#clubba

[snazzy-suit]

Luigi: Liaison of Ghosts Chapter 5.5 - Hey! Creatures! Leave Them Kids Alone!

MP - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5.1 -5.2 - 5.3 - 5.4 - (5.5) - 5.6 - 5.7 - 5.8 -5.9 - 5.10 - 6 - 7.1 - 7.2 - 7.3 - 7.4 - 7.5 - 8

Part 5 of 10

[Prefer to read on ao3? Click here]

In which Gooigi envies dinosaurs, snarks a child, and gets reprimanded by a ghost. Following that, Luigi and Dane check to see what's behind door #1 (and #2, and #3, and #4, and #5, and—)

==

"Sign language."

'Thoughts.'

"Gooigi speaking out loud."

"B̵a̧c͜k̷ward̷ ̢sp͡e͡e͢c̀h̵."

______________________________

[Earlier]

Gooigi really doesn’t like the second floor of this house.

For one, it feels awful. The unsuspecting ectomorph nearly lost form from the sharp change in energy after he stepped through that portal at the top of the stairs. For another, the hallway enchantment shtick was really getting old. He had given up on trying to find a pattern after he passed that meadow painting for the umpteenth time. Gooigi doesn’t know how a painting of a landscape could give off a smug aura, but it does and it’s mocking him and he doesn’t like it.

Also, the second floor’s carpet and drape scheme is ugly.

But the worst thing? The worst thing is the doors. They are all closed, and Gooigi and shut doors don’t get along.

The ectomorph didn’t accompany Luigi to the pool area because he knew he’d be useless there. He figured exploring the rest of the house would be a better use of his time. He could find the last kid, nab the remaining ghosts, and meet up with his partner after they’d dealt with their own watery specter. Divide and conquer, and all that.

He might as well have waited in the mud room for all the good he’s doing.

Gooigi stops in front of a door to his left and glares holes in the mullion. What is he supposed to do? Knock and hope a ghost lets him in? Maybe if he’s lucky, the missing kid will answer. Wouldn’t that be nice?

The ectomorph briefly considers using the Suction Shot to tear the door down, but decides to hold off on the idea. Luigi probably wouldn’t be very happy if he went around destroying their clients’ property if it was avoidable. The ectomorph leans in, pressing their body to the door and listening for any signs of (after) life on the other side. Nothing. For kicks, he gives knocking a try and listens again. Still nothing.

Gooigi takes a step back and looks at the doorknob. Deep down, he knows it’s futile, but he can’t resist the urge to try opening the door anyway. The knob twists imperceptibly in his grasp. For a moment, Gooigi thinks he may actually succeed.

That hope slips through his fingers along with the doorknob.

Gooigi drops his head against the door with a quiet splat. He gurgles in frustration. This isn’t a new struggle by any means, but it’s no less infuriating.

‘Dinosaurs can open doors, but I can’t,’ the ectomorph thinks sourly. ‘What does that say about me?’ 1

‘That was a movie, Gooigi,’ his inner Luigi retorts. ‘Stop comparing yourself to outdated fictional portrayals of prehistoric animals.’

‘It was accurate for the time!’

‘Gooigi, they weren’t even calling some of the dinosaurs by the right names.’

‘…still a good movie.’

Inner Luigi doesn’t argue.

Gooigi is considering tearing the door down anyway when he detects movement in his peripheral. He turns and is startled back into high alert when he spies a ghost emerging from a nearby room. They are looking down the other end of the hall, as if searching for something. Before Gooigi can decide whether to hide or launch a surprise attack, the entity turns and spots him.

The ghost appears to be a Koopa adorned in old armor, and their shadowy form betrays their nature as an entity that subsists on negative energy. They’re a Vitiate, like the others, and pose a great potential threat. But when Gooigi takes note of their eyes, he feels himself relaxing minutely—they're glowing red.

The ectomorph thinks back to one of the many mnemonic devices the professor had drilled into his head.

Glowing white, prepare to fight.

Glowing red, talk instead.

Or... something like that. Luigi had cautioned him not to accept the phrase as law—there were always exceptions.

With all this in mind, Gooigi offers the ghost a cheerful little wave. “Hello!" 2

The Vitiate tilts their head minutely at his garbled greeting. Then, cautiously, they glide down the hallway, coming to a stop a few arm lengths away. When they don’t immediately attack, Gooigi dares to feel hopeful. He might just be able to reach a peaceful agreement with this entity, too, and that’ll put him and Luigi at 2 – 0 in successful negotiations for this mission. Even if Luigi manages to placate the water ghost, he’ll still have a one-point lead. Not that anyone is keeping score, or anything.

“U͝ǫý e͟ra̷ ǫh́w͝? E̢v̢r̀es̷ ́u͞oy̴ ͟od r̢e͞tsa͟m t̀a̡h͏w?” 3

Gooigi stares blankly at the ghost. Perhaps this isn’t going to be as easy as he had hoped.

“Uh... what?"

The ghost has the gall to look annoyed. It’s not Gooigi’s fault that they were speaking gibberish!

“Et̕a͢ts ͝tn̶eŕr͡uc ym͞ ni͏,͏ e͢m ḑn͟a̕ts͞r̕e̶dn̷u ̨ot ̕uo͢y d̵et̶cep̶xe ev̶a̡h t͢’̡n͞ah̡s̶ ͘Į, esr͡uoc͡ f͘o.” The Vitiate murmurs, seemingly to themselves. “Ti͡a̸w nac͝ ̶śn̸oít͏cu̸do͢rtn̸i rep̧o͘rp, ͟re̷tt̴am̶ ̕on. E͝su fǫ eb͢ n͘a̵c ưoy̡ s͝pahre͡p os,͘ uo͘y͘ tu̶ob͠a ͏cigam͠ ̕s’̡ręts̵a̕m y͟m ́tcet̢èd́ t̕on o͡d͢ I.”

“…okay. Well, my name is Gooigi and, um..." Gooigi sighs, switching to his preferred method of communication. “Any chance you know sign language?”

The ghost reels back with a hiss, watching his hands with apprehension. “Gn͡i̢od ̨uoy e̶r͢a tàhw? Yrecr͟os fo ͡ȩp̧y̵t em̷o̧s s̛i̶ht̕ si?”

Gooigi takes a step back, holding his hands up in surrender. “Whoa! It's okay! This—" he slowly spells out his name as a demonstration, “—is how I talk."

The dark entity relaxes minutely. “Sd̴n̷ah̶ ͡ǹi kąe̴p̵s uoy͝?” they drift a little closer, “Ti͢ nees̡ r̨e͠v̢e ͠ev’̛i e̵mit ̡tsri̶f͢ ̧e̵h͠t̵ ̀s̶i síht tub, ńoita͞c̸i͏n͜um̧moc f̢o̵ mro̕f̡ ͟şi͢ht̛ ̕f̛o draeh ̶e͢v̸ah̶ ̸I.” The ghost looks down at their own hands. “S͢u̡o͠iru͟c. X͟e͟h s̵iht ̧yb ̶de͝tce̡ffa̷ èb̶ d̛l̷uow̨ ̷k͝a͞eps ̴dn͞a͝h ̛f̀i re͏d͝now̵ I̕...”

Gooigi is at a loss. This ghost doesn’t know sign language and they talk like a weirdo. At the very least, they seem to understand Gooigi when he speaks out loud, but talking isn’t exactly the ectomorph’s strong suit, and it takes a lot out of him, so... Yeah. Not the most ideal of situations.

Maybe the ghost knows charades?

