#weird mario enemies
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Name: Blewbird
Debut: Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Blewbird is weird. I mean, no duh, it's being featured on "Weird Mario Enemies," even if our blog title gets less and less fitting by the day, but I mean weirder than you'd realize by just looking at it at a glance. If you just take a quick glance at it, you might not think much of it -- just a stylized cartoon bluebird, reminiscent of The Artist Formerly Known As Twitter.
But then you look at it more closely, notice things like its black shell and brown shoes. How weirdly smooth its skin is, without even the suggestion of feathers. The fact it doesn't have wings at all. The fact these things burrow out of the ground.
Oh, and let's not forget the fact they shoot off their own beaks!
Yeah, let's not ignore the main hook of the enemy here! Blewbirds predominantly appear in the level Blewbird Roost, where they'll stand against walls and shoot out their beaks at Mario and Friends. Of course, usually their beaks end up sticking to walls across from them...
And unfurling into platforms! That's right! Blewbirds are an animal that evolved to create Platforming Challenges! Is this how they traverse all the open air in the caves they live in without wings? It's not like they can burrow everywhere!
So whatever Blewbirds are, I'm pretty sure they're not birds. Blewbirds are birds in the sense that jellyfish are fish. (A comparison I'm pretty sure I've made multiple times on the blog at this point.) But if they aren't birds, then what are they? Well, let's take another look at Blewbird without its beak...
Does it remind you of anything...?
Because it reminds me of Birdo, another character who's named after a bird for no particularly good reason whatsoever! Almost like it's all connected... But I mean, the similarities are hard to ignore -- the tube mouth optimized for shooting projectiles, the white underbelly, the weirdly smooth skin, heck, you could probably make the very bold argument that Blewbird's ponytail and Birdo's bow are connected somehow.
But wait! I'm not ending things right there, because Blewbird doesn't only have similarities to Birdo...
You see, Nintendo has connected the Birdos and Yoshis for a while now, as Mario's main Weird Dinosaur Characters, but there hasn't been an awful lot actually connecting them in-universe... until now?! For you see, I'm making the radical claim that Blewbirds are proof of a missing link species that connects the Yoshis and Birdos! Look at it! The tube mouth of Birdo. The shell and shoes of Yoshi. It's all so clear now!
Blewbirds aren't birds! They're some sort of weird dinosaur! Just like... just like... just like real birds. Hmm.
Maybe I need to rethink the point I was making with this post. Taxonomy is weird, guys.
*phone ringing*
Oh! Hold on, I need to answer that. Hello?
Hmmm... as a matter of fact, I think I am! I spent so much time talking about Yoshis and Birdos that I forgot to do this: *touches Wonder Flower to trigger Wonder Effect for the post*
During Blewbird Roost's Wonder Effect, Blewbirds will start blowing very large, very colorful bubbles! Your character can bounce on these bubbles to go *Pauline voice* ♪ High up in the sky~! ♪, but you need to be careful, since each bubble pops when you jump on it! The number of Blewbirds in the Blewbird Roost doesn't make that much of an issue, but in a Special World level where you're a Goomba who can hardly jump at all? Well... Good Luck!
That being said, this raises even more questions about Blewbird anatomy, because they blow these bubbles out of their beaks! You know, the ones they shoot off that, as far as I'm aware, aren't even part of their bodies? And in order to blow bubbles out of their beak, their mouth has been moved to the end of it! What is going on here?!
I'm not sure, but I can try to provide a relatable human analogy! Imagine if you put a Cone in your mouth, but someone nearby touched a Wonder Flower, so the Cone fused to your face and the mouth was at the end of the Cone, and you were very scared about this development so you tried to scream but only bubbles came out. We've all been there! And for the Blewbird, it's exactly like this. Hopefully now you understand!
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I need to draw Booigi real soon, the lack of them is making me itchy
#kelperambles#uhhh pic is unrelated but I thought the paper luigi was cute 💖#anyways I just wanted to ramble about how much I love booigi LMAO#but like I need the very specific type of booigi that has been rotting in my brain in order to be satisfied#OKAY OKAY. picture this: Names are such an important thing to Luigi. Many people don’t tend to remember the bare minimum about him#so he really appreciates the few people who take enough time to remember his actual name or small things about him#then when King Boo pulls up he’s literally yelling Luigi’s name and cursing him out#sure while Luigi is still scared of him he can’t help but feel flattered that King Boo subconsciously respects him enough to call him Luigi#not green mario. not the man in green. just him…truly him.#and while Luigi might not want an designated enemy (like what Mario and bowser have)#the fact that king boo believes that Luigi is significant enough to be his enemy is something Luigi cannot ignore#King Boo acknowledges Luigi for his strengths in his weird theater kid way#but I can really see them growing closer together once Luigi discovers that King Boos plays everything up just to be DRAMATIC ✨✨#king boo WANTS luigi to react. and if he doesn’t get that he more or less just lets go of the act#like what’s the point of setting everything up if Luigi’s not even going to match his high energy?#honestly they just need to both RELAX for a second and they would really hit it off#it’s actually embarrassing. they’re so embarrassing.
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Chapters: 4/10
Fandom: The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Luigi (Nintendo), Mario (Nintendo), Princess Peach (Nintendo), Bowser (Nintendo)
Additional Tags: luigi - Freeform, Bowser - Freeform, mario - Freeform, bowser jr - Freeform, Princess peach - Freeform, Deaf Character, luigi can't hear, Bowuigi, Bowser & Luigi Friendship (Nintendo), The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) Spoilers, Enemies to Friends, I need it to make it, Cute, Luigi Needs a Hug (Nintendo), overprotective brother mario, a little bit of bowuigi but not really?, I'm not shure, For now is one sided ok?, Sorry Not Sorry
Series: Part 1 of The Sound of Silence
Summary:
He looked around for something that might help get them out of there, but he couldn't see anything.
