Spitballing Ideas for Fan Works

[Le Mario Bro]

Hello! I'm MarioBro364! You may remember me from classic films such as "Clipboard 3: Paperclip's revenge" and "All American Joystick."

Today, I'm going to take you on a journey... across a spooky land... while you hold in your haaaaaands... a sword that shoots lazerbeams!

*smack'd*

KK: Get on with it!

Me: *still groggy from smack* Hmm... Yes.

Anyway... A journey that can only be traversed through the use of creative liscences and ideas to try and mold and shape works of Art and Lit in order to immortilize our greatest hero, Mario.

So cop a squat and let's get on with the show! *flumps down onto beanbag chair*

[kingkoopa]

Ideas?...

Mario tries to help his friend Mickey Mouse become a popular video game star by showing him that Disney isn't the only place with forgotten characters. (Takes place in the Video Game Wasteland)

[Le Mario Bro]

!!SPOILER ALERT!!

The game ends with Mickey finally realizing his worth and going to Nintendo and requesting a new adventure for the Wii which, incidentally, ends up becoming Epic Mickey.

[1up]

Thanks for the thread, mariobro364 (or should I say Troy McClure?)!

Give me a few minutes (EDIT: more like hours), and I'll be back to throwdown some ideas for Chronicles of the Mushroom Kingdom. =)

[kingkoopa]

Another idea is Mario and Banjo teaming up to take down Microsoft. They must face an army of Spartans, Space Marines, and 24 year old lifeless Live players. The final boss is Bill Gates

[1up]

Okay, guys. I'm finally ready to share my plans for my fan-fic of epic proportions that I mentioned on my other thread!

Before I begin, please keep in mind that I'll probably accidentally skip over a few things in this initial post, since I'm rushing to get it up. So, I urge you all to ask me to explain certain areas that interest you, that way I'll be able to articulate certain aspects of my story more elaborately.

Also note that this is the first time that I've organized these notes for others to read. So, please forgive me if they seem a bit scattered.

Anyway, enough of my stalling. Let's get to it, shall we?


Chronicles of the Mushroom Kingdom

Concept:
Basically, as I said in the other thread, Chronicles of the Mushroom Kingdom (or CotMK, for short) is going to be an epic re-tooling of the Marioverse. It will have a very high-fantasy feel to it, much akin to The Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia. It will be more maturely written than a typical Mario story, but not so dark and mature that it betrays the source material (i.e. cursing or graphic violence). A good parallel for the tone and feel of this story would be Avatar: The Last Airbender (or maybe even Star Wars). It's deep and provocative enough so that teens and adults can enjoy it, but it doesn't alienate children, it's main audience, in the process. It's a story that (hopefully) everyone can get something out of.

My overall goal in writing this fan-fic is to prove that there is, in fact, a rich lore in the Mario series that can lend itself to a deep and compelling narrative, if executed properly. This will be done with the minimal addition of original characters or locations (save maybe the Mario Bros.'s unnamed parents and such). Almost everything that I use in this story will have already been used in an official piece of Mario media at some point. Even if it may seem like I'm making up a character or location, chances are that I'm not. I'm just taking a pre-existing aspect of the Marioverse and reorganizing it to fit my story's needs.

Setting:
The setting for the vast majority of this story is the world of Sarasa (named after Sarasaland, in Super Mario Land). I felt that "The Mushroom World" was a bit too plain sounding for a fantasy epic, so I opted to change it to this name instead. I also thought that naming it after Sarasaland would be obscure enough to make it sound original, without angering any hardcore fans.

The world of Sarasa is ruled over by four distinct Kingdoms. These consist of:

Birabuto - The Mushroom Kingdom
Ruled over by the Toadstool Royal Family. Currently ruled by Princess Toadstool. It encompasses a variety of natural formations, including dry mountains and valleys, forests, and even a large portion of the ocean. Its capital is Toad Town.

