#tf2 cryptid au

[mellowheartthecat]

Maddening Mission - Chapter 2

Originally, there was gonna be cover art here like i did for my first fic. But yall aren’t getting shit now for the sole reason of im lazy.

Obligatory ping of the au author: @coolfireguy73

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Chapter is under the cut.

POW!

Another shot hit the ground near the two. This time, though, they saw where the shot was fired from. It was from on top of a building approximately 50 meters away. The two bolted up and Bomber shouted an order.

“Split and cut!” The two bolted in opposing directions perpendicular to the building the shooter was standing on top of, planning to circle around to block an escape. While Seeker could just run and be fast, Bomber had to put in a bit more effort. He pulled out one of his utility bombs and threw it upward with minimal effort. Exactly a second later he leaped upward as the bomb exploded and propelled himself off a piece of shrapnel.

He grabbed onto a ladder anchored onto the side of the building. He quickly climbed up and pushed himself forward using the side of the roof. He pulled out a pistol on his side and pointed it at the surrendering man. After a few seconds Seeker finished climbing the opposite brick wall and joined him at his friend’s side.

The man they stopped appeared to be somewhere in his 40s. He definitely had the look of a survivor, with his cracked goggles and various mismatched clothes He looked a bit surprised.

“I don’t know who you folk are,” he said, “but yall should get out while you still can.”

“Nah.” Seeker pulled out a butterfly knife and twirled it around. “We got stuff to do here. But what’s up with you, eh? Shooting us and not even putting up a fight?”

The stranger sighed. “I thought you were one of them.”

“Well clearly not, eh?”

“Clearly.” He slung the gun across his shoulder as he got up. Bomber’s gun followed. The stranger didn’t care. “We’ve made too much noise here, we need to be careful. We don’t want them to hear us.”

Bomber lowered his gun. “‘Them’?”

“We gotta get to somewhere safe first. Follow me.” He turned around and started heading towards the ladder.

“Can’t.” Seeker put away the knife. “We’re waiting on someone.”

He briefly stopped. “I’m afraid they’re not coming back. Yall need to focus on livin’. If yall wanna live then you’ll follow me.” His tone was very stern.

“She will come back,” responded Bomber. “That girl is something else.”

Seeker jumped in. “Bloody right! She saved our bloody asses back there when we were ambushed by those mask guys!”

“You got darn lucky then. But your luck won’t last. It never does here. You gotta give up that pride or you wont last a night.”

Bomber stood his ground. “We are staying. Nothing you say can stop us.”

“...fine. Yall still have hope, I get it. I’ll keep watch to make sure nothing gets yall. But when the sun sets, yall give up or you’re on your own. And if you see a man with a bow and arrow, you run.” -- Another arrow skid by. It hit the tree next to her.

It knew where she was. That much was clear.

The lighting in the forest was too inconsistent to get a good view around her. It made practically no noise of its own, besides the light crunch of leaves, which she could barely make out over the sound of her own breathing. She needed to calm down.

Another arrow was fired. She quickly moved out of the way just for it to barely graze her cheek. She forced her breathing to normalize just to hear the bow being pulled back.

The entity was around 25 yards away. 10:30 o’clock.

She quickly darted behind a tree to avoid the arrow as it was shot. It continued to circle her as it pulled back its bow again. She dodged the arrow and summoned her steed and darted onto it. She practically slapped the base of its neck to make it take off. 

She has to get out of there.

--

The trio was all on lookout. Bomber and Seeker were looking out for Beastmaster, while the stranger was on the other side of the roof watching their backs.

Seeker thought this was fucking boring. They’ve faced a lot of threats in the past. In comparison, what they fought earlier was just a minor inconvenience. The only challenging part is that they can’t kill them.

He glared back at the stranger, who was paying no attention to them. How long has he been out here?

Wait, is he our client?

His brooding was interrupted by Bomber yelling out, “there she is!”

Sure enough, there she was, in the distance, riding into the clearing on her horse-deer hybrid creature. Bomber was already going down the ladder and Seeker hopped down from the roof. The stranger walked over to the edge of the roof. He looked both shocked and in awe that she actually came back.

She stopped next to the dead campfire.

Seeker was the first to greet her. “Ayo what took so long?”

