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thefrogman · 4 months

Note

Recently I took a panorama of the Pittsburgh skyline at night that got a positive response. That was done on the spur of the moment with an iPhone. I want to do that again and more, but this time with a dedicated camera setup. It's been years since I've had one, so I'm basically starting over again. I'm mostly interested in getting day and night cityscapes, and maybe the carryings-on at this year's Anthrocon. Would you have any particular knowledge to pass on as I set off on this journey?

Since you didn't specify a budget I'm going to assume it is in the $10K range.

And you're probably thinking I'm going to suggest a Leica. Every dentist and his brother (who is also a dentist) gets a Leica. But I just can't take a camera brand seriously when they charge you an extra $2200 for the privilege of not being able to shoot in color.

Sure, you can hit a single button in Lightroom to get B&W and save some money, but then you won't be able to brag about how limiting yourself to only shades of gray has opened up new artistic pathways in your brain while a clueless person responds in mumbles during their root canal.

What you really want for your landscapes is a Hassie.

They were the first camera on the moon! How could you *not* want a Hasselblad? That is some camera gorgeousness right there. And it's so reasonably priced*!

*compared to their previous $40,000 camera systems.

And if you are doing landscapes with the Hassie you'll need a nice wide angle lens to go with it. This one is actually quite affordable*!

*compared to their previous $8000 lenses.

Can we all agree that is a work of art? They even use their H logo as the knurling.

That is just so... extra. And I love it.

Out of the entire alphabet I've heard Hs give you the best grip.

Man, I almost wish I was a dentist just so I could buy a fancy camera.

Sorry... I was just having a little fun.

I never get to recommend the super cool expensive cameras. Because, ya know, the economy and the fact that only dentists have Hasselblad money.

You probably think I'm being silly but there actually is an entire community of dentist photographers keeping the high end camera market alive.

Okay, let's get started...

Landscape Buying Guide

Opening Thoughts

For landscapes I would highly suggest a full frame camera and a high quality wide angle lens.

Full frame has several advantages but it is not necessary. You can go with a smaller sensor like APS-C and get great images. Personally I would not go any smaller, but there have been some great landscapes taken on micro 4/3 and even smartphones. Technique, knowledge, experience, and composition will usually win the day over a camera, but having a nice camera makes things a lot easier.

At this point, with full frame options being very affordable now, the main reason to get a smaller sensor is if you want a smaller system that is easier to carry for extended periods and easier to pack when traveling. Or if you aren't sure you want to take on photography as a hobby, you can get an old APS-C DSLR for under $200 to learn with and test out.

So if you need a very cheap OR very compact system, APS-C and Micro 4/3 might be worth considering, but a bigger sensor will cause less frustration most of the time.

Froggie Note: The expensive Micro 4/3 and APS-C systems are the compact ones. The cheap systems are about as bulky as full frame.

The biggest advantages to full frame are low light shooting, lens selection, and field of view. Full frame cameras have many, many more lenses to choose from. And since the sensor is bigger, it is much easier to get a wider field of view that is often needed for landscapes. And the high ISO noise performance tends to be better on full frame.

However, you can use full frame lenses on APS-C camera bodies within the same ecosystem. They just get a little... zoomier. Roughly 1.5x zoomier. A 35mm acts like a 50mm, for example. So if you want to spend a little less now you can get an APS-C camera with a full frame lens and then upgrade to full frame later on without having to buy a new lens. Full frame lenses work on APS-C bodies but not the other way around.

Most landscapists have a really solid 16-35mm lens and that covers almost all of their needs. So I would suggest something comparable. Please don't get suckered into some crazy 18-300mm superzoom. Just get the focal range you need for the photos you want to achieve.

A purpose-built lens always outperforms one that was made to do everything.

As far as where to get used gear, I highly recommend using KEH or MPB when buying used camera bodies. They check every device and offer between 3 and 6 months warranty to make sure the device won't crap out on you. Lenses are typically a lot more robust and a safer thing to buy on eBay or Facebook Marketplace if you can find a better deal. But the security of having a warranty and a return apparatus if something goes wrong might be worth the extra price when using these two sites.

I am going to recommend Canon, Nikon, and Sony systems. I feel they have the most complete ecosystems with gear that spans all budget ranges. I'm not saying there aren't good cameras from other brands, but you have to remember every camera has an ecosystem surrounding it. There are accessories and upgrade paths and niche lenses that may not be available with other brands. I think Fuji has some tempting options and if you like the look of vintage film photography, their emulation options are quite stunning. Their cameras are also quite attractive and have very satisfying knobs. But I still can't recommend them unless you have a specific reason for wanting their gear.

Just remember that for every Canon DSLR I recommend there is a comparable Nikon option available as well. There are more lenses for a Canon full frame DSLR body than any other brand with Nikon coming in a close second.

So if you choose not to go mirrorless yet, the Canon and Nikon DSLR camera ecosystems are immense and have tons of gear and accessories available to go with them. And since used gear holds up really well, those ecosystems will survive for decades.

Should you buy a mirrorless camera or a DSLR?

Mirrorless cameras are the latest camera technology for interchangeable lens camera systems. At this point they are superior in every aspect and they continue to improve year by year. Because of that, used DSLRs have plummeted in price. This allows people greater access to a starter ILC (interchangeable lens camera) without a significant investment. You can get professional quality images on either format, but mirrorless has a shallower learning curve and much better automatic modes.

The in-body image stabilization (IBIS) stabilizes *every* lens and the eye tracking autofocus make "focus and re-compose" extinct. These are huge selling points for a lot of people. With IBIS you can take photos with up to 2-4 second shutter speeds without a tripod. And never missing focus on a human or animal or bird is pretty cool too.

DSLR camera bodies are no longer being designed by most of the major manufacturers. Thankfully Canon and Nikon developed plenty of bodies and lenses, so you will always have options and upgrade paths. But you will not be able to upgrade to systems with the latest advanced features.

The best DSLRs available are probably the Nikon D850 and the Canon 5D Mark IV. That is as good as it will ever get. The technology ends there. So if you want to enter an active camera ecosystem then you will have to get a mirrorless camera.

DSLR Camera Systems

Full Frame DSLR Camera Bodies

Canon

If you buy a used DSLR, there are some very affordable full frame options. In fact, the classic much-praised budget full frame Canon 6D can be had for under $300 right now.

This is an old camera. It has no fancy features. It only has 20 megapixels. It just does what it says on the tin. But it has a big sensor and a *ton* of really cool lenses available for it.

If you are specifically looking to create really high resolution panos, you could also look at the 50 megapixel 5DS R for around $1000.

There is a community of landscape pano-maniacs that love to create "gigapans" that have endless amounts of detail where you can zoom in and find new details in every photo. I was only able to create a 120 megapixel photo, but you can still find things like people starting a campfire and a dude fishing and a truck on a far off bridge. So even though this seems expensive for a DSLR, you are looking at another thousand bucks to find anything with more megapixels than this bad boy, so it is quite a good deal relatively speaking.

Nikon

Probably the best DSLRs ever made were the Nikon D800 series and you can get the Nikon D800 for $464.

This is a newer camera than the 6D with more megapixels (36) and a better sensor. It also has a more modern autofocus system and about 3 more stops of dynamic range which can come in handy for landscapes. This is an incredible camera for this price.

APS-C DSLR Camera Bodies

If you aren't sure you want to commit to this hobby, you can look into a Canon APS-C sensor body like the Canon Rebels and Canon 60D through 90D models and get good results.

And there are many Nikon DX APS-C bodies that would be great starter cameras as well. If you get a Nikon, you'd have an upgrade path to the D800 if you get hooked by the photography bug. I would miss a few very special Canon lenses like the 100mm f/2.8L macro and the 400mm f/5.6 telephoto but I'm sure I could figure out some reasonable Nikon alternatives that would do roughly the same thing.

Canon APS-C

There is a Canon 60D for $139 right now that would be perfectly adequate for landscape work on a tripod.

That was my first camera and I took some very nice photos with it. Only 18 megapixels but it has a very convenient flippy screen which was really helpful for a disabled photographer trying to get low angles.

This was in 2014 and I didn't know what I was doing but that is a pretty stellar-looking sunset for a (now) $140 camera.

Nikon APS-C

And the Nikon D3400 would be a great option as well at around $184.

You get some extra megapixels (24) and it is a bit newer than the Canon. I get the sense that used Nikon DSLRs give you more value for your money right now but I don't have a large enough sample size to confirm that.

Full Frame DSLR Lenses

Froggie Note: I am recommending full frame lenses even if you choose an APS-C DSLR body so you have an upgrade path. But also very few purpose-built APS-C lenses had superior glass. Just remember, crop sensor APS-C cameras add ~1.5x to your focal length. So a 16-35mm will have the equivalent field of view of a 24-50mm lens. Still quite acceptable for landscapes, but you may benefit from doing panoramas more often. And if you upgrade to full frame down the road, you'll already have the ideal lens.

Canon DSLR Lenses

If you get the 6D or another Canon you could pair it with the beloved-by-landscapists Canon 16-35mm f/4L.

Honestly, it is blowing my mind you can get that combo for under $600. Me from 12 years ago is super jealous right now.

If you are worried you might need something to work in lower light and still want a zoom, the f/2.8L starts at around $434.

This might be the most famous landscape lens of all time. Kinda boggles the mind how many gorgeous vistas this thing has captured the light of.

If you can live without the zoom, you could get a much sharper prime lens that can also be used in even lower light. A used Sigma 24mm f/1.4 Art lens is $439 would be a fantastic option.

24mm is still a very good focal length for landscapes and the sharpness of this lens lends well to panoramic stitches. Seriously, these art lens are so freaking sharp. Although 35mm is typically preferred for most street photography, I think this would do great for that purpose as well. It couldn't do close up portraits, but 3/4 and full body portraits would look great. I also love this focal length for doggos. It enlarges their heads a bit which enhances adorable-ness.

Though I probably wouldn't recommend the 24mm on APS-C for landscapes as it would put you near a 40mm full frame equivalent field of view.

Nikon DSLR Lenses

And on the Nikon side of things you could get the Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 for $399.

This is a great lens too. Very comparable to the Canon L glass. And paired with that D800 you would have a better shooting experience than with the 6D if it fits within your budget.

It's a little harder to find, but you can also get that same Sigma 24mm f/1.4 Art lens for Nikon at around $528 used on Amazon and in the $400 range on KEH and MPB when it is available.

The older and softer Nikkor 28mm f/1.8 is a little more affordable and easier to find.

What if you are not a dentist but are willing to save up for something a little nicer?

Enter the world of...

Mirrorless Camera Systems

Sony currently has my favorite ecosystem of mirrorless cameras and lenses and they are consistently ahead of the other brands as far as technology and features. In fact, many other manufacturers use Sony sensors. They literally supply their competition with their own tech. They are also pretty good about updating firmware—even with older models. So I feel like Sony has a lot of future-proofing advantages over other brands. Sony has a great selection of 3rd party lenses like Sigma, Tamron, Viltrox, Laowa, Samyang, etc. These lenses often have nearly the same optical quality as Sony's G Master lenses at a fraction of the price.

Full Frame Mirrorless

Currently, I think the best value full frame mirrorless camera for landscapes would be the Sony a7R III.

This is very nearly a top-of-the-line landscape camera for a little over $1200.

That might sound like a lot, but I want to be clear...

This isn't just decent. This isn't "good enough." This is a spectacular professional grade full frame camera.

10 years ago you could spend $6500 for a *worse* camera. 5 years ago you could spend $3000 for a *worse* camera.

It can do every genre of photography except for maybe fast paced sports/action. It has an amazing 42 megapixels—which are not necessary but they do make editing and printing a lot less of a headache. The file sizes can get a little big, but storage is a lot cheaper than it used to be.

Oh, and it can be used for professional quality 4K video work too.

The a7R III comes with all of the modern bells and whistles including in-body stabilization (IBIS) so you can handhold at very slow shutter speeds. It has one of the best autofocus systems—complete with eye tracking. But not just human eyes! Dog eyes. Cat eyes. Bird eyes. If it has an eye, the Sony can probably lock focus on it. And it has an admirable 10 fps burst shooting mode.

APS-C Mirrorless

If you want to enter the Sony ecosystem but can't afford full frame quite yet, you could do the a6400 for about $600.

You still get the eye-tracking and the in-body stabilization, but you will lose some image quality at higher ISOs due to the smaller sensor size. However, you can get the same full frame E-mount lenses for it and upgrade to a bigger sensor later on and not have to buy new lenses.

Mirrorless Landscape Lenses

I think a good value landscape lens would be the very impressive Tamron 20-40mm f/2.8.

This is a newer lens so there aren't many deals on used options yet. But this is still a great price for the quality and versatility you get. You will never regret spending a little more on glass.

The 20mm range can fit an entire cityscape in the frame without needing to do a panorama. But if you zoom to 40mm and mount the camera vertically, you could stitch together several photos to get well over the 100 megapixel range.

Also, the 40mm focal range is long enough to do street photography and even head & shoulder portraits. The wide f/2.8 aperture combined with the high-ISO friendly full frame sensor and in-body stabilization means you can shoot in very low light without a tripod. You can also get some great pictures of stars if you travel to someplace with minimal light pollution.

The cheapest landscape zoom lens I could find was the Sony 16-35mm f/4 at $384.

