#bowuigi if you squint

[reader010]

I have been obsessing about @skippyin's Lost in New York AU. So much so that I made a short 1-hour writing dump about Luigi trying to find and rescue Bowser Junior from Brooklyn. Thought I'd share!

(Definitely not head-cannoning Luigi as Junior's surrogate second parent. Dear god what has the Bowuigi done to me 🥲).

---

Luigi was sweating. It was that cold, clammy sweat that clung to the skin and made him feel sick. Or was that just the sinking feeling in his gut, screaming at him that something was irreparably wrong?

He didn’t have the precious seconds to waste on determining which.

“Junior!” The young koopaling’s name launched from his lips, only to be drowned out by cars rolling down the overpass overhead. It was so loud – too loud. Nothing like the plumber’s peaceful life in the Mushroom Kingdom.

But Luigi came back for a purpose – da Dio he would accomplish it.

“Junior!”

He was going to bring the kid back. Kicking and screaming – most likely – but he’d get Junior out of here and back to his father, regardless of the young prince’s desires. An uncharacteristic confidence had overtaken the plumber. Luigi’s resolve was unshaken as he trekked through his old hometown, scouring the shadows which wrapped the streets in the ephemeral glow of dusk.

Luigi paid no mind to the rickety old apartment complex at the edge of the block, where he and Mario had made many a house call, back in a time when he had called this foreign place home. He didn’t think about the greasy pizza place on the corner where two broke bachelors could find a cheap meal; the old high school a couple streets down hardly registered.

“Junior!” No, the only thought in Luigi’s mind was to find the little koopaling. Find him quickly, before he was lost entirely, disappearing into the big city; find him fast, before anything else could happen.

…

…

…

But by the time he did, it was already too late.

Luigi had nearly passed the alleyway when he heard it. Sniffling. The earnest attempt of a child holding back his tears. The human leaped to attention as his eyes tracked the sound to their source, spotting a figure curled up in a black hoodie.

“Junior!” Luigi scrambled into the alley, to the aid of the young koopaling. The sniveling and shaking body hardly seemed to notice him; bright red eyes bristling with tears as Junior tried to bury his face into his sleeves. Acting on instinct, the plumber reached out to comfort the child, only for Junior to flinch away from him.

Luigi retreated his hand. With a frown etched across his face, he carefully looked over the young prince. He didn’t look injured, per se, but there was certainly plenty of evidence to some sort of scrap: the backpack he was wearing to cover his shell looked battered, with a few spikes poking out from its holes. His yellow shorts were stained with dirt at the knees. And…

…and his signature paintbrush lay, snapped in two, at the koopaling’s feet.

“Aye…” Luigi’s heart shattered in his chest. In the distance, he could hear the sounds of laughter, coming from a group of teenagers. But all the plumber’s focus was on the young child in front of him. “Mio bambino…” Unable to touch the crying koopaling, Luigi’s own vision began to fog.

“Can we just…” Junior spoke between sobs as his little act began to burst. “I don’t like it here,” he cried loudly. Luigi could do nothing but watch as the tears flowed freely down the prince’s face, the koopaling clamping his jaw tight to hold back anymore cries.

There it was.

There was the Brooklyn Luigi remembered.

The city that chewed up and spat out its inhabitants; that made people feel small and powerless. Just because it could. Just because it wanted to.

The Brooklyn Luigi had never wanted to return to.

The Brooklyn Luigi had so desperately wanted to keep Junior safe from.

“Sì mio figlio,” he extended his arms out to the young prince; Junior leaped into the plumber’s embrace as the tears continued to pour. A wet snout smeared against his overalls as Luigi picked up the turtle-shelled child to hold in his arms, hardly noticing the sharp spikes scratching against his wrists through the fabric of the bag.

“Let’s go home.”

[givemeuniversalcrossovers]

So random thought but Wereweegie, due to moon radiation exposure from helping Mario collect moon pieces or from like going to moon Town/the actual moon or something just general overexposure to moon magic he turns into a werewolf as a result. (Mario can turn into a werewolf too if you want but lmao this is a weegie post)

He's angsty as night rolls in as they approach bowsers Castle, he hasn't been feeling right for a while but duty calls. The fight is going bad, bowser gets the upper hand and smashes Mario into a wall where his body makes a horrible thud before he falls and doesn't get back up, Luigi is panicked going over to frantically check on his brother. He's alive thankfully but unconscious and badly hurt, he needs to get Mario out of here but Bowser is still looking for a fight, he can feel himself shaking. But for once not with fear but with anger and some weird sick feeling in his guts. He's fuming theres an unnatural fury inside him as the sky outside clears moonlight falling through the windows into the throne room. When he turns to snarl at bowser to "Get away" his mouth is sharp with teeth claws ripping through his gloves and his pupils wild as his hair seems to grow out of control and his body cracks and groans as it grows. Before Bowser can really process he's getting jumped by the more than feral Luigi who with ease throws him through the walls of his throne room and as quickly as he became feral he's picking up Mario and fleeing his castle. (Bowser is hoping that doesn't awaken something in him)

Luigi being a good boy despite being feral whining softly worrying for his brother while also ready to savage for him. And kind of desperate for a cure too cause oop this aint great. For angst lovers you can play with him slowly losing his humanity. For me I'm just cuddling this confused fluffy beast, also green fur cause iconic.

