TALES OF MEWNI AND OTHER REALMS. EPISODE 8: LOVE HURTS
After the "event" 25 years ago, a particular person was one of the saddest among all of the people that had participated on the events of the cleaving of Earth and Mewni: Tom Lucitor.
He had proposed himself the hardest task some years before, to change the person he was. His personality and his behavior had made him lose what he considered to be the love of his life. Sudden outburst of anger and the bad habit of depending on someone all the time pushed a 14 year old Star away from him. He wanted to change. He searched for the best "life coach" in all known dimension just to find a man who helped him on his anger issues. It worked, for a little bit and only on the surface. He was a control maniac. If things didn't go his way, he got extremely angry, causing tunnel vision and making him lose the bigger picture. He pushed back his anger instead of releasing it on more healthy ways. He wanted his old girlfriend back.
He planned on taking her to a ball and cursing her for eternity to make their souls, and by extension their fates, to be bound for eternity. He didn't count on the fact that maybe she found someone else, or maybe someone else found her. He again exploded in anger just to be, again, pushed away of the person he wanted to share his life with.
Tom wouldn't stop. He was convinced Star was the love of his life. Constant curses and spies were set on Star and a certain "someone" that Tom thought was on the way. That someone, of course, was Marco. It's amazing on how someone can change by being told the right thing from the right person. Tom didn't need a life coach to tell him to suppress his anger. He needed a friend that showed him that it's ok to be mad, and it's ok to love, but it's not ok to be mad for not being loved back.
From that moment on, Tom decided to truly change. First of all, he stopped spying on Star and Marco. Then, he decided to befriend Marco and consider him as a friend and not as a foe. Lastly, decided that if he was going to be loved, he was going to earn it and not force it. He stepped away for a while.
His heart has turned upside down again when he realized that the princess he was in love with was back on Mewni, a little closer to him (and a lot further from Marco). This made him happy. He kept his mind cool remembering that what Star wanted was just as important as what he wanted. He put no pressure on her for going back together, but he did took a drastic decision. If his anger was the cause of him and Star not being together, he was going to get rid of it. All of it.
A demoncism was the only way to actually strip him out of anger, forgetting that anger alone isn't bad, but not knowing how to express it was a big deal. With a little bit of luck, the princess decided to stop him from doing that. When Star realized how far he was willing to go for her (and considering the fact that she just exposed her heart to his truly best friend and was not corresponded at the instant), she decided to give her relationship another shot.
Tom learned a lot from this experience. He knew he couldn't force love; that being angry and mad is ok, as long as you let it out on healthy ways; and that friends were actually important. He learned another thing on his own too: that Star didn't love him, well at least the way he loved her. He knew her heart was on Marco, for the very first time he KNEW. And to make things even more complicated, he knew Marco loved her back. Tom blessed both Marco and Star to be together and gave a step back from the whole situation. He was, in an extent, happy for both Marco and Star. He knew that what they had was true love. And that made him especially sad when Star and Marco's relationship ended. He was one of the more depressed when he found out. Well, it was that and the fact that just a couple of years before, his own relationship crumbled apart.
Maybe it was clear from the beginning, but Tom and Janna weren't meant to be. Sure, they may have things in common, like Janna's interest on occultism and demons, while Tom was a demon himself. Fiscally, they both were attracted for a while. They decided to explore their feelings and became a couple in a short time.
The honeymoon stage was relatively long, lasting a good ten years. In all of that time Tom showed everything he had to show from the underworld, while Janna just showed her cold but usual personality. "It's ok" thought Tom, "everybody express love differently" were constantly on his mind. But this wasn't just the case. He realized it when his son, Rocky, was born.
Janna always kept things to herself, spending long extends of time away from Tom with no ways of contacting him and never explaining her absence. One thing is to do it to Tom, a grown man who knows how to handle it most of the time, but doing it to a child? Her own child? Rocky was just a baby. And Janna just left, sometimes for the spawn of a week. Not even I know where she went. Not even a single one of my spies was able to catch up.
-Janna, oh my god, I'm so glad you're ok. Something happened? I called the police and stuff. It's been four days since you left "to do stuff". Rocky's been asking for you.
-Don't worry, I'm here now –says as she drops her bag on the floor of Tom's living room and sits on the couch to relax.
-Where have you been?
-You know, around.
-I missed you. Rocky missed you.
-I'm sorry. I've just been busy taking care of stuff.
-What stuff? If you tell me, I could help you.
-I won't tell you, Tom. We've talked about this before. There are things I just won't tell you, and this is one of them.
-Janna, please. I need to know if I can help you. Or in the worst case scenario, if you're cheating on me.
