Happy (Late) Halloween!

Hey Guys!

   This post was meant to go up yesterday, but by the time I could get around to writing it had gotten late. Sorry! But regardless I hope you guys had an awesome Halloween! Halloween is such a cool holiday, especially here in The Mushroom Kingdom. With so many Power-Ups lying around, it's so easy to pick up a "costume" and go about your night. Mario and Luigi both love it too, whether it be meeting trick-or-treaters at the house or going out and about pulling their classic Bro pranks. Me on the other hand got to hold a Halloween Festival on Isle Delfino! As always the event was a blast and I dressed up as the Mage from Miitopia! Now let me go back to the Bros. for a second. I did in fact say that Luigi, the world's most famous coward, actually likes Halloween. It sounds weird just saying it right? Well I talked to Mario and he said that Luigi really hated Halloween when they were younger, but I guess after a couple of misadventures going ghost-busting, he loosened up significantly. He's even been involved in some of his own Halloween antics, one of which I unfortunately got caught up in. Yup you guessed it, it's story time!

   It was the Halloween after Luigi's trudge through Evershade Valley and saving the Dark Moon and Mario from King Boo, and he still had good ties with E. Gadd and the ghosts that lived there. That morning over breakfast, Luigi was talking to Mario and I about a recent trip to Evershade a few days prior, where he had to wrangle up some ghosts that were getting a little too rowdy. Of course the whole time he's telling us this he's beaming with pride over his accomplished achievement. Mario's happy for him obviously, but I on the other hand was getting a little tired of his gloating and said with a sarcastic tone,"Well gee man, you just make it sound SOOO easy! Maybe even the likes of ME could take a shot at it!" Well Luigi, the second he hears that little diddy turns to me with a sly look on his face and said,"Oh really? If you're so confident, why don't you put your money where your mouth is?" When I realized he was dead serious I tried taking back what I said but Mario decided to get in on the fun and said,"Aww what's the matter Dana? Chicken?" AARRRGH!! They played THAT card on me! At that point I had to move forward with it and I agreed to go with Luigi to Evershade Valley that night for a ghost run. Mario wanted to tag along too so he could watch, safely from the bunker of course. At that point I considered my Halloween plans that year DASHED!

   So later that night we arrived at E. Gadd's bunker in Evershade Valley where the man himself greeted us warmly. I will also note that this was the first time I met him, a total kook but overall a nice guy. Anyway Luigi discussed with E. Gadd about our little "challenge" and agreed to do it wholeheartedly... lucky me. After supplying Luigi with his trusty Poltergust 5000, flashlight, and Dual Scream E. Gadd then gave me a Poltergust and flashlight of my own, complete with a cute blue paint job special made. After being given pointers on how the Poltergust worked, E. Gadd happily sent Luigi and I on our way to Gloomy Manor, the closest mansion. Right off the bat once we arrived I already felt an eerie, unsettling presence all around me, I didn't want to move. But Luigi stayed close by to make sure I didn't get hurt and promised to step in and take over if things got intense, which only burst my nerves even more.

   Yeah Luigi pretty much had me navigate the mansion like how he did in "Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon" with the main difference being that there were two people walking around with paranormal vacuum cleaners. So I got experience every jumpscare, trap, and puzzle that were strewn around the property. And SO many times I'd be trying to focus on something and Luigi would come up behind me and spook me for kicks, either to rub my sarcasm-laced comment in my face or the fact it was Halloween. Halfway through the mansion though, it started to take a turn for the creepy. We had suddenly received a call from E. Gadd saying he was getting "suspicious paranormal readings" on his radar. When I asked Luigi what he meant, he only told me to stay on my guard and keep an eye out, oh boy...

   After a few moments of nothing happening, we were suddenly attacked by a horde of Boos that were still loyal to King Boo. They gave us both a scare and then split off into other parts of the house. Luigi then decided for us to try and split up and look for them to save time. What could possibly go wrong right? Well we split and spent the next fifteen minutes or so trying to find the Boos, but strangely Luigi wasn't picking up on any of them in his direction. And just as I thought I was in the clear, I entered a larger room only to find all of them together, waiting for me! Turns out the initial split at the beginning was a red herring to get me and Luigi apart, so the Boos could exact revenge on the one person he and Mario cared about, ME!

   With that the Boos mashed together and formed into a Boolosus and attempted to attack me on the spot. I was so scared that my mind went blank, completely forgetting how to use my Poltergust to fight back. Just as I thought I was finished though, Luigi stormed in and saved me at the last minute and snapped me out of my trance. We then worked together in separating Boolosus and capturing every last Boo with our vacuums. Afterward Luigi stopped to check if I was okay, but all I could do was fling my arms around him and hug him for comfort. Once we both calmed down from the ordeal, E. Gadd called us back to the bunker to collect the Boos and call it a day.

   As soon as we got there Mario rushed up to us and asked if we were okay. That's when we remembered that Mario had a front row seat to my near brush with death, whoops. And that night I learned a valuable lesson: don't rip on people's jobs! Just appreciate that the job's being done and that you don't have to do it yourself!

   Well, I hope you liked this one guys, I'm definitely not doing that ever again. I better take off for now, have a lovely November! Blog ya soon!

- Dana ;)

He may be cowardly, but if you give Luigi a chance,
 you'll learn that he's become a real Scare Master!