#poor luigi keeps getting put in Situations

[duckapus]

The L-Factor

During an adventure involving Marcy's latest attempt to make Bob rejoin their clan, Luigi gets separated from the group by the machinations of Mr. L, who uses a specially designed Lag Switch to put him out-of-phase with the rest of the Universe and take his place using a disguise. Now Luigi has to figure out how to warn the others of the imposter and get himself back to normal, but how can he do that when he can't be seen, heard, or affect anything around himself?

[factual-fantasy]

Ah yes, the old King Kong himself! I didn’t actually think I was going to add him and Diddy to my AU because I wasn’t sure how they’d fit.. But after brainstorming with a friend, we found a way! XD

I tried to put a lot of thought into DK and Diddy’s designs. Everything was intentional. Diddy and DK’s ENORMOUS size, DKs long fur, the red and blue tones in their fur, DK having long claws while Diddy does not, Diddy’s clothing choice, EVERYTHING! I tried my best to think it all through.

If ya wanna read about their lore and why they look the way the do, I have a ramble below the keep reading just for you! :D

Ahem,

SO

Off the coast of Daisy’s kingdom is this big island that can be seen from the shore. Daisy sent some of her Delfino people to go explore it but they never returned.. so she sent a rescue team after them, but they disappeared too.

Desperate, she turned to Mario and Luigi for help. Now, Mario and Luigi have just proved their strength and heroism by defeating Bowser. And they ALSO have a pet Yoshi. If anyone can go to that seemingly dangerous island and return? Its them.

Daisy approached them with an offer. You go use your magical powers and find out what happened to my missing people, and I’ll give you whatever you want. They agreed and made their way over...

Only to find destroyed campsites, boats torn apart... and bodies. Bodies everywhere. 

Turns out this island is home to these enormous ape like animals. And they attacked the Delfino’s because they were loud, setting fires, chopping down trees, taking their food, etc. When they encountered the King himself, Yoshi was utterly terrified. He knew he was outmatched. There was absolutely no way he could protect the Mario brothers from this thing. So he just slowly pulled Mario and Luigi to the ground and cowered in fear. Trying to make them all look as non confrontational as possible.

Thankfully their petrified faces and absolute silence labeled them as a non-threat. And the situation was defused. Loads of shenanigan's later and they waved goodbye to Donkey, Diddy and all the other monkey creatures and returned to Daisy with the gruesome news..

Their reward? They just wanted enough food to fill Yoshi’s belly. Poor guy probably burnt all the calories he had trying not pass out back there.

Now the design lore! :D

On this island, there are these really powerful fruits and veggies that have super star power in them, just like Yoshi’s island. Only these ones work a little differently..

There are two main super foods on this island. The giant red beet type veggies that grow deep in the ground. And the big blue fruits that grow in the trees.

The big red beets are really bitter and tough like rocks. But anyone who eats them will begin to grow in size. The gorilla like animals on this island will use their claws to dig them up and use their iron jaws to crack them open and eat them. That’s why Donkey Kong is red. 75% of his diet consists of these bitter, giant red super beets that make him grow to be giant.

Meanwhile Diddy, and all the other Monkey like animals.. they cant dig for these beets. And their jaws are not strong enough to crack them open. Plus the beets are really bitter.. SO, they prefer to climb into the trees and eat the sweet blue fruits that grow at the very top.

These sweet fruits are also powerful in nature, but instead of making you stronger, they encourage brain growth. So all the monkeys that eat this super sweet brain fruit, will just get really smart and their fur will turn more blue.

The two species almost had a war between them. But they quickly discovered they’re better off together. The gorillas can protect the monkeys from threats, while the Monkeys use their intelligence to make tools and shelter.

This peace is further solidified by Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong's friendship. Diddy being the smartest monkey and DK being the strongest Gorilla.

All in all this island is rather peaceful at its core. But in the end its still full of wild animals. And is considered more dangerous than Yoshi’s island. To this day no one has ever returned to DK’s island. Although DK and Diddy would happily welcome the Mario Brothers back with open arms if they ever decided to visit.

[simslegacy5083]

NSB (Straud Legacy) Gen 9 Ep 78: Awkwardness, Overcome

Luigi was so wrapped up in wrestling with responsibility and morality that just like with his father, he didn’t notice Noemi until she sat down next to him.

He looked up in confusion; desperately glad to see her but embarrassed to be in such poor shape. Her wince when she got a good look at his face didn’t help put him at ease. “You have quite the shiner there, friend. It’s not too late for us to bail if your family isn’t as friendly as you thought.”

Luigi gingerly reached up, grimacing as his fingers met the bruised and swollen skin encircling his right eye, all the while struggling to process that Noemi was really here and that she’d said us. “I guess I must look like the monster I really am right now, but even I’m not evil enough to ditch Dad tonight.”

“Evil!?” she asked. “Whatever gave you that idea?” Luigi explained about the fight with Leroy, Amaya's angry words, his father's disappointment, and his larger secret shame. “I really hurt Beau. Am I going to keep hurting people because I can’t control myself?”

Noemi shook her head “You are a lot of things, but evil certainly isn’t one of them. Just the fact that you feel so terrible about what happened with Beau proves that.” When his downtrodden expression didn’t shift, she gently squeezed his hand and decided to try a different approach.

Turning playful Noemi said in a sing song voice: “Ooo look out, I’m evil Luigi! I’ll defend my friends from your insults and then become your co-captain and maybe best friend on the team! I’m so mean I have tons of friends and… she looked meaningfully through the window at the dancing and laughing crowd inside … way too many relatives who want to party with me.”

She made vampire hands to snatch at the now bemused Luigi who was watching her tirade with a much more put upon, but much less pitiful, look.

Noemi smiled as Luigi chuckled, feeling much better after her lighthearted show. “Thank you for that. I guess you’re right, maybe I’m not evil, but I obviously have some work to do controlling this stupid temper and making a better habit of repairing relationships like I did with Beau.”

Luigi knew that making amends for bad behavior wasn't the same as not causing the trouble in the first place, but saying sorry to those he’d hurt was a step in the right direction. He resolved to reach out to Bryon on Social Bunny one day soon and apologize for that whole mess as well.

Noemi agreed “There’s always room for personal growth. That’s… actually why I decided to come here after all.”

Now serious she explained “Luigi, I’m so sorry. Social situations are so hard for me, and this big wedding is terrifying. After you left that night, I tried to tell myself it was for the best, but I couldn't get you out of my head. The silent apartment you left behind taunted me with every empty room.”

“I looked at the future I was headed for and I didn’t like it one bit. I don’t want to end up a recluse afraid of crowds, but most importantly I don’t want to end up without YOU. It took me forever to find the courage, but I decided to come here and get my boyfriend back. Assuming you’re still willing to introduce us to your family that way.”

Luigi’s expression morphed into an excited smile. “Are you kidding?! You show up, turn my misery into happiness once again, and offer everything I wished for! I’d like nothing better than to take my girlfriend inside and show her around.”

Rising Noemi took a deep breath, muttering nervously “Let’s get this over with.” Luigi leaped up to embrace her, grinning like a fool.

“I’ll be there for you every second, and if all those hours of Sims Forever have taught me anything, it’s how to come up with a story to explain away an unusual situation!” They walked inside hand in hand, shocking his parents with his transformed mood and even more unexpectedly altered date.

True to his word, Luigi spun truth and lies into a smooth explanation. Meeting and discovering they shared a major at Harvestfest, their friendship deepening over time, and the awkwardness Noemi felt about meeting everyone again causing them to keep it all a secret until now.

His elders took the whole thing in stride. Peachy joked “there’s nothing wrong with keeping it in the family!” while Valentina simply said, “its lovely to see you again dear”.

With that hurdle overcome at last, Luigi led his reclaimed lady to the dance floor. Just like before that fatefulHarvestfestdinner he was excited to take their relationship to the next level now that they were out of hiding and Noemi was finally free of the burdens of the past.

View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

[mrspockify]

Loved the previous angsty ask about Mario's daughter. So have a couple more.

What if Bowser harms his daughter, whether that be physically or emotionally? (for example, having Kamek use his magic to torture her or Bowser scaring her by saying Mario will forget about her?) If Mario was bad when she was kidnapped I can only imagine how much worse his outburst will be then.

This is about King Boo this time. What if King Boo comes in the picture and traps Mia in a portrait, like in the Luigi's Mansion games? I can imagine King Boo is delighted that he got Mario's daughter, Mario would be ticked and terrified and dear old Uncle Luigi would go ABSOLUTELY FERAL and put aside his fear of KB and be a lot less merciful fighting King Boo to save his niece. Oooo the PTSD and angst this would bring! The nightmares Mia would have, the PTSD it would bring Mario and the wholesome fluff the father-daughter comfort would be.

What is Mario and/or Luigi gets injured in a battle with Bowser while saving Mia? Poor girl must feel really guilty. How would Mario and Luigi deal with this and comfort Mia?

Hope you enjoy the angst! Sorry if this is too long.

I have a hard time imagining Bowser would actually physically hurt Mia that badly. He's evil and malicious, but that's also very much a child, and I think even he has his own moral stances that would keep him from doing too much harm apart from maybe some rough handling. That might leave a few scratches and bruises still, and Mario would absolutely pick up on those immediately, and he would be furious. He'd inwardly vow to make sure Bowser's left with some of his own wounds, severe enough to be permanent reminders never to do this again. I do think Bowser would say a lot of things to Mia to hurt her, though. A lot of "this is your fault, when Mario comes to save you I'm going to finally kill him, and it'll be thanks to you setting the perfect trap, he's going to regret coming to your rescue," etc. Obviously those are lies, but once Mario rescues his daughter, he can't help but noticed how apologetic she is for some reason. When he finally pulls from her the things Bowser said, he's devastated, and he spends all night holding her and reassuring her that none of it was true, and things like that are never her fault.

I think that situation would pull together the most unstoppable brotherly duo imaginable. The moment Mario discovers what happened, he would go straight to Luigi and ask him what they needed to do. Luigi would end up needing to take charge for most of the adventure, because I think Mario would do his absolute best to fight his own fear response and trauma to being trapped in the paintings, but he would definitely be having a hard time. He'd still do everything in his power to help, but his own trauma and his overwhelming worry for his daughter would be very distracting (imagine that scene in LM3 where he's sobbing about Peach and begging Luigi to help, but even worse). Luigi, on the other hand, would be fueled by the instinctual need to save his niece no matter what. Even King Boo would be surprised at his determination and lack of mercy. He's not scared anymore. He doesn't have room for fear. Fortunately, Mia has two parents who know what she went through, so they are very well-equipped with experience and know exactly what kind of recovery Mia is in for. She also has her brave Uncle Luigi to remind her that she'll always be safe, and he will always bring her back home.

Similar to the first answer, I think Mia would struggle a lot with feeling like it was somehow her fault. The brothers could spend hours telling her it's not, but they would see the guilt in her eyes. It wouldn't be the healthiest way of dealing with things, but Mario and Luigi would 100% hide the true extent of their injuries to make her feel better, reassuring her that they weren't in pain and it wasn't actually that bad. A severe leg injury that leads to a limp being hidden by always sitting when she's around, third degree burns hidden underneath clothes at all times, pained winces kept at bay whenever she hugs them, etc. They'd do anything to keep that guilt from her eyes.

[spewpurr]

Dimentio is no stranger to finding loopholes in the Dark Prognosticus, so when Luigi ends up MIA, he finds another man in green... skin.

@bean-and-jester

This, but like. I imagine they’re slightly more antagonistic towards each other in the beginning. Thorn-in-my-side to lovers, if you will.

Also, a bit of rambling about my spin on it, because I’m interested:

1.) I don’t see Peasley as being, like. Completely blind to the fact that Dimentio is trying to pull SOMETHING, even if he doesn’t know what it is. I mean, this is the same bean that thought of the idea to replace Princess Peach with a transmogrified Birdo— he’s no stranger to deception.

But he’s also, like, A.) a diplomatic and optimistic prince, who wants to give people the benefit of the doubt, and B.) a professional spy who seeks out valuable intel from dangerous situations. So he sees this funky little jester with his Definitely-Not-Shady-at-all prophecy and says:

“You know what? Sure. I’ll allow for the possibility that there’s something genuine here, and tentatively follow along for the time being to see where this leads me. I’ll even do some of the reaching myself, just to be cooperative. Best case scenario, it IS genuine, and I’ve saved all worlds from certain doom. Worst case scenario, it ISN’T genuine, and I’ve successfully invaded their operation to sabotage it from the inside.”

(His pride DOES blind him to the third option, though, which is that it’s NOT genuine, but he completely and utterly fails to actually DO anything about it because he’s overpowered or brainwashed or what-have-you.)

2.) I really don’t think Dimentio would let Peasley close enough to the Dark Prognosticus to read it, ESPECIALLY before he can confirm his loyalty, but like— If Peasley’s purple prose is anything to go by, that bean is a language nerd. And I feel like that’s a significant character trait to establish when we’re exploring his chemistry with Dimentio, who loves loopholes and wordplay (and who strikes me as the academic type, underneath all the exaggerated tomfoolery).

3.) Given that Peasley is still trying to determine Dimentio’s intentions (but suspects that he’s acting in bad faith), he tests the waters by candidly insulting him. (Trying someone’s patience can reveal a lot about their intentions, and how genuinely they’re begging for help.)

4.) I imagine Dimentio would react more cheerfully to being insulted here, to keep up the facade of being a harmless and helpful ally, but I couldn’t resist the opportunity to draw him with expressively droopy hat tails. (The idea that his hat tails are emotive like cat ears is very fun to me.)

5.) Consider: two incredibly prideful master manipulators, who are both, independently, trying to manipulate the other. *chef’s kiss*

6.) Once Dimentio gets Peasley to follow him to Castle Bleck, I imagine they’d want to seal the deal by giving him the ol’ razzle dazzle (read: Nastasia’s hypnotizing spell), but it wouldn’t be terribly conducive to a story about how their feelings for each other develop if they don’t have time to establish a connection before one of them has their will totally overwritten. My solution: They TRY to brainwash him, but Beans have, like... reflective cat eyes (or something else to that effect), such that Nastasia can’t just flash Peasley into submission. (...INCREDIBLY poor word choice, I know.)

7.) Beans are plants? And I’m really curious how— or if— that would affect the Floro Sprout’s efficacy, when Dimentio eventually pulls that betrayal out of his sleeve. Maybe being made of plant matter makes it easier for the Floro Sprout to possess him more completely? Or perhaps the opposite— that something made of roots and chlorophyll like the Floro Sprout can’t very easily dig into and possess something else made of roots and chlorophyll, so Peasley is virtually immune to it?

8.) Final point (for now), but like. Beanish culture puts a very heavy emphasis on jokes and laughter and the like, whereas Shaman culture leans more serious, with mounds of academic texts and a heavy emphasis on, like, Divining the Ultimate Fate of All Worlds. So a Bean who is very posh and pedantic and a Shaman who is very irreverent and LITERALLY plays the part of a fool is... inchresting.

[curious-shadow-cat]

Ghosts PG2

The next morning Luigi woke up to Polterpup licking his face. He waved his arms blindly.

Luigi:"Alright! Alright! I'm awake! Hahaha." He pet his dog and wiped his face with the other hand. He went into the bathroom and took a shower. He knew this was going to be difficult. Hopefully they don't end up fighting before he finds another vacuum. He was smart enough to hid that gem away from King Boo before going to bed. He made sure Polterpup kept him distracted while he hid it somewhere too. 

Luigi finished cleaning up and dressed up into a green shirt, with a blue jacket and dark blue grey pants. His old clothes were ruined and he needed new ones. At least his hat was alright though. He left the bathroom and jumped as he saw King Boo looking through his closet and under the bed. He frowned and crossed his arms."Looking for something?" The ghost looked up quick.

King Boo:"Alright, where'd you put it?" He flew over to him."Where's my gem?" Luigi shrugged.

