#gzar malik

[browngonzo888]

last one i promise: i think rokel malik is in actuality, otto's twin sister that theodore threatened [with burning the house down and letting them die in the cold] her into being his suitress

Oh well look at that, they do kinda look alike

[psi-spectacular]

I had another idea for an AU! Its kinda my take on evil raz/razigula.

During a mission, right before his graduation from the junior agent program, 14 year old Raz gets taken away and kidnapped. Its all hands on deck to get him back. They manage to track him down to an old worn castle in the woods, A known possible Delugionist hotbed. They manage to sneak their way in, but when they get there, they hear chatter about a "Gzar of grulovia". But this cant be right, Gristol still being imprisoned back home. As they come to a stage, the speaker announces the Heir to Grulovia's throne's arrival. A clack of heels, and the group recognizes him immediately.

He doesnt recognize them, but his distinct height and red hair make him easy to see. Razputin Aquato, Grandson of Maligula and heir to her rightful throne. Or at least thats what he believes. He's been changed, his peppy, kind-natured personality turned cold and mean through thorough brainwashing. The sector of Delugionists, believing that the Maliks are cowards and Maligula deserves the throne, turned him into the perfect young king; Cold, Callous, and Easily manipulated. He doesn't know them, but knows they're intruders and that looking at them gives him a massive headache, and sends them to be captured.

The implant in his "temporary" crown keeps his new memories in place, but sends waves of pain as his brain struggles to get his true memories out when he sees his friends. The whole thing is a bit of a rush job, they say its gonna be used until they can find the real crown… and the others hear that its only until they can put a more permanent implant in his brain.

The psychonauts need to find a way to escape their prison and cut the connection in Raz's mind and before they manage to put the chip in a place that's much harder to fix without serious damage. Though, it seems like it wont be as difficult as it seems, as this young Gzesarevich's old personality slowly leaks through the cracks in the delusion, and flutters of old memories slowly take hold despite the pain.

[psitaniumpsichosis]

[Psychonauts 2 Spoilers! You have been warned!]

Razputin Donovan Malik, future Gzesarevich of Grulovia

No one really knows how the lost baby ended up in the Lady Luctopus, much less how he ended up in the North Penthouse. But as Gzar Theodore Malik and Gzarina Rokel Malik argued about what to do with the screaming infant, their twenty-something son-- Gzesarevich Gristol Malik-- Decided to handle things himself.

Gristol cleaned the little boy up, who only had an armband that read "Razputin", and quickly fell in love with the sweet little boy. With some challenges, he began raising Razputin as his own son.

At age 6, Razputin watched his grandfather Theodore die. At age 7, his grandmother Rokel followed.

Suddenly he was uprooted and became part of Gristol's plans to infiltrate the Psychonauts -- now under the alias "Razputin Johnsmith", and the Motherlobe became his primary residence as his dad "Nick" started working there.

Now he's 10, and being sent to summer camp with his friend Lili-- his dad insists it's important.. just won't say why.

[swiggity-swexual-i-am-asexual]

There are a couple of lines in Psychonauts 2 that I think about quite a bit. I’m pretty sure these have already been done but if NOT, then. Uh. Spoilers for Psychonauts 2 I guess?

First off- one of Sam’s lines. There’s actually a lot about Sam that I think could have been put to better use—specifically a conversation about how psychic powers aren’t always controllable, giving parallels between Compton, Dogan, and Maligula and MAYBE Raz. But the line I SPECIFICALLY think about is a joke one.

“And if you use enough syrup, you can’t taste the difference between chicken and snake. Eggs is eggs!”

In Psychonauts, eggs are used as a metaphor for brains. Like, this isn’t some vague thing, it’s extremely front and center. Eggs and brains are directly linked. And, it should be noted, that Sam actually puts an entire nest—INCLUDING BIRD EGGS—in the, uh…. ‘Pancake mix’.

So, snakes and chickens and syrup, right? Chickens, generally used to describe someone who is cowardly or otherwise not the type to actually do anything, syrup being sweet enough to distract from other tastes, and snakes being, well, people who are not trustworthy.

And then there’s Nick Johnsmith, aka Gristol Malik, who is a well liked non psychic that Truman calls a lick spittle—someone who fawns over others easily. In other words, a snake (egg, brain) that acts sweet (and syrupy) enough to seem like a chicken (egg, brain).

Do you see. Do you SEE THE VISION HERE.

Anyways onto phrase 2. Said by Gristol Malik.

“He took a poor, sad, country girl and turned her into a mighty warrior. And I’m going to do it again.”

Now, usual context will say he means he’ll bring Maligula out of Lucy/Nona. I don’t think that’s incorrect, per se.

But one of the things that really, REALLY snapped Lucy/Maligula was the death of Marona, her sister.

And who do we have camping nearby? Why, it’s an entire family. In fact, it’s Raz’s entire family. And at LEAST half of them are psychics.

Gristol already views Raz as a puppet. He only kind of likes him because he’s half Grulovian. And, you know, during the Rhombus of Ruin, Loboto was no longer under Oleander’s employee, so… who wanted Raz’s brain removed? Someone who, oh I don’t know, might have heard about Raz being a powerful psychic that MIGHT have noticed Raz’s rather unique name… or, more specifically, the last name of a circus that performed for the Gzar and his family, famous for water acts. One that, by chance, someone could have known that a Galochio, a family of psychics, recently married into?

And you know, Maligula is older, it’s good to have back-ups, right? I mean, this is the same guy that ACTUALLY pulled one over on an entire spy group of mind readers.

But, hey, maybe it wasn’t a plan to turn Raz into Maligula by killing one or some or all of his family! Raz is kind of pissed right now, and might not snap the way Gristol would want him to. I’m pretty sure murdering, say, Mirtala, his baby sister, might not work in Gristol’s favor when Raz is already against him.

That said… he’s not the only psychic in the Aquato family. And in fact some of those family members aren’t the most on board with the whole… Psychics and Psychonauts business.

Specifically, we have a barely used plot thread including Frazie Aquato and her acceptance of her psychic powers!

