#doodlebug posts

Takes place after the trilogy of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, it’s sequel I’m envisioning called Super Mario World, and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie I have in mind. This movie will be eerie and scary, like the original Luigi’s Mansion. It will have the same type of storytelling and humor of the other movies, except this one isn’t afraid to portray disturbing content in accordance with censorship guidelines for a family movie. The main premise of this movie, at least for the first part, is King Boo stumbling upon powerful dark magic embodied in a purple jewel. The artifact is very similar to the Orb of Dominance from Minecraft Dungeons. This artifact transforms King Boo from a cartoonish royal ghost into the embodiment of fear and death itself almost instantly. Just like the Orb of Dominance, the jewel seeks a host and gives them immense power to conquer. (If Bowser had found this thing first, the whole world would probably be destroyed…) The first thing the jewel does is tell him that Bowser must be punished for treating King Boo as a subordinate. King Boo actually is a subordinate to Bowser, and he wasn’t even upset by this, but the jewel has taken over his mind like a parasite. The jewel’s plan is to claim Bowser’s position in power and turn his empire and far beyond into his grim image. What started this idea is a product of my vindictiveness. Even though he’s a fictional character, it upsets me that Bowser uses intimidation and force to get what he wants from innocent people, and there’s absolutely nothing stopping him. So I wondered… What would Bowser do if he had to fight an enemy whom his tactics would do nothing against, for example a ghost? Furthermore, what if this ghost could fight Bowser back in a completely different way than he’s used to: psychological warfare? Bowser loves the feeling of dominating and harassing people he has control over. But he’s never had this done to himself, especially not by someone who he has absolutely no defense against. King Boo under the influence of the jewel gives Bowser such horrifying visions, all of which prey on his insecurities, that from this point on, the tiny shred of good in Bowser’s heart convinces him that being unnecessarily cruel to other people is a waste of his time and energy. He’s no less of a warlord, but he is less of a deranged tyrant, having newfound respect for the lives of his army. Bowser has three nightmares, each one worse than the last. Once it was completed, I realized that I had rewritten A Christmas Carol completely on accident.

The story begins at dusk with some Boos impishly returning stolen goods from a nearby manor. Two Boos are levitating a treasure chest. They’re also wearing stolen jewelry, looking silly. They take the treasure back to Boo Manor, using their ghost powers to phase the treasure through the wall. Later at night, King Boo is jovially floating in a bouncy, carefree gait, enjoying being royalty. Then, he hears something whisper to him. He notices it but shrugs it off. He lives in a haunted mansion, mind you. But the whisper persists. It’s ethereal and alluring. It drives King Boo into a trance. He goes mad searching around the manor for the call. Soon, he appears before his treasury. He floats inside and sees magenta light peeking out of a treasure chest. By now, King Boo looks like he’s on drugs. He magically opens the chest with telekinesis, and the magenta light floods the room. The light dies down, revealing a massive glowing purple crystal inside of the chest.

“Wear me…” the voice commands. Completely at the crystal’s mercy, he lifts the massive jewel up to his crown. He puts it on, and the room explodes in a dark violet energy. Once King Boo is visible again, he’s undergone significant changes. He’s twice as big as he used to be. His eyes have become haunted specks of light encased in a sinister shadowy brow. Even his tongue has turned a deep dark indigo, and his crown has morphed slightly. King Boo then smiles wickedly at the audience, ready to be a source of evil.

In the next scene, Bowser is going to bed after a long day. He tosses himself down on his massive bed, decorated in his image. He closes his eyes and begins to snore.

The first dream starts from Bowser’s point of view. He finds himself in a world identical to his own, except he is the only one there. He is the only person in the whole world. Bowser desires to have the whole world to himself… but not like this. After wandering around the dark lands, he decides to visit the Mushroom Kingdom. The cowardly Toads would certainly provide the reaction Bowser was looking for. Once he arrives at the Mushroom Kingdom, everything is still dead silent. There are no Toads bustling around. Bowser couldn’t even see a single butterfly. In a desperate rage, he gets in his Koopa Clown Car and collides full throttle into the great stained glass window of the castle. It shatters and he roars to announce his presence. Still, no one responds.

