#Because it's just whatever to them. They're Mario and Luigi

[kakusu-shipping]

Happy Pride Month Emile!!! 🖤🩶🤍💜 🩷💛🩵 🖤🩶🤍💚🤍🩶🖤 and 🏳️‍🌈 for Mario/Luigi + anyone else in the royal polycule you wanna do!!! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

HAPPY PRIDE TO YOU TOO ANON!!!!

Oooooh the instant desire to just to the entire polycule but I just did my Mario ship chart that showed all of them.... I'll keep it to like the Core Five.

Ask from here

Mario - He/Him, Trans Man, Panromantic Asexual

Luigi - He/Him, Gender Non Conforming, Bisexual

Peach - She/Her, Trans Woman, Panromantic Asexual

Daisy - She/They, Butch Lesbian

Bowser - He/Him, Intersex, Bisexual

[emile-hides]

I’m so obsessed with the Mario family and while I’m a very hard Uncle Tony stan I’m also insanely obsessed with Auntie Marie and her daughter. I want to know all about them.

[batneko]

it occurred to me that bowuigi would make for really good sentinel-and-guide AUs

(for those who don't know, The Sentinel was a 90's show about a guy with heightened senses and protective instincts, which make him a natural defender of humanity but can also be overwhelming. His nerdy partner who provided most of the exposition was eventually revealed to be a "guide" who has the power to soothe and support him. It had an extremely dedicated fandom and robust shipping community, which led to Sentinel AUs being super popular until A/B/O AUs eventually eclipsed them.

The basics are: Character A has super-senses and tends to be protective and territorial, but they have panic attacks/migraines/whatever because of their powers. Character B is a calming presence and often feels compelled to help Character A despite any personal differences they might have. It's important to note that the connection between sentinels and guides is not inherently sexual, though there's a lot of touching involved so if there's any attraction at all between the characters it can get awkward. Usually in the AU sentinel and guide powers are Known Abilities with support systems and sometimes even a matchmaking service in place, despite it being rare and unknown in the show.)

So for the obvious version we've got Sentinel Bowser and Guide Luigi. Bowser is an extremely powerful sentinel which means very few people can challenge him, but his instincts have driven him to conquer more and more territory over the years and he's starting to feel stretched thin. He's had guide partners before but his personality problems drive them away before too long, so he keeps a few in rotation and tries not to get attached.

He "fell in love" with Peach because her guide abilities are so strong he feels comfortable around her without either of them even trying. And since he only tends to see Luigi when Peach is also there (either kidnapped or at a group event) he doesn't notice that Luigi is a guide at all for a long time.

Until one day he has an attack in public, and since he's likely to lash out in that condition everyone keeps their distance - except Luigi. Who rushes to his side and holds his hand and rubs his brow until Bowser is able to come back to himself.

Bowser is stunned that someone he thought of as an enemy would help him so easily, as if it's the obvious thing to do. But he's also embarrassed that Mario's brother of all people had to take care of him in such a vulnerable position. He gets it into his head that the only way to save face here is if he acts like it's not embarrassing at all and that now he wants Luigi to be his full time guide partner.

This is definitely going to go great!

And then the reverse, Sentinel Luigi and Guide Bowser. Mario and Luigi are both sentinels, but they're so used to relying on and covering for each other that neither of them has ever needed a guide... Or at least they've convinced themselves they don't need one, until they're both falling at Princess Peach's feet as all the tension they've built up over the years drains away all at once.

Pretty soon it becomes clear that Peach and Mario have a connection that Peach and Luigi don't, and Luigi makes excuses to leave the two of them alone as often as he can. Which leaves him both without a guide and without his partner, putting up with all the stress and sensory stimulation on his own. He handled it before, right? He can handle it now.

Then he (literally) runs into Bowser and, just like with Peach, collapses to his knees at the sudden rush of relief. Bowser is like "not that I don't enjoy this kind of thing, but what the hell?" before he senses Luigi's distress and realizes he's a sentinel. It makes sense given how strong the brothers are, but he'd never really thought about how that kind of thing works for humans.

And, though he tells himself he shouldn't care if Luigi is struggling or not, he's not entirely heartless. Bowser scoops Luigi off the floor and lets him spend the rest of the day with him, eventually saying he's doing it because it'll be funny to have Luigi owe him a favor.

Luigi says okay. Bowser is baffled by how quickly he agreed. Either he was really really suffering, or he's so nice of a guy that he doesn't even fathom how easily Bowser can take advantage of him.

Well, it's not like it costs Bowser anything to keep him around. And it does actually feel good to be a guide instead of a king for once. Bowser decides to keep racking up "favors" until he thinks of the best way to use them, probably against Mario, or maybe to get into the Mushroom Kingdom.

Sure, once he gets that payoff Luigi will probably never forgive him and never want to see him again, but it'll be worth it... right?

[sludge-wizard]

List of my headcanons that are real from the movie:

-Luigi struggles to keep up with Mario for health reasons (He states he has bad knees in the opening) -Luigi is scared of big dogs -Luigi 100% swears ("That HELLhound is gonna escape!") -Luigi was a gifted kid ("You're bringing your brother down with you", the refusal to talk back at dinner, the block castle) -Luigi 100% eats whatever Mario doesn't like (Taking the mushrooms from his pasta, eating it when Mario doesn't want to) -Mario and Luigi are VERY SMALL GUYS -Mario was NOT a golden/perfect child -Luigi is a bit of a mama's boy, likely due to being shy and her needing to do things on his behalf (Giving him his soup directly after he struggled to get any bread or salad, THANKS UNCLE TONY) -The boys share a room -Mario sucks as video games but still plays them because he's stubborn -Large immigrant family living together -Mario is an INCREDIBLY stubborn person -Princess Peach is less of a ruler and more of a guardian/protector/spokesperson -King Boo and the presence of boos in Bowser's strongholds implies he's taken over their former spaces when they were alive ("the darklands. they're under Bowser's control") -The shell is NOT part of the Koopa's body (The dry bones had a separated spine from the shell) -Coins are pretty big -The blue shell is the highest ranking troop, with other shell colours indicating rank as well. -Power ups are as much a tool as a weapon -Cheep cheeps are just fish -There's an entire kingdom of Kongs, containing both monkeys and gorillas -Cranky Kong is Donkey Kong Senior, and Donkey Kong's father -Mario was not a natural at all, even if he was a sporty kid -Power-ups can actively transform the body and not JUST augment it (The super-bell giving mario cat reflexes and adjusting his joints to operate like a cat's. also a plus, he purrs when grooming himself and makes biscuits on DK's back briefly) -Shortcuts to skip worlds are real (The cannons, rainbow road) -Anti grav can be toggled, but will auto enable under certain conditions -Bowser's green scales run down his back and under his shell (it's hard to see but noticeable in the fake proposal scene) -Mario is a kart guy and peach is a Bike gal -Koopas tend to greatly admire feats of strength and power, and sparing somebody is seen as very romantic. -bullet bills are sentient -all humans are cartoony -Bowser isn't just a bully, he's actually a sad and hurt person who grew up alone and likely fought for the throne

[weirdmarioenemies]

Happy Groundhog Day! I think it is so wonderful that there is an entire holiday dedicated to a specific burrowing rodent. Americans love this thing! And who wouldn't? Their burrows aerate soil, and provide homes for many other critters!

A lot of people wouldn't love the groundhog, actually. In 1883, the New Hampshire Legislative Woodchuck Committee put out a statement calling groundhogs "wayward sinners" whose grooming habits suggest good manners, but who in reality have "not made any material progress in social science". You think the Discourse is bad today? They used to form committees to complain about a squirrel's moral character!

However, this is not the extent of the disrespect toward groundhogs. It happens to this day, and we all take it for granted, and most don't even bother to realize it has to do with a marmot in the first place! Let's talk about...

Name: "Mole"

Debut: Whac-A-Mole

Sorry this picture is not very good. There are just not many pictures available that show that weird old "mole" figure that I have in mind specifically! Here's a green one.

Anyone familiar with the "Mole" series of animals will know that this is very much Not A Mole! The distinct head, the visible ears, the blunt nose, the buckteeth... this, my friend, is 100% Ground Squirrel! And this game is FAR from the only instance of moles and burrowing rodents being mixed up.

It actually makes sense that this mistake would happen, though! Moles are synonymous with burrowing, to the point unrelated burrowing animals are named after moles (including Mole Cricket, perhaps the ORIGINAL mole). But moles spend ALL their time burrowing, rarely if ever coming to the surface, so even though we all know moles, we are rarely blessed with SEEING moles. I have never seen a mole in person... yet! I would love to! Ground squirrels, such as groundhogs and prairie dogs, are also little burrowing critters, but these ones are commonly seen on the surface, ever alert. I think it's reasonable to mistake them for "moles"!

Alas, the popularity of Whac-A-Mole has cemented Ground Squirrel as essentially the "canon" Mole design for this context. And what a context that is! A classic, even GENRE-DEFINING game, all about whacking critters as they emerge from their burrows. So rude! They're not posing any danger, and the player isn't hunting them to eat, either. This is simply a game of spite. How DARE that rodent try to see the sun! This is just like Undertale.