I’m sure that, oh say, her little brother dying in the middle of him helping the Psychonauts pick up their messes, when he should have been able to be saved by one of his heroes since he was literally at their headquarters and surrounded by psychic adults, will only have good things happen to the Psychonauts. I’m SO sure that Frazie won’t get extremely pissed at these people her brother looked up to so much. She’ll definitely be understanding and absolutely won’t use what seems to be a family trait of extremely powerful psychic power along with the hydrokinesis in her bloodline. Specifically because she, an acrobat since birth and taught to ignore a lot of the usual fears most people have about safety and the instinct to flee, definitely has a great relationship with her fight or flight mode.

:))))

Anyways I have a lot of thoughts about Psychonauts 2 (I’m not saying I’d do a fix it of some things that bother me, but I do tend to do canon rewrites to smooth out wrinkles as a fun writing exercise/my version of hyperfixation on media and with the time gap between the games there is PLENTY of those in the plot, so uhhhhhhhh) but no one to bother them to, so uhhhhh yeah thanks for coming to my Ted talk.

[psi-king]

It seems I have redesigned Dove quite a lot compared to last year so I made her a new miniature reference! More information about her under the cut.

Dove Zanotto-Fullbear is the daughter of Helmut Fullbear who is the third head and therapist of the Motherlobe. Tending to have a colorful personality, she is easy to get along with and is overly laid back. Despite being polar opposites, and his sketchy past, she is happily married to Gristol Malik, and is a mother of three.

Aliases Little Bear ( close family and friends only ) Third Head ( by Hollis ) Chief of Optimism ( official title ) Hibiscus ( codename ) Mother Bear ( by the Junior / Intern Psychonauts and close friends/family Dovebear ( by Bob and Helmut only, sometimes Gristol ) Miss Fullbear ( used instead of Agent Fullbear to stop confusion ) Miss Forgivi ( in PSI King's Sensorium ) Dove Plant ( in Bob’s Bottles ) Gzarina Dove ( in Fatherland Follies and by Gristol occasionally ) Hippie (by Coach Oleander) Gender: AFAB, Genderfluid Sexuality: Bisexual Age: 34 Occupations: Psychonaut Chief of Optimism ( Third Head / Therapist of the Psychonauts ) Jet Pilot ( only in case of emergencies ) Therapist at Whispering Rock camp ( very occasionally, usually handing work at the Motherlobe )

Height: 7′2″

Mind: Love Bear Island PSI-Powers: Mediumship ( specialty ) Astral Projection Marksmanship Telekinesis Levitation Shield (specialty) Telepathy PSI Energy Transfer Psycho-fabrication  ( specialty ) Herbaphony ( very weak )

Family: Helmut Fullbear ( biological father ) Dove’s unnamed mother ( biological mother ) † Bob Zanotto ( step-father ) Gristol Malik ( husband ) Gzar Theodore Malik (father-in-law)† Gzarina Rokel Malik (mother-in-law) Andrick Malik ( son ) Eleanora Malik ( daughter ) Wenzel Malik ( son ) Tia Zanotto ( grand-mother )† Bob's unnamed father ( grand-father )† Bob’s unnamed sister/sister-in-law ( aunt )† Truman Zanotto ( step-cousin ) Lili Zanotto ( first step-cousin once removed )

[starshadyy]

Land of Plenty, Land of Love
Our Fatherland shall rise above!
So blessed we are to have a Gzar
And all his family
The People's complaints
Drowning in prosperity!
Grulovia! Grulovia! Forever shining bright!
Grulovia! Grulovia! You're always right!

Land of sorrow and dismay
Our Fatherland has washed away!
A man bizarre deposed the Gzar
And all his family
The People's remains
Drowning in his treachery!
Grulovia! Grulovia! Ford Cruller murdered you!
Grulovia! Grulovia! An act he'll rue!

Robbed of all their rights of birth
The Royal family roamed the earth!
'Til as he died the Gzar, he cried
Maligula’s alive!
The People rejoiced!
Gristol Malik was their voice!
Grulovia! Grulovia! His father was a dope!
Grulovia! Grulovia! He is our hope!

Gristol Malik's aim was true!

Our fatherland did rise anew
He made a plan, and fooled the man

Who took Maligula
Together they rule

Everything is super cool
Grulovia, Grulovia! We're better than before!

Grulovia, Grulovia! Is great once more!

[jeannettebanana]

On fic request - character study of Lucrecia Mux while she working for Gzar and slowly losing herself (fandom - psychonauts 2)

Tada! I hope it's satisfactory! I haven't written for Lucrecia, so this was certainly interesting, and you know I always love a good corruption arc! ;3c I hope you enjoy!

Lucrecia in the Gzar's Palm

warnings: panic, grief, spiraling, death, drowning.

“Lucrecia, you must rid of these protestors!” Gzar Malik commands of her. She looks over them.

These are her people, she fought for them. She cannot bring harm to them, not after everything she’s done to protect them.

She makes water rain down upon them, hoping to break the group up, force them into shelter.

“Oh stop messing around! Deal with them, or else I will have to deal with you,” Gzar Malik threatens.

Out of fear she worsens the storm. Rain soaking the protestors to the bone.

“That’s the best you can do?” He scoffs, and grabs her shoulder tightly in warning.

Her mind starts racing, panic settling in. The people were right, they just needed help. This- This isn’t right! But she can’t stop. She can’t stop it. The storm worsens. Please, please stop! The wind pushes and pulls at her clothing, water now soaking both of them through. The protestors start to panic themselves.

“Yes, yes! More my dear, more!” Malik goads her on. No, no stop!

They hear a loud crack. Everything seems to freeze as Lucrecia watches the dam break. A line here, a leak there, until water flushes through with a deafening crash. The water washes over everything, taking everyone on low ground with it. The water drowns out all the barely heard screams.

“Haha, wonderful dear Lucrecia!” Gzar Malik exclaims, going back into his home to shelter from the water now that the job was done sufficiently.

Lucrecia stands there, her body frozen in horror and numbness. The water starts to calm, light softly shining through the clouds. The water rests, flowing through the streets and finding its way into the ground and surrounding areas.

She watches as water runs past her. Everything soaked, debris floating around. When did it come to this? Does it even matter anymore? She sighs, and squats down, but then a body floats past her. A body she recognizes. A body that fills her with dread.

Her sister.

Her beloved sister that she told to stay away, that she warned to leave. She killed her. She killed Marona. Her out of control temper made her kill not only the protestors, but her beloved Marona. It was all her fault.