[shapeshiftinterest]

quick lil (future) family picnic doodle for @sugarof5oaks

kamek: don't forget to eat your greens, son!

bowser: bleh!

luigi: nom nom nom

bowser doesn't like his greens but luigi'll eat them for him the way he'll eat mario's mushrooms when he doesn't wanna

bowser's pet chain chomp is taking a nap and mario's feeding croutons to polterpup

can't draw a salad and i thought it'd be funny so i put one i found while looking thru images instead lol

kamek's coming back later (he needs to get more food/ drinks from the kitchen)

[istadris]

Consider : mario movie AU where Luigi is a slippery little thing who keeps escaping from his lava cage...only to keep getting into more trouble, again and again.

Everytime a guard comes running to Bowser about the human prisonner escaping, Bowser stresses first about the escape (he can't make the perfect wedding gift without the kin of his enemy !), then he stresses twice as much about how the prisonner keeps running into danger.

So far in his various attempts at escaping Luigi, in his glorious and terrible mix of good and bad luck, has :

Hid into the piranha plant greenhouse right before mealtime

Ran into the Bob-omb quarters with a lit torch

Tripped into a corridor with abruptly awoken Thwomps

Dropped a Dangerous Mix of potions in Kamek's lab

Crashed a clown car twice

Climbed an used rope that had snapped right above lava

Somehow caused the staff to unionize and riot (on the plus side, Bowser gained a lot of Dry Bones staff that day)

Ripped off a Shy Guy's mask by accident

Stolen a Koopa Troopa spear only to stab himself in the foot with it

After too many attempts, Bowser has enough, grabs his cage and puts it in the throne room, because if Luigi keeps trying to give Bowser white hair, might as well do it under the king's watch. Koopa knows Bowser could use a stress ball right !

...Luigi makes for a very soft stress ball, actually.

[angelxd-3303]

So apparently Bowser can play piano- This is very interesting-

When I tell you that I JUMPED out of a half-asleep state at six in the morning to make this! Good Lord, they're trying to kill me with this movie!

[skullscramblies]

Postcard to a friend, front and back. Headlined: “I regret to inform you, I’m excited about the Mario movie”

[virginwetrooster]

Super Princess Peach, but while Peach is on her way to save the Brothers, Bowser uses the Vibe Scepter on them to mess with their emotions.

"Gwahaha now fight him, fight your brother! Yes, pin him to the ground and...bite him on the neck ? And kiss him ? Wow, I didn't know humans fought like that. Oh, they're taking their clothes off now...okay this is getting weird."

"Why are you not stopping them, your Disgustness ?"

Bowser just kicks Kamek out of the room while still watching the brothers, fascinated and confused because he's an idiot.

[disappointing-my-kid]

Bowser uses illusion magic to make Luigi see Mario die

This one is for you @xxno-thoughts-just-chaosxx i loved the fanart you did it was fantastic!!! Herez 3500 words as a thanks!

~

Ok im back after finishing the post and uhh it gets dark so tw character death ? Uhhhhhhhh sorry yall i told ya im bad at fluff also thanks @hyperfixatingonbowuigisohard <3 i hope you enjoy and thanks @wickfur and @nagichi-boop for helping me edit and proof reading this bad boi

Bowser had kidnapped the green one to try to weaken Marios advances in reaching his castle as quickly. So far it had been working, that or Mario didn’t care for his brother. He figured it wasn’t that. Mario probably hadn’t even found the note his minions left. Unlike how he kidnaps the princess this one had been more discreet. Greenie had just been at their home and all alone so his minions just quietly nabbed him. That was two days ago though. Finally on the 3rd day someone took notice and reports of the red nuance on his way started to trickle in. Though he wasn’t making much progress.

Which means Bowser spent two days with this annoying green bean in his dungeon. He was no fun at all either. Bowser had tried to mess with him a little but the man wasn’t having any of it. They both knew this was longer for Marios normal rescues but no matter how Bowser spun it Greenie still believed his brother would save him. It was a little admirable how much faith he had in his brother, if not very annoying also. The man just trusted his brother completely. Nothing Bowser tried could convince Greenie otherwise.

