#hollis forsythe (mentioned)

[gummycube]

Ref sheet for my Psychonauts OC Rupert! More info about him under the cut:

[motherlobe]

I love Truman to death but wholeheartedly I think we never get to know more about this man. And Again this is coming from the #1 Truman Zanotto fan!! (I over exaggerate on my labels I’m) Like it’s cute we give him lol headcanons and I really love the fandom idea of him being divorce and trans (okay maybe the trans one isn’t really famous but It’s canon to me) but tbh I really do want to know more about this guy.

You might think it’s nothing until you realize so many things. He’s the nephew of the Bob Zanotto a member of like one of the powerful psychics, he’s the head of the motherlobe, he was in both games and he has an important role in both of them. But what canon stuff we do know about this guy? Well he’s a nephew of a powerful psychic, he’s Lili’s dad, he’s the boss of the motherlobe, he has weird choice of interior design and his way of words are a bit strange and like everyone he went to college. But that’s kind of just it. Sure we get to see past him in memory vaults but those were mostly centered around Hollis and Bob. I also wouldn’t blame the (spoiler ahead!!!!!!!!) part where it turned out Gristol was in Truman’s body because that idea was so awesome.

I’m not saying that they should’ve expand this guy in the game, no the game kind of didn’t have time to know more about this dude and there were more important characters that needed to be explored anyhow in my opinion it would’ve been a waste of time. I just wish we had little notes or like small peak of information of him. Let me summarize this, Truman is an important character with little to no information.

But uhhh I don’t know if this is a rant or-or a thought-

[razzle-zazzle]

Whumptober Day 17: you're the lump in my throat and the knot in my chest

"Leave me alone."

2809 Words; Rewired AU

TW for mentions of violence and blood, injury, mentions of death

AO3 ver

Morris leaned back with a wince.

What an awful night. What an awful, horrible, no-good night. The ballroom was still half-frozen, melting ice spikes covering more than half the space. Slowly growing puddles were beginning to soak into the carpet. Tables and chairs had been overturned, slashed, and smashed—and then there was the detritus from the plates and silverware and glasses that had been used as makeshift ammunition. Broken glass and chunks of ice glittered across the floor.

At least Morris had been able to find his chair, and not the random chair he’d had to grab in the heat of the moment. It didn’t magically fix everything, but he’d switched it to be self-propelled instead of levball-powered, which helped his headache. Marginally.

The sirens weren’t helping, though. The sound had been cut, at some point, but between the still-functioning lights of the ballroom and the red and blue flashing outside, Morris’ headache was not getting better. Add in the EMTs frantically trying to chip through Lizzie’s ice cocoon, all of the other first responders tending to the partygoers, and every other little bit of movement and noise—

Morris liked noise. He hated silence, hated the way it spread out and suffocated a space. The world was meant to be alive and that meant being loud—

Morris rubbed at his temples. Yeah, sure, this was better than the eerie silence of just before—

Gisu going down in a blur of motion, the automaton reclaiming its face and snapping it back on.

Those glowing red eyes staring Morris down like an omen—

But it was not helping his headache. At all. And his headache was making his stomach twist and the room spin—

What a mess.

And tonight had started out so well, too. Rolling around the ballroom, making connections, the mission going off without a hitch—

The sound of shattering glass, a scream cutting across the ballroom—

Morris grimaced. What an awful night. What an awful, horrible, no-good night. He just wanted it to be over, already, so he could go home to Licorice Whip and Caramel Popcorn and Lolly Pop. Yeah. He’d go home, feed his ferrets, and maybe sleep off all of this awful bullshit that had decided to come crashing in through the skylight. It’d be so nice—much nicer than all of this.

Amidst the general bustle, an EMT made their way over to him. Morris turned to her, ignoring the way the room was spinning.

“Can you tell me your name?” They asked.

“Morris Martinez.” Easy. Like Morris could ever forget his own name.

“Age?”

“...twenty one.” Okay, that one had been a little harder. But it didn’t take that long for Morris to remember that oh, yeah, he’d stopped being twenty in the spring. Just a few moments.

“Favorite color?” They raised a flashlight to Morris’ eyes. 

“Blue.” It’d been his favorite for years—it was the color of the sky, after all.

(And the color of the Dion’s eyes, but that was less important. And not something Morris wanted to think about right now.

He didn’t want to think about anything besides his ferrets, really.)

“Can you hear any ringing in your ears?”

Morris concentrated. “Yeah.” He admitted. “It’s really faint, though.” But it was still there, and probably had been since he woke up next to a wall of ice—he just hadn’t noticed it in the chaos, the faint ringing fading into background noise for him.

“You’re likely concussed.” The EMT said, lowering her flashlight. “But they’ll have to do an MRI to know for sure—you’re holding together well.”

“I kind of figured.” Morris said. Getting hit in the head with the hilt of a sword would do that. At least Gisu was able to take up keeping in contact with Hollis after the automaton left—Morris’ headache was only getting worse as the night progressed.

“Hollis says she’ll meet us at the hospital.” Gisu’s voice floated over to him, and Morris turned to face her. “The one they’re taking Lizzie to.”

Right. Morris glanced back at the ice cocoon—and there she was, being pulled out and loaded onto a stretcher. “She better not die.” He muttered. She probably wouldn’t—Lizzie was tough like that.

“Yeah.” Gisu said. Morris wondered if she was exhausted as he felt, if that was why she was barely talking. There was certainly something, in her eyes, a sort of deep resignation that Morris had long since grown to recognize. She was tired.

Gisu’s hand slipped into his. Easily, like it was always meant to be there, yet loosely, like she might pull away at any moment. It was a familiar gesture in every way, a gesture born of years of knowing each other.

It was a small comfort. But it was still a comfort.

+=+=+=+=+

The waiting room was quiet.

Oh, sure, other people were present, many of them talking in low murmurs that Morris couldn’t really discern, and there was music playing on some small tinny speaker somewhere— 

But compared to the ballroom? Compared to the sirens?

Morris could actually think.

Well, sort of. He was still concussed—he’d gotten the scan results ten minutes ago. But at least the room wasn’t swimming around him. At least there was no internal bleeding. Just a mild concussion to go with the exhaustion.

Now he was just waiting for news on Lizzie’s condition—whatever it might be. There’d been… a lot of blood.

Morris really hoped that she came out okay. The hours had stretched on, the clock in the waiting room reading 11:38. The party had started at 7:00, and when Morris had first looked at the clock in this room it had read 9:52. Hollis had arrived a little over half an hour ago, though she’d been too preoccupied with coordinating with Truman over what details to give to the press to say hello. The vultures had already been at the gala, so it didn’t take long for even more of them to show up looking for a good story. Between that and his MRI, Morris hadn’t had the chance to talk to her yet.