Whac-A-Mole is one of the most straightforward types of game for any device with a touch screen or anything similar. Just gotta tap a thing! Very easy. This has led to such variations such as Whack-a-Monty from New Super Mario Bros., where the player bonks Monty Moles (more like Monty Gopher am I right) while sparing the many, many Luigis. Obviously, the Luigis must surface in order to initiate courtship, ensuring future generations of Luigis.

Now that I think of it, Mario is one of the only times I've seen the ethics of Whac-A-Mole called out, through the endangered Whacka from Paper Mario! I'm surprised the genre is not deconstructed more often (I love that this sentence is about Whac-A-Mole).

I think this is where I will end the post, because this silly game has so permeated human culture that I could go on and on and on! So strange that an entire animal now has a reputation of "pops out and gets bonked on the head". Conceptually, I certainly prefer the "parasitic aliens emerging from an astronaut's body orifices" aesthetic for this kind of game, but obviously kids aren't going out and bludgeoning real rodents because of this game, so whatever.

But still, what if instead of moles, the whacked entities were something humans have no problem attacking with a second thought...?

Get ready for an action-packed new game set in the Bowling universe!

[geraldthellama]

Bowuigi Corpse Bride AU Lore Post

So I said I would probably make this and while I thought about making this into a fanfic and making ya'll read that, I decided that I need to commit to the other three (two and a half?) Mario fanfic ideas I have. So if anyone wants to make a full blown fic or whatever with this AU, feel free (but tag me ofc because I've got to see it).

(This will not be short, just a quick warning that this is a commitment).

This AU is very loosely based off the actual movie. Instead of them being in the underworld, they're just in a haunted house that Boo lost to Bowser in a game of poker, and instead of being a corpse (as the name suggests), Luigi is just a slightly annoying boo. Him and Polterpup are the only ones that inhabit the mansion, and, with the house completely abandoned, it's probably going to stay that way.

In this world, ghosts only stay after some massive traumatic death. Problem is, Luigi has no recollection of how he died, he just knows he hit his head and a little while later awoke, a ghost that's unable to be seen, heard, and is completely alone as a newly-deceased. Aside from the yipping ghost dog at his feet (Luigi has always been afraid of both ghosts and dogs).

As a ghost, Luigi originally spawns (spawns?) into this world with little ghostly abilities. Living beings can't see or hear him and he doesn't have the power to manipulate objects or people in any way. He is essentially a specter, watching the lives of other people for years until, eventually, it's abandoned, and the Peasley family mansion (one of many, that is) is gambled away to King Boo.

But, King Boos already got his own slew of creepy haunted mansions, and, frankly, this one is haunted by a ghost he can't stand. A ghost that hasn't been able to speak to someone for around a decade. A chatty ghost that hasn't been able to speak to someone for over a decade. He's not exactly torn up about parting with it.

Bowser, the poor thing, is on attempt...

Attempt... 2 hundred... something.

(at least 4 proposals a year, for around 20 years... that's...)

Let's just say, Peach does and has not wanted Bowser for a long ass time, and it really doesn't help his self esteem that he's still being thwarted by a plumber that's old enough to be his dad and uses a cane. He really can't understand what Peach sees in him, especially considering she still looks like a youthful 20/30-something into her 60s. Frankly, it's unfair. He's got money, kids (some really awesome ones too), power, looks (he thinks so at least), and isn't 3 pudding cups away from dementia.

What he hasn't got, until right now at least, is an awesome mansion, specially built for human(oid) creatures. Maybe she just didn't like gothic castle architecture? Maybe, as Boo suggests, he just has to get her scared enough to fall into his arms for safety. He's got this all planned out.

Boo did not specify that the "ghostly inhabitants" of this mansion were a hyperactive ghost dog and naive plumber. He didn't think it was important information at the time.

So, when Bowser is plotting and practice-proposes (does he really need more practice?) to the striking blue eyes of a, surprisingly, human painting, the last thing he expects is to be met with a ghoulish grin.

Barely ghoulish, because, god, the thing is bright. The smile and the bio-(bio?)-luminescent energy it's attached to. For a ghost who's wearing bloodied bandages and has been dead for 30 lonely years, he's surprisingly optimistic.

"Really?! And you're not even a boo!" :D

He's very optimistic, in fact, because he's willing to believe that this complete stranger might just be his ticket out of this wall-papered purgatory. He died meeting up with his forbidden love, after all, so it must be a sign. He does not hesitate to shove that ring on his finger, even if his new fiance looks hesitant (he might be naive enough to go with it, but he's not blind). He's convinced the two will make it work.

Luigi is... very tired of looking at the same things everyday. Now, he can attach to his new fiance, who's only slightly hesitant to engage with him, (and is not bad looking at all, in Luigi's opinion). Together, the two can actually have a life together. Luigi was only 25 when he died, and he was far too shy then to do any adventuring. The most rebellious thing the man had ever done was sneak out.

Man, look where that ended him.

For Luigi, this is his opportunity to live the life he wasted was robbed of.

And the guys got kids! How awesome is that?

Bowser is not liking the new pets at his side. One never stops yipping and yapping and one is a dog. Luigi is... fine. From a distance. The problem is that they physically can't get any. As long as Luigi is attached to him, consider them hand cuffed. This stupid, green boo is crimping his style, and any game he had with Peach is virtually ruined when he's got his "fiance" clinging to his side like he's the best thing since breathing air.

At least Luigi appreciates his kids. The ghost obviously has some taste (of course he does, he chose him for pete's sake), and Junior and the rest seem to like the ghoul enough... Even if Junior isn't completely sure that Luigi is a ghoul. Both Luigi and Junior agree that boos are scary.

Maybe, after some hard self-reflection (with Luigi close and present, of course), and some growing emotional intimacy and openness, Bowser begins to kind of, perhaps tolerate Luigi. Just a little. Just enough to find his stupid quirks endearing and just enough to start to think that maybe he's always been too good for Peach, anyway. Maybe he should be with someone who appreciates him and loves his family. It's not like her and Mario had ever had kids in their relationship, and her not wanting kids is kind of a deal breaker.

Bowser's newfound attention on Luigi is driving everyone else nuts, though. Boos barely seen the man since his unfortunate run in with the green leach and no one else at their poker table is any good. At this rate, Boos not even satisfied winning Peasley's riches off him anymore. Occasionally, a guy just wants to lose, y'know? Boo hates only one thing more than Peasley whining about the consequences of his gambling addiction, and that's boredom. He misses when the Koopa King spent all his time plotting against the old-ass plumber. At least then he showed his face at their meetings.

And when Boo finally brings up his grievances, because he deserves to rant, Peasley seems... nervous. Boo loves nervousness.

"There's a... human boo... in the mansion I gave you..?"

"One, you didn't give it to me, you lost, fair and square. Two, yeah, and he's just about the chattiest thing I've ever met. All dressed up in a white suit, the pretentious-"

At that, Peasley turns about as pale as a ghost. Well, if that were possible, considering he's a legume. Suddenly, he's got some important things he has to do somewhere else.

This poker table is looking weak.

When Peasley asks Bowser to meet at the mansion, Bowser warns he can't come alone. It's a stretch to get the green ghost to go back with him, and as much as Bowser wants to tell him "you're coming with me, whether you like it or not", he can't bring himself to say it. Instead, he convinces Luigi that it's a quick stay. Essentially, a welfare visit on the old house and a quick meeting with an old friend. Luigi's narrowly convinced.

Stepping back onto that porch brings back a lot of old memories for the human. Few of them anything good in retrospect.

But he does want to see his painting again. He always did cherish that painting. He's sure Bowser will too, right?

Is that painting a good memory for Bowser? He wonders.

It was all those years ago that a young Peasley gifted him that painting. Like him, he had been optimistic and in love. Even if his rich, snobby parents weren't a fan of the human, they had an entire life ahead of them. Peasley had made him a beautiful painting. It was the one part of the house Luigi felt was his. A good memory.

He never expected to be greeted by the same image he had all those years ago. Peasley, now older, stood in front of the painting. His face now wasn't proud or love-struck or whatever expression he had had then (Luigi can barely remember Peasley's face until just now), he looked somber. It was a rare occasion that Luigi wasn't green, and his teal glow seemed to throw Bowser off.

And divert Peasley's attention away from the miserable painting and over to the ghost, who was nervously twiddling his thumbs with a sympathetic look in his eyes.

It's not long before Bowser realizes that this meeting was never about him, and he feels more awkward than anything else...

Except that Polterpup has been on edge since the moment he saw the bean (now) king. Has he ever seen the dog not wag it's tail at someone?

Immediately, the older man apologizes. Things were never meant to end up how they did. He tried his best to help when he could.

Luigi's not angry, how could he be? Luigi's fall was an accident.

Peasley says he didn't know Luigi had stuck around, and if he had, he thinks he would have done things differently. He would have at least had the place cleaned instead of just letting it rot.

(So Peasley abandon the mansion? The perfectly good mansion for no reason, leaving Luigi alone.)

And, of course, Peasley's sorry for not telling Mario or his parents about what happened to him.