It's one of Sony's older lenses and may not take advantage of all of the a7R III's pixels, but it would be a good option to get you started in this system and upgrade the lens later on.

Mirrorless Prime Lenses

Zoom lenses are great but you have to spend more to get tolerable quality. Kit zooms can be softer than even the tiny plastic lenses on your phone. So a great way to stretch your budget is to get multiple fixed focal length "prime" lenses. Primes can be built inexpensively while still having good low light performance and decent sharpness.

For instance, you could start with something like the Tamron 20mm f/2.8 for $175. And if you want to do more than landscapes you could add the Sony 50mm f/1.8 for $170 later on. Cheap primes will outperform any of those mediocre kit zoom lenses in that same price range. You lose some versatility and have to deal with the pain of changing lenses or zooming with your feet, but sometimes a tight budget demands a little pain.

There is also a higher quality 3rd party wide angle prime lens that is very popular right now. The Viltrox 16mm f/1.8 is only $549 and the reviews say it has similar quality to lenses 3 times its price.

If you have to choose between a better camera body or a better lens, a good lens will help your photos more than a fancy camera body.

Froggie Note: These are examples. You should always do your own research before making a major technological purchase. This post could be a year old by the time you see it and there could be new stuff that is better. But all of the principles I tried to convey should hopefully guide you to a good decision. Also, feel free to message me if you want to ask about specific gear you are considering purchasing.

More Resources

This is my Encyclopedia of Lens Terms which is a helpful primer in understanding all of the wonderful and different lens options available on ILCs.

This is my buying guide for low budget used DSLRs. Similar to this post but less geared toward landscapes.

And this guide for getting decent landscape photos with any camera.

This is a free tutorial that teaches you everything you need to get started with an ILC system.

youtube

And this free tutorial by Karl Taylor is quite good as well.

#photography #long post

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writeawaythepain · 6 months

Text

Oblivious

Tango Tek x (gn!reader)

Anybody else really miss watching Tango’s videos when he left?

Word count: 2.4 k

Prompts:

“I would be nervous too in your shoes. But you’d be telling me that I got this, so I’m telling you: You got this.”

Doing each other's hair.

Summary:

You convince Tango to finally take a break from his new big redstone project by inviting him over for a sleepover. You start to wonder if it was even a good idea, as your normal teasing back-and-forth banter starts to hit a little too close to home when you realize your crush for the redstoner was just getting worse…

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“I would be nervous too, in your shoes,” I try to reassure him with a smile. “ But you’d be telling me that I got this, so I’m telling you: You got this.” You look directly into his fiery red eyes.

“….Aaaa- you’re just making me more stressed!!” Tango yells out dipping the nail polish brush back into the bottle. “Why am I even so stressed?!”

“Cause I made your nails fabulous, and if you mess mine up I’ll never forgive you.” You answer simply, trying and failing to suppress a smile.

“You did do my nails fabulously, you did…but I think I’m actually going to go for a more abstract look-'' He flashes you a mischievous smile as he slowly lowers the brush closer to your finger, and nowhere near where your actual nail was. You instantly pull away, gasping in mock offense.

“Don’t you dare-“ You start.

“Wha -at, do you not trust me?!” He says snickering. You eye him suspiciously.

”Not when you say things like that!”

Your plan for making sure Tango took a break from his new big project was going well so far. Sure you felt a little childish when bringing up the idea of a sleepover, but Tango’s enthusiasm dashed most of your concerns instantly…Most, that is, except for your growing concern that you may love your friend in more ways than just platonic….

You usually always push those feelings to the back burner, not wanting to ruin the thing you two already had going, but seeing the way he stuck out his tongue in concentration while still managing to get polish all over your finger wasn’t helping. ”How are you so bad at this?“ You tease, smiling.

”I- you shush! I’m trying, ok! You keep squirming-“ He says trying to readjust his positioning by grabbing and tilting your hand slightly.

”I’m not squirming! I’m laughing. At you.” You say still giggling. He huffs, and eventually decides that his technique wasn’t working, and decides to try a new one. He gets up from his cross-legged position on the floor, pulling his knees up and toward himself to form a resting place for your wrist. His grip on your hand tightens a little as he yanks you closer.

”Just shut up and come here-” The rest of your body follows your hand, and you scooch closer to him, shutting up. Tango doesn’t even seem to notice your close proximity, too focused on trying to paint your nails neatly. After a few more beats of flustered (on your part) silence, he looks up beaming. “There, first hand done!”

You blink, your brain still catching up, before you inspect his work. The first finger he did was quite bad- unevenly painted and there was some color accidentally splotched onto your skin. But each nail got progressively better, and all in all… “Well- I’ve had worse. And I like the color!” He’d picked a bright red for you, a shade that reminded you of his bright eyes. You picked your favorite color for his nails, and you now wonder if he did the same.

”Ok- ok! See- I’m learning!” He says before holding out his hand again, “other one?”

You give him your other hand, and are forced to look at his adorably concentrated face again as he paints your other nails. You start talking to distract yourself. “So I assume this is your first time ever doing this?”

”Zed’s painted my nails before- but it was with some kinda poison for one of his science-y experiment-o thingies.” If he had been talking about anyone else you might’ve questioned it, but it was Zedaph, so you weren’t really even surprised. “I’ve never painted someone else’s before- no.” He responds not looking up, still entirely focused.

”Really, I couldn’t tell?” You say sarcasm dripping from your voice as you smile. He looks up at you for a second just to roll his eyes.

“I thought I told you to shush-“ He says, almost scolding if it wasn’t for the smile on his face. He rolls his shoulders, and it seems like being hunched over in concentration was starting to make him sore, so he instead leans back a little, pulling you even closer, and holds your forearm between his knees. Ok- this was getting ridiculous, there was no way your face wasn’t getting a bit red now.

“Do you want me to just detach my hand and give it to you?” You laugh trying to keep your composure.

”No- “ He laughs, seemingly oblivious to your suffering. “-I like you just as you are, all in one piece thanks.” You chuckle, looking anywhere but directly at him until he finally finishes, and releases your hand. ”Done! Now don’t you look absolutely fanta-bulous! The color really suits you-“ He cheers, sending you a wink that makes you wonder if he was doing this on purpose.

The second hand looks even better than the first, and if you were being honest, it really warmed your heart that he tried so hard. “It does look great, the red makes me feel like a model.” You pose in a silly vogue showing off your nails as if in a commercial, and it succeeds in making Tango laugh. He tries a pose of his own, showing off his nails in front of his face and pursing his lips. He looks at you, and winks. You burst out laughing, and he joins in as you both have goofy smiles on your face. When your laughing finally calms down, Tango looks up at you.

”So, what else do you usually do at sleepovers?” He asks, tilting his head slightly.

”Well…me and my friends would sometimes play truth or dare, or do each other's hair-“ Tango’s eyes light up.

“Why not both! Though, I don’t think there’s much you can do with this mop on my head-“ He responds pointing at his spikey blonde hair, “I kinda just have to let it do what it wants.”

You squint at it, sizing up his hairdo like it was a challenge. “I think I can figure something out…”

”Go ahead! Be my guest.” He says sitting up and taking off the goggles he had on.

You get up to grab some supplies from the bathroom, before returning and kneeling down behind him, trying to find a longer chunk of hair that you can work with. Satisfied with finding a section near his pointy ears, you start braiding. “Right, you go first. Truth or dare?”

”Well, I can’t really move- so truth? I did not think this through, huh?” He chuckles, and you pull on his hair slightly to keep him still.

”Stop moving!” You say, laughing as well. You think for a second, trying to come up with a good question. “Ok…When you first met me, what was your first impression of me?”

Tango smiles, and flushes slightly as he thinks back on the moment, remembering it fondly. You're too focused to notice. “Well- If I’m being a hundred percent honest. I just thought you looked really cool! But in kinda a like- a slightly intimidating way, you know?” You spare him an odd look.

”Really?” You ask, finishing up the first little braid before gently tilting his head the other way to do the same thing on the other side.

”Yea! Then, I got to know you and realized you're just a big ole softy!” He says chuckling. You roll your eyes and shake your head, but you don’t stop the small smile that spreads across your face.

”Yea, yea, whatever.” You chuckle, focusing back on his hair.

”Your turn now, truth or dare?” Tango asks.

“Truth, I’m still trying to finish this braid-“ He takes a moment to respond, giving you just enough time to finish the second braid, so you tie it to the end of the first one, forming a sort of halo around the back of his head.

”What’s a secret you’ve never told anyone?” He asks. One instantly pops to mind, but you shake your head, dismissing it instantly.

”Actually, nevermind, I'm finished. I switch to my choice to dare.” Tango turns around to face you, almost pouting.

”Wha- You can’t do that!”

”Yes I can, and look!” You pull out a hand mirror you brought and show him what you’ve done to his hair, his frown instantly turns into an excited smile.

”Woah- it’s so cute!” He says, turning his head a little to inspect the braids, grinning.

”You are! And your hair looks nice too.” You say shooting him wink, he laughs but you swear you saw his face get a little pink. He looks off to the side like he’s thinking, and then turns back to you with a toothy smirk.

”Alright, I thought of a dare. Give me your absolutely worst pick up line. Just- the most cheesy, corny, awful pick up line ever.” Your eyebrow raises a little at his request, and you take a moment to think.

”Worst pick up line huh…? That’s hard cause we both know how amazing I am at flirting.” You say sarcastically, just buying yourself some time to think of something clever.

Tango laughs, “Yep, uh huh. Totally. You're like, the flirting master.” He teases back.

Finally a really stupid one comes to mind, “Tango, are you a campfire? Because you’re hot and I totally want s’more-“ You say, barely able to get it out without laughing.

Tango stares at you blankly for a moment, before his face reddens and he bursts out laughing. “That- that’s actually terrible.”

“Hey you asked! I’m starting to think you just like the idea of me flirting with you.” You joke, turning your back to him so he could do your hair. Instead, he decides to lean forward and whisper directly into your ear.

“Maybe I do~” He pulls back and starts laughing, but you're frozen. Your face feels flushed and you try to calm your racing heart. You keep reminding yourself that it was all just a joke, that you needed to calm down or you’d risk making it weird. “Aw, too much?” He asks.

“I- just-” You stutter.

“Well too bad, it’s my payback for you not letting me work on my redstone stuff.” He says gently running his hands through your hair and…you were just now realizing how bad of an idea this all was. You were supposed to be getting over your feelings for the hot tempered blaze, but instead you’ve found yourself falling for him even more.

“Yea well, that’s what I get for being a good friend I guess.” You chuckle, but it comes out a bit strained.

“Friends? Is that all we are?” Tango asks slightly…disappointed?

“Alright Tango enough with the jokes, you keep doing that I might actually fall for you.” You try to keep up your chipper and teasing tone, but your voice wavered towards the end.

Tango stops playing with your hair, and moves in front of you again. He seems nervous, and looks down at his hands a lot. You don’t dare hope, you don’t let yourself think anything, too scared to lose the friendship that you two had, no matter how much you cared for him.

“Maybe…uhh…maybe I might’ve actually been the one, that has done the falling…for…you.” He ends it with a dry chuckle, wringing his hands and struggling to keep eye contact. When you don’t respond right away, he finally looks at you. You search his eyes, searching for any sign that this was all some sort of weird bit.

“Are- are you being for real…or…” You finally ask, still not sure.

“Uh…yea? I mean…I thought I was making it obvious and all but I guess...” For some reason you feel tears well up in your eyes. “...Ah! Oh my gosh, I’m sorry I shouldn’t have-” You interrupt him, quickly wiping the tears from your eyes.

“No! No it’s fine I’m just- I’m glad! I promise!” You reassure him, a huge smile spreading across your lips. His eyes are still wide with concern, and slight confusion.

“Wait so- I’m confused. Do you also…?” You bob your head up and down, laughing a bit as you try to regain your composure after the roller coaster of emotions that had been the past few minutes.

“Yes, Tango. Obviously, I’ve fallen for you too.” You finally respond, he grins and grabs both your hands in his.

“Well, obviously- neither of us are really good at reading the obvious-” He snickers, gently stroking your hand with his thumb.

You giggle, “Wow, and now someone has spilled about their crush, we’ve checked, like, all the sleepover boxes but-”

“-but sleeping?” Tango asks, quirking an eyebrow.

“No? No one sleeps at sleepovers, come on dude-” You respond and he laughs, “the only thing we haven’t done is watch a movie!”

“Hey well I’m not complaining. As long as I get to do your hair first, since it was um- interrupted.” He smiles, blushing slightly.

“Why not both!” You say mirroring his tone from earlier.

~ ~ ~

This time when he runs his fingers through your hair, you allow yourself to melt into his touch. You're seated on the ground, while Tango sits on the couch. You're situated between both his legs, as he tries, undos, and retries to braid your hair. You realize you don’t really mind if he ever gets it right, you're just glad to finally relax with the knowledge that he loved being near you just as much as you loved being near him.

”Ok…I’m done…I think?” You hear Tango’s voice from behind you. You haven’t really been paying attention to the movie much, instead just enjoying the redstoner's company, so you lean over and grab the hand mirror.

”Aww, I love it.” You giggle a little, “But…maybe don’t quit your day job, hot stuff.” You tilt your head up to see his reaction, and he just rolls his eyes and snickers before leaning down and closer to your face.

