#cycleknots rambles

[cycleknots]

Lowkey Loboto is kinda nice ?? Like when he's on Sasha's lab table he's sort of accepted his own fate but he acknowledges the trouble it makes for other people.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, kid. It's a mess in there."

"Oh, I just hate to see you like this."

There's always the argument that he doesn't mean any of it, but I really think he's just a victim of circumstance from the start, he's so interesting to think about.

[chemically-imbalanced-emo]

Obligatory Writer Introduction Post

Hello !!

Before I start this I should warn I'm super awkward writing about myself, so this might come off a bit weird lmao-

My name is Wynter, but I also use Virgil, so either one is totally cool !! I also have a bunch of other names you can find here ! My pronouns are They/Them, and I'm a Non-Binary Lesbian :) I'd very much appreciate tone tags, I tend to misunderstand people really easily. The rest of the intro is centered around what this blog is gonna be so I'll just link my Carrd if anyone wants to look at it, I think it looks pretty cool, it's all spaced themed and connects to my other socials !!!

I'm 19 and graduated highschool June of 2023. I only write in 3rd person, and most of my current works are centered in on either Virgil or Janus' perspectives. I'm not at all confident in writing romance, so most if not all of my fics are platonic right now, but I plan on changing that at some point. I'm totally open to writing requests to cure my writers block, but I don't promise I'll write all of them if that makes sense.

I won't write the Dark Sides as Unsympathetic or any of the sides as non-gay (bi, pan, etc.) However I am willing to write them as Ace or Aro. I also sometimes write the sides as trans. (NonBinary Virgil, FtM Logan, Genderfluid Janus and Remus, etc.) My favourite ships to write are Roceit and Platonic Anxceit, but I'll pretty much write anything except R3mR0m (Shippers DNI)

This blog is purely for my TSS writings and reposts and such, but I do write for other fandoms as well ! I already have finished Ducktales (2017) and Ninjago fics on my AO3, and I also have a couple WIPs for Psychonauts !

All of my writings are also available on my AO3 !! That includes all of my works that aren't TSS. At least at the moment, I don't have separate Pseuds set up for each fandom I write, that might change as well.

My other blogs on here include @deceptive-snowflake, which is a complete mess, but it's where I post all of my Ducktales and Ninjago content, and @cycleknots, which is my Psychonauts blog.

And now I'm starting to ramble, so I'm gonna leave it here- Tysm for reading :)

<3 <3 <3

[cycleknots]

Psychonauts Level Analysis - Hollis' Hot Streak

One of my favourite things about this level is it makes it so clear that Hollis is already mentally unwell. You fight a crowd of Bad Ideas before you change anything in her mind. She is already suffering.

Then you find her quiet room, and what originally looks like an organized and peaceful place expands to a literal web of overthinking, every possible idea happening at the same time. You trigger a reaction that rids her of her self preservation instinct, and next thing you know she's risking her own life, along with those of the children and other agents. It's a level that forces Raz to see the difference between what he did at the summer camp and what he's doing here. He has never stopped to consider the consequences of his own actions, and it could cost him everything.

You find your way back into her mind, and any common sense is locked within this web. To even get to it, you need to fight through the addiction and false hope you gave her, at the same time dismantling her mask of repression.

You find your way to her, and have to face off against the original problem you made, in the process saving the people who just earlier that day treated you like absolute shit.

Slight side note but I really love that during the fight, Adam's first reaction when he and Lizzie get thrown is to comfort her. Their friendship is one of my favourite things that go on in the game's background.

You destroy it, and in a fit of guilt and nostalgia, Hollis forgives you almost immediately. You did what she never could, and she assumes that means you know better. Sasha is the one that has to talk to Raz, likely because Raz holds his opinion to higher importance.

You give Hollis a sense of self reflection, bringing her back to herself and showing her where her priorities need to be. And she's not entirely better, those bad ideas are still there even when you go back to her mind later. But she's aware, and that is half the battle.

[cycleknots]

One of my favourite things in Psychonauts is the certain sections where you can only proceed using a mixture of psychic powers and acrobatics. Think like the catwalks in Gloria's mind or meat circus or even just getting around certain environments.

Because at the end of the day, Raz isn't the great agent that he is without BOTH of those talents. He doesn't thrive if he represses his psychic talents, his acrobatics can only get him so far. Yet, if he gives up the things he learned from his childhood, he loses such an important strength. Other kids may make fun of his circus habits, but it's them that makes him such a good fighter.

[cycleknots]

The flowers Bob chooses for each of the people in his mind are so sweet to me, as someone who has been so obsessed with flower language lately.

Tia is a pink carnation (both her plant form and the blooms that lead to her bottle). The most common meaning of them is literally “A mother’s eternal love”. It’s also a thank you flower and a flower for remembrance.

The path to Truman’s bottle is lined with black delilahs; Betrayal. His animate plant version seems to be a snapdragon: A flower relating to deception, but also presumption. A request to not assume things, because you never truly know how someone is feeling.