“Had company. Got a good hit on me, too.” Her steed knelt down as she swung her other leg around, revealing an arrow deep in her thigh. “I can manage cleaning this up on my own.” Upon closer inspection, there was also a shallow cut along her cheek.

Bomber shrugged. “Whatever you say. Seeker, we should probably get some rations from the ship.”

“You have that little faith in me?” she muttered something and her steed dropped a rabbit with an arrow skewered through it straight into her hand. “I managed to stab it while on the run.”

“Woah... uh...” Seeker awkwardly stood around as she handed the rabbit to Bomber and took out some medical supplies, knowing damn well she’d get pissy if he offered to help. “Is that why you got shot?”

“Possibly.” She whistled to her steed and handed it a roll of bandages for it to hold, which it gently held in its mouth.

“You’re just gonna stand there and not help the damn girl?” The stranger, who had already climbed down the ladder and walked over, quickly rushed over to Beastmaster’s side. “Thats one nasty wound. You’re damn lucky that’s the only one. When I say I’ll pull out the arrow, and you’ll need to stuff a bunch of gauze into that wound. Can you handle that?”

“Um.” She was leaning away from the stranger, her cool composure completely gone. “Um, sure.”

Seeker and Bomber suppressed the urge to laugh as the stranger started looking for something. “Now, where’s the-” He came face to face with her steed. “Uh...” He looked at her. Then back at the steed. He slowly reached out and took the bandages from it. “Right... That’s something... lets, get you patched up.”

--

A couple minutes passed before the bleeding finally stopped. The stranger breathed a sigh of relief. “Glad that’s over with. Now, what in sam hell is up with you bunch?”

Beastmaster took a deep breath to regain her composure. “Never-nevermind us for the moment. We don’t even know your name.”

“Guess I owe you that. The name’s Dell Conagher. Would say its a pleasure but nobody should be here.”

She double checked her watch to confirm. Then she smiled. “Well then, Mr. Conagher, we’re here to help. We would explain, but I don’t think we’re quite in the state to do so this evening. Is there any place where those creatures won’t go for us that we can stay for the night?”

Bomber nodded. “Sounds good, we’ll explain everything tomorrow.”