"Princess?” He sheepishly asks. "Princess Peach?” Once he realizes that he’s truly alone, he retreats to his enormous ship in his Koopa Clown Car. Upon his return, the Koopa Clown Car is running off of fumes, hardly keeping Bowser afloat. It gives out and drops him a few stories out of the sky onto the scorched land. Bowser is hurt but not injured. In despair, he lets out a very loud roar of anguish to the void. Then, he burns everything around him with his fire breath. Once he realizes that nothing is different now except everything around him is burning, he falls to his knees and starts crying. It’s then he realizes that he’s not alone. He hears King Boo’s patronizing laugh coming from everywhere and nowhere.

“How embarrassing…” He taunts. Bowser quickly wipes the tears from his eyes, visibly scared. He tries to square up against the voice, but he can’t. He then makes out a hazy silhouette of King Boo through the fire that had turned purple. “Come find me.”

Bowser wakes up from his nightmare. He’s unsettled, but he tells himself that it was just a bad dream and goes back to sleep. As he falls back asleep, the image fades into the point of view flying into a scene of Bowser’s castle. Bowser is looking at himself in the third person. He is visibly confused and perhaps even distressed as he sits on his throne, looking at Princess Peach locked in a cage next to him, decorated with a cute pink bow.

“I don’t understand. You’re married to the most powerful man in all the world. You have everything you could ever want. Why are you so upset?” Viewing himself in third person, he can clearly see the absurdity of his confusion, as he looks at the princess in her cage. Princess Peach can’t even look at Bowser because of how disgusted she is. She looks awful, pale and sickly. She stares into space with her heartbroken eyes. After a few moments, she tells him with her voice shaking, “You took away everything I loved… I’ll never see my sweet little Toads again…”

"I have some locked in the dungeon…?” Bowser answers, obliviously. Princess Peach then breaks down into hysterical sobbing. What dignity is there left for her to protect? Bowser simply can’t comprehend why she doesn’t favor this position of immense power over being the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom. He certainly can’t understand how much her kingdom meant to her. In his fantasies, Princess Peach by his side was proud to be married to his highness, looking at him adoringly. "I miss Mario…" She says. Bowser immediately switches from confusion to anger. "You keep that name out of your mouth." Peach isn't afraid of whatever Bowser would do to her. It couldn't possibly be worse than being reduced to this for the rest of her life. So she proceeds to ponder aloud all the things she loved about Mario, which was the opposite of Bowser. Peach knows she’s pouring gasoline on the fire, but she doesn't care at this point. "…I love him.”

Bowser submits to his lowliest, beastly mindset. He takes a deep breath in. Not to calm himself down, but to literally fan the flame developing in his chest. Bowser watches as the flames expel from his mouth to burn the princess alive. However, to adhere to the censorship of a family movie, the part where the flames come out of him is played in slow-motion. The flames turn purple, and the environment dissolves into dark purple mist as King Boo cackles and the princess screams.

Bowser wakes up out of fear. He's lying in his bed… but he can't move. His heart pounds in fear as he sees a colossal image of King Boo silently leering over him in the dark. There's nothing he can do. King Boo looks Bowser in his terrified eyes. "Sleep." He commands. Bowser's eyes fall heavy and he is subjected to the third and final nightmare. Bowser sees himself in his wedding attire standing in front of him. Bowser's conscience has been implanted into Princess Peach during the wedding in the first movie. Bowser not only sees what the princess sees, but feels what she feels. And it's absolutely horrible.

