Star vs The Forces of Evil

Earthni Sweet Symphony

Disclaimer: Star vs The Forces of Evil was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of Star vs.

Episode 9: Ballistic Birthday Bonanza

Episode Summary: The group makes plans for Mariposa & Miles's birthday, but a slight hitch ends up complicating matters.

Original Release Date: February 11, 2022

On a nice, chill, late April afternoon, over at the butterfly castle, the Diazes & Butterflies found themselves eagerly throwing up decorations and setting the long dining table. It was deemed a special occasion. The group would be celebrating two birthdays that day. One was of Angie & Rafael's newborn Mariposa, who was officially turning one, and the Butterfly family's newest member, Miles, who was turning five. Star, in particular, found herself super excited for the idea of celebrating the birthdays of the sister of the boy she was crazy about, and her newly adopted brother.

"Careful, Star!" Marco called out to his lovable girlfriend, who was excited throwing streamers over any and all pieces of furniture. "You could at least space them out evenly."

"And that matters so much why, Mr. Safe Kid?" She teased. "Lighten up just a little, m'kay? It's a party! Parties are going to be messy."

"Yeah, but with decorations? Really?"

"You should be thankful it's not my dad doing these. He's even worse than me."

"THAT I AM, PUMPKIN!" Roared River, who was already busy stuffing his face with some of the snacks laid out on the table. Marco could only sigh. In the midst of this, Marco noticed that his parents were helping out with setting up the party...while also carrying Mariposa around with them.

"Uh, Mom...Dad...?" He interrupted their excitement. "Do you think it's a good idea for her to be here right now?"

"Lighten up, son. She does not understand what we're doing." Rafael tried to reason without even realizing how easily Marco could kill that argument. How quickly they forgot about Manfred's near coup that resulted in them learning things about their own daughter and Eclipsa's daughter that they may not have wanted to learn.

"You do remember that she spent 16 years in an alternate dimension where she learned how to fight for herself, right? Just like I did?" The parents' silence spoke volumes. "Trust me, she knows what's going on. She's not an idiot." He turned to said baby sister. "Right, Mariposa? Are you a smartie?"

She pointed one of her fingers towards his nose and squeaked out a word. "Idjit." Which resulted in a scowl from the boy and laughter from their parents. But before this particular conversation could continue, their ears & eyes took them to one of the corners of the room, where baby Miles was busy helping put up birthday decorations with Eclipsa. it wasn't clear at that exact moment if Miles was aware who the party was intended for. But it wasn't going to matter to him anyway; he was happy to be included.

"Star, do you think it's a good idea for him to be here right now?" Marco asked about the baby boy.

She could only shrug. "Who knows. But you and I both know if we tell him he can't help out he's going to be disappointed. He's a helper."

"Seriously, having to decorate your own birthday party should be a crime."

"Hey, I had to do it some years before the almighty stump bit the big one." Quickly sensing a growing outrage bubbling with Marco's being, she fumbled the recovery. "B-But it was fun! I got to put up my own decorations and I even got cake all to myself! It wasn't so bad."

"If you say so."

"Are you ever going to flip that "protect Star at all costs" switch off?"

"I'm working on it."

"I know you are." It was at this precise millisecond that an idea entered the former princess's head. "You know, when Stump Day was still a thing, Mom and Dad would take me to Quest Buy after the fact to let me pick out something for myself. They weren't very good gift-givers."

"WE STILL ARE NOT!" Again bellowed River, who couldn't stop himself from eavesdropping the conversation.

"So why don't you take the two kiddies to the store and let them pick out a gift for themselves?"

"Isn't that kinda lazy?"

"Maaaaaaaybe. But we gotta finish decorating, and they're going to be an adorable distraction to us until then. Plus, it might do you some good to get some bonding time with your future brother-in-law." She winked at him before planting a kiss on his lips.

"I guess it can't hurt. Maybe I'll get some gift ideas for next year."

"See, now you're thinking." She briefly put down her decorations and walked with her boyfriend in hand towards her wonderful brother, who had now pivoted to playing peek-a-boo with Eclipsa. She took a moment to silently soak in the moment before enacting their plan. "Miles?" The mere sound of Star's cute voice was more than enough to snap the child out of his trance with Eclipsa. He cocked his head towards her, studied her face, and loudly squealed as he stuck his arms out for a hug, which Star was fast to oblige. "Hey, Marco could use your help."

