#gamecube menu

[newfalco]

Menu de Gamecube en Dolphin (Windows)

[posthumanwanderings]

[killerinstinctgold]

[antirepurp]

bro im. i can play sonic advance 2 in english. it has all the language options built in regardless of region. imagine that

[jefpoo421]

I'll do HTML replicas of WarioWare Mega Party Game$ menu's

simply DM me screen caps and I'll try to replicate them in HTML code

[gaminghardwareingames]

Wii Menu

All from https://www.spriters-resource.com/wii/wiimenu/

from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFF3Q2xyPqM

[clown-machine]

It's not even no priority/resting your thumb in the middle in new controller configurations. Every console assumes you default to either the bottom or the right button, but which it is is different in nintendo(default right/A) and other consoles(default bottom/X/A) and a coin flip in pc releases. Though sometimes games shake it up for no reason anyway! It makes menu navigation a nightmare especially if you have very specific memory/spacial issues or even just if you have big thumbs.

gamecube was the best designed controller of all time exclusively for the button cluster that gave you easy thumb roll access to all buttons but also gave you the a button as a thumb rest (because it’s the one you press the most) and took into account the frequency with which each button gets pressed in its design rather than doing the stupid diamond design that gives no button priority and rests your thumb in the shitty blank space between buttons

[antialiasis]

Look! Look! It's the site that had the Mew trick in 2002, the one I saw and rolled my eyes really hard at and dismissed as obviously fake! It's so obviously fake and even has a disgruntled commenter saying it's bogus. Ridiculous arbitrary instructions about how you must not have battled these particular random trainers (so conveniently you can't test it without restarting your save file), overly complex confusing instructions, supposedly the menu will just pop up out of nowhere and then if you press B a wild Mew appears. Urgent allcaps insistence that it DEFINITELY WORKS and if it didn't work you must have DONE IT WRONG. So, so fake except for the bit where it was actually real, I cannot.

I am delighted that this has been found. The link seems to have been quietly added by Damian001 to the Bulbapedia page for the glitch this October 31st and I'd heard nothing about it. God damn.

[wiptw]

Pokémon Stadium Series

Nintendo 64 - Nintendo - 2000 to 2001

You as a Pokémon fan are absolutely fucking spoiled these days. Aside from the mainline games you have spinoffs and fangames offering different experiences, you have entire websites dedicated to documenting everything down to the internal maths of the series, there's no end to the free content you can access with an internet connection between emulators and battle sites like 'Showdown!', and it's now socially acceptable in most circles to be older than 13 and have something with Pikachu's face plastered on it (especially if you're female presenting, especially if your friend group is also infected with the Pokémon hype). Back in my day™ you had almost none of this. You had the anime on Saturday mornings, you had the early run Pokémon licensed merch which WOULD get you called a baby if you continued buying past 10-12, and you had the games. Those sweet, sweet games that indoctrinated a generation of young people into being gamers and awoke a horde of JRPG addicts.

Literally Me

So remember this when I tell you that Pokémon Stadium, both one and two, aren't great games because they do something back then that you can't get today; they're great for what they did back then. So Pokemon Stadium 1&2 were a duology of games from 2000 and 2001 respectively that allowed players to battle Pokemon in 3D, with the addition of some side content such as minigames included to prevent the game from being 100% Pokemon battles. Because otherwise, the game is in fact navigating a series of menus and completing Pokémon battles with 3D models.

Whether it's taking on the gym gauntlets, the marathon of battles in the Pokémon cups, or just free battles with friends and loved ones, 98% of the experience is either selecting Pokémon from a roster of pre-built 'rentals' or transferring them from a saved game using the Transfer Pak, then fighting them in a series of 3D environments. An experience which you can definitely do today using web apps but as I said earlier, we didn't have that.

