#*written by queepy

[brain-bumbler]

trio bodyswap funnies. share 🤲

I'm guessing you mean Gisu/Dion/Morris bc that's the trio ive written bout xD

The funniest combo for this I can think of is Dion in Gisu's body, Gisu in Morris, and Morris in Dion's body.

Morris-in-Dion, being overdramatic on purpose: i'm UGLY 😭 Dion-in-Gisu: you shut your fucking mouth right now Gisu-in-Morris: i am. not putting in the effort to maintain this pompadour Morris-in-Dion: NOOOOOOOO

There could be gender feelings! Like Dion getting into an afab body and immediately feeling better somehow, even if it's not *his* body. wow, he thinks, I am not going to think about this at all.

Gisu switched them and is begging them to go along and pretend everything is okay until she can switch it back so she doesn't get in trouble for messing with Otto's forbidden equipment.

Morris going to enjoy a day off when he's suddenly swamped with Dion's 500 chores and then babysitting/child rearing duties that leave him ragged and sore and grumpy.

Dion realizing, wow, he knew Gisu was smart, but he sees her calculations notebook and list of assignments he realizes how much pressure she's under, how much work she's juggling. He understands with the expectations on her why she wouldn't want her mistake known.

Gisu's adhd brain trying to maintain the focus to keep a lev ball steady literally all day and just randomly dropping because that shit requires control and is really hard. It requires a really deft handling of one's thoughts and powers. Morris is incredibly capable and it's no wonder Milla was selected as his mentor.

Morris pretending to be Dion to his siblings and having so much slapstick shenanigans but also when it's time to put Tala and Queepie down for a nap Tala nuzzles into his hand and calls him Big Brother, and he's like

He would die for them already

Gisu working on her body swap reversal plans in the treehouse but also she gets to take a bit of a break, listen to music and chill out in the sunshine.

Dion trying to figure out how to text Gisu to ask if he can try on any of those skirts in her closet. He tries to bend someway and Gisu's body is NOT that flexible, her back cracks and he goes down. He's trying not to raise eyebrows for not using the lev board. When Lizzie asks him why he panics and makes finger guns and walks away. She thinks, Yeah, alright, that seems like Gisu.

Norma is the only one who thinks something is weird, and decides all of their brains have been stolen! She's determined to prove it, so they're dodging her as well.

Bodyswap shenanigans! Fun!! Silly!!! Understanding of each other and growing closer!! Wahoo!!

[doodle17]

Oh, yes, Donatella is definitely putting in the work. But I don't think Dion's parentification was intentional, either—things simply slipped through the cracks, and balancing running a family circus with being parents isn't easy. I don't think Gus & Dona intentionally pushed responsibilities onto Dion (other than chores and the basic "hey you're the eldest so can you watch your siblings"), more that in the stress of adulting they let some of their responsibilities slip, and Dion caught them.

Of course, this is all conjecture, because while Dion and Frazie do show signs of parentification in the games, and while we do have some insight into what the Aquatos' lives were like prior to the games, that's all we have. Hints and insight. We don't know for sure if Dion helped bottlefeed Queepie or change Mirtala's diapers, we don't know for sure if he and Frazie would be left to babysit when Mom and Dad went into town, or if that task would have been entrusted to Nona. We don't know how homeschooling was handled, how much time the family spent as a unit versus how much time they had to themselves. So really, how much parentification Dion and Frazie are facing is up to interpretation—maybe it's just the normal amount of responsibility that eldest siblings get, or maybe Dion and Frazie did have to act as caretakers to their siblings when their parents couldn't. Maybe Dion & Frazie simply got more chores and more freedoms as they got older, maybe they were actively pressured to be a good example for their siblings, to be responsible—maybe they heard lines like "you're going to be a young [man/woman] soon" or "they look up to you as a role model." Maybe they're not dealing with severe parentification. Maybe they are. It's up to interpretation.

All that said, I still think Dion would have a moment where he's holding his babyfied brother, and all he can think about is when he was a small child holding his new baby brother for the first time. I think Frazie would see baby Raz levitating a rock to chew on and remember when they found out they were both psychic, remember the games they used to play and miss them. I think Dion would hold his brother, and manage to untangle the knot of emotions in his chest long enough to tell him he loves him, he's sorry, he'll try to do better, and I think Frazie might say the same.

