#psychonauts!AU

[hes-a-rat-whisperer]

“Hello, Alistair!” Dr. Smith seemed to visibly brighten as his patient entered the room. He was so happy to see Alistair being able to walk into the room on his own, Free of that damned filthy straight jacket he was once forced to constantly wear. It had seemed to do wonders for his mood! In fact, his mental seemed to take quite the positive turn from that alone, of course the art therapy sessions, and access to books he requested from the new staff helped as well. And— being freed from his old torture sessions probably did wonders as well.

“How are you feeling today?” The freckled brunette asked, warmly smiling, while he motioned for his patient to take a seat.

Alistair was quite chipper, which he made visibly known by moving his arms in a somewhat exaggerated fashion, emphasizing just how much he was enjoying his newfound freedom.

"I c-couldn´t be b-better, Mr Smith" he said with a little smile as he took a seat. "I can´t th-thank you enough for wh-what you have d-done for me thus far..I c-can´t remember the last t-time I felt this..f-free."

it was unfortunately very apparent that the side effects of the shock therapy were here to stay. such as the speech impediment and the twitching of his muscles. but at the very least he didn´t have to go through any of those procedures ever again..

[rats-and-clovers]

look at this poor mess of a man ;_;

[friendlyengie]

More of this nonsense. Psychic mercs. Waohoo

[bigmanpiwi]

This is all I got, I thought I was so clever

[doodle17]

Future Raz and Lili archetypes wooooo

(In order from left to right)

Agent R: Raz's agent persona! Very over the top comic book type of guy. A little too courageous, and dives head first into situations. Doesn't understand jokes, tends to take them too literally. If you tell him to jump off a bridge because a higher up told him too, he'll do it without hesitation.

???: Yeah, no one knows who this guy is supposed to represent. He was Raz's first ever archetype, and he never really changed. (Personality wise) biggest head out of everyone, figuratively and literally (need to fit those big ass eyes)

Teacher: Very articulate strategic, and organized, it's Raz's teacher archetype! He showed up once Raz started counseling at Whispering Rock and taking on teaching interns. Definitely the most stressed out archetype of the bunch.

Ring Master: Raz's circus themed archetype! Big and dramatic, very theatrical expressions and personality. Acts as if he's always in front of an audience. He can even twist and stretch his paper without tearing, making him a great acrobat.

Sophisticate: This archetype represents Lili's more... Polite side. The perfect girl/daughter/agent that's very well behaved and professional. Usually the "facade" Lili puts up at business parties or big meetings to be a good example.

Loose Canon: The name pretty much explains it, but this archetype is for Lili's fiery attitude, especially on missions. Good at combat, likes to set things on fire, despite being made of paper, but that won't stop her. Arson...

Hopeless Romantic: Come on. She may not act like it, but we all know deep down Lili is a hopeless romantic, at least to some extent. That's why this archetype shows up. Boy and girl crazy, very sweet, flirty and so stinkin cute. Lili's least favorite Archetype, but she's definitely the favorite to some of Lili's co-workers!

[dammarchy211]

Local 13 year old finds out what non-circus music is and wardrobe becomes 60% band t shirts

Plus some 13 y/o dart concept sorry we’re in doodle city rn

For anyone who knows the headcanon Dart lore I have her dad is still alive and she’s still affiliated with the Deluginists at this point

[ottosbigtop]

stares directly into the camera and grins like a type of animal. I just think the thing with Lili and the truman/Gristol stuff translates well into the story. Ok.

[stag-exorcist]

My take on an older Raz design! I couldn't decide whether I wanted him to have a moustache or not so I made two versions. He barely sleeps anymore...

[spookysweaterblog]

Ghost AU 👻

[agent-aquato-and-co]

How are the Superstar Agents (Sasha, Milla, Oleander) doing? Are they retired, or still in the field? - think-fast-psychonaut

It’s well-known fact around the Motherlobe that if Sasha stops wearing a turtleneck, he will die.

[2hoothoots]

(photographer voice) "okay, now let's do one where canon events play out slightly differently and everyone ends up in a significantly worse place because of it"

here's an au of an au because i have issues watched the genghis khan music video one too many times. lore dump + crops/bonus art below

Due to an unfortunate combination of chance factors, Razputin Aquato arrives at Whispering Rock one day late.

He finds the camp a ghost town. The campers are stumbling around, brainless; the counsellors, nowhere to be found. Ford doesn’t know what to make of this kid showing up out of nowhere – but he’s got promise, and with Sasha and Milla out of action, he’s their best hope. He gives Raz a crash course in what he needs to know, and sends him out across the lake.

Raz pulls through, against all odds. But he never gets the starstruck meeting with his heroes Sasha and Milla that he’d been hoping for; never gets to bond with Lili, or any of the other campers. It’s a harrowing and lonely experience for him, but one that ties a burning knot of resolve in his chest. If he works hard, he can be a Psychonaut just like he dreamed. He can save people.

When the alert comes through from Headquarters that Grand Head Zanotto has been captured, Sasha and Milla scramble the jet with Lili on board. They don’t bring Raz along – Ford’s account of his accomplishments is impressive, but without seeing him in action themselves, neither agent is convinced to bring him along on the mission. Sasha invites him to next year’s session of the camp – after all, he clearly has promise, and the Psychonauts are always interested in nurturing young minds.

Raz returns to camp next year with something to prove. He throws himself into his studies with a single-minded dedication, sparing little time to interact with any of the other campers. This time, he’ll show them. He’ll show them all.

