that’s enough. Everything you’ve said is preposterous, we won’t stand for it.”

“Bit too late on that one, Moony,” Mina taunted, wagging her finger back and forth. The subtle light from the moon and stars streaming through the jagged hole in the ceiling in the room suddenly faded, leaving them all with only the dim glow of the torches lining the walls. Overbearing squawking and flapping sounds, magnified by their echoes throughout the hallways around them, assaulted Star’s ears. She only barely caught the “Gotta fly!” Mina shouted as she was lifted up and out of the room. As the light streamed back in, Star finally saw the culprit: a massive murder of trained crows hauling her through the sky with alarming speed, presumably towards the Monster Temple.

“We have to stop her!” Star shouted, turning to run towards the castle entrance. She stopped when she realized the police officers present weren’t following. “Um, excuse me? A little help? That maniac is about to go destroy my family’s house!”

One of the officers, an older man she recognized from her time on Earth, wrung his hat in his hands. “Hmm, well, gosh, that sure is a pickle… Bit extreme, I’d say, but it’s always nice to see passion from young folks like yourselves. Both of you might have a point, so maybe you should just try sitting down and having a nice calm talk about it. Call us later if there’s still an issue, though!”

A scream erupted in Star’s throat, raw and animalistic. Stupid, stupid, useless! Leaving the officers behind, she and her equally flabbergasted family bolted back towards the exit to track Mina down. The dark bird cloud was still in sight when they exited the castle, nearly bowling over some onlookers and reporters who’d shifted their attention to the birds that had just swarmed out of the scene.

“She’s flying over a bunch of houses, I don’t think I can chase her directly,” Globgor said after growing to survey the distance Mina was covering.

“The Eagle Queen taught me how to speak bird, I’m sure I remember some of it.” River shouted, squatting down. “Now, Globgor, toss me!” Globgor picked River up and threw him in a straight line, enlarging his hand to add to the momentum of the throw. Star cringed as her dad soared through the sky. “Squa-squakah!” he hollered, his voice cracking. The birds parted, leaving a hole in their formation through which he promptly flew right through. “They don’t like me!” he hollered, his voice fading as he fell out of view. Daaaaaad.

“Well,” Moon said, taking a beat to sigh disappointedly, “I’m open to other suggestions.”

Star’s phone buzzed in her pocket; it was another of Janna’s kinda weird but somehow sweet candid Marco camera check-ins. Now’s not the time to tempt me with Marco abs!, she mentally groaned after opening the image. Wait, how is he surfing on LAVA? I know it’s the Underworld, but- Wait a second... Underworld, demon powers, carriage - they could get to the Temple right away!

Her eyes drifted towards the attached message: “ugh tom being super weird, stormed off. did he tell u anything? actually worried about him, haven’t seen him this bad since drama with u. rly dont know how 2 help, can i hang w/ u? dont drool over pic too hard lol” It stopped Star in her tracks for a moment: yes, the immediate situation was a crisis, but Janna being genuinely concerned? Now that was a cosmic anomaly. Star sent a response quickly checking in with the state of things (with an innocent inquiry about Marco abs - cut her some slack, she’s only Mewman) and passed along a message for Marco to stay and check in with Tom. Star was so angry at Mina and at the cops and at never being free of dealing with this freaking warnicorn manure that she wanted to karate chop an entire forest, and Tom and Marco didn’t need that messing up their days even more. But if Janna already needed an excuse to leave, well, Star wouldn’t complain.

“We can still beat them there, let’s not dally,” Eclipsa said, hopping on her husband’s shoulder. “Everyone, get on.” Once Star sent the relevant details and instructions, she followed her mother and off they went. As the minutes passed, Star remained silent while the others strategized, an atmosphere of helpless déjà vu permeating her spirit. Just like the first time facing down Mina, she knew she was just curling up and hiding, but she felt as if there was a seductively depressing whisper in her ear telling her that nothing had changed and that there was no hope of escaping the loony bigots trying to strongarm society. Even changing the world hadn’t been enough, and though she’d still seen growth on the whole, what did it say that the Minas of the world kept popping back up like a horrible game of whack-a-goblin?

Soon after, they finally arrived at Monstertown and dismounted. Eclipsa had at least been right about one thing: the ominous cloud flying in was still at least a minute or two away, though oddly there was no one else to be seen. Janna was supposedly here, according to a text received while Star had been lost in thought on the ride over, but that was the last anyone had heard from her. With seemingly nothing left to do, and not much of a plan, Globgor grew into a one man wall protecting the temple while everyone else readied to defend however they could.

Mina descended, keeping most of her birds circling above her. The defensive line of Butterflies swatted away any that got too cocky, but they were slowly being forced back. Star got knocked over into some mud and was helped up by Eclipsa, and scowled at the damage to her outfit she’d picked out for the beach. “Did the big ugly monsters run away all scared-like? Bah, I wanted to crush ‘em myself, but oh well, I can still have my fun. They’ll be all ‘Oh no, my big dumb mud hut’s gone! Where will I keep all the Mewman babies I want to eat?’” She cackled wildly, and it got on Star’s nerves even more than before. In the background, something peculiar glinted in the moonlight. Star squinted in an attempt to make it out, but she quickly realized what was actually happening when the surrounding area shimmered and revealed an upright chameleonoid monster. It had caught Star looking and used its tail to point at what Star now saw was one of Janna’s potion bottles before blending in once more. What effect it might have, she never knew, but help was help. Just have to distract. Again.

“Hey Mina!” Star yelled, diverting Mina’s attention from the wall of a home she was preparing to bash down. “I thought you were gonna tear down the Temple! Why be cruel to some random monsters’ houses? Aren’t you trying to protest your rights or something?”

Eclipsa turned in confusion. “Star, what-” Star shushed her and tried to indicate with a sharp glare that there was a plan in motion here.

The disgraced warrior tapped her chin for a moment before shrugging. “I kinda like both,” she stated matter-of-factly and wound up for another blow.

“Oh dear, Star,” Eclipsa whispered dramatically, clearly loud enough for anyone nearby to hear. “What are you doing? Don’t you realize all the monsters are probably huddled up in the temple right now?”

“Is that so? Huh, maybe you are useful for something after all. Get ready to kiss ‘em goodbye, then, since I know how much you love doing that.” Mina whistled sharply, gathering a cloud of concentrated feathery darkness around her. “Say goodnight to your mamas. Atta- ech,” she sputtered, wrapping her arms around her sides in a coughing fit. “Golly, monster musk must be getting to me. Now, attack, my pretties!” All the birds lazily circled around her for a moment before plummeting to the ground in a giant heap. “What the corn-” She stumbled and gagged a few more times, falling victim to the gas cloud that Star could now see billowing from the potion bottle, incapacitating all the birds that had inhaled it.

To her right, Star noticed a dirt-covered hatch in the ground pull back as a few unidentified creatures crawled out of it. Mina noticed too late and was tackled to the ground by someone from that group that seemed familiar... Penelope! Star’s face lit up in awe as she recognized the former Spiderbite princess, who held Mina down while she futilely thrashed. A monster with a glowing tail had joined them, which allowed Star to see Slime slink over and quickly slather some goop onto Mina’s arms and legs that bound her to the ground.

“You guys!” Star ran over and yanked the couple into a tight hug for a more-than-welcome reunion. “That was amazing!” The monster that Star just now dubbed Glowtail wrapped its tail around Mina’s mouth to cover up her attempted protests.

“Hey, Star. And Big G, and the other Butterflies,” Slime said, indicating the rest of her family. “Yeah, well, Penny’s totes great.” Slime wrapped an arm around his girlfriend’s shoulders - well, it was more of him just wriggling his gelatinous form into her side. “She can wrestle spiders the size of a dog.”

“Hey, you’re the one that figured out how to make your slime do all that stuff, like glue people’s hands and feet down,” Penny lovingly said, kissing his cheek. Star hadn’t seen them in many months despite visiting Monstertown, often because Slime had been spending a lot of time living as a healer/celebrity in the Forest of Unlikely Spiderbites.

“Just gotta swallow some gum, wait a few minutes, and bam.” He clapped his hands together and stretched them apart to demonstrate how sticky they were. “There’s all kinds of stuff I can do to change it up.”

“Pineapple’s a lot of fun,” Penny mischievously added. Wasn’t there some sort of urban legend about that fruit on Earth? Wasn’t it supposed to… oh. Star’s face heated up when she drew the connection, enough that she was thankful when Mina screeched with an intensity sufficient to cut through their conversation, even with a fluffy tail still stuffed in her mouth.

Glowtail shuddered, running away, presumably to go wash the Mina spittle out of its tail. “Monsters can’t even fight me by themselves! Let me go, you nincompoops!”

“Mina-” Moon sternly grumbled.

“Look, L,” Slime casually interrupted, and though Moon was surprised she relinquished focus to him. “Working together is, like, pretty cool. We made these big community plans if anyone like you ever showed up again. That creepy human girl warned us, my super rad Mewman girlfriend took you down, and a bunch of other monsters made the plans for evac,” he stated as their chameleon friend nodded emphatically. A handful of other monsters lurked around them, presumably having been stationed elsewhere in the village and just now received the signal for it to be safe to check out the action.

“Mewni sucked when everyone was just snobby and mean anyway,” Penny added, giving her boyfriend a lopsided smile. “Everyone in my old kingdom was always covered in spiderbites but we’d just say ‘well at least we’re not those dirty monsters’, but that’s just dumb. Why live like that? Everyone here has been so welcoming, why can’t you?” Mina finally fell silent, hanging her head in what Star might have thought was shame if that didn’t seem so farfetched. “Ugh, it’s too late for this. I’ll go get the others so we can figure out what to do with her. Stay here and make sure she doesn’t go anywhere?” she said as she turned to Slime

He gave a thumbs up and sat down on the ground “You got it, babe.”

“Bye, Star! We should hang out more!”

“Yeah, bye, Penny!” Star waved before turning back towards Slime and a forlorn Mina. “So what now?”

Slime glanced around at the other gathered townsfolk who were calmly keeping watch, though a bit tired and disgruntled. “We’re fine here, if you’ve got somewhere to be. We’ve got stuff under control. Look, I can tell you’re worried, and I’m super grateful for everything you did for us, but things are pretty good now. Feels like we can finally just be, y’know? And we’re ready for any other losers that have a problem with it.”

“Yeah,” she simply responded, getting a bit lost in thought. “Well, see ya.”

“Thank you, to everyone,” Moon succinctly added before the Butterflies all began to walk back towards the entrance to the Monster Temple.

Star felt her eyes glistening at the heartfelt togetherness on display that night, but the feeling was far more than that. She realized her mom must have misinterpreted that though, as she was pulled into a fierce bear hug. “Star, dear, don’t cry… I’m sorry you had to miss the festivities you had planned-”

“No, Mom, it’s not that, it’s just…” Star paused as she struggled to put her emotions into words. “Don’t you get it? This; all of this? This is Mewni!” Her family all looked a bit puzzled. “The castle is still a really cool idea, but the people who have been living and working to build a home together - they’re the ones that have always known Mewni best.”

“What do we make of the hootenanny at the castle, then?” Her dad asked, fending off Meteora’s attempts to poke at his eyes and nose as he held her.

“If you want some of it to be a museum with queens and wars and stuff, that’s fine, and Mom’s the most thorough organizer I know… but I think you should be asking what everyone else from Mewni might want to see.”

Eclipsa affectionately ruffled Star’s hair - something that’s never failed to make Star squirm in happy embarrassment. “Quite the wisdom coming from someone insisting they aren’t wise,” she jested. Star jumped at a terrifyingly loud snore from behind them, where River, Globgor, and Meteora had apparently all curled up on the ground together and promptly fallen asleep - Star couldn’t help but yawn herself at the sight.

She could really just crawl into bed right now until Soulrise… hehe, sunrise, not Soulrise, silly…. oh crud. “How late is it? Don’t we still need to get the castle inspected?” she said, adrenaline giving way to a weighty exhaustion that threatened to knock her out where she stood.

“Perhaps I’ll hold off for some time longer until I’ve had some more input,” her mom mused, putting both hands on Star’s shoulders. “I’m so, so proud of you. I want you to know that, Star.”

“Aww, thanks, Mom. I… I don’t mind helping, but being in charge of this sort of thing… that’s not right for me.”

Moon pulled Star into a gentle hug, and was soon joined by Eclipsa. “I understand, dear. Now go have fun with Marco and get some rest. I believe I spotted Janna in an alley that way pouring something into a puddle.” Star rolled her eyes and wandered off in search of her friend.

Blink. Blink.

Wha… wazzat, where am I? Star blinked a few more times and wiggled her fingers and toes. Ew, sand. Wait, sand? She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and found herself on the beach, resting her cheek on drool-stained red fabric. “Marco?”

“Hey, Star.”

“OhnodidImissit?” she slurred, slumping further into his side. The fog gradually lifted on the details of the past hour - she’d made it to the Underworld and groggily regaled Marco with the story of her day, she could recall that much. She remembered him saying he’d missed her, though he hadn’t been upset, but the rest of the details had been lost as she drifted in and out of sleep.

He shook his head and squeezed her shoulder affectionately as he pointed up above them. Star had to squint when she tried to look up, and after her eyes had adjusted she gasped. Spirits shrieked and soared in and around each other as the Soulrise put on its magnificent display above them. Different souls mingling in harmony was always a special sight to behold… maybe she couldn’t know Earthni’s exact destiny, but those that could fully embrace and understand each other unconditionally had a bright future ahead of them. The thought made her smile dopily at Marco, wholly secure and content as she buried her head into his delightfully pillowy shoulder. “Happbirdaymurrco,” she whispered, finally surrendering herself to slumber.

#starco #svtfoe #star vs the forces of evil #tgg svtfoe #fanfic #slimebite #get it? soul and loon? im so clever

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winterheart17 · 5 years

Text

How A Writer Says Goodbye

TITLE OF STORY: How A Writer Says Goodbye

CHAPTER NUMBER/TITLE/ONE SHOT: Part 29

AUTHOR: winterheart17

WHICH TOM/CHARACTER: Loki

STORY GENRE: Romance, Drama, Erotica

STORY SUMMARY: I think we can all just agree this has turned into a proper series even though it started off as a compilation of one shots for my story ‘How To Love A Writer’! What happens when a struggling virginal historical romance writer and the God of Mischief are thrown together, locked in a mansion and agree to a game of love and seduction?

STORY RATING: M

STORY WARNINGS/TRIGGERS/AUTHORS NOTES: None for this! Except perhaps some tissues (or at least I’d like to think there would be tears?)

FEEDBACK/COMMENTS: Wow, I did not mean to be away this long! This chapter was one heck of a monster to conquer - especially being the penultimate chapter and the scene I’ve had in my head pretty much ever since the conception of this entire plot. I’m so sorry for the long wait and can only hope this 8000 word chapter can make up for it. Feedback would be wonderful and ever inspiring for writing updates! <3 Do let me know if anyone would like to be on or off the tag list.

Tagging @devikafernando @ureyesonly21 @nuggsmum @queen-sands @ihatespoilerss @say-my-name-assbut @hsvbabe @jrubalcaba @dandelionlady96 @ashleyloveslots @kiera-auroraborealis @alexakeyloveloki @damageditem @lokilvrr @cuteandnerdythings @everythingeverywherelistening@wildest-dreams-at-midnight @tfwqueenidjit @xxxprettydeadgirlxxx @noplacelikehome77 @vertdragain @jessiejunebug @toaster-strudel-witch @a7xlizardqueen @starscreamloki@tinchentitri @prettyjewel93@chantimoondancer @dangertoozmanykids101@winterisakiller @humbleslvt @aeciru @paanchu786 @midgardianstranger @sailorcrescentpotter1

Masterpost of How To Love A Writer

Alternate link to Masterpost of How To Love A Writer (in case the above doesn’t work)

Gif credit: clintfbarton

“But don’t worry – I don’t intend on loving him any longer.”