That is until Kamek told Bowser of a new magic he finally figured out. Illusion magic. With Mario steadily making his way to the castle so Bowser and Kamek wouldn’t have much time to test out how this magic works to use it on Mario. His brother was the perfect subject for such a test. He quickly called to have the prisoner called to his throne room while he and Kamek planned out what illusion they could try and make.

~~~~ POV switch

Luigi had been here, shackles on his hands for three days, he thinks. Hard to tell a day in the Badlands. But Bowser made that easy by telling him how long it had been. Not sure if he could trust Bowser’s word but it did feel like three days so he just assumed it had been. He hoped his brother was okay. Three days was a bit long for a rescue, though Luigi had expected it to take longer. He was no fool like Bowser seemed to think he was. Captured alone at night from his and his brothers home. No raging fires or sounding of alarms. A kidnapping more akin to his home world than the Mushroom Kingdom. Plus he knew why Mario would take long to notice. He was out taking one of his two day training trips. No one but Luigi and maybe the princess knew about them. And if Luigi was being honest, he knew it probably wasn’t actually for training. His bro needed some time to himself to process some things for a few days before they came to this world, so why would that change. So he knew right from the start Mario would take longer.

Even so, he did wish Mario would pick up the pace once he realized Luigi was missing. The cuffs on the shackles hurt as they dug into his wrists. They hadn’t given him anything since he arrived here. No food. No water. Nothing. He's lucky the cell has a sink in it or else the dehydration would have probably got him. One guard did take pity on his growling stomach the second day and gave him some sort of fruit. He had never seen it before so it must be native to the Badlands. He gratefully accepted, not caring if the fruit was good or not. He trusted that Bowser would want to finish him off himself and he trusted that his minions knew better than to kill him, less they wanted to suffer his wrath. Even if he did wish they would stop visiting to torment him. Still though, the fruit hardly kept his hunger at bay. To top it all off, his mind was having a field day with all the things that could go wrong. His insecurities run rampant. ‘He’s not coming’ his mind whispered. ‘It’s been days no one is coming’ another poured in. It was easier to tell Bowser he trusted his brother. Easier to show how confident he was in Mario saving him. But truly believing it was another thing all together. If Bowser noticed in their “chats” that Luigi was more trying to convince himself than Bowser, then Bowser didn’t show it. With how little Bowser actually looked at Luigi he figured Bowser didn’t notice. After all, Luigi never took Bowser for being horribly cruel. Anger issues sure, but Luigi had seen how Bowser looked at his children. And his brother had told him stories of Bowser helping him with a team up here and there. Plus when the man got frustrated with Luigi's faith in his brother he could tell Bowser was pulling his punches. Though to say they still didn’t hurt would be a lie. His body still aches from his last “chat.” Being thrown to the ground hurt a lot more when you hadn’t eaten much for nearly three days and when the ground was a stone prison floor instead of soft grass, but it really wasn’t helping the situation.

Though Luigi was pulled from rubbing his bruises and thoughts when he heard someone approaching his cell. Luigi had hoped it would be the same guard as before but the amount of footsteps told him that it wasn't. It was some koopas he hadn’t met yet. Some had visited him in his cell to taunt him during his stay. Taunt, tease, yell at, and even one threw a rock but these guards had been some that never visited in such events. No, one of these guards had a chain in its hand and another guard had some keys in theirs. “Great” Luigi sarcastically thought, as he figured its time for more rough handling. “The all Mighty King Koopa has requested your presence, pathetic prisoner.” the one with the keys spoke. Which was new. Clearly Bowser had no problems with coming down to the prison, so why the change to move Luigi? Before he could even ask anything the cell was unlocked and he was rushed. He wasn’t even going to resist but they still grabbed him and harshly pushed him to the wall. Was this amount of force needed? He was weak from lack of food and again not even fighting back. He winced, as he knew one koopas grip was gonna leave bruises. He soon realized something cold was put around his neck, it was clearly a bit too tight on him. And his arm restraints had been exchanged for wrist restraints. Now his hands are bound together by just cuffs. Once released he nearly dropped to the floor, he was able to steady himself for a moment. But then the chain that was attached to the metal collar on his throat was yanked, and he fell forward. “Get moving prisoner.” With a groan and another yank he was on his feet and being led through the castle.

After constantly being harshly yanked along they finally reached the throne room doors. Luigi hardly had time to take in how massive the doors had been before they slowly started to open. Not wanting to fall again Luigi tried his best to keep up with them as they started to bring him into the room. “The prisoner, your Majesty” the one holding his chain said, bowing, as he was once again yanked back to the ground despite his efforts. Slowly he lifted himself to get back to his feet but he froze once his gaze met Bowsers. The anger he sees there couldn't be mistaken for anything else. Luigi gulped down the lump forming in his throat. Maybe leaving the cell wasn't as much a good thing as he had hoped.

