Still Going, More or Less

Hey, it’s no trouble! I’m always honored to get asks. The prompts help me engage better and encourage me to be more social, which is exactly what I need!

Hhhh man oh man do I agree with this. It never made any sense to me. If Peach and Luigi truly care for Mario, then they’d support anyone else who also cares about him. It would be so petty to have to pick a side.

But the dumbest thing about it is that it completely goes against established canon. Luigi and Peach are always happy to see each other. When Peach is kidnapped, Luigi understands Mario’s desire to rescue her and often encourages or even assists Mario in bringing her home safe.

I’m reminded of the moment in Partners in Time where the four finally locate Peach underground. Mario and Luigi instantly celebrate with equal enthusiasm, happy to see her safe. It isnt until she turns and reveals the shroob growth covering her face that they change their tune. And when she collapses moments later, Luigi is so overwhelmed by her condition that he himself faints immediately after.

And Peach is always eager to offer Luigi her thanks in saving her when he comes to her rescue. In Luigi’s Mansion 3, she opened her arms to both brothers to embrace them after being rescued on the rooftop. In Paper Jam, Peach and Paper Peach both give Luigi a kiss in gratitude after being rescued (after giving both Mario’s one as well, naturally).

I think it’s people reading too much into silly little slapstick moments like Peach slamming past Luigi to greet Mario at the end of Super Princess Peach. That moment was literally meant to be a comedy beat and nothing more. Right after that scene, she is seen walking beside both Mario AND Luigi on their way home. It wasn’t supposed to be some defining character moment. Mario manifested flowers out of his hat in that same scene. Does that make him a flower conjurer?

What Mario must come home to after every difficult solo adventure.

Trying to get more art practice done since I haven’t drawn consistently in ages. I need more experience drawing Luigi, so I picked something simple to start with.

Are sketches okay? I have a bunch of scribbles from old fanfictions that I’ve been considering rewriting.

Also, because I know I’m colorblind and my coloring can be pretty wonky, I also have the ink outline in case anyone wanted to color it themselves, heh.

I’d like to believe I’ve made some real progress.

I am now very much in the market for an active Mario discord server. So definitely let me know if you know any that wouldn’t mind having me join.

Thanks to everyone riding out my weird return to social interactions with me. I appreciate you so much and hope I can continue to make new friends and really carve myself out a spot in the fandom.

And have this little scribbly WIP I was sketching out earlier cuz why not.

The gameboy title Game and Watch Gallery 3 has a victory state that causes the game to roll credits. In order to unlock it, you have to do well enough in each of the individual mini games both classic and new to accumulate “stars”. More games unlock as more stars are gained. Get enough and the credits will play. The credits feature most of the characters from the minigames running in and posing as the screen lists the names of the developers.

Peach arrives at the very end as the words “Thank you for playing Nintendo” appear. Mario comes in immediately after, approaches Peach, then takes a knee and offers her a bouquet of flowers. Peach is flattered, accepts the gift, and gives him a familiar kiss on the cheek as thanks. The screen holds on the two as Mario blushes and hearts pour out of him until the player presses a button and returns to the menu.

Should I do the skin tone with colored pencil and the rest with marker? Should I leave it blank? Should I bite the bullet and go digital? Should i not draw at all?

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie really did an excellent job portraying Mario’s empathetic nature and willingness to be kind and accommodating to other people’s emotions.

Just like his game self, he:

Knew to adopt a more inviting stance and use slow movements and gentle coaxing to show someone nervous that he wasn’t a threat…

Saw when a figure was in a position of authority and deserved a formal level of respect…

Could tell when someone was hurting and used an offering of a thoughtful gift to try and lift their spirits.

Because the most important part of Mario’s personality is that he be a naturally kind soul who tries to help out wherever he can.

I WROTE A FULL ANSWER TO THIS AND IT WAS DELETED SO NOW I’M WRITING IT AGAIN. Oy, this website…

Waaaay back in the early days, that honestly was how it worked.

