"Let's-a go!"

It was too much fun not to.

"Maybe." Not a complete promise to show off her skills, but not a decline either. The teen would base what they got up to after sparring for a bit together, once their little race was complete. Teal eyes watched where he was heading before she went for her own route.

Still wary of the Warp Pipes and the potential static her fur would accumulate, Harmony went to the cliff face proper. With enough speed and momentum, she jumped against the wall and ran up the vertical surface for a ways before pushing off and catching one of the higher floating platforms passed the pipes.

It was there she stopped, just long enough to look back and stick out her tongue playfully. Then she was right back to launching from platform to platform until she could find another road to get a bit further.

The plumber leapt. His body was pulled in by the warp pipe's natural drag, shooting him down the length of metalwork. He managed to shift just in time to avoid getting another set of nasty bruises on his chin, a few more seconds of darkness before light burst and his legs splayed- catching him before he could fall back into the pipe and go zipping back down.

"Oh, I'll show ya speed!" Given the warp pipes only had one set speed (though one generally got shot out the other side at the same speed they went in- if not faster), that wasn't quite possible- but he'd be damned if it stopped him. He jumped for the next pipe- red, a few seconds of darkness and rushing wind as he soared- and he was spat out. He catapulted towards the final green, aware that his velocity wasn't going to do him favors on the other side.

Into the rush, into wind cutting across his face and quick maneuvers to go with the flow (instead of whamming into a wall)- it wasn't able to make his heart beat any faster, but it sure tried. He could only think about landing on the other side, wondering if Harmony had beat him to the top, or if he'd actually win in this little race of their's.

Light popped into existence at the far end. It slammed towards him, and in moments he was being spewed out the top of the warp pipe. He swallowed a yelp, managing to flip in the air (stars he'd been flung high) and come back down- landing on his feet and bending his knees to mitigate some of the force of his re-entry. He blinked, eyes opening to the bright sun with a laugh and a spin.

"Some say nuclear war would be the end. For us, it was just the beginning."

Fandomless | Independent | Multi-Muse Semi-Selective | OC & Fandoms Welcome Side-blog | 18+ | Penned by Dusk (30+)

Set in a post-apocalyptic world. After the world's major countries launched nuclear missiles to every major continent, the residents of the planet thought it would be the end. Instead, the explosions broke the barrier between their world and that beyond.

Some called it the veil. Some called it the astral plane. Some still think it's some hallucination from kicking the bucket.

If only they were so lucky.

Rules & About

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Not that she would have been slow, but she had wanted to keep just a bit of distance between them for a bit. Playful encouragement and all that.

Still, her grin had grown as she occasionally turned her head to see where he was behind her. Then, when he was beside her. She shifted from side to side of him as they raced down the now clear path to their destination.

"Yeah. I'm the fastest member o' my team." As Mario slid, Harmony curled up and rolled her way through. With just a small bounce, she uncurled and was right back to matching him. Her limbs moved with the grace of a cheetah, carrying her forward with ease.

He laughed.

"I can see that!" She was fast. Graceful and flowing, nearly like a river. Thinking about it, he'd really lucked out. With someone like Harmony to train with, his skills were sure to improve in no time. Less time Luigi would be on his own in the Dark Lands. An eyebrow slid down, briefly regarding his new ally with a degree of incredulity. Best not to test that. He wanted to stay in Peach's good graces- or at least, out of the bad. "Probably not. But we can probably warp somewhere you can show me later, if you want!"

Fast approaching. The near-cliff face of the castle's mountain was coming up on them. Pipes and platforms littered its surface- buildings carved into rock, accessible only by flying platforms...or roads that seemed to start- and end- partway up the mountain.

Why did you choose your muse?

If you were to choose another muse from the same fandom, who would you choose?

If you were to choose a muse from a different fandom, who would you choose?

What's the easiest part of writing your muse?

What's the hardest part of writing your muse?

How much research do/did you have to do to write your muse?

Is there a character you've tried writing but just couldn't get no matter how you tried?

If you have multiple muses, who's your favorite? (If you don't have multiple muses, who's your favorite character from your muse's fandom?)

How long have you been writing your muse?

How long have you been RPing?

If this is not your first muse, who was?

Why did you start RPing?

If your muse was a real person in the real world, do you think you'd get along with them?

If your muse was a real person in the real world, how much trouble do you think they'd cause?

It’s the insecurity.

Mario may seem confident when he’s protecting people or throwing hands, but every so often something slips; confessing he’s sick and tired of feeling small, admitting he’s always viewed his own sense of unwavering perseverance as a character flaw, doubting Princess Peach would go on a date with him just because of his blue collar occupation… and let’s not forget that moment where he completely snapped when Bowser finally found an insult that got under his skin.