The peak of Pokémon battles in 2000

So if you're buying Pokémon Stadium (either version really) you're already probably a Pokémon fan right? So that means you have Red/Blue/Yellow/Gold/Silver/Crystal, so why not just play that game and get the full experience? The fun of exploring, talking to NPCs, discovering new and exotic locations? Simple, because in those games battles looked like this

While in Stadium, battles looked like this

If you grew up watching the anime while playing the Gameboy games, there was this special kind of dissonance where you might find yourself saying "Yeah, (for the time) these graphics are RADICAL but I wish I had something closer to these cool Pokémon Battles they had in the anime." As you hide under the covers with your Gameboy Color worm light, nestled in your Ash Ketchum pajamas while you attempt for the 100th time to capture a ditto. Pokémon Stadium was the answer to this dissonance, providing you with vibrant 3D graphics unlike anything you'd ever seen before; bringing Pokémon to life in a way that would be unmatched until Colosseum came out during the Gamecube era.

So, to actual mechanics, you play both games pretty similarly; by building a team of Pokémon (either on your handheld or by using the rental mons the game provides) and take part in a series of battles to become the ultimate battle master. To use your own Pokémon, you'd need to use the aforementioned 'Transfer Pak' to plug in a copy of Red/Blue/Yellow (for 1) or Gold/Silver/Crystal (for 2) with a game saved to the cartridge; otherwise the rental Pokémon covered all released Pokémon (except for some hidden ones) allowing you to build your dream team, sans a few caveats here and there.

Evolved Pokémon have better stats but worse moves, while weaker Pokémon tend to have better moves to compensate

In terms of WHERE you can battle, there's two choices: Either in the Gym Leader Castle, or the Tournaments held in the center of the map on either game. Either way, the game will then have you battle through a series of 3v3 matches versus a set number of trainers who will also select 3 random mons from their full team of six.

A bit bare bones, but there's some spice to how things are run. For one, the rental system was a huge thing for us younger players back in the day. Even if you had the games some Pokémon were hard to catch, had evolution requirements some players couldn't complete (like the trade-mons), or were locked to a version you didn't have. The rental mons give you a list of every Pokémon (some exceptions, but not many) and then lets you build your dream team. Sure, you can't set their moves, EVs, IVs, and it's the era before abilities and natures but I CAN HAVE A MEOWTH/PERSIAN ON MY TEAM. Do you know what I had to do as a child to have this Pokémon outside of Stadium? I had to find someone in the American South who also enjoyed Pokémon, hoped they had Blue instead of Red, hoped they had a link cable, then get them to agree to a trade despite both of us being children (and therefore, objectively terrible) which likely meant giving away a rare Pokémon in exchange for what amounted to common garbage in their game because it was Version fucking Exclusivity™ and everyone seemed to know that meant you'd do anything to get that one fucking Pokémon you wanted.

In the handheld games, if you wanted to build your dream team then likely you'd have to put in some more effort than other games of the time would've required of you. With Stadium, your dreams come true, and if you already have that dream team you can just import them to fight in glorious 3D. Circumventing the fact that rental Pokémon are kinda terrible overall.

Don't feel like building? The challenge cup mode that gives you randomized team comps that has it's own charm (for masochists)

Not to say all of them were bad but construct a normal distribution of 'Good' to 'Bad' picks then that graph is gonna skew left so hard you'd be forgiven for thinking it was just a straight line. To keep every choice 'viable' Pokémon rentals were balanced around stats and moves. More powerful evolved Pokémon and Pokémon with high Base Stat Totals (BST) were given weaker moves and first form and low BST Pokémon were given generally better moves. Charizard might have better stats than Charmeleon and Charmander but his only fire type move is going to be something like Fire Spin. Conversely, Charmander might have Fire Blast but his stats are gonna make him an easy target for the computer's pokemon, which are not bound to the same builds as the rental mons you're using.

Once your team is assembled, then you're off to battle trainer after trainer after trainer with beautifully scored (for the Nintendo 64) soundtracks giving you an unearned sense of importance every step of the way. Battles themselves are conducted with a weird, but functional control layout where A and B access sub menus you then check with the R button before finalizing with the c-buttons, which on original hardware or a USB N64 controller is fine but on emulation with a more modern controller like Logitech, can be a little nerve wracking as you worry about whether your 'up' input on the control stick was up enough for the game or if you accidentally drifted right or left using an unintended move.

fun fact: the name of imported Pokémon affects their coloration in Stadium

Battles are also largely regulated by (at the time) tournament standard rules. Little and Pokecup have level restrictions, and all three non-random cups include clauses for sleep, held items, and repeat Pokémon. Additionally, in any cup if you win the round with all 3 Pokémon still in tact, you're granted a continue; meaning you can retry the battle if you lose. Additionally, there is no 'draw' outcome in these games. Use a move like Explosion or Selfdestruct and the game will register it as your loss on your final Pokémon, regardless of whether you took down the opposing fighter with you or not.