Helmut’s path is marigolds. They stand for grieving, mourning someone held so close to the heart. I wasn’t able to find any official standing on what his plant really is, but to me, the petals seem to be zinnia petals. (There is a type of zinnia called a cactus zinnia, so I thought it might be a play on words, but maybe that’s a stretch.) Zinnias are known for their endurance. They stand for everlasting affection, remembrance, and a sense of youth, even in old age. It’s a TRIBUTE flower.

These are emotions he refuses to talk about, but they’re so loudly shown through the plants he cares about so much. He cares SO much and I will never shut up about it.

[cycleknots]

I love you caligosto loboto i love you regrets and doubt in lobotos mind i love you other agents understanding his pain i love you dynamic between loboto and oleander i love you villains with actual reasoning behind what youre doing.

[cycleknots]

In honour of me finally finishing the trials of hell (Attending High School), here are some of my favourite combat-related lore bits in Psychonauts 2

In Compton’s mind (during one of the commercial breaks) you’re shown a cereal box with a bee on it, and are immediately swarmed with regrets, because bees are Cassie, and Cassie is gone.

You fight multiple bad ideas in Hollis’ mind before you alter any of her thoughts (excluding the mental connection tutorial) because Raz didn’t MAKE her snap all on his own, she was already struggling and overwhelmed.

There are doubts in Gristol’s mind, so even though he seems like he truly believes everything he’s been raised to he doesn’t he’s just hoping because he’s worked so hard and at this point he has nothing left to lose.

[cycleknots]

T4T SashaMilla in the context of there is no sense of safety that can be felt like the love from another trans person. The sense of warmth and familiarity and community is ummatched ty

[cycleknots]

A while ago I posted about how there are doubts in Gristol's mind and someone in the reblogs mentioned how there are doubts but not regrets.

And part of me thinks that's because he can't afford to have regrets. His entire life has been dedicated to this one goal. Even if he now doubts the validity of his beliefs, admitting to it and regretting it means that it was all for nothing.

[cycleknots]

Today I am thinking about the matching pillows in Sasha and Milla's offices.

Like I think Milla picked them out to make Sasha's office a little more cozy since they both spend so much time at HQ. Her meditation chamber is already a realy calming environment, but Sasha's is clinical and cold and unwelcoming because he doesn't think about stuff like that.

[cycleknots]

Today’s infodump is about Cassie and Compton because I love them very much <3 (Please excuse any typos, it is currently midnight as I’m writing this.)

Just the way they hold each other so dear is so heartwarming. I think with Compton’s social issues Cassie is just so important to him and the way they were separated is I think implied to be sadder than they say.

I noticed in a lot of the vaults that after Helmut’s death, Cassie isn’t drawn standing next to Compton anymore. Her need to be useful leads to her spending most of her time comforting Bob, and she’s shown next to him in almost every frame they’re both in.

I think it’s reasonable to assume this would’ve upset Compton. And not in a possessive way but in terms of like fear of abandonment. The person who has always protected him isn’t there anymore, and his anxieties around judgment would get so much worse. He would’ve been scared she would leave for good. And when she did it would’ve just made it that much worse when he snapped.

But he never blames her. He continues to hold his memories of her so close to his heart. (”That’s a memory of a dear friend”, “I could find where my Cassie is”, etc.) In fact, it seems that Cassie is the one holding the most guilt about the situation.

In Cassie’s mind the archetype of Compton talks about how he has trouble functioning without her, going as far as to desperately ask Raz where Cassie is. She feels awful about leaving him without her.

Their entire dynamic is just so important to me because I feel as though platonic relationships can be really underdeveloped and this one went so far beyond my expectations.

[cycleknots]

Today I am thinking about how even before Helmut remembered anything his mind inherently linked hearing to Bob because Bob is one of the only people who truly listened to him and hearing is the first sense you link to music. Even without all the information, Helmut holds him so high in importance and I think that’s really sweet.

[cycleknots]

Cassie starts working on a new book and she gets really excited about it so she goes to see Compton and they have like a little tea party where she brews tea and he makes little cakes. He lets her ramble about the book and asks questions to help her cure her writers block,

[cycleknots]

I know I’ve talked about Helmut’s countless figments of Bob before but recently I have been considering the comedic possibilities.

Some of the figments showing up before they’re actually dating. The 2 of them are hanging out in Helmut’s mind and there are just figments of Bob fucking everywhere and Bob is just like why the fuck am I wearing plaid.

Alternatively, the ‘I didn’t know we were dating’ troupe. Walking around and Helmut’s like omg that’s one from our first date and Bob is just 

[cycleknots]

There’s something so genuinely upsetting about Lili and her character arc that (even though I know it would go against her character traits) I really wish was talked about more.

Like this girl has so much pressure on her in general, and she spends the entire second game scared that her dad must hate her because she said something rude to him in an attempt to express her opinion.

She’s just a child, she wants to see new things, and I think that’s why I love her and Raz’s dynamic so much. Their experiences balance each other out so nicely and I just think the relationships in this franchise are really well written I can’t get over it.

[cycleknots]

"Helmut would NEVER SAY THAT!"