#sorry for the word vomit here this has been my first opportunity to delve into this new little (re)obsession

[legobiwan]

How much did you learn about the Mr. L arc? It's fascinating. You can fight him as Mario, Peach or Bowser & he has comments about all of them. He has issues w/Mario. Peach is gorgeous/stunner. I think he makes fun of the fact she's always kidnapped at one point. Bowsers' King Incompetent/butterball (Bowser says he has a big shell.) There's a game theory ep about how brainwashing works that makes it more interesting.

I know the basics at this point, anon, but I'm slowly watching a playthrough of the game on YouTube in my spare moments and I am just...enthralled with this storyline and world. (It gets a little...existential at times? Plus, the minion scenes are hilarious.) I'm also learning a lot rummaging through the Mr. L tags on Tumblr and Ao3, hahaha.

Honestly, I cannot believe they gave Luigi a brainwashing/bad guy arc where he fights his brother. Good gods, if that was ever made into an animation (with all the fallout from said encounters) I think I'd pass out from happiness (it probably won't, it's a little too dark, I imagine, for the big screen). But Luigi without his inhibitions (because you have to figure a lot of that attitude was simmering under the surface for a while) being kind of a cocky asshole (who is an accomplished mechanical engineer as well, go get it my lanky plumber friend!) is just great. The notion of Team Good Guys (+ Bowser) freaking out if/when they did figure out it was really Luigi under the mask is so incredibly juicy and ripe for exploration. (Makes me think of the Bucky Barnes arc in the MCU. Who the hell is Luigi? hahahha)

Anyway, most of my Mario knowledge (and enthusiasm) comes from 90s cartoons and the waaaaaay early days of Nintendo (like the original, original Mario, which I did not have at home but some friends did), so it's been fun having a reason to dive into more recent lore. (Probably should check out Luigi's Mansion at some point to get up to date). Don't know if I'll ever actually play the games past some emulators on my laptop (kind of junky), but it's cool to see how video game narratives have evolved and matured. And I'm looking forward to the part of Super Paper Mario where we get into the apocalypse and the afterlife? (Mario-style, of course). Wild topics for a Mario game.

I'm also looking very forward to what I assume will be the outpouring of Luigi content after this film comes out next year. Finally, one of my original beloveds gets his due! (Hopefully, the film will have a solid Luigi B Plot).

[sitp-recs]

Hi Liv I wanna start by saying I love your recs and your blog has been an incredible resource in my journey getting into Drarry. So ✨thank you✨ Anywho on to asking: I’ve been having some trouble staying asleep here lately, mostly because of nightmares, so I wake up super on-edge and creeped out in the middle of the night. I’ve been turning to fics to just read and distract myself but not all of them distract me enough to calm down. I’m wondering if you can think of some lighter/fluffy/comforting fics that I can dive into to so I can relax and get back to sleep. Apologies if I’m not asking right (like I’ve seen asks that are looking for specific fics that they’ve read before and are trying to find again, and I’m not doing that. I’m asking for a type so if that’s wrong feel free to ignore this😅) I tried to look around and I can’t see anything about your asks being closed, so I really hope this is alright. Thanks ever so much for doing the recs you do! Also disclaimer: I’m writing this after being up for a while in the middle of the night, so if my judgment is off for how I should condense this and instead I’m just word vomiting, that would be why 👍

Hello hello! First of all thank you so much for your kind words, I’m so happy you’re enjoying the blog and finding the recs helpful. I’m also really sorry to hear about your struggle to sleep, that sounds terrible 💔 Sending love! I struggle a lot with insomnia myself (but thankfully no nightmares) and find great comfort in soft fics. I have two reclists with short bedtime reads that can be found here and here. If you prefer something longer to get a more immersive experience, I would definitely check the long fics below. I hope you feel better soon! Take care xo

Like Lightning at Your Fingertips by potterwatch (2019, T, 43k)

The problem with living with another insomniac is, eventually, they find out you’re one, too. When Harry and Draco return for their eighth year, they think they’ll see very little of each other. Then McGonagall assigns them to room together. And the castle starts breaking. And there’s that thing with Potter’s magic.

A Room Up There (And You In It) by @the-starryknight (2020, T, 59k)

When Preservationist Draco Malfoy was assigned to work on Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, he was excited to delve into the gorgeous Black family antiques. His excitement quickly ended when something in the House decided it did not like his presence one bit. Featuring a grumpy antiques lover who most certainly did not sign up for this, encounters with a vengeful apparition, and a healthy application of Christmas spirit.

Home Truths by @skeptiquewrites (2021, E, 67k)

In the off-season Harry decided to fix up Grimmauld Place and found that Draco Malfoy was the only person who could help him. A demanding career and unrelenting press scrutiny were enough to deal with before Harry added a house with a mind of its own, family history, and a tense, flirty, complicated relationship with his childhood nemesis to the mix.

Among Ancient Pines by @graymatters (2021, M, 74k)

Every day, Draco Malfoy tries. With every fiber of his being he tries. But he doesn’t much think about what he’s trying for. In his final term of Healer training, Draco is unfortunate enough to find himself on a plane, the only means of traveling to a small, magical town in rural Alaska. Years of hard work have culminated in an opportunity to work with an experimental wandmaker to study the intersection of Healing and wand theory. When Draco arrives, he doesn't find the wandmaker, but does find his apprentice, who happens to have ridiculously messy hair, a lightning bolt scar, and a definitely-not-charming smile.

Little Deaths and How to Avoid Them (or Draco Malfoy's Guide to Stop Dying and Start Living Instead) by nerakrose and dustmouth (2018, T, 96k)

Malfoy is way too interested in coroner reports for somebody who's definitely not looking for ways to die, Harry wants to be friends with him, and Ginny wants to break up with Harry.