You'll be doing a LOT of back-to-back fights here against trainers with varied team comps, but even with over 246 Pokémon in the available potential lineup you'll get tired fast of fighting. This is, however, slightly mitigated by the 3v3 nature of the matches but even so be ready to here the same Pokémon noises, watch the same effects play out, and wait for the same health bars to tick down over and over as you claw your way to the spot of Pokémon Master.

The art style of non-battle scenes like the main map and minigame plaza have that nice, 90's charm to them as well.

If you do get tired of battling it out, then Stadium 1 and 2 both offer minigames for players to partake in. Either in a tournament format or by using the free-play browser, players are able to take part in a multitude of different Mario Party-esque (without the hand burning) minigames featuring the Pokémon as stars. Minigames consist of stick twirling, button mashing, and point collecting all while controlling fan favorite Pokémon such as Togepi, Eevee, Scyther, and Pichu with no real rhyme or reason behind why these game exist aside from a amusement park theming the minigame zones have for their icons and menus.

You won't get a real explanation as to why you're racing Donphans, cutting logs as Scythers and Pinsirs, or playing Simon Says with a bunch of Clefairy, but you don't really need that either. The games are fun, the models are charming, and watching Clefairy get smacked in the head for each wrong input brings me a level of joy I should probably talk about with my therapist. You won't likely spend hours in this mode, but it's a nice breather from the onslaught of battles otherwise.

fun fact: I still won't talk to some people because of the outcomes to Rampage Rollout over two decades ago. You know who you are.

Additionally there's a quiz minigame separate from the main selection of minigames with easy/normal/hard difficulty selections. Players compete to see who can be the first to get a number of questions correct before anyone else based on facts about the Pokémon (typing, size, silhouette, etc) or facts about the game (where you can find things in the game, names of routes and towns, names of figures in the game).

It's not the most challenging on easy or normal, but playing on hard the game will try to screw you with trick questions so playing with others becomes a balance of "do I let the question play out, or attempt to steal it before someone else can answer correctly?"

Sometimes even playing the game won't prepare you for how out of pocket the questions can get

The real advantage of 2 over 1 is that, in addition to minigames, the game has the trainer academy; a kind of in-depth battle tutorial to teach players not only the basics of Pokémon fighting, but also some secrets as well

You can learn about held items, a feature new to the second generation, as well as participate in mock battles to demonstrate the materials you've been reading and quizzed on. Some of this information for the time too was obscure or hidden knowledge, like the fact that using Defense Curl before using Rollout would boost the damage significantly or that using Stomp on an opponent who used minimize would double the damage.

Some type matchups just make sense, like Ground v Electric.

Overall though what really makes this game is the presentation. The soundtrack does a great job selling the feeling Nintendo wants you to experience, climbing the ladder in a tournament or the Gym Leaders Castle makes you feel powerful, and the little details on top of it all just tie it together in a nice package.

The fights, for example, are also narrated by "The Announcer". A bombastic voice shouting over every detail of a fight. When you score a crit, when you apply a status effect, even using certain moves will get the announcer loudly narrating each detail like a Pokémon prize fight. Seeing the ground rip apart when you use Earthquake is only half the charm, the other half comes from that man yelling in your ears "A DEVESTATING EARTHQUAKE ATTACK!". Clearing gyms or clearing opponents in one of the cups grants you gym badges, a dream for any child growing up on the handheld classics or watching the anime who wished they too could earn shiny bits of metal that gave them an inflated sense of importance.

I would literally kill everyone I came across if it'd get me a real life Zephyr Badge.

Stadium 1 and 2 aren't evergreen classics. They're stuck in Gens 1 and 2 respectively, the roster of Pokémon while impressive is largely useless and makes collecting trophies way harder than it has to be, and the games were made before things like abilities and double battles were introduced, leading to the Pokémon battling game missing out on the generation of Pokémon that made battling more fun (Revolution doesn't count, Revolution is dead to me and disappoints me more than I disappoint myself.)