Dell sighed. “Alright then. Yall follow me.”

~~~~~~~ yippee, it is done If you thought this this chapter was dialog heavy then you aint ready for the next one lol. It’ll pretty much exclusively be dialog and exposition. After that the fun can begin.

[coolfireguy73]

Cryptid Medic redesign

It's only a slight redesign. But I'm still happy I made it. He is supposed to look like the cliché of an average insane guy in a mental hospital (like in the movie,you know the ones), yes, but I still tried to incorporate cool little details to make him stand out while making sens in the story.

The only thing is that I made him a bit too thin. He would be thinner than in the game obviously but not that thin.

(Cryptid AU link)

Here is a bloody version (TW i guess) vvv

[ch3ck-mat4]

I drew all nine mercs from @coolfireguy73 's TF2 Cryptid AU, I found this, and all of their designs SUPER cool. I took a few creative liberties in certain places, but I'm really proud of them!

Honestly, I thought about making my own Pauling design for this, too, but I think I'll draw that some other time.

[ionlypostmymeemocs]

something like this. maybe the fucked up part is theyre clones or something

Mh!

I love it.

[presidentbungus]

vampire demo is a pompous, lazy ass who’s more about looking classy and maintaining the image of his gothic vampire family than he is doing anything actually cool with being a vampire. he’d much rather spend the day sitting on a cushy throne, for one, sipping blood wine and getting absolutely smashed over the course of the day, carefully preened to look as smug and preppy as (in)humanly possible, than actually go out and terrorize some villagers on his own.

which is to say: vampire demo on his vampire throne in his scary vampire castle with servants and blood wine and everything and vampire hunter sniper (who was largely anti-vampire a couple of seconds ago, and has decided demo should be pardoned from death on the condition of Hot Man) is just standing there in his ear like hey. don’t you want to lose it? don’t you want to just go rabid? absolutely fucking insane?

[team-headcanons-2]

I know this is a random question for the cryptid au but why does spy leave scout alone? Is there a reason behind it? Or does he just leave him alone

Oh hell yea my own take for a cryptidc au let's gooo

I feel like he would just leave, he's a cryptid who's probably known for hiding and I don't think he'd really even WANT a kid. He just leaves him alone

[vivistf2brainroot]

Sooooooo

My brain hasn’t shut up about this but… what about a TF2 “monsters” AU, i mean monsters as in mythology monsters or like urban monsters, even cryptids

By far i have this

Medic: harpy, maybe a crow/raven or dove based harpy

Pyro: some kind if small dragon cuz of the fire and that

Heavy: i was thinking in a minotaur but then i thought about something originally from Russia and well, i have no idea what could it be

Spy: a changeling or whatever it can change its appearance/shape

Solly: maybe a werewolf, i’m not really sure what else he could be, i need more ideas

Demo: again a minotaur, but it happens that i have the same problem of heavy here cuz i thought it should be a Scottish being and idk what could be

With Sniper, Scout and Engi… well i have no clue and i really need help with this cuz my brain is yelling for drawing them as this. I’ll be very glad if someone says their opinion

[amm0mag]

Hi there, let me introduce myself!

My name is Mag, but I've gained many names on the Internet over the years. These names are: Ammo | Biscuit | Fish | Exotic | File(s) | Forgotten | Cryptid | Pancake | Gaming

I use he/him pronouns and I'm trans female to male (FtM.) I'm pansexual and polyamorous (happily taken. <3)

I am the creator of the StarFall UnderTale AU which is currently in the works. @official-starfall for anyone who wants to check it out!

I also have an Instagram account now, where I'll primarily post what I draw, but also maybe some photos since I don't really share those much on here :]

I'm just a guy on the internet who's a bit too dumb for society plus rambles and forgets things. Oh- and a multi-fandom idiot. Some of the things I like are: UnderTale (duh), FNAF, various animes, Slime Rancher, Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss, Splatoon, Terraria, Subnautica, TF2, SCP, and a lot more (that I'm most likely forgetting.)

Do not interact if you accept...

Homophobia

Transphobia

Pedophilia

Anti-Semitism

Zoophilia

Racism

Sexism

Pro-shipper

Ableist

Probably more that I can't think of...

What will you find on this blog?

First and foremost, types of content:

I will mostly post art, oftentimes the finished products but I might end up posting sneak peeks as well. I also, from time-to-time, post writing blurbs, which often are created using a prompt and not related to any of my written works. I also might post a meme or two, or a few pictures I took. I also tend to reblog some things, if they're important or if I absolutely love and adore that post.

You can find the link to my mini masterpost for my fanfics I've written (and am currently writing) here!

Second of all, the contents of my content (if that makes any sense?):

Most of what I draw is going to be Undertale-related. You're especially going to see a lot of skeletons on here, since I draw those the most.