~~~~~POV SWITCH

Bowser called for the green prisoner to be brought to the throne room the moment he and Kamek had everything planned out and ready. He could hardly wait to see the Green Beans' faces after what they had for him. Though when he actually saw the state his prisoner was in, and he couldn't stop the anger building up in him. Since when had he given the order for torture? Sure he might have roughed the man up a bit himself, but those had been mostly by accident. His rage just got the better of him, but he didn't remember doing all this. Clearly someone was acting without orders and that alone made him ready to rampage in his own castle. He came back to his senses when Greenie was forced to the floor by his guard pulling on the chain attached to the other’s neck. Which clearly wasn't needed as the man hadn't even tried to resist. That just made Bowser more angry. Though, as he watched the plumber start to raise his head and their eyes met it was clear the other thought he was angry with him. It didn’t sit right with him but he wasn’t about to correct it either. All the better that Greenie is scared. Even if it wasn’t his intention, though he did intend to scare the green one out of his wits with this illusion. Quickly he regained his composure “Leave us.” Bowser demanded maybe a tad too harshly as he watched the prisoner flinch. “I have something to discuss with this prisoner.” A slight smirk graced his face as he again looked to the man in question, who started shrinking in on himself slightly as they once again made eye contact. No time to dwell on that. As the guards left Bowser got up and slowly made his way over to the man on the floor.

~~~ POV switch

Luigi sat on the floor as Bowser headed his way. He started to scramble backwards but was quickly stopped by a large foot stepping on the chain that was still attached to his neck, wincing at the movement. A truly wicked smirk was covering Bowser's face “going somewhere?” Bowser teased. Swallowing his fear, he stammered out “i-i um you know h-have places to be thi-things to do.” Bowser, of course, laughed harshly as he pulled his foot backwards, causing the chain to yank Luigi forwards onto his face. Slowly lifting himself onto his elbows he quickly froze as a clawed finger lifted his chin to meet Bowser's gaze. Time froze for Luigi as he saw nothing but sick mischief in Bowser's gaze. “Now now don’t be in such a rush.” As a large hand left his face and went to his neck to get a hold of the chain. Rising to his feet Bowser yanked Luigi up with him. “No no can't have you leaving so soon.” Bowser laughed as Luigi didn’t even notice the new weight added to the end of the chain. And if Luigi wasn’t concerned for his safety enough “I’ve got big plans for you Greenie, big plans indeed.” Those words filled him with dread.

Before Luigi could even begin to ask, the doors burst open. Both their heads snapping to attention in said direction. There stood Mario. “MARIO!” Luigi called out to his brother and started to move towards him but was pushed back by Bowser. “WHAT?!?? You shouldn’t be here yet!” Bowser roared, moving in front of Luigi into a fighting stance. Mario was also preparing for a fight, though he looked like he had already been in one. He had to of rushed right here after finding their home empty. He was probably tired. “You think you can kidnap my brother and get away with it!” Mario retorted. Then they both charged. Quickly Luigi got to his feet and tried to help his brother only to be stopped by the chain. Pulling with all his might he couldn’t get it to budge one bit. Turning back to the battle for a moment, just in time to see Bowser land a solid punch to his brother's stomach. Sending Mario tumbling across the floor. “NOOOO” Luigi yelled. Panic filling him as he yanked even harder on the chain. But it wouldn't budge an inch.A laugh boomed into the room as Bowser approached Mario’s form. Slowly Mario was trying to get up only to be met with a kick to the gut sending him rolling once again. Tears started to pour down Luigi's face as he watched in horror as his brother struggled to get to his hands on knees. A low chuckle filled the room that sent a chill over Luigi’s body.

 Slowly Bowser stalked towards Mario. Towering over the man “Not so strong now are you?” As he reached down, much to Luigi's horror and picked his brother up by the throat. Mario thrashed in his grasp trying to escape. “STOP IT!” Luigi finally broke out of his trance and yelled. Of course Bowser now fully turned to face him, Mario in hand. “Or what Greenie? Hmm what are you gonna do to stop me?” Luigi's gaze met his brothers and he knew. He would do anything. “Anything! Whatever you want! I'll do it, just please!” His voice breaking as he begged “i’ll do anything please please just spare him.” A low hum resounded from Bowser as he made a show of pretending to think about it. A pit formed in Luigi's stomach as he spoke “As enticing of an offer that is, Greenie “ Luigi's eyes widened in horror as Bowser's grip tightened on his brother's throat. “I think I would rather be rid of this pest than have his useless brother.” The words hit him like a truck and stabbed him to his core as he stood frozen watching his brother's struggles stop and arms fall to his sides. Just above a whisper “n-no” Luigi in disbelief stared at his brother's unmoving form. Bowser laughed once again “Struggling with reality Greenie?” Tossing Mario’s lifeless body in his direction as if it was nothing. Luigi was unable to move as it rolled towards him. His eyes met his brother's lifeless ones. Standing there he stared. It's as if everything else disappears. Just him and his brother.

And then his legs gave out. He fell to his knees. Face twisting in horror. Denial coming into full swing “no.. no it.. m-mario get up. Please you” he his breath hitched “you have ta get up now.” His brothers form unmoving as he slowly tries to crawl over to it. But right before he could reach out and grasp his brother once again he was stopped by this chain. Mario was just out of reach to him in more ways than one. He sat there a moment before finally shouting, “Mario get up! COME ON!” All energy leaving him with the shout “please bro” he sobbed “p-please i i need you please d-don’t leave me all alone.” Tears falling onto the floor “you-you’re all i have please don’t go.” Once more he reached out for his brother's lifeless form. This time though something changed as the chain no longer held him back and slowly he reached out for his brother's shoulder only to have it to start to sparkle away. Slowly light lifted upwards as he watched his brother disappear. He numbly grasped at the pieces that disappeared between his fingers.

