God, this actually suggests that Peach isn’t just a specific instance of “the adult/ruling form of a female Toad,” but that Peach should properly be called “a Peach,” because the blonde hair, blue eyes, haircut, facial structure etc. etc. are all shared among mature forms of Toads –
Peach Toadstool is Type-Peach Name-Toadstool, the way Peachette is Type-Peach Name-Ette, isn’t she. Peach is the species. Peaches are a type of cuckoo or parasite which have slowly developed a codependent, controlling relationship with Toads.
A Super Crown is a symbiont Power-Up which converts a viable female Toad to an immature instance of the Peach species, granting aerial mobility, but slowly co-opting the nervous system; Peach Toadstool is a matured form, so completely infesting her host (presumably Princess Toadstool) that she remains in control even after the host body is damaged and shrinks to miniature form. Her age also reduces the efficiency of the gaseous jet systems which provide aerial mobility and convince Toads, earthbound residents of a traditionally very vertical ecosystem, to use Super Crowns – why would she need it in such prime condition, if her host is so thoroughly controlled? And of course, as one of the oldest Peaches, her mastery of language is sufficient that she can use social adaptations to maintain her control over the Mushroom Kingdom.
We might imagine that gliding/double jumping is an adaptation to avoid the Peach’s natural predators, likewise landbound Koopas, and navigating their natural habitats. And the human appearance? Another step in the cuckoo process – think of it as something like toxoplasma gondii, which can only reproduce in the stomachs of rats. The Peach adopts a particular form in order to allure human beings, which it can then use to spread its spores or bear its cuckoo children. Selecting a suitably mobile new host vessel, the Peach then manipulates that host vessel into budding off new Peaches across a wide range of locations, spreading them to brick blocks and empty Question Mark blocks by physical contact. Each different outing provides the spores for more Super Crowns. They take years to mature, yes, but eventually the Mushroom Kingdom will be infested.
Mario’s personality profile from the 1993 Nintendo Character Manual.
The description of his child-like curiosity and his immediate acceptance of anything weird are the first time I really thought of mario having that distinct a personality and it is adorable
bowser and mario actually settled their differences a long time ago and all the games with bowser’s kids are a game he sets up with the plumbers and the princess to keep all 7 or 8 of them active and engaged for an entire weekend because even the king of the koopas needs a hand sometimes wrangling all of them.
That’s why there’s never any blood, it’s all just playing tag and when you’re tagged you dramatically fall down.
peach spends her time “kidnapped” looking after the little ones and making sure they’re eating properly and doing a good job guarding their castles. once one is “defeated,” peach takes off to check in on the next one and bowser picks up his kid to come hang out back at the main castle and watch the rest of the adventure and eat some of the cake peach makes for the kids.
That is the cutest idea ever and it is now my headcanon.
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