You'll also see a lot of original characters (OCs) here.

I sometimes draw humans, but not nearly as often as skeletons.

On occasion I'll draw a furry or some object heads, but it depends.

Collabs, commissions, and other art stuff?

Collaboration pieces: I am alright with doing collabs! But ask me first

Commissions: Usually they're open, but at the time of me making this post they're closed due to mental stuff and being swamped with art work <3

Character Adopts: I do make some from time to time, so you might spot one or two floating across my blog. I upload a version with a watermark to my blog but when someone buys the character I will send them a version without said watermark. I will reblog the post and mention it has been sold. (Note that I use Venmo.)

Fanart: I'm a-okay with fanart of my characters, but unless I personally know you, please ask first, I'll most likely say yes! (Keep it clean though.)

Request Drawings: I'm fine with drawing requests (via ask box) but don't expect anything fancy or top tier... It'll most likely end up as a sketch (whether colored or not.)

I think that's all? Oh- and if you made it to the end of this post, thanks! Have a lovely day :]

[crybtid]

Everyone else gets to post their TF2 OCs, I want to, too :( 

my art style doesn’t look like it at all but it’s a scout and an engie lol they’re from my cringe AU originating off of the TF2 gamemode “Slender Fortress” but I’m making it its own thing only slightly related to that

Here we’ve got my clone freak scout “Cryptid” and my collection team’s engineer Sam Harris or just “Harris”

[cbsxreader]

The TF2 gang in a pirate AU

Scout

Is the quick, hard to catch, messenger.

If Sniper sees something in the horizon, he can yell it down to Scout and he will pass it to Captain Pauling.

Sometimes after getting treasure, Scout will pick out the most beautiful jewels and give them to Captain Pauling, though she doesn't accept them or pretends to accept them and pours them back with the rest of the treasure.

When Engineer orders to let down or roll up the sail, he's the first one to get up and execute his order.

Sometimes tries to steal some treasure for himself, but quickly gets scared off by Pyro who guards it.

Soldier

He thinks he's the captain of the ship, but actually he directly informs the crew of Captain Pauling's orders and is kind of a leader of the crew, not a captain.

He's the one who suggests battle strategies to Captain Pauling. Some good, some bad, some risky...

Just like if he were on land, he watches over the crew, making them finish all the food on their plates, making sure their duties are done, you know all the good stuff.

Makes sure everyone has taken something after a raid, doesn't matter what it is, though it's preferable for it to be treasure.

Pyro

Helps Demoman with the cannons by lighting and firing them.

Makes sure the oil lamps across the ship are lighted because they're such a firebug.

Also, they're mesmerized by treasure: gold, jewels, pearls...So, they make a pretty good guard for it.

Their job, when the crew stops by an island, is gathering firewood so they don't have rip parts off the ship to start a fire.

No one knows how they do it, but they manage to rid the ship of mice and other pests. Some crew members might find it gross, but Medic couldn't be more thankful, they're making sure the diseases that the pests carry doesn't spread onto their team.

If the crew attacks and raids another ship, they're the last to leave, so they can set the ship ablaze.

Demoman

Is in charge of cannons and and firing them and has Pyro as a helper.

Keeps the cannons in good condition because it's important to him that his team can make effective attacks toward the enemy.

During battle, he not only fires cannons but also throws bombs by hand to hit the enemy in more vulnerable spots.

In close range combat he usually smashes a bottle's bottom and uses the sharp glass to attack or something he made himself, like the Pain Train.

Is responsible for making sure gunpowder is always available.

Either steals alcohol or brews it himself on the ship in big barrels.

Also, is weirdly obsessed with cryptid sea creatures, you know, the Kraken, sirens, mermaids, etc.

Engineer

The one that takes care of the ship and helps with steering it.

Despite it being the 1600s or something, he might find a way to put a motor on the ship to make it more controllable.

Is the one who orders to let down or roll up the sails.

Always carries a map and is responsible for letting Captain Pauling know which direction the wind is going and what weather might await them.

Fixes up the ship after encounters from other pirates.

Breaks up fights or disagreements between the crew and is like their supervisor.

Helps Heavy prepare meals for the crew.

Basically carries the entire ship and crew because he can do so many things.

Heavy

He is your stereotypical big guy who does most of the heavy lifting.

Helps everyone on the ship. Carries the gunpowder for the cannons, helps Medic carry the food, carries whatever treasure they've found or stolen, helps Engie improve the ship, etc.

I also got the feeling like he would be the cook along with Engie. Like, sure he carries heavy barrels around all day, but this lets him relax for a bit.