No. No, she won’t accept that, can’t accept that. It’s not her fault, she didn’t want to do this in the first place! It’s the people’s fault. If they hadn’t gathered to protest Marona wouldn’t have been there. But they gathered to protest against Gzar Malik, so is it his fault? She wouldn’t be muddled up in this if it weren’t for saving Gristol. If it weren’t for the war in the first place!

Water whips up around her, the wind blowing in relation to her own stormy emotions. She can’t just live a normal life anymore. She should’ve never come back to Grulovia to help. She should’ve stayed with Ford. She- She-

She should end all of them. Make them feel her pain. Her anguish. Her rage makes her body burn. The water coils around her, protecting her and unleashing her fury onto the people who have wronged her. The people who are ungrateful for all the things she’s done for them. Only one thought fills her mind.

Let them all drown.

[ask-agent-rapzutin-vodello]

Gzar of the Undead

Gristol kept tossing and turning in the despicable excuse of a bed that was provided in the humiliating bubble of the Psychoisolation. The springs creaked, the mattress was too soft and he needed – no, demanded an extra pillow. But these peasant Psyhcho-dummies  wouldn't even pretend they'd listen to him. How dare they. He is the Gzesarevich of Grulovia – FUTURE GZAR in fact!

Gristol bolted up from his pitiful pillow when he heard a sound, like footsteps. He looked around. No-one. He scoffed and laid his head down again, closing his eyes and tried to drift off to sleep.

Suddenly, he heard a clang. He bolted up again.

“WHO IS THERE!?” He demanded aloud. “I demand you show yourself.”

Nothing. Not a sound. Again. And then …he noticed something. 

The door. 

The door was open, just a bit.

He swung his legs over the bed and stood up, carefully approaching the thick metal door that had barred him from his rightful freedom. He gave the door a push. It swung open like it was nothing. What was the meaning of this? Did an electrical failure opened it? Or did someone unseen unlock it for him. Or was this a trap.

Gristol stepped outside the Isolation Bubble, looking around. No-one, not a soul around. He grinned. 

It didn't matter how the door opened. The only thing that mattered was that is was open. And he, Prince Gristol Malik, first of his name, had a straight shot to freedom. He moved as fast, and as quietly as he could toward the lift. Luckily, in his years in his job as meager, demeaning profession of Psychonauts Mail Clerk, he knew how to operate it so it worked for non-Psychics. 

The lift lowered him to the ground floor. Again, no-one there, not even that unrelenting jabbering wench of a receptionist Terryl – something he praised God for.

He let out a chuckle as he approached the door leading to the outside, to freedom. The doors opened for him, revealing the quiet night. He folded his hands behind his back and stepped out, an air of triumph and superiority plastered on his face.

He turned around and made a mocking bow towards the building. “Thank you, sweet Psychoisolation, for you hospitality.” He straightened himself with a menacing grin. “But I think it's hight time I'll make my leave.”

He turned around ...and let out a yelp, when he suddenly found himself NOT in the Quarry, like he was a second ago. He was in his Royal Suite in the Lucky Luctopus Casino. 

“What in the-?” He asked aloud. “How did I get here?”

He heard a huff. “Always asking the most relevant questions, don't you, Gristol?” A mocking voice asked.

Gristol felt his heart clench. That voice. That booming, intimidating voice. He knew that voice. He had heard it all his life. He used to worship that voice. Gristol slowly turned to the direction of the voice. By the penthouse viewing window, that gave a view overlooking the entire casino, stood a person, his back turned towards Gristol, looking at the scenery below them. And not just any person …

“F-father?” Gristol asked, his knees almost buckling. “I thought you were …”

“Dead?” Theodore Malik, former Gzar of what once was Grulovia, finished. “As you can see, I am quite ...the opposite.”

“I ...I saw you die.” Gristol said, slowly approaching his father. “I held your hand as you took your last breath.”

“After which, you wasted no time trying to take my crown.” Theodore said. “To become ruler of a dead country.”

“It was my birthright!” Gristol shouted. “And I had a plan. A plan to make Grulovia great again!”

Theodore let out a low chuckle. “And how did that turn out?” He asked. “You nearly drowned

“They didn't play fair!” Gristol complained, taking long steps towards his father, ending right behind him. “But now that I'm out, I-”

“You will do nothing of the sort.” Theodore barked out, still his back turned towards his son. “You knew what Maligula did our country, yet you still tried to revive her. Your plans were as you are, a failure. And failures ...have no place on the throne.”

Gristol gasped. “How dare you, father? I am the Czesarevich! The rightful heir to the throne! I am-!”

“A child in a grown man's body.” Theodore interrupted. Gristol was suddenly aware of the foul odor around him, which seemed to grow more pungent with every passing moment. “A poor, middle-aged man, pretending he's so much more than he is. A lowly mailman with dreams of being royalty. Just plain old Nick Johnsmith.”

Gristol clenched his fists, seething with anger. “Turn around and say that again, old man!” he growled.

Theodore remained silent for a few moments. “As you wish, Gristol.” He complied, slowly turning around.

Gristol gasped in horror when he saw his fathers face. His eyes were pure white and sunken, his skin was green and rotting, with several patches of flesh already gone, replaced with  blackened, decaying holes. The lips around his mouth had rotted away, showing his teeth. His Imperial Uniform was tattered and dirty. The foul stench that Gristol had smelt earlier was now everywhere and stronger than before.

Gristol let out a scream and jumped away from the undead figure. He stumbled over a scattered tin of caviar and fell backwards. He pushed himself as far as he could, scrambling to get away, screaming all the way.

Theodore chuckled, his exposed teeth parting briefly, as dust emerged from his throat. “Now, Gristol ...is that any way to greet your father?” He held out his arms. “Come give me a hug and join me for dinner, my son. I am famished.” He took a few steps forward towards his son. 

Gristol let out a scream and scrambled up, running to the door, his escape from this decaying living cadaver. He pulled open the door with all his might, but held on to the doorknob as he nearly fell. Behind the door was no hallway, no other room, no casino even. There was a black void. At first it seemed it seemed bottomless, but Gristol felt his heart freeze when he heard the sounds emerging from below, like a low moaning. And then he saw the eyes, the endless glowing eyes. Thousands of them.

“What ...what are those?” Gristol asked, his voice trembling with fear as he slowly walked backwards from the horror below. He let out a pitiful wail, as despair and dread took melted away the last slivers of courage his body possessed. “This can't be real! THIS CAN'T BE REAL!”