“Tna̢v͘ele͘rri̴ s’͢t͢i eşop̶p̢úś I,” the ghost sighs. “Xe̛h͡ ̸s͘iht ͜ka͘e͟r͢b t͝o̴n͟na̵c kae̷ps̀ d̛nah͟. K̕roẃ ot̡ cig͟am sih̴t ̡rof yl̡b̸i͝dua ͡k̵ae͏ps̸ ̡ot ̨uoý deen͏ l͟ĺi͏w ̢I.”

Gooigi, more focused on figuring out a way to explain the concept of charades to a dark entity, almost misses them reaching for something. There’s a shift, movement, and a thick, well-worn tome drifts out from behind the armored Dark Koopa. Gooigi freezes, and a spike of unease surges through him. He can’t say for sure, not knowing exactly what it looks like, but the ectomorph is willing to bet this is the spell book Luigi had told him about—the one the kids had used to summon all these ghosts. There’s no telling what other dangerous spells this book might contain. Does the Vitiate intend to use it on him?

To Gooigi’s relief, and growing confusion, the Vitiate doesn’t begin flipping through the pages in search of a deadly incantation. Instead, they open the book, turn it, and gently nudge it toward the ectomorph. The book drifts to a stop before him, just close enough that he can make out the words on the pages. Gooigi doesn’t dare attempt to grab the tome; he and paper don’t get along, either.

Gooigi looks from the open tome to the expectant gaze of the armored Koopa. “You... want me to read?" he asks.

The ghost nods. They point to a passage on one of the pages, and the words begin to glow softly. Wow, they even highlighted it for him. How thoughtful.

“Why?"

The Vitiate’s eyes narrow at him. Gooigi attempts to mirror their glare with admirable effort. It was a fair question!

His ghostly companion finally relents (no one beats Gooigi in a stare-down). They tilt their head back and point at their throat. “Yaw ͏s̢i̡ht̴ k̡a͞e͏ps ot̡ ̕em͏ ͜gnicr̕o͏f̷ xe̷h e̡ht͞ ̴kae̛rb ͜ll̨iw͟ llep̢s̀ eht͞.”

Gooigi hums thoughtfully. Either the ghost has a sore throat, or this has something to do with the weird way they talked. The ectomorph is going to go out on a limb and assume the dark entity wouldn’t invoke magic for something that could easily be fixed with a cough drop.

He stares down at the spell book and its highlighted passage. Luigi and the professor said that magic was dangerous, especially if you weren’t experienced with it. He’s not supposed to try this kind of thing without a professional to supervise. Would the Vitiate count as a professional? Probably not. It’s only a spell about helping the ghost talk normally or whatever. It couldn’t be that dangerous, right?

If the ghost is telling the truth, anyway. Gooigi doesn’t recognize the language the spell is written in. For all he knows, this is for summoning eldritch monsters (or lighting gullible ectomorphs on fire).

Gooigi shrugs to himself. Eh, sometimes you have to take a leap of faith.

“Okay, I'll help," he says at last. Gooigi pauses. “I’ll try," he amends, “Talking is... hard."

The ghost nods imperceptibly. They anxiously glance up and down the hall as Gooigi begins to read, seemingly keeping watch—for what, he doesn’t know. Gooigi trips and fumbles his way through the most complicated paragraph he’s ever had the displeasure of reading. Nothing happens after he finishes, so he tries twice more, just in case. He can’t tell if he does better or worse with each attempt. Eventually, the ectomorph must concede defeat.

“Sorry..."

The Vitiate makes a frustrated sound, akin to a growl, but to Gooigi’s relief, they don’t lash out. “Er̛ef̡r͢etni̵ t̴’ņdid͜ ͢r̸e̶t̕sa͘m ym̨ ͠t͟àh͡t ͡s̛uo̧tiu̡t̛ŕo͝f ơot ͘s͝aw̷ ti̴ t͞h̴gu͟o͢ht̷ ̴dah ̡I. S̷noi̛t̨a̸t͢imil l͡aćov ̡ru̶oy fo̷ węn͏k ̕éh ̵sp̷ah̷rep̶...”

Is the ghost belittling him or placating him? Gooigi decides to pretend it’s the latter. “It's okay! My friend can help!"

“D̴n͡eir͢f̵?” the ghost murmurs.

“My partner is here," he says, “We find him, he can read. He has a mouth!

The dark entity regards him strangely, which is fair, given Gooigi’s choice of words. Still, the ectomorph isn’t discouraged.

“But first," Gooigi continues, “I need to find a kid. Have you seen them?"

The garbled words are barely out before the Vitiate reels back with a snarl. Gooigi raises their hands placatingly, startled by their response.

“Is that a 'yes' or do you not like kids?"

The Vitiate glares at him. Ah. Right. He should stick to ‘yes or no’ questions (and avoid dumb ones, honestly).

“T̀i ͠s̷lliw̷ re͝t̨s͠a̶m͜ d͞e͘hc̡t̴er̷w ̷y̵m s͘sel̶n͟u ͡y̛ob ̵ta̡ht ̵dni͢f͞ ̨ton ͠lli̧w͏ uơy,” the ghost hisses. “N̛ac̛ ͢ll̸i̧ts̴ eh ̵e̷l͘i͡h͟w ͢ec̶al͘p ͘s͜i͜ht ̡sèv̸aęl͡ e̴h ̡tah̷t̡ s͢e̕kas ruoy fo͏ ͟h͟t̸ob ̕ŗo̕f ͜yarp͝ I,̛ t̴seret̶n͜į ̀s͞’re̵t̛sam ͘y͞m͜ de̕rut͠ṕa̸c ͜sa̧h̸ ͏taht́ n̴amu̕h̸ ͝ehţ si̢ eh ̛f͠i, ̷’ren̛t̴r̷a͡p̸‘ r͟uǫy̧ ̡r̵o͜f ̧s͝a.”

That... somehow sounded super ominous and important. Call it a gut feeling. Would the ghost get annoyed if he asked them to repeat that in a game of charades?

A sharp gasp from down the hall steals Gooigi’s attention. He turns around and is both surprised and elated to see what appears to be an adolescent Doogan. They are standing at the end of the hall, having just stepped through the enchanted intersection. The kid is staring at the two paranormal entities with eyes wide and mouth agape. He kind of reminds Gooigi of a ghost that had just been hit with the mother of all Strobulb flashes.

What was the saying? Speak of Jaydes, and she will appear? (Is that why mortals refuse to say her name? Ridiculous. Jaydes is an absolute delight to be around.)

Whatever the case, his luck is finally turning around. Gooigi tilts his head in the approximation of a smile and offers the kid a friendly wave. “Hello!"

The Doogan promptly screams.

Now, Gooigi is used to this type of reaction (the same thing had happened when he first met Luigi), so he isn’t deterred by it. He raises both hands placatingly, but before he can try and calm the kid down, they’re pulling something out of their pocket and brandishing it like a weapon.

Is... is that an onion?

“Stay back, monster!” the teen shrieks.

Gooigi complies for the moment, but not out of any concern for the Doogan’s bizarre arsenal. Seriously, what’s with the onion?

“Why do you have an onion in your pocket?”

“For situations just like this one! Everyone knows the living dead hate onions,” the kid says with the confidence of an idiot. “As long as I have this, you can’t touch me.”

…this has to be a joke, right? There’s no way someone is this confidently wrong. Gooigi doesn’t even know where to begin addressing the blatant misinformation, so for the sake of his own sanity, he decides not to acknowledge it.

