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Description
Here's a project that I've been wanting to do for a while. The Super Mario franchise is very dear to me, having grown up playing Super Mario Bros. on the NES and following the series up to Super Mario Odyssey. Unlike some other Nintendo franchises, Mario has a very loose continuity with a lot of conflict bits of lore. For my Mario AU, I've drawn on various sources and some fan theories. The big twist of my AU is that the main conflict isn't between Mario and Bowser or even Peach and Bowser, but between the Mushroom People and the Goombas. I don't want this to be a Grimdark or portray the heroes as the "real villains," but I don't want the conflict to be so black and white. And I want a reason why Bowser is both a villain in one game and golfing/tennis/go karting partner in another. For the character designs, I'm going for a blend of that classic cartoonish look with some semi-realism. And to start things off, I've began with the four playable characters from Super Mario Bros. 2.

NEXT: Koopa Empire

LEFT TO RIGHT:
Mario Mario
Luigi Mario
Toad
Princess Peach Toadstool

(UPDATE: I've changed Kinopio's name back to Toad and the Toads to Mushroom People.)

The Mushroom World is a parallel world to our own. The Mushroom Kingdom is a merger of two neighboring lands, Mushroom Land and Grass Land. The two are very similar to one another, having rolling hills, grassy fields, rivers, and forests. The main difference is that Mushroom Land has the iconic forests of towering mushrooms and is home to the Goombas. Grass Land is home to the humans of the Mushroom World. The two lands merged to become the Mushroom Kingdom when the Goombas and humans began trading. The Goombas harvested the healing mushrooms (the red and green mushroom power-ups in the games) and traded them to the humans while the humans provided them better technology and magic. Since Goombas have no arms, they're limited in their technology and had previously lived in tribes.
With access to magic, the Goombas took on more humanoid forms, becoming the Mushroom Folk. In this AU, they are akin to Hobbits or Gnomes, being completely humanoid but shorter in stature than humans. Their mushroom caps are actually turbans. Since they also wear vests and those wear diaper-like bottoms, I made their clothing in this AU look Arabian. This works as a reference to Doki Doki Panic/Super Mario Bros. 2 and also to how early art of the Mushroom King has him wearing a turban and robes. In the Super Mario Bros. 3 cartoon, Grass Land is conflated with the Mushroom Kingdom. And in the game SMB3, the King of Grass Land also wears a turban, looking similar to the artwork of the Mushroom King. In my headcanon and in this AU, the King of Grass Land is King Toadstool.
While most of the Goombas became Mushroom Folk, some resisted the change, preferring their simpler lifestyle and the traditions of their tribes. This is why we see good Goombas living peacefully in the Mushroom Kingdom in the Paper Mario games. But there is a portion of the population that aggressively opposes the Grass Lander occupation of their lands and resent the Mushroom People, seeing them as traitors. After generations, they try to rise against the Royal Family but lack the power to overthrow King Toadstool and his daughter, Princess Peach. When all attempts at a peaceful resolution fail, King Toadstool is forced to banish the rebel Goombas. That's why they sided with the Koopa Empire.
I'll go into more detail on Bowser and the Koopas on their own entry, but in this AU, Bowser isn't the outright villain. He wants to marry Peach and by doing so annex the Mushroom Kingdom into the Empire but so far has had every proposal rejected. So when the outcast Goombas came to him asking for help in overthrowing King Toadstool, he agrees. The superior might and magic of the Koopa Empire quickly overcomes the Mushroom Kingdom's defenses and Bowser conquers them. But before he can marry Princess Peach in order to legitimize his rule, that's when the Mario Brothers show up and rescue the Princess.
Going back to early days of the franchise, the Mario Brothers are Italian Americans from Brooklyn. Being humans from the real world, their last name will be "Mario." But as in the games, they're twins with Mario being older, more adventurous brother and Luigi being the younger, more timid brother. Their coming to the Mushroom World was by accident. As seen in the arcade game Mario Bros., they were working a job in the sewers of New York when they suddenly encounter strange creatures coming out of the pipes. Entering a mysterious large pipe to find the source of the monsters, they discover that it is actually a warp to the Mushroom World. They decided to stay in the Mushroom Kingdom after rescuing Princess Peach from King Bowser.
Even before becoming heroes, Mario and Luigi were naturally gifted with special powers. Despite their average appearances and their somewhat paunchy bodies, they're capable of great feats of strength and athleticism. Calling back to the remake of Yoshi's Island, Mario and Luigi are two of the "Seven Star Children," having been born with extraordinary powers and great destinies. Perhaps the reason why they stayed in the Mushroom Kingdom was because they felt they were needed there. When the Mario Bros. aren't saving the day as heroes, they work and live in New Donk City as plumbers because that's where they'll find the most business. New Donk City will also be in the Mushroom Kingdom and has the highest density of the human population. While they're friends with the Mushroom People and Mario is in love with Peach, they feel more at home surrounded by the familiar sights of skyscrapers. The events of the games would go Mario Bros.> Super Mario Bros.> Donkey Kong. In the events of Donkey Kong, Mario saves Mayor Pauline of New Donk City from Donkey Kong.
For the brothers' designs, I took inspiration for the Super Mario Super Show. Underneath their overalls they wear button up shirts, but I had their colors match their official colors. While I had Mario's face look like his classic design, his sleeves are rolled up and his shirt is less buttoned like Lou Albano's Mario. I tried to incorporate some Danny Wells into Luigi's design in his hair, face, and more neat appearance than Mario. Mario stands at 5'1" and Luigi is 5'9".
In this AU, Toad name will be his name, not the species. It would be confusing for him to have the same name as his people. So they are the Mushroom People/Folk. As part of the custom of the Mushroom Kingdom, the Mushroom People wear spotted turban to resemble mushroom caps. As in the games, the Mushroom Folk are pacifistic, relying on the magic of the Royal Family or heroes like the Mario Brothers to defend them. I debated on the color for Kinopio's turban. I thought about making the spots blue as a reference to SMB2 and Super Mario 3D World, but decided to keep them red. He works in the Royal Palace as a retainer of the Toadstool Family. Due to their small size and pacifism, the Mushroom People are naturally a timid people. But Toad is the exception, often volunteering to assist the Mario Brothers or even join them on their adventures. Toad is 3'5" but looks slightly taller due to his turban. Like the Hobbits, all Mushroom Folk range between 3 to 4 feet tall.
Princess Peach Toadstool is the only child of the Mushroom King and heir to the throne. She and Mario begin a romantic relationship after he rescues her, but their relationship starts off slow. Bowser tries to court her too, but she doesn't love him. While her father is the king, she takes on more and more responsibilities as she prepares to become queen one day. While good natured, Peach's father is rather oblivious. That is why it's better for Peach to be the de facto ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. While her early English name of "Princess Toadstool" has largely been forgotten, Toadstool will here be the name of the Royal Family. She is also one of the Seven Star Children, her gift is being blessed with potent healing and defensive magic. Princess Peach is 6' tall.

