#dimentio backstory

[snuffydoo]

Dimentio’s backstory

This post will explain the origins and past of Dimentio and how he came to be prior to Super Paper Mario. I would like to make it clear that everything I say here is not canon and it should not be taken as clear facts or evidence. This is my telling of his story so if you disagree with certain points of the document… that is perfectly okay. I am not here to force anyone to tell the same story as I do. However; I do take a lot of inspiration and points from Garson/Carson. 

>Another thing, I might change some things in the future, especially in terms of designs or names. I will keep this document updated whenever I make any said changes.

Also please don’t go through my doc picking apart my grammar and english mistakes. I know I’m not a professional writer. Thank you

Enough rambling/disclaimers

Let’s begin

The Beginning

The story starts off with a small family of four. 

(The dad’s design is not finished)

(Will update it when I do)

A mom, a dad, a daughter and a son. The dad was an all-powerful magician with the power to bend and create dimensions while the mom was an ancient who had the power to produce illusions. They were both named Universi and Illumina. They then named their kids Damon (Dimi) and Poppy respectfully as they were born. The family was a content family with only the goal to help the other ancients and provide a safe, healthy economy. Using their magic, they would help the civilizations. However, fate had other plans. 

Around the time Dimi was 10 he would come crawling to his mom about certain nightmares he has been having. Each new nightmare shares very similar attributes and traits to the previous one. They all had a forbidding message about a heart made of chaos that would wipe out everything as we know it. Of course these were just dreams right? That’s what Illumina thought of at first until she started getting visions with the same descriptors. 

This grew worry in her as she anxiously watched over Dimi as he continued to live his childfree life. The fear only seemed to grow as the visions got worse for them both. Universi soon caught wind of what was happening and quickly asked what they all meant. He would then ask Dimi the same questions making sure everything was all right. The story was always the same in these visions/nightmares of a masked man who would use the heart of chaos to live out a prophecy that would wipe out every dimension. Once it was clear that Dimi would be that man one day- the terror grew quickly.

Universi quickly disposed of that thought and decided to fight the future. He went into action to start taking more responsibility in leading Dimi the right way. He would direct him to doing the right thing and nag him constantly about what was right or wrong. His punishments were harsh when he did mess up and his words were stern despite Dimi still being really young. Their relationship grew really shaky as both parents had all their attention on him. This only caused more issues than good. 

With all this attention on Damon, Poppy started to get neglected. She was often placed aside because the fears of Dimi’s future were more worrisome than hers. The parents never meant to do this to her but the consequences will take a toll. One day, Poppy started to get very sick as she lay to rest hoping it was just a fever. Not too long after, it took her life as Illumina screamed in terror. Grief quickly took over the family as the dad mourned his daughter for days upon end. With the family completely in shambles, both parents were once again focused on other things as Dimi finally had a chance to breathe and do his own thing. He really didn’t do much aside from locking himself in his room, reading or studying magic. This is where he starts to come up with a book that will be detrimental to super paper mario as a whole. The dark prognosticus. 

Now… At the time it wasn’t really much. It was just a bunch of random notes and diary documents about what his dreams were like and certain spells he jotted down. It was supposed to help him get an understanding of his future and basically get his visions onto paper so he wouldn’t forget them. He even recorded some of his spells that his dad had been practicing. Even an important one that was supposed to bring the dead back to life in a new body. Whatever that meant. While he was researching that, both Dimi and his mom didn’t have much to do so Illumina decided to promise Dimi that he would take him out on a little vacation. It was probably the only time in such a long while that Dimi would be excited for something. 

A couple weeks passed and nothing much has changed. Luckily it was the day of vacation as Illumina beckoned Dimi to come with him. It would help calm both of their nerves as well as maybe rekindling their relationship. She was hoping to help apologize for being a terrible mother as she guided him towards one of the dimension doors. 

The next events came as a surprise.

Before the two could make it to the door, a large explosion happened. At the time, no one knew what caused it. (Frankly someone hypothesized it was faulty wiring to old broken machines). 

Illumina was now dead.

The accident caused an uproar amongst many as people far and wide came to debate and decipher the events of the explosion. The magician’s wife was dead and his son now was nowhere to be seen. News caught wind to Universi as he began to now mourn the death of his entire family. Everything was taken away from him in the span of a couple years. 

Dimi, although presumed to be dead by the public, was actually not really dead. He was caught in the explosion, yes, but he ended up surviving. (Warning for wound depictions and injuries.)  When the explosion happened, it burned his face and his arms were deeply scarred. He didn’t seek help right away, afraid of his father’s reaction so instead he ran away and lived in a shack far from the town. He wasn’t really sure what to do now. Both his mom and his sister were gone, his father was in heavy grieving, and now his own body was injured. He waited it out nonetheless. He didn’t want to go back. Not now. 

Time passed as things at the village started to settle down. Universi became consumed in his work as he was seen to never leave his house aside from calling forth an assistant he hired to help him out. Even the people at the town have become shaken by the events that transpired before them. Silence was thought to have been forever until Universi had an epiphany. 

Once again he refused to let fate describe his future so he did the unthinkable one day. Taking his daughter, he was able to transport her soul into a new corpable body in which he proclaimed as the first ever pixl. He named her the pixl queen and finally came out of his house to shout the praise of his new work. 