“Kid, I’m not going hurt you,” he signs, taking a cautious step forward. “I’m here to save you from—”

“Save me?” the Doogan laughs incredulously, “You think I’d fall for that just because you sort of look like Luigi?” he points at something past the ectomorph with his free hand, “Your evil boss is right there!”

Gooigi follows the kid’s line of sight and winces internally as his gaze lands on the (weirdly quiet) Vitiate. Okay, standing next to one of the ghosts that’s been terrorizing the kid and his friends is definitely not a good look. It doesn’t help that the spell book is still open and floating in plain view.

“...I’ll admit, this looks bad,” Gooigi concedes, “but you’ve got it all wrong. The ghost and I have just been trying to work things out—”

“Uh-uh!” the Doogan interjects, “No way am I listening to you! You’re just trying to trick me!”

Gooigi sighs, daring to take a few steps closer. “Please, just give me a chance to explain—”

“I said stay back! Don’t make me use this!” the Doogan shakes their onion with emphasis.

“Oh no, a smelly, tear-jerking vegetable; I better go crawl back into my crypt.” Gooigi acknowledges that snarking a terrified teenager probably isn’t the best approach, but he can’t seem to rein in the sass when faced with the ridiculousness of the situation.

The kid does not respond to Gooigi’s sarcastic quip, and it takes the ectomorph a moment to realize he isn’t even looking at him anymore. He is staring past him with growing horror and confusion.

“H-hey, where’d your boss go?”

“They’re not my—!” Gooigi freezes. Wait... what? He quickly turns. The armored Koopa Vitiate is gone, and so is the book.

A panicked shriek pulls Gooigi’s attention back to the Doogan. He whirls around and is horrified to find the kid in the ghost’s grasp. Apparently, while the kid had been focused on Gooigi, the Vitiate had turned invisible and crept up on him, grabbing him from behind (is this ghost part Slinker?). They have one arm wrapped around the Doogan’s throat, and the other is keeping one of his arms pinned to his side. If the situation weren’t so dire, Gooigi would have found it amusing that his free arm is the one clutching the onion.

“No! Let me go!” the kid yowls, thrashing desperately in the ghost’s grip, “I’m sorry for calling you evil! Please don’t hurt me!”

“Nw̕od ͟draug r͡uoy̵ t̸eļ ̀ot, ͝uo͘y͢ f̀o ̡sselèr̷ac w̨oh,” the dark entity hisses, “Wo̧n dn͞a͟ er̨eh ͘sdn͏e s̨ih͜t!”

Gooigi finally snaps out of his shock. He sprints toward the kid and their ghostly captor, waving his arms frantically to get the latter’s attention. “Wait! Stop!"

The Vitiate pays him no mind. Their hold on the Doogan only tightens, and the kid’s struggling devolves into intense shivering. “C-cold! Why is it s-s-so c-cold?”

“Please! Stop!" Gooigi pleads, increasingly more desperate, “Let the kid go!"

“M͠elo̸g͏ èm̕il͞s̛,͢ ȩc̶nel̕i̴s͠!” the dark entity growls, keeping their eyes firmly on the Doogan. “N͜o̢iţart͘n̛e͡c̡no͏c͢ ̴l̢l̢u̶f y̶m ͝s̀e̶r̷iuqe̵r͠ síht̀, ̷nop͠ąeẁ ͠a fo ̕dia̷ e͡ht͜ ̕tu͢o̧ht̕íw.”

‘I don’t know what you’re saying!’ Gooigi wants to scream. If he had hair, he’d be tearing it out. Why, oh why couldn’t he have gotten that stupid spell to work?!

The kid abruptly goes stiff. His mouth hangs open, and his wide eyes stare vacantly into the middle distance. With growing horror, Gooigi notices that the Vitiate’s arms have begun to slowly phase into the Doogan’s body. What is the ghost trying to do?! Is this what possession looks like? Gooigi isn’t about to wait and find out.

The time for talking has ended.

Gooigi quickly weighs his options. Startle the ghost with the Strobulb? No, he’ll be blinding the kid, too. Blast the ghost away with the Burst function? No, as tightly as they’re holding onto the kid, he’ll be brought along for the ride. Skip straight to the vacuuming action? The ghost would probably just clamp down harder. That just leaves...

The ectomorph silently preps the Suction Shot. His distracted adversary’s head is just visible over the kid’s shoulder. If he aims carefully, he should be able to obscure the ghost’s vision with the cup of the plunger. Hopefully, that will startle them enough to let go.

Gooigi takes aim, and fires.

The plunger hits its mark. Startled, the ghost relinquishes their hold on the kid and immediately claws at the obstruction. The Doogan collapses to the floor with a gasp. Gooigi darts forward as the teen shakily rises to their hands and knees.

“You okay?" he warbles, reaching out to offer the kid a hand.

The Doogan looks up, wild-eyed, and leaps to their feet with a shriek. They throw the onion at Gooigi in a panic and bolt down the hallway. The vegetable bounces harmlessly off Gooigi and lands at his feet. He stares down at it in dumb silence while the Doogan makes their getaway. 3

Huh. Gooigi has to give the kid credit; the onion certainly gave him pause.

“On͡!̡ Ep͢a̵cse̸ me̶ht̸ ́t̢el ͠t̀’̶n͟o͝ḑ!”

The Dark Koopa nearly bowls Gooigi over as they barrel past him. The time allotted to him by the Suction Shot is apparently up. Gooigi scrambles to recover and quickly pursues the angry Vitiate. The Doogan dares a glance over his shoulder and yelps at the rapidly gaining duo. With a desperate burst of speed, he sprints through the intersection at the end of the hall and disappears into the enchantment’s tell-tale shimmer.

The Vitiate halts before the invisible barrier can claim them as well. Gooigi moves to go around them, but the dark entity seizes the ectomorph by the arm. To Gooigi’s shock, he doesn’t just slip through the Vitiate’s grip like he would with anyone else. He is held firmly, as if he isn’t a semi-solid being, and Gooigi distantly wonders if it has anything to do with them both being ectoplasmic entities. Then, with a furious snarl, the ghost turns and throws him to the ground.

Rude.

“Lo͝of ̨u̷o̸y! Enǫd̸ ́e̸v’̷uoy ̷t͝ahw͡ ̷a͞ed͢i y̡n̡a͟ ͡e̵va̛h u͢oy ̴od́?!” The Dark Koopa howls. “Me̛ht̷ d͠a̸h̸ ts̢òml͞a Í! Si̸ht̢ d͟edn͢e eva̧h dlu͜oc̨ e͝w!”

Gooigi doesn’t have to understand the ghost to know they are chewing him out. He knows a reprimand when he hears one.

“Y̧lla ͞na eb̨ d̨l̡u͠o̡c ̷u̵o͢y d̨ep͠oh͘ dah̶ ́I,” the Vitiate grumbles, “ytįli͝baìl̷ ̷a͜ na̷h̶t ̸er̴om͢ ǵn̸i͠hton ͝er’̨ùo̶y͟ s̴me̷es͏ ti ͘tub́.” They turn away. “P͟a̡rt ́s͏’r̛e̢tsa̛m ym̛ sr̕e̢tnȩ n̵am͘uh ̷r̨u͝o̴y͏ er͡of̛e̢b em͢i̡t fo ̡re̸ttam ͠a yl͘ņo s͞i͞ ţi̢ ràef͡ I. T̶sr̶i̡f mih ͜dn͡if̵ ͞lliw ̶I͜, ̷y͜k͟c͠ul ̶si ͡eh ͝f͏i͠.” Without a glance his way, they drift toward the intersection. “E̴v́it͠pec̕rep̕ erom ̕şi e͞h͝ ͡y̡ar̵p ͝I̵.” 3

And with that, the armored Dark Koopa is gone.

