#the koopalings are not adopted

[lore-of-the-mushroom-kingdom]

There Might Have Been No Koopaling Retcon?

In a previous post I talked about how the Koopalings were originally meant to be Bowser's Kids, and that this was retconned. However, upon further examination it seems the Koopalings since the start might have never been intended to be Bowser's children.

Okay so in the Japanese Manual of Super Mario Bros. 3's manual they are called Kokuppa 7 Kyōdai, meaning 7 Little Bowser Siblings. Notice how that doesn't say Bowser's kids, let's move on.

In the Japanese manual they are called Kokuppa 7 Ninshū meaning Team of 7 Little Bowsers. Again, not outright saying they are his kids.

So here's the thing, kuppa is Bowser's Japanese name, but also more than likely the name of his whole species. Similar to how Goomba can be named Goomba, but it's also the name of their species. So with that being said the little of 7 little Bowser/Koopa Siblings begins to make sense. Keep in mind Koopa Troopas or Common Koopas are called Nokonoko in Japan instead of Kuppa. The Japanese said wasn't saying they were Bowser's 7 children, it was saying that's their species name. Heck if the English side didn't give them their names they would have probably all just been called Bowsers.

So what's going on here? It's probably a localization problem based on misunderstanding the Japanese text and or adding to it. This is not uncommon especially back in the day. I intend to cover some examples in the future which I will link here. So if anything the the Team of 7 Little Bowsers were not intended to be his children, but the localization team added it in.

This naming is even seen in Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga with them being called Kokuppa-gundan, aka Little Bowser Corps.

This naming could also explain Koopa Kid or his proper name Minikuppa, he is a species of Mini Bowsers, or if we were to say it in English Boss Koopas. Also showing this hypothesis to be wrong, and a hypothesis in this post to be correct. But..... In the manual it Morton and Larry call Bowser oyaji, which apparently means father. However, it can also mean boss, or old man. But Bowser does say ore-sama no musuko-tachi meaning my sons or my children.

[childofsardior]

☀️ Summertime Vacantion ☀️

Interviewer: Child of Sardior, are you aware that the Koopalings are no longer considered Bowser's children by Nintendo?

CoS: Thanks for asking. Yes, I am aware that in the current canon of the games, the Koopalings are not considered kids of the Koopa King anymore, but his loyal minions instead. I am aware this change was made around the time of Super Mario Sunshine, along the debut of Bowser Jr., more than 20 years ago. And No, I don't give s**t about it.

(Ofc, I'm talking about my personal Headcanon :P I love the current canon Koopalings and their personality, and I love them in any type of hc, be they Bowser's kids or not x3)

WELCOME TO MY KOOPA-FAMILY-HYPERFIXATION ERA!

[sketchedboba]

How I see this going down:

Bowser: *walking with his troops to collect supplies from the Kongs*

Iggy: *piling up bananas for lunch*

Bowser: *pushes some bushes aside to see Iggy*

Iggy: ......

Bowser: What the-

Iggy: ........ *Slowly puts down the banana*

Bowser: *walks over and starts inspecting him*

Iggy: *confused and laughs from Bowser tickling him with his snout*

Bowser: where did you get these scars?

Iggy: *about to respond*

Bowser: Yknow what, You're mine now. *Picks him up by the scruff using his claws*

Iggy: *hasn't even said anything*

Kamek: you can't just adopt another child, sire!

Bowser: *already has Iggy on his back* Watch me-

[delightfuldevin]

The spiked bracelets Bowser wears are traditional bracelets for his family and him giving them to the Koopalings as well signifies him considering them part of his family (he did give a pair to Wendy too, but she doesn’t wear them because they aren’t cute enough for her and she rebels against tradition anyway). Bowser Jr doesn’t get spiked ones until he starts koopa puberty. Other Dragon-Koopa families have traditional bracelets of different designs as well. Wearing a specific pair of bracelets associates one with a specific family.

[itsamenickname]

Okay, so if you recall in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, there's this one specific episode called, "Do You Princess Toadstool Take this Koopa...?" where Bowser's mom makes an appearance so that she could see her son marry Peach (and eat the wedding cake afterwards).