GOT-DAYUM READING THIS HAS JUST ABSOLUTELY BLESSED MY SOUL

First of all, thank you, I have no idea why you would send an entire gorgeously written essay into lil ol' me's ask box but thanks anyway

And second I WANT TO WRITE MY OWN LITTLE INTERACTION

I could just see him picking up little baby Raz and sitting down. He takes some time to reflect on how he's treated him harshly. He, like you said, remembers when he was younger, and held Raz in his arms for the first time that he promised to be the best big brother in the world. But in his eyes, he's failed at that. He's been cold and mean to his little brother, and ultimately broke his promise.

He holds Raz (who fell asleep in his arms) closely and says how sorry he is, and promises he's going to be a better brother, and then- omg-

W H A T I F someone, I dunno, Otto maybe, found out a way to turn Raz back to normal, but it takes a second to kick in. SO WHAT IF WHEN DION IS HOLDING BABY RAZ- HE SUDDENLY TURNS INTO REGULAR RAZ IN HIS ARMS ABSKSHSISBAOWNSOSN

[tuxedokit]

consider this post-reveal cmar scenario: donnie keeps in good contact with her sisters, though they're generally only able to visit every few years. their usual visit comes along and they all coo over the adorable new baby and how big and strong little tala is growing!! and of course there's the traditional cheek pinching and "look at how much taller you've gotten!" for raz, frazie, and dion as well.

the day goes on. dona catches up with her sisters, they catch up with her and augustus. nona chats with them. they all coo over their nephews and nieces. usual family reunion stuff.

except, as the day goes on, dona's sisters notice something... off with how dona & augustus are acting in regards to their eldest. funny, miriam comments, given how dion was all over trying to help with mirtala last we visited, i'd have expected him to be just as eager to help with queepie. weird, juliette agrees, and i could have sworn dion was dona's pride and joy last time, too, she adds. did something happen, audrey wonders, to create this awkward distance?

the two families have dinner together that night, in a circle around the fire, dion sitting back further than she should. her aunts take notice, just as they've been noticing the awkwardness hanging over the entire family, like something doesn't fit. they confront their sister over it, moreso trying to figure out what's happening than outright accusing donatella of anything. but dona's story about the curse lurking in her eldest just doesn't seem quite believable.

it all comes out when dion, feeling caught in the middle of things, feeling like it's her fault that her mom and aunts are fighting, splashes right then and there from the stress.

...well. dona wasn't lying.

dion reforms, and scoots further away from the fire. shame is written across his face. dona & augustus don't yell, but they don't move to comfort their child, either. they don't do anything but look at dion with fear in their eyes and forlorn expressions on their faces.

so donnie's sisters make an offer. they're not beholden to the curse, miriam says, and this isn't an environment in which you're going to thrive, juliette adds. so you can come with one of us if you want, audrey offers. ...so long as donnie and augustus have no problems with it, miriam hastens to add.

and for all that they fear the curse, donatella and augustus still love their son. still want to see her grow strong and thrive and be okay and happy. so if dion wants to go with one of her aunts, they'll let her, they say. we don't want to keep you trapped here, they add. there is fear in their eyes and a tremble in their voices and love in their hearts.

but... dion doesn't want to leave their family for their aunts. even if it would be better. and some part of dion views this as selfish, but the rest of them moves their mouth to say no.

donnie's sisters stick around as long as they can, making sure to give dion all of the attention that his parents can't (won't). but the aquatos have to move on, eventually, and so do dona's sisters. they give dion their numbers, tell her that if she ever considers their offer, they'll be there.

years and years down the line, while a tired office-bound agent of the psychonauts recounts the damages that dion caused as The Storm, she wonders if maybe she should have taken her aunts' offer to go with them. if she hadn't lost their numbers, if she had found them before the deluginists found her, if if if.

but ifs don't heal a broken heart.

-💜

what if dion chose not to go with them because donas family is his family is augustus' family and dion thoroughly believes he will kill them and those aunts dont have that fear to keep them safe like the aquatos do. dion cant afford to have family. any family.

[narfoonthenet]

I just saw the first few minutes of the "demonstration" (direct link to tweet(fum)), and GOD.