But for the time especially, it gave fans an opportunity to experience a form of Pokémon more advanced than what the handhelds could output. It was a window into a world of potential that wouldn't be truly fulfilled until arguably the 3DS era of Pokémon released, and gave fans a fun little romp handcrafted for them at every twist and turn. Whether you were a gamer or you enjoyed the anime, there was something here for you.

Overall: 7/10 Sound: 8/10 (for the time) Graphics: 9/10 (for the time) Memorable Moments: Stadium 1: Hearing about Mewtwo, thinking he was an urban legend, then finding out he wasn't Stadium 2: Finally beating the elite 4 using only rental mons.

[gauntletqueen]

Just a thought I'm having, but I feel like a fundamental difference between early retro games (up to the N64/PSX era) and modern retro games (up to around the Wii) is like, modern retro games are just the same as current games except they look a lil older. Before that, people were still figuring out how games should work, especially during early 3D. There's often a level of clunky-ness (affectionate) in controlling the character, navigating the world and menus, the way information is conveyed to the player, that isn't found in games after that early era unless it's on purpose specifically as an homage to it. I understand why games on the Gamecube, PS2, Xbox etc are being called retro due to their age, but I feel the reason why we started calling games retro is because they were released before gaming really solidified itself. To add on to that, it is my belief that VR also has that era. Maybe we're still in it, maybe we're just out, but VR games have that era of figuring it out that'll become known as retro in the future.

[smallmariofindings]

In the Nintendo Switch version of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, if the Star Power gauge is refilled while the Special Moves menu is open, and the refill causes one of the previously unavailable moves to be available, the menu will not be updated until it is exited and re-entered.

Note how the Special Moves menu in the footage is opened while Mario has less than 1 SP, but Sweet Treat remains unavailable even when Mario's SP is recovered to be more than 1 SP. Only after exiting the menu and re-entering it does it display Sweet Treat as an available option.

Interestingly, the original GameCube version's menu does in fact get updated in real-time, unlike this version.

Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings | Source: PM:TTYD (Switch)

[nintendometro]

Menu 'Mario Kart Double Dash' Gamecube Shinobu Tanaka, Kenta Nagata Support us on Patreon

[posthumanwanderings]

Sonic Gems Collection - Intro + Main Menu

[pie-bean]

I've played a bit more New Horizons on the Switch 2 now and while there aren't any major upgrades (so far?) there are some little (tiny!) improvements that I enjoy.

The loading times are slightly faster which is especially nice when you're moving around the rooms in your house. Plus starting up the game feels a bit quicker as well.

The Bluetooth for headphones is definitely better with less audio lag. This is a general thing but one that I found especially annoying in Animal Crossing because it's very noticeable when you're browsing around in menus so much but ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT is that you can actually fish properly now without the major delay of the sounds of the fish biting. Seeing how I find listening the most effective this is very nice.

The speakers on the new Switch are really good so handheld without speakers sounds amazing.

So yeah, don't upgrade for Animal Crossing specially because the difference is minimal, at least until they're launching the next Animal Crossing installment (who knows when that'll be). It's possible they might add the original Animal Crossing to their new Gamecube selection but I think pirating is the better option if you don't already own a Gamecube or Wii.

[matchesarelit]

Pikmin! (Spencer Agnew x Gn!Reader)

A video game themed bar was exactly what you needed, maybe even a little more...

Smosh Masterlist

Requested: Sort of... 'reader meets him at a bar and than they go home together and have a fun nerdy time at his place' -anon

A/N: Sorry anon they don't make it home, also hope you like video games, I thought it was a safe bet for a Spencer fan, Hope you enjoy.

Warnings: Mentions of fighting (mortal combat game play, smash bros)

W.C: ~2.1k

You'd been eager to try this place since your 'for you' page had all but taunted you with it while you were sick in bed with the flu. So crossing the threshold, the outlook of a dive type bar decked out in gaming memorabilia was both overwhelming and exactly what the doctor ordered.

