A/N:
MY OPINION ON THE MID-SEASON 2 FINALE:
Alright, so I'm guessing that everyone here has seen the latest episode, right? I mean, it's been like, 4 days? Good. I'm gonna be honest, the most feels I had in this episode was when Bon Bon died at 40 seconds into the episode. Why? Because I'm kinda disappointed that Nefcy went with a cliché turn of events, the whole 'Main character suddenly loses everything that's important to her and gets her heart broken' kinda thing. And you know how I HATE rushed romances? Well, this episode featured exactly that! *Slow clap* Honestly, I mean, *sigh*, Jackie suddenly coming out with all of those things and those generic words they exchanged, it... just didn't feel real at all. It felt like I was reading a bad fanfic, sadly. And Jackie conveniently asking Marco out on the day of the dance AFTER he'd agreed to go with Star... yeah... completely legit. And call me heartless, but Star breaking down at the end and crying, that was literally forcing feels onto the audience and making the viewer pity her, which is not cool in my book, so I was, again, kinda disappointed that they went with it.
The only thing I can praise in that episode was the Bloodmoon subplot and Star losing control of her powers for a moment, which indicates that the show is about to take a darker turn, much like Nefcy told us it would, so the next season looks promising!
All in all, I would rate this episode as one of the show's lowest, plot-wise. Would I have changed my opinion had Starco happened? No, I would have been even more disappointed. Why? The way things went was actually one of my predictions, although I was hoping that it wouldn't happen. Not so much because of Jackie and Marco going out, that didn't really phase me since, again, I saw it as the most likely turn of events (for now) but more because of the fact that there was so much more potential for good character and relationship development between Jackie and Marco, which I like most of all (the development, not them as a couple) and they completely blew it by forcing them into a relationship in... 15 minutes? I see and understand what their intent was but honestly, this whole episode was just sloppy writing. So yeah, I'm glad that Starco didn't happen in this episode otherwise it would have felt fake and rushed.
Also, now you guys see why I keep portraying Marco as a jerk? I read his character perfectly, if I may be so bold, and I always saw him as a kind of opportunist; sure, he does care for others, but at the end of the day, the moment he sees a chance for personal gain, he goes for it and ignores how it might affect somebody else. (If you're going to argue that Star also agreed to go to the seance without informing him first, 1.) Janna is manipulative and 2.) She'd have gone with him had he not found a date, I guarantee it). And that scene when he just jumps over to Jackie after Star NEARLY DIED + when Star was literally crying in his arms, he sounded like he didn't even care... I couldn't help but shake my head at what they let slide in this episode. They literally forced a relationship between Marco and Jackie just to spite the audience. At least, that's how this episode turned out.
Now, will this affect my writing? I will take this opportunity to say that, due to the turn of events in the episode, I will refuse to write any more Starco! Yep! From now on, I'll be writing Marar! I know it's basically the same thing but think I care?
You guys can sleep calmly at night, what happened will have no effect on my story or my writing. I just hope that the rest of Season 2 will redeem the show's good name because honestly, the way they rushed Jarco just to send the audience into a panic was pathetic... I still love the show but, meh... seriously questioning the writer's choices in this one.
I guess I do have to give Nefcy some credit for having the guts to actually pull this off, but it was a bad decision nevertheless.
So, my final opinion on this episode? Simply put: A trainwreck with WAY too many forced and rushed things, which I hope they will fix in the future episodes or at least justify and explain them.
P.S. STOP hating on Jackie! I know you're upset but that's no reason for you to hate her! She's still a great character, the writers blew it, not her! She's still my 4th favourite one!
Now, moving onto another topic that had me grinning like an idiot: Some of you are probably familiar with 'Regular Show', right? Now, I'm not a huge fan of it, but God bless those writers! Basically what happened was that a friend linked me last week's episode (Season 8 Episode 23: No Train No Gain) and just told me 'Watch this'. I was really confused. Anyway, I decided to watch it and was like 'OK, it's good but... what's so special about it?'. Then, I heard it. They played Power Metal in a children's cartoon! F*** Power Metal! About f*** time! This may seem like something stupid to you guys but it literally restored my faith in humanity that the writers of the show actually looked beyond a stupid stereotype and added metal into a cartoon, and one of my favourite songs to boot! (Through the Fire and Flames by Dragonforce; give it a try, you won't regret it)
Replies to the latest reviews:
Guest Sorta: Well, your opinion shifts easily, doesn't it xD?
ElleFreak: Thanks! And, like I said, be ready for a few dark twists and turns!
DonDonatek: Meh, I'll have pity on Marco :P. He's a jerk, as the latest episode has proved, but I'm a kind man.
