"So you're Peach's new helping hands?" Toadette asked. "Peach, are you sure this is a good idea?"

Peach nodded. "Olivia will be coming with me. Olly, you'll get started with Toadette here. Don't be too much trouble!"

I could tell she was teasing me, but the statement still struck me like a train. I don't think I've officially gotten over the past year yet...If it has been a year since the Origami Festival, how come Peach didn't invite us to the castle until now? Why hadn't Mario or Luigi told us about this holiday?

Oh wait, I guess I missed some information when I introduced myself before. Let me start over...

I was given life by a Toad named Origami Craftsman. Creative, huh? He used a forbidden skill called Fold of Life...which I'd accidentally inherited. Origami folding origami...it was a situation that could throw reality out of balance. Which I, without meaning to of course, did.

Anyhow...Olivia, who I folded using the Origami Craftsman's idea for me, decided to turn against me. She was so brave for that. But of course the me back then saw differently. I was insane, even. Olivia teamed up with Mario to fight me, and they won! After that, I tried to undo all of the harm I'd caused. Olivia's special attack really knocked some sense back into my muddled mind. We've been staying with Mario and his younger twin, Luigi ever since.

Toadette had been talking to me the entire time, and I realized I wasn't paying attention when she asked me a question. She stared at me, waiting for a response. I couldn't ask her to repeat herself, because that would damage my image! "Oblivious Olly," they'd all call me. That would be worse than calling me a villain, because it'd mean I'd be incompetent at ruling a kingdom!

"Are you okay? Did you hear what I said? You did look like you were somewhere else there."

Somewhere else? Maybe she's the oblivious one...I've been standing here the entire time! How can I look like I'm "somewhere else" when I've been here, and she's been talking to me for the past minute?

"Okay...Moving on."

She went to a counter and shooed a blue Toad away. She grabbed a white board and placed it on the counter, putting a deep bowl next to the board.

"Okay," she said whilst reaching into a bag, "so you'll need to grab a potato and put it on the cutting board." She grabbed a knife.

She didn't seem to notice I'd instinctively flinched when she pulled the knife out.

She cut the potato into thin slices and dropped them into the pan. "Just keep that up. You'll need to chop all of these, so let me know when you're done."

She motioned towards a large pile of potatoes, which nearly touched the ceiling. I stuttered and stammered, pointing a hand at the stack.

"I know it looks like a lot, but it'd be over in no time! Bye bye!" She exited and shut the door.

I assumed I had to get started then, so I grabbed a potato and washed it off like I saw Toadette do. I dropped it onto the cutting board and got to work.

"Ahem."

I jumped so hard I nearly cut off the tip of my hand. I looked to the Toad, who hadn't left with Toadette like I'd thought. He looked a bit awkward and liked he wanted work.

"...Hello there."

The Toad rubbed his mushroom cap. "H-hey. You're King Olly, right?"

"I...wouldn't say king. I lost the rights to have a kingdom, as if I ever had them in the first place." I brushed the chopped potato into the bowl. "But you would know me as the Origami Overlord who, and I quote, 'tried to commit genocide of Toads because of his own lousy 'trauma.' If you would even call it that."

"Who told you that?"

"Oh...plenty of people." Lies. I actually told myself that on a near daily basis. It was a true fact, but not said to me by others.

"Well, I don't think you're evil-evil."

I blinked at him. "What does that mean, exactly?" I was still chopping the potatoes, but it was more of a rhythm now so I could spend more time talking with this strange Toad. Why was he being so friendly to me?

"Well...there have been other people. Worse people."

"Explain? I thought Bowser was the vile one, but he helped beat me to a crumpled ball."

"There's been years of vile villains. I think you're more on the...lighter side of things. You definitely did some bad things, but I've seen worse."

"Alright, explain further."

"There's this one villain named Cackletta. She kidnapped Peach and gave her an explosive voice!"

"So anytime she would talk, the castle would risk destruction?"

The Toad nodded. "And there's this one named Dimentio...He was a lot worse than any of the others."

Dimen...tee-oh? Dimentio. That name rung in my head like a bell tolling only warnings. Why did this name feel important to remember? I've never heard of a Dimentio before, and I'm certain I would recognize him if I'd seen him.

