Princess Peach is once again captured by Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings on her 30th birthday. Junior wanted Peach to be a surprise birthday present for his father, but it turns out that Bowser is less than pleased about the kidnapping. Bowser has long since quit kidnapping Peach, much to her confusion, but decides to keep her imprisoned anyway. While at Bowser's castle, waiting to be rescued, Peach has a lot of time to reflect on her situation, on her past relationship with Bowser, and why the usually pleasant king has become so cold towards her.
My Pain, My Thrill
is a 2-chapter Super Mario Bros. fanfic. It's a Peach/Bowser-themed ship fic. The fanfic isn't NSFW but it does touch upon some slightly sensual elements.
Note: due to the shortness of the fic, all spoilers are unmarked. Please tread with caution.
My Pain, My Thrill provides examples of:
- Age Lift: Peach is 30 instead of her implied age of 23-25.
- Break His Heart to Save Him: Bowser stopped kidnapping Peach and his cold, distant attitude towards her whenever Jr. kidnapped her was because he didn't want to hurt her anymore than he already has. After learning this, Peach retorts that he actually hurt her more doing that than he's ever done physically, as she thought he stopped caring about her.
- Chekhov's Gun: At the beginning of Peach's flashback to her parents leaving, she and her father do a "Royal Promise", which consists of locking their bent pinkys together. Near the end of the first chapter, Peach does it with Bowser Jr., who points out how both of their pinkys are bent.Look, Mama! Your pinky's bent just like mine is!
- Clashing Cousins: Bowser Jr. and his older cousins the Koopalings are prone to bickering. For example, they argue about what to do with Peach now that they've kidnapped her; Bowser Jr wants to take her as a gift for his dad, while the Koopalings want to keep her as a prisoner in castles like in Super Mario Bros 3. Junior tries to use his status as heir as leverage during arguments, but his cousins bully him in a similar manner to a Big Brother Bully because they're taller and older than him.
- Conspicuous Gloves: The reason for Peach's constant usage of High-Class Gloves is that she uses them to hide the scars Bowser accidentally gives her during sex. She even wears them to sleep just in case someone walks into her room. Toad and her doctor find out about the scars after she's brought back to the Mushroom Kingdom comatose, however they don't know the scars are old and believe Bowser tortured her so bad that she fell into a coma.
- Denied Food as Punishment: Downplayed. Bowser tries to punish Jr. by taking away his supper for the night, but he ends up allowing him some bread crumbs. Peach catches Jr. sneaking into the kitchen the next morning because he was hungry.
- First-Name Basis: Bowser has always called Peach by her first name, whether it be because he didn't respect her or because he liked her. It unnerves her when he calls her "Princess" for the first time after they arrive at his castle.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Bowser Jr. is half-human and half-koopa. He looks and ages like a koopa, but was birthed live like a human.
- Hold Your Hippogriffs: The term "couldn't give a flying goomba " is used.
- Missing Mom:
- Peach had a jealousy towards the Koopalings because she thought they were Bowser's children. She always wondered where their mother was and where she went. As it turns out, the Koopalings are Bowser's nephews and niece, though that raises the question of where both their parents are since its implied they live with and are cared for by Bowser.
- The topic of Bowser Jr's absent mother is a driving force. Peach is certain she's gone but has no clue who she was or where she went. It turns out that Peach is actually his mother.
- Mistaken for Romance: After Peach first baked Mario a "Thank You" cake, everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom mistook her intentions to be romantic. Peach doesn't like Mario like that, but she never refuted the rumours.
- Mystical Pregnancy: Due to their different species, Bowser and Peach never considered the possibility of Peach getting pregnant, leaving Bowser Jr.'s conception to completely blindside them. Aside from being taken out of the womb early, Jr. looks and grows up like a normal Koopa, with the only physical trait he inherited from Peach being bent pinky fingers.
- Mythology Gag: The start is ripped from the intro to New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Bowser hasn't kidnapped Peach himself for three years and is unusually cold towards her. This OOC behavior confuses Peach. As it turns out, Bowser was afraid about continuing his relationship with Peach. He's been trying to push her away, but it doesn't work.
- Parental Abandonment:
- When Peach was sixteen, her parents left on a trip to mediate between two other warring lands. They never came back. No one knows what happened to them, but they're assumed dead. Their disappearance left the Mushroom Kingdom a prime takeover target, which is why Bowser decided to kidnap Peach for the first time.
- The Koopalings are implied to spend much, if not most, of their time with their uncle Bowser. The whereabouts of their parents isn't discussed.
- Powerful People Are Subs: After falling for Bowser, Princess Peach finds out that she's a masochist. Bowser, however, isn't comfortable hurting her.
- Related in the Adaptation:
- Bowser is the Koopaling's uncle. In canon they're unrelated.
- Peach is Bowser Jr.'s mother. Despite his claims otherwise in Super Mario Sunshine, she's not his mom, something Jr. himself admits at the end of the game.
- Wham Line: In-Universe: Bowser Jr. calling the Koopalings "cousins" comes as a shock to Peach, who up to that point believed them to be Bowser's children, even holding some resentment towards them because of it since it meant Bowser had been with another woman before her.
- Younger Than They Look: Koopas mature much faster than humans do; Bowser Jr. was only 1 during Sunshine, but had capacities similar to a 5-7 year old. It's because of this in addition to them being different species that Peach initially didn't think much about him calling her "mama".