A sharp intake of breath to my side.

But I refused to be swayed – refused to look even as my heart called out his name.

Yearned to see him.

Longed to see what the face of love lost looked like.

What love denounced felt like.

Because the truth was, I had held onto those words for so long – gone over them in my head in rehearsed practice like a broke record – they felt like a sham.

Like they were nothing more than a pretense.

Something I would hold tightly onto each time he left me lost and bereft.

For all the times he had left me standing there with my heart in my hands – ripped raw out of my chest.

And I would like and tell myself that the choice was mine – I could walk away any day, any time.

It was the last sliver of dignity I had been clinging onto in the wake of the silence he kept long and strung between us.

Until now.

Until I said them loud and unwaveringly clear – hardly able to believe the words were falling out of my mouth.

But there they were - hanging in the air.

Loud, heavy, clear.

And I had never believed in the more.

I don’t intend on loving you any longer, Loki.

Odin’s eyes narrowed on me, warily – filled with rousing suspicion.

His expression heavily guarded.

He looked at me like I as an untamed dog, frothing at the mouth, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice.

Though, I suppose, he wouldn’t have been quite far off the mark.

Even the entire hall seemed to wait with bated breath – anticipating the next insult I would hurl at those of royal lineage.

It would have been almost comical – a Midgardian girl reducing all the immortals before her into scandalised shell-shocked silence with a shelling.

Almost.

“Then what is it you intend on doing?” he questioned, brusquely.

There it was – the question I knew was coming.

The answer I knew I had to give.

I swallowed.

A thud in my chest.

“I intend on…,” I started to say, trying to grasp onto all the liquid courage that had been running in my veins just minutes ago.

But the words dried up.

Felt like silt in my throat.

Dread in my belly.

The brackets around Odin’s mouth deepened – a sign that I was trying what little patience he had left for me.

“… leaving,” I finished, the word leaving my lips in almost nothing but a whisper.

Dissipating in the air.

But he caught it.

“What?” he breathed.

A stumble.

Disbelief.

And I felt his eyes burn my skin.

But still I didn’t look at him.

Not even when the single syllable sounded so lost, so small– it was enough to put a lump in my throat. One that ached so much, my fingers itched to reach for my throat to hold it down.

Till it stopped feeling like every single word out of it would be cracked and broken.

I wouldn’t.

I couldn’t.

I steadied myself – let out a long, controlled breath as I held no one else but Odin in view.

Blocked it all out.

Pushed him away until the only thing I could focus on was mapping out my strategy to get the hell out of here.

“I--,” I started once more, testing the waters.

Feeling the firm weight of the word on my tongue.

Holding my voice firm.

Holding my heart down.

“I intend on leaving,” I finally pushed out.

The final word – a bite of bitterness.

So convincingly, the little voice in my head mocked.

No.

He didn’t have to say it.

I didn’t have to look at him.

But that single word of protest grew and grew – filling up the space between us, pushing us further than we had ever been apart.

A loud laugh of disbelief cut through the air.

Ehrendil.

“You intend on leaving?” he repeated, slowly and incredulously – clearly, the most ludicrous thing to have come from me the entire night.

I was forced to turn back to him – sucking in a breath as they dying embers of anger sparked back to life in the face of his arrogance.

How could anyone hate a stranger so much with no ground to stand on?

The downward curve of his lips and the distasteful scrunch of his nose – all in disapproval of me. All earned from nothing else but my existence.

His eyes narrowed.

“You…,” he hissed, venomously.

My hands clenched into fists.

“You think this child’s play?” he snapped, arms flung wide at the very public stage I had decided to pick my battles on.

I gritted my teeth.

It appeared – he wasn’t about to go down without a fight.

“Did you think you could escape unscathed?” he boomed, eyes flashing in anger.

There was a time when I would have felt my heart beating wildly in my chest.

Felt cold sweat cover clammy hands.

Tremble in front of such intimidating presence.

Eyes turned feverishly to him in search for answers.

Assurance.

But this time, there was none of that to be found.

A strange sense of calmness settling in the hollow of my chest.

As if nothing else quite seemed to exist in the space left in the wake of my decision.

I turned my attention to Halwen.

Her eyes darting about wildly like an animal cornered.

Do you see this, Loki? Do you see your beloved princess falling from grace in front of your very own eyes?

The bitter words echoed on the tip of my tongue.

Its tang, once sharp now reduced to nothing but a dull thud lying flat in the cave of my mouth.

I couldn’t help but feel a prick of pity for her.

This was how she had chosen to live.

“I think…,” I started to say, softly – my words seemingly addressed to Ehrendil, but it was startling clear to whom I was speaking to.

She leaned forward ever so slightly, ears pricked as her eyes tried to focus haphazardly on me.

“… you will find that it is in the best interests of everyonethat I return to Midgard,” I finished with a slight downward tilt of my chin as she met my gaze filled with intent.

Her lips parted.

And I couldn’t help but press on.

“Lest I should… run my mouth further on things I should not be commenting… frostilyabout,” I decided to throw in.

Perhaps a little juvenile.

Perhaps a little under the belt.

But it did the trick.

The flicker of recognition in her eyes morphed into a blanket of terror.

I could have sworn she choked.

My eyes flickered instinctively towards Odin and Frigga – wondering if they had heard and interpreted the intention behind my words.

It was a bold move considering if they called my bluff – I knew I wouldn’t push through with it.

Even if it meant that I would lose my chance at freedom.

I couldn’t do it.

I couldn’t tear Loki down and expose his most feared secret in front of everyone. No, this was a battle he was going to have to fight on his own. On his own terms.

But they didn’t know that.

As far as they were concerned, I was nothing more than a bratty little Midgardian who seemed to have a penchant for running her mouth afoul and it wouldn’t be above me to let loose information that could potentially wreck their alliance.

And for a second, just for a second, I saw the effect of my words.

Saw the crack it made in their surface of calmness.

Got a glimpse into the nerve I had struck.

I drew in a deep breath.

This could work.

I tried to still the slight shake of my hand – the bravado now wearing a little thin.

“Fa—father…,” Halwen started to say, shakily.

This was her last chance at getting a shot at Loki and this entire hullabaloo. Once the cat was out of the bag, there was no way in hell her father would allow their family name to be sullied by Frost Giants.

I’d never had proper interaction with one – well, save for Loki and that really wasn’t saying much in their favour to begin with – but judging from the way they were treating humans like second, scratch that, third class citizens, one could only imagine the sort of havoc he would wreck here in Asgard.

Ehrendil shot her a withering glare and you could see her visibly shrink back into her seat.

“What other travesties could this Midgardian wench possibly spew?” he snarled, whipping his attention back towards me.

Unhinged.

Like an uncaged tiger.

Ready to pounce.

“Fa—father, if she were to re—return to Midgard, all will be as it wa--,” Halwen had barely gotten the words out of her mouth when his face darkened.

He whirled around and his glower was enough to put a stop to it.

“If she were to return to Midgard? If?” he repeated, his voice a rising, angry tenor.

Her face crumbled – almost admitting defeat before she had barely begun.

Gee, wonder what sort of childhood that must have been like for her.

“If we allow her to walk away today unscathed – ifword gets out that we do not punish severely those who dare look upon us with such insolence and impertinence, we will no longer be beings to be revered,” he bellowed.

And it was back to the drawing board.

His pride.

“Odin, is this how you would allow your guests to be treated?” he pursued, eyes filled with animosity now as they turned to his Asgardian counterpart.

Odin’s face was grim – lips pressed together so tightly, a line was all to be seen.

His eyes were cold and calculating – racing to assess the situation.

Frigga placed her hand gently on his forearm – a reassuring gesture.

But one that apparently irked Ehrendil.

“Well… ?” he challenged Odin’s silence, brusquely.

His features pinched and sharp.

“King Ehrendil, please, for--,” Odin began to speak, or rather, should I say grovel – except he was saved from the horror and shame of having to do so.

“She’s my guest too,” Loki cut in, unexpectedly.

I had to do a double take.

I had thought he would have done what he had done best all this while – kept his silence.

And tried as I might – I couldn’t help but feel a tingle in my chest.

That, however, had quite the opposite effect on Ehrendil whose face darkened.

“You!” he spat out, accusingly, eyes narrowing.

Like a shark looking for its next prey.

“You have no say in such matters,” he growled.

And there was blood in the water.

“I have no say in the matter?” Loki, scoffed.

An eyebrow arched – his tone deliberately mocking as if Ehrendil had the mental capacity of a teaspoon.

“I beg to differ. The last I recall, we are precisely at this farce of a dinner because I did not wish to wed your daughter. I’d say there is plenty for me to say about the matter,” he threw back.

A little too smoothly.

A little too eloquently.

It did nothing but stroke the fires of rage higher in Ehrendil.

“Then you are a fool,” he spat out venomously at Loki.

He gestured towards Halwen.

“You would give up the glory and recognition that would come from binding our name to your family?” he questioned, his voice so full and swollen with arrogance.

All that stemmed merely from birthright.

And there it was.

He halted.

If only for a second.

But it was enough.

That was the chink in his armour.

That little waver of uncertainty that was enough to cut through his conviction thus far of not marrying Halwen.

Because it was no longer about her – it was about the power and acceptance her hand in marriage would bring.

And somehow, standing in the warm glow of the Hall, with his shoulders set back and his chin tilted upwards in defiance – was the Prince I had first met a long, long time ago.

Before I knew him.

Knew all his fears, insecurities, and the desperate need for acceptance.

Before he knew me.

Knew all my worries, self-doubt, and craving for love so intimately.

Before I had told him I love him.

Before this hollow pang in my chest that came in the wake of his silence.

And Halwen saw right through it all.

An opportunity.

“Loki…,” she pleaded, her voice small and sweet – begging for his attention.

He looked over at her – eyes hazy and unfocused as if he had just spent an eternity wrestling for an answer to Ehrendil’s question.

I wondered who it was he saw sitting there, quivering in her seat.

Was it still the same girl with hair like sunshine he had thought himself in love with?

“W—we could put everything behind us. Ca—carry on as we did before,” she stammered.

No.

That word clanged hollowly inside of me.

“Can we?” he echoed, mindlessly.

The words carrying no weight – floating in the air.

I swallowed.

She nodded her head, fervently.

His response spurring her into action as she leaned forward, eyes sparked bright and face animated once more.

“We can send the Midgardian home and all will be as it was before,” she scrambled, seizing whatever small lifeline he had thrown to her end.

Her voice a little shaky, a little nervous – but there was no mistaking her intention.

His eyes narrowed on her.

Ears pricked.

“As long as we are married, as long as we are able to form an alliance…,” she said, her hand sweeping wide to gesture at her father and Odin.

“… the Midgardian is inconsequential,” she finished with a slight nod of her head.

I had to bite down on my tongue.

Hard.

Inconsequential?

We’ll see how inconsequential I am when I’m stuffing your spleen down your throat.

And in case we didn’t hear the underlying meaning in her words the first time, she reiterated.

“She would be free to return to Midgard,” she stressed, eyes flickering towards me.

There was no mistaking the thinly veiled threat.

The exchange she was speaking of.

“You conniving little bitch!” I spat out, unable to hold it in any longer.

God, if I could, I would fling myself across the table and pluck every single pretty strand of hair from her head.

One by one.

But before I could get another word in, he cut me off.

“Enough,” he bit out, coldly.

A pause.

Long and strung out.

I looked at him – eyes wide and filled with incredulity.

No.

I wanted to scream and shake him.

There was no way in hell he was contemplating what it was she was suggesting.

But he turned to look at me, slowly.

Softly.

Gently.

And I was already shaking my head before his lips could even part.

Could even say what I knew was dancing on the very tip of his tongue.

I grabbed his forearm, nails digging in.

“Don’t you dare,” I warned.

And suddenly, I found myself blinking furiously.

Eyes shiny and bright.

Trying to keep the tears in.

“Don’t you fucking dare,” I hissed, tightening my grip.

He faltered.

Lost and raw.

His lips parted.

“Listen…” he started to say, voice cracking.

And I just about lost it.

“No, you listen,” I snarled, so forcefully, he flinched.

I yanked at his arms, eyes searching his desperately as I scrambled to make him see.

Make him understand.

“Don’t do it for me. Do it because you want the power. Do it because you want the acceptance. Hell, do it because you still want h--…” I seethed, suddenly stopping short.

Want her.

That was what I had wanted to say.

Except, the words dried in my mouth.

Got stuck in my throat.

And the very thought of him still wanting her was like a hand around my heart – squeezing it tight.

“… her…” I managed to choke out.

“But…” he started to protest.

I shook my head.

“I would rather never return to Earth than to be used as a manipulation tactic,” I fumed.

He wanted to object.

Wanted to fight me on this.

I could see it in his eyes.

Please no, I mouthed.

See the worry and the frustration there all too blindingly well.

“Please, no,” I whispered, voice straining.

And then his eyes softened.

The tenderness that filled them – arresting.

I could barely breathe.

But he knew.

Even if he didn’t like it, he knew.

The corners of his lips turned up ever so slightly.

So weakly.

“Okay…” he whispered.

Okay.

The lump in my throat moved.

But before either of us could get another word in, Ehrendil swept in.

“It is settled then!” he announced, abruptly – cutting our tender moment short.

As we both turned back towards him, a furrow settled between Loki’s brows.

“What is settled?” he demanded to know.

Ehrendil scowled.

“The betrothal…” he seethed, before looking at me, pointedly.

“… in exchange for the Midgardian’s safe passage back,” he warned.

Are you fucking kidding me?

It was one thing to be arrogant, but to so blatantly disregard someone else’s decision… man, if I had thought of wanting to pull the stick out of his ass before, I wanted nothing more than to put my foot up it right now.

“I would rather starve to death here,” I spat back.

And I had the pleasure of seeing his eyes narrow in fury as they locked onto me – a growl escaping from his lips.

“Then so be your death wish,” he sneered.

And just as I was about to taunt him – about to throw back that there was nothing more insufferable than being in his company – Odin interjected.

“With all due respect, King Ehrendil – my son has not agreed to enter this union with your daughter,” he announced.

His words were polite – but his tone, a warning.

Oh.

I looked over at Loki who sported an equally puzzled expression at his father’s sudden defense of him.

First came a hazy glaze over Ehrendil’s face as if trying to decipher the situation – trying to make sense of the words.

His bottom lip quivered.

Lips parted.

And that was when it hit him.

“Do you not seek to make amends, Odin?” he growled.

His brows furrowed – his lips turned up in almost a perpetual sneer.

“I seek to keep the peace between both our kingdoms, King Ehrendil,” Odin appealed.

That appeared to appease him.

A little.

“Then we are of one mind,” Ehrendil declared, to which Odin gave a nod of acquiescence.

A pause.

Then, a smile cracked across Ehrendil’s face before he threw his hands in the air and let out a hearty laugh.

“Then I seenothing standing in the way of this betrothal,” he declared, and I had a good mind to smack him on the upside of his head and ask if he was blind.

Hello?

Nothing?

We are standing right here in front of you.

Odin hesitated.

His shoulders tensed.

And Queen Frigga saw it as her cue to jump in.

“King Ehrendil,” she greeted, a slight bow of her head in respect.

His eyes moved towards her.

“Perhaps these are matters best spoken and sorted out amongst the younger ones… in private?” she put forth, graciously.

His face immediately darkened.

“Should matters of the kingdom not be heard by the people, Queen Frigga?” he challenged.

Odin moved to place his hand atop Frigga’s – a scowl gracing his face.

A storm brewing.

“You speak of keeping peace – but you are courting a war,” Ehrendil growled.

“I do not seek war – but I will not allow my arm to be twisted. Not on Asgard,” Odin snapped.

Ehrendil’s eyes flashed with anger.