LEDs behind the bar were mesmerising as they throbbed and changed, it was only after you'd straddled a stool that your eyes floated up past the assortment of alcohol, to the large collection of consoles and plug-ins suspended above.

Eagerly seeking out your favourites, you simply nodded when an approaching figure inquired after the stool to your left. Snaking your gaze down the shelving, your stare fell low enough to catch the figure of the bartender on the other side of the bar. The older woman was watching you with an amused smirk, clearly your enraptured state was not a rare one among first time visitors. Casting a glance to her headwear, you noted the Mrs Pacman sitting on her headband as you considered your drink order. Opting for a familiar brand you retrieved your phone from your pocket to pay, the case making it difficult as usual, as the bartender produced a bottle and left with a smile.

As you sipped your beverage you let your focus flit around the bar, There were a few larger screens with small groups of people crowding controllers and consoles, there were more displays and shelves chocked full of all sorts of gaming nostalgia and a few retrofitted old computers playing arcade gameplay.

Finding yourself watching more than a few rounds of mortal combat on an old box TV, your attention only shifted as a rather larger group of spectators erupted in cheers on the other side of the space. Noting some other set ups around the bar, ones much less crowded that that one, you stood from your chair, drink long since drank in many an unconscious sip as you'd watched the fights.

There was a couple duelling in some newer game you couldn't recognise, a group of older people screaming their encouragement alongside a woman playing pinball and lucky as ever, right at the back in a little alcove, there was an empty GameCube setup. Although a few other familiar titles lined the small area, the screen was already displaying your game of choice; Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3.

After frying your own console years before you'd been itching to get your hands on this game for a while. Yet as if it was only yesterday you found yourself navigating the menu with ease, selecting a map you felt you might recognise, the name sounding somewhat familiar, possibly one you'd sold your soul to over fifteen years before.

Admittedly, navigating the menu came easier than recollecting the controls, but after a few minutes you were finding your groove well enough to hit a couple special moves and terrorise a few pedestrians.

Concluding your first level you'd indulged in the character select menu, although finding the original Tony Hawk much too nostalgic, you continued on all the same.

Before continuing, you took a brief glance around your little station, cautious someone else might be wanting a go.

Satisfied by the empty space around your chair, and the empty one by your side, you continued on to the next location. Finding yourself revisiting some favourite tricks and areas from years before, you felt yourself relax into the game, it was only when as you sat back in the chair and the stats for the completed level popped up that you noted the presence of someone talking by your side.

'-still can't believe you stuck with Tony, Demoness all the way'

Turning towards the voice you caught sight of a man around your age, sipping some colourful concoction, as he shifted his gaze from the screen to you.

Although, you noted to yourself, the mess of curls adorning his head surely meant his sight was solidly obstructed, so how he managed to notice which character you'd chosen was a mystery.

He was nonchalant as he plopped into the chair by your side, and you felt yourself of similar affect as you responded,

'Well, I must admit my old favourite was the Eye Guy as I knew him, but its been so long i wanted that Vanilla playthrough effect ya know, nostalgia and all that.'

'Oh I'm very familiar. Do you mind if I have a go?'

Hand gripping the back of your chair you go to move,

'Of course I'll just-'

'You don't need to leave, I'll only probably play the one level, I was never the best at Pro Skater,' His words were said softly vet with a surety that left no room for argument,

'Are you able to hold this?' He seemed hesitant to ask as he continued scouring the space despite holding his drink out in your direction.

'Keep me here just to hold your drink did you?' your tone was light enough that despite the flush on his cheeks he still held it out when he saw you nodding.

You took it into your hands, holding the glass in your lap atop crossed legs as you watched him grasp the controller and navigate the menu just as you had done.

As he began to play you let your eyes drift from the menu to the assortment of games along the wall, spotting a couple of old favourites you made a note to try them if you got the chance later.

Returning your attention to the screen you sat in the relative silence of the little alcove, enjoying the small sounds and voice lines from the game you'd long forgotten the AI were capable of, until the man by your side spoke up.

'How do you do the... The double flip? I'm completely blanking' He looked momentarily back to you as his character drifted about the landscape,

'Oh its just the same button as flip, just twice,' your voice was soft, hoping not to come off as patronising with the simplicity of your answer.

