Rose Koopa (oc) - Tumblr Posts

Interesting! 👀

One thing I especially like is how the magic to transform into a "magical girl" is already familiar to the users (because usually in magical girl animes, the protagonist(s) is usually a newbie who's unfamiliar with these abilities.)

Also, the fact that instead of using their magical powers to fight evil, these kids basically just like to fuck around and cause chaos. A very Koopaling thing to do.

The best part of all of this imo? The ability for a Koopa to change into a human form is actually not too-far fetched for the Mario universe. Sort of. (For context, the Super Mario Bros. 3 cartoon had an episode where Kootie Pie—aka Wendy O. Koopa—was turned into a human form to distract Mario in another one of their wacky Koopa schemes. "The Beauty of Kootie" it was called. Boy, was that a thing.)

Anyway, very interesting lore! Definitely gonna keep an eye out for more.

How did these guys become magical koopas (? Is that what we should call them?)

yes, magical koopas is the best way to describe them LOL also!!

i love the fact that magic is already a major part in the Mario lore, especially surrounding Bowser, Kamek, Jr, and the Koopalings! so i decided to lean into that already-existing lore!!!

i like to think certain species of Koopa are more likely to be magic-users, with Magikoopa and the more dragon-like Koopas like the species Bowser, Bowser Jr, and the Koopalings are being the ones with the strongest connection to magic and Koopa Troopas being the ones with the weakest connection to magic

since Kamek is Jr and the Koopalings' teacher and grandpa, he's the one who helped them learn transformation magic. while he himself can't hold his humanoid transformation very long anymore as he gets older, he found it best to teach the nine children how to do so for many reasons. for one, it's a good disguise; despite their humanoid forms still having features similar to their Koopa forms (namely hair, eyes, and some accessories), they can accomplish some tasks easier... or mess with the students at their school for fun if you're Iggy. another reason is because it's a good way for them to practice for their future positions in the Koopa Army, since having troops that appear human is a good fake out for certain opponents!

and finally, the reason they were all excited for this in the first place: they could live out their anime battle fantasies, because why learn how to have a humanoid disguise if you're not gonna use it for fun AND practicality?

in fact, Rose was the one who had the idea for them to use their humanoid disguises to be a magical girl inspired troupe! outside of generally using the transformations for fun, they also use their human forms at school (with the exceptions of Rose and Jr, who are homeschooled by Kamek since their magic is still somewhat unstable) since it's practice for future battles on the front lines. it helps them learn how to hold their humanoid forms for long periods of time, and the schools all know that it's part of their magic homework from Kamek; if they get tired during the school day, they can go back to their Koopa forms without being accused of being a different student or skipping class.

Ludwig, as the one with the strongest magic, can hold his form the longest. Roy, Morton, Wendy, and Iggy can all hold their transformations around the same time frame as each other, with Iggy being able to hold his form second longest. Lemmy and Larry also hold their forms for similar lengths of time, with Larry being the one who holds his form just a few minutes longer than Lemmy. Rose and Jr, however, hold their forms at different lengths of time each attempt; their magic is still more unstable and erratic due to lack of practice, hece the homeschooling from Kamek.

(also my first ask being about worldbuilding is so perfect because it gives me an excuse to yell about all the worldbuilding ideas™ ive been cooking for MONTHS.)

working on a group shot of the main characters while procrastinating on designing the new characters

have the pencil sketch and the more refined sketch for now, it'll be finished up digitally in ibispaint and then posted here eventually