Game Mario has moments where he’s scared and vulnerable, but they are rare and usually surface level. Movie Mario’s character is complicated by an implied history of being undermined, insulted, and walked all over during his life in Brooklyn, which has made him a little rough around the edges.

Game Mario gives off the energy of someone who has been comfortable in his own skin for a long time.

“Okay Mister ‘We Run a Book Club Together’ what do you know about this???”

Which was exactly what she planned now that she had Mario hot on her heels. Rich laughter carried behind her as she raced down the path to their destination. Even when she had to dart around a Toad or two, there was excitement in her eyes.

"Ya wish!" She called back, jumping across one of the platforms with a pipe access point and landing on the other side, kicking up only a minimal amount of dust. "Come on, Mario. Keep up!"

Only a bit of distance was kept between them. Harmony wasn't going to leave the plumber completely in the dust, even though she was pretty sure she could do laps around him. Just enough speed was used to keep her ever so slightly out of reach from his gloves when he would catch up.

And her grin had grown when he did. A howl of laughter echoed as she went from one side of him to the other.

"Oh, I can do more than keep up!" She had been ready to take on Bowser in the Olympics. He was pretty sure he couldn't, but that wouldn't stop the plumber. His head turned back, facing forward as he leapt to keep from slamming chest-first into some brick blocks.

Like summer and a top mark, finding himself returning that grin with a laugh. She was literally sidestepping with no trouble and keeping pace with him. That wasn't a speed he could currently compete with- but it was certainly a height to aspire to.

"Thanks! You- you're pretty fast! Run a lot?" The two were zipping through the town. At this speed, they'd be at the castle inside of a few minutes. He wasn't sure he'd be able to hold the conversation all that well. Just another thing to get better at. He slid down, avoiding a thin platform- it was floating. One of those mover-types. The toads were parting before the two even got to them, now- aware of the two's run and wanting not to get caught up in it. Mario was grateful for the clear path.

This was just another Thursday in her books.

Although she stuck her tongue out at the idea of being cramped in a pipe to travel somewhere. “Ya don’t end up with a bunch o’ static cling, do ya? I hate that feeling cuz it makes my skin itch.”

The closest she had ever been to something that sounded like that was the plastic play places some restaurants had to entertain children when they were done eating. A memory of going down a covered slide into a ball pit, only to come up with the plastic balls sticking to her staticky fur. With just a quick shiver at the thought, she tucked her Warp Ring back into her hip pouch and looked to where Mario was pointing.

One hand came up to shield her eyes from the sun, eyeing the flag in the distance before mentally making a path back to where they were standing. Her smile turned cheeky.

“Yeh, we can do that.” She dropped to all fours and shook out her quills. “Last one there’s a stomped Goomba!”

"Not really.- But you can definitely still get injuries from traveling via pipe..." The memories of all his recent bruisings shot to the forefront of his mind. He was still rather beat-up in a few places, but those bruises were (thankfully) fading. His first few days, however, had not been the greatest experience in the world.

Looking back on it, a lot of his experiences the first day or so had...really sucked.- If it weren't for Luigi, he wasn't so sure he'd be willing to stick around. I mean, an entire kingdom devoted to mushrooms? What kind of sick, twisted mind came up with that?!

"I'd think it would have to do with the warp pipe's metals, but- honestly, I barely understand how those things work, so I couldn't tell ya." But now, he was a hint curious. Maybe he could ask Peach about it- or test with the warp pipes in what spare time he had... Mario watched as the other dropped to all fours, blinking in confusion---

Oh shit- he took off after her, boots pounding on the ground not a second behind. She had taken ahead in that second of puzzlement right at the start, but Mario wasn't one to be taken down so easily. He was quick to get up to speed, arms fanning out to either side- only to jump over a would-be tripping hazard- a brick-block someone had put on the ground. Around the two, toads jumped out of the way, a number yelping in shock as plumber tore off after mobian.

Her tail wagged as she took in what Mario’s current plan was for rescuing his brother.

Training was one thing that she was very familiar with. Very comfortable with it as well.

“We use Warp Rings.” She paused, reaching into her hip pouch for the palm sized golden ring that she extended for Mario to see. “Same concept, I think. Ya just hold it, think o’ where ya wanna go and throw it ahead o’ ya. It does the rest. Mine ain’t got a charge right now or else I’d show ya.”

The most she could do was turn the device just slightly so the six lights could be seen. Only the one red was on, blinking to show it was at least recharging itself. “I got about 2 or 3 hours before ‘s got a full charge if ya want a sparrin’ buddy.”

The plumber's thoughts ground to a halt. Warp. Rings. He shook his head slightly, gaze tracking the item as it was pulled out. It literally- looked like a golden ring. Fair enough, at least its description seemed accurate. Clearly, it didn't function like most power-ups here in the Mushroom Kingdom- otherwise, he doubted Harmony would be holding the item so casually.