What an awful night. What an awful, horrible, no-good night. Morris needed to get out of this suit ASAP. He needed to see his ferrets. He needed to lie down in his bed and not wake up for the next seven years.

Morris needed a lot of things, if he was being honest.

Gisu’s footsteps padded across the waiting room carpet—so much like the ballroom carpet—and Morris looked up at her approach.

“I just talked to Hollis about Lizzie.” Gisu informed him. “They’re going to transfer her to Clay Ridge once she’s stabilized.” Her voice softened, her eyes glimmering with relief. “She’s going to live.”

Morris felt some of the tension dissipate from his shoulders. “That’s good.” He murmured. If Lizzie died…

Don’t think about that.

“So where are you and I going?” Morris asked. He really hoped the answer would be home. Home, with Lolly and Licorice and Caramel chasing their favorite toys around the room. Home, with his comfy bed. Home, with his radio and his favorite songs.

“You and Agent Nerumen will be coming back to the Motherlobe,” Hollis began from behind Gisu. Morris tensed at the sudden appearance, then immediately relaxed. “Since neither of you are critically injured, the medical wing there will be adequate.” Hollis’ voice remained even, cool and calm even with the worry lining her face. What Morris wouldn’t give to have that kind of suaveness under pressure.

“I’m guessing you’ll be wanting a full mission report?” Morris asked, even as the idea filled him with dread.

Hollis’ lips quirked. “You’ll get time to rest first, Agent Martinez.” She assured. At once, her demeanor hardened, the steady mentor morphing into the strict Second Head. “Your transport is waiting outside.” She informed them. “Debriefing will happen at 10:00 AM tomorrow.”

Morris nodded, then started to wheel his way towards the door, Gisu walking alongside him. Her mental presence was fuzzy through the haze of the concussion, but it was there, familiar buzzing at the back of Morris’ head. Her hand nudged his arm, and it took Morris a second to realize she was offering it to hold.

Morris took it. Her hand fit in his like it was meant to, yet loosely, like she might pull away at any time. Every scar and callous was familiar, as familiar as the way her pace matched his, as familiar as the ache in Morris’ chest when he thought too hard about why.

It was familiar, and that was a comfort. Morris didn’t need to think any deeper into it.

So he didn’t.

+=+=+=+=+

The ride back was quiet, the only noise the hum of the engine and the tap-tap-tap of Gisu’s finger on the door. Between Morris’ concussion and Gisu’s sprained wrist, Hollis had decided to have another agent handle the drive—Morris wasn’t sure if he didn’t know their name, or if it was just the concussion making them seem unfamiliar. Lizzie had been their ride to the gala, anyway, and she wasn’t in a state to drive at all—though Morris really didn’t want to think about that. He instead took advantage of not being the one driving and sent a text to Clara—how his phone was still intact after everything, he didn’t know, but Morris wasn’t going to question it when he had his ferrets to think about. Clara was his designated ferretsitter, though, so at least they’d be in good hands.

By the time he and Gisu had disembarked and been shuffled over to the Motherlobe’s Medical Wing—by the time they were finally left to their own devices in one of the overnight rooms, Norma bringing over a change of clothes for the both of them before leaving for Clay Ridge—Morris had had enough.

He hated silence. And something about Gisu’s silence just wasn’t sitting right with him.

“Okay, what’s eating you?” Morris broke the silence. “You’ve been acting weird since that thing punched you in the gut.” He knew Gisu, knew her well enough to know that something was up—and not just the awful night. No, this was something else—something almost contemplative, as though Gisu had been handed a new puzzle instead of thrown into an unexpected fight for her life.

Gisu stared at him. “Weird how?” She countered, kicking her legs. There might have been something playful to her remark, some teasing demand for Morris to explain himself just because she wanted him to—but they were both too tired for that. It was just a force of habit, at this point.

“Gisu, we have known each other for too long for me not to notice.” Morris grumbled. “Something’s up, and I can tell because if there wasn’t you wouldn’t have asked Pooter to sneak your board in.” Raz hadn’t gotten here yet, but he was on his way—Morris had watched Gisu make the request as they got out of the car. He had been waiting there with Norma—Adam and Sam were on their own mission—and Gisu hadn’t exactly been subtle.

There was only one reason Gisu would ask for her board when she was going to be in a space too small to skate—she needed to think, which meant that she had come across a puzzle.

“Fine, fine, you got me.” Gisu shrugged. “I just…” She breathed in, “It’s about the automaton. Cyborg. Whatever. When I took his mask off…” Gisu trailed off. Her eyebrows knit together as she contemplated her words.

“Wait, his?” Morris already knew he wouldn’t like where this was going.

“Yeah,” Gisu said, “His. When I took his mask off, I saw his face.” It took a moment, for the meaning of her words to register to Morris. Then—

“Wait, are you saying… it’s not a robot?” But it was at least partially mechanical, if the metal arm and altered voice was anything to go off of. No wonder Gisu was acting weird—this was a big revelation. They knew so little about the anti-psychic weapon, so every little bit counted.

Morris started. “If you saw his face, you could get an ID!” The realization took longer than he’d like to admit—Morris was going to blame the concussion.

“Yeah, that’s exactly the issue.” Gisu said. She squeezed the air in front of her, sparks of electricity crackling along her fingers. Morris waited for her to continue—

“It was Dion under the mask.”

.

.

.

Six words. Six words that hit Morris like an uppercut, the room spinning around him.

His concussion must be worse than he thought. “I’m sorry, I think I misheard you.” He managed, even as all the air in his lungs got caught in his throat.

“You heard me.” Gisu scowled, “It was Dion. I pried that mask off and I saw Dion.” Her next words were choked out, her voice starting to wet, “He’s alive.”

Morris couldn’t breathe. His chest was squeezed too tight, his lungs threatening to pop and his heart caught in a vice. No. No no no. This wasn’t real. He was not sitting here, listening to his on-and-off girlfriend of the past six years tell him all about how the thing that just tried to kill them hours prior was their missing ex-boyfriend.

“That’s an awful joke.” Morris said, once he found his voice again.

“It’s not a joke!” Gisu argued. “Dion’s alive and I saw his face!” Her hair was starting to fizz from the static in the air around her.

“And what makes you so sure?” Morris gripped the arms of his chair, his knuckles white. “How do you know you weren’t, I don’t know, projecting what you wanted to see?”

Gisu bristled. “You think I wanted to see Dion’s face on the thing that was trying to kill us?”

“I think you want Dion to be alive so badly that you’re ignoring the truth.” Morris shot back.

“What truth?!” Gisu leaned forwards, “I know what I saw!” The air around Morris was starting to feel greasy, now, like lightning could go off at any moment.

What a joke. What an awful joke.