”Is it good enough to get a little somethin’ at least? For trying?” He smirks, leaning just a little closer. Now it’s your turn to roll your eyes, but you smile and sit up, turning slightly, before gently grabbing his collar, and meeting him in the middle. And you swear, when his lips hit yours, you feel fireworks.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

#Tango x reader #Tango tek x reader #c!Tango x reader #Tango x gn!reader #x gn! reader #x gender neutral reader #Tango x gender neutral reader #hermitcraft x reader #life series x reader #traffic smp x reader #hermitcraft fanfic #traffic series fanfic #life series fanfic #mcyt x reader #x reader #slimewrites

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lovedovechels · 2 months

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Natural: A journey of acceptance

In January of this year, when I took down my passion twists, I was shocked by how uncomfortable and ugly I felt in my natural hair. This feeling was, let's be honest, insane. Why was I uncomfortable in the hair that God had blessed me with? The hair that grew from my scalp? I was being weird and needed to do some introspection! As I began to wonder, I realized I had grown accustomed to seeing myself in everything but my natural hair. I was used to knotless box braids in shades 144, 530, and 613. I flaunted myself in curly wigs that emulated looser textures than my own. I spent hours with wobbly arms and sore fingertips meticulously parting my hair for mini passion twists and faux locs, and the minute these protective styles had run their course I took them out and redid them. No break between styles and certainly no rest for my natural strands.

Something to note: When I refer to protective styles I am talking about those with added hair.

I was so seasoned to ‘protective style Chels’ that ‘natural hair Chels’ was a version of me to be hidden away. I borderline idolized myself in ‘protective styles.’ This just wouldn't do. I decided to wear only my natural hair for the first half of 2024- no protective styles (with added hair), no dyeing or straightening, and no blow-drying. It was going to be just me and my coils against the world. This was my journey to self-acceptance.

The first month was the hardest, I was afraid of people seeing my hair in its natural state after seeing me with protective styles majority of 2023. Also, I had no effective wash day routine. I didn't know how to properly manage my coils. I researched and experimented with different products and techniques that made my hair more manageable and healthier. Slowly I formulated a routine that worked for me. I created my own hair oils using coconut and rosemary oil. I deep conditioned every wash day; I trimmed my ends when needed; instead of blow-drying, I air-dried my hair; I applied my products in an order best-suited for me; and then I styled my hair into mini-twist, braids, or cornrows (all without any added hair). Additionally, I tried different natural hairstyles and found the ones I felt the prettiest and most confident wearing.

I persevered through these six months and now I love my natural hair and admire myself in the various styles I wear. I also received more compliments on my natural hair than on protective styles.

As I write this, it is currently July and I have no desire to get a protective style. I`m not saying that I`ll never rock a protective style again but I can confidently say that if I do, it won`t be to hide away my natural hair but just something fun and new. I no longer rely on protective styles as my go-to and can therefore enjoy them whenever I desire.

I must emphasize that there is nothing wrong with protective styles. These styles are time-saving and convenient. Refraining from these styles was my way of gaining self-acceptance and confidence and becoming in my natural hair. It's all about finding what makes you feel self-assured, confident, and comfortable so do whatever works for you- whether it's your natural hair or protective styles.

#natural hair #black women #black tumblr #black femininity #hair care #hair types #black woman beauty #hair journey #afro hair #natural hair care #natural hair journey #lovechels

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milk5 · 11 months

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THE MILK5 COFFEE GUIDE VOL. 1

REMOVE #BADBEANS FROM YOUR LIFE FOREVER

If you are a #TrueBlueCoffeeHead and subsisting on supermarket beans and/or frequent visits to big chains like Starbucks, PLEASE help yourself (and your local community, the environment, coffee workers, etc) and buy a pour over filter and freshly roasted, quality beans from a local roaster. Explicitly seek out Fairtrade Organic/Smithsonian Bird Friendly certified beans if possible. The taste of shade-grown coffee is incredibly flavorful AND you can be certain that your beans aren't the product of yucky pesticides, actual slave labor, and the annihilation of millions of acres of rainforest.

To start with what you need, a goose-neck kettle and pour over carafe are good purchases, but a suitably sized mason jar and regular kettle still work on a budget. Learning how to make a great pour over will raise your home coffee game to professional standards without needing to spend literal thousands of dollars on a real grinder/steamer/espresso machine setup -- if you're able to buy all of these items new for less than a thousand dollars, you're going to be down a few hundos in exchange for some pretty shitty machines. Regardless, a pour over setup with good beans will pay for itself VERY rapidly, assuming it replaces frequent Starbucks visits or whatever other chain you were going to. If you frequent a LOCALLY OWNED coffee shop that you like, keep going! You're an important part of the ecosystem.

What about grinding the beans? Should I get pre-ground beans? Would a cheapo blender-like blade grinder work?

NEVER touch a blade grinder again. It doesn't matter as much if you have #BadBeans, but if you have good beans, ALWAYS use a grinder with a burr; blade grinders just chop up your beans randomly into particles of massively varying sizes, leading to simultaneous over-extraction and under-extraction, generally leading to wildly inconsistent flavors and low repeatability. Burrs will always grind the beans into uniform particles and ensure that you're always (more or less, every cup is different to an extent) getting a consistent flavor. Don't buy a burr grinder -- just bring your beans to a local coffee shop, buy a drink, tip well, and ask the barista if they could grind the beans for you when you can clearly tell that they aren't busy. I have NEVER been refused, just go to a place with less sour employees if they won't help you out. Specify the coarseness that you'd like; smaller grounds have a greater surface area, so they're extracted to a greater extent, resulting in a more intense flavor; coarse grounds are the inverse. Lots of people recommend medium-coarse for pour overs (about 80% coarse 20% fine), but I prefer the stronger flavor of medium/drip (dead middle, 50% coarse 50% fine). It's also better to grind your beans periodically, as freshly-ground beans will taste better, but it's fine to have it pre-ground or ground all at once if you aren't able to easily make coffee shop trips every week or two. As far as roasts go, there's an entire gradient for you to explore -- not just the few that I list here; light roasts have a more sour, fruitier flavor, medium roasts are well rounded, and dark roasts are rich and smokey. Medium-dark is my personal favorite.

Experiment!!! It's all about your own taste, after all.

How do I make a good pour over?

Again, it depends on your taste. My go-to is a vigorous fourth-cup of grounds to 300ml of water; this is easily on the stronger end, but it's what works for me. More common ratios are usually weighed out on a kitchen scale, so consider picking one up if you don't already have one. Document your process until you get to your favorite! I always stop the kettle a little before it gets to its terminal temperature, then pour just enough water onto the grounds to let it bloom -- wait for one minute, and then start pouring a small-ish portion of the water onto the grounds every 20 seconds (this is where my own technique varies the most, it usually takes between 3-4 minutes to finish since I'm not pouring standard amounts; some people DO measure their pours for even greater consistency). Use the stopwatch on your phone, it's much better than keeping track in your head. Make sure to distribute the water evenly over the grounds, particularly making sure to wash the grounds off the sides every pour. When I'm finished, I like to immediately take a sip to see if a splash of milk or half-and-half would help or hurt the cup -- I think a very good cup of coffee can easily stand on its own without anything else, but additives can absolutely help depending on your personal preferences. Just be sure to taste the black coffee before you add anything.

What if I like the syrupy sweet drinks? What about iced coffee?

From my experience working at/visiting coffee shops, Monin is the most common syrup brand I see at local places. As far as iced coffee goes, coldbrew would be probably be the superior option -- it's also pretty easy to make at your home. I'm not going to be writing a guide for coldbrew any time soon, so you're out of luck there. I also never steam my milk if I'm doing a pour over, so I can't really point you to an inexpensive way to do that. Just know that the cheap handheld stick-frothers do not do the same thing as an actual steamer.

What was that about certifications?

Fairtrade is a pretty notable certification for food items produced in areas that have a history for being exploited (so pretty much the bulk of the global south), it can get very complex -- read more about it here. The goal is to ensure that the workers and communities involved in the production of the product receive fair, livable wages, that labor conditions are safe and reasonable, and that the decisions around the production of the product are made by those directly involved in the labor. FTO refers to Fairtrade Organic, which just means that it meets the standards of both Fairtrade AND organic production -- I'm not exactly sure if the organic standards are based on where the coffee is sold, produced, or both, but regardless, it's still a bonus; organic coffee will almost ALWAYS be shade-grown, which is the way that coffee grows naturally. Since coffee is an understory tree in nature, shade-grown coffee is produced more slowly and under a canopy and thus does not require the forest to be damaged or destroyed to grow; however, not all organic coffee will necessarily take place in a completely natural, untouched rain forest setting. Industrial non-organic coffee is most often produced under direct sun in gigantic clear-cut monocrop rows and usually with massive usage of potentially harmful inputs like, such as various pesticides and fertilizers. Direct sun coffee grows faster, but it has a distinctly different taste and is easily the most damaging method of coffee production to both the environment and the local communities. Smithsonian Bird-Friendly is the most rigorous certification for coffee in particular; FTO is more or less a pre-requisite to achieve SBF. Coffee likes to grow in tropical, equatorial environments -- these environments are also the areas of the greatest bird diversity in the world (and, really, biodiversity in general) and the destination for most migratory birds during the winter. The coffee industry has destroyed literal millions of acres of rain forest across the world, which has resulted in the death of billions of birds worldwide over the past 50 years. SBF guarantees the FTO criteria PLUS the additional criteria that the coffee must be produced in forests that are more-or-less in their natural state with thriving diversity of endemic species of flora and fauna. It's harder to find SBF-certified coffee than FT(O)-certified coffee, but the Smithsonian website has a handy vendor locator here. I'm not confident that it works beyond U.S. vendors, so I apologize to anyone interested abroad. Note that some of these certifications may be exclusive to particular continents; I need to do more research on the subject, but the tropical forests around the world vary wildly -- this adds a level of complexity to the goals and criteria of a particular certification. I am confident that all of the certifications that I have mentioned apply to South and Central America (and most likely the Caribbean), so keep that in mind. Also, watch out for phony certifications; big corporations frequently buy out existing certification organizations and/or create new green-sounding organizations to fool well-meaning consumers.

Where should my brand new beans come from?

Like wine, the exact qualities of a bean depend on its terroir, or the specific methods and geographic factors involved in its growth. However, some countries have trends in how the coffee is generally grown; some counties will practice shade-growing more than others and some countries will practice direct-sun industrial methods more than others. As a rule of thumb, Arabica beans are mostly grown in shade or partial shade, while Robusta is generally grown in direct sun. Defer to certifications if applicable.

The following areas primarily practice shade-growing:

Mexico

El Salvador

Peru

Panama

Nicaragua

Guatemala

Cuba

Timor

New Guinea

Ethiopia

Burundi

Rwanda

Tanzania

Zambia (*)

Zimbabwe (*)

Papua New Guinea

Sulawesi

Timor + East Timor

India

The following areas primarily practice direct-sun growing:

Colombia

Brazil

Costa Rica

Hawaii

Yemen

Kenya

Angola

Benin

Central African Republic

Congo

Gabon

Ghana

Guinea

Equatorial Guinea

Ivory Coast

Liberia

Nigeria

Sierra Leone

Togo

Cameroon

Madagascar

Malawi (**)

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Sumatra (***)

Java

Vietnam

China

Jamaica

Again, this is just a rule of thumb; there are exceptions to both and I'm sure that I've left out several production areas. Most of this information comes from the blog Coffee and Conservation, written by ornithologist Julie Craves. I've only tried a very small percentage of these origins; so far, my favorites are Sumatran (Arabica, of course) and Peruvian.

*The source that I got this information from mentioned that some avoid Zambian and Zimbabwean coffee due to concerns of it helping fund violent conflict in the area; this particular article, however, is from 2006 and may be wildly out of date. I couldn't find much more info on this topic when I searched elsewhere.

**They primarily produce Arabica with organic methods, despite the sunny conditions.

***Sumatra is likely the most notable coffee-growing island in Asia; while the majority is Robusta grown on plantations that have deforested a horrifyingly large percentage of the island, the Arabica grown in the north is well-known for its far healthier growing conditions (shade + organic, usually) and extremely distinct flavor.

Volume 2?

I may eventually add on to this post, most likely with a Turkish coffee guide coming next. I used to make Turkish coffee quite frequently, but I would need to dig up my old favorite recipe and cezve first. French press and coldbrew stuff will be in the more distant future if at all.

If any of this info looks wrong, let me know and I'll edit the post :-)

Enjoy your cup!!!!

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koeal · 4 months

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I accidentally deleted an ask where someone asked for some art tips (whoever you were anon, I'm so sorry)

But I made this post still

All I ever posted here was fanart, so I will mostly focus on characters

1. Work on anatomy!

And from experience I know how hard it is to actually find out how to learn it, so here is little example

While knowing these few fun facts, you can experiment a lot!

For example, while people's eyes grow untill early 20's (around 8 milimeters since they are born), noses and ears never really stop growing. So while drawing babies - you can draw their eyes bigger; and while drawing elders - the bigger would be their ears and noses

1.2. Look for shapes!

Another example, because I don't know how to explain it

If it looks hard to you, don't worry, there are many tutorials online that will guide you!

2. Always have a reference!

And if you can't find a good one, I recommend taking picture of yourself! No one is going to see it besides you, right?