Sasha, Milla and Lili are unable to locate Truman in the Rhombus of Ruin. It ultimately takes a week to locate the Grand Head, following an anonymous tip-off (later found to have been planted by Nick). It takes six months for the ruse to be uncovered. Ultimately, Nick is unsuccessful in finding any clues to Maligula’s whereabouts. Lucrecia will pass a few years later, surrounded by a family that has no idea who she really is. Ford never remembers the truth, and when Razputin is fourteen, he takes the secret to his grave.

Truman’s brain spends almost seven months in a box, under poor conditions with insufficient oxygen. When it’s finally returned to his body, he’s not the same man he used to be. He quietly steps down as Grand Head of the organisation, and spends years of his retirement in intensive therapy.

Lili is heartbroken. Her faith in the Psychonauts is shattered. She never returns to Whispering Rock again. Over the years, she becomes more and more withdrawn; isolated from her peers, estranged from her mother, and struggling with her relationship with a father who on bad days can’t even remember her name. The bitterness grows day by day, blooming within her chest.

She’s sixteen the first time she's forced to turn her powers against another person. Even in his current state, her father has enemies – old foes the Psychonauts can’t (or won’t) protect him from. There’s a raid on her house, late at night. It’s only by chance that she’s still awake. She breaks two of the assailants’ bodies, and when she twists her hand, the plants in her father's greenhouse writhe under her command and rip the third one to pieces. It’s the last time that house ever feels like a home to her. She cuts ties with the Psychonauts entirely, and never looks back; the next time they hear of her, it's under a completely different name.

Dogen Boole never returns to Whispering Rock either. He’s thoroughly traumatized by the events at camp, and his parents refuse to send him back the following year. With nobody to help him learn to control or harness his powers, his episodes steadily become worse as he gets older. Although reluctant, his family is eventually forced to reach out to the Psychonauts to help. Compton is still a nervous recluse, and nobody else in the organisation is quite sure how to handle Dogen’s powers. He spends his teenage years in and out of psychoisolation, and is subjected to more and more intense experimentation in the name of “treatment”. Nothing works. In the end, all he has to show for it are the scars.

His helmet is the only thing he can rely on to stop him mulching the cranium of anyone in a fifty-foot radius. There’s no place for him in “normal” society. Just like Lili, he’s driven to become a villain by a combination of circumstances, trauma, and a bitter feeling of hurt and betrayal towards the Psychonauts.

Raz enters the intern program at thirteen, and quickly graduates to the rank of Junior Agent. The Psychonauts he finds waiting for him is undergoing a marked transition from the organization it used to be. Upon Ford’s passing, the only member of the old guard still around is Otto. Hollis is a Grand Head forced to prioritize efficiency in order to keep the Psychonauts afloat after numerous losses and funding cuts.

Raz enters a passionate, determined boy, remarkably talented but who struggles to connect with his peers. When he gets his promotion at eighteen, he’s the most decorated junior agent the organization has ever seen. At twenty-six, he’s in the prime of his career, honed by years of training into an efficient, meticulous, ruthless Psychonaut.

He’s the perfect agent. As far as he’s concerned, that’s all he needs to be.

under-the-cut bonus, here's some tighter crops on the art, and also a couple extra bits and pieces:

dogen's helmet seals up like a pillbug most of the time, to stop his powers from leaking out when he gets stressed. i couldn't find a way to work it into the art while still making clear that Hey It's Ya Boy, but i think it's a neat visual. the extra pic of lili was gonna be a mugshot - at first i was planning to composit her art into, like, a dossier/file, but i couldn't make it work in the end

[hes-a-rat-whisperer]

“audience over..”

(Psychonauts!AU part 3)

RP with my sweetieheart @surprise-sausage-party >//u//< <3 <3

the blue, downcast man held Ceb´s hand, offering a weak, yet genuine smile as a few tears still ran down his cheeks.

“I-I will be fine..“ he said “th-thank you for t-talking to me..I-I didn´t even know..just how m-much I needed this..” his chains were rattling as he retrieved his hands. “..b-but you should leave now, b-before the king n-notices..”

the king, thankfully, was unaware of any of this, as he was still busy in an entirely different area of the large castle.

however, the squeaking of the rat servants, as well as the faint clattering of tiny, clawed feet hitting the waxed floors echoed through the halls, indirectly announcing that the king was well on his way.

[rats-and-clovers]

~during the cab ride home~

[friendlyengie]

I haven’t posted any art in a hot second because I’ve been thinking about psychonauts and it’s been having a war with tf2 in my brain. They’ve come to a stalemate and are now merging into a singular entity (I’ve been designing a tf2 psychonauts au)

If I ever complete this collection of designs and shit I’ll elaborate on what any of this means. But I’m not going to now because if I start talking I won’t stop

[bigmanpiwi]

Ok I know you said you don't like it and I am all here for whatever changes it goes through but OMG I LOVE YOUR OLDER RAZ DESIGN

STAAAAAAHP DUDE UR SO SWEET TYSM!!!! I've been fine-tuning his design recently and this is what I got 🌊📯💪

I felt like Raz would embrace his Grulovian heritage a bit more in his later years while his family healed, mixing that with his own unique (Raz)zle Dazzle aesthetic to create that amalgamated shlop of a design (lovingly.)

Although I think Raz is more of a Jack-of-all-trades kinda guy, not wanting to limit himself to just one psi-powered field, I think Raz would really take to Hyrdokinesis. It's fckn RAD AUGH ITS SO COOL he utilises the hands of galochio all the time- THINK OF THE POSSIBILITIES AAAAUGH 📣📣📣 TYSM got showing interest teehee I want to draw him A LOT MORE, hopefully I'll get to!

P.S Agent Aquato "The Oncoming Storm" was 100% a name he picked out himself. And everyone knows it. And they all think he's lame, endearingly so.

[dammarchy211]

Wtf more of this.