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Mario was staring at the ceiling.
A quiet action that a lot of people did, especially when you weren't able to sleep! That's just how the body works, how most everyone works.
Maybe it could be stress. An idea burning in your brain, trauma that lingers or even the simple thought of excitement.
All these things could hinder your sleep, make the growing weariness even more annoying to your tired brain.
It usually takes a while to fall asleep, so you just have to wait and see when that happens.
Because what else can you do, other than wait for your eyes to close and finally give you relief above everything? To finally give that sweet head a rest?
Surprising to everyone that wasn't there, this was the case for most others, but weirdly now, Mario.
His eyes weren't closing. They couldn't. Because something was going on tonight, because he was smartly thinking for some reason.
And if anything, it had begun getting more frequent just recently.
The Avatar- the Avatar? - would just fall asleep immediately if he went to bed. Or do some silly memes. Or not sleep at night. Or go out. Or be annoying. Or be anything but this.
Not like his body ever listened to his words.
It never listened to anything.
So. He laid there.
Staring.
Watching.
Waiting.
For a moment, he contemplated if it was his fault and no one else's that he was laying here, waiting for God to bring him to a safer place.
But no.
Nothing like that ever happened.
It was even more of a struggle as these heavy thoughts rang through his brain, completely stopping the flow of those delightful stupid ones.
Mario craved the idea of not thinking for a single moment, just like he did every morning and other night.
Where it was endless bliss. Endless enjoyment. No guilt for his actions.
Where did his stupidity go?
Tossing and turning didn't help either, tangling the blankets around his limbs and making him struggle to even move without screaming his head off.
Silent grumbles left his throat, brushing his one free hand through his messy hair, silently murmuring to himself about nothing in particular.
Didn't want to wake up Luigi.
His little brother worked day on and off, letting his flower shop thrive yet still having all the time he wanted to be with his friends and family.
Mario was such a selfish person for taking this time.
….God. That's exactly what he meant, THOSE THOUGHTS ARE S M A R T.
For a moment, he hesitated to even get up in the first place to get a glass of water, rolling around with no true intent of getting up.
What if he tripped and broke his nose? What if he screamed into the night due to a lack of spaghetti? What if someone without any reason or manner attacked them?
Thoughts keep going and he kept rolling, silent annoyed noises ripping from him.
Rolling, rolling, rolling-
THUMP.
Okay, forgot the edge of the bed existed.
A louder groan escaped him, fisting his hand into the blanket bundle tight below him, stuffed right into his face as his legs still were entangled on the rest of the blanket.
“Mamma-mia-”
His meme-filled mouth stuttered out as he jumped back up, hugging his own arms, rubbing the soft fabric of his pajamas.
He rarely wore them. There was never a true need, he would just sleep with his overalls anyway later on.
Today just.
Felt different.
But there was no use dwelling now, not when he was already up and gripping the blanket like it was the only thing keeping him comfortable.
Not like he could wake up his big- LITTLE. LITTLE Brother.
That would be rude.
…
That would be rude.
Since when did he care about manners?
There was a certain lurching In his stomach, but ignoring it was a simple choice as he headed forward to the kitchen with blanket in tow.
Rubbing his eyes, he quietly creaked the next closet door open, grabbing a glass and going over to the sink.
Sometimes, he admittedly forgot what their kitchen looked like.
Embarrassing.
Wouldn't a person know what their house looked like?
A quick turn with his wrist and the faucet turned on, cold water pouring out, inviting him to finally fill up his little cup.
And he did, putting it under the flow and letting it do its thing before pulling away, overflowing just a little.
….Quietly, his hands moved under the water, taking another quick turn to the hottest setting.
It started to boil. Not quite hurting yet, but a definite spark of pain rang through his fingers that still was softer than much else.
Somehow, the intense pain he went through mellowed this action out.
Almost comforting now, if he wanted to admit.
Getting punched, bombed, falling off a cliff, getting hit by a car, exploding and more was much harsher than this kind of thing.
Feeling human was so rare nowadays.
Was he human? Were any of the others truly human creatures by how they worked?
And why did he, the one usually ignoring logic of any kind-
START TO CARE HOW ANYTHING WORKS?????
There truly was no time to wreck his brain over any of this. There wasn't a reason.
He was a dumb fuck who didn't know anything! A dumbass! An idiot with no morals or guilt!
Yet.
Yet….was he truly?
Before any further thought could come in, he downed the glass of water and gripped the edges a bit too hard, liquid driplling down his chin.
Of course, he wiped it away.
For a moment, he stayed at the kitchen counter, hands resting on it and letting his thoughts calm down.
It's fine.
You're fine.
Deep breath in and out, Mario.
One more quiet sigh let him as he got over to the fridge, keeping his steps as quiet as possible and opening it up just a crack.
Eggs, molded bread, a meme, milk-
….No spaghetti.
Hm.
No spaghetti.
