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peachiesclosetI forgot about the Yuletide fic I wrote this year, whoops. Anyway, here it is! It's the earliest I've finished Yuletide, and it gave me an opportunity to revisit Paper Mario after I played it years ago as a teenager~
Title: No matter how your heart is grieving
Author: Puri
Fandom: Paper Mario 64
Genre: General
Rating: G
Warnings: None! It's as G-rated as it gets.
Ships/Characters: Princess Peach & Twink
Finished: Yes
“Good morning, princess! Did you sleep well?” Twink greeted.
At first, the whole situation felt like a bad dream. Princess Peach took it for granted that Mario would always beat Bowser and save the Mushroom Kingdom—she didn’t know why the Koopa King kept trying. At this point, he just felt like a big bully rather than a legitimate threat. But then he revealed he had stolen the Star Rod, and he displayed its power by wishing to become invincible. Nothing Mario tried worked. Next thing she knew, Bowser swatted him away like a mere bug.
“Good morning, Twink! Yes, I slept fine.” Peach smiled sadly. She tended to her usual routine: shower, getting dressed, and cosmetics. It’s the little things that mattered when you’re trapped high up in the sky. After another breakfast in which she refused to speak with Bowser, she returned to the porch of her room. The sky remained on the cusp of night and day, lit by the orange glow of the sun at the bottom and perpetually violet on top from the blanket of outer space. The stars were dimmer due to Bowser’s interference, slowly turning the night into a hopeless void.
“Princess Peach? Are you all right?” Twink asked.
“I suppose I’m still a little shocked.” Peach admitted. “It was horrible seeing Mario being hurt and defeated like that! When Bowser sent him flying from the castle, I thought… I thought maybe… I don’t want to think about it!” It wasn’t like there weren’t other heroes who would learn of her plight and come to save her. But he was her Mario! The idea of losing him forever was like sharp claws piercing across her heart. She wouldn’t be able to stand it!
“Don’t worry, princess! We know he’s okay now. And he’s helping you as we speak!” Twink said. “I know I’m not as powerful or experienced as he is, but I want to do what I can while we’re up here. He wouldn’t want us to lose hope!”
“You’re right, Twink. He’d want us to stay strong! Say… would you like to hear about the time Mario and I first met? Or the other times he saved me?”
“Of course! I heard a lot about Mario’s adventures, but I never heard it from your point of view, princess! This sounds exciting!”
“It was a long, long time ago…” Peach reminisced. “The Mushroom Kingdom was a much more dangerous place than the one we know today. The Koopas held control over the kingdom for years, and as soon as I was old enough to rule, King Bowser kidnapped me and kept me hidden in one of his many castles. One day, two heroes came from another world… one by one, they went through each castle, saving each Toad trapped inside. Finally, they were the first ever to defeat Bowser, and they found me. You can say the rest is history!”
“Those two heroes… they’re Mario and Luigi, right?”
“That’s right! I have to say, they didn’t look how I expected.” Peach giggled. “But I didn’t mind. They have lived here in the Mushroom Kingdom since!”
“You said they arrived from another world… what do you mean by that? Didn’t they grow up in the Mushroom Kingdom?”
“They were born here, that’s for sure. That’s what the Yoshies told me. They grew up in a far off place called New Donk City. They ran a plumbing business together when suddenly Koopas and other bizarre creatures started coming out of the sewers. They found an interconnected network of pipes underground, one which led to our world. They liked it in the Mushroom Kingdom so much that they built a house here, so we could visit each other as much as we’d like! In peaceful times, Mario and Luigi and I would get together with friends to play golf and tennis—we even let Bowser join us as long as he behaved himself.”
“Bowser? Playing golf and tennis with you and the Mario Bros? That’s hard to believe!”
“It’s strange, isn’t it? Believe me, I much prefer having him as a rival than being his prisoner!” Peach sighed. “The last time he caused trouble, he stole the Power Stars from the castle and sealed me and the Toads inside its walls. Right when I was about to bake a cake for Mario, too! Small worlds came to life in the paintings around the castle… you could even jump inside the face of the grandfather clock upstairs and climb over its gadgets! Depending on the time, everything inside the clock would ridiculously move fast or be completely still—those were the sort of places Mario explored to get the Power Stars back.”
“That’s incredible! It sounds a lot like a fairy tale.”