“Is that a threat, Allfather?” he thundered, glowering.

“It is a reminder, King Ehrendil, that this is Asgard and your men are but a few,” Odin cautioned.

The entire room immediately tensed.

There was no drawing of weapons and no clashing of swords but I would have been a fool not to have noticed how Ehrendil’s men suddenly stood to attention – hands reaching for their sheath.

Grim faces.

Held breaths.

Almost as if a single exhale would be enough to tip the scales.

Queen Frigga leaned in to whisper into Odin’s ear – presumable something along the lines of calm the fuck down.

But he raised a hand to quiet her warning.

This was not a God to be trifled with.

Not especially when his kingdom was under threat.

“You would take me captive?” Ehrendil questioned, angrily.

“I would take you as Asgard’s honoured guests,” Odin retaliated.

“You would have me and my daughter stand for such humiliation?” Ehrendil snarled.

“We would have you and your daughter extend to our son the graciousness your people are said to have run in their blood,” Queen Frigga interjected.

Possibly worried her equally hot-headed husband would say something far more regrettable.

That gave him cause for pause.

It was a cleverly worded sentence, I’d give her that.

It was both a warning and stage for a gracious exit she had built for him to take.

What more in front of others?

To take the exit so gracefully handed to him would be for others to see how magnanimous he was – but to go to war over a broken betrothal would reek of pettiness.

Childishness.

His eyes narrowed briefly on Frigga – seeing through her ploy.

A ruse it may be – but it worked.

The corners of her lips turned up ever so slightly as she bowed her head down once more.

Perhaps it was the slight slacking of his jaw or the dulling of the rage in his eyes – but she could see it was a battle more than half won.

More than half.

But still, we weren’t out of the woods just yet.

His eyes flickered towards me, a scowl slashed across his face.

“What of the Midgardian?” he questioned, addressing the elephant in the room.

I straightened my back, shoulders tensing as I braced myself.

I hadn’t expected an easy way out.

Hell, I would be lucky if the only thing they decided to do with me was to throw me into a dark cell.

Odin turned to look at me, slowly.

He didn’t seem all too pleased.

Being called out on being a bad parent, apparently, wasn’t the best way to get into his good graces.

Loki started.

“Father…” his voice low and cautionary.

But Odin’s hand shot up, putting a stop to anything else Loki had to say.

His face was grim – lips pressed together tightly as if reluctant to pass a verdict.

Instinctively, Loki looked over to Frigga – lips parted.

And I didn’t even need to see his face to know that the silent plea that resonated in the single word he mouthed: “Mother”.

She grimaced, a slight tilt of her chin acknowledging his ask for help.

Her eyes passed over me and I felt a strange lump lodge in the back of my throat.

While there was no hostility – there was no approval to be found there either.

Only a glimmer of kindness and compassion.

Empathy.

But that was more than enough for me.

She cleared her throat.

“King Ehrendil,” she began, gingerly, wary of poking the sleeping bear.

He looked over to her, his eyes narrowing in displeasure as her voice gave way to her intention.

She took his silence as a means to forge forwards.

“Let us not allow anymore seeds of discord to be sown between us. As she has expressed her wish to lea—” she started to reason, but he cut her off, abruptly.

“With all due respect, Queen Frigga, this is an answer I require from…” he bit out, trailing off as his eyes moved to lock on Odin.

“… the rulerof Asgard,” he finished, rudely brushing Frigga aside.

Venom piercing into every word.

He may have acquiesced everything else prior, but it was clear his anger was still bubbling close to the surface.

He needed something to appease it.

A sacrificial lamb of sorts.

Me.

Frigga paused, her hand lowering to rest gingerly on Odin’s arm as he locked eyes with Ehrendil.

“I would advise you choose your next words wisely and carefully, Allfather,” Ehrendil taunted, the corners of his mouth lifting in a perverse smug smile.

A calculated move.

He had weighed his options thoroughly – knowing it would reflect poorly on Asgard if they didn’t meet him halfway after he had conceded the first half of the battle.

Impending dread filled my chest as my feet were rooted to the spot.

“Very well,” Odin replied with a tilt of his chin.

Ehrendil’s smile widened.

“Father,” Loki moved to protest.

But it was of no use.

“Thor,” Odin commanded, ignoring the plea.

And the figure that had remained mostly silent throughout this entire charade suddenly moved to life.

“Father?” Thor echoed, puzzled that his name would even enter the equation.

Odin spared him a glance, pausing.

His brows furrowed and expression grim.

“As the leader of our army…” Odin began only for Loki to interrupt.

“Father,” he barged in, voice low – the rising note of worry building into a lump in the back of my throat.

A split second pause.

The furrow between Odin’s brows deepening as he let out a long exhale, barely sparing Loki a glance.

My heart sank.

Not so much for the sentence that I knew was coming, but for the way Loki was once again, brushed aside.

“… you are to escort the Midgardian t—” he started to order when he was cut off.

“You neverlisten,” Loki bellowed.

His rage and frustration – so raw and palpable, I couldn’t help but torn to look at him.

There he was.

Red spreading across his skin like wildfire – eyes bright and shiny from all the years of rejection culminated into this very moment.

His chest rising and falling with the exertion.

The frustration.

His uncontained vulnerability.

Spilling out.

For me.

My throat moved.

Odin looked at him – face awash in disapproval as he raised a brow slightly.

“… to Heimdall…” he pressed on.

“Wh—what?” Loki stumbled.

Heimdall?

What was that? Some sort of name they had given their dungeons?

I glanced over at Loki for answers – but he seemed too stunned. Rooted in his place, blinking at Odin.

Oh God. Maybe Heimdall is the name of their executioner.

That would explain why Loki had suddenly turned three shades paler than his usual pasty self.

His expression wasn’t exactly the most reassuring.

“What?” Ehrendil thundered.

I looked over at him.

And he was livid.

Nearly frothing at the mouth, really.

He sent a goblet clattering across the floor.

Oh.

I looked around in bewilderment, not entirely sure what the fuck was going on and nobody seemed to be gracious enough to explain to me.

Until my eyes settled on a pair of twinkling blue ones that echoed with a similar and nostalgic spark of mischievousness.

Perhaps there was a bond of brotherhood after all.

“Heimdall is the Gatekeeper,” Thor murmured.

“Riiight,” I nodded, as if that was supposed to make any sense.

“What does that even me--?” I started to ask, but Ehrendil’s roar cut short whatever clarity I was searching for.

“You would darelet her go in my presence?” he demanded, furiously.

Odin glared at him – straightening his back and squaring his chest.

“I would, as ruler of Asgard,” he growled back.

It was synonymous to a slap across Ehrendil’s face who stood there, frozen – as if unable to quite believe the blow he had been dealt.

Before he could react, Odin turned back to us, eyes flashing with anger and impatience.

“Thor, did you not hear me?” he snapped.

“Ye—yes, Father,” Thor stumbled, rising to his feet, clumsily.

“As your King, I command you to escort the Midgardian to Heimdall where she shall return to Midgard…” he barked, pausing to shift his attention to me.

His eyes narrowed.

There was no mistaking that his next few words were directed at me.

“… and neverbeallowed to return to Asgard,” he finished, with a warning curl of his bottom lip.

I swallowed, palms balmy as I swayed slightly on my feet.

He raised his chin, his gaze stormy and penetrating.

This was make or break.

“Is that understood?” he asked.

The question was seemingly directed at Thor, but his eyes spoke otherwise.

I nodded.

Barely discernible.

Throat parched.

But the message was sent.

And he gave a gruff grunt in acknowledgement.

If I could have breathed a sigh of relief, I would have.

My shoulders sagged forward and my lips curved up into a smile.

Perhaps, he wasn’t too bad after all.

And for a second, just for a second, I couldn’t help but hope Loki would be able to mend the rift between him and Odin.

I still didn’t care too much for him and he could definitely use a read or two from How To Communicate for Dummies – but it was obvious he cared.

I knew he couldn’t care less what sorry fate befell me and the only reason he was sticking out his neck and risking the wrath of the pompous King he had spent years butter up to was because Loki had asked.

Had begged on my behalf.

But before I could look at Loki – look at him and tell him gently that it was going to be alright.

Look at him and feel my heart surge tenderly in my chest, a loud roar of rage disrupted the air.

“You would disrespect me as such?” Ehrendil bellowed, lunging forward in my direction.

His facial features contorted in anger.

It didn’t matter that his hands hit an obstruction or that the entire table was between us.

He looked feral.

His guards started to move forwards, the sound of swords being drawn from their sheath filling the air and I flinched.

Stumbled clumsily.

Only to be yanked backwards as Loki placed himself in front of me.

Shielding me – fingers still wrapped around my wrist.

“Lo—Loki…” I stammered, his name suddenly feeling like a safe prayed on my lips as his shoulder tensed – standing guard.

“Thor,” Odin barked as Thor moved towards Loki, forming a line of defense.

My other hand reached out instinctively to clasp the hand Loki still had on my wrist.

And even though my heart was pounding in my chest and my head was throbbing from the overwhelming intensity of the situation – I had never felt safer.

Seeing his back turned towards me – the slight glimpse of his profile as he moved his head left and right.

Tensed.

On guard.

Ready to strike at any sudden movement.

Protecting me.

“You have your orders – take her!” Odin thundered as we began to retreat.

Slowly.

Gingerly.

Asgardian guards slowly coming to our aid – flanking us.

Ehrendil turned towards Odin – eyes alight with spite.

Frigga arose carefully.

Taking her place beside her husband.

“If I were you – I would think very carefully of the consequences your actions will yield,” Ehrendil sneered.

Odin’s eyes flared.

He did not take to threats lightly.

“I have done so – thoroughly. And I have given my orders,” Odin barked.

Ehrendil gritted his teeth – glaring at him.

“Guards…” he called out.

And his soldiers moved to life upon the command – slowly encroaching upon us.

Our backs were turned towards the entrance – a slow retreat still as Asgardian guards began forming a barricade between us.

It was like a game of cat and mouse.

Odin’s eyes flickered towards us.

Almost.

I whipped my head around, heart in my throat as escape came within grasp.

So close.

“I believe it is you who will need to think very carefully of the consequences your actions will yield,” Odin warned.

A scowl in return.

“Yes, it appears that Asgardians excel in delivering threats to their… guests,” he mocked with a sweep of his arm.

Odin clicked his tongue – cocking his head to the side.

“You mistake an amicable reminder for a threat, old friend,” he admonished.

Ehrendil scoffed.

“I have made no such mistake and you are laying waste to years of friendship. You do not want to be courting this enemy,” Ehrendil warned in return.

Odin shook his head.

“Is there a need for this? She is but a Midgardian who has spoken out of her place – surely your reputation should withstand the few jabs of a sharp tongue? Does she warrant warfare and the destruction of truce between both our kingdoms?” Odin appealed.

“She does not offend me – her words do not carry weight. But rather, it is yourreluctance in conceding her as a peace offering to appease my anger that insults me. First, the breaking of the betrothal. Then, the insolence of a Midgardian – neither of which I had found satisfaction in. If you cannot bring yourself to sacrifice a mere Midgardian to uphold the truce – why should I?” Ehrendil hissed.

“New alliances and bonds may be forged in the place of broken ones. But there is noreturn from the suffering that will befall our kingdoms should we go to war, old friend. My army, I warn, will not be lesser rivals to yours. It is a war that neither of us will win,” Odin persuaded.

A grimace on Ehrendil’s face.

It was the truth.

The hard truth that wrestled with his pride and ego.

But it was enough for Odin who saw a crack in his façade – an opportunity to take the last shot.

“Should word transpire that the suffering we would have brought upon our people was sparked by a Midgardian – by inconsequential words – surely, we would be trifled as rulers and despised as kings,” Odin pushed on.

A pause.

A tic in Ehrendil’s jaw.

“Brother…” Thor whispered, his stance low and hunched.

As if ready to pounce at the sound of a pin dropping.

“… if things go south, you take her and flee to Heimdall. I will hold off the pompous King and his minions with my guards,” he muttered.

Oh, Thor.

And even though the words were said for my benefit, it was Loki they hit the hardest.

He froze.

A sharp intake of breath.

And he turned his face away briefly.

It was hard on him – trying to reconcile all his years of envy and neglect with his deep-seated need for a genuine bond with his brother.

I wanted to tell him it was okay.

It was okay to let Thor in.

It was okay to have his brother.

It was okay to be… loved.

Thor glanced over – puzzled at the silence.

“We may have had our squabbles, but do not fight me on this, brother,” he said, misinterpreting the situation.

“Who said anything about fighting you on this?” Loki shot back, the words yanking him back from his momentary lapse in concentration.

“Loki…” I muttered, and if I could kick him in the shins, I would have.

He turned around – shooting me a glare, as if annoyed that we would have the audacity to think he was capable of being worried for Thor’s safety.

“Far be it from me to detract from his act of heroism and suicide mission,” he rebuked.

I opened my mouth – stinging words at the ready to take him down a peg or two but we were yanked back to reality.

“Come, old friend, let us not waste another breath on such trivialities when we should be in talks of forming new alliances. She will be sent back to Midgard and be done with it!” Odin said.

Ehrendil raised a brow.

“What of such new alliances?” he questioned, his guard still high up.

Odin paused.

“There are other… resources beyond marriage, which you will find of… want,” he relented, his voice measured.

That did the trick.

Ehrendil’s ears pricked.

And he struggled to maintain his unimpressed façade.

But would it be enough?

He pursed his lips.

And I held my breath.

“Your decision?” Odin pursued.

Ehrendil cast a striking glare at me.

“Guards…” he commanded.

His eyes narrowed.

And there so much spite and brutal contempt in them, I couldn’t help but feel a shiver down my spine.

I squeezed Loki’s hand.

“Fall back”.

It was a long and quiet walk to the bridge we had first arrived at.

Once Ehrendil had given us the clear, there were no obstacles standing in our path as both he and Odin adjourned to a quieter space to discuss the new alliances they would form and the resources that they would share – although, it appeared the exchange would be heavily in Ehrendil’s favour.

We filed a singular line.

Thor leading the pack as Loki guarded our flank – mistrustful of Ehrendil still.

What else was there to say?

My mind raced as I tried to cram every single detail of what we had been through into the last few ticking minutes we had together.

Oh.

My heart stung.

As we crossed the rainbow bridge – the one Thor referred to as the Bifrost Bridge – I looked around.

Taking it all in.

Drinking in the light and the water and the infrastructure that were all otherworldly to me.

It’s beautiful.

The vastness and intricacies of this other world.

If only there was some way to capture some of its magic – of stowing away some of its ethereal light for me to look back upon when my days were dark.

And there would be dark ones.

Dark, cold, empty ones.

My chest felt hollowed out – all the adrenaline and courage that had been coursing through my body and filling my heart during the standoff now drained away.

I will never see this again.

The thought rang out loud and sudden inside my head.

I will never see him again.

It thudded inside my chest.

Raw.

Dead.

But before I could turn around to take a look at the dour-faced green-eyed Prince, we stopped.

Right outside this huge golden dome.

“We have arrived,” Thor announced, a little too chirpily.

I nodded my head – voice stuck in my throat.

As if I had ran out of words after that intense exchange with Odin and Ehrendil.

I looked at Thor – his smile wide across his face. So sunny, so bright, so cheerful – for a split second, I wondered what it would have been like if he had been the one sent to Earth instead.

“Heimdall awaits inside,” he prompted.

I tilted my chin forward in acknowledgement.

“Can you… give us a moment?” I asked, softly.

Weakly.

He paused, eyes flitting to look at the figure behind me for a second.

And realization dawned.

He cleared his throat.

“I’ll… erm… I will speak with Heimdall,” he announced, clumsily.

I gave him a weak smile – partly in amusement as he clunkily made his absence.

The smile plastered across my face – as if the outer corners were held up by puppet strings – until Thor’s shadow disappeared from sight.