Is more experienced with cooking soup in big rations, so he can feed the whole crew.

Medic

He is..well..the medic.

Insists on going to exotic islands to find both animals to experiment on and all kinds of fruit, seeds and herbs.

Makes sure his team has enough food to survive and be healthy (He worries most about citrus fruits, so no one gets scurvy)

Each time one of them gets sick he uses the herbs he has found or grown to make tea or some other brew for them.

Has his own slightly cramped office in the ship where he has herb pots as well as animal organs in jars.

When they attack another ship, he immediately gets whatever he can to aid his team with.

Just like Demo, obsesses over mythical sea creatures.

Sniper

He's the one who sits at the very top of the mast, looking out for any other ships or islands.

Once Sniper spots something significant, he lets Scout know and he tells it to Ms. Pauling.

Draws crude maps by observing his surroundings, he later gives them to Engie so he can make them more understandable.

Either has a parrot or befriends seagulls to keep him some sort of company.

Or he eats them, he takes his work very seriously, so he would do anything for him to not have to come down. (Jarate still haunts him, even in the 1600s)

If the weather is okay, he won't even come down from his mast and sleep up there.

Spy

Ok, first, he sometimes disguises himself and signs up for a different crews journey, switching outfits when they stop at a port.

He sails with this crew for, sometimes, months, examining everything they have, both treasure and men.

Little does the new crew know, Spy has a trick up his sleeve. He takes his grey parrot along with him and, upon hearing where this crew is heading, he tells his parrot to deliver a note to his crew where they must wait for this ship and take it over.

Eventually, the two ships meet up, combat ensues as Spy turns on the enemy crew and fights along his team.

Apart from still being a master of espionage even at sea, he would probably also be the team's designer. Like, the designer of everything.

He thought of the flag, helped Captain Pauling pick out her outfit, suggested carvings in the ship's wood, etc.

Insists on stealing antiques during raids.

Has a fancy flintlock pistol that has carvings on the sides of it.

Ms. Pauling

Is the captain of the ship and leads the crew.

Is pretty nice for a captain and seems to really care for the crew, but deep down she knows she can't get too attached.

If there's a storm or another pirate ship heading in their direction, she keeps calm and makes sure her crew is ready for anything. She could probably survive the Kraken.

Her cabin is pretty untidy, filled with maps, books and pictures, and she is the only one who can make some sense of her mess.

Could defeat an entire attacking crew with a piece of her breakfast in her mouth, she does all those moves like swinging mast to mast, sword in her teeth, just badass pirate stuff.

[A/n: before you say something like: "mEdIc WoUlDn'T gRoW hErBs" this is like when there were real pirates aka 1600s ofc there were no modern medicines, herbs were the best that they had, so don't come for me pls]

[stormvanari]

imagine a tf2 and toh crossover...which magic track(s) would the tf2 mercs pick?? what do you think??

i’m down to see how the TF2 mercs can survive in a magical world since they have experienced Merasmus’ chaos in Scream Fortress, and at least many of the magic users on the Boiling Isles aren’t too chaotic like Merasmus himself.

right?

RIGHT?

Scout: Becomes a “LORD OF ALL (wild) MAGIC!!!” because fuck the Coven System all the way

-Gives the Emperor’s Coven a living hell by pranking and putting them in a marathon across the Boiling Isles to the point the Golden Guard, Lilith (before Young Blood, Old Souls), or a Coven Head is involved. But the Golden Guard serves as Scout’s main competition until Hollow Mind.

-Always lands in the Detention Track and Scout doesn’t even care! What kind of moron says using one magic is legal, yet doing all kinds of magic is illegal?!

Soldier: Abomination

-He surprisingly got into the EC and is currently a Captain. But Sol primarily specializes in Abomination magic the most because think of the army he would summon and yell commands Pokémon trainer-style

-Soldier wanted to take on all, yes ALL, of the Coven Heads at once cause he heard they are the “most powerful witches on the BI”

Pyro: Bard, Illusion, and Potions

-There are a few Coven Scouts that report feeling frightened by their encounter with this wild witch (and the Scouts even compared Pyro to Hooty but like. without the bad Mickey Mouse voice impression. just an almost silent “cryptid.”).

-Pyro doesn’t agree with the idea of using only one type of magic, even though they primarily specialize in three certain types of magic the most. The merc wants to have fun in this magical world, y’know?

Demoman: Potion

-Conjures magical potions of mass destruction

-Amplifies his scrumpies to boost his attacks, such as his Demoknight Charge ✨🍾✨

-Frequent visitor at Grimgrub’s Pub

-Is a member of Salty’s crew and Demo fought numerous sea beasts with his bare hands

Heavy: Construction

-They say his strength matches that of Mason’s, but those that share close connections with this merc say Heavy’s strength is greater than the Construction Coven Head’s.

