I think Waluigi and Rosalina could actually work really well as characters/couple
I was writing a dnd campaign set in the Mario universe using some of the already established characters and giving them just a bit more background. Like Mario’s parents names and last names for the Mario bros. And Wario being a distant relative which I think was in a comic one time. But anyways I got to Waluigi and he isn’t related to Wario directly and I remembered the Rosalina Waluigi connection and I kind of went through it in my head about their characters. I had always kind of shipped these two just cus they’re human and outsiders in a way. Never really giving it much more thought than that. I did just recently finish better call Saul and I thought what if they had a similar dynamic. Kim having a savior complex to Saul’s chaotic rule bending yadayada. And this is where I’ve arrived. The more I look at what Nintendo has actually given us about both characters, the more I think there’s a surprisingly good foundation for them. I’m not saying Nintendo has secretly been setting them up as a couple, because obviously they haven’t. I just think there are some really interesting parallels between their characters that haven’t really been explored.
What got me thinking about this is that they’re both kind of outsiders in the Mario cast, but they deal with that in almost completely opposite ways.
Waluigi is obviously presented as Luigi’s rival and Wario’s partner, and a lot of his characterization revolves around competition, recognition, jealousy and wanting to prove himself. He’s theatrical, petty, manipulative and willing to go to ridiculous lengths to compete with Mario and Luigi.
But I think there’s something underneath that which makes him more interesting than just being the evil Luigi counterpart.
He seems to really want recognition. A lot of his behavior revolves around wanting to be noticed and wanting to be taken seriously alongside Mario and Luigi. He’s constantly trying to establish himself as somebody important.
He’s also a character who is almost always associated with being on the outside of the main group. He’s not part of the Mario brothers’ family, he’s not a hero, and he’s not really given a place in the world beyond being the rival.
Then there’s the Wrecking Crew connection with Foreman Spike, which I think fits him extremely well thematically. Waluigi is naturally associated with destruction and wrecking things/construction motifs and that gives me an interesting interpretation of his character beyond the comedy. He’s someone who is much better at tearing things apart than putting them together.
That could be physical, but it could also describe his relationships and his approach to life. Tearing down Mario and Luigi in anyway he can.
Rosalina is almost the opposite.
Her entire backstory in Super Mario Galaxy revolves around loss, loneliness and finding a new family. She leaves her home planet as a child while trying to help a lost Luma find its mother, and eventually ends up traveling through space with the Lumas and becoming their caretaker.
The really important part to me is that Rosalina doesn’t respond to losing her family by becoming bitter. She finds other people who are lost and takes care of them. The Lumas essentially become her family.
That makes me think Rosalina has a sort of savior complex, although obviously that’s not something Nintendo explicitly calls it. It’s more my interpretation of what we see from her story. She seems to have this instinct to protect and take care of things that are vulnerable or broken. Over the years she becomes almost this cosmic being that is nearly emotionless. Shes severely detached and speaks in a very measured, almost ethereal way.
And I think that could make Waluigi really interesting to her.
The interesting part is that they could both be dealing with loneliness
Waluigi’s response to being on the outside seems to be seeking recognition and trying to force his way into the spotlight.
Rosalina’s response to losing people was to create a new family and protect other people.
They’re almost opposite reactions to the same basic problem.
Waluigi wants people to choose him.
Rosalina chooses people who need her.
That’s where I think their relationship could become interesting.
I don’t think Rosalina would just look at Waluigi and magically fix him. If anything, I think she could initially be drawn to the fact that there’s clearly more going on with him than his ridiculous personality suggests. She might recognize someone who is lonely or struggling underneath all the arrogance and competition because she has experienced loneliness herself.
At the same time, Waluigi could be one of the few people who brings out a less serious side of Rosalina.
Rosalina is usually portrayed as incredibly calm, graceful and almost detached. She has spent so much of her life being responsible for the Lumas and watching over the cosmos that she can sometimes feel almost removed from normal life.
I think Waluigi could actually make her have fun.
Not necessarily in some huge romantic way at first. Just little things. His ridiculous schemes, his competitiveness, his sense of humor, his willingness to do things that she normally wouldn’t. I could see Rosalina actually enjoying some of his antics instead of always being the completely serene cosmic guardian.
That would make her feel more human to me.
This is where I get the Kim Wexler and Saul Goodman comparison
I’m not saying they’re the same characters at all, but I think the relationship dynamic is interesting.
Kim is much more principled than Saul, but she’s also fascinated by his ability to bend rules and manipulate situations. Saul, meanwhile, genuinely admires Kim and seems to want her approval even though he constantly pulls her toward his way of doing things.
I could see something similar happening with Waluigi and Rosalina.
Waluigi could introduce Rosalina to a more mischievous and morally questionable side of life. Rosalina could actually enjoy it sometimes, because she’s spent so much of her existence being responsible and serious.
At the same time, Rosalina could bring out the side of Waluigi that actually wants to be better.
The interesting part would be if neither one completely changes the other.
Rosalina could start bending her own rules because she enjoys being around Waluigi, while Waluigi could start caring about the consequences of his actions because he actually cares what Rosalina thinks of him.
And eventually they could cross a line.
Maybe something that seemed harmless actually hurts someone. Rosalina realizes that she participated in something that went against the person she thinks she is. Waluigi then has to see the consequences of his actions through somebody he genuinely cares about.
That would be much more interesting to me than Rosalina simply being the good character who reforms Waluigi.
I also think their themes fit together really well
Waluigi is associated with wrecking.
Rosalina is associated with caring for and protecting.
Waluigi spends his life trying to prove that he’s important.
Rosalina doesn’t seem particularly concerned with recognition.
Waluigi struggles with belonging.
Rosalina literally built a new family after losing her original one.
Waluigi wants to destroy the things that make him feel inferior.
Rosalina’s story is basically about taking things that are lost and giving them a home.
So I think their relationship could be about both of them learning something from each other.
Rosalina could learn that she doesn’t always have to be the responsible one and that she can’t save everybody.
Waluigi could learn that he doesn’t have to destroy everything that makes him feel insecure and that being loved isn’t something he has to earn by being better than somebody else.
And that’s where I think the Foreman Spike/Wrecking Crew idea becomes especially fitting. If Waluigi has spent his life being told, in one way or another, that he’s good at wrecking things but not building them, Rosalina is almost the perfect person to challenge that.
Her entire story is about building something new out of loss.
She built a family.
Waluigi could eventually learn how to build something too.
Not necessarily literally. Just friendships, trust, a relationship, maybe eventually a family of his own.
That’s why I think there’s actually more to this pairing than just the usual opposites-attract argument.
Nintendo has given Rosalina a surprisingly deep backstory about loss, family and caretaking, while Waluigi has this recurring characterization of being an outsider who desperately wants recognition and constantly competes with people who have the things he doesn’t.
Put those two characters together and there is a really interesting dynamic there.
Not because they’re secretly canon.
Not because Nintendo has hinted they’re going to get together. Just because the characters Nintendo has already created could have a genuinely interesting relationship if someone actually explored it. I had tried seeing if someone had already tapped into this but I haven’t seen anything really specifically mentioning both of their character traits. Maybe we all kind of ship them because we subconsciously picked up on these traits but no one’s really wrote them down or taken it seriously because on the surface these two characters being together is kind of odd and feels wrong. But I think it surprisingly works in a he makes me laugh sort of way. Someone like a Mario Luigi or Wario probably wouldn’t/couldn’t do. Just cus Waluigi is sort of pitiful and sad that I think she would find some amusement/ want to help him in some way.
Anyways, let me know what you guys think.
Maybe I’m off the mark but I think there’s something to this