What to do?!
A quiet child laughter.
"We're all going to die a painful death~!"
He put his hand on his right ear and looked shocked at the blue star that was spinning circles in the cage. She was definitely laughing.
"He can't hear you~! He can't hear, he can't hear, hihi~!"
Star noticed that he was looking at her and laughed, which made him flinch.
"This is so funny that you can hear me, haha~!"
Luigi took a step back.
Why was he able to hear her?!
#luigi#bowser#ao3#bowser and luigi are friends#mario#fanfiction#mario and luigi#luigi need a hug#enemy to friends#super mario bros#bowuigi#junior#This gonna be weird#deaf luigi#deaf character#luigi my baby#smb#super mario bros movie
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The real question for me with regards to the TTYD Remake is whether or not they're going to make any balance changes. Like are they going to fix Yoshi's Stampede so that it works as intended? Are they going to make Ms. Mowz and Bobbery actually decent? Are they going to reduce the cost of Sweet Feast and raise the cost of Showstopper? Are they going to make Tornado Jump usable?
#paper mario#the thousand year door#ttyd#nintendo direct#for those of you who aren't in the know; ttyd is kinda janky#like there's a lot of oversights and weird interactions#the most well known one is probably that yoshi's stampede hits all enemies instead of just grounded ones like its description says#the other big questions I have are mainly related to localization#are they going to keep hooktail offering to let you smell her feet#is vivian still going to have a region locked gender#are they going to give the boos back their bunny ears
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Officially licensed vintage Mario Brothers birthday card featuring Mario, Tweeter, Luigi and Toad.
(available here)
#vintage nintendo#mario brothers#mario 2#mario enemies#retrogaming#I love the weird art on licensed Mario products from this era
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My beloved bf gifted me mario wonder for my bday and while this isn’t my first mario game bc I had the one on the ds-just sucked at it lol-im having a blast going through it since I always like playing other plaformers then my usual even if I’m always comfy with Mega Man. However, playing this along with other platformers made me realize mega man misses a common aspect in most platformers: collectibles tied to progression/general items to pick up in stages that aren’t upgrades.
Mega Man does have its fair share of items to pick up but almost always it’s a health or power upgrade. The general structure of Mega Man is less of jumping on enemies like others and more so being strong enough you can take down your enemies with your weapons, the usual challenge comes from fighting bosses without their weakness or tight platforming segments. Not to mention, the entire appeal of Mega Man’s structure is you can do bosses in any order, so having stuff like collecting a object for progression just to access the next stage or area would ruin that freedom. (Also in terms of if mega man would collect coins or rings or gems I’m not sure if that would fit either given he’s a robot… What would a robot collect unless it’s like stated it’s apart of his energy source or something? Or maybe screws? Even though that’s the currency in classic for just buying stuff)
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing since it gives mega man it’s own unique appeal and some people may not like other platformers compared to it-even if I say the challenge universally sticks so others are worth checking out, especially when in other games it’s waaaay easier to die despite how brutal mega man is with lives and Insta kill stuff-but it’s something I noticed when playing Mario and other platformers so I’m definitely gonna be rotating this for awhile.
#meg text#for once I’m rambling about games and not old anime#but god I’m rotating this hard because I’m like- picturing a mega man game like this ngl#idk if I’d go the lock progression route but it could be something like Klonoa or certain sonic games#where you can collect stuff but it’s completely optional even if you get cool unlockables#that way it doesn’t ruin the flow or free level select but each stage has more of a reason to revisit past “I missed one upgrade”#mega man is still super replayable though but having more stuff to collect I think would benefit it#I talked about it before-albeit I think on Twitter-but I really liked what gravity circuit did to the approach#having little guys you can recuse in each stage and they actually benefit you getting upgrades#Granted I also have no idea where like making a platformer mega man game like this would fit in the lore💀#it would be weird to come after ZX so it either have to be a fuck off classic game or a new series completely#since testing a new approach like this even if they stuck to the structure could cause some mixed reactions#that said though the only aspect I really want implemented from other platformers aside from this is a new life system#cause g o d#I know if you grind enough enemies they’ll drop lives but it ain’t worth it half the time LMAO#it would be so much better if they either did no lives but a endless checkpoint system that could have consequences#or some way to implement the Mario/Klonoa route where after collecting 100 of one thing you get a life#or whatever sonic does because earlier sonic games love to hand you lives like it’s nothing
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I think I am the way I am partially because my first ever big video game with a story was Super Paper Mario. The narrative is kickass but honestly more than anything I haven't seen many examples that come close to how visually coherent Super Paper Mario is. The amount of geometric shapes in the art direction of the game really drives home how many characters could only exist in 2D, which really drives home the ability to swap to 3D!!!! It's so cool!!! and all the weird equations in the sky and the bizarre (even for Mario standards) enemy designs and the way each world seems to have a unique pattern to the way the world layout is stylized.....its absolutely incredible
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The Lion and The Snake
Mattheo Riddle x Griffindor!Reader
Summary: Mattheo and you had a very strange relationship. Ever since 3rd year, it seemed like he had it out for you.