He froze when he felt a cold hand fall on his shoulder. He felt his undead father's cold, pungent breath in his ear. “This is quite real, my boy. As real as it gets. And those things down below?” He gripped the back of Gristol's shirt and started to push him towards the door again, despite his son's attempts to escape his death grip. “Those are you loving subject, as you always wanted. Dead habitants of a dead nation. And they love you, just like you always wanted.” 

Gristol tried to did his feet into the floor as he kept getting closer and closer to the edge. He let out a scream as his feet passed the threshold. He spread his arms, keeping himself from toppling forwards. Droplets of sweat rolled down his forehead, as tears rolled down his cheek, only whimpers and incomprehensible begging coming out his throat. His hands were sweating so much, they almost didn't have a good grip on the doorframe. In fact, he felt his grip slipping.

“P-please....” Gristol begged, letting out soft cries. 

Theodore chuckled. “Why don't you go say them hello?”

He gave a final, hard push.

Gristol lost his grip. He screamed as he felt into the void, flailing his arms around in desperate panic, as he saw the eyes get closer.

But instead of being grabbed by undead hands, he landed on the ground. He landed hard. He spat out a mouthful of dirt and let out a groan, as he picked himself off the ground. He whimpered as he looked his new environment, and noticed to his absolute dismay that he recognized it as well. 

He was in Grulovia. 

The flooded ruins of Grulovia.

He stood by the shores of the lake that had formed after the Deluge, after Maligula went on a rampage. In the distance, he saw the once glorious Imperial Palace of his Malik ancestors, now ruined and decrepit, most of its walls crumbled or gone. The demolished houses of the peasants were partly submerged in the water. He saw bodies, floating under water. Still and unmoving.

Then, he heard a long, tired moan behind him. He spun around, facing the ruins of what was once the Grand Capital of Grulovia. He throat was dry, his breathing fast and erratic, and he was fairly certain he had soiled his pants. His heart froze in a dead-like grip when he heard noise coming from the ruins. Shuffling. Something dragging across the ground.

A figure appeared from behind the corner of one of the ruins. A decaying corpse, wearing torn and tattered Grulovian clothing and missing chunks of flesh in it's face, using it long fingers to drag its body across the ground. Its dead, white eyes were focused on Gristol.

“Mmmyyyy Gzesaaaareviiiiiich....” It moaned, as it dragged closer and closer. “Yoooouuu aaare finally heeeeere...”

Gristol was frozen on the spot, as he saw more and more undead peasants shuffled from the ruined houses, pushing themselves up from rotting debris of even clawing themselves out of the ground.

“Wweeeee loo-ooove you, Gristol Maaaalik!” An undead woman moaned. “Taaaaake me as a briii-iide...”

Gristol stepped backwards, his eyes darting around to find something he could use as weapons, to keep these monstrosities at bay. “Don't come closer. I demand you!”

“But we lo-ove yoouu....” Another peasant man, this one wearing the uniform of the Castle Guards. “We have waited for you... Our Gzar!”

Soon, all the undead were saying similar things, as they shuffled closer and closer towards Gristol.

“No, stay back!” Gristol shouted in desperation, as tears rolled down his cheeks. He yelped when he felt himself step into the freezing water of the lake behind him. Fear gripped his throat when he saw that the floating bodies of the dead were swimming towards him. Their soaking bodies were bloated and pale, their eyes missing.

Gristol screamed and tried to run away, but fell when something caught his foot. He looked around and saw to his horror that an undead arm had grabbed him. Another arm bursted out of the ground, grabbing Gristol's other leg, holding him in place. Gristol kicked in an desperate attempt to break free, clawing at the ground to pull him away. He looked up. The undead peasants from the ruins had reached him, and when he looked behind him, he saw undead crawling out of the lake, freezing water dripping of their clothes. He was surrounded.

“Now you'll become our Gzar ...forever” An undead moaned. 

“NO!” Gristol screamed, as he felt cold, stiff hands grabbed him. He screamed as they started to drag him towards the lake. Their fingers tearing at his clothes, their nails digging into his flesh. Gristol cried and begged, kicking his feet, thrashing his body as hard as he could. He clawed at the ground, trying to dig his fingers into the frozen dirt, but finding no grip. He screamed in fear, as he felt his feet touch the water, and started to thrash around even harder.

But it was to no avail. 

The undead slowly pulled their quarry further and further into the lake. Gristol tried to grab hold to anything that could save him. A rock, a branch, anything! 

But the dead kept dragging him into the lake. 

His breath hitched when he felt the freezing water touch his chest. Sputtering and coughing as he got mouthfuls of water as he screamed. And as his head got submerged into the lake, and his screams were replaced by bubbles erupting from his gaping mouth, he noticed a figure standing on the shores.

He held out his arm towards the figure, in a desperate plea for rescue.

But the figure just watched. 

And did nothing, as the undead dragged a screaming Gristol to the dark bottom of the lake. Towards darkness.

The domain of the dead.

Long live the Gzar.

Hollis Forsythe let out a sigh as she walked into the Psychoisolation Chamber. She approached Terryl, who seemed distraught.

The Psychoisolation receptionist jumped of her seat as she saw Hollis approach.  “Ma'am, I-”

Hollis held up her hand, halting whatever the woman was gonna say. “You found him this morning?”

Terryl nodded. “I was bringing over his breakfast – toast with jam and orange juice – when I noticed that Ni- I mean, Mr. Malik was not moving in his bed. Like, at all. And I know I am not allowed to go in there, but I got worried when he didn't respond at anything I said, so I went inside and-” She took a deep breath. “I ran out of there, locked the door and notified Agent Nein and Mentallis immediately.”

Hollis patted Terryl on the shoulder. “You did good.” She said with a reassuring smile. “Go to the cafeteria and have a coffee, to relax your nerves.”

Terryl let out a nervous chuckle. “If it's all the same, Agent Forsythe, I think I rather go to the Astral Lanes for something ...stronger.”

Hollis sighed. “I don't blame you.” She gave Terryl a last pat. “Dismissed.”

Terryl nodded and walked out the reception area as fast as she could. Hollis shook her head and took the Levitation Lift to the upper level. She saw that Otto was busy talking with some other Agents, who were doing a sweep of the area.

“Otto.” Hollis greeted.

Otto nodded. “Forsythe” he sighed putting his fists on his hips. “Quite the morning we're having. I was having a lovely breakfast with coffee and croissant, when I get a message about his mess....” He gestured for Hollis to follow him into the Isolation Bubble.