To start with: here's the prompt they use for the demo

If that's too hard to read, it says:

"Cartman heard of the screen actors guild strike. The kids are worried there won't be any new shows coming out. Cartman announces his business idea: a deep fake streaming service called Queepi."

Yes, that's what they went with.

Then, there's no sense of logical progression and flow. The first couple of minutes is literally:

Scene one: The boys talk about the strike, Cartman announces his idea, the boys say it's dumb, Cartman decides to go through with it anyway.

Scene two: Cartman and Butters are at Bizney pitching Cartman's idea.

There's no scene where Cartman has a eureka moment, he just has the idea at the start; no scene where he recruits/convinces Butters to help him, he's just there; and there's no scene where Cartman decides to go to Bizney, he's just there.

Also, Cartman doesn't have Cartman's voice, he has Stan's.

And no, Stan doesn't have Cartman's voice. That would've been funny.

Which leads to the worst thing about this: it's so BORING.

Every line of dialogue is written and delivered so woodenly, so dryly, and so clinically. There's no nuance, no real intelligence, no effort, and NO HUMOR behind every single word - and this is supposed to be a story for SOUTH PARK.

"Oh but they can edit and improve it so it'll be good"

Yes, if they have writers who understand how a narrative should be written and presented - but ai like this is being advertised as a way to make shows without those people, especially now. So, yeah, no.

"Well give it time and the ai will develop to a point where it can do that"

There's a possibility that can happen, but if so, why are studios and companies pushing AI at a point where it can't do that?

AI can't create the shows we love, nor can it create new shows we could love, because there's no human element. There's no one who can imagine how an audience could interpret a scene or plot twist or line of dialogue and their reaction; no one who can place themselves in the character's shoes to figure out what they would do or say in a situation; no one who can think of a logical string of cause and effect that leads to a specific outcome and how people would act and react to that.

And that's just the writing portion. God help you when things like animation, voice acting, live acting, and cinematography are brought into the discussion.

AI has access to tons of information, but the simple truth is it doesn't have the knowledge, frame of reference, problem-solving skill, imagination, and adaptability to use that properly. You don't need to be a programmer to figure that out.

I’d like you all to think of a lot of low paying service jobs that could be helped by AI. Or physical jobs that are sometimes done by robots like cleaning that could be made better with AI.

Instead, the techbros of the world have decided that the best use for narrow AI is to replace all our creatives, with AI that churns out recycled garbage and can’t make a single joke.

Also yes, that is Grey DeLisle, better known to some as Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Voice actors seem be leading the charge against this for obvious reasons.

[aquato-family-circus]

I think this drawing was going to be for the 2nd game’s anniversary last year but I never managed to finish it

But it’s still cute, so here it is <3

ID: A rough sketch of the Aquato family posing for a picture outside the front gates of Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp. Queepie, Raz, and Augustus are wearing camp shirts while the rest of the family is gathered around them. The photo has “CAMP STARTING ! - 198X!!” written on the bottom. End ID.

[rosesmith18]

Razputin’s Getaway

My current obsession has been Psychonauts, and I thought since I haven't posted in a long time-sorry about that-I'd share some scenes I wrote dealing with Razputin's fears and anxieties before the events of the first game.

Did I have a death wish? But, dad was forgiving, you’ll be fine. If you beg enou-NO. I didn’t do anything wrong. Tala’s crown was falling, I was just trying to help. I didn’t even think about it. Okay, so MAYBE I took the opportunity to joke around, but I really did do what I did to help her. If that thing had hit the ground it would have been a goner, and she loved that flea market tricket more than anything. It would have broken her little heart to replace it; let alone break it. I was being a good older brother, a good hero, a psychonaut. I was using my gift for good, because it WAS a gift. No matter what everyone else said. Tala didn’t seem to see it that way. You should explain yours-

“Pssh-” It was tall, shaped like an upside down pear, and dressed all in black; the figure that called out to me. My gaze slowly trailed up its body, catching a glimpse of a long, slender mustache before a rectangular pamphlet stole my attention. It was held in the person’s outstretched arm; Cover on full display for me to see. I pressed an eyebrow down against my brow, slight frown on my lips as I nervously read the cover. It was a brochure of sorts for a…Psychic Summer Camp?! No, it couldn’t be. I must be seeing things. I snatched the folded paper from the person’s rubbery hand, and reread the cover over and over and over again, the same five words appearing before my eyes every time; 

‘Whispering Rock’s Psychic Summer Camp’ It really was true. I had to know more. I snapped my head up, about to ramble question after question, but the person had vanished. Leaving me with the pamphlet.

