#personal concept

Oh I'm so happy that someone has pointed this out! :D Okay, so here's a direct comparison:

One thing I did right away to give Bowser a more evil gaze was make the pupils a lot smaller. That's where a good portion of the intensity comes from. The size of the pupils and irises always plays a huge part in a character's overall friendliness, and it applies for both extremes.

Luigi.

As soon as he would properly look at him, he would know. It would only take about a second, and Bowser, despite feeling darkly amused, would also be mildly impressed.

In the body swap AU what if being tapped in a monster’s body starts to have an effect on Mario where he slowly starts to lose himself to the monstrous urges? Like for a few seconds he’ll essentially ‘black out’ and become one with the beast he’s physically become, and overtime it starts to happen more frequently and he can’t control it no matter how hard he tries.

And when Peach and Luigi eventually rescue him, it happens again; His eyes change color and he starts to talk in low snarls and grunts. They’re both confused, but quickly figure out something’s not right, and they’re forced to back away as he starts to corner them with a menacing, animalistic glare. He raises the claws, but before he can attack he suddenly comes back to his senses. Realizing what he almost did, Mario profusely apologizes and explains that it’s been happening on and off for a while, feeling completely ashamed of himself despite knowing it’s not his fault.

Obviously I don’t expect this to actually happen (nor do I want it too cuz I would literally never recover lol) I just felt the need to participate in sharing ideas hehe

This had me pacing around and banging my fists on the table because YES. That's genius, omg!! 😱 What if the body they inhabit had a direct impact/influence on their psyche long-term? What if Bowser progressively assimilated human behavior while becoming more sophisticated, whereas Mario slowly felt his own mind begin to slip as the beastly side began to take over?

And for it to happen in front of Luigi and Peach too!.. 😭🙇‍♀️ Mario would be utterly mortified to be seen like this, poor dear. 😥 What if he ended up hurting one of them by accident?? It would be so scary for him to feel that shift and be unable to stop it. To slowly - but surely - start to lose the grasp he has on his own thoughts and actions. In a scenario like this one, I imagine that it would be a race against time. A rushed and desperate attempt to turn him back to normal before he forgets who he is entirely. 😣

If I had the time and energy for it, I would have loved to write a short drabble or oneshot exploring his side of the swap a little more in depth! But considering that his time spent chained up in a dark cell would be mostly uneventful, I figured it would be okay if I skipped most of it.

That is, right up until the moment Kamek would venture in to mock and threaten him again, and after about a minute, suddenly start to feel woozy. 👀

Picture this: the malignant wizard snickering and twirling his wand ominously under Mario's snout, promising all sorts of pains and torments to come, only to start slurring his words and swaying clumsily on his feet. Faint, light pink tendrils of magic wrapping around him like a slowly tightening rope, and Kamek crumpling to the ground like a ragdoll; as passed out as a sedated patient. The heavy chains around Mario's neck, wrists and ankles dissolving into nothingness, leaving him to freely slump forward with a stupefied gasp. And there, emerging from the shadows like a vision, Peach gracefully extending a glowing hand to move Kamek out of the way; her lovely features hardened by a grim sort of determination.

She would turn to him then, eyes filled with immeasurable sadness, and Mario would recoil from her advancing silhouette despite his hopeful bewilderment and desperate longing. Not quite believing that she's really there, not quite daring to break the illusion. Not quite trusting himself as he is. But she would approach him anyway, ever so gently reaching her hands out towards his face. Unable to back away any further, and unable to resist her soothing presence any longer, he would relax and quiver in surrender where he's crouching, trying to make himself as small as possible.

Haha yeah, he would be highly displeased by that, I'm sure. xD 😬 Fulminating about the unexpected turn of events, no doubt blaming it all on Kamek's "incompetence" and wondering how he's going to achieve anything while stuck in the body of (to use his own words:) Mario's good-for-nothing, sorry excuse for a brother. 🤬

He probably promised himself long ago that he would never hurt his brother, even “sibling squabbles” he makes sure are just teasing and nothing that would actually hurt either of them.

So if he saw, even for a split second, Luigi flinch or have fear in his eyes around him, I think that would send an electric shock of dread to Mario.

Stop giving me ideas! 🙅‍♀️😭

But honestly though, this would unfortunately be very likely to happen, if only once. 😣 Despite Luigi's best effort to temper his lingering dread, his mask of casualness would slip, and Mario would see it even if it lasted just the briefest moment. ;_;

They would both be sorry. And hurt, and dismayed and angry for the other's sake.

The toads mostly, but that's because they're very oblivious. >< It's not their fault, those poor folks! They're just... naive. Too trusting for their own good. 😞

But would he really dare physically harm Peach? 👀

Oh boy, here we go. =_= 🙇‍♀️

I will soon make a separate post about this, but since you asked, I think it's relevant to also briefly address it here: I had another scene in mind, in which Bowser reveals his true nature to Peach the same way he did with Luigi. Kind of similar to the one I made last year, except... a bit more risqué.

I have established in the past that my Bowser has no romantic interest in Peach, and I wish to reiterate it again. But with that being said, I think he would also find creative ways to emotionally torment her; especially now that he's in possession of Mario's body, if you see what I mean.. 😬🫣