Bigmike33321: Did it seem like I was bashing her? I think the tender moment she shared with Marco was sweet... Guess you want more fluff, then? Well if that's the case then you'll be happy once episode 3 is out! This one, however... you'll be shocked, teehee...
Rock Raider: I already PM'd you about the other thing, but I highly doubt you managed to predict the plot for this 'Episode'. Be ready, is all I can say :P
Captin jar: Um, thanks!
Disclaimer: All characters from Star vs. The Forces of Evil belong to the creators of the show. The plot of this story and any original characters that may appear in it, however, do belong to me, and I would kindly ask you to inform me should you want to use anything from this story in your own fanfic.
Beta read by ElleFreak.
Star vs. The Forces of Evil: Staring it up!
Episode 2
Playing Hooky
Part 1
Location: Unknown
The room was pitch black, not a single ray of light to illuminate its already dark walls. It was quiet, an almost tranquil atmosphere present in the room, yet it felt eerie.
Suddenly, a door at the other end of the room opened, a tall figure stepping through. He closed the door behind himself, plunging the room into darkness once more.
The figure stood there, waiting.
A portal opened, purple its colour, and he walked in.
As he exited through the other end of this space-time anomaly the lights of the numerous candles and oiled-lanterns shined upon his black tuxedo and lizardy skin, revealing his entire body, apart from the missing finger on his hand.
Toffee.
On the other end of the room opposite to him was a dark throne placed atop a stairway, and sitting on it, a woman, shrouded in shadows, the two spade symbols on her cheeks glowing brightly. She was holding something in her arms, a small creature of some sorts, gently stroking its back.
Toffee made his way over to her, stopping before the staircase and bowing his head.
"You called, milady?" the lizard politely asked his mistress.
She let go of her pet, which jumped away from her like a cat and vanished into the shadows.
"It seems we've have encountered a problem, my servant," the woman said and snapped her fingers. Moments later, a flying mirror manifested itself in front of her, seemingly out of thin air. It floated over to Toffee, who studied it for a few moments, his expression unchanging. The woman snapped her fingers again, dismissing the object into Oblivion.
"I see," Toffee stated, scratching his chin, "And, what shall I do about it? Should I attend to the matter myself?"
"No, that's too risky; if you were to get spotted now our entire plan would be jeopardised," The woman placed both of her hands together, making a thoughtful gesture. "Simply inform my daughter of the situation and tell her to be highly cautious for the time being, and to avoid contact with anyone whom she doesn't trust, especially strangers."
"And, what about Star Butterfly?" Toffee asked. "I'm assuming that she's the target," the lizard added.
"I wouldn't worry about her; as long as she's together with that Diaz boy, no harm should befall her. Those two make a formidable duo..." the woman commented, her voice rich and powerful, nearly identical to that of Queen Moon Butterfly, just like her figure and hair, shrouded in shadows.
"The bond they share in indeed unusually strong; It will be of much use to us when the time comes," Toffee smirked.
"Right you are, my servant, right you are..." the woman muttered, then waved her hand dismissively. "Now go! I've grown tired of this idle chatting!"
Toffee nodded and bowed, and left the room, no further words escaping his mouth.
When he was gone, the womanly figure looked towards the wall on her right side, at a picture, to be more precise. It was a simple painting of a teenage Moon Butterfly, smiling at the observer. The most noticeable thing about the picture, however, was the missing left half of it, evidently having been torn away, the rip more than obvious. The only thing hinting about what could have been on it was a human hand covering a small porting of young Moon's dress.
The woman sighed. She then placed one hand underneath her chin and the other on her throne, tapping her fingers on it.
Soon, my dear Moon, soon...
Monday, the Diaz' household
Marco Diaz woke to the sound of his alarm clock, the loud ringing indicating that it was time for him to get up, lest he wanted to miss school, which would have been a true horror story for the 15-year old boy.
Groggily, he got up and straightened his back, a cracking sound resonating as he did, after which he let a long yawn out and jumped out of bed, still half-asleep. He walked over to his closet and opened it then began studying its contents. Inside hung seven identical pairs of red hoodies and blue jeans, one for each day of the week. Marco took out the 1st pair which was labelled 'Monday'.
The boy then opened a smaller drawer next to his closet and from it extracted a pair of underwear and socks. He then shifted the closet door so that it concealed his entire figure, only to close it a few moments later, fully dressed aside from his trademark sneakers which were downstairs.
He heard a noise coming from his and Star's shared bathroom, well essentially Star's given that the girl's items occupied over 90% of the bathroom shelves, and became tense.
He was both eager and scared out of his with to find out exactly what the two girls were planning to do. After he'd eavesdropped on them and caught then smirking at each other, he could only imagine the worst to happen since he knew very well what that smirk meant.