"...Help?" It was his trigger. He was a helper.

"Marco has to go to the store to pick up a few things for the party. He could use your help. He's even bringing Mariposa along. Can you do that for us?"

His eyes lit up, his mouth beamed, and his heart raced. The excitement was building. "Yes I want to help!" He nodded his head about as fast as he possibly could. It was unclear what he was more happy about: hanging out with Marco, playing with Mariposa, or just "helping."

"Alright, just what I wanted to hear! Let's go!"

"Wait!" He shouted, stopping all in their tracks momentarily. But why? He started racing towards Moon at the other side of the room. She was putting out food while also holding Miles's Star doll in her hands. You know, for situations like this. "Mommy?" He sweetly said, gently tugging at her outfit. "Can I have my doll please? I'm going to help Mako." He couldn't quite say Marco's name right yet. But it was the thought that counted. After a brief chuckle, Moon obliged and handed her son the doll that resembled his favorite person. "Thank you Mommy." And Miles in kind thanked her by hugging her leg and giving it a kiss because he couldn't reach her face. Just like any other time Miles did anything, everyone aww'd while Marco regrouped with him & Mariposa, taking them both out so they could "help" him.

With the two little tykes in tow, Marco quickly rattled over to the mall where he found the nearest toy store. It was unusually quite today, paving the way for a quick and sufficient outing. For his part, Miles was buys holding Mariposa's hand and guiding her alongside Marco, stopping to engulf her in a hug every time Marco stopped. "Guess where we are?" Marco sing-songed to the tykes, garnering their attention. "The toy store!" Both of their eyes sparkled with delight, and there was even a gigantic squeal from Mariposa. "Do you know why I brought you here?"

They slowly turned their heads to him, only to cock them slightly to the side to indicate that they didn't know what the heck he was talking about. "Toy?" Miles squeaked out. Marco couldn't' help but laugh.

"Okay, see, I don't know if you know this, but...today is someone's birthday." He took great joy in watch their eyes light up again. "Actually, it's two people's birthday today. So what I need from you two is to go pick something out that you would give them as a birthday present. Can you do that?"

The two little tykes turned and looked at each other. It was almost like they were internally trying to process Marco's request. Eventually they nodded their heads excitedly.

"Great! Miles, I'm going to need you to keep an eye on Mariposa, okay?" Again, another furious nod. He reached out his hand towards the baby, who happily grabbed it and followed Miles into the store as quickly as her legs could go. Marco followed not far behind and kept his eye out for them entire time. But while they were busy deciding what to buy as a present - and who it was for - Marco decided to have himself a look around the store. Maybe he'd get an idea over what kind of gifts he could get Mariposa & Miles while they were there. Maybe whatever they decided to get would inspire him.

In the midst of his deep thought, he came back to reality to find his pant leg being tugged at by none other than Mariposa herself. She held up a stuffed teddy bear and loudly laughed. It appeared that she had fallen quite in love with the toy herself. She hadn't the slightest clue that she was buying her own birthday gift. "Ooh, that's a nice choice. I'm sure the birthday kid will really love this." The wheels were certainly spinning in Mariposa's head, but she couldn't quite figure it out just yet. And then there was the issue of Miles's gift to himself. Of course, that was were the problems would begin. "Hey buddy..." Marco got a glimpse at the present that Miles had gotten without realizing it was for him: he got a small, plastic trophy. "That's, uh...that's an interesting gift choice."

"Yeah!" Miles squealed in his completely oblivious but adorable nature. "Do you think Star will like it?"

At first, Marco couldn't understand the question. "S-Sure, buddy. I'm sure she'll think that's a wonderful gift." He tried to play along with wherever his thoughts were going. But it wasn't quite sinking in yet.

"Yay Star!" Cheered Miles as he reached out for Mariposa's hand. Together the two babbled their way towards the nearest checkout line, completely oblivious to Marco's ulterior motives, just as Marco was oblivious to Miles's motives. Sure, Mariposa didn't realize she was basically buying herself a birthday present, but it wasn't like she thought she was buying for Star. Miles, on the other hand...

And slowly but surely, Marco began to put the pieces together. He certainly didn't want to believe it - and who could blame him - but the more thought he gave it, the more sense it made. "Oh no..." He wanted to be wrong. He certainly hoped he was.