News spread fast as the Magician taught his discovery to various other ancients his power of creating pixls. Building tools and ways to bring dead ones back to life as a second chance. A way to preserve the souls of family members. It was a huge success and soon ancients across multiple dimensions were practicing his ways. Universi couldn’t have been happier as he rejoiced at bringing his own daughter back. There was one big issue though, she had no memories or relocation of her past. When she became the pixl queen, all her thoughts and past were erased from her mind. She did not know who he was, or where she came from. All pixls didn’t seem to remember who they were previously. This would soon become an issue later on but let’s get back to Dimi. 

Damon was actually seemingly doing better as he thought that he would finally return home. He got up and headed back with a heavy sigh in his breath. When he came back he couldn’t believe his eyes. The civilization has flourished since he left with people everywhere exclaiming about how the pixls have vastly improved everything in their lives. Dimi, bewildered, went back home to see his dad once more. Of course Universi was even more ecstatic to see his son was actually alive. He helped him settle back in as he helped tend to Damon’s wounds. 

(Not an important note but I wanted to say this anyway. This is where Dimi gets his floaty hands since his arms were way too damaged. His dad helped him out with this) 

Dimi wasn’t too fond of what his dad was doing however. Pixls? Reviving dead members? Assistants? He was completely delusional from grief that he didn’t even have a grasp on what he was actually doing. Damon’s own sister doesn’t even recognize him anymore. Dislike for his father started to become hatred as he quickly started to separate himself from Universi again. 

His relationship with Poppy or well.. The Pixl Queen wasn’t even the same anymore. She was very derogatory of him and often would want nothing to do with Dimi. She had a strong hatred for the ancients for some reason and Damon didn’t get a pass. He started to hate her too as isolation got the best of him. He would go back to what he was doing before all this went down and idly sit in his room. Ashamed of his own face he tried finding a cure and even began wearing a mask to hide his injuries. He couldn’t look at himself anymore in the mirror.

Things played out normally after that or well.. Somewhat normally. Universi would continue to do his own work as both Damon and his sister did her own things. Dimi however was starting to lose it as he became more and more enamored in darker forms of magic. It completely enthralled him as he finally found perhaps a spell that can finally fix his broken face. Upon practice, it worked. His face finally healed and he no longer had scars that plagued his skin. That’s what happened at first at least. Time passed and everything seemed to have gone wrong. The magic backfired and completely corrupted his body. His face especially was now only void. Damon was no longer the same person anymore as this was his last push over the edge. He officially ran away and didn’t look back. 

That’s basically the main gist of what I wanted to write here. A couple years into the future he would soon dawn his new jester attire for he was enamored by the theatrical arts. He then would go completely insane and wish to wipe out all the dimensions and become ruler of them all. I could also get into the nitty gritty of the Pixl Queen revolution against the ancients, how the war was started, or how the Pixl queen became Shadoo  but this document is long enough. (Maybe in the future I’ll explain that too who knows)

But that’s all I wanted to explain today and I thank everyone who read it. 

[dimentio-fan]

Another post about Dimentio. Who could have guessed? Anyways!

So, going back to my floro sprout post with that game over. Let's talk about the route to get said game over. It starts off pretty damn convincing. But as soon as Tippi questions it, he just starts bribing you. That- that is **so** out of character for him. Instead, here's an idea for how he could get you to legitimately get that game over.

Instead of bribing, make Tippi feel a little bad for questioning your actions. Act like you understand her position, then "accidentally" drop a tidbit of your past, say... mention that you went with the count because he promised to bring your loved ones back, safe and happy. Drop a sneak peak of what your perfect world would be, showing that you're also a broken villain. Manipulate the heroes into siding with you, rather than bribe them to do it.

Then, you have the voice of reason (Tippi) siding with you until it's too late.

G A M E O V E R . . .

[pianokantzart]

In a bit of a peek behind the curtain, here is a panel that ended up getting scrapped:

[legobiwan]

More SM: RPG/SPM nonsense

The Bleck crew and Mario RPG gang are having a scuffle before they figure they're not on opposite sides (at least not to start with) - this takes place during the events of SM:RPG. The Bleck crew is looking for Culex (see THIS post for more information). The Mario gang's objectives remain the same - defeat Smithy - except that Luigi is along for the ride.

Luigi is creeping up on Dimentio on the far edge of this whole little confrontation as Dimentio, characteristically, is floating above the ground, noshing on his invisible tub of popcorn

Now, let’s assume Luigi is hot off his first ghost mission with E. Gadd and has specters-on-the-brain, meaning he associates floating beings with no visible means of lift (remember, the man is an engineer) with ghosts

But! Even better! The Poltergust (at least in its first iteration) has a subfunction in the strobe setting that illuminates the “heartbeat” of any ghost or undead being

And Luigi swears he sees the shadow of a heartbeat emanating from Dimentio’s chest and tries to suck Dimentio into the Poltergust

Of course, Dimentio is having none of this and snaps his fingers, trapping Luigi in a box (oh, the foreshadowing!)

Luigi panics, banging on the box walls, calling for his brother

“What an interesting little machine you have there,” Dimentio purrs, sauntering over to the wall of the translucent prison. “And who might you be, my quivering friend?”

Luigi only answers by yelling for his brother again ("Maario!! Help!")

Meanwhile, the fighting between the others has come to an uneasy truce, that is, until Mario sees Luigi trapped in a box.