And then it fell.

Be brave.

Those were the two words I kept repeating over and over again in my head.

As if they would have been enough to brainwash the heartache I had always envisioned would come with this moment.

I took in a deep breath.

This would be the last time I would be speaking with him, seeing him – this was notthe time to freeze.

“I guess… this is it?” I said, trying to make light of the situation as I turned around, slowly.

Except my voice was cracking.

Cracking and cracking.

Like the miserable existence I felt just standing there.

Just standing in front of him.

And God, as I turned around and saw him – bathed in the beautifully ethereal golden light of Asgard – my heart broke.

This wasit.

The moment I had feared and embraced all at once.

“Don’t go,” he said, softly.

So soft, I could have imagined them.

But there he was, swaying ever so slightly on his feet – looking at me as if I was taking part of his world away.

“You know I have to,” I said, voice croaking.

Even that lacked conviction.

Because what else was I supposed to say? What else could I say when the person I love was standing there – looking at me like that – asking me not to go?

When the only thing I wanted to do was to run into his arms?

And so, I turned to the only thing I could.

The only thing that would prevent me from dissolving into a huge weeping mess.

“Loki, I…” I started to say and his ears pricked.

Light briefly entering his eyes.

“Yes?” he asked, voice picking up a notch.

And I knew he wasn’t going to like what I was about to say.

Not one bit.

But it had to be said.

It was either now or never.

“Make amends with your… brother and father,” I said, softly.

Pushing the words out.

“Wh—what?” he stumbled, blinking.

The sentence clearly completely different from what he had been expecting.

“Make amends with your… br—” I began to repeat myself but he cut me off with scowl.

“I heard you the first time,” he said, gruffly, brushing me off.

But I was undeterred.

I needed him to know.

Wanted to be sure.

You’ll have someone with you after I’m gone.

“The events today should have shown you that they caredeeply for you,” I pursued, much to his annoyance.

He shot me a glare.

Crossed his arms over his chest as he squared his shoulders.

Gearing up for a fight.

“The events today would not have transpired if Odin had not conveniently used me as a bargaining chip without even disclosing my identity to begin with – something youwould know very well off,” he retorted – pointing to the moment in which I had used his secret identity as leverage.

I flinched.

I couldn’t help it.

Even when I knew he didn’t mean them.

When he had said those words out of retaliation.

Out of anger.

I paused, eyes flickering downwards.

My heart hurting that he had thought even remotely for a second that I would have gone through with it.

“I wouldn’t have done it, you know…” I said, softly.

Silence.

I looked up, wondering if he had heard me.

He did.

His expression – soft and tender.

All the animosity and sharp edges bleeding away.

Until nothing but warm honey pooled between us.

“I know…” he whispered.

My eyes widened.

I swallowed.

“Do you?” I couldn’t help but ask, the words slipping out so gently and effortlessly.

Heart hanging onto the desperate need for validation.

His eyes softened.

Lips pressed together as he tilted his chin downwards.

“Yes,” he yielded.

The corners of his lips lifting into a soft, wan smile.

“You don’t know how else to love me,” he said, tenderly.

So selflessly.

So utterly.

He knew.

God, he knew.

At least there was that.

And the lump that he had put in my throat bubbled up.

“Ca—can we…” I started to say, but choked.

My chest tightened.

“Ca—can we not spend our last fe—few minutes fighting? Please? I rasped out.

I couldn’t speak.

Couldn’t think.

Couldn’t breathe.

I searched his eyes.

Desperate.

Pleading.

And finally, he relented.

Nodding, the smile disappearing.

Sadness settling into all the nooks and crannies of his face – seeping out of his skin.

I grabbed his hand.

Squeezed it.

Held it tight.

I didn’t care any longer.

There were no restrictions.

Not in this moment.

“Listen to me, Loki. Please,” I begged.

Needy.

Whiny.

And he looked at me with eyes soft and yielding.

A deep breath.

“You knowI can’t stand Odin – God, if I could go back in time to say all those words I had said, I would. You know,” I swore, fingers curling over his hand.

So hard, nails dug into the flesh.

“But he caresfor you,” I reasoned and tried as he might, he couldn’t stop the distaste from sparking in his eyes.

His hand went slack – pulling away.

I reached out.

Held on.

Pulled back.

Refusing to let him distance himself.

He looked at me – eyes searching my face.

Fervently.

Intimately.

Silence stretched out between us.

“What do you want from me?” he asked.

The question hanging softly in the air.

His eyes wide and raw and vulnerable and I wanted nothing more in this world than to tell him how much I love him.

God, do I love him.

“To stop pretending to be somebody else,” I whispered.

The words slipping out so quietly, so effortless from my lips before I could stop them.

They hollowed me out.

He froze.

Like freezing water to his face.

But there was no going back now.

I squeezed his hand.

Held it a little tighter.

Held it a little longer.

Stepped in closer.

So close until I could almost imagine his breath on my face.

See the dull throbbing of pain behind his eyes.

Trace all the lines of sadness on his face.

I trembled.

My bottom lip quivering.

“I want you to stop pretending to be somebody else,” I repeated, voice shaking, and I had to stop myself.

Calm myself.

A deep breath.

Filling my lungs, flushing my cheeks.

“I want you to stop craving the acceptance of everyone else,” I pleaded.

Unintentionally.

I choked – words swallowed by the sting in my throat and the acridity that flooded my mouth.

“Why?” he breathed.

Don’t you know?

I blinked.

Tears rolling down my cheeks.

“You didn’t need it for me to love you…” I whispered.

So gently.

So delicately.

Like glass on the verge of being shattered.

He sucked in a breath.

Corners of his lips lifting in a sad smile.

Eyes shiny and bright.

Unshed tears.

This was it.

This was goodbye.

“I could… I could come visit,” he said, softly.

Tenderly.

Gingerly.

And my heart swelled.

So much I feared my chest could barely contain it.

But I shook my head, sadly.

“No, please don't,” I pleaded.

But it came out wrong.

A little too forceful.

A little too harshly.

It wounded him.

“I—I can—can’t. It… it would cause me pain,” I stumbled, scrambling to find the words that would make sense to him.

His hand reached out – his finger gently brushing away another tear.

I gasped – a sob suddenly choked out of me.

And I closed my eyes.

Wanted to remember this.

Wanted it to be this way forever.

“This. Me. You. Me loving you. You… you not knowing what to do with it…” I whispered, words coming out in a jumble.

Breath short and sharp.

And when I finally opened my eyes, there they were.

His beautiful green eyes staring back at me.

“It… causes me pain,” I breathed.

His pressed his lips together.

Grim.

I wanted nothing more than to kiss away the shadow between his brows.

Take away his worries.

And when he opened his mouth, I shook my head.

“Don’t say words you don’t mean…” I said, lips tasting salt.

He cupped my cheek.

The warmth of his skin against mine.

And even after all this time, it was enough to make my heart stop.

Make it stop bleeding.

I wanted to say.

He nodded.

“I--…” he started to say, only to pause.

An unspoken question lingering in the air.

“Hmm?” I whispered, breath hanging onto his every word.

His eyes raw and vulnerable.

“Did I… did I make you happy?” he asked.

Softly.

Tenderly.

The indent of worry in his voice.

Oh God.

My lips parted.

My heart shattering into a tiny little million pieces.

And the tears came.

Hard and fast.

Hot and scalding.

Even as they dripped down my chin.

I thought back to everything we had been through.

All the laughter.

All the teasing.

All the intimacy.

All the tears.

All the heartbreak.

All the moments I had found… myself.

He was nothing but blurred lines.

I turned around.

Shoulders shaking as I clamped my hand over my mouth.

Trying to stop the sobs from taking over.

Trying to stop my heart from hurting.

Goodbye, Loki.

“Yes.”

Goodbye.

And then I ran forward.

#loki #loki fanfiction #loki fanfic #loki fic #jealous!loki #jealous loki #how to love a writer #htlaw #lokixoc #lokixreader #loki reader #loki oc #tom hiddleston #hiddlestoner

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superemeralds · 6 years

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my sonic characters: a masterpost

I’ll add more whenever i get new info on characters and so on sakjsak

I used to have more but i gave some of them away so i dont feel like i should mention them here (even if those designs are not in use anymore)

[edit 4/20/2019 (haha) added nexus and links to character tags]

1) Saph the hedgehog

This is Saph. He’s a 18/19 year old disaster gay trans boy.

I change his shoe design literally every single time i draw him. :)

I’ll go in depth about his past later.

Saph is pretty much all over the place and forgets to be considerate of other peoples feelings sometimes. He might come off as very egoistic of self centered, but he does actually care in his own kind of way (even when its. kinda bad bc he gives off wrong signals sometimes and ends up hurting people hes close to)

He’s looked up to Sonic ever since he was small and he collects all of the Sonic comics and video games. His dream is to meet Sonic and win against him in a fight.

Shadow is his big idol in many things so he tries to be edgy sometimes or act tough but he fails miserably most of the time and makes a fool of himself; which he doesn’t really mind because he can take a lot of things with humour (sometimes too much). He also uses white eye liner to imitate shadows marks, and he dyes some parts of his fur white to make the marks he already has extend to look more like shadows.

Shadow was the person that taught him how to control his chaos powers, because he’d always just weakened himself in the past, because he is super unstable. (If it wasnt for Shadow he probably would have died by now.) Shadow also was the one that told Saph to go to Tails for help with the buckles on his wrists and the rings on his ankles. They are made of a material similar to shadows rings (tails tried his best to replicate them) so they would help keep the energy in Saph balanced. Due to his strong affiliation to Chaos Energy, he could technically even turn super; but his body would be unable to hold the immense amount of energy and begin to literally burn down to ash within a few minutes.

He is very gay and in a relationship with Ezra.

He’s on T and has not yet had top op. (his bobbies smol its all muscle >:3€ )

Old pic of him and his bf as humans uwu

2) Red the hedgehog

Red is 25/26 years old and works at GUN as special agent. Sometimes he and Rouge get drunk in her club at night and joke about tearing that organization down (or maybe they are not joking)

he’s pansexual and horny 24/7. He has a girlfriend and is in an open relationship. hes polyam if you didnt guess it askdsajh

he’s blind in the right eye and has a tattoo of a star on his chest

(here’s his gijinka because i just. hes hot. he used to be the one character that had like 30 fangirls on deviantart and each of them would comment “nosebleed” every time i uploaded)

ANYWAYS

Saph and Red. They are brothers.

*WARNING: abusive parents, transphobia, homophobia, violence

When red was a young lad and Saph was still a baby their father snapped and beat Red up with an iron bar, making him blind on his right eye. Red took Saph and ran away from home.(Their mother died at saphs birth)

They lived and still live in a city a litte farther off Empire City.

Red decided to go to an orphanage because he could not possibly take care of an infant. (granted his dad couldnt either but it seemed the best possible solution)

They lived in the orphanage for a few years, but saph very soon showed sighns of being trans and got bullied by the other kids. they would call him gay and tr*nny and kick him until he fell silent to endure his “punishment”.

Red couldn’t take it and decided to run away with Saph again. They lived on the street for a while, but Red was caught by GUN for stealing. Once they found out he had a form of chaos powers (even if weak) they decided to let him slide and hire him as Special Agent.

Red accepted this and uses the money he ears to make sure Saph has a good life. This kinda spoiled Saph a little, but he also deserved it lets be real here.

Red made sure to enable saph to get education (which he totally refuses to acknowledge and take seriously) and physical transition.

*WARNING END*

3) Ellectra “Ellie” the tenrec

[ pardon me being inconsequent with the design omg ]

Ellie is a 20 year old functional asexual demiromantic lesbian who is not interested in dumb boys and would rather talk about science with a pretty girl.

She can manipulate electricity and is called “Daughter of Zeus” by the townsfolk in her home island called Coral Island, which is located near the windsmil isles in Apotos.

She studies archeology and gaia mythology/ancient history, which makes it very convenient that she lives nearby an actual gaia temple. (She wants to be like lara croft one day)

At the 2005 black arms invasion her mother got heavily wounded when she tried to protect the town from the aliens and died from the aftermath.

Ever since then Ellie hates Shadow with a burning passion and holds him responsible, because she believed the government propaganda (provided by GUN ofc) that Shadow is One Of The Aliens. If she was ever to meet him she would be FURIOUS and ready to murder (she knows he cant die though).

She tried not to focus too much on that and just. do her cool ancient stuff.

Here are her parents Chion and... the mother i had still not found a good name for.

5) Chion the tenrec

This gentleman is 40+ years old and proud father of Ellie.

Hes also a het ace.

Chion is greek for snow (as far as google translate goes) and he was named that bc of his white nose lmao. its like a snowflake on his black body.

He doesn’t have any elemental powers, but he is naturally very strong and will punch anyone who comes close to his family. He can also use swords and is a skilled swordsman.

He inherited an olive farm from his family and he does keep it going. He makes his money selling olive products he does make himself.

6) Athena the hedgehog

Athena was the daughter of the “major” of the island that the family lived on (coral island), so she was expected to become the new major once he had to retire.

Due to the location of the island and the geographical landmarks on it, many raiders (and also eggman) have great interest in the ruins and mythological places. Athena is not one to give in easily and defended her people and the island from many intruders.

She possessed a less particular (than Ellie), but still fierce power of lightning manipulation. Having used her powers excessively, she sustained severe damage to her arms which showed as lighting shaped scars. She showed them with pride, because they meant she had fought hard to get where she was now.

She was bisexual and married to a tenrec called Chion. She was a year older than him.

The rings Ellie wears on her wrists were her mom’s.

7) Frost the snow leopard

Frost is a 15 year old demiboy who really just wants to have a good time. He hasnt really given his sexuality much thought.

He lives in a small village in Holoska; hes actually even met the werehog. Well he saw him. but he was too afraid to talk to him because holy shit its Sonic The Hedgehog!!!!!!!

He has ice powers!!!!

His insides are like -18°C and he cant eat anything that is hot. He has to eat cooked meals when they are room temperature, or even cooled down to fridge temperatures ( about 6°C).

He basically lives off ice cream and dry meat (if they get fancy food from the city he gets frozen pizza) He thinks of going to the UF for college, but he doesnt really know what he wants to do with his life yet so hes just having fun snowboarding.

8) Mitzu the Cheetah

Mitzu is 22 years old and owns a flower shop/chao garden combo where she takes care of chao, while taking care of flowers and breeding them. Her hydrokinesis powers are very helpful in that!

She loves nature and the outdoors and feeling the grass under her feet, so she doesn’t wear shoes/socks. Ever.

She generally is very free spirited and optimistic!

Shes a big sapphic but shes also okay w being single atm.

Her chao are like children to her and she loves the chao that get left in the garden as much as her own. (ppl leave their chao there when they cant watch over them anymore or if they go for a vacation and cant take them with them or smth)

9) Dan the red panda*

Dan is 17 years old and a big homo.

He has no special powers, except being able to eat and sleep more than the average person.

He’s from a very rich family, but his parents insisted in him finding a wife to like. pass down the heritage but he aint having none of that so his punk ass ran away from home to be his gay self and study art.

He lives in a tree house a little off a small village in a more rural area in east UF, near station square. let the depression boy be happy...

10) Yoshi the siamese cat

Yoshi is a 20 year old enby kitty who wants to make the world a gayer place!

They are studying fashion design in hope to one day open their own fashion store for queer people! The clothes are made with body differences in mind and they also want to offer a free customization service to fit clothes to every single body type.

They don’t have any special powers as of now but i kinda want to give them a power that could be helpful with their goal Im still thinking about it ...

11) Joel “Spirit” the Husky

Spirit is fresh ripe 14 years old and Sonic the hedgehog is his big big idol. He wants to be JUST like him when he grows up.

It has come to my attention that he is basically the sonic universe Deku and I may or may not be planning to write a fanfiction for that...........