“So ...how is he?” Hollis asked.

Otto sighed and looked towards the bed. “Well, he is alive.”

On the bed, whimpering and trembling, lay Gristol Malik. Hugging himself and in a fetal position. He kept whispering to himself in a soft, frantic voice, but all that came out of him resembled nothing comprehensible. He had an opened Psycho Portal on his head. Sasha sat next to him, in a trance.

“Is he ...responsive?”

Otto scratched the back of his head. “How do I put this...?” He asked aloud. “The light is on, but the occupant is ...unavailable. The wheel is turning, but the hamster is ...not dead, but missing. He is a complete, catatonic state; and he seems to be in a continues state of dread.”

“Did someone do this to him?” Hollis asked. 

“No evidence of break-in of any kind. No forced entry inside the Isolation Bubble, if it were possible at all.” Otto said. “I designed this chamber to be impenetrable, with the only entry point being the mail slot and I don't see someone crawling in through there.”

Hollis looked at the Psycho Portal on Gristol's head. “You could telekinetically bring a Portal through there...”

At that moment, said Psycho Portal shut itself close and Sasha – now back in his own body – stood up. He greeted Agent Forsythe with a nod. “Hollis.”

“Agent Nein, how is the situation in there?” 

Sasha sighed and crossed his arms. “It's ...a mess.” He stated. “His entire world is overrun with Nightmares, Mania Monsters, Fear demons, Personal Demons and more. But of Gristol's Core Construct is nothing to be seen.”

“Can he be helped?” Hollis asked.

Sasha sighed, tapping his chin. “He is ...salvageable.” He stated. “With some intense therapy – and over a long, long period of time -, he'll be back to his normal self.” He paused. “Relatively speaking, of course. Junior Agent Razputin's report has stated that Malik's mind was already in a state of mania, denial and regression. He was already an very unstable person, who's mind was not in the healthiest state.”

“Is this going to hurt his case?” Otto asked. “He is in no state to stand trial.”

“I don't think that matters much.” Hollis said, folding her hands behind her back. “We have him on kidnapping, impersonating a government official, forgery of documents, treason, conspiracy against the world peace, mass endangerment, and a whole lot more. And then there are the war crimes he and the Malik family were responsible for. As Gzesarevich – and heir to the throne – he can be held accountable for them, even if he was a child back then. He's going to be put away behind bars, no matter the state of his mind.”

“At this state, he'll probably be put in a nice, soft, padded cell.” Otto stated. He let out a huff. “Good riddance, if you ask me....”

Hollis pursed her lips for a few moments, before letting out a breath. “Sasha, I am sorry but I need to ask” She began, turning to the German Agent. “Do you think that Razputin-”

“Absolutely not!” Sasha stated firmly, not letting Hollis finish her sentence. “Despite his animosity he feels Malik in his role against his family, and the using his trust in Truman to make him complicit in that plan, Razputin feels that everyone deserves a chance at redemption, even the lowest of the low. Besides, the Psycho Portal he had been extensively borrowing from me ...is right here.” Sasha floated the Portal over to his hand. “And it's been with me ever since I requested it back from Razputin several days ago.”

The three Agents paused, as they thought over the case.

Hollis straightened herself. “As you said yourself, Agent Nein, Gristol's mind was already in a downwards spiral.” She stated. “Could it be that his defeat and the foiling of his plans ...simply pushed him over the edge?”

Sasha remained silent for a few moments, his expression stoic behind his glasses. He nodded. “It's entirely possible.”

Hollis turned to Otto. “And there is no sign of break-in or forced entry, at all?” 

“Nothing of the sort.” Otto replied, an almost unnoticeable smirk forming as the corner of his mouth.

“Then we might assume that his break-down happened on his own. He simply couldn't take it anymore. We have seen this happen dozens of times with dozens of different enemies. Some people's minds just can't handle being thwarted.” Hollis turned around and started to walk out of the Isolation Bubble. “Finish up here with whatever you deem necessary, but I don't think this requires much more investigation ...” She looked over her shoulder, as best as she could with her giant shoulder pads. “Don't you agree, Agents?”

Both Otto and Sasha nodded.

“Good.” Hollis brushed off some dust of her jacket. “I shall inform Truman and the other Agents of what happened.” With that said, she walked out.

Sasha let out a deep breath and turned to his former Mentor. “Otto, is this really the course of action we should take?”

Otto patted his student-turned-colleague on the back. “In my experience, sometimes the greater good needs a bit of ...harmless omission.” He started to guide Sasha out of the bubble. “Let me ask you this, hypothetically speaking, if you had the chance, knowing what he has done ...would you take it?”

Sasha stared at Otto in silence for a few moments, before he walked out without saying another word. 

Otto let out a sigh and fished something out of his pocket. It was Truman's Thinkerprint Authenticator. This device had All Access to every building in the Motherlobe and beyond. He had found it outside the Psychoisolation, floating in the lake. Gristol must have had it with him when he went to see Maligula – Lucy... 

Otto bounced the device in his hand. It must have fallen out of his pocket when Maligula attacked. It certainly had traveled a long distance from there. How it would have ended up here …

Otto chuckled and put the device back in his pocket. “Ah, some mysteries are not worth unraveling.” He made his way to the lift, humming a song.

Back in the Questionable Area, Frazie sat on top of the Funicular as it went up in down, lost in thought. She let out a sigh and let herself fall backwards, gazing towards the sky. She bit her lip, before letting out a yawn. She had hardly slept last night. Too much on her mind. She sighed. Had she gone too far? Shouldn't she-

“Hey, you.”

Frazie bolted up and looked into the direction of where the voice had called out from. The voice belonged to Norma, that Intern – or Junior Agent, if one had to be precise- who approached her. Frazie had to admit, she didn't have no patience for this one. She had tricked Raz, stolen his clothes, made him to HER work to get them back, suspected him of being the mole and that her entire family were Deluginaries, and went behind everyone's back to get the glory of stopping 'their evil plot' and nearly helped the real enemy win.

Plus she had a really unpleasant personality.

Yet, Frazie hated to admit ...she was pretty. And not that bad when you got to know her.

Still, she rather not deal with her today. Not after yesterday, where she got into a fight with her, here in the Questionable Area.