This had to be a dream. Clearly, Morris had never woken up after being suckerpunched by the automaton, and everything that he remembered happening was just some alcohol-induced nightmare where the world was falling apart and threatening to crush him all in one. There was no way this was real, not when Morris had given up on ever seeing Dion again years ago—

“I know what I saw.” Gisu repeated. “You being bitter doesn’t change that.”

“Bitter?” Morris all but screeched. He threw his hands in the air, “Bitter? I’m sorry if I can’t hold onto delusion for six years!” His hands fell to his sides and he clenched them into fists. “Sorry that I don’t have the energy to keep chasing ghosts!”

Everything not bolted down slammed against the wall. Morris flinched—so did Gisu.

Morris’ head pounded. His vision swam.

His chest was heaving, his lungs struggling to draw in air like they’d been squeezed too tight. He forced his gaze off of Gisu and onto the plastic plant that had been thrown to the floor, to the shiny green leaves and fake blue petals.

(Blue, like the sky, like the stripes of the Aquatodome, like the color of Dion’s eyes—)

“Look.” Gisu said, “I know it sucks.” She pushed off of the bed and walked over, stepping over the fake plant. “How do you think I feel, seeing his face again?” Her expression softened, even as lighting continued to crackle over her knuckles. “But whatever happened, however Dion ended up like that—”

“Stop it.” Morris demanded, his voice coming out in a whisper. “Stop talking about Dion.” His voice cracked, his throat tightening no matter how much he tried to calm down—

“Morris,” Gisu growled. She reached out. Morris batted her hand away.

“It’s over.” Morris’ voice came out thicker than he wanted it to. “Dion’s dead.” Dion was gone and no amount of missing him would bring him back. Dion was gone, and there was nothing Morris could do to change that. Dion was gone, and everything that he’d represented to Morris was gone with him. Morris couldn’t continue to hold onto him. He just couldn’t.

Morris turned away. He couldn’t look at Gisu, couldn’t look at the mix of hurt and frustration and pity written on her face. He just couldn’t.

“Morris…” Gisu started. The tinge of sympathy in her voice was like acid down Morris’ back. He glared at the wall, and said nothing.

What an awful night. What an awful, horrible, no-good night.

The vent cover clattered to the floor. Morris turned to watch as none other than Pooter fell out, doing a flip in the air and bowing once he landed. “I got your board.” He announced, holding out Gisu’s levboard. He looked at Morris.

“What’s up with him?”

[true-psychic-texting]

Got the one note I needed to post Apple Shampoo part 3! I never planned to make this a fanfic but here we go!

[kieraspsychonautssideblog]

Why Hollis Forsythe is a Deeper Character Than You Realize

So ya'll seem to like my essay on why Loboto's Labyrinth is a good tutorial level for Psychonauts 2. I've wanted to write an essay on the rest of the cast as well, so I decided to start with the second character we head into the mind of: Hollis Forsythe.

We are first introduced to Hollis when she comes to greet the cast after they land at the Motherlobe. I have played this game with my friends and my step-dad, and both parties initially believed Hollis was the mole due to her saying she didn't hear the crew's call for help and her initial dismissal at the idea of a mole being in the Psychonauts.

She is shown to be strict, serious, and maybe has a bit of an ego due to her preference for "Second Head" instead of Lesser Head, and with how she conducts herself after the casino mission. She isn't exactly soft towards interns, particularly Raz, and she can easily be seen as intimidating.

I do think it's rather odd that she would put a psychic intern under the mentorship of a non-psychic employee, but think of the situation she has been put in.

Truman is out of commission, and she has to keep the whole place running, and a mole is possibly running around about to bring back the biggest threat to the Psychonauts ever, their budget is getting tight, and a new intern has plopped into her lap.

I am choosing to believe that Hollis put Raz under the mentorship of Nick Johnsmith as a temporary thing, and would have given him a proper mentor afterward (given that none of the interns are mentoring under Sasha, I believe that Hollis would have given Raz to Sasha if things went differently.)

However, after she gives your mentor, you can ask her about her diploma, and she mentions being an intern at the Neurological Hospital for one year before joining the Psychonauts.

We learn in Hollis's mind that the reason she left was because while she was interning there, she came up with a new method that could save lives, but Dr. Potts had stolen her work and claimed all the credit. Appallled at this, Hollis used Mental Connection to try and mess with Dr. Potts, but ended up breaking him and they had to call in the Psychonauts to help. Truman gave her the position after this.

It is interesting that this hospital internship seems to be so central to Hollis as a character given that it was only for one year. However, it does seem to have affected her character greatly. She is immensely worried about the safety of the children she mentors, after all, and there are several figments of people being hurt or being cared for in both of her minds. Hollis's Classroom, while important to establish Hollis, is not where Hollis's character shines.

That will have to be Hollis's Hot Streak.

In Hollis's Hot Streak, we go through the Pharmacy, the Maternity Ward, and Cardiology to get three gazillion dollars to enter the High Rollers lounge and fight the Lady Luctopus. In each of these areas, we get a good insight into Hollis's thought process.

Side note: the fact that the hub area is a six-sided DIE in the MORGUE...

This game and its pun.

Anyway, in the Maternity Ward, we see that Hollis actually has a very cynical view of babies and those who want them. Most obvious is the rich couple who only want a baby for their own gain. The fact that there's some emotional baggage only accessible through dark thoughts is also something to think about. In this area, when we go to the backroom, we hear Hollis say "Well, of course, the whole system is rigged! But I mean, I'm just one person! What could I do about it?" which reads very heavily like learned helplessness almost. Given that, if you go talk to Hollis in the Motherlobe after your family arrives, she mentions that "all families are terrible", it does imply Hollis might not have a good relationship with her family.

In the Pharmacy, the entire point is to fix the Pillinko Machine so you can win. With Hollis's heart in the wrong place, it's up to us to try and make better connections in order to get to the backrooms. When we're there, Hollis says "Swallowing your feelings sounds bad, but really, who wants to hear about those ugly things anyway?" She's clearly had to repress these emotions for a while.

In Cardiology, you bet on suits of cards in race. However, Hearts has a broken leg. Although Hearts is told to stay off the leg by their doctor, their doctor is also their boss, and if they miss another race, they'll be fired. They are being exploited. Makes me wonder if that's how Hollis felt when Dr. Potts stole her work. In the backrooms, Hollis says "Different race, same runner. I can do this on my own, I don't need anybody's help, I CAN'T need anybody's help." Hollis clearly feels overworked and stressed about the situation but feels as though she cannot ask for help from those around her.

There's still a lot about Hollis's mind that interests me. The mental barriers you have to shoot through blocking your way, the religious imagery that's also in her mind, etc. But overall, I think Hollis is a much deeper character than we're lead to believe, as she doesn't get to do much after the Casino mission. But still, Hollis is really interesting to analyze.

