"What do you mean you have multiple personality disorder!?"

Daisy called Luigi as soon as she received his text message. Luckily, he wasn't doing anything, so she had plenty of opportunity to ask him about what was going on.

"I mean just what I said," Luigi replied calmly. She wondered if he had expected something like this to happen or if he had been through this routine several times.

As for Daisy herself, she didn't know how to react. She had heard of split personalities in movies and on the Internet, but she never met someone who had it. Even further than that, she interacted with two of his other personalities and didn't even know it. The whole situation freaked her out. "Is this like that one movie where this guy has over 20 personalities and he kidnaps these girls but then-"

"Split, you mean? No, it's not like that. Daisy, I'm not going to kidnap anyone or hurt people. Really, I'm just like you."

The girl thought about who she had been crushing on for the past couple of weeks. Luigi himself wasn't threatening in the slightest; he seemed like a normal kid. Keeping this in mind, Daisy took a deep breath. "O-Okay. So, how long have you had this?"

"Since I was about nine. It's um... Difficult sometimes. But I manage."

She took another deep breath to steady her nerves. "How do you go to school if you have all these personalities?"

His tone lightened a bit. Maybe he was glad Daisy wasn't afraid of him or he genuinely liked school. "The short answer is I have to work really, really hard. And I have a letter of accommodation, so that helps. Y-You know, it caught me off guard when I figured out that Louise was socializing today. I mean, I don't really hang out with other kids that much."

"You don't have any friends?" That made her feel sorry for Luigi. He must be so lonely; after all, it must be hard to make friends and keep them when you're constantly switching personalities.

"No, I do. I get along with my brother. Plus, there's this girl that I've known since I was a kid, Peach, but we haven't-"

"That's my cousin."

He sounded surprised. "Your cousin? Huh. Now that I think about it, you guys do look a lot alike. Um, anyway...I'm also friends with a boy in our Math class, Peasley. He knows about my situation." He laughed nervously. "And then there's Mr. L's group, though I myself don't know them that well, so I'm not sure if they count. Is that who you saw him with, by the way?"

She thought about the five preppy kids she met that day and gave a certain nod. "Yeah, I think so. What does he and Louise think about all this, by the way?"

The boy grew quiet. She started to wonder if she offended him somehow before he spoke again. "That's the thing. They don't know they're alters. Um, that's what other personalities are called, by the way."

Her eyes widened and she tried to imagine what that was like. Was Luigi the type of person who would go about his day, minding his own business, when Mr. L or Louise would suddenly come in and hijack it? Is that what happened that same day when Louise went out with Daisy and Rosalina? That must have been so tough and scary. She didn't know what to say.

"Sorry," Luigi said. "It's just that...I'm not used to talking about this stuff. I hope I'm not making you uncomfortable."

"No, it's okay. It's actually really impressive that you can manage school with two other personalities who must-"

"Five others."

"What?"

"I have five other personalities," He explained. "You've only met two of them."

"F-Five personalities?" That revelation made her feel even worse for him. "And I'm guessing they don't know either?"

"Nope."

"B-But how can they not know? I mean, you're constantly in and out of school. Do they just kinda fall asleep, wake up somewhere different, and then accept it? Or is it even like falling asleep? God, I have so many questions."

"Daisy…"

"Like, when you switch personalities or alters or whatever they're called, how does that feel?" She asked, speaking at a faster pace with every word. "And Louise wore girly stuff, so do you all have your own sections in the closet? But then again, if they don't know, I guess everything is all mixed up."

"Daisy, calm down…"

"And Peach told me you have a brother, so do they all get along with him or is it like one of your alters hates his guts so it's awkward when you switch back because-"

"One at a time, please!" Luigi cried. He lowered his voice and squeaked out another apology. "Um...Okay, where do I start? M-Mario gets along with some of my alters better than others. For example, my alter Leo adores him, but he and L fight a lot. So, you're right. It is kind of awkward when I switch back. But there's no bad blood between us. He handles the whole thing quite well, actually."

"And, um…You know, on second thought, I'm not really comfortable explaining all of this over the phone. Is it okay if we talk about this later in person?"

She managed a smile, even if he couldn't see her. "Yeah, of course."

"Thanks. I don't mind your questions, really, but I need to finish some homework. And plus I gotta pick a monologue for auditions."

