#psychonaut post game au concepts..

[lulubeanie]

Houghh I wanna draww..

[anonymouspuzzler]

okay so I just read all the dialogue/info for the cally o'pia au and I am so hooked, that was such a perfect level concept ahhh!!! I might have missed some posts in the past but I'm a little confused on how he fits into the Psychonauts 1 timeline in terms of why he took on the Loboto identity and how being "Dr. Loboto" played into his work with Oleander! Kind of obsessed with how you rearranged the setup so well!

OHH SHUCKS... THANK YOU... i don't think i actually Have talked about the cally/loboto thing anywhere here so seems like as perfect an opportunity as any to do it now! i will attempt to explain my Vision

the general idea is that in this au, after the whole Maligula Every and transition of the Psychonauts from "hippie scientists in the woods" to "government organization", Cally starts... losing a little of the love for it, essentially. watching his family fall out of it and struggle and things clearly being kept from him, getting disillusioned with the whole affair, and eventually this escalates to him going "well if no one's gonna tell me what's up I'll just dig myself" and creating the Dr. Loboto persona for illicit undercover work. as far as the ne'er-do-wells of the world know, Dr. Loboto's pretty much as he is in canon, a kinda looney freelancer who'll build you whatever for the right price, but in actuality he does a lot of information-gathering, subtle sabotage, and the like. (shortly before the original game, he got an In with the delugianists, which of course is what leads to the events of RoR and Psychonauts 2 - that much I think I implied in the level concept haha)

in terms of Oleander and the original timeline - Oleander was pretty much the only one who knew about Cal's moonlighting (since, you know, they'd been dating off and on for A While - for as frequent and ferocious as their breakups were, they were also Extremely Close when the relationship Was going well). when he had his whole Oleander Moment leading up to the first game, he recruited-slash-lightly-blackmailed Cal into helping with the brain tank plot - Cal agreed mostly to play internal damage control and help protect Morry from himself. (I have some rough concepts for how this changes the latter part of Psychonauts 1 that I gotta put to paper - the long and short is that "Dr. Loboto" is more obviously self-sabotaging and providing Raz the means to stop the whole plan when he makes it to Thorney Towers. He and the other agents don't learn that "Loboto" is actually Cally till RoR, though, which is something I also gotta write and flesh out more lmao)

[unhumanrights]

I need something to write so I can start my new “Unhuman collection.” I would do X-Men fanfiction as I mentioned before, but I am just getting back into the comics after a long time away, so my knowledge is woefully out of date and I am not confident that I could do the characters justice. Even an AU should be true to the characters. So, I'll just let it inspire me to make something original.

Here's a few things that have popped into my head over the last few days, some X-adjacent, some not.

A group of psychic folk who can access an astral plane or collective unconscious -- a plane ruled by thought. Some stable locations, mostly unstable, very malleable. A flexible setting for many stories. My brain combined some aspects of X-Men psychic mechanics with the Psychonauts games to get here.

Undead as a marginalized people. I want to write about skeletons and ghosts, mostly, but I'll throw in some vampires and ghouls, I guess.

Magical bloodlines, analogous to mutations in the X-Men universe (already mentioned this one, still want to do it even if it's not going to be an X-Men AU like I originally planned).

Summoners and their creatures. I just saw a video in passing today mentioning summoners and it made me think about how much I like the concept, so why not work with it?

I'll have to decide which I'd most like to write about, or keep brainstorming and come up with something else. I might post the results here, I might not. Not sure yet. I have to write for myself first and foremost.

[starryoak]

While I know the answer is because people like Dion and naturally want to include him in psychic-exclusive story concepts, because Psychonauts is primarily about psychics, and it’s quite obviously just for fun and it’s not wrong, or stupid, or even something that can’t have interesting stories told with it, but I just personally cannot see Dion that way, for one primary reason. I can’t help but feel like it’s missing the point of Dion’s character to insist he must be psychic, because the role he’s given in the story plainly does not work if he’s secretly psychic and doesn’t know it. Ultimately I know people are primarily talking about AUs, but it doesn’t necessarily come off that way, and it’s unclear to me that people understand why he isn’t revealed to be psychic. I think that’s admittedly my autism speaking, and is likely why it bothers me at all in the first place, but it lead me to making what I felt was an interesting analysis of his arc as a character, so I decided to post it anyway.