EDIT: I AM COMPLETELY DUMB AND FORGOT TO MENTION: The fact that Hollis associates being a doctor with gambling is also really interesting. Yes this is because of Raz's actions, but the several ways she associates the two is fascinating. You have to wonder how many patients Hollis might have seen die in her time as an intern.

[dreamsofalifeold]

((Because I mentioned it on Pixie's blog, I also have a Psychonauts verse for Shy; she's an empath capable of feeling the emotions and intentions of others as well as projecting her own emotions onto those around her. She joined the Psychonauts as Hollis Forsythe's personal secretary after she caused an...incident by accidentally sending out a psychic wave of pure despair onto unsuspecting holiday shoppers at her local mall.

She's an anxious wreck 90% of the time but v sweet and she keeps a giant jar of candy in her office for when she can tell her coworkers are stressed.

Also. You better believe I'm going to drag you all into Psychonauts hell with me lol.))

[nochi-quinn]

WIP Wednesday for Never Limited and Never Complete, hopefully the last one before I post the chapter properly.

Raz popped his lev ball out from under his feet as he approached Sasha’s lab – he’d activated the door by accident before and didn’t want to roll in on Sasha. He was halfway across the small common area when he heard Milla’s voice drifting out of her own office.

“I don’t like it, Hollis.” She was keeping to a low murmur, but with the door open it carried enough for Raz to hear. “I don’t like how fast they’re moving.”

“It’s a necessity, Vodello.” That was indeed Agent Forsythe’s voice, also attempting for quiet. Raz had wondered aloud why psychics didn’t just default to mental speech all the time, and Sasha had given him a lengthy, rambling answer about the psychology of speaking to another human and hearing a reply in return, as well as not wanting the vocal cords to atrophy. He was pretty sure it just boiled down to “humans like hearing other humans talk”. The basis of communication buried way down in their DNA.

“They’re traumatized,” Milla retorted. “Some of them are children. They need care and compassion, not to be forced through a psychic gauntlet.”

“We need to know what they can do. What they’re capable of. In case…” Hollis sighed. Raz could almost see her pinching the bridge of her nose. “In case they’re not refugees,” she finished.

Milla didn’t say anything for a long moment. Hollis was the one to finally break the silence. “I know you don’t like the thought of anyone using kids for infiltration.” Her voice was surprisingly gentle. “Hell, neither do I. But it is a possibility we have to consider.”

“You’re right.” Milla’s voice was clipped, barely contained agitation. “I hate it. But you’re right.”

“Do what you can for them,” Hollis said. “You’re right, too – they do need kindness. They’re just not going to get it from Intake.”

“Which - “

“You’ve mentioned before.” Hollis cut Milla off. “I know. I don’t disagree. But I also can’t take you off your actual duties to sit downstairs all day. Besides,” and her tone was almost joking now. “There’s no windows down there. You’d wilt.”

Milla made a small, grumpy noise before it broke into a quiet laugh, and Raz heard Hollis’ quick, sharp footsteps muffled on the carpet. Panicking, he wrapped himself in a bubble of invisibility, even holding his breath as Hollis exited the office and started down the hall.

When she was gone, he exhaled slowly, aware that Milla’s door was still open, but stayed invisible as he tried to process what he’d heard. The rescuees, infiltrators? He knew the agency was hyper-sensitive to the thought of another mole, but he couldn’t picture Michael or Lila as some kind of...subversive agent. They were just kids.

You’re just a kid, his brain reminded him, and he shook off the thought. That was different. He’d figure out how later.

Slowly dropping his invisibility, he turned and headed into Sasha’s lab like he’d originally intended. Hopefully Sasha would have answers that made him feel better instead of worse.

[wil-is-done]

When You’re A Mystery Kid - Chapter 38: Report

Summary: Raz delivers a report on the current state of things.

Word Count: 2.806

-

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a repost.

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters featured here.

Another day at the Mother Lobe, another round of paperwork to sort through. 

All that Raz could do was suffer through it and try to get as many as he could done before someone inevitably came by his desk to drop off yet another stack of goddamned paperwork.  If he’d known that forming an elite super team would involve a literal mountain of paperwork, he would’ve had second thoughts about this whole thing. Raz was tempted to skip the reading and just sign them all with reckless abandon, if not for Lili’s extreme warning to never ever do that. She’s convinced that the higher-ups have been trying to screw them over with hidden terms and confusing clauses. The worst part of it was that, so far, she’s been absolutely right. Raz spotted at least five carefully worded sub-clauses that essentially would’ve let the higher-ups have the final say on every action that the Mystery Kids made, and that was just today. Still, even though reading them all was for the team’s own benefit, the tedious task was practically hell for him.

So, when Sasha messaged him to come to his office ASAP, Raz was more than willing to oblige. 

Raz was at Sasha’s door within minutes, which was impressive considering their offices were at opposite sides of the Mother Lobe. He lightly tapped the plasma display beside the door. The door slid open without a sound. 

Sasha’s office was your standard-issue Psychonaut agent office, and one of the few to stay that way. He kept it almost completely barren, personalizing it only with things he deemed functional, like a globe and a star chart. It was a stark contrast to Milla’s office just next door. His desk and chair were positioned at the center of the room with a pair of chairs in front of it, spartan just like the rest of the room, but Sasha wasn’t there. Sasha was staring out the window, with his back to Raz, and a phone pressed against his ear. 

“You must make them see reason, Richard,” he spoke. He didn’t seem to notice Raz’s arrival at all. “The Psychonauts cannot stand alone, and neither can the Consortium. We need to cast aside past rivalries. We need a united front.”

Raz hesitated to call out to Sasha. It looked like an important call, and the tone in Sasha’s voice was one he always uses in grim situations. Sasha spent a moment in silence. Raz could barely hear whoever’s on the other end of the call talking.

Eventually, Sasha spoke again. “Remember; gather support. I already have Milla’s. Next, I’ll try to add Forsythe to our cause.” There was a brief pause again, with the other person talking. Sasha rested a hand on the window and sighed. “I know Hollis and I have a rocky relationship, but she can be a powerful ally. Like I said, cast aside the past.”

The mention of that name made Raz painfully realize that this call was not something he should be eavesdropping on. He immediately, timidly broke his silence. 

“Uh… Sasha?”

Sasha spared a glance over his shoulder, before speaking to his phone, “We’ll continue this later, Richard. I have company.” He ended the call, turning in place to fully face Raz. “Come in, Razputin.”

Raz stayed rooted on the spot for a moment, watching Sasha as he moved to sit down at his table. He didn’t seem to mind the fact that Raz caught the last bit of his call. He didn’t look like he even realized Raz was listening in at all. If that was the case, then Raz won’t be the one to tell him. He stepped into the room as if nothing was amiss. 

