#in the shape of a mewman

[bananahkim]

My favorite design is the lion guy, but the one I most want to know more about is the unicorn- I notice a scar across her forehead where a horn would be, what's her story? And, considering the status of unicorns in the Butterfly universe, what's the story behind her people?

^That’s her wearing her uniform. She’s stressed about the pimples growing on her face, she’s never had to deal with them when she had her horn. She’s blaming them on the foundation she’s told to wear but deep down she knows her flawless skin is long gone with her horn she sold.

Disclaimer: it’s been a while since I watched Star vs, so I may have forgotten minor details about Mewni and its various monster races.

There are many types of unicorns. Pony heads and warnicorns, as well as other types of unicorns. A lot of mewmans and even some monsters tend to mistake one species for another despite their distinct appearance and culture.

Warnicorns in particular come in many shapes and sizes, and a few of them fit the description of the unicorn we are all familiar with. To this day these unicorns are coveted by others. While some can maintain their freedom and live wealthy lives, others have to sell their body parts to survive, like their blood(S1e15 - Blood Moon Ball), tears, mane and even their horns.

The most common means of making money is selling their blood and tears, to high class parties(usually hosted by denizens from the underworld) or cosmetic industries.

Some Unicorns regularly cut their hair and sell them to hair salons if they’re particularly desperate for money.

Cutting one’s horn is the most extreme way of getting a huge sum of money, and can easily jeopardize them. They’re giving up their ability to use magic, connection to their species, and longevity all at once, and when their horn is severed from them their immune system gradually weakens. Those who no longer have their horn are shunned by other warnicorns.

Because of their very existence being a rarity they are able to live more comfortably than other monsters. They are also more likely to be targets of kidnapping.

The warnicorn OC sold her magical horn a few years ago. She now works for(and lives in) a huge beauty salon, selling her tears and sweat. She’ll do what she can to have a nice place to sleep in.

This is just a rough explanation of unicorns and her backstory. They might change when I rewatch the show.

*The lion guy is some type of demon, he comes from an upperclass family and annoys Tom a lot.

[artwithatinyhat]

Imagine/rewrite:

Tokyo revengers w/ svtfoe reader

The day had started off perfectly normal. {Y/N} lounged on a bench near Toman’s usual meeting spot, chatting away with the gang under the sun. Her tail lazily swayed behind her as she listened to the usual back-and-forth banter. Takemichi had dragged along Hinata, who’d been more than eager to tag along, and Emma had come with Mikey, adding a cheerful energy to the group as they joked around.

Content *⁠.⁠✧

In the middle of laughing at one of Smiley’s jokes, Takemichi suddenly squinted at her face, a slight look of confusion crossing his features. He tilted his head, looking closer before hesitantly pointing at her forehead.

“Uh... you’ve got... a new star?” he said, almost questioning himself.

{Y/N} frowned, blinking in surprise. “What are you talking about?” She raised her hand, trying to feel for anything on her face, but there was nothing there. She’d always had the two green stars on her cheeks, but a third one?

Takemichi, still looking slightly unsure, gestured for her to lean down a little. “No, really—right there, in the middle of your forehead. I swear it wasn’t there a minute ago!”

Emma leaned in next to Takemichi, squinting as she inspected the reader’s forehead. “He’s right! It’s like a little star... kinda red, too.”

Draken snorted, leaning back with an amused smirk. “What, you getting more face tattoos or something?”

{Y/N}’s eyes widened, and she touched her forehead again, still unable to feel anything. But the worry crept in quickly. A star—appearing out of nowhere. She had a sinking feeling, a familiar dread she hadn’t wanted to experience, at least not *now*. But before she could process it fully, another voice chimed in.

“Maybe it’s like a birthmark?” Hinata offered with a gentle smile, trying to ease the growing tension.

But the reader’s worry was already beginning to show. “No... it’s not a birthmark,” she said quietly. Her fingers brushed over the green stars naturally on her cheeks, the ones she’d always had. But a new star appearing on its own? It couldn’t mean anything good. Her mind raced, and she could feel the anxiety mounting. She wasn’t a stranger to the changes Mewmans went through—but she’d always dreaded it actually happening to her.

Before she could voice any of this, she felt another prickle on her arm. She glanced down to find a tiny red, star-shaped mark, thin and papery, appearing on her wrist. She reached down to peel it off instinctively, but as soon as she did, another mark appeared, just above it.

“Hey, uh, are you... okay?” Mikey asked, noticing her sudden change in expression. He had that half-grin on his face, but it was tinged with genuine curiosity.

{Y/N} quickly glanced away, hoping they wouldn’t notice the way her tail was twitching with nervous energy. “I’m fine. Just... it’s nothing, probably,” she muttered, peeling off another scale and trying to brush it aside as if it wasn’t important.

But it didn’t stop. More star-shaped marks began appearing on her arms, and she found herself frantically peeling them off, trying to keep up as the marks multiplied. Each time one disappeared, another one would pop up somewhere else, leaving her feeling more and more out of control.

{Y/N}’s fingers worked feverishly, peeling off the strange red stars as fast as they appeared, her focus sharp and slightly frantic. She barely noticed the confused glances her friends exchanged around her, each of them watching with a mix of curiosity and concern. The stars kept multiplying with every peel, and a frustrated sigh escaped her lips as she tried to keep up.

Finally, Baji stepped forward, eyebrow raised with that usual mischievous glint in his eye. “Alright, alright, hold still for a sec. You’re gonna peel yourself down to the bone at this rate.” He reached out casually, placing a hand on her forearm to try and help her with the peeling.

The moment his hand made contact, though, {Y/N} felt a strange prickle of heat race up her arm—and, before she could even think, three more star-shaped marks suddenly bloomed across her skin. They spread like paper stickers on her upper arm, a whole cluster of stars dotting her skin with a soft rustling sound.

Her eyes went wide, panic dawning as she stared at the new cluster, while Baji’s smirk turned to surprise. He pulled his hand back in shock, brows furrowed. “Whoa... okay, that’s new.”

Her stomach twisted as more stars crept up along her arms. They seemed to respond almost directly to touch. And as the rest of the group watched with expressions ranging from awe to mild amusement, she felt the weight of realization settle in.

Mewberty. She was going through Mewberty.

“Oh, no, no, no...” she whispered under her breath, her voice barely audible. She tried to pull herself away, but Takemichi, noticing her unease, stepped closer, reaching out to steady her shoulder. “Hey, it’s alright, just relax. They’re just marks, right?”

But the moment Takemichi’s hand rested on her shoulder, several more stars burst across her skin, speckling up her neck and across her collarbone. It was like a chain reaction, each touch amplifying the spread. The reader felt her pulse quicken, the stars multiplying in rhythm with her rising anxiety.

Without thinking, she whipped around, swatting Takemichi’s hand off and glaring at the group. “No! Don’t touch me! Your little boy hands are part of the problem!” Her voice was louder, more urgent, as she frantically peeled at the scales on her neck and shoulders.

Takemichi’s eyes went wide, a sheepish grin tugging at his lips. “O-Oh! Sorry! I thought... uh, I thought you were just, y’know, stressed...”

She shot him a panicked look, biting her lip as the reality of her situation sank in. “No... it’s not stress,” she muttered, her voice wavering. She cast a worried glance at the star clusters popping up faster and faster, now blooming on her wrists, creeping up her legs, and trailing along her tail.

Trying to suppress her mounting anxiety, she glanced at the group, who were now watching her with wide-eyed fascination. No! They'll think this is like Earth puberty! she realized with horror, as if she were merely getting her first crush or going through an awkward phase.

With the stars spreading faster and faster across her skin, the reader frantically fumbled with her pocket mirror, flipping it open with shaky hands. Her heart raced as she tapped on the screen, desperately hoping her parents would pick up. After a few tense seconds, the reflective surface flickered, and the familiar faces of her parents—Eclipsa and Globgor Butterfly—appeared in the glass.

“Sweetheart!” Eclipsa’s face lit up with a warm smile, though her expression quickly shifted to concern when she saw the panic in her daughter’s eyes. “What’s wrong, love? You look positively frazzled!”

“Mom, Dad... it’s happening. I’m... I’m going through Mewberty!” The words tumbled out of her mouth, and she felt a cold dread settling over her as she watched her parents’ faces change from concern to mild horror.

Globgor’s brows shot up. “Now?” he boomed, his voice filling the tiny mirror. “Oh, my precious girl, that’s... well, that’s, uh—”

“Unexpected?” Eclipsa offered, her tone wavering as she shot her husband a helpless glance. “Dear, don’t worry. Mewberty is... it’s perfectly natural!” She attempted a comforting smile, but it came off a bit strained. “You’re simply... evolving! And it might feel, uh, intense, but—”

“But I feel like I’m going crazy!” she interrupted, her tail thrashing nervously behind her as she pressed herself back against the wall. “These marks keep popping up every time someone touches me, and... and everyone’s touching me!” She clutched her hair, pulling it down to partially hide her face from the stunned gang, who were listening with growing confusion.

Globgor sighed sympathetically. “Listen, sweetheart, just... breathe. Deep breaths, okay? Mewberty might make you feel like you’re, well, a bit out of control, but your instincts will guide you through it. Just stay calm, and don’t let anyone—”

But she’d already started rocking back and forth, her eyes flicking between the red stars blooming all over her arms. The gang watched, bemused, as her distress escalated, and she could feel her cheeks flush as her worry grew.

Eclipsa caught the frantic look on her daughter’s face and quickly added, “Honey, why don’t you pass the mirror to one of your friends? We’ll explain things to them, so they know how to help you. Alright?”

Without a word, she shoved the mirror toward Takemichi, who awkwardly took it, holding it up at arm’s length as if he weren’t sure whether to be amazed or terrified by the magical device.

Eclipsa waved politely through the mirror, smiling in that slightly-too-cheery way adults sometimes did when talking to nervous kids. “Hello, there! I take it you’re all... friends of my daughter?”

Takemichi nodded, a little overwhelmed. “Uh... yeah. We’re her friends, alright.” He laughed nervously as the rest of the gang leaned in, crowding around the mirror with curious expressions.

Globgor’s face appeared next to Eclipsa’s, looking slightly sheepish as he scratched the back of his neck. “Well, I’ll get to the point. Our daughter’s going through something called Mewberty—it’s like, uh... puberty on Mewni, but a bit more, uh... intense.”

Mikey’s eyes widened as he squinted at the screen, intrigued. “Like, how intense are we talking here?”

Eclipsa gave a delicate cough. “Well, to put it lightly, Mewberty has a way of... overriding certain thought processes, making her act more on instinct and... well, attraction.”

That last word had the group glancing at each other, a mix of curiosity and dawning realization spreading through the crowd.

Pah-chin leaned over, grinning. “So, what? She’s, like, gonna chase after us or something?”

Eclipsa winced, looking back at her husband with a helpless expression before nodding hesitantly. “Essentially, yes... she’ll be instinctively drawn to anyone she finds appealing. But please, don’t be alarmed! Mewberty is... very temporary. It’ll all settle down soon, and she won’t remember much of it.”

{Y/N} pressed her back harder against the wall, clutching her head as she tried to calm her racing heart. Great, she thought, her cheeks flaming as she realized her friends were all listening to her parents explain her most embarrassing transformation in excruciating detail.

The mirror flickered slightly as Eclipsa and Globgor shared an awkward glance, both clearly trying their best to offer comfort, but still struggling to find the right words for a situation they never truly anticipated. Globgor scratched his head, looking at his daughter’s panicked expression through the mirror.

“You know, sweetheart,” he started offhandedly, as if it was an afterthought, “this could be a sign that you’re... growing into yourself. You’re a size-shifter, after all. Puberty’s probably working differently for you, right? Maybe you’re getting better at shifting your size more... efficiently.”

The mention of shifting sizes caused {Y/N} to pause for a moment, her mind trying to wrap itself around what her father just implied. Her stomach twisted with a mix of dread and curiosity—if this was growing into herself, what else was going to change? She had barely begun to process that when Eclipsa’s voice chimed in.

“Exactly,” Eclipsa added with a little too much enthusiasm. “You’re just growing stronger. More... mature!” She gave a light laugh, but it wasn’t entirely reassuring. “You’ve got this, honey. And hey, you're our darling little girl—surely you can handle anything. Now, we’ll leave you to it!”

Globgor waved as he leaned in closer. “You’ve got yourself something to chase, I see. Keep your head on straight, kiddo. You know what to do!”

With that, both of the parents winked at the mirror simultaneously, flashing overly cheery smiles at the Toman gang that now crowded around. Takemichi awkwardly waved back, unsure if the gesture was for him or for the reader. The mirror blinked once before the connection ended, leaving the gang with only the echo of their last words hanging in the air.

{Y/N} sighed in frustration, her tail flicking behind her, swishing back and forth as she gripped the wall for support. She could feel the anxiety tightening her chest, but she quickly exhaled, trying to regain control. “Well, I guess... that was helpful,” she muttered to herself, her voice still quivering with nerves.

Takemichi, ever the optimist, offered a nervous smile, his eyes wide with curiosity and concern. “Don’t worry, we’ll handle this! We’ll stick with you through this whole thing, okay?”

The rest of the gang nodded in agreement, each offering their own version of support, though their expressions were far more amused than serious. Even Emma, who stood beside Mikey, gave {Y/N} a warm, reassuring smile, trying to ease the tension.

Mikey placed a hand on {Y/N}’s shoulder with a playful grin. “Yeah, we’ve got you covered, huh? I’m sure we can all survive a little bit of... mewberty,” he teased, his voice light but with a hint of mischievousness.

“Yeah, don’t worry,” Draken added with a chuckle. “We can handle whatever this is. It’s just a phase, right?”

Pah-chin and Peh-yan exchanged a glance, both of them visibly trying to hide their smirks. “We got you, babe,” Peh-yan said in his usual laid-back tone. “I’m sure you’ll be alright. It’s just like puberty, huh?”

The group chuckled, their teasing tone making {Y/N} flush even harder. Takemichi shot them an awkward look but offered a thumbs-up. “Yep! We’ll stick by you no matter what. Don’t worry, you’re not alone.”

Eclipsa and Globgor’s voices echoed in {Y/N}’s mind, but she had barely heard the last part of their conversation. The reference to having “something to chase” had set off a swirl of discomfort in her stomach, and the more the others teased her, the more her nerves began to fray. Her heart pounded, and the marks on her skin kept popping up like little paper scales—each one creeping slowly, then multiplying the moment she found herself surrounded by everyone.

She couldn’t even look at them without feeling an undeniable tug in her chest. She was drawn to them now, far more than ever before.

Trying to snap herself out of it, she breathed in and out rapidly, trying to control herself. Her mind screamed at her to focus, but the warmth of their presence was suffocating. The more she fought it, the worse it got.

Suddenly, {Y/N}’s eyes darted around, and before she knew it, the royal magic wand in her hand flicked to life. “Labyrinthius,” she whispered in a strained voice, casting the spell she knew could trap herself—and the gang—before things went any further.

A massive crack of energy rang through the air as a maze began to form around them, walls sprouting from the ground as the labyrinth expanded at a rapid pace. The structure had no end, an endless spiral of paths and corridors designed to disorient anyone who wasn’t familiar with its structure. The walls were dense, almost alive, shifting around as if they had their own will. It was an old spell from Queen Crescenta, meant for enemies, but {Y/N} had repurposed it to help contain her own out-of-control emotions.

But as the maze sealed in around them, the boys started teasing her more, the physical proximity making her reaction worse. Each time one of them brushed past her, the stars on her skin seemed to multiply with alarming speed. She was furiously peeling off the scales now, but the more she did it, the more they seemed to appear—each touch setting them off.

"You're all way too close," she said through clenched teeth, her tail lashing in frustration as her eyes darted between the boys and girls. She had to focus, but the intensity of the situation was making it harder and harder to stay grounded.

As Takemichi stepped just a little too close, the reaction was instantaneous. The stars exploded across her arms, over her shoulders, and down her chest, until they completely engulfed her in glowing red shapes. Her body tensed, her breathing shallow as the cocoon started to form around her—just like she’d heard would happen during Mewberty.

In seconds, the stars overlapped in chaotic layers, encasing her in a star-shaped cocoon. She felt her body being pulled into the center of it as her skin tightened. And then, as the last bit of her transformation began to settle, she could feel the power rising in her—ready to unleash. The cocoon was almost complete, the vines sprouting from the edges and wrapping around her as they formed a web, ready to capture anyone who got too close.

It was only a matter of time now...

The cocoon around {Y/N} continued to pulse gently, the energy within it growing stronger by the second. The labyrinth that surrounded the gang hummed with magic, the walls shifting in an eerie dance as the maze twisted. They stood in silence, watching the cocoon as it expanded and began to glow with a faint red light. The stars on the cocoon's surface flickered sporadically, their paper-like texture becoming taut as it stretched and hardened, like a delicate parchment being drawn tighter.

The gang, along with Takemichi, Hinata, and Emma, stood nervously on edge, watching the cocoon grow larger by the second. The air was thick with tension. Mikey’s usual playful attitude was gone, replaced with a concerned frown as he took a step forward. "Is it... supposed to do that?" he asked, voice barely above a whisper. His eyes locked onto the glowing cocoon that seemed to throb with each passing moment.

Draken, standing close beside him, narrowed his eyes. "I don’t know, but it’s not looking good. Do you think we should do something?"

The other members were equally uneasy, and even Pah-chin and Peh-yan, who were usually unfazed by just about anything, seemed taken aback by the sheer unnaturalness of the situation.

Peh-yan, eyeing the glowing cocoon, let out a low whistle. "Man... this is some next-level creepy stuff."

"You’re not wrong," Pah-chin muttered, crossing his arms, clearly more anxious than he let on.

Amidst their quiet murmurs, someone—Takemichi, having been observing more than anyone else—stepped forward with trepidation. His hand extended slowly, almost instinctively, as if drawn by some invisible force. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but the urge to help was overwhelming. His fingers brushed against the outer shell of the cocoon, just at the edge where the stars glimmered faintly.

The moment his hand made contact, the stars on the cocoon shifted and pulsed in a vibrant flash. Four bright red stars appeared directly where Takemichi’s fingers met the surface. They flared to life with an intensity that took everyone by surprise. {Y/N}’s eyes, glowing with the same red hue, flared from inside the cocoon. It was as if they could feel her presence, even through the thick walls of magic and light.

Everyone took a collective breath, stunned by the sight of the eyes—her eyes—glowing from deep within the cocoon. The red light reflected off their faces, and even Emma gasped softly. "Is she—?"

"Yeah," Mikey whispered, stepping back a little as the intensity of the glow increased. "She’s in there. But it’s like... she’s aware of us."

Suddenly, the cocoon began to tremble. A series of faint, sharp cracks ran along its surface, and with a low, strained groan, six hands—long, slender, and glowing red—pressed firmly against the inside. They were still her hands, but they had transformed, each one now longer and more delicate, with fingers that looked almost ethereal in the glow. Her silhouette inside the cocoon became clearer with each passing second, the shape of her shifting form becoming undeniable.

Her body shifted, expanding, like she was being pushed into a new form entirely. Every second that passed made it clearer: she was changing. The walls of the cocoon groaned as the shape of the reader became more defined. Her body was writhing inside, instinctively pushing against the confines of the shell.

Draken cursed softly, his eyes tracking the six hands as they moved with a strange fluidity, pushing against the walls of the cocoon as if trying to break free.

"Shit, it’s happening," Draken muttered under his breath, his voice tight with tension.

"She’s..." Takemichi started to speak, but the words caught in his throat as he saw the dark shape of {Y/N}’s form growing clearer, more solid with each passing moment.

Then, as if responding to the pressure, the cocoon let out a sharp *crack* that echoed through the air.

The gang instinctively stepped back, their eyes wide in anticipation, as the crack split right down the middle of the cocoon, the sound ringing through the air like the splitting of a glass pane.

Inside, the glow intensified.

The cocoon was no longer solid—what remained of it seemed to be crumbling away, breaking apart to reveal the silhouette of the reader in her new, transformed state.

A soft hum of power filled the air, the tension building as the last of the cocoon shattered, its pieces falling away like dust. What emerged from the cocoon was no longer the girl they knew. It was someone else. Someone primal. Someone... powerful.

But as the cocoon cracked open, there was a brief moment of silence as everyone took in the transformation that had just occurred. All eyes were locked onto the glowing, starry silhouette inside the now-vanishing cocoon, waiting for {Y/N} to emerge fully from the chaos that was about to unfold.

With an almost otherworldly screech, the final remnants of the cocoon fell away, collapsing into a heap of glowing, fragmented dust. The air, thick with tension, pulsed with energy as a shimmering silhouette stood within the center of the destroyed shell. As the light dimmed, the form of {Y/N}—no longer recognizable—emerged.

Her once delicate, lavender skin had transformed into a brilliant, fiery red, the color bright as though every inch of her body was now infused with a new, ferocious life. The familiar star-shaped marks on her cheeks had deepened in color, now a dark crimson that stood out against the red of her skin. They were still there—her two green stars had been replaced—but now they glowed with an unsettling intensity, as if they were part of her very being.

The moment she emerged, the gang stood frozen in place, eyes wide, their mouths dry. Her posture was hunched as if her body had grown heavier, more substantial. Her horns had transformed too—now shorter, smoother, bone-like in their solid appearance, curving backwards along her head. Two star-covered antennae sprouted from her forehead, their tips glowing faintly, tracking the movements around her with an eerie precision.

Her hair, once wild and free-flowing, suddenly twisted and braided itself into a high ponytail, no visible hand pulling it together, as if guided by an invisible force. The strands shimmered, falling into place as if they were as much a part of her new form as her horns, now gleaming in the shifting light.

And then, with a beat of her wings—her butterfly wings, delicate and red, their edges speckled with stars—she was airborne, lifting off the ground a few feet, her wings folding and fluttering erratically as she hovered.

The gang watched in stunned silence as {Y/N}’s form—her new body—shifted and twitched with untamed energy. Her once calm demeanor had completely vanished, replaced by an animalistic ferocity. She was no longer the girl they had known; now, she was something else entirely—wild, instinct-driven, and completely feral.

"She... she looks..." Takemichi started to speak, but he couldn’t find the words.

"Unbelievable," Emma murmured, her hand instinctively reaching for Mikey, who was equally taken aback, eyes wide as he stared at {Y/N}'s newly transformed body. His hand hovered near his mouth in disbelief. "This is insane."

But before they could react further, {Y/N}’s head tilted sharply, and her glowing eyes—now a bright, predatory red—focused in on them. Her body jerked, her wings beating again as she suddenly dropped to her knees. Her hands pressed against the ground, fingers curling into the dirt as her form trembled with wild energy. She was no longer in control of herself—her body moving of its own accord, guided only by raw, primal instinct.

She shifted again, this time much faster. A low, guttural sound escaped her lips, her tongue flicking out as if tasting the air. Her gaze—wild and unfocused—flicked between the boys and girls standing before her.

Her first words—if they could even be considered words—were a guttural growl. "Girls... boys..." She cooed, her tone heavy with an unsettling, predatory edge, her voice raspy as though it hadn’t spoken in ages. Her attention shifted suddenly, and her eyes narrowed onto a target—Mikey.

"Mikey," she breathed, and her hand reached out, her fingers twitching toward him. The stars on her body pulsed and shimmered in response to her attraction. She was hunting.

Without warning, her wings beat hard, sending her into the air again. Her movements were quick, erratic. She was closing in on Mikey, her body shifting with terrifying speed.

Baji’s eyes widened. “What the hell?” He stepped back instinctively, trying to dodge as her wings brushed past him. “She’s—she’s like a damn monster!”

“She’s not herself right now,” Draken barked, taking a step forward, but even he wasn’t sure how to act. {Y/N} was nothing like the calm, collected person they had known moments ago. She was feral, and they saw her for what she truly was: alien.

In her new form, she moved with precision and power, her focus solely on her prey. Her body darted, and then—before anyone could react—she lunged toward Takemichi. Her wings flared as she flew in his direction, but before she could reach him, her legs kicked out and her body twisted unnaturally to land beside him, her sharp claws outstretched.

Takemichi instinctively stumbled backward, raising his arms in defense, but it was too late.

Her hand caught his wrist in a vice-like grip, her fingers curling into his skin. Without a sound, her other hand lashed out to hold him in place. Her gaze, filled with a wild, intoxicating energy, locked onto his face.

"Boys," she muttered again, her voice thick with hunger as she nuzzled him gently, nipping at his ear with a teasing smile. "Takemichi."

With a snarl, she extended her hand and a line of sticky, glowing webbing shot out, wrapping around him and pulling him in tightly against her. Her star-covered antennae twitched, and her wings beat once more, sending a shockwave of energy through the air as she finally stepped back, securing him within her trap. He was wrapped up like prey, the red strands tying his arms to his chest.

The others watched in shock as she moved to the next target—this time, it was Hinata, her expression still feral, her eyes glittering with the same intensity as before. She pounced on Hinata, her movements animalistic as she trapped her next victim, securing her arms to her torso in the same fashion as Takemichi.

Her entire focus was on capturing, on weaving her webs to snare those she was attracted to. The group barely had time to adjust before she darted between them, webbing each person she came across. Her hands moved with unnatural speed, creating sticky, glittering webs that wrapped around arms, waists, and legs- pulling them in.

But before the trap could close fully, her wings flapped violently again, and she shot toward the next nearest person—Mikey. His eyes went wide as the feral creature that was once his friend sped toward him. There was almost no avoiding it. She was too fast. He just barely managed to side step her and begin running down the uneven path of the maze.

And before the group knew it, the chase was on.

{Y/N}, in her mewberty form, had begun her hunt, and no one—no one—was safe.

The air was thick with tension, the forest around them now a labyrinth of twisting paths and webs. The moment {Y/N} set her sights back on Takemichi, her expression morphed into something almost predatory. The gentle, hesitant boy had become the perfect target, his every awkward movement drawing her attention like a magnet.

She moved quickly, wings beating with a sharp gust of wind, as she landed with an almost graceful thud right in front of him. Her antennae flicked, focusing on him as if he were the only thing that mattered in the world. "Michi-Michi," she cooed, a slow, feral smile spreading across her face, her eyes glowing with a sharp, hungry light.

Takemichi tried to back away, but his feet were tangled in the webs that had begun to creep across the floor. "W-wait, what are you—" He barely had time to finish his sentence before the reader lunged, her sharp claws catching hold of his elbows. Her hands moved with precision, webbing him up in an instant. Her wings fluttered behind her, sending her floating into the air as she tightened the webbing around him, drawing him closer.