Gooigi stares quietly at where the dark entity disappeared. That last spiel had the same energy as one of Luigi’s “I’m not angry, just disappointed” lectures. He can handle angry ghosts well enough, but disappointed ones? That was new. And, somehow, worse.

Gooigi gets to his feet with a sigh, feeling every bit like a scolded child. He wordlessly steps through the enchanted intersection and finds himself in another hallway. The ectomorph is disappointed (but not surprised) that the kid is nowhere in sight. He is less disappointed that the Dark Koopa is also absent.

Why does he feel so guilty? That ghost was doing some weird, spooky stuff to the kid. Gooigi was just trying to protect him! He didn’t do anything wrong!

...right?

Gooigi doesn’t let himself dwell on it. He continues his trek through the halls, hoping to get lucky and run into the fleeing teenager. His persistence eventually rewards him, though not with the kid, but a lead as to where they may have gone. The enchantment has now dropped Gooigi into a hall with a dead end, and about halfway down, is an open door. The Doogan must have ducked into that room and forgot to close it behind them in their haste. Gooigi’s not complaining though.

The ectomorph quietly approaches the door, considering what he can say to the kid to convince them he’s on their side. He steps past the threshold, hands up and ready to make another attempt to placate. To his surprise, the door isn’t to a bedroom, but a staircase. He follows the steps upward with his eyes. Where does this lead? The attic?

The door abruptly slams behind him, and it is at that moment that Gooigi realizes he just walked into a trap.

Of course it’s a trap. After multiple failures in a row, why would his luck suddenly be any better?

Gooigi sighs and prepares to use the Poltergust’s Suction Shot on the door. He hesitates. He glances over his shoulder, back at the staircase. It’s probably not the wisest choice, but Gooigi can’t deny that he’s curious as to what may be at the top of those steps. It could be nothing, and Gooigi had just been lured to this particular door at random, but the ectomorph has come to learn that when dealing with the paranormal, there are few coincidences. There must be a reason the ghosts trapped him here of all places.

Gooigi cautiously ascends the stairs, Poltergust at the ready. When he reaches the top, he quickly steps off to the side—he's been pushed down staircases too much not to be paranoid—and scans the area for ghosts. Finding none, he begins to explore.

It’s an attic, as he suspected. There are boxes and miscellaneous items covered with dusty sheets lining the walls—standard stuff. What isn’t standard, is what lies in the middle of the room.

A large, intricate magic circle has been drawn onto the floor. It is surrounded by a ring of candles dripping with melted wax. The candle’s wicks are still lit, but instead of a warm orange, the flames glow a ghostly lilac.

‘This must be where the kids summoned the ghosts,’ Gooigi thinks.

He dares to get closer to the circle, scrutinizing it carefully. Gooigi is no expert in magic, but this doesn’t look like the type of arrangement you’d need for a simple séance. Stars, just what kind of magic did these kids mess with?

Luigi might know what this is. And if he doesn’t, hopefully he had the foresight to pack E. Gadd’s latest invention to help identify it. The ectomorph turns, intending to go back down the stairs and bust down the door, but is stopped by another presence. There, blocking the staircase, is a Clubba Vitiate.

Gooigi immediately notes that the ghost’s eyes aren’t red, which doesn’t bode well, but that doesn’t mean they’re a guaranteed hostile. After all, the Snifit had white eyes and Gooigi had managed to make peace with them.

They also hadn’t been as far gone as the other Vitiates, but that’s beside the point.

Gooigi waves cheerfully at the Clubba, undeterred. “Hello!"

The rotund ghost stares quietly back at him. For a moment, Gooigi thinks they might be open to a friendly chat. Ominous leering isn’t necessarily a sign of aggression, right? Maybe they’re just shy.

The Clubba ghost starts to growl, and before Gooigi knows it, the dark entity is growing and shifting into a grotesque parody of itself. Gooigi takes several steps back, readying his Poltergust.

“Uh-oh."

_______________

[Now]

Luigi, Dane, and Pepper slowly make their way up and down the various hallways. Luigi pauses before each door, sensing for traps and destroying them accordingly. Only a few of the doors they’ve come across so far were a part of the original floor plan, and none of the rooms beyond showed signs of Gooigi or the remaining ghosts. At first, the trio search in silence—Luigi being focused on the task at hand, and Dane seemingly cowed from his admonishing—but after an uneventful stretch of time, the kid begins to fill in the quiet with questions.

“So, what’s with the fancy vacuum? I’ve never seen one with a flashlight attachment.” Dane watches as Luigi destroys yet another trap door with the Suction Shot. “Or shoot toilet plungers, for that matter.”

Luigi, for some unexplainable reason, finds it difficult to respond. His brows furrow. It was an innocent question with a simple enough answer, so where was this hesitation coming from?

“This,” Luigi says at last, brandishing the Poltergust’s wand, “is the Poltergust G-00-EG—” Patent pending. “—the latest Poltergust model and most advanced piece of ghost capturing technology in all the known kingdoms.” 4

Dane hums appreciatively. “A bit of a mouthful, but as far as puns go, ‘Poltergust’ is unquestionably ‘S’ tier.”

Luigi smiles, remembering how giddy E. Gadd had been when he first introduced the Poltergust all those years ago. He’d be delighted to know that someone else appreciated his “naming genius.”

“Is that where the ghosts go when you catch ‘em?” Dane asks, pointing to the clear canister on Luigi’s back.

“No, that’s for Gooigi.”

Dane’s eyes widen. “You store Jelly Joe in a jar?”

Jelly Joe? Luigi’s adding that one to the list. “The canister is for protection and recovery, not storage.”

“Protection from what?”

The inexplicable hesitation from before returns, stronger this time. Luigi frowns. He clears his throat, jaw spasming minutely as he opens his mouth to answer.

“Water, mostly,” Luigi replies, ignoring the strange surge of annoyance that follows. “And if he is hurt badly enough that he can’t maintain form, the Poltergust automatically collects his physical body until he’s able to recover.”

“Oooo neat.” Dane leans over to better scrutinize the Poltergust. “How does he get out?”

“There’s a sensor at the bottom of the canister that Gooigi can trigger when he’s ready.” Luigi frowns to himself. “But that’s been acting up lately, so I’ve been having to release him manually.”

Luigi pauses at the next door, not detecting a trap or malevolent energy. He gestures for Dane to step back and opens it to find another hallway identical to theirs. He quirks a brow before cautiously leaning out the door. When he looks to his left, Luigi is bewildered to see Dane, Pepper, and himself several doors down. His “doppelgänger” is also leaning through a doorway. Luigi withdraws and looks to his right to see an open door down the hall—the exit point of the portal.

“Whoa, that’s trippy!” Dane runs down the hall before Luigi can protest and stops in front of the other door. Sure enough, they are now standing before the plumber in the threshold.

Luigi patiently has the Doogan step through the door so they are once more at his side. Luigi closes the door and locks it with his magic skeleton key.

“Oh cool! A skeleton key! I’ve never seen one in person before.” Dane leans in curiously. “But why are you locking the door with it?”

“I’m breaking the enchantment so I can safely dispose of the door.”

Luigi tears the door down. Sure enough, the door it had been connected to down the hall also disappears. Luigi destroys a few more trap doors before coming to another one free of malevolent energy.