It was such a quick stop in the store that Marco had to scramble to keep them entertained in some other way. He felt that it was too soon for him to go back to the castle where the party set up was still underway. So he decided on a perfectly logical solution: taking the two birthday kids out for some ice cream. It seemed to be popular with the two, evidenced by their screeching as they approached the nearby ice cream truck. Mariposa selected chocolate for her flavor, while Miles selected their brand new "Rainbow" flavor, a nod to Star's favorite cake flavor.

"Here you go, kids." Marco said, handing the cones to their respective child. "Enjoy." The two children glanced at each other, and then at Marco. It was a tactic Miles and the other orphan children had adapted since Star had arrived: hesitating as if they still had to ask for permission. "Go on. Those are yours." Fortunately, this time around there was no further inconvenience; they started licking the daylights out of their selected ice cream, laughter had all the way through. "I should take you two out for ice cream more often, shouldn't I?"

"Mako!" Miles innocently yelled out, pointing to the small, plastic trophy that Marco was holding. "The present!"

In the back of his head, Marco could only think back to how Miles asked incessantly if Star would like the gift he picked out. The longer it went on, the more it dawned on him just how badly this could turn out if he didn't get a hold of it soon. "Say, kids, let me ask you...who's birthday do you think it is today?" Probably a question that Marco should've started the day out with, but there they were. "Maybe I should've started with that." He turned to Mariposa. "Mariposa? Do you know whose birthday it is today?" The one-year-old girl looked squarely into Marco's eyes and innocently pointed at him. At least for the moment, this interaction elicited a tension-relieving laugh from the boy. "No, silly, it's not my birthday. But thank you." The look of confusion her face sprouted after that response prompted him to try and end the charade as quickly as he could. He turned to Miles. "How about you, Miles? Do you know whose birthday it is today?"

Confirming Marco's worst fears, Miles loudly giggled & pranced around in place, ready to show his hand. "Star!" He gleefully shouted. "And I got her a present!" He turned to Mariposa with the most adorable smile on his face. But her hesitancy to return the smile left him in an emotional pickle. "She likes bears." He was so innocently trying to convince her; he had somehow managed to convince himself that it was Star's birthday. And now it was up to Marco to snap him out of it.

"Uh, buddy..." He knelled down and gently hugged the boy, who was not afraid to oblige with a giggle. "Can I ask you something?" He nodded his head so fast that Marco briefly thought he would throw his neck out. "Why...why do you think it's Star birthday today?"

The boy was so eager to answer that he started bouncing in place. "Because...Because I love her!" And then without another word spoken, he reached into Marco's grip & carefully grabbed the plastic trophy he had gotten, and he started running off in the direction of the Butterfly Castle, more than eager to show off the present he had gotten for who he thought was the birthday girl. Marco quickly grabbed his baby sister & started dashing after the boy. Fortunately for him, he was able to catch up & scoop him into his arms.

"Whoa, there, little buddy." He said in between pants. "Let's take a minute here. Let's really think about this."

"No!" Miles giggled. "I have present for Star! And Mary has present for Star too!"

Miles and Mary exchanged silent glances at each other. Marco could read the face of his baby sister like an open book: she had figured out that Miles was wrong. "Tell you what: why don't we all go home and you can play with Mariposa for a while. Then you can come down and join the party when it's time. Okay?" The wheels in the little boy's head started to churn. Too many questions were formulating in his brain, but eventually he decided to acquiesce Marco's request. For him, the long game was at play, and he was happy to keep Mariposa - and Meteora - company until party time. He rapidly nodded his head & giggled. "Okay, good! Come on, let's go back."

Back to the castle they went. Preparations for the festivities were all but completed. The food was set on the table, decorations were all hung, and the guests were all arriving. Among the guest list was the usual assortment - that being Marco & Star's friends high and low - but also many of Miles's friends, both from the orphanage and from the families that adopted them. Most of the kids didn't actually have presents for Mariposa or Miles, but rather posters that they drew wishing them a happy birthday. Like with the previous time the children visited the castle - several months earlier while comforting Star after her operation - they were all excited & eager to see everyone again, joyously bouncing from person to person, offering hugs & laughter til their hearts couldn't fill no more.