"No! Let go!" Takemichi grunted, struggling against the webbing. He was wrapped tightly against one of the trees growing through the wall, unable to break free.

{Y/N}’s face remained calm, her lips curling into a teasing grin. "Michi-Michi..." she whispered, nuzzling him lightly, her breath hot against his cheek as she kissed him briefly. The action was both affectionate and possessive, an instinctive reaction to her overwhelming attraction to him. Takemichi shivered but couldn’t do anything but watch, helpless as he blushed brightly.

Hinata, standing nearby and watching the entire scene unfold, was next in {Y/N}'s line of sight. Her expression softened with worry for Takemichi, but before she could make a move to help, the reader was already on her. "Hina~," she purred, her voice low and throaty as she shifted toward the girl. Her antennae twitched, sensing the same attraction she felt for Takemichi in Hinata's aura.

Without hesitation, {Y/N} reached out, her claws grazing against Hinata's arm, causing her to flinch. Hinata tried to back away, but her feet got tangled in more of the webs that had now enveloped the surroundings. "No, no, please, don’t—"

But it was too late. {Y/N} was already on her, hands gently but firmly grabbing onto her, webbing her up with expert precision. The warmth in her gaze as she trapped Hinata was something softer, almost caring, but the predatory nature of her instincts still shone through.

"Hina..." she murmured again, her lips brushing against Hinata's cheek in a quick, teasing kiss before she stepped back, wrapping the girl up tight. The webs, sticky and glittering with starlight, adhered to the trees and walls around them, securing them both. Takemichi, still stuck to the tree, struggled to speak, but only the faintest sound left his throat as the reader moved toward them both.

Hinata, now trapped next to Takemichi, glanced over at him, her voice barely a whisper. "Takemichi, we need to get out of here!"

Takemichi could only nod, helpless, his heart racing as he tried to wriggle free from the webbing. But the more he struggled, the tighter the strands pulled around him. {Y/N}’s attention was solely focused on her new captive duo. She leaned closer to them, her antennae flicking as her lips curled in amusement.

"Michi-Michi... Hina..." she cooed, her voice almost musical, the words dripping with affection, possessiveness, and the wild hunger of someone who had no control over her instincts. The two were helpless, trapped, as she nuzzled them both in an almost playful manner.

Her wings fluttered again, the soft flutter of her new form sending a breeze through the space. The maze she had created—a confusing and twisted web of trees, walls, and paths—had become her playground, and everyone within it was her prey.

Her attention flicked between the two as she let out a soft, delighted giggle before drawing closer. "Michi-Michi... Hina... trap... you..." she whispered, as though it were an entirely normal thing for her to say, her vocabulary limited to only a few words.

Takemichi’s face turned bright red. "You—"

"Boys... girls..."

Hinata tried to squirm, but it was no use. The webs had her completely wrapped, and now, she could only watch helplessly as {Y/N}’s attention shifted once again to the next potential target.

The space within the labyrinth had grown eerily quiet for a moment as {Y/N}’s attention shifted. Her antennae twitched, and the faintest movement caught her eye. Mikey, the notorious leader of Toman, was walking into the clearing, a mix of confidence and concern written on his face. His eyes darted around, still looking for a way to help, but he wasn’t prepared for what was about to happen.

“Micky-Micky,” {Y/N} purred, her voice thick with a predatory tone. She tilted her head slightly, her star-covered antennae twitching and following his every movement. Mikey was strong, quick, and could usually get out of any situation, but she was no longer the girl he once knew. She was something else entirely.

Before Mikey could even register what was happening, {Y/N} had already taken flight. Her wings fluttered softly as she soared up into the air, her movements fluid and effortless. The glowing red stars on her body twinkled ominously as she closed the distance between them. She landed directly in front of him with the grace of a predatory bird of prey, and Mikey froze for a moment, the instinctual pull drawing him in. There was something about her—something irresistible.

{Y/N} smiled at him, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Micky-Micky," she whispered, cooing his name as if she was calling out to her favorite toy. There was no hesitation, no fear—just a quiet, overwhelming desire that took over her completely.

Mikey took a cautious step back, his eyes narrowing in confusion. “What the hell’s going on with you?” he muttered, but his voice faltered under the intensity of her gaze. The atmosphere was thick with tension, and his instincts were warning him that he needed to get out of there, fast.

But {Y/N} was too quick. Her antennae twitched again, sensing his strength and knowing that he would be the most difficult to capture. Her wings flared behind her as she charged forward, and with a quick motion, her six arms grabbed hold of Mikey's arms and torso, pulling him into her grasp. His muscles tensed as he tried to break free, but the reader’s hold was unyielding, and he was stunned by how quickly he was restrained.

“Micky-Micky, no run,” she whispered in his ear, her lips brushing against his cheek. She giggled softly, her voice sending shivers down his spine. Mikey’s body locked up, and for a moment, he lost himself in her eyes—her glowing, starry gaze that held him captive.

With expert precision, {Y/N} started weaving the webs around him, securing him to one of the trees. Mikey struggled against the bindings, but the more he fought, the tighter they became. His strength wasn’t enough to overpower her now; the extra hands she possessed were just too much. The webs were sticky and unyielding, designed to hold even the strongest of men. Slowly, Mikey’s arms were bound to the tree, his legs secured, and his body suspended in mid-air.

She tilted her head, admiring her handiwork with a pleased look on her face. Her lips quirked into a smile as she leaned in closer, her lips brushing against his ear again. "Micky-Micky," she cooed, before teasingly licking the side of his face.

Mikey blinked, his heart racing and his face flushing. “What... the hell is this?” He grunted in frustration, trying once again to break free. But the more he struggled, the more her webbing clung to him, making it impossible to move.

{Y/N} hummed to herself in delight, her hands pressing against his chest, her antennae brushing against his face as she admired his trapped form. "Boy," she muttered in a soft, almost affectionate tone. Mikey's body burned with frustration, but his mind was spinning, confused by how he couldn’t escape.

His eyes shifted between {Y/N}’s form and the rest of the group, each of them fighting their own battles against the webbing. He could feel the heat from her touch lingering on his skin, and a part of him was uncertain whether he wanted to escape or stay.

As {Y/N} stepped back to admire her work, her wings fluttered, sending a gust of air through the clearing. Mikey's breath caught in his throat as she surveyed him with a slow, teasing grin. "Micky-Micky..." she whispered again, her voice almost playful now, as if he were nothing more than a piece in her game.

Despite the surreal situation, Mikey’s lips quirked into a small, helpless smile. “You’re really something else, huh?” he muttered.

But there was no time to focus on their conversation, because the chase wasn’t over, and {Y/N} was already turning toward her next target.

The air was heavy with the hum of the labyrinth. The webs stretched endlessly, and every corner seemed to hold a new surprise. It was an eerie stillness, a moment of tension, before the next targets of {Y/N}’s intense desire approached. Draken and Emma walked together through the maze, looking for a way out, but the further they ventured, the more they realized they were deeper inside the trap.

“Where the hell are we?” Draken muttered under his breath, glancing around with furrowed brows. His eyes darted from side to side, knowing something wasn’t right. He was no stranger to dangerous situations, but this one was unsettling—there was something off about the air, something... strange about the atmosphere.

Emma, walking beside him, felt a chill down her spine. “I don’t know, but I don’t like this one bit,” she said, pulling her jacket a little tighter around her. Her eyes flickered nervously to Draken, seeking reassurance, but there was none to be had. The labyrinth felt endless, and she could feel the pull of something dangerous drawing closer.

“Draken... Emma...” The voice cut through the air, and both of them froze in place. The sweet, teasing voice was unmistakable. {Y/N}’s form appeared in the distance, her silhouette glowing with the faint outline of her red skin. Her wings were extended behind her, fluttering gently. Her antennae swayed in the air, a clear sign that she had already noticed them.

“Draken and... Emmy...” {Y/N} cooed, her voice filled with a predatory tone. She stepped forward, the faintest trace of a smile on her lips as her eyes, now glowing red, locked onto them.

Draken, ever the protector, stepped in front of Emma instinctively. “Stay back, Emma,” he warned her quietly, trying to remain calm despite the rising tension in the air. But it was too late. {Y/N} was already closing the distance between them, her wings beating faster now, her movements swift and calculated.

Before they knew it, {Y/N} was in front of them. She leaned forward, her body moving with a fluid grace that was almost unsettling. "Draken... Emmy...,” she whispered again, her voice lilting as she slowly circled them. Emma’s breath hitched as {Y/N}’s eyes locked onto hers, an overwhelming sense of affection and desire emanating from her every movement.

Draken stepped forward, trying to protect Emma from whatever was about to happen, but {Y/N} was too fast. In an instant, her six arms shot out, grabbing hold of Draken with a force he hadn’t expected. His eyes widened as her hands bound his arms and legs, his own strength no match for the overwhelming power of her magic. He tried to fight against it, but the reader’s grip tightened, her strength surprising him.

"Emmy..." {Y/N} whispered, her voice hushed, but filled with an odd affection as she turned her attention to Emma. Emma’s heart raced, but before she could react, {Y/N}’s long, graceful hands reached for her, gently taking hold of her shoulders. Emma tried to push her away, but {Y/N}’s eyes held her captive, drawing her closer in the same magnetic pull that had entranced the others.

{Y/N} leaned in, lips grazing against Emma’s cheek as she whispered, “Emmy... my girl...” The warmth of her breath sent a shiver down Emma’s spine, and before she knew it, {Y/N}’s webbing began to envelop her. Her arms were bound to the sides of the wall, her legs secured, and she was suspended in place, completely immobilized.

Draken, still struggling against the webs that had him ensnared, watched helplessly as the reader stepped back to admire her work. He grunted in frustration, his powerful muscles straining against the sticky restraints, but they wouldn’t budge. He could see Emma’s wide eyes filled with confusion and fear, but there was something else there too—an undeniable attraction, an odd sense of calm mixed in with the panic.

{Y/N}, noticing Draken’s continued resistance, leaned in closer to him, her lips brushing against his ear. "Draken... my boy..." she murmured softly, the affectionate tone in her voice sending a strange warmth through him. His thoughts became a haze for a brief second before he snapped himself out of it.

But {Y/N} was quick to use her extra hands, and before Draken could get another word in, she secured him further to the webbed tree that stood behind him, his body suspended, arms and legs bound tightly against the branches. He couldn’t break free now. {Y/N}, her breathing steady and controlled, backed away with satisfaction, admiring the two of them wrapped tightly in her webs.

{Y/N}’s antennae twitched, her wings fluttered, and her glowing red eyes scanned over them, savoring the moment. Draken’s face was flushed from frustration, and Emma’s cheeks were burning. There was no escape, no hope, and the labyrinth was only growing tighter with every passing minute.

{Y/N} stepped back, tilting her head as she watched them both struggle in her webs, her predatory instincts satisfied for the moment. "Boys... girls...” she hummed quietly to herself, her voice drifting into the labyrinth, almost like a lullaby. She was both a part of them and completely apart, her gaze filled with a strange mix of affection and dominance.

With another flutter of her wings, she turned away, her body moving with a sense of urgency. She would return soon, and when she did, the chase would begin again.

The maze twisted and turned, an endless expanse of branching walls, webbing, and trees that seemed to grow out of nowhere. The air felt charged with a strange energy, heavy and oppressive, like a storm was brewing. Pah-chin and Peh-yan were close behind, having followed the others into the labyrinth, their expressions serious but unsure.

“Hey, Peh-yan, you sure we’re going the right way?” Pah-chin asked, looking over his shoulder as he turned another corner. His voice echoed in the narrow passage, but there was no answer, just the silence of the maze.

Peh-yan walked a few paces behind, glancing around warily. “This place is messed up, man. It feels like we’re going in circles,” he muttered, pushing some of the webs out of his way as he continued forward. But the more they walked, the more the walls seemed to close in, and the silence only grew heavier.

“Maybe we should go back...” Pah-chin started to say, but before he could finish, a figure appeared from the shadows. {Y/N} stood in front of them, her glowing red eyes bright in the dark. She was more than just a silhouette now—her features were clearer, more defined, her body standing tall, wings outstretched, antennae swaying slightly in the air.

Pah-chin froze. “What the—?”

Before he could react, {Y/N} stepped forward, her movements graceful and fluid, her wings beating lightly as she advanced. Her six arms stretched out, and without hesitation, she grabbed both of them with surprising strength.

“Pah... Peh...” {Y/N} cooed, her voice dripping with affection. Her words were slow and deliberate, as if she were savoring every syllable. “Boys... ”

Peh-yan blinked in confusion, his heart racing. “Wait... what’s going on?” he started, but before he could finish, {Y/N} tightened her grip, her hands pulling him closer. He tried to squirm, but his body felt like it was being controlled, her touch almost magnetic. His thoughts were foggy, his desire to escape slowly fading as {Y/N}’s eyes locked onto his, drawing him into a haze of attraction.

“Peh...” {Y/N} whispered again, leaning in close to Peh-yan’s face, her lips brushing against his cheek before she nuzzled him affectionately. She smiled mischievously before her arms wrapped around him, pulling him in tighter. He was immobilized, unable to fight back as her webbing began to materialize around him, binding him against the tree that had grown in the maze.

Pah-chin, still stunned by the suddenness of the situation, watched helplessly as {Y/N} turned her attention to him. He tried to back away, but {Y/N}’s movements were far too quick, and in a moment, she had him trapped too, her extra arms ensnaring him with ease.

“Pah...” she whispered, the tone of her voice carrying a strange mix of affection and possessiveness. Pah-chin struggled as the webs spread over him, immobilizing him completely. He could feel his own desire rising, a strange warmth spreading through his chest as {Y/N}’s hands moved over him, securing him to the web-covered tree.

{Y/N} took a step back, admiring her handiwork. Pah-chin and Peh-yan were both suspended, their bodies wrapped tightly in her sticky webs, unable to move. {Y/N}’s wings fluttered again, her antennae twitching with excitement as she looked them over. She was calm now, her hunger sated for the moment, but there was still something in her gaze—a burning desire, a need to collect and trap more.

She leaned forward, her six arms poised and ready for the next phase of the hunt. "Boys..." she hummed again, stepping back into the shadows of the labyrinth to wait.

The maze was quiet once again, but the tension was palpable. {Y/N} would return soon, and this time, she would have more to collect.

Smiley and Baji had been making their way through the maze, the tension in the air almost palpable as they navigated the ever-shifting paths. The walls felt like they were closing in on them, but the two of them were used to navigating tight situations—just not *this* tight. The labyrinth itself felt wrong, unnatural.

“What the hell is going on here?” Baji muttered, brushing some of the webs out of his way. His sharp eyes scanned the area, and the unsettling silence made him uneasy. “This isn’t normal.”

Smiley, as always, was grinning, his carefree attitude unwavering despite the strange atmosphere. “Yeah, this place is real weird, huh? I bet she's just messing with us.”

Before Baji could reply, the temperature seemed to shift. There was a rustling sound, then a low hum, and just as they both turned to look, they saw her. {Y/N} stood before them in her transformed state, the red of her skin glowing in the dim light. Her wings were unfurled behind her, the red and black pattern on them almost hypnotic. The star-covered antennae on her head swayed lightly, as if reacting to their presence. Her six arms were poised, ready to capture.

“Smiley… Baji…” {Y/N} purred, her voice low and teasing. Her eyes glowed, and her gaze shifted between the two of them like a predator sizing up her prey. “Boys…”

Smiley grinned wider, unaffected by the situation. “Well, well, if it isn’t our favorite little Mewman princess. What’s the deal, huh? You think you can just take us down like this?”

{Y/N}’s eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn’t respond to Smiley’s question. Instead, she moved closer to them, her extra arms snaking out, one reaching for Baji, another toward Smiley. They were both too stunned by the suddenness of her transformation to react in time.

“Smiley... Baji...” she whispered again, more breathlessly this time, as her hands slid over Baji’s chest, gently pulling him toward her. He instinctively tried to push her away, but her strength was too much for him to overcome. Her hands moved with a precision that sent a shiver down his spine.

“Oh, you’re not gonna let go, huh?” Baji grinned, his voice slightly strained as he tried to wriggle free. But {Y/N} wasn’t interested in listening to him. Instead, she leaned in closer, her lips brushing against his ear, then nuzzling his cheek in a slow, affectionate motion. “Baji~...” she cooed, her voice low and teasing, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Smiley chuckled, clearly enjoying the scene. “Looks like someone’s got you wrapped around her finger, Baji. Hah! I knew the princess had it in her.” He stepped forward, his arms raised in mock surrender, grinning widely. “So, you think you’ve got a place for me in your little web, huh?”

{Y/N}’s attention immediately shifted to Smiley. Her eyes gleamed, and with a single, swift motion, she grabbed him by the arm and pulled him close. She cooed his name softly, almost sweetly, before leaning in to press a kiss against his cheek, then nuzzling him affectionately. Smiley blinked, completely taken aback by the sudden affection.

“Smiley...” she murmured again, her arms pulling him into a tight embrace, almost possessively. Smiley laughed it off at first, but there was a strange look in his eyes as he looked at her.

“You’re not so bad, huh?” he said with a grin, but it was clear that {Y/N}’s hold on him was starting to affect him, too. His pulse quickened, and though his cocky demeanor didn’t show it, a part of him felt a weird sense of attraction toward her. It was like his body was reacting to her presence, almost uncontrollably.

{Y/N} then placed a hand on his shoulder, her six arms easily holding him still as she began to weave him into her web, using the sticky strands to bind him against a nearby tree. Smiley’s struggle became less and less as {Y/N}’s touch seemed to lull him into a state of confused arousal, and the webbing tightened, trapping him in place.

“Smiley...” {Y/N} whispered again, her voice now a soft, satisfied hum as she moved on to Baji, who had finally stopped struggling, his body slack as {Y/N}’s touch took over. She started to web him up as well, her hands working quickly, leaving him trapped against a nearby wall of the maze. Baji’s face flushed, his breath hitching as he tried to regain his composure.

“Goddamn, you really know how to tie a guy down,” Baji muttered, his voice a little breathless as the webs continued to constrict around him. “You better not leave me here for too long, princess.”

{Y/N} paused, looking him up and down, her antennae flicking slightly in amusement as she leaned in close. “Baji...” she whispered, tracing his cheek with her fingertips. “Boy... Pretty boy...”

With one last, affectionate nuzzle, she stepped back, admiring the two of them caught in her web. They were completely at her mercy, trapped and caught, their expressions both caught somewhere between confusion and the strange, inevitable attraction they felt toward her.

{Y/N}’s wings fluttered again as she took in the sight of her handiwork. Her antennae twitched with excitement as she looked toward the rest of the maze. The hunt was still on, but for now, she had two of her favorite boys all wrapped up.

The maze was silent once more. The only sound was the soft rustle of the webs and the occasional beat of {Y/N}’s wings. She was far from finished.

The labyrinth stretched out before her, the tangled paths full of characters caught in her webbing, each struggling or silently suspended in place. {Y/N}’s wings fluttered gently as she hovered above the maze, her red skin glowing softly beneath the dim light of the maze. Her antennae twitched with every movement, her sharp eyes scanning the faces of those already captured. Smiley, Baji, Draken, and Peh-yan were all helpless in their bonds, but the hunt wasn't over yet. There were still two more she wanted to catch.

She caught sight of Hakkai and Angry, standing together not far from where she was. Both were at a crossroads, unsure of where to go, their eyes darting around nervously as if they could sense her presence but couldn't quite make sense of it. Hakkai’s head was down, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment as he avoided eye contact. Angry, on the other hand, was pacing back and forth, his brows furrowed in concentration, but his body language was nervous—he could barely look at her, even as she approached.

{Y/N}’s sharp gaze zeroed in on them, her instincts flaring up. Her body moved instinctively, her wings catching the air as she glided down toward the two boys, her six hands moving in a fluid motion, ready to strike. She was drawn to them, just as she had been with the others, her affection for them both growing stronger with each passing moment.

Hakkai’s heart skipped a beat when he felt a sudden weight in the air, the hair on the back of his neck standing up. He glanced around, his face a deep shade of red as his nervousness increased. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt like he was being watched. His gaze flickered upward, only to freeze when he saw her—the love hungry alien princess—flying toward him, her body glowing in the eerie light of the labyrinth.

“Hakkai…” she whispered in a low, seductive tone, her voice almost like a soft caress in the air. His heart pounded faster as his gaze locked onto her. She was closer now, and her presence felt overwhelming. Her wings shimmered faintly as they fluttered, her six arms outstretched as if ready to embrace him.

Hakkai instinctively took a step back, his face turning an even deeper shade of red. He didn’t know what to do, his shyness completely overtaking him. “N-No, wait—” he stammered, but the reader was already there.

Without a word, she reached out with two of her hands, gently grabbing his shoulders and pulling him closer. Her touch was soft, but it was enough to send a shock through him. His heart raced in his chest as he tried to pull away, but her strength was undeniable. She pressed her face against his cheek, her antennae brushing against him in a soft, affectionate nuzzle.

“Hakkai…” she purred, her voice like honey, and Hakkai felt himself melting. His breath hitched in his throat as her hands snaked around him, pulling him into her embrace. The her antenna twitched while her wings buzzed in response to his body’s closeness to hers.

She then held him with all six hands, and without missing a beat, began webbing him up. Hakkai could barely respond, his heart racing as his limbs were carefully but firmly bound to a tree. “P-Please…” he mumbled, his voice barely above a whisper, his cheeks burning as he glanced away, too shy to make eye contact. {Y/N} only smiled, leaning in once more to press another kiss to his cheek.

“Hakkai…” she cooed again, her voice low and comforting as she finished wrapping him up. His hands were suspended in the webs, and his body was helplessly drawn to her presence. His mind was a flurry of thoughts, his body betraying him as he realized how much his body was reacting to her.

She finished binding him completely, his back against the tree, the webbing now tight and unforgiving. Hakkai's face was flushed, his head turned away, too embarrassed to even look at her. But she wasn’t done with him. No, this was only the beginning.

Angry wasn’t much better off. He was pacing back and forth, his brows furrowed as he tried to keep calm. He could feel something in the air, a tension that he couldn’t shake. His usual quiet, stoic nature was beginning to crack as he felt his heart racing in his chest. He had noticed {Y/N}’s presence earlier, but she hadn’t come near him. At least, not until now.

His gaze shot up, only to meet {Y/N}’s glowing eyes as she swooped down toward him. The moment she saw him, her wings fluttered again, her antennae perked up, and she seemed to move even faster, drawn to him like a magnet. Angry’s breath caught in his throat as she closed the distance between them.

“Angry...” she whispered, her voice like a soft melody, pulling him in with a force he couldn’t explain. His stomach flipped in a way he wasn’t used to. It wasn’t just fear—it was something deeper, something far more confusing. She was *so close* now, and her eyes were locked on him with a wild, almost feral intensity.

He took a hesitant step back, his arms instinctively raised in defense, but {Y/N} was faster. Her hands darted out, effortlessly grabbing hold of him and pulling him toward her. His breath hitched as she pressed his chest to hers, her wings brushing against him as her six arms wrapped around him in a tight hold.

“Angry...” she whispered again, nuzzling him affectionately. His heart raced in his chest, and he couldn’t stop himself from feeling a strange warmth spread through his body. “Angry…” she repeated, this time with a soft, teasing tone as she pressed another kiss to his forehead. He tried to pull away, but it was no use.

“W-Wait... what are you doing?!” he stammered, but his voice was shaky, and his body didn’t seem to want to cooperate. She was too close, and the strange attraction he felt toward her made his head spin. “Stop… please…”

But {Y/N} wasn’t stopping. She continued to hold him with all six hands, webbing him up quickly, binding his arms to his sides. Angry’s struggles became weaker as the webbing enveloped him, and with one last gentle pull, she secured him to a nearby tree, just like Hakkai.

“Angry…” she murmured again, her voice soft as she pressed her cheek against his, her breath hot against his skin. Angry could only remain still, his body trembling with the sensations she was causing in him. His mind was a mess of confusion, but his body was completely entranced by her.

Once she was finished, {Y/N} stepped back, admiring her work. Angry was wrapped up tightly, his head hanging down in exhaustion. But there was still more to do. There was more of the maze to explore.

The hunt wasn’t over.

The maze was thick with the scent of tangled webs and the distant rustle of leaves as {Y/N}’s wings flitted silently through the labyrinth. Her antennae twitched as she darted over her captured prey, pausing momentarily to admire the works of art she had spun. Each victim was helplessly bound, their expressions varying from confusion to complete submission, but none of that mattered. She wasn’t done yet. There were still a few more she needed to catch.

Her sharp eyes caught sight of Fufu and Mimi—Chifuyu and Mitsuya—standing together in a small clearing, looking around the maze with mild confusion, clearly trying to figure out what was happening.

Chifuyu stood tall and steady, though his eyes flickered with a mix of unease and curiosity. He had seen what happened to the others, but it wasn’t until {Y/N} glided into view, her body bathed in an eerie red glow, that his stomach clenched with a new sense of dread. His eyes met hers, and for a brief moment, he thought about running. But something in the way she hovered there, her wings fluttering delicately, made him hesitate.

“Fufu…” she cooed, her voice ringing out softly as her glowing eyes locked onto him. He felt his chest tighten at the sound of his name, her tone so soft, but with an edge of something he couldn't quite define. Her six arms extended toward him, and his body froze in place.

“W-Wait!” Chifuyu blurted out, his usual stoic demeanor cracking under the pressure of her presence. But it was no use. She was already there, stepping forward with unnerving grace, pulling him toward her with surprising strength.

Before he could even think of pulling away, her hands wrapped around his shoulders, gently but firmly holding him in place. Her antennae brushed his cheek as she leaned in closer, her voice once again calling his name, soft and melodic. “Fufu…” she cooed, the sound sending a strange shiver down his spine.

Chifuyu’s heart hammered in his chest, and his body stiffened as {Y/N}’s presence overwhelmed him. He tried to speak, but his words came out choked. “This… isn’t—what—”

She wasn’t listening to him. Instead, she was nuzzling him affectionately, her lips brushing against his cheek, her wings softly fluttering with each tender movement. The sensation was overwhelming. His cheeks flushed with heat, and his breath came out in shallow gasps as he struggled to maintain some semblance of control.

“Fufu…” she repeated again, and with a final, gentle tug, she began webbing him up. The strands were quick to wrap around his arms, pulling them to his sides and trapping him against a nearby tree. Chifuyu’s struggles became weaker and weaker as the webs tightened around him, and his face burned with a deep flush, too overwhelmed to fight back.