(HUH?)

He insisted that he waited for hours with Luigi, hoping he'd recover with enough gauze. The man told him it was a lost cause. If he could have saved him, he would have.

Hours?

"I was unconscious for hours?"

It came out as barely a whisper.

"I stayed almost the entire night. As long as I could."

Bowser didn't know boos could turn so many colors, especially that quickly. Bowser didn't think Luigi even had it in him to be anything less than smiley, especially completely enraged.

Luigi had never been more angry in his life (death).

Even Peasley's insistence that "You don't understand what they'd have done to me if they'd known I went against their wishes!" fell on deaf ears.

When Luigi's aura finally finished raving, Peasley had backed away from the now red ghost. Again, Luigi recognized the position they were in;

One of them backing up, away from the painting and towards the basement stairs. How could Peasley forget that door never closed all the way? It had only been the exact thing that killed Luigi 30 years ago. The exact thing that, of course, Peasley hadn't fixed.

Luigi swears he didn't push him, even in that state. Bowser believes him, only because the still angry and unaware Luigi yelled angrily down the stairs: "You better not die here, because I'll make your death hell!"

If they both hadn't just watched Peasley fucking die, Bowser would have kinda been into it.

It took Luigi a second to realize that even if his own fall had been an unlucky hit, Peasley wasn't 25 anymore. And he wasn't responding. His red hue didn't last long, especially when Polterpup no longer seems threatened (and Bowser notices that the bean king no longer seems to be breathing).

"What did I do?"

Bowser suggests fleeing the crime scene, which normally isn't his move, but he'd rather not be tied to the murder of a fellow royal. Luigi shakes his head.

This is his fault. And as angry as he still is at Peasley, he can't flee what he's done. Not in a right conscience. Not like what Peasley did to him. Luigi suffered enough sitting in that mansion alone for 30 years, and, as much as revenge tastes sweet, a small part of him still cares. Had he lived, Peasley and him would have had a life after all.

But he hadn't lived, did he.

Bowser can't remember a time ever seeing Luigi's color look quite as dull as it did then.

Playing with his engagement ring, Luigi thinks back on the part of the man he loved. Peasley never did buy him the ring, like he had hoped. Luigi remembers getting himself all excited over the possibility of a scenic proposal as they walked through the flower garden of the mansion. He had gifted him a painting. Which was almost as good.

He couldn't even count how many times he had stood and looked at that painting, thinking:

Was it worth it?

An apprehensive smile comes onto his face. A nostalgic smile. A somber one.

Doesn't really matter, does it? He'd never know if it was worth it in the end. This was how it ended up. Luigi had always believed that fate is what had brought him and Peasley together, considering everything else had lined them up for failure. Fate was what brought him here. What kept him here.

Who is he to drag down others?

He returns Bowser's ring.

"I'm sorry."

Bowser never deserved to have him weigh him down.

"I wasted my life chasing after a family I never got, and then spent my death doing the exact same thing."

Bowser awkwardly matches Luigi's bitter laugh.

"I lived my life, be it a short one, but you deserve to live yours."

Luigi pats the ring on his hand.

"I hope she likes it." He smiles. He means it. Peach sounds wonderful.

Tears prick Bowser's eyes, and all because...

He never did tell Luigi about him and Peach, did he? He can't help but laugh. Tears streaming down his face kinda laugh. The laugh you only get once a year kind of laugh.

"You spent, what? Maybe five non-consecutive years chasing after a family? Try twenty!"

Luigi's eyebrow goes up. This is supposed to be a super emotional goodbye and this goobers laughing? On about his conquest to marry Peach (who, apparently, is already married) and make his picturesque life. Luigi can't help but laugh, because it's so stupid that Bowser's laughing about this right now.

"Her and her stupid, human, mustachioed husband Mario have been kicking my ass for decades. I promise you, boo, you weren't ever getting in the way of anything."

Mario?!

"Mario?" (!)

"You heard of him?"

The excitement in Luigi's eyes (and aura) is obvious.

"My brother's name is Mario!"

With a look of determination, Bowser promises he'll tell Luigi the story of all his and Mario's exploits if he does him two favors.

Leaves this, frankly, ugly and decrepit mansion with him. Because this story needs atmosphere.

Puts the ring back on his finger. Because how else is everybody going to know they're engaged?

Luigi gives a grin.

He looks down the stairs. What about doing his due-diligence?

"I promise you, boo, if fate brought you and Peasley together, and pushed you down those stairs, and brought us together, and then pushed him down the stairs, fate is on your side."

Luigi's lips are still pursed.

"And it's almost sunrise," Bowser points out.

"So?"

"Well, we've waited almost all night, seems like a fair amount of time to me. It's obviously a lost cause."

At that, Luigi begins laughing. Not quite Bowser's guttural, teary laugh, but certainly a cackle. Enough to turn his aura back to a vibrant green, just like before. Enough to make him hunch over and take some (not really) much needed gulps of air.

When the laughing dies down to a hurt giggle, Bowser assures him that:

"You didn't kill him, Weeg."

No. I guess he didn't, did he?

Looking down the stairs one last time, (his death completely bloodless, the lucky bastard), Luigi's brows furrow for a second and he twiddles his thumbs.

If Luigi's learned one thing from being a condemned ghost, it's that you should take every chance you get.

The bottom of the stairs don't look so intimidating now.

"I...

I forgive you."

Maybe that is all Peasley deserves.

Luigi deserves to have another chance. And maybe Peasley does too, maybe he'll find one in the next lucky winner of poker. Someones gotta replace his spot at the table.

Bowser shares that he certainly deserves a mother to his children, and he's already got a quality candidate who's proved he's got what it takes. ("One who cooks, cleans, can't call in sick, die, and is pretty good looking! I hit the jackpot!")

Maybe, at the very least, Luigi deserves to see his brother one last time.

And maybe a few more times after that, for good measure.

Anyways so the original plan was just to have either Luigi and Bowser straight up immediately abandon the crime scene (not really crime scene) or have Luigi sit in the mansion forever and live out a miserable existence.

But I couldn't do that to my boys now could I. (But Peasley still gets abandoned because screw Peasley I hate that little bean man /j).

This wasn't meant to turn out in the format it did but, y'know, it did. Just know this isn't brief but also isn't comprehensive. I might (big emphasis on might) make a shorter headcanon post on this, but we'll see.

I hope you enjoyed. And sorry for the length, I am not known and will never be known for being concise.

[chloecherrysip]

Maybe that Mario & Luigi warping footage has driven me mad and now I'm just terminally stuck on MAXIMUM BROTHERLY ANGST but the fact that the Mario movie seems willing to go to a very emotional and sweet place with their relationship is killing me!!! Here are some Mario and Luigi-specific theories/possible moments I've been thinking about for the movie, all nicely compiled (and not just tossed into other people's inboxes, haha) - maybe they'll happen in some way, maybe they won't, but if they DO, oh man, I will be a puddle of goo in the movie theater they'll have to sweep up afterwards:

Mario opening up to Peach and Toad about Luigi, what their life was like in the past, their closeness, and his fears/anxieties about the possibility of not being able to save his brother (some version of this seems EXTREMELY likely in the fire flower scene) (and likewise, Luigi talking to his fellow prisoners about Mario and how much he misses his brother!)

Both brothers taking moments throughout the movie to think of each other and draw inner strength/resolve from that - for instance, Mario struggling with his training, feeling exhausted and hopeless, but thinking of Luigi in danger and how much his brother needs him and that giving him the burst of strength and determination he needs to finally complete the course

LIKEWISE, Luigi panicking or struggling to act in his scary predicaments but thinking of Mario and what he would do/say in situations like this and being able to keep going/stay brave because of that memory

BOWSER FIGURING OUT THE RELATION AND USING LUIGI AGAINST MARIO AT A CRITICAL MOMENT??? (I'm sorry, but it feels like the interrogation stuff has to lead SOMEWHERE) (Bowser clearly is looking for info/weak points he can use against Mario, and Luigi himself ultimately IS that weak point!!!)