“What did you do to my brother?” Mario yells, reaching into his sidebag for his last-ditch fright bomb. O’Chunks manages to catch this out of the corner of his eye, picking up Mario by the collar as he sprints forward.

“Where do ya think you’re goin, laddie?” O’Chunks asks, Mario dangling from his grip. In a fair fight, Mario would have a chance, but he’s sore, tired, and injured.

“Let my brother go, you clown!”

Dimentio puts his hand to his chest with a dramatic movement (of course he does, bastard man). “Such grievous insult delivered by such a small form. Ah, but your cheeks grow as rosy as your cherry-hued outfit, your flailing like that of a blindfolded octopus, lost in a labyrinthine tangle of seaweed.”

At this point, Mallow’s jaw drops open as he stares at Dimentio, utterly confused. “What?” is all he can muster.

Behind Dimentio comes the click-click of a weapon engaging. A moment later, two wooden fingers appear at Dimentio’s temple. “The man said to let his brother go,” Geno says, deadly serious.

Dimentio pauses, then laughs, turning to greet a stone-faced Geno with a wide smile. Geno makes no movement except to motion with his hand towards a terrified and still-trapped Luigi.

“Very well.” Dimentio responds, smiling, giving a lazy snap of his fingers, the box dissolving into nothing.

Luigi is trembling, gripping onto the Poltergust for dear life. Mario, of course, comes rushing over, asking his brother if he’s alright, checking him for injuries, muttering how he should never have brought his brother on this trip and basically mother henning him to death

This out of the way, the groups make their preliminary, if wary, introductions 

After Mario is distracted by something else, Dimentio sidles up to Luigi. “My most sincere apologies for my earlier actions. I did not mean to frighten you so.”

Geno is definitely watching from behind the bushes, creeping towards them as he DOES NOT trust Dimentio one iota

Luigi laughs nervously, telling Dimentio it’s fine (even though it most certainly wasn’t fine).

“I must ask, however,” Dimentio continues after a drawn-out, awkward silence (a silence Dimentio definitely was enjoying), “what you intent was with your…” Dimentio tilts his head in curiosity. “Vacuum device?”

Luigi hiccups. “Yeah, this. Well…it catches ghosts.”

Dimentio is surprised. Now Geno is lurking about a foot away from both of them. “Ghosts!” Dimentio exclaims. “Have you reason to carry such a machine with you at all times? Are the undead that common in this world?”

Luigi frowns. “No. Well, actually, yes. I mean, not here - not so far, at least. But…I have. In the past.”

Dimentio studies Luigi intently. “And you believed I was a paranormal presence. Thus the somewhat half-hearted attempt at reducing me to a bit of shag carpet.”

“You were floating,” Luigi shrugs.

“And that is the sole qualification to be a ghost? I dare say the undead have certainly loosened their requirements in recent years if that is the case.”

Now Geno is at Luigi’s side. Dimentio spares a brief, neutral look in his direction.

“That and I could kind of see your heartbeat,” Luigi mumbles, staring at the ground, embarrassed.

And now Dimentio is truly taken aback. “My…heartbeat?”

“Yeah. The Poltergust,” Luigi holds up the nozzle, “I mean, this machine. It’s…it’s a long, technical explanation. But there’s a function in it where it exposes the “heart” of a ghost, some kind of dark matter gravitational lensing.” Sees both Dimentio and Geno staring at him with a blank, confused expression. “Anyway, it’s not really a heart, of course, not the way we think of it. More like…a ghost’s connection to the living plane? In as much as they have the ability to take on a distinct form and manipulate matter.”

“Stardust recomposed into half matter,” Geno murmurs, looking disturbed by this information. “And when you’ve taken your captive, what then?”

“Depends,” Luigi answers. “The Professor - uh, the man who gave me this - has a container he uses to study the more dangerous specimens. Others he’s pressed into artwork. A kind of memorial.” Luigi looks off to the side. “Or prison,” he finishes, lamely.

“Wishes ripped from the fabric of the cosmos,” Geno says to himself, looking a bit ill.

“Does this machine illuminate all beings or just the dead?”

Luigi shakes his head. “Only ghosts. And I guess other undead or half-undead things. I haven’t really tried it out on anything else.”

“Hm,” Dimentio hums. “May I ask you to point your contraption in my direction again? Without, of course, the vacuum function.”

Luigi scrunches his face in confusion but does as he’s told. A moment later, hovering over Dimentio’s chest is the half image of a deep violet heart. Luigi's eyes go wide. “Are you dead?”

Dimentio gives a false smile and a bow. “No, only a magician. Master of dimensions and pleaser of crowds.”

“But,” Luigi protests, but before he can get the thought out, Dimentio lifts a hand, Luigi stiffening, Geno readying his finger guns. But all Dimentio does is give a tiny flick of his fingers, deactivating the Poltergust.

“And now? What do you see?”

Luigi stares hard at Dimentio’s chest, his jaw locking in place. His eyes go moon-wide, his gaze fixated on an invisible target above where the jester’s heart would lie.

“N- nothing,” Luigi finally grits, his voice breaking. “I don’t see..I have to go.” And Luigi skitters away, terrified because he absolutely saw something, the exact same thing he saw when the Poltergust was on and he doesn’t want to consider the implications of that.