….
Shouldn't he be upset about this?
Sure, an inconvenience, but there's other food, isn't there? He can just eat something else, can't he?
Shouldn't he care more though?
He adored spaghetti.
He LOVES spaghetti.
What was wrong with hie brain to react so unlike himself, ANYONE COULD BE WATCHING-
But no one was.
No one was watching him, waiting for the annoying Italian to freak out over a simple plate of food.
Maybe, he didn't need too? Did he need too?
Was it truly worth the time?
…Mario needed to sleep. Seriously.
Thoughts weren't a nice thing! So bed time it was, especially if Smg4 wanted to record tommorow!
Maybe Meggy would want to train! Or Melony or Tari would want to do funny things together, like gaming or sleeping!
Smg3 would just be angry and mean all the time, just with a heavier nicer tint nowadays.
Bob and Boopkins were probably up to something as well! They understood him on a level, but probably only for the memes.
He had his friends.
And family, which was Luigi!!!
A goofy big smile returned on his face as he trudged forward, humming his familiar tone and shining around while spilling all kinds of nonsense.
And he went to go back to bed and-
Wait.
He needed to piss actually.
That must be why he's awake! His body was doing the 3 am needs thing that SMG4 complained about once!!!
For.
About three hours now.
Well, it's fixable! Just needed to get his pingas in and out of the toilet and he was fine. Then, they can start another dumb day!
Mario zoomed into the toilet, taking only a moment to lock it before finally doing his business, all patient and happy.
I'm not describing that to you out of politeness.
Humming the whole way through, he finished and closed the toilet bowl, making sure nothing got stuck as he felt muchhhhh better.
No more trouble! HE WILL MAKE IT DOUBLE ELSE.
So, with all said and done, he headed out of the b-
….
Oh.
Mario didn't look in the mirror for a good while now.
How did he look anyway? Probably handsome, but can't take a chance of having anything on him, can he now?
People tend to really insult his everything.
But Mario looked into the mirror, taking in his appearance that he hadn't looked at for what? Days? Weeks? Months?
Years?
Observing silently, he noted his ruffled up chocolate-brown hair, fixing the small mess with his soft chubby fingers, no dirtiest remaining.
His small mustache wasn't as puffed up as before, sticking out a few hairs and needing fixing tommorow.
Mario looked quite tired.
It was unnatural for Mario to look like that.
Mario wasn't messy!
….Mario.
Mario.
Mario?
Mario?
….Who was Mario again?
Mario was a plumber, he remembered faintly.
Mario had been hero of the mushroom kingdom, saving Peach from the evil koopa King however with his beloved brother, Luigi!
At the end of each adventure, toads, yoshis and Peach would all congratulate Mario on his victories!
Mario saw the wide plains of bean-bean Land, explored the stars, saw the paper world for himself and had a hundred friends.
Even Bowser himself liked Mario, even if it was just for silly little races and dumb sports games.
Mario was even friends with other characters from other worlds, befriended so many princesses.
Mario loved and accepted everyone, taking in all the info and caring for those in need.
Mario was kind. Mario was loving. Mario was smart. Mario was quick. Mario was loud as he was silent. Mario was alive. Mario was happy.
Mario was a hero.
So.
If all that is truly true, truly an information everyone knows and cherishes.
If those words that slipped off his tongue, truly rang from the truth in his heart-
Then who was. H E?
What stood before him wasn't Mario if that was truly correct.
Mario wasn't running around ruining everyone's life. Wasn't forgetting that Peach fell down a hole and became mutilated beyond recovery.
There stood someone before him that adored seeing them be angry.
They loved doing whatever they wanted. Who knew that they never were punished for the show they put on, that was allowed to back then
They have such
Tendencies
Tendencies of wanting their life to vanish once everyone hates and leaves them
Never would the plumber do such a thing
They loved when he was an idiot
But then why did everyone yell?
Why did they hate the show they created?
After all, the Avatar-
The Avatar.
The Avatar?
What's an Avatar
An
Avatar
An Avatar is a person who is created by the USB, usually showing traits of kindness, adventure, a lack of knowledge at first and knowing memes and
Why were they created?
What was looking back at them in the mirror.
That vomiting-inducing creature that stated into the mirror and took the organs of who was there before.
It's eye was too human
Too real
Yet not at all a person
His face. His head. It was all pitch black and messy
It hurt to even look at this copy of an imposter, this wrongness and decay
What kind of person does these things?
Something that isn't a person and was never meant to be and is in this body when it shouldn't and shouldn't even be alive
They weren't Mario.
They were created unlike any Avatar
How were Avatars created?
What's an Avatar made of
Why wasn't he like them?
Why weren't THEY like them?
Who's Mario
Who's the Avatar
Who am I
Who am I
Who am I?
W H O A M I
I A M N O T A N Y O N E
I CA. N T BE.