(C)Super Mario and related characters by Nintendo

Description
Here's a project that I've been wanting to do for a while. The Super Mario franchise is very dear to me, having grown up playing Super Mario Bros. on the NES and following the series up to Super Mario Odyssey. Unlike some other Nintendo franchises, Mario has a very loose continuity with a lot of conflict bits of lore. For my Mario AU, I've drawn on various sources and some fan theories. The big twist of my AU is that the main conflict isn't between Mario and Bowser or even Peach and Bowser, but between the Mushroom People and the Goombas. I don't want this to be a Grimdark or portray the heroes as the "real villains," but I don't want the conflict to be so black and white. And I want a reason why Bowser is both a villain in one game and golfing/tennis/go karting partner in another. For the character designs, I'm going for a blend of that classic cartoonish look with some semi-realism. And to start things off, I've began with the four playable characters from Super Mario Bros. 2.

NEXT: Koopa Empire

LEFT TO RIGHT:
Mario Mario
Luigi Mario
Toad
Princess Peach Toadstool

(UPDATE: I've changed Kinopio's name back to Toad and the Toads to Mushroom People.)

The Mushroom World is a parallel world to our own. The Mushroom Kingdom is a merger of two neighboring lands, Mushroom Land and Grass Land. The two are very similar to one another, having rolling hills, grassy fields, rivers, and forests. The main difference is that Mushroom Land has the iconic forests of towering mushrooms and is home to the Goombas. Grass Land is home to the humans of the Mushroom World. The two lands merged to become the Mushroom Kingdom when the Goombas and humans began trading. The Goombas harvested the healing mushrooms (the red and green mushroom power-ups in the games) and traded them to the humans while the humans provided them better technology and magic. Since Goombas have no arms, they're limited in their technology and had previously lived in tribes.
With access to magic, the Goombas took on more humanoid forms, becoming the Mushroom Folk. In this AU, they are akin to Hobbits or Gnomes, being completely humanoid but shorter in stature than humans. Their mushroom caps are actually turbans. Since they also wear vests and those wear diaper-like bottoms, I made their clothing in this AU look Arabian. This works as a reference to Doki Doki Panic/Super Mario Bros. 2 and also to how early art of the Mushroom King has him wearing a turban and robes. In the Super Mario Bros. 3 cartoon, Grass Land is conflated with the Mushroom Kingdom. And in the game SMB3, the King of Grass Land also wears a turban, looking similar to the artwork of the Mushroom King. In my headcanon and in this AU, the King of Grass Land is King Toadstool.
While most of the Goombas became Mushroom Folk, some resisted the change, preferring their simpler lifestyle and the traditions of their tribes. This is why we see good Goombas living peacefully in the Mushroom Kingdom in the Paper Mario games. But there is a portion of the population that aggressively opposes the Grass Lander occupation of their lands and resent the Mushroom People, seeing them as traitors. After generations, they try to rise against the Royal Family but lack the power to overthrow King Toadstool and his daughter, Princess Peach. When all attempts at a peaceful resolution fail, King Toadstool is forced to banish the rebel Goombas. That's why they sided with the Koopa Empire.
I'll go into more detail on Bowser and the Koopas on their own entry, but in this AU, Bowser isn't the outright villain. He wants to marry Peach and by doing so annex the Mushroom Kingdom into the Empire but so far has had every proposal rejected. So when the outcast Goombas came to him asking for help in overthrowing King Toadstool, he agrees. The superior might and magic of the Koopa Empire quickly overcomes the Mushroom Kingdom's defenses and Bowser conquers them. But before he can marry Princess Peach in order to legitimize his rule, that's when the Mario Brothers show up and rescue the Princess.
