#olinnordenn

Continute with comic livestream

I am Marco Diaz

Introduction

My kidlet discovered SVTFOE in 2020. In an attempt to spend some quality time together I started watching the show with them. It was early in season two when I started and after two episodes each night before bed we finished the series in about a month.  I then went back to see what I missed.  Between episodes we’d talk about what we liked with the animation and story, what we thought could have been better, and tried to guess what would happen next.

Realization

My mother has a habit of sending old photos from when I was a kid. You would think it’s because she wants to brighten my day but really my parents are trying to purge my childhood home of anything they no longer need. In one of these pictures I'm around 13 years old and sitting on the floor of my room. I'm making a weird face but look like a generally happy kid in my signature deep red sweatshirt, dark blue jeans, and styling a haircut that was pretty standard for back-in-the-day. If you look close you can even see a mole on one of my cheeks.

Overall this is the Marco look other than I don't share the character's Mexican heritage. Instead I have the type of skin that can get a sunburn in a rainstorm.

Growing up I kept my room very clean. True to form, the photo shows everything on my bookshelf well organized and in its right place. I'm kind of proud looking back at this. My mom likes to tell stories like how I once put notes on my laundry piles so I could tell which one was clean and which one was dirty. Very Marco.

Thinking back to what I did as an early teenager, it was everything Marco did pre-Star, just swap out strip-mall karate for Boy Scouts & backyard sports (we didn't have any dojo's nearby back then). I cooked for myself, watched karate movies, helped my mother with housework, and for the most part I took on any responsibilities that came my way. Like Marco, I even had two friends like Alfonzo and Ferguson who I played DnD with.

More important than all this, I had many of the same qualities.  Am I working hard enough to be the best I can be? Should I do more than nod at that girl and risk embarrassing myself?  All the issues he had at the beginning of the series (more than I have time to mention here), I had them too. If it wasn't for a classmate telling me we were going out in middle school and the same girl telling me we were going out again senior year of high school I likely never would have even dated back then. I was selfless to the point of making myself miserable, always playing it safe, and locking up my own feelings (even ones about who I liked) to avoid making anyone else feel uncomfortable.

This continued into sophomore year of college. It wasn’t until I met the teacher who became a role-model for how I wanted to live my life that I changed. Instead of talking about grades, a few times a week we talked about family, dreams, feelings. He was a loving, compassionate man who was confident just being himself.  I wouldn’t say he was a best friend, more like an Eclipsa who  helping me figure out who I wanted to be.

After college my family expected that I would keep living at home, maybe find a crappy job, stay safe. However my mentor gave me one last gift when school ended. He set me on a path that led me to NYC. Although scared of failure, like Marco I was organized and planned for every contingency. What got me through the change, knowing that if I pull this off I could do anything.

Looking back I wonder what would have been different if I had met my best friend when I was 14 like Marco did.  How much farther could I have gone if I had someone to help me figure myself out with at a younger age?

My Star

I was 23 years old and I found myself in the basement of a Brooklyn storage building that hosted a LARPing group. It might have been weird but after a few events I was certain that I had finally found people I could be myself around. Also exciting for me, a few weeks earlier I got into a potentially awesome relationship. I had met a young brunette who was falling hard for me. She wasn’t exactly Jackie but she did have some Jackie like qualities. I was broke, worked a crappy job, but after a few failed relationships in and after college it looked like having someone meaningful in my life was finally possible.

There in that basement I waited for the next game to start. Looking out into the crowd I noticed that a young woman had entered the room and was being introduced to people. She wore a wide smile, loose fitting blouse & skirt, and on her feet Birkenstocks. Her extremely long blonde hair flowed like a halo with a glow that lit up the room. Yes she was beautiful but her most appealing feature, she looked truly happy just being there in the moment meeting people. It was at that instant, that first time I saw my Star, that I knew she was the one I would marry.