Dion is the oldest of the Aquato children and the most like Augustus, pictures in Lucrecia’s mind show off that Augustus looked just like him at Dion’s age; Dion has presumably had the expectation that he was going to grow up to be just like his father, to inherit the role of patriarch of the family. And as Donatella explicitly says, he was raised to mistrust and fear psychics, and now all of a sudden his father reveals that he is one! This is a major upheaval in everything Dion knew to be true, and more importantly, it means Dion can no longer rely on the fact that he’s going to grow up like his father. He’s ultimately lashing out at Raz not over Raz’s betrayal, but at the entire destabilization of the foundation of his perceived role in the family.

If Dion is psychic, then that entire element of his character, the entire reason for the level of vitriol he throws at Raz during the game, is totally invalidated. It doesn’t erase it, no, but it ultimately erases the narrative impact and level of stakes it has for Dion, and it makes Dion narratively redundant with Frazie’s role.

It also leaves Mirtala in an awkward place, to have literally every other member of the family be psychic besides her, although this is obviously because she’s the most underdeveloped Aquato, it just feels off to me.

tbh I like the idea of Dion being powerless more than psychic because I think the story about a kid grappling with the alienation that comes from not being special, or about the alienation from not being able to share things with them because he isn’t psychic, is more interesting than doing ‘kid uncomfortable with their powers because of family prejudice’ for the third time.

[onebigowlhouseobsession]

Me and @portalcartoon have been talking for awhile, and we've come up with a couple Psychonauts AUs I'd like to share with everyone.

First up is our Infinity Train AU. The basic concept there is that the Psychic 7 find themselves trapped as passengers on the train and need to navigate their way back home. It's set as pre-canon to both games and the series. I don't want to spoil too much since there is content to come in the future, but I will be posting descriptions of some of the original cars, as well as sketches of the Psychic 7.

The Infinity Train AU is rather Lucy-centric. The train appears to her, and the others follow. Chaos ensues.

Secondly is our Beauty and the Beast AU. This one is what it says on the tin. It also focuses primarily on the Psychic 7. Lucrecia is the beast, and both Ford and Cassie share the role of Belle. Marona and Lazarus are both alive and well. Gristol is one of our antagonists, working in tandem with an unknown source.

When Compton fails to return home from a business trip, Ford and Cassie set out to find him together. They find a lot more than they were bargaining for, in the form of a castle, and an old friend.

I'll write more indepth, separate posts on both these AUs soon.

[asteampunkcat2]

Okay so I feel the need to explain my cringe fail Bugsnax and psychonauts crossover au for no reason, I know that there is already a au around the concept (which I’d suggest looking up because it neat)  but it’s different I swear 

Anyways the psychonauts organization is similar to the grumpinati in the fact that it exists in universe and probably has a lot of conspiracy’s surrounding it but it’s literally the same besides that. 

 There is a lot more ideas but most of the ideas consist of post cannon on both of the games and the plot of the au is still developing (even though it’s been many months) 

[babycharmander]

4, 5, 7, 17, 23!

4: Tell me about one of your abandoned WIPs. Why did you abandon it?

Ohhh... I mean, I don't really have any on AO3 or anything--these days if I'm not sure I'm going to finish a WIP, I don't post it. But like, with the fics I'm probably not going to finish... Gosh, I have several Coco ones? Like, one where Imelda actually gets arrested for harassing the worker early in the movie, and Héctor also gets locked up, and they wind up from cells across from each other. I have most of it written, but while it was an interesting concept I feel like it was just retreading a lot of ground the movie covered later on, and I couldn't figure out how to end it. (I guess I could just end it abruptly with Héctor getting the shimmering attacks and leave the rest up to the viewer's imagination or something, but I dunno if that would be terribly satisfying.)

I also have parts of a Reverse Curse AU where Héctor gets cursed as he makes it into the Land of the Living without using the bridge, and thus becomes a visible skeleton in the real world. It would lead to Miguel finding him and Héctor working with Miguel to see Coco again while trying to avoid getting caught by other living people, except they don't know they're related, and Miguel is trying to avoid home. Again, it seemed like a fun concept, but I wasn't sure how to make it as interesting as the movie, especially since they wouldn't be able to confront Ernesto this way.

I had several others but those were probably the most developed ideas that I actually started getting anywhere with. I also have other unfinished fics, but they're ones I actually plan on getting back to at some point.

5: Share a snippet that you’re proud of from an upcoming fic/chapter.

Oh, okay! Uhh... let's see. This is from a Psychonauts AU I've been working on, where a somewhat younger Ford (in his 30s at the absolute youngest) rescues tiny!Loboto shortly after the surgery. The fic's currently in a messy state right now, and contains a bunch of characters I made up on the spot. For some context of this scene, Ford is in the med ward with an unconscious Loboto, and the original character seen here is an intern that Ford's taken under his wing.

