#and then I wanted something with Luigi but Luigi doesn't actually HAVE kids with any of his partners

[kakusu-shipping]

Royal Polycule Adventures in Parenting and some general Kid Doodles

[eggcats]

Bowuigi fic where the entire reason Bowser spends all his time kidnapping Princess Peach to marry her is because the first time he kidnapped "Princess Peach" it was actually Luigi and they had an actual connection.

Like, the first time Bowser does his whole "kidnap the princess" scheme, he's intending it more as a show of force to take over another kingdom or negotiate terms of trade or something. (Not saying he's Right, but hey he was trying as a new monarch.)

So he shows up, and is like "Surrender to me the Princess, or I deploy my troops and destroy your toads!" Like an ultimatum or something.

So! In a panic, Luigi and Peach swap outfits and they go into disguise as each other. (This ultimatum gives them the time to pull this off.) Peach so she can escape and rally help to rescue Luigi, and Luigi because they don't know what Bowser intends and they don't want Peach to be in any legitimate danger. (They've literally never met Bowser before this, who knows what he's going to do!!!)

Except! Peach!Luigi and Bowser never get to determining terms of trade or anything, because they start talking and hit it off. Peach!Luigi meets Jr and Bowser sees how good "she" is with his youngest kid, and now suddenly Bowser IS thinking of marrying her and making her Jr's mama.

Bowser even says a cringe-corny pickup line to Peach!Luigi and while Kamek is facepalming in the background, "Peach" is blushing and laughing at it, enjoying their banter.

By the time Mario shows up to rescue "Peach" all "her" and Bowser have done so far is have dinner, say cringe flirts to each other, and play house with Jr. Literally nothing was accomplished except Bowser thinking he has a girlfriend now.

(Luigi might have forgotten that he probably shouldn't flirt with the dude kidnapping him, especially not dressed as someone else. Listen, he's under a lot of pressure and Bowser made him dinner and introduced him to his son, sue him.)

Luigi then assures Peach that Bowser wasn't doing anything mean or cruel to "her" and that he's actually pretty decent, all things considered (he did still kidnap her, after all.) So now they know that the next time Peach is captured (for real this time) they still, obviously, need to rescue her but it's not a critical life or death situation.

Except the next time Bowser shows up, he just tries to talk to Peach. But she won't even listen to him or give him the time of day! So! He kidnaps her, hoping that doing the same thing as last time will reignite their chemistry, but nothing he does works! She's not even that interested in talking to Jr this time around!!

Obviously Mario did something to make his Peach no longer like him! How dare he!

And so, the "kidnap the princess and marry her" schemes arise, because Bowser KNOWS somewhere in there Peach still likes him, he just has to remind her! If she spends enough time with him she'll come around!

More drama is that sometimes Bowser will kidnap Peach!Luigi again and they hit it off fine, so Bowser KNOWS his plans are working!! Peach does actually like him, he's just not trying hard enough.

Luigi doesn't even think HE'S the cause of all this Bowser drama because, like, of COURSE Bowser would want the princess? She's a princess? He doesn't realize that the ONLY reason Bowser wants the princess is because of him. (Luigi in no way thinks he's special enough to have caused all this. This could be in part because he doesn't know that "marry the princess" was never even Bowser's original scheme.)

Maybe one time during a kidnapping Bowser will lament to the real Peach about what changed since the first time he kidnapped her? They had such a connection! And Peach has to reveal to Luigi after the fact that, hey, I think I'm getting kidnapped because Bowser has a crush on you? What did you SAY to him???

Who knows what turn of events will eventually reveal the truth on who he actually connected with, or how he handles it.

[geraldthellama]

Bowuigi Corpse Bride AU Lore Post

So I said I would probably make this and while I thought about making this into a fanfic and making ya'll read that, I decided that I need to commit to the other three (two and a half?) Mario fanfic ideas I have. So if anyone wants to make a full blown fic or whatever with this AU, feel free (but tag me ofc because I've got to see it).

(This will not be short, just a quick warning that this is a commitment).

This AU is very loosely based off the actual movie. Instead of them being in the underworld, they're just in a haunted house that Boo lost to Bowser in a game of poker, and instead of being a corpse (as the name suggests), Luigi is just a slightly annoying boo. Him and Polterpup are the only ones that inhabit the mansion, and, with the house completely abandoned, it's probably going to stay that way.

In this world, ghosts only stay after some massive traumatic death. Problem is, Luigi has no recollection of how he died, he just knows he hit his head and a little while later awoke, a ghost that's unable to be seen, heard, and is completely alone as a newly-deceased. Aside from the yipping ghost dog at his feet (Luigi has always been afraid of both ghosts and dogs).

As a ghost, Luigi originally spawns (spawns?) into this world with little ghostly abilities. Living beings can't see or hear him and he doesn't have the power to manipulate objects or people in any way. He is essentially a specter, watching the lives of other people for years until, eventually, it's abandoned, and the Peasley family mansion (one of many, that is) is gambled away to King Boo.

But, King Boos already got his own slew of creepy haunted mansions, and, frankly, this one is haunted by a ghost he can't stand. A ghost that hasn't been able to speak to someone for around a decade. A chatty ghost that hasn't been able to speak to someone for over a decade. He's not exactly torn up about parting with it.

Bowser, the poor thing, is on attempt...

Attempt... 2 hundred... something.

(at least 4 proposals a year, for around 20 years... that's...)

Let's just say, Peach does and has not wanted Bowser for a long ass time, and it really doesn't help his self esteem that he's still being thwarted by a plumber that's old enough to be his dad and uses a cane. He really can't understand what Peach sees in him, especially considering she still looks like a youthful 20/30-something into her 60s. Frankly, it's unfair. He's got money, kids (some really awesome ones too), power, looks (he thinks so at least), and isn't 3 pudding cups away from dementia.

What he hasn't got, until right now at least, is an awesome mansion, specially built for human(oid) creatures. Maybe she just didn't like gothic castle architecture? Maybe, as Boo suggests, he just has to get her scared enough to fall into his arms for safety. He's got this all planned out.

Boo did not specify that the "ghostly inhabitants" of this mansion were a hyperactive ghost dog and naive plumber. He didn't think it was important information at the time.

So, when Bowser is plotting and practice-proposes (does he really need more practice?) to the striking blue eyes of a, surprisingly, human painting, the last thing he expects is to be met with a ghoulish grin.

Barely ghoulish, because, god, the thing is bright. The smile and the bio-(bio?)-luminescent energy it's attached to. For a ghost who's wearing bloodied bandages and has been dead for 30 lonely years, he's surprisingly optimistic.

"Really?! And you're not even a boo!" :D

He's very optimistic, in fact, because he's willing to believe that this complete stranger might just be his ticket out of this wall-papered purgatory. He died meeting up with his forbidden love, after all, so it must be a sign. He does not hesitate to shove that ring on his finger, even if his new fiance looks hesitant (he might be naive enough to go with it, but he's not blind). He's convinced the two will make it work.