"Lower the prisoners!" Bowser happily commands, giving the princess his respect by the ritual sacrifice of his prisoners. The events play out the way they did in the first movie, altered to be sped up for pacing. The scene plays where Bowser bursts out of the glacier he was trapped in. In pure rage, he commands the destruction of the Mushroom Kingdom with the most devastating weapon in his arsenal: the bomber bill. Just like in the movie, Mario chases after it in his flying tanooki suit in an attempt to stop it. In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Mario is able to redirect the bomber bill from the Mushroom Kingdom. However, King Boo decides to show his own creative interpretation of this event. Princess Peach watches Mario, a tiny dot in the distance, doing everything he can in order to stop the attack. It doesn't work. A melancholy piano cover of “Peaches” plays as the bomb descends. In the part where Bowser says “I love you” in the song, the bomb detonates, destroying the Mushroom Kingdom. The bomb explodes upon hitting the castle, leaving nothing but a purple mushroom cloud behind. The shockwave can be felt from where they're standing. There was absolutely no way Mario could have survived this. Remember Toad's innocence and childlike vulnerability? This combined with his pride and love for his homeland kills him inside. He sobs into the princess's dress. Bowser picks Princess Peach up off the ground like she's a doll, and Toad falls to the ground trying to hold onto her. "Looks like you have to live with me now!" he jokes. The scene cuts to him laughing at his own sick joke. The world morphs around his head, turning into Bowser's bedroom. Bowser wakes up, panting. At least he can move now.

Bowser recognized the haunting figure as King Boo, one of his subordinates. In fear of falling into another night terror, Bowser crawls out of bed and walks towards Kamek’s quarters. Bowser tries to wake him up from his sleep.

“Go back to sleep, little one…” Kamek sleepily mumbles, forgetting Bowser isn’t a child anymore. Bowser feels patronized and frustrated. “Kamek, wake up. I had a terrible omen.” He shakes Kamek awake. It works, but he’s still tired. “I had the most horrible nightmare of my whole life. Someone’s after me!” He insists. Kamek yawns. “It was only a bad dream, sire…” Bowser is not happy. “You don’t understand. There was this evil figure manipulating my dreams. Even more evil than me. It was in my head, Kamek.” He says with dire urgency. Kamek rubs his tired eyes. “It looked like one of my subordinates but corrupted by a horrible evil. I remember the piercing eyes… and a creepy glowing crystal on his crown.” This gets Kamek’s attention. “Was it purple?” He asks in a grave tone. “I think so…” Bowser answers. This can’t be good. Kamek is now fully alert. “This is bad.” Bowser was right. Kamek grabs his magic wand and uses it as a torch. He walks over to a nearby bookshelf and grabs an important looking book. He opens it to the bookmarked page as Bowser watches. The page shows an illustration of the crystal he saw upon his tormentor’s head. “The Dark Diamond…” Kamek muses. “I thought for sure it would choose you as a vessel. There is no telling how this will go…” Bowser is rightfully afraid. “How do I get it to stop messing with me?” “There is only one thing that can be done. You must confront the spirit and convince it that you are the better vessel.” “Are you sure that will work?” Bowser asks. “I’ll go with you. My magic will protect you from the Dark Diamond’s wrath.” The fact that Kamek didn’t answer the question makes him feel uncomfortable. Still, this is the only way to make it stop. If it doesn’t work, nothing will. So it has to work. “Do you know who the vessel was, sire?” Bowser thinks. “It looked like King Boo… except he was twice my size.” “He resides in Boo Manor. Come, sire. Let us make this right.” Kamek hops on his floating Broom. He then summons Bowser’s Koopa Clown Car. Together, they fly off silently into the night.

The two of them arrive at the enormous, decrepit mansion. They look at each other before going inside. Bowser is visibly afraid, and Kamek sternly nods. “You can do this, sire.” He silently tells him. The mansion is eerie and empty. Bowser feels safer with his second-in-command by his side… the wizard who raised him from a baby. Because of his massive size, Bowser can’t fit through any of the doors. This hinders their exploration. Before long, he hears Kamek yelp. He is being attacked by a small horde of ghosts. They advance on him. Kamek tries to shoo them away with his wand, but it’s no use. The ghosts laugh. Kamek shrieks as he is grabbed tightly from behind.

“Go away!” Bowser commands. The fiendish ghosts don’t listen. By now, the ghosts are attacking Kamek so frantically that he has no choice but to retreat. He teleports away, leaving Bowser alone in the mansion. “Shoo! Go away!” Bowser shouts. He tries to sound intimidating, but he’s clearly afraid. The ghosts laugh at him. They retreat not because they were told to, but because they feel like it. Now, Bowser is all alone in the haunted mansion, but not alone at all. Bowser walks around cautiously, like a scared child. He encounters a doorway that he’s too big to fit through.

"Go."