This could play out in a lot of different ways - using an in-danger Luigi as bait for a trap, maybe there's some Magic Shenanigans where Kamek throws Luigi's voice to lure Mario away from the group during a battle, or maybe Bowser just taunts Mario about his brother and how Mario's too weak to save him from the torture he's endured/will endure. Whatever the case is, Mario's anger and Ultra Big Brother Instincts overriding all other common sense could cause him to act too rashly or make some serious mistakes in the heat of the moment. :(

Either brother thinking that the other is dead for any period of time and just being BROKEN but also FULL OF FIERY VENGEANCE because of it!!! I know, I know, put me in Angst Jail but Mario could get blown off Rainbow Road and presumed dead for a little while, which could get back to Luigi through Bowser or his minions, OR maybe Luigi escapes but Bowser lies to Mario and tells that he disposed of his brother already and he's too late. I could just see both of them breaking down at first but ultimately being ANGRY above all else and resolving to avenge the other, no matter what ;___; (and this would also make their eventual reunion even MORE emotional and impactful)

Speaking of, the brothers reuniting with the BIGGEST, MOST DESPERATE, CLINGING HUG YOU'VE EVER SEEN IN YOUR LIFE (this is truly all I care about, I just need the movie to get this right, PLEASE)

Bonus points if there's a big lead-up to it where they maybe they just hear each other at first, or they see one another from a far-away distance and they're just RUNNING and FIGHTING and SCRAMBLING to reach each other, calling out all the while, to the point that they can't even stop, they just TACKLE each other at full speed

(They've never been apart this long before! Ever since they can remember, they've been joined at the hip, and this whole time, it's felt like they were missing a limb, but now THEY'RE BOTH HERE and THEY'RE OKAY and there's a lot of fussing over injuries and frantic questions and THE BIGGEST, TEARIEST SMILES EVER and it finally feels like everything's really gonna be okay, even though there might still be an ongoing invasion/final battle to take care of)

After reuniting, there being a situation where they need to split up again temporarily to accomplish different goals in the name of stopping Bowser and Mario is actually the more anxious one for once who really doesn't want to let Luigi out of his sight after they've just found each other again, but Luigi takes a turn reassuring him that it's gonna be okay (and Mario is quietly impressed by how his brother seems a little braver after his ordeal)

ALSO after reuniting, there being a moment before the final battle with Bowser where Mario is self-doubting and isn't sure he can win, but Luigi doesn't understand that because ever since they were little and dealing with playground bullies, he's ALWAYS thought of Mario as a hero - this new role just fits him so well, at least in Luigi's eyes, and he knows that Mario can do this (I KNOW, I KNOW, A LITTLE CHEESY, but!! i just love the idea of Luigi hearing about/seeing his brother as The Hero and being like "yep, my big bro IS amazing and brave and the absolute best, this makes sense!")

At any point, Mario actually seeing Bowser hurt/threaten Luigi and just going ABSOLUTELY BALLISTIC because of it. RIP BOWSER, YA IDIOT

Possibly related to the above, but it feels like a pretty sure thing that the final battle has to be Bowser VS Mario all the way, that's how so many games end, but! I do think Luigi could provide important assistance at one or two moments. Like maybe Bowser is startling to struggle and goes for the power star, but Luigi has already beaten him to it and manages to throw it to Mario before Bowser reaches him - but then he gets STRUCK HARD or even knocked out by Bowser and Mario's anguished reaction sets off the star's power! (I did see that somewhere else, not my original idea - the concept that the star can only be activated by an intense, pure-hearted emotion - but I love it <3)

That's all I got for now - again, even a FRACTION of these happening would be officially Too Much for my little, feeble heart. I'm just so grateful that from everything we've seen so far, the movie really does seem to be centering the brothers' relationship (even if they're not physically together for most of it) and how much they mean to each other and that is everything!

[delightfuldevin]

Bowsario AU fic (No Title cause I’m bad at titles)

Summary: With super powered villains creeping up all over the world, it was obvious for Mario that he wanted to get into the hero business. Most other heroes had powers of their own, too, but Mario would just have to make do with the temporary magic granted to him by the mysterious plants he tended to. What happens, then, when his face strikes fear into not just the villains he fights, but even the civilians he tries to save? How is he meant to be a hero when he's associated with one of the most powerful villains in the world?

Silly little au thing that popped into my brain as soon as I saw this prompt and I had to write it. I didn’t know how to end it so apologies that it just sorta cuts off. Also I hc Mario to be semi verbal, so he doesn’t speak in this. It’s hard to write characters who don’t speak (as someone who talks a lot lmao) so bear with me here,,

***

Mario is easily the most well known hero around here. Sure, he had a rough start being the new guy in a big city, but once he proved his capabilities, everyone would come to him for just about anything. He's an inspiration to all, having graduated top of his class from one of the most prestigious hero academies without any natural born powers at all. Turns out, all you really need is a green thumb and the right kind of seeds. Those "fire flowers" of his can pack just as much a punch as any pyromancer.

"Ready to head out, bro?" Mario smiles as his younger twin throws his arm over his shoulder. Luigi had attended the academy with him and, against all odds, graduated with a score just under his. He always knew his brother could make it with him, even if no one else did, even Luigi himself. The guy doesn't know his own strength, but Mario does. After living in the city for the first few years after graduating, the brothers decided to move back to their hometown. If they were going to make a difference in the world, they wanted to start in the place they call home.

The plane ride was uneventful, and soon enough they're in the airport of their hometown. "Say, you think Peach will remember us?" Luigi asks absently as they wait for their luggage on the conveyor belt. Why wouldn't she, Mario thinks to himself. It's only been six years since they saw her last. If she did forget them, he'd definitely give her an earful about it. Suddenly, they hear a scream.

"Help! Somebody stop him!" A masked Beanish man runs through the airport, carrying a bag as a Toad woman chases after him. She was the one who had screamed before, still calling after him. Easily coming to a conclusion, Mario jumps into action, stopping the Beanish man in his tracks.

"Out of the way, red! No one stops Popple the Shadow Thief!" This guy seems weak enough, so Mario readies to fight him with his bare hands, leaving the fire flowers in his pocket. "Oh, you wanna tussle, ey? Fine then! I'll pummel ya and take whatever ya got, too!" This Popple fellow seemed not to have gotten a good look at Mario's face before, because once he does, he suddenly starts trembling, shrinking back from him.

"W-wait a second, you're–!" He pauses and puts the Toad woman's bag down on the floor slowly, hands up as if trying to appease a wild beast. "S-sorry about this, truly! I-I didn't mean none of what I said to ya, I swear!" And just like that, Popple runs off at an even higher speed than when he was trying to escape the woman in the first place.

Eyebrow raised in confusion, Mario stoops down to pick up the bag and walks it over to its owner. "Oh, thank you so much, kind sir." Mario smiles as she cranes her neck up to look at him, her short stature preventing her from seeing him properly. But the second she sees his face, her eyes widen enough to pop out of her skull and she lets out a terrified squeak, hurrying away from him. Okay, what happened with that thief was odd, but this was even stranger. He had just helped her; why did she look so afraid of him? He turns over to Luigi, who had dragged both their bags over to him.

"Well, that was weird... right?" Still dumbfounded, Mario grabs his bag from Luigi and the two of them make their way out of the airport.

The rest of their short walk to their old home went quite the same as their time in the airport. The second anyone got a good look at Mario's face, they'd run away in terror. "Maybe you'd make a better villain instead, bro!" Luigi jokes as he unlocks the door to their house. Mario knows he means it lightheartedly, but it does get to him a bit. Why was he garnering such a reaction from everyone around him? He hadn't been around for six years, and he was only the kindest and sweetest to everyone before he left. Maybe some bad rumors spread about him while he was gone... But how did that happen?

"Hey, cheer up!" Luigi exclaims, noticing how his "joke" hadn't gone over so well. "Let's go see Peach! She doesn't know we're back in town yet!" He pats Mario's back, and the older twin forces a smile. For a brief moment, he worries that Peach will react the same way as everyone else, but he knows that wouldn't happen. She knows him better than anyone...

One of the upsides about having a best friend who's royalty is that you don't have to put in any effort to remember where they live. After all, how could you miss the giant marble castle standing proudly at the edge of the town? Mario ignores the stares he gets as he and Luigi walk through town and to the front of the castle. The Toad guards in front smile as Luigi approaches, but, like everyone else, freeze up when they see Mario.

"H-halt! Y-you... you can't come in here...!" The guards try to put on brave faces, speaking as firmly as possible, but their trembling voices aren't very convincing.

"Hey hey, easy, pals," Luigi tries, hands out to show he's not a threat. "We're friends of the Princess. Tell her Mario and Luigi are here to see her. She'll vouch for us!"

"Uh, okay, wait here then," the green Toad says, eying the brothers suspiciously.

"No, I wanna go tell her!" the purple Toad whisper-shouts.

"I'll tell her! You stay here!"

"I don't wanna stay here with him!"

"Shut up and deal with it! I'll be right back!" Before the purple Toad could retaliate again, the green one goes into the castle. Mario keeps up a smile as they wait, hoping to calm the purple Toad's nerves, but it doesn't seem to be working. Though it feels like hours pass, it must've only been a few minutes when they hear the Princess's voice on the other side of the door.

"I understand your concern, Toadsworth, but if a villain is polite enough to wait at my door before attacking, I'm willing to hear them out." The door swings open as the Princess, the green Toad guard, and a brown elderly Toad come out, though the elderly Toad immediately slides behind the Princess's dress in fear. "Maybe it's not as bad as it–" She pauses as her eyes fall upon the twins. Again, Mario fears the worst. But then, her mouth spreads into a wide grin, turning up her eyelids and making her cheeks plump.

"Oh my gosh!" She throws her arms around them, pulling them both against her. "Why didn't you tell me you guys were coming back today?! I would've planned something!"

"Nice to see you, too, Princess," Luigi laughs, returning her hug. With all the weird reactions he's been getting lately, Mario is taken aback to actually be receiving a warm welcome. But he smiles sincerely, laughing too, as he squeezes her as tight as he can. Peach loosens her grip on them, turning to look at the green Toad guard.

"Now why would you tell me there was a villain at my door when it was my two best friends I haven't seen in years?" Mario's smile begins to fall hearing that.

