Hey guys! I hope you don't mind a random Mario fanfic. Especially for Super Paper Mario...Which is a great game! People are just mean to this game!
And this game emotionally broke me as a 12 year old...Getting punched in the gut by a Mario game certainly is a feat.
I guess one day I thought! "Hey! Let's make this game even more bittersweet!"
I will give more details at the end. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Super Paper Mario belongs to Nintendo. This is just a fanfic written by a fan.
It was days after their latest adventure concluded, and everyone in all the universes survived nearly by the hairs on their heads. It would certainly be an adventure Mario and his friends would remember. And yet, even if all the citizens of Flipside and Flopside were about to let the celebrations go on for an entire week, Mario was about ready to sigh for a year.
After Mario and his friends returned to Flipside, Merlon secluded himself in his house, and Mario and Peach felt the need to respect his space. Lady Timpani was a dear friend, and she was part of the journey. It felt empty celebrating without her. And Princess Peach knew this.
She noticed Mario hadn't talked much as they strolled around the town, and his eyes looked awfully distant. Princess Peach stopped walking and turned to Mario, who blinked in surprise and then frowned, feeling a bit guilty for not saying anything.
"Sorry Princess," Mario cried.
Princess Peach shook her head. "I understand Mario."
Princess Peach took Mario's hand and a light blush formed on his face.
"I miss Timpani so much! She was a dear friend," Princess Peach started. "But she will always be with us because she and Blumiere gave us the most precious gift."
Mario gave her hand a slight squeeze and tried to find happiness for the princess and Timpani.
"The love between Blumiere and Timpani saved us all, and life is so beautiful," Princess Peach said.
She gave Mario a reassuring smile. "We should show our gratitude."
Mario took a moment to take the princess' other hand and jump with her.
"Of course!" Mario said.
With that, the princess eagerly took Mario by the hand, and the both of them ran to the marketplace wondering what delicious food was available, but instead, something happened that surprised them.
"Catch it! Catch it!"
Mario and the Princess turned and saw a crowd of Flipside residents causing the commotion. Both of them were about to ask what was going on.
"Catch the bouquet!"
"Huh?" Mario and Peach cried in unison.
It turns out a glittering bouquet was bouncing along with the crowd of Flipside residents. Residents of each gender and age were eager to catch that magical bouquet for good fortune.
But the bouquet seemed to be bouncing away from the residents, although that didn't stop everyone's determination.
Mario and Princess Peach couldn't help but walk closer, and Princess Peach was stunned as the bouquet glittered and twirled in the air before launching into her arms.
The residents of Flipside turned to the bewildered princess. Some looked overjoyed, while others looked a bit bummed.
"Look! The princess caught it!" A citizen cried triumphantly.
There were modest cheers and applause. "Congratulations!" Another citizen cried with genuine happiness.
Honestly, the princess didn't want to think about marriage for herself because it had been a few days since they saved the worlds, and right now, it was a time to celebrate how the wedding bells for Blumiere and Timpani saved the world.
And Mario didn't even speak of what catching a bouquet meant because the colorful flowers and glitter reminded him so much of a dear old friend.
Mario took a closer look, and the princess turned to him.
"It couldn't be…." Mario said.
They both pondered even if the banter between all the Flipside residents filled their ears.
"...Could it?" Mario said.
It took a moment for the princess to piece together, but as she looked at the colorful bouquet in her hands, flashes of familiar voices and wedding bells came to her mind.
With that in mind, she cherished the bouquet in her hands. But then she and Mario looked down at a little girl who stared at them.
"The bouquet is beautiful, princess," the little girl said.
Princess Peach noticed the girl's pleading eyes, and she knelt down and presented the bouquet to her.
"Go ahead and take it," the princess said with a smile.
"Yay!" The little girl gleefully accepted the bouquet and ran over to show the bouquet to her friends.
Princess Peach stood up and smiled at Mario as they took hands.
Meanwhile, in Flopside…
Bowser enjoyed the much-needed vacation because he realized being a hero was back-breaking work. The Koopa King told himself that once he returned home to his powerful land of lava, he would be back reaping havoc like he always did.
But the excitement of a huge crowd irritated him slightly.
"What is all that racket?" Bowser cried.
No one gave him an explanation, but he could've sworn he heard the townspeople of Flopside getting excited over flowers.
He stopped in front of the crowd of tiny townsfolk.
"Where's the fire?" Bowser cried.
And then the reason for the commotion came to him. Bowser's eyes went wide as he saw a glittery rainbow bouquet bouncing around the crowd and all the citizens of Flopside tried to watch it.
"We need to catch it," cried a citizen.
Then suddenly, the bouquet flew in the air with a small magical rainbow trailing on it and landed in Bowser's claws.
The residents of Flopside turned and gave equally shocked faces. Then one resident started clapping.
"King Bowser caught it!"
There was a roar of applause, but Bowser was still incredibly bewildered that this mysterious rainbow bouquet sought him out and landed in his claws.
A small kid walked up to Bowser and smiled politely.
"Great job Lord Bowser. Now you will be the next one to get married!" Said the child.