Going back to early days of the franchise, the Mario Brothers are Italian Americans from Brooklyn. Being humans from the real world, their last name will be "Mario." But as in the games, they're twins with Mario being older, more adventurous brother and Luigi being the younger, more timid brother. Their coming to the Mushroom World was by accident. As seen in the arcade game Mario Bros., they were working a job in the sewers of New York when they suddenly encounter strange creatures coming out of the pipes. Entering a mysterious large pipe to find the source of the monsters, they discover that it is actually a warp to the Mushroom World. They decided to stay in the Mushroom Kingdom after rescuing Princess Peach from King Bowser.
Even before becoming heroes, Mario and Luigi were naturally gifted with special powers. Despite their average appearances and their somewhat paunchy bodies, they're capable of great feats of strength and athleticism. Calling back to the remake of Yoshi's Island, Mario and Luigi are two of the "Seven Star Children," having been born with extraordinary powers and great destinies. Perhaps the reason why they stayed in the Mushroom Kingdom was because they felt they were needed there. When the Mario Bros. aren't saving the day as heroes, they work and live in New Donk City as plumbers because that's where they'll find the most business. New Donk City will also be in the Mushroom Kingdom and has the highest density of the human population. While they're friends with the Mushroom People and Mario is in love with Peach, they feel more at home surrounded by the familiar sights of skyscrapers. The events of the games would go Mario Bros.> Super Mario Bros.> Donkey Kong. In the events of Donkey Kong, Mario saves Mayor Pauline of New Donk City from Donkey Kong.
For the brothers' designs, I took inspiration for the Super Mario Super Show. Underneath their overalls they wear button up shirts, but I had their colors match their official colors. While I had Mario's face look like his classic design, his sleeves are rolled up and his shirt is less buttoned like Lou Albano's Mario. I tried to incorporate some Danny Wells into Luigi's design in his hair, face, and more neat appearance than Mario. Mario stands at 5'1" and Luigi is 5'9".
In this AU, Toad name will be his name, not the species. It would be confusing for him to have the same name as his people. So they are the Mushroom People/Folk. As part of the custom of the Mushroom Kingdom, the Mushroom People wear spotted turban to resemble mushroom caps. As in the games, the Mushroom Folk are pacifistic, relying on the magic of the Royal Family or heroes like the Mario Brothers to defend them. I debated on the color for Kinopio's turban. I thought about making the spots blue as a reference to SMB2 and Super Mario 3D World, but decided to keep them red. He works in the Royal Palace as a retainer of the Toadstool Family. Due to their small size and pacifism, the Mushroom People are naturally a timid people. But Toad is the exception, often volunteering to assist the Mario Brothers or even join them on their adventures. Toad is 3'5" but looks slightly taller due to his turban. Like the Hobbits, all Mushroom Folk range between 3 to 4 feet tall.
Princess Peach Toadstool is the only child of the Mushroom King and heir to the throne. She and Mario begin a romantic relationship after he rescues her, but their relationship starts off slow. Bowser tries to court her too, but she doesn't love him. While her father is the king, she takes on more and more responsibilities as she prepares to become queen one day. While good natured, Peach's father is rather oblivious. That is why it's better for Peach to be the de facto ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. While her early English name of "Princess Toadstool" has largely been forgotten, Toadstool will here be the name of the Royal Family. She is also one of the Seven Star Children, her gift is being blessed with potent healing and defensive magic. Princess Peach is 6' tall.

(C)Super Mario and related characters by Nintendo