In memory of R.A. Montgomery, experience your own take on a Choose Your Own Adventure story with a Mario-themed Thanksgiving feast. Use the anchor links to navigate through the mini-story and help determine how your adventure will progress. You’ll encounter dangerous foes, meet exciting friends, and enjoy a gigantic, delicious feast.
It has finally arrived.
You’ve been waiting for this day all year. It’s the feasting, the merrymaking, and the gathering that make you look forward to Thanksgiving. (Mostly the feasting, though). You’ve already prepared your gigantic meal, and you’re upstairs in your bedroom getting ready.
Before heading downstairs, you need to finish freshening up. You comb your hair, put on your nicest holiday clothes, and give yourself a big grin in the mirror. As you reach down to grab your cell phone, you notice the tiny 1-Up pin you purchased yesterday. It was a rare thrift shop find, and the store owner gave you an amazing deal. It was almost like he was trying to get rid of it. You grab the pin and attach it to your cardigan. Now, you’re all ready.
You don’t know what it is, but somehow you can tell that this is going to be a magnificent Thanksgiving.
As soon as you open your bedroom door, you stumble upon a trail of gold coins. You grab a few off of the ground and examine them in your hand. They feel like real gold! You place them in your front pocket for safekeeping. The trail leads off down the hallway, towards the other bedrooms in your house. You’d really like to get downstairs and wait for your guests to arrive, but you can’t help being curious as to where the coins lead.
Head downstairs and wait for your guests to arrive.
Follow the coin trail and see where it leads.
Follow the coin trail and see where it leads…
You wander cautiously down the hallway, picking up every coin you come across. You can hardly hold on to all the coins; you must have nearly fifty by now! The trail turns into the spare bedroom at the end of the hallway and stops right in front of a strange green pipe sticking out of the floor. You stare down into the pipe, but it’s completely dark. There’s no telling where it leads. You lean down into the pipe, straining your eyes in search of a clue to where the darkness leads, but you lose your balance. You cry out in panic, the gold coins go flying, and your entire body falls into the pipe.
You are completely deprived of all your senses, but only for a moment. As quickly as you fell in, you’re now falling out of a tunnel attached to the ceiling of your kitchen. You hit the ground with a loud, painful thud. It takes you a few seconds to realize that you’ve been transported through your home, but you’re completely in awe and unable to wrap your head around what just happened.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
Your thoughts are cut short by the loud beeping of the kitchen timer. The turkey should be just about done.
Continue…
Head downstairs and wait for your guests to arrive…
Passing up a trail of coins is easy when you have an amazing meal downstairs. You can smell a delicious aroma from the kitchen, and you start to decide which food items you’ll eat first. You approach the top of the staircase, still lost in your daydreams. Unfortunately, you don’t notice the banana peel sitting right at the top of the stair. As soon as you take your next step, you go flying into the air, flailing your arms desperately. In the blink of an eye, you roll down the staircase and splatter onto the cold, hard floor. Luckily, your injuries don’t seem too severe, but you are a little sore.
You glare towards the banana peel lying next to you. Who would leave such a dangerous object at the top of a staircase? Shaking your head, you grab the banana peel and head towards the kitchen to throw it away.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
As soon as you enter the kitchen, the timer starts to beep repeatedly. You clear of mind of your horrific slip down the stairs and grab your oven mitts. The turkey should be just about done.
Continue…
You open the oven door to get a better look at the turkey. It’s been cooking for hours now, and it looks fantastic.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
It seems your first guest has finally arrived. You decide to leave the turkey in the oven for a few extra minutes, just to be sure it’s perfect. You’ve been waiting anxiously all day for the first arrival, and you can’t wait to see who it might be.
You race to the front of the house and fling open the front door. Upon seeing your guest, your jaw drops.
“It’s me… Mario!”
A short, stout man in overalls and a red hat smiles at you excitedly. Without hesitating, Mario marches into your home and heads straight for the kitchen. You’re at a loss for what to say, but you close the front door and follow him through the house.
Mario browses over the casseroles and pies that cover every surface in the kitchen. He seems just as eager to eat as you are. “You’ve cooked up quite a feast, my friend! Where’s the turkey?”
Good thing you didn’t forget the turkey! You head over the oven, but a snicker from the kitchen window freezes you in your tracks. Who is outside?
You give Mario a concerned look, and he nods at you silently. He heard the snicker as well. You move towards the window and look out into your backyard. Everything seems normal. Still, it would be best to go out the backdoor to get a better look.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
Another guest has arrived.