-I'm, not. Can we talk about something else, please? I've heard Venus just gave her first steps a couple days ago.
-Janna, we can't do this anymore. I love you, but not telling me why do you leave me and YOUR CHILD for so long with no reason or explanation is just… it hurts me.
-Well, you know. Love hurts.
…..
Rocky arrived home after V's Quinceañera, just to be received by an empty house. He lived with his father in a newly built neighborhood near the gateway to the underworld. His house was fairly large, and a little luxurious. You could tell Tom earned good money working as Ambassador of the Underworld. Funny thing, he hated politics. Tom tried to ease the tensions still existing in a world where Underworld beings were feared by most of the population. He was president of the Commission of Integration, a job left vacant after Star decided to quit for "personal reasons" at just 29 years of age.
Janna, on the other hand, went back to live with her parents. She receives Rocky on the weekends and holydays. She still disappears for days more often than not.
A door opens on Rocky's house. It's Tom, coming late from work, again. He leaves his coat by the door just to hurry and make some dinner for both him and Rocky.
-I know you came home past 10, something happened? –said Tom to Rocky, while still cooking.
-Oh, yeah. I, well, was just invited to a birthday party. Nothing big or crazy.
Tom stopped for a second, thinking that it was the birthday of a certain someone he knew.
-Wouldn't it happen to be V's, Right?
-Well, I just… how did you knew that?
-Old friends of the family, remember?
-Yes, but… I don't know. You just toss me that explanation every time I ask about it, you never tell me why don't we get to hang out with them. Heck, you don't even tell me why do I have to protect a girl who I don't actually know when I'm the son of the Ambassador of the Underworld.
-It's complicated, you know I can't tell you this stuff. Maybe someday.
-I'm sick of not knowing stuff. I don't even know why you and Mom broke up. She won't tell me why she disappears for days. And you, not telling me this are just like her. A liar, who has something to hide. I'm 15 now; I'm old enough to know. You're just like mom.
-Rocky –says tom as he turns of the kitchen, -come here. Listen, I know you are mad about your mom and I breaking up, but we had our reasons. She wasn't around that much and she kept secrets from us. And now, I'm not around as much as I would like, but it's because I have two very important jobs. What I won't forgive myself is to push you away for things that I can actually control, and that starts by keeping you secrets. That ends now, I think you're old enough to know. Come give a big hug to papa. –Rocky gives a big hug to Tom, who has tears on his eyes. –Let's go to the vault, it'll be easier to show you. Oh, and son… I love you.
Rocky and Tom go to a secret chamber hidden behind a fake wall in their garage. Both walk in carefully not to trip over by the multitude of boxes that are covering the chamber's entire floor. Tom puts his finger on a fingerprint scan and the vault opens slowly but surely. In the chamber, there are smaller compartments.
-It's been a while since you brought me here.
-I know, it's just… -Tom blows some dust laying on the compartments –there's not much to do here.
-So why are we here now?
-Let's see… -pulls a drawer from the metal wall, just to see a baby rattle open in half –no, this is not it. –then proceeds to pull the drawer next to the last one and see an old book completely covered in dust. –Nope, this isn't either –lastly pulls the one on the farther right side of the vault. –Let me see… yes. This is it.
-What does IT means? And why do you have a baby rattle under the fanciest lock I've seen?
-Shush! –Interrupts Rocky. –IT is this box. –Tom cleans the top of the box to reveal something written on it.
-So… "Starco stuff"! What does Starco mean.
-Yes, Starco stuff. Look.
Tom opens the box to reveal some of Star and Marco's most precious memories and possessions. In the box we see two old capes, an old small machine to make ice-cream out of bananas, an old photo album and a videotape. When Rocky grabs the album to examine it closer, a strip of pictures falls to the ground without Tom noticing. Rocky picks it and quickly puts it in his jacket's pocket.
-Pass me the tape.
-The what now?
-The videotape. That black rectangular looking thing.
-This thing? I haven't seen one of these in my whole life.
-Really? Aw, man. I'm getting old.
-What's in it?
-What you wanted. The truth.
-What does it means?
-Promise me Rocky. Under no circumstance you must reveal what you will see. NEVER talk about it. NEVER say anything about it. This tape doesn't exist. You never saw this video. In fact, you are asleep now. Ok?
-Wha…?
-UNDERSTOOD?
-Yes, sure. Whatever.
-Oh, and this goes specially for V. She must not know.
-Just play the damn video already… I'm all nervous now.
-Ok, let's go upstairs, we'll see it there. I have an old VCR there
-What? Doesn't it play on its own? What's a VCR?
-I… I'm old.