“You called for me, Sasha?” Raz asked as he sat down on one of the chairs in front of Sasha’s desk. 

“Indeed,” Sasha replied, sitting down on the other side of the desk. “How have you been?”

“Pretty good. All the paperwork’s been torture, but I’ve lived through worse.” Raz’s tone took a bitter turn near the end. A ghost of a smile appeared on Sasha’s lips. Raz decided to not make a big deal out of it, and move on. “So, uh… what’s this all about?”

Sasha raised an eyebrow. “Excited to get back to your paperwork?”

“No! No, definitely not.” Raz cleared his throat. “Just… curious.” 

“Very well.” Sasha rested his elbows on the desk and steepled his fingers. “I’m simply asking for an oral report of everything that has transpired lately.”

Raz blinked. That’s unusual. “A… report?” 

“From you, yes.” Sasha nodded. “I know I usually go to Lili for this sort of thing, but I’d like to hear what you have to say, for a change.”

“Oh. Okay. Um…”

Man, where to start?

“Well, Lili’s been trying to get me into this new cartoon show that she’s watching. It’s all about these living breakfast foods, but they’re crying all the time? I try to keep an open mind when watching this kind of stuff with her, but for this one… I just don’t get it. I can’t see why Lili is so into this show, and-” Raz stopped dead in his tracks, realizing that Sasha had a stare fixed on him, looking extremely unimpressed. “That’s… probably not the kind of report that you’re asking for. Right.”

One more time. Raz straightened up in his seat. “Progress on our permanent headquarters has been going pretty much according to schedule. If nothing comes up, it should be done by Thursday next week. Well, at least, that’s what Dipper and Wybie said.”

“It seems a tour would soon be in order,” Sasha added with a knowing smile. Raz nodded enthusiastically. He absolutely cannot wait to see the finished Mystery Kids headquarters for the very first time. Definitely going to be his highlight of the month.

“Oh, I gave Danny and his team level two security clearance to our network and archives, just like you said.” That moment when he gave it to them played once more in Raz’s mind. He’d never forget the astonished looks on their faces, just from getting such a low security pass. “They were pretty ecstatic about it, actually. Imagine how they’d react when they get the same clearance as us.”

“A token of goodwill to appease them for the moment.” Sasha nodded, slow and calculated.

“Um, the effort to integrate Cheesebridge into modern times has been going pretty well. Finally got support from the Irish government. They’re surprisingly chill with suddenly having a couple thousand new citizens.”

Sasha quirked an eyebrow. “No notable incidents in the integration process?”

“Nothing notable enough for Eggs and Winnie to tell us about.” Raz shrugged. “The Boxtrolls, especially, have been integrating super well with modern technology. Way more than the humans. Last I heard, they were trying to reverse-engineer a freaking computer.” 

Raz saw how Sasha’s eyes lit up behind his darkened glasses. There wasn’t even an attempt from Sasha to hide his excitement, not that Raz could blame him. Just like Raz when he first encountered them, psychic communities all over the world have shown intense levels of fascination with the Boxtrolls ever since the news got out. With their unique brain structure, their strange physiology, and most importantly, their utterly alien psychic signature; they were the most exciting thing to happen in the psychic world in the last decade. The fact that they are integrating excellently at such a rapid with the modern world would no doubt only add more fuel to the fire.

“Oh! Speaking of!” Raz suddenly exclaimed. “Kubo!”

The light in Sasha’s eyes dwindled. His lips thinned into a line. “Ah, yes. How is he doing?”

“Not bad. I think.” Raz’s lips curled into a smile. Taking care of him had been an experience. “Lili’s been doing most of the heavy lifting; teaching him modern customs, history, helping him learn English. I try to help out wherever I can.”

“He hasn’t been giving either of you trouble?” Sasha asked. His tone, especially after his reaction to the Boxtrolls, felt strangely flat. 

Raz decided to ignore it for now. “No, not at all. He’s a quick learner. His English especially, it’s… he’s got this gift with languages or something.” Raz, realizing that he was suddenly at the edge of his seat, composed himself. “So, yeah, it’s been kinda fun. It’s like… like having our own kid.” His smile promptly vanished, as he realized the gravity of his words. “Uh, d-don’t tell Lili I said that.”

“My lips are sealed.” There was an effort from Sasha to keep a straight face, Raz could tell. 

Raz sighed in relief. He awkwardly scratched the back of his head. “Well… I guess that was everything. Uh, nothing more to report, sir.” 

Raz wore a polite smile as he waited for Sasha to respond with a comment, or to dismiss him to go about his day. However, what followed were several long, uncomfortable moments where Sasha simply stared at Raz in silence. It wasn’t even that intense, but it still made Raz squirm in his seat, just a tiny bit.

“That… was all?” Sasha suddenly, finally spoke. 

“Uh…” Raz wracked his brain for a moment, and found nothing, “yeah? I don’t think I missed anything… did I?”

“You did not receive contact from your old friends from Whispering Rock?”

Raz blinked. That question came out of nowhere. “Wh-what? No. Not recently.”

“Then when was the last that it happened?”

“Uh… probably back in February,” Raz answered. Probably for the best to just roll with it, for now. “Out of the blue, Bobby sent me a selfie of him and Chloe, and he’s giving me the middle finger. Still not sure how he got my number.”

“What about Dogen Boole? Have you heard from him? You are friends with him, correct?” Sasha asked. Behind his glasses, his eyes narrowed. 

“Yeah, yeah, we are. Last time we talked was last year, though.” He couldn’t help but feel a smidge of guilt. It really has been way too long since he talked with Dogen. “Been super busy, what’s with chasing Loboto, getting stationed in Gravity Falls, and now, well, all of this.” 

“What about Maloof Canola? Were you friends with him?” Sasha leaned forward in his seat, ever so slightly.

“Maloof?” It took a bit to remember him, but Raz still has a clear mental image of him. “I mean… yeah, sure, I’ll count him as a friend. I haven’t really had a chat with him, so.”

“Milka Phage?” 

Raz had to spend an embarrassing amount of time thinking hard to remember who Sasha was referring to. He wasn’t proud of that fact. “She, uh… spent most of her time invisible, so we’ve never really talk talk, you know?”

“Franke Athens and Kitty Bubai?”

“Oh, those two.” Raz remembered them pretty well. They made quite an impression on him. “Believe me, I tried. Pretty sure the only people they like are each other.”

Raz was starting to think Sasha was about to quiz him about his relationship with every camper back in Whispering Rock, but no more questions came. Instead, Sasha’s steepled fingers turned into fists, his gaze shifting from Raz to his desk. His eyebrows furrowed, seemingly deep in thought. The silence stretched. Eventually, it became long enough that Raz felt the need to break it. 