'Oh yeah, simple eh?' He laughed it off easily as he turned back to the screen, watching him go on to try, and nail, the trick, you smiled to yourself.

Concluding a second level you'd urged him to play, he handed the controller back to you as you returned his drink.

'Did you want to play another level? I'm thinking of changing the game,' letting your mind drift once again to the cases along the wall, you considered your options.

'Nah I'm good, what're you thinking?'

'Ooh, im not sur- OH' You cut yourself off as a certain title caught your eye.

Tugging it free of its sleeve you held your choice aloft, being careful of the disk surface of course,

'Luigi's Mansion? Good choice...' his words although genuine came with a familiar hesitance.

'I know right I've-' Your excited reminiscence was cut short as he cut in,

'...Fair warning; their copy doesn't work'

'Oh damn...' you slid the disc back into its place

'Agreed, I felt exactly the same when I tried booting it up last week.' He watched your movements before scooting his chair back a bit and starting up again, 'They do have the third one on a switch over there,' he pointed his drink in the direction of the largest crowd in the room, the chalkboard wait list filled to the brim in progressively smaller and smaller writing desperate to be fit in. 'But you'll probably be waiting a while.'

Your lips sucked into a defeated line, you moved your gaze back onto the man by your side. His own focus set on the glass beneath him as he seemingly attempted to skewer the floating lime on his straw. You noted that just as you'd thought before, his hair had clouded the space between his eyes and the drink.

'Do you have any suggestion then? Any that work?' You pondered with a laugh as you flipped through the cases, the sound drew his attention back to you, not that you noticed as he remained silent, stare caught on the back of your head.

A few moments of silence later and upon finding nothing you turned back to him, a brow raised as you sat awaiting his response.

'Oh um, there's always Smash?'

Nodding slightly you put the controller on the tabletop and began to search for the disc, 'I never really played it, you'll have to show me how...' Unsure where the confidence came from for that request, you stalled slightly in taking the game out, and replacing the other with it before sitting back down.

Letting your peripherals catch what you refused to look directly at, you watched as he nodded, his lips pursed for few too many moments before parting with a soft utterance, 'uh-yeah of- of course'.

Holding your hand out for his drink you held out the controller with the other, and as you felt the weight of the glass in your hand you studied the screen as he began a match.

'So with this one you have all the regular moves, which use the regular buttons but, for example, Falco's Phantasm you need to use- '

His explanations were comprehensive and before long, you were playing and winning matches on your own, well mostly on your own. The man beside you seemed unable to stop himself from leaning closer and pointing out special attacks you could manage at any given time. By the time you'd won your second stage his shoulder was knocking your own, his face inches from yours.

Sitting back in your chair once again, all but pooped from the adrenaline rush of such a victory as your character filled the screen almost as happy with themself as you were, you felt the warmth of his closeness fade as he followed your lead, slumping in his own seat.

Your short reprieve was cut short however as a voice, much harsher than that of the man at your side, crackled from behind you,

'Sorry, Are y'all done with this console?'

Sharing a brief look with him you shrugged and glanced to the bar, a small nod was enough for you as you turned and addressed the newcomers, 'Yeah, we are. Go for it'

Stepping out of the alcove you moved no more than a metre, before turning back to check for him. Part of you expected him to leave for another spot in the bar, another console, but a bigger part of you was sure he wouldn't, at least not yet.

Sitting up on a stool you grabbed your phone to pay for a drink yet as you waited you addressed the man once again by your side.

'Well that was great fun! Little bit of nostalgia is good for the soul, ain't it?'

'Definitely. Although... Are you sure you haven't played Smash before?'

'Weeelllll... I admit I have played some of the newer ones at parties and such, but I really thought it'd be completely different on such an older console.'

Your cheeks were hot at the reveal, it wasn't as if you'd lied, but the suggestion you'd done so to get him to help you was an interesting one.

A small smile on his lips, he fixed you with a playful glare, the crinkling of his nose a dead giveaway. Never the less you played along, dropping your phone to the bar top and raising your hands in the air as if to profess your innocence.

'I promise. Next time though, I'll have to get your help on something else, something have no idea about, maybe Pikmin? I assure you I have absolutely no clue about that game.' Your face as stoic as you could manage, not very stoic at all, you watched as his smile splurged into a wide grin as his eyes looked between you and the phone discarded on the between you on the bench.