Dimentio and Geno are no fools and know the man is lying. There’s something off about Luigi. Dimentio, of course, is thinking in terms of the Chaos Heart, weaving plans upon plans. Geno is disturbed by what dark magics could be at work, not only with the Poltergust, but with this seemingly innocuous man. A man who is his friend’s - his best friend’s, if he were allowed to have something like that - brother.

“You’re not dead.” Geno finally addresses Dimentio. “But nor are you fully alive.” 

Dimentio just smiles, floating upwards. “Nor are you.” Geno stiffens at that, but Dimentio just waves, “Ciao, my little wooden friend.”

[aretarers]

one thing i've always really (personally) disliked is headcanons/theories that like... take a character whose origins are purposely left unexplained and gives them this really intricate, plot-relevant background, ESPECIALLY if it's a villain and they're given a tragic backstory. like don't get me wrong! i love a villain with a tragic backstory as much as the next guy! but sometimes a villain is better off as just some random cunt

[gracebethartacc]

Um so twirls hair i read up on the Carson magician story lore

[dappledpaintbrush]

These were originally drawn as a joke. But… I am NOT saying this will be the last post I make of warrior cat-ified super paper mario.

feat. GRRRR SHES A KITTYPET BLUMIERE BLUEFIRE YOU CANT BE WITH HER

[r0swells]

okays, so I was trying to think about possible Dimentio backstories and I just wanted to know ya'll's opinions, can ya'll give me some ideas?

from what i've heard from others theres:

Dimentio is the magicians son

Dimentio is the freedom fighter during the end of the pixel war

Dimentio is just a random descendent of an ancient

Dimentio is a survivor of the Tribe of Darkness

Dimentio wrote the dark prognosticus (so older then the magician)

Dimentio is some rando

of course some of these can over lap as well. we kinda have to make stuff up with a lot of Dimentio's backstory, so I'm curious what everyone's ideas are

[rattlebear25]

Little Update of my Headcanon Version of Dimentio:

I changed a bit his story:

• I like the theory of him being the Shadoo's brother so he was the prince of a evoluted Phanto's family (the masks from Super Mario Bros. 2). His sister was Shadoo/Pixel Queen and she was originally called Dimania.

• He married one of the Ancients (Merlumina) to enter in the Ancient's Sanctuary, gain their faith and then destroy the Pure Hearts. Nothing more. So they can't interfere with his plan of awakening the Chaos Heart.

• He started to have a crush for one of Merlimbis' creations, Mimi. He just faked of love Merlumina so he can keep her distracted by jis charm and realize his plans easily without getting troubles and make.

All of this Past SPM events. Maybe i will make some comic panels about this things idk bye

[spacedimentio]

To this day I don’t understand why people are convinced that Dimentio wrote the Dark Prognosticus. I’ve been a fan for over 10 years now and not one thing in the game’s text has given me cause to think that he might be the author. If he’s the magician’s son, it still most likely predates him as the knowledge of how to create Pixls in the first place came from it. It’s just a very long standing fan theory that’s been around since the game came out.

[artnerd1123]

it sounded like you have some solid thoughts on dimentio then! may u let me in on da secret knowledge that is ur interpretation of him?

hehe of course!!! >:3

dimentio... listen, this is the guy that shaped my ENTIRE taste in villains. dramatic? theatrical? over the top and a little bit off their rocker? mastermind pulling strings behind the scenes???

... and also kind of a pathetic failboss?

delightful 11/10 i love everything abt them

with this guy specifically, i like to think he's very skilled as a magician! dimension magics are complicated, yet he manages to transport not only himself but objects and OTHER PEOPLE on the regular??? that speaks to a lot of study and honing of skill! evidently he's made himself a large enough asset that bleck keeps him around despite how annoying and nosy he can be. there's respect there that he's garnered.

also! mans knows how to weasel his way into people's good graces! of course, if he doesn't watch himself, he falls out just as easily. his silver tongue is a double edged sword which he often stabs himself with on accident. he just doesn't know how to handle his own wit and can't hold back a comment for the life of him LKSDJF. wordplay is a must and a favorite and if he wasn't in the magic field he would be off writing riddles and poetry for sure >:3

he's EXTREMELY sharp, but sometimes his focus can zero in so completely he misses the obvious. it's not like he forgets other paths exist??? they just fall away completely if he's chosen one. got them blinders on mentally. if he's got an idea in his head there's very little (if anything) that can change it. he needs a very clear cut and LOUD wakeup call to get him to knock off whatever plot he's hatched, or drop whatever subject has snagged his interest.

despite how powerful and clever all this makes him, he's still not the best at casual socializing. mans doesnt know how to NOT be a drama king and if a situation calls for a delicate touch (and not a magical one- an emotional one) he has no clue how to handle it. fumbles that ball all the time, has no clue how to let people get close to him with how tightly he's woven his theatrical appearance. is there even anything left under that mask of his? who knows! not dimentio! don't worry about it go look at this shiny thing and leave him alone :)

[snuffydoo]

spm lore is kinda wild ngl /j

[dragovid-davidas-thespmnerd]