A/N: This is an enemies to lovers piece. I hope everyone enjoys it! ❤️😇✨
Ever since you were kids he had been teasing you. Back then, you would say you two were friends at one point.
It all started in 3rd grade.
You weren't even sure what happened. One day you two were good then in the next you weren't. It was weird to see the person you called your friend drift away from you quickly. Alarmingly quickly.
He always teased you but it got to a point where it felt more insulting than teasing between friends.
You were a Griffindor which also didn't help the situation.
You never truly understood the rivalry between the houses. You had friends who were in Slytherin. Enzo and Theodore are two. And you even still considered Mattheo to be your friend, a little bit.
Even if he did have choice words towards you almost daily.
It felt like a facade.
Something he put up every beginning of the year.
You slowly got used to it, choosing to ignore him instead.
But he was unavoidable. No matter how you tried you always ran into him somehow.
Even the teachers had it out for you as they always put the two of you together for projects.
Which of course always ended in disaster because he never did any work, leaving you to finish everything.
But you were used to it. You shouldn't be but you are.
Now, as you started your sixth year you hoped it would be different. Much like how you hoped every year. But nothing ever changed.
It was always the same old thing.
You knew it from the moment you stepped onto the train.
But this year, a new possibility opened its doors for you.
Parties.
Many many parties.
And tonight was no exception. Hufflepuff was holding a party in their common room.
You weren't going to lie, you never expected Hufflepuff out of all houses to throw the best parties but for sure they did.
You smiled as you danced with Hermione.
You could feel pair of eyes following you Hermione smirked as she pointed behind you, you slowly look and noticed Mario Garger behind you standing leaning against the wall.
Mario was a Ravenclaw, very smart and a good duelist. You turned back to Hermione and smirked.
Mario was also very handsome which he obviously knew. You knew he had an eye on you since last year, so you weren't surprised by the looks he gave you.
And the alcohol did let you loosen up with your dancing.
Suddenly you felt a pair of arms around you, you knew it was Mario.
Hermione got the message and moved to dance with Harry instead as you turned around in Mario's arms.
At the moment you failed to notice but Hermione didn't, the looks Mattheo was giving you.
You danced with Mario but you did feel off.
His hands were always on you and they seemed to be moving lower with each song.
You even grabbed his wrist a couple of times moving it up. But he didn't seem to be getting the message.
It got to a point where his hand moved right below your ass as he leaned in, you tried to push him away but his other hand was holding your waist.
"Don't." you said but he didn't listen.
Then a hand made contact with his jaw as he fell back. He quickly picked himself up as you just stood there, stunned.
"You piece of shit." this is when you noticed it was Mattheo who hit him.
"What's your problem, Riddle?"
"Do not touch her! I promise you if you do it again, you will regret being born." obviously the small fight caught people's attention around you.
You grabbed Mattheo's hand and looked at Mario.
"You are a piece of shit." you said to him before pulling Mattheo away as best as you could because he was still glaring at Mario with an expression that could kill him.
"Come on, leave him." you said as Mattheo finally listened and you pulled him out of the room and to an empty hallway. "Thank you but you don't have to kill him, he is not worth it."
"You wouldn't say that if you knew how he spoke about you behind your back." when he said that, your eyes met for the first time in a long while. You watched as he lit a cigarette and blew the smoke.
"He talks about me..." You felt terrible, you genuinely liked Mario, so hearing that he was this disgusting, it felt a cold shiver down your spine. "I regret holding you back now. You should have punched him more."
He smiled a little at that.
You felt an awkward silence fill the air and you let out a small sigh.
"Thank you again," you said before turning to head back to your dorm.
You heard him follow you, his footsteps echoed in the silent hallways.
"Why are you following me?" you asked not turning to look at him as you took a corner.
"Making sure no creeps are following you."
"I see one following me right now." you said as you turned to look at him.
"You think I would do what he did?" he was genuinely shocked.
"No. But you haven't been exactly nice to me either..." you put it nicely, way too nicely and Mattheo knew that.
His words even bothered him.
How harsh and untrue they were. Sometimes he would lay in bed, look at his ceiling and think about his words, as they haunted him. Even if he said them behind closed doors, he was afraid you would hear them.
It is not what he thought of you, far from it.
"I'm sorry." he said and if it wasn't in the middle of the night in a completely silent hallway, you wouldn't have heard it. You looked around trying to see if it was possibly one of the ghosts who whispered those words. You didn't want to believe that it was him saying it.
"Why? Why are you saying that?"
"Because I am sorry for being an asshole with you. We were friends and I ruined it. But I had my reasons." you rolled your eyes before heading for the stairs. You stepped onto one as it started to move.
He still followed you. You arrived at the top of the stairs turning around as you looked at him, he stopped halfway up.
"I'm sure you had your reasons, but you made me feel like shit. I never showed it, I never cried in front of you but I was confused and hurt. I thought you were my friend and yet you did this to me. You called me names, you threw things at me, you laughed behind my back and I highly doubt that Mario was the only one talking about me behind my back, you just might had a different tone."
He opened his mouth to say something but the stairs moved, moving him away from you as you headed to your dorm.
You heard him calling your name but you decided to ignore it.
A simple 'I'm sorry' can never be enough for the years of tears and pain he caused.
You locked yourself into your room for the rest of the evening.
---
Mattheo was a true mystery.
He starts to bully you, makes you feel like the absolute worst and now... now he says he had his reasons... yeah sure.
Maybe his reason is that he wanted to fit in, he needed to prove to the others how 'cool' he was and he did that by bullying you amongst the other stuff.