She finished, stepping back to admire her work. Chifuyu was completely suspended, his body bound to the tree, and his face a deep shade of red. His eyes were still wide, but the shyness he tried to hide had completely overtaken him.

“Fufu…” {Y/N} whispered again, and Chifuyu’s heart skipped a beat. He could do nothing but stare at her, helpless in his webbing.

Mitsuya was next, standing just a few feet from Chifuyu, looking a little more composed but still clearly uneasy. He had seen his best friend get caught, and now his eyes were trained on {Y/N}, watching her as she floated toward him. Her expression was feral, her glowing eyes locked onto him, and he could feel the weight of her gaze bearing down on him.

“Mimi…” she whispered, her voice sweet and teasing. It was almost playful, but Mitsuya could feel the tension in the air, and the warmth that spread through his chest at hearing his name from her lips was something he couldn’t ignore.

“W-Wait, this isn’t…” Mitsuya started to speak, but the words died in his throat as {Y/N} was already right in front of him.

Without warning, she reached out, grabbing his arm gently but firmly, her six hands pulling him close. Mitsuya couldn’t help but be drawn to her, his heartbeat speeding up as she leaned in, pressing her cheek against his in a soft, affectionate nuzzle. The warmth of her skin and the gentle flutter of her wings sent a wave of heat through him, and his body froze in place, unsure of what to do.

“Mimi~…” she purred again, her voice almost a hum as she nuzzled him a second time. Mitsuya felt a strange, fluttery sensation in his stomach, and his face turned a bright shade of red. His hands, which had instinctively reached out to steady himself, were now held firmly at his sides by the reader’s webbing.

“Stop… please,” he managed to choke out, though his voice lacked the conviction he usually had. He could barely resist the temptation of her touch. It was as if her presence was overwhelming him, drowning him in an unfamiliar sense of affection.

Before he could process what was happening, {Y/N} finished webbing him up, her hands quick and sure as she secured him to the same tree as Chifuyu. Mitsuya could only hang there, helpless, his chest rising and falling rapidly as his mind tried to catch up with what had just happened.

“Mimi…” she repeated once more, almost as if savoring the way his name felt on her lips. Mitsuya could barely respond, his head swimming with the sensations she had caused in him. He couldn’t help but glance down at her, his face still flushed from the experience.

Once she was done, {Y/N} stepped back, her antennae twitching in satisfaction. Mitsuya, still trapped, could only hang in the webbing, feeling both exhausted and confused by the intensity of the encounter.

As {Y/N} flitted through the maze, her eyes sharp and focused, she saw Yasuhiro and Sanzu standing not far from her, both of them talking to each other. They were the only two left in the area who hadn’t yet been caught, and her antennae flickered with excitement. The pull of attraction was undeniable, and with a swift movement, she darted towards them.

Yasuhiro’s posture was relaxed, his typical confident grin in place as he stood with Sanzu. The chaos around him seemed to make him feel more energized than anything else. But the moment {Y/N} appeared before him, his grin faltered, replaced by a more guarded expression.

Her glowing red eyes locked onto him, and the effect was instant. He felt a sudden, inexplicable pull, his breath hitching in his throat as she came closer, her wings fluttering softly.

“Yasu…” she whispered, her voice like silk as she drew nearer. He didn’t know what it was, but his heart began to race, his thoughts clouding as {Y/N}’s aura wrapped around him like a warm, irresistible fog.

“Wh—what are you…?” Yasuhiro began, but his words died in his throat as she reached him, her six arms extending gracefully to catch him.

Before he could step back, {Y/N} was already touching him, her hands running across his chest and arms as if mapping him out. He shivered at the touch, unsure of whether to push her away or give in. {Y/N}'s proximity made his skin tingle, his pulse quickening in a way he couldn’t control.

“Yasu…” she repeated, her voice a little softer, almost affectionate, but it was so overwhelming that he couldn’t think clearly. A part of him wanted to retreat, but another part, a stronger part, wanted to stay.

He reached out, trying to steady himself, but the moment his hand brushed against her arm, the scales on his cheek flared up, and before he could even fully comprehend what was happening, {Y/N} moved faster than he could react, her webbing quickly wrapping around his arms, pulling them to his sides.

“W-Wait! Hold on!” he tried to protest, but the webs were too quick. In a matter of moments, Yasuhiro was suspended in the air, his body held tightly against a nearby tree, his arms trapped in the sticky webbing. His heart was still racing, but his struggle became more half-hearted. He wasn’t sure if it was the webbing or something else, but the moment {Y/N}'s touch lingered, the attraction was undeniable.

“Yasu…” she whispered again, and despite himself, Yasuhiro’s face flushed a deep shade of red. His head tilted slightly, unable to break free from the hazy daze she had cast on him.

Sanzu had been observing the whole situation with a mixture of amusement and wariness, but his expression shifted the moment he caught sight of {Y/N}’s attention turning towards him. His usual cocky grin turned into a more serious look, though the air around him seemed to crackle with a sort of heightened energy.

When she began approaching him, her six arms extending with a predatory grace, Sanzu’s instinct was to fight. He wasn’t a stranger to being in dangerous situations, but this—this was something entirely different. There was something magnetic about {Y/N}, her red eyes glowing in the dim light, her wings gently beating as she drew closer.

“Sanzu…” she purred, her voice sending a wave of heat through his chest. It wasn’t just her words—there was something almost intoxicating about the way she said his name.

Sanzu clenched his fists, trying to keep his cool. “I’m not one to just let myself get caught,” he muttered, but even as he said the words, he felt a pull, as if his body didn’t want to listen to him anymore. Her presence overwhelmed his senses, and before he could think twice, {Y/N} was already right in front of him, her hands sliding across his chest, pushing him back against a nearby tree.

“Get off!” he tried to push her away, but his body was already reacting against his will. Her touch was too soft, too overwhelming, and with every moment he spent near her, his resistance was weakening.

She didn’t seem to mind his protests. Her hands, now more insistent, reached up to grip his shoulders, pulling him closer to her. Her eyes were fixed on his face, and Sanzu could swear he saw a flicker of something playful in her expression. His own pulse was racing, his heart pounding in his chest.

Before he could push her away, her webs quickly snaked out, tying his arms and legs to the tree behind him. He struggled for a moment, but the strength in the webs far exceeded his own, and soon he was trapped, his body helpless against the pull of {Y/N}’s gaze.

“Sanzu…” she whispered once again, her voice dripping with something like a possessive sweetness. Her hands glided over his body as she stepped back to admire her work.

Sanzu, still pinned to the tree, couldn’t help but feel the heat rise to his face, his breath quickening. {Y/N}’s presence was undeniable, and despite himself, he was more than willing to stay, caught in her web, figuratively and literally.

Hovering high above the maze, {Y/N}’s wings beat slowly, her gaze traveling across the labyrinth she had created. Beneath her, everyone she had caught was woven carefully into her web, suspended in a mix of awe, bewilderment, and the undeniable pull of Mewberty’s lingering charm. Her red eyes glowed intensely as she scanned her work, a sense of satisfaction filling her as she looked over each webbed figure.

With a gentle murmur, almost like a purr, she floated from one section of the maze to another, her antennae twitching with a mixture of pride and instinct as she watched the captured figures of Yasuhiro and Sanzu, Takemichi and Hinata, and all the others—each cocooned and securely nestled into her webbing. Each of them had fallen under her enchanting, near-feral hunt, and now they watched her in a mix of nervousness and admiration.

But suddenly, her antennae perked up as if sensing something new in the air. Her wings beat faster, almost instinctively, as she felt an intense, unfamiliar pull from above. She tilted her head upward, her eyes fixed on the sky, the distant clouds swirling as though calling her.

The pull was irresistible. With one final look down at her maze and everyone within it, she stretched her wings wide and launched herself upward. The force of her ascent left a gust of wind that sent dust and webbing scattering across the maze. In an instant, she was gone, vanishing into the clouds high above, leaving only a faint trail of shimmering red stars in her wake.

Down below, the Toman gang and company was left in an uneasy silence, each of them still suspended in the webbing, their gazes lifted toward the sky where she had disappeared. Takemichi and Hinata exchanged nervous glances, while Mikey, even with his usual bravado, couldn’t hide the hint of tension in his eyes.

A few moments passed, the stillness stretching into what felt like an eternity. But then, softly at first, small, bright red stars began to drift down from the sky, floating and fluttering like delicate petals. They sparkled as they settled, landing on the ground and the webs alike. With each one that touched the maze, the webs holding everyone began to weaken slightly, the threads loosening just enough to allow for a bit of movement.

“Is she… coming back?” Draken murmured, his gaze still fixed upward.

Just as they began to wonder if she’d return at all, a powerful force ripped through the air. Without warning, {Y/N} came crashing down from the clouds, a streak of red and purple, plummeting straight into the heart of her maze. The impact sent shockwaves through the webbing, and the remnants of her cocoon exploded in all directions, the scattered stars settling around her like fallen snow.

For a moment, everything was still. Then, one by one, the trapped characters managed to pull themselves free from the loosened webs, untangling their limbs and helping each other down. There was a collective sigh of relief, along with a few laughs and knowing glances shared between them.

“Guess she wasn’t playing around, huh?” Sanzu muttered, dusting himself off as he and Yasuhiro freed themselves from the remaining webbing.

Once everyone was free, they began to make their way over to where she had landed. In the center of the scattered stars, partially buried under her fallen cocoon, lay {Y/N}—back to her usual self. Her purple skin was flushed, her hair was mussed, and her horns, solid and strong, were still. Her eyes, no longer glowing red, were closed, and she seemed almost peaceful, lying amidst the remnants of the Mewberty chaos she’d left in her wake.

Hinata and Emma were the first to approach, worry flickering across their faces as they looked down at her. The rest of the gang followed, a mixture of relief, curiosity, and even a hint of amusement as they surveyed the scene. After everything they’d been through, seeing her back to her usual self was both a comfort and a strange reminder of the wild chase they’d just experienced.

“Hey, is she alright?” Takemichi asked, voice tinged with concern as he leaned down, brushing a few of the fallen stars from her hair.

As they all gathered around, the reader began to stir, her eyes slowly blinking open as she looked up at them, disoriented and still partially covered in stars. It took her a moment to fully process the scene, and as she did, the faint blush on her cheeks deepened, realizing the aftermath of everything that had happened.

{Y/N} lets out a moan of pain as she sits up, her head spinning as she takes in her surroundings. Takemichi and Hinata are at her side in an instant, each of them reaching out to steady her with gentle hands on her back.

“Are you okay?” Takemichi asks, worry etched across his face.

“Yeah…” she mutters, blinking a few times to shake off the lingering dizziness. But then a faint buzzing catches her attention, a sound both familiar and thrilling. She pauses, realization dawning, and reaches up to pull her hair aside, her expression brightening as she catches sight of something just over her shoulder.

“Oh my gosh, my wings!” she exclaims, her eyes wide with excitement. “I actually have my Mewberty wings!”

She leans forward, her fingers brushing over the small, delicate wings that have appeared on her shoulder blades. They’re a miniature version of the butterfly-like wings she’d had in her transformed state, decorated with intricate red and black patterns. Despite their smaller size, they buzz lightly as they flutter, the sensation sending a giddy thrill through her.

The rest of the gang exchanges glances, sharing amused grins at her excitement. The wings, a permanent mark of her transition, will only continue to grow with time, and she’s well aware of it. But finally having them is a milestone she’d been looking forward to for ages. Her tail thumps the ground, the tufted tip kicking up red stars as she squeals softly.

“Looks like someone’s a little proud of herself,” Sanzu teases, crossing his arms as he raises an eyebrow. “All that hunting and webbing was just to show off these wings, huh?”

She feels her face flush, but she can’t quite hide her smile, still beaming with the excitement of finally having her Mewberty wings.

Mikey grins, his tone mischievous. “I don’t know… With the way she was chasing us all down, it felt less like a hunt and more like she was rounding us up for her own little harem.”

“Right?” Draken chimes in with a smirk. “And here I thought we were safe from being collected.”

“Yeah, ‘cause she was all over us!” Mitsuya adds, laughing. “Tell me, do you normally swoop down like that when you’re interested in someone?”

{Y/N}’s cheeks grow even redder, a groan escaping her as she buries her face in her hands. “You guys are the worst…”

“Oh, we’re the worst?” Smiley pipes up, barely containing his amusement. “Says the girl who had us dangling from trees! If I remember right, you practically tackled Mikey out of the air.”

“Hey!” Mikey says, feigning innocence as he glances her way. “What’s that about, huh? You got a thing for me or something?”

“I–I wasn’t in my right mind!” she protests, mortified. “It was all instinct!”

Chifuyu snickers, nudging her playfully. “Sure, but that doesn’t explain all the nuzzling and purring. We got a lot more than just your hunting instincts.”

“I bet she enjoyed every second,” Peh-yan chimes in with a smirk. “All that affection she couldn’t keep to herself…”

Emma laughs, leaning in closer to add, “Don’t think I didn’t notice how happy you looked stringing everyone up! Guess you finally had your chance to keep us all to yourself.”

She stammers, torn between the thrill of her new wings and the mortification of all the teasing. The group is relentless, playfully throwing comments her way, and every last bit of it only makes her cheeks burn brighter.

“Oh, come on!” she finally cries, though she can’t hide the smile creeping across her face. “It’s not like I had any control over it! And besides…” She looks back at her wings, a touch of pride softening her voice. “…I did end up with these, didn’t I?”

Takemichi laughs, shaking his head as he looks at her with a fond smile. “Well, I guess it was worth it then. But don’t think we’ll let you live this down anytime soon.”

As she looks around at them all—each one sporting their own mischievous grin—she knows he’s right. And despite herself, she can’t help but laugh along with them, the thrill of her new wings and the shared memory of her Mewberty lingering in her mind.

{Y/N} feels an odd, instinctual urge to stretch her new wings, and as she does, they buzz with a faint energy, lifting her just a few inches off the ground. She hovers there for a moment, still giddy from the experience. With a dismissive wave of her wand, the labyrinth around them shimmers and fades away, the walls melting back into the familiar surroundings of the Musashi Shrine.

But before she can fully enjoy the relief, the teasing resumes with renewed energy.

“So, was that, like, your way of confessing?” Draken asks, raising an eyebrow with a mischievous grin.

Mitsuya chuckles, crossing his arms. “Yeah, I mean, if you wanted to let us know you’re interested, there are better ways.”

She groans, face turning pink. “I didn’t mean it like that! I couldn’t control it!”

“Couldn’t control it, huh?” Sanzu tilts his head, feigning innocence. “You sure seemed to have a lot of affection to give… Purring and nuzzling everyone like that.”

{Y/N}’s face only grows hotter, her mind spinning as she stammers, “I-I… Look, it wasn't my fault! You were all over me!”

Takemichi and Mikey exchange a glance, bursting into laughter. “So that’s why every time someone got close, you practically covered them in webs?” Takemichi teases, still chuckling.

Emma leans over, giving her a playful nudge. “Don’t tell me you’re this shy after being so bold. You practically kissed Peh’s face off, after all!”

The flustered Mewman waves her hands, her cheeks blazing. “Th-that was just the Mewberty! I didn’t actually mean to—”

“Or did you?” Smiley chimes in, clearly enjoying watching her squirm and whine indignantly.

As their teasing intensifies, a strange feeling overtakes her—an odd, tingly sensation spreading through her limbs. The overwhelming embarrassment and flustered excitement seem to mix with something instinctual, and before she even realizes what’s happening, she starts to feel… smaller.

The whole world seems to expand around her, the ground rising, the nearby faces growing to enormous proportions. With a squeak of surprise, she realizes she’s shrunk down to barely the size of a mouse, her new wings fluttering wildly as she glances around in panic.

“What… what just happened?” Takemichi stares, bewildered, while Hinata gasps and leans in closer to get a better look.

“Oh my gosh, she’s tiny!” Emma laughs, kneeling down, her eyes sparkling with delight. “Look at her! She’s adorable like this.”

“No way,” Draken snickers. “The tough web-wielding queen of the maze reduced to this?” He chuckles, leaning down to get a closer look, only making her cheeks blaze with embarrassment.

{Y/N} tries to stammer a response, but it comes out as a high-pitched squeak, her tiny voice only making them laugh harder.

“Guess she’s more than just smitten with us, huh?” Smiley grins, reaching out a finger to gently poke at her tiny form, causing her to stumble back, blushing furiously. When she regains her footing, she huffs and stomps her foot, kicking dirt in his direction.

“This must be what her dad meant,” Mitsuya muses with a grin, watching her with a gleam in his eye. “Growing into her abilities, alright… or in this case, shrinking.”

Utterly flustered, {Y/N} just huffs and crosses her arms, her wings fluttering indignantly as the group gathers around, marveling at her miniaturized form. She knows they’ll never let her live this down—but despite everything, she can’t help but smile a little, even at this size.

{Y/N} takes a deep breath, focusing intently. She remembers her father's words, the breathing exercises he had taught her for grounding and control. With each slow, calming breath, she concentrates on her wings, feeling a tingling sensation spread through her shoulders. Slowly, her wings begin to grow and expand, their red hue deepening, until they’re fully formed and powerful enough to lift her with ease.

With a mischievous glint in her eye, she gives her wings a gentle buzz and flutters up, hovering around the towering figures of her friends. The tables have turned, and now it’s her turn to dish out a little payback.

She starts with Takemichi, floating close to his ear and whispering, “Remember how you looked when I caught you, Michi-Michi? All helpless and flustered~” Her voice is a playful, teasing purr. Takemichi’s face immediately flushes red, and he stammers, clearly caught off guard.

Next, she drifts over to Draken, giving him a coy smile. “And Draken… did you like how snug you looked wrapped up in my webs? You sure seemed right at home all bound...” she murmurs. Draken raises an eyebrow, attempting a cool expression, but there’s a faint blush creeping up his neck as he recalls the cocoon of silk that had pinned him tight.

Her teasing continues, flitting from person to person, and she even glances at Mikey with a smirk. “You tried so hard to fight me, Micky-Micky. But we both know who won in the end, don’t we?” she coos. Mikey shifts, a mix of amusement and something else glinting in his eyes as he watches her taunt the others.

She swoops around to Mitsuya and Chifuyu next, whispering in their ears about how flustered they’d been in her webs. As she does, she catches the flush spreading over their cheeks, their gazes growing a bit hazy as they recall the feeling of being wrapped up, helpless to her touch.

Her teasing even finds Sanzu and Angry, her tone dropping to a sultry whisper as she brings up each moment of their capture. "You didn’t try to escape, did you, Angry?" she murmurs near his ear, and he shivers, looking away to hide his reaction. When she flutters over to Sanzu, he raises an eyebrow, looking uncharacteristically bashful. "Guess we all know how that chase turned out,” she taunts.

Each reaction fuels her confidence, and her smile grows even wider. She’s enjoying this newfound control over her size, but even more, she’s savoring the rare sight of them flustered and a little off-balance. Her teasing doesn’t stop there—she lets her voice carry through the air, calling out sly remarks about how each of them had struggled and squirmed, completely at her mercy, back when she was in Mewberty form.

As she floats back and watches their reddening faces, the atmosphere shifts. It’s clear her taunts are having an effect beyond just flustering them—there’s a visible spark in the air, a tension building as her words and teasing touch stir something deeper in each of them. She can see it in their expressions, the way their gazes linger a little too long, their breaths hitching just slightly when she draws near.

And she’s not unaffected, either; she can feel her own pulse racing, cheeks heating up as she revels in her teasing. This playful game, the thrill of the chase, and the memory of having each of them tangled up in her webs have her feeling exhilarated.

Hovering above, she gives them a final, teasing look, daring anyone to respond. And for a moment, the group stands there, captivated by her playful, bold energy, unsure of what might happen next.

As she's savoring her playful teasing, a sudden, firm grip catches her midair, and she gasps. Her wings instinctively flutter in surprise as she’s pulled down, her eyes widening when she realizes it's Mikey who’s caught her. His gaze is intense, a slight smirk on his lips, and there’s an unspoken challenge in his eyes.

“Oh, so Micky-Micky wants to join the fun too?” she murmurs, trying to keep her tone light, but his grip and expression tell her he’s not just playing along.

“You think you’re pretty clever, huh?” he replies, voice low, a mixture of frustration and intrigue lacing his words. There’s a glint of mischief in his eyes as he holds her securely, his hand steady but firm, keeping her from flitting away again.

“Well,” she teases, “I did get all of you blushy-blushy and bound, didn’t I?” She winks, though there’s a flutter of nerves now as she realizes she may have provoked him a bit too much.

Mikey’s hold shifts, pulling her closer until they’re eye-to-eye, his expression unwavering. “You really think you’re getting away with all this sass after what you put us through?” His voice has dropped to a murmur, just for her, and the proximity sends a shiver down her spine. She’s suddenly very aware of the intensity of his gaze and the way his hand has her anchored in place.

“Oh, Mikey…” she begins, feeling a warmth rise to her cheeks as her tail begins to wag. But before she can finish, he leans in slightly, his smirk widening.

“Good luck trying to escape this time,” he says with a wink, catching her off guard, as he squeezes her tigher.

[loudlyhappycupcake]

Death battle: spinel (steven universe) vs Meteora butterfly (star vs the forces of evil)

Spinel vs Meteora: A Magical showdown

Here's a breakdown of Spinel and Meteora's abilities and a prediction of how their battle might go:

Spinel (Steven Universe)

* Elasticity: Spinel can stretch, contort, and reform her body in various ways.

* Durability: She can withstand significant damage and recover quickly.

* Energy Blasts: She can fire pink energy blasts from her hands.

* Flight: Spinel can fly by levitating.

* Gem Summoning: She can summon her gem weapon, a pink, star-shaped object.

Meteora Butterfly

* Mewman Magic: Meteora possesses Mewman magic, allowing her to cast spells and manipulate energy.

* Monster Transformations: She can transform into a monstrous form, gaining increased strength and durability.

* Regeneration: Meteora can heal from injuries at an accelerated rate.

* Sharp Claws and Teeth: Her claws and teeth are incredibly sharp and dangerous.

* Monster Physiology: As a half-monster, she possesses enhanced strength and agility.

Battle Prediction

This would be a close fight with both combatants having unique advantages. Spinel's elasticity and durability would make her a tough target to hit, while Meteora's magic and monster transformations would give her a powerful offensive edge.

Potential Scenarios:

* Spinel's Victory: Spinel could use her elasticity to dodge Meteora's attacks and close the distance, using her energy blasts and gem weapon to inflict damage. Her durability would allow her to withstand Meteora's attacks, and she could potentially exploit any openings in Meteora's defenses.

* Meteora's Victory: Meteora could use her magic to control the battlefield and keep Spinel at a distance. She could also transform into her monstrous form to overpower Spinel physically. Her regeneration would allow her to recover from any damage Spinel inflicts.

Conclusion:

Ultimately, the outcome of this battle would depend on the specific strategies and tactics employed by both fighters. Both Spinel and Meteora are formidable opponents with a wide range of abilities. It's a battle that could go either way, making it an exciting match-up for fans of both shows.

Who do you think would win?

@shironezuninja @aromantyczno-liryczna @bitter-yet-civilized @billyjoelmutt @miniaturejudgeturkeytree @evaiskindaweird @untitled14360 @twiliartsdreams2017 @twinklemaddie @cartoonfan21 @wolfie245 @sakulovejulius12 @lillywhynot8098 @punk-63 @leo-x-u-raptor-fan @chaodeknoi @clairaquos @bossbabyfan2 @bloodmoon24 @enchantedchocolatebars @niyatales4ever @jazzyrazzy157 @moonlighteclipse17 @dianathunderamazon-blog @gametoon @gamebruh12 @disneyblabberlover @buy-some-motherfuckin-apples-iv @butterfly7267 @roxxywolf-multiversa @ajaxus166 @freyzw0rld @princessfandom812 @princesshillaryellaworld25 @broadwaygirl918 @princess-paige-place-of-fun @ellie67 @jedimemories @saltysoulballoon @wisefestivalloverpatrol @torkmadox20 @roselyn-writing

[sagesilentfire]

To celebrate finishing the first draft of samatfoe, I want to share little icons of the main characters I made on the site I primarily use for writing, 4thewords. I am Sage99 over there, and I really recommend it. Just the writing streak has helped me write so much, and fighting monsters with your word count is even more fun. It helps you write when you're not in the mood to write, which is unfortunately very common with me. Since I'll be moving on to other projects and getting new characters, I wanted to share these guys with the world.

Image 1 is a 4thewords-ified Star, a red-haired girl with flowers in her hair, moth antennae, and small bug wings. I had difficulty with her outfit, as it's pretty unique, but she wears a lacy magical-girl-esque top with a red vest over it, a leather belt with a pouch, and a long red skirt and purple boots. She wears a crown and holds a wand.

Image 2 is Marcie, a long, brown-haired girl, also with flowers in her hair, and a flower crown, a scar over one brown eye. She wears a star-shaped necklace, a starry red cape, and a white shirt. She holds a golden shield, a book, and a wooden sword. She has a dagger on her hip, and white shoes. She has small wings made out of light, and her emergency trans pride flag on her back.

Image 3 is Toffee, or at least their Mewman form. 4thewords doesn't have a proper lizard form. So discriminatory :(. They have black hair, purple-shaded eyes, and a scar over one eye. They wear black, including a black leather jacket and throw. Their hands are lit up green. They have long purple horns, a spear, and black and green fiery wings. They are surrounded by a golden background.

Image 4 is Shinjai, at least her Mewman form, etc. She wears a golden crown, long sprouting wood horns, and gold eyes that stare into your soul. She wears flower earrings, a green cape, and a long red dress. On her arms are leather wrist guards. Her hands are lit up yellow, and so are her fiery wings. Her hair is dark and beaded, and she holds a bow on her back. A small dragon sits at her booted feet.

[larchliveblogs]

Glossaryck, what have you done?

I finished my rewatch of Star Vs. the Forces of Evil, and I had expected to write a post asking the question, was Glossaryck depressed and suicidal? I think that is still a reasonable question. There is the question of whether Glossaryck set up the magic to be destroyed so that he could die. He doesn't seem a very happy character. He doesn't have true friends. He has a very bad relationship with his son. And the only thing he seems to get joy from is eating pudding. He created the Magical High Commission, but he doesn't like it, they don't treat him well, and it seems to be more a source of stress for him than anything else.

But on my rewatch, I realized how much the entire universe of this show revolves around Glossaryck, and I couldn't help asking myself, what did you do? He seems to be responsible for everything.

He gave the wand to the first Mewmans that set up the monarchy and the oppression of the monsters. He personally trained probably every single monarch that has ever ruled there since they were a child. Think about what that means for his influence and shaping of their society. He created the Magical High Commission. He created the wand that led to the need to destroy magic.