What was even worse was the fact that the two girls had spent the majority of Sunday in Star's room, soundproofing it with magic and discussing their plan, not even letting Cosmos in. Oddly enough, the small wolf had apparently grown fond of Marco and the boy could have sworn that the little guy seemed concerned as well, especially when weird noises started coming from Star's room.
Anyway, Sunday had been mundane for him, playing with Cosmos and the puppies while waiting for the two girls to come out, which they didn't, not even for dinner. They were clearly up to something and Marco even overheard Star talking to someone over the phone. Who it was, however, he could only guess.
Marco made his was over to the bathroom and entered, the door being open. There he saw Star, dressed in her stripped teal sleeveless dress and wearing her pink boots with white bunny faces on them. The young princess was brushing her teeth.
"Morning, Star," Marco greeted the girl, who muttered something in return, the toothbrush making her words unintelligible. Marco's best guess was that she's said 'Good morning' to him as well.
With a shrug and a smile, he made his was over to the sink and splashed his face with ice-cold water, making sure to rub the sleepiness out of his eyes, after which he thoroughly brushed his teeth while Star combed her long blond hair.
After a companionable silence, Star turned towards him with a smile. "So, Marco, what crazy plans do we have for today?" She cheerfully exclaimed, her face beaming.
Marco blinked a couple of time, studying the girl in from of him, his expression unreadable. Star looked at him in confusion. "Oh, good morning, Comet," Marco bluntly greeted the girl, whose expression dropped. He then curiously looked around the bathroom and turned his attention back to the girl in front of him. "Say, where's Star? We're gonna miss the bus if she doesn't hurry up."
"W-what are you talking about! I'm Star!" the girl exclaimed, then reached into her hair, taking out the royal magic want to prove it. "See!"
Marco crossed his arms and shot her the 'really?' look. After a few moments, the girl sighed in defeat.
"How could you tell so easily? Was is that obvious?" Comet asked him. "I mean, don't I look and sound exactly like her?" she added.
"Oh, don't get me wrong, your disguise is perfect," Marco casually assured her.
"Then... how could you tell I wasn't her so effortlessly?"
Marco shrugged. " I dunno; I just looked at you and something in my brain just, I don't know, ticked..." he explained. "Anyway, not wanting to sound cliché here but... what's with the getup?"
Comet sighed, her expression growing worried. "I was hoping you wouldn't figure it out..."
"Figure out what? What's going on here?" Marco asked her, more confused than ever.
"Alright, so the other night when I and Star were talking on the rooftop, she told me that I could swap places with her for a day and finally get to experience things from her perspective,". Marco raised an eyebrow at the girl, who looked both nervous and worried.
"So that's the reason you two spent the majority of yesterday locked in her room?" Marco concluded.
Comet nodded. "Yeah. We wanted to make a perfect plan and make sure my disguise was flawless," she explained, then pointed a finger at her cheeks, trying to point out the two heart-shaped symbols on them. "See; We added this special makeup so that my star-insignia wouldn't give it away,"
"Ok then, 2 question," Marco calmly began, not seeming to be too thrilled about this. "Have you gone crazy? And where is Star?"
"Uhh..." Comet scratched the back of her head, grinning sheepishly. "You see..."
Meanwhile
"C'mon princess! Hurry it up, or do you want me to carry you all the way?" Janna smugly exclaimed, glancing back at Star, who was trailing behind her, running at full speed.
"Hey! No fair! You know I can't run as fast as you!" Star stated, her expression bearing anger.
Janna chuckled. "What can I say? Stalking people in the middle of the night really improves your stamina," she stated
Star scoffed, not really caring about such petty details. "Whatever! How much longer until we're there?"
"Oh, it's not much further," Janna started, "Just another 50 miles-"
"WHAT!?" Star shrieked.
Janna grinned devilishly. "Got ya!"
Star frowned. Janna laughed and slowed down to a walking pace to allow Star to catch up to her. "If you hate walking so much, then why not just summon some magic thingy with your wand and drive us there?"
Star shook her head. "I can't; I left my wand with Comet and I'm not sure how to use her's" the princess explained, taking out Comets wand and shouting 'Narwhal Blast', yet nothing happened. "See? I thought it was just a regular wand but it doesn't wanna work!"
Janna snapped her fingers. "Shoot!" she girl exclaimed.
"Anyway, don't you think it would be a good idea to finally tell me where you're taking us to?" Star asked, placing Comet's wand into her pocket. In hindsight, she probably should have pulled some details out of Janna before including her in the plan and letting her dictate some parts of it. Then again, who knew more about skipping school without getting caught more than Janna. A thought suddenly occurred to Star.
"Say," the princess began, "I know that I'm covered, but won't you get in trouble?"