I also recommend tracing the reference first in shapes, boxes, as a stick man or whatever you prefer and then trying to recreate that sketch on a clear canvas

3. Follow many artists!

Just visit their page every so often, what is it that caught your attention? The way they color, the way they render? Maybe amazing backgrounds, awesome perspective? Some little details they put on every piece of art they make?

Maybe try using few of these on your art as well!

Also, it's pretty convenient in other ways as well - on platforms like Tumblr they can reblog art they like, and it's more likely for you to see more artstyles and techniques; on places like YouTube they often post speedpaints and tutorials you can take a look at!

Well, these are the main ones, but I will write some other things I can think of:

↳ While rendering, lower opacity of your brush

↳ Sometimes you can try to challenge yourself to use 1. As many brushes as you can or 2. As little brushes as you can (If you are new to art, it can help you find your favorites!:D)

↳ It's good to study a bit of everything - hands, neck, shoulders, back, feet, arms.. You get what I mean!

But it's nice to work on some other things from time to time as well! Try drawing a strawberry, a bunny, some flowers!

↳ If you can't understand how something works, try looking at human skeleton and muscles!

↳ While shading, color of your shadow will be on the opposite side of color wheel from the light (that means if your light is yellow, your shadow will be purple)

↳ Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone! Try new things, experiment!

I wasn't sure what type of tips you were asking for but I hope I helped at least a little<33

#Oh and please don't theat those as strict rules #I'm far from professional; I'm still learning myself #my art #ask me!

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ricesinspo · 1 month

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☆ — art tips that have helped me. by @ricesinspo

these tips are based on my own experience as an artist who draws as a hobby. i've found that learning art is not as simple as just "practice" and "fundamentals", so here are 7 tips that worked for me!

— ☆ —

[★] when doing art studies, use them immediately in an art piece

this way, the knowledge sticks better rather than just being forgotten.

[★] learn things one at a time

for example, if you want to work on coloring / shading, use a subject you already know how to draw well instead of something completely new. this way, you can focus on the coloring / shading without having to worry about how the subject looks on top of that.

you can only take in so much information at a time, if you try to learn many things at once it's going to be more difficult.

[★] look at other people's art (speedpaints, tutorials, etc.)

pay attention to how they do things. try new techniques and see what sticks.

(disclaimer that should go without saying: referencing / tracing for practice is not the same as posting traced art and claiming it as yours / not crediting.)

[★] be specific when practicing

look at your old art and think about what parts of it you want to change / work on / improve on.

[★] Enjoy it!!!

love what you do!!! dont think too much about improvement!!! set yourself free!!! sometimes you just gotta go for it and do the thing!! love the process!! embrace the mistakes!!

yes, it is really difficult (and i'm still working on it), and improvement might be slower than if you just learn 'fundamentals', but as i learned to enjoy the process i started seeking improvement because i actually wanted to rather than only practicing because everyone else said so!!! this way, it's less boring and less likely to burn you out.

try not to worry about fitting in / standing out / being good / whatever!! your art is YOURS and it's YOU!!! thats whats important!!!

[★] on: art style

'normal / realistic' and 'completely unique' styles are both unrealistic ideals to achieve. if you can achieve it great! if not that's fine!! your style doesn't have to have realistic proportions and 'normal' features. your style doesn't have to be completely indistinguishable from everyone else's either.

(and to the "it's not an art style, it's a mistake" crowd: art mistakes are not unforgivable either!! whether it's an intentional stylistic choice that people think is okay to dunk on for some reason, or actually just a mistake, it's fine!! it's just part of the process, and sometimes also the result, and that's fine!!!!!!

if you want to fix your art mistakes by all means go for it, my point is: when you make a mistake in art (or if it generally doesn't look 'right'), sometimes you're inclined to fix it, sometimes it's a "that's unintentional but it looks cool" kinda situation. whichever one it ends up being is up to you, not internet randos who have nothing better to do with their time.)

[★] take every art tip with a grain of salt (including these ones)

if it doesn't work for you, drop it

— ☆ —

this is a formatted version of these tips that i shared on my main blog. putting these here with some changes so it's easier to read. (i realize these are all 'just practice' but With Depth, but imo the reason why 'just practice' isn't effective in the first place is because it's not specific, and the Depth is what makes it a "good tip")

#art inspiration #art resources #art tips #art help #art advice #art tutorial #resources #tutorial #ricesinspo #bonus tip: try the actual tip first before commenting that it's helpful #that being said id love to know if these tips actually work for people other than me #feel free to rb or comment if youve tried these!

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shahrwrites · 6 months

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I’m definitely gonna curse myself later for having written and posted this, but here we go.

I present to you: Batkids x skincare time (aka face masks, specifically.)

Jason’s just lying down with a book in hand, lazing around, having applied a face mask.

Dick enters.

He takes one look at Jason.

And much to Jason’s horror, he wails a bloody scream.

“WHO IS THIS MONSTER IN OUR LIVING ROOM.”

Jason just flips him off with a somber expression.

The woes of having an older brother who acts like an insufferable younger brother.

——————

When Dick applies a face mask, it sits so perfectly on and fits so well around his face as if his face was the base standard for all face masks.

Needless to say, everybody’s jealous.

I’m imagining him with literal sparkles around his face as if he’s the perfect anime girl protagonist, and a ridiculous smile.

——————

Barbara’s sitting on her chair behind the monitors, eyes closed as she gently softens the face mask on her skin.

“Oracle,” comes Batman’s grumpy voice from the comms.

“In a second!” She responds, having finished up.

She cracks her knuckles, a maniacal smile spread on her lips. “Time to ruin some thugs day.”

Flash-forward to twenty minutes later, sounds of screams and pleas coming back to her from Batman’s comm.

A pleased smile is plastered on her face. “Ahhh. Like remedy for my soul!”

——————

Contrary to public assumption (aka his siblings), Tim takes skincare very seriously. Alas, he falls asleep every time he applies a face mask.

——————

Damian has to be chased around like a cat afraid of taking showers when it’s time for face masks. There are nails (read claws) and scratches involved.

At some point or another, Tim just throws the mask at his face like that one meme with parents throwing cheese at their babies. (If you haven’t seen it please search it up. I promise it’s so fucking funny lmao)

Damian, fuming, has that murder look™️ in his eyes.

Then—

Huh.

He actually kinda likes the cold, sticky wet feeling on his face????

Of course, he’ll die thrice over before telling Drake that.

——————

Steph is big on skincare. Cass, though? Honestly, she could do without them. But it’s Steph. So of course she indulges her.

And they have the best time, too.

So there are masks on their faces, and Cass is goofing around a little at the beginning, making faces at Steph and making her laugh. Steph has to bat her hands away from the mask to stop her from tearing it up.

Then they settle down and sit together on a rug in the middle of the living room, nail polish of all colors (and I mean all colors. Every shade. Glittery and regular and opaque alike,) spread all around them. There’s pop music blasting from somewhere in the room, and Steph is doing Cass’ nails with a polish she’s just bought last week, experimenting with a new technique she’s learned on the youtube.

Cass loves being Steph’s model. Her nails usually end up so pretty.

Cass can do without skincare days, but honestly? They’re too much fun to miss on when she’s doing it with Steph. They fool around and they listen to music and they gossip.

And she ends up having had such a good time in the end.

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bcdrawsandwrites · 2 years

Photo

[ID: A Psychonauts fic cover. The cover depicts Sasha’s Shooting Gallery with one of the bootleg tiffany lamps being blown up by a purple psi-blast. The shade of the lamp is split into two large chunks, with the left one featuring a subtle, stylized Loboto, and the right one featuring a subtle, stylized Sasha. The title, “Having a PSI-BLAST!” is shown with “Having a” just above the lamp and “PSI-BLAST!” between the two split parts of the shade. /end ID]

Fandom: Psychonauts

Rating: T

Genre: Humor, Hurt/Comfort (a weird mix of both)

Characters: Sasha Nein, Caligosto Loboto (and Raz and Milla very briefly)

Warnings: PTSD, panic attacks, (SPOILERS: mentions of torture)

Description: After tracking Loboto’s progress with re-learning his repressed psychic powers, Sasha decides that it’s time for him to learn psi-blast. He begins his lesson as usual, but things quickly start going off-course... for more reasons than one might expect.

Beta Readers: @jaywings and @of-science-and-stars

Notes: This takes place after Psychics Ruin Everything, but if you haven’t read that, then just know Raz has helped Loboto re-gain his psychic powers post-Psychonauts 2 and the Psychonauts are teaching him how to use them safely.

---~~~---

Outwardly, Sasha was in his office, straightening books on the shelves, putting away a few he'd been studying, and using practiced telekinesis to sweep the dust off of his table and into a trash bin. Inwardly, he was reviewing his notes, even though this was a lesson he'd given a dozen times or so. Though this would be his first time (in a while, anyway) giving the lesson to someone... closer to his age.

Or someone who had once been a detainee at headquarters.

...Or someone who had kidnapped him twice.

He paused, sighing. No, this wasn't how he should be thinking of his pupil. After all, Raz and Morry had left detailed notes about their experiences in Caligosto's mindscape, making it clear that he had, indeed, changed for the better. It wasn't all that different from how he, Milla, and Ford had examined Morry's mind several weeks ago. They'd helped Morry, and now it was time to continue helping Loboto.

It had taken a bit more convincing than he would have liked; Loboto had been hesitant to enter his lab again, for reasons he couldn't fully understand. It wasn't as though he'd tortured him, though some of the devices he'd used could be a tad... uncomfortable. Regardless, the situation with Maligula had been resolved and there was no reason to interrogate him further.

Razputin had vouched for him, though, assuring Caligosto that Sasha was an excellent teacher and that psi-blast was a useful technique.

Indeed, it was. It had gotten Sasha out of a fair number of dangerous situations. Not to mention its therapeutic qualities.

The door to his lab slid open, and Sasha gave a quiet hum, stepping out of his office to glance down the hall. To his surprise, Caligosto was there alone, peering into the lab while gripping the edge of the doorway.

"You can come in, Caligosto," he said with a calm nod.

Loboto stayed put. "You're not going to psychically drug me and set me on an exam table, are you?"

"That would be counterintuitive, so, no."

With an uncertain grumble, Loboto crept into the lab, his loupes darting around as though he were expecting some kind of trap. Sasha waited for Raz to follow him in, but the door slid shut behind him.

"Is Razputin not coming?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, he got called away," Caligosto said, his face scrunching up as though he'd just tasted something sour.

"Very well. We can conduct the lesson without him." With a wave of his hand, he urged his new student to follow him further into the lab. He'd moved the exam table and most of the monitors off to the side, so there was a decent amount of empty space to stand in. Sensing Loboto's hesitation, however, he glanced back at him again. "How has your training been going so far?"

"Uh..." Loboto shifted uneasily where he stood. "Fine? The army man ran me through his silly little obstacle course, and Raz is helping me with telekinesis."

"And levitation?"

Caligosto froze. "Fine," he said quickly, his mouth screwing up.

Sasha gave a short hum. In truth, he had been actively tracking Loboto's progress. Morry was required to report back to him, Raz was always excited to discuss whatever work he was doing, and he and Milla were in constant contact.

It was how he'd learned that Loboto had been making very little progress with his levitation training, and why Sasha had decided to go forward with the current lesson.

Nodding again at his student, Sasha walked to the center of the lab, then paused. Milla, Loboto and I are going to proceed with the psi-blast lesson.

Oh! I forgot that was today. I'm just heading in for my weekly meditation in psychoisolation.

It's not a problem. I'll fill you in afterward.

I look forward to it, darling!

Hearing the clanking of boot heels against the metal floor, Sasha turned to face Loboto again. "If you're ready, we can proceed."

Once again, he hesitated. "What if I'm not?"

"Is there anything in particular holding you back?" Sasha asked.

Loboto didn't answer, his loupes now scanning the floor beneath him.

As the shower cap Loboto insisted on wearing made it impossible to read his mind, Sasha couldn't pick up on the exact reason for his hesitation, but if he had to guess... "We could wait for Agent Aquato if you wish."

Immediately Loboto perked up, only to glance away, crossing his arms. "Well it's not really necessary..."

"It's not a problem. Give me a moment." With that, Sasha placed a hand on his temple and reached out, managing to locate Razputin in Hollis's office. Agent Aquato, are you there?

Uh, yeah, kinda busy right now, Sasha. Is everything okay?

Caligosto was wishing to wait for you before we proceed with the lesson.

Oh! Yeah, I can— There was a short pause. ...Wait, no, Hollis just handed me more paperwork. Aw man, are these double-sided?! Who the heck—

I see. I'll attempt to sort things out, but if not, we can reschedule. Removing his hand from his temple, he looked back at his student, who was turned away, though his loupes were turned back to focus on him. "Well, it seems Agent Aquato is going to be preoccupied for a sizeable length of time. As such, we might have to reschedule."

"Oh, that's too bad," Loboto replied in a droning voice, striding toward the door. "I was really looking forward to that!"

"Yes, it's a shame," Sasha replied, lighting a cigarette with pyrokinesis and TKing it to his lips. "Turning your negative emotions into firepower is a useful and enjoyable skill, but I'm sure I can slot you in again in another week or so."

Caligosto froze, and Sasha allowed himself a small hint of a smile.

"Indeed, this is a skill that has saved both Razputin and I on many occasions. But if we have to wait, then that's how it is."

