#the lumberstack

[pyrajanison]

PJ Questionnaire Part 3

A look into PJ's preferences, both new and old.

So a long time back, I got tagged by @sparkling-chi-64 with a Make Your Choice Tag Game, and I've been working on it for a long time now. Originally I was going to wait until it was all done before I posted the full thing, but seeing how long that's taking me, I've opted instead to post it as I finish each consecutive section, with the option to see one section early on my Ko-Fi, here.

💙💜Support me on Ko-Fi💙💜

[woodpalletblockmachine]

Auto wood timber/lumber stacker machine line

[aquato-family-circus]

Local service workers exchanging words at the Lumberstack

Feat. @bearloonz’s OC Mallory :]

[ottoslab]

not to be extremely predictable abt the characters i ask abt but do you imagine any of the p7 are still around during or right before the future au? i know they are. Old. but i always am fond of the concept of like the old folks helping out at the camp after pn2.

Im always so very tossed up about how and If the p7 are still around during the aac timeline . But for the sake of “it would be funny if,” I will simply say they Are. (And ramble more about the thoughts ive had about a couple that might Not be and Why under a cut bc its kind of depressing)

Otto will never die and will never leave the Motherlobe much to Hollis and Truman’s dismay. The older he gets the more powerful he gets. He continues to contribute, arguably with increasing efficiency, but as each year passes he gets less and less concerned about getting caught doing things outside of the parameters of Psychonauts rules. “What are you gonna do? Fire me? Lmao” *goes back to working on his death beam that he just made because it was funny.*

I have this hc that at some point Sam makes it her mission to renovate the Lumberstack Diner as the Questionable Area? becomes more profitable over the years. And i think Compton working as a cook there would be a nice little job for him to have while in retirement. Cooking is like the one type of stress he can handle i think. Hes so so scared but in the comfort of something familiar so its less likely to cause him to start blowing things up.

Bob and Helmut deserve a nice little retirement home and I think theyre the primary residents of the Gulch (next to maybe Cassie and Compton?) They supervise (re: sometimes run into and chat with) Raz and his team who have basically taken up their own residence in the Gulch. Perks of being teammates with agent Aquato and Zanotto is that you dont have to resort to dormitories.

I’m not sure what’s up with Cassie! I don’t think she’s doing much either, probably also sticking around the Gulch. Though i think through the support of the others she at least gets Slightly more involved with the Psychonauts or going out into towns to do book signings so that she doesn’t become a complete and total recluse again.

I think Ford and Lucy are out traveling a lot while they’ve still got the time to. Making up for a whole lotta lost time n all that, giving each other time to talk and jazz. They’re not around a lot but they visit often!

Ok. And a very specific less sweet outcome for Ford and Lucy under the cut

When i run through which characters it would be like. Narratively “Best” to have passed away around the AAC timeline, my mind always immediately jumps to these two. Like obviously I think some characters would be more likely to have died before them (looking at you my friend Bob) or ones that could be more impactful in other directions (Cassie and Compton having to learn to exist without one another) but considering their last narrative experiences in Pn2 was finding each other again for the first time in years, it feels like any of those four (Bob, Helmut, Cassie, Compton) passing away would just be a disservice to prior storytelling. And Otto will never die, as I’ve said, so don’t even worry about him <3

I just think a lot about a story in which Ford and Lucy pass on before Raz can ever really reconcile any of his issues he had with either of them. A story in which he’s happy to see them getting along and traveling together, but every time they leave he holds his breath and counts down the days until they make it back and he can guarantee they’re still alive and he goes “This time, this time I’ll say something,” and then he doesn’t because how do you even bring up that conversation after all this time.

And then eventually they pass and it’s almost poetic, really, going at around the same time. But he never got to say anything to them, never got to reconcile and barely got a goodbye. And now he has to learn how to deal with that. How to deal with the fact that they’re still everywhere, in True Psychic Tales issues, on murals, on old pictures, inherently buried in the history of the psychonauts.

And i dont know. I think it’s an interesting story to explore. In a hypothetical real Psychonauts future story, you enter the story with some characters trying to question Raz about something theyre worried about that he always cuts off or dodges before you get to hear, but the lack of any mention of Ford or Lucy is so absent that it’s palpable. Stuff like that.

[technovillain]

What do you think the interns would be up to after the events of psychonauts 2?

Okay soooo I think they all (under the new "Junior Psychonaut" titles) are given big projects to work on.

There is a little bit of discrepancy between different media sources regarding Adam, but I'm pretty sure something in the artbook was saying he was intended to be on a higher level than the other interns. Which makes sense because he not only comes off as the oldest but it's kind of evident that he's on a slightly higher level, what with his big public view project and his mentor being the head of the entire organization. So while I think in canon he is still referred to as an intern as part of the intern program, he was sort of functionally already a "Junior Psychonaut"..... which is something I feel like Hollis and Truman sort of made up to promote them for their hard work.