But you just decided to go on with your life as usual.
Maybe this was his latest idea of torturing you, and you didn't want to feed into it.
But you did try your best to avoid him and his friends at all costs.
Which of course, didn't work. You noticed Theodore and Draco walking towards you down the hall, it would have been too obvious to just turn and run so you decided to face them.
What was extremely weird is when Draco greeted you kindly and Theodore had a genuine smile on his face.
What was going on?!
No smart comment? No degrading nickname? Why were they so nice?
Did something happen in Slytherin?
Were they sick or something?
Well, you are not going to complain, you offered them a quick smile before returning to your route to the library.
You still had this unsettling feeling, but you tried to push it down.
In the library, you still tried to focus on your books and assignments, but you felt like someone was watching you.
You hated that feeling.
Being watched by a creep... you could only hope it was only your mind imagining things.
But it wasn't.
On your way out of the library, you noticed him, smoking, standing there, his eyes following you.
It was easy to tell, he wanted to say something, to talk to you after yesterday he was so rudely interrupted by the stairs.
You walked away but you could tell he was following you.
And sadly, as you took a wrong turn he managed to corner you.
"We need to talk." you heard him say behind you.
"Look, I don't know why the sudden remorse regarding your terrible behaviour towards me, but I don't want to hear it, Mattheo." you said as you turned to look at him.
"You have no idea, do you?"
"Just leave me alone." you said as you tried to walk away but he grabbed your shoulders and pushed you against the wall, with a huge statue hiding the both of you, your eyes finally met his.
"I have been in love with you for so long, you have no idea." you could only stare at him in silence. You could smell the cigarettes on him. "I didn't exactly deal with my feelings the best way, I realize it now. I pushed you away because of the pack mentality. But I am truly sorry. I want to prove it to you. I already told the others to leave you alone. I-"
"It won't work." he was stunned as you found your voice. "A snake falling in love with a lion? Do you really think it would work?"
"Yes." his answer was immediate, it surprised you. "I have spent years in the shadows with my real feelings because of a stupid house. I want you, no, I need you. I need to show you the real me, the boy you once knew. I need to show you that I can be the one for you, the one who loves you the most, I need to show you that. I need you, Y/N."
Possessive. But something inside you moved. Somehow you understood as you could see he wasn't lying, his eyes were speaking and they were speaking from his heart.
"So, you are saying fuck the houses?"
"Fuck everyone! I need you, not them. And I am so sorry for being to terrible. I can prove it to you, I really mean every word." the fact that he was so close and he was so handsome really didn't help your thinking. Your mind was clouded, your judgement non-existent and a little voice in the back of your head kept on telling you to-
"Would you seal your promise with a kiss?" as one of his hands moved to your cheek, yours moved to his neck and pulled him down for a kiss.
It all felt so right.
Like two halves becoming one.
You heard people calling out, your friends looking for you, but you couldn't pull away from Mattheo. Not only because he wouldn't let you, but you also didn't want him to let go just yet.
Taglist: @fleursirvart @greenarrowhead @thisismysecrethappyplace @sincerelyfan @theoneanna @aestheticsandmarvel @rororo06 @castellandiangelo @destynelseclipsa @spilledinkindumpster @capsiclesdoll @puknow @alwayshave-faith @alex12948 @lxdyred @imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl @anonymoussherlockandmarvelgeek @praline357 @trshngyn @avengers-r-us @violet-19999 @top1bbgloak @manduse @jacalineiscomingforyou @mandoloriancookie @noname2246
~Masterlist~
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DO NOT STEAL, REPOST OR TRANSLATE ANY OF MY WORKS
#Mattheo Riddle#Mattheo Riddle x reader#Mattheo Riddle x you#Mattheo Riddle x fem!reader#Mattheo Riddle x female reader#mattheo x you#mattheo x y/n#mattheoxreader#Mattheo Riddle imagine#Mattheo Riddle imagines#Mattheo Riddle fanfic#Mattheo Riddle fanfiction#harry potter fanfiction#harry potter fanfic#harry potter imagine#harry potter x reader#x female reader#slythering boys x reader#slytherin boys#slytherin boys x you#slytherin boys imagine
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first yiik impressions?
Hi. Thanks for your message. I've been thinking about this for days. I wrote paragraphs. Here you go!
Everyone talks up how the game is bad, but I've never looked into it much myself, so I went in with an expectation along the lines of "people whose opinions I often agree with think it was an awful mess, I'll likely think something similar". Expectations were low. Even then I wasn't really ready.
"YIIK" is a game of tedium. I don't think it's a game about tedium, that's something different (though it could be, if it was a different video game altogether; "what if the world was made of pudding" etc). To some degree I think the tedium is by design but I'm not really sure what it's in service of.
I don't think tedium in a video game is a bad thing. "Morrowind" and "Breath of the Wild" are two video games I like very much, and some of my favourite memories of those games are of slowly wandering through empty expanses, or having to suddenly deal with equipment degrading or supplies dwindling because I forgot to prepare. Moments like that feel thoughtful! They're interesting moments of reprieve or of tension that feel thoughtfully and intentionally designed! "YIIK" feels like trudging through chest-deep molasses so it can shout "hey did you know you're stuck in my molasses right now? that's weird, why are you stuck in my molasses right now? did you notice?" directly into your ear.
You'll notice this is a pattern.
Combat is turn-based and involves completing little minigames, timing button prompts or hitting targets or some such. It's a cute idea that wears out its welcome when you start realizing how long every single one takes to resolve, especially when you have multiple party members, and sometimes multiple enemies (I'm told this part specifically gets more egregious as the game goes on). I don't think it's awful or unsalvageable but I'm not super into it as of the point we're at.
