The one with preparations and alliterations.
And it's with chapters like these, you can see just how much fun I have with Bowser/Rosalina interactions.
Also, I've turned twenty. I feel pretty chill about that age milestone.
(On a side note, I've seen the trailer for the remastered Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story+Bowser Jr's Journey. It looks fantastic, just like it's other remaster. Speaking of which... I find it funny that Nintendo did the same for Superstar Saga, then COMPLETELY skipped over Partners in Time. Maybe there's a reason for that? Perhaps they will do so in the future...haha, bad jokes.~ It comes out next year though..that's significantly less funny. Gosh dang it, it's so far away...on the plus side, Rosalina discovering Bowser's Vacuum ability will be a fun bit to eventually write out, so there's that!~)
Bowser was having a bit of a difficult time processing what was currently going on, and what would eventually come to pass. In fact, he was thinking over it while pacing back and forth in front of his throne room, with smoke gently billowing from his ears. It's not that he thought that this subject was particularly difficult to figure out, he was mostly thinking over the long-term consequences of his choices and future actions regarding this Three-Kingdom Ball. It's not like he doesn't appreciate being invited to parties, it's mostly that with his usual nature, he finds a lot more enjoyment out of crashing parties. He considers himself a professional party-crasher, not that he liked to brag...
...No, wait. Bowser is the epitome King of Bragging, let alone King of the Koopas. If he was had a choice to brag, he was certainly going to take it, regardless of the circumstances.
He shook his head as he got back into focus. He was trying to figure out how exactly this whole thing would play out. Obviously he would have to resist outright crashing the party like he usually enjoys doing. Especially since this event was mostly commemorating how much better everyone was getting along, as he hasn't done anything remotely evil in a very long time, and it's quite likely it would stay that way depending on his overall mood. And he had to be honest, his mood was relatively controlled and balanced. at the moment. There wasn't anything to be seriously upset about.
...Well...if there had to be one upsetting thing about all of this...
"WEEEEENNNNNNDYYYYYYYYY!"
"Yes, Daddy?~" Wendy gazed up at her foster father with an innocent glint in her eye. Obviously it was fake, Bowser wouldn't be so easily fooled by something like that. She was doing it to be cute and mischievous. As much as he admired both of those thing about his only daughter, it wasn't anywhere near enough to overshadow the frustration he felt with her.
"Don't act so innocently cute with me, Wendy! You know what you've gotten me into! Without my consent, might I reiterate!" Bowser snarled. Wendy didn't think too much of it, fluttering her eyes. "I literally JUST told you not to act cute with me! You know exactly what you've done!"
"I suppose so. I don't really see a problem." Wendy said as she pulled out a file and began filing her nails/claws. "You and Rosalina are getting along rather well, so it's only natural that we really get you two to bond a bit more through this little ball of ours. It's totally gonna be fun to have you pairing up with Rosalina for a little dance, don't you think?~"
"YOU PUT ME INTO THIS WITH LITTLE TO NO MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL PREPARATION!" Bowser roared comically, eyes blank with rage. Wendy was simply yawning and patting her mouth a bit while waiting for him to finish. "You've gotten me into something I can't back out of! There's no way I can back out of it! My pride as a King won't allow it!" As ridiculously as it was, Bowser couldn't back out of this because of who first put out the invitation towards Rosalina. Princess Wendy, his daughter, officially put out an invitation towards her, casual as it was. While Bowser was surely able to deny that invitation and keep Rosalina away...it would leave a bad taste in his mouth since Rosalina doesn't deserve anything like that. Bowser doesn't get anything out of breaking a genuine promise like that, even if it was from a member of his family, only shame. Bowser sighed as he gently facepalmed, shaking his head. "I'm going to a dance with Rosalina...because of the whims of my delusional teenage daughter..."
"Ohoho.~ I'm not delusional, Daddy. My mind is quite clear.~" Wendy chuckled while lightly covering her mouth. "As I said, we're having some some fun with all of this, and you're having a great time with Rosalina. So why not magnify that fun with a grand ball. "
"I keep telling you, I don't have a problem with the ball itself, it's the matter how you've got me involved in this. You didn't ask me, you just slapped this on my chest and basically said 'This is gonna be a thing now, have fun Daddy!' I mean, did you even think, just for a few seconds, how I might have felt about this before deciding to go through with that bit of randomness!?"
"Yep.~"
"AND YOU WENT AND DID IT ANYWAY?!"
"Ahhhhuh.~"
Bowser blinked owlishly at his nonchalant, smiling daughter. Even though he did admire that adorable little smile of hers, he was fully aware that at this current moment, she was using this smile to really hide her devilish intentions regarding this new situation he's gotten himself into. More like his daughter got him into. And she realizes this, and she admitted every bit of it with a grand, unrepentant smile. Bowser sighed as he turned away from her and facepalmed once again.
