Monster Love AU Fan Fiction

I know I said that my Star vs. Fan Week thing would be for that one week. It has come to my attention, though, that I promised another author/new internet acquaintance, The Wandering Hippie, that I’d review his stories. I don’t even remember agreeing to such a thing, but since Hippie’s work is awesome, I’m going to do him a solid. Which is why I’m here now to write about his Monster Love AU series. It all starts with the rarest ship in the Star vs. fandom: MoonxToffee.

PUT. THE TORCHES AND PITCHFORKS. DOWN. Or in this case, STEP AWAY FROM THE KEYBOARD. Before you judge, let me explain. Yes, I’m well aware that in the show, Toffee’s the slimeball who killed Moon’s mother and ruined any chance of peace between mewmans and monsters. Yet for some reason, this ship started. Regardless of my personal feelings about Toffee, I am willing to put my prior opinions aside. In fact, I see the stories that Hippie wrote as an argument trying to convince me to accept the MoonxToffee thing.

Also, I happily accepted Eclipsa loving Globgor, and they make a great couple, so I refuse to be a hypocrite. This is A Tale of Moon and Monsters, and its sequel, Star the Monster Princess.

A Tale of Moon and Monsters

Author: The Wandering Hippie

Type of Fan Work: AU

First Published: June 27, 2017

Status: Complete

Synopsis

In this AU, Toffee’s a young advisor to the King and Queen of Mewni rather than an enemy. He’s also the lizard man stuck with being Moon’s tutor in Princess 101. While Moon can’t stand him at first, they start to warm up to each other and change themselves for the better. The closer they get, though, the more it seems like people are trying to split them apart.

Little do they know that there are dark forces at work. For centuries, a sinister group has controlled the Kingdom from the shadow, one that will stop at nothing to preserve the status quo. With Mewni no longer safe, the two flee for their lives, and vow to take down this shadow group. Gathering their friends under Moon’s banner, the young princess becomes a rebel leader to free all her people. This act of rebellion paves the way for a war that, for better or worse, will change Mewni forever.

Note on the Villains

I can’t progress further without telling you about the villains of this story. They’re the Shadow Clause. In Hippie’s headcanon, they’ve been the true rulers of Mewni for most of its history. I think they started as a group meant to protect Mewni from the shadows. However, went full-on Templar from Assassin’s Creed and started controlling it instead. They’ve helped encourage the persecution of Monsters and oppress the Mewman commoners to stay in power. They’re so powerful, even the Queens of Mewni are their unwitting puppets. Since the Magic High Commission exists in this story, the fact that the Shadow Clause is able to operate under their noses shows how powerful they are. So, Moon does what plenty of teens and young adults do when faced with tyranny: she rebels. What happens, I leave for you to find out. It’s awesome.

And that’s all I can tell you without spoiling the ending. On to the second part of the Monster Love AU, Star the Monster Princess.

Star the Monster Princess

Author: The Wandering Hippie

Type of Fan Work: AU

First Published: January 9, 2018

Status: Ongoing

It’s been twenty years since the Mewni Civil War ended with the defeat of the Shadow Clause. Under the guidance of Queen Moon and King Toffee, Mewni’s started to rebuild. Now the time has come for Star, their half-mewman, half-septarian daughter, to inherit the wand. Then everything goes down as it does in the show and Star gets sent to Earth. There, she meets Marco, Janna, Oskar, and everyone else.

Now she has to master the power of the wand while protecting it from falling into the wrong hands. In this case, those wrong hands are mewmans who refuse to bow to Moon’s new order and want to return it to the old ways. On top of everything, Star has to deal with the stigma of being half-monster in a kingdom that struggles to accept it. Thankfully, she has plenty of friends, both new and old, to stand by her side.

Little does anyone realize, but there’s great danger in the horizon. An ancient evil, even greater than the Shadow Clause, is at work, one that Star will need all her strength to face.