Which got me to think about this one interesting question:

If we're assuming that Bowser's mom is canonically alive in the Mario universe, do you think that Bowser's mom would be supportive of her son's relationship with his arch-enemy's brother or do you think she would do everything in her power to try to convince Bowser to dump Luigi and go after Peach instead (assuming that Bowser would be the one to tell her that he's dating Luigi)?

[kakusu-shipping]

Royal Polycule Adventures in Parenting and some general Kid Doodles

[cartoonkoopalings]

Updated looks 2

Boom Boom: Husband to Kooky von Koopa (Victor Ludwig von Koopa) is head of security and leads the Koopa troopa when Bowser is away (remember that promotion k.v.k gave Boom?) He and Vic have been happily married for at least 3 years now, and he helps in the lab when Vic needs it when he's not training or doing his security job. The blue shell gloves were gifts from Roy for his birthday last year...probably stolen from giant land.

Pom pom: Lone lady of the Boomerang bro squad and Girlfriend to Kootie pie O'Koopa. She works with Boom as security for the castle and mainly deal with the weird things that sometimes happen in the castle....like defenestrating folks out the windows of the castle when the time calls for it . She recently had a similar incident that had befallen Kootie pie....Jr. wanting to play hairdresser....well she liked the short look so much she had Kp style it to what it looks like above. She still avoids missions that include being underwater . The new giant boomerang was a Koopmas gift from Kootie.

[palskippah]

Hi! There are role swap AUs of them already and I love them so much, so I tried making my own too! You should know that this is entirely self-indulgent like anything else I draw askdaslds

There is Mareach and Bowuigi bc yes alskdklasd and a tiny bit of one-sided Luaisy that leads to nothing because Luigi's a married man 😔

I had other drawings of them, but they're not colored yet and I wanted to share the idea already sjsjs

Here's some ideas for this AU!

-Mario's the Mushroom Kingdom Princess and his parents are the King and Queen. Luigi used to be the other princess, green princess or green princess Mario (as in, his bro Mario, not his last name Mario 😔), but he married Bowser and became the Queen of the Darklands :y Everyone in there respects and remembers his name, he's built a really good reputation for himself by simply being himself, in this house we believe in the 'Luigi is the Darklands' hero' hc too. Their aunt and uncles (and cousin) rule Sarasaland.

-(King boo's a Darklands ally but still hates Queen Luigi from that one time he wiped clean his mansion when the king kidnapped Mario. Luigi's scared of ghosts still too, but Junior always reassures him he's gonna beat them up if they try scaring his mama (I drew it actually, I'm gonna color it too!))

-When the bros were 20 Bowser at first tried kidnapping Princess Mario, and Mario was ready to beat his ass but they ended up talking about ally-making and ruling a kingdom as Bowser just got crowned king. Mario advised him to listen to his advisor and other stuff and by the time Luigi caught the koopa ship, ready to bonk Bowser in the head with his comically large hammer, the princess and king made plans of starting a treaty.

>Anyways, they met often after that when Bowser went to plan the treat with the Mario King and Queen. Luigi fell for Bowser and Bowser fell harder and Mario regretted talking to Bowser and should have instead just beat him up. He's happy for his bro though. When they married and had Junior and adopted the koopalings he decided that he was very happy that he talked to Bowser. He loves how happy Luigi is.

-Princess Mario accomplishes many things and excels at almost anything he tries, and all the toads treat him as a hero as well as a princess and all, so his dad doesn't think he's a failure, but still bothers him by urging him to get married ever since he turned thirty. He often compares him to Luigi, who got married at 23 and in the present had eight kids with his husband. Mario doesn't give a shit about marrying soon, but wished his dad would stop being annoying. His mamma is a sweetheart as always and often tells her husband to leave him alone. King Mario is stubborn as hell though (his two boys got that from him), so he doesn't.

-Peach and Daisy are cousins and they were trying to start a business together, though they weren't still sure about what (you know as Princess Peach and Daisy have many businesses together in canon aksdla), but before they could settle anything they somehow fell in the pipe and Peach landed in the Mushroom Kingdom and Daisy in the Darklands.