Make the guest wait and check out the backyard with Mario.
Forget the snicker and welcome in your second guest.
Make the guest wait and check out the backyard with Mario…
Investigating the strange sound is your top priority right now. Hopefully your guest won’t be kept waiting too long. You and Mario tip toe towards the back door and silently head into the backyard. There’s a bit of rustling in a nearby bush. You approach the bush cautiously, hoping to have the element of surprise on your side. Mario, on the other hand, wastes no time and plunges into the foliage.
A Goomba races out from the bush and sprints across the yard. Mario attempts to chase after it, but he’s tangled in a mess of twigs and vines.
“Stomp on it, friend! It’s the easiest way!”
You know what you have to do. The Goomba is heading towards the back fence, and you’re unsure if you’ll make it in time before it escapes. You valiantly race towards the little brown mushroom, sprinting after it with all your strength. Strangely enough, the moment the Goomba touches the fence it starts to head back towards you. Quite convenient. You bend your knees up and down, preparing to squash the fungus beneath your shoes
You can hear Mario’s shouts from the bush. “Do it now! Hurry!
He was right; it was time. You jumped as high as you can into the air and stomp on the Goomba mercilessly. The pest was immediately flattened before it disappeared into thin air. Mario, free from entrapment, pats you on the back. As you both head back inside, he rants about how amazing you were against the Goomba.You open the backdoor to the kitchen and immediately spot trouble. There, in front of the oven, stood a rather large man in yellow and a tall, slim man in purple. They hear you enter the room, and turn to face you with a sinister smirk
Mario raises his hands in the air and gasps. “Wario! Waluigi! Friend, they’re trying to steal the turkey!
Oh no. You spent hours working on this turkey, and it’s going to be the showcase of your Thanksgiving meal. There’s no way these two are getting away with this. You and Mario run towards the troublesome duo, but they quickly race off into the dining area. Round and round, you run through the entire house trying to capture the foes. They are knocking over tables, breaking lamps, and doing anything in their power to keep you from catching up. There’s no way you’re going to catch them.
“Friend, use this!” yells Mario, who is several paces behind you. You turn towards him to see a shimmering star flying towards your face. You reach out to catch it, but it disappears as soon as it touches your fingers. Suddenly, loud, melodious music starts playing all around you. You feel strong, powerful, and invincible. With this Star Power, there’s no way the two villains stand a chance.
You easily catch up to Wario and Waluigi. As soon as they notice your enhanced skills and rainbow aura, they panic. They run out the backdoor and into the yard, and you follow them closely. You throw a quick punch at Waluigi, and the forceful blow crushes him into the ground.
KICK! PUNCH! KICK! GROUND POUND!
You show no mercy to those who would try and steal your holiday feast. Waluigi sits dizzily on the ground and shows no signs of moving anytime soon. You give him one final, swift kick and send him flying over the back fence.
With all the attention you were giving Waluigi, you almost completely forgot about Wario. Luckily, he got stuck on a nail while trying to climb over your fence. As soon as Wario sees you heading towards him, he panics. Any moment now, your star power will be fading, so you know you have to act fast.
You use your incredible strength to lift Wario off the nail and grab his ankles. You begin to spin around on the lawn, causing Wario to rotate around you in a large circle. Faster and faster, you begin to pick up speed. At the precise moment, you release Wario’s ankles and send him shooting into the distance.
Mario, who was watching from afar, cheers for you. Your star power begins to fade away, and you head inside. The house is a complete wreck, but at least the meal was saved. You immediately walk to the front door, hoping your guest hasn’t left already. When you open the front door, you’re greeting by a happy, green lizard. Yoshi is clearly excited to see you. You invite him inside and tell him all about what just happened.
Continue…
Forget the snicker and welcome in your second guest.
You and Mario dismiss the strange noise you heard and head to the front door. Mario is almost as excited as you are to greet the next guest. You swing open the front door and see Yoshi, as strange and green as you had imagined.
“Yoshi! Great to see you,” exclaims Mario.
Yoshi’s reply is unintelligible, but he seems glad to see you both. You all head back inside to start setting the table.
As you approach the kitchen, you can hear whispering. It seems like someone may have been outside the kitchen window after all. You enter the room to see two oddly-shaped men standing in front of the stove.
“Wario! Waluigi! Friend, they’re trying to steal the turkey!”