Daisy resisted the urge to interrogate him on his thespian activities with his disorder. "That's okay. We all have our own stuff to take care of. But is it okay if I talk to your alters before we meet up? Louise and I are good friends now and I don't want to give her the cold shoulder."

She could hear the smile in his voice. "You can talk to them. Just...Don't tell that girl you were with. Okay? I want to do it on my own."

"Alright, Luigi. I won't. I'll see you later. Good luck on your homework!" Luigi thanked her and said goodbye before hanging up.

The girl sighed, feeling her shoulders drop. She felt better knowing her crush was behaving oddly for a good reason, but at the same time, it was stressful to think about. She replaced Louise's name with Luigi in her contacts. If all the alters were like her, then this couldn't be that bad. Still, Daisy felt dread at the thought of five other people walking around campus with Luigi's face.

Knock. Knock. "Daisy?"

She grabbed her phone, stood from the bed, and went to answer the door. Just act casual. Daisy opened up and smiled. "Hey! Rosalina! My main girl! What's up?"

The blonde furrowed her brows. "Nothing much," She answered slowly. Maybe that was too casual. "Anyway, what did you want for dinner tonight?"

Right. It was Friday. Daisy and Rosalina usually made their own meals, but they agreed to cook dinner together once a week. She shrugged. "Does tacos sound okay?"

Rosalina thought for a moment before nodding. "Did you want to cook the meat while I cut the vegetables?"

She agreed to that arrangement and the two went to the kitchen. Daisy set her phone on the counter and grabbed a packet of beef from the freezer. Next, he unwrapped it and dumped the meat into a tupperware container. She had just put it in the microwave when Rosalina caught a glimpse of her phone. "Oh, have you been speaking with Louise? How is she?"

"Fine!" She rushed to the counter to cover her phone, making her roommate flinch. "She's fine. She had a doctor's appointment today. Just a standard check-up. And, uh, she's just great!"

Rosalina pursed her lips slightly. Gently, the blonde said, "Daisy, if Louise is in some kind of trouble, I need to know about it. She's my friend too."

Daisy felt a pang of guilt. The two had been friends since eighth grade and here she was, telling stories. She decided to give her some of the truth. "She has some mental health problems. I wanted to hang out with her today to help her feel better. But I just wish she could have told me more about this stuff."

The older girl accepted this answer because she relaxed and grabbed peppers from the fridge. After setting them on the counter, she opened one of the drawers to look for a cutting board and knife. "That's understandable. Did you talk at all while I was in the restroom? I thought I saw her outside of the changing room when I got back, but she went back in so fast I only got a glimpse of her."

So Rosalina saw that. Shoot. "Oh, well...She just asked for some advice about what to buy. She was stuck between two really cute outfits, so I helped with that!"

She chuckled. "That was why she was taking so long?"

As Rosalina set down the cutting board and began chopping peppers, Daisy thought carefully about her next words. She knew how her roommate felt about Luigi and she wanted her to see that he wasn't bad without spilling the beans. "Rosie, about Luigi...I've talked with him a bit. He's really nice, but he has some issues too. So, I'm not sure why he smokes, if that's even him you saw by Madison Hall-"

"Wait, that's it! That's why Louise looked so familiar!" The blonde said, stopping her task. "She looks like Luigi! Their names even sound similar. Do you think they could be related?"

Oh no. She really shouldn't have brought Luigi up when they were talking about one of his alters. "They are related, actually. They're um...Cousins!"

Rosalina blinked. "So...Louise is Waluigi's sister?"

Daisy shook her head. "No, that's a different aunt and uncle. But I guess that technically makes Louise and Waluigi cousins too." That part was true, at least.

"Hmm. Well, I feel bad for Louise, in that case."

"Me too," The brunette muttered. And she did feel bad for her, but for an entirely different reason.

The weekend flew by in an instant. After working on homework, an online test, and her history essay, Daisy longed for some socialization. Unfortunately, it was Monday, meaning Rosalina had a biology lab during lunchtime. Daisy bought a pizza and lemonade from the food court and searched for a place to sit. She noticed several students talking with their friends and eating, leaving few seats available. I guess I can just eat outside for a bit. Maybe text the girls on the team and see if they have class right now. Either way, at least I can get my mind off of-

"Hey, Sarasa! Over here!" A voice said. Daisy whipped around and came face to face with none other than Mr. L, one of Luigi's alters. Even though he sat by himself, he combined another table with his own. He smiled at her. "Hey."