I settled into the nightly practice routine soon after with the rest of my family. I took the pamphlet with me. I needed to read the rest. Balancing a set of 90 and 70 pound dumbbells on the soles of my covered feet, I pulled out the brochure, and began to read-ignoring the twisting of my stomach;

‘To soar across the astral plane! To wage psychic warfare against the enemies of free thought!’ I read the slogan on the cover, it sounded like a call to action, a call to adventure; a line right out of True Psychic Tales. It made my heart race in a good way, in the way that took my mind away from dark and terrible thoughts. My attention was focused, and I wasn’t sure anything could take it away. Not even the familiarly stern eyes staring into my back. 

I read on with a new found vigor into the inside of the pamphlet;

‘You were born with a special gift. But, the people around you, treat it like a curse. Your mother is afraid of you, and your father looks at you with shame in his eyes. Come to Whispering Rock’s Psychic Summer Camp, and you can show them all. Back home your powers make you a loner, an outcast, a circus freak. But in this dojo, in this psychic dojo, they make you a HERO.’ It was everything I ever dreamed of, ever wanted, written down on paper for all to see. I felt alive, and free, and okay for the first time in a while. I memorized the address for minutes on end until nightly practice was good and done. 

I could hear Mom telling Queepie and Tala that it was time for bed, could hear Dion and Frazie bickering about their practice, could hear my Dad huffing behind me. I didn’t want to answer, not now, not tonight. This night had turned out so wonderful, and he was going to ruin it. You can’t keep it a secret forever, or long for that matter, and secrets always end up hurting someone. It’s going to hurt you, so face it like a man already. Those were both fine points even if that fact made me even more reluctant. My reply to Dad was meek as I turned to face him.

“Yes, Dad?” I answered, staring up at his hulking form, folded arms straight against his front. 

“Let me see what you have there, son” He put an open palm in my face, and I almost pleaded with him not to take it, but I steeled myself. I handed it to him as if I trusted him to do nothing more than look at it, though the likelihood of that was extremely low unless I really was just super lucky tonight.

“It’s just something a customer gave me.” I explained before he could read the cover, it was my fear talking, fear that something bad would happen if I took ownership over my gratitude for that brochure.

“‘Whispering Rock’s PSYCHIC Summer Camp’” His voice was burning with venom as he read the words aloud. Everyone; Mom, Dion, Frazie, Tala, Queepie, looked at Dad as if waiting for him to make his comment on such a ridiculous thing. “Razputin, what is the meaning of this-this WITCHCRAFT?” His words stung me, the way they punctured my already barely beating heart. I was determined and frightful at the same time, and I pressed the pads of my fingers together as I muttered;

“It’s a summer camp, Dad.” He raised an incredulous eyebrow at my statement that somehow only furthered my stance on the matter, and I spoke plainly the second time around; “And, I think it sounds like fun.” There eyes were on me, every one of those twelve eyes, on me; it was just like my nightmares, and a shiver so fierce ran up my spine. 

“You think curses sound like FUN, Razputin?” Spite’s Dad, and I all but crumble under the weight of that word. NO. Curses aren’t fun. They’re terrifying, and make it hard to breathe when you take a drink of water, and make you afraid of your own children; the last thing you think curses are is FUN. So, why did he have to use THAT word. The one word you can’t argue with? I can’t find the words to say fast enough, and I watch, as dad rips all my dreams to shreds before my very eyes. I lash a shaky hand out hoping he’ll see it, and maybe, just maybe, he’ll think about how much it hurts me. “Well, curses aren’t FUN, Razputin, and you’ll learn that one day.” But, all he thinks about is how to use THAT word, to HURT ME.