Luigi:"I don't have it. I put it away so you wouldn't try any of your tricks!" He said with a glare. The ghost growled.

King Boo:"Well then how am I suppose to help you in case we're in trouble?" He asked annoyed.

Luigi:"Oh don't play dumb! I've seen you fight even without your gem! If you think I'm stupid enough to give you that then you better think again!" King Boo gave him a cold glare. Luigi flinched a bit but he wasn't planning on talking. Which made him angry. Boo was so close to Luigi's face now that they were touching noses. Well, nose to....face? He couldn't tell if Boo's had noses or not.

King Boo:"Alright fine then! You better hope you find a vacuum before I find my gem because when I do, you're going in a painting!!" He backed off and his eyes widened after realizing what he said to him."I mean uh....whatever. I don't need it anyway." His arms dropped low. "Let's just hurry up and find my Boo's. I miss them already." He grumbled and left the room going through the door. Luigi swallowed. He and the ghostly dog looked at each other. Then the door opened and they looked at King Boo."HMPH!" He slammed the door which made the room shake. Luigi sighed looking unpleased by this. This is quite the situation he put himself through. Him and King Boo? Working together? He just hopes this doesn't end horribly. Polterpup licked his face and flew out of the room. He followed after him.

After grabbing something quick to eat for breakfest, the three left the castle and went exploring around the kingdom. Luigi went to the nearest store and grabbed whatever items he needed before going on their way. King Boo decided to wait outside since he didn't want to end up scaring the owner off. Most of the Toads were fine with Polterpup since he's known to be really friendly towards everyone. Every Toad seems to run off screaming at the sight of King Boo though. But some stuck around since he was with Luigi. Still frightened of course. They all looked confused and scared and wasn't sure what was going on. This made King Boo chuckle and laugh every time they'd run away screaming. Luigi left the store and he saw that he was holding two star cookies. He held one up for King Boo. He blinked and rolled his eyes but took the cookie anyway. He ate it in one bite and flew past Luigi. He kept his nose up in the air and once again said "Hmph!". Luigi ate his cookie in three bites. Polterpup was happily walking beside them with a gold bone in his mouth. Luigi spoke to some of the Toads asking if they saw any dangerous traps near by. They didn't hesitate to answer. They quickly told him that they saw traps almost everywhere this morning around the castle and in the park. Just then they heard some Toads screaming and they ran past them making Luigi spin and made him fall over on his butt. King Boo growled.

King Boo:"Hey watch it!" He yelled. He looked in the direction they ran from."I'm gonna take a guess that that's where the park is, right?" He asked Luigi who's eyes were still spinning at the moment. The impatient ghost shook his head and picked him up by his arms.

Luigi:"WHOA-WHOA-WHOA!" He flew up high in the air quickly."AAH!"

King Boo:"Oh hey! It's the park!" He said with a grin."And, by the looks of it, covered by those annoying traps. Ya know, the ones that took my Boo's!" He growled.

Luigi:"T-t-t-that's g-great! Can you p-put me d-down now?!" He asked. Polterpup was still on the ground chewing on his bone but keeping watch.

King Boo:"Hmmm...." He smirked and then let go of Luigi.

Luigi:"I DIDN'T MEAN DROP MEE!! HEEEELP!" He shrieked in terror just before he closed his eyes and expected to hit the ground. Instead, he heard his dog panting as if he was right in front of him. He opened his eyes and saw that he was floating in the air near the ground. Polterpup licked his face and barked. He looked up and saw King Boo who started laughing.

King Boo:"Gee, maybe next time you should be more specific, buddy!" He flew up high in the air once more but this time Polterpup flew after them. Poor Luigi screamed again as he was being carried to the park.

The park was a mess. There were ghost traps everywhere. Luigi gasped when he saw that some of the Toads were injured.

Luigi:"Oh-no! Quick! We gotta help them!" He ran but then Boo grabbed Luigi by the shirt.

King Boo:"Hey genius, how are we suppose to go near those things without touching them?" Taking another look at the traps, they looked like bear traps. They were purple with large aqua blue colored teeth. When the next Toad tried to run past the trap, it opened it's mouth and let out a large electric net that caught him and shocked him until he fell to the ground knocked out. Luigi yelled out in fright.

Luigi:"Toad!" He was grabbing his hair trying to figure out what to do.

Polterpup:"Bark! Bark!" They looked over and saw the ghostly dog next to a dark blue dumpster with Bob-ombs inside. Luigi itched his head.

Luigi:"What the...?" They looked different. Their eyes were black, they were green with brown shoes. King Boo looked just as confused as Luigi did. He tapped his chin.

King Boo:"Who the heck put those Bob-ombs here?? That's dangerous! Does Peach even know about this??" Luigi gave him a look. He blinked. "What? It's not that I care, I'm just annoyed that Peach judges my way of ruling when she let's her Toads place Bob-ombs by a park!" He crossed his arms looking annoyed. Luigi picked one of them up and started winding it. The eyes glowed blue and it started ticking. Luigi quickly rushed over to one of the traps that opened it's mouth and he threw it in without hesitation. It closed and he heard something click just before it exploded. Luigi rolled backwards and stopped flat on his back.

Luigi:"Ugh....that's how we get 'em..." He sat up and rubbed his head. King Boo picked one of the Bob-ombs up.

King Boo:"Oh this'll be fun." He grinned. He flew over one of the traps and when it opened it's mouth to trap him, he threw in the bob-omb and it exploded. King Boo flew over Luigi as he laughed."Oh let's make a game out of this shall we? This is easy!" Luigi smiled a little.

Luigi:"Uh, well, okay--"

King Boo:"If I get the most points, you give me back my gem!"

Luigi:"What??"

King Boo:"Ready?"

Luigi:"W-wait!--"

King Boo:"GO!" Boo picked up two Bob-ombs and flew away. Luigi quickly ran with one of the Bob-ombs and threw it into the next trap. Polterpup was next to a ghost board with Luigi and King Boo's name on it. He had chalk in mouth and was wagging his tail. While King Boo was destroying the traps, Luigi was also helping the Toads out of the traps and dragged them to the nearest tree.

Luigi:"Don't worry, we're here to help." He ran back and the two continued to destroy traps while Polterpup kept up with the score. Luigi and Boo were nearly caught again but managed to help out each other.

The Sun was setting when they finally finished. The traps were destroyed to pieces and smoke filled the air. Luigi was lying on the ground trying to catch his breath. He looked tired and sweaty. He had some scratches and dirt on him. King Boo flew in a circle around him.

King Boo:"I win! I win! I win! Bow before me green loser!" He laughed and stuck his tongue out at him."Now, about my gem..." Luigi sat up quick and glared at him.

Luigi:"Hey, now hold on a second! I didn't--"

Polterpup:"Woof!" They looked up at the dog and saw the board. The dog pointed out that saving the Toad's added points by 10. King Boo only saved one Toad. Luigi saved five. There's a drawn crown over Luigi's name, pointing out that he won!

King Boo:"WHAT?!" He snarled. Luigi jumped up and started cheering.

Luigi:"I won! I won!" He held out his hand to King Boo."We did it though! We saved the Toads! That's what's most important!" King Boo looked at his hand and then at Luigi before rolling his eyes.

King Boo:"Yeah, yeah." He said with a frown. Luigi frowned. Polterpup ran over to one of the Toads and licked his face.

Toad:"Huh-what?! Ew! I'm awake!" He wiped the drool off his face. He looked up at Luigi and smiled."Oh hi--WAH!!" He jumped up when he saw King Boo."W-what's he doing here?!" He pointed at the annoyed ghost King. He picked up the Toad.

Luigi:"Whoa-hey--"

King Boo:"I'm looking for my Boo's. Have you seen them or not? And do ya know anything about who's been leaving these traps every where?" Toad started shaking his head quickly.

Toad:"N-no, no, no! I haven't seen any Boo's! Honest!" King Boo growled and dropped him."Ow!" King Boo backed off as Luigi helped Toad up on his feet."Thanks for saving us Luigi! Um...but where's Mario? And Princess Peach? Are they going to do something about this?"

Luigi:"Oh, uh..." He itched his head."They're kinda busy--"

King Boo:"Your Princess and Mario are on a more important meeting with Bowser." He said quickly.

Toad:"Huh?! Bowser?" He said with a worried look. The other Toads were now awake and didn't look too happy by this news either. Luigi tried to get him to be quiet but he continued.

King Boo:"So Luigi and I will be taking care of things until they return and I get my Boo's back!" Luigi smacked his own forehead.

Luigi:"Oh-no..." The Toads got up and ran away screaming "We're doomed! AAHH!". King Boo smiled and looked at Luigi.

King Boo:"Well that was easier than I thought." He chuckled. Luigi shook his head and walked over to one of the pieces of the traps.

Luigi:"Hm...? What's this?" He noticed that there was a strange looking logo on it. It was a skull with what appeared to be a flame over it's head. Luigi showed it to King Boo."Do you recognize this?" He asked. King Boo looked at it for a moment. He shook his head.

King Boo:"Unfortunately, no, I don't." Luigi put the piece in his pocket. He saw that King Boo was floating away from him.

Luigi:"Where are you going?" He asked as he quickly followed him.

King Boo:"To continue looking for my Boo's, what else?" Luigi and Polterpup walked side-by-side.

Luigi:"Hey we never discussed what I would get when I won ya know." King Boo was quiet but then he sighed heavily.

King Boo:"Okay, what? What do you want now that you won? But I can't make anything appear at the moment without my gem just so you know." He said clearly still thinking about the gem. Luigi placed his hand on his chin and thought about it. Polterpup was hoping he'd get him another gold bone. He wagged his tail at the thought.

Luigi:"Well, you could tell me what exactly you were doing near Peach's castle." The ghost's eyes widened for a second before he immediately sped up away from Luigi.

King Boo:"I told you, I was looking for my lost Boo's..." He said quickly. Luigi raised a brow and quickly caught up to him.

Luigi:"Why would you be looking for them near her castle?" He asked looking confused. King Boo flew in a different direction.

King Boo:"I thought maybe they'd be....haunting her? I don't know! I don't keep track of what ALL my Boo's are doing! Gah!" He stopped when Luigi popped up in front of him from a bush.

Luigi:"But your Boo's don't usually go that far from you unless you tell them to." King Boo glared at him and pushed him in the lake behind him. "AH-" He fell on his butt in the water and it went up to his neck.

King Boo:"Oops! Sorry 'bout that!" He chuckled."Why don't you go back to the castle and change while I go around and see if I can find anyone that knows what's going on around here!" He took off before Luigi could say anything. Luigi huffed clearly mad about this. Polterpup helped him out of the water and licked his face. He wagged his tail.

Polterpup:"Bark! Bark!" Luigi pat his head.

Luigi:"I know, buddy. He's acting weird, huh?" He asked with a smile. He frowned again."You keep an eye on him for me alright?" The dog hopped around and took off after King Boo.

Later Luigi was back at the castle and was changed back into his usual clothes. It was nice of the Toad's to fix him up some new ones since the old ones were ruined. He smiled as he looked at himself in the mirror. He jumped when he heard his phone ringing. He relaxed a little and answered it.

Luigi:"Hello?"

"Luigi!" Mario spoke."Hey bro! Uh...we might take a little while getting back home. Everything alright?"

Luigi:"Mario! So far things aren't too bad, we--" He heard someone scream Mario's name in anger in the distance."What was that?"

Mario:"Oh you know, Bowser. Hey Bowser! I'm on the phone at the moment!" He yelled. He heard him roar.

Luigi:"Is everything okay??" He asked worried.

Mario:"Oh yeah! Totally! I got this--WHOA!"

Luigi:"Mario?!" He waited for him to answer.

Mario:"HA! Ya missed me! Uh sorry Luigi! Gotta go! I'll call ya later!" He hung up.

Luigi:"Mario?! Hello?? Aw..." He put his phone away."I didn't even get the chance to ask him about the logo...well I hope the Princess is okay." He itched his head and wondered what he should do next. Should he call Professor E. Gadd...? What would King Boo think though? He looked around the empty room. Well...he wasn't here right now. Perhaps he could call him about the logo and see if he knew anything about it. He took out the broken piece of the trap and looked over the logo before calling him up.

E. Gadd:"Professor E. Gadd speaking!" He said in a cheerful tone.

Luigi:"Hello Professor E. Gadd!" He said with a bright smile on his face.

E. Gadd:"Luigi!" He yelled happily which made him nearly drop his phone."How are you my boy? I haven't heard from you in a while! Heheh, usually it's I who calls YOU to help me with some ghost catching! So what's going on? Got some ghost problems? Need a new invention? Coffee??" He asked quickly.

Luigi:"Uhh, I was wondering if you know anyone else making ghost traps? There's this logo on them of a skull with a flame over it's head."

E. Gadd:"What?? Never heard of 'em. But I'll let you know if I find anything."

Luigi:"These traps are all over Princess Peach's Kingdom! Me and--uh...Mario were caught in those traps! It's not fun at all."

E. Gadd:"Hmmmm...." He went quiet."This could be a problem."

Luigi;"Yeah! No kidding! Luckily I found some Bob-ombs and managed to get rid of some of those traps today! I'm pretty sure there's still more of those things."

E. Gadd:"That's great! Keep up the good work! Let me know if you need anything. I'll see if I can find anyone making those traps. Take care!"

Luigi:"Thanks Professor! See ya." He hung up. He turned around.:"WAAAIII!!" He flew backwards and hit the wall. He stared at an angry looking King Boo. He looked ready to eat him right then and there."Uhh, w-wait! I can explain!"

King Boo:"Don't try and fool me! You were talking to that old man weren't you?!" He yelled. Polterpup was behind him and he didn't look too happy either. He whined a little.

Luigi:"It's not what you think! I was just--"

King Boo:"Just WHAT?!" His voice boomed."Asking him for that gross vacumm?! So you could take me out, huh?!" He was in his face now. Luigi looked in his eyes and could see how angry he was. He put his hands up slowly.

Luigi:"No, no, no, no! I-I-I was asking him ab-b-bout the logo! If anyone knew about ghost traps, it would be him, right?" He was scared out of his mind. He wasn't sure what he was going to do next. The ghost growled and backed off.

King Boo:"I guess!" He yelled after throwing his hands in the air. He looked at him again."I just stopped by to let you know I found more of those stupid traps." He said angrily. He seemed like he wanted to put him in a painting but he sighed heavily and left the room after once again slamming the door. The room shook."Just hurry up and get out here!" He yelled. Luigi and Polterpup looked at each other. The dog whined before he left Luigi to follow King Boo. Luigi slapped his own forehead.

Luigi:"Great..." He wasn't sure what to do now. He glanced down at the phone wondering whether or not he should've asked for that vacuum.... He shook his head. No time to think about that now. He left the room and quickly ran after King Boo and Polterpup.

[angelofthenight]

14 Days of Headcanons for the Largo Siblings

Day 4: Field Trips/Road Trips (amusement parks/museum)

Luigi

On a quick field trip to wherever with his family, Luigi will act like a fucking chaperone

He wants to stick to the schedule strictly and doesn’t care who it affects negatively

He’s *almost* prepared for any situation that may happen on a field trip

Would call out the tour guide for saying anything even slightly inaccurate

If he’s a temper nightmare normally, then he’s the worst during family road trips. His anger is so much worse

Him, Pavi and Amber all fight over shotgun. It’s usually always Amber who gets it or nobody at all

Him and Pavi always fight in the backseat

Luigi uses that game punch bug as an excuse to hit Pavi

He doesn’t ask “are we there yet” but instead “how much longer?”

Basically becomes an exhausted, bored, miserable dad at amusement parks

Is the one with the map and is the only one who cares about where they are in the park and where they go next

H A T E S lines. He’ll buy fast passes if it means he can skip the lines and additional laugh at everyone in line for being “poor”

Has to be forced to go on coasters

I like believing he’s T E R R I F I E D on roller coasters

Before they go on he’s bored but acting tough like usual but as soon as the coast starts to go up he’s making sure his seat belt is tight and he wiggles the bars to make sure they’re secure

He’s a screaming mess after the first drop happens

Holds on to the safety bar for dear life and he’s screaming bloody murder at the top of his lungs

Confesses to all his sins

He’ll act like he wasn’t that bad on the ride

He’s just as bad on the extremely smaller rides

Becomes delusional after the whole day and is completely drained

Pavi

He loves field trips and road trips!