Muda - The Kong Kingdom
Ruled over by the Kong Dynasty. Technically, its current ruler is the young king, Donkey Kong. But, the Council of Elders, his advisers, usually handle most of the decision-making. Rather than being a whole continent, it is a chain of closely grouped islands (one of which is said to be the original home of the Yoshis). It is mostly composed of lush jungles and tropical beaches. Its capital is the village of Congo Bongo.

Easton - The Bean Kingdom
Ruled over by the Beanbean Royal Family. Currently ruled by Queen Bean with assistance from her son, Prince Peasly, and her lady-at-court, Lady Lima. It is the smallest kingdom in size, geography-wise. Its capital is the city of Oho.

Chai - The Sky Kingdom
Ruled over by the Nimbus Royal Family. Currently ruled by King Nimbus and Queen Nimbus, who have a son, Prince Mallow. It is a civilization in the clouds and the largest kingdom in size, encompassing almost all of Sarasa's sky. Its capital is the city of Mid-air.

As you can see, all of the kingdoms are named after the worlds in Super Mario Land as well.

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Well, it's getting pretty late and I'm getting pretty sleepy, so I'll save the "Story Elements" section for tomorrow. But, I hope to see some feedback on what you've read so far when I awaken tomorrow morning. So, until then, good night, all. =)

[Le Mario Bro]

*scans story up and down*

No Koopa Kingdom?

[1up]

I was actually wrestling with the idea of whether or not to have an established "Koopa Kingdom" for quite some time. But, I decided not to.

Here's what I was thinking: Bowser's lack of a kingdom for his own race is partially what sparked his desire to conquer the other Kingdoms. This is what started the Great War, that I mentioned on the other thread (in this story, Koopas age a lot slower than the other races, so Bowser is much older than Mario, Luigi, and Peach). In this war, the Mario Bros.'s biological parents and King Toadstool (Peach's father) are among the many casualties that were suffered. Eventually, the Koopa Clan (or Horde, I can't decide) and the Kingdoms formed a Treaty, for the war had taken a heavy toll on all parties involved. The Koopas were given dominion over The Darklands (named after Dark Land from Super Mario Bros. 3), a vast, mountainous wasteland. The Border was formed and the Koopas were never allowed to cross over it, as mandated by The Treaty.

Since Bowser doesn't really have a Kingdom in this story, he is referred to as "Lord Bowser", rather than the usual "King Bowser".


Anyway, I'll try to put up that "Story Elements" section later, when I get another spare moment. =)

[Le Mario Bro]

I really like the sound of the Koopa Horde. Keep it up, 1-up!

...*snerk* ...P-puns... *guffaws*

[1up]

*falmpalms*

Lol. But, thanks!

I like the sound of the "Koopa Horde", as well. It's really starting to grow on me!

[Le Mario Bro]

Yeah, "Koopa Horde" tends to remind me of "Mongol Horde," which makes them sound a lot more savage and rag-tagish. I like it.

[kingkoopa]

They're takin the hobbits to Eisingard!

I'm sorry... just had to bring that up when I heard Lord of the Rings.

But I like the concept so far, but I haven't seen much mention of the Yoshi's yet. I hope you are going to include them.

[SMBBQ]

Pretty cool idea, 1up.

Annoying Question: Are you going to refer to DK as the same from DK Arcde, or as a grown DK Jr? I'm asking this because I've seen people say otherwise.

[1up]

SMBBQ
The DK in this story is the one that was introduced in Donkey Kong Country, the one that we're all used to (in other words, grown DK Jr.). Cranky Kong will be his grandfather (EDIT: his uncle) and the head of the Council of Elders.

kingkoopa
Oh, Yoshis are most definitely going to play a big role in this story, but in a way that's a bit different from the games. They won't have a culture (i.e. a chief and a village). Rather, they'll act as mounts, taking on the role that horses would in any other fantasy epic. However, they still have personalities and are far smarter than horses (they can understand what people are saying to them, they just lack the ability to talk). Also, they won't say "Yoshi".

