#Fun fact their acronym is ATEC

[lunar-insanity]

So! I’d like to introduce you all to some old characters!

These guys started out as Mario ship children: Luigi/Rosalina and Mario/Peach. They were inspired long ago by Nintendrawer on DA and their own kiddos. And I liked Rosalina far better.

So at first they were sketched as smol babies, and it was only the first two. Then I decided to redraw them as teens [ https://sta.sh/224m0lrisof8?edit=1 ]

I made them their stories, and absolutely inflicted trauma on them xD And I loved them. But over the years I... I didn’t really want them stuck in the Mario universe anymore. So I tried redesigning them.

It... didn’t really go well? I wasn’t happy with my work and I’d only worked on the first two and didn’t finish the second. Basically I tried too hard with them. So I dropped it.

And then years later, I was talking about them again with a friend and felt the urge to revisit them again. And this time?

I got it >:3

Instead of being in the Mario universe, it’s now... More Mario Adjacent? The main bits are a pair of heroes, and a vast land full of varied kingdoms. Just enough changed and kept so they were themselves, and I could keep their stories!

Been doing world building for said world too, came up with stuff for their powers (”Affinities”) and the basis of their world (Built upon the ruins of a past era, so the land is rich with history to be rediscovered)

Anyway, allow me to properly introduce you under the cut!

We’ll start with the older pair!

This is Twyla and Aaron! The Star Twins. Heirs to a semi-technologically advanced kingdom in the stars.

Twyla’s a mechanic and builder enthusiast, with a Magick and Gravity affinity! No she’s not missing an arm. In her and her twin’s major adventure, she damaged it badly and narrowly avoided needing it amputated. The arm isn’t as strong as it used to be, so she built an aid!

Twy is the speedy magic glass cannon of the 4. She’s in an out fast with magick spells, and is VEEERY floaty. Gravity is her bish.

Aaron is the defensive knight, with a Majora Lightning affinity, and a minora Gravity affinity, enabling some floating but not to the level of his older sis. He’s also an Aviator.

Aaron, in their major plot adventure, got Super Paper Mario’d, which was a fun time. Absolutely. Definitely didn’t force his reckless sister to get her act together. Nope.

They are roughly in their early 20s in this ref (not too sure yet of exact ages). At 16, Twyla was far more reckless, impulsive, and carefree (Sure in the knowledge her brother would always catch her) and Aaron far more anxious (terrified his sister will end up in serious danger) and entwined in a co-dependency that really wasn’t healthy for them. Their fire cousin did his best to mitigate but it took an explosive argument, a forced separation, and one hell of a dangerous reality check, for them to start doing better.

Now, Twyla’s reigned in the worst of her tendencies and sometimes her elder nature comes through in her making the serious decisions needed. Aaron’s gotten a grip on his anxiety and works on trusting others with their lives, and now sometimes makes the split second decisions to turn the tide.

Twyla also salvaged her father’s busted big robot (//points to Brobot) and has made it their main mode of transportation aaaaand something to fight with. She calls it Starbot. She drives (Really fast, imagine if you learned how to drive on Rainbow Road) and Aaron flies.

Next up!

Etzio and Cardinale! Royal brothers and heirs to a Nature kingdom that’s had some on and off beef with a growing turtle dragon kingdom. It’s fine though, Etzio is besties with said Kingdom’s heir.

Etzio is an Adventurer! Driven by a passion for history, wanderlust, and a drive to enjoy his youth before taking on the responsibilities as next in line, Etzio is a ball of firey sunshine. And I do mean firey, as his affinity is Majora Fire. Ironic for the son of a Nature affinity, but apparently he took after his father’s gained affinity.

Etzio is their big bruiser. Strong as hell and able to dish it out as much as he takes. And as if he wasn’t strong enough, his cloak is one of invulnerability! A test of character he passed as a wee one granted him this valuable piece of cloth. It didn’t gain the flames until an event when he was 16.

As for Cardinale, he could not be any more different to his family. A family full of heroes and adventurers, and here he is. He’s not an adventurer, he’s not even strong as one. But the residents of his kingdom expected that of him, and it caused for a lot of teenage angst that... Is mostly his fault. And he knows it now that’s he older.

Turns out, keeping quiet and hoping others would notice your inner turmoil and constantly shoving away your brother is an easy way to create a rift between you and your family. Whodda thunk it. (Card was a very stupid teenager)

But enough of that. When that all got cleared up at 15, he came into his own proper. Turns out, he’s just as much as a history buff as his brother (Which Etzio knew) and loves untangling a kingdom’s past and learning the languages they spoke.

And his affinity? Well they didn’t know it for years until an experiment in ice skating showed he was a natural on the ice may have given them a hint. It wasn’t until an adventure took the quartet into the frozen reaches where he was more at home in the cold than ever that they finally discovered it. Yep. An Ice Affinity!  (Even more ironic being born to a Nature affinity) And it also turns out that he has his family’s adventurer reflexes. Just... on the ice.

After years of being shown the door, angst, and a growing rift, a mutual adventure and a setting where Card couldn’t run away from Etzio anymore finally mended the bridges.

(Etz is also a year younger than the quartet and Card a couple years younger than him)

Etzio is a big lovable sweetheart who has learned to really stop trying to mitigate so much and actually confront issues (If pushed harder with Card earlier, they may have avoided a lot of hurt) and Card is his cool self but with a lot more confidence and smarts.

Aaaannyway Imma stop here before it gets too long xD I haven’t stopped creating their stories though, ever since I put them in their new world, I’ve come up with new ones.

Plz talk to me about them ;w;