Luigi is... very tired of looking at the same things everyday. Now, he can attach to his new fiance, who's only slightly hesitant to engage with him, (and is not bad looking at all, in Luigi's opinion). Together, the two can actually have a life together. Luigi was only 25 when he died, and he was far too shy then to do any adventuring. The most rebellious thing the man had ever done was sneak out.

Man, look where that ended him.

For Luigi, this is his opportunity to live the life he wasted was robbed of.

And the guys got kids! How awesome is that?

Bowser is not liking the new pets at his side. One never stops yipping and yapping and one is a dog. Luigi is... fine. From a distance. The problem is that they physically can't get any. As long as Luigi is attached to him, consider them hand cuffed. This stupid, green boo is crimping his style, and any game he had with Peach is virtually ruined when he's got his "fiance" clinging to his side like he's the best thing since breathing air.

At least Luigi appreciates his kids. The ghost obviously has some taste (of course he does, he chose him for pete's sake), and Junior and the rest seem to like the ghoul enough... Even if Junior isn't completely sure that Luigi is a ghoul. Both Luigi and Junior agree that boos are scary.

Maybe, after some hard self-reflection (with Luigi close and present, of course), and some growing emotional intimacy and openness, Bowser begins to kind of, perhaps tolerate Luigi. Just a little. Just enough to find his stupid quirks endearing and just enough to start to think that maybe he's always been too good for Peach, anyway. Maybe he should be with someone who appreciates him and loves his family. It's not like her and Mario had ever had kids in their relationship, and her not wanting kids is kind of a deal breaker.

Bowser's newfound attention on Luigi is driving everyone else nuts, though. Boos barely seen the man since his unfortunate run in with the green leach and no one else at their poker table is any good. At this rate, Boos not even satisfied winning Peasley's riches off him anymore. Occasionally, a guy just wants to lose, y'know? Boo hates only one thing more than Peasley whining about the consequences of his gambling addiction, and that's boredom. He misses when the Koopa King spent all his time plotting against the old-ass plumber. At least then he showed his face at their meetings.

And when Boo finally brings up his grievances, because he deserves to rant, Peasley seems... nervous. Boo loves nervousness.

"There's a... human boo... in the mansion I gave you..?"

"One, you didn't give it to me, you lost, fair and square. Two, yeah, and he's just about the chattiest thing I've ever met. All dressed up in a white suit, the pretentious-"

At that, Peasley turns about as pale as a ghost. Well, if that were possible, considering he's a legume. Suddenly, he's got some important things he has to do somewhere else.

This poker table is looking weak.

When Peasley asks Bowser to meet at the mansion, Bowser warns he can't come alone. It's a stretch to get the green ghost to go back with him, and as much as Bowser wants to tell him "you're coming with me, whether you like it or not", he can't bring himself to say it. Instead, he convinces Luigi that it's a quick stay. Essentially, a welfare visit on the old house and a quick meeting with an old friend. Luigi's narrowly convinced.

Stepping back onto that porch brings back a lot of old memories for the human. Few of them anything good in retrospect.

But he does want to see his painting again. He always did cherish that painting. He's sure Bowser will too, right?

Is that painting a good memory for Bowser? He wonders.

It was all those years ago that a young Peasley gifted him that painting. Like him, he had been optimistic and in love. Even if his rich, snobby parents weren't a fan of the human, they had an entire life ahead of them. Peasley had made him a beautiful painting. It was the one part of the house Luigi felt was his. A good memory.

He never expected to be greeted by the same image he had all those years ago. Peasley, now older, stood in front of the painting. His face now wasn't proud or love-struck or whatever expression he had had then (Luigi can barely remember Peasley's face until just now), he looked somber. It was a rare occasion that Luigi wasn't green, and his teal glow seemed to throw Bowser off.

And divert Peasley's attention away from the miserable painting and over to the ghost, who was nervously twiddling his thumbs with a sympathetic look in his eyes.

It's not long before Bowser realizes that this meeting was never about him, and he feels more awkward than anything else...

Except that Polterpup has been on edge since the moment he saw the bean (now) king. Has he ever seen the dog not wag it's tail at someone?

Immediately, the older man apologizes. Things were never meant to end up how they did. He tried his best to help when he could.

Luigi's not angry, how could he be? Luigi's fall was an accident.

Peasley says he didn't know Luigi had stuck around, and if he had, he thinks he would have done things differently. He would have at least had the place cleaned instead of just letting it rot.

(So Peasley abandon the mansion? The perfectly good mansion for no reason, leaving Luigi alone.)

And, of course, Peasley's sorry for not telling Mario or his parents about what happened to him.

(HUH?)

He insisted that he waited for hours with Luigi, hoping he'd recover with enough gauze. The man told him it was a lost cause. If he could have saved him, he would have.

Hours?

"I was unconscious for hours?"

It came out as barely a whisper.

"I stayed almost the entire night. As long as I could."

Bowser didn't know boos could turn so many colors, especially that quickly. Bowser didn't think Luigi even had it in him to be anything less than smiley, especially completely enraged.

Luigi had never been more angry in his life (death).

Even Peasley's insistence that "You don't understand what they'd have done to me if they'd known I went against their wishes!" fell on deaf ears.

When Luigi's aura finally finished raving, Peasley had backed away from the now red ghost. Again, Luigi recognized the position they were in;

One of them backing up, away from the painting and towards the basement stairs. How could Peasley forget that door never closed all the way? It had only been the exact thing that killed Luigi 30 years ago. The exact thing that, of course, Peasley hadn't fixed.

Luigi swears he didn't push him, even in that state. Bowser believes him, only because the still angry and unaware Luigi yelled angrily down the stairs: "You better not die here, because I'll make your death hell!"

If they both hadn't just watched Peasley fucking die, Bowser would have kinda been into it.

It took Luigi a second to realize that even if his own fall had been an unlucky hit, Peasley wasn't 25 anymore. And he wasn't responding. His red hue didn't last long, especially when Polterpup no longer seems threatened (and Bowser notices that the bean king no longer seems to be breathing).

"What did I do?"

Bowser suggests fleeing the crime scene, which normally isn't his move, but he'd rather not be tied to the murder of a fellow royal. Luigi shakes his head.

This is his fault. And as angry as he still is at Peasley, he can't flee what he's done. Not in a right conscience. Not like what Peasley did to him. Luigi suffered enough sitting in that mansion alone for 30 years, and, as much as revenge tastes sweet, a small part of him still cares. Had he lived, Peasley and him would have had a life after all.

But he hadn't lived, did he.

Bowser can't remember a time ever seeing Luigi's color look quite as dull as it did then.

Playing with his engagement ring, Luigi thinks back on the part of the man he loved. Peasley never did buy him the ring, like he had hoped. Luigi remembers getting himself all excited over the possibility of a scenic proposal as they walked through the flower garden of the mansion. He had gifted him a painting. Which was almost as good.

He couldn't even count how many times he had stood and looked at that painting, thinking:

Was it worth it?

An apprehensive smile comes onto his face. A nostalgic smile. A somber one.