“What do you want, Junior Agent Natividad?” She asked, putting emphasis on the 'junior' part her title.

“Just wanted to talk.” Norma said, holding up her hands. Not waiting for Frazie to agree, or even an invitation, she hopped on the funicular, just as it made its way up again. She sat down on the funicular's bench as looked up to Frazie, as best she could. “Did you hear about Gristol Malik?”

Frazie held her breath, hoping Norma didn't notice that little hiccup. “Yeah, Raz was all ablaze about it this morning.” She stated, trying to keep her voice as even as possible. “The guy crashed or something?”

“'Or something'.” Norma stated, as she decided to climb on the roof that Frazie was sitting on. Frazie, on the other hand, jumped up and stepped of the train as it reached the top. 

“So, what about it?” She asked, walking over to the little ruin, to lean against one of the remaining standing walls. 

“Just curious that it happened to sudden.” Norma stated, as she managed to jump of the funicular in time, before it made it way down again. “So sudden, out of nowhere. Strange, isn't it?” She asked, walking over to Frazie.

Frazie just shrugged. “Is this what you wanted to talk about?”

“Actually ...” Frazie began, folding her hands together in front of her. “I wanted to talk about yesterday. When you ambushed me and pinned me against the trees?”

Frazie huffed. “You deserved that.” She said, looking away from Norma. “For all that stuff you pulled against Raz and our family.”

Norma sighed. “And I don't blame you for being mad at me for that. I ...am making amends as I go.”

Frazie's expression softened a bit. 

“But I think I must have lost something during our little struggle.” Norma began, as she started to pace slowly across Frazie. “This morning, I noticed that my Psycho Portal was missing. I had it in my pockets yesterday, and this morning ...poof, gone.”

Frazie pursed her lips together. “Is that so?” 

Norma hummed a response. “So, when I got here, I went back to where we ...met and I looked around.” She produced a small grin. “Luckily, it was still where I must have dropped it. Isn't that fortunate?”

Frazie's head snapped towards Norma's direction, an expression of disbelieve on her face. “What …?”

“I said, 'luckily I found it there'.” Norma stated, putting emphasis on her words. “It probably was there the entire night. Such a luck that no-one picked it up.” She shrugged. “Or any of the animals, for that matter.” She peeked over her glasses, giving Frazie a long, meaningful look.

Frazie stared at Norma, incredulity forming in her eyes.

Norma just smiled and nodded.

Frazie closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. “Is it wrong of me ...thinking that Gristol deserved that? Stuck in a nightmare? Am I a bad person because of that?”

Norma walked over to Frazie and leaned against the wall next to her. She remained silent for a few moments, before she spoke up. “I think you're a person who really loves her family and would do anything to protect them, despite the consequences.” 

She broke away from Frazie's gaze and looked over the Questionable Area. She shrugged “I certainly think that he deserves it. I even think he deserves more than that, for taking advantage of me and Raz, and our trust in him when he was using Truman's body. Hell, I think you would agree that I deserve some punishment as well.

Frazie place a hand on Norma's shoulder. “Norma, you was tricked by him.”

“No, it was more than that.” Norma stated, shrugging of the hand. “I mean, he took advantage of Raz and his desire to to help everyone. That boy has a good heart.”

“The best....” Frazie stated softly.

“Me? I did it all for the glory and recognition.” Norma continued, her voice growing louder and more agitated. She walked away from the wall and started to pace around. “He spoke out these honey words about how I would be heralded as a hero, and my name would be remembered by Agents, present and future, for centuries to come. And what did I do? I FELL FOR IT!” She let out a yell as she kicked a rock, sending it flying. 

“Norma ...” Frazie began, her expression soft and compassionate. “He had tricked EVERYONE for years. Milla, Sasha, Hollis, Mr. Mentallis, and every single one of those Agents walking around in that big brain building of yours.”

“That doesn't make me feel any better.” Norma stated, pushing up her glasses.

Frazie grinned. “I know something that could make you feel better.” And without further explanation, she closed the distance  between them and caught Norma in an embrace.

“Wh-what are you doing, Aquato?” Norma asked, her cheeks growing more red with every second.

“It's called a hug, smartypants.” Frazie giggled. “And this is one of the things people do to make other people feel better.” She tightened the hug. “Is it working?”

Norma gulped, and slowly wrapped her arms around the redheaded acrobat. “Maybe a little bit.” They remained silent for a few moment, neither of them willing to break the embrace. Norma suddenly felt something being placed in her back pocket. Something hard and rectangular. She took a deep breath and broke away from the hug, letting a nervous smirk form on her lips. “Hey, watch those hands, Miss Opportunity.”

 Frazie giggled. “Sorry, couldn't help myself.”

They stared at each other for a few moments, and gave each other a quick nod, silently sealing the pact they had wordlessly made.

Norma coughed in her fist. “A-anyway, if were are done feeling sorry for ourselves here, I was  wondering if you would like to do something with me?”

“Oh? Why?” Frazie asked with genuine curiosity.

“I just ...want to get to know you better.” Norma stated, as she scratched the back of her head, a blush forming on her face. “With Raz being a fellow Agent, we might be running into each other a few times, so I figured: why not become friends, you know?”

Frazie grinned. “You know, I agree. I would like to get to know you better, as well.” She stated, a small blush spreading on her cheeks. “We had a bit of a rocky start, you and I. So ...why don't we start over?”

Norma returned the grin. “Great.” She swung her arms back and forth, seemingly a bit nervous. “So, do you want to go to a place where we can make o- hang out, HANG OUT, I meant to say hang out. Oh good grief!” She let out a groan and buried her face in her hands, her entire face as red Frazie's hair. 

Frazie let out a laugh and skipped over to her blushing friend, hooking her arm into hers. “Actually, I know the perfect place.” She said, as he guided Norma towards the Funicular. “I found this little cave while exploring a few days ago. It's secluded, away from prying eyes. A bit of a tight squeeze, but I'm sure we'll make due. A sweet little spot where we won't be disturbed while we're...” She leaned in closer to Norma's ear, brining her voice down to a whisper. “'Hanging out'.”

Norma let out a long breath, which came out as steam out of her mouth, fogging up her glasses. She took them off and wiped them clean on her shirt. “L-lead the way.”

Frazie giggled as they hopped on the funicular. 

She felt like this would be the start of something beautiful.

[gristol-liker]

I give you permission to talk about Rokel

Yay!