IF I AA M N O T H I N G, H OW CO U LD I BE M A RIO
M A RIO I S.
Mario is.
Mario is go
Knock knock knock
“Mario-???”
A.
Voice rang out of the Aether, beckoning him to return to Earth, knocking on the door of the bathroom.
Despite themselves, they listened and breathed in heaviness, choking only lightly on their own Lungs.
What lun
“Mario, how long are you gonna be in there-? I need to pee too!!”
Oh
He was hindering the people once more on actions they should be able to do.
Heavy, choked breathing left him as he hugged his broken, mangled arms, looking down on the glitched ground.
Textures were missing. Different. Changed. Corrupted.
A sob left his throat, but he kept it down, its garbling sound not reaching the outside.
But they needed t
“IN A M I N U T E !!!”
“ A H-”
His meme-infected spat out a response before the could, his arms scrambling for help to the sink.
Gripping it for life, wondering if this was their punishment for never becoming what it was supposed to be.
It can't even remember
Its purpose
Was unknown
Breathing.
It breathed. Looking at its wrong reflection, who was supposed to be h I m.
H I m.
Was.
Mario.
Mario. He was Mario.
They were Mario. A plumber. A meme Avatar, not a big-bang Avatar.
That was
For a moment, he restrained another sob at the name he couldn't remember, but wiped away any purple-black tears that leaked out.
Mario breathed once more, silently gripping the sink.
Yes. He was…
Mario!
Mario looked up to the bathroom mirror again, looking at his reflection of brown hair, blue eyes and the big nose that he blinked at.
No smile and tear-stained eyes, but that was him.
Mario.
….Looking around once more, there were no more texture glitches.
Why would there be? How could there be?
Thinking of it made his head hurt.
But before he got forget his brother and drink out of the toilet bowl or something, he finally headed over and opened the door-
Hiding his face and letting it stay down.
“FINE! You're up, Fun police.”
“Awe, alright-”
Luigi sighed in relief as he rushed to the bathroom, never seeing his brother's face.
….His.
Brothers.
They were brothers.
How could Mario forget such a crucial detail sometimes?
How could he even treat Luigi like garbage sometimes? He's the big brother. He's Mario.
Clenching his fists, he leaned against the wall, leg unconsciously hitting the floor with silent thumps, waiting for someone to help.
Nobody would come.
After ally wouldn't stupid, little Mario deal with it in the funniest way?
That's all he needed to be. That's the most perfect everyone could want him.
Yet his throat clogged up at the mere thought of being reduced.
Was he reduced? Could h
“Ah, finally…you still need it, Mario?”
Luigi returned from the bathroom, because why would he ever do anything bad in his life in the toilet of all places?
Mario looked away, silently shaking his hand and giving a thumbs up as he kneeled twice in a usual nod.
“Nope! I'm okey-dokey!”
The softest laugh escaped his small brother and he thought, he may just explode from the idea of hurting this fragile thing.
God, he's disgusting.
Mario wanted to stop thinking already.
"Goodnight, Mario. Please, don't-a explode the kitchen-”
Such a thing needed to be asked of him.
Unusual, but not for him.
Luigi headed back to his bed to sleep like a normal person, probably already snoring off in the next minute and forgetting this whole night.
Mario will too.
He knows that.
This won't matter.
This won't matter. Mario's aware.
He's so-
“Ah- Mario-?”
Slumping into his brothers arms on the top bunk and taking all the blankets wasn't his original intention.
But apparently, his body decided to cling onto the last remaining family he truly had.
Where was his mom? Where was his dad? Was Peach, Bowser, anyone from his past life ev
“Are…you alright?”
His fists clenched onto the blankets, but he made no sound as he quietly nuzzled his head into the chest, messy hair flying everywhere.
Even if he didn't want to make a sound, he mumbled out a single reply in response, never facing Luigi.
“Slumber party. You're never leaving the bed. N e v e r.”
Threatening and annoying for every other person on the planet when he did this.
Yet Luigi, the sweetest of people, silently huffed and let out a soft chuckle.
“Oh, Mario….”
Gently, a hand tugged the blanket closer while another got placed in his hair, ruffling it before deciding on gentle brushing.
It was so soothing.
It was so rare.
He hesitated to even breathe, asking himself if he deserved any of it.
Didn't Luigi deserve a better brother?
Hadn't there been o
Mario restrained a sniffle from coming out of his cursed throat, eventually whispered a silent reply back.
“....Goodnight, Weegee.”
Mario could feel a smile on his brothers face.
…
The world faded away once more after a while.
Mario.
Mario remained.
And tommorow.
Mario didn't even know why he cuddled with his brother!
It was embarrassing at best, but Luigi explained that he stupidly fell in his bed.
AND THERE WASN'T EVEN ANY SPAGHETTI LEFT.
Well.
Just meant he needed to steal it from a big spaghetti factory today!
Because that's what he always did.
Cause chaos!