A wall of steam pours over the threshold and curls around the plumber and his companions. When it clears, Luigi finds he is standing before a bathroom. The floor is checkered with pale blue tile, the rest of the room adorned in complimentary shades. Across from the trio is an old, claw-footed tub with a shower curtain drawn tightly around it. The curvy silhouette of a woman can be seen beyond the cloth, her jovial humming mingling pleasantly with the gentle patter of water from the shower head.

Luigi quickly retreats, absently throwing a hand over the teen’s eyes (the latter squawking indignantly) as he shuts the door behind him.

What was up with ghosts and shower hauntings?

“That, uh..." Dane trails off, sounding a little mortified. “That wasn’t one of our bathrooms.”

Luigi sags minutely with relief. It’s another portal door, meaning he doesn’t need to confront whatever is on that side of the threshold. He locks the door and destroys it as well.

The neighboring door also lacks the negative energy indicative of a trap. With great trepidation, Luigi grasps the worn brass knob and pulls. A warm, foul-smelling gust of air billows from the room. It is completely dark, but the plumber can hear what sounds like deep breathing coming from its depths. He warily pulls out his flashlight and turns it on. A narrow, maroon tunnel spans before him, sprawling further and further until its end is concealed in shadow. The walls glisten with a slimy substance, and the ceiling and floor are lined with rows of odd, off-white stalactites and stalagmites—

Wait.

Luigi slams the door, wide-eyed.

Dane stares at the hastily shut door, equally alarmed. "...horrifying."

Luigi silently agrees. He wastes no time locking the door and destroying it. Dane studies the now vacant spot with open wariness.

“So... what do we do if something other than a ghost manages to get through these doors?” Dane glances at the Poltergust. “Does that work on monsters, too?”

Luigi clenches his jaw against the urge to snap at the kid. It’s a fair concern to address, given what they just witnessed, so the subsequent spike in irritation seems rather unwarranted. Why does he feel so agitated?

“It can’t capture them if that’s what you mean,” he says. At the teen’s nervous look, Luigi quickly tries to assure them. “But you don’t need to worry about that, Dane. I was fighting monsters well before I was fighting ghosts.”

And yet, he is still afraid of the former. Even after all these years.

Dane doesn’t reply to his platitude, so Luigi isn’t certain if he succeeded in putting the kid at ease. They continue on in silence. Luigi destroys two more trap doors before they arrive at one lacking malevolent energy. He warily takes hold of the doorknob, sending a silent prayer to the Stars that it isn’t another portal. He grimaces as he thinks of the last one.

“You might want to stand off to the side a bit,” Luigi tells Dane. “Just in case.”

Dane’s face scrunches up, likely also remembering the previous portal. “Good idea.”

The Doogan moves down the hall a few paces. Pepper trots dutifully after him.

“In hindsight,” Luigi adds, easing open the door, “I probably should have had you doing that in the first—”

Luigi cuts himself off with a surprised yelp. There, standing in the doorway, is the armored Koopa Vitiate. Luigi leaps back, falling into a defensive stance with the Poltergust at the ready, but the ghost doesn’t go on the attack. In fact, they react similarly to Luigi. With equal speed, the ghost puts distance between them, posed to attack or defend as needed. They regard each other quietly. Neither appear eager to make the first move.

“…Luigi?” Dane whispers, near inaudibly. “What’s wrong?”

Luigi tenses, fully expecting Dane’s voice to send the ghost into another frenzy, but they don’t show any reaction. Either they didn’t hear the kid, or they don’t care enough about his presence to engage in another fight. They seem to have calmed considerably since their earlier encounter. Perhaps now they can try and settle matters diplomatically.

“We don’t need to fight,” Luigi says after a beat. “I have the spell book. Show me what I need to read to break your hex, and we can talk this out. Okay?”

The Dark Koopa watches him in silent scrutiny, but otherwise says nothing in response to his offer. Luigi isn’t discouraged. Something like relief is radiating from the armored Koopa; relief and a sense of urgency so strong, Luigi feels it as if it’s his own. This is confirmation enough.

Luigi turns his head slightly towards Dane, keeping the ghost in his peripheral. “Dane, I need you to bring me the spell book.”

The teen’s eyes widen, darting from Luigi to the doorway. From his spot in the hall, the open door is shielding the ghost from view—a near perfect replica of their prior meeting, only with reversed roles.

“Is that who I think it is…?” Dane whispers.

Luigi nods sharply. “I know they scared you before, but you need to trust me on this. Remember what we talked about…”

The Doogan winces, likely recalling his reprimand. He nods to himself as he carefully makes his way over. Pepper matches the kid’s cautious stride.

Luigi spares the Dark Koopa a brief glance. Their head is also turned in Dane’s direction, perhaps listening to his timid approach. Luigi opens the door wider to make room for his two companions. He holds out his hand with remarkable patience as they draw near. Pepper and Dane step into view of the armored Koopa.

A sharp crack! cuts through the tense silence, startling Luigi into high alert. He turns back to the dark entity, anticipating an attack, but is shocked to find a kaleidoscope of jagged shapes in their place. Harsh lines spiderweb out from a seemingly arbitrary focal point and end at the doorway’s framing. It takes Luigi an embarrassingly long moment to realize he’s looking at a shattered mirror.

“Uh…” Dane begins uncertainly. “Where’s the armored ghost? All I see is our reflection.”

Luigi turns to Dane, confused by their calm reaction to the mirror’s loud and rather sudden destruction. When Luigi turns back to the mirror, he is bewildered to find it completely intact. Dane is currently looking between his and Luigi’s haggard reflection. Luigi quirks a brow, frowning at his own disheveled appearance. His damp clothes are torn in a few places and sag uncomfortably on his frame. There’s a minor scrape on his cheek that he doesn’t recall getting, and he distantly wonders which of the ghosts was responsible for it. He turns his gaze downward to gauge Pepper’s reaction to the mirror, but the pup is no longer beside them. The Polterpup is back where he and Dane had been waiting off to the side, only now they are watching the doorway with wide eyes.

“I… I don’t know,” Luigi says helplessly. “This mirror wasn’t here earlier. Or, if it was, it wasn’t functioning like one…”

Dane abruptly steps away from the doorframe. “Oh, sweet Jaydes, are you telling me this is a haunted mirror? Is the armored ghost possessing it or something?!”

Luigi studies his reflection a moment more, searching for anything amiss. Nothing changes. No cracks, no shadowy ghosts, just a rung-out human in need of a change of clothes and a shower. He closes the door, feeling out of sorts. “It was probably an illusion,” he says quietly. “Spectral shenanigans. Nothing to worry ourselves over.”

Luigi hopes he sounds more certain than he feels. Without further acknowledgment or investigation, he locks the door with his skeleton key and tears it down with a well-aimed Suction Shot. Luigi wordlessly moves to check the next door, only to find there isn’t one. He casts his befuddled gaze back the way they came. A significantly more reasonable number of doors now line each wall. Apparently, they have finished clearing this hall of traps and door portals.

Luigi waves Pepper and Dane forward. “Let’s move on.”

==

The next hall the trio are dumped into comes to a dead end. Luigi grimaces, already imagining the many different scenarios where they end up cornered and trapped by whatever may be lurking behind these doors. Nothing has jumped out to attack them yet, but it’s only a matter of time. Luigi looks over his shoulder, considering whether to brave their current hall or throw themselves back to the enchantment’s mercy. He turns toward the dead end and ventures forth with a sigh. They’d likely have to come back here anyway; may as well get it over with.