Normally, with a large society and complex issues, you need to look at so many different forces. And, I suppose to an extent that is still true here. Eclipsa loving a monster did lead to real societal changes and improved conditions for monsters. Star actually listening and paying attention did likewise. Those were important factors from individuals. Queen Moon's reckless decisions did endanger everyone. But through it all, nobody nearly rises to the importance of Glossaryck, the person who was set up the system they live in and guided each of them from childhood through parts of their rule.

I think the sheer importance of Glossaryck, an immortal being who set up the systems in place and guided them for their entire existence rather undermines the show's statements on other factors like colonialism. Unless you want to view Glossaryck as a metaphor for something. I think that would be a sensible view. However, if so, I am not sure what Glossaryck is a metaphor for, other than clearly something that needed to be destroyed.

[froppy-butterflyfan2000]

“You’re heartless!” Said Lamia, bound by chains, glaring at the Sin of Sloth, with hatred in her eyes, “Do you know that you are endangering innocent lives here?!?”

Lamia watch the people in Mewni, sleep screaming in terror and sleepwalking super soldiers marching on the cement road to the song they believe in, the song of the siren. Morphea vaguely look at Lamia, while playing her music through the keytar. The avatar of the Spellbook, disconnect from the broken and dismantle machinery is now on the floor and now an empty and broken husk of what is left of her. While in the nightmare world, Rose and Umbros-Quinn, protecting the soul of Princess of Life that is inside Rose’s grimiore. Even though it is a soul, the princesses sense the prescence’s intense emotions, watch in absolute horror as the people in Lost Princess’ Mewni are now in The Nightmare World, dragging into the bottom of the ocean, one by one. This Dreamy Sireen is taking over The Nightmare World. Umbros-Quinn fire her wand, in a form of a harpoon, to skewer the mermaid. While Rose produce electricity from her hands to electrocute the many mermaids. The Princess of Life’s prince should be back with the reinforcements.

Morphea did it…. She merge her Dream Mewni and The Lost Princess’ Dream Mewni into one. All thanks to her consuming the PhBe and using the Crystal of Aria’s universe. Morphea raises her right arm, stop playing, and Lamia look on with a determination yet a terrified expression on her face.

“I have to be,” said Morphea.

“Sweet dream~🎶” Morphea sang a sleeping spell. These are the last words Dreamy Sireen have said to Lamia, submitting herself to a dreadful slumber.

The crystal on an ornamental chain worn around Morphea’s neck glittering in the moonlight starry night sky. The smirk on Morphea’s face appears as a result that she is victorious that she have finally achieve her goal, in addition to a new addition to her army. Now it is time to get rid of the two brats once and for all.

~~

They have fail in their mission to protect their new friend, and now are failing to save her (The Princess of Life’s) people, magical beings, monsters, and mewmans, both from her Dream Mewni/the nightmare world and her Mewni in a life of slavery by Sloth. “Our whole plan fell apart! We mess up! I messed up!”, All Lamia could do now is sink further and further into Morphea’s dark abyss in Dream Mewni. It is better to have her fate in sinking forever than being haunted by evil mermaids. Lamia close eyes, to sleep in her dreamless dream. Lamia does not know when she close her eyes. Had it been about an hour? Two hours? A day? Perhaps week, she is not hungry. Did time goes fast…. Or just too slow. The cold temperature of ‘the water’ increase, bathing Lamia in warmth. The dark atmosphere turn into a glimmering pink light. Lamia slowly feels paranoid that if she wake up, she will be hallucinating of being back home as if nothing have happen. This is definitely a trap Morphea made to manipulate her to enjoy her eternal sleep to not wake up. She keep her eyes close.

CROAK... CROAK... CROAK... RIBBIT.... RIBBIT.... RIBBIT....

M-MOOOO!~ MOOOOO!~

"BE QUIET!" Lamia shouted, opening up her eyes, irritated by cows and frogs waking her up. She see a grass field with flowers, a food sources and bed for cows, ranging in different color as if each milk come with different flavour.

Lamia wondering what is going on? She cannot open her eyes, she feels absolutely tired. There are dozens of sparkling rainbows in the sky. Red hearts floating in 'the pink sunset sky'. Despite the sky being pink likes the sunset, the sun is still up, bright and shining with a smiling face on it. Lamia get up and saw she landed on a floral patterned mushrooms.

Lamia see a giant human-looking woman dressed in a short and puffy sleeved dress with mushroom motif with a red cardigan with balloon sleeves and mushroom-style white polka dots near the collar and shoulders. The skirt is mushroom shaped, with a white polka-dotted layer over a red sheer fabric that has mushroom decoration. At the bottom of the skit, red, brown, and white ruffles flare outwards. Even her brown mary janes shoes are mushroom theme as well. She have warm and soft chocolate colored eyes, matching her dark skin tone, and an odango hairstyle. The girl appears to be a teen too. The girl is smiling with adoration toward a small adorable frog she is petting.

Where is she? Is this a part of the sweet dream Morphea is talking about then? And if so, why Lamia’s subconscious produce a giant girl in her mind? A thick plume of dream mist is surrounding the area. The symbiote from her suit reacts to the thick plume dream mist. Lamia soothe the symbiote, continue staring at the mist. Lamia was unsure why her bonded symbiote companion is reactive so much, unless there are adrenaline-filled brains and chocolates are involve, and..... PhBe. Her eyes are widen, the PhBe dream energy took her to meets another dreamer, who have a relation to PhBe as well, just like The Princess of Life. Lamia is unsure who she is, despite the facts that she is the dreamer and that the PhBe dream mist is the one that took her to see her. Lamia cannot tell if she is a magical entity or a human from another universe in the dream world, despite the magical element with her in this dream. Lamia have to find out. Lamia float and create fire from her feet, flying to the girl. Lamia land on her hand, punching the palm of the mysterious girl’s hand for a proper landing, and thus getting her attention.

"Hm, it have seem that spending time with Dari in her dark witchy stuffs led me to dream about her," the giant girl, Phoebe Jacobs stare at Lamia, not too uncomfortable. Just a bit. The punch did hurt after all. All she wants to do are petting cute animals and spreading love and peace with the power of magic… This is not what she expect - Coming across a little imp. "But she looks harmless, cute, and... Hurted."

Phoebe still wondering why her subconscious dream about this demon, it would seem that she is beating herself up. Her hair is a mess and her clothes are wet and saggy.

“Aww, this poor little demon,” the girl thought, looking at the cambion in her hands. Even if it were a dream, she cannot allow herself to let others feel miserable. “Are you okay?”

Lamia opens her mouth to say something, then thinks, if she tell her everything what is going on… Her dream might collide with so much informations processing. Or worse…. It become a nightmares if she share these informations.

“It doesn’t matter. Forget it!” Lamia shouted, pushing the giant girl away, whose save Lamia from falling deeper and deeper into an abyss thanks to the PhBe. “You cannot understand. It is too scary that I will mess up your perfect dream…. Just like I always do. Messing up to ruin lives.”

“No, you are not a life ruiner. You’ll never mess up my dream. I swear to you little demon,” Phoebe trying to comfort a distressed Lamia. “You messing up and it does matter….. Messing up is apart of life. That is what I learnt from Newt Neighborhood. There was this newt who work hard for getting acceptance from the upperclass, and he finally done it, but when he met Luanne, the same age as her and made mistakes, everyone left him. However, Luanne is the only one who is there for him in his darkest time. Thus, taught them both how shallow the people from the city were because they only accept him for his strength and powerful in his magic. They both decide to stick with each others in their ups and downs..." Phoebe talking on and on about the main protagonist's relationship with a side character in Newt Neighbourhood, then quickly pause the topic, to avoid changing the topic. "I mess up too. I forgot to take out the trash, even though if it is super stinky. Or that one time, I broke my mom's valuable anime figurine that my allowance is spent on getting replacement and work on assembling the figurine. One of the worst things of all,....."

Phoebe pause for a moment and looks at Lamia, believing what this cambion really is. Her inner demon. “I never have the courage to tell my bestie how I really feels.. About being treated as her helper, bailing her out on problems. I do not wants to abandon her. All you ever wanted, was to be understood as well,”

Phoebe continuing staring at Lamia, face downwards… The field trip to the aquarium was now a long time ago. However, her conversation with Em, still engraved in her brain and heart. Lamia opens her mouth to say something, after listening about the dreamer’s conversation on one of her favorite magical girls and magical realism animated television series and her conversation about her friendship. The atmosphere change from cheerful and whimsical to gloomy in Phoebe’s dream world. Lamia’s eyes narrows and have a sympathetic and sad smile on her face. Lamia press her forehead with her together with Phoebe.

“We will confront our problem. Whether we Fight or communicate. It always come from the heart. Fills with positivity and even the negativity. As long as you let fear take over. Life will change for the better. This is humanity’s dream. To be understood and the acceptance, while not putting your pride on the line.”

Suddenly, Phoebe’s pink butterfly cheekmarks appear on her cheeks shine bright as Lamia’s red double moons and circle cheekmarks glow, as if it is reacting to it. Shines in magic, Lamia is floating up, and her symbiote suit turns into a blackish pink goo encasing her inside. The pink and purple ribbons manifesting from Phoebe’s hands, wrapping Lamia tight. Phoebe grimaced that she subconsciously perform a mummification onto the cambion, not knowing that her magic is activated in her subconsciousness have something to do with it. Why the heck did spend time researching Ancient Egypt leads to this? Lamia is struggling to free from being mummified alive, however the pinkish black goo from her symbiote suit encasing her stop her from moving. The goo become harden and harden. Lamia went limb inside the cocoon of ribbons and ‘goo’. Phoebe’s heart sink, did she kills the cambion? Her magic isn’t suppose to do that, putting others down literally!

CRI… CRI… CRACK!

The cocoon of ribbons and ‘goo’ start to fall apart and emit a blinding white light. Phoebe close her eyes shut, not being blinded by the blinding light. But she take the chance to allows one eye open to see what comes out of the cocoon. Her eye is now fixated on… A beautiful butterfly from the flash of the blinding light consume her and the world she dream of in her mind.

~~

Phoebe open her eyes gently, she is now in her room, lying in bed in her PJs. Phoebe looks at the clock. It is 5:30 in the morning. Phoebe blinks for a couple of times wondering if she is actually awake. Phoebe grab a hold of her cheek and stretch it as hard as she can, until it is red she realize she is now awakened. Wide awake. That dream the daughter of Amanda and Andrea Jacobs dreaming of. Phoebe wonders that this is a metaphor that her interpersonal conflict with Cordelia is not that big if she open up, she would becomes…

.

.

.

.

A beautiful butterfly.

Dari Ordonia-Bloomgren (mentioned), Newt Neighborhood (mentioned), Phoebe Jacobs, the giant teenage girl whose believe her subconscious manifested Lamia as a representation of her inner demon in her dream in my prompt, belong to @aj-thegreatest and are from her Starkie next gen AU series, Cordelia & Phoebe.

Umbros-Quinn Diana Lucitor, The Princess of Life/Lost Princess and her prince belong to @princekaiofstars

Morphea Butterfly Greason belongs to @dangerpack

Rose Butterfly-Lucitor belongs to me

Lamia Butterfly Lucitor belongs to dreamy_artz (Instagram)

Dialogue Prompt #273

“You’re heartless.”

“I have to be.”

[treslechesfan-tbolfan]

SVTFOE S4 Episodes 15a-16b REVIEW:

Doop-Doop:

Imitation of the pie folk great, also aww Star is planning a trip for her and Tom; so adorable.

Marcos heading to earth ties up with Britta’s Tacos and Gone, Baby, Gone.

Lol Janna is me; I tend to overshop so the just a few souvenirs is fricken chicken hilarious to me.

Tom has already packed their bags what’s in them Tom.........

Oh lol classic Tom, poor little demon, aww.

Aww he has a name, Petey, aww!!!!

Cheesy postcards lol, speaking of which I also collect postcards.

Oh haha, actually “cheesy” postcards.

And yea Janna, portals are essential!

“Now you’re thinking with portals!”

-Portal

Oh Janna, you crack me up.

Oh Star come on that was unnecessary to throw the book at Petey.

Oh Tom’s; I love you so much was so fricken adorable!!! *SQUEALS*

And a cake In the shape of a mewman that was vegan, geez they are in kahoots with Buddy Valero. (Cake Boss joke you’ll get it if you’ve seen it)

Yeah like the Book of Life States;

“Write you own story!”

-TBOL

Pony is like an angsty teen lol.

Seahorses: O-Oh Y-Yes my dear was adorable.

Now not so much; probation sounds like he came from prison.

Aww Katrina and Star moments, and Katrina has my vote for becoming a famous athlete.

Kaboomsky lol oh and Buff Frog is right life goes by so fast you have to make it count.

Oh shit, Tom take fricken chicken care of Star, Buff Frog is watching you. And Tom is actually sweating from that ordeal oh, Lordy!

Moon actually wants Star to take a long trip, man I wish my parents would let me do that, I’ve always wanted to go to Mexico.

Lol Hunting Class with River sounds fun actually.

Whelp it’s true about the theories on the descriptions being wrong, however a broom, is named Doop-Doop: weird, so weird.

First magic spell oh that’s adorable, and he sounds like Morty from Rick and Morty oh geez.

I fell down and now I can’t get up. Lol

Oh nevermind the description is on point so far. Yay!

and Star comes to Earth yet again aww.

Mariposa is a wonderful name, and she’s so fricken adorable *SQUEALS*

Rafael said what we were probably all thinking.

Aww Star looks so natural holding Mariposa.

Britta’s Tacos:

Well not sure doing nothing is what summers all about I mean I am working half of my summer in Yellowstone.

Hopefully they didn’t kill off Tomstar, that ship is bomb. Forgot to mention that Tom handled his anger pretty damn well.

Hey Sensei and Oskar make a comeback.

Oskar’s still calling him Mango, lol.

Some Jackie x Marco stuff. Ooohhhhh.

Well you did break up that is drama.

Before the reveal:

They keep mistaking him for the father oh no he’s probably going to exploit that.

After the reveal:

Yep he did.

Oh no StarFan13 oh dear. Taco Tuesday man is the best.

Wow mystery dude calm down though your ex sounds really fricken chicken crazy.

Jarco: did you Marco did you

Angus and Ferguson great to see you after two seasons.

AGAIN, I wish my parents would let me study abroad too.

D&D reference.

Starco had a baby lol; oh no!

Whelp a dangerous pepper, is the California Reaper mAking a cameo.

Jackie is back. Again it’s not Marco’s kid.

Hey chole, oh my god is Jackie Lesbian *cheers* you go girl.

And Jarco has it’s closure.

And starco is slowly coming back.

Beach Day:

Pancakes on the couch, bro.

Oh I don’t think Mariposa is supposed to have a quiche this young or that large of a piece.

Also it’s funny that Star has put her bathing suit in the freezer.

Well it is sunny out so beachtime!

Star with the American Flag behind her lol.

and classic morning traffic.

Okay that got dark super fast: like 1984 freaky; “Do I have free will?”

(George Orwell)

Oh geez, driver calm the fricken chicken down.

Also flying car. And darn city smog.

Oh Father Time and Star you do look happy what are you talking about?

Whelp it’s a meme!

“The cake is a lie!”

“The beach day is a lie!”

Oh the time loop, paradox where you do something to your past self and your past self in the future does the same thing, etc.

Too bad the hardest times are still ahead....”

(If this ain’t foreshadowing I don’t know what is?)

Ludo the Sea Mermaid Lol.

Seeing the beach day photo, fills you with determination. Want to save the game?

(Undertale Parody)

It’s a flying shopping 🛒.

Gone Baby Gone:

Puppet show, a finger puppet show aww Mariposa is snuggling with a finger puppet.

Aww Meteora and Mariposa play so well together.

Geez Marco, It’s just Hekapoo.

Also that premonition of it being dangerous to go back to Mewni, means something.

Hey Brunzetta is back baby. And so is Adult (Abs) Marco.

Also Mariposa and Meteora look badass as teens.

Also the thing Meteora said to Marco is freakishly right. (Princess Turdina).

Also the soup looks fricken chicken disgusting.

Ok that’s betrayal and eww that is disgusting as hell.

Food is the answer to everything, lol.

Review: overall the episodes actually all tied together quite nicely and I loved Meteora‘s and Mariposa’s friendship. It’s adorable, also the time loop paradox was really hard to follow but I got it. Starco is coming back from the grave, slowly. I am going to be honest, I really don’t care who anybody ends up with. The whole shipping thing that the show is doing is really unnecessary as it’s creating tensions between the not just the show’s characters but also the fans of the show.

At this point, I don’t care what shipping is endgame, as long as everyone is happy.

[dagrfinn]

So is no one gonna talk about how Meteora has shapeshifting powers? Like obviously she can’t change to whatever she wants [or at least she hasn’t tried], but still she can change her appearance far more than we’ve seen with other Mewmans [or even monsters]. As a baby she had sharp ears, but as she grew up and her monster half was suppressed her ears became ‘normal’. Everything about her was Mewman, except for the tail.  After finding out what she was she suddenly shifted into more monster forms. Completely transforming and we’ve yet to see anything like that. I do believe she could return back to her Mewman form if she wanted.

[comicbookgirl2]

The falling star of SVTFOE OT 1- the eclipsing of potential.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua-ANnAVLjA&t=4185s

now before I begin I would like to address this video, it’s a very well made video and honestly I’d highly recommend you watch it- maybe even before or after reading this? I agree with a lot of what he said other than the parts regarding the one and only Eclipsa.

Now I know I’m going to get Flammed for this- because a lot of people believe that during the most darkest and dreary parts of this show- eclipsa ironically was the saving Grace- and I’d agree, because she was the one and only thing that seemed to remind you that you weren’t only watching this show for the terrible shipping but for the actual plot?? But then I’d also disagree because- wait for it- Eclipsa was technically the worst thing to happen to this show.

Now lower your pitchforks please- and let me explain.

Let’s go back to the good old days when svtfoe could be considered good, now shall we? Yeah I mean like season 2. Star and Marco were tolerable and their relationship was pretty well written. Star, being the free spirited child she was, had this persistant worry about the loss of her freedom when she became queen which was honestly? Quite reasonable to have. Being a queen is a huge responsibility- as you now become the ultimate servant and leader to your people. There really won’t be time for mistakes or adventures so star’s anxiety at entering this new phase of life was a really interesting perspective, and the message of her becoming a queen that could best serve her people in her own way was also a really good message to. Nowadays when kids grow up they might feel heavily pressured by society to get a reasonable job, settle down, anything done outside of the norm isn’t usually received well. So the message of telling star- yeah you have to grow Up, but you can still do it in your own way, while handling your responsibilities was a really nice message! Especially when you realized that other queens of Mewni had their own ways of ruling. Maybe star could look to them for guidance or inspiration? Maybe she’d want to set a completely new path while learning how to balance out her responsibility! I was really waiting to see how it would play out- heck they even fully addressed it in an episode! In addition to this, we had the whole plot point of Marco being possibly evil, and Toffee’s plan slowly but surely shaping up to be huge...IT HAD A LOT OF POTENTIAL- 

until...it didn’t.

Enter in one of if not the worst plot twists of all time. Eclipsa and Meteora.

Now you can argue them not making eclipsa evil was an original/good thing and I’d say sure- fair- BUT. Them making eclipsa the rightful ruler essentially rendered Star’s whole crisis of being a good ruler while being true to herself ultimately pointless- she could easily just hand off the crown- because it wasn’t hers to begin with. What was the point of giving star that plotlines if it didn’t matter in the end? Heck what was the point of showing Moon being a good queen at the beginning of at the end she easily tossed it all away and suffered massive character assassination???

And the worst part of this- was the terrible racism analogy between monsters and mewmans. Monsters do not make good comparisons to POCs especially ones that can easily suck your soul out. In fact remember the plot line that The show told you involved globgor actually committing many atrocities against the spider folks? Then it conveniently dropped it? Yeah I do too. The fact that Eclipsa chose love over her responsibilities as a ruler for someone who’s committed a lot of crimes against mewman’s political allies should at the very least make the people suspicious and mistrusting of her. But instead the show rights this off as cool, and quirky and brave- while writing off anyone who didn’t like her as one dimensional racists- like what??? There are legitimate reasons for the mewmans to not trust eclipsa. Ones that DO NOT INVOLVE RACISM. ((Globgor was such an atrocious let down too)). 

One of the worst parts about Eclipsa returning, and not being evil was how it killed soooo many potential plot points/purpose of so many things. Don’t get me wrong- a lot of GREAT things were dropped- but these were so bad..

What was the point of showing Moon being a responsible queen if it didn’t matter?

What was the point of Star struggling with the idea of her upcoming responsibilities if it didn’t matter?

What was the point of THIS if it didn’t mater?!?!?  

Or THIS?!

In fact what was the point of teaching about the power of responsibility if you were ironically going to reward the least responsible character in the show??? Sure you can argue- she showed great responsibility when she was willing to kill Meteroa for Mewni- but I’d actually argue that having her take back the crown, after seeing what she did to Moon, and then later put aside her responsibilities to save her husband (who was said committed a lot of monstrosities against the spiderbite folk mind you), is just...not right. And ironically Eclipsa wasn’t the worst offender of this.

Her daughter, also easily one of the worst characters of the show, Meteora- who drained multiple princesses for their life force to stay young while making others miserable for a living- went on a huge genocidal rampage through mewni- against innocent people- for the throne- and all she got was a reset in life, where she’s now in line for the throne.....

So she essentially got rewarded for committing massive genocide! Great lesson to teach kids SVTFOE! Really nice!

She’s arguably worse than Toffee when you think about it, yet only one of them get their full comeuppance- which is ironic because the one who was right ended up dying the brutal death.

Ironically, Eclipsa could’ve been both right, and the villain?? If she had been a villain, I would’ve called her one of- if not the best, American animated villains. Why? Well to start- a lot of the things seemed to be really coincidental- like her just happening to have a spell that would kill an immortal (for no particular reason) that would just so grant her, her freedom. For someone who’s like “lol I’m not that evil” she has a lot of dark spells (one for invading someone’s privacy, and a bunch for just flat out KILLING people)- and her messages/advice to Star when struggling to deal with her power from her mewberty form was...questionable to say the least- she’s someone who seems to operate without consideration of responsibility- but that doesn’t mean that she’s not a schemer...

Some of the best villains or antagonists in fiction, are those that are usually right in some shape or form, that end up challenging the protagonist’s whole pov. Eclipsa could’ve been that. 

Eclipsa’s whole point of running away could’ve been tied to Toffee- maybe you could’ve had her whole plot be the fact that she was a long term planner, who wanted to fight monster racism- a good goal, in the less than moral way possible. Maybe she had pulled some strings in the background that, if the show had actually acted on the potential of Marco becoming an evil monster that joined Toffee’s side- or Toffee becoming something monstrously powerful- could’ve forced monsters and mewmans to work together against a united goal, showing that there was potential for the species to equally co-exist and work together- something that Eclipsa had realized a long time ago, but realized that she wouldn’t be the one to be the catalyst for such revolution- but she knew that someday, somehow there would be a potential princess who would, she just needed to ensure the right actions would lead to the right results. Would it be cliche? Yeah, but it would’ve been a lot better than flat out character assassination, untied plot ends, and MASSIVE GENOCIDE. 

Also speaking of the massive genocide, meteora and eclipsa- can we talk about that for a show that wants to be ‘complex’ when addressing social issues- it really seemed to ignore a lot of social issues in and of itself? It’s like racism is the only issue that anyone in this show cares to address.

No, like really- think about it.

Some of the mewmans live really really terribly- there’s clearly a caste system there, but it’s just passed off as comedy....why doesn’t it bother anyone??? Is poverty just not that important??? 

Some of the characters like Mina, and Moon, are clearly dealing with the trauma of their past- Mina who’s the victim of propaganda, and PTSD, has literal magic driving her crazy. But it’s usually passed off a joke and never further developed. The fact that Solaris, who is largely responsible for inventing such magic responsible the monstrocitity of a final we got- had the audacity to glare at someone who she, herself- recruited via BLATANT PROPOGANDA, and has suffered because of Solaris more than anyone else is disgusting. 

The journal pretty clearly depicts Solaris as a genocidal racist to- so am I the only one missing the ten character arcs of development that she must’ve underwent to love Meteora?  If it was in the journal, then that’s just terrible writing, because the watcher shouldn’t have to look for outside material when watching a tv show. 

Moon, who had her mother killed by Toffee, the same man- who literally steals her soul, caused the death of council member, and almost killed her own daughter. Imagine dealing with that, she was so distraught when she saw Toffee, who she thought killed Star, she could barely think right. How come her trauma is never addressed or talked about???

Now I’ll admit, I don’t like Steven Universe, it’s far from perfect with it’s delivery at times, but at least- it could address multiple issues with mental health, social issues and a caste system. It at least could address it’s internal and external character plot lines.

This show? The second half of it? Eh no.

(Ironically his earth friends leaving was a great analogy for all of the potential for the show to be awesome dissipating in the later half of this show)

Also can we talk about the fact that for a show that seems to speak out against racism so much- how come when Toffee wanted to destroy magic it was bad, but when Star does it, it’s good? Isn’t that a little racist in and of itself?

Other plot points that were also rendered pointless by this stupid twist:

SMH THEY REALLY WASTED PATRICK STUMP’S TIME LIKE THIS!!!

The awesome ballad of star butterfly (song doesn’t matter because star isn’t even the real future queen, little miss genocidal maniac is)

[opinions-about-tiaras]

The hell of it is is that the show isn't subtle on this point!

Like, SVTFOE is just... not a very subtle show in general when it comes to its politics. There is an entire-ass episode devoted to specifically this topic, which has, what, like a five-minute sequence where Star asks very blunt questions about who is and isn't a monster, and Moon responds nakedly with a series of answers that are explicitly "These people aren't monsters because they are our friends" and "These people aren't monsters because they are very rich" and "Rhombulus isn't a monster because he's on the MHC."

Then it spends another ten minutes hitting you in the face with this over and over with the "monster expert" who doesn't know that monsters are people. That's a deliberate writing choice; the monster expert could have been some sort of subtle crypto-racist with a set of calipers and a pseudo-intellectual hard-to-refute set of theories about how Buff Frog's skull shape means his thoughts move slower than mewmans, but no, they just hit you in the face with "this racial taxonomy is bullshit perpetrated by bigoted idiots."

It's one of my favorite episodes (I especially love that huge transforming model cart of Mewni that Star has, that's superb visual storytelling) but like. Did people just not watch it? Because, again: not subtle.