"Hhhghhh...!" Caligosto spun around, pointing an accusing claw at Sasha. "Don't you try that psychic-psychology-psychononsense on me! It won't work!"

Sasha shrugged, TKing his cigarette away for a moment and breathing out the smoke. "I wasn't trying anything. Merely stating that the power was useful, but it's understandable that you'd want to wait to learn it. Which is clearly your preference."

"Hey, I never said that!"

"So you wish to proceed with the lesson?"

Caligosto stared at him, yellow teeth bared, before he tossed his arms up in the air. "Yes! Fine! Okay!" Growling, he stormed back to the center of the lab. "Let's see if your silly power is as useful as you say."

Sasha didn't hide his smile this time. "Excellent. Now that you're ready, we can proceed." With that, he put out his cigarette in a nearby ashtray, and gently TK'd his Psycho-Portal onto his forehead before tapping the door.

Caligosto's mouth wobbled nervously, but he steeled himself right before his astral projection was yanked from his body and into Sasha's mind.

—-~~~—-

The welcoming calmness of the shooting gallery sprawled out before them, with all of its predictable, purposeful patterns and simple colors, not a single mental object out of place, and no distracting sights or sounds or—

"Hello? HellooOOOOOO!"

Sasha grimaced as his student cupped his hands around his mouth and called out into space. "Yes, Caligosto, I'm right here." Nodding out at his mental world, he prepared to start his usual lecture. "Welcome to—"

"I was tryin' to see if my voice would echo," Caligosto replied, looking back at him. "Seems empty enough."

Strolling across the surface of the cube, he attempted to roll with Loboto's interruption as he had Raz's comment back when he’d taught the young agent. "There's more here than meets—"

"I guess you don't have much in the way of thoughts, then," Caligosto went on with a smirk. "Perhaps they leaked out from using your silly psychic powers too much?"

Sasha resisted the urge to unfold an entire face of the cube to prove him wrong. Instead he stared him down silently, a technique that worked to quiet down rowdy children who refused to pay attention to his lectures—or was supposed to. Loboto stared back, keeping his defiant grin, but it slowly faded as he seemed to realize Sasha wasn't going to put up with his nonsense. Once he was sure his student was going to cooperate, Sasha continued toward a specific section of the cube face.

"As I was saying, there's more here than meets the eye. But I've learned to keep it under strict control..." And he spun around to face Loboto, who had been following awkwardly behind him. "Which is what I'm here to teach you: control."

Caligosto froze, his loupes twitching as they looked him up and down. "Control?" he repeated, his brow slowly furrowing and claw clenching. "You tricked me! You said you were gonna teach me how to blast things with my brain!"

Taking a half-step back, Sasha raised a brow. "It's necessary to learn in order to achieve that skill."

"Oh, sure it is! You guys are alllll about mind control, aren't you? Keeping people under your thumb, making sure you've got people wrapped around your scrawny psychic fingers—"

Sasha heaved a sigh; he should've seen this coming. "No, Caligosto. Mind control is an entirely different subject, and one frowned upon here, aside from in the most desperate circumstances." He shook his head. "The sort of control I'm talking about is self-control."

Loboto crossed his arms. "I've heard that before, Dad," he spat, sticking his tongue out between his teeth.

He could feel a headache coming on, but a thought crossed his mind. "Actually, it's good that you're feeling this anger right now."

That seemed to catch Caligosto off-guard, and he reeled back. "Wh-what?"

"It will be useful for the purposes of this lesson. I was about to ask you to gather your anger together—as well as other negative emotions, such as fear—and you have already accomplished this." He gave his student a smile. "Well done, Caligosto."

Loboto's mouth was now hanging open, his head tipping to one side. "...Huh?" he said, the utterance sounding vaguely like a dazed goose.

"Hang onto that anger—it will be useful for later."

"Oh...kay..." Caligosto looked away, scratching his head just beneath his shower cap. His loupes were now looking down at the floor, as though searching for something he'd lost.

"In order to learn this technique, we must control those negative emotions, concentrate them, and release them... as firepower." Sasha paused briefly to glance back at Caligosto, who was for once focusing on him. But upon realizing he was being observed, his student snapped his head in another direction, as though suddenly very interested in the faint neon patterns in the distance. No matter; few students could resist his illustration. "Say something disgusting appears before you, so terrible and repulsive that it simply must die."

Just as Sasha prepared to step on the hidden button, Caligosto blurted out: "Like a terrible criminal defense attorney?"

Sasha paused. "No, Caligosto. Killing people is frowned upon here."

"Hmph!" Loboto crossed his arms, his fingers tapping irritably against his prosthesis.

"I had been thinking something more along the lines of..." Sasha pressed his foot down on the floor, activating a triangular button. A distance off, a circular panel opened, and the embodiment of all things tacky and awful shot up out of the cube: a bootleg Tiffany lamp. With an only slightly exaggerated step back, he shielded his face with his arm. "Agh."

"Oh, my dad had one of those in his office," Loboto remarked absently.

"It's too tacky and disgusting to even set eyes upon... but,"—he drew his arm away from his face—"I can use those feelings of disgust to my advantage. I control them, focus them..." With exaggerated motions he moved his right hand to his temple. "Concentrate, and... release!"

A blue bolt of psychic energy fired from his forehead and directly at the lamp before him, shattering it.

"And the world is a better place," he finished, flipping his hair back and turning to face his student. But instead of finding him in awe of the power on display, he found him with his arms still crossed, his head tipped to one side and brow furrowed.

"I could do that."

"Very well." With another stomp of his foot, Sasha activated the mechanism beneath them, which released another lamp. "Give it a try, Cali—"

Before he could finish talking, Caligosto stormed up to the lamp, and, with one swift kick, shattered it. "There!" He looked back at Sasha, his hands on his hips. "See?"

...Right. He should have seen that coming. "Well, you did indeed destroy that poorly-constructed monstrosity, but your methods are... not quite what I had in mind."

"Guess you need to try thinking outside the box, then, celery-man!"

He elected to ignore that comment, instead summoning another lamp. "Let's try this agai—"

SMASH.

Loboto stood with his heel planted where the lamp had been standing, his mismatched loupes staring directly into Sasha's glasses.

Sasha stared right back, keeping his mounting frustration from showing on his face. "...Have you forgotten, Caligosto, what lesson you are here to learn?"

"No, but apparently you psychics forget that you can break a lamp with something other than silly psychic powers!" his student retorted.

"The lamp is merely a target for you to practice your psi-blast on." He pressed down on the button once again. "Now, if you—"

SMASH.

The fragments of the mental object faded behind Loboto, whose eyes never left Sasha.

In turn, Sasha continued to stare back, this time saying nothing as he produced yet another lamp, which Loboto then kicked up into the air, never looking away even as it smashed against the floor. Another lamp was summoned and subsequently smashed, this time with Loboto's opposite leg. Not wasting a beat, Sasha stomped the button repeatedly, and his student smashed each lamp the second they appeared, even when he had them summoned to slightly different locations. Loboto was practically dancing—no, he was dancing, every few steps punctuated with the smash of a newly-summoned mental bootleg. All the while, his gaze never left Sasha, at least partially (one loupe occasionally twitching off to the side to ascertain the position of the next target).

Ridiculous. This was absolutely ridiculous. He'd taught multiple students previously, the majority of them much younger than Loboto. There was no reason he couldn't keep this under control—

Control. That was it.

He ceased stomping on the button, watching Loboto all the while. While his student continued to stare back defiantly, Sasha did not miss the brief look of consternation on his face. With an exaggerated motion he raised up his leg, meanwhile gathering his frustration together in his mind, compressing it and subtly lifting his hand toward his temple.

Loboto noticed the movement of his leg, and when Sasha stomped on the button, he grinned.

But instead of the lamp appearing within Loboto's reach, it jumped up at the far edge of the cube. Before Loboto had time to react, Sasha released his psi-blast, shattering the target before his pupil had time to react.

"Wh—hey!" Caligosto cried, whirling around to stare at the smoldering patch on the floor. "I thought I was supposed to break that!"

"Indeed you were," Sasha replied, relaxing his shoulders. "But there will be moments, much like that one, during which time is of the essence, or when you cannot get close to your target, and thus must attack from a distance." He eased his foot onto the button again, bringing up another lamp a distance off from Loboto. "Shall we try again?"

Loboto glared at the target. "Pshhbbttt... fine!" Gritting his teeth, he put his claw toward his temple, hunching down slightly.

Approaching his student, Sasha went on, "Remember, focus on your anger, concentrate..."

"It'd be a lot easier to do that without you yammerin' at me," Caligosto spat, brow furrowing as he focused on the lamp. His loupes glowed brighter, his claw shook, and with a low growl that escalated into a shout, he released a purple blast of psychic energy. Rather than taking the form of a beam, however, it scattered erratically in front of him, and Loboto staggered back from the force of it.

Finally they were getting somewhere. "Well done, Caligosto! That was a good attempt." Stepping up to the lamp, Sasha noticed the fading scorch marks where the bolts of energy had hit the floor, barely missing their target. "You've figured out the release, which is a good start, but you still lack control." He turned to face his pupil once more. "Fortunately that is what we—"

He paused.

Loboto was hunched forward, his eyes tipped downward, his left hand pressed against his forehead. His breathing was slow and heavy, as though he'd just run for some distance.

"Are you all right?" Sasha asked, his tone immediately softening. He'd taught a number of his students and seen a variety of reactions to a first psi-blast attempt, but they had always been positive. It was a release of negative energy, after all, and typically led to elation, aside from when one was in combat, of course. For a moment he pondered what had happened here when it struck him that Raz, Morry, and Milla had all reported that Caligosto seemed to get headaches from use of his psychic powers. "Are you in pain?"

"What?" Finally Caligosto looked up, brow furrowed in consternation. "No! I mean, yes, that recoil is terrible. But that's not..." He trailed off into confused, lilted mumbling, his eyes searching the floor.

Sasha opened his mouth to point out that psi-blasts didn't have recoil, but he stopped himself; that didn't appear to be the part that was bothering his pupil. Frowning, he stepped closer. "What seems to be the problem?"

Caligosto massaged his forehead. "That felt... sorta..." He hesitated, mumbling again for a moment before speaking up, "...familiar...?"

"Familiar?" Lowering his head, Sasha put a hand to his chin. "You would have had to use it before, then, but psi-blast typically must be taught." He tipped his head back, regarding the glowing patterns decorating the sky of his world. "Of course, there are rare cases in which a psychic can use it before they are properly taught, such as when they are born with a proficiency in it—again, a rarity—or... well." Turning away, he frowned. "...During moments of serious danger, when the mind is at a heightened point of distress. Fear and other negative emotions will typically be in abundance, then, and the mind may then act accordingly in order to protect itself, even if the user is unaware of what they are doing."

Not a particularly pleasant situation to think upon.

"But unless you fit one of those rare criteria," he went on, facing his student again, "I don't think you—"

Caligosto's knees were buckled and shaking, both of his hands tugging at the edges of his shower cap, his eyes dim and staring at nothing. His face had gone a few shades paler, and his chest was heaving rapidly.

Oh.

Heart hammering in his chest, Sasha hurried up to his side. "Caligosto, can you hear me?"

In response, Caligosto's breathing quickened in pace.

Scheiße.

Putting a hand to his own temple, Sasha reached out. Milla, I need your help. Caligosto is—

The message slammed against a barrier before it even finished sending.

Right, she'd gone to the psychoisolation chamber for meditation and probably wouldn't be out for another hour or two. Meanwhile, Caligosto had sunk lower, still breathing rapidly, and part of Sasha was glad that he wasn't in his student's mind—though perhaps fighting a Panic Attack would be easier than dealing with one the usual way.

Staring down at him, he ran through the options in his mind. His first thought was to pull out his tin of smelling salts and get Caligosto out of here, but exiting the mind that way tended to be jarring enough as it was, and that could potentially make the issue worse. He could contact Raz, but he was still likely busy, and asking a child for help when a grown man was having a panic attack did not sit right with him.

But how on earth was he supposed to deal with it, then?

By this point Caligosto was seated on the floor, curled up on himself, his body trembling and his breathing not showing any signs of slowing.

Massaging his forehead, Sasha considered a few more options. Smoking typically helped him when he was stressed, but Caligosto likely wasn't in any frame of mind to accept a cigarette, even a mental one that bypassed the negative physical effects. They were nice to have in his—

Sasha raised his head, his eyes widening. There was no guarantee it would work, but... he stooped down to his student's side. "Caligosto, I'm going to move you to a safe location." It wasn't entirely a lie—he had been holding back his personal Censors from this area for the time being, but they never appeared in the other location at all, and perhaps letting his student know that he would be in a safer place would help put his mind at ease. "Hold on."

Lifting Caligosto into a gentle TK grip, Sasha opened a hidden door in mid-air, which bathed the two of them in a bright orange light. He stepped through the opening, easing Caligosto in behind him before TKing the door shut. His student seemed unaffected thus far, still breathing heavily as he was held off the ground, and Sasha looked around the room as he debated where to place him.

In sharp contrast to the rest of his immaculate mind, this room featured much brighter colors, with bright orange walls against a plush carpet with patterns that had been out of style for several years now. A coffee table with a number of speculative fiction novels (as well as, he noticed, a few comic books—those were new) and a few ash trays sat between a couple armchairs, the right-hand one sporting a large plush rabbit, while a distance off hovered a screen and VHS player that wouldn't have looked out of place in the workshop across the quarry. Green potted plants decorated the corners of the room, while pictures of distant cities (and a single framed picture of bacon) adorned the walls. A small table off to one side featured an old photograph next to an actual Tiffany lamp.