He’s literally like a little kid when it comes to this stuff!

He’s also kind of a nightmare during field trips coz he likes touching everything

Rotti would prob threaten to put him on a leash

Him and Luigi fight in the backseat of the car

“Are we there yet?”

Always scared that he forgot something at home

Honestly I could see him continuously hit and kick the back of Amber’s seat till she wakes up and screams at him, all but just to annoy her

Surprisingly amusement parks aren’t a big thing for him

Like he has lots of fun but he doesn’t get as excited as u might expect

The booth games, however, are a big thing to him

He’ll win a prize for a woman to woo her

The only prize he’ll keep for himself is the biggest one

He likes taking pictures with the mascots

He isn’t big on roller coasters but he’ll do them without protest

He thinks they’re scary but fun

That is until Amber told him that his face mask could fly off (as a joke but he still worried)

Oh my god now he’s worried to death

Doesn’t even focus on the ride as he’s holding his mask against his face and begging that it doesn’t come off

Amber

Honestly could care less about where they go, but will she complain the whole time? Hell yeah

Prob disappears from the group then comes back like 2-5 hours later absolutely wasted

Her and Pavi point and laugh at every naked statue

Will sleep through the whole car ride coz she does not want to be awake to listen to Luigi and Pavi banter back and forth

Will request to take a pit stop every 1-2 miles

She’ll scream “DAD!!!” the more Pavi bothers her

She doesn’t share her snacks

She actually really likes amusement parks, well, mostly just for the roller coasters

She’s an adrenaline junkie so she lives for feeling like she’s going to fly off the cart

She’ll drag Pavi with her and Pavi and Rotti will force Luigi to go with

Amber will tease Luigi about how she thinks the cart is a little loose

God the picture they take of you in the middle of the ride is hilarious! Luigi holding onto the lap bar screaming with his mouth open further you would think is possible with tears spitting out of his eyes, Pavi holding onto his face mask for dear life and Amber with her hands up with a bright happy smile no one knew she could do

[invisibleicewands]

Staged's Anna Lundberg and Georgia Tennant: 'Scenes with all four of us usually involved alcohol'

Not many primetime TV hits are filmed by the show’s stars inside their own homes. However, 2020 wasn’t your average year. During the pandemic, productions were shut down and workarounds had to be found – otherwise the terrestrial schedules would have begun to look worryingly empty. Staged was the surprise comedy hit of the summer.

This playfully meta short-form sitcom, airing in snack-sized 15-minute episodes, found A-list actors Michael Sheen and David Tennant playing an exaggerated version of themselves, bickering and bantering as they tried to perfect a performance of Luigi Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author over Zoom.

Having bonded while co-starring in Good Omens, Amazon’s TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s novel, Sheen, 51, and Tennant, 49, became best buddies in real life. In Staged, though, they’re comedically reframed as frenemies – warm, matey and collaborative, but with a cut-throat competitiveness lurking just below the surface. As they grew ever more hirsute and slobbish in lockdown, their virtual relationship became increasingly fraught.

It was soapily addictive and hilariously thespy, while giving a voyeuristic glimpse of their interior decor and domestic lives – with all the action viewed through their webcams.

Yet it was the supporting cast who lifted Staged to greatness,Their director Simon Evans, forced to dance around the pair’s fragile egos and piggy-in-the-middle of their feuds. Steely producer Jo, played by Nina Sosanya, forever breaking off from calls to bellow at her poor, put-upon PA. And especially the leading men’s long-suffering partners, both actors in real life, Georgia Tennant and Anna Lundberg.

Georgia Tennant comes from showbiz stock, as the child of Peter Davison and Sandra Dickinson. At 36 she is an experienced actor and producer, who made her TV debut in Peak Practice aged 15. She met David on Doctor Who 2008, when she played the Timelord’s cloned daughter Jenny. Meanwhile, the Swedish Lundberg, 26, is at the start of her career. She left drama school in New York two years ago and Staged is her first big on-screen role.

Married for nine years, the Tennants have five children and live in west London. The Lundberg-Sheens have been together two years, have a baby daughter, Lyra, and live outside Port Talbot in south Wales. On screen and in real life, the women have become firm friends and frequent scene-stealers.

Staged proved so successful that it’s now back for a second series. We set up a video call with Tennant and Lundberg to discuss lockdown life, wine consumption, home schooling (those two may be related) and the blurry line between fact and fiction…

Was doing Staged a big decision, because it’s so personal and set in your homes? Georgia Tennant: We’d always been a very private couple. Staged was everything we’d never normally say yes to. Suddenly, our entire house is on TV and so is a version of the relationship we’d always kept private. But that’s the way to do it, I guess. Go to the other extreme. Just rip off the Band-Aid.

Anna Lundberg: Michael decided pretty quickly that we weren’t going to move around the house at all. All you see is the fireplace in our kitchen.

GT: We have five children, so it was just about which room was available.

AL: But it’s not the real us. It’s not a documentary.

GT: Although some people think it is.

Which fictional parts of the show do people mistake for reality? GT: People think I’m really a novelist because “Georgia” writes a novel in Staged. They’ve asked where they can buy my book. I should probably just write one now because I’ve done the marketing already.

AL: People worry about our elderly neighbour, who gets hospitalised in the show. She doesn’t actually exist in real life but people have approached Michael in Tesco’s, asking if she’s OK.

Michael and David squabble about who’s billed first in Staged. Does that reflect real life? AL: With Good Omens, Michael’s name was first for the US market and David’s was first for the British market. So those scenes riffed on that.

Should we call you Georgia and Anna, or Anna and Georgia? GT: Either. We’re super-laidback about these things.

AL: Unlike certain people.

How well did you know each other before Staged? GT: We barely knew each other. We’ve now forged a friendship by working on the show together.

AL: We’d met once, for about 20 minutes. We were both pregnant at the time – we had babies a month apart – so that was pretty much all we talked about.

Did you tidy up before filming? AL: We just had to keep one corner relatively tidy.

GT: I’m quite a tidy person, but I didn’t want to be one of those annoying Instagram people with perfect lives. So strangely, I had to add a bit of mess… dot a few toys around in the background. I didn’t want to be one of those insufferable people – even though, inherently, I am one of those people.

Was there much photobombing by children or pets? AL: In the first series, Lyra was still at an age where we could put her in a baby bouncer. Now that’s not working at all. She’s just everywhere. Me and Michael don’t have many scenes together in series two, because one of us is usually Lyra-wrangling.

GT: Our children aren’t remotely interested. They’re so unimpressed by us. There’s one scene where Doris, our five-year-old, comes in to fetch her iPad. She doesn’t even bother to glance at what we’re doing.

How was lockdown for you both? AL: I feel bad saying it, but it was actually good for us. We were lucky enough to be in a big house with a garden. For the first time since we met, we were in one place. We could just focus on Lyra . To see her grow over six months was incredible. She helped us keep a steady routine, too.

GT: Ours was similar. We never spend huge chunks of time together, so it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. At least until David’s career goes to shit and he’s just sat at home. The flipside was the bleakness. Being in London, there were harrowing days when everything was silent but you’d just hear sirens going past, as a reminder that something awful was going on. So I veered between “This is wonderful” and “This is the worst thing that ever happened.”

And then there was home schooling… GT: Which was genuinely the worst thing that ever happened.

You’ve spent a lot of time on video calls, clearly. What are your top Zooming tips? GT: Raise your camera to eye level by balancing your laptop on a stack of books. And invest in a ring light.

AL: That’s why you look so much better. We just have our sad kitchen light overhead, which makes us look like one massive shiny forehead.

GT: Also, always have a good mug on the go [raises her cuppa to the camera and it’s a Michael Sheen mug]. Someone pranked David on the job he’s shooting at the moment by putting a Michael Sheen mug in his trailer. He brought it home and now I use it every morning. I’m magically drawn to drinking out of Michael.

There’s a running gag in series one about the copious empties in Michael’s recycling. Did you lean into lockdown boozing in real life? AL: Not really. We eased off when I was pregnant and after Lyra was born. We’d just have a glass of wine with dinner.

GT: Yes, definitely. I often reach for a glass of red in the show, which was basically just an excuse to continue drinking while we were filming: “I think my character would have wine and cake in this scene.” The time we started drinking would creep slightly earlier. “We’ve finished home schooling, it’s only 4pm, but hey…” We’ve scaled it back to just weekends now.

How did you go about creating your characters with the writer Simon Evans? AL: He based the dynamic between David and Michael on a podcast they did together. Our characters evolved as we went along.

GT: I was really kind and understanding in the first draft. I was like “I don’t want to play this, it’s no fun.” From the first few tweaks I made, Simon caught onto the vibe, took that and ran with it.

Did you struggle to keep a straight face at times? AL: Yes, especially the scenes with all four of us, when David and Michael start improvising.

GT: I was just drunk, so I have no recollection.

AL: Scenes with all four of us were normally filmed in the evening, because that’s when we could be child-free. Usually there was alcohol involved, which is a lot more fun.

GT: There’s a long scene in series two where we’re having a drink. During each take, we had to finish the glass. By the end, we were all properly gone. I was rewatching it yesterday and I was so pissed.

What else can you tell us about series two? GT: Everyone’s in limbo. Just as we think things are getting back to normal, we have to take three steps back again. Everyone’s dealing with that differently, shall we say.

AL: In series one, we were all in the same situation. By series two, we’re at different stages and in different emotional places.

GT: Hollywood comes calling, but things are never as simple as they seem.

There were some surprise big-name cameos in series one, with Samuel L Jackson and Dame Judi Dench suddenly Zooming in. Who can we expect this time around? AL: We can’t name names, but they’re very exciting.

GT: Because series one did so well, and there’s such goodwill towards the show, we’ve managed to get some extraordinary people involved. This show came from playing around just to pass the time in lockdown. It felt like a GCSE end-of-term project. So suddenly, when someone says: “Samuel L Jackson’s in”, it’s like: “What the fuck’s just happened?”

AL: It took things to the next level, which was a bit scary.

GT: It suddenly felt like: “Some people might actually watch this.”

How are David and Michael’s hair and beard situations this time? AL: We were in a toyshop the other day and Lyra walked up to these Harry Potter figurines, pointed at Hagrid and said: “Daddy!” So that explains where we’re at. After eight months of lockdown, it was quite full-on.

GT: David had a bob at one point. Turns out he’s got annoyingly excellent hair. Quite jealous. He’s also grown a slightly unpleasant moustache.

Is David still wearing his stinky hoodie? GT: I bought him that as a gift. It’s actually Paul Smith loungewear. In lockdown, he was living in it. It’s pretty classy, but he does manage to make it look quite shit.

[rainbowwing251]

I don’t know if this is a franchise that you like but, maybe some headcanons for Simon and Richter from Castlevania? The headcanons don’t have to be long. I just would like to know your opinion.

Oh dear... I’ve never played Castlevania... Sorry in advance if these headcanons do not meet your expectations.

Please note that these headcanons revolve around Smash Bros., not Castlevania itself. If I ever play Castlevania, then I might make new headcanons for Simon and Richter that revolve around the games.

I’m going to put this under a “Read More” because holy God did this get long. Sorry in advance if you don’t like long posts.

First off, I’ll do Simon.

So for Simon, I don’t think he would be that ticklish. I’m not sure why, but his appearance gives me that impression. Maybe there’s something in Castlevania that I am missing? I’m not entirely sure.

He only has two worst spots, with the first one being his underarms. He isn’t too comfortable with the idea of being touched there, but he will make an exception for Richter, Pit, and Mega Man. Luigi would also get a pass after enough time has passed.

He probably shouldn’t keep them exposed if he doesn’t want to be tickled there, but most of the fighters don’t even think about tickling him anyways, so it doesn’t really matter. The only time it does matter is when Pit, Mega Man, Richter, or Luigi are feeling a bit brave.

His knees are his second worst spot, but in terms of ticklishness, they are no where near as bad as his underarms. Pretty far from that, actually. You might get a few chuckles out of him, but you shouldn’t expect anything else beyond that.

He probably wouldn’t know how to react to being tickled, but if his ler is either Pit, Mega Man, Richter, or Luigi, he’ll quickly turn the tables on them. He’s not doing this out of anger, mind you. He just likes the idea of punishment tickles for these four. Tickling any of those four always brings a smile to his face, especially if he’s trying to teach them a lesson.

Normally, Simon isn’t too interested in tickling other people, but Pit, Richter, Luigi, Mega Man, and Shulk are the five exceptions.

Like I said earlier, he likes to use punishment tickles on the first four characters in the list above. Shulk, on the other hand? Well, simply put, Simon can’t resist tickling him. He doesn’t know why, but Shulk brings out his hidden ler side (but then again, Shulk can do this to anyone without even trying).

So I guess what I am trying to say is that on the outside, Simon is somewhat neutral when it comes to tickling. But deep inside of him, he hides a ler side.

I wish I had more for Simon, but for the time being, I don’t.

So for now, I’ll move on to Richter.

Richter is far more ticklish than Simon. In fact, he is one of the most ticklish members of the Belmont lineage. He descendants might be fucked if they continue to be more ticklish than the last member of the lineage.

The mental image of the Belmont lineage going from an individual who isn’t ticklish at all to an individual who is deathly ticklish is amusing to me. Apparently, it’s also amusing to Simon, since he is Richter’s main ler. Pit, Mega Man, and Luigi will also get in on the action.

Richter has more worst spots than Simon, but they do share one worst spot: the underarms. Unlike Simon, Richter is a bit more comfortable with the idea of people touching him there. There might be a few exceptions, but for the most part, any member of the Smash roster can tickle him there, and he would be fine with it.

If you get the chance to tickle his underarms, you’ll be pleased to know that he will just collapse onto himself, he’s that ticklish there.

His other worst spots? His sides and his neck. I don’t have a reason for these two spots, they were the first two that came to mind. Tickle him on either of these two spots, and he’ll end up flinching away from your hands.

I should have mentioned this earlier, but I think Richter would be a switch with a very slight lean towards the lee side.

Didn’t Richter get brainwashed at some point in the Castlevania franchise? If so, then he might be put off by tickling for a little while due to trauma. As his time in the Smash roster goes on, however, he eventually warms up to the idea of being tickled, and he even ends up using it to confront his trauma!

Like Simon, Richter doesn’t really know how he should react to being tickled. But unlike Simon, Richter has a hard time fighting back. He’ll instead try to protect himself from the tickling hands of his ler, but unfortunately for him, this doesn’t work 99% of the time.

However, when he does fight back, it’s quite easy for him to turn the tables. He just has to power through his laughter and attack a weak spot on his ler. He can easily pin them down after that. Simon is the only one who can resist Richter’s attempts at tickling him back, though, so if Simon is Richter’s ler, he’s screwed.

Richter likes to punish people with tickles, just like his ancestor, but that’s not the only type of tickling that he likes to use on his lees. He also enjoys sneak attacks, poking his lees in passing when they least expect it. Pit tends to receive these types of tickles the most, but Simon, Mega Man, and Luigi will occasionally become the victim of these attacks as well.

When it comes to Luigi and Simon, he also likes to tickle them as a way of thanking them for helping him with his trauma. Luigi in particular gets a two-for-one deal when Richter tickles him: He is being thanked by Richter for helping him with his trauma, and he is also being tickled by him so that he can recover from his own trauma a bit quicker. I suppose you can call that a win-win situation for both Luigi and Richter!

And to end these headcanons, Richter has one more lee that he and Simon share. It is Shulk once again. Poor guy keeps attracting lers.

I can only hope that these were good headcanons. Once again, I might comeback to Simon and Richter if I ever play a Castlevania game with one of them in it, but for now, this is what I have. It was still a lot more than I expected, I’ll say that.