Is Dimentio SON of Tippi and Count Bleck's future selves? - Dimentio Bleck

I think Dimentio is the unborn child of Tippi and Blumiere. That's why he hadn't killed them before the Super Dimentio fight. Because he didn't borned yet, if they die, HE DIES as well. And at the end of SPM I think Blumiere and Timpani teleported 3,000 years into the past. The reason both The Pixl Queen and Dimentio has the power of illusions is because they are siblings. The magician that created the pixls had a wife, a son and a daughter after all.When Timpani and Blumiere sacrificed themselfs they went 3,000 years back to the past. They wrote down they’re entire adventure in a book which people started calling: Dark Prognosticus. But they didn’t knew if the worlds saved or not. They only wrote what they lived and because the rest are unknown to the authors people though no more pages means no more future.According to the game whoever the magician was, he created the pixls by studying the Dark Prognoticus. And since the magician got his hands on the book and isn’t afraid of the book shows the author and the magician might be the same person. And since Timpani is a human, the magicain must be Blumiere/Count Bleck. Which means both Dimentio and The Pixl Queen are Blumiere/Count Bleck and Timpani’s children.

And remember that Carson mentains that while people thought the soul of the Pixl Queen belonged to a demon, it actually belinged to a HUMAN. We all know from experience that humans can't use magic, but ancients can. So, since the husband is a magician he can not be a human. Which shows the wife is a HUMAN. Or should I say, Timpani?

Carson also mentains Dimentio showed up out of nowhere. Dimentio must have find a way back to the future where he joined Count Bleck and his minions. Carson mentains that he approach and befriended the Count himself. If he is his father than he already knew where to look.

He doesn't knows who he is? It's one thing to not know someone's past. But no one knows WHO he is? That's a whole new level, isn't it?

Oh, also, Dimentio gots his smart and determination from his mother. By the way, I'm getting family vibes. during the game:Tippi called Blumiere: SickTippi also calls Dimentio: Physcopath. A reason to hate his mother...

Dimentio's Family Abuse: Dimentio had been throught family a b u a s e. And the reason every single part of his skin is covered in clothes is to hide his wounds. I know Tippi and Blumiere would never do something like that. But his adopted family? If Timpani died in that accident and the magician that created the pixls (Blumiere)'s game was cut short, than Dimentio would likely given to new parents. And I been reading books about the backstories of Disney villains and almost all the villains had atleast one horrible person in their family. Betrayel from the family really changes people. It's possible for Dimentio to be given to a manipulative cruel people (which would show where he learned to manipulate people). Take off the cloak and the mask, and his wounds shall be revealed.

Dimentio's Hatred towards Tippi and humanity:

We all know Dimentio hates Count Bleck. But what if he hates his mother Timpani even more?If we cosider Dimentio's sister Shadoo hates ancients... What if Dimentio hates humanity?Think about it. Dimentio ignores her mother when she sees a deja vu about him in their first encounter during the events of the game. And after he killed Mario, Mr L, Bowser and Peach he gets closer to Tippi and shows her his grudge by saying "You know who I am right? I AM YOUR ENEMY. I serve Count Bleck." The sentence in the middle seems to me like this sentence directed for NOT the team, but rather for Tippi herself. Wouldn't fetting closer to Merlon be a better idea since he is more powerful..? Also, when Tippi calls Dimentio a "physcopath" Dimentio once again shows his grudge by saying "You're the hero! Are you going to let butterfly minds influence your decision?" I know this can be just to convince Mario. But isn't it weird that the more time passes the more colder Dimentio gets towards her? Don't tell me that's just a coincidence. Cause I don't think it is. The creator of this game is a genius!When Dimentio gets his hands on the Chaos Heart, when he sends Tippi, Blumiere and Nastasia to Dimension D, he says that Count Bleck looks pathetic and that he will squeeze life out of him later. But he says doesn't even makes fun of Tippi. He doesn't even bothers. He is like "She is not worth my time"

Tippi jokes about Dimentio's current state while she knows he is about to die. It's as if she enjoys Dimentio's death. "Good-bye now, Dimentio. We'll add a footnote to the prophecy about your failure." When Tippi said the word "footnote" it was actually a pun. This is what Mario and the gang did. They crushed him under they're foot. Not to mentain that Dimentio keeps saying "Remember the name well." So, by saying this Tippi also teases him. This is a way that Tippi says "Don't worry. You won't be forgotton. We'll write one sentence about you. You are just a little detail that no one cares about. This is not YOUR story. Get the hell out of OUR story. GO TO HELL, DIMENTIO."

Or something like that, if she would say any of those outloud she could regret that later.

Carson said nothing else about the son of the magician after the accident. And Dimentio just popped out of nowhere. His mother was also in the accident. Which leads me to believe that the accident is a explosion that created Dimension D.

[probablyaseamonster]

After a lifetime of foolishly and dickishly thinking low of the Mario franchise, I have been converted to the fandom by SPM specifically.

I repent for my sins. Lore is love, lore is life.

[legobiwan]

For a writing prompt: maybe something with Luigi and polterpup? Or just Luigi and ghosts in general. The fact that ghosts are Real and Present in that world has always been super fascinating and a little upsetting to me haha. Could be as light or as angsty as you wish I just think Luigi being terrified of ghosts and having to (or in polterpup’s case, choosing to) be around them constantly is a fun concept to toy around with.

Apologies this took so long, anon. I vastly underestimated the demands of my travel schedule over the past few weeks. Oof. But now we're back!