One thing I think it's important to understand is that the MHC aren't monsters.Sure, their "monsters" by our definition of the word, both literally and figuratively, but it's important to understand that, when characters in Star vs. say "monster", that isn't what they mean."Monster" within the world of Star vs. is a term with a specific political meaning: it refers to groups of sapient non-humans who are singled out as monsters, presumably for complex political and historical reasons. Who is and isn't considered a monster on Mewni has nothing to do with if they'd be considered "monsters" on Earth because they aren't using the word the same way we do. The MHC would never in a million years be considered monsters because there would never be a situation where marginalizing them like that would be politically expedient or even possible for Mewni's upper class, in no small part because the MHC are among them.

[darkmasterofcupcakes]

When I read the twilight series when I was younger, I remember being horrified that Bella had to consume blood since her half vampire baby was eating her blood and making her sick and how later on in the book we get an adult half human vampire who said his mom had to drink blood when pregnant with him. Then in Tokyo ghoul when a ghoul gets pregnant with someone who was originally human, she had to force herself to eat human food for the baby and said she didn't know if she could come full term with the pregnancy. I mean, I love how the writers tried coming up with reasonings behind half human pregnancy. I really wonder how the svtfoe crew could have done it, but maybe it wouldn't have been allowed on the show and gone to something else like another book.

I doubt they'd ever go into detail about any kind of pregnancy. I think that's something that'll be left to the fans to decide how they want to interpret it.

Though, I think what would be especially interesting is seeing how pregnancy would effect the mother if she and the father are notably different species? Like, I think the best example would be Princess Penelope Spiderbite and Slime? He's literally a slime-monster that's pretty much completely composed of slime that just has a humanoid shape most of the time, and she's a Mewman, who mostly seem to be biologically identical to humans. What would a pregnancy be like for her if/when they have kids together?

[thdorkmagnet]

Light of the Sun and Stars Chapter 45: Quest for Love (And a Sandwich)

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

Chapter Synopsis: The time has finally come for Tom to confess his feelings to Janna! But when he struggles to form words around her, he asks Marco for help and the solution they come up with is… less than expected. Let’s just say it involves a sandwich.

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Index

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

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“Finally, after all this time, I can reveal my greatest dish,” Kelly whispered dramatically. She had given the entire worthless kitchen staff the day off so she could work in peace and not have to worry about greedy chefs trying to steal her secret recipe out from underneath her. She had only been working at the castle for a few weeks and had already learned how many of them had the same strive and ambition she did, just too inexperienced and lazy to pull it off. She had already started to whip them into shape though, they had stopped crying every time she yelled at them at least. So that was decent progress.  

“Are you sure?” Marco asked, staring down at the boiling pot in awe, the lid covering the contents inside, the hooded teen beginning to doubt if he was ready to face what lay within. “What if it’s too soon?” 

Kelly shook her head, her brow furrowed in concentration. “No. This is it, Marco. But I need you to be ready in case something goes wrong. Can I count on you to be my sous chef?” She turned to him with a grim look, waiting to hear his response. 

The boy nodded vigorously, putting on his best game face. “Yeah. I’m ready, Kelly.” 

“Good,” the green-haired girl responded, slipping on an oven mitt and placing it firmly on the handle of the lid. “Then, here we go!”

Both her and Marco simultaneously slipped on large metal masks to help shield their sensitive faces. Kelly also placed a smaller one over her snoozing boyfriend Tad, who was asleep in her hair as usual. She made sure the mask was down over his face so she wouldn’t have to worry about him catching fire. The two teens then shared a masked look with each other an unspoken trust passing between them before Kelly ripping the lid off the boiling pan. 

A layer of hot steam rose off of the boiling mess inside: red, hot mist that formed a skull in the air before fading. Marco flinched and positioned himself behind Kelly, his protective instincts making his body move against his will. The Woolett girl showed no fear however, even making the fool-hardy choice to lean over the boiling mess of liquid so she could examine it closer. Her expert eyes slowly skimmed over her own concoction to make sure it was finished. 

“Is it… done?” Marco asked, his voice shaking fearfully. Kelly had already briefed him multiple times how her super secret recipe could possibly explode if not made properly and he would really prefer not to burn alive if he could help it, he had plans later that day. 

“Looks like it,” Kelly replied thoughtfully. She whipped out a spoon from her apron, holding it just an inch over the bubbling soup. “But there’s only one way to know for sure.”

“Hold on a second,” Marco said, stopping her just before she could scoop up a bite. He reached down under the table and hefted a heavy fire extinguisher onto the counter, making sure it was ready in case something went horribly wrong. “Okay, go.”

Marco frowned seriously as he watched the spoon of questionable contents rise to his friend’s lips, Kelly lifting up the fire shield so she could sip her creation. The hooded teen studied the Woolett anxiously as she smacked her lips a few times, clearly considering the taste carefully. He relaxed a bit when she didn’t burst into flames but still felt the need to ask, “Well?”

Kelly nodded before saying, “Not bad.”  

“Yes!” Marco exclaimed cheerfully, ready to celebrate with all the intensity and vibrancy his friend deserved in this moment of triumph. “You did it, Kelly! I knew you could! Your super secret recipe is a success!” 

“Whoa, whoa, Marco,” Kelly said, trying to call her friend down a bit. “I know this is a big moment and all but now is not the time to start freaking out. I mean I’m the only one who’s even tried it yet, I have no idea if it’s that good.”

“I know, I know,” Marco said quickly, his tone apologetic for just an instance before returning to his peppy brightness. “I’m just so happy for you, Kelly! I mean it’s taken you months to make this stuff! You should be proud of yourself for sticking with it for so long!”

Kelly nodded, all humbleness leaving her at the praise, feeling her ego only grow with every word. “Well, it wasn’t exactly easy to make the hottest, most delicious stew of all time. But I did it.” She absentmindedly started to stir the red hot stew, talking out loud as she worked. “I mean just finding the right ingredients for the stew was a challenge in itself. Most people said volcano peppers couldn’t even be heated without them exploding but then I’m not most people, am I?” 

“And no one but you would’ve figured out the trick to cooking them," Marco admired, hoping to boost his friend’s confidence even more with the praise. The trick had been simple in the end, just keep it at a constant simmer for three months straight. Only Kelly could have cracked that code.

“Well after working with Roy for long enough, I learned a few tricks to avoid exploding food.” The Woolett shuddered at the multiple memories of her previous place of employment. But she perked up as she continued to brag to her friend in a mischievous tone, “And now this stuff is gonna make pain pepper tacos taste like ice cream in comparison.” 

Marco cringed as he remembered the feeling of his tongue melting, asking hesitantly, “Isn’t that kind of unsafe?”

Kelly shrugged. “Relax, Marco. I’m not Roy. I would never make something that could endanger someone’s life.”

The Woolett was cut off as a burst of flame shot up from the pan, the two teens screaming and jumping back to avoid being burned alive. The fire continued to crackle for a few seconds before it slowly died down till it was just hot steam rising off the now-ruined stew. Marco and Kelly blinked in disbelief, the hooded teen about to voice his shock when they heard a familiar person call out. “Marco! Marco, are you there?!” 

“Tom?” Marco looked around in surprise for any sign of his friend. “Where are you?” he asked when he failed to spot him right away.

“Look in the pan,” came his answer and both teens hesitantly approached the boiling stew. Only now the surface of the liquid had a familiar face on it. “TOM! What are you doing in Kelly’s secret stew?!”

“Ruining everything,” Kelly mumbled in annoyance, shooting the demon boy a hated glare.

“It’s an old demon trick,” Tom explained quickly, only for his tone to turn panicked and dire, “But nevermind that, I need your help!”

“Why didn’t you just call him?” Kelly snapped. 

“No time! It’s an emergency!” Tom shouted, his voice shaking with worry. 

Marco gasped. “Don’t worry, Tom-” The hooded teen struck a dramatic pose before proclaiming, “I’m on my way!”

“Uh, what about my stew?” Kelly crossed her arms, sending chilling glares to both boys. 

Marco locked eyes with the Tom image before saying, “Uhh, I’ll help you remake it later.”

Kelly groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers. “Fine, whatever, just go.” 

“Thanks Kelly, I owe you one,” Marco said running from the room. The Woolett looked sadly over at her ruined creation, Tom’s face now gone but her once-delicious stew now a burnt and inedible mess, grieving for all the hard work that had been wasted thanks to one friend’s mistake. She let out a heavy sigh, leaning against the counter so she could stare sadly into the bubbling pot. 

Marco poked his head back into the kitchen, giving the girl a sheepish expression, before asking, “Uhh Kelly, one more favor?”

Kelly raised her head and slowly looked in his direction, her eyes full of anger and death. “What?!” she snapped to him in annoyance. 

Marco gave his friend the most apologetic look he had, his fingers tapping nervously on the doorframe as he asked softly, “Um, can I please borrow your dimensional scissors?” 

The Woolett glared at him for a few more seconds, the boy giving her a puppy dog look back. The intense staring contest continued for a few seconds before Kelly gave in, throwing her head back and letting out an annoyed groan. “Fine, you win! You're lucky I can’t stay mad at you!” She stomped over to the teen and practically shoved her scissors into his hands. “Here, take it.” 

“Thanks Kelly,” Marco shouted gleefully, giving her a quick hug before running from the kitchen, yelling over his shoulder, “I promise I’ll make it up to you later!” 

Kelly just sighed and went back to work, disposing of her ruined batch of secret stew and cleaning up her messy kitchen, grumbling the whole time about how inconsiderate Tom was and how she couldn't believe she considered him a friend and how no one appreciated a royal chef, somehow her boyfriend Tad sleeping blissfully on. 

...

“Tom! Tom, I’m here! I’m here!” Marco shouted, leaping out of the portal into his friend’s room, only to fall face-first in a large tub of water, soaking him completely from head to toe. The flaming teen immediately ran over to pull his friend out, the boy sputtering and coughing as he was helped back to his feet, completely frazzled by what just transpired. “Sorry, Marco,” Tom apologized quickly, giving the soaked teen a sheepish grin. “I accidentally left that thing out from this morning's waterboarding session. That’s my bad.” 

Tom hit Marco’s back a few times as he struggled to regain his proper airflow. “It’s fine,” Marco choked out, trying to shake off as much water as possible. Tom lit a small fire in his hand to help dry his friend off faster. But Marco just cringed upon realizing his shoes were soaked all the way through, leaving him with wet socks, every squishy movement feeling like torture on his poor, sensitive feet. As he bent down to take off his shoes,  he asked his friend, “So what was the emergency? What’s going on?” 

Tom had almost completely forgotten why he had summoned Marco there in the first place but the moment the memory came back to him he tensed up, anxiety and discomfort flashing across his face while the small flame in his hand flickered slightly. “Oh yeah, right. Uhhh, so about that,” the flaming teen began awkwardly. His cheeks began to flush slightly as he admitted, “Well, it’s kinda about Janna.”

Marco cocked his head to the side as he looked up at his friend, already having a pretty good idea of what was going on, but waited for Tom to continue his thought anyway. The prince cleared his throat nervously before stuttering out an explanation. “S-See I kinda, sorta have a… crush on her.” 

Marco blinked, giving his friend a blank stare. He slipped off both socks, so he could stand face to face with his friend again. “Yeah, and?” he questioned with a shrug.

Tom was taken aback by his friend’s measured response, expecting a much bigger reaction after such a huge confession. His eyes narrowed in suspicion before he could stop them. “Uhhh, and me telling you my secret is kinda a big deal, so I would appreciate a little more enthusiasm!” The demon boy was doing his best not to lose his cool with Marco but he could feel his anger beginning to flare up. 

“Wait, was that supposed to be a secret?” Marco asked innocently, giving his friend an incredulous look.

Tom’s mouth hung open for a few seconds before he snapped it shut in anger, growling through his teeth, his cheek flames simmering in the heat of the moment. “Yes, it was,” he snapped, leaning in closer to Marco with violent ferocity. “Why? Who else knows about it?”

Marco gave his friend an awkward grin and shrugged, trying to make light of the situation before softly admitting, “Everyone.” 

Tom’s eyes widened before turning a deep, sinister red and Marco tucked into a ball for protection, the hot-headed teen shooting off a flaming ball of fire absentmindedly to his side to avoid accidentally hurting his friend. At that exact moment, the small servant Pete flew in through the doorway, calling politely, “I got you those flammable objects you asked for, Master Tom,” only to be lit on fire thanks to the prince’s irrational burst of anger. 

Both teens looked to the doorway where an unconscious Pete lay groaning in agony, thankfully immune to the flames themselves. “Sorry,” Marco said, speaking on behalf of his friend, knowing Tom was too busy trying to calm his fuming mind and body, taking slow, deep breaths. He placed his palms together, holding them right in front of his mouth as he let out a long sigh. He lowered his hands before declaring, “Okay, this is fine.” He sounded much calmer and Marco was able to relax a bit. That was until his friend let out a demented laugh, his eye twitching in an unnerving manner.

“Tom, are you… okay there, buddy?” Marco asked carefully, rubbing a hand up and down his arm to try and hide the chills he was feeling thanks to his friend’s psychotic breakdown. 

Tom still continued to laugh, placing a hand to his forehead as he declared, “No, no this is just perfect! This is exactly what I needed! Apparently the whole world knows about my secret crush on Janna and I’m just finding out about it now! It’s all going just peachy!” His voice grew deep and sinister on the last word before returning to normal. 

“Well I mean, it was kinda obvious,” Marco pointed out, rubbing a hand up and down his soaked hoodie sleeve. “You danced at the Blood Moon Ball together and your always blushing around her, and constantly wanting to be around her but being awkward when you do-”

“Stop! I get the picture!” Tom groaned, completely mortified as he buried his face in his hands.  “Does Janna know?” came the muffled question and Marco bit his lip. 

“Probably,” Marco replied honestly. He wasn’t completely sure but Janna usually knew much more than she let on. Marco wouldn’t doubt his creepy friend was fully aware of the demon’s feelings and was just using that knowledge to mess with him.

Tom let out another disheartened and embarrassed groan, his flaming hair starting to smoke from how badly he was flushing. 

“Buuut if it makes you feel better I’m pretty sure she likes you, too,” Marco helpfully added.

That or she's messing with me," Tom added bitterly. Seeing Marco's sympathetic look he quickly brushed the negative thought off, sighing and lowering his hands as he gave Marco an even look. “Well whatever, doesn’t matter.” 

Marco doubted the easily emotional teen really had let it go so quickly but chose not to press him on it, instead asking, “Soooo why did you ask me here exactly?”

Tom sat down on his bed, his face unreadable. “Because I’ve decided to stop hiding my feelings and face them head on,” he stated calmly. “Even if apparently everyone knows already,” he added with a grumble before continuing in a steady tone again. “So I’ve decided to finally confess my feelings to Janna and ask her to be my girlfriend. But I’m gonna need help to do it. Your help.”

 There was a short pause, the flaming teen watching as Marco’s eyes welled up with tears. His expression remained the same naive, optimistic look it always was, only now there were large tears rolling down his cheeks. “Uhhh, dude, you okay?” Tom asked suspiciously. He should have expected this from his friend but Marco had caught him by surprise with this seemingly random reaction. Sometimes Tom wondered what was going on in that boy’s head, Marco never to confuse Tom with his positivity, it was too opposite to his own personality.

Marco nodded, wiping the tears from his eyes, which had somehow grown even wider, full of joyful enthusiasm. “I have waited so long to hear you say that!” Marco excitedly squeaked before pulling Tom into a tight hug. “Finally, two of my best friends are getting together! It’s everything I’ve dreamed of!” 

“Whoa, whoa, don’t make it weird!” Tom shouted, pushing the boy away. “It’s not gonna be all sappy like I’m sure it was with you and Star. In fact, that’s the exact opposite of what I need.” He let out a low groan before turning and starting to open a flaming portal.  “Look if your gonna be all emotional about it then I’ll just ask someone else to-”

“No wait!” Marco shouted, waving his arms for Tom to stop. The demon boy turned to him with an expectant look. Marco sucked in a breath before standing at attention, puffing out his chest as he declared, “I promise you I won’t get emotional! Just let me help, please.” 

Tom nodded, closing the small beginning of the portal as he addressed his friend coolly, “Okay, I think I can work with that.” 

“Yes!” Marco exclaimed, only to stop as he saw Tom’s eyes beginning to narrow. The hooded teen cleared his throat before saying in the most prestigious tone he could come up with, “I mean, I’d be more than happy to help you with your problem, Tom.” He paused, thinking something over, before asking in his normal voice again, “Sooo what were you needing my help with exactly?”

Tom seemed a little discomforted by the question, crossing his arms insecurely in front of his chest and not meeting Marco’s eye. “Look, I just need you to help me come up with the perfect way to confess to Janna.” 

“Why not just tell her how you feel?” Marco asked simply.

The flaming teen rolled his eyes. “You really think I haven’t tried?! Every time I get close to her, I suddenly lose the ability to talk! All I seem to be able to do around her is make a complete fool of myself! I’m supposed to be the cool Prince of the Underworld, not a dork like you!” Tom shook his head to keep his cheeks from blushing, forcing his cheekmarks to lower their intensity. “No offense,” he added and Marco just shrugged, not really knowing what the word meant anyways.

“Soooo, basically you need a way to ask her out without actually talking to her,” Marco said thoughtfully, already going over ideas in his head.

Tom rested his chin on his hand, trying to do the same. “Something like that,” he muttered in annoyance. Why couldn’t dating girls be easy?

“You could… write her a letter?” Marco suggested.

Tom rolled his eyes. “I’m not from the 17th century, Marco. Get with the times. I’m a very modern guy.”

“Okay, a text then,” Marco tried. 

“And say what exactly? That I’m too lame to ask her out in person?” Tom argued, his tone much sharper than he meant it to be.

Marco huffed, putting his hands on his hips. “Well you don’t have to be so harsh. You asked me here for advice, remember?”

Tom nodded, giving his friend a sheepish look. “Right, sorry. Force of habit.” 

Marco gave him a small smile to let him know he accepted the apology before continuing to go over ideas in his head. He started to pace the room, trying his best to avoid anything on fire or with something sharp and spiky on the end (which was mostly everything). He voiced his thoughts out loud, hoping that would help him come up with something faster. “Well if you can’t tell her how you feel then maybe you could… show her how you feel.”

“And how exactly would I do that?” Tom asked, his tone raising some against his will. He thought he had already done that since everyone on Mewni seemed to know about his feelings for the creepy girl. What more was he supposed to do, make a statue in her honor? Crawl to her on hands and knees? Summon an army of the undead for her to use at her bidding? Actually, that last one had promise. 

Marco shrugged. “Get her something you know she would want. Something that will prove to her just how much she means to you!”

“So you’re saying I buy her love with a gift?” Tom asked with a small scoff.

“I mean-”

“Cause I’m not completely opposed to the idea,” the hot-headed teen finished. Looks like he was going with the undead army, after all. Now he would just have to find a way to convince his parents…

“No, no, not like that!” Marco quickly interjected. “I’m just thinking if you get her something that shows just how much you care about her, it'll tell her how you feel without words and then maybe that'll help break the ice or whatever. Get you guys actually talking."

Tom turned that around in his brain for a second. “It would have to be pretty special if it’s gonna do the talking for me,” he pointed out. “Like we’re talking one-of-a-kind, incredibly rare, and probably very expensive levels here.” 

“That’s true,” Marco said, sitting down next to Tom. 

“Dude, at least put down a towel first,” the demon boy instructed, referring to Marco’s still soaking clothes.

“I’m sure it’ll dry fast,” Marco replied with a sheepish grin. Returning to the subject at hand, the boy added, “So, uh, any ideas on what exactly to get Janna?”

“Other than an undead army I got no clue,” Tom said, looking more and more frustrated by the second. His cheek flames had nearly reached his eyes at this point. “I just don’t know what I could possibly get her that’s as rare and special as she is!”

Marco gasped, an idea springing into his head. “That’s it, Tom! I know what to get her!”

“You do?” Tom asked, surprised.

The hooded teen nodded, a bright and happy grin on his face. “We need to get her the Perfect Sandwich!” 

Tom’s face instantly deflated. “A sandwich is gonna win her over?” he deadpanned.

Marco was practically shaking in excitement, squealing to himself. “Not just any sandwich! This sandwich only appears once every 999 years! They say it’s the tastiest, most delicious, most irresistible sandwiches to ever exist! According to Kelly, some wars were fought over that thing!” 

“Sounds perfect!” Tom exclaimed, feeling hope flare up in his chest. “Where do I buy it?”

Marco let out a long laugh at the question, only to realize from his friend's annoyed face that it hadn’t been a joke. “You can’t buy it, Tom,” Marco explained. “You have to find it.” The hooded teen paused before adding with dramatic effect, “On a quest!” 

“Quest?” Tom whined. Of course there was a catch. There was always a catch. “That sounds like a lot of work for some stupid snack.” 

“Oh but it’s totally worth it, trust me,” Marco reassured him. “I mean, at least, that’s what Star and Kelly said.” 

“But I can’t go on a quest!” Tom shouted, throwing his arms wide, causing several objects in his room to light on fire (thankfully none of them Marco). “I mean, I don’t even know the first thing about quests! Especially some sandwich quest!”

“Lucky for you, I know all about it!” Marco exclaimed, puffing out his chest proudly.

“And how many quests have you been on?” Tom asked skeptically.

Marco shrunk a bit in his seat, twiddling his fingers nervously, before admitting, “Well, actually this is my first…” Seeing the doubtful look on his friend’s face, Marco quickly added, “Buuuuttt Star and I were planning on going on it together and she knows everything about them!” 

That did make sense. Tom had heard from Star several times as kids how her dad loved to take her on camping trips which were apparently incredibly intense. The young princess had had a plethora of horror stories to share with him, whether he wanted to hear them or not. “Alright well that’s a bit better but I don’t see how it helps me?” the flaming teen snapped, trying to hold back his frustration but it was getting harder by the second. 

“Easy, you can just come with us!” Marco eagerly proclaimed. Tom hopped up off his bed, turning to his friend with a disbelieving look. “Wait, is that even an option?!” The prince questioned loudly. 

“Well, yeah,” Marco responded, with a simple shrug. “I mean why wouldn’t it be?” Tom felt his cheeks flush awkwardly, embarrassed for not seeing the option sooner.

“I guess I just thought you and Star would want to quest alone,” he admitted sharply, his frustration at himself turning into outward anger. Not again, he thought bitterly. 

But Marco didn’t seem to mind, just shaking his head and giving his friend a reassuring grin. “I’m sure Star wouldn’t care if you tagged along,” he told his friend and it almost hurt how nice Marco was being to him. “The more the merrier, right?”

Tom rubbed anxiously at the back of his neck, annoyed with himself for behaving so uncool around someone, even if that someone was a total dork like Marco. He would have to do better when confessing to Janna. “Guess so.” 

Now Marco stood, grabbing Tom’s face with his hands which caught the demon boy completely unawares, staring back at his friend incredulously. “Besides, Tom, this isn’t about a sandwich anymore,” the hooded teen began dramatically, his sun cheekmarks spinning animated circles. “This is about love! And there is nothing more important than love!” 

Tom gave his friend a cool look, all nervousness gone at once as he deadpanned, “Please stop being weird.” He slapped Marco’s hands away, putting a bit of distance between him and his enthusiastic companion. 

Marco ignored this, though and just declared boldly to Tom’s messy and overheated room, “I, Marco Diaz, swear on my life that I will help you earn Janna’s love!” 

“Cool,” was all Tom said in reply, trying his best to stay calm despite the racing of his heartbeat and the nervous energy building in his chest. He wasn’t sure what he was anxious about now, the quest or the idea of finally confessing to Janna.

…

“I just don’t get why you insisted on wearing that dumb cape here,” Tom commented as he and Marco stepped through a portal into the ‘Sandwich Dimension’ as Marco had called it. 

“It’s my adventure cape,” Marco insisted, swishing the bright blue cape around dramatically. He had shed his usual attire of a red hoodie and jeans and decided to wear something more fitting of the quest they were about to embark on. He wore a plain grey undershirt with a short sleeved, navy blue jean jacket. He had on black fingerless gloves and matching black jeans with several rips and tears in them to make him look “cooler”, or at least that’s what Tom had said when he started cutting them without Marco’s permission. And to top it all off was his new cape that had a large ‘M’ written on the back of it. “Star’s dad gave it to me,” he explained, looking quite proud of himself.

“Why does it smell like meat?” Tom asked skeptically, pinching his nose for emphasis. 

Marco shrugged. “Maybe meat is the smell of adventure.” 

 Tom rolled his eyes but said nothing more on the subject. He was too nervous to focus on picking apart Marco’s outfit. He couldn’t believe he was actually here, on some dangerous sandwich dimension, about to risk his life for a worthless scrap of food just for the slim hope Janna might return his feelings. This was stupid, probably one of the stupidest things he’d ever done (and he had a long list to draw from) and yet here he was. He would much rather be home playing video games but for Janna he would make an exception. She was worth getting outside his comfort zone for. 

“So where to first?” Tom asked briskly, hands in his pockets as he observed his surroundings. The dimension was not what he was expecting. The place looked like a fairly normal dimension: tall, lumpy trees, billowing fog, grey landscape, nothing to write home about. In fact, Tom didn’t really see what all the hype was about. When Marco had described how dangerous this dimension could be, Tom had been expecting more flesh-melting rain or spike pits or at least some decent lava. But no, the only word the hot-headed prince had to say about this dimension so far was boring. Maybe this quest wouldn’t be so bad, after all. Or at the very least short.

“Star said to meet her at the rock shaped like a club sandwich,” Marco replied cheerfully. The two scanned over the nearby landscape and saw nothing resembling the rock they were looking for. 

“And where is that exactly?” Tom asked sarcastically.

Marco shrugged. “I’m sure it’s close by.” The Mewman boy looked up at a tall tree before turning back to his friend. “Here give me a boost up and I’ll see if I can spot it.”

Tom moved to help, putting his hands together so Marco could use them as a handhold, the boy grabbing onto the closest branch and quickly climbing up the tree. Tom, meanwhile, leaned against the trunk, watching as small sticks and leaves fell from Marco’s rushed footfalls. 

“Y’know, I was really expecting Star to need more convincing to let me tag along,” Tom admitted, trying to fill the silence with light conversation. 

“Why? I thought you and Star were good friends now?” Marco’s voice echoed down. 

A sad look flashed across Tom’s features. “Yeah, I guess,” the hot-headed teen said with a pained tone. He quickly buried these emotions behind an iron mask as he continued more confidently, “Guess I just figured she’d want to make your little quest just the two of you. So she could have you all to herself.” 