If something doesn’t make sense, then let me know. I’ll try to explain it in better detail.

[taco-night-frenzy]

Hotel Wario Chapter 1

So, I’ve been working on a sequel to Mario is Missing (Detective Luigi series) for a long time now. I’ve not posted anything yet as I want it to be complete, but also at the same time, I want to post something to show that I’ve been making SOMETHING. Here’s a preview of it. The first chapter at the very least. When will it be done? It might take a year, maybe more, who knows. If you’re interested, you can always ask me for more and I’d give some more WIPs. This takes place after the events of Mario is Missing, but is also meant to be a standalone story on its own.

If you’re interested in this series, read the first one here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17734574/chapters/41841311 With all that said, enjoy the preview of Hotel Wario. (This is still a WIP)

-----------------------------------------------

“Hurry up!” Wario groaned. Sirens blared, ‘Thief!’ over his gruff voice. “Catch whoever stole MY artifact! And calm that guy down! Pretty suspicious behavior you ask me!!”

“I’m plenty calm!” Bowser roared, flames spitting out onto once pristine purple drapes. “I’m the calmest damn guy! And I’m getting out of here! I don’t care if there’s been a theft! I don’t care if this place went into lockdown! No one locks ME away!”

Newly made captain, Goombella of the New Donk Police Department, hopped in front of the King of Koopas. What in the world she expected to do against him was beyond me.

“Kammy! Do something about him! He’s just making things worse!” she shouted.

The old Magikoopa shrugged, sighing through withered and missing teeth. “At this point, nothing I say is going to stop His Ragefulness.” She adjusted her thick-rimmed glasses. “Besides, he’s fifty-fifty chance to break through.”

A rare fang-filled grin flashed across Bowser’s maw. “Aw, thanks Kammy! I knew you believed in me.”

Goombella barely dodged over one of Bowser’s stray claw attacks, nearly slicing her into tiny Goomba bits. “You realize fifty percent isn’t exactly believing in you, y’know?”

“Shut up!” Bowser screeched, his fists pounding into a plate of reinforced steel. The entire hotel shook under his power, its residents and onlookers screaming as ritzy glasses and plates shattered against the floor. “That’s more than I usually get!”

Kammy’s broom puttered above the tile, completely unphased by the shaking. She was unhappy but used to it.

“Stop all this final boss fighting nonsense!” Dr. Crygor wailed, his lone cybernetic eye practically crying in terror. Maybe we really were related… “My security system is still in its early phases! It hasn’t been tested for this kind of thing!”

Wario lounged atop his throne, greedily digging for ‘gold’ in his ear. “Yeah, ain’t you guys cops or somethin’? Get on it, will ya?” It wasn’t just him. Plenty of the other guests stayed at their seats in the dining room, either watching Bowser’s rampage in fear or in delight. No one wanted to stop him, least of all me.

Ex-Captain Toadette (really just Toadette) pummeled Bowser’s shell with a pack of fire balls. She had grabbed a nearby Fire Flower out of one of the vases. The fireballs did nothing but bring his attention to her.

“Ex-cop!” Toadette corrected. She really liked telling everyone she was no longer in the NDPD.

A strange man in a bright red scarf with a shiny dome sitting near me said, “Did she say X-Naut? I’ve never seen her.” He sputtered. “I mean, not that I know of any X-Nauts of course!!!” Everyone ignored him. There were more pressing things going on at the moment.

“See! I knew this would happen!” Bowser slashed through another drape, just barely missing a boneheaded old man. His eyes caught on said old man, flashing with a genius idea. “You guys always blame everything on me!” Without a second thought, his massive claws wrapped around the old man’s huge shiny head. “I’ve never done anything WRONG!” he screamed as he tossed the old man at what seemed like lightspeed towards Toadette and Goombella.

“Oww!!” the old man wailed as his thick skull slammed against a small table, narrowly missing the two girls. Afterwards, he brushed himself off and went back to wobbling through the dining room, mumbling incoherently like nothing happened.

“Ehhh, you know,” Wario grumbled, chomping raw garlic in his open mouth as he spoke, “You’re really only going higher on my list of suspicious people. You got plenty of places to hide my super rare artifact on that shell of yours!” His voice lowered as he thought to himself. “Maybe I should get me one of those…”

Bonk! Goombella landed a hit in the soft red patch of hair between Bowser’s horns.

“Ugh!!!” Bowser yowled, tears forming at the edges of his eyes. “That hurts you know! Physically and emotionally!”

Toadette and Goombella stood before the raging Bowser breathless and bruised. It seemed they had only managed to make him angrier. They weren’t exactly suited for taking on major bosses like Bowser, but that didn’t stop them.

Why? It was pointless to try.

Their eyes finally met with mine. They were desperate. Angry.

“Luigi! Help us out!”

W-what!? Me? What was I supposed to do against him? I would only make this worse! I’d just get in the way! I deemed it necessary to put my foot down. I would no longer be putting myself in situations I didn’t want to be in!

“No, thank-a-you,” I mumbled, barely heard over the blaring sirens. I had been learning to stand up for myself lately! That was something to be proud of.

Right?

The girls’ eyes widened like they couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Before they could protest, Bowser came barreling into them, his huge heavy body separating them as he slammed shell first into the metal door.

Bowser rubbed the sore spot of his shell and head before realizing, hey, that didn’t hurt much at all! I’m greater than I realized! Gahahaha. (I assume that’s what he thought. He’s very easy to read.)

“See, that’s why I like you!” Bowser pointed the tip of his claw my way. “You know who the good guy is around here! You know better than to get in my way!”

Even though he was praising me, shame welled up inside my throat. Why? He never would have said that to Mario…

“I don’t think I can do this,” Goombella admitted with a wince. “I’m not cut out for being captain, am I?”

“I’ve only just learned to jump from my construction job!” Toadette whined, completely out of breath. “This is way out of my league, too!”

I could have told them that!! I wouldn’t, of course, because that’s mean and I’m terrified of conflict, but I could have! They should have just stayed back with me!

“Gahahaha! That’s what happens when wimps try to stand up to me!” Flames licked the air around Bowser’s maw and his fangs grinded together till they were molten red. “Now, time for some roasted mushroom with a side of unruly minion!”

I didn’t want to watch, but my eyes stayed glued on my old friends as Bowser readied his fire breath.

“Yoohoooo!” an airy voice yelled in from the crowd. Before Bowser could react, she was on him in a flash, her orange suit nothing but a blur. A sporty shoe slammed into Bowser’s massive maw, sending flames spiraling through the air, narrowly missing my fellow diners.

The mysterious orange heroine landed on her feet with a bit of a stumble before saying her weird nonsense line. “Yes!!! Daisy!”

Ah… of course it was her.

“Sorry I didn’t show up sooner! Everyone was distracted by the noise, so I figured it was the perfect time to raid the mini bar and stuff myself full of those delicious fried Blooper rings.” Crumbs fell out of her mouth ungracefully onto her fancy suit. She didn’t care.

Goombella’s eyes lit up like a Bob-omb on its birthday. “That was so cool!!” For whatever reason, Goombella looked up to the sports-super-star that was Daisy. “But… are you okay?” Daisy looked like she was having trouble standing on the foot that had just kicked Bowser in the face.

“No!! I’m not okay!” Bowser whined, holding a claw over his bruised cheek. “Did anyone think to ask about ME? Geez, lady, are you wearing cleats?? What the hell’s wrong with you?!”

“Oh no, I think it’s broken,” Toadette said, checking over Daisy’s ankle.

Daisy shrugged, stuffing another Blooper ring into her mouth. Gross. She was keeping them in her pocket. “Eh, you know, it happens! Whatever!”

Kammy Koopa puttered up to Bowser, shaking her head. “Are you finished, Your Whinyness?”

“Yeah, I’m done! Whatever!” Bowser threw his claws up into the air before quickly rubbing his hurt jaw again. “Kammy, how bad is it?”

“The door’s barely got a dent.”

“No!! I meant my poor face…”

“You’re fine.”

“Ugh! Well if this is going to happen just because I’m trying to help us all get out of here, then forget it! It’s not worth it!” Bowser wailed.

An enhanced cybernetic voice finally spoke up. “M-might I suggest we all return to our rooms for the time being and see if we can’t get this sorted out?” Dr. Crygor said shakily. His eye shone with a subtle pride once he realized his security door had held up even against King Bowser.

Wario waved lazily at the staring crowd. “Yeah! Go on! Get out of here! You all bother me!”

Well… that was probably for the best. Maybe I could sort out what in the world just happened. Plus, I really wasn’t enjoying the burning glares that Toadette and Goombella were sending my way.

I quickly scampered up to Daisy, who was having trouble walking. I offered to help, and she much too quickly accepted, putting a ton of weight around my neck as she wrapped an arm around my shoulder. She was still eating those Blooper rings as she limped up the stairs…

Goombella and Toadette followed us to our rooms. Daisy quickly plopped down onto her bed without a care in the world while the other two girls fretted over her. I, of course, shuffled over to the doorway, trying to stay out of the way.

“Y’know, if you want to leave, then just leave!” Goombella growled my way. “Ugh, what a mess…”

Oh no… I really messed up, didn’t I? I quickly looked to Toadette who shook her head, avoiding eye contact with me. Daisy was busy stuffing her face. Maybe it really was best I went back to my own room after all.

My room was just next door to Daisy’s. I wouldn’t be far if they needed anything. I’d make sure to try to listen for anything this time. With a sigh, I let myself into my room and sat on the bed. It was empty. It was quiet. It was lonely.

I suppose I had nothing better to do than to write in you, my notebook. It’d been a long time. Plus, maybe it’d help put all this craziness into perspective. I didn’t expect this trip to go the way it did! But where to even start...?

This is a new notebook, so I suppose I should go as far back as I can. I’m writing this on Mario’s spare notebooks since he made more for himself than me. I would hate to see them gather dust. Anyway…

Let’s-a-go…

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

It must have only been a few days ago when everything felt it’s most… normal. As normal as it can be at the office. It’s been about a year since my last little ‘mystery’ and to be honest, I was hoping it would be my last. The problem was, the Mario Bros. Detective Agency was still fairly popular and well known thanks to my brother.

I shouldn’t complain about that, I know. The real problem was that our office/apartment needed money. Buildings can’t just be lived in for free! Stupid isn’t it?

Good afternoon, Luigi! You have 301 unread messages today! Up from yesterday’s 287. A new record yet again! Congratulations! Would you like to read them?

No thank you, TEC.

(I was typing this on my old desktop computer. TEC is a lone supercomputer that I rescued from an abandoned factory. He’s very sweet, but maybe a little too eager. Because he’s no longer connected to his old factory and can only use my computer, he’s been a little downgraded. But he seems happier.)

Of course! If you would like, I could give you the shortened version of each message to save you ti-

No thank you, TEC.

Not a problem. Okay! Well, of your 301 messages, I would like to note that 5 are marked IMPORTANT as they have to do with the subject matter of your overdue rent. Would you like me to-

No thank you, TEC.

Fair enough! I’m not sure if this is the best course of action, but-

I was hoping we could skip this, and I could do a search for birds? Pigeons to be precise. I am in the mood for pigeons today.

Oh, do I have some amazing pictures of pigeons for you! I have stumbled upon a strange trend where people ‘shop’ pictures of human arms onto birds and I find it most humorous! I think you will like it, too! However, there is one last alert…

What is it, TEC.

I have one new message marked ‘Family.’ You have me set to prioritize any and all messages with this marker. Would you like to see-

What!? Who is it from?! Who could it be from? Yes! Open it!

Right away! The sender is a man called Wario who is apparently your cousin! Here are the contents-

Delete.

Er. Error. I … thought you wanted me to open the message and read it to you? I’ve actually wanted to give you a message for so long and I just-

Mark as spam. Delete.

If… you say so. I know that I am just the world’s most mediocre computer now, but I wish I could understand you sometimes, Luigi.

It’s okay. Sorry if I seemed cross with you, TEC. I’ve been feeling a little stressed. People keep trying to contact me for detective jobs and that’s just not who I am.

I see. I do not know if it is any consolation, Luigi, but I do not think you need to live in your brother’s shoes forever. I have come to accept that I am the world’s most mediocre computer. In fact, I am happy with it! I think you could very easily be the world’s most mediocre detective!

… … Thank you, TEC.

You’re very welcome! :) <---- That is a smiley face. I am learning how to better express myself! Now! About those pictures of pigeons with arms…

Loading…

As the armed avian began to slowly pixelate on my screen, the front door slammed open, followed by both a shriek from myself and a shout from my ‘secretary.’

“Hey! Stop looking at pictures of birds, weirdo!” Daisy screamed, barreling towards my humble little desk. “I’ve got some cool news!”

I quickly grabbed Marissa and Charlie and huddled them close against my chest. Daisy had a bad habit of knocking them over when she got excited.

(Oh! This is a new notebook, so I guess I should explain. Marissa and Charlie are my Fire Flowers! I keep them together in a cute little pipe plant pot! They love each other and I love them.)

Neon red light illuminated Daisy. The mushroom sign outside my window was as bright as ever. She was sopping wet from the rain outside but didn’t seem to care as per usual. It doesn’t get particularly cold in New Donk City even though it is always raining but for some reason Daisy was still wearing her sporty shorts like always.

(If I explained Charlie and Marissa, I suppose I should explain Daisy too…)

Daisy is kind of my new roommate? She’s not on the lease, and she didn’t ask for permission to stay here. But she likes to sleep on my couch, watch my TV, eat my leftovers, and generally bother TEC with ridiculous requests and the occasional unsavory virus. She’s loud, she’s obnoxious, she smokes, she’s overly pushy, and she doesn’t do a very good job at answering the telephone.

But for some reason, I could never kick her out. It’s nice having someone around. It’s nice to have someone to cook for. She tells the noisy Shy Guys next door to ‘Shut up!’ if they’re being too loud. She buys me more time with the Pianta landlord when I don’t pay rent. She tells potential clients to ‘Buzz off!’ when I inevitably say I don’t want to take their case.

“Hey!” She stamped her foot on the carpet, staining it evermore. “Are you listening to me? You’re staring off into the next galaxy again!”

I sighed. I was listening. I just didn’t want to.

“Aaand you’re doing your mumbling thing where I’m not sure if you’re actually talking again. Great. Usual stuff. Whatever.”

She rummaged through the tiny pockets in her shorts and pulled out a soggy cigarette. Under normal circumstances, nobody would get that thing lit up. Daisy was not normal. She was a sports super star! Master of soccer, tennis, baseball, go-karting, partying, and very recently she got into fighting as well. No one knows how she’s so good at so many things. She just is.

I personally think it’s because she’s a few Power Stars short in the upstairs department. You know. She’s more brawn than brain.

“You say somethin’?” she growled, wet cigarette between her lips and a harsh glare in her eyes.

N-nope!

“I figured.” She knelt down over my desk, dripping all over it, putting her face uncomfortably close to mine. The tip of her cigarette glowed red hot after touching the Fire Flower’s petal. She let out a black sigh. “Thanks Charlie.”

That’s Marissa!!!

“Marissa. Geez. Sorry.” She rolled her eyes and lounged atop my desk, her legs kicking over some letters I didn’t want to look at anyway.

So… I had thought Daisy had something to tell me? Maybe she had forgotten. That would have been nice.

“Oh, right,” she said, her voice slow and deliberate. Smoking always calmed her down. I didn’t like it, but it had its benefits with her. “Yeah, so I was out jogging, right? I got a tennis tournament coming up and Coach Bobbery wants me exercising a bit more or whatever. He’s a pain in the ass, but who cares.”

I still don’t like that language by the way. I also wished she could get to the point.

“I’m out running by Bowser’s place to get my ‘medication’ you know?” She smirked. Agh. She meant Honey Syrup. A drink meant to energize the body, but only to be taken in small doses. Bowser and his gang sell the stuff on the streets, and it is strong. It’s not healthy. There’s a lot of addicts. I worry over Daisy. She’s actually using less lately, surprisingly.