~~~~POV switch

Bowser stood motionless as the illusion started. Kamek told him how it worked. All he had to do was stand here and make sure Greenie didn't touch the magic. Once someone touched it then it would fade. So it was a real show for him too watching himself fight Mario. He was quite surprised as Green Beans strength when the man tried to pull the chain. But Bowser still had it securely stuck under his foot. The moment he turned Greenie around was when the magic started. And oh boy what magic it was. He nearly roared out in triumph watching himself win. But that would completely ruin the illusion, having his own roar come from somewhere else. What came next though. He didn't quite like and he struggled to figure out why. Even knowing himself it was an illusion the lifeless body made a chill run up his spine. But he froze upon watching his prisoner's reaction. Unable to react himself as the scene played out in front of him. Gut twisting. Then it hit him. Too far. He’s gone too far. Hearing the man beg for his brother to return to life to him really took Bowser off guard. He stepped back as the shock of the scene washed over him. The moment he did though the plumber finally was able to reach his false brother. The moment he did though the illusion started to fade. Which made something inside him clench as he watched the man reach up to try and grab a piece of his brother's fading form. Forget crossing a line he all but ran past the line and was still going.

He had to do something. Nervously he cleared his throat. “So uh What did you think of our new magic!” He tried to sound proud and confident but it was hard even for him. The plumber didn’t respond. Didn’t move as he just sat there staring upwards where his brother's body faded out at. “Uhhh Greenie?” Gently he reached forward to grasp the man's shoulder. No reaction at all. Turning him around and Bowser pulled his hand back and gasped. The man's face. Eyes just as empty as the false corpse. He didn’t even look at Bowser, or well anything. He just stared forward. Mouth slightly parted with tears still rolling down his face. Oh lord what was Bowser saying about crossing a line. “Hey uh Greenie it was fake! That uh… pathetic brother of yours is still on the way!” Bowser was way out of his depth here “fake?” A soft voice tore him out of his thoughts. Just above a whisper. “Yea totally cool illusion magic!… so um…” what was he to say? All he could focus on was the lifeless eyes. “I-illusion magic?” The man said back. This wasn’t working. “KAMEK!” He called out and quickly the old magikoopa flew down from where he was projecting the illusion. “Quickly! Go find Mario and bring him here. Maybe seeing his brothers annoying and totally full of life face will help.” Kamek didn’t question anything and at once set off. After all he watched the same illusion Bowser had and agreed fully on that they went too far.

Not knowing what to do Bowser did what he could. He gently removed Greenie restraints. Wincing as he saw the damage, though no such reaction came from the man himself. His wrists swollen and scratched but his neck. It was bleeding from either the force Luigi had put on the chain trying to reach his brother or from his own men yanking him around. Either one was horrible enough for Bowser to feel bad. Every so lightly he pulled the man's chin up again, just like before, forcing their hollow gaze to meet his. “Hey it's gonna be alright. Mario is ok. It's gonna be ok”. At that he pulled him into a hug as if he was one of his own children. He didn’t know what else to do. Gently stroking the man's hair and back. Anything he could think of to bring him comfort. Eventually he got a reaction. Though it wasn’t really the one he wanted. As the man began to full on sob into Bowser's embrace. Arms coming up to grasp anything for a life line. Softly he started “shhhh it's ok. It's gonna be ok. He’s ok. It wasn't real.” He did his best to keep reappearing that last line. Hoping it would sink in. Eventually the sobs died down and he could feel the man trembling. Slowly he pulled back and held Greenie by the arms. Looking him right in the eye “I’m sorry, I-I went too far. It wasn't supposed to- It was just- we didn’t think-” Bowser couldn’t figure out the words. Nothing he could say would make this any better. There was no excuse. No justification.   Luckily he was saved by the doors bursting open for real. Mario is standing there just like before, but with Kamek floating behind him. Only this time his face wasn’t of rage or confidence. No, his face was full of worry as he spotted his brother. Kamek must have told him something. Greenie tensed upon seeing his brother. Bowser turned back to him “Go on. He's real” the man's breath hitched “and waiting for you.” At that last line he jumped up and all but smashed into his brother. Grasping for anything and everything. When nothing disappeared and he got a fist full of shirt, only then did he believe it to be real. Only watching them for a moment then turned to face Kamek who nodded in return, who quickly magically set another illusion into place. The only difference was that now the brothers had become alone. Neither wanted to fight the other so Mario helped his brother stand and even though he seemed mad about the injuries the other had he could tell now wasn’t the time. Slowly leading his brother out. Quietly Bowser ordered “Kamek follow them and make sure no one stops them on the way out.” And with that Bowser was left alone with his thoughts. And guilt.