He doesn’t have any special offensive powers, but he has orange blood and he has the ability to read the Chaos Signature of anything he encounters. (called: Chaos Vision)

This means he will immediately know if a person he meets has super powers and he will also know what that power is. He can also guess the emotions of people because they are tied to the kind of chaos energy that surrounds a person.

12) Aurora the Husky

Spirit’s Sister!

Her name is Aurora and she also has Chaos Vision!

She was born blind, but she’s been able to see with her power, so that’s just what the world looks like to her: Darkness with many many colorful lights.

Over time through hard training she was able to perfect her vision and be able to distinguish between a lot of things and even see things that only have very little chaos energy in them!

13) Axel the Axolotl*

I don’t really have much info on them I made them pretty random one day bc i thought. hey. .... what if... axolotl sonic character.

14) Azul the cat

Azul is my sonicsona kinda. He was pmuch my persona b4 i was kin w shadow.

He’s an edgelord and i guess he’s still technically me; or rather what i want to be.

He’s already on T and has has top op and he does not crumble away under social anxiety like i do askjdsakjd.

15) ( UNKNWOWN) the Pangolin*

Similar to Axel I didn’t think much about him yet......

he’s aroace and kinda goofy but he cares for his friends. He can roll up and do spin dashes and homing attacks like sonic, but he obviously doesnt have his super sonic speed.

16) Coal the hedgehog

Coal is one of the newest of my characters; but he’s also one of my oldest.

You see, Coal is a revamp of a very old crappy fanchild i had back in like 2012.

for reference thats him

New Coal is 27 years old and a gay mess. He can turn into a cloud of smoke and control it at will. He is completely immune to physical attacks. try to stab/shoot him and u ded. hes coming for u.

he steals, but only from rich ppl. hes chaotic neutral tho bc he keeps that shit for himself safhsaljfha he generally just wants to chill and have his peace.

he loves being an edge lord though he just wants that image for himself, even though he is kinda a softie... hes good at keeping up an act in dangerous situations though and that sometimes scares attackers off (also his powers)

Some gijinka doodles that make his age more justice than sonic style aksjfhaskj

17, 18, 19) The Crew On ARK

old bad art but i never really drew them, i did write about them in my fic about shadows past! (im excluding the black guy from the list because i didnt write him yet and i guess hes not really established yet since i got literally nothing on him)

from left to right

Nia, (that dude), Hikari, (gerald), Theodor

Nia is the daughter of a shamaran professor and a woman who owns a boulongerie in spagonia. She joined the ARK program in hope to make the world a more accepting place.

Hikari is is from an island near chun-nan (japan) and she also joined the program in hope to be able to help make a change for the better. she also enjoys biology and genetics a lot.

Theodor joined purely because of his joy in working on genetics and robotics that immitate life. He’s innitially from the GUN team but was assigned to work with Gerald.

20) Commander Jonathan Williams

old art again sorry sakjfhsakj. He is the father of the current GUN commander! He’s 52 and a total douchebag. He’s kinda mad with power and genuinely believes that putting shadow under pressure to become the ultimate and strongest weapon (stronger than an atomic bomb) was necessary to end the war that was going on at that time.

I cannot spoil too much on what happened to each of these people as it’s spoilers for my fanfic.

If you want to know more, read here -> http://archiveofourown.org/works/10992156/chapters/24482199

21) Sidus “Nova” the black panther (and 22 Badass the Chao)

You see. The thing with nova is that i recycled him as human/demon character for a story sjkhfkafhsakj but he has shadow powers where he can use all shadows as portals into a shadow dimension that is entirely his own. he can travel through that but it makes him very tired. he likes to store capri suns in there and just take em out whenever he wants. He has a Chao called Badass (pictured below)

his new human/demon design is below

23) Blossom the horned Frog

She is new and I don’t have much info other than that she’s from a jungle area; perhaps in adabat.

She secrets a poisonous slime from her body; yet her spit has healing accelerating properties.

A gene defect lets her never lose her tail.

24) Nexus the demonic sheep hound

nexus is a demonic sheep hound mix?? idk i just didnt want to draw hooves aksfsakhfa

they can manipulate metal and bend it in any shape they want

however they cant make it float n shit like youd think of metal powers like magneto jsfhsakjf they can literally just. shape it like play-doh but with their mind

they wear those gold rings so when theyre in a pinch they can just make a bunch of cool knifes of a sword n be like SURPRISE BITCH IM NOT JUST PRETTY. IM PRETTY DEADLY!

#my characters #shadows logbook

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hkvoyage · 7 years

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Fic: Butterfly Wings - Chapter 30

Story summary A fashion blog started at University launched Blaine Anderson’s fortune and fame. As Vogue’s new editor-in-chief, he is struggling to find an original angle for an upcoming issue. Kurt Hummel has recently arrived in New York City after finishing high school, and is having no luck building a musical theater career, so he decides to explore another passion of his: fashion. He applies for an internship at Vogue, and Isabelle sees in him the perfect fresh face to liven up the magazine, and convinces him to try out as a model. Kurt meets Blaine, and in spite of their 10-year age difference, sparks fly. Can they overcome misunderstandings and sabotage to find their happily-ever-after? Klaine model AU. Rating for this chapter: General (overall story is mature) Word count for this chapter: 6,140 Can also be read on A03 / FF Masterpost is here. The fantastic artwork produced by Cassie at CC-Graphics can be here. Thank you to the amazing @lilyvandersteen for the beta work and support. ***** Surprise! I want Kurt and Blaine back together in this story as much as you do! Therefore, you’ll be getting two updates a week until they reunite.

***** “As a kid I quite fancied the romantic, Bohemian idea of being an artist. I expect I thought I could escape from the difficulties of maths and spelling. Maybe I thought I would avoid the judgment of the establishment.” - Peter Wright February “I can’t believe I already have 1,850 followers for Surf’s Up! and every day I get more. I only posted a couple of comics on Tumblr a week ago.”

“I told you the webcomic would be a hit. I’m sure it helped that we blogged about it on our Krian accounts,” Blaine replies. “I have a few ideas for the story, but nothing has prepared me for the comments. I’m not sure what to do, because everyone wants Biffy and Jamie to get together.” “It’s way too early, Sam. The guys haven’t even come out of the closet! Don’t you know that the ship gets together at the end?” “Will readers really want to wait until the end? How do I keep the plot going?” “Sam, it’s pretty basic. Use the OMENS plan - Obliviousness, Missed chances, External factors beyond their control, No effective communication, and Smut in small doses. That usually works.” “Cool. I guess it’s the same formula for most Krian fics. It takes a while to create the comics, so I won’t post anything new for another month. Will people wait that long for an update?” Sam asks. Blaine thinks this question over carefully. He really wants Sam to succeed with his Surfs Up! webcomic. “It’s hard to say with only a couple of comics posted, but I have an idea. Why don’t you set up some dummy Twitter accounts for the main characters and get them chatting to each other? It would be an easy way of filling people in on their backgrounds and how they think about things. Give links to the Twitter accounts on your Tumblr master post and people will flock over to see what it’s about. You can even have a few scheduled Twitter Q&A sessions to answer questions about ‘Jiffy’.” “Hey, man. That’s a cool idea. I need to find something to do now that I can’t read KrianFeel’s fics.” “Did I hear you right?! You’re no longer reading KrianFeel’s fics? I never thought this day would come!” “Mercedes has banned me from reading them during her pregnancy. Something about not wanting to deal with so much kinky action in the bedroom.” “Then I’m not going to tell you about yesterday’s update...” “What happened, Blaine? I need all the deets!” Blaine laughs at Sam’s commitment to the story. “The chapter starts with Kevin and Brian doing homework together at their apartment in New York City. They both look up at the same time and realize that all their roommates are out… And they are alone for once. Brian waggles his eyebrows and Kevin gives him that smile – the one he uses when he understands what’s going to happen. The next thing you know, Kevin has Brian spread out on the couch, slowly stripping him of his clothes. Kevin starts to blow Brian, but then at the critical moment – at least from Brian’s point of view because he’s about to climax - Stan returns home. What a cock-block! It ends with a scene where Kevin tells Brian that Stan’s got to find his own place to live.” “Sounds like a filler chapter, so I didn’t miss much,” Sam replies with a deep sigh. So, how’s Mercedes doing? Is the pregnancy coming along nicely?” “That’s why I called you, dude. We went to the doctor’s this morning and Mercedes had a sonogram. I could see the baby! She’s about six inches long, and I could see her head. I could even hear her heartbeat!” “You know the sex of the baby? I thought that wasn’t possible for another month or so,” Blaine asks. “Nope, we don’t know for sure, but I’m certain it’s a girl. I want the baby to be a girl like Mercedes.” “Awww…” Blaine coos. “So dude, I wanted to ask you something important. Will you be baby Evans’ godfather?” “Oh my god! Absolutely! I’m so honored that you asked me.” “Of course I’m asking you. You’re my best bro. Mercedes definitely wants the baby baptized, and I’ll let you know the deets closer to the time. It will probably be after Mercedes’ national tour.” “Count me in. So how is the country and western singing going? Have you found any regular gigs?” “It’s hard to get into the country music scene in LA. I’d be much better off in Nashville, but that isn’t going to happen any time soon. Not with Mercedes recording and going on tour so soon after the baby is born. I’ll need to take care of my baby girl then.” There’s a pause in the conversation and Blaine can tell that Sam is thinking about how to break into the country music business. However, he waits patiently, because Sam will confide in him when he’s ready. “So what’s up with you, Blaine? I saw some pictures of you on Instagram with some tall hot dude.” “Oh… I went out a couple of times with a lawyer I met when I was signing the paperwork for the Westerville Monarch House. Connor is a really great guy, but I’m not sure if I’m going to see him again.” “Why the hell not?” “I like Connor a lot, but he’s never going to be the special one in my life, because he’s not…” “Kurt. Blaine, I know it’s tough but you’ve got to move on. Maybe Connor is your rebound guy.” “Connor doesn’t deserve to be somebody’s rebound guy. I really don’t feel ready to move on. I don’t think I ever will.” “Promise me that you’ll give Connor a chance and go on a few more dates. It’s not like you’re doing anything else and it beats staying home by yourself.” “Maybe,” Blaine sighs. He knows he should give Connor more time to see if things will develop. “Maybe what you need is a change in scenery. Come visit me in LA. It will be totally awesome! I can teach you how to surf and you can hook up with some of the dudes. They’re pretty buff and I’m sure they wouldn’t mind being your holiday rebound guy.” “Thanks for the offer, but I don’t want a holiday rebound guy either. I’d love to hang out with you, but I just took some time off in India and went home for Christmas. I’m saving all my vacation time this year for when the Monarch House in Westerville opens.” “Just remember, you’re always welcome to stay.” ***** “Did you see the photos I sent you?” Michael asks. “Yeah, Dad. Monarch House really looks like a construction site now. I can’t believe the renovations already started this week.” “Believe it, son. I’ve gone every day after work to see how it’s progressing. Meagan is handling everything well. I think she’s going to make a brilliant director of the Monarch House. She might not have any experience with a project of this scale, but she’s smart, super organized and really committed.” “I have you and Mom to thank for getting everything sorted out. I could never have done it without you… Both of you. I can’t believe that you got the planning permission through so fast.” “You can thank Burt Hummel for that. It’s amazing what a call from a Congressman can do.” “You know Burt Hummel? Do you know he’s my Kurt’s father?” “I didn’t know Burt before this project. When the press release went out for the purchase of Monarch House, Burt called me. He said he was 100% behind the concept and would help in any way he could. When I mentioned we were waiting for the city council to approve all the plans, Burt said he knew the Westerville mayor very well - something about helping out his teenage daughter when her car broke down one snowy night in Lima. The very next day, the mayor called me and said the plans had been approved.” “Wow, I guess it does pay to have friends in high places. You didn’t… umm… discuss us as well?” “Of course we did, Blaine. How could we not? It was mostly pleasantries about how Kurt is doing in Paris and how you’re doing in New York City. One thing I’ll say is that if Kurt is anything like Burt, you know how to pick them. Burt seems like a decent and honest man.” “Well, don’t leave me hanging, Dad! What is the news on Kurt?” “Kurt is settling in nicely and boarding at an old lady’s house in Central Paris. He’s about to start his first modeling job with Dior. I think it’s a perfume ad. He also has a job for the Paris Fashion Week. Kurt is making friends and exploring the city.” “I wish I was doing that with him.” “All in good time, Blaine. Don’t lose hope. Kurt is so young. You have to give him some breathing space to experience Paris on his own. But make sure he knows that he’s still very much in your thoughts and heart.” “I’m not sure how to do that, Dad. Kurt is living on another continent.” “Tweet him, send him something that has a special meaning for the two of you. You’re a smart man, Blaine. You’ll think of something. Andersons are like the Canadian Mounties – we always get our man. Ha! I never thought I would be using that expression to describe one of our love lives.” Blaine rolls his eyes as he chuckles. That sounded a bit awkward, but he knows that his father means well. ***** Blaine has been feeling out of sorts all day. It’s been exactly one year since Isabelle brought one Kurt Hummel to his office as Vogue’s ‘fresh face’. At the time, Blaine had never suspected that his life would be both shaken and stirred. However, life hasn’t been the same since that fateful day. Until September, Blaine has spent most his free time with Kurt and has fallen deeply and irrevocably in love. Blaine has mixed feelings about the fateful night of the diva-off. He was so happy when Kurt finally kissed him. Sure, things went a little too far, but he was so lost in his emotions that there was no way he could pull back. When they left the theater, Blaine felt optimistic about his and Kurt’s future together. Then the ‘Klainegate’ video hit the Internet the next day, and nothing has been the same since. In hindsight, Blaine thinks that he should have gone after Kurt as soon as he left Vogue – when he was at Elle and still in New York City. However, at the time, Blaine felt hurt that Kurt had cut him off so completely by accepting the Elle job, moving and changing phone numbers. When Blaine finally decided to seek out Kurt in Ohio and see if things could be mended, he discovered that Kurt had moved to Paris. So exactly one year later, Blaine is just where he was this time last year. Alone. Blaine reflects on the telephone conversation he had with his dad a few days ago. As much as he wants to book a ticket on the next flight to Paris, his dad is right. Kurt is young and should experience Paris on his own for a while. But that doesn’t mean that he can’t let Kurt know that he’s thinking of him… missing him… wanting him. Blaine just needs to find subtle ways of getting that message across. Thinking that there’s no time like the present, Blaine tweets A year ago today, @KurtHummel walked into my office and life hasn’t been the same since. #InstantConnection, #FriendsForever Connor invited him out to the Comedy Cellar to see Ben Bailey do his standup show, but Blaine declined the invitation, knowing he would be poor company tonight. No-one wants to be with someone feeling blue in a place that’s supposed to make you happy. He had promised Amy he wouldn’t stay home by himself tonight – she emphasized that it wasn’t productive to drown in his sorrow. Blaine knows of only one place where he wouldn’t feel out of place this Saturday night, so he gets ready for a night out. ***** Blaine enters the Treble Club Jazz Club and takes a seat at the far end of the bar. It’s the perfect place to sit on such a busy night, hidden in the corner, but still able to see the stage. “Hey, Blaine. What will you have tonight?” the bartender asks, placing a coaster on the bar in front of him. “Not sure. I’m not in a bourbon and soda mood. Any suggestions?” The bartender nods and spends a minute or two mixing a cocktail. When he slides the tall glass towards Blaine, he merely says, “The Never-Ending Story.” Blaine sees a shimmer in the drink and gives the bartender a quizzical look. “It’s basically a Long Island Iced Tea but with Unicorn Tears gin instead of… well, gin. Blaine slowly nods, because whoever knew there would be a gin liqueur called Unicorn Tears. However, his attention is soon on Marley Rose, who steps onto the stage. She sings a long set - a mixture of soulful slow love songs and more upbeat country blues ones. Once the set is over and the encore performance has been sung, Marley Rose slowly makes her way over to the corner of the bar. “Blaine, what are the chances of you coming here three Saturday nights in a row? You’d think that you didn’t have half of New York’s eligible bachelors knocking at your door.” ‘New York Fashion Week is starting soon and so I’ll be out every night. Today’s a special day, and I didn’t want to be with anybody. Besides, I like it here - I like listening to you sing.” Marley Rose smiles at Blaine and takes a sip from her drink. Blaine is relieved that she gets it – she knows that he’s thinking about Kurt but doesn’t want to talk about him. “How’s the song-writing coming along? I was so excited when you told me before Christmas that you were playing the piano and composing again.” Blaine bows his head and places his two palms on his forehead. “I’m enjoying playing the piano, but the song-writing is another matter altogether. I actually composed a song called ‘I'm Never Saying Goodbye to You’. It is so melancholy that I had even considered submitting it to Adele. Song-writing is unleashing emotions that feel too personal and raw. I’ve got to figure a way out of this funk.” Marley Rose squeezes his shoulder and gives him an encouraging smile. “Maybe we can both do each other a favor. I’ve written the lyrics to a song called ‘All or Nothing’. I’m thinking that it needs upbeat music to accompany it, but I can’t figure out for the life of me a single musical note. Perhaps you could help me?” “Why not? E-mail me the lyrics and I’ll see what I can do.” ***** Blaine wakes up early Sunday morning, thankful that he had only one ‘Never-Ending Story’ drink last night. After a run in Central Park and a shower, he opens his e-mail and notices a new message from Marley Rose. True to her promise, she has sent him the lyrics to her new song. Blaine pours over the lyrics as he eats his breakfast. Then, with a newfound energy, he sits down at the piano. After doing his usual warmup exercises, he starts to compose the music. I can't stay here I am not the girl Who runs and hides Afraid of what could be And I will go there I need time, but know That things are always closer Than they seem Now I'll do more than dream yeah! The lyrics resonate with him, and he can’t help but wonder if the full story with Kurt has been told, or if there’s a new chapter waiting in the future. He hums out possible music to go with the rest of the song. Once he has an idea of where the composition is going, he switches on the mic and starts recording.