So what draws me to Rokel is how incredibly little we know about her. Sure, there are plenty of characters in Psychonauts that we only learn a thing or two about (mostly characters' parents), but there is almost nothing shown about Rokel.

Let's look at what we know for sure. We know:

what she looked like

her occupation (gzarina)

that she's Gristol's mother

Again, most characters' parents don't get a lot of characterization either, for instance, Oleander's dad, Butch. Similarly, we know:

what he looked like

his occupation (butcher)

that he's Oleander's dad

that he traumatized his son by killing his favorite rabbit right in front of him

But there is a big difference between Oleander's dad & Gristol's mom; Butch only appears in Oleander's mind, while Rokel appears in both Gristol's mind and Ford's. (she's also sort of mentioned in the newspaper article titled "Gzar Theodore Flees Grulovia with Family," being part of said family)

With her appearing in more places, you'd think we could learn a little more about her, but not really. She was there when Gzar Theodore was pushing Lucrecia and forcing her to rain on the protesters. Except we don't see her reaction to that. Whether it's to Lucy's actions or Theodore's. I double-checked, and I only found her in four memory vault slides: In "Glory to Grulovia" where she's on the throne with her family, two in "A Land without Caviar" where she's fleeing the flood with her family & then checking in at the Luctopus, and one in "Lucy's Letters" where she appears in a newspaper photo alongside her family. (see the pictures below)

She isn't even shown in the memory vault "The Deluge of Grulovia" which depicts, well, the deluge of Grulovia... (Yes, Gristol isn't there either, but this ain't about him. Actually, speaking of Gristol...)

We get to see how both Gristol & Theodore react to Lucy raining on the protesters and how they viewed her. Gristol sees Lucy/Maligula as his protector and doesn't care about the people she's washing away. Theodore is shown being resentful of Lucy when she first arrives and is beloved by the population, depicted holding a knife and looking at her angrily. He then uses her for his own horrible purposes but eventually becomes fearful of her and tries to have her killed.

But we don't see what Rokel thinks of Maligula. We don't see if she completely supports what her husband is doing or if she opposes it. Or if she's indifferent like Gristol. She gets no reaction to anything that's happening right outside her palace walls, save for one line of dialogue during the deluge.

“Get out while you can!”

And, well, can we even take this as something she actually said? The line is heard in Cruller's Correspondence, Ford's mental world. He wasn't there during the deluge, so he'd have no way of knowing what any member of the Malik family said. Even if Theodore & Gristol's lines are in character.

Other than what's been previously mentioned, I believe the only other way Rokel appears in Ford's mind is as a postage stamp with the smallest value of the Malik family's stamps.

This brings us to where she most prominently appears; Fatherland Follies. But even though she's seen a lot more in this level, she still doesn't get much to do. Every Rokel animatronic is right alongside Theodore & Gristol. She's seen standing with her family, fleeing with her family, and at her husband's deathbed, where she looks appears to be grieving. In the portraits we see, Rokel is painted alongside her family twice, and in the two pictures where she's alone, one is just a closer view of the other. (Contrast this with Theodore getting two different portraits of just himself.) And in all of these depictions, Rokel is shown with the same neutral pose & expression, except in the previously mentioned scene at Theodore's deathbed.

Also, in Fatherland Follies, Rokel is barely mentioned by the Voice of Grulovia and isn't really included at all in the song. She's only kind of in the song if you include the line "and all (the gzar's) family."

Last thing I'll bring up here is one of the things that gets me the most. Where is she now?

With most of the Psychonauts characters seen only in the past, we know what happened to them after that bit, or can make assumptions, going off of in-game info only (not the backstory doc). For instance;

Sasha ran away from his home, so his dad is probably still alive and working in the same place

Milla's orphanage burned down with the kids inside, so they likely all died

Oleander suffered trauma from his dad, so he may have simply cut ties with him out of fear

Gloria's mom is confirmed to have committed suicide

Loboto's parents are shown to not care about their "demon child" and probably stopped interacting with him when he was institutionalized or sooner

Bob's dad is hinted at being dead & his mom is confirmed to have died

Gristol's dad is confirmed dead

But there isn't a lot of information to go off of for where Rokel is or even what she did after fleeing Grulovia. Did she die shortly after her husband? Did she just decide to leave because she was tired of living in exile? Did she leave because Gristol was becoming too obsessed with Maligula? Did she want to go back to Grulovia? Did she try to talk her son out of planning anything? Did she try to stay in contact with him after leaving?

There are so many questions, and I want answers, please!

[apotelesmaa]

Psychonauts characters that would be into crypto/nfts:

1. None of the characters are stupid enough for that

2. Gristol Malik

[agent-love-101]

Replaying psychonauts 2 for the third time, and nick all wrapped up is still so funny to me

[falsepsychictales]

I’ve heard it may be canon so i’m probably wrong, but in my personal opinion diagnosing Gristol Malik as a delusional narcissist (at least in the clinical sense of those terms, and without further elaboration) is a fairly shallow interpretation of his character. I think it’s important to make a distinction between delusional versus deluded, and narcissistic versus entitled.

Given the vague religious imagery in his mind and the parallels to Imperial Russia, it’s very likely that the Maliks believe in the divine right of kings, meaning he’s been raised since birth to believe that he was literally chosen by God to be Gzar, and questioning that or himself would be nothing short of heresy.

The ride in his mind is explicitly filled with propaganda--which begs the question of who that propaganda is meant to influence. He doesn’t seem to be expecting visitors, but he does go through the ride himself, probably on a regular basis. And it’s not like he’s pathologically incapable of critical thought; in his mind post-game he ponders the implications of his plan’s failure, only to pause and then quickly revert to the same old i’m-the-rightful-gzar narrative right when he could have realized something. In the physical world, he sings the propaganda song to himself, maybe trying to shut down these thoughts.

Like Raz, Gristol been raised on a false narrative that’s been passed down generations--but he actively chooses to fill his own mind with propaganda rather than admit that he’s been lied to.