Tom inwardly smirked at the comment, before he heard a branch snap above. He looked up just in time to see Marco fall and land hard on the ground, a pile of broken sticks and leaves laying underneath him slightly breaking his fall. Marco groaned in pain as he slowly sat up, looking at his friend with a dazed expression. “Wow, you are really bad at climbing trees,” Tom observed, offering his friend a hand up.

Marco gave him a sheepish smile and accepted the help. “Uh, yeah I just got distracted by… something,” the boy muttered nervously, his flushed cheeks giving him away in a second. It was pretty obvious what had caused him to slip-up, especially when Tom caught a hint of a smile on Marco’s lips. 

“Surrreee,” Tom said teasingly. “So did you see the rock or are we back to square one?” 

Marco nodded. “The first one! It’s just over this hill.” The boy then led his friend in a light jog up the hill. Once they were at the top it was easy for Tom to spot the rock, in fact, it was impossible to miss. It was a massive eyesore in the middle of the woods, easily the size of a small house and then some. And just like Marco said it was in the perfect shape of a club sandwich, Tom was even able to see the rocky shaped layers of meat and cheese complete with a tiny olive on top. The hot-headed teen would be impressed if he cared anything about sandwiches but at the moment he had more important things on his mind, like love. 

Marco, however, seemed quite in awe over the dumb rock, gaping up at it open-mouthed as if it was the greatest thing he had ever seen in his life. So since his dorky friend was distracted, Tom took it upon himself to search for Star, the blonde nowhere in sight and he frowned angrily. Geez, Star, being late is my thing, not yours, Tom thought, inwardly fuming with rage.

“Woooow, this thing is so cool,” Marco whispered, completely enraptured over the rock.

Tom rolled his eyes. “It would be cooler if Star decided to actually show up on time.” 

“Hey, look who’s talking!” a voice said from above and the two looked up to see Star standing proudly on top of the sandwich rock, looking cool and confident in her new outfit. Star had done up her hair in pigtails but with layers of velvet ribbon weaved expertly through them and her headband had been changed to match the color, the spikes on it standing even sharper than normal. She had on a dark purple dress with a fluffy color and leather sleeves with a skull on one arm. Her leggings were now pink with splashes of purple layer them and she had on brown hunting boots. A small sword rested at her side instead of her cute cloud purse and her wand had been transformed into a bow and arrow which she kept on her back. Marco’s eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw Star’s new ‘questing’ look, he knew his girlfriend could make anything look good but this was a whole new level of gorgeous. 

Marco’s mouth was slack-jawed, his burning red cheeks soon spreading to his whole face, while his cheekmarks glowed pure white for his love and surprise towards his amazing girlfriend. Star just grinned back at them with an assertive stance, the sun just happening to shine directly behind her, making her whole body glow with otherworldly beauty. “‘Bout time you two showed up,” Star called down to them teasingly, sounding as confident as she looked. The blonde then leaped off the massive rock, doing a small flip in the air and landing gracefully on her feet in front of them. Marco thought his heart might explode with how amazing his girlfriend was. If the new outfit was what was making her this sure of herself then she needed to dress like this more often! “I was starting to consider leaving without you,” she added, looking directly at Tom while she spoke. 

“Oh, ha, ha,” Tom shot back with a fake laugh. “We’re not that late, I think you need to get your watch checked.”

Star smirked at him, before saying with a noticeable glee in her eyes, “Or maybe I should get you one so you won’t be late all the time.” 

Tom and Star frowned at each other for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. 

“Star!” Marco exclaimed, finally recovering enough to speak. He latched on tightly to Star’s arm, hugging it tightly while starring up cutely into her eyes, “You look so cool! I didn’t know you owned any outfits like this! You look like a real huntress!” 

The blonde royal flushed bright red, her free hand brushing nervously through a few loose bangs. “Oh, this old thing,” Star guffawed humbly. “Nah, this is just something I found at the back of my closet. It’s nothing special.”

“But it is!” Marco insisted, moving so he was now face to face with his girlfriend, clutching her arm even tighter. “Can’t you see how amazing you look?!” 

Star finally gave in to the compliments she was receiving, beaming brightly in joy and pride. “You look pretty good yourself, Diaz,” she said in an openly flirting tone. She lifted a corner of the cape, admiring the soft fabric before saying, “I mean just check out this cape! It makes you look so bold and daring! Who knew my dad was so fashionable when it came to capes?!” 

“And it makes me smell like bacon!” Marco added proudly. “Go on, smell me.”

Star giggled, before leaning over and giving him a quick sniff. She nodded her head approvingly. “Yep, bacon does smell good on you.” Then without warning, her lips met her boyfriend’s in a long, deep kiss. Marco was startled at first but quickly melted into it, loving Star’s kisses more than anything in any dimension. The blonde grabbed onto the front of Marco’s cape, dragging him in closer to her, while the boy instinctively dipped her back holding her gently by the hips, his long cape billowing around the pair like a blanket, a gentle breeze causing it to flutter gracefully. 

The moment the couple’s lips locked, Tom shielded his face from the view, trying not to let his awkwardness show as he stared off in the opposite direction. He didn’t mind them kissing, he really didn’t, but it always made him feel out of place. Like he was intruding on a private moment that he wasn’t worthy enough to be a part of. He wondered if the rest of their friends felt that way when Star and Marco got the urge to make-out in front of them but he doubted it. Maybe once I have my own girlfriend to do that with, it’ll be better, he reasoned, trying not to let the thought of Janna distract him too much.

Tom risked a peek but wasn’t surprised to see the two hadn’t even stopped for air. Either his friends had really impressive lungs or they had learned to live without oxygen, whichever it was, Tom was envious of them. He clapped his hands together loudly, the noise making the two jump and finally part enough to breathe. Their cheekmarks had started glowing white again (something Tom had noticed happening a lot when they kissed) and they looked at him with dazed, confused expressions as if they had just remembered he was there. “Sooooo, you wanna actually start this quest within our lifetime or would you prefer to keep making out instead?” Tom asked sarcastically, crossing his arms in front of his chest and raising an eyebrow at his friends. 

“Oh yeah, good idea,” Star said, reluctantly pulling away from Marco but making sure to grip on tightly to his gloved hand. 

Marco nodded his agreement, though he still seemed slightly lightheaded from the kiss. “Sure, Tom. Whatever you say, Tom,” he said with a distant sigh. 

“Great,” the hot-headed boy said dryly. “The sooner we start this quest, the sooner I can make Janna my girlfriend.” He couldn’t help but grin at the chill that ran up his spine from this statement. It was the first time he had really said ‘Janna’ and ‘girlfriend’ in the same sentence and really meant it. It no longer felt like a fantasy or heartfelt wish. After today, Janna really would be his girlfriend! No more nervous flirting or failed attempts to woo or impress her. This horrible phase of pining would end and he could start falling in love with the girl of his dreams. More than he already had from afar. 

“Aww, I think it’s really sweet you want to confess to her this way, Tom,” Star said in a supportive, friendly tone.

“Yeah, well there aren’t many options left,” Tom replied regretfully, scratching at his cheek.

“I mean you could always tell her how you feel,” Star suggested and the boy quickly changed the subject. 

“Uh, yeah, you're sure it’s okay if I take the sandwich after all this work you're gonna go through for it?” 

“Oh yeah, it’s fine,” the blonde royal reassured him. “I’m just happy to be involved in your matchmaking.” 

“Besides, the real prize for us is getting to go on a quest together,” Marco pitched in.

Tom rolled his eyes at the sappy response, responding in a smooth tone, “Well then, we better get this quest started right away. Don’t wanna waste a second of daylight, right?”

Star and Marco both nodded, before heading off in the direction Tom assumed was wherever the Perfect Sandwich was being kept. He didn’t question their directions, just following obediently behind them. Although he did stop in his tracks for a moment when Star mentioned cryptically, “Good point. Especially since night is when the crumb rats come out to feed.” Tom opened his mouth to ask but decided he would live a much happier life by not asking and simply picked up his pace, hoping to never learn what exactly a crumb rat was. 

…

Tom quickly decided he hated this dimension with a passion. Not only was this place bland and forgettable and a complete waste of his valuable time but it also just had to be way bigger than it had any right to be. The prince didn’t know how long he and his friends had been walking for but it felt like an eternity and he hated every second of it. There was just nothing to do! At this point he would have preferred stuff trying to kill him since so far the greatest danger they had encountered was a bush with poisonous berries and not even the deadly kind! If he wasn’t doing this for Janna, Tom would have gone home a long time ago. But then he was doing this for her so he felt compelled to at least see this boring quest through till its end. 

Marco, on the other hand, acted as if this was the greatest dimension he had ever seen. He was gasping and pointing out every leaf, stick, or bush that caught his eye, somehow finding their blandness appealing. They had to stop a couple of times so Marco could take a picture with his phone, each time Tom grinding his teeth together to keep from growling in frustration. He knew it wasn’t Marco’s fault he had never been to any cool dimension before but still all the temperamental teen wanted to do was find the stupid sandwich, go home, and play video games.

Tom was so distracted sulking, he almost didn’t spot the sharp dagger flying towards his face! The boy let out a scream and ducked under the blade just in time to avoid being impaled. Star and Marco both turned to their friend in concern only to see someone jump out from behind a bush, brandishing a large knife. “Tom, look out!” Marco yelled in warning while Star drew her bow-wand, pulling back the string to fire off a magic arrow. 

The cloaked figure rolled under the shot, before slamming into Tom’s chest feet first, using their momentum to knock the boy down. Star fired off a series of arrows at the stranger, trying to somehow take them down, but they dodged around each one fluidly, every step getting closer and closer to the young couple.

“That’s it!” Star shouted angrily, spinning the bow around in her hand a few times before it turned back into her regular wand. “Try to dodge this! Spider with a Top Hat Blast!!” A spark of light later a small spider stood in front of the blonde royal, its top hat opened to reveal a machine gun inside. “War cry!!” the small spell shouted, before shooting off a barray of tiny top hats at lightning speed towards the attacker. The cloaked figure was somehow able to dodge around the tiny hat-shaped bullets, zig-zagging around each projectile, slowly gaining speed on their victims. 

Star could hardly believe her eyes as her most powerful spell was thwarted with ease, too stunned to think of a spell to try and fight back with. The blonde watched as the mysterious figure reached the tiny spell, swatting it with the back of their sword before sending it flying over the treetops, Spider’s tiny yell fading off into the distance. 

“Spider, no!” Star yelled after her small friend, turning just in time to see the figure coming at her, sword raised high overhead. The royal quickly transformed her wand into a sword, ready to block the blow from the deadly weapon. But the figure didn’t seem interested in attacking, instead stabbing the sword into the ground and using it to vault them over Star’s head. They then hit the ground running, heading straight for Marco. Star screamed out in warning but Marco had already spotted the enemy coming. 

The boy let out a scream and moved to jump out of the way only for the cloaked figure to sweep his legs out from under him, causing Marco to land hard on his stomach, knocking the breath out of his body for a moment. Marco glanced up weakly, seeing through his pain-filled vision that the shrouded figure now stood menacingly over him and he curled up into a ball, trying his best to cover any vital organs. He waited in terror for the strike that was surely coming, waiting for pain to overtake his body, for his life to come to a brutal, violent end-

Whack! “Ow!” Marco exclaimed as something lightly tapped him on the head, rubbing at the small bump that was forming. “You’re dead,” the cloaked stranger said slyly, resting the flat end of the blade on their shoulder. Marco’s eyes widened though as he recognized the voice of their attacker, spluttering out in complete disbelief, “Higgs?”

The hood was thrown back to reveal fiery red hair, a freckled face, and a sly smile. “‘Bout time you figured it out, idiot,” she said, offering him a hand up. 

“What the heck are you doing attacking us?!” Star fumed, her cheeks puffing up in anger, making her whole face go red, her hearts turning into small explosions. 

“Yeah, seriously, what’s the deal?” Tom asked hotly, aggressively patting himself free of dirt, his own cheeks now burning volcanos. “I thought you were supposed to be on our side.”

“I’m off the clock,” Higgs explained simply. 

“So that gives you the right to try and kill us!” Star exclaimed.

Higgs scoffed. “Don’t be so dramatic, Your Highness. I’m a professional, you guys were never in any real danger. I just wanted to ruff you all up a bit.”

“You threw a knife at my face!” Tom shouted, pointing to said face, which by now was ablaze with rage. 

“Oh relax, it was plastic,” Higgs assured them, resheathing her sword. “If I really wanted you dead, you already would be,” she added in a disconcerting tone.

 Star just rolled her eyes. “What are you doing out here, anyways, other than trying to scare us to death!?”

“Same thing as you, I assume. Trying to get my hands on the Perfect Sandwich,” Higgs explained.

“Oh perfect,” Tom muttered under his breath. “Just what we need, more distractions.”

“That’s great!” Marco excitedly pitched in, moving towards Higgs for a hug. “Then that means you can come with us to-”

“Whoooa!” Higgs exclaimed, holding the boy back with one hand to his forehead. “Slow down there, nerd! Who said I was teaming up with you guys?”

“Well I just figured you would want to,” Marco explained, giving her an innocent, puppy dog look. Higgs blushed and turned away from the boy to keep the power that look held from fully taking hold. 

Higgs gave Marco a gentle push away, causing him to stumble back a few steps. “Sorry, my dude, but I already got a team.”

“And are they as murdery as you?” Star asked bitterly.

“Eh, depends on my mood,” a voice said from the bushes and Tom’s face instantly went pale. He closed his eyes afraid to turn and face the smug teen who undoubtedly had emerged from the bushes to taunt him. No, no, not her! Not now! 

“Hey hotshot,” a soft voice whispered in his ear, their warm breath tickling his ear. 

Tom screamed and jumped a good foot off the ground, before turning to Janna with a scowl. “Janna!” he growled, grinding his teeth at his crush in frustration, for a moment his anger winning out over his heart. “What the heck are you doing here?!”

“Looking for the sandwich, duh, thought that was obvious,” Janna said, doing a little hair flip that drove Tom’s heart mad (which was probably why she did it). 

“Wait, you're here with her!?” Star exclaimed, pointing to Higgs in disbelief.

“Actually we both are,” Jackie said, stepping out into the open as well. 

“Jacks, you too!” Star whined. She couldn’t believe all her friends were turning on her. 

Jackie just shrugged. “Sorry but she made a convincing argument.”

“But I thought you hated Janna,” Marco pointed out, looking over to the redhead for an explanation. 

“I do,” Higgs said plainly, though there was a bit of spite in her tone. “But in order to craft the perfect team for this job, I needed them both. So, I decided to put our differences aside and work together this once.”

“Aw, thanks Higgs,” Janna said in an overly sweet tone, giving her a clearly mocking grin as she batted her eyes at the girl, leaning heavily against the embarrassed Tom.

“Just. This. Once.” Higgs reminded her, jabbing a finger in her direction with every word. 

“Welllll, this is actually perfect!” Marco proclaimed, clapping his hands together once. “You two don’t have to work together at all!” He shot a wink to Tom, before adding, “We can just have Janna join our team and-”

“No way!” Higgs quickly interjected. “You can’t just start stealing teammates from me! I don’t care if you are the crown princess and the prince of the Underworld! This is my team and I decide who goes and stays!”

“Aw, thanks Higgs,” Janna said sarcastically. 

“Shut up, I still don’t like you!” Higgs shot back.

Tom shot his friends a pleading look, inclining his head ever so slightly towards the smirking Janna and the couple nodded in understanding, Star even giving him a wink to let him know she’d take care of it. “Well then, why don’t you add Tom to your team?” she asked as subtly as she could.

“And why would I do that?” Higgs asked sharply, raising a skeptical eyebrow. Janna also eyed Tom suspiciously and he did his best to look in the other direction and ignore her. 

“Because he could be really useful to your team,” Marco explained, shooting her a winning grin.

“He can light himself on fire,” Jackie remarked to Higgs, catching on to the plan. “Could be useful for fighting off any enemies we encounter.” 

“We don’t need him for that. That’s what I’m here for,” Higgs said matter-of-factly, shooting the idea down instantly. “I already got the perfect team, I don’t need anyone else. I’m the leader and fighter, Jackie is here because she’s the only person I know who has rock climbing training, and Janna has a weird, obsessive knowledge of this dimension.” 

“I could teach you about it sometime,” Janna said to Tom flirtingly and his eyes lit up with happiness. “That is if you survive.” The spark went out as fear rose up in the boy, all three eyes growing wide with worry. 

“Oh come on, Higgs,” Star insisted. “Can’t you do this one thing for us?! Not as your rulers but as your friends?” 

“Right now, I have no friends, only allies and enemies,” Higgs said with a violent and foreboding gleam in her eye. Marco, Star, and Tom all took a step away from the girl knight, clearly off-put by her offhanded threat. 

“Don’t you think that’s a little extreme, Higgs?” Jackie asked in a scolding tone.

“Hey, who’s in charge of this team?” the redhead snapped back. 

“Nobody,” Jackie and Janna said as one. “You just started bossing us both around,” Jackie added with a monotone voice. 

“Because I’m the leader!” Higgs barked. “Now let’s get going before these losers try and convert us with their lame love and friendship.” She marched off in a huff of pure negativity and stubbornness, spurred on by her single-minded drive to win. 

“Welp, guess that’s our cue to leave,” Jackie said, before giving her friends a wide, sheepish grin as she snapped on her helmet. “Sorry for all the trouble, dudes. Good luck!” She then took off after Higgs on her skateboard, leaving a small trail of dust behind her. 

Janna and Tom’s eyes met for a moment and the boy felt a deep longing clawing away at his heart. The beanie-wearing teen stared at him expectantly, her eyes glittering with some kind of hope beyond just her typical playful mischievousness. Tom opened his mouth to speak, to perhaps talk her out of her decision, but the words didn’t come. His anxiety got the better of him again and so he just swallowed and said, “Uhhh, good luck, Janna.” He offered her a hand to shake. “May the best team win, I guess.” He chuckled awkwardly, wishing the ground would just suck him up and free him from this situation. 

“Oh we will,” Janna said slyly, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Try not to die out there, hotshot.”

Tom felt a flicker of anger and shot back aggressively, “Oh you don’t need to worry about me, I can handle a little nature.” 

“Oh really,” the creepy girl replied, hiding a cryptic smile. 

“Yeah, in fact, I think you should be more worried about yourself,” Tom replied, feeling a competitive streak start to overpower his instincts. “Cause I’m gonna beat you so hard, you’re gonna wish you never even heard about that sandwich.” 

“Is that so?” Janna’s eyebrow raised and Tom started to feel his heart beat fast. Was she actually finding this impressive? Was she flirting with him? Maybe this was his chance to-

“You’re standing in quicksand,” she said simply, before turning and following after her group. 

Tom looked down to see everything up to his ankles was gone, buried underground as the soft dirt betrayed him and turned into sinking sand. “Oh come on!” Tom yelled to the heavens, demanding to know why they chose now of all times to listen to his nervous thoughts. 

“Hang on, Tom!” Star said, her and Marco at the boy’s side in an instant, both grabbing an arm and pulling as hard as they could. The hot-headed teen’s body however seemed determined to stay where it was, the dirt latching onto him and becoming an impossibly sticky and persistent substance. “We’ll have you out in just a second!” Marco reassured his friend but Tom was having his doubts about that.

“Take your time,” Tom grumbled, looking to Janna's retreating figure sadly, watching as she disappeared from view, his heart sinking faster than the quicksand. He let out a regretful sigh, feeling low… or maybe that was just his body sinking deeper into the deadly sand. Either way, it was still painful.

Marco noticed his friend’s depressed demeanor and said in a positive tone, “Hey, so I know things aren’t going exactly as we planned but, uh, we can still make this work!” 

“Like maybe telling her how you feel,” Star suggested through gritted teeth, digging her heels into the ground as she pulled on Tom with all her might. 

“No way!” Tom exclaimed fearfully, before quickly hiding it behind a confident mask. “We just need to get to that sandwich first. Easy as pie.”

“But don’t you think competing with Janna ruins the whole point of the plan,” Marco skeptically wondered, even stopping his efforts to free Tom for a second to ponder this course of action.

“Marco, pull!” Star yelled in a strained tone, her arms feeling like lead and her back starting to ache. 

“Oh right!” Marco grunted as the two gave one last pull on Tom’s limbs, their combined force enough to finally rip the teen free of the quicksand. The three were thrown into a heap on the floor and all sat up deliriously, rubbing at their several aching limbs. 

“Marco’s right though, Tom. Are you sure there isn’t a simpler solution to this?” Star asked, sitting up on hands and knees. She and her boyfriend watched Tom closely as they waited for an answer. Tom paused to think for a second before hopping to his feet decisively, brushing himself down.

“Relax, girls love a little competition,” the flaming teen declared confidently. A little too confidently. “You’ll see, after I beat her to that sandwich she’ll be begging to be my girlfriend.”  

Star and Marco shared looks of doubt, the young couple wondering what they had just gotten themselves into. However, Marco did add reluctantly, “Uhhh, but you know they are way ahead of us, right?”

…

“How many pits of quicksand are there in this stickin’ dimension!?” Tom shouted as his friends were once again having to pull him out of the sticky substance… for the sixth time in a row. He looked down at the brown sludge with distaste, adding, “And what even is this stuff, anyways?!”

“It’s peanut butter quicksand,” Marco explained, giving another sharp tug on Tom’s arm. “This whole area is filled with them.”

 “Which you would have known about if you hadn’t rushed ahead of us before we could tell you,” Star pointed out bitterly, her frustration beginning to show.

“Yeah well, I’m the reason we’re so far ahead of those three, thanks to my clever shortcut,” Tom replied defensively, turning his head to the side in a pout. He didn’t appreciate being lectured by his teammates. After all, they were only there to help him, the least they could do was not constantly point out his mistakes.

“Oh yeah you falling down that hill really helped save us time,” Star sarcastically replied, rolling her eyes. She gave Tom’s arm a very rough tug and the boy cried out in pain, before glaring the blonde royal down.

Marco, seeing an argument about to ensue, cut in, saying in a cheery tone, “Buuutt on the bright side, at least we are ahead of the others.” 

“That’s what you think!” Higgs' voice rang out and the group all stopped their pulling to look over and see the red headed knight approaching, her two teammates following closely behind her. 

“Seriously?!” Tom yelled, his cheek flames simmering as the tips of his hair began smoking. The peanut butter quicksand started to melt under Tom’s intense heat, not quite enough to free him though. 

“There’s quicksand all over the place,” Marco yelled in warning as he saw the three girls weren’t slowing their approach. “Be careful!”

“Ha, that’s exactly what I brought my expert for!” Higgs called before slowing her pace some. “Janna, I choose you!” she yelled, holding out a hand dramatically as the beanie-wearing teen pulled ahead of her, reaching into her jacket pockets and pulling out two jars of grape jelly. 

“Jelly?” both Star and Marco questioned as one, cocking their heads to the side. Neither had returned to freeing Tom from the sandy deathtrap he was still waist deep in. 

Janna used her thumbs to pop the lids of the jelly off before whipping the jars through the air dramatically in front of her, causing delicious jam to go flying. The technique proved super effective, as the whole ground in front of her was coated in grape-y goodness, blending in perfectly with the peanut butter so she was able to walk across the quicksand with no issue. She continued to fling the jars back and forth in her grip, spraying jam all over her path, creating safe passage across the untrustworthy ground. Higgs and Jackie also had no issue getting across, the redhead shooting a triumphant grin to her stunned competition. 

“B-B-But how?!” Tom exclaimed in complete disbelief. Star and Marco seemed equally as flabbergasted by what they were witnessing, too shocked to speak. 

Janna stopped to shrug. “Hey, what’s the one thing that goes with peanut butter? Jelly.”

Tom was too stupefied to respond to that, just spluttering out nonsense and half-sentences. 

“Which reminds me,” Janna continued calmly, reaching into her jacket pocket again and pulling out a new jar, this one bright red. “You guys are gonna need this.” She tossed the jar towards them and Marco caught it with ease. “Thank you!” Marco said, waving to his friend.

“Don’t say I never did anything for you, hotshot!” Janna yelled over her shoulder just before her and her team were out of earshot. 

Tom’s face was bright red the moment she was gone and he wished the quicksand would just hurry up and do the job. He wasn’t sure he could ever live today down and it wasn’t even over yet. Could today get any worse?

“Hey, strawberry,” Marco commented, turning the jar where the two could read it. 

“Aren’t you allergic to strawberries, Tom?” Star asked, slowly raising an eyebrow.

Tom let out a long, deep sigh. “Yes.”

…

“Keep going! Run!”

“There’s too many of them! We’ll never make it!”

“Yes we will don’t give up hope!” 

“Ow! OW! OWWWWW!! It got me, I’m hit!”

“Marco noooo!” Star yelled, turning to her boyfriend, fearfully. One of the giant grilled cheese sandwich monsters had the boy tightly in its clutches, the boy struggling to escape its claws. Star pulled back the string of her bow-wand, a glowing magical arrow appearing, before she released the string, sending the beam of magic hurling towards the beast. The arrow lodged into the sandwich creature’s stomach before exploding into a burst of light and magic, destroying the creature and dropping Marco safely to the ground. 

Star ran over to help her boyfriend up, looking him over for injuries. “Marco, are you okay! Does anything hurt!” she yelled in fear. 

Marco shook his head. “No. Thankfully my cape broke the fall,” he explained, holding a corner of the cape up for Star to see, the end now singed. 

“Would you two focus before we end up these things’ next meal?!” a voice yelled from above and the two looked around to see more of the sandwich creatures emerging from the lava that surrounded the group on all sides. The creatures oozed burning hot cheese, their bready torsos black and charred, and each one had a sharp layer of dripping fangs. They had long thick arms made of pretzels, their gnarled fingers sharped to a fine and deadly point, making them creatures to fear. Tom was using his flames to float above the battleground while also trying to shoot the sandwich creatures off the few volcanic rocks they had to get them across the lava moat but it was proving ineffective against the beasts, fire only made them stronger. 

Star pulled Marco behind her for safety before pulling back the string of her bow once more, ready to unleash a volley of magic arrows on the beasts. “Why are they attacking us anyway?”

“Is this part of the quest?” Marco asked nervously.

“Well duh, they're obviously the Guardians of the Sandwich!” someone shouted from up ahead. 

Tom turned to glare at the beanie-wearing girl and her team. “You knew about these things?! Why didn’t you give us a head’s up!”

