Fanfic / Super Mario Sunshine: A Sprite of Light

Super Mario Sunshine: A Sprite of Light is a completed fan novelization of Super Mario Sunshine written by mariobroultimate.

Much like the original game, Mario, Princess Peach, and Toadsworth go to the sun-drenched tropical paradise of Isle Delfino for a vacation. But now, Luigi, Princess Daisy, Toad, Toadette, and Princess Aqua are along for the ride as well. Unfortunately, after meeting a mysterious water pump named FLUDD (Flash Liquidizer Ultra Dousing Device), and cleaning up a huge pile of icky paint-like goop, Mario, Luigi, Daisy and Aqua are arrested after being falsely accused of vandalism, and are sentenced to clean up the entire island before they can leave. The next day, the four true culprits of the crime stole the keys to Mario, Luigi, and Daisy's cells, leaving them locked up. Now it's up to Aqua, with the help of FLUDD, to clean up Isle Delfino, find the Shine Sprites and her friends' keys, and clear their names, all while overcoming her past and learning to be her own hero.

You can check it out here.

Soon after completion, the story received a sequel series in the form of the Super Mario Galaxy Rebirth Saga.

This Fanfiction contains examples of:

• 1-Up: This is used to revive Aqua when she temporarily dies.
• Adaptational Diversity: In the original, the main cast mostly consisted of a group of Toads alongside Toadsworth, Mario, and Peach with no distinct personalities. Now, the cast consists of Toad and Toadette, Toadsworth, Melon, and the main quartet who all have memorable personalities.
• Adaptation Expansion: Corona Mountain is split up into four sections. One for each hero to be given a final test of their skills… alone.
• Adaptational Explanation:
  • We now know how Delfino Plaza got flooded thanks to a scene showing Bowser Junior doing just that.
  • It’s not made clear how Bowser Jr. knew that Peach wasn’t truly his mother. In this story though, Junior overhears his henchmen talking about his father’s lies and wondering if they should tell him the truth. He doesn’t take it well.
• Adaptational Karma: Downplayed. Bowser and Bowser Jr. were defeated in the original game, and Princess Peach was saved. But the citizens of Isle Delfino never found out that Bowser Jr. was the true culprit, nor did they ever apologize to Mario (or at least only implied otherwise). So it's likely that Bowser and his son got away with giving Mario a bad reputation on Isle Delfino. Here however, Bowser and his son get apprehended by the police and are sentenced to community service throughout Mario's vacation.
• Adapted Out:
  • Toad and Toadette replace the five colored Toads in the original. Melon also replaces the Yoshi Mario would ride.
  • In addition, several secret and red coin shines (with a few exceptions) are cut as well. The blue coins are also absent since the creator utterly despises them.
    • Due to the former, the Red Coin Fish is absent from Chapter 40, which was based on its episode.
• Affectionate Nickname: Mario calls Aqua “piccolo amico”, which means “little buddy” in Italian.
• Amusement Park: Mario, Luigi and Aqua visit Pinna Park, an island not too far from the main island, by being blasted towards it. This is also where the Shadow gang reveal their true identities.
• And You Thought It Was a Game: The director of Pinna Park believes that the battle against Mecha-Bowser is a staged event to lure in tourists.
• Bad Boss: Shadow Mario is abusive toward his gang whenever they screw up or they annoy him.
• Badass Adorable:
  • Aqua is a little kid who, albeit inexperienced, will beat up whoever hurts her friends.
  • Bowser Jr. is this too, even if he is the Big Bad.
• Balloon Belly: Petey Piranha, when overfilled with water. Aqua uses that ability to her advantage, forcing Petey to drink enough water that he tips over and exposes his belly button.
• Beach Episode: A majority of the story takes place on Isle Delfino, a tropical island right on the Equator.
• Big Bad: Shadow Mario is the leader of a gang of graffiti artists who use Magic Paintbrushes to vandalize the island. He is responsible for a majority of the conflict in the story, and is later revealed to be Bowser's son, Bowser Jr..
• Big Boo's Haunt: Hotel Delfino at Sirena Beach is initially infested by Boos, making this place haunted.
• The Big Damn Kiss: Daisy kisses Luigi right as she’s freed from her cell. They kiss again while Isle Delfino is being turned to normal by the Shine Sprites in the end.
• Big Good: Mario. He's the one who gives Aqua the encouragement to help and save the day and to move on from her parents' tragic death, even becoming a father figure of sorts to her. If it weren't for him, Isle Delfino would be doomed.
• Big "NO!":
  • Mario lets out one when Shadow Mario speeds off with Peach to Pinna Park and he's unable to stop him.