That it's All or nothing All or nothing Cause this is my life I'm not gonna live it twice There's no in-between Take it too extreme Blaine spends the rest of the day making minor adjustments and re-recording. When he’s satisfied with the end result, he sends Marley a text. Got my muse back and composed the music for the song. Want to meet tomorrow night to hear it? B

Gathering all his courage, Blaine attaches the audio file to an e-mail for Wes with the following message: I’ve been working on my music again. Marley Rose wrote the lyrics and I’ve composed the music. It’s something that I want Kurt to hear. Could you please forward this to him? Thanks – B. ***** “Prêt sur le plateau,” the photographer calls out when the lighting is ready. “Ready on set,” Louis, his Parisian agent, whispers to Kurt. “Don’t worry, there are only a dozen or so things that you’ll need to learn in French. You’ll pick those up quickly today.” Louis and Kurt step out onto the rooftop of a skyscraper, with the cityscape of Paris in the background. Kurt is freezing, as the sun is weak on this winter’s day, but he’s thankful that the wind is blowing only softly. Kurt is wearing a charcoal-gray suit with a simple white shirt. Instead of a tie, the first three buttons are undone, exposing his neck and his upper chest. Fortunately, it’s slightly warmer with the photography lights beaming at him. Kurt is surprised at the traditional poses he’s asked to take – standing near the guard rail, adjusting his shirt cuffs, lifting up the jacket lapels, and stuff like that. It all seems so easy after posing for Elle on the dance pole. “I want the faraway look. Like you are thinking about a beautiful femme, or homme. And face the city.” Kurt turns and leans his upper half on the guard rail, taking in the mix of historic and modern buildings of Paris. There is only one person to think of to give him ‘the faraway look’ – Blaine. He calculates the time in New York City and wonders if Blaine is awake yet. Is he alone in his penthouse or waking up with the new man in his life? Kurt has seen photos on Instagram and Twitter of Blaine out and about with a tall and good-looking man. They weren’t taken at high-profile events, but rather at coffee shops, the theater and local restaurants. Blaine looks comfortable around this new man, but something’s missing. There’s no hand-holding or shared smiles – nothing to indicate they are lovers… yet. Kurt had zoomed one of the photos and stared at Blaine’s eyes, for they are always so expressive. Blaine’s eyes look warm, but they lack the sparkle – the way they used to sparkle when Kurt and Blaine were together. “Cut. We’ll take a 30-minute break to warm up. The look was parfait, Kurt.” Kurt dashes inside and goes down one flight of stairs, where the model prep area has been set up. Louis immediately comes over and throws a wool blanket around his shoulders. “Kurt, don’t look sad. You were magnificent on set. The Dior manager is very pleased with the shoot,” Louis says. “I’m not sad about the photo shoot. I was thinking about someone towards the end of the session, and I miss him.” “The world is a small place. Why don’t you invite him to Paris to visit you? After this photo shoot, you have two weeks before you’re needed for the next job. Paris can be very romantic, even in the winter.” “I wish that it was that easy, Louis. But the man that I miss has found another.” “Impossible! There is no such thing as finding another after you.” “That’s not what the photos on Instagram and Twitter say.” Louis goes off to get Kurt a hot drink from the canteen. Kurt desperately wishes that Blaine was here in Paris - but Blaine isn’t, and no amount of wishing is going to change that. Kurt finds his phone and opens Twitter. He’s surprised when he reads the tweet from Blaine, reminding him that they met exactly a year ago. Has it really been that long? Blaine’s message has been retweeted thousands of times, with #klaine tagged. Kurt tosses his phone aside when he reads the retweet, Why aren’t my babies together? Before reading the tweet, Kurt thought that Blaine had moved on with his life, with brand-new projects and a brand-new man. But maybe the tweet means that Blaine misses him? He picks up his phone and retweets Blaine’s message, And what an amazing year it’s been. #InstantConnection, #BucketLists, #GoodTimes, #FriendsForever ***** “How did the photo shoot go, Kurt?” “It went really well, Dad, although it was shot outside and it’s cold here. The ad is going to hit the March issue of the magazines.” “Let me know which ones so I can go out and buy ‘em.” “The ad will definitely be in the American issues of Vogue and Elle.” “Then I’ll buy Vogue next month.” Kurt laughs when he notices his dad’s earnest expression, obvious even through Skype. “You’re probably Blaine’s number one fan.” “Of course I am. I really respect what he’s doing in Westerville with that Monarch House project. We had a long chat about it, and I think I might be able to convince him to open the next one in Lima.” “Wait a minute, when did you have a long chat with Blaine?” Kurt can see his dad take off his cap and rub his head nervously. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you about that.” Kurt wraps his arms around his waist and arches one eyebrow. “About what, Dad?” “After I dropped you off at the airport last month, Blaine came to the house looking for you. When I said that you were on your way to Paris, he looked as if his world was ending. Blaine was a mess. A snow storm started and I couldn’t send him back to Westerville in that state, so he spent the night.” Kurt shakes his head. He wishes that his dad had told him about this earlier. “And you just talked about his Monarch House project?” “No, of course not. It was all I could do to convince him not to jump on the first plane to Paris.” “Blaine wanted to come to Paris?” “Of course he did. Blaine is crazy about you. However, I convinced him that you need this time to figure out things for yourself.” Kurt rushes through the rest of the conversation because he wants some time on his own to think about this. When he gets off Skype with his dad, he heads down a floor and runs himself a hot bath. Once he’s soaking in a tub filled with his favorite lavender-scented bath oil, he thinks about what his dad told him. Kurt wonders what his reaction would have been if his dad had told him that Blaine came over when he had first arrived in Paris. He probably would have taken the first plane back. But his dad was right… He does need this time to experience new things and to gain a perspective on his relationship with Blaine. Kurt steps out of the tub and gets into his nightwear. After doing the long version of his nightly moisturizing routine, he heads back upstairs and crawls under the warm down duvet on his bed. Not everything his dad said made sense though. If Blaine is so gutted about Kurt moving to Paris, why is he dating another man? Why is it only now that Blaine is tweeting him? Kurt knows that Blaine is sentimental, so he must still like Kurt to remember the day they first met. But does Blaine like him just as a friend or could there be more between them? ***** “Café au lait et un petit pain au chocolat, s'il vous plaît (A coffee with milk and a chocolate-filled bun, please),” Kurt requests, sitting at the famous Café de Flore on Paris’ Left Bank. Kurt has switched his usual grande non-fat mocha order to something he feels sounds more adult. Besides, the flaky croissant pastry with fine dark chocolate chunks on the inside satisfies his sweet tooth. “Mon chouchou, I’m sorry I’m late. I was painting François and lost track of time,” Antoine apologizes as he slides into the seat across from Kurt. He snaps his fingers to grab the attention of the garçon and orders a double expresso. “Of course, I would prefer to paint a portrait of you,” Antoine adds with a wink. Kurt gives Antoine a tight-lipped smile. This isn’t the first-time Antoine has asked him to pose for one of his paintings. However, Kurt feels uncomfortable posing in the nude. Although Antoine promises he can cover up his ‘bits’, it doesn’t feel right that the first man to see him naked would be like this. Antoine hints at it, but never pushes, and Kurt is grateful for that. Kurt has met up with Antoine a dozen times since they properly met at the afternoon tea with Emmeline. They’ve played the tourist on the Left Bank and visited the Pantheon, the Sorbonne University and The Invalids. They’ve strolled through the Jardin des Plantes (“we must return in the spring when the first flowers blossom”). They’ve also explored the little shops and boutiques in hidden streets that Antoine knows so well. They have gone to clubs and bars and met up with Antoine’s friends. Wherever they go, Kurt notices that Antoine always attracts a crowd. His easy-going nature, good looks, and natural charm draw everyone to him like a magnet, women and men alike. Antoine has always been a perfect gentleman towards Kurt and makes sure that he’s included in the conversations, introducing him to his friends, who are artists, writers, musicians, chefs, and professional students. Kurt always enjoys himself with Antoine’s friends and is curious about their lifestyle. They seem to live in the moment, without thinking about the future. This isn’t a bit like he was raised in Lima, Ohio – where commitment and family are what really matter. “Mon chouchou, I have an idée magnifique (magnificent idea) for next Saturday if the weather is beautiful. Everyone must experience the Château de Versailles.” “I’d love to visit the palace where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were married. It’s on my bucket list of places to visit in Paris.” Kurt bites his lip and wishes he’d never mentioned his bucket list – that’s something special between Blaine and himself. However, remembering the photos of Blaine with the new man in his life, Kurt is determined to get past Blaine and his feelings towards him. ***** Kurt is glad that he downloaded the audio guide app of the Versailles Palace the previous night. Kurt and Antoine have toured all the impressive areas inside the palace - the King’s Apartments, the Hall of Mirrors, the Queen’s Apartments, and the Chapel, but also lesser known areas such as the Gallery of Battles, and the apartments of Louis XV’s daughters. “This palace is so ornate and over the top. I can’t believe the royal family could live like this for a hundred years.” “Now you know why the French Revolution happened. Come with me, mon chouchou. We now need to explore les jardins (the gardens). If Kurt thought the palace itself was over the top and impressive, nothing has prepared him for the gardens. There are meticulous manicured lawns with paved paths creating intricate designs. The flower beds are mainly empty on this winter’s weekend, but the shrubs provide sufficient greenery. There are statues in small pools of water dotted throughout the gardens. “And I thought the palace was the main attraction. These gardens are something else altogether,” Kurt observes. “We’ve only seen a small portion of the gardens. There are almost 2,000 acres at the Château de Versailles. We’ve visited the most famous parts.” Antoine checks his watch and then adds, “Come with me. Let’s grab some lunch.” They stop in a small café, get ham and cheese baguettes and mineral water to go, and return to the gardens. They sit on a wrought iron bench, which is cold. However, Antoine soon has Kurt laughing with jokes and trivia about Marie Antoinette. “I had absolutely no idea that the children’s song ‘Jack and Jill’ was about Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette getting beheaded. It certainly puts a different slant to ‘and Jill came tumbling after’.” Suddenly, classical music is heard from speakers throughout the gardens and the swishing sound of water starts. Kurt looks up and sees the fountains come to life with spouting water. “You are in luck, mon chouchou. Usually the fountains aren’t switched on until spring.” Kurt puts the remainder of his baguette into his messenger bag and rushes from fountain to fountain to see the spectacular water shows. He makes sure to see the Latone, Saturn, Apollo and Neptune fountains. Antoine remains on the bench and laughs at Kurt’s enthusiasm as he takes photo after photo. The train journey back to Paris takes just over an hour and they arrive at the Left Bank in the late afternoon. “The day is still young. Come to my studio, Kurt. I’ll cook dinner and show you my artwork.” Kurt agrees and they wander back to Antoine’s place. After climbing the stairs up to the fourth floor, Antoine quickly opens the door and leads Kurt in. It is a large studio apartment. Half the space is taken by canvases, easels, and paints. The wooden floors are old and unrestored, with oil paint splatters making interesting patterns. There’s an old upholstered couch and a large king-sized bed, which are surrounded by studio lights – Kurt guesses this is also used for the models. There is a small kitchenette along one side and a door leading to the bathroom. “It’s modest, but it works for me. When I get inspired, I can paint right away. I’m planning to make a cassoulet for dinner. Have you eaten this before? “No, what is it?” “I think you Americans would say pork and beans, but it’s a lot more than this. It takes a while to cook, so let me get the casserole prepared and then we can relax.” Kurt helps Antoine with the prep work by chopping onions, carrots, tomatoes, and garlic. Antoine combines this with cubes of pork, ham, beans, and fresh herbs into a cast iron casserole dish and slides it into the oven. He then pours Campari and mineral water in two glasses to create an aperitif. “Santé, mon chouchou,” Antoine toasts as he clinks their glasses together. Antoine takes Kurt by the hand and leads him to the coach. Antoine then heads to the studio’s corner, where there are at least a dozen oil paintings leaning on the wall in the corner. One by one, he takes a painting and places it on the easel for Kurt to view. The first ones are landscapes of the French countryside – mainly fields of poppies and wheat. The next few paintings are classic stills of fruit and flowers. The last ones are portraits of young men in the nude. “You certainly cover the full range of subjects for your art. Which do you enjoy painting the most?” Kurt asks. “The landscapes are the best sellers and help pay the rent. I paint the others when I feel inspired, and currently I enjoy painting the portraits. I do charcoal sketches at first and then the oil painting later.” Kurt can see that Antoine is passionate about his art, as he rants on about the meaning of each painting, with hands waving everywhere and the same look in his eyes as Rachel gets when talking about Broadway. Antoine puts ‘Lucie’ by Pascal Obispo on the sound system and soon they are discussing other things they plan to do in Paris together. The meal starts with a terrine de campagne (country terrine or pate), served with crusty baguette and red wine. Kurt only nibbles at it because he can smell the rich cassoulet cooking in the oven. The main course is soon served with a simple side salad. “I can see why this is a popular dinner in France. The tastes go together so well and it’s hearty for a cold winter’s night.” “I’m glad you like it, mon chouchou. This recipe is from mami Emmeline. Apparently, she got the recipe from the executive chef at the La Fontaine de Mars restaurant decades ago. God knows how she pried it out of Jean-Guy Loustau.” After the dinner dishes have been cleared, Antoine places an artesian cheese platter and baguette on the coffee table and they relax on the couch. “I’m afraid that I can’t eat too much cheese if I want to be able to get into the suits that I model. I already broke my diet with the ham and cheese baguette at lunchtime.” Kurt’s cheeks flush when he sees Antoine’s glance move from his head to his toes. “I really don’t think you have anything to worry about. You are parfait (perfect) in my eyes. I’ll put this away, but I insist you join me for a digestif. Would you prefer cognac, armagnac or calvados?” Kurt has never tasted any liquors before, so he asks for the only one he recognizes. “Cognac, s'il te plaît.” After the drinks have been poured, Kurt takes a sip and finds he can’t stand the taste of cognac. He thinks about how he could get rid of the drink without Antoine noticing. He doesn’t want to appear unsophisticated, but there’s no way he’s finishing this drink. “So tell me about your life in New York City?” Antoine asks. Kurt talks about working at the Spotlight Diner and auditioning for roles in the theater without ever getting call-backs. He then goes on to relate the story of his Vogue internship interview and how he became a model that very same day. “What an incredible story, Kurt. What do you hope for in the future?” “I’m not entirely sure. I want to continue modeling until I get bored with it or people stop paying me lots of money. I’m thinking of studying musical theater and taking another stab at Broadway. I’m also thinking about studying fashion and get into the designing end of things. But for now, I’m enjoying Paris.” “Exactement, mon chouchou. You are young and don’t need to weigh yourself down with plans. This is the time you should live for the moment.” “What do you hope for in the future, Antoine?” “I hope that I continue to be inspired to paint, and people are inspired to buy my artwork. I want a place to live, good friends, and the freedom to do what I want. Une vie simple (a simple life).” When Antoine puts it that way, a life free of commitments and society’s pressures sounds ideal. However, Kurt does want to put down roots eventually, and get married and have kids. “There is one more thing I hope for, and as luck has it, you are here tonight.” Antoine slowly leans towards Kurt and presses their lips together. Kurt can feel the sensation of Antoine’s soft warm lips and it feels nice and comfortable. Kurt is pleased that he’s wanted by such an attractive and nice guy. But there aren’t any fireworks or butterflies in his stomach like he felt with his first real kiss. Kurt doesn’t think anything can compare to kissing Blaine. However, for now, it’s a welcome feeling. “Stay the night, mon chouchou,” Antoine whispers. Kurt jerks away quickly as if he has been burnt by fire. “I’m not ready for that… for things.” “Kurt, look at me. I’m not expecting anything. Okay, maybe more of the kissing. We can take this at any speed that you’re comfortable with. I’m very interested in you and enjoy your company. To see Paris through Kurt Hummel’s eyes is quite magical. So please, spend the night. I can always sleep on the couch if you want.” Kurt likes Antoine. He’s fun to be with, and this would take their relationship - can he call it that? – one step further. Kurt knows Antoine well enough to know he’s not a predator and will honor his word. But something holds him back. He can’t get Blaine out of his mind, and isn’t ready to take things further with Antoine yet. Kurt slowly shakes his head. “I think I better call it a night.” Author’s notes Song Marley Rose writes the lyrics and Blaine composes – “All or Nothing” performed by the Glee cast. Next up: Kurt models at the Paris Fashion Week opens and the Westerville Monarch House opens. It will be posted on Saturday.