“And you wouldn’t believe it, some complete Toadhead zooms by in a bright purple car, laughing like crazy!” Daisy did not use the word ‘Toad’ there, but I’m not writing down the actual word. “Guy nearly hit me! Didn’t care at all! He was just tossing out flyers! One of them hits me right in the face, right?”

Oh no. I knew where this was going.

“So, I look at this stupid thing, and you’ll never guess what it’s for and who was driving!”

… I had a pretty good guess.

“It was Wario! That fat freak that smells like farts and always yells at people! Turns out the flyer is for a brand-new hotel that he built! He used the riches he found from an ark-ey-log-all dig to pay for it! Apparently, it’s super spiffy.” I think she meant to say archeological…

Well that was some nice information, but was it leading anywhere?

“I mean, yeah, normally I wouldn’t care either, but then I remembered!!” Daisy shot up straight, grinning like a Boo in a moldy mansion. “That big idiot actually invited me to his grand opening! He’s inviting all of New Donk City’s biggest names to stay there for free! Some kind of promotional thing I’m sure.” She finally turned to face me, as if she remembered I was here. “I’m not one for these fancy pants parties, but I got to thinking! Free food! Free beds! Everyone’s gonna be there! I could probably get a great score off Bowser.”

I gulped. I didn’t like where this was going. Plus, wasn’t she already rich? Why would it matter if its free or not?

“Ah, man, you just don’t get it!” Daisy waved me off. “Free is free! Plus…isn’t that guy your cousin?”

Oh no. That’s the last thing I wanted her to say.

“And, no offense, but you’re totally struggling to pay rent, aren’t you?” Her eyes dug into me like a Monty Mole. “There’s no way the Mario Bros. weren’t invited. I’m sure a rich cousin like him could help you out. I’m not going to keep paying your rent when your landlord comes knocking.”

It was time to break out my secret technique! “No thank-a-you! I wasn’t-a-invited anyway.”

Daisy scowled, black puffs of smoke blowing out the side of her lips. “You’re lying.”

I-I’m not! I swear!

Fearing no boundaries and no personal bubbles, Daisy dove over the desk onto me and my chair. “TEC! Has Luigi gotten any messages from Wario lately?”

No! Not TEC! Anyone but him! He’s too nice to lie!

Oh! Hello, Daisy! I can tell it’s you because of all the spelling errors. Why yes! Just the other day Luigi received a very interesting message!

I scrambled underneath her, trying to push her off, trying to get her away, but her incredibly muscular hands and legs proved to be too much for my scrawny arms. For most people, all I had to do was cry and act pathetic and that’d get them off my case. It never worked on Daisy…

“Oh really?” Daisy said with a scowl, practically punching each key in. “And what did it say?”

Yes, ‘rly!’ Luigi had me delete its contents before I could read it however. But I can tell you that the title was ‘Wahahaha! You’re Invited to the Grand Opening of My New Hotel! Click inside for details! (Not a scam this time!)’

No, no, no, no, no!! I’m saying no! I can say it! No! No!! I don’t want to do that! I don’t want to meet loosely related family! I don’t want to go outside and talk to people! Least of all weird family members I don’t know very well!

“Uh-uh!” Daisy wagged her finger at me. “Not this time, bub. I’ve declined way too many jobs for you! I’ve tried to let you do things at your own pace! But you won’t accept anything! Why just a couple weeks ago I had to say you wouldn’t help some sweet ghost girl! If she had a heart, I’m sure it would have been broken because of you! I mean, I personally didn’t care, but she sounded really sad!”

Agh, she wasn’t supposed to tell me about the clients I was rejecting! I can’t handle the guilt..

“Besides! This isn’t even -ugh, quit crying! Are you serious?- This isn’t even a job! It’s a free stay at a hotel! You need to get out more!”

I don’t have anything to wear! It’s probably got a fancy dress code!

“Oh, please. It’s a hotel. You can come wearing whatever you want! No one will care. I know I’ll be wearing whatever I want.”

No!!!

“Geez, you’ve got more issues than me,” Daisy grumbled. “Listen. It’s. A. Hotel. You can stay in your room for all anyone cares. It’ll be fine.”

I… hm… I guess that wouldn’t be so bad. A change of scenery from this damp dreary office did sound rather nice.

“Aha! See? I told you! I’m gonna RSVP you right now! TEC!!!” She slammed her hands on the keyboard.

… … I assume you want me to reply that Luigi will be attending after all? The message may be deleted, but I could still easily search the nearest scam site and find Wario’s organization.

yAA!!!!!1111 -dAiSy

Of course. I’d be happy to. I hope Luigi enjoys his time there.

“Woo hoo!!!!” Daisy yelled. “Now order us up a pizza from Tayce T.’s!! I’m starving!”

Like always, I had the feeling I wouldn’t enjoy this hotel trip. Like always, I catastrophized and feared the worst would happen. I wish I was ever wrong.

I also wished Daisy would remember she’s still sitting on me!

[formalmess]

For Your Entertainment ~ Chapter One

Summary: Luigi receives a mysterious letter. 

Warnings: N/A

A/N: Welcome to the show! This is a dark little horror-esque story I wrote and finished up last year, and since it’s the month of spookiness, what better time than now to post it here? It may be a bit familiar to some people since I’ve published it elsewhere before, but I have changed and polished up some things since it’s publication last year. To the newcomers, welcome! Fair warning in advance though, this story will get darker. Keep an eye out for warnings in the future. But until then and without further ado, enjoy!

“Mail call!” Parakarry’s voice eagerly called out through the morning air. 

He flapped his wings before landing, stretching out his arms and wings before reaching into his mailbag. He opened the mailbox outside the manor before him, whistling as he dug through his bag for the mail meant for this house.

He craned his neck, turning up to look at the green manor situated just up a small hill, a stone path leading to the front door. The quaint manor was certainly not the most extravagant of living spaces, but it was suitable. There was a well maintained garden gracing the front lawn, flowers of all colors, shapes, and sizes displayed upon the path.

Parakarry wiped the sweat off his brow, readying himself to fly off again when a voice called out.

“Good morning, Parakarry!”

Parakarry stopped, turning.

The owner of the manor appeared, rushing down the stone path to greet the Paratroopa with a smile on his face. The brunette’s hair was messy, his mustache uncombed as visible dark circles became apparent under his bright blue eyes. He had most likely just crawled out of bed.

“Ah, Luigi! Good to see you’re chipper today.” Parakarry grinned, watching as Luigi rushed up to the fence lining the yard, leaning against it.

“How’re you doing today, Parakarry?”

“I’m doing quite well. A bit frazzled, but quite well.”

“A lot of stuff to deliver today, huh?”

“That’s not even the half of it.” Parakarry chuckled. “The post office has been chaos since this morning. Postmaster said there was this little toad girl running around the office asking the rest of the employees about something. She’d been there since we opened. Totally threw him for a loop.”

“Do you know who she was?”

“No idea. The Postmaster thinks she was handing out fliers for something, I don’t know. He was already ordering me to get my tail out here, I didn’t have time to ask.”

“Oh, well, you’re right on schedule, I’d say.” Luigi laughed.

“I’d like to think I’m getting much better at delivering the mail on time.” Parakarry chuckled, slightly embarrassed. “If you happen to find anything in your mail is missing, that’s probably my fault… But, I’ll be sure to drop anything I missed off later, once I finish my route for today.”

“Well, don’t work too hard. Can I get you anything before you head off, Parakarry? I could get you a drink or something…”

“Oh, no. I’m in fine shape. Just have a long day ahead of me. There’s been a lot more letters coming in recently, which I hypothesize has something to do with that get-together the princess has been planning.”

“It’s only a meeting, Parakarry. I don’t think it’s that exciting.” Luigi smiled. “No one’s gonna be sending letters out to their grandparents about some king or prince coming to the Mushroom Kingdom to discuss economics with the princess.”

“Well, Toad Town gets excited over the littlest things, you know. Whether that be royalty figures getting together for, say… a ball, or a meeting, or a conference, or even for... tea time, really!”

“They’re just gonna be talking about trade negotiations and stuff like that. It’s all boring.”

“Oh, right, I’m sorry. I forgot you knew so much about the princess’s business ever since you and that prince got hitched… Your Highness.” Parakarry sneered, bowing playfully. “You’re going to be at the meeting anyway, don’t even know why I brought it up.”

“I’m not really royalty, Parakarry.” Luigi crossed his arms, a faint blush on his face as he turned, exhaling. “I’m just the prince consort.”

“Sureee… whatever you say.” Parakarry shrugged. “Just don’t come crying to me if you ever get kidnapped by Bowser or anything. If his knack for capturing royalty keeps up, that is.”

Luigi chuckled. “Then you’ll have to team up with Mario again to rescue me, I suppose.”

“I guess so.” Parakarry flapped his wings, turning away from Luigi with a hearty laugh. “I really should be on my way, though, friend. I still have so many letters to deliver, and there are so many impatient homeowners out there. A postman’s job is never done, after all!”

“I understand.” Luigi stepped back, smiling. “Be safe out there.”

“Of course!”

And with that, Parakarry flew off. Luigi waved goodbye to him, watching the postman until he disappeared from view into the cloudy sky in the distance.

Luigi stretched before pushing open the fence's wooden gate, retrieving his mail and sifting through it. He yawned, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes as the sun continued to creep up over the hillside.

The mail mostly consisted of bills and scam letters from Waluigi, but a postcard from Mario made him smile, a warm feeling now in his chest. It was nice to think that his brother still had time to send him things, despite how busy he must be, traveling the world with his newfound cap companion and whatnot.

Luigi walked back into his manor groggily, dropping off the mail on the kitchen counter before walking to the bathroom to freshen up.

His pet, Polterpup, followed him curiously, leaping up against his owner’s legs to try and get his attention. Luigi smiled, laughing and promising the ghostly pup playtime later. He still had something to do today, after all.

Luigi did just enough to appear suitable before heading back out the door, walking down the path towards Toad Town. He had been up since early morning only because he wanted to get to Tayce T.’s kitchen before it got too crowded, and morning was his best bet. He didn’t exactly like being out alone at night, and Grambi forbid some poor soul try to go to the bakery in the afternoon. Luigi cringed at the thought.

All he needed was to pick up some ingredients for a few recipes he'd gotten as gifts from Peach for his birthday. While he was relatively good at cooking, he didn’t know a whole lot about making pastries. That was the princess’s specialty, not his. Luigi usually stuck to making various spaghetti dishes. But, most of the recipes given to him were for cakes, muffins, cupcakes, and the like, so he’d have to get a few ingredients from Tayce T. if he hoped on ever finishing even one of the recipes.

Not that he minded waking up early anyway. Early morning walks were always so beautiful. The creatures were starting to stir, and the sun was just starting to rise. He breathed slowly, taking in all the sights until he made his way into Toad Town.

Toads were congregating outside, walking in and out of stores and talking amongst themselves. Luigi’s presence didn’t faze them, not like if Mario was there. But, Luigi was fine with that. He didn’t like being randomly talked to and swarmed anyway. The toads still waved and said hello as he passed though, Luigi politely greeting them in return.

He eventually made it into Tayce T.’s kitchen, the little cook glancing up at Luigi as he entered. A faint smile graced her face as he walked in. She was already moving to reach into a cupboard to retrieve his items before he could even request anything of her.

”Ah, Luigi, welcome in! I’ve been preparing what you ordered. Just allow me to clarify…” She hummed, putting a bag out on the counter. “You just wanted the cake mix and a honey shroom, right?”

Luigi nodded, handing over the sufficient amount of coins for her as he smiled. “Grazie.”

She took the payment hesitantly, exhaling. “It's always so nice to see such a happy face, Luigi. I take it your morning has been lovely?”

”Yep! Actually, I was planning on making something sweet tonight for my hus-” Luigi paused upon noticing Tayce T.’s sunken features. Her gaze wasn’t focused on Luigi, instead staring forward with dull eyes. She looked… sad. “A-Are you alright, Ms. Tayce?”

”W-What? Oh, yes. My apologies!” Tayce T. flinched and held her hands together, nodding. “I’ve just been thinking about… oh, there was this incident this morning and… I don’t know. I'm sure it'll be alright. I'm fine." She offered a weak smile.

Luigi ventured further. “You’re… sure?”

”Most certainly, Luigi.”

"Do you want to talk-"

”Hey!” Another toad’s voice cut in, Luigi flipping around to make eye contact with a very agitated customer, who was tapping their foot impatiently on the floor. “Some of us also want to buy stuff!”

”O-Oh, I’m sorry, I-”

Tayce T. reached at Luigi’s hand, handing him his bag of ingredients. She smiled. ”Take care, Luigi. I trust I’ll see you again soon?”

"Oh, y-yeah!” Luigi attempted before being curtly shoved aside by the other toad.

Tayce T. looked at the customer disapprovingly before softening her expression, Luigi looking back at her. She glanced away before waving goodbye as Luigi made his way out the door.

Luigi sighed, cradling the bag of ingredients in his arms as he started back toward home. The walk back was peaceful, the young brunette catching small bits of conversation as the toads spoke to one another, talking about the day ahead.

”-and you haven’t seen him at all?”

The fragments of a conversation caught his attention.

He turned a corner, noticing a bright pink figure with her back turned to him, talking to a green-capped, mustached toad with glasses on his face. He was looking over a piece of paper, rubbing at his chin.

”...Nope. Can’t say I have. I wish you the best of luck in finding ‘im though.”

The pink figure stared down at the ground defeatedly as the green toad walked away, only perking her head up when she heard her name called.

”Toadette!”

”Luigi…?”

Luigi approached with a smile on his face, but froze, his breath hitching as Toadette turned to face him. Her expression was pale and positively mortified, clutching staggering amounts of paper in her arms like a vice.

”Toadette, a-are you okay?”

”Have you seen Toad?!”

The question caught him off guard.

”N-No… I haven’t. What’s wrong?”

Toadette wiped at the tears forming in her eyes, whimpering as she tried to compose herself. "T-Toad… Toad, he… I don’t know where he is, Luigi!”

Luigi felt his chest stiffen. “What?”

”A-About a week ago, I went out of the house to go hang out with Birdetta, and I left Toad home alone. When I got back later that night, he wasn’t there. And I-I don’t know where he would’ve gone, because I was only out for a few hours and-d he didn’t tell me he was going anywhere, and he would’ve told me if he did, and he didn’t leave a note or an-anything a-and I-!”

”Hey, hey…” Luigi, despite his own growing anxiety, tried to comfort Toadette. “Slow down.”

”I tried to j-just wait it out to see if he’d come home, but he still isn’t back! I wanted to take matters into my own hands, because I don’t know if h-he ran away, or if he got lost, or worse, but I-I couldn’t stand to just sit there while my brother was still missing, so I-I made these...”

She paused, sniffling and reaching towards the bundle of papers in her arms. She handed one over to Luigi, Luigi’s face noticeably paling as he examined the page.

It was a missing poster, the words alarmingly bolded with a photograph of Toad plastered on it, information lining the bottom.

”I tried getting these hung up all over town, the post office, the club, the boardwalk, the kitchen… b-but… no one has seen h-him so far, and I-I…” Toadette released a sob, nearly falling into Luigi’s arms.

”Toadette…” Luigi tried to reach a hand out to comfort her, but she shrunk back.

“I-I guess I’m probably just o-overreacting… he… he’s old enough to do what he wants… I-I just,” she hiccuped between sobs. “I wish he would’ve told me where he was going! I-I just want him to be okay. B-But, if he doesn’t want to be f-found, then…” She shook her head. ”If he doesn’t turn up s-soon, I’m going to go out and find him myself…! I-I have to know if my brother is okay!”

”Th-That sounds dangerous.” Luigi squeaked out. “I-I can look with you, and I’m sure Peasley wouldn’t object to joining us… You shouldn’t go alone.”