  • Mario does this when FLUDD confirms Aqua has apparently died after the pirate ship ride in Pinna Park is destroyed and falls underground.
• Break the Cutie: The death of her parents really changed Aqua for the worse before meeting Mario.
• Breather Episode: Chapter 40 is a peaceful dive into the deep sea of Noki Bay, sandwiched in between the rematch of Shadow Aqua and Pianta Village.
• Clashing Cousins: Wario and Waluigi are the Mario Bros.'s cousins in this story. As in canon, they're not on very friendly terms.
• Clear My Name: This is the heroes' main goal throughout the story so that they can have a relaxing vacation.
• Cluster Bleep-Bomb: Censored by dolphin chirps, Mario curses after he loses the Casino Delfino slot game. He does win on the second try.
• Commonality Connection: Luigi and Daisy at one point talk about how they're both stuck in the shadow of their older sibling and their methods of overcoming said issues. Daisy's coping mechanisms are notably unhealthy with her choosing to pick fights and become quick to anger, so Luigi helps with steering her in a better path.
• Continuity Nod: Mario talks about the events of Super Mario 64 in Chapter 25.
• Contrasting Sequel Protagonist: Both Aqua and Yoshi from mariobroultimate's previous story, Super Mario 64 DS: The Power of the Stars have to save the other three heroes from their prisons by finding keys, making them the main protagonist from their respective stories, but they are complete opposites in terms of both experience and confidence. Yoshi was confident from the start, was more experienced from at least one other adventure he had and was a long time friend of Mario’s from the very beginning, feeling the need to return the favor after he saved him. On the contrary, Aqua took a huge blow to her self esteem before the story began, she only just met Mario and has no experience. She nees to learn everything with the help of FLUDD and develop her confidence over the course of the story.
• Creepy Crossdresser: Iggy is apparently this for disguising as Shadow Daisy. Not that he really enjoys it.
• Damsel in Distress: Princess Peach is kidnapped again, as per the usual. At least it's not by Bowser this time.
• Darker and Edgier: This adaptation covers some serious real world issues that can effect people’s emotional health such as trust issues, depression, death in the family, PTSD, inferiority complexes, false accusation, identity theft, and psychological abuse. In the original, these themes are either not present, or not explored in full (false accusation and identity theft were present in the original game, but this was not used much outside of Bowser Jr. framing Mario).
• Death Glare: As a reference to Mario Kart 8’s iconic meme, Luigi gives Aqua one while she sings about him and Daisy kissing each other.
• Deceased Parents Are the Best: Bowser killed the three princess’ parents two years prior to the story’s events. Not much is known about them. But from what is shown in flashbacks, they seem to be good parents.
• Disney Death:
  • Aqua appears to have died after the Pinna Park pirate ships crash underground. Luigi revives her with a 1-Up Mushroom.
  • FLUDD shuts down in the middle of the final battle after being short-circuited by the hot tub’s green water. He gets fixed up after Bowser and Bowser Jr.’s trial.
• Don't Look Down: When Mario, Luigi, and Daisy are tackling the third mission of Pianta Village, they access the grates and hang on the grates underneath the village to reach the mayor. While doing so, Mario looks down and is terrified by the endless abyss below. This is followed by Mario warning the others not to look down.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: Unlike mariobroultimate's later stories, this fic was written entirely in a movie script format.
• Easily-Overheard Conversation: Bowser Jr. overhears Iggy, Ludwig, and Wendy discussing how disgusted they are about Bowser lying to his own son. The kid is heartbroken by this.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: When Bowser Jr. learned that Bowser really did lie to him, Bowser told him the truth and showed how much he really cared for his son.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • Ludwig, Iggy, and Wendy did not like the idea of Bowser lying to his own son.
  • Bowser later mentions that Kamek didn't approve of the idea either, and tried to talk him out of it.
• Evil Counterpart:
  • Shadow Mario and his gang are this to each of the main heroes, being their impersonators.
  • Bowser Jr. could also be seen as this to Aqua. They're kids who are around the same age and look up to their respective father figure. Whereas Aqua cares about others and wants a clean and safe environment for everyone, Bowser Jr. doesn't care about anyone besides himself, his father and his supposed "mama" and would gladly pollute the island, hurt innocent people, and get Mario and his friends in jail, if it means having "Mama Peach" all to himself and his papa.