Luigi destroys two trap doors on opposite walls in quick succession, Dane and Pepper following quietly behind. Both give Luigi a generous amount of space each time he stops to conduct an inspection. He is about to examine door number six when he detects movement in his peripheral. About halfway down the hall, one of the doors on the left begins to open. Luigi gestures for his companions to stay put and quickly moves so he is standing between them and the new potential threat. They watch the door’s painfully slow progress, its hinges creaking eerily in the cramped quarters. It eases to a stop; nothing emerges.

“...that is... super creepy,” Dane whispers.

Luigi frowns at the apparent invitation. “Stay close to me," he quietly tells the teen, “And get ready to run."

Dane nods his understanding. He trails nervously after Luigi as the latter cautiously approaches the door. Luigi wordlessly readies his Poltergust. They are almost within reach when a green blur tumbles over the threshold and crashes into the far wall. It slides to the floor in an amorphous blob before quickly reforming into a familiar shape.

“Gooigi!"

The ghost hunter startles, surprised by Luigi’s presence, and turns to the trio with wide eyes. Any relief at being reunited is swiftly dashed by a massive morning star soaring through the open doorway and embedding itself in the wall just above Gooigi’s head.

“Run!"

A giant, clawed hand erupts from the doorway, knocking the door off its hinges as it reaches fervently for the ectomorph. Gooigi swiftly dodges, narrowly avoiding the swiping hand. He leaps to his feet with a distressed warble and dashes past his gawking partner. Luigi jolts from his stupor and quickly directs his companions to join the ghost hunter in their retreat. They run back the way they came, but the moment the group attempts to pass their first intersection, the enchantment’s magic takes hold. Suddenly, the ghost’s swiping hand is in their path, blocking their way forward. Luigi turns and finds a wall at their back. The enchantment had deposited them at the hallway’s dead end.

They’re trapped.

Luigi whirls back to the Vitiate’s flailing arm. The ghost has managed to poke its head out of the door—revealing it to be the Clubba Vitiate that Dane had told him about—but it can’t seem to get the rest of its bulbous body through the threshold. Luigi squints at the struggling entity, bewildered. Why doesn’t it just phase through the wall?

“It’s stuck! That’s good, right?" Dane asks hopefully. “We’re safe?”

The Clubba suddenly retreats into the room. A second later, its hands emerge, clasping both sides of the doorway’s framing. Then, it pulls—widening the opening like someone manually prying open a sliding door. Instead of crumbling into rubble, the walls stretch unnaturally to accommodate the ghost’s impromptu changes to the threshold’s dimensions. Once wide enough, the dark entity claws its way out into the cramped hall.

“O-okay! Um... at least it can’t really move out here!"

The Vitiate growls irritably as it fails to stand at its full height. It raises both arms, palms to the ceiling, and pushes. The ceiling soars upward several meters before coming to a stop, again changing the room’s dimensions without any signs of damage. It reaches an arm out to the morning star imbedded in the wall and grabs the handle. With the other arm, the Clubba shoves against the wall, sending it back another couple of meters while simultaneously freeing their weapon.

“Oh, come on!"

“What did I tell you about tempting fate?!”

Luigi watches as the Clubba rises to its full height. The dark entity reminds the plumber a lot of his brother’s old foe, Tubba Blubba, only bigger. Impractically large tusks jut out from its bottom jaw and two, sharp horns curl back over the entity’s head. Its tail is longer too—so much so that it now drags on the ground behind it instead of poking up in the air.

The Vitiate takes two lumbering steps toward the cornered mortals, closing the already little distance between them. Now that the ghost is closer, Luigi can tell by the way it holds itself that it isn’t at full strength. Gooigi may have failed to catch it in their time apart, but they certainly drained a fair share of the ghost’s energy. Hopefully, with their combined efforts, they can quickly finish it off.

Luigi looks from the ghost to the wall at his back. Full power or not, the Clubba is still incredibly dangerous, especially in such close quarters. Luigi needs to create distance, and fast.

“Gooigi, hit them with the Strobulb," he tells his partner quietly. Then, loud enough for the others to hear, “Everyone get behind me.”

The ectomorph nods as Dane and Pepper squeeze into what little space remains between Luigi and the dead end. While his partner charges their Strobulb, Luigi holsters the Poltergust’s wand and hastily removes his damp gloves. He rolls up his sleeves as an after-thought and raises a fist, sparks coming to life along his hand. Luigi isn’t soaked through, but he’s still far from dry. He can only hope his precautionary measures will reduce whatever backlash he may receive.

The Vitiate, seeing Luigi’s building attack, tries to interfere with a pre-emptive strike of their own, but Gooigi blinds them with a flash before they can follow through. They stumble back with a snarl, and Gooigi quickly moves behind the plumber while the ghost furiously rubs at their eyes. With a final burst of charge, Luigi unleashes the Thunderhand. The attack strikes true, sending the Clubba ghost hurdling down the widened hallway. Unfortunately, as the plumber suspected, his clothes conduct some of the attack, and he receives a shock of his own. Luigi collapses to his hands and knees, muscles spasming minutely at the backlash.

“That was freaking awesome!" Dane whoops, fist pumping in the air. He double takes, finally taking notice of Luigi’s hunched form. “Whoa, man, are you okay?"

“I-I’ll be fine." Luigi gives himself a hard shake. This isn’t the first time the Thunderhand backfired on him, and it certainly isn’t the worst.

Gooigi offers their help as he moves to stand, but when the ectomorph’s hand contacts Luigi’s damp clothes, their palm starts to sizzle. They recoil, looking between Luigi and their reforming hand with a lightly quirked brow. The plumber gives his partner a flat look.

“Not. One. Word." He grumbles.

A deep growl snaps the group’s attention back to the Vitiate steadily recovering from Luigi’s attack. It slowly rises from the ground, residual electricity arcing off its ethereal form. Then, with a furious roar, the Clubba ghost turns to the wall and delivers a powerful kick. Instead of expanding outward, like the entity’s previous manipulations, the hall flips over like a box pushed onto its side—sending Luigi and company flying. All but the Polterpup land in painful heaps on the wall-turned-floor.

“That is, so not fair," Dane wheezes.

The dark entity guffaws heartily at the dazed mortals, lifting its leg to deliver another world-altering kick, but Luigi is ready this time. He calls a warning to his companions and rushes to brace himself for the pull of gravity. The hall flips just as violently as before, but the mortals fair far better as they land on what was once the ceiling. Luigi quickly leaps back to his feet.

“Pepper, you stay here with Dane and keep him safe! Gooigi, you’re with me!"

The Polterpup barks in the affirmative and Gooigi nods, wordlessly following their partner as the latter dashes down the hall. They make it about halfway to their target before the Vitiate decides to flip the room yet again. Luigi mentally nudges the ectomorph, silently conveying an idea. Gooigi presses back in acknowledgement, and, just before the room turns, the two ghost hunters simultaneously perform a Burst—easing their transition to the new plane and significantly reducing their recovery time. The Clubba scowls at their resourcefulness and quickly flips the room again, hoping to catch them off guard, but they anticipate the action and perform another Burst before they can be thrown. Frustrated, the Clubba switches tactics and hoists its weapon into the air. Once the two ghost hunters are in range, it lunges forward and brings the morning star down in a brutal swing. The duo narrowly dodge the blow, leaping to opposite sides of the hallway. The Vitiate continues its wild onslaught, spiked bludgeon scraping mortar from the walls and splintering wood beneath the ruined rug. A particularly brutal swing crashes into the floor and the mighty weapon becomes embedded in its surface. The ghost hunters pause, taking a moment of reprieve while the dark entity struggles to free it.

“Any ideas on how to take it down?" Luigi signs, trying to give himself a chance to catch his breath.

