#and replayed superstar saga

[formalmess]

🍥?

🍥 what's your favorite fic you've written? (from fic writer asks)

oh, certainly tangled thicket! before i even started conceptualizing it, i always thought of it as a passion project: the ol 'write what you want to read' mantra, y'know?

from a practical sense, in the past, i usually felt pressured to follow whatever current trends or fics i was writing that were getting the most attention, but in the end found myself overall unhappy with the work i was producing. with lmtt, i took my time in crafting the narrative from start to finish, and then went about at the speed i wanted when writing it.

from a creative standpoint, it just hits a lot of the points i really love! it has luigi's mansion as the focal background, and the beanbean kingdom as its setting—so i could do a lot geographically and culturally—and play around with underrated characters from superstar saga. and of course, writing peasley and luigi's adorably charming dynamic certainly incentivized me.

further, i love revenge plots, fun parallels to mess with (the day i thought of the toxic hellen/boo to the healthy luigi/peasley... art), and lots more! it also includes a lot of tropes i love, with all the drama and tension being derived from probable danger and angst... gotta love it.

i think i will always consider it my favorite project. and it is certainly my longest... and the longest in the luisley tag i think! cool little achievement. c:

[sucharandomwolf]

Popple and Rookie

[pianokantzart]

Is it just me, or did the solo-Luigi portions of the game seem a bit more puzzle heavy compared to the solo-Mario portions? 🤔

[epicawesomewin-art2]

what i think would happen if bowser jr and bowletta met

[jaydove-writes]

It's raining, I already beat Bowser's Inside Story, and I don't wanna start Dream Team until tomorrow. What do I do in the meantime? I post on Tumblr. Is anyone else on? Prioritizing fans of the Mario and Luigi RPG series so I can talk about the games. DM or ask me anything. Of course if you haven't played the games but want to learn more about them before you consider playing them, feel free to ask me anything about them.

Edited to add: I'm replaying the games, I already beat all of them. But I love the enthusiasm! I wanted to play Dream Team on its anniversary which is also my birthday but I missed the mark by a couple weeks.

[technikki]

SUPERSTAR SAGA TWENTY YEARS OLD FUCK!!!

[abombihoney]

Have you ever played Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door?

I have not but i really want to! I've played most of paper mario 64, but alas, i never finished it due to my parents divorce lmao. got stuck at bowsers castle iirc and havent gotten around to getting a copy so i can finish it lol. but i LOVED it. i thought it was great! i liked the idk visual puns/gags abt them being paper. the silly piggy bank thing. luigi's secret diary abt feeling left out. getting to sneak around as peach

ive also played a bit of origami king, but i didn't like the gameplay, most of the characters, or much of plot. I like the pencil boss tho that was cool.

going through and playing through the paper mario games is on my to do list. eventually i'll get around to it!

[delightfuldevin]

I’m playing Minion Quest again and gOD I forgot how much I adore this game and my lovely minions,, beloved lil guys,,

[retro-system]

i feel like i haven't been as insane about the mario bros as i used to be and for that i apologise profusely.

[silenzahra]

Hello little sis. Thank you for the ask for the author and fanfic ask game. I’d like to ask you these questions in return: 2, 9, 12, 14 and 31.

Please don’t rush and take your time, okay? 🫂😊

Based on this fanfic ask game ✨

Hello big sis, it was my pleasure! 🥰 And thank *you* for sending me an ask too! It'll be a pleasure to answer it 💖

2. Which of your fics is your pride and joy?

Aww this question is so hard to answer... I love all my fics so so much since they all represent something different for me and are linked to the distinct moments when I wrote them. But I'm gonna go with an easy one and say: Anything for him. Why? Because it was the very first fic that I wrote right after watching The Super Mario Bros Movie back in April 2023, when I was SO obsessed with the brotherly love between Mario and Luigi that I simply couldn't stop thinking about it. The movie made me want to go back to replaying some of my favorite Mario games, including Luigi's Mansion on my Wii, and... that's how this story was born!