That was the voice from his nightmares. Not knowing what else to do, Bowser trembles in fear as he takes the advice. He steps towards the doorway and sticks his hand out. Miraculously, it phases through the wall. Horrified, Bowser treks through the solid wall.

“Good job, Bowser. Come find me.”

With the help of King Boo’s new power, Bowser phases through walls in an attempt to find where his voice is coming from. King Boo can hardly contain his satisfaction seeing the fearless king of the Koopas like this. Bowser demands the presence to show himself. This only makes King Boo happier to taunt him with his voice, coming from nowhere and everywhere. He laughs and chuckles at Bowser's fear. Bowser, desperately trying to figure out where the sound is coming from, tries opening things. This makes King Boo taunt him harder. "You think I'm in a panty drawer? That’s where YOU belong, you creep!" King Boo lets Bowser wander around until he enters the ballroom, the largest room in the mansion. He says, "If you insist.", referring to Bowser's demand to see him. Bowser turns around a few times. He then turns around once more and sees him. “BOO!” He shouts like a crack of thunder. Bowser is both startled and scared, so he screams and retreats into his shell. King Boo is relishing it. "Are you scared?" He taunts. This forces Bowser back out of his shell, to see King Boo in all his newfound terror. Of course, King Boo’s theme plays, encompassing his demeanor of a sentient nightmare that takes great joy in tormenting its victims. Bowser asks his tormentor what he wants, with fear in his voice. "What do I want?" King Boo responds, amused. "What I want is everything that is yours… you don't seem to want it that much anyways." Bowser tries to respond, but his jaw shakes and nothing comes out. "Don't worry, my lord. Under my control, the Darklands will be grander than you could ever begin to make it."

"Oh yeah?" He gets right up in Bowser's face. "...And how did that go?" Enraged but also afraid, Bowser attempts to shoot flames at King Boo, but the stream is weak. He simply vanishes and reappears nearby. "Pathetic." He turns away. "My version was better, anyways." King Boo pauses to let the hurtful words marinate before continuing. "Under my rule, I will turn the Koopa Empire, and all the world..." King Boo turns ethereal and develops into a form. The form he takes is Dry Bowser... making Bowser look at his own corpse. "...INTO MY IMAGE!" He bellows. Bowser screams in terror. King Boo then taunts him about how his undead kingdom will last until the end of days, ending with, “...and you will not.” By this point, Bowser is panting in fear. King Boo in the form of Bowser’s dead body tells him, “...Maybe I could help with that?” Bowser is confused. After all that King Boo put him through, was he going to form an alliance with him? Then, King Boo morphs back into his own shape, and his crystal upon his crown glows. It summons a large frame. The interior of the frame has a strange, ethereal glow. He positions the large frame to hover directly over Bowser, who is too scared to even move. Then, King Boo slams the frame down on top of him. He slowly lifts it up off the floor, showing Bowser trapped in a painting. He gazes upon the painting, admiring his execution of cruel pity. He then drops the painting down on its face and leaves. As he goes, he amuses himself with Bowser's song in his raspy voice. "...the end of the line... I'll make you mine..." He vanishes through the wall.

By morning, Bowser’s disappearance had caused much discord throughout the land. The Koopa Clan is in discourse. They turn to Kamek, Bowser’s second-in-command, for guidance and instructions. Kamek tells the Koopas not to worry, and that he will do everything that he can to return things to normal. The first thing he does is search for anyone who might be able to help him in this search. Meanwhile, Bowser’s disappearance is being discussed at the Royal Mushroom Council. The entire kingdom is there. So are the land’s heroes, the Mario Brothers. As Princess Peach is discussing what the disappearance of Bowser would mean for the Mushroom Kingdom and beyond with her royal Mushroom Retainers, something very unexpected happens. Out of the blue, Bowser’s second-in-command spontaneously appears in the castle, floating on his broom. As the crowd panics, Kamek grimly floats down towards Princess Peach. Mario tries to advance forward, but Luigi holds him back.