Doesn't really matter, does it? He'd never know if it was worth it in the end. This was how it ended up. Luigi had always believed that fate is what had brought him and Peasley together, considering everything else had lined them up for failure. Fate was what brought him here. What kept him here.

Who is he to drag down others?

He returns Bowser's ring.

"I'm sorry."

Bowser never deserved to have him weigh him down.

"I wasted my life chasing after a family I never got, and then spent my death doing the exact same thing."

Bowser awkwardly matches Luigi's bitter laugh.

"I lived my life, be it a short one, but you deserve to live yours."

Luigi pats the ring on his hand.

"I hope she likes it." He smiles. He means it. Peach sounds wonderful.

Tears prick Bowser's eyes, and all because...

He never did tell Luigi about him and Peach, did he? He can't help but laugh. Tears streaming down his face kinda laugh. The laugh you only get once a year kind of laugh.

"You spent, what? Maybe five non-consecutive years chasing after a family? Try twenty!"

Luigi's eyebrow goes up. This is supposed to be a super emotional goodbye and this goobers laughing? On about his conquest to marry Peach (who, apparently, is already married) and make his picturesque life. Luigi can't help but laugh, because it's so stupid that Bowser's laughing about this right now.

"Her and her stupid, human, mustachioed husband Mario have been kicking my ass for decades. I promise you, boo, you weren't ever getting in the way of anything."

Mario?!

"Mario?" (!)

"You heard of him?"

The excitement in Luigi's eyes (and aura) is obvious.

"My brother's name is Mario!"

With a look of determination, Bowser promises he'll tell Luigi the story of all his and Mario's exploits if he does him two favors.

Leaves this, frankly, ugly and decrepit mansion with him. Because this story needs atmosphere.

Puts the ring back on his finger. Because how else is everybody going to know they're engaged?

Luigi gives a grin.

He looks down the stairs. What about doing his due-diligence?

"I promise you, boo, if fate brought you and Peasley together, and pushed you down those stairs, and brought us together, and then pushed him down the stairs, fate is on your side."

Luigi's lips are still pursed.

"And it's almost sunrise," Bowser points out.

"So?"

"Well, we've waited almost all night, seems like a fair amount of time to me. It's obviously a lost cause."

At that, Luigi begins laughing. Not quite Bowser's guttural, teary laugh, but certainly a cackle. Enough to turn his aura back to a vibrant green, just like before. Enough to make him hunch over and take some (not really) much needed gulps of air.

When the laughing dies down to a hurt giggle, Bowser assures him that:

"You didn't kill him, Weeg."

No. I guess he didn't, did he?

Looking down the stairs one last time, (his death completely bloodless, the lucky bastard), Luigi's brows furrow for a second and he twiddles his thumbs.

If Luigi's learned one thing from being a condemned ghost, it's that you should take every chance you get.

The bottom of the stairs don't look so intimidating now.

"I...

I forgive you."

Maybe that is all Peasley deserves.

Luigi deserves to have another chance. And maybe Peasley does too, maybe he'll find one in the next lucky winner of poker. Someones gotta replace his spot at the table.

Bowser shares that he certainly deserves a mother to his children, and he's already got a quality candidate who's proved he's got what it takes. ("One who cooks, cleans, can't call in sick, die, and is pretty good looking! I hit the jackpot!")

Maybe, at the very least, Luigi deserves to see his brother one last time.

And maybe a few more times after that, for good measure.

Anyways so the original plan was just to have either Luigi and Bowser straight up immediately abandon the crime scene (not really crime scene) or have Luigi sit in the mansion forever and live out a miserable existence.

But I couldn't do that to my boys now could I. (But Peasley still gets abandoned because screw Peasley I hate that little bean man /j).

This wasn't meant to turn out in the format it did but, y'know, it did. Just know this isn't brief but also isn't comprehensive. I might (big emphasis on might) make a shorter headcanon post on this, but we'll see.

I hope you enjoyed. And sorry for the length, I am not known and will never be known for being concise.

[nikoanesti]

Ok actual 6/18/24 Nintendo Direct summary though:

Mario & Luigi: Brothership: Right out of the gate, the highlight of the whole thing for me. It could've just been this and I woulda been more than satisfied. Immediately got excited seeing the M&L styled character models, but honestly expected just a remake for a moment. But wow, a whole new M&L RPG! And in a year where we've gotten two remakes of other great Mario RPGs! It feels too good to be true, but I'm very excited! Interested to know who's developing it since AlphaDream is no more, but it looks like there must be some returning staff, cuz this does look like a M&L game, especially in the character design department!

Nintendo World Championships: Not interested. It feels less like it has anything to do with the actual NWC events and more just like a rebranded NES Remix game. And to be totally honest, I am completely burnt out on Nintendo repackaging these same NES titles over and over and over by now.

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD: So, I really like this game. But I've already double dipped on it. So I don't think I'm gonna triple dip, but we'll see. Depends on the price for sure. It can't be the full $60. Metroid Prime remake was $40, and even that would be pushing it in this case.

The New Denpa Men: I really enjoyed the Denpa Men games on the 3DS and I haven't thought about them in a long time! I forget how many I played, definitely the first two, maybe the third? They're very good like...simplified, straightforward, lite classic JRPGs, in the vein of Mother/Earthbound and early Pokemon. So I'm glad this is coming back! And it's free! ...Well, "free to play," so we'll see what that entails within the game itself...

Super Mario Party Jamboree: As big a Mario fan as I am, my interest in the Party series has never been very high. I do have Mario Party Superstars, mainly just because it was all classic boards and minigames I already knew. I did not care for Super Mario Party, which this seems to be the successor to. It was one of the blandest Mario games I've ever seen, and very light on content, so I don't know how much better this will be. Once again, only 5 new boards. It has 2 classic ones as well, but that still doesn't really feel like enough to me.

Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom: I feel...weird about this one. I was very excited to see the Link's Awakening remake style used for a completely new game. But the gameplay looks nothing like that, or any classic top-down Zelda, so...I feel a little misled. But I'll wait to find out more till I say for sure if I want to play it or not.

Luigi's Mansion 2 HD: Good game, but weakest of the Luigi's Mansion series, and I have no desire to double dip.

NSO GBA and N64 games added: Well...I never fully played through the Four Swords campaign in the GBA Link to the Past to unlock the extra dungeon, so...maybe I can finally do that? (Ah who am I kidding, I probably still won't). Would definitely like to play through Metroid Zero Mission for the first time, I've always meant to. Turok, I'm not sure if I'm really interested in, I've never played the series, but I'll check it out. And Perfect Dark...I love that game, and like Goldeneye, it's very cool that it's available on this, but also like Goldeneye...we really need a remaster, not the N64 version ported over to Switch. Even if you remap the controls, they're not gonna feel great... So sadly I don't know how much time I'll spend with it.

Metroid Prime 4: I haven't played any of the Prime games and don't really intend to, but I'm just glad this isn't vaporware hahah. I thought development of this was going horribly wrong or something, so it's just good to see it is in fact coming along, and I'm happy for fans of the series!