Oh no. You spent hours working on this turkey, and it’s going to be the showcase of your Thanksgiving meal. There’s no way these two are getting away with this. Mario, Yoshi, and you begin to chase Waluigi and Wario through the house. Chairs are overturned, curtains are ripped, and bookshelves fall into the floor. Your entire home is in shambles, and the troublesome duo is doing a great job and outrunning you. It starts to look like they may escape.
You hear a strange noise from behind you. It seems that Yoshi has a plan. He splits off from the group and attempts to catch the criminals by surprise. You and Mario stay hot on their tails, only a few steps behind them. Out of no where, Yoshi appears in front of everyone. Suddenly, his plan becomes clear.
Yoshi’s tongue flies across the room and wraps itself around Wario, pulling the villain into his mouth within seconds. Like clockwork, a giant egg appears behind Yoshi. Waluigi has nowhere to run. He looks down at his shoes and sadly accepts his fate. With a smile, Yoshi launches his tongue towards Waluigi and turns him into an egg as well.
The three of you stare down at the eggs as they wiggle back and forth on the floor. You’re puzzled on how to dispose of the eggs.
“What about the cannon?” asks Mario.
You stare at Mario with a look of concern. Where would you ever find a cannon? You express your concerns to Mario, but he doesn’t seem to understand.
“Friend, there’s a cannon in your front yard. I saw it when I got here.”
Yoshi nods in agreement. Unbeknownst to you, there’s a cannon on your property. You have your doubts, but it’s clear that anything is possible this Thanksgiving. You agree to use the cannon to dispose of the egg-confined intruders.
You and Yoshi roll the eggs out towards the front lawn while Mario prepares the cannon. Of course, Yoshi gave you Wario. It’s taking a considerable amount of strength to push the egg out the door, but you manage it somehow. When you look up, you see Mario standing beside a hole in the ground.
“Roll them in here,” he yells. “It’ll activate on its own once they’re inside.”
Still skeptical, you roll your egg into the hole. Yoshi follows suit. Just as Mario said, the cannon containing the two eggs rose out of the ground. Mario spends a few seconds aiming before pressing a large blue button on the side of the cannon.
BOOM.
The two eggs flew off into the distance, and you all head back inside.
Continue…
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
You detect the faint smell of smoke, and that beeping isn’t the kitchen timer. The turkey! In all of the commotion, you forgot to take the turkey out of the oven. You race into the kitchen, but it’s too late. You open the oven door, filling the room with smoke. The turkey is burned to a crisp.
Yoshi shuts off the fire alarm, Mario disposes of the blackened turkey, and you sit in the dining room alone. Not only is your house a complete wreck, but the turkey – your pride and joy, the one thing you looked forward to all year – was destroyed. You would have rather let Wario and Waluigi have it than to have it ruined.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
Another guest at the door. It seems pointless, but you don’t want to leave them standing there. You head to the front door and open it slowly, revealing no one other than Princess Peach.
“Hey! I hope I’m not too late.”
As you begin to tell her the sad news, you look down at what she’s carrying. Your heart flutters.
“I wasn’t sure if you had a turkey or not, so I decided to bring the one I made!”
The evening was saved.
Over the next hour, guests continued to arrive. Toad, Birdo, Luigi, Princess Daisy, and even Donkey Kong are in attendance. In total, you must have two dozen guests in your home. Quite a turnout! Finally, after a year of waiting, it’s time to eat. You call everyone to the table.
The entire gang hardly fits around the table, but it’s manageable. Everyone is laughing and having a great time. Your turkey was burned. Your house is a mess. But you, on this great holiday, wouldn’t have it any other way.
You reach for more cranberry sauce when you accidentally spill gravy all over your cardigan. You look down at the 1-Up pin you’re wearing and decide to remove it for safekeeping. You wouldn’t want it getting lost.
The moment you remove the pin, the room begins to transform around you. Suddenly, you’re surrounded by your friends and family – your original Thanksgiving guests. Your house is no longer a mess, and the turkey you cooked is sitting in the middle of the table.
Confused, you stare thoughtfully down at the pin. Was the pin responsible for your crazy evening? Was it all a dream?
You shrug, realizing that you may never know, and reach to stick the pin down into your pocket. To your surprise, your fingers touch the few gold coins you had picked up earlier today. You smile to yourself and join the conversation with your family members. This was quite a magnificent, 1-Up Thanksgiving.