This is a pattern.
Leveling up is a manual process that you have to unlock, and it involves going to a save point (any save point? we didn't check), to enter the Mind Dungeon, to enter the actual Mind Dungeon, to walk down a set of stairs and enter individual doors one-by-one, so that you can choose how you want to allocate stat increases, so that you can walk down a different set of stairs to commit your choices and spend your banked experience to level up. I think "you can only power up at specific points / times / locations" and the granularity of stat growth are interesting ideas, and the environment they made for it are a charming idea, and I don't think it needed to be a "Hotel Mario" level that you had to slowly walk through. It could have been a menu. They could have used the resources for a nice background or backdrop for a menu that accomplishes the same thing.
This is a pattern.
I haven't really mentioned anything about the story or writing yet. The protagonist's name is Alex and he's a very self-important nerdy misanthropic dickhead white man (a very specific kind of guy that I've definitely met at least once or twice) who is obsessed with a paranormal message board populated by people like him and desperate to find out more about the disappearance of a woman he witnessed. (The woman & her disappearance are based on the real life death of Elisa Lam & aren't handled with a whole lot of tact, IMO, but other people have put this into better words than I can right now. It sucks. It keeps coming up and it makes me bristle every time.) Alex is a bad person. I know he is. You know he is. The game knows he is. I've seen some reviews say a negative point of the game is "the main characters aren't likeable", which I don't really get, because that's the point of the characters, as far as I can tell. The issue, then, is how much time the game takes to exposit at you how bad the characters are. It's exhausting. Every time Alex has a monologue, it feels like it sums up to 10 minutes of "I am a bad person. I am a bad person. Alex is a bad person. This character is a bad person. Do you get it? He's a bad person. Alex is a bad person. Do you understand yet, player? Alex is a bad person. You should know that he's a bad person. Do you get it?"
This is a pattern.
(I don't know how interested I am in bringing up the game's lead writer right now, if at all, but there's a well-known anecdote where he talks about wanting to write a story about a bad person who is forced to grapple with himself and do better, and how the reason why his game wasn't well-received was because people who play video games didn't get it & weren't ready for a story like that. I dunno. I can understand being upset about negative reception to something you poured time and sweat into, and saying something hasty because of it. "Final Fantasy 4" is a beloved RPG classic, though, and "Disco Elysium" came out the same year to overwhelming praise. I haven't played either of these yet, though, so I'll admit maybe I'm off the mark here.)
The characters we've met so far (i.e. the ones that aren't unnamed NPCs) are… well. There's a smarmy younger kid who idolizes(?) Alex & also made the aforementioned paranormal website. So far it seems like he mostly exists to go "hey fuck you Alex, you dickhead" and immediately say something even more insensitive. There's the insensitive based-on-a-real=ass-dead-woman elevator woman, who immediately disappeared from the narrative while still being an essential part of the narrative. There was a dead(?) robot in a bedroom, who had a choir of ominous hooded people monologue about how weird and sad and strange and uncanny the scene is. What the!? There's a woman who works at the arcade and has Powers. Her design's cute. (I feel like, generally, the game's visuals are Fine. The audio, too. That all ranges from Just Fine to Surprisingly Neat. I don't really have much issue with those aspects of the game, but I don't have much to say about them either.) Alex and Kid Whose Name I Didn't Care To Remember are constantly very uncomfortable to her, because she's a woman and because she isn't white, in the 15 or so minutes we've seen her on-screen, and she gets to tell them off, but then immediately kind of goes "well whatever I can smile and put up with this and hang out with you". It feels misogynistic. I know to some degree Alex is misogynistic on purpose, because the game is bludgeoning your skull in and yelling "ALEX IS SHITTY TO WOMEN! AND PEOPLE OF COLOUR! DO YOU GET IT? HE'S SELF ABSORBED IN A SHITTY WAY! DO YOU GET IT, PLAYER? YOU UNDERSTAND THAT ALEX SUCKS ASS YET? MAYBE 10 MORE MINUTES OF THIS WILL MAKE IT CLICK?" But for a woman of colour (the only one we've seen so far who isn't Probably Just Dead) to finally tell him off for being a shithead, only to turn around and go "well it's ok, you're cool now, let's hang out now because it's narratively convenient and you're the protagonist" is pretty damn egregious!
This is a pattern.
Writing in general feels stilted and long-winded. Most of the main characters feel like they don't talk like people do. Alex gets to feel like a person but that's mostly because he gets to talk to himself so damn much. Most of his monologues feel like overly flowery prose, like someone padded it out with identical adjectives to meet a school essay word count. There's an interesting idea or premise or setpiece every now and then. There's a spark. A glint of something compelling. Every single time this has happened so far I find it immediately snuffed out by an over-blown "oh my god!!!!!!! how weird!!!!!!', or a very long plot dump, or a Joss Whedon-ass quip. There can be no small moment of joy. No story element or visual element can stand on its own legs. There can be no room for ideas to breathe. No space for the player to wonder, to dream, to play in the space. The narrative is compelled to suffocate iself on itself, to take up all space, to swallow itself whole in its making. One very minor (so far?) side character has some interesting dialogue in this one dream world, and I think "oh that's neat", and then I learn they're lines taken wholesale from a book (and I think that's fine, reference is fine, but I have a bit of a chuckle over the fact that this character is the reason why the game has a giant REFERENCES option in the main menu). The literal first minute of the game is a bird telling you "oh my god, the title of this game, right? why'd they spell it like that? so fucking dumb, am I right!" It feels insecure. It reads like the writing has no confidence in itself. It has to make a comment about how silly and video-gamey it is, roll its eyes at itself, mock itself for the thing it's doing while continuing to do it without addressing it or discussing it or doing anything with it.