Holy shit that Funko Pop game looks so bad lmaooo

Also BLUD is out today on Switch and other platforms and I feel like I should probably check that out cuz it's been a long time coming and I love the style

[peaches2217]

I know that Mario deeply cares his children with the same amount of love and attention, but I cant help but think that between his baby girls and Affie Mario feels just a tad bit more affection for his baby boy, especially since between his children, he's so much like Peach. Affie is a lot more sensitive than his sisters, and as a result, Mario can see a little bit of Luigi in him, which could cause Mario to be a tad bit more protective or enthusiastic toward his baby boy.

And I cant help but think about how Affie's quietness and serene independence could cause a slight rift in their relationship. Not a very drastic rift, per say, but enough that Affie and Mario sorta clash in that "My dad means well and wants to do the things he did when he was a kid, but I like *other* things and he just doesn't seem to get it, and no matter how hard it seems that I communicate to him my dislike for certain things, he just doubles down on it and it's driving us slightly apart.

Aaaaaaaaaah I love this actually! Being extra protective of little Affie because he's Peach's spitting image, and also reminds Mario of Luigi when they were kids... I don't think it would go to the extent of "Mario forcing Affie into situations he's uncomfortable with in the name of father-son bonding," though. I think Mario would be more sensitive to his independence and needs than that.

Mario's a fervent extrovert, but he knows from growing up with Luigi how important it is for introverts to have their space. He's still pretty awkward actually dealing with more reserved people, especially when it's his own child, but he gives him an open invitation to join in on the fun any chance he wants and then lets him decide for himself whether he's ready for that or not. Mario is, if anything, too lenient of a father, so I can't see him trying to force little Affie outside of his comfort zone to any extent. Gentle nudges here and there, but for the most part, he trusts him to make his own choices.

That earnest awkwardness but sincerity pays off; while Affie will always be a mama's boy, he'll occasionally break away and just sit and watch Mario while he works, whatever he happens to be doing. So maybe they don't play sportsball or go karting together, but Affie will pass Mario his tools while he's fixing or building something or read quietly while Mario ambles through paperwork or wash dishes while he cooks, and while Mario doesn't really understand, he knows Affie considers this bonding, and it's precious to him, thus it's precious to him too.

[gachawolfiebloom]

Two Hearts In The City of Love

Chapter 8: No Power Means Nothings is Okie Dokie

Everything seemed slow today. Luigi had nothing planned and everyone just wanted to relax. They were all staring at their phones, except for Mario, who was rolling around on the couch and complaining. "Mario is soooooo bored!!!"

Three looked annoyed as he pointed to the TV behind the stupid Italian and said "Then go watch some TV and stop bugging us!" He threw the remote over to Mario, who instantly cheered up. "Yippee! Mario is gonna watch teletubbies!"

He switched on the TV and started flipping through the channels. Bob was watching some kind of weird thing that Birdo was doing when a notification came on that his battery was at 10%. "NO! HONEY! STAY WITH ME!" He grabbed a huge plug and starting jamming it into a nearby outlet. "HELP IS ON THE WAY! HELP IS ON THE WAY! HELP IS ON THE-"

"Stop jamming it in like that Bob! You might make the fuse go out!" He didn't listen to Meggy as he took the other end and plugged in his phone. "THERE! NOW I CAN GET BACK TO MY BOOBY TIME!" He turned back on whatever gross thing he was watching and just a second later, the battery died. "WHAT THE HELL?"

He tried unplugging and replugging his phone several times, but it wouldn't charge. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS THING!?" Mario was enjoying his TV time when it shorted out into static and shut off on its own. "Nooooooo!!!!" Mario started running around crying and Bob kept throwing a fit. "Shut up you kids!" Three yelled and both unexpectedly stopped. Not because of Three's yelling, but because the lights had gone out.

Four immediately jumped out of his seat in a panic and started shaking nervously. Tari looked just as terrified as she clung onto Meggy. "Relax you two! The power just went out!" Four didn't believe everything was hunky dory as he said "Remember the last time we had a power outage..."

"It will be fine guys! I'm sure this will be cleared up in a few hours!" Three narrowed his eyes at his two idiot friends and said "What did you guys do?" Bob pointed at Mario and said "I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! TALK TO HIM!" Mario stuck his hands out and replied back "Mario was just watching TV!" There didn't seem to be any damage to the outlet or the hotel TV and there wasn't even a storm outside.

"Strange..." Three tapped his chin in thought. This mysterious reason of what caused it made Four even more unsettled. "I don't like this...it doesn't seem normal for the power to just go out like that." Three could sense how distressed Four felt. He held him in his arms and said "It's alright Four. I won't let anything happen to you." He rubbed Four's back softly as he told Meggy "You should probably go talk to the front desk or something before Four and Tari have a panic attack."

Meggy nodded and said "Yeah. I'll go right now. You want to come Tari?" She was still clinging tightly to the orange haired girl. "I guess so...just please don't leave me alone!" Meggy smiled and said "Of course not!" She told the crew that they would be back in just a moment and went up to the front desk. "Hi! We were just wondering when the power was going to come on."

They were expecting a response of reassurance like "The power will be on in an hour or so" or "Don't worry, we have handled blackouts before" but the lady at front desk said something that was certainly not what they had hoped for. "I actually don't know ma'am. We've never had the power go out on in the middle of the day. We don't even know what caused it."

Tari began to quiver more in fear. Meggy tried to rub her hand to calm down and said "Oh...well thanks anyway." Tari whispered to her as they walked back "This is getting scary. Why would the power just go out randomly." Meggy shrugged and tried to encourage her that everything would be fine.

"Mario's bored again." He sat upside down on the couch while Luigi read a book. Bob just bullied Boopkins to entertain himself when he threw a pillow at the fish and that gave him an idea. "HEY MARIO! WANT TO BUILD A SICK PILLOW FORT!" Mario was on board right away as the two began grabbing pillows off the couches and stacking them on top of each other. Meggy approached the crew with Tari. "So...the front desk said they aren't really sure when the power will come back on. They don't even know how it happened."

Four felt a sharp pain of distress and became even more concerned. "I knew something wasn't right here! We've got to get out of here right now before-" He tried to make a run for it, but Three stopped him. "Calm down Four. Just take a breath."

Four rambled on "But why else would the power go out suddenly! I can't take this! It's too much!" He wondered if anyone cared about what was at stake. If he struck again then...

Three hated seeing Four like this. He tried to think of something to take their minds off this when the perfect idea entered his mind. "How about a game of Uno? I know how you like to win." Four actually stopped shivering.

He didn't say anything as he slid down onto the floor and held his knees while burying part of his face. "That would be nice..." Three smiled as he told the girls "You find a way to fix this while I keep an eye on these goobers." Meggy gave Three and thumbs up and went down the hall while he went to go grab the game.