“Sasha, is something wrong with them? Are they okay?” he leaned forward in his seat. Throughout this conversation, a lump was forming at the back of his throat. He was starting to fear the worst. 

Sasha spent a moment staring at him, then another moment considering the question, before he answered.

“They did not return to camp this past summer.”

Raz’s blood went cold. He held back a gasp. Don’t jump to conclusions just yet. 

“That, in itself, wasn’t unusual. It is well within their families’ rights to withdraw their child from the camp at any given point,” Sasha continued. “What was unusual was the fact that when we tried to contact their families for further details, we received no response.”

Sasha licked his lips and drew a deep breath. Raz leaned forward even more, listening with rapt attention. “I assigned a few agents to look into it, and they found something… troubling.”

Sasha threw his gaze to the side. Raz could’ve sworn he saw something close to genuine worry flash across Sasha’s eyes.

“Their parents, in one way or another, have had past dealings with StrexCorp.”

Raz reeled back, eyes wide open. He was worried for them before, but now he’s terrified. Anything even remotely related with StrexCorp was no joke. 

Raz jumped from his seat. “Does that mean they’re in danger?!”

“They might be.” Sasha made a calming gesture with his hand. “We don’t know for sure. Calm yourself, Razputin.”

Raz sat back down, but he was far from calm. “What do we do now?! Can we do anything?!” he sputtered. 

“I will continue to look further into this case. Send agents to dig deeper, perhaps find a clue to their current whereabouts.” Sasha pointed a finger at Raz. “You will continue to do your paperwork, settle into your new headquarters, and join the Mystery Kids on missions as needed.” Raz was about to retort, but Sasha cut him off. “You have too much on your plate already, Razputin. Trust me, we have this covered.”

Raz slumped back on his seat. “I just want them to be safe,” he sighed.

“You’re not the only one,” Sasha said. 

“One thing you can do,” Sasha began again, and Raz was all ears, “if any of them contacts, through any means, notify me immediately. Understood?”

“Yeah. Definitely will.” Raz enthusiastically nodded.

“Excellent.” Sasha smiled. It was a pretty big smile, by Sasha’s standards. “One final thing before you are dismissed, if I may?”

Raz gestured for him to continue. 

“Let us keep this matter between us for now,” said Sasha, almost sternly. “Do not share this with anyone. Friends, family, even Lili.”

“Not even Lili?” Raz echoed, incredulous. “Sasha, Dogen’s her friend too. They’re all her friends! She deserves to know.”

“This is a sensitive case, Raz. Secrecy is paramount. I’m sure Lili would understand.”

Raz rose from his seat again. “But, I mean, if we tell her, she can-!”

“Agent Aquato.” Sasha’s voice rang clear throughout the room. Raz couldn’t help but shrink back from him. “This is not a request. This is an order. Understood?” 

The expression on Sasha’s face made it painfully clear that his word was final. So, Raz sighed, and murmured his answer. 

“Understood, Agent Nein.”

“Good. That is all, Razputin. You are dismissed.”

There was no point in arguing further. Not when Sasha had taken on that tone of voice. Without another word, Raz turned in place and made his way to the door. With every step, his mind buzzed. Questions, worries, doubts; all of them and more quickly snowballing into something big, something that left a pit in his stomach. What happened to them, to his friends? What kind of connection did their parents have with StrexCorp? Why this high level of secrecy? Why can’t he tell Lili? What does Sasha think he’ll uncover, to the point that Lili, the daughter of the Grand Head of the Psychonauts, aren’t allowed to know about it?

As he passed the threshold of the door, Raz took a glance over his shoulder. Sasha had left his desk, once again standing at the window, facing away from Raz, with a phone pressed against his ear.

“Richard, it’s me again. Where were we?”

The door slid closed without a sound. Raz was left with only his thoughts, and an awaiting mountain of paperwork.

-

Problems just keep piling up for these kids, don’t they?

Another expositional chapter where it’s mostly just people talking with each other. Not the most exciting type of content, I know, but it serves its purpose. Really, all the chapters for this month are basically the epilogue for the Weirdmageddon Saga. So, you know, don’t expect a sudden burst of high-octane action in the last two.

But, like I said, it serves its purpose, and for this one, the purpose is giving y’all a taste of the scope I wanted to achieve in the next saga. The world is in a constant flux, people are constantly doing things even though they’re not on-screen, and the Psychonauts basically become the connective tissue that connects everything together, with its reach extending everywhere. The Psychonauts lore is just so interesting, you guys. 

Last but not least, there are a few hints to two future additions to the group. One is pretty blatant, and one is a little more on the subtler side. Let’s see if y’all can spot it. 

[mandareeboo]

Can you imagine Raz asking about the “8-sided hexagon.” How Sasha, Milla, Oleander, and Hollis react?

Sasha: are you.... razputin, what grade are you in?

Razputin: grades are for squares

Sasha: Oh. Oh dear. We may need to rethink-

Razputin: hey, hey, hey! I'm perfectly smart. I read great. I can count money. I'm really good at signing my name- and it's not exactly a short name!

Milla: sweetie, have you... ever been to school?

Razputin: oh, yeah, sure. We had a desperate guy hire us for spirit week once.

Milla, slowly losing her mind: I mean. Enrolled.

Razputin: Ehhh, I hear you need an address for one of those. Besides, the circus is the school of the body.

Oleander: Well, I don't see the problem here. I was just like him at his age, and I turned out great!

Forsythe: NEIN, VODELLO, OLEANDER, WHAT HAVE YOU WROUGHT-

[aquatodome]

All i do is sketch

[paroxsysdraw]

chapter three of crispin suffers in hd is out!

[sxrrandomfanfics]

Hey, Stranger

Inspired by @frankenbolt's story premise of "And They Were Mindmates." Taking on Lili's perspective of what I believe would be Raz and Lili meeting again.

This is not meant to pressure the author into going back into the fandom, this is more of a love letter to that piece of work and the ideas behind it.

“Did I tell you to get this bouquet ready?”

“Yes Ms. Zanotto! Sorry, Ms. Zanotto!” One of her workers, Cecelia, squeaked and ran from the back room.

Lilian Zanotto. An Ex-Psychonaut Agent turned owner of a flower shop in a relatively small town. The bouquet was being sent to the new local festival queen. Of the festivals, Lili couldn’t remember, due to there being like… four in the town, 3 of which during the summer.

She had been working for a few years here. Her own apartment above the shop. It was quite spacious with two stories, with a kitchen, little living space, and one and a half bathrooms. She could survive during the tough times with her own old blood money, but she tried to use it sparingly. Afterall, she liked feeling like a self-made woman. As she worked she heard the bell ring, with a new customer coming in. Odd, normally she’d schedule pickups or drop offs. Many were down at the County Fair. That was the thing that was going on. Right. The other two festivals were street festivals, which is when she’d get more customers, but the County Fair was in such a place that barely any traffic came to the downtown she was in.