The character Mario (or Jumpman) had already appeared in games like Donkey Kong and Mario Bros.

But then came the game Super Mario Bros.

It introduced a mechanic where you started as normal “Mario” but could collect a “Super Mushroom” and transform into “Super Mario”, who was bigger and could break blocks. Just like how a “Fire Flower” transformed him into “Fire Mario”.

The game literally referred to the version on the right as “Mario” and the one on the left as “Super Mario”.

The game mechanic persisted, so the next few games also had the “Super” in the title, like World and Land.

But things changed when Super Mario 64 came out. Mario began and ended the game in his “Super” form.

But the games kept using the name anyway??

Somewhere along the way, his “Super” form became his standard. Eventually, they began calling his tiny form “Small Mario”, which only appeared in the sidescroller type games. Or 3d land and world. But otherwise Mario was always his bigger self.

But in my mind that means that “Super Mario” is actually an altered state and his natural state of being is that weird tiny squished form that he starts out as.

Like, this is Mario. Plain old Mario. Meaning he’s even shorter and funnier looking than we are used to seeing.

The games are very consistent with the way Mario sleeps.

It’s pretty common for the games to include a prolonged idle animation where Mario falls asleep. And over all these years, they’ve stayed surprisingly consistent with two specific poses.

He’s either laying straight on one side with one hand supporting his head and the other resting on his hip…

Or he’s laying on his back using his arms as a pillow and with his legs crossed…

It’s just a small detail that keeps another aspect of Mario’s character consistent and helps make him that much more “real” and endearing.

I’m really tired of the whole “Nintendo declared Mario x Peach non-canon”. Because they didn’t. Nintendo NEVER made any statements that either proved or disproved Mareach. People are *misquoting* the source material. And I’m really tired of people using this “fact” as ammo against artists who draw that ship.

So so many people believe that Nintendo added a description to Peach that said she and Mario were “just friends”. And this is how people reported it.

But those article titles are misleading. The addition of a single word completely changed what Nintendo was trying to say.

Not only was this description NOT new, but its meaning was becoming skewed. If you just saw the headlines, you’d think it looked pretty apparent that Nintendo was closing the door on any romantic relationship between the two.

But let’s look at the description in question.

Here it is in its entirety. One thing should immediately stand out.

The word “Just” is never used once.

It only said they were “good friends”. The addition of that little “just” is what turned the statement into one that negated any romance between Mario and Peach. But it’s not real.

Being friends does not mean a romantic relationship is impossible. I would certainly hope people are friends with their significant others. That’s the base of a good relationship.

This means Nintendo neither confirmed nor denied Mareach. They simply said Peach and Mario help and trust each other. Thats it.

It’s absolutely fine if you don’t ship the two romantically. It’s also fine if you do. But I’m tired of people misquoting this to make it sound like it is 100% non canon.

They leave it ambiguous on purpose.

Even though I took that screenshot ages ago when Odyssey first came out it is still my absolute favorite picture I ever captured.

That poor man has no idea what’s about to hit him.

But I argue that Mario has plenty of personality all his own. The easiest parts to notice are his bravery, his optimism, and his eagerness to protect/rescue/defend others. I also always got the impression that he is a bit of a kidder and tends to playfully tease his friends and enemies alike.

But, to me, the most fascinating aspect of his character is his noticeable flaw of having a bit of a temper as well as a rather short fuse. It’s the part of him that reminds us that this beloved “hero” is still just a man, and by no means is he perfect.

I decided to share my favorite examples of this trait for those who still think his personality is a blank slate.

Heh, you heard that too, huh?

I can definitely imagine several scenarios that would lead to that line being spoken. Some of them are more innocent, but some are more concerning. It’s so hard without the full context.

Still, the seriousness with which the line is spoken makes it seem like it may end up being a somewhat darker or more climactic moment.

You mean “Silent__Knight”?

Not that I’m aware of, I’m afraid. Though I do have my suspicions on how that plot is going to play out. But anything I’d say would be pure speculation.

I NEITHER CONFIRM NOR DENY THIS.