"Now...where can we find a power box?" Meggy pondered as she heard a guy screaming from around a corner. They both peaked their heads around to see some kind of maintenance guy yelling "I'm not going down there! Find somebody else to go down and investigate the power surge because I QUIT!" He stormed off past the girls while Meggy had a smug grin. "You thinking what I'm thinking Tari?"

"N-No...?" She pointed over to the room that led down the hotel's power source and Tari collapsed on the ground from shock. Meggy began dragging Tari across the floor as she went up to the guy at the door and said "I heard that you need someone to go down there and investigate the blackout! Well me and my friend humbly volunteer!" She pulled Tari back on her own two feet as she waved nervously.

"Oh thank you! Nobody has wanted to go down there today and they keep hearing strange sounds down there." Tari went and hid behind Meggy as she asked "Strange how?"

"They say it sounds like static noises?" The girls glance at each other, wide eyed before the man handed them some flashlights and said "You'll be fine though! Let me know what the problem is and i'll fix it up in no time!"

Mario was trying to stack pillows, but they just kept falling over. He grunted angrily and said "Mario's pillows are broken!" He decides to check out how Bob's fort is coming along and his face turns to shock as a castle, made entirely from pillows, stood in front of him and almost reached the ceiling. Bob looks out from the balcony and says "BOW DOWN TO YOUR KING AND GIVE ME ALL YOUR MONEY!"

Mario immediately gave up on his fort and asked Bob "Hello! Can Mario come in?" Bob's eyes furrowed and he yelled "AMBUSH!" He started throwing pillows in Mario's face as he got knocked into the wall. Mario rushed behind his sad pile and started angrily throwing pillows back.

Three sat down in front of Four and started dealing out cards. Four tried to forget about the dark, but this awful feeling just kept him paranoid. Like an old foe was waiting for his return. Three takes the first turn and places down a card. "Ooh yes a 6! Best that Smg4!" Four shakily looks at his cards and places down a card of the same color instead of a power-up that he had.

After a while, Smg3 won and his competitive nature made him gloat. "YES! You suck! I'm the best!" Four didn't say anything and breathed heavily. He kept glancing down where Meggy and Tari went. Three stopped his overly excessive ranting and said "Hey...I didn't mean to make you feel worse. You usually win when we play. What's bugging you?"

He used his hand to move Four's face towards his. "I'm just worried about Meggy and Tari. They've been gone for a while." Three sighed and sat down next to Four. "Hey they're okay. The power will come back on soon."

"But what if it doesn't! He's going to take them and then he'll get us and-"

Three pulled Four into his chest and whispered sweet things to make him feel better while Four clung on tightly. "Nobody is going to get taken. Everyone is fine. Just calm down." Four whimpered while Three brushed his hair with his fingers. "Shhhh..." He pulled out his phone and asked "Would you feel better if I texted them if they were alright?" Four softly nodded as Three smiled and went to Meggy's contact.

Meggy and Tari walked down the basement with the clunking sound of their footsteps, but no static. Tari pointed her flashlight at any suspicious thing that made her jump. Meggy listened to her surroundings and said "I'm not sure what that guy was talking about. I don't hear any static noises."

She then shone her flashlight to a light switch in the corner. "Hey! Now we're getting somewhere!" Meggy flicked it on and the lights on the ceiling burst. "WHAT!?" She tired flipping the switch on and off multiple times, but the lights were dead. "Well Tari, looks like we'll have to-" The blue haired girl was nowhere to be seen. "Tari?"

"O-Over h-here..." Tari waved from behind some boxes stacked up randomly. Meggy calmly went over and knelt down next to her "You okay Tari?" She shook her head and said "This is too scary. I don't do well in the dark."

"I know, but our friends are counting on us. Don't you want to turn the power on?" She nodded and pointed further down the hall. "Just find the generator without me. I'll only slow you down." Meggy looked shocked and yelled "Are you kidding!? NO WAY!" She stuck her hand out to Tari and said "We're going to find that generator together and if something scary does show up, we'll beat the crap out of it! You've faced your fears several times. Are you really going to let a dark basement undo all that hard work?" Tari blinked serval times before looking down again.

She put on a brave face and grabbed Meggy's hand. "You're right! I can do this! Let's go find that generator!" Her phone then dinged as she saw it was a message from Smg3.

Smg3: How's it going on getting the power back on? Smg4 is freaking out and wondering if you guys are alright. 😏

Meggy laughed and sent back a message that everything was fine and they should find the generator soon.

"THE TYRANNY OF WAR IS UPON US!"

Bob and Mario were flinging pillows at each other. Any time one of them got hit even once, they would make sure the other regretted it deeply. Boopkins started to see that this was getting out of hand and said "Should we do something?" Luigi looked up from his book and wondered "Wasn't Smg3 supposed to be keeping them under control?"

He looked over to where the two boys were sitting. Three rubbed Four's hand and said "Meggy just told me that her and Tari are fine. You're worrying about nothing." He noticed the fish and Italian looking at them. "Can I help you?" 

"Uh...Bob and Mario are fighting." He pointed to the pillow forts behind them and Three rolled his eyes. "And...can't you see we're busy here!" Truth be told, Three couldn't bother to intervene because it felt so good to embrace Four like this.

"STAND DOWN MARIO!"

"Mario will never surrender!"

Boopkins got in the middle of their war and said "Can we please stop fighting! It's not nice!" Bob scoffed and said "OUT OF THE WAY BOOPKINS! THIS IS WAR!" Luigi tried to stop his brother. "Wouldn't you like to read a nice book with me instead Mario?" His brother laughed and said "Silly Luigi! You know Mario never learned to read! Now get out of Mario's territory!" He grabbed a pillow and hit Luigi in the face when he got a wonderfully, awful idea.

He went up to Bob And yelled "You hate these suckers right!?" while pointing at Boopkins and Luigi. Bob slanted his eyes as he said "YES?" Mario smirked and told him "Mario offers you a truce! If we team up, we can pulverize them!" Bob thought about it for a second before he nodded and said "OKAY!" A pillow drawbridge opened and Mario rushed inside in excitement. "YIPPEE!"

Boopkins and Luigi sighed in relief. "Yay! They made up!" Luigi said "Yeah! Now we can-" They stopped in their tracks as multiple cannons came out of the pillow castle and aimed directly at them. Bob and Mario laughed evilly from the top while high-fiving each other. "WAIT! I thought you guys made up!"

"WE DID, BUT ONLY BECAUSE WE CAN'T STAND YOU!" Mario pressed a button and millions of pillows rained down on the two of them.

Meggy and Tari kept shinning their flashlights around, looking for anything like a generator. "Y'know this isn't the first time we've been in these situations before." Tari looked quizzically at Meggy and asked "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, we've faced at lot together. It makes me think that we've grown into really good friends." Meggy smiled at her and Tari agreed. "Yeah! We have! I love going on adventures with you Meggy."

The orange haired girl looked like she wanted to ask Tari something until she pointed and said "Look! We found the generator!" There stood a lone box in the corner that held the hotel's electricity. Meggy complimented Tari on her skills and they went up to check the box. Meggy flipped a switch and the power was turned on after what felt like forever!