[bowserssupermariopartylaugh]

suddenly wanna write a super mario party crackfic where the premise is just that bowser somehow misclicked and got luigi as a partner

Bowser's goal ofc is to get the stars and he thinks luigi will immediately throw. Is grumpy and huffy and complains a whole lot, but adamant that he can win regardless of luigi holding him back, and threatens luigi in the event that he does.

Except luigi ends up being a decent partner. He's nervous and terrified at the very start, and his rolls are shit, but eventually luigi gets his head in the game—losing his fear as he finds comfort in the familiarity and routine of the game—and though bowser has to carry for most of the minigames, something about luigi just seems to make the game lean more in their favor than bowser is used to. (Of course, he bitches about the opposing team getting this same benefit.)

Luigi also has some high ground when it comes to how he plays the game. How he moves on the board, what items he shoots for and how he uses them—his tendency to worry and overthink works in his favor here as planning ahead, something that's the complete opposite of how bowser plays. Their opposite attitudes cause friction and fighting at first, until they slowly start to see the benefit of each other's play styles.

There's the first moment bowser rolls a minus three after he'd just gotten done ragging on luigi for his poor performance in the minigame prior, only for luigi to save their asses when he rolls a seven. Ofc, bowser blames luigi for the bad roll (once he's gotten the dumbfounded blush off his face), claiming he was distracted by the memory of how awful luigi was at shaving ice.

There's also the moment luigi snags jr. as a buddy, something he needed to do before a nearby opponent did it first. Bowser isn't prepared for how naturally the two interact, like luigi sees jr. for the growing person that he is, and not just an empty headed kid, much less a /bad/ kid. Jr. is always eager to play for his dad's team, but he's never happy to tag along with a good guy. But luigi and jr. look to be having so much fun together that bowser almost feels left out. It, doesn't bother him as much as he thinks it should.

Luigi even seems to start doing better at the minigames the more he plays—/practices/—and bowser wonders how often—or, how little—luigi got picked as a teammate for that improvement to be so noticeable.

They have so much fun getting rich and high-fiving that the stars almost begin to seem secondary. Bowser even forgets to complain when the whomps predict the opposing team's victory even though he and luigi have been double-starring for three cycles straight.

The game was twenty turns and two hours long, but it still feels too soon when the toads give out the bonuses and declare bowser and luigi's victory. Luigi is the one who begins to walk away first, this clearly having been the first game he felt like he gave a worthwhile contribution to and unsure what to do with himself. Bowser is the one who stalls, lugging the man over to pour over the charts and graphs literally mapping their success.

The game was over. But there were other boards. Bowser feels it would be worth giving them a shot with his new partner.

edit: its just that this game gets the both of them to begin to truly cooperate. At first I thought it was more that luigi influences bowser to try to actually communicate and level with his teammate rather than just bossing them around. But bowser also pushes luigi to stand his ground, to stop just going along with whatever his teammate tells him, and to have confidence in his ideas. They just, /work/. 🥹

edit: though bowser knows it's more strategic for him and luigi to be on different parts of the board most of the time, there is a tangible joy he gets from landing on the same space together (the high-five and free money doesnt hurt either)

edit: there's a point where the rest of the players begin to realize that bowser and luigi play /really/ well together, and suddenly they're all against letting them be teammates (but in that 4th-graders sort of way) 💀

edit: bowser and luigi are totally those obnoxious best friends who still hold full conversations with each other across the classroom even after the teacher separates them, except in their case it's across the game board

They are also that meme of how best friends react when they pass each other's classroom in the hall (bowser makes faces; luigi does the silly dances), when they're passing by each other on the board

edit: bowser and luigi always insta-win the picture taking game bc bowser is so big he fills up the entire frame by default. so instead bowser just picks luigi up and they do stupid poses and faces while bowser occasionally smacks the other team away with a wag of his tail 💀 (bowser and luigi keep the photos to laugh at later)

edit: luigi stops using his alt dice block once jr joins his team so jr can roll too 🥺

[useless19]

In one of my previous posts I mentioned reading/playing the old Nintendo Adventure Books when I was a kid. Out of curiosity, I managed to find some scans of them online and poked through some of the ones I didn't used to have.