Bowser wasn't going to paint the blame on his daughter. Despite how much he was trying to blame Wendy for potentially starting this, Bowser was just anxious that he was basically set up on a date with a woman that isn't Peach, and wasn't at all forced like he usually does. No, this was going to be relatively peaceful interactions. And he wasn't used to peace, he was quite used to causing a bit of chaos every now and then.
Wendy was fully aware that he was too prideful to say that he was slightly scared of going on a date with a women he hasn't remembered until recently, and not one he's been pining after since they were children. Obviously, he wasn't entirely sure what to do.
"Heyyy! Papa!" Junior sounded off from the hallway.
Bowser sighed gratefully. Thank goodness, his son was coming to distract him from these thoughts. He could piece them all together at a later time when he gathered all of his thoughts in a more collected matter.
...Until he noticed Junior holding Rosalina's hand, while she used her other hand to gently wave at Bowser with a small smile. "Hello, Bowser.~"
...Of Kooping course... Bowser deadpanned mentally. Fate seems to really enjoy making things unbelievably difficult for him just because he was better at taking it than most. This, though...this was more than a bit unfair. "Rosalina...hi. I wasn't really aware that you'd be coming over again so soon."
"Oh, I won't be long. It's just a few brief things to speak about with you face-to-face." Rosalina explained with a small smile. "Wendy invited me over for that very purpose."
I'm getting really exhausted by my daughter's cheekiness... Bowser muttered in outright exhaustion, he really didn't think he could take any more of Wendy upending him like this, especially since he knew it was well-intentioned, and there was no harm in it. He just had a bit of a problem being blindsided in such a manner. It left him feeling a bit helpless and the only option would be to let the waves carry him to safety, or have them pull him under. Between those two options, he'd much rather just go with the flow and sort out the consequences later. "Hey there, Rosalina...ya said you won't be here long. So what is it that you want to talk about if that's the case?"
"Oh, it's nothing too serious, promise." Rosalina waved her hand a bit while Junior rather happily held her hand. "I know that our friends over at Mushroom Kingdom would have no problem with what I'm about to ask, but Polari insists that I confirm something with you first since he was unsuccessful in talking me out of this decision. You won't mind if I ask you this, do you?" Bowser simply huffed and folded his arms, nodding softly. "I hope you don't take too much offense to this. But I do intend on bringing quite a bit of Lumas along with me for this little ball of ours. Polari simply wishes to know that you won't hurt any of the Lumas that I bring with me."
"Tch, THAT'S what he's worried about. I think I'll call that star 'Paranoid Polari'." Bowser huffed, brief smoke blowing from his nostrils. "You can tell your Paranoid Precious Pal Polari that I don't intend on hurting any Lumas, and I'll be sure that my minions get that memo as well." Bowser grumbled. Though he blinked owlishly as he noticed Rosalina was stifling a few giggles, causing him a bit of confusion as a result. "Hey. What are ya gigglin' about this time?" Not that he had anything against the sound, not at all. Simply not knowing the cause caused the King quite a bit of wonder.
"O-Oh..it's nothing. I simply found your usage of alliterations not only amusing, but also fitting" Rosalina smiled while calming herself down. "Because Polari, while sometimes paranoid, is indeed a 'Precious Pal' of mine."
Bowser blinked. Then he blinked twice. Then a third time, before he folded his arms and tapped his foot. Rosalina can quite literally see a question mark raised over his head. "...Alliteta...allieara...altarara..."
Wendy groaned. "Dad, you're embarrassing yourself. Don't force yourself to say it if you can't do it."
"No way! I can totally say it! None of you help me, either! Just watch me do it myself!" The King of all Koopas refused to admit defeat to being unable to pronounce a word correctly! For all his intelligence, sometimes big words still manage to throw him off. "Aliterara...alaite...alalala..." Bowser grumbled with a minor blush of frustration on his cheeks as he was putting up quite an embarrassing display in front of Rosalina, Junior, AND Wendy. It was a bit too much for him to handle. But as always, he refused to give up at all.
Rosalina was once again giggling, even more than before. All she did was tell him about the alliteration he used, and now he was struggling to simply say the word. And she was pretty sure that he didn't even know what the word meant, and he was preoccupied with simply saying the word, and failing constantly while refusing to give up in the slightest. It seems that, no matter how how big or how small the subject it is, Bowser always gives it his all...even though it was over something super small and unimportant like this.
"Alilili...alererer..alitit...alliterations...alliterations! HAHA, YES! I DID IT! VICTORY! VICTORY FOR KING BOWSER! BWAHAHAHA!~" Bowser cackled at his success while pounding his chest a bit. Though he eventually froze up for a bit...then he folded his arms and tapped his foot again , with the question mark appearing over his head, which was slightly tilted. "What are alliterations?" He looked completely and utterly clueless despite all the effort he put into simply saying the word correctly. Rosalina held herself back from succumbing to another giggle fit.