It's special too because it became my very first posted fic, as well as, to date, the longest one with three chapters and a total of 15590 words. And it's among my most popular fics which means the world to me, as it means that it's made TONS of people happy ever since it was posted 🥰

And, in all honesty, after all the work it entailed, after how much I struggled to write the third and final chapter... I'm quite proud of the final outcome. And, again, I owe that to you, big sis 🥰💖

9. How did you get into writing fanfiction?

Oh wow... This story is long 😅 It was a total of three factors that got me started back when I was 13... and Super Mario was already involved! �� Please make sure to grab a drink or something because this is gonna be LONG 🤭😅

Okay so, back then, I was starting to become both a writer and a bookworm and used to read on a daily basis. There's this Spanish writer called Laura Gallego who always writes young-adult fantasy novels, sometimes also children books, and 12-13 is the perfect age to start reading her books (she has more than 30, she's one of the most popular young-adult writers in my country, if not THE most). The first book that I read by her was The Valley of the Wolves (one of the few that was translated into English) and I fell in LOVE. There's a great plot twist towards the end of the story, and it somehow ignited something in me that made me wanna go and write a little something that was inspired by it. Yeah, back then I had no idea, but I was already writing my very first fanfiction! 😄

The second thing that was a huge influence was the TV show Lost. Now that I think about it, perhaps I shouldn't have watched it when I was 13 😬 But I just found out about it quite randomly and got so hooked that I became obsessed. This show is about a crash plane that occurs on a VERY mysterious island, and the people that got stranded there weren't rescued, and MANY weird things started happening... So there you have me: writing my very own crash plane story with my own set of characters, and I also played with the flashback thing ALL the time 😅 Maybe it wasn't exactly fanfiction per se, but I did take A LOT of inspiration from this show even if it were with my own characters, so... I think it still counts.

And last but not least, I was also 13 when I discovered Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga! 😄 Gosh, big sis, can you believe that I still remember the moment when I got into the videogames section of the mall and was immediately drawn by that cover in which we saw not only Mario, but also Luigi, and the many characters around them that I had no idea (yet) who they were? 🥹 Ah, the good old memories of teen me playing this game for the very first time and immediately falling in LOVE with the silly animations, the combat system, the story that was just SO original and different for a Mario game, the music, the places, the characters... Gosh, now I really need to go and replay this game for the millionth time 🤭😍

The thing is... Superstar Saga altered my brain chemistry. FOREVER. It was thanks to it that I fell in LOVE with Mario and Luigi's bond (as well as each of them as characters), so much so that I needed to write about it. And I did! I remember grabbing a notebook and narrating the scenes from the game, and adding little things here and there to delve into the characters' feelings, focusing (obviously) on the brothers' bond. It wasn't the great thing, I didn't have any original ideas yet, but it was the seed of who I am today as a fanfic writer 🥰

I'm sorry this was so long 😅 I just couldn't leave any of these things out as all of it influenced me in one way or another, and it's thanks to them that I'm here today! 💖

12. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Well, according to my previous response, that has to be the Laura Gallego fandom 🤭 I know this is linked only to my country, but really, this author is HUGE here in Spain. Especially back when I was a teen, she even had a forum where her fans would gather, discuss about her many novels (as I said, she's written more than 30), and they even shared their own stories, and sometimes the writer herself would leave a comment here and there to help her readers grow and evolve as writers! 🥹 Aw, I'm seriously getting so nostalgic with these questions 💖

14. What makes you happiest? New fic comments, kudos, bookmarks, user subscribers, story subscribers, or Tumblr asks?

Hmm 🤔 Honestly, all of this makes me so happy! It means that people genuinely enjoy my stories and want to somehow support them, and that alone means a lot 🥹 Still, if I have to choose, I'd say it's a tie between new fic comments and Tumblr asks. The first, because they give me LIFE and they allow me to see what each reader enjoyed the most about my stories, and I even get to interact a bit with them and share a little bit of my writing process and such. I simply can't get enough of it all! 🥹