Nodding, Sasha sat in one of the chairs, and deposited Caligosto into the other chair, settling him next to the plush rabbit.

Immediately Loboto jolted back to life, letting out a wild gasp and gripping both arms of the chair. His loupes swiveled around to take in the room. He was still breathing heavily, but he was aware of his surroundings, so that was an improvement. "Wh... wh..."

"Relax," Sasha said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his legs. "Try to slow your breathing. You're still in my mind, and you're perfectly safe here in this room."

Caligosto was still trembling, but he did as instructed, drawing in a deep breath and letting it out. His grip on the sides of the chair loosened, and he started to draw his arms closer to himself, leaving Sasha concerned that he would curl up on himself again. But the second Caligosto's hand touched the plush rabbit at his side, he picked it up and wrapped himself around it, hugging it to his chest and burying his face into it.

Not the reaction Sasha had expected, but the plush toy was aiding remarkably in calming his student; he would have to thank Morry later for inspiring it.

While he waited for Caligosto to calm down, he TK'd over one of the paperback books on the table, absently retrieving a cigarette and lighting it. After a few moments, he heard Caligosto's shaky voice:

"Th-this is... a strange therapy session."

Looking up, he found Caligosto staring back at him in confusion, and Sasha raised the rim of one side of his glasses. "It's not a therapy session. We were in the middle of a psi-blast training lesson."

"...Were we?" Loboto's brows furrowed, his loupes twitching left and right. "Oh. ...Did I... learn it?"

"No. You had a panic attack."

Caligosto's eyes searched the middle distance for a moment before the memory dawned upon him again. His brows raised, his face growing pale, and he abruptly wrapped himself around the plush rabbit once more.

Sighing, Sasha returned to his book, his eyes skimming the pages of a novel that was even more worn-out in its original physical form. It was another few minutes before Caligosto spoke up again:

"You're not asking me anything."

"No." TKing the book away, he glanced back at Loboto, who was eyeing him from behind the plush rabbit, his loupes poking out between the toy's floppy ears. "Do you want me to?"

Caligosto's lights went a shade dimmer as his loupes flicked off to the right. One loupe knocked against the ear of the plush rabbit and retracted slightly like a snail's eye.

"Then I won't." Sasha took a drag from his cigarette, letting it out through his nose. "If you feel calm enough, we can resume the lesson."

Caligosto ducked behind the plush again, one hand tugging on his cap as he muttered to himself.

"Then we'll wait a bit longer. Take your time."

They resumed sitting in relative silence, other than Loboto's intermittent, incoherent muttering. After another few minutes had passed, Loboto mumbled something louder and a bit clearer: "H-he made it come back."

"Hm?" Sasha TK'd his cigarette butt over to one of the ashtrays. "Who made what come back?"

Caligosto hesitated. "...Raz."

Raising a brow, Sasha sat up straighter in his chair. During the few weeks Loboto had been training, he'd never heard him say anything negative against Razputin. "Is this related to when Agent Aquato entered your mind?"

His grip around the plush rabbit tightened. "I buried it," he choked out. "I didn't want to remember it."

Ah, a memory vault. That would explain it. "Is that what caused your... episode?"

Caligosto did not answer, and his breathing grew quicker.

Sasha scooted forward in his chair. "Caligosto, you do not need to speak about this if it is causing you distress."

"Doesn't—" he croaked out between gasps. "Doesn't matter—still there—"

Sighing, Sasha retrieved another cigarette and TK'd it out toward Caligosto.

Glancing out from behind the plush rabbit, Loboto spotted the offering and reeled back, brow furrowed and tongue stuck out between his teeth. "What?! Egh!" he cried, batting it out of the air like a gnat. "Do you know how bad those are for your teeth?"

Without looking away from his student, Sasha dismissed the discarded mental object and bit back the urge to inform him that "no thank you" was a more appropriate answer, and that a cigarette smoked in a mental world would have no impact on his dental health. "It was merely a suggestion," he replied.

Loboto stared at him a moment longer, his loupes pulled back, before he eased himself back into the chair, staring down at the plush. He turned it to face him, touching the bottom of its head with the smooth side of his claw to lift up the face, as though he were addressing the rabbit rather than Sasha. "...I had some... bad clients, back in the day."

Sasha nodded. "You worked for a number of our enemies."

Caligosto sputtered, waving a hand at him while still watching the rabbit. "I know that! I mean they were..." Again he hesitated, bringing his hand back to the plush. "...bad... to me. Ill-tempered, looking for loopholes to get out of payment, and... other things."

Humming in interest, Sasha leaned back in his chair again. "Bad in such a way that your mind reacted to defend itself?"

Loboto's loupes stared down into the button eyes sewn onto the rabbit. "I was late with a client... and he was angry with me. But—" He shook his head, gripping the rabbit a bit too hard. "He wasn't my only patient! Juggling clients is a pain, and you've got to be more patient when there's more than one patient in the office! But... some people don't care for the proper art of dentistry..."

Sasha remained silent, his glasses narrowing as he listened.

"He... didn't like... that I was late." His gaze grew more unfocused, more distant, and he smiled unhappily. "Angrier than a patient with an ill-fitted veneer, heh!"

"And his anger caused him to attack you."

"Oh, it wasn't an attack." Slowly Caligosto's loupes tipped back upward, facing Sasha, though not really seeing him, as he grinned even wider. "It was a surgery!"

Sasha nodded.

And then the meaning hit him.

The warmth of the room faded, and his stomach plunged. Loboto's eyes remained fixed on him, his mouth still stretched in a grin, the red and green gaze and yellow smile all too bright against the dark implications the man had uttered. "...A surgery," he repeated, his voice distant.

"Yes. A necessary one, or so he told me. One in which I would learn a valuable lesson." Caligosto's own voice was also slightly off, as though his mind was off elsewhere, leaving both his body and his mental projection behind. "Funny, I don't remember what the lesson was! But I didn't want to learn it. I wasn't big on college education, hah!"

Sasha wondered if Caligosto was aware of what he was saying. He suspected not.

"Was a strange lesson, too. He grabbed me with a psychic hand, and grabbed my arm, too, like this!"

He swung out his prosthetic arm off to his side, and Sasha felt the blood drain from his face as he realized where this was going.

"And then he had a bone saw! Have you used one? I have! Fascinating tool, excellent for the messier bits of dentistry, but I didn't want it used on me—and BANG!" His whole body jerked backward, slamming against the back of the chair, his loupes spinning. "It went flying! Wooooo!" He waved his left hand to indicate a sailing motion. "But then it came right back. And that client—I couldn't see him for all the shiny sparkling stars in my eyes, but he was absolutely livid! And that fancy instrument—its teeth bit right through—"

"Enough!" Sasha cried, standing abruptly.

Loboto gave a start, scrambling to grab the plush rabbit again. Gone was the distant smile, and his eyes were locked onto Sasha, his brows raised.

Slowly Sasha realized that his fists were clenched at his side, and he was glaring at Loboto. Exhaling, he loosened his stance and put a hand to his forehead. "Sorry," he said quietly, shutting his eyes as he turned this new information over in his mind.

During his time in the Psychonauts, he'd seen a lot of things, some worse than others. He'd read the minds of others—with more care than he had as a child—and found things both fascinating and disturbing. He'd entered the minds of others, uncovering their memories, both good and bad. But much of that had been during missions, when he was prepared to witness such things. While his job revolved around helping others, one had to employ a certain amount of detachment to keep from becoming overwhelmed.

He had not made such preparations today.

"That was an inappropriate response," Sasha went on, brushing his hair back and taking his seat.

"Oh, I get it," Caligosto went on, tipping his head. That same distant, unhappy grin returned. "Not everyone has the stomach for this line of work. Buuuut it turned out all right in the end!" Holding out his right arm dramatically, he flexed his claws and, with his left hand, grasped just below them. "I've got this now, complete with a pepper grinder! ...Well, no pepper anymore, but I'll figure something out! Might be able to retrofit some dental tools into this thing..." He let his prosthetic arm go and turned it this way and that. "Not a bad deal, don't you think?"

Sasha stared at him for a long while, his arms resting on his knees. "The faintest memory of what led to your obtaining it plunged you into a panic attack."

Caligosto balked, his face turning a shade paler, before he smiled and waved a dismissive claw. "Psssshaw! Let's just forget that whole thing happened."

"On the contrary," Sasha said, "I believe we should get back to our lesson."

Before Caligosto had time to protest, a door spontaneously opened within the seat of his chair, and he yelped, dropping through it. A similar door opened beneath Sasha's feet, and he stood, levitating calmly through the portal and out of the sitting room.

The other side of Loboto's door opened perpendicular to the floor, the gravity shift causing him to stumble forward rather than drop straight downward, while Sasha merely continued levitating downward until his feet touched the ground. The doors snapped shut of their own accord, leaving the two of them back on the same face of the cube they'd been on before.

"Wh-what was that for?" Caligosto stammered, looking around at the shapes floating in the sky. His hands grasped absently as he did so, and he looked down, seeming to notice he was no longer holding the plush rabbit. Growling, he crossed his arms tightly against his chest. "That other room was cozy."

"I'm not here to put you in your comfort zone, Caligosto," Sasha said, strolling closer to him. "I am here to help you step out of it, to learn something new."

Loboto's loupes twitched left and right as he studied Sasha's face. "No." His lower lip stuck outward in a pout. "I don't wanna!"

"You wish to go back on your word and cease training under the Psychonauts?"

"No!" Loboto grit his teeth, pointing an accusing claw in Sasha's face. "I don't wanna quit training. I just don't wanna do your silly training! I don't gotta shoot stuff with my brain—I can just..." He drew his claw back, fiddling with it and mumbling. "Wonder if I can stick a pistol in this thing..."

Sasha drew in a breath, looking down at the patterned floor. "Very well. If you do not wish to resume psi-blast training, we can train in a different area."

Dropping his arms to his side, Loboto stared. "Wait, really?"

Looking up, Sasha nodded firmly. "Indeed." He maintained eye contact with his student for a moment before resuming, "I want you to demonstrate your skill in levitation."

Caligosto balked, stepping back and looking away. "Uhh..."

"You've been training with Agent Vodello, so presumably you know how to summon a levitation ball. Go on."

Grumbling, Loboto stared down at his feet. "...All right," he said, and his eye-lights flared as he concentrated. It took several seconds, but finally he bounced up about a foot into the air, held up by a psychic fishbowl beneath him, complete with a betta fish swimming within. It lasted for a second and a half before it began to waver, then popped, sending Loboto falling heavily back onto the floor. He did not look up. "...Happy?" he muttered.

Just as Milla had told him. Sasha put a hand to his chin. "Did Agent Vodello explain why you might be struggling with this?"

Caligosto tapped his prosthetic arm with his fingertips. "A bunch of touchy-feely mumbo-jumbo about letting negative thoughts weigh me down." His claws and teeth clenched. "What's she want me to do about it? Go to therapy?"

Tipping his head to one side, Sasha hummed. "That could be arranged, but I can offer you a more immediate solution."

Caligosto's head snapped up. "Really? What's that?"

"Resuming our psi-blast lesson."

With a tremendous groan, Loboto tossed his head back. "You and your stupid psi-blasts!"

"It is the lesson you came here to learn to begin with."

Loboto spun around, then began storming away, going off in a singsong voice, "Silly stupid psi-blasts slung sloppily around the square—"

"Do you not remember, Caligosto, what powers a psi-blast?"

"Yeah, yeah, it was your anger and everything. I got that part," Loboto muttered. He stopped walking, his head tipped up to stare at the patterns overhead, his loupes locking onto one and watching it drift through the mindscape.

"Yes, and only part of it," Sasha went on, stepping closer to him. "For it is more than just anger that can power a psi-blast—it is all negative emotions, including fear."

Loboto's shoulders went tense. "I'm not a sissy!"

"I made no implication that you were. Everyone has fear within them, and often possesses an abundance of it shortly after surviving a traumatic experience. This is natural, and it is not a weakness. And as a psychic, you can use it as a strength." He paused for a moment to let that sink in, watching as Caligosto lowered his head, his loupes twitching left and right, searching. "Paradoxically, your trauma—and therefore the fear related to that trauma—is tied in part to psi-blasts themselves. While this is a hurdle, I do not believe it is insurmountable."

"No!" Loboto snapped, taking a side-step away from Sasha and glaring at him. "You can think whatever mumbo-jumbo you want, but I'm not doing this stupid lesson for you!"

"Then..." Sighing quietly, Sasha looked down at the ground for a moment before looking Caligosto in the eyes. "Perhaps do it for yourself?"

Caligosto's furrowed brows knit in confusion. "Eh?"

"Negative emotions can be released through a number of outlets, but psi-blasts are a quick and powerful one that can benefit the user."

Once again, Caligosto stared down at the floor, humming to himself as his loupes searched the patterns for answers they would not yield.

When no further response came, Sasha went on, his voice softening: "I know you're frightened, but I believe this will help you."

Loboto frowned, glaring at the floor. "Oh, sure. I'm sure this is because you think it'll help, and not 'cuz you've got some superior breathing down your neck to teach me this stuff."