The girls cheered for the success of their mission when Meggy looked confused. "Wait...if the generator seems to be working fine...then what caused the power to go out?" The girls pondered that question until something started echoing in the basement. It sounded like...static? The girls went to investigate the noise, but when they found out what was making that sound, they instantly froze. In a mad rush, Meggy took out her phone and started texting Smg3.

Meggy: Please help! It's an emergency! You have to come down to the basement immediately!

The two boys were still cuddling while Boopkins and Luigi were buried in pillows. The lights went on and Four finally managed to calm down. "See? Now what did I tell you. Everything's going to be-" Three suddenly got a text and he quickly stood up. Four asked "What's wrong?" He noticed the concern written all over Three's face as he started at his phone.

"Meggy says there's something wrong. She wants us to come down to the basement!" Four started freaking out again as he whispered "No...not again..." Three went over to the others and said "Party's over! We need to go check on Meggy and Tari!"

Mario brushed it off and said "Mario is sure the girls are fine! They're probably cuddling with each other like Smg3 and Smg4!" Three blushed like crazy and yelled "WE WERE NOT CUDDLING! NOW GET DOWN NOW!" He took out a bazooka and shot down the pillow fort.

"NO! MY IMPENETRABLE FORTRESS!"

Three dug out Luigi and Boopkins and sternly said "We're going to get our friends!" Luigi and Boopkins quickly followed, very worried while Bob and Mario just looked annoyed. The basement was the last place that Four wanted to go, but he knew that he had to go save his friends just like they would do the same for him.

Everything was dark as they searched through the basement until they heard a weird static noise and the girls were staring at something. "Meggy? Tari?" Three went up to them as they had horrified expressions on their faces. When the others finally saw what they were looking at, Four's blood ran cold. "He's back..." A TV box sat with a glitchy screen and familiar bent antennas on top.

Everyone looked shocked and appalled. How did he come back? Wasn't he destroyed? The only one who knew that this had to be his doing was Four. "Mr Puzzles..." The last thing heard was a small chuckle before everything went black.

Who's ready for the next show...?

Chapter 9: Miraculous SMG4

[axewchao]