-Bowser still steals the Super Star, but in hopes of giving Luigi the coolest anniversary gift ever, as it's their seventh and all that. He very often gives him all sort of things, like great statues, many many dresses and all the stuff that he knows Luigi loves. Being the himbo he is, he's genuinely concerned that Luigi wouldn't like something unless it is completely new and has never been gifted to him at all. Of course, Luigi would love anything he'd give him, because Bowser's gifts are always made with love. By the end of the things, Luigi tells Bowser so and calls him an idiot affectionally, and also makes him return the Super Star. (movie-like, you know, since this is somehow a retelling alksdlasd)

-Based on what I read at discord, if you're who wrote it, pls know that i love your ideas jsjs- Bowser has set up many statues of Luigi that are of a nice stone color and has gems in its eyes to glow under the lava and the sun when it's out. Imagine that one Luigi render where he's got an arm raised and the other nicely by his side and he's smiling, that's the main statue of Queen Luigi sjjds. They contrast greatly against Bowser's, that were made to make his fierceness stand out, unlike Luigi's that highlight his kindness.

-In the piano scene, Bowser is playing and singing and Luigi's laying on his stomach over the piano's surface (no idea if that's possible but humor me alkdalsd) and listens with the most besotted expression ever, resting his face on his palms. When Kamek interrupts them Luigi's not mad or anything, but Bowser really glares at the magikoopa.

-Junior finds Daisy and brings her to the castle, in hopes that his mama and papa will help her, because they're the greatest people in the whole world and they can do anything.

-Daisy and Luigi quickly become friends, making Bowser jealous of the other human, especially because Daisy from time to time looks at Luigi as if she like-liked him. Not that he thought Luigi had eyes for anyone else beside him, but it was still annoying. And Diasy, for all she annoyed him, seemed to fully respect that Luigi was happily married.

-Daisy teases Bowser mercilessly too, at first clueless that she's supposed to be terrified and respect this guy like everyone else does (maybe Junior takes her to him first, and completely forgetting Junior's initial rambling about his family, she doesn't realize Bowser's the king, but when she meets Luigi, she sees his crown and fancy clothes and immediately knows she gotta be respectful to this guy. She doesn't know how royals are in this lava world, after all), but she keeps doing it, knowing the koopa king may look terrifying but he's mostly bark and no bite.

-DK and Mario are friends and they often meet up to beat the shit out of the other, or sparring as it's called, I think. The first time they did it, Mario got the cat power up and destroyed DK in front of the kong king and other kongs, and since then Cranky doesn't dislike Mario so much, and the others respect him greatly too.

-Mareach,,, they look at eachother and sparkles are in there too. Peach doesn't brutally throw Mario to the ground or anything, but he loses his breath anyways because of her beauty. Also, Mario's type is beautiful tall women (and tall idiot men, maybe his dad suggests DK as a husband and Mario's like ew dad, we're just friends. Or maybe... Donkareach... I like the fics that has them, but idk for this).

-Toad as a wingman, he doesn't care how obvious he is, he's gonna make Princess Mario and his new friend Peach be together, because they clearly like-like the other.

That's all I got for now askdalsd thanks if you read my ramblings, sorry if there's mistakes in writing.

I'm gonna color the stuff I got left and maybe draw more, but knowing myself I dunno if I will anytime soon 😔 Also I go back to college the next week sadly sjsjd

Got any thoughts on the AU? Tell cuz I'd love to know c:< but only if it's nice thoughts, I'm sensitive akdalsd

[freakartack]

earwig von poopa

Ludwig von koopa is the oldest koopaling and fancies himself as the "leader" of them all but nobody else cares. Pompous, insufferable, and comically serious, loves classical music and especially idolizes beethoven (whom he has transgenderly named himself after). Is also partial to mendelssohn and rachmaninoff as well. Wrote his own "koopa symphonies" as a child but they are detestably horrible and he likes to pretend those never happened, as well as a basketball themed ballet called Slam Dunkerina or something idk he was going through a phase. Kind of moody. The "straight man" of the koopalings only because he is oblivious to his own wackiness. Views himself as a genius and a strategist and secretly thinks he should be the one leading the koopa troop, but is still loyal to his old King Dad and also even more secretly would not really like to do that anyways because he'd rather focus on his art. Woefully addicted to chocolate. Studied Yoshi combat extensively in Dinosaur Land during the events of super mario world and now has the ability to flutter jump. Ironically is the only sibling that does not know they are adopted.