#my fic: Butterfly Wings #klaine fanfiction #klaine fan fic #hkvoyagewrites

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ngame989 · 5 years

Text

“Christumpmasday” - TGG SVTFOE Fanfic Collection Ch. 4

Writing: @ngame989

Art: @toxicpsychox (make sure to follow him for bonus pics from the story!)

Editing: @toxicpsychox, @seddm

Alternate fic links - FFnet, AO3

Summary: The holiday season is upon Earthni, and as her 16th birthday draws nearer, the blended festivities are leaving Star feeling down while they scramble to set up everything in time for the perfect Christumpmasday celebration.

Comic Page

Masterpost

Also doubles as a late @wholesome-week Holiday submission!

See below for the text, hope you enjoy!

“Is it… a dragon-cycle?”

“Nachos is too protective, if we got a second one she wouldn’t get along with them.” Marco ran his fingers carefully through the branches of the pine tree in front of him, giving it a gentle shake. Half of the needles fell to the ground.

“True, true. OK, what about, like, a cool sword or something?”

His focus was already on to the fourth tree in the row, ruling it out just as easily as the previous three. Disappointing. Didn’t anyone know how to properly maintain a healthy and good-looking evergreen? “Star, that’s just what you got me for my birthday. I’m not going to tell you your gift early. Besides, would you even want a sword? We can look for one sometime.”

“I’m good, just wondering. Just give me ooooone more guess… your abs?” He lurched forward in surprise, his reaction to the comment earning him a faceful of foliage. Shaking the needles out of his hood and spitting a few from his lips, he finally turned his full attention to his girlfriend, studying her as she leaned against the fence on the perimeter of the farm. She’d donned one of his hoodies overtop of her blue narwhal-embroidered outfit as emergency protection on the unexpectedly chilly day, as California’s relatively warm winters had mostly carried over to their slice of Earthni. Adorable rosy hues surrounded the heart marks on her cheeks, and he wasn’t quite sure it was from the cold - he was much more certain where his own flush was coming from, at least. “What? It’s super freezing and I’m super cold and I super do not like wood. I needed a distraction and my mind wandered back to the Neverzone after I mentioned the sword.”

“Well, don’t worry, because I found the one!” He beckoned her over with a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth and pointed to the one in front of him. Relatively tall and thick by Christmas tree standards, but it would be sure to look fantastic in the monster temple foyer for the first annual culturally blended holiday. Why it had been dubbed Christumpmasday, and why the rest of the town had gone along with it, Marco might never know, but he was still excited no matter how unwieldy its name might be. She took his hand when she got beside him, but kept moving until she crossed fully in front of him, gently tugging his arm around her. Marco smiled and took the hint, wrapping himself snugly around her and tucking his chin into the crook of her shoulder; despite growing a bit in recent months, he was still a ways off from being a full head above her. “Better?”

She briefly nuzzled her cheek into his through his hood. “Much. Sorry for being a party pooper today… I just want to have a normal holiday, and my birthday, without having to worry about appeasing a giant angry log. Is that too much to ask?” There was a fire in her sparkling sapphire eyes that Marco recognized all too well: this was really bothering her.

As best he could, he threaded their gloved fingers together and reassuringly squeezed both the hand and the hug. “Maybe the Stump isn’t even around anymore… still, better to be safe than sorry for this year at least. Look on the bright side, if it isn’t an issue anymore, then next year we can just do what we do best here on Earth: keep traditional holidays around as an excuse to eat and have fun!” Star snorted in laughter and turned to face him with a smile, hesitant but genuine all the same, and he returned a sympathetic one of his own. “If you really want a hint about my gift, it’s something we’ll get to enjoy a lot when we get to hang out after all this is over.”

“Well if it involves spending time with you, then I know I’ll love it,” she teased, and the cold bothered Marco a bit less.

The moment was interrupted when Rafael entered his peripheral vision with an unfamiliar woman behind him. “Ah, there you two are. I have been looking all over the place!”

The woman, taller than Marco’s dad and almost as brawny and sporting a stereotypical lumberjack outfit, jogged ahead of Rafael, seemingly unbothered by the cold. She patted Marco’s head as he and Star scrambled to split apart. “I’m Dee, nice to meet you.”

“Ooooooh, I thought ‘Dees Trees’ was just wordplay,” Star responded, shaking her hand after Marco, who giggled in response.

“Well aren’t you two just the most precious things? So your dad here tells me that you’re looking for a tree?”

“Yep, this one,” Marco pointed to the one in front of him and the sign marking it at $65.

“That one’s certainly a beaut. Tell ya what, it’s on the house. As thanks for this whole Cleaving thing - best thing to happen to my business since that household tree burglary spree in ‘89!” she said jovially.

Star bristled a bit inside the hoodie. “You don’t have to do that-”

“Please, I insist.”

“We’re fine, thanks.”

“It’s the least I can do.”

“I said we’ll pay.”

Marco’s eyes bounced back and forth following the two as Dee remained fairly calm while the frustration in Star’s voice visibly mounted.

The heated exchange was interrupted by a loud rev; the three turned to see Rafael already midway into cutting down the chosen tree with his chainsaw. Dee helped the man steady it as it was fully detached from the base and he let out a victory shout while turning off his chainsaw. “This is my favorite part of the holiday season,” he chuckled, patting the handle on the tool.

Star sighed heavily. “We’ll take it, then. Thank you.” Marco was still worried by her sulliness; he’d ask her about it later.

“Take care, now!” Dee said as they hauled the tree to the Diaz car. Once it was secured to the roof, Marco hopped halfway into the backseat before Star grabbed his hand, holding him still. He looked up at her from halfway inside the vehicle and saw her reading something on her phone.

“Everything OK, kids?” his dad called from the front seat.

“Eclipsa just texted me, my dad’s been swinging around the temple using the holiday lights like vines to hang them up and he hurt himself.”

“River…” Marco facepalmed. “I told him I’d help with that!”

“Hold on, she just sent a correction.” Her brow scrunched up worryingly as she read the words. The tension in her shoulders finally released after a few seconds as she rolled her eyes. “Apparently those were two separate things. Lights are all set, but he sprained his back falling off the ceiling while trying to race Meteora around the castle after, so now he can’t go get a ceremonial stump like he does every year.”

“Maybe we can just see if we can take the one from our tree?” Marco offered.

“Good idea. But we’re paying for it this time,” Star insisted, puffing up her cheeks.

She took his hand and led him back into the farm to the same spot they’d been, stopping dead in their tracks at seeing the sign which had an additional description written on in red ink. “Don’t risk angering the stump! VERY special offer, guarantees no botanical horror attacks!” A zero had been added to the price tag, and Marco resigned himself to the inevitable as he pulled out his wallet for the familiar sum. “So that’s what she meant by us helping her business.”

***

The decor in the monster temple was splendid, Moon idly mused as she strolled through the corridors. There was a certain vivacity that Earth’s traditions brought into the holiday season that hadn’t been present for Stump Day alone. While she tended to prefer a more orderly, professional aesthetic, even she had to admit that a holiday celebrating the dead bottom of a tree could get dull at times with an almost exclusively brown wooden palette. If she had been told one year ago that come next Stump Day she’d be galavanting around the infamous Monster Temple, no longer a Queen, preparing to celebrate the holidays alongside Eclipsa, she’d have sent the laughable soothsayer to a therapist posthaste. But somehow she had settled into her new life with relative ease. Of course there were still lingering vestiges; many Mewmans still sought her advice about all sorts of mundane topics, albeit in a less… needy way, and she’d provided some counsel to the governments of the new world, filling in any information about the Mewman people and tradition. But at the end of the day, she was no more or less than any other woman in their new world, and after all the hardships she saw Mewni through - some, regrettably, by her own hand - it didn’t upset her as much as she might have thought it would.

She navigated the labyrinthian hallways until she reached the set of guest bedrooms Eclipsa had set up and walked over to hers to find the door open and her husband playing cards with Globgor.

“Moonpie!”

“Hello, darling. Hello, Globgor,” she waved. She walked over to the side of the bed and pecked River on the forehead before sitting down beside him, careful not to hurt the multiple casts he had on. “How are you holding up?”

“Never been better! Just some minor scrapes, really.”

“River, you fell three stories and landed on a hard stone floor directly on your back.”

“Bah, no matter, I’ve had worse! Besides some minor agony I barely notice it at all! Globgor here is teaching me some card games that the monster army used to play hundreds of years ago, it’s roaring fun! You should join us!”

“I think I’ve heard of some of the games…” Moon trailed off suspiciously, one eyebrow raised.

Globgor rubbed the back of his neck, clearly understanding her implications. “Ahem, well, I may have made some modifications to them. Most used custom decks that had lots of very, shall we say, unkind pictures of Mewmans on them, and most of the moves had unflattering names as well. While I was in the crystal I ended up remaking most of my favorite games without that stuff and playing matches with all kinds of imaginary characters in my brain,” he chuckled. Not that she was one to judge, after all - she’d already been through that song and dance with Buff Frog what felt like ages ago.

“Yes, and he’s really good at them!” River exclaimed in frustration as he tried and failed to counter Globgor’s most recent play. “You should join us, dear, you’re remarkable at these types of games!”

She patted his hand and flashed him a contrite smile. “I’d love to, but I still need to go through all the family belongings and find some Stump Day decorations. I’m sure at least some of them were salvaged from the castle.”

River clasped Moon’s hand with both of his own animatedly. “That reminds me! You just missed Star, she stopped by not too long ago to check up on her old man. She said they were going to set up the tree.”

“Shoot, I promised I would help them with that!” Globgor conked himself on the head, accidentally throwing his cards all over the bed in the process. “We can pick this up soon, so sorry about that!” He quickly gathered the strewn cards up and shuffled around the bed, closing the door on his way out.

“Not a problem!” River shouted after him. His volume lowered substantially as he and Moon were the only two left in the room. “It really is wonderful to have family holidays like this, is it not? Good food, good company, and best of all, no in-laws,” he smirked at her.

“River!” she jokingly admonished.

“Oh honey, you know that as much as I do. I love the Johansen clan dearly, but they can be positively insufferable at times. And don’t get me started on old Aunt Etheria…”

Moon laughed into her hand. “Yes, I suppose it is nice that the festivities will be much smaller this year.” After all the chaos and the dissolution of the Butterfly kingdom, their extended family (especially her own side) had some… mixed reactions. With Moon distancing herself from the power and prestige her family had been accustomed to, things were a bit tense and as such everyone had decided to stick to themselves for the holidays, which just left the main former Butterfly lineage and the Diazes to celebrate. Moon had grown rather fond of this new mixed-dimensional extended “family” of hers, which she supposed was a good thing since she had a sneaking suspicion that they’d become official family in due time. While she wouldn’t trade the last half a year for anything, it too had its own brand of chaos which made moments for just the two of them still rarer than she’d like, and now that they had one both seemed most content not doing anything. The comfortable silence lingered on for many minutes, both of his rough hands delicately clasped around one of her own while her other idly toyed with his beard, and neither seemed . Finally, their tranquility was broken by a knock at the door, which meant it couldn’t be Star. “Come in,” Moon said, separating from River and defaulting to a more proper pose.

She was greeted by a familiar red hoodie. “Oh! Um, sorry if I, uh, interrupted anything.”

River struggled to sit up and face the door properly, beaming brightly at the young man whose company he enjoyed very much. “Not a problem, my boy! Moonpie was just checking up on me. But don’t worry lad, I’ll be back on my feet in no time!”

“Oh, I know that. Star and I were just in the kitchen and thought you’d want the leftovers from tonight for a snack.” He held up a bag filled with what had to be a few pounds of meat and some corn.

Her husband’s eyes lit up like fireworks as he beckoned Marco into the room. “I see the holidays have come early this year, hah! Thank you, you know this old man quite well.”

“Well, I’ll leave you two alone,” Moon gestured to the bag and her husband, rolled her eyes playfully as he fished his meat blanket out from his beard and began to dig in.

She and Marco both walked out of the room. “Have fun with your boxes, honey!” he mumbled out as the door was closing, nearly unintelligible through the multiple drumsticks barbarously stuffed in his mouth.

Marco stopped and turned back to face Moon. “Oh, is there still something left to do for decorations?”

“I was planning on going through some of the Butterfly family possessions to find our old Stump Day decor, that’s all.”

He hesitated only a fraction of a second before responding, “Do you want some help? We finished everything with the tree already.”

Moon warmly grinned back at the boy. She’d noted his kindness and willingness to be by Star’s side through anything years prior, but what impressed her most was how it consistently extended to everyone else around him. “That would be lovely. They’re in the storage room, I’ll be up in a moment.”

“OK, I’ll get Star and we’ll meet you there.” He hustled off back to the main area of the castle, leaving her alone in the hallway.

She made her way to the storage room, getting lost a few times along the way, still not entirely familiar with the layout of the building. Her first task was to do a quick scan of the boxes and organize them. There was a notable lack of cohesion to the contents of each container, she noted with ire, but that was likely due to the haste with which they had been packed as the castle had been attacked. Forgivable. She’d noted around fifteen that possibly would contain the decorations she was looking for and had gathered them all together when a conversation from the hallway caught her attention.