"I don't," Sasha replied, and Caligosto looked up in surprise. "Teaching you to psi-blast was entirely optional on my part. I was in no way required to give this lesson."

His student's mouth hung open, his eyes unfocused in an expression of sheer bafflement. It did not last long, as his face scrunched up in fury, his yellow teeth bared as he lunged forward, pointing a claw in Sasha's face. "Why?!" he snapped, his eyes searching as Sasha took a startled step back. He went on, too fast for Sasha to interrupt: "What's in this for you? D'you get a kick out of pushing me around or something? Wasn't enough to have me psychically strapped to that table and ask me questions until my brain rotted out, so now you gotta trap me in your mind for this—?!"

"You are not trapped," Sasha said, quickly and firmly. "I know for a fact that Razputin delivered you a container of smelling salts. If you have misplaced it and you wish to leave, you need only tell me, and I will eject you from my mind immediately. Do you wish to leave?"

Lowering his claw, Caligosto continued to stare him in the eye.

After waiting a moment longer, Sasha breathed out through his nose, letting out the tension he was holding with it and dropping his shoulders. "We may not have... gotten along previously," he admitted. "I do not regret keeping you detained and interrogating you, as that was done purely due to a time-sensitive mission. Lives were at stake. But even then, your safety was important, and that part has not changed." He looked up at the sky overhead, at its precise patterns and colors. "Unlike the physical world, this world is under my complete control, and I can make sure it is a safe environment for you to learn in. As well..." Finally he looked back at Loboto, who was now somewhat hunched, his arms crossed and his expression uncertain. Sasha's own face softened. "I want to help you, Caligosto. Keeping negative feelings built up within, with no safe release, is... unbearable. Dangerous."

Caligosto looked back up at him, tilting his head. "...Dangerous?"

Sasha looked aside; while something he had personal experience with, it was not something he liked to reflect on. "As a psychic, your emotions are in some ways entwined with your powers... and if you do not find safe, controlled ways to release your negative emotions... they can find ways to release on their own, in ways you will not like."

His student's brow furrowed, his loupes tipping down toward the floor again.

Meanwhile, Sasha shook his head and took a step closer. "I would not wish for you to deal with it alone."

Caligosto turned away for another moment, muttering to himself, then looked back at Sasha, brow furrowing again. "...Well?" he said, finally. "Are you going to show me how to do this, then, celery-man?"

Sasha raised a brow, but smiled nonetheless. "Yes, but I would ask you not to call me that again."

"Pshaw." Waving him off, Caligosto cast a glance around the face of the cube they stood upon. "So uh... lamp?"

"One moment." It didn't take long for Sasha to locate the button, and soon another hideous lamp appeared. "Now, last time you managed to fire a blast, but it lacked concentration. You must focus your feelings together in order to hit the target."

Caligosto clenched his claw close to his temple, his loupes darting over to Sasha and back to the lamp. "And how'm I supposed to do that?"

Humming, Sasha held his hands in front of himself as though cupping something spherical. "Picture your emotions as physical matter which you are packing into a ball."

"Ah!" Loboto perked up. "Like a filling stuffed in a cavity!"

"...Yes, if that helps."

Initially Caligosto smiled as he bent forward, preparing his stance, only for his face to go pale. He began to mumble incoherently, his loupes darting this way and that.

Sasha stepped closer to him. "You are safe here, Caligosto," he affirmed. "Do not let your fear overtake you. Use it instead to empower you."

Caligosto's breathing picked up, and he began to tremble.

As much as Sasha wanted to urge him further, he bit his tongue. "Should we try this another time?"

Caligosto growled, shaking his head and focusing on the lamp again. "No, no, no..."

"Very well." Keeping close to Caligosto, he turned his own gaze toward the lamp. "Then keep your focus on the target, concentrating your feelings..." He hesitated. "...Pack them into the cavity, if you will."

With an affirmative grunt, Loboto nodded.

"Concentrate... and release!"

A purple blast shot from Caligosto's head and struck the lamp, shattering it into pieces. He let out a cry, staggering back.

Meanwhile, Sasha brightened. "Well done, Caligosto!" He turned to face him again, only to frown when he found him hunched over, holding his head and shivering. "...Are you all right?"

Caligosto did not answer, only breathing heavily.

Sasha knelt near him. "You are safe. The man who hurt you is not here." When his student made no acknowledgment, Sasha looked away for a moment, thinking, before summoning a TK hand and resting it on Caligosto's shoulder.

Loboto started with a gasp, leaping upright and looking around frantically. Seeing the transparent blue hand on his shoulder, he stared at it in consternation. "...Oh," he said shortly. "Uh. Thanks." With that, he waved it off, and Sasha released it. Once it had faded, Loboto leaned forward, pressing the heel of his hand into his forehead, still panting. "D... dunno how you guys do this stuff," he muttered between breaths.

"Psi-blasts are not supposed to cause pain to the user," Sasha said. "As I understand it, this is a common issue for you?"

Caligosto managed a short nod.

"It may be due to the fact that you have not used your powers in some time," he remarked. "It may be a pain akin to a sore muscle, and if so, it will go away in time." Frowning, he looked away. "But given your... unique situation, it may be something that needs looking into."

Immediately Loboto grabbed either side of his shower cap, tugging it further down on his head.

It wasn't as though he were planning on carrying out a cranial examination right this moment, anyway. Shaking his head, he moved on: "Beyond your headache, how are you feeling?"

After a moment Caligosto let go of his cap, straightening his back and scratching the back of his head. "I dunno," he grunted. "Uh... okay?"

Sasha hummed. Not the response he was hoping for, but describing one's feelings wasn't always an easy process. "Are you feeling well enough to make another attempt?"

Sighing, Caligosto dropped his arms to his side. "Fine."

With another press of a button, Sasha summoned not one, but three more hideous bootleg Tiffany lamps, each worse than the last. Hearing a squawk of horror from his student, he shook his head. "Yes, they are unbearable, are they not?"

Maintaining eye contact with Sasha, Loboto swung his arms in the direction of the lamps. "You want me to blast three of them?!"

"Yes, in a specific order." Responding to his thought, the numbers 1, 2, and 3 appeared over different lamps. "This will test your aim."

Loboto grit his teeth, looking between the lamps and Sasha a few times.

"If this is too difficult for you to manage, or if it brings you too much pain, then we can try again at another date."

"Hhhnnnngg... fine!" After stomping a bit closer to the lamps, Caligosto clenched his claws near his temple again. "Packing into this cavity... so I can blast one into you," he muttered. With a growl, he fired a purple blast from his forehead at the lamp labeled 1, then at the next two in quick succession before doubling over.

"Excellent!" Sasha smiled as the fragments of the mental lamps disintegrated, but his smile faded when he turned back to his student, who was still doubled over, trembling and panting. "Was that too much?"

A shuddering sound came from Loboto's throat, his whole body shaking with the effort, and for a moment Sasha was worried that he was panicking again. But as it went on, Sasha realized that... no, it was not the sound of panic.

It was the sound of laughter.

It was quiet at first, but it gradually grew in force and volume as Loboto raised himself up, straightening his spine and finally tossing his head back, arms outstretched as his laugh turned near-maniacal.

In spite of himself, Sasha took a step back. This was... new. "Is... everything all right?"

Loboto's laughter ceased as he whirled around to face Sasha, his smile wide. "Never better!" he exclaimed. For a moment he faltered, his hand on his forehead as he looked aside. "My head is burning, but—!" And he straightened again, his face bright and grin fierce. "I feel fresh, like my teeth have just had the plaque scraped from the enamel!"

Ah, now that was the reaction he'd been hoping for. "Excellent. As I said before, the psi-blast—" Before he could finish, he had to jump back as Loboto swung his claw at him, evidently in an attempt to grasp him by the collar.

"Again!" Caligosto cried, a frantic giggle bubbling out of his throat. "Give me another target!"

"...Yes," Sasha said, allowing himself to relax. "We can proceed with the next part of the lesson, if you're so inclined."

"Oh, I am!" Loboto snapped his claws together with a menacing, metallic click.

Nodding, Sasha summoned a new device from the depths of the cube: a dial and a valve. With a psychic nudge, he moved the dial to 1, and the valve spat out a Censor. The mental figure landed on the ground with a startled no!

"Hey, I've seen those before," Caligosto remarked, bending down to get a closer look.

"This is a Censor. They're an integral part of any sane person's mind," Sasha said. "You may have seen them in Agent Vodello's mind, or perhaps Agent Oleander's." He paused. "I hope."

"Yeah. Seen 'em in my mind, too." Caligosto tilted his head as the Censor stepped closer to him. "Funny lookin' little—"

"No!" the Censor cried, and slammed its stamp into Loboto's face.

With an undignified snarl, Loboto staggered backward, straightening his back. Before Sasha could say another word, Loboto placed his claw against his temple and psi-blasted the Censor, leaving a smoldering mark in its wake, along with a blue orb of raw mental energy with a cross above it.

"Yes, they will attack you if you encounter them in others' minds, as you are a foreign entity," Sasha explained. "Fortunately, many of them can be easily disposed of via psi-blast, as you have seen."

"Not very good at their jobs if they're taken out so easily!" Caligosto said, rubbing his face where a red mark from the Censor's stamp was fading.

"It's not so easy if you're encountering a swarm of them, or one of the larger varieties." Noting that his student was looking around worriedly, he went on, "Though you're in no danger of that here. I have enough control over my Censors to keep them from swarming you, for the purposes of our training. As well, you'll want to absorb that mental energy it just converted to in order to keep your own up."

"Hrm, how do I...?" Caligosto crouched down, reaching out toward the raw energy, and gave a start as it absorbed into him. "Oh... huh."

Sasha gave a nod of satisfaction. "You're doing quite well for a beginner, Caligosto." Especially given that earlier reaction, he went on silently. But he paused; as he watched his student, he couldn't help but notice he was still subtly trembling, his face still a shade paler than it should be, his breathing still a bit labored, his loupes staring out into space. It wasn't much different from how he'd seen him a few weeks ago, when he lay atop Sasha's examination table, terrified that Sasha might uncover his client's identity and incur their wrath, no matter how much he tried to play off his worries as a joke. This time, though, it wasn't just fear he was trying and failing to conceal.

Of course, he should have known that this wouldn't be something he could overcome so easily. The psi-blasts were a temporary solution, not a magical erasure of trauma. But there must be something...

Pondering over this for a moment, an idea occurred to him, and he took a step closer to his student. "I was planning on proceeding with the lesson as normal," he began, and Caligosto started out of his spaced-out state, "but I'd like to try something a bit... different. This next part of the lesson may be unorthodox, but I believe it will help you."

"Yeah? What is it this time?" Loboto asked, one hand on his hip.

"This next part will require a bit of... vulnerability on your part."

Caligosto stiffened.

Not an encouraging response, but Sasha went on, "If you could allow me a moment to read your mind, I can provide you with a specialized training exercise."

At that, Loboto grinned, tugging down on his cap with one hand and waggling a claw in Sasha's face. "Ah-ah, that's not happening!"

"You're forgetting, Caligosto, that that cap of yours is not physically there. You are not physically here. You are a mental projection within my mind, and that barrier of yours means nothing here." Sasha held his hands behind his back. "Of course, you are not required to go through with this. I will not pry into your mind without your permission."

Looking down at the patterns on the floor, Caligosto hummed. "What sort of... specialization are we talking, here?"

"If you allow me to make a quick mind read, I can create a training exercise that is more specific to your current needs. It will enable you to progress further more rapidly." He let his student mull over that for a moment, then continued, "I will not pry into your mind any more than necessary for the purposes of this lesson. I will let you know, this will be significantly less invasive than the procedures you went through previously during your interrogation."

Caligosto's brow furrowed, and he did not look up.

"Of course, if you're happy with going through things at a slower pace—"

"Wait!" he cried, head shooting up, brows creased in worry. "Okay! I-I'll do it, but—" He shook his head, frowning. "But no funny stuff!"

"Of course not. Science is no laughing matter," Sasha replied with a smile. "Now, just give me a moment." With that, he shut his eyes and reached out, both literally and figuratively, until he could read Caligosto's thoughts.

Instinctively he darted past the surface level thoughts, leaving those to keep some amount of privacy to his student, and went straight for what he knew was bubbling just under the surface:

Fear of another panic attack. Pain. Terror. And... memories—memories being fought against, pushed back over and over again, buried under thought after thought.

Sasha pushed a bit further, weaving around the attempted mental barriers until he reached it. Immediately a vivid image flashed in his own mind, and he pulled away, opening his eyes.

Loboto stared at him tensely. "Are you gonna do something or what?"

Ah, good. "It's already done," he replied, lowering his hand. "I've gotten the information I need."

Immediately Caligosto reeled back, covering his head in his hands. "Eugh!" he cried, shuddering. "Sneaky spying psychics seeking sacred secrets...!"

"A patient in the hands of a skilled surgeon shouldn't even feel the blade, a fact I'm sure you're aware of," Sasha remarked. "I told you it wouldn't be overly-invasive, and I did exactly what I said I would."

Grunting, Caligosto crossed his arms. "So now what?"

For a moment, Sasha stood back, turning over the mental image he'd extracted. It was never easy to tell how true these sort of things were to life, but the more important part was that it was how the subject viewed or remembered what they had seen. He studied it for a few moments, frowning. "Now... I will have you face a challenge," he said, looking his student in the eye. "Though I must warn you that this may cause some level of distress."