Gooigi stares at the ghost in brief contemplation. After a moment, he perks, turning to Luigi and miming a poof of air like that of the Burst from their Poltergust. He mimics being off balance and then slams one hand on top of the other.

“Take it down by literally taking it down?” The plumber confirms.

Gooigi nods.

“Simple and to the point. I like it."

The two look over in time to see the Clubba ghost pull its weapon free with a mighty tug, sending the lumbering behemoth stumbling back at the sudden lack of resistance. They exchange a glance—there's their opening. Luigi and his partner rush in as the Vitiate tries to recover and simultaneously activate the Burst function of their Poltergusts. The blast of air knocks the already unstable ghost onto their back, and the two ghost hunters waste no time in switching on their glorified vacuums. Each aims their nozzles at a different leg and quickly draws in their respective target. The ghost flails with a snarl, attempting to pull away, but before it can make any progress, the duo lifts as one and swings it in an arc before slamming it back into the ground. They perform this maneuver once, twice, three times—the ghost howling its protests. Luigi activates the Power Surge function, draining the last of the ghost’s energy. He exchanges a look with his partner. With a wordless nod, he shuts off the intake and watches as the roaring Vitiate disappears into Gooigi’s Poltergust.

Five down...

Mere moments after the Vitiate’s defeat, the hallway begins to shudder. Everyone watches in quiet awe as the ceiling lowers and the walls constrict. The doorway Gooigi and the Clubba had come through follows suit, and soon everything has returned to its previous dimensions. The only evidence of their ghostly encounter is the damage left by the Clubba’s deadly weapon.

Luigi smiles wearily, offering his friend a thumbs-up. “Nice work."

Gooigi mirrors the gesture. “Ditto."

Dane and Pepper run over, quickly regrouping with the ghost hunters. The teen looks like he’s about to burst with giddiness. “Whoa! I didn’t know you could bash ghosts into stuff! That must feel super cathartic."

“Well, I wouldn’t say—"

“It does."

Luigi frowns at his doppelgänger. The ectomorph stares back innocently.

“What? You think so too. Don’t lie."

Luigi rolls his eyes, turning back to the Doogan. “Anyway. You okay, kid? Not too banged up I hope…”

“Eh, a bruise here or there, but I’m good. Pepper kept me from being thrown around when the room flipped."

Luigi smiles down at his ghostly companion. “Good job, Pepper."

The Polterpup’s tail gives the faintest wag. An oddly subdued reaction to his praise, Luigi thinks.

“Oh! Where are my manners?" Luigi turns, gesturing to his partner. “Dane, allow me to introduce you to my friend, Gooigi. Gooigi? This is Dane.”

Dane waves sheepishly at the ectomorph. “Hey dude... sorry I, uh, ran from you earlier.”

“You threw an onion at me.”

Luigi quirks a brow at the teen. “You did what now?”

“I told you, I thought he was a bad guy!”

“Why an onion, though?”

“It was a misunderstanding of folklore,” Gooigi signs. “He probably meant to use garlic.”

“But... you’re not a vampire,” the plumber says superfluously. “You don’t even look like one.”

“Hey, imagine how confused I was.”

Dane crosses their arms and shrinks in on themselves, looking thoroughly embarrassed. “Look, I’m sorry about that, okay? I was freaking out and wasn’t thinking. Can we please just drop it?"

Luigi shrugs, taking pity on the kid. “Fine with me. Oh, and for the record, don’t rely on garlic for protection.”

The ectomorph mirrors his shrug and waves a hand dismissively at the kid. “We’re good. I’m just glad to see you aren’t hurt.”

Dane relaxes, looking relieved. “Right back at ya, my jello fellow.”

“I am not gelatin. I am goo.”

“If we want to get technical,” Luigi interjects, “he's coffee and ectoplasm.”

“...I have never heard anything more relatable in my life."

Luigi regards Dane with a quirked brow. The ectomorph puffs up and playfully elbows his partner in the side.

“Hear that, Luigi? I’m relatable.”

Luigi gives his partner a flat look. “Truly, you are the voice of a generation.” He glances down the hall, sobering at the reminder that they are all still standing at a dead-end. “We should get moving before something else shows up and corners us.”

Gooigi puts a hand on his shoulder. “Wait.” When they’re sure they have his attention, they gesture to the room they had been violently expunged from. “There’s something you need to see.”

______________________________

Gooigi: "Hello!"

Clubba: *turns into a horrifying monster*

Gooigi: "Understandable. Have a nice day."

-

Gooigi is so much fun to write. Best gooey boi. <3 And now he's finally back! (To kick! Some! Tail! Goo-ey! Goo-i-gi!) Hopefully he and Luigi can make sense of the mysterious magic circle and figure out how to leave the second floor (aka the least-fun-funhouse ever) before things can take a turn for the worse.

-

Yoshi, a dinosaur-esq species: "The hell is that supposed to mean?" (I wrote this Jurassic Park reference before I remembered that there are, in fact, actual dinosaurs and dinosaur adjacent species in the Mario-verse, and they would probably be quite offended by Gooigi's implication. I left it in anyway, because I love this dumb inner dialogue and JP too much to change/omit it.) ↩︎

Gooigi's spoken dialogue is written in the "Chiller" font in the original document. I thought the shaky lettering did a great job conveying how "wobbly" his voice sounded to everyone. Unfortunately, I couldn't transfer this font into Tumblr or ao3, so I had to come up with something else for each platform. ↩︎

I promise this is the last chapter with backwards speech (there's like 4 lines of it in chapter 5.7 but that's it). Click here if you want to use the text reversing site. ↩︎

I remember missing the Power Surge function when I first started playing Luigi's Mansion 3, so for this story I decided to give Luigi an upgraded version of the Poltergust G-00 that utilizes it. Gooigi was given the honor of naming the new model, and he came up with Poltergust G-00-EG. The professor immediately called him out on naming the device after himself (Goo-E-Gee), but Gooigi denied the accusation, claiming that the "EG" stood for "E. Gadd" and the rest was merely a coincidence. The professor bought it. (Luigi didn't, but quietly found it hilarious) ↩︎

[xtarart]

I am mega hyped for the paper Mario the thousand year door remake next year, and was feeling nostalgic about some old ideas I had as a kid for my own paper Mario party member OCs, so for my final drawing of 2023 I went and made them!

Goomdrews the goomba, Kabe the bob-omb and his pet chain chomp Boomer, Krash the koopa, Momiji the ninji, Norris the cleft, Stella the luma, and Quarry the clubba.

Happy new years everyone!

[shreddedsketches]

The Next Paper Mario Inspired Art I have is one of two of the main Chapter 3 bosses of N64 Paper Mario and Paper Mario TTYD.

Macho Grubba and Tubba Blubba in the same Glitzville arena, these guys left a good impression of heavy hitting, bulky bosses when I was going back to the Paper Mario series

[chrismas95]

[titleknown]

And the annoying part is, they don't have to look horrid! The Paper Mario version of 'em, the Clubba, are a good design that I don't hate!

Like, this here is a good friend!

But this thing however is wretched, throw it in the toilet, you are forever forsaken by Rosalina's light:

Show of hands, but like, am I the only one who inexplicably gets a minor twinge of hatred whenever Spike shows up in a Mario Sports/Party game?

Like, my salt that they refuse to put any stuff from the RPGs in there like Mr Miyamoto has a gun to their head aside, I usually like most of the regular enemy characters they add. Dry Bones, Ninji, Chomp, love those dudes.

But meanwhile fucking Spike, I hate him so much! He's like, the hentai ugly-bastard of Mario enemies if you get me...