[big-ass-magnet]

....Do you ever think about How Gristol Malik in his Nick persona was apperantly liked by pretty much everyone at the Motherlobe and how people constantly stress how good he was at sorting mail? Because I think about that way too much, because on one hand he probably loathed every second of being nice to those people but on the other hand I can't help but imagine canon divergence where he actually manages to pull his head outta his ass for five minutes and realizes he has a pretty good deal going on here so he just becomes a spoiled rich boy who also works the mailroom at psychonauts headquarters and goes Bowling with his co-workers on the weekends and the entire plot of the second game doesn't happen because of that. I don't know just the idea of the "Evil genius master plan " he set up just fizzling out anticlimaticaly is deeply funny to me. (Also inspired by me being awkward and thinking "God I would break my own neck to have co-workers who think that highly of me")

Nick putting off his plan until next week because Thursday is the potluck and there's a contest for best dessert and he found a recipe for double fudge brownies that will for SURE prove him the superior baker, lifting him to his rightful place above these peasants

Nick putting off his plan for a month because oh my GOD it's the holiday season and everyone gets their personal packages sent to work and if he mails his body to himself now it'll almost certainly get lost under twenty five million boxes of presents and he'll have to waste so much time digging it out

Nick putting off his plan for another month because someone let slip that the office is planning a surprise birthday part for him and well, he's not going to let all that hard work go to waste--er, that is, he's not going to pass up a chance to be the center of attention and get presents and free cake

We've all noticed that his plan really falls apart towards the end (step three: wake up Maligula; step four: ???; step five: be ruler of Grulovia). Maybe one day he sets down and actually tries to plot out step four, and realizes that god, taking over a whole country is really hard. And sorting mail isn't that hard. And he can afford plenty of caviar on his current salary.

He's not giving up on his plan! He's definitely going to be Gzar! He's just...not actively pursuing that career path right now. That's all.

[invisiblepsychic]

I keep thinking about Gristol Malik.

He sees his whole life and identity as a theme park ride. A fairy tale. A storybook! The Exiled Prince is such a storybook trope! In his mind, he's the protagonist of the story of Grulovia's fall and rebirth. It has to work out that way - The Return of the King as a trope is a story of triumph, and every fairy tale needs its happy ending.

But the thing is, he doesn't actually know anything about Grulovia. He was a pampered child when it fell, and he has a pampered child's warped perception of how it all worked. When Raz tells him Grulovia was never a great country, his rebuttal is of course it was - he had an cotton candy maker in his bedroom! That's the kind of memories he's building the image of Grulovia on. He had a happy childhood there, so everyone must have been happy, and it must have been a great country. Never mind that he was the most privilegied child in the nation. Nevermind that he doesn't seem to have learned anything about the wars and the politics that were actually going on at the time. Nevermind that he seems to know absolutely nothing about what the Grulovia region is like right now.

He also doesn't have a single idea of what to do with the country if he'd manage to reconquer it with Maligula's help. At that point, the ride dissolves into incoherence, and the song just claims that "everything is super cool". Becoming the Gzar of Grulovia is Gristol's end goal - anything after that belongs to the "happily ever after" of his storybook life.

And in the end, the only thing he learns from his failure is that Maligula was a disappointment. The image of Maligula as Grulovia's hero in his mind might have changed, but the image of himself as Grulovia's next Gzar hasn't. That image is so entrenched in his identity since childhood that he's probably never even considered being anything else.

[aquato-family-circus]

Maybe I'm reading too much into things, but do we know who the "friend" was who wrote that "Lucrecia has gone too far" letter? An unknown party being interested in either killing Lucy or provoking her seems like a really ominous loose thread to me.

yknow I don't think there is any definitive answer on that front, or even much to speculate on, very mysterious! There aren't any named characters we know in Grulovia at the time except for the Maliks, Lucy, and the Aquatos, so it's not like we know any advisors or friends of the palace who Theodore's little friend could be

Though I do have my own half-serious theory; it would have to be someone who could write to the Gzar AND have it reach him instead of get thrown in the "complaint box", so; Rokel, his wife. Maybe she tried to tell him a few times before it was too late, in person and "anonymously", but Theodore was too stubborn to listen until he couldn't even assassinate Maligula

[psi-king]

does Dove have an intern? Or did they have a mentor in the past?

All information I'm about to tell uses lore from my AU Grulovian Tales so things might be very different from canon.

Dove have an intern?

There is a yes and no answer to this. Do they have an official intern? Well in Grulovian Tales none of the heads have a full-time intern, they all share the responsibility as their jobs as the three heads are highly time-consuming. This leaves Dove mainly as a mentor to both Adam and Norma, and when Truman goes missing they end up becoming a full mentor to the two for a while. [ In Grulovian Tales the Junior Psychonauts still have mentors until they are adults. ] They also take responsibility for all interns cause the three heads are sort of mentors over anyone in the junior psychonauts and internship program, just never full-time like the others.

Did they have a mentor in the past?

There is a depressing, chaotic, and good answer to this.

Before they lost their dad [ Helmut Fullbear ] and their papa [ Bob Zanotto ] started avoiding them cause they reminded him too much of Helmut; they used to have the two as mentors.

But after the fall of Grulvoia, Dove ends up unofficially adopted by their cousin Truman Zanotto who becomes a mentor to them until adulthood.

But they also had a fourth mentor, a non-psychic spirit actually. This 4th mentor was no other than Gzar Theodore Malik.

This is a little confusing but in my AU Theodore was on his deathbed when Gristol was 14, a year after the dam disaster. His brain ended up donated to Otto's brain tank and Dove, the same age as Gristol, stumbled upon it due to being able to see lost spirits who are aware they are dead.

Dove was interested in psychology at the time, and was determined to get their mind off the whole loss of their father situation by taking on one of the toughest challenges they could, knocking actual sense into Theodore.

This not only led to Dove keeping Theodore in one of those balls similar to Larry for a large portion of their life, but also led to Theodore in a way becoming a sort of mentor to Dove. He pushed them, rather strictly, in a certain way to pursue their dreams of psychology, and due to this Dove became a psychologist way before they even reached their 30s. That's how they got their job as the Motherlobe's psychologist and added to them becoming the third head.

Due to Theodore having no real power to break Dove, it was impossible to end up in another Maligula situation so Dove was never really in any real danger the whole time. Just a person way to determined to crack Theodore's narcissism and make him realize what he did was wrong. After 20 years of this yeah it made a big difference in the corrupted king, but in a weird way if it wasn't for him Dove would of fallen into a deeper depression and never became the Motherlobe Psychologist or the third head so yeah, he was most certainly the 4th unofficial mentor of Dove. [ At the same time everything that was destroyed in their life was due to him so he had to fix it somehow ]