-In fact, he was petitioned for that title but Heavy denied the offer and chose to focus on his family’s needs instead

Engineer: Abomination

-Engineer would eventually do Construction and Bard magic post-S3

-One of the EC’s main defense suppliers

-He’s inspired by Alador’s inventions

Medic: Healing (ofc)

-Well. Things are gonna look....splendid when Medic meets Hettie on one of his work days at a Healer House (this isn’t an official name for clinics during Belos’ reign btw)

-Archimedes becomes his palisman in this AU

Sniper: Beast-Keeping

-Some half-bird demon

-Works as a Demon Hunter (which is kinda ironic for Sniper’s species in this crossover AU, but least he got the job due to his sharpshooting skills)

Spy: Illusion (ofc)

-Was doing rebel work on his own, and sees Adrian Graye as an “embarrassment to illusionists everywhere” after Labyrinth Runners. Prior to the Hexside invasion, Spy originally saw Graye as a “close second to the deadliest illusionist I know,” due to the latter’s Coven Head status.

Although the two have not properly met each other, Spy would consider Gus as a “close second.” The merc still considers himself as the deadliest illusionist on the BI.

-On the other hand, Spy would commend Darius’ fashion sense. Those two would get along pretty well.

Speaking of which:

i did in fact made TF2 x TOH dubs before! ⬇️

[blubushie]

You ever think about dropbear sniper in a tf2 cryptid au ?

Blocked

[coolfireguy73]

Cryptid Sniper, and some Engi/scout bounding

Still working on the Child mercs comic, but I figured I haven't drawn anything cryptid related in a while

Cryptid AU master post

[teeefftwoarts]

BLOG TAG GUIDE

If you're on mobile and you want to find a specific tag, you'll have to either find a post with that tag, or use the links below. (Or you can chance the search bar).

If you're on desktop, you'll find the majority of common tags in the header or the dropdown menus; or, you can enter a search/tag directly into the address bar.

See below for how tags work.

FILTERING TAGS

#tf2oc is the tag for non-canon characters. This includes all OCs, even those from fan-created subfandoms. This tag does not include headcanoned BLU characters until they are named.

The tag that applies to people's self-inserts or online personas is #sona. Sonas will be marked with OC tags if and only if the sona is developed as a character within universe.

#tf2shipart is the tag for ship art. It will (with very rare exceptions) be attached to any art that depicts characters in a romantic capacity, including canon romances.

#horror concerns elements of horror that exist outside of the normal scope of TF2 (such as cryptid horror), while #toneclash concerns elements of horror, melancholy, or otherwise negativity that exists within the confines of TF2 (such as respawn horror).

Depictions of violence that are in some way unusual (in context, intensity, or seriousness) are tagged #mercviolence. This tag only applies to strictly canon characters.

#fansfanservice concerns art which has as its main purpose eliciting physical attracting in the viewer (as judged by art type, composition, captions, and people having Moments in the tags).

#suggestive concerns art that alludes to, in composition or outright, suggestive topics. It does not include jokes or offhand mentions.

#AU concerns art which takes place in an alternate universe. Note that this is a comparatively new tag, so some older posts may not filter properly.

CHARACTER-ORIENTED TAGS

Ships are catalogued in class order, with no spaces, like so: #scoutsoldier.

Should art concern romance or attraction focussed from many mercs onto a single merc, the tag will be the merc's class followed by an [x], like so: #scoutx

Canon characters are catalogued under the following tags: #scout, #soldier, #pyro, #demoman, #heavy, #engineer, #medic, #sniper, #spy, #zhanna, #pauling, #saxton, #administrator, #gray, #blutarch, #redmond, #merasmus, #ma, #bidwell, #archimedes, #balloonicorn, #silas (alive and HHH), #radigan, #tilly, #reddy, barnabus, #yana, #bronislava, #chickengirl, #casterwitch, #olivia, #zepheniah, #oldnick, #billy, #monoculus, #bombinomicon, #mrsmundy

TFC characters are catalogued under the following tags: #cheavy, #fred [engineer], #virgil [sniper], #beatrice [pyro], #cmedic. If a character has no canon name, and their tag is not listed here, their tag will be their class name with a 'c' appended to the beginning.

Robots are catalogued under the following tags: #scoutbot, #soldierbot, #pyrobot, #demobot, #heavybot, #engineerbot, #medicbot, #sniperbot, #spybot, #sentrybuster. Robots are not tagged for size.

The following semi-archetypal characters are tagged without the OC tag: #pootisbird, #spycrab, #kiwisniper, #tinydeskengineer, #medimedes, #engiebee, #breadmonster

#[ocname]from[creator] is primarily intended for more widespread works, but every OC has their own tag that can be searched accordingly, which may be useful if the OC themself has fanart. For Tumblr users, [creator] will be their URL. The exception to this rule is established TF2 freaks, who are tagged to [freakfortress] instead. 10th classes are tagged by class name where it will cause RED and BLU variants of a single tenth class to be collated, or if a real name is not provided.