Shortly after, her boyfriend introduced me to her. (Yes, the boyfriend played a character in the LARP with horns.  And YES he used fire magic. Total Tom. 100% not joking.) Smiling at each other, my Star and I instantly became friends. Over time I found that we shared a ton of interests, she was my intellectual equal, was incredibly easy for me to talk to, and she had the ability to spread an infectious happiness whenever she was surrounded by friends.

I don't remember when exactly she became my best friend but it didn't take long. Eventually we would talk about our current relationships and what was not right since there was a lot missing for both of us. Like in SVTFOE, I learned that trying to help someone you like find happiness in a relationship with someone else can be VERY uncomfortable. In the end it took exactly one year to the day from when we met to when we had our photo booth moment.  It was then that we talked each other into, in the nicest ways possible, ending our Jackie and Tom relationships. Within a few months of those breakups we nervously admitted that we had to be a couple and we’ve been together since.  Also like Star, my Star was from a different kingdom (we’ll call it Boston) so I too picked up my life and moved out there to be with her.

For those that don't know what LARPing is, it involves running around in the woods, fighting "monsters", and saving the world. Together we were aces at it. She played a spell caster while I was a warrior and we became well known for working as a team and always having each other's backs. We did this for over a decade only stopping when both of us had reached as far in the game as we could go, effectively running virtual kingdoms, and ruling courts of knights & squires that were friends of ours both in and out of game.  Part of our fun was also always working to make sure everyone involved had the opportunity to enjoy themselves. In all ways we had won.  

At the end of SVTFOE, Marco admits that he fell for Star right from the beginning. I've seen fans complain about how this didn't make any sense but I completely disagree. Love at first sight happens but it can be a long confusing path from awkward introductions to togetherness much like it was for Star and Marco.  I waited until the day we were married before I told my Star of the prophesy I came up with that first instant I saw her.

Art

I took a few art classes back in high school and accidentally ended up an art major. It is a long story but basically I didn't get into my first major choice. Rolling with the punches I gave it a try and the weird part, I liked it.

In college I fully embraced my Marco-like organization and focus qualities. Other students were into parties, weed, and other young adult activities. I just painted and focused on making myself better. Sophomore year I transferred to a traditional art school and finished with a BFA, the school’s painting prize, and several scholastic accolades.

What school did not prepare me for was making a living. I was in NYC, trying to connect to the art community but no matter what I tried I did not like any of the people I met. Looking back I did not have enough drama in my life to be interesting to them and their unnecessary drama did not interest me. On top of that NYC can be fantastic but being in the city with no money is depressing! After about two years I gave up on making art as my profession. My Star and I spent a long time talking about ideas and I eventually ended up with an IT help desk job at a museum.

Fast forward to 2020, I’m managing a software development team. A lot of what I do is helping people use IT to make their jobs easier. Very different from where I started but those Marco-like organization and focus skills made it work. Looking back it was the right decision and I'm happy knowing how many people & businesses I've helped during my career but there is some truth that my personality type would likely be much happier doing something else.

On top of my own art experience, I have a budding young artist at home. My youngest started drawing at two and it just comes naturally to them. As soon as they could write the drawings turned into stories and short comics. For fun we would draw together in my old sketchbooks, each taking one side of the same page. Now a teenager, we talk about animation software and the best outfits for their crew of characters. As I’m getting older I’m thinking, how can I help them be prepared for following their dream as well as make a living?

Beach Day

I remember the day I introduced my Star to my grandmother. By this point my grandma was frail and forgetting words was common. She came up to my Star carrying a picture of herself from when she was maybe in her 30s. Holding up the black and white photo all my grandmother could only get out a few words, "This is when I was."

The scary part of growing as a person, we don't stay the same. I am not the same Marco I was 20, 10, even 2 years ago. Neither is my Star. What used to make us happy has changed. On top of that our own bodies are forcing changes on us whether we like it or not.

Near the end of the series Star needs to know why the future isn't as perfect as she thought it would be. Looking for an answer she visits Father Time and asks him why. As Star leaves, too far away for her to hear, he says to himself, "Too bad the hardest times are still ahead." This line sticks with me. I keep thinking that he wasn’t just talking about the climatic end of the show, he was talking about the rest of their lives.  This applies to our lives as well.

