#koopzilla

"Did it all mean NOTHING?"

He's giving the deceiving Koopa a stern look, arms folded-- the kind a disappointed parent might give.

"Heck, you even cried when we talked about Little Women!"

"...Well, I mean that is true, but..."

Fox glanced off to the side, really trying to process what was said to him. He had to hold out hope that this was simply a nothing matter, and he'd be able to go on about his way. Not like the clearly huge and terrifying King here to intimidate him, and definitely was not the reason why he wasn't just turning and leaving the immediate area. Nope!!

"--But there's always room to try! Maybe you just need to go at it a different way. A more strategic way."

He could see it now, on top of the cliff the koopa turtles were hard at work on building the newest map. However they still needed to earn just a few more achievements in order to get the last board map. At least that's what it had said in the guidelines. The two of them had managed to make this far what was one more round to get the new map?

Luigi's eyes scaled over the list of achievements while his fingers twirl the end of his mustache, to see what they could do to unlock the last board. Playing another board would make it easier for the both of them instead of some random games in between. They had already taken up most of the easier achievements to get. He lets out a small sigh before looking up at Bowser.

"Well, you're apart of this too. So, what achievements do you think we should try for next?" Luigi asks. Then he glances at a couple that it seemed like they had missed over time. "Oh! These ones look doable. Keeping a skeleton key until the end of the game and if one of us lands on an unlucky space we could keep a loadstone until the end."

ㅤ♡⃞ㅤ ֢ 🍰 ✿ ࣪ ㅤloveㅤㅤ.ㅤㅤ

The spread of sickness was common with the changing of season and with the masses contained within such close quarters it was bound to spread disease like a garden of fire flowers set ablaze by a strike of lightning—however, for one princess, it led to a rather peculiar predicament. Princess Peach had been summoned to Bowser’s castle by none other than Bowser Jr., the prince of koopas, to “fix his papa before they kill him.” Initially she assumed Junior was just embellishing the facts—as his father often did—to inflate the seriousness of the situation at hand, though time would prove this theory to lack any credibility.

While traversing through the castle Peach was taken aback by its disastrous state. banners and paintings were either left askew or completely torn from the wall to decorate the wide cracks in the stone floors. About half of the king’s guards had abandoned their posts and those who remained were not nearly as active as they ought to be. Their spirits were diminished in the absence of the koopa king and despite the heroic effort put forth by Junior, he failed to rally them. His efforts to stitch everything back together was met with pure and utter chaos.

In turn, Peach was now faced with an array of questionable concoctions, stacks of uneaten food(?) , and a general air of uncertainty. She even had the pleasure—or rather displeasure, to be more precise—of witnessing first-hand how the royal physicians were handling their king’s ailment. They were about a clueless a toad dropped in the middle of a battlefield. It was no wonder there was a stack of food near the entrance of his chambers. the food they were trying to serve him wasn't fit for an animal, much less someone of royal status. maybe Junior was right; maybe they were trying to kill him.

"Um, excuse me," Peach called, raising her voice an octave higher than normal to pierce through the incessant bickering transpiring between the king and his ill-informed physicians .

"Might I take over?"

When she was met with only silence and a group of eyes that resembled a herd of deer caught in the headlights, she began anew.

"How's this? You are hereby dismis—oh." Before she could even finish her sentence, the koopas dispersed, leaving only the king in their wake.

Peach approached cautiously, unaware of what sight she might behold. When she finally caught a glimpse of him, a gasp fell from her lips just before she lifted a hand to conceal it. He looked absolutely terrible. It was far worse than she could've ever imagined. Bowser's brilliant red mane now lacked it's vivid color and while it was normally unkempt, it was far messier than normal. His overall frame appear diminished, likely due to a lack of eating for who knows how long. And the smell... Stars, the smell. She could hardly believe it was Bowser at all.

It took all of her efforts to maintain a straight face, though she had to pinch her nose to avoid a potential puking session. She now understood why those physicians had those masks on when she arrived; if only they'd been so kind as to leave one behind. Still, despite her reservations, Peach lightly touched his upper arm to make her presence known to him since his eyes were closed at the moment.

His pug snout flattened and then flicked itself back into place.

"Watch it! That's sensitive."

" My bad! Didn't mean to push too hard! "

But she reaches out for his nose yet again- however only gives it a very gentle, surface pat where she'd previously booped. Sorry!

With how he gushed, she almost regretted asking. If he went on much longer, she might have gagged over the saccharine compliments and how he placed this Princess Toadstool (she should should have gone with Apricot, frankly) on such a lofty pedestal.