All of them couldn't wait to get their hands on their friend & smother him with hugs, prepared to show him how much they all missed him. The adults, in the meantime, had to stay on high alert so that none of them went after the food and the cake on the table until it was time to eat. Thankfully, they wouldn't have to wait any longer. Just when the kids were starting to get restless, the door swung open, revealing Marco, Mariposa, and Miles huddled together. The kids turned gleefully to the door and exulted cheers of joy when they laid their eyes on their friend. Soon enough, the boy found himself swarmed with hugs from the children he called his family at the orphanage. Front and center was Lilly, Miles's very best friend. Not to leave her out, the children found the energy to swarm Mariposa with hugs as well.

"It's good to see you all, too!" Marco yelped, resulting in them breaking away from Mariposa and swarming his legs with hugs. "I'm so glad you all could make it. Miles, isn't this great? All your friends are he-" Once Miles no longer had the kids surrounding him, he broke away from the pack and dashed towards his big sister, his "gift' to her in hand. As always, Star was delighted to lay her eyes on the little angel that graced her life.

"Aww, hi sweetie." She squealed, opening her arms up for him to leap into. "Did you have fun with Marco?" While he was nodding his head rapidly, she noticed the plastic trophy in his tiny hand. "Whatcha got there? Aww, is that a birthday present?"

"Yes!" He shouted with glee, eager to give the trophy to the person whose birthday he thought it was. "Happy birthday!"

"D'aww, look at you, getting a little award for being such a good little boy." It wasn't quite clicking for her yet. Miles persisted, trying to push the trophy in his hand into her face, laughing hysterically as he awaited her reaction. "yes, I see it, sweetums. It's real cute, just like you, you-" With each gentle push from Miles, the pieces began to click in for Star. As she darted her eyes towards Marco, who could only give an embarrassed & confused glance, she looked back down at the boy and saw his continuing smile gleam. "Miles..." She put him down and sat with him on the ground. "Sweetheart, who is that trophy supposed to be for?"

It was at this point that his laughter was at its loudest; he truly was preparing for the most over-the-top happy reaction he could get from her. "You! For the birthday!" He screamed just loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear, including the other children. Marco could only muster enough energy to facepalm himself, embarrassed and afraid of what Star's fallout would be. In the meantime, Miles found himself loudly giggling and laughing, turning his body every which way to face everyone, awaiting a similar reaction to his own in celebration of his favorite person in the world. But that reaction didn't come. Only awkward, uncomfortable silence followed. Nobody was sure how to respond next. The other children awkwardly tried to step forward and approach their friend, while Miles slowly descended into a state of panic, not getting the reaction he thought he would be getting. "But...birthday..." He darted his head to find Mariposa slowly moving her tiny legs towards Miles, arms reached out in an attempt to hug him.

Internally, Star couldn't help but feel her heart shatter for the boy. He was clearly so proud to have wanted to give her a present. As she watched her baby brother & Marco's baby sister embrace, she sat on the ground next to him and ruffled his hair, garnering his attention and a smile on his face. "Miles, you are such a good boy." She said proudly. "But it's not my birthday today."

The confused look on Miles's face left Star even more disappointed. "...No?"

"Miles, did Marco tell you today was my birthday?"

He hurriedly turned his head towards Marco, who said nothing & barely even moved a muscle on his face. Miles then turned right back to his sister. "...He said...he said there was a birthday."

"Yes, but did he say it was mine?"

"...No."

"So, that's a good thing! That means it's your birthday! And Mariposa's!" She was anticipating an excited squeal from the little angel. While his mood perked up significantly, there was still a twinkle of uncertainty and guilt gleaming from those eyes. "Why are you disappointed?"

He looked into her eyes with the saddest said of puppy eyes anyone could produce. "Because...you're a princess. And I love you." His intentions were misguided but his heart was pure. He reached his tiny arms out, begging for a hug. She would not deny him. There were not enough aww's the crowd could produce to satisfy the level of love they had for Miles.