"W-well, y'know... On account of his association with... him..." Association with who? So he was right about there being some rumor about him, but what was it and why?

“Uh, Princess… What’s going on?” Luigi asks. “Ever since we arrived, everyone’s been giving Mario weird looks, and what’s this about him being a villain?!”

“News probably hasn’t spread to the city you were studying in. It did happen somewhat recently…” Peach sighs, bringing her hand to her forehead. Then, she smiles brightly, going to stand between the brothers and wrapping her arms in theirs. “Let’s go inside and have a seat. I’ll explain everything. Toadsworth!” The old brown Toad flinches upon hearing his name, still uneasy in Mario’s presence. “Be a dear and prepare us some tea, will you?”

“C-certainly, Your Highness!” The old Toad wastes no time, spinning on his heels and hurrying back inside, eager to make himself scarce. Meanwhile, Peach leads her best friends to the sitting room, which is the first room on the right when entering through the castle’s front door. They sit on the plush dark pink couches, remaining in antsy silence as Toadsworth returns with the requested tea.

Toadsworth’s hands tremble as he pours the tea. Luigi smiles and thanks him and he nods in response, but at Mario’s smile, the old Toad flinches again, nearly dropping the teapot. “Oh, for Stars’ sake, Toadsworth! Get over it!” Peach finally exclaims. “It’s Mario! You know him! He’s been my best friend since we were infants!“

“Y-yes, of course… F-forgive me.” Peach sighs again in exasperation, taking a sip of her tea before continuing to the brothers.

“So, as you might’ve guessed, a lot has happened since you went away to study. Goodness, where to start… Do you guys remember Bowser?” Mario and Luigi exchange unsure glances. “He went to high school with us? He was an exchange student from the Koopa Kingdom.” Again, the brothers exchange looks, before a metaphorical lightbulb goes off in Luigi’s head.

“Oh, right yeah! Remember, bro? He used to always pick fights with you?” That’s when Mario’s memory comes back as well. Bowser, huh… He was a strange guy. From the minute he arrived at the school, he seemed like trouble. He’d always try to insert himself into any situation, like he just had to be the center of attention. He’d even tried to get Peach to go out with him, despite knowing every guy in school had their eyes on her and would most definitely fight him over her.

But by far the strangest thing about him was the fact that he’d keep trying to antagonize Mario somehow. At first, Mario thought it was because he was friends with Peach, but Bowser never targeted Luigi and even after Peach made it clear she wasn’t going to date anyone, he would still try to bother him. At first, he’d really try to pick fist fights with him, but then it started devolving into silly little pranks that an elementary kid would do, like putting a jack-in-the-box in his locker or filling his shoes with candy during gym.

“Yeah, well, after graduation, right after you guys left, he returned to the Koopa Kingdom,” Peach continues. “I don’t know how it happened, but somehow he overthrew the Koopa King and he’s been ruling the kingdom ever since.”

“Uh… good for him…?” Luigi says with a shrug, confusion in his tone and on his face. “But what does he have to do with Mario?”

“He’s also become the most dangerous villain on the continent, and his power is only growing stronger. And after he ascended to the throne, he announced publicly that he’ll kill anyone who tries to hurt Mario.” Both brothers nearly choke on their tea. No wonder everyone thinks Mario is associated with a villain, but why would Bowser go to such lengths? It’s not like they were even friends. If anything, it seemed like Bowser couldn’t even stand being in the same room as him. “Well, he did have that little crush on you in high school, but I didn’t think he’d go this far…” Mario barely registers what the Princess just said, but when he does, his eyes go wide and he freezes up.

It’s obvious that Mario would be surprised about someone he went to school with becoming a powerful villain, but Peach soon realizes that that’s not the only thing that surprises him. “…I take it from your reaction that you didn’t know about his crush, huh?” Mario can only shake his head slowly, eyes still wide. “You knew, right, Luigi?”

“I mean, I didn’t guess it was a crush per se, but I could definitely tell he had some kinda complex goin’ on with my bro.”

“I would’ve said something, but I thought you already knew and were purposefully ignoring all the weird stuff he kept doing to get your attention. In any case, that’s the long and short of it. It didn’t take long for everyone’s perception of you to change. Even if it was clear you were aspiring to become a hero, the second Bowser announced any kind of relation to you, everyone became scared of your return.”

Once he recovers from the shock, Mario’s expression changes to that of determination. He’s going to become a hero no matter what, and his first step from here must be confronting Bowser. He hasn’t seen him in years and he wouldn’t even know what to say, but he has to go clear all of this up. He can’t become a hero if everyone is afraid of even being in his presence. So, he stands up and places his tea cup down on the table. There’s no time to lose. It’s off to the Koopa Kingdom with him.

[hopelessbaddays]

INTRODUCING MY OWN HORRORBREW, #219 AKA NIIKKU

due to how the game is programmed, there are several invalid color combinations of the player character in Super Mario Bros. 2 (aka the Lost Levels). one of them, for whatever reason, has the exact same combination as mario though his name is completely glitched.

this is based on an idea i had of turning this concept into an in-universe event (and giving 219 existential and identity crisis).

(more under the cut cuz this will get long)

219, nicknamed "Niikku", is a faulty clone of Mario born in World 9 while the brothers were trapped there due to Minus World's influence on World 9, which is a boundary between that place and the normal Mushroom World. he physically resembles Mario except for two things: his sidebangs are a single curl over his ears instead of parted into two round bangs, and his clothes are completely organic and cannot be taken off as they're part of his body.

personality-wise, he has Mario's most basic traits: he's a sweet, cheerful guy who is always willing to help others. however, his sense of identity is shaky due to having been born with blurry and incomplete memories and a great self-awareness. upon birth, he questioned who he was and clinged to the idea that he was Mario because it was the only thing he was sure of, even if slightly.

under high amounts of stress, his body starts melting and returning to its original state. while he has an efficient regenerative ability, the time taken until everything is regenerated depends on which kind of cells melted (skin cells being the fastest while bones being the slowest). usually, the melting starts with the hands or the face. though he can regenerate his brain cells, if his brain completely melts or is damaged in some way that halts his regeneration, he will die.

for most part, he has a good relationship with the original Mario brothers. he's closer to Luigi and sees him as his own brother, treating him as such. he has conflicting feelings for Mario, but doesn't have any ill will towards him; if anything, he's more likely to overthink and stress himself into melting than harming Mario.

at first they were suspicious of Niikku, but overtime they came to treat him more and more like family, albeit a little strange on the side. Luigi likes spoiling him as a little brother, which often leads to some bickering as Niikku thinks of himself as the older brother, and offers comfort whenever Niikku is panicking. Mario sees him as a clueless younger version of himself and assumes the role of an older brother and a mentor to Niikku.

that's not to say neither brothers have a lasting, albeit baseless fear of Niikku suddenly turning face and killing Mario to replace him, but such is reserved to their nightmares.

Niikku's key characteristic is the questioning of his identity as a person.

he sees himself as Mario and doesn't accept the fact he's a clone well. to him, being born with this body and these memories should mean something — but the truth is that his existence is completely out of chance. nothing about him was planned. he simply exists. and yet, even the only thing he was certain of turned out to be a lie.

he doesn't like being reminded that he's a clone over and over. at very least, he wants to be treated as a person. he can get some quips and jabs, just don't push it. depending on who you are, he will either start melting or throw hands at you.

the basic story outline goes as such:

As a fun little challenge after rescuing Princess Peach again, they decided to take the Lost Levels route to World 8, known for being much harder than the usual route and thus only people with excellent jumping skills and reflexes can successfully travel through it, but without taking any Warp Pipes to skip worlds.

This resulted in them reaching World 9, an elusive land that’s rarely seen due to the high difficulty of traversing the Lost Levels, its only known entrance for some reason, alternatively named as “Fantasy World” by the inhabitants of the Mushroom Kingdom. World 9 is also the boundary between the normal Mushroom World and the Minus World, being heavily influenced by the eldritch workings of that realm and thus possessing many similarities though significantly less hazardous.

The brothers found themselves trapped in World 9, looping back to the beginning whenever they reached the fourth level, and decided to look for a way out more carefully as the usual approach wasn’t working. During their prolonged stay, things like blood and dead skin cells exposed to the land’s strange atmosphere accumulated across the land, which, thanks to Minus World’s influence, started mutating into distorted mockeries of the Mario brothers.

Most of these “invalid brothers” were little but animalistic creatures made of flesh or disfigured beings that could barely tell their surroundings. However, one became an almost flawless copy of Mario, down to his basic personality traits, mannerisms and some of his core memories — this being Niikku.

Waking up alone and disoriented in 9-3, the newborn clone struggled to comprehend his own existence in the midst of an unfamiliar place, assaulted by confusing memories of a life that wasn’t his. He started believing he was in fact Mario since it was the only thing he was sure of. Despite that, his sense of identity remained shaky.

At one point, Niikku came across Luigi while the brothers were separated to cover ground and, recognizing Luigi as “his” twin brother, accompanied him in the original plan of looking for an exit. Luigi noticed something off about “Mario” and the slightly wayward way he acted, but initially brushed it off and blamed it on stress. They traveled together until Mario caught up to them. 