[rainbogen]

Paper Mario 64 Chapter 3: The clubbas are sleepy bois. If you're stealthy enough, you can sneak by and avoid fighting them. :)

Me:

Defintely an Intelligent Systems game.

[sea-of-peas]

Some Supporting Cast

So basically, my original idea for the story was "lol what if we turned a prince into a pirate". As such, I concocted a crew of particularly scrunkly Mario characters with a rough and tumble social dynamic for Peasley to navigate, hitting basically every pirate trope under the sun in the process.

I also started sketching out the story's big bad, but really only managed to figure her out from the neck up. I don't think she quite fits with the other characters, but I was heavily referencing Luigi's Mansion ghosts and Frozen concept art with my design, and I think it lends her an extra air of menace.

I'll start posting character bios as they get introduced in the story, but there's some half-assed sketches and a couple flat colors beneath the cut.

[suppermariobroth]

Grubba from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door actually has a very close physical resemblance to Tubba Blubba from Paper Mario, which is masked by him wearing a variety of clothes and accessories. This is in addition to the obvious parallel of them being Clubba bosses of their respective games' third chapters.

Left: Grubba as he appears normally.

Middle: Grubba without his accessories, seen by modifying the game to unload specific textures. Note that his glasses are not removable.

Right: Tubba Blubba; note the extremely similar color scheme that is much more noticeable when Grubba is uncovered.

Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings | Source: PM:TTYD (NA, GC)

[smallmariofindings]

In Paper Mario, during the Peach interlude between Chapter 6 and Chapter 7, Peach can use the Sneaky Parasol to transform into three types of enemies: a Koopatrol, a Hammer Bro, and a Clubba.

As she is able to collect items in order to send them to Mario via the magic chest, all of these enemy forms have their own unique "item obtained" sprites.

Main Blog | Twitter | Patreon | Small Findings | Source: PM (NA, N64)

[wy-bother]

Athena Cykes from ace attorney in the style of Paper mario, gave her little legs because some characters do have like (I.E. lord crump koops clubba) because i figured the tights (is that what she wears?) were notable enough in her design

[tacos-goku]

The Thousand Year Door Spanish Name Changes

Nintendo of Europe used to change a lot of names when translating games to Spanish. They usually pumped out some real 50/50s inbetween good names, bad names, and maybe some better to the original. Here are some notables changes in The Thousand Year Door.

Beldam - Piruja

Changed the name to be a synonym for witch, a very tame change.

Goombella - Goomarina

Not a good change, very long and doesn't take advantage of the goom aspect. Personally I would've gone with Goomanda, but that's a personal opinion.

Flurrie - Claudia

I also think this name is a downgrade, it removes the wind pun in her name, but I also couldn't think of a spanish name with a wind pun so I'll give it a a pass.

Vivian - Bibiana

Now this is a really good change. On the surface it's just a surface level change, but you might not know that Bibiana Fernandez is the name of a real trans actress. It's so similar to Vivian's original name I'm not sure if it was intentional from the beggining, but I can't prove this.

Grubba - Leonardo

Sure, Grubba is a double pun on both Grubby and Clubba, but Leonardo is such a funny name for him that I gotta give it the thumbs up

Rawk Hawk - Rawk Hogan

This is also a really good name. It's so obvious actually, that I only think it wasn't in the game because to avoid legal issues.

Flavio - Marco

I'm torn on this one because on one hand Marco is a clear cut reference to Marco Polo, but on the other hand Flavio rolls off the tounge so well I gotta give it points too. I have to point out he's called Marco in the japanese version too, so the name isn't ESP exclusive.

Bobbery - Bombard

I'm not sure on this one, feels off.

Pennington - Holmot

Pennington is already based on Poirot, so fusing Holmes and Poirot's names is A-Ok for me.

Magnus Von Grapple - Mazinrobo X

Cool reference, I think they should've gone with this, obviously without the robot. Maybe Mazinbot for ENG.

Grodus - Xenon

Grodus doesn't have a chemist appearance, and I think this was only chosen because of the X in the name. Dissapointing.

Ms. Mowz - Lupina

Another anime reference like Magnus Von Grapple. Maybe it would've be too on the nose but I like this one too, they should've chosen one of the too, but I would lean more to this one.

That's all the notable names I could think of, if I didn't mention a name it was either because it didn't change the name from the english version (Ex: Koops, Cortez and Shadow Queen) or took the name from the japanese version instead (Ex: Hooktail and co, Doopliss and Crump).

[nokiadelic]

Chriles - Clubba Hubba (Mixtape)

guayaba

sunset

small talk

desire

wicked games

glass balloons

grillz

garden shed

nba2k

playboy

assmilk

chimichanga

all for us

download via bandcamp, download via archive.org

listen to the full instrumental mixtape on soundcloud

[robotponiesn7]

I noticed that Grubba (Clubbas, honestly) and Fuecoco have the same body shape. Also an excuse to do the TTYD coloring style again, because it's a lot of fun. Plus, I enjoyed trying to figure out how to make a piece of tape for the shell.

Didn't put Grubba's vest on since it felt too busy, given that Fuecoco already has that yellow patch. The bowtie HAD to stay on, of course.

[dysfunctionalstheband]

Ugyanitt FONTOS HÍREK, bejutottunk az S8 Tehetségkutató élő válogatójába! 🥳 Szóval közhírré tétetik: 🥁

Szeretettel várunk mindenkit október 16.-án az S8 Underground Clubba! Rövid lesz a szettünk, de cserébe 3 másik zenekarral mérkőzünk meg. 🎙️

Gyertek minél többen, szükségünk lesz rátok! (Itt a link az eseményhez.)

📸: Kassai Rozi, Ladyfest

[kingdomeromega0816]

Who is Cubba Clubba? - (A Mario OC of my Mario/(Crossover) Fanfic.

This down to earth nomad is known as Cubba Clubba, who is known to be a devout, zealous follower of the Alphos Creatorian Faith...? He is often seen holding onto his "Holy Manual", preaching The Word of THE DEITY. He is both an annoyance to those who don't want to hear him preach, and a good pal to have around for those who welcome him to hear The Word...

In the Wooded Kingdom, he rides on his mysterious (undocumented species) pet he named "Marsha". Cubba claims that his true home is in a hidden valley, where others of Marsha's kind live, deep within the Wooded Kingdom when he is not nomadically travelling around.

Waluigi gets annoyed of Cubba and Marsha when the two stop by his taco restaurant. Cubba occasionally visits the "Steam Gardens" from (Super Mario Odyssey) and preaches the Holy Manual to the Steam Gardener Bots found there.

Cubba and Marsha have even travelled to the Metro Kingdom to preach The Word in New Donk City, Tomadachi Isle and Diamond City. Cubba and Marsha have even used a bigger sized warp pipe to travel to Kingdoms like Kiwanoland, Sarasaland and the Mushroom Kingdom.

[wikipete]

Clown Clubba for SugarCandy's Pride Collab

I painted an (old) WarHammer Fantasy Orcs and Goblins "Clubber 2" as a clown with the "NeoPets Haunted Woods" basing scheme.

I wasn't really sure what I was doing here. I did have a do-over for the hood. I didn't know what to do with the robes, but, I like how they came out.

I painted the whole face normally BEFORE applying the clown face. No.Regrets. Gotta edit the video now.

Also; E's adorable!

Anyway; E'S A LITTLE CLOWN AND I LOVE EM SO MUUCCCHHHH!!!!!

#hobbyStreak 12

#shameGolf -1 = +10