"Sweetie, don't you understand? This is a good thing. It's your birthday, which means you get the spotlight to yourself. Well, you and Marco's wonderful baby sister." Mariposa, standing over by Marco, couldn't help but gleam & blush at Star's compliment. "This is a wonderful day. It's your first birthday with your new family. And we want to celebrate you and her and all of the joy you've brought to us. It's your day. You shouldn't want it to be my day..." She tightened her embrace on the boy, eliciting a small laugh from him. All of this while the other children in the room started running towards Star to give her a hug themselves. "Honey, do you remember the day I found out you were coming into the family?" The boy stared deeply into her eyes and nodded excitedly. "With all that snow and the fun party stuff? Well, that day was my birthday. You coming into my life as my brother was my parents' birthday gift to me. You were my birthday present."

The wheels in his head started to turn. "Me?"

She nodded back. "Yes, you, silly. And you were the best birthday present I could ever get. But today's not the day to make it all about me."

"...But I love you." The only argument he could muster up was his never-ending love for his favorite person, surrounding her in the biggest hug his tiny arms were capable of administering.

"And I love you too. That's why I can't let you do this today." As Star stood up - with the kids all moving to give her extra space - Moon approached the group and gently took Miles from Star's grip, enveloping him in kisses as he devolved into hysterical laughter. "Sweetheart, I'm a little worried about you."

"Why?"

"Well...you like to make me the center of attention. I love that I'm your favorite person, but every day can't be and shouldn't be about me. I know you want to show me how much you love me, but not like this. I want you to have this day. I want you and Mariposa to have the most awesome birthdays anyone could ever want. Okay? Let yourself think about you for a change." Miles smile gleamed as Star leaned in to kiss his cheek, but his smile rapidly faded as he turned to face his mother, who had such a proud smile on her face, even in the face of her son breaking his own heart.

"...Mommy?" He said gently to her. "Can we have Star's birthday tomorrow?" The wonderful boy he was. He was so devoted to Star. So dedicated to making her happy no matter what he had to do. Moon had to be careful when letting him down.

"No, honey. It's not going to be her birthday for some time. BUT-" She quickly shouted just as Miles was about to spiral into tears. "When it is time for her birthday, we'll let you decide what party we throw her. How does that sound? Would you like to be in charge of her birthday?"

Fast as the speed of light, his eyes exploded with confetti & delight, more than enough to cover the entire castle. His incomprehensible, joyous squeals filled the room with the satisfaction & love they had wanted it to be when they started planning. "Yay birthday!" It was with this that Moon put him back on the ground and turned him to face the other children, all of whom were ready to swarm him once more. All the others could do in the meantime was watch from afar and admire. All Miles was...was a well-behaved child with developmental issues that knew how to do one thing well, and that was love. Love himself, love his friends, and love his family. As the kids all swarmed him with hugs & cheering, Star took it upon herself to find the love of her life & follow Miles's lead, embracing Marco like they were young children.

"They're such good kids." Marco lamented as he cradled his girlfriend in his embrace. He sneaked a look at her face, a conflicting mess of brimming pride and disappointed guilt. "I swear I didn't tell him it was your birthday."

"I believe you. But...come on," She looked up and playfully smirked at him. "You wanted to indulge his fantasy, didn't you? Didn't you?"

The seemingly never-ending saga of Star & Marco trying not to be too much for one another. Back for another round, though with significantly reduced pain. "Well...maybe just a little bit." The days of Marco feeling so helpless in Star's battle against her own demons that he wanted to resort to outrageous & outlandish gestures such as a propose statue of the girl in the new playground were behind them...for the most part. "But I knew you'd hate that."

"And you'd have been right." She pecked his cheek as a tiny reward for his thoughtfulness. "I just...can't believe he actually thought it was my birthday. I can't believe he wanted it to be my birthday."

"He's crazy about you."

"Yeah...a little too crazy."

"What do you mean?"

"Look, I adore that little angel. He's sweet & kind & he loves to make everyone happy. But he also wants to always put me ahead of himself. You see how he acts, always making sure I'm taken care of before my parents try to do anything to take care of him. It shouldn't be that way. I hope it's just a phase..."

"Well, he's still new to the family. It's like when you take in a stray pet; they need time to adjust to their new life. We don't know what his life was like before he came to you. We don't even know what his life was like before he got to that orphanage."

"...That's true." The possibility of a difficult life for Miles pre-orphanage was a daunting scenario for Star to contemplate. "But I have to reprogram him to stop putting me on such a pedestal all the time."

"He's doing what I did for a while there..."