“We need your help.” Kamek announces. The crowd gasps. “I suppose you know that King Bowser has gone missing. I know where he went.” The crowd clamors again. “His last known location is Boo Manor. But beware… a sinister energy has enveloped that place.” The crowd gasps. Princess Peach is shocked. “That is why I come to you. You have something that is absent from the entire Koopa Clan. Princess Peach, you have a soul that is pure and brave. That will make it incredibly difficult for the dark energy to consume you. I implore you, you are the only one who can save our king.” The crowd goes silent. “If you won’t do it for a hostile, imperialist kingdom, do it for a scared child. Prince Bowser Junior is worried sick.” “I’ll go.” Princess Peach declares. "If the princess is going, I'm going too!" Toad adds in his squeaky voice. Peach looks at him worriedly. "Safety in numbers." Kamek states. "Come on, Toad Brigade, let's do this thing!" Toad enthusiastically calls. The other brigade members, chosen from the Royal Council of Mushroom Retainers, aren't so ecstatic. The remaining Mushroom Retainers give them their best wishes. "I'm coming, too." Mario declares with a grim determination. This leaves Luigi subject to immense peer pressure. The entire kingdom of adoring little Toads looks at him expectantly. "Ugh… All right, I'll go." It's not like he can win this battle by doing absolutely nothing. "Is that everyone?" Princess Peach asks. When no one else volunteers, she decides this is it. "Gather round." Kamek commands the group. He then uses his magic to summon some Koopa Clown Cars. Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Captain Toad board one. The rest of the Toad Brigade board the other. Kamek hops on his broomstick and leads the way. "How do we steer these things?" Mario asks. "Just focus." Kamek tells him. They all take Kamek's advice and together follow him out the palace doors.

Eventually, they all make it to Evershade Valley. In contrast with the sunny, colorful Mushroom Kingdom, this place is eerie and dark. The trees and even the ground seem dead. Dark clouds loom overhead. There are a handful of decrepit mansions and houses, but none so enormous and lavish as the one that significantly dwarfed all the others. It was somewhere between an extravagant mansion and a palace fit for a king… if it weren't in ruin. "There it is." Kamek announces. "Boo Manor. Home of the King of the Boos." "What's a Boo?" Luigi asks? He's frightened. "Boos are a type of ghost." Kamek answers. Luigi groans and leans onto his brother. The Koopa Clown Car topples slightly. "Beware, they are mischievous spirits capable of causing harm. In spite of this, they are rather shy. If you try to look one in the eyes, it will hide. Remember that." "See, Luigi?" Mario says, "The ghosts are more afraid of you than you are of them." "I disagree…" "Kamek, will you be venturing with us into the building?" Princess Peach asks. "Not on my luckiest stars!" He declares. "Unlike you, your benevolence, I am highly susceptible to the influence of this dark magic. Keep your guard up, everyone." The party's stomachs churn in fear. Not long after, they descend to the entrance of the great mansion. The party dismounts their Koopa Clown Cars, while Kamek stays on his broom. Through a broken window, Mario peeks inside. "Gee… it's awful dark." "Did you bring a light?" Luigi asks. Mario looks back at him over his shoulder. "No." "Don't worry guys, I got this." Toad announces. He takes a headlamp out of his backpack. He wears it and turns it on with a click. "That's my Captain Toad." Princess Peach says. Despite his childish demeanor, Toad is very competent. On top of this, he provides great moral support. With the light of his headlamp, he fearlessly enters the haunted mansion. All the others follow behind him. In the dark mansion, Luigi asks a question. "You don't happen to have a spare flashlight, do you?" Captain Toad takes off his backpack and rummages around inside it. He pulls out a flashlight. "Catch!" He throws the thing at him, and Luigi almost drops it. "How come he gets the flashlight?" asks the green Toad. "He asked first."