“Once I even got to join Mario in his adventures!” Peach smiled. “We were going on a picnic together with Luigi and Toad when we discovered a cave with a mysterious door inside. Mario was just telling us of a dream where the same thing happened… and that’s how we found Subcon, the native home of many creatures such as Shy Guys and Bomb-ombs. A terrible man named Wart and his goons stole Subcon's Dream Machine and used it to invade the land. Like Bowser feels now, it seemed he was invincible… but it turned out he really really hates vegetables. With some well-timed turnips and radishes, we threw them down his mouth and saved Subcon once and for all!”
“Yay! That’s amazing! It’s good to hear Subcon is safe. I’m sure it’s indebted to you and Mario and your friends.”
“The funny thing is the whole thing felt like a dream… I’m used to Mario and Luigi telling me about their adventures, but this time, I got to see and explore the places they went with them. Giant waterfalls, sprawling deserts, frozen tundras… even far up in the clouds. I admit, I was disappointed when I woke up and found myself in bed. But Mario and Luigi and Toad all had the same dream as me. Next thing we knew, people from Subcon started moving into the Mushroom Kingdom. We invited someone named Birdo to our golf and tennis matches. We never knew her, and yet… it felt like we’ve known each other for a long time. She said we were enemies once, but now she was indebted to us. But what for? I still don’t understand…”
“Maybe the journey to Subcon wasn’t a dream after all.” Twink smiled. “Who knows? Maybe it really happened! And that’s why its citizens have the freedom to go in and out of the Mushroom Kingdom as they please.”
“You know… It’s not quite the same as going out there and saving the world. I can’t see the places and people Mario is visiting now. But if we escape… if we find little things to help Mario on his journey… it’d be an adventure by itself, wouldn’t it?”
“I think you’re right, princess. It might not be the usual sort of adventure, but it still counts!”
“I’ve heard there’s a secret switch in this room somewhere! Will you help me find it?”
“Of course, princess!" Twink beamed. "Let’s search every nook and cranny!”
Once they found a red button beneath one of her paintings, a newfound hope filled Princess Peach’s heart. True, this wasn’t the kind of adventure you’d expect a hero to have, and the fate of the Mushroom Kingdom still hung in the air, but for the first time since Mario fell from the sky, she found a new reason to keep believing. The stars may have lost their glimmer, but it won’t stop her from dreaming—when she played the role of the star herself, anything was possible.
Title: No matter how your heart is grieving
Author: Puri
Fandom: Paper Mario 64
Genre: General
Rating: G
Warnings: None! It's as G-rated as it gets.
Ships/Characters: Princess Peach & Twink
Finished: Yes
“Good morning, princess! Did you sleep well?” Twink greeted.
At first, the whole situation felt like a bad dream. Princess Peach took it for granted that Mario would always beat Bowser and save the Mushroom Kingdom—she didn’t know why the Koopa King kept trying. At this point, he just felt like a big bully rather than a legitimate threat. But then he revealed he had stolen the Star Rod, and he displayed its power by wishing to become invincible. Nothing Mario tried worked. Next thing she knew, Bowser swatted him away like a mere bug.
“Good morning, Twink! Yes, I slept fine.” Peach smiled sadly. She tended to her usual routine: shower, getting dressed, and cosmetics. It’s the little things that mattered when you’re trapped high up in the sky. After another breakfast in which she refused to speak with Bowser, she returned to the porch of her room. The sky remained on the cusp of night and day, lit by the orange glow of the sun at the bottom and perpetually violet on top from the blanket of outer space. The stars were dimmer due to Bowser’s interference, slowly turning the night into a hopeless void.
“Princess Peach? Are you all right?” Twink asked.
“I suppose I’m still a little shocked.” Peach admitted. “It was horrible seeing Mario being hurt and defeated like that! When Bowser sent him flying from the castle, I thought… I thought maybe… I don’t want to think about it!” It wasn’t like there weren’t other heroes who would learn of her plight and come to save her. But he was her Mario! The idea of losing him forever was like sharp claws piercing across her heart. She wouldn’t be able to stand it!
“Don’t worry, princess! We know he’s okay now. And he’s helping you as we speak!” Twink said. “I know I’m not as powerful or experienced as he is, but I want to do what I can while we’re up here. He wouldn’t want us to lose hope!”
“You’re right, Twink. He’d want us to stay strong! Say… would you like to hear about the time Mario and I first met? Or the other times he saved me?”