They still have an old-school cartoon vibe (constant quips, a lot of nasty appearance-shaming toward the bad guys, etc - they're from 1991), but if you can get over that, I really like the way they often have puzzles to give you hints as to which way to go. It's something I feel is missing from most choose-your-own-adventure books.

(Okay, yes, sometimes the puzzles pushed you in the wrong direction or were just straight up wrong, but the concept is there at least).

However, the reason I'm making this post, is because book 4 Koopa Capers has an opening which I'm amazed that the bowuigi crowd seems to have missed.

"KoopExpress," a voice yells outside the Super Mario Bros. plumbing shop in the heart of Brooklyn, New York. "Special Delivery!"

Luigi looks up from his new invention, a water-powered pasta machine. It isn't working quite right. "Strange," he says. "Mario and I weren't expecting any deliveries today."

The tall, thin plumber tucks his high-tech plumber's helper into the pocket of his green overalls and heads for the door.

When Luigi opens the door, he sees a big package on the stoop. It looks like a giant hero sandwich wrapped in brown paper. "Mmm, looks tasty! But there's no return address," he says, stroking his thick black mustache.

Luigi is even more puzzled when he takes the paper off. "It's a rug!" he exclaims. "I wonder where it came from?" He unrolls the carpet on the living room floor. "Very pretty. It looks like a Goomba pattern."

He steps onto the rug to get a better look. "Hey!" he shouts as it comes to life under his feet. It's a magic carpet!

Before Luigi can escape, the rug wraps itself around him so that only his head and feet protrude from the ends. It rises into the air and zooms down the hall through the special pipe in the workshop that leads to the Mushroom World.

The next thing Luigi knows, the rug screeches to a halt in front of Bowser Koopa's castle. "Oh no!" Luigi thinks. "I'm being served to my worse enemy for dessert."

Out of the corner of his eye, Luigi sees two large helmeted red turtles carrying hammers. The Hammer Brothers! They waddle up to Luigi, pick him up, and carry him into the castle, still wrapped in the magic carpet.

Soon Luigi's bearers arrive at Bowser's enormous throne room. They unroll the carpet and send Luigi tumbling across the floor. He rolls to a halt at the scaly feet of Bowser Koopa, king of the turtles and leader of most of the bad guys in the Mushroom World.

"Good," Bowser says, squinting down his slimy snout at the prisoner. "Now, everybody out! Not you," he growls as Luigi tries to sneak off with the rest of the crowd.

Bowser waits until everyone else leaves. Then, in an embarrassed whisper, he says, "I need your help, plumber."

Before Luigi can recover from shock, the turtle king goes on. "My daughter, Wendy O. Koopa has vanished! She may have been kidnapped," he gulps, shedding a large crocodile tear.

He wipes his eyes with his sleeve and continues. "I sent my Koopa Troopas to search for her, but with no luck. I need a real hero to find her!" He puts his arm around Luigi's shoulder and adds, "I know you can do it. But the whole thing must be hush-hush. I want it kept a secret from my sons, the Koopalings. It's possible that one of them may be the kidnapper. Besides, no one can know you're working for me. It would be terrible for my image."

Luigi is very confused. "Let's recap," he says. "You want my to find your daughter? And you don't plan to tell anyone I'm working for you? So I'll still have to fight your flunkies, including your bratty kids, while I'm doing it?"

Bowser nods. "Right. Of course, your brother Mario might have been a better choice, but---"

"Oh sure, everyone would rather have Mario," Luigi retorts, offended. "Too bad he's fixing that drip at Niagara Falls. What if I say no?"

"I'd be very annoyed," says King Koopa, showing all his teeth in a sinister smile.

As Luigi looks at Bowser's enormous teeth, he says to himself, "Maybe Bowser is telling the truth. There's a first time for everything. And he does seem upset."

Luigi takes another look at the turtle. Bowser is now gazing at the ceiling and whistling innocently. "On the other hand, he's a born liar," the plumber thinks. "Well, maybe I should look into this mystery, just to see what the real story is. Besides, it would be quite a tale to tell Mario."

"Are there any clues?" he asks aloud.

Bowser holds out two shreds of paper. "There was a note in her room, but her Nipper plant chewed it up. This is all that's left."

Luigi can read only two words, FORT and MAGMA, on the scraps. "Intriguing," he says. "Okay, I'll do it. It might even be fun!"

Solve this puzzle to see what happens next:

Help Luigi find his way through this message maze to see where the clues lead.

If you think Luigi should go to the Magma Pits, turn to page 55.

If you think Luigi should go to the Fortress, turn to page 20.

If you think Luigi should look around Koopa's Castle, turn to page 29.

[shapeshiftinterest]

Wan Wan Watch Out!: bowser x luigi

based on that part in 101 dalmations where pongo and perdita meet

luigi and bowser get tangled up at the dog park

bowuigi halloween event

prompt mix:

teeth

chains

story under the read more

Wan Wan Watch Out! (also on ao3)

So... this was happening.