[ionlypostmymeemocs]

"Ssoo... What's your story, sir-"

"Please, child. Call me Mel. That's my birth name."

"Okay. What's your story, Mel?"

"My story begins when a man who is part of my family tree decides to destroy a witch's home. The witch didn't love that at all. So she came back from her tomb and cursed my family. The curse was that if our families ever had boys, they'd become ghost-like creatures when the boys turned 40."

"Why only boys?"

"Because it was the man who decided to destroy the witch house."

"A-are there other boys in your family that turned into these spirits?"

"No... I was the first... Now I go by the name that everyone in town gave me!"

"What name?"

"The Floating Skull."

185

[nohmercy]

some concepts I had for tf2 psychonauts au in 2018 that I still remember:

i addressed it 100% as a game concept and not a fanon thing and tried to approach it as I thought a game dev would

the main character was scout, and the plot involved him learning that he had a psychic father who disappeared and he had to hunt him down to kick his ass for abandoning Ma, but finding a ton of interesting characters and uncovering a rapidly unraveling wacky plot about two rich brothers that were experimenting on people in the desert

the first character we meet is Medic, and he was the last person anyone knew that saw Spy. he's a red herring in multiple ways, because you think he's menacing and weird enough to be responsible for Spy's disappearance, and later on, he fits very well into the role of the guy making people into psychic atrocities. but he's innocent both times, he just does normal atrocities. usually involving baboon organs. you come back later to see inside his head and it's a spiralling, confusing obstacle course utilizing ur only 2 current abilities (super jump + blast). it ends when he realizes you're in there and throws you into a giant birdcage dangling over an abyss and tries to give you a medical exam. you fight his second opinion-esque internal self and help him with his fear of death and loneliness

the second is heavy, who tries to knock your block off for messing around in medics head. but you tell him about medics thing for him and he softens up. he lets you in his brain to help him remember what happened to spy. it's a Siberian themed level with a wild animal theme, but with nods to heavy's intellectual side and love for his family. the boss fight is his idealized version of his father, who, upon defeat, tells him that he doesn't always have to be strong for others. you also get enough hints about spy to move on to Engineer

engineers level is a cyber western themed level that utilizes telekinesis, and you learn to lasso things to swing and pull enemies towards you. the boss is a nod to psn1 with a mechanical bullfight, and littered throughout is references to his daunting patrilineal history. he's definitely from a long line of psychonauts

pyros next, with a pyroland themed inner mind singed at the edges. I haven't thought much in this one but it's definitely where you learn pyrokinesis right? maybe some nods to gender nonconformity and identity but you probably get tugged out before a grand discovery

at this point you've learned enough to know it's the Mann Brothers, and Grey Mann has made his appearance and convinced you of how to stop them. he teaches you the mind reading ability probably. id like to think he's the loboto ish figure instead of medic and hes played more sympathetically

demo is probably the prettiest but saddest level. with a theme based on cryptids and mythos and being a psionic warrior. it's also very silly I think but the man has serious mom issues. this whole game is parent problems 101. but! he knows where spy is!

sniper is a hard guy to find and even harder to figure out. you don't get to be in his mind for very long before he kicks you out, but it looked rather lonely and a bit paranoid. he seems pissed off that you only came to find spy, who he's sure betrayed everyone and took off somewhere. last he saw....

soldiers mind is a mess. enigmatic and paranoid, with cartoonish ideas of patriotism and the military. a bit like oleanders, but more wacky. he doesn't remember who he is, and only knows how to follow orders. and he was told to not talk about the Mann Brothers... I think this lvl is about reconnecting him w his past + identity, and ensuring him that he's not alone in his war

when you find spy, you discover he's been irreversibly experimented on and struggles to control his illusory abilities. he mourns having missed your life due to his fear of commitment, knowing it's too late and that he's too far gone to return to normal society. he teaches you invisibility, and you take on the Manns and their army of psychic thralls to avenge him and end up inside his mind

his mind is a nod to noir films, with a jazzy mysterious soundtrack and an intense art style shift. you hunt down a criminal to save a woman, only to discover it's spy himself. the theme is based around self, love, and the fear of your job ruining your life. he fights you as an invisible-man style villain, and upon defeat, he helps you detain the Mann Brothers and reveals that he is a psychonaut spy.

I have more ideas probably but it's way less fun to read then than see them