This is a pattern.
There's a specific part of "YIIK", at this early point in the game (we're only around the start[?] of chapter 2), that feels emblematic of the thing as a whole up to this point. Alex is getting phone calls from a stranger. They're confusing and weird and sound a little like something you might hear in a dream. They make references to some shared past, some childhood, some understanding of Alex, or maybe of you, the player. They've come up a few times. Every single time, I'm left thinking about what it could mean, how it fits in with everything we've seen so far & what the game seems to be talking about, with regards to connecting to other people and to yourself. It's a neat little thing. It's a neat idea. I'm charmed by it. As much as my thoughts on this game are largely negative, I still try to look at it fairly, to understand it, to talk about it, to let myself be surprised by it. As soon as I find myself thinking about this, my thoughts are immediately drowned out by Alex telling me how weird the phone call is, how random and uncanny and dumb this is, and how he's rolling his proverbial eyes about it, in spite of all the other paranormal happenings around him, for another period of Just Too Long. And I am sapped of all strength and I crumble to dust.
I'm genuinely transfixed. I'm transfixed! Maybe the fact that I wrote Paragraphs about the 4-or-5 hours I've seen of the game can tell you as much, even if you skip everything I wrote in them.
I can't wait to see more.
This, too, is a pattern.
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pizza tower is so damn genius for doing the obligatory “protagonist has to face an enemy who is just them but Evil” trope but not like in a mario-wario or sonic-shadow way where it’s like an edgy version of the good character where their morals are flipped on their head, and it’s instead some fucking john carpenters the thing body horror failed clone of your silly little guy and his face is melting off and his proportions are unsettling and weird and he speaks in gibberish it feels exactly like stumbling across something from a 2000’s era creepypasta that is the coolest way i have seen that trope subverted. awesome and hard as hell
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Mario x Dk and Luigi x Bowser double date headcanons! :D
(that's how you say it right?)
Hell Yeah
It's Peach's suggestion
It's always Peach's suggestion
Both couples have been dating for a couple months
Luigi is supportive of Mario and DK's relationship, and Mario is reluctantly supportive of Luigi and Bowser
Mario has come to a truce with Bowser since he started dating Luigi, but its' still a little weird hanging out with him.
Bowser and DK have an oddly neutral relationship
They're not enemies, but they have no reason to like each other either
They've maybe had three conversations and they've never even been alone together
It's hard for it to not be the most awkward date ever
For the first date they decide to be classy and do dinner (nice little picnic so toads don't freak out by seeing Bowser)
None of them know what to talk about
Like, at all
Luigi and Mario start talking about their childhood and mutual people they know in order to break the silence
Bowser and DK just stare at each other
Bowser/DK: should I be contributing to the conversation??? is this awkward for them???
After a couple of minutes Luigi stops to ask DK a question about the Kong kingdom
He doesn't respond for 15 seconds
(He sits there blinking and is just kinda shocked that he's been addressed)
And then... oh boy
He doesn't shut up
DK just starts talking about anything and everything. Kart rides, childhood stories, being an heir to a kingdom, etc.
And when it comes to running a kingdom, that's Bowser's territory
So now two people that have never even been left in the same room together are absolutely dominating the conversation
DK: It's impossible to get anyone in the entire Kong army to listen to instructions for even 5 seconds
Bowser: Please, you have no idea what it's like working with Goombas
And now, it's Mario and Luigi that are staring at each other
Only for a minute, and then they just smile and turn away
And now instead of looking at each other, they're now looking at their significant others
They're just so glad that the people they've come to love feel comfortable being themselves that they couldn't care less whether or not they're taking part in the conversation.
For the rest of the night it's just Bowser and DK talking to each other and becoming unlikely bros
Later, Bowser and DK apologize for not including Luigi and Mario in the majority of conversations had that night
They couldn't care less
#just picturing dk and bowser staring at each other awkwardly#brings a smile to my face#i think it's so funny if it's just the most awkward date ever#but also if it's somehow the best date ever#i love the idea of bowser and dk somehow becoming bffs#they never would have if not for their partner#but now because of them#they not only have a significant other but a best friend#mario x donkey kong#dk x mario#mariokong#mario movie#super mario bros movie#bowser x luigi#bowuigi
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Name: Outmaway
Debut: Super Mario Bros. Wonder
It's officially been over a month since Super Mario Bros. Wonder was released, meaning our embargo for covering its plethora of new enemies has been lifted!
Or at least, that's what it looks like on your end. Hi! I'm Mod Hooligon from a month ago, and I'm writing this post on October 21, 2023, having beat the game just earlier today and going "Wowie-zowie! That was Super Mario Bros. Wonderful! Those sure were some Weird Mario Enemies Dot Tumblr Dot Com! Time to write posts about them that won't be published for another month instead of finishing my galaxy rankings like I should be doing!"
Anyhoo, to kick things off, let's talk about Outmaway! Right off the bat, Outmaway makes a great first impression with all the hallmarks of a good enemy: cute little creature, Eyes-in-a-Black-Void-Face, funny name, and the trademark Mario Enemy Shoes. It's such a Video Game Enemy Design in all the best possible ways.