”Hopefully it won’t come to that.” Toadette concluded with a sigh, turning away as she rubbed at her eyes. “Just… keep an eye out for him, please. If you hear from him, let me know.”

”R-Right. Of course.”

Luigi didn’t have time to say anything else before Toadette promptly rushed off, approaching another couple of toads, handing them each the posters. Luigi turned to continue back home, despite now feeling a heavy sensation swelling deep within his chest.

An ominous feeling of dread loomed over him as he walked back to the manor.

                                          - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Luigi’s walk back was mostly silent, aside from the occasional heavy sigh or nervous hum.

The thoughts of worry produced by the single haunting image of one of his friends on a missing poster made his stomach twist. He tried to steady his breathing and think rationally as he approached his house, sighing. As he passed the fence gate outside the manor and approached the door up the stone path, however, he paused.

There was an envelope placed on the doorknob, delicately balanced atop it.

Confused, he shifted his holding on the bag of ingredients and picked up the note, flipping it over to see if there was any information on it. All that was printed on the envelope was a picture of a star, colored in a violet ink.

Perhaps Parakarry had left one of his letters in the post office after all.

He pushed open the door, putting the cake mix and honey shroom away before carefully tearing open the mysterious envelope. With cautious fingers, he removed a sheet of paper from within and began to read what was neatly printed upon it.

‘Hello, Luigi.

It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? Far too long, I’d say. How long has it been? It was quite hard to keep track of time down there, I’m afraid.

I’ve been really busy, you see. It’s taken me ever so long to send you this letter.

They tried their hardest, their very hardest, to contain me. And I admire their amusing attempts. But, I’m quite the persistent person, like a spider weaving its web over and over on a rainy day.

To think, life works in mysterious ways. It’s quite funny, really, how our pasts catch up to us.

You and I have plenty in common. You may hate to admit it, but it’s true. You and I are much closer than you’d like to think. Haven’t you felt lonesome without me? I’m apart of you, after all.

May I indulge you in a secret?

You ruined me, Luigi.

Your weakness brought about my downfall. It led me to a horrific afterlife of endless torment. I endured so much suffering. Loneliness and eternal solitude consumed my days.

But, now, I’ve escaped from that treacherous prison known as death. And, as I had plenty of time to ponder, I know exactly what I want now.

I want to see you suffer, just as I had.

I’m going to make your life a living nightmare. All who you know and love, will be guaranteed a long and painful demise at my hands.

You ruined my chance at happiness and I’m only returning the favor.

I want nothing more than to see you break as you are forced to watch your life crumble apart.

I’ve spent so much time preparing for this, you see.

I shan’t spoil the surprise. Not yet. Nor will I reveal my identity. I want you to experience every moment of this spectacle for yourself.

It will be quite a show.

I’ll see you again soon, Luigi. I’m much closer than you’d like to think.

~ ✦ ~’

[goldenkamuyhunting]

Oh my god your right on the money when it comes to Ogata no longer being able to snipe. He has lost the function of his eye and by losing it his depth perception is gone. I didnt even know ch 188 was out! But their so much to unpack i can't even fit in an ask.

Sorry, I’m placing together the asks about Ogata as they all have him as main topic.

1) Ogata no longer being able to snipe

Hum, sorry, maybe I’ve explained myself poorly but I think that, unless he’ll suffer complications from his wound, he technically should return being able to snipe if he recovers and then trains (also he’s probably meant to be that naturally amazingly talented shooter that can hit a target in whatever condition he is, sort of how Sugimoto is that naturally amazingly talented fighter... they’ve the classical manga powers that make them just too awesome to be humans).

The loss of an eye doesn’t make impossible to snipe, you just have to retrain yourself to deal with it.

If Ogata wants to return sniping or not, or if he wants to go back to his lifestyle or not, that’s another matter.

I think the loss of that rifle with whom he killed Wilk and sniped Sugimoto is probably simbolic of Ogata’s loss of what had pushed him to commit that action in the first place, and that wasn’t just the eye that could aim well.

I think the plan is that the current events are going to affect greatly Ogata (and Asirpa and Sugimoto) in the future, setting him on a different path.

2) Will Ogata be more deranged or not? Will he get a redemption arc or not?

The loss of Ogata’s rifle makes me hopeful that it symbolize this will be a turning point for him, one that’ll set him on a better path.

Realistically speaking though, Ogata’s future psychological state depends a lot on what will happen to him now. I know many would want a redemption arc, but what Ogata needs right now is not a redemption arc but a salvation arc and when I say ‘salvation’ I don’t mean just to make his wound better, or to make sure he won’t die out of poison.

Ogata is a broken man who got to the point he wanted to be killed, due to what he suffered in his childhood, which pushed him to make mistake after mistake, in search of a way out of his painful situation with the only result to tangle himself in more mistakes and becoming unable to see a way out from them.

He knows he is an unwanted child.

He views himself as a person missing something fundamental.

He’s made fun of by the 7th for his heritage and rejected by it way before he betrayed it and, likely, in the past he was also subjected to this sort of joke, this sort of comments on his heritage by other people.

He views himself as the one who’s never trusted, regardless of what he does, regardless of the people around him being even less worth trust.

Sugimoto was at the same table with escaped convicts yet he felt the need to single out Ogata, pointing how since he betrayed the 7th he would betray people again... but Sugimoto had no qualms to trust and defend Tanigaki who also betrayed the 7th.

Hijikata pointed out how Tanigaki and Kiro informed him of his troubling heritage... when Hijikata himself planned to betray Sugimoto, Kiroranke is there to see that Wilk will get murdered and Inkarmat, well, she’s not there but, unknown to him, she’s using him to tattle their move to Tsurumi.

Even when he fails to trick Asirpa he seems to take the whole thing as not working because HE was the one doing it, not because he sucks at lying....

...while he believed she would have no problems to put her trust in everyone else, from Kiro who was extremely suspicious to Sugimoto whom, he knows, was keeping from Asirpa he had a woman he loves.

There’s a theatrical comedy, ‘La patente’ (‘The licence’) by Luigi Pirandello who deals with the effects of something similar. A man is considered a misfortune bringer for no good reason at all, and this causes him to lose his job as he and his family are being kept at distance by everyone.

Desperate, the man decides to accept people won’t see him as anything else but that since that is his fate he wants to get profit at least from that and so he tries to have a judge acknowledge he is a ‘misfortune bringer’, fundamentally giving him the licence to be as such, so that he can turn that into a work, basically demanding to be paid in order not to bring misfortune.

This man accepted others would never stop viewing him as a ‘misfortune bringer’, he accepted he couldn’t change this, no matter what he were to do so, in order to survive, he decided he would become what everyone thought he was and profit from it.

Ogata is likely similar. As he believed people wouldn’t trust him no matter what, he gave up and tried to live the way people saw him.

In fact many people say he can’t change because he doesn’t want to but that’s uncorrect. He’d like to change, that’s why he was hoping for a blessed path to open up for him, it’s just Ogata doesn’t know how.

People in his past didn’t reject him according to what he DID, but according to what he IS, the bastard child of a Japanese officer and a geisha.

He can’t change this, he can’t change what he is and he wasn’t capable to win their favours despite this so he started piling up mistake after mistake and now he’s so tangled in mistakes even if he has found a person who might have not judged him according to his heritage, the wall of mistakes he has built around himself is simply too high.

He deliberately told Asirpa he killed her father so that she would kill him. So that he would have some measure of control in how he would be rejected.

It’s sad and pathetic but it speaks of a man who’s damaged and needs to heal before he can think at ‘making up for what he did’ because that’s what redeeming yourself is, not just regretting what you did but also making up for what you did.

It’s true, you can redeem yourself even if you won’t be forgiven by others, even if you won’t be accepted by others, because redemption as well as forgivance are actually personal things and we assume they’re connected because we often set as a signpost for a redemption to have reached its goal that the guy will be forgiven but actually this is just how many plots work, not how the world work.

We tend to think forgivance just magically cancel everything but forgivance is actually for the victim to stop feeling angry or resentful towards someone for an offence, flaw, or mistake (the word had a long history behind itself but fundamentally it means ‘to give up desire to punish’). Sure, this can bring forward the idea the ‘debt’ the perpetrator has with the victim will be erased but it’s actually not true.

In fact redemption is to compensate/atone/make amends for the faults, poor behaviour, the sins, errors, or evil doing (from latin re-emere ‘buy back’). If you want to redeem yourself you’ve to compensate for what you did.

Tying the two words is comfortable in a storyline because having someone being forgiven after he compensate for what he did signals that the compensation has been judged enough and so the plot can end but in real world this idea the two has to be tied is harmful.

A victim has the right to feel angry or stop feeling angry when the victim wants. It can be the victim will never stop feeling angry even if the perpetrator will abundantly compensate him... or it can be the victim will decide to stop feeling angry even if he got no compensation at all. It’s personal and has to be respected.

On the other side the perpetrator can end up compensating more than enough for his wrongdoings even if he doesn’t get forgiven by the person he wronged. It’s not something that’s as simple as movies make it out to be.

But the problem is exactly this, Ogata can’t redeem himself at the moment because he doesn’t have something he ‘can give back’.

His life is the result of a domino effect, the world hurt him enough he was left with nothing and trying to regain something he hurt people back. Until the world compensate him back for the hurt he received, he has nothing to pay back Asirpa.

It’s not right Asirpa was the one ending up being hurt by him, as she’s not the one who hurt him in the first place, the one who wronged him. Asirpa had always tried to deal with him with the normal kindness and respect one should reserve to another human being because that’s what Asirpa did to him, she (rightfully) didn’t give the world to him, she just acted with him the way she would with a fellow human being, it seemed notable only because no one else was doing it. However, by the time Ogata met her, he was so damaged he couldn’t quite trust her to be different by the others.

It’s ironic in a way. Ogata likes to say that ‘everyone is like him’ but this works in the reverse as well. ‘He’s the same as everyone, he’s the same as every person who hurt him’. That’s why he feels he can hurt others, because others as hurt him and he views this as the default normal behaviour. He has normalized other people’s reaction to him and adopted it back.

Subconsciously he probably knows that’s not quite like that, when his father accused him of being the same as him, we see him being conflicted.

Is he the same as this man? Really? But if he’s not the same as this man, is he different from everyone else? Where’s the truth? If he’s the same as him, why is this man rejecting him so vehemently and confirming he’s missing something?

There’s enough for him to be completely lost in this.

So, while I would really love for him to make up for what he did, both for himself and for Asirpa, at the moment I can’t really see him having the strenght to do so.

He just tried to get himself killed!

He got saved but by a person who did it for Asirpa, not for him (and no, I’m not saying Sugimoto should have done it for Ogata, just that since it wasn’t done for his own benefit it’s not like it matters to him).

Ogata might not have understood Asirpa didn’t mean to kill him, that it was an incident, he might not have understood that Asirpa genuinely tried to be his friend in the time they spent together and wasn’t just playing the part of the pure and kind person.

At this point Ogata has already decided he has no reasons to want to be alive any further.

When Asirpa rejected him, he could have tried to escape. All he had wanted to do was to set up his own death.

As long as he’s in this state he can’t help himself or the others.

Fundamentally, he needs time and care to heal from the psychological wounds he received and if he doesn’t receive it, it’s pretty hard for him to magically find in himself the will to become a better person. He’ll remain just as he is, hurt, angry at the world and suicidal.

The tragical irony is he ended up hurting the one person in the world who didn’t mean him harm, who might have even liked to help him.

So the situation is complicate because, as he had hurt Asirpa, Asirpa can very well wish to hurt him back or wash her hands clean of him. It’s in her right to do so.

Yes, Asirpa’s character is build upon her wishing to save others and I think Golden Kamuy doesn’t want to let Ogata be miserable so maybe the whole thing was a way to give Asirpa insight so she could deal with this... even if it could have let her emotionally hurt as well.

I don’t know.

As said before I think the loss of Ogata’s rifle symbolizes he’s going to change for the better in the future, so a salvation arc is very likely what we’ll get next but I’ll encourage everyone to wait for Ogata to feel better psychologically, before expecting a redemption arc.

As of now I don’t think he’s up for one. Once he’ll be better we will be free to expect him to make up for what he did, but, unless his ‘salvation arc’ will go by very quickly, I don’t think we can ask of him that much.

Please, everyone, just let this guy heal... he can’t do more than what he had been doing in the messed up psychological state in which he is.

Also, please, even if this wasn’t a post about Asirpa, let’s let her too heal. What happened was likely very traumatic for her as well and she’s just a child. I know she’s awesome and strong and kind and caring and everything but I think she too needs her own time to cope with what had happened before she can go around helping others.

On a positive note, maybe, if they’ll manage to connect over what had happened, they will manage to help each other. It would be the best solution for them, even though I’m not sure it’ll be the one Noda will chose.

I’m not sure he’ll go for the same plot he had used for Tanigaki so I really don’t know what to expect in the future. I just want those two to get better.

[whipplefilter]

(Just need some emotional headcanons right about now): What if Cruz had a small accident when she's training with Lightning one day and she gets amnesia? How would the RS townies (especially Lightning) react and how would they try to regain all her memories?

Oh no, not Cruz!

Fic: Comeback Story

The headlines have a field day with this–Lightning McQueen’s protege getting electrocuted. (And because Guido and Luigi put the hospital on lockdown, after that first shock the press has nothing to occupy themselves with but an overabundance of their own puns.)

At first, it doesn’t seem like there’s anything wrong. The nurses jump her battery and everything comes back online. When her eyes flutter open she sees Lightning and she smiles. She recognizes him. Hamilton needs to be re-installed and–Cruz notes with dismay–her radio pre-sets are scrambled, but that’s not really a problem Lightning can empathize with. She can drive without assistance and and her brakes and transmission all check out. No computer issues. Everything checks out.

“I can’t believe you’re spending so much time with me,” Cruz tells him after the first few days. She bites her lip, looks a little starstruck.

“I mean… Of course,” says Lightning, a little self-conscious. He’s never sure if he’s yet outrun the shadow of who he was his rookie year. Like maybe people still see him as that guy, or maybe when he lets his guard down he is still that guy. “I’m not gonna let you sit in here alone, Cruz.”

“But shouldn’t you be doing your own PT?” she asks.

Lightning cocks a brow.

“That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? At the hospital, I mean. Because of your big crash last week.”

“Cruz, what–” Lightning breaks off. “Cruz, I–”

He stares her down, every bright expectant inch of her. Dread clenches in his heart so hard that it feels like hitting that wall again. “Cruz, it’s–”

His gaze flicks to the doorway, where Luigi and Guido are peering in. “Never mind,” he says tightly. Then he asks Luigi to please go get Cruz’s doctor. 

Now.

–

She doesn’t remember anything. The last eight months are just gone.

It’s lucky, says the doctor. Electrocution can be wild like that–if it doesn’t burn your circuits irreparably to begin with, and kill you outright. In the scheme of things, eight months is very lucky.

The last patient she had in a similar situation? He lost three years. Had an accident working in his garage and woke up to a Lexus he didn’t recognize, thinking it was 2004. Except it wasn’t 2004. It was 2007, and he was in the middle of a divorce and the Lexus–apparently she’s his girlfriend. The girl who broke his marriage and whom he now cannot remember.

“Yeah, but–” Lightning shrugs.

Yeah, but he doesn’t care about that guy. Yeah, but these eight months weren’t like everyone else’s eight months.They were special, they–

“You’re right.” The doctor sighs. “You’re not like everyone else. Because like I said, Ms. Ramirez is lucky.”

She writes Cruz a reference for a number of follow-up appointments with this or that specialist and sends them on their way.

–

“Well, obviously,” says Sally, as she maneuvers a push broom around Wheel Well’s trickier sconces. Lightning is supposed to be washing windows, but he’s even worse at it than usual. He keeps getting lost midway, his thoughts falling back to Cruz and forgetting about the soap suds, which leave aggressive streaks on all the windows.

“Things aren’t the same, so of course acting like they are isn’t going to get you anywhere.”