The two Marios accused each other of being an imposter, with Mario growing impatient of the clone’s insistence that he was the real one and Niikku agitated as the presence of a second Mario caused his mind to doubt itself. Before a fight broke out, Luigi convinced both to settle the confusion by asking questions that only the real Mario would know. While Mario answered each question flawlessly, Niikku found himself hesitating several times, second-guessing himself and giving uncertain answers.

It ended with Niikku being exposed as an imposter. However, before either of the brothers could decide what to do with Niikku, the clone spiraled into panic the more he questioned himself and his identity. This led to his body to start melting, returning to its original state. Niikku stayed ignorant to it, assuming that the wetness on his hands was tears until Mario and Luigi’s shocked reactions brought him back from his thoughts. Niikku went from panicking over his identity to panicking over the fact he was melting, and desperately sobbed out to the brothers that he didn’t want to die. Out of instinct, Luigi comforted Niikku and helped him to calm down as Mario tried to find a way to stop the melting. It stopped once Niikku calmed down; his face’s skin and eyes would regrow hours after the incident.

The Mario brothers then decided to take Niikku under their wing until they were out of World 9 and had an idea of what to do with him, with Niikku accepting the offer. They would travel World 9 together whilst Niikku pondered about his identity and false memories.

that's all for today! congratulations, you reached the end of this yapfest! have a cute niikku doodle!

[palskippah]

HIII

Kinda random idea I got but I made a discord for myself to organize the fic writing and I love it SJSJDH should've made one sooner

ANYWAYS- the idea is a human au with kinda falling in love Mareach, and preggy Mario and supportive family and a sprinkling of whatever ship I can think for Luigi (as a treat only bc he can perfectly stay single, I'm not sure about that part yet HSJSH)

POINT IS that Mario's preggy and stuff and their aunt bring in pastries from a patisserie she stumbles across (Peach's Patisserie!!) and since then Mario has been craving the pastries from there, and by chance he's close to the place and goes there and meets Peach, the most beautiful and sweet woman he has seen and whatnot AND and then he keeps going there, one bc the pastries are *chef kiss* and also because he likes to go see Peach and waa 😭

I'm still brainstorming the details and stuff in the channel and it's gonna be called You Bake My Heart Go Warm like that valentines thing bc it's a cute phrase and also why not HSJHS

ALSO there's Daisy ofc and the Mario family goes regularly to buy stuff for all of them but especially Mario and they meet Peach, who's always asking about how Mario and his baby are doing and stuff and it becomes clear that the 'princess' likes Mario but Mario's like ?? I'm gonna have a baby how's she gonna like me?

Bc he's like 25 and Peach's 24 and they're both young and why would that woman want to date him if he's about to have a baby soon 😭 whatever, Peach does like Mario, and Mario clearly likes Peach too, so maybe Daisy and Luigi do something to help the idiots date idk JSJSHD

Also there's the Mario getting stuff ready for when his baby is born and the family is like being really supportive and stuff despite the initial surprise bc he's way too young in their opinion and all (and also they know he no longer is dating that guy from the construction work, the job they left supposedly, so there's that too HSJSSH)

Still writing the ideas but I feel like I'm getting somewhere HSJSH just wanted to share it whwh

[danganronpa96]

I know u mention how some characters in dr69 had a different take at first (like mario being revealed as not a good brother) but there was ever a moment u considered different survivors/mastermind or was it always the plan to have Luigi, PaRappa, Ayano, Nagito and the Conductor be the suvivors and Hatsune Miku the mastermind?

For the survivors, they were completely planned from the start alongside the death order. There is a reason why I wanted each character to survive, too.

Luigi -> Protag + development

Parappa -> I did not want to kill him. That's it that's the reason

Ayano -> lol wouldn't it be so funny if the girl knowing for killing does not kill? (also development)

Nagito -> let's let the DanganRonpa character who did not survive his killing game survive this killing game

The Conductor -> I was in a big A Hat In Time fixation at the time, so I wanted Mr. Conductor to live no matter what

However, there was a moment during the writing of chapter 5 when I sort of wanted to kill off Ayano due to whatever big allegations were going around about Yandere Dev at the time (not the recent one obviously I'm talking a few years ago), and replace her survivor position with Fluttershy. But I decided against it for what I had planned for the chapter 5 case between Fluttershy and Brian.

I still sort of wanted to kill off Ayano during chapter 6 in fact, as a sacrifice during the final execution. But again, I decided against it because it felt a bit jarring if she died then, plus it would only leave a survivor group full of guys. I really don't care what happens to Yandere Simulator or Yandere Dev, I just like my Ayano <3

Now, as for the mastermind, I'm going to put this stuff under the cut as it'll contain some images and I don't want to make this post very long on its own.

As mentioned in the post just before this, it wasn't originally planned for it to be Miku. I'm not going to re-explain who the initial one was here, but after I scrapped that one, I decided I needed to figure out a better replacement. I made this chart here about the potential characters (or duos) that could make for a good mastermind.

Looking back, I'm not sure why I was so adverse to mastermind Conductor. I guess I just wanted to keep him as a good person instead lol (funfact: there are actually fics about mastermind Conductor and mastermind Peter, and they're both really good, so, I guess I didn't have to do the work myself haha)

I really wanted to do Nagito and Parappa at the time for some reason. I liked both of them a lot, but I'm not sure how I was exactly going to pull of such a random duo.

Instead, I went for Miku and Teto, as it would make more cohesive sense while still being a mastermind I'd like to write for.

(these are all concept art I drew for the new mastermind ideas)

[istadris]

Was reading the long ask relating to the LM3 ghost seducer AU. Normally, I keep a very large distance between myself and Super Mario Franchise R18/R20/whatever-you-call-it, but the written content for the AU is intriguing and I would like to hear more on it. Like, if you want to, flesh it out some more or give more ideas about the events? Pretty please?

[Referring to this AU about Luigi being, for unknown reasons, very attractive to ghosts and thus making Luigi's Mansion very...interesting]

Ooooh, thank you for asking about this AU, I missed it haha !

I'll admit I gave most of my 'main ideas" for how each encounter with the Floor Ghosts bosses would go...

But now I wonder how Luigi's mindset would evolve in that story, because he certainly would be in deep, deep denial about both his attraction to ghosts AND his ability to attract them.

Until LM3, everytime he's had sex with a ghost, he would rationalize it. It was for survival, it wasn't really sex, ghosts don't have the same concept of sexuality as humans. I don't think he would actually have sex with the Portrait Ghost in the first game (given that half of them are kids and all that), but even then, are they "real" ghosts?

(He totally gave more than Mario's belongings to Madame Clairvoya. He was being thankful, you see.)

Then in LM2 the ghosts are pretty mischievous, he can claim they're just messing with him...

But by LM3, not only does King Boo call him out on his attraction to ghosts at the beginning of the story (before tossing him into the laundry chute), but the ghosts are more than explicit in their intentions with him, and the main ones are really human ghosts...

So even if their "methods" can differ from human sex, they still are perfectly aware of what they're after, and what they're doing. And again, no one is subtle on the matter.

Also, the whole time, King Boo has been monitoring the situation and is growing more and more jealous, so when Luigi arrives, reeking of everyone's aura? Oh, he's insane with jealousy and desire. Grabbing and holding Luigi with his tongue and summoning doubles of himself as he stakes once and for all his claim on Luigi (whose biggest challenge is to not lose himself in that possessive grip and power).

"All of these ghosts, yet at the end, you belong to ME!"

*

Also, I usually see Luigi's Mansion and the Paper Mario games in different continuities, but just because I'm playing Paper Mario 64 and I just reached the Lady Bow chapter : at some point Lady Bow asks Mario to bring his brother to her mansion, "I've heard so much about him...and my Boos would love to meet him~"

Mario as soon as he gets home : "Luigi, don't ever go in the Forever Forest"

"What ? Why!"

"...Scary monsters."

*

I would be curious about your own thoughts on the matter, any suggestions ? I would have more ideas if I have something to bounce off

[shower-racoon]

I see some similarities between these characters, mainly being "on the surface they look pretty goofy, but they could do whatever they wanted and not even the laws of physics could stop them"

propaganda below the cut

Kirby: he looks like a silly little guy. he's a ball with arms and legs. he's the reincarnation of god and has killed death. and he did it all with a goofy smile and a love of food. he could kill god with like 5 minutes prep time on both sides.

Mario & Luigi: take one look at them and genuinely tell me you're intimidated. you're not. nobody is. and yet, with all of those moves that they can use, they're easily the strongest duo in the entire Mario canon.

Penguins of Madagascar: we all know the penguins. with the training of elite secret agents and the natural stealth of being a bunch of small birds, they're an elite strike force the likes of which the world has never seen. just smile and wave boys, smile and wave.

Bugs Bunny: he's practically a trickster god. he once defied the laws of physics purely because it was funny. I don't even have as much to say about him purely because that little says it all.

