About five months ago I gave Dal's paintbrush a little makeover. Can't remember the exact reason, but part of it was because a friend was under the impression that Dal could either summon the brush through his Shade Sprite, or his Shade Sprite turned into his brush whenever he used it.
These sketches (drawn those same five months ago, god I need to actually post things again-) go with the former idea. I liked it then, still like it now. Maybe this is how Dal accesses not just his brush, but his Key Items inventory as a whole- XD
Part of why the Human/Koopa version of Dalwig looks so stable is because Ludwig and Real Worlder!Dal usually just take turns controlling the body, with the one not in charge literally watching from the shadows. The shadow half is only seen and heard by the half controlling the body, so pretend phone calls happen frequently.
While it is easier than learning how to move at the same time, Ludwig has a bad habit of hogging his turn, much to Dal's chagrin. Bickering over when it's time to switch can lead to destabilization if they're not careful, so they try not to fight too much over it.
This pic was originally drawn in the mindset of "Ludwig gets found directly after Junior," but it's mostly scrapped in that regard.
Lud's behavior, on the other hand, is still fair game. After he's found, he refuses to get within ten feet of the humans despite his siblings' insistence that they're harmless. He starts keeping a Star Trek-style log of his time in the squishy bipeds' care, taking note of everyone's actions in case something fishy happens. Which it never does.
He's especially wary of "the purple one," as Dal's the one usually taking care of Junior and therefore the one who could easily harm the kid or otherwise take advantage of Junior's trust.
But at the same time... he can't help but be curious. He's never seen a "hyoo-man" before, and based on how the gang described their homeworld, it sounds like they're deathworlders. Which doesn't make any sense; deathworlders, like their name implies, are said to be much, much more vicious. All the time.
A different Dalwig fight, where despite the two halves regularly being at odds, they've reached their own little equilibrium: defeating a shared foe! With Dalex's stamina and Ludwig's magic skill, this Dalwig is sure to come out on top, no matter how long it takes them!
Think you're in trouble? The best way to get out of it is to find a way to make them bicker; despite their appearance implying otherwise, this hybrid is actually a bit unstable, with Dal's aversion to causing major injury being at war with Lud's inherent desire to go all out. Once they start an argument, Dalwig falls apart, giving you a chance to either turn the tables or make a run for it.
Dunno how far you'll get, especially if an angry Ludwig starts chasing after you, but it's worth a shot. =w="
Your name is Luigi. You've been living a pretty simple life, all things considered. You did pretty well in school, have a stable job, have loving parents, and are blessed with a twin brother that you can always count on, no matter what gets thrown at you.
You were pretty content with your life. Too bad aliens (which, apparently, are real) had to come along and snatch you away from it all.
You had trouble processing it at first. For a while, you figured the light that damn near blinded you and your brother was from a car, and now you were having some weird dream. Even when you awoke to find your hands bound and Mario angrily ranting in Italian at what you could only describe as a turtle clinging to a mini UFO, you initially wrote it off as a dream.
But then you heard whimpering from behind you. And when you turned to look, your heart practically dropped.
You and Mario weren't alone in the cell. There were two others; a teenage boy and what you assume was his dog. That was enough to throw your little dream theory out the window because really, what reason would you ever have to dream about some random kid and their pet?
Mario continued to rant and shout, and you had to call out to him a few times to get him to stop. Seeing the kid was enough to revert him to his trademark Big Brother Mode, and you both tried your best to reassure the younger boy that you both meant no harm.
The boy, who introduced himself as Dalex, explained that he and his dog Viridi have been held in this cell for several days. Like you and Mario, he'd seen a bright light before waking up here, unable to understand the creatures outside. Occasionally he would be brought into what he assumed was an examination room, poked and prodded a bit, and then sent back into the cell. Dalex didn't want to risk himself or Viridi getting hurt, so he just went along with whatever happened.
As Dalex told his tale, something began to well up inside you. You don't get angry often; that's always been Mario's thing. Even now you could see Mario start to glare again, the boy's words adding fuel to your brother's fire.
You really, really don't get angry often. But seeing this innocent kid in tears, scared and confused, held prisoner by beings you thought only existed in fantasy for reasons you can't fathom...
To put it lightly, you were furious.
Unlike Mario, you didn't show your ire. The last thing you wanted was to upset the kid even more; right now he needed a form of security. You made your way to his side, giving him the most awkward shoulder pat in the world (what with your bound hands and all), and told him that you and your brother would help him escape.
You didn't have an answer when Dalex asked "How?" but you were determined to find one, more than you'd ever been in your life.