Janna shrugged, watching as Higgs made quick work of her own cheese-filled opponents. “I figured you’d like a surprise.”

“Not one that could kill us!” Tom screamed down to his secret crush. 

“Uhhh, did you seriously forget you’re immune to lava?” Janna commented, gesturing to the boiling liquid for emphasis. 

Tom was lost for words for a second before finally replying, “No. I just… I’m worried about the rest of you. I mean, Marco burns easy.”

“It’s true!” Marco yelled from further back.

“Aww, that’s cute,” Janna said, twisting a small stand of hair around her finger. “But you don’t need to worry about me. I can handle myself.” Just as those words left Janna’s mouth, Higgs kicked one of the unfortunate monsters back, causing it to roll back into the lava it came from. It’s sharp pretzel nails dug into the rocky ground, trying to keep itself from falling in completely and a small crack followed, billowing out towards where Janna was standing. Soon the rock split open and the creepy teen could only let out a gasp before she fell towards the deadly lava beneath her. 

But luckily, Tom was faster, heating up his flames to their very limit so he could move fast enough to snatch Janna up just in time, saving her from her deadly plight. He held the girl bridal style, flying her high above the danger, trying to ignore the blushing in his cheeks or heavy pounding in his heart as he gave her a smooth grin. “You were saying,” he said sarcastically, his gloating nature and heroic victory giving him escape from his awkwardness for just a moment. 

And then to Tom’s immense surprise, Janna actually blushed and turned her head away from view as if she was embarrassed? At first Tom thought it was a trick since he had always believed Janna was incapable of such an emotion, then he wondered if his body temperature was too high and her cheeks were turning red from the uncomfortable heat but that didn’t seem to be it either. But the next words she spoke shocked him to his very core. “Well I’m never gonna live that one down,” she uttered, her tone surprisingly soft and fragile. 

She finally met his eye and there was honest gratitude in her clear gaze. “Thanks for the save,” she said, the closest Tom thought Janna could come to sounding sweet. It was clearly a challenge for her to get the words out, to give up her pride by admitting defeat. He knew normally she would put up a much bigger fight. Was she doing this… for his sake? Tom realized that had to be it. Janna was always in control of herself, so if she was dropping her guard for him and accepting humility then she was doing it consciously. Which only left Tom more stunned. Janna always managed to surprise him but this had to be the strangest thing she had ever done. 

And it was probably the most romantic thing anyone had ever done for him.

Suddenly, the nervous butterflies returned to fill his stomach and seal up his tongue as he stuttered out a much too late response, “U-Uh, y-yeah, sure. I do fly good. I mean I’m pretty good at flying. I mean, uh, nevermind.” Tom’s cheeks were no longer burning just because of his powers. The humiliation was back again, too. Just perfect. 

Tom set Janna safely down on the other side of the lava path, the others still courageously fighting their way across. The boy stood there awkwardly for a few seconds trying to think of something witty to say but with Janna this close no words came to mind. Luckily, Janna seemed to have recovered from her shock as she smirked at him and asked in a playful tone, “So, you’re just letting me and my team be in the lead, huh? Thought you and your team were interested in winning?”

Tom frowned at her. “Well I mean technically I’m here too, so right now our teams are tied.” 

“And what if I try and go on ahead?” Janna asked, a mischievous smile on her face. She was clearly enjoying this game. “Are you gonna stop me?”

Tom snorted. “Please, I’d love to see you try and get past me.”

Janna gave him a flirting look as she leaned in closer to the boy, making him very nervous, which he did his best to hide. “Well I hate to break it to you, chief,” the beanie-wearing girl said softly in a breathy tone that made all other thoughts in Tom’s brain come to a screeching halt. “But you might want to check up on your team.”

Tom was so distracted by his racing heartbeat that it took him a few seconds to process this, blinking at the girl with a lost look. Janna just inclined her head in the direction of the lava and rock path, the boy glancing across with a spaced-out expression. That was until he saw that Star and Marco were surrounded by at least eight of the beasts and clearly in need of help and his brain returned to him. “Oh no!” he screamed, before flying off to help his friends just as Higgs and Jackie reached Janna, the two girls beating off all the sandwich monsters with ease. 

“So what’d we miss?” Jackie asked, raising an eyebrow at her roommate. 

Janna shrugged. “Nothing much.”

Higgs let out a frustrated groan. “Good, because we don’t have time for it!” she snapped, before turning to the towering, rock structure before them. “Now let’s get climbing before the others catch up.”

“Sure thing, O Bossy One,” Janna said, doing a fake salute. 

Higgs ignored this insult as she turned to the skater girl. “Jackie, do your thing.”

“There’s too many of them! I can’t fight them all!” Star screamed, taking a step back when one of the grilled beasts strutted forward. She aimed her bow back and forth at the three that were approaching, trying to ward them off from coming any closer but the beasts seemed to know their prey was cornered. She was back to back with Marco, who was staring up at his own two sandwich monsters fearfully. 

Marco glanced sadly over his shoulder, wanting to get one last look at his girlfriend before the end. So this was how his quest would end, eaten alive by a boiling grilled cheese sandwich monster along with the girl of his dreams. It definitely wasn’t how he was expecting to go out. He only wished Star wasn’t there, so at least one of them would make it out alive. “Star, if this is the end, there’s something I need to tell you,” Marco said in a grim tone. He felt tears in his eyes as he finally admitted, “You were the best smooch buddy I’ve ever had!”

“Oh, Marco!” Star gasped out, tears flooding her own vision and she lowered the bow to her side so she could gently grip Marco’s hand in her own, one last time, unafraid of what came next. “You too! You were the best smooch buddy a girl could ever have!” 

All five beasts roared as they went in for the final kill, Star and Marco closing their eyes tight. Only for a ring of fire to burst up from the ground around the two, completely blocking off the beasts who all paused their assault in confusion. This gave Tom enough time to swoop down and scoop up his two friends from their perilous situation, gripping each of them around the waist. “Geez, you two are so dramatic,” Tom commented, rolling his eyes.

“Tom!” Star and Marco screamed as one. “You saved us!” Marco added excitedly. 

“Well, duh, I wasn’t going to let my two best friends die before we complete our quest, right?” Tom replied smoothly.

Star rolled her eyes. “Oh right, cause that’s all we’re good for,” she countered.

“You know what I mean,” Tom replied. “And good news is, I can fly us right up to the top of the mountain so we’ll be way ahead of the others.” 

“Sooooo, why didn’t you just do that in the first place?” Marco asked curiously.

Tom blushed before admitting, “Uhhh, I didn’t think of it.” 

Star and Marco just giggled before flashing each other loving grins, just happy to be alive and safe and, most importantly, together. The three soared freely through the sky, Tom directing them high above the treetops, aiming for the large mountain in the perfect shape of a club sandwich. The group soon spotted Jackie, Janna, and Higgs climbing up the mountain's stone face, the skater girl expertly scaling the structure with ease, while her companions were much further down, the three all linked together with bungee cords around their waists as a safety measure. 

As Tom flew past them, Jackie stopped to wave, yelling, “Good luck, you guys!” 

“Jackie! Stop cheering for the competition!” Higgs barked, fuming now that her team was lagging behind the enemy. “We need to focus on winning!”

This caused Jackie to stop her ascent, looking down at her friend with a scolding look, "Higgs I know you want to win but don't you think your taking this whole thing too far?" 

"Uh, no!" Higgs exclaimed, trying to avoid any movement as she clung tightly to the rock wall. "I'm just doing what's necessary to win."

"By yelling and treating your friends like dirt," Jackie pointed out.

This caused Higgs to hesitate, her stoney facade slipping slightly. "You just… wouldn't get it," she finally muttered, not meeting Jackie's eye but still avoiding any eye contact with the ground. Jackie really couldn't have picked a worse time to bring all this up, when Higgs was at her most vulnerable. She had been too brave and proud to admit her crippling fear of heights and had no plans to mention it either. Which was why she now was very much regretting her decision to come up here, since it was unlikely she could keep her fear hidden for long.

Jackie let out a long sigh before saying, "Maybe not. But I think if you want to keep your friends, you might think about changing your perspective a little." 

"Okay I'll think about it! Now can we just go!" Higgs exclaimed, trying to block out all the fearful things around her. Here she was dangling hundreds of feet off the ground, the distance a tangible force that seemed to be pushing down on her. She could feel the fierce wind on her back, sending shivers down her spine. She tried to hide the shudder but Jackie had picked up on it already. The skater instantly knew the source of Higgs' discomfort and took pity on her, continuing their climb without another word on the subject. Janna, however, was not so kind. 

She turned to the redhead with a knowing smirk asking, "What's wrong, Higgs? Dont care for climbing?" It was clear from Janna's tone she had discovered the night's dirty secret.

“Oh shut up,” Higgs mumbled, her cheeks now as red as her face. Janna snickered and Higgs probably would have punched her, if she didnt fear movement of any kind right then. Still, she made a mental note to get back at the creepy teen later.

Once Tom, Star, and Marco were back on solid ground again, ending up at the mouth of a large cave carved into the center of the mountain, they all let out cheers of joy. “We did it!” Marco yelled, throwing his arms wide, making his cape flap heroically in the wind. “We beat the quest!”

“Yeah, that wasn’t so bad!” Tom admitted, smiling in relief. It had been long, exhausting (not to mention humiliating) work but the prince was just happy to finally have it over with.

“I knew you could do it, Tom!” Star exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her friend's neck. “Now you can finally tell Janna how you really feel!” 

Tom blushed before replying softly, “Uh, yeah…” he paused, before adding nervously, “But I mean, hopefully once I give her that sandwich I’m sure she’ll be the one begging to be my girlfriend.” 

“Uh, wait, back up,” Star said, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving him a concerned frown. “I thought the whole plan was to break the ice with her by giving her the sandwich as a gift. And then you tell her the truth.”

Tom shrugged, clearly trying to pass it off as nothing. “Well, you know how it is,” he said smoothly, waving a nonchalant hand in the air. “Plans change. This is gonna be much more effective, trust me.” The boy then turned and strutted through the cave opening, leaving Star and Marco lost in concerned thoughts. 

Within the damp cave, Tom had expected to find the Perfect Sandwich sitting on some pedestal or something, waiting to be claimed and devoured by its owner. Maybe there would be some bold spotlight shining down on it from the heavens or a red carpet leading up to the otherworldly treat, something to make this whole stupid quest worthwhile. But the only reward Tom received upon entering the cave was a large wave of bad breath from the enormous monster asleep in the middle of the cave. The beast was easily the size of a house and shaded a dark purple color that looked almost grey in the dim lighting. On its back were hundreds of tubes jutting out of it’s back that would pour out hot air with every breath the beast took. The creature seemed lost in a deep sleep as it snored loudly, breathing hot and disgusting breath all over the poor prince. 

Tom nearly gagged but managed to hold it in as he pinched the bridge of his nose and examined the beast closely. What did this thing have to do with the perfect sandwich? “Whoooaa,” he heard Marco utter behind him and turned to give the two a cynical glare. He gestured up at the beast, his eyes demanding an explanation for this creature instead of his well-earned prize. “What the heck is this thing and where is my stinkin’ sandwich?” he whispered angrily. 

Marco scratched at his chin in thought. “Wellll I do think Kelly mentioned the sandwich having a guardian. I just assumed those sandwich guys were it.” 

“Then where’s the sandwich?!” Tom hissed, trying to hold back his temper as best he could.

“Maybe it’s in one of those tube thingies?” Star suggested, pointing up at the creature’s back. 

Tom let out a long sigh before declaring bitterly, “Fine, then I’ll get it myself.” He flew up onto the beast’s back and started looking into each hole for any signs of his great reward. 

Star, however, feared waking the beast and so quickly called up to her friend in a whispered yell, “Tom, wait, don’t you think you should take it slow?” 

“There’s no time,” Tom replied, digging his hand into one of the holes so he could search the bottom. “I need that sandwich now.” 

Seeing her friend was beyond reason, carefully and slowly climbed up the beast’s side, Marco watching her nervously with held breath. She grabbed Tom’s wrist gently, hoping to stop him from making a terrible mistake. “Tom, hang on, there has to be a better way.” 

“Well then you're welcome to come up with it,” Tom snapped at his friend, pulling out of her grip. “Meanwhile I’m finishing this quest.”

Star held in a groan before trying again. “Why are you being so stubborn about this? You can’t keep changing the plan on us and expect us to be okay with it-”

“Look, are you on my team or not?!” the prince hissed, glaring back at his friend with red, glowing eyes. “I thought you were trying to support me, not hold me back!” 

“I am!” Star shot back defensively, her tone raising along with her friends. “You’re just being too stubborn to listen to me!” 

“Because I can handle this by myself! I don’t need you!” Tom countered, leaning in close to Star’s face.. 

Star matched his intimidating stare, shoving her face right into his, so they were literally nose to nose. “What is the matter with you?! Why are you getting so worked up over this!” 

Marco cringed as he watched his friends breaking out into a fight, his brain searching for some way to get them to make up, not wanting a repeat of last time. But before he could come up with anything realistic, a grumbling caught his attention. He looked over at the beast and saw that it was shifting restlessly in its sleep, its eyes squeezing shut in some attempt to stay asleep. “Um, guys?” Marco whispered nervously up to his friends, taking a large step back. 

“Because it’s important to me!” Tom shouted. “Something I guess you just don’t understand!” 

“Seriously?! I let you come on this quest entirely because I did understand! The only thing I don’t get is why you are insisting on rushing everything and making it worse!” Star threw her hands in the air for extra emphasis. 

“Guys…” Marco muttered, watching fearfully as the beast started shifting around in its sleep, looking close to waking.

“I don’t have to take this,” Tom declared, turning and sticking his hand straight down into one of the tubs without looking. “I have a girlfriend to win.”

Star scoffed, crossing her arms. “Oh yeah, like that plans gonna work!” the blonde said sarcastically. “Have you even met, Janna? If she was gonna confess to you, she would have done it already!”

“Guys seriously, I think you should stop-”

“That’s just because she hasn’t seen what a cool guy I am,” Tom shot back, looking a little hurt by this. 

Star leaned over the tube Tom was digging around in, shooting him a disdainful look. “Noooo, she already has feelings for you, she’s only waiting because you won’t confess to her face!” 

“Guys!” Marco yelled just as the beast’s eyes shot open. A loud yawn filled the cave as the beast stretched out it’s stubby limbs, Star and Tom holding on tight to the tube, steam blowing their hair wildly around as the beast slowly woke. The beast rubbed one of its eyes lazily, before glancing down at its feet where it spotted Marco. The creature leaned down so it was level with the trembling boy, who gave a nervous wave and smile. Then the beast released an ear-splitting roar and every single one of the tubes poured out a thick layer of hot steam. Star and Tom were both shot into the air thanks to said steam, screaming in fright before they landed directly inside the very same tube, which expanded to fit their size as it swallowed them whole. “Star! Tom!” Marco screamed, terrified for his two besties. 

But Marco had other things to worry about as the beast jumped towards him and he had to roll out of the way to avoid getting crushed by huge feet. The beast then turned to him with a snarl, a deadly look in its eyes. Marco slowly backed away trying to think of some kind of plan. The beast tried to swipe at him and he took a step back, just barely avoiding the paw, before turning and running as far away from the creature as his feet would take him. The creature continued to chase Marco around the cave, the boy zig-zagging in some attempt to dodge the beast. Despite its massive size, the beast wasn’t very fast so thankfully Marco was mostly able to avoid it but he couldn’t run forever and he knew it. 

Finally the cape-wielding boy jumped behind a rock for cover, hoping it was enough to buy him time. Luckily, the beast seemed to have lost track of Marco, looking around the dark cave and sniffing the air. Marco panted heavily as he slowly stood up, peeking over the top of the rock to try and watch the creature’s movements. The beast had its back to Marco, sniffing suspiciously around a rock that was oddly in the shape of a human. Marco breathed a sigh of relief, wiping some sweat off his forehead, thankful he was safe from the beast for a moment, only for his phone to ring, his favorite song ‘Space Unicorn’ playing at top volume. This drew the creature’s attention as it charged at the rock at top speed, Marco jumping out of the way, just in time to avoid being crushed as it rammed into the rock, shattering it. 

Marco ran for his life, quickly answering his phone and yelling into the speaker, “Yes, this is Marco!”

“Marco, it’s us,” the voice of Star said and Marco nearly cried with relief. 

“Star! You’re alive!” 

“Yeah but we’re both stuck in this tube-thing,” Star explained in a strained tone. 

“Okay, don’t worry, I’ll come rescue you!” Marco declared bravely.

“No! You’ll only get stuck too! Go get Higgs and the others, hopefully Janna will know a way for us to get out.”

“Okay, I’m on it!” Marco said, still as confident as before.

“What? No way!” Tom protested from the other end of the line. “I’m not asking them for help! I don’t want Janna to see me like this!”

“Well it’s either that or we stay stuck in here forever!” Star snapped.

“....I can live with that.”

“Tom, we’re getting Janna,” Star said, her voice leaving no room for argument. “Think you can handle that Marco?” she said into the phone.

“Yep, don’t worry! We’ll have you out of there before you know it!” 

“Great, I believe in you,” Star said, before hanging up the phone. 

“Why did you do that?!” Tom demanded, the second his friend was off the phone.

“Uhh, maybe because I don’t want to be stuck like this forever!” Star exclaimed, gesturing to their current position. The two were wedged tightly together in the small tube, several limbs entangling thanks to the close contact. There wasn’t even enough room for them to stand so that left them in an uncomfortable crouch, staring each other down.

“It’s not so bad,” Tom argued weakly.

“No offense but I’m not fond of the idea of dying in here with you,” Star said plainly. 

Tom let out a long groan. “Yeah, yeah, I know…” he muttered before staring sadly down at his feet. “I just didn’t want Janna to know I screwed up.” 

“What is the deal with you lately?” Star asked, giving her friend a concerned look. “I mean I get you want Janna to like you but don’t you think you’re going a little overboard?”

“I just wanted everything to be perfect,” Tom exclaimed, his voice echoing around the small tube, his words jumping back at him and mocking him. “I needed everything to be perfect.” 

“Yeah well, you tried that and look how that turned out,” Star pointed out in a deadpan manner. Seeing the depression in her friend’s eyes she added in a softer tone, “Tom, what’s really going on? Why are you acting so weird?”

“It’s nothing. Just forget about it,” Tom stubbornly replied.

Star rolled her eyes. “Oh come on, we’ve been friends for how long? You really think I can’t tell when something’s bothering you?” 

Tom stared blankly ahead for a few seconds before slamming his head back into the tube. “I just wanted Janna to like me, that’s all,” he admitted bitterly.

“Well then why didn’t you just tell her how you feel?” Star asked in confusion. “Instead of going through all this and having to play up the whole cool guy act, which by the way, wasn’t really working.” 

“Because I can’t,” Tom simply replied.

That response didn’t surprise Star. Tom always was a stubborn one. “Sure you can! I’m sure if you just tell her the truth then she’ll-”

“You don’t understand, I can’t be myself, I can’t mess up with another girl!” Tom shouted, tears surfacing in the corner of his eyes. 

“Wait, another girl?” 

Tom’s eyes widened in fear and he quickly looked away from his friend. “I-I didn’t mean that…”

“What are you talking about, Tom?” Star asked, giving him a quizzical look, trying to read his nervous facial features. “Did you… like someone before Janna?”

Tom took in a long, deep breath, shifting uncomfortably as he seemed to be debating with himself to admit whatever secret was hiding deep within himself. For a moment he seemed intent to stare at anything but Star’s face but finally he met her glance and her soft expression, parted the words from his lips. “Yeah, I did. I used to have… a crush on you.”

Star was stunned. Her eyes went wide and she just stared at her old friend in complete shock, suddenly the awkward closeness they were stuck in felt even more awkward. Her whole face heated up with a blush as her brain scanned over all their times together as kids, searching for answers. “M-M-Me?! You had a crush on me?”

“Uh yeah, wasn’t that obvious?” Tom asked, his own blush beginning to form. “I mean the way I’d always hang around you and do stuff with you all the time and get jealous when you’d spend time with anyone else.”

“I-I mean, I just always thought you were a little clingy,” Star stuttered, her brain still reeling with this knowledge. 

“Why do you think I hated Marco so much when I first met him? Or why I fought so hard to win you back?” 

“Welll, I-I-” The two’s faces were now both painted red, not able to make eye contact. The silence just continued to stretch until they both begged for it to end but neither knew what to say to end it. “Ummm, sooo…” Star started, struggling to word things right. “Do you… still have a crush on me?”

Tom shook his head. “No, not anymore. I guess for a while I ‘thought’ I did but when Janna came into the picture I didn’t know what to think.”

“So when did you stop, stop?” Star asked gently, trying to ease him into the question.

“I guess during the Blood Moon Ball when I found out you were dating Marco. I guess that was when I let myself realize my true feelings for Janna.” 

“I didn’t know,” Star admitted, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry I never realized…”

“It’s okay, I never told you because deep down I knew you didn’t feel the same way,” Tom replied, giving her a friendly grin. “And even if I did it’s not like I did anything to really earn you.”

“Tom, come on, don’t do that to yourself! You’re a great friend and you’ve come so far since-” Star stopped, realizing now the moment Tom was so afraid of repeating, why he was so awkward around Janna and trying so hard not to mess things up.

Tom finished for her, saying in a sad, depressed tone, “Since I ruined our friendship. I let my anger and jealousy take over and it nearly ruined everything. It certainly killed any chance we had to get together.” The boy slammed his head back into the wall again, satisfied at the light pain it caused. “And I can’t do that again! Not with Janna! I really, really like her! I can’t mess it up! But now I’ve ruined everything again! There’s no way she’d ever want to date me after all this!”

“Tom, calm down!” Star interrupted, raising her voice enough it was able to cut through her friend’s panicked meltdown. 

Slowly, the boy’s breathing went back to normal, staring straight into Star’s blue eyes, begging for help, for answers. “But what if I mess it up again? Like I did with me and you?” Tom asked, his eyes searching for genuine advice, flooded with terror and self-doubt. It was clear he no longer trusted himself to make the right decision, instead looking to Star for answers, trusting in his friend and past crush for help. 

And despite the confession, despite the slight awkwardness built between them, and the tight space they were both uncomfortably crammed into, Star couldn’t betray that trust. Tom was important to her, he was a good friend and she wouldn’t let some silly past crush prevent herself from seeing that. “Look, Tom, what happened before with me and you, that’s in the past. You’re not the same guy you were back then. You’ve grown so much since that day and I think it’s time you showed Janna that.”

“How do I do that?” Tom asked.

“By doing what I’ve said to be doing all along, being yourself,” Star explained, grabbing his face and holding it in place so she could make sure the message was getting through. “You hear me. No elaborate plans, no cool guy act, no showing off, just be honest with her.” She released him before saying with a casual smile, “It’ll do wonders, trust me.”

“Hmmmm,” Tom hummed to himself, his head tossing the idea over a few times. Star didn’t speak as she waited for her friend to come to his own conclusions, watching as his head tilted back and forth indecisively. “Just be honest,” he mused out loud. “Bold. Definitely risky. But… I like it.” 

Star rolled her eyes. “Great. So hopefully that’ll be the end of Mr. Charge-Right-Into-Danger-And-Get-Us-Eaten,” she said in a playful tone.

“It was one time!” Tom shouted defensively. 

“Like 20 minutes ago,” Star shot back, matching Tom’s aggressive tone.

Tom scoffed. “That’s like an eternity in Neverzone time,” he said dismissively. 

“Not in the Neverzone,” Star pointed out. 

 Once again their glares turned into mutual laughter, the uncomfortable tension finally lifting as their friendship finally overpowered the awkward confession. They continued to share the giggle fit, letting it stretch on for as long as the other would allow before it finally began to die down on its own. “So, are we.... good?” Tom asked, once they had both regained composure. 

“Yeah, we’re good,” Star replied, giving him a friendly smile. 

Tom let out a breath of relief, before admitting, “Thank goodness, I was worried I’d have to move to a new dimension after admitting that.”

Star giggled a little. “Naaaahhhh, maybe just one of the swamps. Those things are perfect for hiding away in. Or y’know maybe a cave… so long as there isn’t a deadly yarn monster inside.”

 Tom’s smile was immediately traded for an annoyed frown, the boy growling under his breath as his cheek flames simmered. “Ugh, you screw up one time and people don’t let you live it down!” he proclaimed dramatically, crossing his arms in front of his chest. 

“Y’know, I’m starting to sense a pattern of you getting me almost killed by a giant beast,” Star thoughtfully added. 

Tom rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, same for you,” he snarkily replied. But then on a more serious note he added with slight irritation, “Speaking of, you think those guys can take any longer to free us?”

At that moment, hot air started blowing all through the tub, pushing powerfully against Star and Tom, the two screaming in surprise and discomfort, helpless against the hot wind. It wasn’t long before the pressure managed to shove them out of the tight space, propelling them high into the air. Star pulled out her wand and quickly summoned Cloudy for them to land on, who floated them both gently to the ground. Once Cloudy disappeared in a puff of smoke, the two fell to the hard floor in a disheveled heap, their clothes wrinkled and their hair nothing but messy, tangled knots as they panted heavily, clinging onto the ground for dear life. 

“Star!” Marco called joyfully, tackling his girlfriend in a tight hug. “You're okay!” his voice was choked with worry and Star gave him a reassuring squeeze. 

“Yeah, I’m good,” she replied, although her voice trembled some. 

“What the heck just happened?!” Tom exclaimed, much more outward with how shaken and confused he was.

“I’ll tell you what happened,” the smug voice of Higgs spoke up, standing over the three in a superior manner. “We just saved your life, duh.” 

“Uh, actually Janna saved them,” Jackie pointed out from behind her.

“Details, details,” Higgs said, waving the comment off. Jackie gave her a disappointed frown that Higgs caught out of the corner of her eye, the redhead adding sincerely, "But yeah, I guess for once that trickster actually did something right." Jackie cleared her throat, prompting the redhead to continue, "And I guess… I'm happy you guys are okay."

But the arrogance returned as Higgs pridefully declared, "Good thing I was here to help save the day!" 

Jackie smiled and rolled her eyes, stepping over to offer her friends a hand up, thinking to herself, Baby steps.

“You good, dudes?” she asked, as she pulled Tom back to his feet, Marco doing the same for Star. 

“Yeah, I think so,” Star replied honestly, while trying to flatten her hair back into a decent shape. “Just really hoping I don’t have to do that again.” 

“I’m sorry, how did we get out exactly?” Tom asked again, still not quite understanding how he was free and alive. 