“I don’t know how else to act!” Lightning exclaims. “I thought maybe if I just acted normal, it’d help her–remember, maybe, or something–I don’t know. Am I just supposed to pretend those eight months never happened? She’s not an idiot. She knows that they happened. Or I mean, she knows I know.”

They can’t just start blank slate. Time, memory, whatever you want to call it–it happened, and none of it can be undone. Even if apparently, it can be forgotten. If Lightning could just meet Cruz all over again and start at square one, he’d do it. In a heartbeat. That’s what it had taken after his crash–long months of learning his body again, learning how to make it move. Really move.

That, Lighting can do.

But memory? He and Cruz, it’s like they had their first shot at getting to know each other. There aren’t do-overs. There’s no room for that.

It’s not really memory loss, Lightning figures. Loss implies emptiness which implies a void that can be filled again.

Forgetting takes up too much space.

“Nice job with the windows,” says Sally.

When Lightning snaps to, he’s parked next to an empty bucket and Sally’s the one with the squeegee. He doesn’t remember her taking it.

–

Cruz makes better friends with the town than she ever was before the accident. Part of it’s they’ve spent so much time here. Tex pulled them from the rest of the Cup season, so they haven’t had anywhere to be. It was the right thing to do–a no-brainer, frankly–but part of Lightning still wanted to shout, No!

No, because if everything is different, then she’ll never remember what it was. Nothing will ever go back to normal.

It’s Mater who reminds him that nothing is ever going to be the same. That’s how time works. Living in a junkyard, he gets real contemplative about stuff like that sometimes, he says. He says it comtem-PLATE-ive.

Cruz is laughing with Flo and Ramone. She’s been interested in painting lately, and Ramone is only too happy to send her out to the junkyard with some of his old paints. She misses her old job at the Center; hasn’t said much at all about racing.

She knows, by know, what those eight months had entailed. Or at least, the public beats of it. Being employed to train Lighting, being in the Florida 500. Racing in the Piston Cup. Lightning hasn’t had the willpower to tell her about the beach, or the school bus of death, or rushing through the Carolina forests, all moon dark.

Cruz is already working on trying not to feel guilty about forgetting. About not caring about that stuff–she can’t; she wasn’t there; her brain now wasn’t there, anyway. The last thing she needs is more guilt.

Maybe it’s better this way, Lightning tells himself. Cruz and Sally are becoming fast friends. It’s not that they hadn’t been pleasant to each other before. But Sally’d always been Lightning’s lawyer, Lightning’s girlfriend. Old Cruz had known Radiator Springs through Lightning, and perhaps by virtue of that had always regarded them at a polite remove. Like he’d been in the way, somehow.

Maybe those memories were roadblocks. Maybe he is a roadblock.

Maybe it’s better this way.

–

Tastes, temperament. The doctor nods, tapping her front tire on the ground as she lists things off.

Yes, all of those things can change after an electrocution. Electrocution is–

“Wild. Yes, you said that,” says Lightning, impatient.

Electrocution is wild, and the mind is wilder. Sometimes it changes in utterly random, unpredictable ways. Silly ways. Cruz likes Pearl Jam now. She’s thinking of painting herself green, because she doesn’t know if yellow really feels “like her.”

Not that it’s any of Lightning’s business what color Cruz is, but it’s this kind of stupid stuff that makes him want to drive off a cliff. In lieu of a cliff, he resolves to go red again. He doesn’t think he can handle this otherwise.

–

Lightning feels himself unspooling. Which is unforgivably selfish, because this is Cruz’s issue, this is Cruz’s journey, and this is not about him. But it’s like even his version of those memories begins to fray and tangle. Like maybe now they were only half as real. Like maybe they belonged to some other universe, and their power dwindled as their home planet receded to its outer orbit. (This is a Mater analogy. Something about UFOs. Lightning’s not really sure, but at the time, and in Mater’s words, it had felt like a lot of sense.)

He can feel himself drawing back. Back through the dread, the threat of failure, the frustration. Back to the four months he’d spent sitting in Doc’s garage–Doc’s garage that was still a garage because Lightning hadn’t let them expand the museum, because Lightning is hopelessly slow to let go of things like that.

As the weeks pass and Cruz’s new memories paper ever-thicker over the old ones, Lightning ties his best to keep to that pace.

But he’d needed her. That Cruz. Old Cruz. He’d needed those moments.

He still has them, he reminds himself.

He’s not the one with freaking amnesia.

Sally tells him it’s okay to feel the way he does. “If you really care about someone, and they go through something terrible, it’s natural to feel wrecked, too. Believe me.”

Lightning looks at her, wants to kiss her. Wishes he’d never met her. Wishes he’d never wished about never meeting her, because he knows he cannot live without her. And he knows exactly why Sally might know how he feels. “Sal, I’m so sorry.”

Sally shakes her head. “Stop. I can see you missing the point,“ she says. “Lightning, you have to be kind to yourself.”

–

Cruz may never recover those memories, says the doctor. If she can build a life without them, then maybe that’s for the best.

“She can,” says Lighting, because he believes that Cruz can do anything. Except, maybe, remember. “She is.”

“So, your doctor is nice,” says Lighting, on the drive home.

“Sure,” says Cruz.

“Nice weather.”

“Lightning, come on.”

Lightning, not Mr. McQueen. Because everyone back home calls him Lightning, so now Cruz does, too. He never imagined his own name could sound so awkward, magically less familiar. He hadn’t even liked being called Mr. McQueen. But he’d liked what they’d had. He can’t help that.

He doesn’t know if he can get over that.

“I’m sorry I don’t talk to you so much,” says Cruz, turning him back to the present. “I guess I just– It feels hard, you know? ‘Cause I know that you and I, we– And I just–”

“I know,” says Lightning.

Maybe if he were older, this wouldn’t be so hard. Eight months weighed against a couple decades–that’s nothing. And they have so much more time to make more memories together. And that’s a positive, right? That’s a bright patch, a silver lining.

It doesn’t make Lightning feel bright, though. It makes him feel old. Now he feels too tired to make friends with Cruz all over again.

He wants what they had.

–

One night, Cruz wakes up screaming. She doesn’t remember her nightmare.

What she cries about afterwards is this: What if she does remember? One day, after all the work she’s done to be okay with forgetting. To make some new life. What if she does remember and her whole life turns into a giant fork in the road?

“I’d explode,” she sniffs. “But like, you’re supposed to want your memories back. In the movies, that’s what makes everyone happy.”

In Lightning’s mind that’s what makes everyone happy.

“But I can’t just sit around, hoping that maybe that happens. I’m here, and I gotta just–be me, and not keep trying to hold on to the past. Like, I don’t even have it–I can’t hold onto it. But every memory I make, at the back of my mind I keep wondering, what if I do? What it it happens? And every day, every memory, I know I’m just going to make it worse if it ever does happen. And I just–”

“Shhh,” Lightning murmurs. He nudges her side gently and taps a pleasant vibration against her front tire with his own.

There’s not really anything he can say to her, and it seems foolish to try. He’s her crew chief, not like, her fairy godmother. Or a psychic. Or a time traveler. Or God.

But he stays with her. They sit in the dark together and it doesn’t feel like old times but it doesn’t feel like less.

“I think you’ll be okay,” he says eventually. “And you’re definitely not going to explode. So, uh, there’s that.”

Cruz does not believe him. At all. “What if I remember, and I regret leaving all those memories behind? What if I’m just like, shoot, I should have just waited for them to catch up? What if those memories just turn into one big fiery ball of regrets? And then I explode? I mean, you can’t scientifically prove that won’t happen.”

“Oh, never wait for anything to catch up,” Lightning says immediately. “You start doing that, and life’s just gonna lap you.”

“That’s very sage, Mr. McQueen,” says Cruz.

“I think I meant that really, really literally,” Lightning admits. “Wait, what did you just call me?”

“I called you Mr. McQueen,” Cruz repeats sleepily. “I dunno. It just felt right.”

–

It’s been eight months and thirteen days since Cruz’s accident. The doctor reminds them, once more, that her memories may never return.

But even if they do, there’s no turning back the clock. There’s no “back to normal.” Normal is already here. It’s Cruz’s paintings hanging in Mater’s yard. It’s her late-night jam sessions with Fillmore. It’s being Sally’s best friend. It’s nightmares, all the time, about nothing. It’s that pang of loneliness Lightning feels sometimes, even when Cruz is bouncing right in front of him, even when he’s surrounded by family and friends. It’s that strangeness that never quite leaves.

Because memory is “–wild, I know, you say that every time we come here,” say Lightning and Cruz in unison. The doctor blushes.

There is no going back to the way things were. But, Lightning figures, that’s not what “comeback story” means.

Never has.

[alittlecstaticxilophone]

The willow's prince

prologue

Chapter one

It had been a while since Lucy arrived at the tabern and she had already gotten used to everyone there,t he usuals at least and their peculiarities. At first it was difficult since her knowledge in cooking and cleaning where limited at best but Mirajane was very patient with her until she learned everything she needed. Even if it was her first job Lucy really enjoyed it, the only problem was that Natsu sometimes got her on her nerves finding new ways to annoy her being the most regular changing her name from Lucy to Luigi. That saturday morning wasn’t particulary busy, it was only eleven in the morning and that day most of the people wouldn’t arrive until twelve leaving her alone to attend the six people that were in the place since Mira hasn’t arrived yet and Makarov was busy refilling the storage. -I don’t understand- Natsu whispered only loud enough for Lucy to hear and only because she was right in front of him serving other clients. -These are letters clever boy and those make words- Lucy answered sarcastic cleaning the table next to him -Just kidding- she corrected with a smile when he stared at her in annoyance -What is the problem?- She said sitting in front of him to have something to do until a new activity surged, a soft smile still adorned her face genuinely concerned but mostly bored at the lack of activity. Natsu fixated his eyes on her usure of what to do, with a shrug of his shoulders he dissmised the problem pushing a map in front of himself so she could look at it with clarity. -See this two villages?- he said pointing at them in the map, -Well, you see their people had been getting along since their founding, they had never caused a problem, nor had a conflict between them. Until recently- She looked at him waiting for him to continue -This two villages are separated by a river, they usually were good at sharing not minding the fishing or washing in there -Until?- Lucy interrupted, he sighed ready to continue -One villager found out the river had a lot of gold in it; now both villages are fighting to see who is the owner of the gold that was found on the river.- He finished, Lucy stared at him confused unknown to her why was Natsu the one responsible to solve this. -You say they had always shared the river, right?- She asked and he nodded -It’s a shame how much the money changes people for the worst- Lucy lamentted remembering a couple of people she knew that never cared who they hurt in order to win a position next to her kingdom’s royalty -Tell me about it- Natsu agreed remembering the line of girls ready to marry him from who he had to hide yesterday. -Well-Lucy meditated her anwser putting a finger over her chin -The river is what we can call neutral ground. Neither theirs nor theirs-Lucy pointed at both villages in the map- And they had always shared everything in it, Then the answer is really obvious don’t you think?- She concluded at him smiling, the pink haired man stared at her in clair confusion -You think?- He asked, the first solution he had in mind had been a battle between both villages and the winner would get the gold, literally,  but Zeref had dismissed that option almost immediatly, it would be nice if Lucy agreed with him -Yeah, don’t you see? They have to share the gold, we have to use the rule of who finds it keeps it- Lucy told Natsu -Why?- he asked unsure of that answer, it didn’t promise solving the conflict it just promised more -Think of the gold as the fish- -But the gold is not fish- he interrupted her -You really are weird Lucy- She could feel her eyebrow twitch, with a growl she continued deciding for the first time to ignore the pink haired. -As I was saying-She continued glaring at him -They had always shared the fish in the river, there was never a problem of this is my fish or this is yours, who caught it took it home, as simple as that- -Then they need to do the same with the gold- Natsu concluded a huge grin on his face thankful for having the problem -But there’s another question here- Lucy whispered, he looked at her in disbelief he was ready to go with his brother to celebrate that he had solved the issue (with a little help of course) -How old are this villages?- Lucy asked confusing Natsu who furrowed his eyebrows at the weirdness of the question -Around 150 years each, why?- he answered -Well, you are telling me that in 150 years no one ever found gold on that river- He opened his mouth to reply but not a single sound came from it realizing that the blonde girl was right -Do you think I should send someone to investigate where does the gold come from before telling the villagers what to do?- He asked -Look your brain actually works- Lucy mocked -I think it would be the most apropiate thing to do, just in case the gold has an owner already- Natsu nodded agreeing with her -Thank you Lucy- He said a huge grin on his face -Your welcome- she anwsered with a smile. Although he left her wondering why he was solving a problem of that kind. Natsu didn’t show up in Fairy Tail for an entire week, Lucy questioned Mira about this since she had gotten acoustumed to him making a fight almost everyday, the white haired woman answered that Natsu sometimes vanished for weeks, it was a normal occurance and no one never gave too much tought at the topic. Of course, neither Lucy nor Mira expected Natsu to come back running into the bar the biggest grin on his face, he didn’t even took the time to greet everyone like he usually did and rushed his way to put himself in front of Lucy who was cleaning a table . -You were right!- He almost screamed right in front of her startling the young woman. -I was?- She asked slightly confused until she remembered what he was talking about -Yes,-he said while he took a sit -Turns out that a boat sunk a few days ago and the owner was looking for his belongings, the gold, and everything that could be savable, we gave his gold back to him and the villages now get along again, they even made a party to celebrate being friends again. Man! I ate so much that night- he narrated her -I’m glad it worked out well- Lucy said as Natsu took a bag and gave it to her -What is this?- She asked staring at the little brown bag -Is a payback, if it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t have solved this and I would have to listed to my brother scolding me- Lucy opened the tiny bag staring at the content, a few golden coins shined -Natsu, I’m thankful but I can’t accept this- She said closing the bag and returning it to him -Why not?- he wondered -I was doing it as a favor, I wasn’t expecting any payment from it and I still don’t- He took the bag and placed it between her hands -I don’t understand why you reject it-Natsu mumbled- even though you are weird this is my way to say Thank you so, why are you refusing it? You should accept it- he complained, Lucy let out a long sigh -You are not giving up are you?- She asked more to herlsef than to him because he was already smiling -Fine I’ll take it but only this time you can’t pay me with gold every time I help you with something, you’ll go broke- she said -Gotcha!- he said making his way to the bar ready to be served, Lucy finished cleaning the table laughing at the pink haired man behaviour. The least thing Lucy expected was that Natsu would show up on Monday with a bunch of scrolls, books and maps a goofy smile on his face. -Lucy!- he called, she could barely see him behind everything he was carrying, he placed everything on a table that was empty completely filling it, the blonde girl stared at him while she was serving Gray an ice cream unsure of what to do seeing that almost everyone was as shocked as she was -I need your help with these- he requested and she let out a sigh -I can’t Natsu I’m working- she answered starting to write  Levy’s order in a tiny notebook -Don’t be like that Lucy- he complained with his eyebrows furrowed -Please- he begged making Mira laugh at the situation. -Fine- Lucy compelled -But you’ll have to wait until I’m not this busy- she served another client, Natsu nodded enthusiastically ready to get Lucy’s advice on every single one of this issues -Aye sir- he said making a militar salute, Lucy laughed in response finding herself eager to enjoy the company of the pink Haired man.

The morning sun felt like a slap on Lucy’s face inmediately making her regret the fact that she had let her curtains open the night before wishing for the fresh air to greet her in the morning, instead of the lovely morning she expected she now had to keep her eyes closed even if she was awake to avoid hurting her sight. She lifted herself from the light blue pillows and kept herself sitting in the bed with the red mattress still over the lower part of her body.

Lucy stared at the window she was barely able to witness anything that wasn’t other buildings and the hectic lives of those who lived in Columbine. She froted her eyes justo to asure herself that she was still awake and not dreaming, the clock in her nightstand marked the seven in the morning and since her first hour teacher had told them before that she wouldn’t be attending so that gave her more than enough time to space out and arrive to college at a respectable time. She took her cellphone and began wondering through chats she had left open and the group chat she had with her friends noticing that they were making the same mess as usual specially to the poor shy Yukino who had became girlfriend with Rogue. The blonde let out a small laugh while she stretched herself ready to begin her day.