The tough as a boulder Koopa king couldn't help but blush over that notion. But he thought back on Lady Timpani and Blumiere and all his friends and felt another tearjerker wedding would have to wait.
"Aw shucks!" Bowser cried. "This is great and all, but…." Bowser smiled at all the little children looking up at him. "But all of you deserve someone to love."
All the children looked up to Bowser with sparkling eyes. And Bowser lifted the bouquet in the air like a football.
"Go long kids!" Bowser cried.
And the children scurried away as Bowser threw the bouquet far.
Bowser admitted they were an adorable bunch, but he just wanted to sit in a hammock and have some quiet time. However, a few older residents of Flipside gathered around the Koopa king.
"King Bowser saved us along with Mario!"
Bowser was shocked. He was about to correct that little squirt of a Flopside resident and say that he was the group's brawn. But more residents gathered around like he was a celebrity.
"He's a hero!"
Bowser got lifted by an army of Flopside residents against his will. He struggled a bit and tried to tell the residents to leave him alone, but they sat him down at a dinner table with a giant white wedding cake.
All the residents took a seat, and the Flopside resident sitting next to Bowser smiled at him even if the Koopa king was still stunned.
"Now we can finally start the party," the resident said. "And you get to eat some cake first, King Bowser."
Bowser clenched his agape mouth shut, and when he saw the residents smiling at him and the delicious-looking cake, he started to chuckle.
"Don't mind if I do!" Bowser said as he stuck his hands in the cake and scooped out big pieces to shovel into his mouth. He chewed, swallowed, and mentally gave his compliments to the chef before looking back at the residents.
"Oh, please take some cake as well," Bowser said.
Back at Flipside, there was also a festival going on. There were enough flowers and wedding cake for everyone, and Princess Peach helped the children decorate cupcakes.
Mario took a moment to settle down after all the feasting. He smiled, seeing the princess and all the residents so happy and at peace.
But when he looked again, he saw something beautiful fluttering in the air.
When his vision came into focus, he saw a beautiful pink butterfly fluttering on the flowers. And Mario couldn't help but grin again.
And days later, Merlon found the strength to go outside again. He accompanied Mario and Peach to tell stories to the children in the school. The story of Lord Blumiere and Lady Timpani and the love they shared that saved the worlds.
"And the sound of the wedding bells and the pure hearts of the beloved healed the dark hole in the sky," Merlon said as he closed the storybook.
The children cheered before begging for the story to continue.
Merlon merely chuckled.
"Calm down children," Merlon said. "My friends and I came to invite all you children to the first wedding of the world Lady Timpani and Lord Blumiere created for us."
The children took a moment to gasp and ask what that meant.
"Yes," Merlon said. "It will surely be a blessed marriage."
The children got off their cushions, eager to go. They followed Merlon, Princess Peach, and their Uncle Mario to the top of the Flipside tower, where the wedding ceremony was about to start.
Merlon walked to the bride and groom and asked everyone to be silent.
Mario and Peach joined hands. There were smiles all around the crowd for the couple.
"May Lady Timpani and Lord Blumiere bless this marriage. And may this wedded couple be blessed with a love for all the ages!" Merlon said.
Merlon nodded and smiled proudly.
"By the power vested in me, I now announce you husband and wife!"
And when the wedding bells rang, the audience cheered as they threw flower petals. Mario and Peach congratulated the newlyweds, and two of the wedding guests opened up wooden boxes that contained butterflies.
Many butterflies had wings in all the colors of the rainbow.
Mario couldn't help but watch as the butterflies flew away. And the remembrance of an old friend caused him to place his hand on his chest.
"Thank you, Timpani."
Y'know...I should really write Bowser more often. I really enjoyed writing him...He's one of the most iconic video game villains for a reason.
Anyway, I am not sure what compelled me to write this. I did randomly think of this post-game event because I felt Super Paper Mario needed a wedding bouquet scene.
And then recently my life took a turn for the better...And it made me think of the theme of this fanfic...Gratitude, friendship, new beginnings.
And how a positive force can change the world.
But surprisingly enough my life took a turn for the better when I returned to my friend group...A friend group I ditched because I was on a massive vanity trip with my writing. Writing was my top priority and when I returned to my clan nobody held it against me...My younger friend was also elated to see me and I was just so surprised.
And days being back and I was so incredibly happy...I haven't been so happy in ages and I cried happy tears...And I honestly cannot think of the last time I cried happy tears.
And it's amazing because months ago I cried myself to sleep for the exact opposite reason...
I literally came back to them as I was and I no longer felt insecure. I no longer felt like a fandom rogue...After so much time of me feeling I wasn't good enough I finally decided I was good enough being with them.
So, they have my gratitude.
Really I don't know what I did to deserve being in such a supportive group...And honestly what I have to type down really isn't enough to show how grateful I am.
So maraming salamat and grazie mille, again and again.
Especially for my younger sibling who ran to my side when I returned home. I can hardly wait to see you become an adult we can all be proud of. But I know you will be. There isn't a doubt in my mind.
Anyway, I will see you guys next fanfic.
This is Emiko Gale signing out!