[astralartefact]

Placeholder Name for Atarase's Media Diary

Entry 005 - Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Remake

<<Prev: Unicorn Overlord

Synopsis

The Only Plumber I know is made to visit Fantasy America to collect yet another set of mystical stars - and we gladly do it all over again.

How much did I know before playing?

I played the Original and I liked it very, very, very, very, very, very much. One of my favorite games ever.

Did I like it more than I expected?

It was everything I hoped for <3

If you say you like Turn-Based RPGs and own a Switch you owe it to yourself to play the Classic.

Since I liked it, here's what I hated about it

I would be hard pressed to find anything really.

I guess they could have added more things (the Luigi fight we all crave and the rest of the Paper Mario 1 cameos that were even hinted at in the game files of the original) - but I think what they added is good enough. They added Super Bosses, they added non-intrusive QoL - I don't need them to change the face of the game, I like the OG for a reason.

(and also a thought I had was - I don't know how many writers from the OG Games (both PM1 and TTYD) worked on the Remake and if there isn't much overlap I could see the Remake Devs feeling weird about putting those fanservicey kind of things in on their own)

Also the Thinking Music is punishing don't stop the banger while I'm over here being stupid navigating the UI q_q

What did this game make me think about?

Similar to what I said in my Entry on Unicorn Overlord, I kept thinking that this game - at least in this day and age - isn't even all that groundbreaking - it just does the thing you're supposed to do, the normal Turnbased RPG Overworld-to-Dungeon-to-Boss Loop really really well and it's kind of weird that people don't do it more often.

I guess Thematic Takes on RPG Staples aren't interesting enough for the Unique Selling Point Crowd anymore :/

Specific Impressions that will stick with me

the soundtrack

The Excess Express was the Progenitor of my love for Train Levels.

Specifically for this Remake - How having Vivian's Trans Moment* makes Mario's actions more heartwarming.

*look forward to hearing about this in the ramble section

Outstanding Audio

Very non-exhaustive List because Goddamn. This Soundtrack.

vs. Shadow Sirens

vs. Atomic Boo

Moon Battle

vs. Magnus Von Grapple 2.0

There is one single "bad" thing I have to say about the Soundtrack and it is... that I think Origami King's OST is still unbeaten as my favorite. The banger ratio of that game is simply unbeatable.

All the Partner Themes they're all so good and they're used like twice each

Edit: ___the bonetail theme, goodness___

Besides that they did exactly what I wanted them to do. The Paper Mario Sound Team is just amazing, they do not get enough credit. I'm so excited to see what's next - whatever it is the entire team decides and/or gets to do.

btw there's nothing quite as irritating to me than people complaining about remake soundtracks, even in the off chance that i agree with the sentiment its always voiced in the most condescending tone possible and it drives me up the walls. and sure, ppl can voice 'valuable criticisms' and disappointments or whatever, but i also can read them and be baffled why you thought you needed to share it sounding like you're the only person on earth who understood the original, especially when - like it is in this case - the remake sound team is the same as the original, they literally made the thing you like so much and you thank it by calling them names for daring to 'not get' one specific second in their own work as much as you do.

especially now that we don't really have technical sound quality to improve on there's always going to be changes you like more and less because any remaining difference is closer and closer to a lateral move and the only 'value' difference is subjective opinion. and regardless, the original keeps existing, you hear the new soundtrack in context for a playthrough at most, afterwards you can just listen to the og again.

Favorite Character

Toadette. My All Time Fave, she steals the show everywhere she goes <3

Also Mini-Yoshi, Vivian, the Rich Bob-Ombs, Kammy Koopa,...

Favorite Arc/Story Line

The Excess Express, I know it's relatively short but I just really love Train Levels

Also Glitz Pit, I guess I just like when the Dungeon is the RPG Chapter Location.

Favorite Set Piece

The Remake is so beautiful I could really put anything in here.

Honestly I love all of the Chapter 6 locations, the train in the different atmospheric lightings, the Sunset train stop, Poshley Heights,... (Bad Glimmerich in german, one of the reasons I will allow Fluffy)

Favorite Scene

The Excess Express being covered in the Smorgs (is that the name, they're called Fluffys in german which is kind of lame but I will allow it)

Best Performance

I'm leaving this in here because they didn't replace Charles Martinet for this one and they got me too often with random Luigi Dialogue sounds there's a really good one where they talk about luigi and when they show his picture he echo-ey goes 'wahoo!'

Also the new voice sounds they gave all the characters were too cute, some of them sounded really really nice.

German Localization Notes

I can happily confirm that Barbara is Trans in German too! I can't tell you with certainty how the situation was with the original but I'm pretty sure it was also removed there.

Honestly the German Localization for this Game is and was so good, you people have no idea. I don't know how similar the text between the two is (I haven't played the OG in years) but they kept all the names from the old Localization - which I was a little bit worried about since the german names are so wildly weird (in a good way) I could have seen them go back and 're-align' some of them.

The OG Localization didn't give that much of a damn about keeping in line with the source material when it comes to Character and Location Names, but also they got the Vibe so well they honestly did a better job at it in certain places.

For every weird thing like calling Petal Meadows Fire Valley (which makes more sense when coming from the japanese name but still mischaracterizes the 1-1 world of this game in a way that's honestly fascinating to think about) and boring names like Fluffy we have things like calling "The Great Gonzales" Bomba Luigi, a change I will defend with my life, that's such a funny name, it even makes that Bowser Scene with Rawk Hawk funnier when Bowser is perplexed who the fuck Bomba Luigi is supposed to be. (mini yoshi calls you bomba throughout the game and nobody remarks on you being called like your brother - not even luigi himself, which makes it funnier)

Also the Grandma Bubu (Puni) yells the phrase "Soll ich mir in der Kälte hier Gicht holen!?" (do you want me to get gout in this cold) at the Boy Bubu and that's just. I'm still laughing about it. I hope you have a similarly fun-to-shout sentence in its place.

Ugh, I love it. I know if I looked it up people would complain about how much they 'changed'.

--- ENTERING THE PRETENTIOUS SECTION OF THIS ENTRY ---

What about this game gives me Hope for the future of gaming?

I just want this game to be a sign to let future Paper Marios break the character design regulations again. (if you didn't know, these are an actual thing and are why post ttyd has either fully unique looking npc or entirely non-unique npcs, it's for brand integrity reasons so new characters aren't confused as 'official' and like all brand integrity stuff it sucks the fun out of everything)

I'm even one of the four people in favor of letting them do whatever they want with the gameplay if they don't want to do Standard Turn-based RPGs anymore - by which I mean to say I was fine with Sticker Star - but the texture that only PM and TTYD have, the Texture we all want and crave so much, comes squarely from the unique Toads and Goombas and Koopas and Bob-Ombs..., all the ones they're not allowed to do anymore because the Brand Integrity Manager says no.

(okay so to put this a little more thought out: specifically the unique npcs make the paper mario style less about 'haha paper pun' (which, as funny as they might be once in a blue moon, not a single person cares about) and more an abstracted story book-esque depiction of the mario universe. it makes the entire thing work better by just being 'real but less detailed' - which also makes the plot work better with fewer details - instead of... well, a paper(thin) joke.)

What about this game makes me scared for the future of gaming?

The Unique Selling Point will be the end of me.

Ever since Dexit (yes i'm specifically blaming that hot mess) awakened the worst type of Gamer to the fact that complaining about Problems caused by Capitalism means nobody can disagree with you, Nobody gets to have fun anymore. Not gamers, Not devs, Not anybody.

Everything has to have Value now, everything has to have a reason to exist, a unique take and always also a quantifyable improvement on what came before. If it isn't as good as 'it should be' it's an insult to the people paying money for this! You need to fix this, I paid for this! I know what's good and need to share my intellectual opinion on this minor detail that you clearly don't have any idea about! What in god's good earth are you smoking that you thought this was acceptable?

It comes with this "Customer can do no wrong" mindset (which is often enough wrong btw, you're very much responsible for your own goddamn actions) and it always belittles the thoughts and decisions of the developers who more than likely have to fight higher-ups for those to actually end up in the video games they produce.

Sticker Star really is a good example of that, aside from the Brand Integrity stuff that made us lose unique NPCs the other thing people endlessly complain about is that the Sticker System disencourages Battles which i'm pretty sure they just heard someone smart say once and that therefore the system sucks, who could ever have thought of pivoting to something that stupid???

Well, it's actually a really creative idea on a very foundational RPG problem: Turnbased RPG Battles and the Overworld are for the most part distinctly seperated from each other. For a standard TRPG what you do in the Overworld has fuck all to do with your battles. This is an attempt to make Overworld Exploration a meaningful part in the Battle Gameplay Loop. It has its downsides and it didn't work out perfectly, but I think it was an interesting idea to put to the test!

But I guess that's not allowed. The Devs simply were too stupid to realize you would just end up doing a lot of backtracking to get good Stickers. They just simply don't know what they're doing and we have to make that clear to them by lambasting the game whenever it comes up. (and also to prove to everybody that you have very smart opinions)

There's a thing I learned in school and you might have heard that too before: You shouldn't tell people negative feedback (first). And that might sound like "a nice thing" to do, you "shouldn't hurt anybody's feelings" after all, but here's the thing why I think we should do that: Most of the time People already know what they did wrong, but they don't know what they did right - what they can capitalize on.