[SMBBQ]

But Cranky is DK's father, not grandfather...

[1up]

Not in this story he's not. =p

One thing that's always bothered me: if Cranky Kong is Donkey Kong Jr.'s father, why isn't he named Donkey Kong Sr.?

I know that they're the same character in the games, but in this story, they'll be two seperate characters (since the name change has always bugged me). Also, scratch Cranky being his grandfather. I forgot that I changed him to DK's uncle.

[SMBBQ]

Well, I doubt Cranky is his real name, more like an affectionate nickname (even if he's not). Same goes for Tiny, Funky, Chunky, and Wrinkly.

Other than that minor complaint, it sounds really awesome. Go for it!

[1up]

Well, here it is (finally): The first part to the "Story Elements" of my fan-fic!

Story Element #1 - The Creation Myth:
Here's where I'm probably going to start skimming through things a bit. Like I said, please ask me to expound on certain things and I'll be happy to do so.

- The world of Sarasa was created by a goddess named Vim, Mother of the Stars (named after the life force of the Toad species, in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time). It was she who gave birth to The 7 Star Spirits, Sarasa's deities/celestial guardians. Each Star Spirit represented one of the seven orders that Vim divined as being the governing forces of all worlds:

Eldstar, Star Spirit of Wisdom - the acquisition and understanding of knowledge, including anything that can be learned or remembered.

Mamar, Star Spirit of Energy - the vital force which animates creation and allows for the changing of all things.

Skolar, Star Spirit of Fate - the inevitable chain of events destined to occur through the passage of time.

Muskular, Star Spirit of Conflict - the interactions of things with other things and the new things arising thereof.

Misstar, Star Spirit of Nature - the growth and evolution of living things, and everything that can be said to have a soul.

Klevar, Star Spirit of Time - the cyclical flow of existence and the fated events to transpire in order of their happening.

Kalmar, Star Spirit of Dimension - the dual directionality of the fabric of existence, allowing things which exist to exist, and preventing things which do not exist from existing.

Immediately following the birth of her offspring, Vim vanished - entrusting the safeguarding of Sarasa to The Star Spirits.

- The Queen of Shadows (or The Shadow Queen, from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door), Vim's sister, grew jealous of her sister's creations. She was unhappy with her existence and yearned to birth a realm of her own. But, she knew that this could never be. While Vim was the giver of life, The Queen of Shadows could only harbor death. The Queen knew nothing of creation or being, only chaos and entropy. It was this simple truth that fueled her hatred and envy for her sister.
The Queen, out of spite, began to undo Vim's works one-by-one, giving each of them to oblivion. She did so, unchallenged, for ages, until she came upon Sarasa, her sister's most coveted world. It was here that a clash of godly proportions unfolded between The Queen of Shadows and The Star Spirits...

-----------------------------------------

Hoo boy... That's enough for now. I need to go take a breather!

I'll take a little break and be back to post more later. =)

[Le Mario Bro]

12:26 AM?! Do you even sleep, 1-up?!

I love the certain jobs that the Star Spirits are in charge of. AND the fact that the Shadow Queen is Vim's sister.

...Two things that bug me though.

One, isn't it the four legendary heros that defeat the Shadow Queen and not the Star Spirits?

And two, where do the other stars come into play? You know, the Lumas, Star Sprites, Power Stars and all that jazz?

[1up]

lol. Well, I live in California. It was only 8:26 PM over here, when I posted it. =p

And the Four Legendary Heroes are going to have a stake in defeating her (The Star Spirits initially fail to fend her off). I just haven't gotten there yet.

Also, in this story, the Four Heroes are going to be dubbed "The Starborn" (as kind of a play on The Star Children, from Yoshi's Island DS). One of them (a man) was actually an ancestor of the Mario Bros. Another (a woman) was an ancestor of the Toadstool Royal Family.

And are there such things as "Star Sprites" in the Mario series (yet)? I only know of the "Shine Sprites" from SMS.