Request for
Bet you'll never guess who that is.
......give up? It's Mario.
Yup. This is from his fan fiction Super Smash Brothers Alchemy. This the the excerpt from the scene he sent me:

MEANWHILE, SOMEWHERE IN THE LIFE WARD, DAATH SECTOR

Mario paused to take a look at his surroundings. Eerily, it all looked real to him. The trees had no eyes, but were still full of life. The same went for the grass, the shrubbery, and anything else that he could observe. Sitting on a rock whose rough alabaster surface was exposed to the sun’s brilliance, he contemplated his own self. Sure, he was Mario, and he was here on a mission. But that was where he headed into a grey area. Why exactly did he need to save this Yuna? And what secret could she have with her?

As he let his gaze wander, he spied something from afar. Compared with the misty grace of the morning, this object seemed an eyesore. It was a vast ship that robbed whatever light dared hit it. At first, Mario did anything in his power to resist seeing such a dreadful vessel pollute the nearest waters it lay its hands on. Yet in the end, he could not do so any longer. He then noticed that the ship had a tall watchtower to patrol its surroundings for any intruders, and two engines capable of lifting it off the waters to terrorize the people. He thought it looked somewhat familiar. Something seemed to trigger in his mind and say to him what this ship was….

Yet he lost his concentration upon a giant black flag that was set up on the tower. At first he could not recognize what the crimson symbol scrawled upon the fabric was, being as he was too far away to get a good look. But that symbol was not intent on being ignored; it flashed a violent shade of scarlet that alerted him to its makeup—an “M” with the two inner strokes being joined by a vertical bar. The flash stood there, in his mind, for several minutes as he heard distant voices talking, planning, conspiring. They were talking about plans to do something to this land, something horrible. Mario tried to dissuade himself from believing it. Must be the wind, he reasoned. Still, he could not ignore the harsh words and cruel ideas that flew through the skies to his mind.

Then a shuddering thought occurred to him. If that is an enemy, then how am I supposed to do it alone? He mulled it over in his mind for a few seconds before realizing, I can’t. I need other people— people who can fight along with me to save her…her….

A cool breeze wafted past him, shaking the leaves of the trees. He felt every last bit of air as it made its way around the world. Getting up, he took one last good look at the blackened ship and whatever people were standing aboard. Then he left, his mind possessed with the fact that he needed this Yuna even more than ever.

And this is the description of Mario he gave me:

He had transformed as well. If he could now compare himself to another Brother, it would most likely be Pit now—he had just about the same hair and build. More surprisingly, his overalls had become jeans. His shirt, hat, and mustache were gone. The gloves he wore on a daily basis lost their fingers. Yet he could tell he was still himself, since his jacket was intact. Even so, there was still something odd about his appearance. Something that seemed not quite right about him.... (Also, he wields a hammer composed of: a slender blue staff with a red handle, about a yard long, with a handle bordered by two golden ferrules, and on the bottom attached a silver sphere that shimmers with apparent vibrance; and the business end as a prismlike block with one sharp end.)

So yes. Pretty neat thing for me to try out. And guess what? I said I wanted to keep the mustache, but I didn't! Because I love you. ^^
For some oddball reason, I tried something new here. No inking, just careful dark outlines in color and soft shading. I think it matches the tone well. I also applied charcoal to my fingertips and smeared it over the ship to get the mists and shadows going in the sky. Woot.
I hope you like it! ^^

Date: 4/16/08