“See for yourself,” Jackie said, before gesturing over to the giant beast. The creature was laying on its stomach, panting happily as Janna scratched its belly, a calm smile on her face. 

“Janna… tamed it,” Star said in shock.

“Of course she did,” Tom muttered dryly. 

“Oh hey, guys,” Janna said, noticing the attention was now on her. “Glad you could join us.” 

Tom moved closer to the girl, close enough he hoped the others wouldn’t be able to eavesdrop,  giving her a warm, if not anxious smile. “Uh, hey. Thanks for saving us and all that.” 

“Well we can just call it even, hotshot,” Janna casually replied, finally stopping the pets the creature she was perched on top of so desperately wanted. The beast let out a little whine as she jumped off its belly, landing just a foot away from Tom, who flushed instantly. The sandwich-carrying beast continued to whine but when Janna ignored it in favor of Tom, it sulked off to the corner to pout. 

Higgs and the others all went over to raid the beast for the tasty treat it was carrying, the redhead moving with enthused speed. Jackie pet the beast to keep it calm while the others searched the tubes on its back. 

“Right,” Tom responded, feeling his nerves threatening to give out at any second. Out of desperation to not humiliate himself he quickly called on his laid-back and cool demeanor, declaring smugly, “Well, as a thank you, how about I let you go out with me sometime?” 

Janna’s eyes widened for an instant before returning to normal, the only indication of shock she allowed her face to show and she quickly put on a holier-than-thou grin. “Well, I’d have to check my schedule and get back to you,” she quipped. She turned as if to leave and Tom panicked, shouting out to her, “Wait!”

She froze, before slowly turning back to him with that cute, annoying grin that always made his heart go crazy. But he ignored it this time, what he had to say was too important to mess up and for just a second he glanced over at Star for support. The blonde royal and Marco were helping Higgs search for the fabled sandwich, rooting around in tube after tube, but she seemed to notice Tom's eyes on her because she turned her head just enough to meet his eye, flashing him an encouraging grin and a thumbs up. The lightness of Star’s smile gave Tom courage as he remembered the conversation they had had just moments before. 

He let out a long, slow breath, letting the butterflies in his stomach settle and the pumping of his heart slow to a more manageable beat. Then, most importantly, he dropped all facades, all acts and personas he had used his whole life to try and fit in. He didn’t think about how he could embarrass himself or that Janna might reject the real him, thus crushing all the confidence he had spent years building up in one blow. No, he was just going to tell the girl he liked how he really felt, because she deserved the truth and for once, he was going to be honest with himself above all else. “I… I have something important to tell you,” he admitted, his cheeks already starting to heat up both from the wild and uncontrollable burning of his cheekmarks as well as the blush that was settling over them. 

Janna opened her mouth to comment but Tom cut her off. “Don’t talk!” he shouted, more intense than he meant to and so corrected himself by speaking in a gentler tone. “Please, just let me say this first.” Janna gave him a contemplative look for a moment, before shrugging and shifting positions on her feet so she was standing more comfortably. She put a hand on her hip, while gesturing to him with her other hand, letting him know to continue. 

Tom nodded a few times before he started again, clenching his hands tightly together to keep from panicking. “I like you.” The words spilled out of his mouth faster than he could stop them. He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the blush continuing to spread. “I think you’re really cool and weird but like in a good way. And I don’t have many people who can tolerate being around me for too long but you don’t ever seem to mind and that’s really special to me.” He was clenching his fists so hard his palms were starting to bleed. “When we danced at the Blood Moon Ball, that was probably the happiest moment of my life because it felt like I was finally with someone who got me, probably more than I got myself.” He chewed on his lip for a second. This was the hardest part to admit, the part of himself he hated the most. But Janna was worth it. She had shown her hidden sides to him before, so it was only right he did the same. “ I probably don’t have to tell you I have trouble making friends. I mess up… a lot. And I tend to ruin things for myself thanks to my temper.” 

Tom sucked in a deep breath, trying to keep the tears from falling. “So that’s why for the longest time I didn’t know how to confess to you. So I tried to put on an act and impress you, so hopefully you wouldn’t reject me. Heck, I even came to this stupid dimension to get you a sandwich because I thought that was the only way you’d like me! But, I’m done playing games. So, here you go.” He spread his arms wide. “The real Tom. Take it or leave it.” 

Janna’s face was unreadable, a mask of indifference and silent contemplation. Tom could feel his heart pounding out of control, fearful he had just made the biggest mistake of his life. He didn’t know how Janna would respond to his confession. He could never predict Janna, that was why he liked her but for once he wished she was easier to read. Because just standing there with his arms outstretched like he was waiting for a hug while the girl of his dreams just looked him up and down with judging eyes, almost like she was silently calculating his worth, well it was easily the most awkward situation he had been in all day. And that was saying something, considering how many parts of him were still covered in peanut butter. Finally, he added in a low murmur that only made his face heat up even more, “You can talk now, by the way.” 

Tom didn’t dare make eye contact with her just yet, choosing instead to focus on the far wall, his cheeks so hot from his blush it was amazing his whole body wasn’t aflame from embarrassment. He heard no response from Janna at first and he worried that once again her attention had been stolen by something else, like it had back at that Monster village. Just as he was about to risk glancing over at her, he felt something flick him in the forehead and he let out a small cry of pain and surprise. 

Janna just laughed, her voice surprisingly sweet and gentle now and Tom was entranced by this laugh, fascinated to hear anything like it come from the mischievous Janna’s mouth. Said teen had probably the widest and happiest grin on her face Tom had ever seen and it caught him completely off-guard. He had been expecting her to be very Janna about the whole confession, teasing him and messing with him, but not this. Janna really was unpredictable. “About time,” she said in a smug tone, something Tom was more familiar with. “I was starting to think you'd never confess."

"Wait, you did know!" Tom exclaimed loudly, his embarrassment forgotten. So Marco had been right all along, everyone had known about his crush.

Janna rolled her eyes playfully. "Uhhh yeah, we danced together, we kissed and you've been tripping over yourself ever since."

Tom huffed in annoyance. "Yeah, yeah, I get it! I'm not subtle."

"Did you really think I wasn't smart enough to put two and two together?" Janna continued, very lightly grabbing the front of his shirt.

"Honestly, it's hard to tell with you sometimes," he admitted, folding a hand gently around hers, his fingers brushing against her knuckles. "For all I knew you were just messing with me."

Janna shrugged. "I guess that's fair. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't slightly intentional."

Tom scoffed. "Typical Janna. Why do you enjoy tormenting me?"

"It's fun," Janna simply replied.

"So is that all it was?" Tom asked, feeling vulnerable asking such a heavy question. The one that had been on his mind for months, keeping him awake at night, coming to him at the worst times just to mock him. "Just a trick to mess with me?" He couldn't help the sadness that creeped out of his voice, fearing the heartbreak that was possibly coming.

“Do you seriously not know?” she asked in a deadpan. Tom nearly shook with fear but managed to keep an even face as he waited for her to answer. Janna took the hint and shook her head disapprovingly, making Tom’s fear spike even more. “Well let’s put it this way then,” the creepy teen continued before slamming her lips against Tom’s, causing the boy to stumble back in surprise. 

Before his racing thoughts could even begin to grasp the situation, Janna’s lips were moving against his, leading him in a passionate kiss that was unlike anything Tom had ever experienced in his life. The whole world melted away, a spark ignited in Tom’s heart and spread all the way to his lips, electricity dancing around him and Janna. A flood of endless desires began to pour out of him as the kiss deepened, a great need finally fulfilled making him feel lighter, like he was floating on air. 

Flames began to burn around the two, swaying up and down in a gentle rhythm, lighting up their faces in a soft glow. Finally, a need for breath pulled Janna away from Tom’s wanting lips, the two panting as they stared into each other's eyes. The creepy girl couldn’t help but smile in victory as Tom’s cheeks turned into flaming hearts, no doubt lit by the fire in his soul. “So, did that answer your question?” she asked, giving him a teasing wink for good measure.

A bright, goofy smile lit up Tom’s face and he didn’t bother to hide it, he wore the expression with pride as he said out-of-breath, “Hmmm, maybe we should do it one more time to be sure.”

Janna was still holding onto the front of Tom’s shirt and drew him in closer, saying in a flirty, breathless whisper, “Alright then, just tell me when it clicks. I know you tend to be a slow learner.” 

Tom let out a chuckle before prying her fingers from his shirt, smoothing down the wrinkles. “Alright, alright, let’s not get too carried away. After all, we do still have an audience,” he pointed out and Janna glanced back at Star and Marco who were watching their friends intensely, hands clutched in a loving manner. 

“To be continued then,” Janna replied simply, slipping her hands into her pockets. 

Tom cleared his throat, which was now impossibly tight. “So, uh, I’m guessing that means… you’d be open to go on a date with me?” he asked, wanting to make things official, just in case Janna tried to twist things around on him. Knowing her, she would continue to milk the situation for all its worth if Tom didn’t clarify. 

Janna gave him a mischievous glance, realizing what he was doing, but surprisingly gave him a simple, honest answer. “Sure. I’d love to.” 

“Cool,” Tom said, his cheeks still blushing bright red. 

They both rejoined the group, Star and Marco immediately giving them bone-crushing hugs and squealing in delight the whole time. Jackie even called out her support to her roommate, unable to do more with the sandwich creature keeping her pinned under its weight. 

The flaming teen smiled, feeling happier and more confident than he had in a long time. He had finally gained Janna’s affection. Not by playing the part he thought she would accept or by impressing her with some extraordinary act but just by being himself, who she accepted despite all his faults. It was all he had ever asked for and he couldn’t be more content than that. Especially when he felt something tap his hand and he looked down to see Janna’s hand opened in offering. Tom happily accepted, standing there hand-in-hand with Janna, feeling like the luckiest guy in any dimension ever.

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" Higgs screeched, drawing everyone’s attention onto her. “It’s gone! The sandwich isn’t here!”

“Are you sure you just didn't miss it?” Marco asked, only for Higgs to give him a death glare. 

"Okay, guess not," the boy nervously added, rubbing the back of his neck to relieve the goosebumps that had surfaced there. 

"But it can't just be gone," Jackie pointed out. 

"Oh it's not," Higgs said, holding up a small slip of paper for all to see. "Someone got to it first."

Everyone gave Higgs sheepish looks (except Janna), knowing they were each partly responsible for that. "But why would they leave a note?" Star asked in confusion.

"To rub it in our faces probably," Tom grumbled, sticking his free hand into his pocket.

Higgs slid down the side of the beast, her eyes never leaving the note before she collapsed in a sad pile on the floor. She held up the letter to them. "See for yourself." 

Star grabbed the note and read it aloud to the others. "Dear, Star and Marco, I heard about your plans to get the Perfect Sandwich and it inspired me to try myself. Besides, it's not like I had anything better to do." Marco rubbed unashamedly at the back of his neck, already guessing who the letter was from. "I waited for you guys but you were taking forever so I went back to Mewni to try and reconstruct the sandwich myself. Figured this way were even, trading one secret recipe for another. Sincerely yours, Kelly."

Marco leaned over Star's shoulder so he could read it himself. "Wow, Kelly has really pretty handwriting."

"I can't believe that stupid Baker beat us here!" Higgs shouted to the ceiling, clearly humiliated. 

"Wellll to be fair, she is a Woolett," Jackie pointed out and that seemed to brighten Higgs' spirits a little. 

"Besides she kinda deserved it after me and Tom ruined her secret recipe," Marco added with a guilty frown.

Tom blinked. "Oh right, forgot about that."

"So what we wasted a whole day?!" Higgs exclaimed bitterly, throwing her arms towards the sky. 

"Well not completely, I mean Tom and Janna got together at least," Marco said optimistically, gesturing to the new couple.

Higgs gagged. "Ew! Why would I care about that?!" She stood once more, hands on her hips as she asked, "What did I get out of this whole thing?! What's my reward?!" She slammed her hand into her chest for emphasis.

"Friendship?" Marco offered with a shrug.

Higgs stared at him blankly, before letting out a long sigh, massaging her forehead with her fingertips. "Better than nothing," she muttered. 

The others cut open a portal and headed back to Mewni, giving Tom and Janna a moment alone in the dark cave. 

Tom gave Janna a sad look as he told her in an apologetic  tone, "Sorry I couldn't get the sandwich for you." 

"Eh, it's fine," Janna replied uncaringly, though she did turn to Tom with a flirting smile. "I got the real prize."

 Tom flushed with a small half-smile, though that almost sounded too cheesy for Janna. "Besides, I found out Higgs has a fear of heights so it was worth it."

Tom chuckled, putting his arm around his girlfriend. "Now that sounds more like my Janna," he said, before kissing her head. "Now whaddya say we head back?' 

"Sounds good to me," Janna replied, already heading for the portal. "We do need to get out of here before the crumb rats eat us down to our bones, especially you. They consider demons a delicacy."

Tom laughed, figuring it was another joke to mess with him but when Janna didn't return the laughter he got nervous. His chuckling became awkward and forced as he asked, "Your joking, right?"

Janna just smiled cryptically and continued toward the portal. Tom was starting to breathe heavily, his gaze shifting around the shadowy cave. He heard a small scurry behind him and that was enough to get his feet in motion, running after his girlfriend.

"Janna! Janna. you're messing with me, right?! Please tell me that was a joke!!" His voice became high-pitched just as he entered the portal letting out one last cry for his mischievous girlfriend.

"JANNNNAAA!!!"

[new-moon-over-septarsis]

I dunno if I've ever mentioned this before, but in my AU Mewni has five moons instead of three. And they're each named after some of the Charmed Ones: Neighla, Ründeth, Howlite, Gossamer, and Powehi.

Ründeth is the smallest moon but shines the brightest. It is nicknamed "the Monster Star" because of this, but also because it's named after the patron god of Monsters (rumored to be the ancestor of Septarians).

Neighla is the largest and most massive moon. It used to have a comet orbiting it called Neighla's Fawn. But Solaria shattered it in her attempt to destroy a Monster army. Since then it's been a ring of lunar objects around the moon, now known as Neighla's Horseshoe. This moon is named after the patron god of unicorns, and legend has it that the creation of the ring trapped Neighla away from the rest of the universe.

Howlite is the second smallest moon, whose orbit is so close to Neighla's they're perpetually next to each other in the sky. This moon has the most craters in it, and some say the solar winds make a beautiful song when they move past those craters.

Gossamer is the second largest moon, and the smoothest object in Mewni's sky. Some say the sunlight bounces off it in just the right way to create Mewni's pink sky. Others say the pink sky was once red with the god's anger in a feud with Ründeth. This moon is named after the patron god of magic.

Powehi has the fastest and most strangely shaped orbit around Mewni. So strange, in fact, that some say it causes cosmic riptides that allow people to surf across the universe without need of scissors.

As for Mewni's star, Mewmans insisted on naming it Glossarium, after their patron god Glossaryck. However, he insisted that they name it Serenity, after a Charmed One that had yet to even be born...

[froppy-butterflyfan2000]

“Hey, guess what I made?” Said Janaya.

“Something finally useful?” Said Cronos, well a part of himself in a form of a cat with half skull and sword antler.

“Cat figurines, made of ice,” said Janaya, showing Cronos a two life-sized cat shaped ices, each one is the opposite gender. Cronus plastered on a fake smile and roll his eyes (if he have any). He wants to get away from this wizard since he is not helping in searching for Cosma at all. Yes he would seen the cities that cover the whole hemisphere to find her. But only when the two are together. What is with this cat obsession this wizard have anyway? Is that why a part of him is in a form of a cat after the contract is form?

“Oh wow, ice cats just what you need in your civil service as a superhero,”

“Come on, ice cats must be beneficial in other reality,” said Janaya.

“From all over, none.” Said Cronos with a negative face.

One of the cat figurines twitch their ears and rub their face. While another ice cat wag it’s own tail. Cronos placed his hand, well a paw on his face. He wasted Mewman magic for this. He rubs his temples. That wizard may appear to be a cool, speechless, and reserved guy on the outside. He’s starting to become loose. “Just stick to practice sheets I gave you instead. You are lacking in Time Management. If you don’t see me, I am taking a walk.”

As Cronos leave, Janaya stares at the ice cats. He believes that creating ice cats is the best idea he have ever made. He is not complaining about the ‘homework’ Cronos have given him. It given him nostalgia. Beside Cronos is not being an asshole, he just wants him to not waste his potential in magic. So perhaps, the ice cats are just a waste of his time. Perhaps, he is still lacking in creativity and it is not his best strength. After magic is reincarnated and passed over humans, mewmans, and a few monsters, giving them either magical ability/abilities and cheek marks showing their status as Mewman Magic user, people prioritize creativity over intelligence. Another thing is that despite the fact that The MHC and The Fortress of Light established order, and although the spells made by Skywynne rely on time, so if combined mathematically, he could handle wielding it, plus Jushtin’s spells rely on math too, just like in wizardry, and Rhina’s spells rely on riddle-solving too, Mewman Magic does not need rules because it defy the laws of physics and the forces of nature. The master magician himself, Bezel, whose is one of the greatest magic users of all time prefer prestidigitations over real magic. Because well rules. Maybe Cronos is on to something there. Janaya decide to stick to calculation when performing spells then.

Janaya take a seat and work on his worksheets on telling time and time word problems. The ice cats sense Janaya’s mixed emotions. They get off the table and lay in his lap. Janaya look at them, since he programmed them to be attach to him, and he will get frostbites if he does not command them to get off him. But they look too adorable. Janaya’s mirrorphone vibrate inside his trench coat pocket. Janaya retrieve his mirrorphone using his hand. It is a call from Holly. He answers the call.

“I see, I am on my way,” said Janaya. Then Janaya put on his thinking cap, and an idea is manifested. “…Could I bring my cats with me?”

Cronos belongs to @mokstagger.

Janaya A. Bloodworth-Thomason and Holly Test belong to me.

Creature Prompt

Ice cats

[experimentjr]

Star Butterfly, “The First One”

“The first queen

Who fell in love with death

And from that love, a princess was born

But from a cost:

The end of Star’s path”

The story begins not with Star, but with her mother, Milennia, the first Butterfly to arrive at what would become Mewni in the future. Coming with a fleet of Mewman discoverers and conquerors, their arrival in this new continent was an important milestone for their race, as they had survived an attack by barbarians in their native country.

After months and months of walking around and making sure it was safe, some groups settled on the coast while others split up. As they went deeper into the forest, a few groups split and formed settlements across the region.

After a few more months of searching, the Mewmans finally found the perfect spot: a large plateau surrounded by forests and mountains and in the middle, a large lake through which a long river ends and finally, in the middle of that lake, a large island. The perfect place for the last and definitive settlement and the place where Star was born.

The daughter of the village chief, Star was a strangely excited and positive girl. That already at the age of 10, went on adventures, side by side with her “squire”. Both were inseparable and loved to get into trouble after confusion, fighting with beings of other races and, often, being saved by the chief, her mother. 

At age 11, while exploring the Forest of Certain Death with her squire, ignoring her mother's warnings, or even his, she found a strange monument, guarded by crocodiles. Upon entering it, the girl found herself inside a large room with a lake. On the walls were two statues of a strange being, through which waterfalls fell into the lake from their mouths and in the middle of it all, a high well through which a strange light emanated. 

Shortly after dodging the crocodiles and climbing the pit by circular stairs, Star and her squire encountered a small shiny being, meditating in the middle of the pit. The little magician wakes up and, after a brief conversation, he says that he has been waiting for millennia. 

Together with her mother, Star had first contact with magic and the Magic Council, thus establishing a powerful and extremely important alliance for the history of their race, and not only the alliance but also the discovery of Star's power, a building-based magic that ,in the future, helped her once small village become a big and powerful kingdom in just 4 years. But there was a specific being within the council who was taking her attention. This being was immense, not like Omnitraxus Prime, which was immeasurably large, but still pretty imposing, and like him, it could change its own size to something more friendly; A ghostly body without legs and dark as a black hole, so much so that the light did not reflect under his skin. Large, ghost-like black arms floated beside his shoulders, which were covered by a large, shabby hood attached by ropes, but the most apparent was his face: A strange animal skeleton mask and bright yellow eyes with cross-shaped pupils. 

Despite his frightening demeanor, the being was quite friendly with Star and his name, Schätt”r”äw, The Executioner. His job was to impose balance on the universe and if something or anybody tried to unbalance that, he personally would have to put an end to it. The two were very close, since with the discovery of magic, Star was the main cause of unbalance in the universe, which meant that Schätt”r”äw had to teach her how to use magic after she reached her 13th birthday, but at that archaic time, the wand did not yet exist, which made the usage of magic in a balanced and safe way extremely difficult, so much so that only Star was chosen to use magic, while her mother was not, because it was easier to teach how to control a so brutal power when one were younger. 

At age 12, she decides to walk around Mewni and the surrounding area to play with her new “toy”, the magic, and of course, followed by her squire and best friend. Despite always getting into trouble because of her magic, it was also how they got out of most of them (the other times being by her squire) but, such acts have consequences, even if it takes time to happen. At the end of the 12th year, the girl wanted to go on another adventure with her friend, “The last adventure of the year” she said, but it was also her friend's last adventure. The only reminder the girl had was that she had created a portal and that her best friend had been sucked in by it, closing itself with the boy’s bottom half still in it, cutting him in half. After that incident, Star decided never to use his magic again. 

At age 13, Schätt”r”äw, seeing that the girl was depressed by the loss of her friend being her fault, decides to train her, saying that “The same magic that took your friend from you could save millions in the future”, so the great magical being decided to take the girl to his own dimension for their training. Her mother even tried to prevent them from taking her daughter away because of how dangerous magic could be, but to no avail, so she said that if Star didn't come back in a week, she would sever the bonds of the magic board and so, she waited inside her house. The council could not prevent a decision by Schätt”r”äw, it was then that they decided on the unthinkable: to kill Milennia.

At age 14, the girl finally returned to her house, she missed her mother, because just letters saying she was fine were not the same as seeing her, but it was then that, when she arrived in Mewni, Star had the terrible news that her mother had died of a terrible disease that even they could not cure. She asks why the letters were delivered to her even after her mother's death and it wasn’t making sense, they replied with the excuse that she had written several letters so that, even after she left, her daughter at least would have her letters to remember her and asked for them to be delivered even when she could no longer. Schätt”r”äw knew that all of this was a lie, but since Star was supposed to learn magic, he had to lie to her too, even if it destroyed his heart. That day was when the time of The Executioner on the council began to end.

At age 15, Mewni's kingdom had finally been built, but there was only one thing that needed to be done for Mewni to be officially a kingdom: A queen, but since Milennia had supposedly "died", Star was crowned queen and, with her, Schätt”r”äw presented her with the purest object in the universe: the magic wand. Neither Star nor even Glossaryc expected such a gift. With the wand, Star's power was immeasurable and it helped her to prosper her kingdom in such a way that the other kingdoms began to see the Butterfly with different eyes, perhaps with envy or fear. Schätt”r”äw started to spend more time with Star than with the council, being her right hand in control of the kingdom, even if the council repudiated the idea.

Before her 16th birthday, a messenger from the Ponyhead kingdom is sent to Mewni (or Butterfly kingdom) for a meeting with the current King Ponyhead and the girl attends the event, which would be at the floating Ponyhead castle. The girl decided to go, as an alliance with any magical being would be of extreme advantage. At least that's what she said to her subjects, but Schätt”r”äw knew that Star was looking forward to meeting more magical beings and so, there they were both at Ponyhead castle. The meeting/party they had was enough for a strong alliance to be created between the two kingdoms. By the end of the 16th year, she had already made five more alliances between Mewmans, her own race, and other magical races. 

The years went by and alliances were forming and breaking down, but Star, who was now 25, was still strong, as Schätt”r”äw was always at her side, which gradually fostered a love for him. This love (corresponded) grew more and more until, it generated a new life. 

Star, who was now 29, was extremely happy that she was going to have a baby and her excitement could be felt by her actions at Mewni. Not even 5 months passed and she had already demanded that were created a room for her child and that clothes be made of the purest and most delicate fabric. She was certainly radiant, but Schätt”r”äw, who was of the Schimmig race, knew the danger that many Schimmig had to die when giving birth to a Schimmig, and the chances would increase a lot if it were just a normal being. He even told her, but the queen didn't care about that, her happiness was so great that, even if she suffered the consequences, she would do anything to make her child born without any problems but, despite her happiness, her countenance , at least in the eyes of her husband, had a melancholy feeling that her time would end in a few months, so she lived them as if they were the best of her life, not letting that interfere with her happiness. 

On April 11th, 31 (via the Butterfly calendar), Star gives birth to a girl, dark skinned and with black hair, with one arm missing but a black hand floating on one shoulder. Star, struggling to stay awake, names her daughter Universa, her last words before falling asleep permanently at the age of 31.

[feathersketchcreations]

Tom Lucitor and Luixzy Vixian glance out onto mewni, as they stand on a cliff to watch the sunset. Luizzy giggled. " heheh..one.. thousand sunsets... as cruddy as mewmans can be... the sunsets on the surface is absolutely gorgeous! Hard to believe there aren't many other dimensions to compete with the many sunsets of mewni." Lu spoke, as she smiled, glancing at tom. She pulled out a small box with a ribbon on it. The demon prince glanced at the box. " oh! Whats that, Lu?" He questioned, a small smile on his face, one of his fangs poking out from his upper lip. " small thing i put together for you.. " She said, opening the box, and levitating the gift out. "Tada!! " She levitated the box down to the ground, holding up the gift. There, floating between the two of them was a cute little neatly carved chibi soap carving of tom himself. " isn't it adorable?" The pale blue demoness giggled with a snort. " I mean.. it isn't much.. im not certain you even like soap shapes such as this, but its the best i can do! Im really proud! " Tom stared at the little chibi mini soap of him and chuckled. Luizzy blinked. " d-do you not like it? " Her long ears lower a bit as she frowned a bit. Tom then hugged her, taking the soap carving with his own levitation. " its perfect.." the demon prince smiled. Using his levitation to boop her with the soap carving toms horn, as Luizzy blushes, smiling wide. -- I need to upload all my art here tbh--

 the little soap tom? I didnt even think I could do it. But here we are. ;v; he so cute! Lil baby Itty bitty soap tom. Omg. I really need to draw more of Tom x Luizzy... i miss these two so much... I dont know why by the way but I thought it was funny that tom mentioned in the show that its cannon that mewni has a thousand sunsets.. like.. what? That must be a hot af dimension. Must be why mewmans are b u i l t tough xDD the background was a bitch and a half to draw. But worth it. ^^ Art and background (c) me Luizzy (c) my oc Tom (c) Disney