Janna smirked. "Please! My middle name is trouble!"
"What? But I thought your middle name was-" Star paused. "Come to think of it, I don't know your middle name... or your last name!"
"And let's keep it that way," Janna casually stated, further confusing Star. "And anyway, speaking of having yourself covered, are you sure are you sure that Marco will even buy it?"
"Don't be silly, of he won't fall for it! He's not an idiot!" Star emphasised. Janna raised an eyebrow at her. "That's why I told Comet to give him the puppy-dog eyes; Marco's a sucker for those!"
"Note taken," Janna bluntly stated, making a mental note she could, later on, use against Marco.
"So," Star started as the two girls began walking at a normal pace. "You gonna tell me where you're taking me to or not?"
"Chillax Star!" Janna coolly responded. "Just let me lead the way! I think you'll like the surprise."
"Oh, a surprise!" Star excitedly exclaimed. "What is it? What is it?"
Janna nodded. "Yep. I am taking you somewhere only a handful of people have been, so far."
Star jumped up and down from excitement. "Yay! This is so much better than boring school!"
Janna nodded in agreement. The two girls fastened their pace, Star eager to find out what Janna's 'surprise' was.
Back to Marco and Comet
"Star's playing hooky!?" Marco yelled, shocked. Comet chuckled awkwardly.
"Nobody really uses that term anymore but basically, yes..." the girl admitted.
Marco grabbed her by the shoulders, startling her. "And with Janna... with Janna!?"
Comet blinked. "If you mean that girl who's constantly creeping people out on purpose and wanted me to bring a demon into our realm, then yeah, with Janna."
Marco sighed. His head hurt all of a sudden, so he placed the palm of his hand on his forehead and shook his head. "This cannot be happening..." the boy muttered, his voice exhausted from the thought of Star being left alone with Janna, and skipping school to boot!
"We've gotta find her before those two get too far," Marco began, walking towards the bathroom door. "I don't know what the two of you were thinking but this whole thing has 'bad idea' written all over it!" the boy added, opening the bathroom door.
He heard a sad sigh from behind him and turned around to see Comet looking at the floor in shame.
"What?" he asked.
"Oh, it's nothing..." the girl said halfheartedly, "I was just so excited to finally see what being my cousin felt like, if only for a day..."
Upon hearing that, Marco's expression softened.
Comet chuckled, hanging her head. "Well, looks like I can cross that off my list..." she added, visibly depressed.
Marco looked at her with pitiful eyes, Comet seemingly growing sadder with each passing moment. And then, it happened; she gave him the puppy-dog eyes. Those darn puppy-dog eyes!
Normally, Marco wouldn't have given in so easily, but looking at Comet, he imagined Star looking as depressed, which was no problem to imagine given that Comet did look like Star, especially at this moment!
Finally, after a full minute of silence, Marco groaned. "OK, fine! I guess one day wouldn't hurt and-"
"Are you serious!?" Comet exclaimed in pure excitement. Marco hesitantly nodded.
Comet began jumping up and down from pure glee, "Wow! I can't believe it really was that easy!" the girl exclaimed. Upon realising what she'd just said, she promptly stopped her energetic displayed and clapped her hands over her mouth.
Marco became suspicious. "That easy? What are you-" suddenly, it hit him. The boy smacked his forehead, disappointed at himself that he'd fallen for something so obvious. He shot Comet an accusing look. "Let me guess: Star told you how to get to my soft spot, didn't she?"
Comet whistled, looking to the side and swaying her hips back and forth.
Marco sighed. "Well played, Star, well played..."
"So..." Comet hesitantly began, dragging the word. "May I...?"
"Urgh! Yes! You can come to school with me and pretend to be Star!" the boy said loudly, not seeming pleased with how the events had turned out.
A high pitched 'squee' escaped Comet's mouth, the girl seeming like she would burst from joy at any moment. However, Marco caught twice, gaining her attention.
"But-" he raised his index finger, "You are to stay where I can see you, alright? No running around off your own!" he looked to the side, "One crazy princess is more than enough for this town," he muttered.
"I promise!" Comet replied with no hesitation, putting one hand on her heart and raising the other to the height of her head, smiling cheerfully all the while.
The girl then rushed out of the bathroom, saying that she had something to do regarding Cosmos before the two could go downstairs and have breakfast.
Marco sighed deeply.
This was going to be a long day.
To be continued...
Chapter end notes:
And now you know why I designed Comet to look like a cheap ripoff of Star and Sonic the Hedgehog characters (apparently). I told you guys that there's a purpose to everything I do. Fair warning on the next few chapters; things are going to get hectic and eventful, so be on the lookout!
Other than that, feel free to leave some feedback, and I'll see you next time! Bye!
Expected Update: NO IDEA!