"Warp Pipes are similar, but not identical.- Each one leads to a connected pipe, unless you're using the Mega Pipe Warpway- in which case, you could get thrown off course." A scream, a hand slipping from his own. Seeing a flash of green and crying out as it vanished into a maw of black ash and meltingly-hot lava. "--But, most of the Warp Pipes in the Mushroom Kingdom are directly connected. So it's less... 'Think of where you want to go', and more like...picking a place?"

And by the stars, did he hate areas that were just clustered pipes. There was no telling where each led until one went down it- and then it was too late to turn back. He'd learned his first day here that clustered pipes were evil.

Panic had briefly gripped his chest, calmed only with the explanation that she wasn't stranded. A few hours to charge,...which meant she was stuck for a time, but it wasn't permanent. The plumber blinked. This teen was really just going to try to murder him with heart attacks, wasn't she?

But the can had been open and how the teen had to deal with the overflowing worms she'd released.

Both hands raised, palms facing outward as she shook her head. "I'm not, but I'm from a Zone where some other Zones made video games and media based on it."

Oh Gaia did she hope that had been a good enough explanation. After a moment of pause, the teen finger to her lips and chewed lightly against her index claw.

"So... I'm from another dimension. One that knows a very different version o' you. I thought I was visitin' that Mushroom Kingdom when I got here, but I was wrong and mistook ya for the Mario from that world... Does that make sense?" Her ears flicked back sheepishly as she offered Mario a smile. One that she hoped he would recognize as apologetic.

He'd just push that unwelcome thought clear out of his consciousness for the time being. Deal with it later.

"So- a 'zone',...I'm guessin' that's your term for- things like this place? And Brooklyn- aghk," bigger than that, "-Earth?" This was...going to take some time to come to terms with. He existed in another universe- zone- and in that zone, he was...famous? An Olympian? A small part of him wished he could've told his pops. Take that, saying he'd never amount to anything... "It does." His own smile returned, trying to offer a hint of reassurance with his grin. It made a terrifying amount of sense. He'd not have believed it so much as a week prior, but at this point? Sure. Made as much sense as everything else that had been happening, lately.

He half-wondered if his brain was going to just melt at some point from all this insanity.

"Thanks, Harmony." At least she was still willing to help. That brought a modicum of relief to his thoughts that he'd not realized he'd needed. "Well,...for right now, I need to work on getting stronger, so I can actually help save him. And I need to get strong fast. But when I do go, I'd love the help. The more the merrier, right?" Any extra who knew how to handle themselves were welcome, really. And Harmony seemed like she knew a bit- stars' sake, she was planning to go up against Bowser in her world's Olympics! If that didn't mean she was strong, the plumber wasn't sure what did.

All the same,...

🫂 : What is your muses relationship with their parents like?

👋: Does your muses have any friends they see as siblings?

🧼: How organized is your muse's living space?

🌊: Does your muse take hot or cold showers?

🗡️: Would your muse help a loved one hide a body?

🧦: Does your muse sleep with or without socks?

💰: How reckless is your muse when it comes to spending money? 

🥂: How does your muse act when drunk?

🕵️: How good is your muse at keeping secrets?

🕷️: Can your muses kill spiders themself, or do they make someone else do it?

🍳: Can your muse cook?

⛈️: How does your muse react to to thunderstorms?

🗺️: How good is your muse’s sense of direction?

🩹: Does your muse rest when they're sick or try and just push through?

⏰ : Is your muse a morning person or a night owl?

🫣 : How does your muse react to embarrassment?

📚 :Does your muse enjoy reading?

🛑 : Is there a limit to how many times your muse will forgive someone?

America... Where had she heard that name before...

Before she could really mull it over, he switched their conversation. She paused in their handshake at his question, attempting to shake her head.

"I know who he is. I don't know him personally. I'm not from this Zone." An honest answer, but one she didn't let simmer. "I don't know where the Dark Lands are, but I'd be willin' t' help ya look."

It couldn't be that hard to find. She'd seen the layout of the Zone when she watched the Olympic competitions when she had been younger. Each named region was pretty distinct in appearance.

Although...

"...this- Zone?" What. Help.- The plumber scratched at the back of his neck. "Well, I'd really appreciate it. I'm training to be ready to go to the Dark Lands, but once I am,...any help getting my brother back would be nice."

That quirked eyebrow only shot higher.

"...you mean the video game character?...yeah? But I've never been a big fan of those games." Why was she bringing up that?- Wait,...thinking about it- she looked rather like Sonic. Not quite identical, but...what were they called- couldn't remember. "Don't tell me you're from a video game?" His voice took on a hint of an incredulous note.