Star vs the Forces of Evil: The Ballad of Earth-Mewni

Episode 14: Double Laced Butterfly (Part 1)

On this lovely Earthni day, Star found herself starting her morning routine relatively early. Well...relative to when she would wake up sometimes since the Cleaving. Some days, with her condition so erratic & inconsistent, she wouldn't wake up until 1 or 2 in the afternoon, if she was lucky. Today, though? She considered a 9-ish morning wake up time a victory. She took very little time in dressing and caring for herself, finishing up in the bathroom by washing her face with warm water and adjusting her outfit. All of this while avoiding the mirror like it was the plague and using her new phone's video camera feature to properly groom herself.

Today, her outfit consisted of a bit more color than she was used to recently. Today, she sported a teal "Star Butterfly" leather jacket with a multi-colored "Bubble Butt" t-shirt, which complimented nicely with her green Edgar dress outfit. She paid extra attention to her hair. The long, flowing locks that she chopped almost completely off just a few weeks prior were beginning to grow back, much to her delight. She didn't regret the bold step in giving herself a massive makeover, but she was certainly elated to have her flowing locks slowly coming in again. The only thing out of place was her headband; she remained hesitant to return to her signature devil horns headband, instead continuing to wear her new black headband with the twin shimmering stars. Other than that, you'd swear that her makeover was just a fever dream.

Without a word uttered, she finished up and departed, heading down the hall towards the stairwell that would lead her to the main lobby. On her way, she passed by her mother's room, where she caught wind of her and River conversing at a table with stacks of paper spread out; they appeared to be talking about some political business. Despite the fact that she had an all-but-permanent optional reprieve from politics, she still felt compelled to inquire. She knocked on her mother's door. "Mom? Dad?"

"There's our little bucket of sunshine!" River exclaimed, eagerly greeting her at the door. Moon was not too far behind. "You look quite colorful today!"

She chuckled, her face blushing slightly. "Thanks, Dad. W-What are you guys up to?"

"Just going over some formalitles and paperwork," Moon explained, leading her to the table. The height and sheer number of stacks blew Star away. So many loose papers.

"Holy corn this is a lot...you know, I could stay behind and help you guys-"

"Oh don't even think about it, sweetheart. You go enjoy your day, your father and I will be fine." Moon insisted, the smile on her face glistening in the light. Poor Moon was trying. As was Star. Despite the obvious unspoken baggage still lingering between the two, they loved each other & were determined like hell to fix what was broken & move forward. "You can help us tomorrow."

The teen sighed. "Mom, I appreciate that, but I wouldn't mind. Really." Her eyes darted towards one of the smaller stacks of paper, which she unconsciously started to rummage through. The contents of said paper took her by surprise. "What's this?" She quietly skimmed through the words. "Exhibition match?"

"Oh quite! One of the proposals from Earth's rulers-"

"Dad...you mean Echo Creek's mayor & governor..." Star corrected him. There was still a learning curve when it came to how Earth's government system functioned on a small and large scale.

"Whatever those people are called..." And River was not one to be interested in such formalities. "One of their proposals was a Cornball exhibition match to take place the day of the playground's grand opening." The day that construction on the new Earthni playground was set to begin was not too far away now. "It would be the game that formally kicks off this year's Cornball season! Doesn't that sound exhilarating!?"

Star mulled over the idea for a brief moment. The more she thought about it, the more she agreed with it. "You know what? That...that does sound like a really ingenious idea. It could like a multi-race bonding moment for our new world if we pull this off! Between actually building the playground and this, it'll surely be a huge hit with everyone...I hope..."