Several hours later, all four of you were pulled from your cell, likely for an 'examination' as Dalex described earlier. You could hear the creatures talking between themselves, casting glances at the three of you before continuing. For some reason, some of them have a trace of... nervousness(?) cross their face, only for it to be gone as soon as it came. Most of those looks were directed at Mario, whose silent glare seemed to be enough to rattle these... things.
You all turn a corner and hear Dalex's breathing become more erratic. You hear him mumble that this isn't the way to the examination room. His dog whines, and you hear the poor boy sniffle.
Something in the back of your mind sparks. Like a lightning bolt just hit your brain.
You didn't know what awaited you at the end of this walk, and you were not going to find out.
You eye the creature leading the line. A large dinosaur (or maybe a dragon? what with the wings and all-) has what looks like a set of keys on its hip, all in different colors. Three of them match the colors of the weird sparkling handcuffs you've all been wearing this whole time.
You're well aware that the dino-dragon-thing is much larger than you. Much stronger. Taking it on would be the dumbest thing you've ever done in your life. The craziest, even.
But considering how crazy the situation is already, what's a little more to add to the pile?
One of these days, I need to get into making comics or writing entire stories instead of little bitty itty bitty snippets. Because this idea has been sitting pretty in my head from the moment it was presented to me, and even now I still feel that I haven't done it justice. =w="
@tallestnull, I whole-heartedly agree; Luigi going apeshit in this situation would be AWESOME.
Wanted to take a stab at giving Dal some more interesting clothing choices, because I friggin' can, and getting a certain virus wasn't gonna stop me!
...Okay, it did stop me; t'was why I've been radio silent for what feels like an eternity. Anyone else experience dizziness after the worst part of the disease-that-shall-not-be-named was over? I sure did, even went to the ER to get myself checked out. I'm fine now, just in time for the holidays ;w;)b
Not much of a festive pic, but I wanted to at least post something after being gone for a while =w="
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all y'all. Now if you'll excuse me... I'm gonna give Mario RPG a try :3c
Space Orcs AU yet again, because I wanted to tweak Dal a little bit, wanted to draw his dog again, and draw B-Junes again, all in one go owo)b
And also wanted to make another space background, thanks to Mario RPG. Stars are pretty...
Anyway more tidbits under a readmore, here we go!
Bowser Junior
During an experiment that Iggy and Ludwig were performing in hopes of improving the travel speeds of their spaceships, an accident caused all eight members of the Royal Brood to be pulled into multiple wormholes and scattered across the cosmos. Junior ended up on a planet filled with Dino Piranhas, and struggled to survive until a trio of strange, squishy creatures found and seemingly adopted him.
While Junior tried keeping his distance out of fear that these squishy folk were actually kidnappers, it didn't take long for his curiosity and need for comfort to overpower any of his fears. He bonded fastest with the purple-maned one; often riding piggyback around the ship or curling up next to him and his fuzzy friend when it's time to sleep. He turns out to be a quick learner when it comes to their languages, easily figuring out short sentences in English and, by courtesy of the red-clad one, several curse words in Italian.
Dalex
A fifteen-year-old human who was snatched in the dead of night while taking his dog out for a late-night bathroom break. Despite his near-overwhelming fear, he teamed up with Mario and Luigi to hijack the ship the three of them were imprisoned on, successfully taking control of the newly-dubbed Starship Mario. It takes a while for Dal to actually warm up to the Bros., but regularly talking about their respective families helps him avoid cracking from under the stress and homesickness.
After rescuing Bowser Jr., Dal becomes the turtle kid's primary caretaker, along with some of the younger Koopalings once they too are found. Before meeting Iggy and subsequently getting a translator built, Dal taught Junior how to speak bits and pieces of English, and can understand his words better than Mario or Luigi. Think of it like "babysitter learning a kid's speech patterns while other people still hear gibberish."
Viridi
Dal's loyal companion and fuzzy baby child. He was abducted alongside his owner and stayed as close to Dal as possible during both their confinement and eventual starship takeover. 'Distraction' was the name of this dog's game, barking at their captors with varying degrees of success during the fight. Hard to tell if they'd never heard a dog bark before or they were actually scared by it, but they got an old-fashioned Mario Bros. Beatdown regardless.
Compared to all the other "crewmembers," Viridi's the most calm, even excited about what awaits them on their new journey. He likes the odd scaly child; those claws give the greatest scritches he's ever gotten in his life (sorry Dally). Of course, being excited and curious isn't always a good thing, as Viridi's go-to method of following his nose can lead to trouble. Of all the times to lose the leash, it had to be during a space adventure... =_="