"Pshawpffbbt!" Loboto waved a dismissive claw. "Those Censors don't scare me."

"This will not be a Censor," Sasha said, and when Caligosto opened his mouth to interject, he went on, "nor will it be another lamp. This time I will be giving you a challenge that will be much more personal."

Caligosto stared back at him, his brow starting to crease in concern.

Thinking it over a bit more, Sasha added, "Before we begin, I will remind you that I have full control over this mental world, as well as your experience. You need not worry about any significant harm coming to you."

"Y-you already told me that!" Loboto blurted out, though his trembling was becoming more apparent.

"Yes, but I feel it was important to remind you again, in order to reassure you—"

"This is beginning to have the opposite effect," Loboto said, deadpan, and Sasha raised the rim of one of his glasses.

"Very well. Don't say I didn't warn you." After walking a distance away, he dismissed the valve and dial, and brought up a black-and-white control panel, its dials, buttons, and levers patterned similarly to the surface of the cube they stood upon. He felt something spawn on another face of the cube, but dismissed the thought—likely a Censor seeking another outlet. With one hand on his temple, he cranked one of the unlabeled dials, typed a command onto the keyboard, and pulled a lever on the side of the panel. In response, there was a loud whirring from beneath them, and Sasha nodded in satisfaction. "Let us begin."

The whirring noise grew louder, and Caligosto took several steps back, looking around frantically. "What—what are you doing?" he stammered, only to yelp as the ground began to shake beneath him. Before he could ask another question, a circular part of the floor just a few feet away from him began to descend, and he stumbled away from it, loupes locked onto the spot.

And then the circular part of the floor began to rise... bringing with it a tall, imposing figure shrouded in shadow, only its eyes visible and glaring.

Caligosto shrieked, staggering back and holding up his arms in front of himself. "NO! NO! Wh-what are you doing here?! I already gave you what you wanted...!"

The figure said nothing, and Sasha leaned forward over the console to watch as the entity stepped closer.

"Remember, Caligosto, I'm in complete control of my mental world!" he called out, but his student hardly seemed to notice.

"Go away!" Caligosto wailed, swiping his claw in the direction of the mental entity, though he continued to back away from it. "I'm not doing business with you again!"

"Oh?" the figure replied, his voice a low growl. "Yet you were so eager to do business with me before..."

"I've learned my lesson! I'm—I'm not doing this again!" he cried, continuing to back up.

Well, this wasn't going exactly how he'd hoped. "Focus, Caligosto!" Sasha called, turning a couple controls on the console again. "Fight back!"

Yet Loboto found himself backed against the edge of the cube while the figure stalked even closer. He looked over his shoulder with a whine; while gravity would have simply shifted if he stepped further back, he didn't seem aware of that option.

Still the figure stalked closer. "You've learned your lesson, have you? Let's just see about that!" Without warning, the figure manifested a bright green TK hand.

Sasha froze. "Wait—"

The hand swiped at Loboto, who yelped and ducked away, managing to get himself out of the corner. The figure rounded on him.

And a bead of sweat rolled down the back of Sasha's neck as he glanced down at the controls, which his hands were no longer touching.

Meanwhile, Loboto held his arms up to shield his face as he stumbled backward yet again. "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

"I'm sorry, doctor, but it seems you need a refresher!" With a snarl, the figure reached out with his TK hand, which Caligosto, by some miracle, managed to return with a panicked psi-punch, a purple psychic claw appearing before him to block the blow. It faded half a second later.

"Don't worry, Caligosto!" Gritting his teeth, Sasha looked down at the console and frantically typed a few commands into it. "I've got it under control!" he called, even as the lights on the console flashed red and emitted a few warning beeps. Just as he was wondering why, a series of sparks shot out from the side of the console, and he stepped around to take a look. He let out a strangled gasp at the sight he beheld:

A panel of the machine had been stripped away, and a blue creature with bright red light bulbs jutting out of its back had stuck its head into the device. It was chomping at the wires within.

"I don't need a refresher, b-but you need a breath mint!" Loboto shouted, glaring back at the figure, only to gulp when the man's TK hand clenched and pulled back. The fist swung forward, and Caligosto ducked down, the top of his cap blowing back as the figure's psi-punch wooshed over his head. "Oops."

The figure's TK hand pulled back to his side. "I won't miss next time, doctor."

"You're supposed to," Sasha muttered as he telekinetically yanked the Bad Idea away from the console. It tore out a chunk of wires with it, a few bulbs on its back popping from the excess electricity. It seemed unconcerned, grinning wickedly around the wires in its teeth.

"L-look," Caligosto stammered, his voice taking a higher pitch. He held up his hands again. "I already gave you what you wanted! I did everything you asked! The appointment is over—you're free to go home!"

Meanwhile, Sasha’s frustration and panic rapidly left him in a concentrated blast of blue psychic energy, sending the Bad Idea flying out into oblivion with a squeal.

"No, doctor," the man replied, tilting his head. "I believe I have some payment due, and I'm going to exact that payment"—he pulled his hand back—"right"—and Loboto reeled back, preparing to duck under another punch—"NOW!"

The TK hand launched forward, but instead of punching, it snagged Loboto's prosthetic arm, yanking him up into the air with it.

Sasha's head snapped back toward the fight, and the blood drained from his face. Scheiße.

Now hanging from the mental figure's grip, Loboto went very, very still, the color draining from his own face, his eyes out of focus.

The figure gave a quiet laugh as he held him up a few inches higher off the ground. "There we are," he said, his voice a low rumble. "You've done such fine work with this fascinating new mechanism here." Slowly he turned him so Caligosto's left side was facing him. "I'm sure you'll do even better with the second one."

The hair stood on the back of Sasha's neck, and he charged out from around the wrecked console.

But in the same moment, something snapped.

Loboto's loupes, which had been staring out into space, suddenly flashed, his yellow teeth clenched, and with a jerk, his free hand pressed against his temple. Half a second later, a purple beam of psychic aggression blasted out from his forehead, striking the figure in the chest.

With an echoed cry, the figure staggered back, his TK hand disappearing, dropping Loboto. "Gah! When did you learn to—?!"

Before he could even finish talking, another purple psi-blast hit him, striking him directly in the stomach. Then another. And another, leaving the man collapsing to his knees.

As Loboto stomped closer, his face was no longer pale, rather shifting to a shade of scarlet. Slowly his mouth twisted into a grin. "Your appointment's over, but I've got time—I can spare a few minutes to teach you a lesson!" He reached down with his claws to grab the man by the throat, and hoisted him back up to his feet.

Sasha skidded to a halt several feet away, frozen as he listened to the strangled noises emitting from the mental figure.

Loboto held the man like that for a long moment, his brow furrowed and eyes locked onto him, his free hand still against his temple, all the while the figure gagged. A purple light was building just above Loboto's loupes, slowly growing brighter before suddenly blasting out directly into the man's face. The claws released him, and he collapsed to a heap on the floor. The shadows that composed him gradually drifted upward like strands of smoke from a snuffed candle, until finally he dissolved into nothing.

When the figure finally disappeared, Caligosto let out a sharp breath, hunching down with his hands on his knees, his head hanging, his chest slowly heaving.

Sasha looked over his shoulder, mentally dismissing the console (which sank into the floor) before looking back at his student, barely suppressing a shudder. After a moment of deliberation he took a few cautious steps closer, attempting what he hoped looked like a genuine smile. "That was quite the show, but you did remarkably w—"

Loboto's head snapped up, and he lunged at Sasha, grabbing him by the collar and hoisting him upward before he had time to react. "YOU!" he snarled, his red-and-green eyes burning into Sasha's shades. "YOU were the one doing that!"

Sasha winced, mentally reminding himself that the spittle that was flying from Loboto's mouth and hitting him in the face was not real. "Yes, I was, but—"

"SO YOU BROUGHT HIM BACK?!" Loboto screeched, shaking Sasha in his grip.

Immediately Sasha went to grab Loboto's arm to steady himself. "No, it was only—"

Loboto's eyes flashed as he flung Sasha to the ground.

"...an illusion," he wheezed, pushing himself up on his hands. Loboto was glaring back at him, eyes still burning in fury, but his prosthetic arm was clutched protectively close to his chest. It wasn't hard to figure out why. "...Sorry."

"Sorry you dove into my mind to dredge up an illusion of that?!" Loboto spat, pointing a claw at where the mental figure had once stood. "I've done some sick things, b-but I would—" He faltered, shuddering as he held his arms to his chest. "I wouldn't—I-I never—" Grinding his teeth, he rounded on Sasha again, this time gripping his own left shoulder a bit too tightly in his claws. The hitch in his voice betrayed the betrayal he felt: "Y-you had him try to...?!"

Rising to his feet, Sasha heaved a sigh and rubbed his forehead. "No. That was not my plan at all," he admitted, looking back at where the panel had been. "I had only meant to take that memory of yours and manifest it for a brief moment so you could attack it. But I never intended for it to attack you." He punctuated the word with a glance back at Caligosto, who stared at him intently, before looking away. "However, this was... not a technique I've employed many times before, and it seems it may have gone awry." He hesitated, a frown tugging at his features as he looked off in the direction where he had blasted the Bad Idea. "I... lost control of the mental figure early on in the exercise."

There was an extended silence, during which Sasha began to wonder if Caligosto had simply bailed from his mind; he wouldn't have blamed him. But his student's voice spoke up, quietly, "You lost control?"

When Sasha looked back, he found Caligosto staring back at him, his arms at his sides, his head slightly tilted. "Unfortunately," he replied. "It happens to the best of us."

Loboto continued to stare at him before shaking his head with a snort of disbelief. "Aren't you... psychics supposed to be... ehhhnnn... flawless?" He pulled back his lips, tapping gently at one of his own teeth. "Like a tooth with no plaque, no cavities?" Glancing away, he put his hands on his hips. "Especially you higher-ups in the Psychonauts..."

Something clicked in Sasha's mind, and he couldn't help the amused smile that crossed his face. "Razputin spoke highly of me, did he?"

Loupes snapping back in Sasha's direction, Caligosto gave him a look. "That's putting it mildly!"

Laughing, Sasha shook his head. "He means well, but no, we are flawed as anyone else... some more than others." Another thought occurred to him, and he shifted closer. "We don't expect perfection out of you, Caligosto. We only wish for you to try." When Loboto looked away, brow knitted in contemplation, Sasha went on, "Which, by the way, in spite of how everything got out of hand, you handled it quite well."

"I don't wanna go through that again," Caligosto said, eyeing him.

"No, of course not."

With a grunt, Loboto looked away again, but a slightly more genuine smile crossed his face. "I... do feel a little better, though." He looked down at his claws, clicking them together. "That felt good."

"That was the intent," Sasha said with a smile. "That having been said, I think that's enough of this lesson for now."

"Finally." Loboto slumped forward, his arms hanging limp at his side. "I'm beat."

Nodding, Sasha put a hand to his temple. "One moment..."

—-~~~---

The sounds of the lab came first, with the quiet beeps and chirps and whirs of the nearby machinery, before the rest of it came into view. Sasha glanced up just in time to see Loboto's mental projection fly back into his own body, and he reached up to snatch the Psycho-Portal off his head, sliding it into a pocket.

Meanwhile, Caligosto staggered, letting out a dizzy moan, and Sasha automatically reached out with TK to steady him, gently placing a hand on his back. Caligosto did not flinch away.

The whirring of the lab door caught their attention, and the two of them turned as Raz came bounding into the room on his levitation ball. "Hey guys! I finished that paperwork." He came to a stop before them, dismissing the lev ball. "Wait, you haven't started yet?"

"I'm afraid you're a little late, Razputin," Sasha replied. "We've just wrapped up our lesson."

"Aw, man!" Raz crossed his arms, but his disappointment was short-lived. "Maybe next time."

"I was just about to tell our friend Caligosto here that he should get some rest. He's had quite the mental workout." Nodding toward Loboto, Sasha rubbed his TK hand on his back before dismissing it.

Caligosto's loupes turned in Sasha's direction before glancing back down at Raz, though he said nothing.

"Got it! C'mon, Cali, let's get some psi-pops." With that, Raz reached up to grab Loboto's claw and happily led him toward the lab's exit.

Just as Sasha was about to remind Raz that rest included actually sleeping, not consuming candy, a voice rang through his mind: Hello, darling! I hope I'm not interrupting anything?

No, I've just concluded the lesson.

That's wonderful! How did it go?

Sasha hesitated, thinking over everything that had happened. It had all been so... chaotic, and it had gotten a little out of hand. He hated to say as much, but it was the truth.

"So how'd your lesson with Sasha go?" came Raz's eager voice from just outside the lab, and Sasha glanced toward the lab's exit in interest. Unfortunately they were already out of view, but he could still hear Loboto's reply:

"Well... I learned how to do this."

Panic rushed through Sasha's chest for the briefest of moments before he registered the wobbly hum of a levitation ball manifesting. It remained for several moments before he could hear a distinct pop.

"Woah!" Raz cried. "But—wait, wasn't your lesson about psi-blasts?"

"Yep!"

"...Huh."

A smile crossed Sasha's face, and he shook his head. All things considered… I think it went well.

#sasha nein #caligosto loboto #psychonauts #psychonauts 2 #razputin aquato #milla vodello #fanfic #my art #my writing

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