As for Tumblr asks, they are always MORE than welcome as I really appreciate that people take the time to get to my blog and surprise me by sending something to my inbox! Everything counts to make me quite happy: asks that have to do with games like this, a random thought or idea that has to do with a character or something like that, a simple sentence to maybe start a conversation, some questions to get to know me better... Or, of course, something that has to do with my stories or my writing in general. Like when @bberetd sent me this ask about my girl Violet. I still get so thrilled whenever I think of it! 🥰

All in all, I know that everything is important and I appreciate and welcome all of it 💖

31. What fic meant the most to you to write?

Aww another hard one... Okay, even though I could say all of them for various reasons, I'm gonna choose Keeping you warm. This fic and I go waaaay back, as I originally had the idea to write it when I first played Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, which, if I recall correctly, happened around 2015-2016. This game, just like Superstar Saga, also inspired me A LOT when I first played it... only that this time I did get some original ideas 😄

Unfortunately, when I got the little seed for what would end up becoming my beloved Dream Team fic, my hype was winding down a bit and I never found it in me to actually work on this story... For which, I have to say, I'm quite glad, as it means that, when I finally wrote this fic last year, I had learned and evolved A LOT as a writer and did so much better than I would have almost a decade earlier.

Everything happens for a reason! 😄

Big sis, I'm so glad and grateful that you sent me these questions! I really had so much fun responding to them, especially because of the many memories I've gotten with them 🥹 I really hope my long response wasn't too boring hehe, and hopefully you got to know me a bit better as a writer 🥰

Thank you sooo much! 💖

[tristepinguino]

I replayed Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga and felt bad that I had to fight Birdo.

[pianokantzart]

Over a week until Brothership releases and I already sped through the plot of Superstar Saga faster than I intended in my replay. All that's left is Bowser's Fortress, so here's the game plan:

Equip "Greed Wallet" so I can buy all the mushrooms my pockets can hold

Equip "Bonus Ring" for double exp on fights where I take no damage

Equip Mush Badge AA on both bros so that I'm so strong 90% of enemies die if I so much as sneak attack them

Spend most of the next week grinding

I want to see how stupid powerful these bros can get before facing Cackletta

[galaxygermdraws]

We're nearing closer to brothership. Have you seen the new bros attacks, the Luigi logic, the new villains?

if you think I aint wanted that overview trailer several times ur insane. Im not ready. Im gonna explode. Im replaying Superstar Saga rn to emotionally prepare. Luigi Logic is so Dream Team coded also oh my god.

[faffreux]

can you tell us about when you fell in love with fawful? :)

Yep. In fact, I'll write a whole mini essay for you so I can add it to the FAQ section of my website coming up shortly LMAO (SINCE I NEED TO FULLY ANSWER THIS QUESTION FOR THERE ANYWAY, RIGHT???) CLICK UNDER THE READ MORE TO SEE IT BECAUSE THIS IS GOING TO BE THE LONGEST THING I'VE EVER POSTED HERE, LMAO.

To preface, I have been a fan of the M&L games going back to the early-mid 2000s when I was a kid. I had no involvement with fandom or anything of the sort back then but I used to hop on my mom's bulky computer and look up fanart and other related content as early as 2004/5 and as a result, ended up captivated by the characters long before I knew who they actually were. (As a result of this, I have the names and art styles of various old M&L fandom creators permanently ingrained in my head and often wonder where they are today since a good deal of them vanished..!) It wasn't until 2006 that I got my first handheld console (DS Lite) and of course, what did I do? Immediately begged my mom to order me a used GBA copy of Superstar Saga. 

When I finally had the game in my hands it was like coming home to a colorful world that I'd been captivated by for so long but never gotten the chance to actually explore until now. The characters felt like old friends and the Beanbean Kingdom as a location felt familiar and comforting to me. (As a side note, Popple quickly became my favorite. Shocker, right?)