"He feels the way you did: that you can only be happy if you put me first all the time, and that just isn't fair. Maybe it'll get easier with time. He's only been with us a few months."

"All things considered, though..." Marco directed her attention to Miles bouncing around in the middle of the room with the children and the adults. He went from adult to child to adult in blazing fashion, giving them all hugs & kisses & dancing around them like there was music blaring. Mariposa wasn't too far behind him, joining in with the affections, especially with her best friend Meteora. "I think he's pretty darn happy to be in the family." Marco glanced at his lovely girlfriend, allowing himself to be momentarily lost in her beautiful eyes. "And you know something? That little boy helped you come out of your funk way more than any of us ever could've."

She darted her eyes back to the boy, who came out of his hug with his bestie Lilly to wave to Star & blow a kiss. She didn't hesitate in returning the blown kiss. "...Nah, I won't say that. You guys were always there for me, day and night, when I was at my worst."

"Maybe. But if you hadn't met him you wouldn't have ever found that orphanage, and you never would have taken a job there. He may not have meant to, but he helped save you."

She glanced back at his brother, who was not busy having an impromptu dance party with some of the other children. All of them were winning. "I do love those kids. I just don't want to be put on a pedestal by anyone, especially Miles."

"I think it's going to get better from here on out. He just wants to make sure you're loved by everyone the same way he loves you."

"I'm a pretty lucky girl."

"Nah...it's the rest of us who are lucky." The boy carefully brought himself in to kiss her, which she did not hesitate to return. Unfortunately for them, their moment was interrupted by Miles & the children approaching them again, with the others in the background approaching the door leading into the dining hall.

"Everyone..." Eclipsa bellowed firmly, garnering the kids' attention. "Are you all ready for cake?" Within milliseconds came an ear-splitting collective cheer from the children. The majority of them raced towards Eclipsa and followed everyone else into the dining hall. But Mariposa & Miles stayed behind, as if they were waiting for their respective sibling's approval.

"How about it? You guys ready for a delicious birthday cake?" Marco lovingly asked them. They both pointed at their respective siblings & elicited a laugh out of them. "Yes, guys, Star and I will get to have a piece of cake too. Stop worrying about us and go join your friends, okay?" They exchanged looks with each other, then nodded & turned to head towards the dining hall, laughing hysterically while holding each other's hand. Once they were out of their sight, Star & Marco took the other's hand & prepared themselves to follow. "What flavor do you think it'll be?"

"Well, personally I'd like some rainbow flavor. But it's not my cake today, so it doesn't really matter. As long as Mariposa & Miles and everyone else enjoys it, that's all that matters to me." As they approached the door, they were stopped by Marco & Star's parents.

"Kids, you have to see this." Angie said as the adults moved out of the way to display what was occurring: Miles & Mariposa were cutting the cake - with Eclipsa & Globgor's help, - and distributing pieces to each and every one of the guests, and rather gleefully too. It didn't even occur to them to serve themselves a piece, either. They were having such a blast serving everyone else that Eclipsa & Globgor literally had to stop them once everyone else had gotten their piece just so that Miles & Mariposa could have some.

"Aww, that's adorable. They really know how to host a-" His eyes caught a glimpse of Star's eyes watering & welling up. Her heart was filled with pride, seeing all the children and adults getting along & laughing with each other. It took nearly all of her willpower to keep herself together. "Aww, come here, hon." Marco's instincts kicked in & he embraced her as hard as he could. "It's a good day."

"I know...it's just so cute." As Star's tears began to clear away, she caught sight of the adults starting to hand the two birthday kids their gifts. With each gift box came a thank you hug, a loud laugh, and a gentle toss of the box to the side. They would open their presents after cake. But what they received as birthday gifts didn't matter to them. What mattered was the people around them that loved them. It was that love that made occasions like this so great. And that was something Star understood better than anything, evidenced by how she and Marco were immediately swarmed with love from all the children when they arrived and took their seats at the table. A bumpy road it was, certainly, but the birthday party was going to be a memory that no one in attendance would ever forget.

End of Episode 9!

This one took way longer than I had wanted it to come out and I apologize. A mix of writer's block & real life crap piling on. Also finished my Total Drama video retrospective so all of that is up on my channel, please go watch it took a lot out of me. Hopefully next chapter will be less of a hassle to get done but no promises.

And as always, please read & review!