The device was hugged by a bright red silicone case with a telling red stem that ended in a single green leaf dangling off the top end.

You continued, 'What even is a Pikmin?' Getting the question past your lips without laughing between syllables was a struggle, but a worthy one as he soon broke into giggles at your sincerity.

'Well, you seem completely cluel-' He was interrupted as your phone rung out a hearty Pikmin!

'... Completely clueless... and that's okay, I'm happy to help.'

'You're too kind...' You trailed off realising you still didn't know his name.

'OH... I'm Spencer by the way,' Nodding, you failed to supress the smile that had spread across your lips as you spoke,

'Well, Spencer, I really need your help. So how about nex-'

Pikmin!

[pepperycar]

🎮 Mario and Luigi bonding

With pleasure! (Sorry it took so long. 😅)

@vulpixfairy1985 @silenzahra @itsavee4117 @peaches2217 and anyone else who might be interested!

Bonding 🎮

Mario and Luigi just got back from a usual days work, after a long day of Plumbing, helping the Toads and Princess, they both just wanted to chill and relax back home.

Mario and Luigi slumped through the door, both letting out a huge yawn before throwing their gloves on the kitchen counter and hats onto the walled coat hanger. Luigi made dinner while Mario fixed the table. Mario watched as Luigi effortlessly made the pasta and tossed the other ingredients around the pan like the world’s best chef. If he didn’t follow Mario everywhere he goes, he could’ve probably made a great career for himself as a chef.

Luigi looked back at Mario as he started plating the food. “What?” He asked with questioning mirth. “You make cooking look so easy.” Mario smiled. Luigi blushed slightly, not expecting a compliment today. He smiled and said with some new found confidence “well if you like this Fretello, then you’re gonna LOVE dessert!” He grinned with a confident look in his eyes. Mario was happy, he didn’t get to see Luigi have that look to often.

They sat down together eating Luigi’s homemade spaghetti bolognaise. Mario was tired but after tasting the first bite he suddenly got filled with an energy made from hunger and started to gulp it down. “You know you don’t need to rush, you’ve got all the time in the world.” Luigi scoffed. Mario rolled his eyes before putting another big forkful into his mouth. “Good food can’t wait to be eaten.” He said with a mouth full of spaghetti. Luigi smiled before rolling his eyes like an annoyed parent. “Shut up and eat.” He smirked.

Luigi looked like he could fall asleep any second. Mario noticed how his head bobbed just above the plate and was chewing his last bit of tiramisu very slowly, his breaths slow and deep as if he was already asleep with his eyes open. Luigi looked up and hummed as if to ask ‘what?’ Mario laughed and said “you look like you’re about to fall face first into your food and not be awake enough to care.” Luigi mumbled something along the lines of ‘shut up.’ As Mario got out of his seat, pushed his chair in and picked up his and Luigi’s plates. He shook Luigi shoulders and he yawned in response. “Go on, you take a shower first. I’ll clean up around here.” Mario said as he grabbed a bottle of washing up liquids and began to run the hot tap.

Luigi hopped into the shower while Mario cleaned up the table and did the dishes. Mario came into their shared bedroom to find Luigi sat on the end of his bed. He was wearing a white, Green spotted pyjama top and pants while trying to fix the source setting on their tv. Mario rolled his eyes at the scene of Luigi not understanding the tv before heading into the bathroom to shower himself. He came back to their room throwing on a red, Brooklyn T-shirt and some black shorts. He helped Luigi set up the SCART lead and source options before chucking him a spare GameCube controller.

“Who you playing as?” Mario asked as he looked through the character select screen on Super Smash Bros. Melee. “Hmmm. I should probably take Jumpman while I can because you always pick him.” Luigi selected the carpenter. Mario rolled his eyes and picked Fox Mcloud. “I only pick him because he looks like someone really handsome!” Mario smirked. “I think you’re talking about his brother Linguine..” Luigi corrected. Mario shoved his hand in his face and hit Ready.

