In Another Castle

[labelleizzy]

Princess Peach gazed out across the landscape, her keen eyesight picking out Mario's progress through the mazes that, taken altogether in their many levels, comprised her father's kingdom.

Gold coins sparkled as Mario collected them, and the red flashes of moving mushrooms or green slides of skittering tortoise shells indicated his path as he approached another goal.

Even from her distant perch in the highest tower of the home she'd been raised in, she could see the speech bubble that emerged at the entrance to that worthless pile of rocks, one of countless decoys scattered throughout her father's domain. "Sorry, Mario, our princess is in another castle!"

Peach snorted in disgust as she finished packing her camping backpack, and pulled the last of her camouflage gear over her head.

Unrolling the rope ladder that would take her down the far side of the tower, away from the guards and toward the misty hills that meant freedom, she strapped the pack more securely on her back and muttered,

"To hell with being a prize at the end of someone else's adventures!"

She swung her leg over the windowsill and was gone.




This has been my Week Three entry for therealljidol, and the prompt was "In Another Castle".

Beta-readings done by wrenb, and chipchat !

Please go read and enjoy my colleagues' entries here. To vote for my entry, link will be *here* once it's posted.

Thank you for reading!

Comments

[tonithegreat.livejournal.com]

Oh, nice and succinctly done! I like this a lot.

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much! I wanted to challenge myself to write *short* and to write fiction this time.

[elledanger.livejournal.com]

Hahaha, I like the twist at the end! Nice!

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I enjoyed writing this.

[resonant.livejournal.com]

I like this.

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for saying so! I struggled momentarily between doing this kind of self-saving Peach, doing a prompt based on my life, or doing a kind of formal essay about alternative ways to be a feminist princess.

I think this was a solid choice.

[eternal-ot.livejournal.com]

Lovely!! Way to go Peach !! Good work!

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

*grin* thanks!

[malinaldarose.livejournal.com]

Ha! Take that, Mario!

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

Hee hee hee, I know, right?

[i-love-freddie.livejournal.com]

Heh this brings back memories. Nice twist there!

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

Yay, and thank you!

[rensong.livejournal.com]

If LJ had a "like" button like Facebook, it would totally be getting clicked right now. Bravo, Princess Peach!

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

Thank you! This was such fun to craft.

[penpusher.livejournal.com]

Brilliant!

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

*bows*

well, thank you!!

*grin*

[basric.livejournal.com]

Good for Princess Peach. Don't wait to be saved save yourself. Well done.

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

I maaaay have read too many fractured fairy tales in my 20's.

*grin*

[kandigurl.livejournal.com]

Excellent way to flip Peach around! :)

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

Thanks, dear!

[jadefalcon01.livejournal.com]

Nice!

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

Thanks, babe!

[tatdatcm.livejournal.com]

I like the opposing POV. Well done.

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

thank you very much!

[seakittym.livejournal.com]

I love it! I played the heck out of Mario 2 (the dokidoki panic rip-off) where Peach used her skirt to float around, and that's pretty much what I'm picturing her doing after deciding she can be her own hero.

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Mostly I have vicariously played video games, but Mario is hard to forget, eh?

[similiesslip.livejournal.com]

Yes! I love it! We are not a prize to wait and be won!

Great job. I really love this entry!

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

Aw, yay! Thanks very much! <3

[elissali.livejournal.com]

OMG AWESOME! :)

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

*grin* thanks so much!

[waltzmatildah.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes! YES! I love this entry.

"To hell with being a prize at the end of someone else's adventures!"

SLOW CLAP, BECAUSE THIS. SO MUCH.

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

I may have read some Feminist Fairy Tales back in the day. :)

[solstice-singer.livejournal.com]

Awesome! A princess who doesn't simper and wait to be rescued. I enjoyed this.

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

Oh good. Thanks so much!

[baxaphobia.livejournal.com]

Cute.

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[tatjna.livejournal.com]

Best.Mario.Story.Ever.

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

Tats, you actually made me gasp at this. Thanks SO much!

Eeeee!!<3!

[sinnamongirl.livejournal.com]

Wonderful! I love it from Peach's perspective instead of Mario's or a gamer's perspective, and I like the style it's written in as well, succinct without being sparse.

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

Mmmm. I'm just going to wrap myself up in these words and go on to bed.

Now I feel all cozy. Thank you!

[eska818.livejournal.com]

Short, sharp, and a great ending. :)

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

*grin*

Thanks so very much!

[halfshellvenus.livejournal.com]

"To hell with being a prize at the end of someone else's adventures!"

What a thoroughly awesome line and and adventure!

Talk about changing the game...

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

*grin* that was the idea!

I may have to pick the brains of friends who play this game, I kind of love the idea of continuing to turn this paradigm upside down.

"Continuing adventures of Princess Peach, Badass Vagabond" sounds pretty good to me...

Did you hear about the gamer dad who hacked Mario so his daughter could play Peach through the game, and go rescue Mario? I love that guy.

[az-starshine.livejournal.com]

A+ post!

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

*grinning*

Thank you!!

[beautyofgrey.livejournal.com]

I always thought the Princess was much more badass than the game let on. :)

[goldmourn.livejournal.com]

woot!

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

Thank you!