If you couldn't tell from the fact I bolded the word earlier in the post, Outmaways love to kick things that are in their way that should be the name of the enemy we're talking about. Or maybe they hate it. It's hard to tell when they have a serious case of resting cute enemy angry eyes.
Regardless of how they feel about their lot in life, kicking things out of their way is what Outmaways do best, whether it's blocks of ice or Koopa shells. Do you ever think of how often you kick Koopa shells to take out rows of enemies? Well Outmaway is here to turn the tables, and show you how it feels! You can try throwing a shell at it, but don't say I didn't warn you...
Of course, if you're a fellow Weird Mario Enemies Afficionado who read the line about it kicking around ice blocks, you might be thinking "Hey, that's kind of like Buster Beetle, isn't it?"
Indeed, Outmaway is the second enemy to join the exclusive club of "2D Mario Platformer Enemies That Attack By Using Ice Blocks As Projectiles." But can the two co-exist peacefully, or is Outmaway here to steal Buster's job...?
As we mentioned in our original post on Buster Beetle, the decision to make Buster Beetle a Buzzy Beetle relative feels weird and arbitrary given how little the enemies have in common. And if you couldn't guess from our blog title, we love weird and arbitrary! But it is a questionable choice from a game design perspective, given you'd expect a Buzzy Beetle relative to behave like a Buzzy Beetle. It's very possible that this is why Buster has been missing in action since Super Mario Bros. 3, and that Outmaway is less stealing Buster's job than filling an opening.
Regardless of how you feel about Outmaway replacing Buster Beetle as Mario's voice actor, I think it's a great enemy, and I hope it can become a Mario Mainstay. When it comes to new Weird Mario Enemies, it can be difficult to tell which will stick around. Some of them rise to the occasion, like Goombrat, while others go the way of the Dondon...
I'm hoping for an ideal world, where we can play as Outmaway in Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash 2! It doesn't even use a racket, it just kicks the ball back.
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Mario: I just don't understand what you see in him bro, its just so weird you'd date our greatest enemy.
Luigi:
Luigi: *calmly takes out phone and starts scrolling*
Mario: ...
Mario: What are you-
Luigi: 2018; group chat. You posted 'Bowsette? More like Bow Wow'
Mario: Stop-
Luigi: 'I'd let Bowsette kidnapp me any day-'
Mario: STOP-
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When Bowser has to save Luigi
Bowser doesn’t do peach kidnapping anymore. He’s got his boyfriend, Luigi, now. They’re just not sure if it’s safe to tell anyone. Bowser has a lot of enemies and he doesn’t think Mario could protect him. What Bowser DOES do though is cause some mischief. Maybe kidnap other less important people. Just to get the boys to come over and he could spend some extra time with his secret boyfriend. But then one day Mario comes alone and during Mario’s long rant about how Bowser should stop being a nuisance and focus on his own kingdom (Bowser never pays attention to what Mario says) Bowser interrupts him asking where Luigi is. Weird question, Mario thought, told Bowser he didn’t know. He’s been gone for like two days now though. Bowser,rightfully so, freaked out at him asking why he wouldn’t care. Mario says Luigi is a grown man and he disappears for days all the time. Bowser shouts, without thinking, that those times are different because those times Luigi is with Bowser! Seething with anger he doesn’t realize what he said until Mario questions him. Being too frustrated and scared for Luigi’s life he doesn’t respond to Mario and storms out. Mario following behind. Bowser uses intimidation and arcana to find Luigi. He has been kidnapped by soemoen they have never felt with before. Bowser and Mario work together to rescue Luigi. Bowsers Luigi and says he’s never going to let Luigi out of his sight again. That Luigi is going to love into the castle. They all have a heart to heart about Luigi and bowser’s relationship. Bowser also invites Mario to stay at the castle. Mario refuses saying just cuz he’s sleeping with his brother doesn’t mean he has to like him. Bowser says thank goodness because he also hates Mario’s guts. Luigi smiles and says awww my boys are bonding. They do the no we’re not! Thing where they say it at the same time. Along with stop copying, no you, and UGH!! Hard cut to when they’re at home Luigi says how bowser could have rescued me all by himself. Why include Mario. Bowser says he doesn’t know what Luigi is talking about. Luigi just smiles and says thank you.
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Bad End AU lore question, do the other know that Super Dimentio is both Luigi and Dimentio?
If they do, can they tell who's in control? And how do they feel about them/what's their dynamic? I'm guessing Bowser prefers Luigi just because of how annoying the clown is
I'm also really curious about the Shadow Queen, is it like Super Dimentio with the queen never letting Peach take control, or is Peach completely dormant since it's possession and not a fusion? (If i remember the game correctly)
And how does Luigi feel about it? Having to hang out with an enemy wearing his friend's face?
This is going to be a long one, so long I've put it under 'read more'. Alright, here goes!
1. For a while no, they don't know!
When they initially meet, Shadow Queen literally has no idea who this is, she does recognise the poncho though. The only thing that's clear to her then and there is that this person is connected to the thief, she just doesn't know exactly how yet. However Bowser does recognise the mustache and the hat, saying it's the brother of his old enemy who's named Luigi.
And that's how it kind of stays for a while. They know him as just Luigi.
Soon enough the weird behaviour rears it's head. He starts talking to seemingly himself, changing expressions and voice tone, contrasting the one before, on the spot during discussions, tolerating something and then suddenly acting malicious towards it. Fighting with himself even, you'd be just doing something and he appears for a split second slamming himself against the wall then vanishing.