All Luigi wanted to do today was hang out with Polterpup at the dog park. Play fetch, drink hot coffee, enjoy the crisp, cool air and changing leaves. That sort of thing.

Unfortunately for the green plumber, after a few rounds of fetch he'd thrown Polterpup's squeaky key toy too far.

And accidentally hit someone.

Bowser, specifically.

He'd tried to apologize, really! But when you hit the king of koopas in the face with a dog toy and your dog steals the keys to his castle and runs away with them it's kind of hard.

The ground shook as the Chain Chomp bounded after Polterpup, dragging Bowser behind them.

"WAN WAN! WAN WAN!"

"DOWN GIRL, HEEL!"

"Waaaaaaahhhhhh!!! Luigi wailed, 2 tons of live wrecking ball speeding past him.

"WAN WAN!"

The two pet owners grunted, Bowser crashing into Luigi. The Chain Chomp's moment, along with the abrupt stop from the collision, resulted in her getting yanked back and swung around like a flail around the two.

So here they were, a king and a plumber chest to chest, tied up with a dizzy Chain Chomp. Meanwhile, Polterpup was trying to invite the KO'd pet to play again, licking their face and wagging their butt in the air.

"Bad doggie!" Luigi said, not that Polterpup was listening.

"Bad doggie?? This' all you're fault, Greenie!" Bowser fumed, trying to force his way out of the chains. Luigi 'eeped' as their binds got tighter the more the king struggled. If the other would just stop for a minute, maybe he could use the wiggle room to free them both.

Bowser continued to huff and puff, throwing jabs at the other and talking over him when Luigi would try to share his plan.

"And another thing- Yeowch!"

If his hands weren't pinned to his sides Bowser would've rubbed the small bite mark on his muzzle, but for now he could only glare down at the younger brother of his nemesis. Cheeky brat.

He growled, about to give the shorter man a piece of his mind, but was immediately shushed. How dare-!

"A-are you sure the cafe's around here, Plonk?"

"Of course I'm sure! The map says so right here!"

"(That map's upside down...)"

"What? Why didn't you tell me that sooner, Guy!?"

Bowser froze, he knew those voices.

"H-hey, isn't that Lord Bowser's Chain Chomp?"

"(What's she doing all alone?)"

"Yip! Yip!"

"Woah! What's a ghost dog doing here?"

"(I think that's the tall plumber's dog.)"

"Y'mean the guy Lord Bowser's been ob-

No no no no no, he couldn't have his Elite Trio see him like this! And why the heck were they just discussing his private biz out in the open for! Urgh, he'll have Kamek talk to them later.

Panicking as their footsteps came closer, Bowser rolled himself and Luigi into some nearby bushes. Horns almost touching the ground, he was basically kneeling over the other.

"I can-a help, you know." Luigi whispered, seeing an opening.

"Huh?"

"Trust-a, Luigi!" He said, a determined look on his face.

"..."

Bowser snorted, so the Green Bean had some moxxie, interesting.

"Bleh, fine. The sooner we're free, the better."

With a wiggle and a shimmy and what Bowser thinks might have been a dislocated shoulder (what the heck?!), Luigi somehow gets enough room to scooch his way out from under their confines.

As quickly and quietly as he could, the plumber helped slide the chains off of his larger companion so they wouldn't alert his minions.

The two waited for the Trio to leave but, to Bowser's impatience, it seemed his minions had abandoned their plans to play with their dogs. On the flip side, he was glad to see his Chain Chomp was fine after waking up.

Wait a minuted. Bowser squinted through the bush; what were they-

It was at that moment Bowser and Luigi realized they'd forgotten to step away from the chains coiled at their feet as the Chain Chomp sped after a stick thrown by Sergeant Guy.

"Yip!"

"WAN WAN!"

Aw crud, not again.

BONUS

hard time figuring out the ending but here's a summary for what i wanted if i had the energy to write it out:

bowser and luigi get tied up again and surprise the trio when they burst out of the bushes at the end of the chain chomp

the trio scatters and bowser's yelling for the chomp to stop/ for someone to give him a break already

maybe luigi does a special sharp whistle (one of his hands is free this time) and stops the chomp, which impresses bowser and his crew

with the trio's help they get untied again and luigi returns bowser's key

luigi leaves to find polterpup's squeaky toy

maybe the trio helps or suggests that bowser help

maybe something where they apologize to each other (mostly bowser blaming luigi and luigi saying sorry for his dog stealing his house key)

the trio gets the wrong idea: eg: bowser and luigi were on a date? eg: they were getting freaky in the dog park eg: bowser failed to kidnap luigi etc.

they end up gossiping and now the entire koopa kingdom and maybe a few other places are talking about how bowser has a thing for luigi

it's completely made up from the misunderstanding (but not completely untrue in general, it was just a coincidence this time)