She felt a jolt of irritation and her worker was being quite loud with her thoughts. This guy has got a lot of nerve. What was a male Karen called again? Stop demanding for my boss. I haven't done anything wrong. Why do you need to talk to her? Raz? That’s a strange name–

Lili tuned her worker out, slamming her hands on her desk and getting up. It couldn’t be, could it?

“Please, I-I really need to speak with her. She might have gotten a message from someone else?” That voice. His boyish rasp had left his voice that was now deeper. If she closed her eyes and listened to it she bet she could even feel the stubble of her ex-boyfriend. They had parted on good terms, don’t get them wrong. But with him traveling and her wanting to leave the place he’d always dreamed of being at…

“Ms. Zanotto is a very busy woman.” Jodie told Raz. Just as she said that, Lili decided to open the door.

Looks like he’s made her angry. Jodie thought loudly.

Lili approached Razputin, surprised to see him so much taller than she was. She was from a family of taller than average people, that came when you were a psychic, but Raz was still taller than her. He let his beard grow out, now most of it covering his lower face and she had to hold back her thoughts of just wanting to feel its texture. Not censor the thought, just make sure he couldn’t hear it. “Hey, stranger.” Lili said with a smirk.

Raz exhaled audibly, as if trying to muffle a laugh, but his eye that her workers could not see closed in a flinch. “Yeah, it’s been too long, hasn’t it?”

Lili turned around. “Come on, follow me to the office. You clearly have something very important on your mind.”

Her footfalls were the only ones she could hear for a few paces, then she heard Raz’s shoes. Still making loud click-clack sounds on the tiles that were on her floor. “So what’s this all about? A mission?”

“I mean… it’s kind of a mission but also a vacation…”

“Well, that’s like snow falling in summer.”

Raz shook his head as Lili took standing beside her desk. “Well… uh… I haven’t been working my 100% and uh… a Mental Wellness Check revealed that there’s some… empty space.”

“With your thick head? I thought everything would be pretty tight.” Lili smiled, good natured.

Raz’s emerald green eyes sparkled as he mirrored her smile. “Well uh… our… connection.”

Their mental connection. They had kept up with it for only a few months after their breakup, trying to stay friends. But Raz got busy with missions and Lili got busy in college and… that place sort of became a dead zone. Lili could try to explore her mind if she wanted to, but she never had the right amount of patience to let her astral projection show in the Collective Unconcious, only to turn right to her door. And she had no brain tumbler to assist, either. She wasn’t sure what it even looked like now.

“So, are you offering a little Wellness Check for myself?”

“Uh… A-Agent Forsythe said that… we should… maybe check on the status of the mental connection, yeah.”

When did he get so nervous? “Hey.” She acted on impulse and brought her hand to his jawline. Her thumb rubbed away phantom tears and she almost melted as he leaned into her hand. “Just tell me what you’re here for, okay?”

“Uh…” Raz gulped. “I have a motel room, but it hasn’t been paid for other nights. Agent Forsythe wanted me to check on the status of this mental connection so both of us could be working at full capacity.” God he was reciting the entire mission to her, wasn’t he? Did he memorize the file? He was so cute and such a nerd still. “To do that I would like to ask permission to not only work with you, Ms. Zanotto… but also if I could… live with you. Temporarily!” He quickly added. “I-It would only be temporary as I rest while simultaneously check in on the mental connection status.”

Lili felt her heart almost become engulfed in flames. Or maybe that was her face. But as she stared at him, his face was stern. Determined. Mission oriented. The fire in her heart suddenly faded, replaced with a painful seed that suddenly burst to life at the center of her heart and she tried not to flinch.

“Lili–” Raz now reached to cup her face. “Y-you don’t have to if you don’t want to–”

“You can sleep on the couch.” She answered him. “It’s just upstairs.”

[loudlychoppedbread]

@iwillbecomealawyer Dialogue story based off of this post.

Sorry, no Lili going apeshit (yet) just her planning on who to burn while listening to her boyfriend vent.

"I was really worried-" Lili tried to start

"I know Lili, you don't have to apologize."

"No, I really need to. I mean, you realized that Meligula was your great aunt who killed your grandma!"

"I mean, that was one of the biggest things that happened, yeah."

"Biggest thing? Wait, what exactly happened during your time as an intern?"

"Well... I mean a lot of agents saw me as a really little kid..."

"I know that feeling, but what else?"

"Uh... should I start from the beginning or did Harold already tell you about how my clothes were stolen?"

"Your clothes were what!?"

"The other interns said I needed to wear a uniform. I just wanted to fit in and... well, Sasha told me it was no big deal and that hazing was natural."

Lili could have gone off and burned all of the Junior Agents' behinds with that (and possibly Agent Nein's as well), but she stayed. Raz needed to tell her everything. "Go on." Her voice was deliberately steady, which Raz picked up on.

"Please don't hurt them. They like me now! Well, most of them."

"Most?"

"Nora still isn't... too big of a fan?"

"The girl who claimed you were the mole and said Meligula was your girlfriend? The same one who basically was responsible for bringing Meligula back because she messed with your mission?"

"Please, Nick was the one trying to bring back Meligula. Nora was just trying to look out for the Psychonauts!"

"By saying that you were the mole?"

"I mean, I think Agent Forsythe thought I was the mole too."

"She what!?"

"Well, she mentioned that both the Aquatos and Meligula were both from Grulovia when I first asked about Meligula..."

"SHE WHAT!?"

"Lili, don't."

"Is there even more to this story!?"

"I mean... there's also my family coming over, and helping the Psychic Six." Maybe distracting Lili with way more of the story would cause her to forget some of the other things that Raz mentioned?

"I think my mom's coming around to the idea that I'm psychic..."

"You think?"

"Well, I know my siblings are taking it worse, so at least my mom is better."

Raz, that's not a good thing. Lili thought.

"It's at least something!" Raz insisted against Lili's thought.

"Please... at least tell me the Psychic Six were fine?"

"Well, most of them. I helped them with their problems...though I'm not sure what to think about Ford Cruller anymore..."

"What do you mean?"

"On the one hand, he's one of my heroes. The founder of the Psychonauts! On the other hand, he gave me and my entire family crippling fear of water. A fear so great that I could swear every time I was near water there was... a giant hand trying to drag me down and... drown me."

So that was the Junior Psychonauts, Agent Nein, Agent Hollis, Raz's family, and Ford Cruller's butts Lili needed to set on fire.