As the group is exploring the mansion, ghosts are spying on them. Instead of attacking, they watch and wait. The ghosts do make eerie sounds in the dark to scare them, though. That's what they do. Luigi is the most reactive to these sounds, nearly jumping out of his skin every time he hears anything. Mario does his best to calm him down. At one point, Captain Toad notices something that looks very out-of-place. On the walls of this mansion of a time come and gone was a device that looked like some sort of security camera? "What's that?" the blue Toad asks. After that very moment, the device flares to life. The camera lens-looking part of it flashes a bright green light. And before they know it… the entire Toad Brigade is gone. They disappear into hologram-like forms before being quickly sucked into the machine, not leaving a trace behind. "WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!" Luigi shrieks. He's saying exactly what the other two are also feeling. Mario angrily approaches the device. "Hey, give them back!" He commands. He shakes his fist. "Mario, you're gonna attract ghosts!" Luigi whisper-yells. "You've been screaming this whole time." He retaliates. Luigi can't argue with this. Princess Peach looks solemnly at the thing that abducted her Toads. "All we can do is keep looking." She grimly declares. "We'll find them again, I'm certain of it." The brothers trust her. They follow her around, guided by Luigi's flashlight. The light is shaking like a leaf in the wind as he holds it in a death grip.

Eventually, they find the enormous ballroom. It's lavish even in severe disrepair. The dim light shining through the grand windows lights up the room enough that they can explore without Luigi's flashlight, so they split up. As they're exploring, Luigi finds a huge picture frame face-down on the floor. In curiosity, he lifts it up to get a better look at it. When he does, he yelps. The other two look in his direction. "Guys, I don't like this…" He says, his voice shaking in fear. Princess Peach and Mario walk towards him and the massive painting. Luigi lifts it up again for the others to see. They gasp in horror.

What they see is a painting of Bowser. But this is no ordinary painting… they can see that's Bowser himself trapped in there. Even though he's not moving, his terrified eyes plead "Help me". The three gawk helplessly at the painting. Just then, they hear a deep, ghostly cackle. "You took the bait. I didn't know whether to expect you or not. Sorry the place is such a mess…" "Who are you?" Princess Peach asks assertively. However, she's undoubtedly afraid. "Would you look at that… the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom. What's your name, Princess Toadstool? I don't care." He pauses while the hearts of the heroes pound in fear. "You're such a kind soul… coming to rescue the warlord who showered you in his abusive love." Princess Peach gets angry at this, but mostly afraid. Exactly what he intended. "And if it isn't the famous Mario Brothers… you thought rescuing the Koopa King would be a good idea. What do they feed you brothers anyway, gullible soup?" He chortles at his own remark. "Sh-show yourself!" Mario demands. He goes into a defensive position. "…If you insist."

King Boo spawned into the center of the ballroom with a ghoulish cackle. All three protagonists scream. This ghost is about the size of a small planet, and the dark magic enveloping it only makes him even more menacing. "Welcome to my home, my dear guests." He taunts. "You may never want to leave!" He then stares down Princess Peach. "No wonder Bowser lusted for you… you are a beautiful woman." "Leave her alone!" Mario commands. He gets in front of her to protect her. "Why, she looks like she belongs…" King Boo uses his dark magic to conjure a large, ethereal picture frame. "…in a painting!" All three of the heroes look upon the sorcery in terror. King Boo smiles wickedly as he makes a monster out of the nearby grand piano with ease. The piano monster advances towards Mario, gnashing its giant sharp teeth and making horrible off-key sounds. This forces Mario to run away. Princess Peach tries to run away as well, but before they knew it, King Boo slams the picture frame down onto her. He conjures another and does the very same thing to Mario. King Boo then conjures a third one, but then he looks Luigi in his horrified eyes. He decides to spare him, but not out of mercy. The piano monster changes back to normal. "No…" He muses, still holding the magical frame over Luigi's head. "I think I'll leave you here." The frame disappears. Luigi looks up at King Boo, his heart pounding out of his chest. "Let's play a game, shall we, Luigi?" He lifts up the haunted paintings of his brother and the princess for him to see. "Let's see if you can get your friends out of these paintings. If you can't… well… I'll let you use your imagination. It won't be pretty." Luigi feels like he's about to pass out. "Good luck, Luigi Jumpman Mario. You're going to need it. Now… I have a world to take over." With these words, King Boo vanishes in a flash of dark light, as do the paintings. And now, Luigi is all alone. No more Mario. No more Princess Peach. They're as good as dead.

Upon this crushing realization, Luigi breaks down in tears onto the floor. Why would anyone take his only brother from him? Why? Thoroughly believing that he'll never hug his big brother again, Luigi cries himself to sleep on the floor.

*Later, after the sun has gone down*