Review

I was skeptical about this series when I started it, considering who Toffee is in the context of the show. Then I decided to roll with it and see where it went. Thankfully, Hippie did a good job of making sure Toffee’s not a jerk. He can still be cold and distant, but his friendship with Moon helps him to open up and make friends.

Speaking of friends, the cast of this story is going to be a mixed bag. As in, it’s a mixture of the show’s characters, Hippie’s own creations, and expy’s from shows and books that Hippie likes. Its a good balance in my eyes, and while some may think it unoriginal, I enjoy the references to other works. It doesn’t help that I’m a fan of many of the shows and books he pulls characters from, though.

One of the more creative aspects of Hippie’s writing extends beyond literature, though. He likes to put links to clips of music on YouTube at points in the story. When you listen to them while you read, it helps to set the mood for what’s happening. To the best of my knowledge, I don’t know of many writers who do this outside of audiobooks. Hippie, you’re a genius.

Enough praise, though. Let’s get to the meat of this review.

Heart of the Story

At its heart, A Tale of Moon and Monsters is about the youth rebelling. I’ve seen a few stories like this in the past. Tales where teens or young adults realize that their world’s very unfair and the adults running it are making things worse. So, they decide to take matters into their own hands and fix the mistakes of their elders. It’s a bit cliché, and the author even lampshades this in a later chapter through Toffee. Yet, I can’t help up but love this kind of story. I have a thing for standing up to jerks in power, and that’s not going away.

Star the Monster Princess picks up where its predecessor left off, with a new theme. Moon’s generation may have won Mewni’s freedom, but it’s Star’s generation that has to deal with the after-effects. As history has shown us, though, getting rid of centuries-old prejudices and racism is hard. As we see in the story, not even being a Princess is enough to protect Star from the worst of people’s behavior.

Hippie doesn’t hold back on what Star’s gone through. All her life, mewmans have bullied or outright tried to kill her because she’s half-monster; because she’s different. While still as kind and energetic as her canon counterpart, the things this version of Star have gone through left her with deep mental scars. Thankfully, Hippie goes out of his way to remind us in his story that there can be more good people in the world than there bad.

Every version of Star Butterfly places a lot of value on their friends. Fortunately for her, this version has plenty of people who can help her. Her friends and family are always there for Star when she needs it, reminding her that she’s not a freak. It leads to some really sweet moments, especially between Star and Marco.

Go Read This

As far as fan fictions go, I have to say that Monster Love AU is one of the most creative and original series I’ve read for Star vs. The Forces of Evil. A Tale of Moon and Monsters gives us a very imaginative look at a different version of Moon and Toffee while giving us an epic war of good and evil. Star the Monster Princess gives us a new spin on the show. It captures much of the spirit that made Star so much fun to watch. At the same time, its willing to take the “monster-racism” theme to its logical endpoint. Plus, thanks to Hippie’s excellent taste in pop culture, there’s plenty of references to other shows and movies scattered throughout the Monster Love AU series. If you’re looking for an alternative look at Star vs., then this is for you.

Now for a message to Hippie, because I know you’re reading this. First, thanks for mentioning me in your latest chapter and for recommending me. Anything to help keep the fandom alive. At least until Disney or Daron give us the closure we desire. Second, don’t disparage your own stories. You are a good writer, and your work is just as good as Light of the Sun and Stars. If it wasn’t, then no one would read it. Third, and I need you to pay attention to this one, I want you to keep at it with the Monster Love AU series until you feel it’s finished. I hate seeing a good story go unfinished. It’s like Invader Zim all over again.

Quick Announcement

Oh, and one last thing. In case you guys didn’t know, tomorrow Daron Nefcy and Adam McArthur are going to be on the Star vs. subreddit doing an AMA from 11 AM-12 PM PST. They’ll be answering all sorts of fan-related questions. This may be the best chance in the foreseeable future to learn if there is a future for SvTFOE, so be there. Here’s the link, don’t be late!

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