"Dimentio?"

"Yeah...He wanted to recreate all of reality. He used powerful dark magic for that. He even manipulated the very person he was working under to get it! He risked his life for his own greed, and that therefore brought his downfall."

"That sounded a bit poetic there. Do you like poetry?"

"Oh! I guess I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Lynn."

Lynn? That's a name I hadn't heard before. He offered me his hand, and I hesitantly shook it.

"I'm Olly. Sorry to meet on bad terms. I'm trying to be a better person." Nailed it.

I noticed a small badge on his jacket. It was multi-colored, a pleasant pattern of yellow, white, black, and purple. There was another one under that was mostly blue with a bit of teal and white.

"Nice pins," I said, motioning towards the blue one. "Where'd you get them?"

"Uh...Uhhhh...!" He grabbed them, covering them tightly with his hand.

Did...I do something wrong already? I'd just met Lynn, and he just met the nice side of me. I didn't want to ruin that so soon.

"I-Sorry. I didn't mean to bring up something sensitive."

"No, it's fine. It's just...most people already know what the flags mean..."

"Flags? No, silly! Those are badges!"

He stared at me, and I knew I seemed like an idiot. I waited until he looked away and started beating my forehead on the counter to knock the knowledge back into me. I stopped right when he faced me again.

"This one means I'm non-binary." He pointed towards the yellow, white, black, and purple one.

"And that means...?"

"That I...don't feel like any gender? I don't feel like a girl or a boy, if that makes sense?"

"Not in the slightest, but keep going!" Nailed it again.

"This one means I like boys."

"That's an option?!"

"I regret this conversation."

"Sorry if I'm making this seem weird, but I'm really only one year old. I mean, I know I was folded to life at the age of twelve, but I've only been alive one year. So I want to understand this. It's new to me, and I like learning things!"

"You like learning?" Lynn wanted to change the subject, so I allowed it.

I nodded. "Anything from origami to those buttons. Is it odd for me to like learning?"

"I don't think so? I just never heard anyone say that before. Could you pass me a potato? I want to help you."

I looked at the stack. "Sure." I reached for one. "Lynn, so you want to see something?"

"Sure."

I hadn't used Fold of Life since the Origami Festival, so tapping back into it was as if it were new to me. But it quickly came back to me on how to use it, and I floated the potato to him.

"Woah...You have magic? No wonder people are so scared of you."

"What's that supposed to mean? They're against Origami Folk with magic?"

"All of the villains, except Bowser, have had magic so far. Fawful, King Boo, Count Bleck, you name them."

Fawful was a funny name, but it still felt important to me. Why was this happening?

"You seem...nicer than the other Toads."

"I don't get why everyone is so afraid of you."

"Well, that's because I hurt people. I specifically targeted the Toads because the Origami Craftsman wrote a letter to me...on me."

"I wasn't there when you went evil."

We both spoke at the same time, but we still heard each other clearly. He-I mean they-and I shared a look of confusion and laughter.

"On you? Isn't that disrespectful?"

"So you weren't there? That makes sense then."

We both spoke at the same time again, and now I was feeling a bit embarrassed.

"It's extremely disrespectful!"

"I was just going on a cruise when we got attacked by a giant Blooper. It looked like paper mache."

I froze in place. They knew about the Super Glooper. If they knew I was the one controlling it, if they knew I was the one who attacked that ship I-I...! Everything started to become too much. The lights were too bright, my breaths and heartbeat were too loud. My head spun and a could feel my heart pulling at my throat.

"Olly! Snap out of it!"

Everything snapped to normal when Lynn yelled at me. I had no idea what just happened, but they seemed worried for me.

"Olly? Are you okay? I've been calling for you for a minute now."

"A minute...?" Time seemed to have frozen when that strange sensation came over me. "I...think I need some air. I'll come back in a minute or so."

"Okay."

I opened the door and flew past the kitchen. Toadette watched me leave, but I didn't see her following me, so I assumed she didn't care. I went outside and took a few shaky breaths.

"What's wrong with me?"