Two Bright Stars, Together as One

Have you ever looked at two shows and thought that they would work great together? Whether its the premise or the characters they have, you just think these two shows would go together like peanut butter and jelly. However, that dream PB&J crossover sandwich can never happen for one reason or another. Fortunately, the power of fandom’s and the Internet can change that. For my next fan fiction pick, this is one such case where we get the sandwich. Only the peanut butter and jelly’s made from two bright stars.

Oh, and if the timing doesn’t make it obvious, this is to commemorate the finale to Steven Universe! In addition, minor spoilers regarding this story.

Believe in the Weird and the Wild

Author: 616MCU

Type of Fan Work: Crossover

First Published: June 17, 2017

Status: Ongoing

Synopsis

Growing up as the princess of the Kingdom of Mewni, Star Butterfly was no stranger to amazing things in life. But nothing could have been more amazing then when she found a baby boy with a gem in his stomach in the woods. She knew right away that he was special, and when she saw he could use magic like her family, her eyes filled with her namesake. All she could ask her parents was one thing:

“Can I keep him?”

Everyone happily welcomed the newest member of the Butterfly family, little Quartz Universe Butterfly, but none more so than Star. These two bright stars would spend their days together as brother and sister. That is, until a whirlwind of events lead to Star being sent to Earth. What no one knows is how strong the bond between these two is, or Quartz’s connection to Earth. Together, the two stars of Mewni will change their world in ways they can’t even begin to imagine.

Basic Exposition

As a crossover story, Believe in the Weird and the Wild combines the worlds of Star vs. and Steven Universe into one. In this story, Rose Quartz was not only the protector of Earth. She found a way to travel to other dimensions and became friends with the Magic High Commission and the Butterfly family. Known as the Rose Guard, she was one of Mewni’s greatest heroes. Thus, when Star finds baby Steven/Quartz in the woods, Moon takes him in as her son.

How Steven wound up on Mewni, I don’t know. However, I think it will be explained in time.

Perfect Blend of Two Shows

Steven Universe and Star vs. have several basic premises in common. Firstly, they draw influence from shonen and magical girl anime. Secondly, they take place in vast worlds with detailed backstories and filled with magical beings. Finally, at their heart, they share a lot of the same morals about choosing love over hatred and to not judge people for being different.

Thus far, 616MCU does a good job of blending both shows together to create that PB&J crossover sandwich I mentioned. Instead of Beach City, though, Echo Creek is the main Earth setting and now home to the human characters of both shows. Save for Connie (yes, she’s in this) and cameos, they have yet to make any meaningful appearances. To be fair, though, that’s because the story’s still in the first season of both shows. I think it will grow as time goes on.

Star and Steven, the Two Bright Stars

Even with all the crazy events in the story, the main focus remains on the relationship between Star and Steven. The two bright stars of the story, the two are inseparable and mean the world to each other. Rather than keep them the same as they are in show, the author goes the extra mile to show how being in each other’s lives affects their growth.

Star has the most notable personality changes of the two. As a result of having a little brother who looks up to her, she’s slightly more mature early on. She takes being a sister very seriously and tries to balance her desire to impress her brother with her desire to keep him safe. Steven/Quartz is the catalyst for her to become better earlier on, like how Marco was in the show.

Steven, or Quartz as he’s first known, starts the story largely the same as what we first see in his show. He’s got a big heart and wants to help everyone he meets, loves his adoptive family and idolizes his sister and the Rose Guard. At the same time, he’s getting to the age where he wants to find his own identity outside of his sister and make his own friends. He loves Star and her antics, but even he needs a break sometime!

Right now, though, their relationship is as strong as they come. Given what they go through in their shows, this could end up helping them a lot with any emotional scars. If it gets as far as Future, then I hope it helps them out. Heaven knows Steven needs help with what he may go through.

Two Worlds, One Family, One Steven

Steven is, for lack of a better term, the glue that binds the two worlds of the show together. In the show, he becomes what connects the Diamonds and Crystal Gems together. I hope he does in this story, but he’s already becoming this for the Butterflies and Crystal Gems.

I could tell that Steven/Quartz has a positive impact on Star’s immediate family. Firstly, having him around helps Star to mature faster than she initially does (not by much, but it’s a start). River gets someone to spend time with him on his “lectures”. Best of all, his calming presence seems to help Moon relax more and not be as uptight. As a result, she’s a lot more tolerant of Star’s antics. In other words, he’s helped Star’s family grow closer as a whole.

Then we eventually get the Crystal Gems. The story’s only just started to feature them, but it seems like they have more problems than they had in Steven Universe. Not knowing where Steven was all this time has led to some strain between them. When they meet Star’s family, they’re very angry and aggressive. Star even considers Pearl to be like her mom, only way more uptight. How their relationship will develop, I do not know, but am eager to find out!

A Great Story of Two Great Shows

As a fan of both shows, I love Believe in the Weird and the Wild. It takes two shows that mesh so well together and gives us something new and unique. At the same time, it retains enough to keep each property recognizable for the fans. It’s both new and exciting while also familiar enough to follow along! That’s a tough balancing act for a crossover!

The best part to all of this is that I have no idea how this will end up impacting the ending to both shows. Which one will end first? Will they wind up mirroring the show’s endings or create a new, cooler one? It’s the uncertaintity that makes me want to know more!

With Steven Universe: Future ending tonight, I think now’s the time when fans will start looking for good fan works to fill the void left behind. When that happens, I cannot recommend Believe in the Weird and the Wild enough. Two bright stars that will change their world forever.

Special thanks to Gogola for getting me this fan art done in time for the finale. If you haven’t already, go check them out on Instagram. They’re big fans of Star vs. and Steven Universe and they accept payment for commissions!

Click here to see more of Gogola’s work

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