Oh great. Just the person I wanted to run into. The girl bit her lip, trying to find her words. She was surprised he could pick her out of the crowd, let alone that he still remembered her. "Hey...You. What's up?"

"I just wanted to apologize for the other day. I didn't mean to forget whatever we planned for lunch, but it just kinda happened. Still, I'm a lot of things and rude simply isn't one of them!"

"Um...That's okay! I'll just be going now!"

She started to walk away, but his voice stopped her. "Nope! Sit down," He said, patting on the chair next to him.

Daisy froze, her eyes widening. "Wait, what?"

"I'm inviting you to have lunch with me. To make up for the other day, you know?"

Why did he still care about that? That incident didn't matter all that much in the grand scheme of things. Oh, never mind. She needed a quick exit. "Oh! Well, uh...It's fine. Really. I just mistook you for someone else the other day."

"Well, let me make it up to you anyway. It's the least I can do."

The girl shifted her feet. "I don't know..." Luigi said he had no problem if she talked with his alters, but this was just plain weird. Not helping was the fact that Mr. L talked to her like this was normal. Then again, it was normal from his perspective.

"Daisy, it's just lunch. It's not like I'm asking you on a date," The alter said, bringing her back to reality.

Daisy almost rejected his offer, but then she realized she didn't have anyone else to sit with. Besides, she had a feeling he wouldn't let this go. She sighed and sat down to his left. "Okay, fine. But only for today."

Satisfied, he took off his tupperware top and dug a plastic fork into his spaghetti. He twisted the pasta and opened his mouth to take a bite before he stopped himself. Looking at Daisy, he said, "Wait. I never formally introduced myself, did I?"

She couldn't help but smile at that. "No, you really didn't. But it's okay. I already know who you are, Mr. L."

"How did you learn my name?"

"I have eyes and ears everywhere."

He chuckled. "I'll be sure to watch my back, then." He checked the time on his phone before looking back at Daisy. "By the way, I have a few friends coming in a bit. That alright with you?"

This must be that group from the other day. "That's fine. I'm a people person anyway."

The boy smiled and started eating. Daisy did the same, opening her pizza box and taking hold of the smallest slice. The sauce and cheese collided perfectly, even with the grease dripping down her chin. The two of them ate in a comfortable silence and she wondered if it would be this way if Luigi had met up with her after class. Still, she would be lying if she said it wasn't an awkward situation. Occasionally, she stole glances at Mr. L. (Didn't this technically mean she was eating with Luigi and Louise too?) After the third glance, he turned to her. "What?"

"Oh, nothing! I was just wondering, um...Where did you get those contacts? They're really cool!"

This made him laugh. "From an optician. Same as normal contacts." Then he went back to eating.

From that moment on, Daisy decided she would treat him as if he was his own person. After all, his friends would know something was up if Daisy kept acting strangely. As if on cue, two of them arrived. Mimi took a seat to Mr. L's right, flipping her blonde pigtails back. "Hey, L!" She noticed Daisy and narrowed her eyes. "What's she doing here?"

"I invited her. So be nice," He replied.

Mimi rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She set her salad down and popped off the plastic top.

The other boy, who was still standing, looked at Daisy with curiosity. He had black hair, brown eyes, and light skin. He was holding a soda can with a bent straw. When he spoke, he had a smooth voice and a slight British accent. "Hello. What's your name?"

"Daisy."

His eyes widened in recognition. "Ah, yes! The girl who came up to us that day. L has been going on about you. I'm Dimentio, by the way."

"Nice to meet you." She said with a smile. As Dimentio sat down next to Mimi, she processed his words. "Wait. Mr. L, you've been talking about me?" She asked, looking in his direction.

Mr. L reached into his bag for something. "A little bit, but don't worry. All good things, Flower," He admitted, pulling out a sketchbook and pencil.

Daisy couldn't help but blush at that last part. She looked at Mimi and Dimentio. "He likes to give people nicknames," The latter explained. "It's one of his things."

Okay, so he wasn't flirting with her this time. Good. With her cheeks still hot, she asked, "How about something that makes it sound like we're not dating?"

"I'll think of something," He said, but he was already fixated on his sketchbook.

That was when Rohen stormed in. Daisy grew tense involuntarily; she had never realized how big and tall he was. He beamed down at everyone with happy brown eyes. "'Ello, mates! Blumiere's not comin' again, so we can push that chair back. How are all of ya doin'?"