  • FLUDD is a Good Counterpart to the Magic Paintbrush, or rather the Gaddbrush. It is used by Aqua to clean up the messes that Bowser Jr. creates with the former. It is later revealed that E. Gadd created FLUDD to counter the effects of the brush in case anything were to go wrong.
  • Bowser was already established as Mario’s Evil Counterpart in canon, but this is a special case. Both are powerful figures who have strong leadership skills and are parents (Parental Substitute in Mario’s case) to their respective child companion, encouraging them to follow in their footsteps. Mario’s influence turns Aqua into a caring and loving heroine who will do anything to keep the island clean. Bowser Jr.’s loyalty to his father corrupts him into becoming the evil Bratty Half-Pint he is now.
• Foreshadowing: In Chapter 25, Mario wonders where he'll go next, predicting his next big adventure.
  Mario: Mamma mia, these adventures keep getting crazier and crazier! What's next? Am I gonna go into outer space?
• Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Slightly downplayed. When Bowser Jr. revealed in court what his father told him and that he was trying to frame Mario and Co. just to help his father take over the Mushroom Kingdom and get his so-called "mama" back, the only part the audience and the judge sympathized with is Bowser lying to him. Everything else, nobody cared about, especially since most of the people Junior took his rage out on did nothing to him.
• Fun with Acronyms: FLUDD stands for Flash Liquidizer Ultra Dousing Device.
• Good Is Not Nice: Daisy is the most rebellious out of the main quartet, has a Hair-Trigger Temper, and is not always willing to listen to reason. But she is still willing to help her friends whenever she can.
• Greater-Scope Paragon: Professor E. Gadd is this. He's been secretly helping the heroes throughout the whole adventure by sending them FLUDD, allowing Peach to talk to them through Holo-Peaches, posing as their conscience, and even sending Luigi the Dark-Light Device to free his friends.
• Greater-Scope Villain: Bowser. He's the one who lied to his son that Peach was his mother, and that was what motivated him to frame Mario and friends and kidnap Peach. Bowser's also responsible for the deaths of King George and Queen Rosemary, the princess' parents, which resulted in Aqua gaining depression prior to the events of the story. He doesn't have much involvement in the main story, however, and doesn't appear until the final battle.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Luigi becomes this when he feels like Aqua is getting more attention from his brother than him. This behavior makes Aqua falsely assume that he hates her. He gets better, though.
• Heal the Cutie: Thanks to the enjoyment of this adventure, the support of her friends old and new, Mario in particular, and the satisfaction from saving Peach and the island from Bowser and Bowser Jr., Aqua is able to move on from the loss of her parents and becomes a happy child once again.
• Heroic RRoD: Mario mentally breaks down after Peach is kidnapped, with his vacation completely ruined.
• Heroes With Bad Publicity: Mario, Luigi, Daisy, and Aqua are treated like this due to being accused of vandalism.
• Hilarious Outtakes: Chapter 56 is a bonus chapter showing some funny goof-ups from the actors.
• Hypocritical Humor: Right as the four heroes confront Bowser at his hot tub, Bowser complains about them ruining his vacation, despite the fact that he orchestrated that exact thing to Mario and his friends.
• Inspector Javert: Whenever the Delfino Police catch Mario and Co. “slacking off” when they’re really just taking a break, they will force them back into work. Luckily, they won’t do this if they’re having a meal, or are sleeping. And Mario was lucky that the police didn’t ruin his moment with Peach during a sunset.
• I Have No Son!: Inverted with Bowser Jr., who doesn’t even wanna talk to his father again after finding out Peach wasn’t his mother after all. Thankfully, the two make amends and get along again.
• Intergenerational Friendship: Toad, Toadette, and Aqua are all portrayed as little kids. Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Daisy are all around their mid-20s. Toadsworth’s age is unknown, but he’s likely in his 60s or 70s. Despite the massive age gaps, all of them get along as buddies. This is especially apparent with Mario and Aqua’s friendship.