Goodness, he's adorable.
Rosalina calmed herself once more while clasping her hands. "It means that two or more words that each start with the same letter are closely connected. It's a basic definition, but in accurate one."
"Huh. That's it?" Bowser blinked.
"That's it." Rosalina nodded with a smile. "An example would be: Bodacious Boisterious Brawler Bowser. I believe I would describe you as such."
Bowser thought about it for a second. He did remember that bodacious meant excellent and admirable, while boisterious mean rowdy and wild, unrestrained and rambunctious. And the brawler bit went much without saying. Realizing this, Bowser grinned. "Ya know what? Yeah! Those DO sound like they fit me perfectly! BWAHAHAHA!~" He cackled slightly, while Rosalina calmly smiles and nods in agreement. He then relaxed and folded his arms. "Well...if there's one thing I tend to do, it's return the favor. My turn at this alliteration stuff, and I'll use it to describe you."
"That sounds fair." Rosalina nodded while clasping her hands once again and waiting patiently for him.
"Yeah it does." Bowser huffed as he folded his arms and thought about what to say. He thought about what he knew about Rosalina so far. How she spoke, how she acted, how she moved...how she looked...how she handles her occupation...with all of these in mind, he opens one eye while gazing at a chandelier above him. "Refined Reliable Responsible Rosalina."
"Oh! That really fits Miss Rosalina very well!" Junior said with an eagerly raised paw. "She's one of the most ladylike ladies I've ever met and talked to!" Junior smiled. Though he soon pouts as he looked to the side. "Wendy's the direct opposite of ladylike though..."
"Say that again, twerp.' Wendy's smile appeared more forced, their left eye twitching slightly.
"Wendy's more of a Witch than a lady." Junior pointed towards his sister with another pout. "She sure laughs and looks like a witch!"
"Shut up, twerp!"
"Make me! Pbbbt!~" Junior blew a raspberry as he then runs off. Wendy hops off and began chasing him down with an aggravated scowl on her face.
Rosalina sees them off with a tilted head. She wasn't really that worried since she sensed no genuine ill-will within their words. Suppose this was how it was all the time in Bowser's family. With eight children, sibling clashes were inevitable. From what she experienced so far, it seems to be a normal occurrence here, so she lets it be for the time being. Bowser certainly didn't seem too worried about it, he huffed and folded his arms.
"Bah, I'll rein them in later. Some food and jewelry will calm them down." Bowser rolled his eyes as he turned his head to Rosalina. "So...I'm kind of your escort towards this dance thing...you cool with that?"
"I'm always residing within space, Bowser. It's always quite 'cool', so I can consider myself 'cool' with this." Rosalina smiled pleasantly towards Bowser. "Though I do wonder if you yourself are okay with this? I wouldn't really use 'cool', as you are quite, how they say...'hot-blooded'. Cooling down may be quite difficult for you."
His eye twitched. Rosalina switches from mature to cheeky-and vice versa-much faster than he can react to. It didn't really matter much to him, he was more than capable of keeping up with it. Doesn't really help that she said none of this with any note of condescension. Simply an observation of what she's seen of him so far. Whether it was intentional or not, Bowser was being challenged. And he doesn't back out of challenges.
"I'll show you, Space Girl! I may not be used to NOT crashin' a party, but I can assure you, if there's anything King Bowser is good at, is being the life of the party! Heck, I'm King of the Koopas AND King of the Parties!" Bowser declared while pounding his fist in his paw. "You're gonna have SUCH an amazing time at this three-kingdom ball thing! You'll have nothing but absolute fun when I'm your escort! And to make it extra sincere, I won't even pick a fight with Mario or try to kidnap Peach! No way! I'm gonna be super awesome at this party, no one's gonna spoil it, not even me! BWAHAHAHA!"
"You'll even get along with Daisy?"
Bowser resisted the urge to shiver anxiously. "...Yeah. I'll even get along with the likes of..her." He refused to back down from THAT specific challenge, either. "Well, get going and get ready. We both know where we'll meet."
"Very well. Until then, King Bowser." Rosalina gave a graceful bow, before she vanished in a sparkle of stars.
As he noticed her leave, Bowser closed his eyes and tried to process exactly what has happened so far in the past several moments..but most of them have been overshadowed by a fact that's even more prevalent than ever. It was officially impossible to mistake. If it wasn't clear before, it certainly was now.
This was definitely a date.
...
...
...
...Great Star Spirits, what have I gotten myself into...?
The party shall begin next chapter. Fun times are certainly ahead. And said party will be incredibly hot in terms of energy, and very cool in terms of relaxation during downtime.
...Although...perhaps something may happen that will make the hot-cold dynamic quite literal. Perhaps...a fourth, uninvited group?
Who knows?~