I used to sketch various beans in my notebooks as well as on printer paper we had lying around the house. Long story short, I finished Superstar Saga and then a few years later in 2010 I picked up Bowser’s Inside Story and THAT’S WHEN THINGS SHIFTED–

BIS brought Fawful and his personality to life in a way that captivated my imagination like nothing else had prior. He quickly overtook Popple as my favorite character from then on forward… and that’s where it ends! Or.. is it?

Nah, that’s where it gets funky. Life got a little chaotic after that and not only did I stop playing video games altogether for many years, but I also almost completely gave up on art - the one thing I was most passionate about above all and thought I would make a career out of someday. A series of depressing events caused me to lose all hope and motivation for anything I created and the spark I’d kept inside of me for so long all but died out as a result.

We’re going to timeskip again, this time to late 2019. I’d just moved away from home permanently for the first time and had been getting settled in and no matter what I did to make my new apartment a cozy place it always felt like something was missing. My mind would keep wandering to the fact that I never made art anymore despite it having been such a key part of my life when I was younger. I so desperately wanted to change this and over the next few months the frustration only kept growing until on January 1st, 2020, I sat down in the living room with a pencil and paper in my hand and shut my eyes tightly before saying under my breath:

“I do not care what it is, I don’t care how it comes. Just please… PLEASE send me something to bring my art back. Anything… anything at all. I don’t care what I draw, I just want to be drawing again.” And with that, I placed the lead onto the paper and began to sketch…

And from there… a familiar face appeared!

(Now I could ramble to you about how much I do NOT like this drawing and how off model it is from how Fawful actually looks… but I’ll forgive myself since I hadn’t touched the M&L games in over a decade at this point and had forgotten most of Fawful’s character. And yet?? Here he was.)

How else can I explain it except that in that moment it felt like the pencil in my hand had suddenly become one of these:

A joy that I hadn’t felt in SO long suddenly filled my entire being and without wasting another second, I immediately went online and ordered both Superstar Saga and Bowser’s Inside Story to replay again. In the time waiting for the games to arrive I had started drawing daily again - sketching out various old characters of mine with dozens of doodles of the bean man stacked in between them all.

There he was… always smiling, always happy to see me, and oftentimes with his arms outstretched as if to give an encouraging hug. When the games arrived I worked through them quicker than I ever had prior - finishing up Superstar Saga in less than a week and subsequently moving onto Bowser’s Inside Story with a LOT of excitement built up for it. 

It was my first day playing and I was having the time of my life! The way Fawful looked in his little grey cloak with that enormous, charming grin of his as he bamboozled Bowser into eating the Vaccuum Shroom had me giggling with joy while words repeated in my brain over and over of: “I need to draw this later, I NEED to draw this later!!!” I WAS EXCITED ABOUT ART AGAIN… AFTER ALL THESE YEARS. I was practically hopping in my seat from the happiness I felt in my heart and chest every time Fawful appeared at this point!

This was how it felt until the moment I arrived at the Fawful Theatre and watched as he began dancing on the stage floor. THIS time.. something different came over me. If you’ve felt it before, then you’ll know what I mean when I say that it was like my entire body turned warm all at once, like some sort of flame had been lit inside. I’d never felt it for anything or anyone prior to then, and that's partly why it hit me as hard as it did. I was practically sweating.

Heck, I was so absorbed in my feelings that I had forgotten there was anyone else in the room with me! That is.. Until my roommate at the time spoke up: 

Her: Are you alright? Me: Uhhh… yeah, why? Her: You’re red as a beet. Are you sure you’re okay?

By this time I had realized what was really going on so I reassured her I was fine, grabbed my 3DS, and ran to my room to finish the playthrough on my own so I wouldn’t embarrass myself any further, hahaha.