Minor TWs in this one for general talk of death, existentialism, and broad references to both animal and child death (nothing graphic, nothing extreme, no on-screen death).

~~~~~~~~~~~

Of Ghosts and the Afterlife (Luigi’s Mansion 1)

Luigi didn’t like to think about death.

Not that there was much he could do about it. Death was as inevitable as a subway car with broken air conditioning on a hundred-degree day.

There was no such thing as the afterlife, Luigi having long ago abandoned the faith his brother and what remained of their family clung to, a practice more cultural than spiritual, steeped in the mores and traditions of a country and people he shared little in common with beyond his last name and an untamable mane of wavy, thick brown hair. 

For Luigi, death was death - game over, end of the line, see you never. A philosophical problem he didn’t enjoy contemplating, but one he could easily shove into a forgotten closet of his subconscious, the more pressing concerns of his daily life taking up his mental energies, banal things like scraping up enough plumbing jobs to pay the rent, dealing with corroded spark plugs in the repair van, and being forced make a meal of the questionable meatball subs from the corner bodega.

Death was death. Religion was religion. And ghosts were…a fairytale, a folklore conjured to rationalize away the heavy weight of existential dread. That, or something used as a cudgel, to keep people on the side of moral righteousness, lest they be doomed to walk the earth for all eternity in the shadows of existence.

Ghosts were a thought experiment. A fun diversion in a cramped Bensonhurst studio, the heating bill long unpaid, he and his brother buried under a set of fraying blankets, their father’s hefty industrial flashlight in hand, competing to see who could scare the other the most as the D Train rattled its metal bones past their window at two in the morning.

Mario was good at stories. (Mario was good at everything). And it wasn’t that Luigi was afraid of the spirits his brother would describe in gruesome detail, the way they’d seep through cracks and keyholes, wrapping their grey, misty arms around skinny, lost children who kept too many secrets. No. He couldn’t be afraid because ghosts weren’t real.

Not until he had been unceremoniously dumped into the Mushroom Kingdom, that was. 

He could deal with the existence of Boos. Well, that wasn’t entirely true, but he could at least assign them a category outside the paranormal. Boos were just another strange species, a bunch of floating marshmallows that looked like ghosts and acted like ghosts, but in no way were actual ghosts. Boos were something real, something alive, but beyond Earth’s limited taxonomies, just like everything else in this impossible world of talking mushrooms and tyrant turtles and evil wizards and booted dinosaurs and a million-and-one things that could leap out with fangs or fire or spikes and kill you at any moment - 

Death, he had once nervously told his brother over a campfire on the outskirts of Toad Town, felt like it had become a way of life. 

The letter had arrived on a crisp autumn morning, the early sunlight peeking through the gaps of Luigi’s drawn curtains. He remembered thinking it was a clean kind of light, unsullied by the drudgery of heavy coats and thick scarves, of greying slush and oily puddles pooling in the gutter, cigarette butts bobbing up and down like the stained buoys off Brighton Beach. Life had been, if not normal (he didn’t think he’d ever consider his existence in the Mushroom Kingdom normal), at least less chaotic than usual. There had been no invasions, no kidnappings, no pleas from neighboring kingdoms for help. For the first time in a long time, his daily routine was…pedestrian. A little boring, even. It was a nice change of pace.

He should have known better. Did know better. 

No one gave away mansions.

Yeah, and I’m sure they also have a bridge in Brooklyn they’d like to sell me he had muttered, crumpling up the notice, tossing it into a dented, mushroom-shaped garbage pail without another look as he groped for a gurgling coffee pot.

Three days later, a short, wiry old man was thrusting a souped-up vacuum into his hands, blathering all kinds of nonsensical instructions about ectoplasm and strobe lights and hearts and all that Luigi could think through the high-pitched static descending on onto his brain is that my brother is in danger and holy shit this entire mansion is filled with actual, real ghosts.

There was no time to wrap his head around the metaphysics of it all, the very real danger of being killed by an entire army of irate specters overriding any considerations as to the how or why of the entire situation. Ghosts apparently existed, not only as Boos, but as colorful, globulous forms, as cantankerous old knitting women, as mechanical, murderous toy soldiers, and worst of all, as small children and even screaming babies, the terrible implications of which rattled around Luigi’s already frenzied consciousness as he sucked the heart from a wailing infant, in all likelihood murdering it a second time. (A hazy memory had surfaced, a small, doll-like figure laid on a cheap, linoleum kitchen table, legs unstable as a small cadre of extended relatives wept and laid kisses on the child’s forehead. Forty and eight hour, their great-grandmother had commanded in broken English. To be sure the true dead. Spirito.)

It had been less than twenty-four hours, he reminded himself. Mario wasn’t dead. Or undead. Or whatever. Not according to tradition, and certainly not according to Luigi’s empirical observations (which seemed to be holding less and less weight as the paranormal evening drew on). No, he had seen his brother through the marble fangs of the dragon’s head. He was in the painting, banging for his life against an invisible prison of oils and canvas, his mouth open in a silent scream.

A victim of magic, but not a ghost.

Not if Luigi had anything to say about it.