Maybe keep that in mind the next time you share your "Valuable Criticism" underneath an official Instagram post (btw who in their right mind does that)

The Ramble Section where I get to actually talk about what I thought about

Let's talk about 'Nintendo adds Transphobia.' I know it's just a meme. Still don't like it :) I liked that they added the Transphobia! I just don't like the meme.

It's like bnuuy. I don't get the joke. It's not fun to pronounce. If the joke is that u and n are upside down, then you could also type pnuuh, that's the entire word upside down. Why are you all finding this so funny. I just don't get it. And just for the record, it's fine you find it funny. I hope you feel validated that I'm okay with your choice of meme. I just don't get it.

But with 'Nintendo adds Transphobia' there is this undertone of "What they did is good" (that's the happy reaction gif in the background) - but the thing they added, the Transphobia, is some amount of bad, or else it wouldn't be funny to be happy about it. We would prefer if you added the Trans Character without including Transphobia after all. But would we? Would that be "better" - whatever that would even mean?

And just to get it out of the way, yes, for a lot of people it's probably haha just a joke about how it sounds funny to be happy about adding transphobia - but then i still don't know what you people think you're doing when spreading a haphazard joke about 'nintendo does a transphobia' in a day and age where nobody checks any of the news they receive when nintendo is literally doing the thing they are supposed to be doing, like come on guys i do have the moral high ground here and i am firing shots

Fully aware that I'm taking this too seriously - If this is what's resting at the heart of some these jokes then I would guess this comes from the "It shouldn't be a huge/integral part of their character!"-BS that people (on both sides) have been peddling for years (because assholes really want that and well-intentioned people rightfully don't want to be fetishized) - but regardless of what you're using that sentiment for, clearly it's not that easy. Like, it should matter to the character or else it might as well be a JK JKRO "Dumbledore is Gay" Tweet and never be talked about again.

It's not like Beldam bullies Vivian just because she is Trans, Beldam bullies everybody, she almost bullies Doopliss more than her. It's just that 'her bullying feels meaner ever since she realized she was a sister, not a brother.' You know, exactly what they state in game and exactly like somebody would probably feel about it even if Beldam's Transphobia didn't play any part in the bullying at all, Feelings don't really care about Facts after all and it creates another dimension to Vivian, a tangible relationship between her and her bullying.

Sure, everything about her story would work without her 'being trans' - but a little change like that goes a long way to color all of her interactions. Even just the simple fact that Mario is nice to her hits a little different knowing that her sister treats her differently since she lives as a woman.

But that's all kind of besides the point because while they wrote a Trans Character facing a struggle that hopefully people will at least feel a little represented by - that's not the only thing they did. They put a Canonically, Directly Stated Trans Character right next to the best plumber you know. And that's kind of the thing that annoys me the most about "They Added Transphobia." Like guys. She's a main character. She's not some weird side quest character that appears one time, doesn't even have a name and says a weird line about it before disappearing forever like that one quest people bring up to say FF14 has Gay Representation. You Can Have a Fully Canonically Trans Woman on Screen for 50% of this Game, Right Next to The Mario Man, And He's Like "You Rock Girl. Love Wins." He doesn't even wince when she implies she has a crush on him.

This is a much bigger deal than some of you make it out to be! This is a serious occassion and you made the social blunder to show up wearing "They added Transphobia"!

And for the people that missed it: Origami King also had a Trans-affirming Birdo Moment where they used her for a Secret Drag Show at the Coffee House at the Rainbow Spring. The Paper Mario Writers know what they're doing with Mario's Image and even Nintendo's Brand Identity Manager can't stop them. You look foolish and don't know who you're talking to. These people made Mario canonically visit a gay bar hiding as a coffee shop. Fix your wig.

[freakattack]

See the thing is you're right though, similar to how wario believes hes above everyone and everything and almost always IS when hes not standing next to mario, waluigi's thing is he believes hes below everyone and everything around him and of course almost always is as well but he wants and NEEDS so bad that everyone around him doesnt know that and thinks hes better than them and the only thing more terrifying to him then everyone finding out or already knowing is the the fact it might be true which he spends every waking moment trying to convince himself its not. The kicker is he whether its true or not he truly believes he deserves to be or at least is deserved SOMETHING dear god ANYTHING (off topic but speaking as a trans person, while i cant speak for everyone, that is disgustingly relatable so between that and again him being like the definition of gnc bisexual i can see why so many people are claiming trans) He would hear the fact that someone has MORE of something ignoring the fact its how many pronouns they have and immediately get him by 50 tons of imposter syndrome and assume they're better than him before then convincing himself that thats not true! He was supposed to have the most pronouns of anyone he was just cheated out of them! No... Someone STOLE them from him! Yeah, thats it! This isnt fair! Now he has to make do with one measly set of pronouns while everyone else has two because hes so much stronger than everyone else! I'm very normal about the purple pipe cleaner bionicle.

EXACTLY you understand waluigi better than 99.999% of the internet. Charles martinet himself has said that waluigi's defining character trait is self-pity and that shines through in pretty much everything he says and does. On a more meta note, wario and waluigi's respective self esteem levels are caricatures of mario and luigi's. Where Mario is healthily confident and always in the limelight due to his heroics, Wario is obscenely arrogant, hogs the spotlight, and does whatever he wants; conversely, while Luigi suffers from low self-esteem but is gracious to others around him despite being overlooked, Waluigi wallows in self-pity and is hostile to everyone he feels overshadowed by as a result. Wario and waluigi are not just "mario and luigi but bad"; they are, in every way, exaggerated perversions of their most defining traits.

[freezeyourchill]

I am once again thinking about the differences between Paper Luigi and Luigi literally anywhere else. Paper Jam be damned this is the most definitive proof that the Paper Mario universe is a separate reality

Think of any Luigi appearance other than the Paper Mario series (Luigi's Mansion, Mario & Luigi RPGs, 2023 Mario Movie, SM64DS, Galaxy, anything) and they'll have a decent amount of consistency. Luigi is characterized as timid, brave given the circumstances, usually quiet, always silly billy certified, and a bit clumsy but very sweet.

But most crucially for this post, he follows Mario's lead but never seems to mind. He's the butt of endless jokes and not nearly as renowned as Mario, but it generally doesn't get to him because he's got his big bro and that's all that matters (the Smash universe is also an entirely separate secret third thing so his Negative Zone from Brawl doesn't count)

Whenever Mario saves/finds him in the M&L RPGs, his first instinct is to collapse into Mario's arms with a big hug, sometimes with relieved tears. In the newest Mario Movie he's chattier than usual but he still firmly believes that any situation will be okay as long as Mario is there (another big hug upon their reunion). In LM3, Mario immediately rushes off after he's saved (again, with a big hug) but instead of being annoyed or even afraid, Luigi just grins and follows his lead, happy that he's back and they can work together again. In Dream Team we see Luigi's deepest darkest most intense subconscious emotions and revealed to us is immense love and care for his brother, unconditional support for whatever he chooses to do, and at worst a fear of Mario leaving him behind.

The point being that Luigi is happy to depend on Mario, perhaps to the point where he stunts his own potential, because Mario is his rock. They're a package deal and if you don't like one, the other will certainly not like you.

Compare this with the Paper Mario series. Some of the previously listed traits are still true: Luigi is a timid silly billy who obviously cares for his brother. Being with Mario still helps give him security and confidence, as seen in SPM.

No hug. Suspicious. Anyway, even if he does depend on Mario at times, the main distinction is that he strives to be more independent from him, if only to prove a point. He wants to prove that he's just as cool and doesn't need to rely on his big brother to succeed. He wants to do things himself, and play it off coolly.

As opposed to Paper Mario's more quiet attitude (which deserves its own post actually), he's chatty, snarky, and direct. And according to that one Toad in Origami King, he characteristically sneers. What's up with that?

Unlike other versions of Luigi, Paper Luigi is overtly jealous. He's got this odd inferiority complex that makes him want to be independent from Mario while also getting jealous of people who spend time with Mario on his adventures. Compare this with M&L Superstar Saga where Luigi was more than happy staying at home doing the housekeeping, and got physically dragged off with Mario via circumstance.

Famously, Luigi stretches the truth or outright lies to Mario about his own escapades in TTYD to appear as cooler and more competent. Luigi's companions will make sure to enlighten Mario with the real story. But the strange part of this comes from the collectable Super Luigi books that you can buy.

'Older, though less talented brother'? A 'no-doubt inconsequential errand'? In fairness he didn't write the books himself, but he describes them as being in 'excruciating detail' and 'like a history book'.

And I'm not at all saying he dislikes Mario. It's because he holds Mario on such a pedestal in comparison to himself that he tries to overcompensate and make himself appear more capable so that he can keep up. He loves his brother and nothing will change that, but there is this more psychologically complex aspect to him and how he regards Mario. Mr. L isn't as far off from his base personality as people like to think, and being the ideal host for the Chaos Heart isn't all that surprising. Besides, how many times have you seen Paper Luigi hug Mario?