In the days, weeks, and months following that moment I became dedicated to drawing the best art of Fawful I could possibly create! What started as a challenge to myself to ‘give back’ to the person who’d given me back the ability to create again turned into someone I genuinely could not stop drawing for how much fun I was having doing it. The desire to make better and better art in order to honor him drove me to improve at a speed I never had prior, and soon thereafter I created Jolligig as a way for me to be in this colorful world with him and to express the deepening affection I was feeling for him with every day that passed by.

By some miracle, my prayer had been answered and here it was in the form of a grinning lima bean.

[End of Part 1. Interested in the rest? Yes… there’s more, I’m sorry. Please let me know in the comments. This took a while to write so I thought splitting it up would be best if folks are interested, LOL.]

[voidsentprinces]

Its still weird to me how narratively selfconscious WoW and its producers got about FFXIV during the Shadowlands era. Like...you were World of Warcraft man. You've been pulling the same trick of providing interesting story beats and executing them poorly or underwhelmingly for years. Battle For Azeroth was just another step in a long line of grinding shit since Vanilla's initial release. But, now Final Fantasy XIV, a game who, even during Shadowbringers, was just regarded as just another MMORPG in a sea of MMORPGs. Was getting praise for taking years of story development and loose threads of shit they were just making up and starting to tie it up. And the Devs of WoW saw that and went, "WE CAN DO THAT TOO!" Here's an expansion talking about the afterlife with a desert of a ruined civilization, a faerie kingdom, and there are now angels involve! And then like...alright fine, its bootlegged Shadowbringers at worst and not at all related at best. Fine.

But then Endwalker came out or was going to come out and was actually going to make good on tying everything off and Shadowlands suddenly went from vaguely copying Shadowbringers' homework to having to be THE END OF A SAGA! EVERYTHING FROM WARCRAFT 1 TO BATTLE FOR AZEROTH WILL BE TIED UP IN THIS ONE EXPANSION! Because...Endwalker was going to do that? And just like every expansion before it. From the Death of Illidan in Burning Crusade, to "I see only darkness before me" Arthas in Wrath, from The Dragons Lose their Powers Cataclysm to Garrosh will get a trial in a book buy now, from We Will Never Be Slaves Grommash Warlords of Draenor to Teleport Sargeras away Legion and finally Golden Finger 3 second explotion N'zoth in Battle for Azeroth. Bald man being behind everything and saying there is a bigger threat on its way COULD of just been another underwhelming ending to a WoW expansion. BUT THEY HAD TO PLAY IT UP! LIKE IT WAS WRAPPING UP 30+ OF FUCKING STORY!

And I understand that Blizzard was going through 730,217,812,472,178 lawsuits, controversies and bad PR...and still are. But, like, SquareEnix was shilling crypto and N/F/Ts while trying to push Live Service Games because its board is still living in the Arcade Era where every "replay" was an extra coin in their pocket. And Shadowbringers and later Endwalker got moderate to great acclaim regardless of whatever the fuck was going on with...choose any of the past CEOs. And World of Warcraft could of done the fucking same. But, it had to bill itself as the END OF A LEGENDARY SAGA! When it was just Cenobite Mr. Clean and the people who created the afterlife were *checks notes* Robots.

Like, World of Warcraft. You could of ignored Final Fantasy XIV and we would still probably just be, just another MMORPG in the Sea of MMORPGs. But someone got a little bit of self doubt and now we're talked about with the same cadence as WoW in terms on impact on the market. Which...I mean I love the game. But, I do not think FFXIV has had as big an impact on the world as World of Warcraft has.

You're were Kanye West, getting drunk off your success and decided today that you were going to interrupt a Taylor Swift acceptance speech so now Final Fantasy XIV is a big superstar. If you had just let it ago we would of just been trucking along doing our own thing. But, because you got a little insecure for a split second, we're now forever going to be riding on your shoulders LIKE LALAFELLS SHOULD BE ABLE TO!

#letlalasride

[xanderlovesluigi]

have some doodles as im desperately trying to get better at drawing peasley for yall <33

jk i love peasley he is so goofy and im gonna replay superstar saga just for him and luigi soon