“Why noooooot?”

“Star, they’re not going to let you use one of River’s clubs. Those things are like two feet wide and have spikes!”

“Yeah, those are his miniature clubs, which is why I want to bring them to miniature golf, duh!”

“It’s indoors! There will be kids around!”

“Oh, well why didn’t you say so! Dad has some indoor clubs for kids too.”

“He showed those to me, they’re even more dangerous!”

“Marcooooooo, come oooooon.”

“Trust me, it’ll be more fun with the normal clubs.”

“Fiiiiiine.” Just as they came into view through the door, she spotted Marco give a quick peck to the side of her head as she rolled her eyes at him, their fingers intertwined. Moon raised an eyebrow with a smug grin when they entered the room. They reminded her so much of herself and River when they were younger.

“Hi Mom!” Star said, leaving Marco’s side to give Moon a quick hug. “Marco said you needed help with something here, what’s up?”

“We just need to locate some of the Stump Day decorations from our usual family gatherings, shouldn’t be too long,” she responded, indicating the various boxes and bags on the floor behind her.

Star’s cheery expression visibly sunk. “Oh. Yeah, um, sure, we can help with that.” Moon’s brow furrowed in confusion briefly; she considered speaking up, but had learned it was best not to pry too much. No matter, they could finish this up quickly enough and all have a well-rested night before all the celebrations to come in the next few days. “So what exactly are we looking for?”

Moon pried open the nearest tub and overturned the piles of now-unneeded royal attire to see what lay beneath. “We’ll probably need a lot of mugs for the big dinner that Eclipsa is hosting for the locals tomorrow evening. And the diorama for River’s annual telling of the story of Stump Day, which he’s insisted he is still going to deliver himself. Perhaps a few of the hats as well, if we’re able to locate them. After last year, I don’t think we can quite play it too safe, after all.”

The three began to dig through boxes, clearing them out at a rapid pace. She noted a newfound chilliness even in Star’s interactions with Marco, responding to his antics making goofy voices with some old puppets with only half-hearted laughter. After about thirty minutes, they’d gathered everything they needed and began packing back up the belongings.

“Why do we even still have this stuff, anyway?” Star spontaneously spoke after a rather uncharacteristic bout of silence during their labor. Moon glanced over to see her holding up one of Moon’s old crowns, her hearts wrinkling as her face contorted in displeasure.

“Sweetheart, it’s a valuable heirloom. It’s still important to the tradition of this family to keep these things around, what if you or someone else might be interested in them in the future?”

Star scoffed and carelessly dunked the crown back in the box. “We’re not royalty anymore, Mom, and we never will be again,” Star retorted, dunking it carelessly back into the box.

“I know that, dear, but-”

Star’s voice, now risen to almost a shout, cut her off, echoing throughout the spacious room. “But what? I’ve moved on, I’m through with this, and you should be too. So what’s the point of keeping this, or this, or any of this unless you’re trying to hold on to the glory?” She held up the crown again, the top to one of the royal staves, and the medallion with the royal crest to illustrate her point. Moon and Star had butted heads enough in the past that this feeling of anger bubbling up wasn’t new to her, but it had been a while since her daughter had frustrated her to the extent she was right now. “Marco, back me up here!”

The boy raised a finger and stuttered briefly before an incensed Moon cut him off. “That’s not my point, Star. Even if it’s in the past, we can’t just toss away our history! What about things you did for your kingdom or your people? Don’t you want to at least remember that much?” she held up a few of the dresses and official portraits from various diplomatic events Star had participated in when she was younger. “These were things you did, not just stuffy royal artifacts. Surely that at least means something to you?”

Moon followed Star’s bright blue eyes as they darted intensely around the items she held until they suddenly stopped, fixated on a puffy blue and pink dress. The fury evaporated instantaneously and her expression morphed into shock. “Forget it, I’m done with all of it,” she sullenly intoned, dumping what she was holding on the ground and walking away. Marco tried to wrap an arm around her shoulder but she shrugged it off brusquely and marched out the door.

Marco took a step forward to follow her and then stopped, sulking and turning back to the pile of stuff, plopping to the ground and burying his head in his hands.

“What has gotten into her?” Moon vented through gritted teeth. “She just wants to be a normal teenager again, fine, but that does not mean she has to disrespect everything this family has done!” She took a deep breath to calm herself down before turning to Marco, not wanting to take anything out on him unduly. “Has she talked to you about any of this?”

His eyes remained fixed on the ground, playing with the zipper of his hoodie. “Earlier today she said she just wanted to have a normal birthday and not have to worry about Stump Day, but this stuff, it- I don’t really know. I mean, I- I get it, kind of, what she’s trying to say.” He looked at her with his brown eyes wide, as if asking permission.

“Go on.”

“Star… she spent practically all her time on Mewni trying to fix things, and trying to do whatever she thought was best for everyone. And- and when she gets an idea in her head about how to do that, she believes in it really hard, and it’s hard to stop her.” Both unconsciously smiled at the thought, and Moon didn’t miss the glimmer in the boy’s eyes as he continued talking about his best friend and love. “She still cares a lot about making the world better for everyone, even now. And the last big thing she believed in was that magic and Mewman queens and the whole Butterfly monarchy needed to be destroyed to do that.”

“So perhaps keeping everything squirreled away made her think I plan to use it again in the future,” she finished the thought.

Marco averted his gaze and rubbed his arm for a moment, opening his mouth a few times and failing to speak before finally choosing his words. “Do you?” he asked meekly.

The question stunned her, but upon a moment of reflection she couldn’t blame him. Time and time again, Moon had taken charge when she felt the time called for it, for better or worse. “No, heavens no. It’s been difficult at times, giving it all up, I admit. Even after Eclipsa took over, I still ended up doing what I thought was best to bring order. I suppose Star must get that from me, although she’s far better at it than I ever was.”

“I- I get it, though. On Earth we had a saying that I remember learning in school: ‘Those who can’t remember the past are doomed to repeat it,’ or something like that.”

“I like that. It works. Well, I’ll… give Star some time, and think about what to do with all of this, I suppose. I can finish the cleanup myself now, run along.” Moon was about to turn around as he went to leave but decided on one more thing to say. “Oh, and Marco?” She walked over to him by the door, noting that he was almost as tall as her now, and grabbed both his shoulders before placing a tender, motherly kiss on his forehead. The brown eyes she’d caught her daughter getting lost in all too often focused intently on her own amongst the surprised expression on his visage. “You’re still both teenagers, but you’ve grown so much. She wouldn’t be the admirable young woman she is today without you, and I suspect the opposite is also true. Thank you for being everything you are to my daughter.”

His mouth was slightly agape, unable to formulate any words in response. “T-thanks, um, Mrs… thanks.”

“Just ‘Moon’ is alright, dear,” she said affectionately.

“Thanks, Moon,” he finally stammered out before stumbling towards the door and out of the room at her gentle nudging. It only took a few minutes to carefully organize the remains back into their boxes and get the Stump Day items ready to set up. Turning one last time toward the belongings that had been neatly packed away, a few ideas began running through her mind…

***

Everything was a mess. Star the Screw-up strikes again. She sulked into the battlements of her balcony, gazing into the night sky. She’d bummed Marco out, she’d gotten all tangled up in the holiday lights, she’d yelled at her mom who really didn’t deserve it, and even after they’d worked it out over some tea later she still felt hollow inside. The fact she was out in the cold in just her nightgown didn’t help, either, but she couldn’t be bothered to do anything about it. Weren’t the holidays supposed to bring ‘tidings of comfort and joy’? It didn’t feel like it. She grabbed the pillow she’d dragged out from her bedroom and screamed into it, letting her head sink further down until she was almost laying flat on the ground.

“Hey.”

Star lowered the pillow from her eyes and saw Marco in his pajamas, fiddling idly with the bottom of his shirt.

“Hi,” she mumbled into the pillow.

“Mind if I join you? I brought some hot cocoa.”

“Mmh.”

He took it as an affirmation, slumping down on the cold floor next to her, seemingly unbothered.

“Sooooo… nice night out tonight, huh?” he asked hopefully, passing her a stump mug.

“Yeah, I guess.” Her gaze went skyward as it had been for the past dozen or so minutes while she thoughtfully sipped her drink, feeling the liquid warm her instantly. “The stars are really pretty from up here.”

“Yeah,” he replied, taking her hand in his. She rolled onto her side to find him already facing her, studying her intensely with a faint smile dancing on his lips. “Did everything go alright with your mom?”

She sat in silence for a moment, drinking in the soothing love his chocolate gaze was practically projecting into hers, and feeling the soft caress of his fingers on her hand. “It was fine. She apologized too, even if I was the one who messed it up… but I get it. She’s right, you can’t throw away history just because you don’t like it. Heck, I think I was the one telling her that like a year ago!”

Marco shrugged his shoulders. “Things change, stuff happens, we all mess up sometimes. Don’t beat yourself up about it too much.”

“I know, I know, it’s just… all this holiday stuff, all this reminiscing and being thankful for what you have and all this celebrating traditions from Mewni got me thinking about a lot. Stump Day, and my birthday, and princesses…” she paused for a moment, steadying her breathing. “...and you.”

His eyes widened a fraction. “Me?”

“You.” Star untangled her hand from his and brought both to her face, grounding the bases of her palms into her shut eyes to try and plug up any waterworks that she could feel working their way up towards the surface. “Stump Day just made me think of last year, and all the fighting and drama, and that made me think of all the other stuff, and… euuurgh,” she moaned.

“Star, it’s OK-”

“No it’s not,” she whimpered, not being able to stop the tears from dripping down her face this time.

“Woah, woah, Star…” he sat up, visibly scared for her, and pulled her up with him, but her body language was unyieldingly feeble as she shied away from his touch. “Just talk to me, OK? None of that was your fault.”

“Maybe…” she folded her arms and crossed her legs, leaning back against the merlons mulling over her words. “In the barn, you told me you felt like that since the beginning. And I know you didn’t, like, mean that you were head over heels in love with me while you were showing me around school or anything, but… I get it because I was the same way.” Once the words started, the pace quickly swelled until she couldn’t help but pour her heart out. “I pushed it aside, convinced myself it wasn’t there, ignored it when it was staring me in the face, and ate up the whole Curse thing like the cheapest, crummiest street corn. But looking back on it, that whole year on Mewni… it never went away then either. I was just too blind to realize what those feelings meant until it was almost too late. That’s what- that’s what I just wanted to forget.”

An arm bumped up against hers, and in her peripheral vision she saw him standing next to her, looking off the balcony into the distance. “It always feels better when you talk about it,” he offered meekly. How many times had she been the one trying to pry the truth out of him? Now that the roles were reversed, she fully understood why it had always been so hard. “What do your guts feel like?”

“Just one giant bleeeeergh,” she garbled, sticking her tongue out for emphasis.

“Well, you did have four glasses of cornnog.”

She smiled wistfully, staring down at her feet. “Touché, Diaz.”

The cool breeze whistling through the nooks and crannies of the temple was the only sound around them for a minute until he began again. “I won’t lie to you, Star… it stunk sometimes. It wasn’t always fun, sometimes it hurt. My feelings for you felt like an obstacle for so long…” In her mind’s eye, she could picture it all too clearly: wheeling on him, grabbing his arms and apologizing with rivers running down her cheeks to show him what he meant to her. But he cut that off only a beat later. “But I don’t regret a single day, because they were still with you.”

Now she whipped around to face him, looking incredulously at his calm form hanging over the top of the stone. “Wha-”

“All that time I spent trying to shove away or ignore how I felt, it- it still meant something to me. I wouldn’t trade any moment where I loved you for anything, even when it hurt, even if you were with someone else, or, heck, even if I didn’t think it was love. Doesn’t matter.” He sniffled briefly, wiping his face with his arm, and finally turned to face her. The glossy trembling she’d expected to find wasn’t there, instead she only found a fiery resolve. “C’mon, let’s go inside.” She barely remembered to grab her pillow before his firm grip pulled her back into their bedroom. Star wasn’t sure how he could be so calm about all of this. Some nagging, self-loathing voice in the back of her mind told her this had been eating away at him too, that he was just trying to spare her feelings, that she’d been the one to screw up by taking too long to tell him she loved him, but it was dulled by her curiosity at his actions. He shuffled under the bed, rummaging around until he pulled out a long, thin box with baby blue wrapping paper and pink hearts all over it.

“Marco?”

“It’s your birthday present! I- I was going to give it to you tomorrow, but I think now is better.”

They both sat down on the edge of the bed. Star glared at him suspiciously, inelegantly removing the bow and wrapping paper to find a thick velvety fabric. She started to pull it out and it unfolded itself many times, quickly sagging to the floor as she held it up. The water built up on her eyelids once more, steadily beginning to pour out as she beheld the sight in front of her.

He scooted beside her, wrapping one arm around her midsection. “I, um, hadn’t realized all this stuff was getting you down this much or I wouldn’t have-”

She shut him up with a passionate kiss, weaving her fingers through his hair as the heat of the moment stretched on. Their foreheads stayed together when they finally separated, both panting for a moment as Star tried to recover from the tongue-tiedness. “Marco, you absolute dork,” she said breathily with her lips grinning as widely as the could. “I love it.”

Both their heads turned back towards the blanket as they each used one hand to hold it up. It was a beautiful tapestry of moments from their entire relationship, from beginning until at least one thing Star could pinpoint as only happening a few weeks ago. Her spare hand caressed the fabric, adoring each and every detail. “The day we met, that day you froze time for sixty hours, the Blood Moon Ball,” he pointed out one by one. “Our first kiss… in the booth. When I found you before you killed Toffee. Right before we went to destroy the magic. This is us, Star. I- I don’t want to pretend that this stuff didn’t happen even if it wasn’t always fun, because then it wouldn’t be what made you special to me. And also, our old Friendship-Thursday-slash-Thursdate blanket was getting nasty. It smelled like month-old nacho cheese even after Lavabo washed it,” he shuddered. “So now, every time we’re snuggled up together, we can remember everything that got us to this point, and- and I left some blank spots for more patches later, because I want to look forward to the future too.”

“This is way better than any of my dumb ideas from earlier today,” she chuckled, wiping the tears and snot from her face. “Maybe that’s what ‘Christumpmasday’ should be about. The past coming together and making something new and exciting without giving up what led to it.”

“...except for the actual evil Stump demon thing. We might still be better off without it.”

“Definitely.” Both sported a cheeky grin.

“Oh, and by the way, Star?”

“Hmm?”

His lips suddenly were on hers once more, catching her off guard for a moment before she reciprocated. He swung her around, hugging her body tightly onto his, setting her nerves ablaze and causing all the hairs on the back of her neck to tingle. She adjusted her legs and pushed him back down into the pillows, landing on top of him without breaking the kiss, both hungry for more of the other. When the moment finally ended, she propped herself up on her elbows, fingers toying with his silky hair as she gazed down at the love of her life. When his eyes left hers, she followed them to the clock on her nightstand. 12:06 AM. “Happy birthday, Star,” he grinned before pecking her on the cheek.

A warmth like no other spread from Star’s chest through the rest of her body when she curled into him, needing more than anything to hold him tight tonight. Her legs tangled themselves into his as her head found purchase on his chest. “I love you so much, Marco. I don’t think I tell you that enough.”

“Same. Love you so much too, Star.”

He tucked the blanket tighter around both of them and held her as closely as he could until sleep claimed him. Star planted one last languid smooch on his jawline, nuzzling her cheek into him hard enough that it squished against his body before she too drifted off, snug in their bed, while visions of sugar-stumps danced in her head.

#starco #svtfoe #star vs the forces of evil #moonriver #tgg svtfoe #fanfic

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