After their first few rounds they tied. Mario looked at Luigi with annoyance in his eyes. “You stole that win! I would’ve won if you didn’t cheese that jump recover!” Luigi laughed before going back to the menu. “Best of 5? I’ll let you pick a good jump character.” He asked while picking Sheik. Mario gave in. He was going to pick Lady, Jumpman’s love interest before deciding against it since he couldn’t remember her floaty dress controls, so he picked Kirby instead.

After a few more rounds, Mario ended up winning but Luigi wasn’t a saw loser, he just ruffled Mario’s hair a bit. “Wanna just play some Animal Crossing for the rest of the night?” Mario asked while ejecting the game disc. “Yeah sure.” Luigi yawned. They played in their childhood town, Hyrule (the nerds) for a few hours before Mario noticed Luigi’s character stopped moving. “Lu, why aren’t you-“ Mario cut himself off when he saw Luigi leaning on his Left shoulder, snoring softly. Mario smiled fondly before affectionately ruffling his hair.

He wrapped his arm around him and gently shook him awake. Luigi looked up groggily before leaning against him even more. He mumbled something Mario couldn’t quite make out but it sounded annoyed. Mario squeezed tightly. “You can’t clock out in the middle of a game!” Mario teased. Luigi hummed in disagreement along the lines of ‘Yes I can.” Mario layed Luigi down on the bed before saving and exiting their village. He turned the GameCube off then the power switch on the wall before turning the lamp off by Luigi’s bed.

He hopped back into his own bed and quickly ruffled the duvet before laying it back down on top of Luigi. When Mario got under the blankets himself he saw Luigi wiggle his way up to the pillow. Mario held back a laugh at the sight and threw his arm around him. “Gonna steal my side of the room tonight?” Mario teasingly asked before giving Luigi a noogie. “Hrnm.. Mario..” Luigi grumbled. “Whaaaat?” He asked innocently, giving him another noogie then a poke to the ribs.”Youhohohu knohohow whahat!” Luigi laughed as Mario kept poking him in the belly and ribs. “I don’t know WHAT you’re talking about.” Mario said before blowing a raspberry into Luigi’s neck. Luigi squealed before try to hide under the blankets but Mario’s grip was to strong or Luigi was too tired. Luigi went to complain but was surprised when he looked up and saw Mario seemingly lost in thought.

“Mario, Bro?” Luigi asked with his laughter coming to an abrupt halt. Mario looked down at him and gave a sad smile before saying “Just.. thinking about how much I would’ve missed this.” Luigi looked up confused as if to ask ‘Miss what?’ Mario looked away and took a deep breath before continuing. “The.. the lava. When I thought I was gonna lose you.. I thought-I thought about all the things about you that I’d miss. Your laughs, your smile, your hugs, your comfort. Everything about you Lu. But just now, I realised this is the first time we’ve played games together since.. you know.. and I was just thinking about how, running through Animal crossing, fighting in Smash Bros., taking turns on the NES and SNES, playing Jumpman Party on the N64, accidentally bumping into each when playing Wii Sports.. even smaller things like sitting next to you at dinner, walking around the park or even heading to a job with you behind me.. I guess I just realised how much I W-Would’ve mi-missed it..” he started to cry at the end.

Luigi looked up in shock. He was extremely tired but awake enough to let it all sink in, that if he had died, If he wasn’t able to say goodbye or see Mario ever again, he’d too miss these bonding moments he and his twin have shared their whole lives, he would be broken hearted. Like Mario, he’d be absolutely devastated if it was the other way round. Maybe worse because Luigi knew that guilt would not let him live.

He glanced at the clock and saw it was past twelve o’clock. He didn’t know what to say after hearing Mario’s heartbreaking confession, so he got himself under the blanket before wrapping his arms around Mario’s neck, snuggling into the crook of his neck. He hoped the gesture conveyed to Mario that he was feeling the same thing, while also comforting him. He stayed there for a while, hoping his magical hug would work. Eventually he heard Mario’s breathing deepen and his arms snake around Luigi’s waist. Luigi smiled as he felt Mario’s accelerated heart rate gradually slow down before deciding he could fall asleep too. He wrapped his arms around his waist before laying his cheek on his brother’s chest. Mario’s heartbeat lulling him to sleep.

They would talk about this when they woke up.