The episode ends with Star and Marco having a conversation about making their own happiness no matter what happens. My Star and I talk about this too.  With everything changing all the time it’s not always perfect but we try.  

Ever After

My 12 year old (now 13) didn't get it. Having never been in love they don't understand why at the very end of SVTFOE I get upset. In the last scene the two main characters are together and about to start their ever after. We should be happy for them but all I want to do is warn them about how hard the rest of their lives are going to be together.

You'll experience the happiness of laying in the grass with your love, warmed by the midday sun. You'll know what it’s like holding your newborn, watching them discover life. You'll make holiday dinners for friends and family not just to show them how much you care but to fill your own heart knowing you've made them happy.

You'll have someone to debate all the big decisions, someone you can trust with anything. You are going to be told that you both have made a difference in someone else's world. You'll know that you are a shining example of true love to others.

But even with all that, nothing prepares you for that job that tries to steal your soul. The exhaustion of babies that keep you both up every night for months. The despair when your young child screams and thrashes at you until all you can do is put them down and walk away. The fear when mysterious pains send the two of you to the emergency room at 2 AM. The heartbreak that comes from holding a baby the size of your palm as they take their only breaths. All the times where there is nothing you do can break your best friend out of their crippling depression. Listening to your own kids tell you that they don't want to be your friend. Knowing that you've both spent years so deep in the rat race that you've sure you have missed something, you just don't know what.

Worse yet, you are going to have friends who just laid down to take a nap and never wake up. You'll lose parents because they refused help fighting their own demons. Worst of all, some day you are going to lose each other.  Not only do you have to think about it, you have to be a responsible adult and plan for it.

Those are the big things.  In ever after even the little issues will drive you crazy.  I still try to keep my living space organized while my Star would rather live in Star’s closet full of secrets.  That alone continues to causes soooo much stress.

Thank You

2020 was  a rough year. Our country was politically imploding, we were living in a pandemic lockdown, and I hit a certain birthday that officially qualifies me as old. After my youngest and I finished the series I went online to see if more seasons were planned. This brought me to the beautiful concept artwork on Daron Nefcy's personal web page. From there I listened to interviews where she spoke about storytelling and her experiences as an artist. Eventually I found this whole community who also loved this show.

Where I find happiness in all this is knowing that a group of ordinary people, who all have their own hopes, fears, and dreams, got together and created something extraordinary. In the end they have inspired not just a legion of fans, they have inspired me and for this I say thank you.  Thank you for giving me a story about a magical teenage princess and her best friend that somehow I feel that I can relate too.  Fighting monsters, done that.  Falling in love with my best friend, check.  Save the world and cleave dimensions?  If dong it in a LARP counts, done that too.

My Star is still my best friend.  If you are looking for your own Star or Marco, whether you're 14 or 24 or 34, I hope that my personal story with this show helps you with your journey.

One final word on Art, during the lockdown I started painting again. It didn’t stick so instead I tried doing some writing as a creative outlet.  So far that one seems to be scratching that creative itch that I’ve ignored for far too long. -

This is my entry for the r/StarVStheForcesofEvil, June 2021 Writing Contest.  The subject for this contest was Reflection and the suggestion was writing about what made the show special to you.  Hopefully you all have a story like this too.  Before you ask, yes.  That is the photo my mom sent of me on the left.  On the right is one of the few pictures I have of my Star from back when we used to LARP.  -

Relics

Fan art for chap 33- Relics- from Starco vs parenthood_ written by Olin Nordenn

First try to make fan art with art marker.

I'm going to make more with these markers. And Olin, I actually wrote your name Olin Nodernn below the cover. Sorry about that.

Now I realize that I forgot to add some stickers on the hoola hoop like Star said. Oh well... Too little too late to add them now.

Marco's dream_part 1

As I said yesterday, here's the part 1 of my comic