He ran. Up broken, splintering sets of stairs; down dimly-lit corridors with threadbare rugging; through trap doors and flocks of toothy, golden bats, vacuum hose at the ready, sucking away at anything even resembling a ghost (how many curtains, how many dresses and bedsheets had he whisked into shreds all because of the ripple of a breeze or a trick of the light?)

He fought his way through chamber after chamber, slurping phantasms from earthly existence, unwilling to consider just what he’s damning his enemies to, if he’s killing them again, if they can feel pain or remorse, if this whole situation is maybe a figment of his imagination and in reality he’s back in Brooklyn, or worse, committed to a padded cell in Bellevue, colorful apparitions dancing on blank, white walls, the evidence of a broken mind. 

He found his brother’s portrait hung in a baroque, gilded antechamber, the room something as alien as the specters he had been fighting, his grimy boots sinking into blood-red, lush carpeting as gems and pearls and other precious-looking stones twinkled in the light of a silver candelabra. 

The keeper of Mario’s canvas prison turned to greet him, a gargantuan Boo with a jeweled crown named “King Boo” - an uninspired moniker if there ever was one - who pontificated at length, swearing vengeance on both Mario and Luigi, demanding reparations in blood and soul for crimes Luigi couldn’t even begin to understand, no less remember. 

Did I kill him? Luigi had panicked, rooted to the spot, Poltergust in hand as the Boo continued his long-winded diatribe. Is that why he’s a ghost? Did Mario do something? Luigi tried not to think too hard about the ethical dilemmas of their adventures, of their roles as protectors of the Mushroom Kingdom. Sure, people got hurt, that was the nature of the beast, but…

It didn’t matter, not when King Boo conjured a several-story tall likeness of Bowser, whisking Luigi through a portal to the stark rooftop of the dilapidated mansion to engage in a twisted game of cat-and-mouse (ghost-and-plumber), the giant Koopa puppet doing its best to stomp Luigi into a fiery, broken heap of ashes.

He escaped with his life. That, and the promise of retribution from beyond the grave, King Boo spitting all forms of vile epithets and visions of eternal pain as Luigi sucked the last of his bulbous form into the squealing, smoking Poltergust. 

When Mario was spat from E. Gadd’s printing machine, tumbling across the floor in a confused pile of limbs - his brother, real, corporal and definitely not dead - Luigi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. 

He never wanted to see - never wanted to think about another ghost again in his life.

Of Dogs (Luigi’s Mansion 2)

He supposed it made sense. In a way.

After all, if there were Boos, if there were ghost adults and ghost children and ghost babies - there were bound to be ghost dogs. Maybe ghost cats, as well. Hell, maybe an entire ghost civilization living (dying?) in tandem with his own flesh-and-blood world. 

He hated the idea. It trampled on every tenet of thermodynamics he had carved into his brain at the age of ten, made a mockery of the physics and chemistry and engineering that had carried him through adolescence and into adult life.

The Mushroom Kingdom - that was something he had at least managed to rationalize, had begun to construct a loose schematic for, notebooks upon notebooks filled with messy diagrams and rambling equations, an inadequate translation to his Earth-bound science, but one that allowed him to find some kind of solid footing in this incomprehensible new dimension.

Ghosts did not fit into his neatly constructed template. 

Least of all, ghost dogs.

Of course, the dog had to eat the key and run away, leading Luigi on a wild goose chase (he dearly hoped there was no such thing as ghost geese). He ran pellmell through gardens, through labs, through a series of mansions and other haun - 

Other decidedly creepy spots in the Evershade Valley. Places where he was left to battle groups of angry, globulous…shadows. Specters. Phantoms. Spirits. Poltergeists.

Ghosts. 

Again. 

He would have been angry if he weren’t so terrified. 

The dog, as much trouble as he was (He? She? Did it matter?) had at least not fallen under the spell of the Dark Moon, making him the Least Frightening Ghost of this particular run-in with the ethereal undead and King Boo.

And Luigi could almost get himself to…well…maybe not like him, but tolerate him. Even though the dog ate his keys, left messy trails of crumbs and soggy, half-eaten baguettes, slobbered all over Luigi’s pants, and managed at least once to urinate in a public fountain, a phenomenon Luigi would be puzzling over for months after the fact.

Best of all, the dog, unlike almost everyone else here, wasn’t bent on killing him. 

He was just a normal dog.

Who happened to be a ghost. 

Luigi wondered if he had had a family in life. Children to grow up with. A big house with a yard. He acted more like a puppy than an adult dog, his exuberant chaos reminiscent of the little Golden Retriever pup his second cousins had gotten when their family moved out to the Island. Oyster Bay, he remembers, real fancy stuff. Sal and Tony’s house had had trees. A garage. Separate bedrooms. He and Mario had begged for a dog for weeks after visiting, shuffling furniture around their tiny-windowed room, marking out places in purple chalk for the dog’s water bowl, his kibble, his toys.

Their father had grunted at the proposal, noting the two brothers would have to sleep in the same bed to make the space for their imaginary new pet. This ain’t no place for a dog, you two. You want animals, get a job with the pound. What, you’re still going to beg? Santa Maria. You two share that bed for a week without beating each other up and then come back to me. But I don’t like the odds. You boys haven’t shared a bed since you were seven. Five’ll get you ten you last forty-eight hours before someone’s fist is in the other one's face. 

They lasted three whole days before Luigi had planted his foot in Mario’s kidneys at two in the morning.

They never saw the dog in Oyster Bay again.

A car accident, real unfortunate stuff, Aunt Maria had told them later.