A recent ask got me thinking about references, and I could not, can't stress this enough, COULD NOT do anything other than work on this one ref for Real Worlder!Dal. Will probably end up doing Koopa!Dal next, if my itty bitty little pea brain refuses to let me focus on anything else =w=

~~~

Relaxed, patient, and observant, Dalex is more of a lover than a fighter, but that hasn't stopped him from becoming the third hero of the Mushroom Kingdom alongside Mario and Luigi. First arriving from the Real World at age 8, then returning again at age 15, he gained the title of "hero" after rescuing two children (whom he just so happened to be babysitting) that found their way to the Mushroom World and were captured by Bowser soon after. 

Dalex tends to be very shy around new faces, often resorting to an old, ingrained habit of waiting to be spoken to instead of starting a conversation on his own. He starts with brief replies, becoming more expressive and talkative as time passes, but also tries to stay polite in order to avoid any verbal (or physical) aggression. Others consider Dalex a good listener and are more likely to discuss personal topics with him due to his gentle demeanor.

At heart, he's a caretaker, and prioritizes the wellbeing of those around him before himself, particularly when it comes to children. He’s highly attuned to the suffering and/or pain of people around him, and will instinctively want to ease or heal their pain however he can. Of course, he’s well aware of personal boundaries, so he won’t reach out towards a stranger or acquaintance as much as he would a dear friend, child, or family member. Even then, he doesn’t want to be a meddler, and will back off when asked. Should he fail or otherwise be unable to help when given the chance, he may take a little too much responsibility and self-deprecate as a result.

Dalex has a near-crippling phobia of losing his own temper or setting off someone else's, which took root after he violently attacked a school bully at age 12. Things like anger or envy is damn near deadly in his eyes, and considering that he managed to hospitalize someone as a lanky 12-year-old kid, there's no telling what he might be able to do now that he's naturally older and stronger at age 22, even if he doesn't include his Shade Sprite and paintbrush, both of which are magical artifacts. It takes a lot to actually make Dalex snap, but once he does, take cover.

Trivia

He was born with brown hair and brown eyes, but they both turned purple after his Shade Sprite appeared at age 4. It's still unknown how it appeared in the Real World or who might've given it to him. The color change is actually a harmless side-effect of being exposed to unfamiliar magic for a long period, rendered permanent because Dalex always had it on him.

His eyes lacking pupils is from his dad's side of the family. Everyone in the Rathmore bloodline can see 'something' that's normally hard or otherwise impossible to see. Dal's "special sight" is Pain Perception, as hinted above. He isn't aware of this and believes his eyes are duds.

The single earring he wears is also from his dad. Said father, Luka Rathmore, wears the other earring on his right ear.

Originally, his Soul Sphere was another gift from the same person that gave him his Shade Sprite, but I'm considering rewriting this part to say that it's actually from his mom, who may have one of her own. We'll see ;3c

Dalex is considered the arch nemesis of Ludwig Von Koopa, but this is mostly one-sided on Ludwig's end. When the Koopaling in question isn't actively trying to antagonize him, he's very cordial, even willing to work alongside or otherwise help Ludwig depending on the situation.

He likes writing in his spare time and often makes up short stories depending on what he's experienced recently. Also keeps a dream journal. And a regular journal. And some extra blank journals so he never runs out of paper.

He always cries when he gets angry.

[its-maemain]

Accidently got angsty my bad

Edit: I'm sorry I went in like four different directions when I wrote this, my deepest apologies

Okay showerthoughts (literally)

So Bowser is a turtle right? A firebreathing semidragon-like turtle but they're there. So I'm assuming if he’s like any turtle from the Earth’s animal kingdom then Koopas have a long life span when given the chance to.

So Master Ogwaying this shit, that man(turtle) lived to his 500s or something? So let's say Koopas have like “turtle years”/Koopa years, similar to dog years but different I guess, more like cat years if I'm being honest.

From birth to ruffily 4/5 years they're like considered babies kinda, even if they're started to learn to talk proper sentences, but like they can live a few hundred years.

Anyway, 5-12ish regular kid, 12-16 tweens, 16-22ish teens could be longer honestly, so 22-early 30s is a fresh adult they're the equivalent of early 20s. So on and so forth, yada yada. This thought process of mine is not perfect.

So I don't know how old Bowser is, but I assuming within Peaches age for actual year's, so some where from late Koopa teens to early adult, but he’s already an adult to a human.

By that logic(???) he is a teen or very young father, as compared to human age is a very reasonable age. I don't know when he has Bowser Junior or adopts the Koopalings. Point is he’s a young dad by Koopa standards.

So in his early kidnappings of Peach I would like to believe he was infatuated with her, thought he was in love much like the Mario Movie. It became more political over time, while Koopas can live a long time that does make the time passing any easier. So his people are suffering as the lands they live on aren't as plentiful as other lands, the Mushroom Kingdom has those healthy lands and such. He wants to succeed in being King so when (and if? I guess) his son becomes King he doesn't have to worry about fixes these problems all because he couldn't do it.

It becomes more about the future of his kingdom, his people, and most of all his family.

So to the whole point of my shower train of thought, imagine Bowigi with this concept!! Luigi is only a human much like Peach, so he won't live as long as Bowser, a hundred years at best.

It’s not really common knowledge that Koopas can live for far longer than most other creatures of other kingdoms. Usually, this is something only royals know about, as through diplomatic happenings and such. Peach knows about this, so it's one of the reasons she’s never truly been concerned about Bowser, as eventually he has to stop right? At some point, it will get weird as she grows old, as she won't live that long, and he will give up at some point of course. (sorry I keep side-tracking)

So as it’s not common knowledge to citizens, but imagine Luigi finding out about this, and reading books in the royal library or something. He’s always found how Bowser attractive admirable, and that he is much gentler than people give him credit for.

He’s seen him when no one is actually watching him, while he’s fuming that Mario won the race or got Peach back, if is son or one of the Kooplings are around he puts it aside to address them, checking them over, giving them love and attention. And at some point it may have softened a part of Luigi’s heart in a very specific way. The way he looks at his children with love and glares protectively at anyone who comes within five feet of them at events or races, the childish way he would glance away Kamek when he scolded him for injuring himself, or the way he seemed to watch over everything when in a room with a careful eye.

So to learn that in Koopa culture traditionally he is very young, while yes he young, he is young if you looked at Koopa aging like human aging. There is of course not a perfect system as it's more of a unspoken cultural thing, the ages I have said are more of a Toadstool royal of the past making effort to understand the Koopa traditions.

- so to learn that Bowser is relatively young, so the fact that Bowser is a young king at that, raising a big family, running kingdom. Luigi can't help but feel tingly about it.

Now to the pure Bowigi part my mind came up with because I don't want to make build up to it.

Luigi loves flowers, I don't know if it's cannon, I don't care, it's cannon to me, not even a head cannon. He loves them, I don't make the rules, he loves nature, him and Mario would garden with their mother as kids a lot. Luigi does it when they visit their parents, helping his mom with the plants, sometimes Mario jumps in to but not often.

So when Luigi off handy mentions he likes flowers and Bowser can't help but obsess over that for Luigi. So he tries giving him flowers and such, Luigi loves it, he prefers flowers growing and flourishing but he doesn't have the heart to tell him to stop.

Eventually Luigi or Mario say something along the lines of gardening is Luigi’s favorite thing ever. (imagine this is in like early Bowigi relationship) so he has a garden made for Luigi, and the thing is that's it's all flowers that can live for very long times, like that of roses.

So even when Luigi pastes awayed Bowser and his children visit the garden when they miss him. The older the flowers the more time that is spent with them.

One if reasons I have this cause well Bowser, Koopa, turtle like. Also I found out today that one of the oldest rose bushes is like over 1,000 years old apparently? Haven't fact checked it, but I will, but still I find it beautiful. A flower that us humans view as the embodiment of love, especially romantic, can live for so long if properly taken care of much like that of real love.

Love takes work, it's nurturing and needs it in turn, it takes a lot to survive. Same with plants, and for roses to live as long as that post says then it need attention and to be well cared for it is to last long.

so that is nestled in my heart. Take what you will, leave what you distaste, hope you enjoyed my thoughts from shower. (I'm not kidding)

[ratcandy]

OKAY. could you do the character ask thing for CC n the Subconites . Plea. If two isn't too much,, (also. permhaps Snartcher)

I'm going to combine all 3 this is going to be a very long post

First impression

CC: Look at this funny cat in the rafters why is she southern

Subconites: Hey funny little guy.... why are you running. why are you r- [gets captured by their dad] ah fuck

Snatcher: I'd seen this guy before I played! Didn't know a lot about him though. Just though he'd be a main antagonist or something. Startled me when I first met him, then I was like "hey hang on a second why's this fool talk like me I don't like that"

Impression now

CC: My girldad, if you will. I love her I love her I love her I want to only write her dialogue ever in NS as far as I'm concerned that fic is actually about her and has nothing to do with Mafia Boss. Cookie is the only character that matters actually. Mu can take second place I was going to make a post earlier actually about the fact that CC is literally the only one that doesn't try to hurt Hat Kid (save for the nomads & the goats, the latter is accidental so I don't count them) and I feel so ROBBED by her lack of motherly interactions with HK because because. She's on the ship the WHOLE time, GFB. You couldn't utilize her for more than funny stove dialogue? I'm so mad they've underutilized the best character. Look at this mother and tell me she's not the only thing that matters

Subconites: my children. My gaggle of tiny little bastards. I adopt every single one of these. All of them. And the dwellers. They're all mine. I'm giving them all crayons.