Peach certainly figures out what's going on. From there forward she manages to overhear Dimentios name and also confirms that the thief still has the Chaos Heart. While Bowser is aware of the strange behaviour and everything he can't quite name why it happens. He explains it to himself as the brother simply going crazy after the disappearance of Mario.
2. There are two ways to tell who's in control at the moment. The first one is what helps the most often.
Body language. Observation is key, and luckily for others Luigis and Dimentios old habits die hard.
Dimentio is loud spoken and likes to make jabs at others. His tone is most often sly, which also shows on his face with a sharp grin and squinted eyes. His gestures are more elegant alongside the general way he moves. He still prefers floating to walking and uses magic for the smallest of inconveniences. If any of these traits are present it's most likely Dimentio that you're looking at!
Luigi's more soft spoken and doesn't speak in 'riddles'. He tends to have his eyes fully open and his expressions, like his smile, are generally less exaggerated. He's the type to walk and jump everywhere, not relying on magic because he 1.never needed it before and 2. still perfectly can't use it. He tends to hunch over and has a tendency to trip. If you're not being currently insulted and belittled in the weirdest way imaginable, congrats! You're talking to Luigi!
This isn't always very reliable buuuut sometimes this can happen:
The default tint of the eyes is blue, either it's Luigi specifically or they're acting in mutual agreement it remains that way. However when it's more of Dimentio speaking there's a chance for this hue to alter. As I mentioned this is a bit unreliable because it's already hard to notice in the first place since its such a slight difference and lighting can mess with how it appears.
3. Peach likes to exploit others for her gain, and she quickly learns that getting something from this one won't be easy. Trying to trick a trickster such as Dimentio seems like an impossible task, a raccoon and fox trying to fool eachother basically deal. That leaves Luigi but guess what, not that much better with him either. The 'brother of a fallen hero' is smarter than he looks, albeit a little more open minded to small suggestions. She overall has a slight preference towards Dimentio though, she finds him very fascinating. And that's exactly why he tries to ignore her when he can pfff
Bowser definitely prefers when Luigi acts like y'know, Luigi. Just like you said, he finds the other one annoying. Bowsers relationship with Luigi is overall weird, while he's very irritated by the clowns antics and wouldn't mind shutting him up for good, he can't help but feel some sort of sympathy. These two have a bit of history, whether it be direct or more because of Mario, and it just might be enough to make Bowser not absolutely despise him and have at least a smidge of patience and understanding.
4. As you mentioned yes it's possession, and not a fusion. Peach's mind, unlike Luigis, is dormant. Some of her behaviours can shine through but it's mostly remnants. If you're curious I'll just say it as a fun fact: if you managed to somehow rip out/get rid of the Shadow Queen from the body, Peach would come back like from a long nap. You can probably imagine how'd she react to everything that's happened while she was gone... yeah...
5. Not fun. Since only Luigi knew who Peach was before, all the attachment comes from him. She has gone from someone he could talk to about everyday life, meet up to play normal games while not risking his health and just have an overall great time with, to a person who he's sure would dissect him on a table if given an opportunity. He's not wrong.
He still calls her Princess despite her insisting on Queen. He does it as a memento of the past, while Dimentio calls her Princess just to make her even more upset.
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Who is your favorite Nintendo villain (Bowser, Ganondorf, Dedede, Ridley, King K. Krool, etc.) and why?
I feel like the snarky "aren't I clever?" answer would be to say Edelgard from Fire Emblem Three Houses, because that's a Nintendo game from a Nintendo franchise, and while Edelgard is more morally complicated than the "villain" label would suggest, she nonetheless is designed to be villain-coded both in general and by the very specific tropes and archetypes that Fire Emblem itself has developed. And since Edelgard is one of my favorite character of all time AND plays with the concept of villainy in so many different ways depending on all the different routes you can take in the game, she'd be my favorite villain character from a Nintendo franchise - because my favorite villains are the ones who take the coding of villains in culture and make you question what truly makes one villainous.
But I'm going to assume the intent of this question is, like, less obscure villains, villains who'd appear in Nintendo branding. Smash Bros and Mario Cart villains, right?
In which case my answer would be Bowser. I love how he evolved from a very simple and basic villain concept - big fire-breathing dragon who steals a princess - into something a lot weirder and more specific, both in appearance and especially personality. Bowser is one of my favorite examples of a villain from children's media and specifically a recurring villain from children's media, because like the best villains of that specific subsection of culture, he's ultimately less a true evil doer and more a metaphor for a temperamental and antisocial kid on the playground. He's selfish and throws tantrums and acts rude, but he's not genuinely wicked - he is, in his own misguided way, seeking out a social connection with others. There's something deeply pitiable and even lovable about Bowser - we all have our days where we want to stamp our feet and shoot fire out our mouth in frustration, or wish we could just tell everyone to fuck off as we take what we want. We shouldn't, of course, but we all feel that way, and Bowser shows us both why we shouldn't and, more importantly, why having those monster-moments doesn't mean we're beyond turning over a new leaf.
Because yeah, Bowser may be a jerk who causes problems on purpose, but no one really hates him. Mario and the gang still invite him to play board games and participate in their go-kart races. He is, in a weird way, as much their friend as their enemy, and that's wonderful. And, in its own very simple way, this makes you ask the question: what truly makes someone villainous? Because if the big fire-breathing princess-kidnapping monster can have a good guy deep down beneath the scales and the bluster, then can we really write anyone off as just evil?
Also Bowser looks cool as hell.
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