The three of them muttered about how they were doing fine and Mimi pulled one of the extra chairs aside. As Rohen sat down on Dimentio's side, Daisy noticed the last member of Mr. L's group. In contrast to her friend's towering statue, she was a short, thin girl with brown skin and purple hair. She glimpsed at Daisy, confused. "Hi. You look familiar. Have we met before?"

"Hi, I'm Daisy! You know, the girl who wanted, um…" She held herself back from saying Luigi's name in the nick of time. "...L to eat with her that one day?

"Oh, that's right. I remember you now! But why…?"

"I invited her this time," Mr. L answered. To Daisy, he gestured to his two other friends. "That's Rohen and Nastasia. They're an item, so expect a lot of flirting between them. Especially on Rohen's part."

The football player smiled. "Great te meet yeh, Daisy! Any friend o' L's is a friend o' mine!"

Daisy grinned back. "Thanks! It's great to meet you too. By the way, I saw you at the game a couple weeks ago. You guys crushed it out there!"

"Oh, stop." However, mere seconds later, he whispered, "Keep goin'."

The girl decided to play along. "You're the best football player in the world. And you're so strong and handsome and athletic and-"

"'Kay, that's enough," Nastasia interrupted, shooting a look.

Rohen chuckled and planted a kiss on her cheek. "'Tis all in good fun, love." But his girlfriend had nothing to say but a simple 'hmm.'

At first, it was difficult to talk to the others beyond introductions. The five of them began to talk about school, dating, and even weekend plans, even though it was Monday. (Well, it was more like the four of them; Mr. L seemed preoccupied with whatever he was drawing.) It wouldn't be that hard for Daisy to get in the conversation most of the time, but she still felt uncertain about the whole multiple personalities thing. She had to force herself to speak. "So, what are you guys studying?"

The four of them looked to her, as if they forgot she was even there. Maybe they had. Rohen was the first one to reply. "What? Couldn't hear ya, lass."

"I asked what you guys were studying. You know, what are you majoring in?"

"Oh!" He was silent for a moment. "No idea."

This threw Daisy off guard. "Really?"

"Aye. I'm 'ere on a sports scholarship, but I'm still not sure if I plan teh stay. Some days, I 'ave a fierce fire in me belly to study 'istory. Other days, I want teh leave tis place and make a good career out of ball chasin'. 'ard to say at this point, ye know?"

"I'm still undecided too. I thought I was the only one!" Daisy decided she liked Rohen already. She looked to the others. "What about you guys?"

Dimentio sighed. "I want to study theater and maybe art as a minor, but my mother won't have it. Says that only spineless, weak men study theater." He took a long sip of his soda and set it back down on the table roughly. "No, she wants me to get into something respectable like medicine or law. And she's paying my tuition, so I don't know what to tell her." Under his breath, he muttered quietly, but still loud enough for the others to hear, "That woman is more like an ambition-sucking leech than a parent…"

"Jeez. That really sucks," The brunette said.

"Don't worry about it, dearest Daisy. It's my weight to carry. Not yours."

"I still feel really bad for you. I mean, my dad puts a lot of pressure on me to study hard, but at least he's letting me pursue what I want."

"I appreciate the concern." There was a moment of silence. She wondered if maybe she hit a nerve. Dimentio nudged Mimi, who was about to take a bite of her salad. "Mimi, tell her what you're studying."

Mimi stuck her tongue at him before turning to Daisy. "Music. But I want to take up cheerleading again. I kinda miss it…"

"You always seemed to enjoy it. Why'd you quit?"

"My mom said it was taking too much of my time. I needed to get good grades, earn scholarships, bla bla bla. Boring school stuff. But I'm in college now, so screw her."

Even if Daisy didn't like Mimi that much, she felt sympathetic towards her as well. It must have been difficult to give up something she liked. But she didn't want to admit that, so she turned to the girl next to her instead. "And what are you studying, um…?"

"Nastasia," She replied. "And I'm in business school right now with an internship on the side. It's a bit much, managing everything at once, but I can only do my best." She must have let the playful banter from earlier go because she didn't speak with any malice.

Daisy nodded. "I should put that as a sticky note on my fridge. 'Always do your best.' That is assuming I don't flunk all my classes."

To her surprise, the other girl laughed a little. "I remember that feeling during my freshman year. I'm sure you'll do fine."

"I probably won't. But thank you though. What about you, L?"