While she was making herself breakfast she started to wonder about the dream she had the night before, it wasn’t unusual since she had grown up with that kind of dreams, the only thing is that she wondered why. They said all dreams have meanings but how could she find a meaning to blurry faces and a feeling of lonliness every time she woke up. This time was slightly different, this time one of the blurry faces had spoken to her, it was shorter than her and claimed that she also liked books but no one could get anything out of that.

When she finished her breakfast she walked to her bedroom to change herself, she decided to use a pair of jeans, a dark blue blouse without sleeves and a white jacket she accomodated her hair in a ponytail and left picked her bag to assure she would arrive on time.

The journey went smootly do As soon as she arrived to the main yard she tried to locate her friend Yukino who was sitting in a bent under a three focused on a book, with a devilish smile Lucy aproached the gray haired girl and surprised her with a hug -Lucy!- the woman almost screamed at the sudden interruption to her reading, a slight blush covered her face

-Yukino! I’m so happy for you- Lucy said in response, she let go of the girl when she though it was time-I’ve been in a necesity of details since Sting pretty much screamed it at the chat so you need to tell me everything- Lucy begged, the blonde woman had seen Yukino’s feelings evolve from a simple “He’s my friend he’s cute” to “We’re just friends I can’t have feelings for him, it would ruin it and I don’t want to ruin it” and it made her glad that she had finally passed that barrier

-Well- Yukino began placing her bookmark in the botanics book she was reading, -The saturday in the night Rogue came to my house to return the book I had borrowed him,- Lucy nodded to this, Yukino often lended Rogue books so he could use them as a reference to paint, one day Sting asked him why he didn’t use internet for that and Lucy could have sworn she saw the black haired blush while he said that books where more reliable -Naturally I invited him inside and gave him a cup of tea. I sat next to him in the couch to talk. Then Orga sent me a message and I started to laugh, when I did that Rogue looked upset so I asked him that if there was any problem or if he didn’t like the tea so I could make him another one- Yukino looked slightly nervous and Lucy couldn’t help but laugh at the image of her friend panicking over a cup of tea. -He said that there was nothing wrong with the tea, I asked him if he was sure or that if he was hungry I could give him a few pastries I had made and just when I was about to stand up he took me by the hand and laid me down on the couch with him on top, then he said “No, that’s not the problem, you see I have a slight issue Yukino and I don’t know what to do about it anymore. I fell for you, and really hard you are always so nice to everyone and so cute I couldn’t help it, it’s okay if you don’t feel the same way, it’s understandable I was just jelous that you might have fallen for someone else”- The gray haired woman’s face was in an obvious red at the memory

-Aww- Lucy moaned -That’s adorable,who would have thought our serious Rogue would have it in him? and then what happened- Lucy urged looking at her clock watching that she still had some time left until her class started.

-Then he lifted himself from over me and apologized saying that he may had made me uncomfortable and that it would not happen again. I was awfully amazed, I mean it was completely unexpected. He was about to leave so I grabed him by the coat. He stared at me surprised then I told him I likee him back he was so happy, although I think I was the happiest, Then he asked me to be his girlfriend- Yukino finished, a smile on her face, Lucy hugged her friend once again in pure joy like a proud mother congratulating her child for doing well on school.

-I hope you have an amazing relationship- Lucy said

-I hope so too- Yukino muttered the happiness expression still adorned her face.

Both girls stood there a few more minutes talking about trivial subjects including the party that Sting was going to host to celebrate his birthday. The time passed too quickly to Lucy’s dissmay so she said goodbye to her friens so she could part to her class giving Lucy the chance to do the same with her own.

The rest of the day went slowly to Lucy’s displeasure making her regret not faking some disease so she could stay home and sleep more. She took notes of every lesson her teachers gave and hurried her way to the campus’ library to be the first to secure the books the professors have left them to read. Ever since she was a little kid she had found her love between books and tales giving her the inspiration to choose literature as her career in the hopes that some day she could become a succesful author

She checked her phone to see if her group of friends would be reuniting that afternoon but the answer was negative, Yukino had to give the final details to and exposition she was going to give in her class, Rogue had to finish a paintin, Sting had a bunch of cars left to fix and Minerva was stook in a photoshoot. Lucy groaned at this, complaining for the lack of excuse to pospone her homework. The phone vibrated in her hand with a few texts from a couple of classmates who she considered her friends asking about the homework.

Feeling too lazy to even make herself a proper food she decided to order chinese to calm down her growing apetite. She had to make sure she would arrive at her home before the food did so she hurried her way.

With how the traffic was that day she was lucky that she had arrived practically at the same time, with a relieved smile she paid the delivery guy and pushed the elevator’s button to the floor were her appartment was.

The rest of the day went normal for the blonde girl. She had eaten, done the homework succesfully and with everything she was left with some time to spare, time she decided to use to catch up in some series she had left unifished. As soon as she grew tired around ten p.m. she took a bath and went to sleep.

I'm really sorry this took this long :'( but if it's the first time you read it the prologue is in my profile I'm unable to put the link since I'm on mobile but I hope you enjoy this.

[killscreencinema]

FTL:  Faster Than Light (PC)

I recently went on a 7-day cruise, but as fun as that was, I can’t bare to be without a game to play in order to kill time in between activities.  So I picked up Mario & Luigi: Dream Team for the 3DS.  I was worried, if bored enough, I’d blaze through that game too quickly, so I downloaded FTL for my laptop as a backup.

Wouldn’t you know it, I ended up playing the ever loving HELL out of FTL, while my poor 3DS barely saw the light of day.

FTL:  Faster Than Light, developed and published by Subset Games in 2012, has you in the captain’s chair of a Federation space ship, traveling through the galaxy as it’s being relentlessly pursued by the Rebel fleet.  That was the first thing that struck me as odd about this game - that the rebels are the bad guys.  Your ship contains confidential information about a secret weapon they are developing and you must get it back into Federation space before its too late.

Along the way, you’ll encounter a variety of alien ships, most of which are hostile, but some that simply need help or desire to trade with you.  Part of your responsibility as Captain is to make difficult choices as to who to trust and who to blast into oblivion.  More often than not, you’ll opt for blasting as defeating enemy ships tends to be the best way to collect precious scrap.  You use scrap to upgrade your ship or buy new weapons or accessories.  It’s incredibly important to make efficient use of scrap to keep your ship in working order while making it strong enough for the final battle against the Rebel mothership and hoo boy, is that a battle.  You fight the ship no less than three times, as after each defeat the ship limps to another position on the map and you have to pursue it.  So if I can impart any advice when it comes to fighting the final boss, it’s don’t blow your load of missiles and go all “kamikaze” on the ship during the first, or even the second fight, because you’ll need all the strength you can muster to put it down for good. 

FTL has a reputation for being very challenging and it’s not undeserved.  So far, I can only beat the game on “Easy” and even that took a few weeks of playing.  The game is a “roguelike”, in that the map, enemies, and items you find are randomized, or procedurally generated, for each play session.  While some scenarios will quickly become familiar, there’s no guarantee they will play out the same as they did the last time you encountered them.  For example, while one time a shady pirate ship claiming to want to sell you a weapon might have turned out to be legit, the next time they might very well damage your hull, send troops into your ship, and launch an all-out assault.  Luck plays a significant part in how well a run on FTL will go, but you also need the ability to multitask in order to monitor the status of your ship, and its crew, all while fighting an enemy (thankfully you can pause the game, assess the situation, and input commands before continuing); you need to make difficult decisions on how best to upgrade your ship so it is well-balanced enough to take on any foe; and sometimes you simply need to know when to retreat.  Once your engines are primed, you can jump out of a fight any time, so there’s no need to take a beating if a fight isn’t working in your favor. 

I’d be totally remiss not to mention the music by composer Ben Prunty.  The atmospheric soundtrack perfectly compliments the action onscreen, whether it’s the normal chill electronica that plays when you’re in friendly space or the pulse pounding tune that plays for each battle (which changes depending on the foe).  This is definitely a game I recommend putting on the headphones for.

As a matter of fact, this is a game I strongly recommend in general.  As of this review, I have only managed to beat the game on easy with the default ship, The Kestral.  However, you are rewarded with new ships as you play through certain quests, all of which offer a new challenge.  Also, I still haven’t explored the new features for the “Advanced Edition”, preferring to master the original game as best as I can before I open that can of worms.  Considering that the normal asking price for this game is 10 bucks, it’s a steal and definitely worth checking out... especially if you’re out of town and need something to play at the airport.

[barbosaasouza]

Mario Tennis Aces Review: Service Ace

I grew up a staunch Mario Tennis fan, spending quite a bit of time playing through cutthroat matches with my father on the Nintendo 64's Mario Tennis. I consider it to be the pinnacle of the series, and I believe developer Camelot created one of the best arcade-oriented sports games ever with both Mario Tennis and Mario Golf. That's why I was thrilled to see Camelot returning once more to craft the newest, action-packed entry in the series, Mario Tennis Aces.

The eighth installment in the long line of Mario Tennis games is the first since Mario Tennis: Power Tour back on the Game Boy Advance to feature a Story Mode (now called Adventure Mode), as well as a litany of playable characters, courts, rackets, and even bosses to conquer on your way through the game.

Totally Smashing

From the very beginning of the game, it's clear that Camelot treated this Mario Tennis title as a veritable return to form. It's easy to see that all the boxes were ticked this time around: local and online multiplayer, Adventure Mode, and various other ways to enjoy rousing games of tennis. No matter what kind of player you are, there's something to enjoy here.

For the most part, the game plays like other classic Mario Tennis titles, with a few new mechanics sprinkled in for good measure. Aces features new mechanics like Zone Shots and Zone Speed, which quickly become integral to winning various challenges. If you think you'd like to try the game without relying on these types of flashy moves, forget that straight away, because your opponents are going to lean on them heavily, so you better believe you should use them as well. Zone Speed slows down time for you to line up and smash powerful Zone Shots past your opponent for you to breeze on by them in the rankings.

On the flip side, if you try and return a Zone Shot at the wrong time, you could be hit or break your racket. Run out of rackets, and you lose. It becomes a dance, in some situations, figuring out whether you should even bother to try and return a Zone Shot, sacrifice a racket, or attempt to block it, which adds a layer of deep challenge to the game.

Then you have Trick Shots, which each character has a special version of. They let you reach balls that would normally be out of your reach to keep you in the game longer, and they also look quite flashy and satisfying. It also helps to charge your energy meter so you can pull off the Zone Speed and Zone Shots, which I will reiterate are absolutely integral to your success.

With all these new mechanics, however, Aces still feels like an excellent, traditional tennis game at its heart. As the ball whizzes back and forth, you feel like a true tennis master, even when you're down 0-40, and you know you're about to fail. There's an adrenaline rush every time your opponent hits the ball back to you, and every single volley just feels so good you have to keep going in for more. This feeling remains in every nook and cranny of Mario Tennis Aces, and the new mechanics drive it home even further. It's really quite something, especially when you master the new moves and can implement them without even having to think about it. 

Of course, you need players to pull off these moves for you too, and Aces delivers them in droves. With characters ranging from Mario to Daisy, Waluigi to Spike and even Chain Chomp, there's a player to fit your needs in various different classes, like All Around, Speedy, Powerful, and Technical. Honestly, it's just entertaining to watch a Chain Chomp gallivant around the court with a tennis racket in its mouth over anything else, though. There are more characters being added to the game in the coming months, so we'll have to keep an eye out for those as well. 

You Gotta Have Balls

Mario Tennis Aces' Adventure Mode is the crowning jewel of the entire package. Playing through a vanilla game of tennis is fun, sure, but you've never truly lived until you've gone toe-to-toe with some of the harder bosses.

As far as why you're here in the first place, your journey follows Mario on a journey to collect five power stones across the entirety of an island rife with familiar characters plucked from Mario games, as well as some new faces. Shy Guys, Koopa Troopas, Boos, and more are seen throughout your adventure, as you work to track down your poor brother Luigi, who's somehow found himself possessed by an evil tennis racket. So have ne'er-do-wells Wario and Waluigi, and they're traipsing around getting up to no good as well. It falls on Mario to rescue them all, while working to save the island from incurring any more of the evil tennis racket's wrath. Who knows what horrors could befall it otherwise?

So the story isn't worth writing home about, but that's not why you're here in the first place. Adventure Mode is, by far, the best part of Mario Tennis Aces, for a number of reasons. Though traveling throughout the island from stage to stage doesn't do anything new or engaging for the series, it does introduce a number of challenging stages that will push your abilities to the limit. If you think you're a good tennis player, or a Mario Tennis expert, you're going to be humbled quickly. This game is out to get you, and it doesn't care who knows it.

As you travel around and hit the courts with various themes, such as forests, spooky old mansions, snowy mountains, and even the high seas, you'll face off against enemies with different abilities and tennis skill that'll put yours to shame. It's not just vanilla tennis you'll be playing, either. Sure, sometimes that's all you have to worry about, but other times you'll have to send balls hurtling toward piranha plants to knock a certain number out. You might have to knock Shy Guys off of trains to clear a level. Maybe you'll be asked to clear a stage by racking up 300 points in a rally contest against a wayward Boo.

These are extremely fun riffs on the classic tennis matches you can get into in Tournament Mode or regular quickplay sessions, but some of the challenges get downright ugly very quickly. You'll be cruising around, gaining experience as you complete stages, and then you'll run into a ridiculously hard opponent that seemingly has superhuman timing and speed. In particular, I was felled over and over again by a Shy Guy who I was matched up against while crowds of characters crossed the court from a train.

Not only did I have to worry about the Shy Guy's return rallies, but I also had to deal with the other Shy Guys crossing and the other folks, like Koopa Troopas, who the ball bounced off of. Those stages acted as several pain points for me, and they'll require you to keep trying over and over if you want to make any progress. As such, it can sometimes be difficult to make it through Adventure Mode without a decent amount of practice if you're not well-versed in the game's special Trick Shots or Zone Shots.

When you best your opponents, you'll be rewarded with experience, and sometimes different types of rackets as well, which is awesome, since you need multiple rackets to ensure you can stay alive and afloat in certain matches. Things can be extremely frustrating without them, expecially during boss battles. There are a wide variety of boss challenges, ranging from those that force you to solve puzzles before getting to them and simpler showdowns with patterns that are easy to figure out and exploit, like the earlier Petey Piranha fight. 

Adventure Mode offers a taste for all players, whether you're looking for something a little more daring than the regular tennis matches, or you want to test your skills against AI that seems nigh impossible to best at times. Most importantly, it's absolutely exhilarating when you beat particularly difficult opponents, a feeling Mario Tennis games have always been able to produce for me. I'm glad it's here in full force. 

Skills To Pay The Bills

Mario Tennis Aces has provided me with some of the most fun I've had in a Mario game in quite some time. Through it all, even the most frustrating parts of it, I was compelled to keep playing, no matter what. It's addictive, just like the other iterations that came before it, in the best way.

Unfortunately, at this time I've been unable to access the game's online features, since I've been playing the game offline ahead of its official release. As a result, these features were not added into my score, and I'll be addressing them once I've had time to play a few online matches.

As far as multiplayer goes, however, local matches were a breeze. Playing with friends – especially with the game's Swing Mode that allows for motion control play like that of what we had with Mario Tennis and Wii Sports iterations – is a blast. It's absolutely fantastic, and part of what makes these games such an exciting treat when we do get them.

Should you pick up Mario Tennis Aces? If the answer wasn't immediately obvious already, that's a resounding yes. It's the best the series has seen in years, and that's saying something for this tennis fan. If you're looking for one of the best sports games the Switch has to offer, look no further. You've found it.

This review is based on a Nintendo Switch digital release. The key was provided by the publisher. Mario Tennis Aces is coming to Nintendo Switch on June 22, 2018. The game is rated E10+.

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