Sighing, Ford took a seat on the cushion Crista had occupied earlier. When Adriana took the seat opposite, he raised a brow. "You lookin' for extra credit?"

"No, I... just..." She shrugged. "...thought you might want company."

Ford smiled. "I appreciate it, but you should really get home now. You've been here late enough as it is."

The intern stared down at the floor for a moment before standing. Instead of leaving immediately, she approached the bed, looking down at the sleeping boy. Gingerly she brushed away a few hairs that were sticking out from under his bandaged head and had been poking around his eyes. He hummed faintly in his sleep.

"...He's just a kid," she whispered, her voice hitching.

Leaning forward, Ford looked up at her. "So you get why I took him here, then," he said, and she looked back at him. "Took him here without waiting to hear what they'd say. You don't always got time to wait for approval when someone's life is at stake. They don't like it, but..." He shook his head. "Not a snowball's chance I'd leave him there, in the hands of those brain-stabbing butchers."

"I understand, sir," Adriana replied, without a hint of hesitation.

I dunno, I wound up liking this bit of interaction here. (Also I've no idea how accurate any of this story is to how any part of how the Psychonauts operate, which is why I've put working on it on hold until I play the new game once it's out.)

7: Were there any ideas you had for [insert fic] that you couldn’t make work? What were they?

Uhh... you didn't give me a fic for this one. \o/;;

17: What has been the proudest moment for you so far since you started writing?

I've been writing for a long time! But uh... man. I still remember being so happy when I finished that last chapter for A Few Repairs. I think that was the first multichapter fic I'd finished that I felt really, deeply satisfied with. I had several other multichapter fics I'd finished before then, and I did like some of them and was proud of them, but I'll always remember that deep feeling of satisfaction I had upon finishing A Few Repairs (even though that wound up not being the very end of that series, haha).

I feel like since then, I've felt a lot happier with the fics I've been writing? Not that I hated writing fics before that point, or that I was never satisfied with my writing, but I feel like from 2012 onward, I really started to write stuff I can still say I'm proud of.

...I think?

Oh gosh, I hope that doesn't mean I haven't improved in a decade or more. Oo;;

23: What’s one piece of advice you would give to anyone who wants to start writing or posting their writing online?

[insert "JUST DO IT" (or whatever that meme is with the dude screaming about making your dreams come true is) gif here]

Okay, like, but seriously, think of something you really really deeply want to write, or to read. Maybe it's something incredibly goofy or wild. Maybe it's a weird crossover you haven't found a single other person mention the possibility of. Maybe it's something personal. Maybe it's a ship no one else likes. Maybe it's a ship EVERYONE likes. Maybe it's a concept you've been waiting for SOMEONE to write, or maybe it's a concept EVERYONE has covered but you can't shake the urge to write it yourself anyway.

If you hear any voices in your head telling you "no, don't write that, it's too self-indulgent!" or "don't write that, it's stupid and no one else will like it" or "don't write that, everyone else has already written it!" then shove ALL of those voices aside and write it anyway.

Of course your fic idea is self-indulgent--THAT'S THE POINT OF FANFICTION. It's to write stuff YOU want to write. If you want to write it, there's probably someone who wants to read it. If it's been written a ton, chances are there's a bunch of people out there who will want to read it again by a different author!

If it's something that you want to write, just write it. Even if you ultimately decide you don't want to post it, that's okay! Time spent writing something you enjoy is never wasted.

Just make sure it's something you want to write, not something you think others will want to read! Always write for you first.

[arogustus]

I posted 1,034 times in 2021

7 posts created (1%)

1027 posts reblogged (99%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 146.7 posts.

I added 521 tags in 2021

#psychonauts - 202 posts

#'raz' razputin aquato - 100 posts

#norma natividad - 45 posts

#gisu nerumen - 30 posts

#warioware - 29 posts

#lizzie natividad - 27 posts

#frazie aquato - 26 posts

#lili zanotto - 25 posts

#adam joseph gette - 19 posts

#sam boole - 18 posts

Longest Tag: 81 characters

#double fine the dlc or future games should absolutely give us more of the interns

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Man, the Defunctland movie on waiting in lines was quite the roller coaster of emotions. And when the people started getting eaten! Wow. 10 out of 10, would watch in a movie theater again.