I race back to my caravan with a single desire blazing in my veins; Freedom, I’m going to get my freedom tonight. Free from this circus, free from this curse, and free from this family. You know father didn’t mean to hurt you. He’s just worried about you, about the family. Try to be more understanding. Not tonight, or tomorrow, or ever again. I understand enough, I understand that this is for the best. It’s a perfect night to run away, to be free. It’s dark, no moonlight I could have read these stubborn emotions away with. Mom took most of my comics away anyway; Hidden under broken, rotting wood were all the ones that remained-only five or so of the sixty volumes I had originally managed to collect on our travels. One she had even used to dress the floor of the horses caravan, volume one of all the volumes. I’d get to see it one last time tonight; not in the greatest condition, of course, filthy for all manner of reasons you’d expect. It brought back many pleasant memories, however, and a courage I needed tonight more than ever. 

Riding the World's Smallest Pony down a forgien dirt road was an adventure all on its own in this darkness, and as Frazie’s pony hoofed it down the path, I turned and watched the Aquatodome get smaller and smaller. That tent felt so big when you were standing under it as crowds of ten or twenty or sometimes even twenty-five filled the stands, but as I rushed out of the clearing into the dense forest of oak trees; I momentarily thought that no more than twenty-five people could fit in a tent so small. My caravan was even smaller though, barely visible between the branches of trees or over the tops of bushes as the train tracks outside the forest came into view in front of me. The world was about to become so much bigger for me. I was overwhelmed, but excited. If I became a psychonaut, it would be the greatest trick I’d ever pulled.

I jumped down from the stacked logs as the light from the truck's headlights illuminated the large wood sign I’ve been looking for. The bald lumberjack eyes me with shock when I land in front of their passenger door window, and I wave them a sort of thanks for the lift. They’re hesitant for a moment, but they eventually wave back before driving off into the dark streets ahead. I stumble with my things as I walk up to the rickety old painted sign;

‘Whispering Rock’ It reads, and I feel a giddiness rise up in my chest. So much opportunity is waiting for me behind this fence gate; but how to get in? This isn't right. You should go home. That’s enough adventure for one night, Razputin. I’m not letting you get to me. I can see a campfire glow from past the trees. I’m so close. I’ll just hop the rock pillars of the fence gate, and I’ll be sitting right where I belong. With people just like me, with gifts and dreams to be psychonauts. No more fear, anxiety or shame. Go ahead coward, just run away. Betray your family for a bunch of fortune tellers. They wouldn’t expect any less from the likes of YOU. You can’t make me feel guilty anymore. I’m not being selfish. I’m doing them a favor. They don’t want me, they don’t have to have me. I’m taking care of the hard part for them. Like a psychonaut, like a hero, like a good son.

[sxrrandomfanfics]

OK here was my original draft of the post since no one else is really wanting to talk about this despite the idea being super duper cool and I'd love to see everyone else hop in with their own interpretations.

I call this outline "We Were Always Meant to Find Each Other, the Crossroads Just Weren't as Kind this Time"

Well, most likely during the war, Lucy, Marona, Lazarus, and Augustus would all leave Grulovia. And... you know let's throw Otto Mentallis in there too. I think he's a family friend given the fact that he knew Lucy and reported to Ford "her husband died in the war so I'm getting her out of Grulovia."

Lazarus, still carrying the name of "The Aquato's Aquatic Family Circus," sets out with the Circus and begins to perform along with his wife (who performs water acts, but her powers are herbophony as I really like that idea pioneered by @portalcartoon), son, and sister-in-law, with Otto taking care of finances.

Along comes Donatella, and after a few years, Donatella and Augustus start their own family consisting of the Aquato siblings we know and... tolerate. Dion, Frazie, Razputin, Mirtala, and Queepie in that order.

Some Aquato siblings are psychic (Frazie, Raz, and Queepie), while others are not (Dion and Mirtala). The circus begins to get bigger and bigger and while Raz is searching around one of the festivals, he starts to come across different people with different, unexplainable powers, but minds similar to his.

A girl who doesn't have wheels on her skateboard, but instead two things she equates to highly focused thought bubbles, named Gisu Neruman.

Twin sisters who are opposites with cryo and pyrokinesis, Lizzie and Norma Natividad.

A young man who did yo-yo tricks for extra pay and seemingly had them endless if they were destroyed, named Adam Joseph-Gette.