[spikedsoul]

Reader sitting patiently inside a mushroom kindom room.

Koopalings and Bowser Jr knock down the doors violently.

Reader, Sips tea with a smile: Hello my babies

Koopalings: Hi mama!!

The kids would definitely be running around like cats desperately searching for their owner, complete with yelling and knocking things over

Peach: What's that noise?

Reader, sipping her tea: My kids

Peach: I thought you didn't have any...?

Reader: I accidentally adopted 8 of them. Brace for noise

Peach: What...?

Junior as he bursts into the room, followed by the Koopalings: MAMA!

Peach: Oh, hi, Junio-

Junior, scoffing as they all make a beeline for reader: No not you. Never you

Peach, stunned:

Bowser from the back: They grow up so fast :')

Reader, waving at Peach as the kids carry her out: Bye, Princess! Thanks for the tea!

Peach: ....what the FUCK just happened....

[razieldraws]

FINALLY! I finished the Koopalings redesigns 😭

I also want to share some headcanons

They're not Bowser's biological children, they're adopted.

Their father is Morton Koopa Sr., who died when they were little.

Larry: the youngest one, loves sports (expecially tennis) and video games. He's still a bit immature and inexperienced.

Morton: the gentle giant, he fights only if necessary. He's kind and protective towards his allies and his siblings. Not very talkative but an excellent listener, he's always there if anyone has a problem. He's also very empathetic.

Wendy: Loves fashion and fighting with style but also has a tomboy side . She wears her mother's necklace, she considers it a good luck charm and a precious memory of her. She doesn't appreciate Roy's rough manner but still gets along very well with him.

Iggy: It is not uncommon for him to behave strangely, his mood can change drastically in a few seconds, you may see him talking to himself or even see him wandering without a specific destination. Those who don't know him may consider him crazy, but he is actually very intelligent and a mechanical genius. The loss of his parents had a strong impact on him.

Roy: the strongest one. He has considerable physical strength and does not hesitate to throw himself into the fray. He loves to fight and never takes off his sunglasses. The loss of his parents hurt him a lot but he doesn't want to show it because he wants to prove that he is strong, he wants to be a point of reference for his siblings.

Lemmy: He's the second oldest but still very childish. He loves the circus and wants to become a circus performer. People tend to underestimate him due to his height but he's very skilled in combat thanks to his agility.

Ludwig: The leader of the Koopalings and very skilled with magic and music. He's very strong and smart but reserved towards strangers, he cares about a few people besides his siblings.

[lore-of-the-mushroom-kingdom]

The Koopalings Are Not Bowser's Children

So I realize I have not made a post addressing the Koopalings and their status, only ever referring to it in passing. So as we know the Koopalings in the manuals were called Bowser's Kids, and that this led to external media such as the Super Mario Adventures comic and Super Mario Bros. 3 show depicting him as his kids.

While this was the original intention this was retconned and the Koopalings went from being Bowser's kids to his commanders. Note: There might have never been a retcon to begin with, however they still aren't his kids. I made another post going into detail on why this is. In a Gameinfomer titled Mario's Creators Answer Burning Questions About The Series interview when asked "In Super Mario Bros. 3, the Koopalings were supposed to be Bowser's children. But there's also Bowser Jr. Are they all his kids, and are they all from different mothers? Is Bowser Jr. a Koopaling?" Miyamoto responded with the following "Our current story is that the seven Koopalings are not Bowser's children. Bowser's only child is Bowser Jr., and we do not know who the mother is."