Snatcher: So I went from "aw man! I'm kinning this thing!" because of his backstory revelation - as boy that do also be hitting in ways that are a little too close to home - to just a general "haha funny little demon ghost thing." He's a silley petty guy that I like to mess around with lore-wise and explore everyone's diverse headcanons of em, but I wouldn't call him my favorite anymore :,0 Just a funky dude!! Fun to draw!! I should draw him more

Favorite moment

CC: The moment where Hat Kid calls her mom and she gets so happy. What do you mean this didn't happen. It did. It totally did. Play the game again. You'll see

Subconites: "since when was being spooky a crime?!"

Snatcher: the whole vanessa's curse dlc. don't even talk to me he's being a petty bastard and stealing his ex's shit and I love that for him. that or the "did you know you can unlock a luigi if you complete every death wish on the first attempt" because HELP me

Idea for a story

CC: I'm writing this thing you might've heard of it it's called nothing spectacular and she's struggling not to smash the mafia boss into a thousand pieces all over the floor for like 20 chapters. It's epic. I want more fics of her being a mom. I want to write that idea of her saving HK from the nyakuza. I want t

Subconites: PURELY SELF-INDULGENT I would write that thing with my oc thomson adopting all these bastards unwillingly. thanks

Snatcher: um um um. So I had a fic idea that's still lying around. Might write at some point. That'd just be my takes on the whole situation between him and Vanessa. Nothing really new and interesting, honestly, just my perspective on how that all went down. Won't say much because I might still write it someday >:)

Unpopular opinion

CC: is there any unpopular opinions about Cooking Cat?? Is wanting her to be hat kid's mom an unpopular opinion???

Subconites: uhhhhhhhhh

Snatcher: Hrmgn. My feelings on Snatcher have grown more complicated the more I think about him. More specifically in any found fambly sense with Hat Kid. Because while I'm weak as hell for that, and I LOVE the idea, I feel like. Hrgn. There was not. Enough growth. To. Make it feel. Right. The death wishes were kinda the nail in the coffin for me as I thought about it longer. I have one brush-it-under-the-rug excuse that I dabble in any time I want to just ignore Snatcher being a Bad Person(tm) and indulge in found fambly trope, but. e. I feel like more interpretations of him should acknowledge that he Does In Fact do really awful things to Hat Kid!! Cool tragic backstory still attempted child murder (on multiple accounts if death wish is included). i dunno. a

Favorite relationship

CC: The made up rivalry I have between her and Mafia Boss because writing their bickering is so so fun for me

Subconites: they are loooking at snatcher and going "you are my dad! you're my dad! boogey woogey woogey"

Snatcher: listen his relationship with Vanessa is not good by any means but it's interesting and for that fact alone I'm putting that here. He's like one of the few characters that gets deep and intriguing lore and it's because of her. so. wa

Favorite headcanon

CC: have I made it clear yet that she adopts Hat Kid and becomes her mom. Also funny headcanons of her potential past relationship with Empress. I am not immune to lesbians

Subconites: Literally anything pertaining to them acting like the stupid little undead children that they are

Snatcher: He's getting progressively more creachure as he's like this!! because I want to draw him as an eldritch horror and YOU cannot stop me

[avoutput]

Mario Mario & Luigi Mario || Super Mario Bros.

The beginning of any quest has its starting pains. In the early 90’s, Hollywood set out to begin getting a cut of that sweet video game money. At the time, video games were mostly considered toys, and they were advertised as such. As the medium grew more adult, so did its films. Still, they had to begin somewhere, and why not with the biggest gaming property on the planet past and present: Super Mario Bros. This provided an unknowingly impossible challenge for creatives, one that is still a topic of intense discussion to this day. How does one balance the adaptation of a property from a completely different format into film? At the time, other films that looked similar to what Super Mario Bros would become had succeeded despite the challenges of adapting comics for film. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the first re-imagination of Batman since the 60’s went on to invigorate their respective properties. Today, comic book movie adaptations are the tent pole of every major movie studio. In the case of Super Mario Bros, despite its critical failure at the time, I honestly feel like the creatives succeeded. The ire this film would glean over time from both fans and the people behind the camera fuel its bad reception to this day. In my opinion, it is actually a success story in the world of video game adaptations, and a great place to start if you plan on watching every Hollywood attempt. I promise you this: it could be so much worse. And for later attempts, it was! But, does Super Mario Bros thwomp?

In my initial argument, I raised that these films should be broken down into categories including: Originality, Preservation, Construction, Delivery, and Fanservice. Originality and Preservation can be at complete odds with one another. In the case of Super Mario Bros, it turns out to be a good combination of both. They offset each other just enough to find a balance between the reality of our world and the fantasy of the mushroom kingdom. Sit back in your chair and imagine the real world of 1993, what films looked like back then, the landscape of video game culture. I think the creators had this very much in mind when they penned this movie. The very first thing that happens in the Super Mario Bros movie is the NES theme song with all the depth a stereo sound system can provide. It really sets your little gamer heart aflutter. It conjures up images of the brightly colored games. Using narration, they make promises of dinosaurs, meteors, and other dimensions. If you don’t think too hard, it kind of sounds like a version of Super Mario Bros that was advertised via the game manuals and cartoon show. If you are familiar with either, a pair of New York plumbers essentially get sucked down a drain pipe. This process is a little more drawn out in the film, but It turns out more or less exactly as good as could have been expected in 1993. In fact, the film really isn’t above sucking them down a drain pipe, they do crazier things, but I suspect that they wanted the plumbers to have a more direct conflict that would lead them to try and save princess Daisy.

The plot of the film is par for the course in a children's film and a direct consequence of the game itself, especially if you consider the 3rd entry. A good king and an evil military general, betrayals and coups, princesses sent to live in another realm only to return home with a pair of knights to dethrone the evil king. A tale as old as time, one that continues to be retold because it resonates with us. The filmmakers were really focused on this being a performance of realism meets fantasy This would come to be the major struggle that other video game movies would continue to have problems balancing. They took concepts from the game and gave them an original spin and most within the framework of the original work. Their creative license is often challenged for these choices, but in the context of making a live action Super Mario Bros movie in 1993, those challengers should check themselves. The real question you should ask yourself is, in this context, what would you have done differently? And would it really have been better? I struggled to find a way to truly make the concepts of this movie any MORE appealing, but it was surprisingly easy to make it worse. In one way, this film was a by the numbers kids adventure story, but it's being held to task mostly for failing to be a good adaptation of the game, a bar which didn’t exist when they made it, but one they set and cleared simply by attempting to do so much. All the Mario concepts are easily recognizable, which should be applauded, even in the face of them being a little wacky.

Despite its failings in authenticity, it actually packs quite a lot of fanservice into almost every frame. If you pay attention once they enter Bowser’s domain, the walls are littered with little ads and jokes all based on Mario properties. This is all in an effort to please fans, but the film does tend to leave these little things in the background, the camera more focused on the characters and plot, so blink and you miss them. If anything, this duty to fanservice seems somewhat creatively arresting. Had this film not been an adaptation of another work, they may have opted to skip a few things, like how Mario and Luigi employ the use of mushrooms. In the game, these would make the bros bigger, but this would have been a bit at odds with the backdrop of the grimmy New York City analogy they chose, not to mention technically difficult. People have been squashing miniatures for years, but I just don’t see this being a good use of the film’s time given every other decision. The film's overwhelming attempt to create entirely new flesh on the skeleton of an animated game is really only hampered by the audience's willingness to enjoy it for what it is, by questioning every creative decision. A lot of effort was taken to make the world feel cohesive, especially in its attempt to be parallel to existing New York City. They even take time on some more clever jokes that go somewhat unspoken. Everything in Bowser City runs on electricity, including the cars. The idea here is that fossil fuels do not exist because the dinosaurs of this world haven’t ever fossilized. Or maybe the dinosaurs knew it was bad for their planet? The film is constructed and delivered in such a way as to not take itself too seriously, but to appear parallel to something familiar to our own world in conjunction with the Super Mario world.

After having sat through the film with an earnest critical eye, I am not going to tell you the film is greater than the sum of its parts or that it's fantastic because it set out on an uncharted path. Instead, what I will attest to is that it was truly competent. It made every attempt to give you what you wanted and also took a few of their own twists on the formula. Bullet Bills turned into fuel for jumping, Bomb-oms wear Reeboks, shoes facilitate their ability to jump but also satisfy the boot you wear in Super Mario Bros 3. They even use the lightgun from the NES to navigate screens much like a mouse and the SNES super gun as a weapon! All this and still they found a way to make it all fit within the italian brothers from Brooklyn framing. Unfortunately, it would seem no one really learned anything from the success or the failures of this film. If the 90’s game films are any indication, the only thing they learned is that the box office is fickle and to double down on fan service even when it doesn't make sense, and in some cases, abandon everything about the game entirely and simply slap the name on a completely original film. And yet, despite all the bad press and internal struggles the Super Mario Bros production had, they came out the other end with an inoffensive, enjoyable film that both kids and adults can enjoy. Especially if they forgive the film any perceived sins, a gift that all film adaptations deserve, and just try to recognize what they really accomplished. Bringing to life a world that only existed in your Nintendo. It may not have been pretty, but damn if it wasn’t entertaining.