A boy who was stuck to a wheelchair but could make his own trampolines and thought bubbles to help him get to places, named Morris Martinez.

A girl who loves talking with Frazie and her horse also sharing about how her brother suffers and makes things explode, her name is Sam and her little brother is named Dogen Boole.

Raz is... excited to meet these people. Even covering tickets for them so they can see the show. And let them know- "you aren't the only ones."

They're allowed to meet the family after the show, bringing their own parents along and making bonds and showing "there's more of them. More of us."

Otto starts trying to write down and research these different powers, starting down a rabbit hole where he, along with Razputin and Adam start to rediscover things in journals written by older psychics.

There are long lineages of families who are psychics, such as the "Dooms," known for their precognition that have many different journals and incident reports.

The traveling circus starts to move in ways where they can meet up with other psychics. They start networking, expanding, and by the time Raz turns 18, he's already gotten an idea of how to network and run things.

He and Lucrecia go to find the Green Needle Gulch, while his siblings investigate whatever the heck "Whispering Rock" is. That's when they refind the fallen comet that amplifies their powers. Both in the Gulch and at Lake Oblongata.

Raz starts up a small... reservation or town for psychics to come to. Help understand their powers and learn more.

"Whispering Rock" is set up as a research facility to study the biggest chunk of the comet.

Over time, The Aquatos become people that need to be called in if there are things going on with Psychics, or they'll randomly show up if they have hunches about someone being a psychic.

An older man, around Augustus's age, being found by Otto Mentallis while working in a factory.

An older woman running a hospital after climbing up the ranks and succeeding after her mentor fell into some kind of madness, being approached by Donatella.

A young woman around Raz's age found after a bar fire being bailed out by Marona Aquato.

A woman traveling around South America in a state of madness being informed of this group and trying to seek them out.

A man who has been struggling to find any sense of valor finding himself meeting an older woman as they both went to mourn those lost in the Grulovian wars.

Sometimes, my sister gives me ideas. Sometimes, I REALLY like the ideas.

"What if the psychics never met one another? There was no organization for them and they thought they were the only ones out there. And it's Raz who finds other psychics."

[2hoothoots]

So, for the ask meme tag... what are your opinions about both Frazie and Mirtala?

i've already done Frazie SO! Mirtala :)

First Impressions:

So my first impressions of Mirtala were very much shaped by this wonderful fic - Crocodile by sincerelymendatious. it was written before PN2 came out so it's not super accurate to what ended up in the game, but gosh, it's so good. the characterisation of Mirtala as kind of a know-it-all younger sibling really stuck with me when i first read it, and kinda coloured my first meeting with her.

Impressions Now:

Mirtala is such a sweet kid. I think she's the member of the Aquato family that I most wish got more screentime, but I do love what we see of her! she's so baby. like, look at this little pretzel-haired kid, she's so baby. and it's really sweet how uncomplicated her relationship with the other members of the family, especially Raz, is! there's a lot of family drama going on with the others, but Mirtala's just chilling

Favourite Moment:

I really love the scene with her and Raz at the top of the devil's firehose. I feel like we get a really good look at her character in that scene, she's so fearless and it's utterly wonderful. she's old enough to roughly understand what's going on, but she's also young enough to be completely unbothered with all the drama, haha.

Idea for a Story:

without giving too much away of one of my current WIPs - I think anything with Mirtala and the rest of her family is a really rich vein. maybe her hanging out with one of the other siblings, or specifically Mirtala & Queepie Baby Adventures. I know I keep coming back to the Aquato family but man, they're just really good!

Unpopular Opinion:

ooh, do I even have one? I guess I'd say... I've already talked about how I think psychic!Dion kinda makes his character less interesting, but you know what, along that same vein psychic!Mirtala makes her more interesting. where are all the AUs where Mirtala is psychic? she deserves to go to Whispering Rock, I think she'd absolutely crush it

Favourite Relationship:

it's a tie between Mirtala and Raz and Mirtala and Frazie! the Mirtala&Raz sibling relationship is obviously just very cute. it's a totally sweet and uncomplicated relationship, and i love how Mirtala sees him as a confident ringleader. we don't see a ton of Mirtala and Frazie's interactions by comparison but Frazie seems much sweeter with Mirtala than she is with Raz, I imagine her as a totally doting big sister.