No reply. She looked to Mr. L and noticed he was still sketching. After a few seconds of silence, he glanced up. "Hmm?" His eyes wandered around the table. "Why's everyone looking at me? Did I miss something?"

"We're talking about what we're here to study," Nastasia explained.

"Oh, okay," He looked back down and started sketching. "I'll shoot for something STEM related. Maybe."

"Sure you don't wanna study Art?" Daisy asked.

"Nope. This is only a hobby, not a career. Plus, nobody ever gets a job with an art degree."

"Gotcha." Daisy scooted closer to him. "So, whatcha drawing?"

Mr. L showed her his sketchbook. "It's nothing but character sketches right now, but you're free to look."

Daisy skimmed over them. Most of them depicted a man in a black suit and mask with a flowing green cape. In some sketches, he had sparks of green electricity in his hands. There were also a few sketches in the bottom left corner of a character with a similar design, but with red and black clothing. He was short, fat, and had serious acne. He had fire powers, but lacked the grace the man in green carried with his abilities. In fact, he was was straight up on fire in one sketch, which cracked Daisy up. "Is that you?" She asked, pointing to the man in green.

"Sorta. It's kinda complicated."

Mimi rolled her eyes and spoke up. "They're doodles about this superhero guy named the Green Thunder who gets into fights using his laser powers. There. I saved you lots of time just now."

Mr. L narrowed his eyes at Mimi. It was like the ex-cheerleader opened Pandora's Box. "Okay, first of all, Green uses a technique called the Thunderhand involving pure electricity, not 'laser powers,'" He said, making air quotes. "I've told you this multiple times. Second, they're comics, not doodles. And third, Green doesn't always get into fights. He also—-"

"Brings people together. Okay, okay. I get it."

Daisy giggled. His mini-rant reminded her of the anime fans she met in school who would go crazy over their favorite characters or shows. "You're really passionate about this character, huh?"

"Well...Yeah. I've been drawing him for a long time. About two and a half years now, in fact. I know it seems silly, but he's helped me cope with a lot."*

"It's not silly. In fact, I think these are really cool! I wish I could draw like that!" She meant it too. His art style reminded her of the video games she played as a kid with her sister, making her feel nostalgic.

He lit up upon hearing that. "Really?"

"Uh-huh. Who's the one wearing red?" She asked, pointing to him.

His smile disappeared. In a flat tone, he replied, "That's a new character of mine. I haven't come up with a name for him yet, but I do know that he's incredibly annoying."

"Why's that?" Rohen asked. He was leaning over to look at the sketches.

"'Cause he claims to be Green's sidekick and tells him that he's only doing what's best for him, but he does nothing but complain and make rules. He never lets me-I mean, Green have any fun."

"Oh. I catch yer drift," He said.

"Does Mario know you draw him like that, Mr. L?" Nastasia asked.

"What he doesn't know can't hurt him."

Now that made sense. Daisy remembered how Luigi described their relationship as a bad one. "Mario's your brother, isn't he?"

"Unfortunately. What makes it worse is that we're twins, which means it's even more stupid that he orders me around."

"Well, at least he's at school now, right?"

Seeing as Daisy was done looking at the sketches, Mr. L started to draw again. "Actually, he chose not to go to college. Instead, he works at the donut shop downtown. Do you have any siblings, Daisy?"

"Yeah, my younger sister Azalea," She answered. "She's still going to high school in Phoenix, but we talk online on the weekends. And I talk to my dad whenever I can too." It was funny because she wanted nothing more than to get away from them during high school. Now, she longed to be in the same room as them. "How often do you talk to your parents, L?"

Mr. L abruptly stopped drawing. He stared at the sketch paper and clutched his pencil tightly. "I don't."

"Why not? Do you have a bad relationship with them?"

"N-No...They died when I was a kid."

And just like that, the table went dead quiet. Mimi shot a glare at her. Well, what did she expect? It wasn't like Daisy knew. But then she realized that she did know. Peach told her what happened sometime last week.

The realization alarmed her like a splash of cold water. "Shit. The car wreck! I'm so sorry!"

He offered a weak smile. "Don't worry about it. People ask about my folks all the time." Lowering his voice, he added, "I just miss them."

"Well...If it makes you feel my better, I lost my mom when I was a kid too." Painful memories began to surface. She remembered the terror she and her dad experienced when her mother's flu progressed into full-on pneumonia. How she had to be strong for Azalea when she explained their mother wasn't coming back. Holding her dad's hand at the funeral. Daisy didn't like bringing that up for a reason, but felt she owed Mr. L for bringing up his trauma.