While many people have come to the conclusion that they are still his kids and they are just adopted, this isn't accurate. First off the intent is that they aren't his kids anymore, and you are still someone's kid if you are adopted.

The next part is the simple fact that they are never called his kids in any newer media. On the official website for NSMBWD they are only referred to as "leaders of Bowser's Troops." In cards they aren't called his children either.

The Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia outside of lifted text from old manuals which the Encyclopedia even notes, the Koopalings are never called his kids.

There is also the fact in game they are never called his kids, nor any implication they are adopted.

There is also the fact that they are too old to be his kids, and could even be as old as Bowser if not close to his age. In Color Splash Roy talks about attending night school or in other words he's in college. "I guess I'll just have to hope Lord Bowser can defeat you…" "Yeah, I know what irony is. BOOM. Knowledge is power, so I started going to night school."

There is the fact that the Koopalings only ever refer to Bowser by titles such as Lord Bowser and never father or stepdad, and they do the same for BJ calling him Lord Junior. They never talk about Jr being their brother, they talk about how he will be their boss one day, and they are even called his friends. "That punk will eventually be our boss!" "All right, Lord Junior.. We'll be facing off against Shy Guys in this next battle." "Well, he is Bowser's kid. There were bound to be some speed bumps." "They say that helicopter parenting doesn't work anyway. Just let 'em run wild!"

When Bowser asks them to watch over Junior they don't watch over him like older siblings, and even refer to it as being a form of parenting. They even directly refer to him as Bowser's Kid. There is also the fact Bowser beat up Iggy after making fun of Junior in front of Bowser. With all that being said, the Koopalings are not Bowser's kids but rather his underlings.

[istadris]

@nuctoria I'm answering this on its own because I have a Very Important Question : is Luigi or Bowser the one laying the egg? Because Luigi being the carrier would have so much potential on both hilarious and angsty side!

For the angst, I recommend this excellent fic : It Was a Mistake (Some TW to take in account but don't worry it'll certainly end well!

In fact, let's go with this idea of Luigi discovering (to his great shock) that Koopas and humans are reproductively compatible and Koopas have a wonderful bit of magic that helps their partner's insides adapt to egg laying.

BUT! I am not here for angst but for humour, so humour me with this other scenario :

After a one-night stand they both agreed should be forgotten, Luigi and Bowser don't interact for months. But one day Bowser learns that Luigi is taking care of an egg...and of course, he doesn't put two and two together and instead of coming to the obvious conclusion, he scoffs in anger, convinced Luigi is going after every Yoshi or Koopa laying down for him.

"Am I not good enough for him?? Now he's off adopting eggs from some random hussie?? Well GOOD FOR HIM!! It's not like I care about him in any way!"

(to be fair to him, because of weird Koopa biology, if he thought an egg would be laid, he would fully expect to be the carrier).

But because the Kooaplings are NOT dummies (well, not all of them), they immediately understand what happened. And they react to the news by "new baby sibling? Well we can't let the Mario Losers keep a child of the Koopa king, let's get it back".

Big.

Mistake.

Oooooh boy, is it a big one.

When the Koopalings show up and try to snatch baby Koopaling, Luigi snaps. You mess with baby, you get Mama Luigi.

He sends them all packing back to the Darklands with broken shells, twisted tails and a newfound respect for Luigi. Such a fearsome mama!! Sure, they really, really want to get their future sibling back now, but Luigi has more fire than expected! Where was that courage all this time?

Thus, as the good, loyal and diligent kids they are, they scheme a whole plan to force Bowser to meet with Luigi again. Completely out of filial love, and not at all because Luigi now terrifies them and they would rather send Dad to deal with him before facing his Poltergust again.

...."Hey, how much do you think it would take to bribe Mario into helping us?"

[sop-soap]

me and my girlfriend were talking about this specific frame of the game theory intro and how it looks like bowser is going to kidnap isaac and

anyway, in my mind isaac has been adopted by bowser and is being raised amongst the koopalings

[askthebowserbunch]

Are all the Koopalings directly related to each other or just adopted? They look pretty different!

Adopted siblings, but still siblings nonetheless :]