Favourite Headcanon:

I think Mirtala is trans! she saw Raz come out as a boy and was like "nobody told me we get to choose!! alright then I want to be a girl" and then she was! I hc her tiara is a hand-me-down from Frazie :)

[ccliffjumperr]

babe. tell me about raz and helmut

Gladly. I wish I could have written more but I’m bad with putting down all my thoughts sometimes. I know you’re asleep right now, so this is a surprise for you when you wake up.

Raz had befriended Helmut when he was still the Mote of Light, and they’re still friends. Raz was the first person he had interacted with in twenty years after all, and had helped him remember who he was. 

After the events of the game, Helmut is happy to let Raz join him on the trip to Grulovia. It would be great to have some more help getting his body back! And Raz wants to see what Grulovia is like. Or what’s left of it. A fun trip for everyone, huh.

Raz is Helmut’s honorary nephew. Or great-nephew? Raz has a lot of questions about Helmut’s music, now he’s really into rock. He also wants to learn to play an instrument just like he saw at the feast of the senses, but he can’t pick. Helmut teaches him how to use his psychic powers through music, which Raz is thrilled by. This is so cool! Queepie also tags along sometimes, and maybe even Frazie. Although Frazie does stay at a distance, for now at least. 

And just like with Lilli in the post I made earlier, Helmut is happy to listen to Raz talk about True Psychic Tales, and other stories he wants to tell. Especially that one about what happened at camp, that would make a great comic! If True Psychic Tales doesn’t want to publish that, maybe input from one of the founders of the Psychonauts would change their mind.

TLDR: Friends! Found family, even.

[britishsass]

Maligula Augustus is such a good concept!! I'm so excited to see more of what you come up with! 👀👀👀

Aww, thanks! I’ve got a small snippet of it written, but for the moment, it’s mostly just brainstorms (haha, storms) and songs motivating it. Though I have a bit on his mind I could share, once I write it out. (Which I’m doing below)

His mind is always called “The Drowned Circus”. It comes into play after Fatherland Follies, starting right when you are launched by the other Aquatos into his mind. It’s in chaos. Gristol’s done a number on him, he’s horribly hurt by what Ford and Gristol both did to him. He’s unsure who he is, what he is, anything. You’re in the mind of a broken man, and you can’t find any trace of Augustus in there. The rain pours down. It will not stop.

You can jump across platforms of circus posters and rooftops, a mix between Grulovia and the Aquato family circus, and there’s so much breaking at the seams, ripping apart as he tries to fight. 

You find a door with seven locks. Each is labeled with a different name, written in cursive script. There is Marona (Crossed out and replaced with Lucrecia, in a much sloppier hand), Donatella, Dion, Frazie, Razputin, Mirtala, and Queepie. His family, the people who matter the most to him. There are four tents nearby, circus tents. Each has a label of its own-- One for Lucy and Dona, one for Dion and Queepie, one for Frazie and Mirtala, and one for Razputin himself. 

The Lucy and Dona one requires you to scale ever higher to keep above the rising water, but at the top, you can find them, sitting together. They call you by the wrong name-- Gus, Augie, Mi Caro. They see you as your father. But it’s not hatred in their eyes-- it’s concern. They tell you to stay safe, and they hand their keys over before you’re brought back to the hub, by the big top. 

The one for Queepie and Dion requires you to balance on a ball again, and they bring you through a long passageway, going under the water and coming back up. It’s a lot like Milla’s race course. They see you as a hypocrite, and they complain about you coming to find them, but after talking with them, they hand over their keys, making you promise to come find them when they ask you to. Begging you to be better, since they need it more than anything.

The one for Frazie and Mirtala has a lot of projectiles flying at you, likely a few regrets and judges thrown about. It requires you to make your way through a small obsticle course, and they throw things at you-- knives, acorns, fire. When you reach them at the end, they ask you to play with them again soon, telling you that you could do better, but they love you anyways. They hand over their keys, hug you, and vanish just the same as the others. 