“Of course! I heard a lot about Mario’s adventures, but I never heard it from your point of view, princess! This sounds exciting!”
“It was a long, long time ago…” Peach reminisced. “The Mushroom Kingdom was a much more dangerous place than the one we know today. The Koopas held control over the kingdom for years, and as soon as I was old enough to rule, King Bowser kidnapped me and kept me hidden in one of his many castles. One day, two heroes came from another world… one by one, they went through each castle, saving each Toad trapped inside. Finally, they were the first ever to defeat Bowser, and they found me. You can say the rest is history!”
“Those two heroes… they’re Mario and Luigi, right?”
“That’s right! I have to say, they didn’t look how I expected.” Peach giggled. “But I didn’t mind. They have lived here in the Mushroom Kingdom since!”
“You said they arrived from another world… what do you mean by that? Didn’t they grow up in the Mushroom Kingdom?”
“They were born here, that’s for sure. That’s what the Yoshies told me. They grew up in a far off place called New Donk City. They ran a plumbing business together when suddenly Koopas and other bizarre creatures started coming out of the sewers. They found an interconnected network of pipes underground, one which led to our world. They liked it in the Mushroom Kingdom so much that they built a house here, so we could visit each other as much as we’d like! In peaceful times, Mario and Luigi and I would get together with friends to play golf and tennis—we even let Bowser join us as long as he behaved himself.”
“Bowser? Playing golf and tennis with you and the Mario Bros? That’s hard to believe!”
“It’s strange, isn’t it? Believe me, I much prefer having him as a rival than being his prisoner!” Peach sighed. “The last time he caused trouble, he stole the Power Stars from the castle and sealed me and the Toads inside its walls. Right when I was about to bake a cake for Mario, too! Small worlds came to life in the paintings around the castle… you could even jump inside the face of the grandfather clock upstairs and climb over its gadgets! Depending on the time, everything inside the clock would ridiculously move fast or be completely still—those were the sort of places Mario explored to get the Power Stars back.”
“That’s incredible! It sounds a lot like a fairy tale.”
“Once I even got to join Mario in his adventures!” Peach smiled. “We were going on a picnic together with Luigi and Toad when we discovered a cave with a mysterious door inside. Mario was just telling us of a dream where the same thing happened… and that’s how we found Subcon, the native home of many creatures such as Shy Guys and Bomb-ombs. A terrible man named Wart and his goons stole Subcon's Dream Machine and used it to invade the land. Like Bowser feels now, it seemed he was invincible… but it turned out he really really hates vegetables. With some well-timed turnips and radishes, we threw them down his mouth and saved Subcon once and for all!”
“Yay! That’s amazing! It’s good to hear Subcon is safe. I’m sure it’s indebted to you and Mario and your friends.”
“The funny thing is the whole thing felt like a dream… I’m used to Mario and Luigi telling me about their adventures, but this time, I got to see and explore the places they went with them. Giant waterfalls, sprawling deserts, frozen tundras… even far up in the clouds. I admit, I was disappointed when I woke up and found myself in bed. But Mario and Luigi and Toad all had the same dream as me. Next thing we knew, people from Subcon started moving into the Mushroom Kingdom. We invited someone named Birdo to our golf and tennis matches. We never knew her, and yet… it felt like we’ve known each other for a long time. She said we were enemies once, but now she was indebted to us. But what for? I still don’t understand…”
“Maybe the journey to Subcon wasn’t a dream after all.” Twink smiled. “Who knows? Maybe it really happened! And that’s why its citizens have the freedom to go in and out of the Mushroom Kingdom as they please.”
“You know… It’s not quite the same as going out there and saving the world. I can’t see the places and people Mario is visiting now. But if we escape… if we find little things to help Mario on his journey… it’d be an adventure by itself, wouldn’t it?”
“I think you’re right, princess. It might not be the usual sort of adventure, but it still counts!”
“I’ve heard there’s a secret switch in this room somewhere! Will you help me find it?”
“Of course, princess!" Twink beamed. "Let’s search every nook and cranny!”
Once they found a red button beneath one of her paintings, a newfound hope filled Princess Peach’s heart. True, this wasn’t the kind of adventure you’d expect a hero to have, and the fate of the Mushroom Kingdom still hung in the air, but for the first time since Mario fell from the sky, she found a new reason to keep believing. The stars may have lost their glimmer, but it won’t stop her from dreaming—when she played the role of the star herself, anything was possible.