16 notes • Posted 2021-11-23 14:02:54 GMT

#4

I've got an Psychonauts Intern AU brewing in my brain.

Years before the events of 1, the Psychonauts discover the abandoned Thorney Towers Asylum, and turn it into a facility for the care of psychics with unstable powers.

The place explodes, leaving it abandoned again, and again with people left behind. 6 teens, to be precise, that Oleander finds 5 years later when he comes to set his plans in motion.

17 notes • Posted 2021-10-25 12:27:50 GMT

#3

With Psychonauts on the brain, I’ve been thinking up my own enemy concepts. May as well share ‘em with the world.

Resentments

They hate you so much.

Flying, green eyeball monsters, these manifestations of resentments will lock on to you when you’re in their range, and will relentlessly attack you for being near them for too long, splitting their eyes open into rows of gnashing teeth and fangs, ready to mow down whoever’s become their object of hatred.

Defeating them is hard, since they’re resistant to most of your attacks. To deal with them, you should first clear out the area around them in order to use clairvoyance on them, and identify what exactly it is that they hate about you. Maybe you're too good at Psi Blast? Your telekinesis is too awesome? Whatever it is, that move will be their chosen weakness. Then you can force them to confront the object of their hatred and take them down!

26 notes • Posted 2021-10-11 01:20:13 GMT

#2

More Psychonauts thoughts.

Characters with strong mental defenses, such as Oleander and Raz, always require a second step before one fully enters their mindscape.

It's obvious with Raz, who always needs to enter his fanily caravan before entering the mindscape proper. He naturally allows himself into his own mind, so there's little effort required.

Oleander's mind has you start off inside a recruitment office with no visible way out, before Oleander himself blows up the wall to let Elton and Raz out into the course.

Then there's Boyd. If the theories about him being psychic are correct, it'd make sense he himself would also have somewhat strong mental defenses. A paranoiac like him would be very protective of the safety of their mind, after all, and entering his mindscape has you first start off inside a house with no way out, until he shows you the door and lets you out into the mindscape proper.

Feel free to disprove my observations.

51 notes • Posted 2021-10-26 22:16:59 GMT

#1

One of the many cut lines related to the removed bottled emotions mechanic. I assume this one is for bottled love?

This was not obtained by me, but on a datamining server that gave me permission to upload.

159 notes • Posted 2021-10-29 01:52:30 GMT

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[lorablackmane]

I posted 324 times in 2021

28 posts created (9%)

296 posts reblogged (91%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 10.6 posts.

I added 67 tags in 2021

#child of maligula au - 13 posts

#psychonauts - 13 posts

#psychonauts 2 - 12 posts

#psychonauts 2 spoilers - 9 posts

#kid cosmic - 5 posts

#the kid - 5 posts

#lbart - 3 posts

#razputin aquato - 3 posts

#lbwriting - 2 posts

#tw child death - 2 posts

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#meanwhile albedo doesn't want to go to jail again... but he also hates ben with a passion so to be petty he's rigging the toaster to shoot

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Starting Over Again Pt. 1

After reading @/mandareeboo’s drabble about Papa G and Jo talking about where Kid would go if he died I cried... and I immediately decided to make them and everyone else cry too, enjoy! This is just the 1st part bc I’ve reached page 9 1/2 of my google doc.

(tw: major character death, blood mention, trauma)

44 notes • Posted 2021-03-04 03:04:23 GMT

#4

Kid & Tuna Sandwich: A Purr-fect Combo

Thank you for reading! Here’s an obligatory old pic of my own old man btw, back when he looked a lot like Tuna.

45 notes • Posted 2021-02-26 22:09:23 GMT

#3

Here’s my design for Frazie in this AU! Tbh, originally the MC for this was Lili; but then I realized I can make things like 10x angstier by having Frazie be the protag. In this AU she really doesn’t care about the Psychonauts, and when the mysterious person gave her the pamphlet she had fully intended to toss it... but then a note fell out. 

54 notes • Posted 2021-09-07 19:25:45 GMT

#2

I got inspired yesterday.

58 notes • Posted 2021-03-07 02:11:19 GMT

#1

I talked about this on an ask someone sent @/a-great-big-universe but this is my concept for an AU where at a young age Gristol kidnapped Raz due to his hydrokinesis, leading to Frazie eventually running away like her brother did in the 1st game due to an... addition to the pamphlet (a note stating the Psychonauts had machines and powers that could track down psychics, giving her hope that they could help find him again).

72 notes • Posted 2021-09-07 03:20:15 GMT

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