The one for Raz is last. The door won’t open until the others are there, lighting up lights around a poster for Razputin, the newest Psychonaut. Nothing there mentions the Aquatos-- It claims him as Razputin alone. There, there’s a shadowy Raz, taunting and jeering, telling you that you’re wrong. You’re always so wrong about things. It’s a fight against your own shadow, where your shadow has so much more psychic power than you, but won’t do half of the acrobatics you can. He’s furious. He’s spiteful, and mad, and he hates you for the damage you did. When you defeat him, he acts like a child. Complains that you ruined his life. Complains that you’re mean to him. But he hands over his key as he rubs his nose on his sleeve, and he tells you that you had better apologize. 

With all 7 keys, you can unlock the door to the Big Top. There, there’s both Not!Augustus and Augustus, though the latter is stuck in a cage that’s much too small, and the former is dressed more like Gristol, running the show. He’s hurting the actual Augustus, and your father has long since given up. The water flows around the arena, and the final confrontation begins. 

[Insert super cool boss fight with the other 6 people from the family coming to help you.]

After being defeated, Not!Augustus takes Augustus’s cage, using it as a shield. But Augustus fights back. He lets loose a psi-blast against the monster, and the cage falls to the ground. His key clatters to the ground, and Raz gets him out, hugging his father tight.

“...he... Didn’t hurt you?”

“No. I’m okay, Dad.”

“I’m so sorry, Razputin. I’ve been a terrible father.”

That’s when the Not!Augustus monster tries to fight one last time, likely with being mixed with Not!Raz, and you get the final Goggalor-style fight. It’s super easy. Then, at the end of it all, Augustus faces his worst nightmare-- the realization that he’s become just as much of a monster as those he hates- and he’s the one to tell that part of him “You’re wrong.” before shoving it into the abyss.

They fall into the water in the outside world. And this time, Augustus picks his son up, but doesn’t try to get out of the water himself.

[mar64ds]

Thoughts on the Aquato family after Psychonauts 2 cause tbh I'm emotional over funny circus family

oh my god the family drama of this family is so good, it's sad but it's well written and interesting to the characters. I also love their designs and personalities!!!!! They are a great

-I love how supportive Augustus is now it's so sweet, like it's not just that he apologized once and that's it, he's a great dad and now that he has realized his past mistakes he's making sure that Raz knows he supports him and loves him!!!!! I love Augustus, an actually well written parent character development

-I hope Donatella realizes that she needs to be better because man she said terrible things to Raz :( I do understand the family drama so I know she can be better, let's hope they can explore that in the future cause she really should apoligize to Raz like Augustus did

-Dion should apologize as well but he's a kid so I can understand that a bit more, but he still acted terribly, like he was the WORST towards Raz. But it's great writing cause you can tell both Raz and Dion are mad at each other but also don't want to be mad, and they both feel guilty for different reasons, it's super complicated and let's hope Dion learns to be better as well, Raz already apologized and tries his best, the older brother is the one that has to apologize now

-Lizzie is great she's my favorite!!!! She's really funny and even if she messes with Raz she loves him and is a good sister, she's just a bit overwhelmed by change right now but Raz is there for her! She's the only one (of the family members that were still upset at Raz) that seems to forgive Raz, and I hope she joins his little brother in the psychonaut training!!!!!

-Mirtala is adorable :'D No drama with this character, she's just a little baby. Actually my favorite interaction of the whole game was when she was practicing acrobatics and she said something like 'Is grandma watching me? :D' and their grandma wasn't watching because well she's an old lady that doesn't pay attention to a lot of things, but Raz tells her anyway 'yes she is!!!! :)' it was so sweet, wholesome sibling interaction TT_TT

-Queepie is a literal baby but even his storyline has conflict and is super interesting, the actual baby of the family is also upset at Raz!!!! It's a very realistic situation that when a little kid is upset at you they ran away and don't want to spend time with you, but it makes me super sad, Raz is trying his best :( And the 'why do you have to take over everything i like' is a very little brother thing to say but also hey what do you mean by this, kid? :( You need to talk to your big brother about this u_u

-I won't talk about Raz's grandma because of spoilers but she's super sweet and I almost cried at the end when Raz hugged her 🥺 Like you can tell Raz is that kid that is really close to his grandma and always makes sure she's okay TT_TT

I love them all!!!!!! I do hope there is a DLC and they can explore this storyline better