• Kangaroo Court: Defied and Double Subverted. The court initially goes exactly the same as it did in the game. However, after Peach is overruled, the Toads angrily demand that she get a chance to speak, which the judge reluctantly complies. Unfortunately, even after Peach presented thorough evidence proving that Mario and Co. weren't there at the time of the vandalism, and that the "eyewitness descriptions" weren't accurate, the jury which wasn't in the original game was too stubborn. They presented their own convoluted evidence on why Peach's evidence was straight up lies and ended up getting the heroes in jail regardless.
• Kissing In A Tree: While Mario quietly tells Luigi to kiss Daisy, Aqua starts to sing this, but Luigi interrupts her by giving her an angry look. Aqua fails to sing this again after Luigi has a heart-to-heart moment with Daisy.
• Lethal Lava Land: Corona Mountain.
• Love at First Sight: The moment Luigi lays his eyes on Daisy, he's instantly lovestruck.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Bowser realized the mistake he made when his son found out the truth about Princess Peach.
• Mythology Gag: Luigi is shown to like gambling, a reference to his minigames in Super Mario 64 DS.
• Orcus on His Throne: Shadow Mario and his gang do all the work, while their leader, Bowser, just lounges around in his hot tub until the end of the story.
• Original Character: Princess Aqua is mariobroultimate's OC who is introduced in this fanfic. There's also Melon the Yoshi.
• Police Are Useless: The first time we meet the police, they arrest Mario and Co. who are innocent. Throughout the rest of the story, they harass the gang whenever they are “slacking off”. They don’t even do anything when Shadow Mario kidnaps Princess Peach. Subverted at the end, where the police arrest Bowser and Bowser Jr., the true masterminds.
• Puppy-Dog Eyes: Aqua uses these to persuade the judge into giving her and Mario a third chance during the Watermelon Festival.
• Psychopathic Manchild: Shadow Mario establishes himself as this. For he mentally breaks down, cries like a baby, and blames others whenever things don’t go his way. Subverted when it turns out he actually IS a child.
• Related in the Adaptation:
  • Peach and Daisy were never confirmed to be related in the Super Mario Bros. series, being considered best friends. But in this fanfic, they are sisters. And Aqua is a third sister.
  • Toad and Toadette also get this treatment, even though their status in the canon is unknown.
• Ruder and Cruder: Downplayed since it is censored and only happens in one scene. But Mario delivers a Cluster Bleep-Bomb when losing a game in Casino Delfino, which could never happen in the original game (or any Mario game for that matter).
• Running Away to Cry: Mario runs away following his outburst at Aqua and cries his eyes out in private in Chapter 23 after Peach gets kidnapped.
• Running Gag: Whenever Mario interacts with the incredibly annoying Delfino Police, they will often shock him with a taser. This is even lampshaded when Mario questions why it’s always him. Bowser gets this treatment at the end when he and his son are arrested.
• Shadow Archetype: In Chapter 46, Daisy reveals the reason she's so hot-tempered. Her past was very similar to Luigi as they were both the younger sibling that were stuck in the shadow of their slightly older sibling (Mario got all of the hero credit while Luigi got almost nothing while Daisy was The Un-Favorite in her family). Daisy grew bitter from her experience to the point where she thinks that getting angry is the only way to get other's attention, while Luigi received comforting words from Mario that encouraged him to keep doing the right thing and stay true to himself. Daisy represents what Luigi could've become had he grown desperate for attention to the point where he took to aggressive extremes just to get it. This is also prevalent in how he felt about Aqua before saving her and the others in Sirena Beach. It can be assumed that Daisy tries to improve herself after Luigi passes Mario's words onto her.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!:
  Shadow Daisy: That's my point! She's not "super" like you; therefore, she should resort to-
  Aqua: SHUT UP! Just shut up! Don't you dare tell me what to do! And we've had it with not knowing who's behind all this mess!
• Title Drop: Done twice. One in the second chapter, and the other in the last.
• Water Wake-up: Aqua had to be sprayed by FLUDD one morning as she was still sound asleep after everyone was up.
• Wham Episode: In Chapter 23, after defeating Mecha-Bowser, Shadow Mario and his friends reveal themselves as Bowser Jr., Wendy, Ludwig, and Iggy. After this chapter, Peach remains kidnapped for the rest of the story until the end.
• You Killed My Father: Peach, Daisy, and especially Aqua's deal with Bowser, who murdered their parents in cold blood.

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