#prologue luigi in the darklands

[lunareel]

Prologue: Page 12

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[trains-of-thought]

What if Mario was depressed?

Concept Summary: Being the hero has taken its toll, and Mario's mental health is at an all time low. Alone and on the brink of defeat, he finds hope in a long-time acquaintance, and begins to gradually heal.

- Prologue: Status post Odyssey. Mario and Peach say goodbye to Luigi, who is leaving on a ghost excursion with E. Gadd.

- Chapter 1: (Months Later) Daisy finds Mario sitting alone, at night, on the edge of a cliff, and stays with him until he gets up and leaves with her.

- Chapter 2: (The Next Morning) Mario goes to a meeting at the castle with Peach and her royal advisors to discuss Bowser's prolonged absence from the Mushroom Kingdom. The group decides to send a small group of Toads on a reconnaissance mission to investigate. Following the meeting, Daisy corners Mario and forces/convinces him to spend the rest of the day with her.

- Chapter 3: (A few days later) Daisy confronts Mario about his recent behavior after an unanswered phone call had her assuming the worst (suicide). He denies her claims that anything's wrong with him (despite evidence) and an argument ensues. After time to cool off, the two come together and reconcile.

- Chapter 4 - 10: Mario and Daisy start regularly spending time together, doing activities that go back to Mario's roots/that he once found meaningful (repairing, building, carpentry, etc). He grows closer to Daisy, and eventually opens up to her about his depression. Upon the reveal, Daisy STRONGLY suggests Mario go to Peach regarding his current problems, believing she would be able to help. Mario vehemently refuses to do so, believing that Princess Peach (and the Mushroom Kingdom) wouldn't understand. The conflicting views lead to a major argument and the two go their separate ways.

- Chapter 11: The reconnaissance toads have returned and the royal council reconvenes. The Darklands are quiet, soothing some and putting others on edge, making the group at odds regarding next steps (if any). Later that night, Mario returns home to find Bowser in his bedroom. Bowser reveals that following Peach's rejection on the moon, he's taken time to re-evaluate his life and priorities. He also reveals he's been spying on the Mushroom Kingdom and (more importantly) Mario. Bowser is surprisingly understanding of Mario's position, and presses him to follow through with Daisy's suggestion of talking to Princess Peach.

Chapter 12: Mario invites Daisy over, apologizes, and asks her to help him approach Peach (and the kingdom) with his problems. The two stay up gathering/jotting down Mario's thoughts and preparing them for him to share.

Chapter 13: The next morning, Luigi returns to spot a disheveled Daisy leaving the brothers' home. Assuming the worst (affair), the brother's fight, leading to a botched confession of Mario's current mental struggles, which Luigi is too furious to take seriously.

Chapter 14 & 15: The brother's misunderstanding leads to all of Toad Town (Peach included) learning Mario's secret. Peach goes to Mario to inquire about what she's heard and (much to Mario's surprise) is understanding of his feelings.

Chapter 16: Daisy walking with Mario to his first therapy session with Merlon.

A Plot: Mario's Mental Health

B Plot: Bowser's Inactivity/Mushroom Kingdom Duties

C Plot: Luigi Away From Home/Mario's Growing Closeness w/ Daisy

Main Character Analysis (Mario): Mario is an extroverted introvert; the attention that comes with being a world famous hero can only be handled in small quantities. As a blue collar boy from the Big Apple, blending in with the crowd is much more natural. Mushroom Kingdom adventures, though strenuous, are a much needed relief from the attention when they arise, but Bowser's recent absence has led to prolonged break from traveling. Pastimes like sporting events and parties used to be a stress relieving and enjoyable, but now feel like extra work and require forced effort to participate in. Thankfully, Mario always has his brother at home to keep him grounded, but Luigi's recent far away ghost excursion has left Mario isolated and alone.

Mario LOVES his job, he is incredibly grateful for the world of opportunities that have opened up for him and his brother since arriving in the Mushroom Kingdom, but the attention and celebrity status that come with it have become insufferable. Mario doesn't want to see adventuring as an escape from his life and the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom, but he can't help it. He's not only miserable, but incredibly guilty about feeling miserable. He knows all too well that he owes everything to Princess Peach and her people. He could never even think to imagine sharing some of his concerns with Peach, it would only convey ungratefulness. So he pleases the people, and puts on a happy face despite growing anguish.

Mario has considered sharing what's going with his brother on more than one occasion, but always decides against it. In his current mental state, he is prone to assuming the worst: his brother wouldn't understand or take him seriously (you're living the big life as a world famous hero! How in the world could you be unhappy?)

*Addendum:

Mario is naturally prone to keeping his emotions to himself:

one of little words

Hard life in Brooklyn. Prioritizing making ends meet vs mental health (hierarchy of needs)

As a hero and older sibling, Mario is a symbol of hope and strength, mental struggle is a weakness that he isn’t ready to admit to others or himself

[lunareel]

Prologue: Page 6

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New challengers enter the arena!

Edit: Fixed the lineart and details of one of the panels

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[lunareel]

Prologue: Page 4 & 5

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Thank you guys for being so patient for these next few pages, I hope you enjoy the double feature.

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[lunareel]

Prologue: Page 9 & 10

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Level up! Magmaargh defeated.

Edit: Missed one detail, fixed it : >

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[lunareel]

Prologue: Page 8

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Little side note, I love doing the gradient outside of the panels. It's so satisfying to color in.

Also I am slowly catching up/reading through the comments and replies left on previous pages, and I just want to say thank you all so much for every comment and reply. They've been so sweet and awesome to read!! ✨

Edit: 9/30 Fixed a storyboard error, and page 9 and 10 will be posted together.

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[lunareel]

Prologue: Page 3

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Man it took me a bit to figure out how to color lava, I think it came out pretty well in the end! I also think I'm going to make a post of my favorite background shots.

When drawing some of these panels it was really leaning into "You have to trust the process." I'm glad I did, but man there was some moments where I was on the fence.

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[lunareel]

Prologue: Page 7

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Posting this much later than I wanted today, but it is what it is. Anyway and more importantly, the fight begins!

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[lunareel]

Prologue: Page 2

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[lunareel]

The adventure begins with some strange visuals!

Prologue: Page 1

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Current goal is to post a page every Saturday until the Prologue is complete.

[lunareel]

Prologue: Page 11

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Working up to the official meeting!

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[lunareel]

Prologue: Page 13

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So I initially had the first few cave panels done, but for some reason I decided that no. I did not like how they were drawn and I felt like I could draw the inside of a cave much better and next thing I know I had redrawn and repainted those caves an embarrassing amount of times.

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[lunareel]

The Phantom Chapter Master Post

Click on "Keep Reading" to access links to all the pages!

Page updates will be on Saturdays.

Prologue: Luigi In the Darklands.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Chapter 1: A Wedding to End All Weddings!

Intermission

Chapter 2: Well isn't that Super?