The memory haunted Luigi as he unholstered the Poltergust, forcing his fingers to twist dials and push at levers. He needed that key. It wasn’t just his life on the line if he failed. 

He squeezed his eyes shut as he sucked the ghost dog into the machine, trying his absolute best to ignore the little whines and terrified yips of the struggling not-animal. After what felt like an eternity, he heard the tell-tale “pop” of the Poltergust, signaling his success in capturing yet another ghost, the silver key clanging to the cobble-stoned ground.

Luigi had never felt less heroic in his life.

I just think he wanted someone to play with, E. Gadd had commented offhandedly later, emptying the Poltergust's canister into the gigantic silver ghost vault with his usual detached efficiency, oblivious to the way Luigi's features had paled at the comment.

When he got word of the dog’s escape a few hours later, Luigi didn’t even try to deny his relief.

Of Half-Lives and Vengeance (Luigi’s Mansion 3)

Fatigue. Carelessness. Hubris. Naivete. 

Or maybe it had just been sheer stupidity.

An invitation to vacation at an exclusive, luxury hotel, addressed to him. 

Nice things never happened to Luigi. Or if they did, he could hardly enjoy them, waiting on tenterhooks for the other boot to fall.

The boot fell that evening. It was ghosts. Of course, it was. Nearly twenty floors of ghosts. At this point, he could say he was almost used to it, the creeping shiver up his spine, the gluey residue of ectoplasm which would leave him tattooed with ugly, mottled rashes for weeks on end.

Once again, he had to act as a one-man army against the mass of spectral, malevolent will. Once again, his brother had been trapped in a painting.

There were differences, of course. Polterpup was by his side, the ethereal puppy proving more loyal to Luigi than his fellow spirits. (Luigi could never say Polterpup was "his" in the way most pet owners would lay claim to a regular cat or dog. The ghost puppy had a disturbing tendency to disappear for weeks, sometimes months on end, only to make his return in the most startling manner possible, more than once sending Luigi screaming, flailing off his bed at some weird, inconvenient hour of the night. But for as much as Polterpup could have a "home" - Luigi's house was it).

Luigi also had the help of his pseudo-clone, Gooigi, a horrifying creation of E. Gadd's, an unholy combination of ghostly discharge (the nature of which Luigi did not want to know), coffee, and, Luigi's own biological samples. An impossible being with whom he shared an inexplicable telepathic connection, and if Luigi had had any semblance of a minute to consider what that all meant (was he part ghost now? Could Gooigi outlive him? Would he maintain that consciousness after death?) he would have likely run screeching into the night.

(The fact Gooigi had proven essential to his continued existence did not distract from the wildly dubious ethics behind Gooigi's creation, an issue Luigi was definitely going to have a long talk with E. Gadd about at some point. If he could manage to broach the topic without falling into a breathless panic).

But the most striking aspect of his third encounter with King Boo and his minions, something that wriggled at the base of Luigi's cerebellum as he fought floor upon gimmicky floor the largest array of ghouls he encountered yet, was the element of premeditation.

King Boo had easily disposed of Mario, the Princess, and the Toads during their first midnight encounter. Sure, Luigi had escaped down a laundry chute, chest heaving as he toppled onto a pile of dirty towels. But that shouldn't have posed an issue for this crazed version of King Boo, a being who could literally phase through walls.

Luigi should have been dead, or worse than dead, ten times over.

No, King Boo had decided to wait. To draw out the deep, sustained hum of terror far beyond its final breath.

Security cameras were posted everywhere in the hotel. Luigi had no doubt the ghostly tyrant was following his every move, watching, salivating as he fought and struggled against Egyptian gods and malevolent Mozarts, and bearded, Bayou beasts. (Were these the literal souls of the departed? Was Mozart truly in these walls? Or was this like a ghost Halloween, a once-in-a-deathtime opportunity to fulfill that longing urge to finally be someone who you will never be?)

(He remembers being six years old. Remembers dressing as his brother for Halloween, Luigi stealing Mario's iconic red t-shirt, his parents pleading with him to go as anything else - a spider, a rat, a baseball player - Luigi refusing each entreaty. The other boys aren't going to like it, Luigi, his mother had said, consonants slurring. You're going to get the snot pounded out of you, Dad had added a beat later).

(In the end, he had thrown an old floral bedsheet over his head, not even bothering to cut out eyeholes. I'm a ghost! Luigi had boasted. You're a loser, Vinny Malanga had laughed).

And worst part of it was, Luigi knew it. Knew he could turn any corner, go down any dark hallway and be met with that signature violet gemstone, that bladed, fanged smile ready to slam an empty frame down on his head and trap him for all eternity in oil and canvas. 

Death waited in every shadow.

And King Boo was going to enjoy every minute of it.

Of Death (Epilogue)

Luigi thought he knew death. After three, separate encounters with buildings chock full of the undead, after countless hours spent in the company of the best paranormal researcher he knew (the only one he knew, admittedly), after providing part-time shelter for a genuine ghost puppy, after meeting his half-undead clone - Luigi considered himself, if not comfortable, at least conversant in the hows and whys of the afterlife. 

One day, he tried to stop a wedding between a princess and a monster.

Death, he would learn, was only the beginning.

[illdothehotvoice]

Dimentio's entire. Thing. dshjnfdgnmdfh Makes me go crazy go stupid and it's so annoying because I don't even LIKE Dimentio that much but I'm also tired of seeing his character butchered lmfao dshjkfdg