[themotherlobehq]

Hollis Forsythe Is Amazing

Hollis has such high and strict standards because she cares about people, she wants to help, and if she can’t, then she wants to reduce harm. She became a nurse because she genuinely wanted to help people, as seen with Hollis’ Hospital. A nurse is a emotionally demanding job and very stressful.

Her standards also come from her experiences as a student when Dr. Potts stole from her work, to pretend it was his own. The game implies that not only her status as a nurse / younger doctor, but also her gender and her race made it impossible to go directly against Potts. She was angry, justified, and just tried to get justice by changing his mind. The consequences of that were unintentional and dangerous - Dr. Potts losing his mind -, to Hollis’ horror. She needed help to fix that mistake. She would’ve been strongly conscious from then on of both the inherent potential as well as the risks psychic powers have and advocate against abuse of these = trying to ‘fix people’. This still affects her years after she got her second chance when Truman hired her to the Psychonauts.

She gets strict when stressed. She was already the second-in-command, then carries the responsibility for the entire Psychonauts and the interns while Truman is indisposed. Not to mention that he was kidnapped just the day ago! And they discovered that Maligula might return and that they have a mole in the Psychonauts?!

So, of course, Hollis’ levels of stress are much higher than usual.

It doesn’t excuse her attitude towards Raz in the beginning. That said. He’s a newbie kid she has to look out for and she has no idea what things he accomplished just the previous hours. It adds to her worries.

All of this stress agitates her deeper issues. The game implies that she feels the money issues the Psychonauts are hopeless and up to chance, rigged against them. She becomes strict, is harsh, pushes away her softer emotions, bottles up her worries. She enforces control where she might not feel any. Strictness means nobody under her watch breaks the rules that are supposed to protect the Psychonauts - especially the interns who are all still children -, other psychics, and civilians in general. Strictness means matters run efficiently so they’ll find a solution soon.

An attitude she might have learned as a nurse. She couldn’t fall apart while doing her job back then, no matter how badly it affected her mental health, especially when it came to the health / life of her patients.

After the disastrous events in her mind are fixed, Hollis shows different sides. She relaxes, realizes under how much stress she’s been, how it affected her.

Raz’s genuine apology about his mistake, how he hurt her, and offering to leave the Motherlobe - his dream - help. He recognizes he made a mistake and genuinely feels remorse. She recognizes he’s a kid and she makes the choice to empathize with and give him a second chance while still being upset, because she made the same mistake once.

Hollis then directs the raid on the casino to great success and it’s likely that’s where one of her many strengths lie. She’s the first one to guess the mole’s identity correctly. She, plus Sasha and Milla, figure out the mole mystery within a day, only foiled because Gristol-in-Truman’s-body manipulated Raz and solved the mystery by helping each of the Psychic Six.

Hollis damn well deserves the vacation she demands at the end of the game and Truman is right to acknowledge her leadership.

[nochiquinn]

WIP Wednesday for a future chapter of Never Limited and Never Complete.

“So what’s up?” she asked, and Raz frowned at the flower he was supposed to be extracting.

“What isn’t?” he muttered under his breath.

“Go best to worst,” Lili suggested, and he puffed out a sigh.

“Fine. Uh...my sister’s gonna start training here,” he started.

“Oh, I heard Hollis talking about that!” Lili had already carefully disentangled one bulb and set it on a nearby rack. “I’m glad, she’s got a lot of potential.”

“She’s not gonna be a Psychonaut,” Raz told her, sliding his hand carefully under the partially-lifted plant. “She just wants to be able to control it.”

“That’s all most psychics want, honestly.” Lili moved to the next flower. “Your little brother should probably come in, too.”

“That would be how we find out my mom’s pyrokinetic,” he said flatly. “Because her head would literally catch fire.” He explained the scene outside Forsythe’s office, and Lili winced sympathetically.

“I haven’t met many non-psychic parents of psychics,” she admitted. “But your mom seems...a little on the extreme end. No offense.”

“None taken,” Raz sighed. “You’re not wrong.” Words swirled around in his head – instinctive defense of his mother, apologies for her behavior, a general sense of exhaustion with the whole situation.

Some of it must have leaked through, because Lili bumped his shoulder gently with hers. “It’s fine,” she said. “You don’t have to know what to say.”

Raz had never been so grateful to hear a series of words in his entire life.

“But that’s not all, is it?”

Raz rescinded his gratitude.

“I don’t know how much I can say about the other,” he admitted. “It’s about that mission I went on the other day.”

“I heard about that too,” she said. “A little bit, anyway, Dad won’t let me read the file.”

“It’s a weird case,” he sighed. “It just...keeps getting bigger. And I don’t know where to start.”

“If my dad won’t even talk to me about it, it’s probably pretty intense.” Lili frowned as she laid a second bulb aside.

“...hypothetically,” Raz said, and out of the corner of his eye he saw a grin split Lili’s face. “Hypothetically, is it possible to erase someone’s memories with psychic abilities?”

Lili gave a long, pensive sigh. “I mean, maybe? It’d be some hard-core mental manipulation. I don’t know of anyone who could do it, unless they just haven’t told me. And I wouldn’t blame them for keeping it a secret.” She shivered. “It’s scary to think about.”

“Yeah.” Raz drifted into silence for a moment as he finally disentangled the roots of his bulb from the others. His thoughts went to that summer and Forsythe’s mind, and how easily changing thought patterns might have slid into something more permanent and damaging. Not to mention any of the other things he’d done in people’s minds. Sasha’s admonitions came back to him, with a little added weight.

“Oh,” he said suddenly, his other question jumping to mind. “I was gonna ask Sasha, but...less hypothetically, is being able to mimic other people’s abilities a thing? Or I guess more like learning really fast, just from seeing someone do it?”

“With no other instruction?” When Raz answered in the affirmative Lili just hummed for a moment. “I mean some people are just really fast learners – like you, Mr. Eight-Merit-Badges-In-Three-Days - “ Raz ducked his head a little, smiling. “But I don’t see why there couldn’t be natural imitators like that. That probably really is a Sasha question, that’s his whole thing.” She gestured with one hand, depositing a third bulb with the other.

“What do you mean?”

“Do you seriously not know what he does in that lab?”

“The first time I was in there he had Loboto strapped to a table, probing his mind with some weird machine,” Raz reminded her. “Hell, the first time I met him he threw me at the Brain Tumbler. The cheap one. I try not to think about what he does in his lab.”

[ask-agent-rapzutin-vodello]

How goes it with the Psycho Mech Battle Bot, coach?

(Talks behing coach's back to Hollis)

That thing isnt actually getting funded right?

[Oleander] What Battle Bot? The Pyshonauts haven't had a threat that warrented the use of such a Beauty in a long time.

But now you mentioned it ....would be a good idea to have one, just in case...

...

HEY FORSYTHE, I GOTTA ASK YA SOMETHING!