He looked at her straight in the eye with a look of sympathy. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's okay." Softly, she said, "Let's talk about something else."

The rest of lunch was quiet, a stark contrast to how it was earlier. Gradually, Rohen, Mimi, and Dimentio left. Daisy still felt guilty for bringing up the car wreck, so she was really surprised at the next thing Mr. L said to her. "Hey, Daisy? We meet at the same time and place for lunch during the week. You're welcome to join us."

"Really? Is that okay?" She asked. He nodded. Daisy thought of how it wasn't nearly as awkward eating with him as she thought. His friends seemed nice too. Plus, she didn't have anyone to sit with when Rosalina was in lab. "I'm free on Mondays and Wednesdays during this time. I'll see you in a couple days, okay?"

He smiled slightly. "Yeah. See you. You too, girlie," He added. Daisy briefly wondered why he had said goodbye to her twice when she realized that he was referring to Nastasia. The other girl waved in return. With that, he put his things away and left.

It was just Daisy and Nastasia now. The former sighed and dug her hands in her hair. "That was really dumb of me. Why did I bring up his parents?"

"Don't beat yourself up about it. Like he said, L gets those questions all the time," Nastasia said calmly.

"But I knew."

"Yeah, um...About that? How did you know about the car wreck anyway?"

Daisy shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Well..." She swallowed hard. "My cousin knew him when he was a kid, so she told me about what happened. Except she wasn't talking about Mr. L. She was talking about...Who he really is." In a bout of frustration, she added, "It's this whole split personality thing!"

The other girl thought about it for a moment. "That would explain it."

"So...You know?"

"If you're talking about his disorder, then yes. We all do. It's impossible to be his friend and not figure it out." She got a concentrated look on her face, the wheels in her head turning. "And you didn't know until recently. In fact, you came across L on accident that day. You were looking for another personality of his."

She nodded, a wave of relief running through her. Finally she had someone to talk to about this. "Yep. That's exactly right. But now I'm not really sure what to do."

"It's okay to step back a bit if you need to. I'm sure Luigi will understand. That's the host's name, right? Luigi?"

Daisy furrowed her brows. "Host?"

"The main personality."

"Oh. Yeah, that's right. Luigi is the host. I could do that, but..." She thought for a moment. It would be a whole lot easier to let this go and move on. But she couldn't. "I don't want to leave him. There's more to this than I'm seeing at the surface level, I know it! And I really want to help him out because..." She hesitated, thinking of her feelings. "Luigi is my friend."

Nastasia was silent for a moment. "Well, if that's what you have your mind set on, I suppose I can't stop you. In fact, I know where you can find another one of his personalities. That is, if you have some free time tonight."

The freshman sat up, alert. "Really? That would help. I mean, I've already met Louise, but I don't know the other three."

"Perfect. I have to warn you that this one is very sensitive and hard on himself, but nice once you get him to open up. Do you think you could handle that, Daisy?"

That description was quite vague, perhaps purposefully so. But if Daisy could handle Luigi himself, she didn't see why she wouldn't be able to handle a sensitive alter. "Yes. I can."

Nastasia handed Daisy her phone and told her to enter her contact information; she would text her later for the details. Daisy did as she was asked and handed the other girl back her phone. A small voice inside of her whispered that she was making a mistake, but she ignored it. After all, if she already had one foot in the pond, she might as well dive straight in.

*This is definitely not how I feel about Luigi/Mr. L. No siree.

I checked the fanfic where I got O'Chunks' first name from again and it turns out I spelled it wrong. But I'm keeping this spelling because it's grown on me and I'm too lazy to change it.

The damn lunch scene was in my head for months, so I wrote it down so I could stop thinking about it. Plus, I love the SPM villian gang. You have those things to thank for this update, I suppose. Fun Fact: Blumiere was in that scene in an earlier draft, but I took him out because that's too many characters to track and he didn't say much anyway. In this draft, he's out eating with his new love interest, Timpani. ;)

As you probably can already tell, my chapters are mostly dialogue-driven, but I'm doing my best to sprinkle some narrative in there. But I'm starting to get a little sick of writing Mario stuff as my hyperfixation from two years ago has worn down considerably, so it may be awhile until I continue. I will finish this though; the updates may be far and in between, but this story is on my mind too much for me not to continue it.

-Free