I also like to hc that their mentors told them to brainstorm good ideas over the summer, things that they were passionate about. That was what sparked the recent creation of Morris' pirate radio (also something that Milla would find cool and encourage as a music fan)

So I choose to believe they have these projects to work on as Junior Psychonauts:

Morris wants to get his pirate radio off the ground and (though it would make it less cool) maybe make it less .... pirate-y. In the sense that he could get more than one song for it. And more employees than just the one random 5 year old who climbed into his treehouse. It could also be a sort of psychic-station, broadcasting to brainwaves for study time.

Gisu wants to work with Otto to improve the status of psychic mobility, especially around the motherlobe. Creating levboards, safe apparatuses for brain balls, streamlining psychic mobility aids, etc.

Sam wants to get the Lumberstack Diner operational again, and is determined to employ animals as servers. Give them an opportunity to "better themselves". I honestly do not think that Coach would care much about this project. He's not a great mentor lol....but as a fellow cook, Compton would appreciate the project and probably pitch in, maybe as an excuse to get away from Lizzie and her project.

Norma is trying to....help balance the budget. And work on finances with Hollis. Scintillating. On the more interesting side, it would require a little government help, which would mean learning how to lay it on thick to try and get some government money....professional schmoozing skills.

After Lori's "exciting" new haircut comes out of Ford's barbershop, some of the agents are looking for some more modern styles. Lizzie decides the place is extremely outdated and needs a facelift to keep up with the times. She's right but her noncomformist, somewhat anarchist decor choices and style really stress Compton out. He's just sure she's going to do a bunch of stuff that Truman will hate, and he could get stuck cleaning up a big mess.

I don't think Raz and Lili are expected to take on big projects just yet. First of all because of all the personal intense family drama they just went through. Second of all because of their age.

I also think they all are permitted more field work with their mentors, and more mentor work time in general. Really "locking in" so to say on the idea of them actually becoming Psychonauts someday and not just hanging around the facility.

[strawberryfrostedflakes]

Lumberstack Diner - Interior and Exterior Questionable Area, Psychonauts 2

[lichengills]

Hey you, wanna hear my headcanons for the interns/junior agents that I came up with while in the car for 8 hours?

My main reason for writing these down is for future writing prompts. I haven’t done any psychonauts writings yet, but I want to at some point cause *slaps game like car salesmen* this bad boy can fit so much found family in it.

So I don’t know if we have canon ages for the interns, but I think it’s safe to say that these guys are teenagers. All of them falling into that 14-16 demographic. I think Sam would be the youngest and Adam would be the oldest.

I also don’t know if it’s ever stated if Lizzie or Norma is the oldest of the sisters (Or if they’re twins? Point is I can’t find much so I guess it’s up to interpretation). But I like to think that Norma is the older sister, only by a year. But that won’t stop her from holding that over Lizzie constantly.

Speaking of Lizzie, considering that her sister is a perfectionist always sneaking her way into being what Lizzie calls, ‘a teacher’s pet’, this sort of feeds into her whole rebellious attitude. She’s got that “my older sister is so perfect and if I’m gonna be overshadowed might as well use it to my advantage”. Since everyone seemed focused on Norma, it allowed Lizzie to get away with things they wouldn’t approve of like causing trouble. They used to be close growing up, but as Norma separated herself from Lizzie for her reputation, Lizzie just embraced her role as the “weirdo outcast”.

Norma on the other hand? Very gifted child syndrome. She was always a good grades student who didn’t have many friends and was probably made fun of for it. But it’s not like she cared, cause Norma snuck her way to the top and was on good graces with almost every adult. But deep down? She really doesn’t want to slip up. I imagine the main reason she went after Razputin more than the others was because she knew that he had the potential to overshadow her. She wants to keep her title of being the best intern around, and she’s not ready to give that up to a ten year old that showed up out of the blue. Because if she’s not a gifted student, then she’s nothing.

Wow okay a good chunk is just Lizzie and Norma, so let’s cut to just headcanons based around all of them-

I know I keep repeating it over and over how “I don’t know if” so I’ll shut up. I like to think that the interns stay in the motherlobe and have dorms/living arrangements. That way they’re involved and around 24/7. Plus it’s probably handy for those who don’t live nearby (since I’m pretty sure Adam is from the UK…?) But hey living at the motherlobe just means they have more time to hang out.

After doing assignments and homework given by their mentors, they either hang out by their dorm or around the motherlobe. What do they get up to? Shenanigans of course. Whether it’s hanging at the abandoned Lumberstack Diner for snacks, lurking in the forest at night to scare trespassers, pranking or spying senior agents, sharing gossip, the list goes on. Sure, they might be scolded for it and be assigned tedious tasks as punishment, but that doesn’t stop them. Instead it just encourages them to keep doing it and place bets on which teen will get busted. (Like, “Hey Gisu if you can write this on the wall and not get caught I’ll give you five bucks” kind of stuff).

The main prankster masterminds are Gisu, Lizzie, and Morris. They are the “be gay do crime” trio. Adam and Norma are more tactical when it comes to schemes so it can’t be traced back to them (when you have two psychonaut leaders as your mentors you can’t afford to get caught), so they don’t always get involved. Sam’s just in it for the ride and is always down to do the weird ones.

But yeah since Adam and Norma don’t want to get caught so easily, the other teens don’t worry too much. Morris knows that Milla would be stern but forgive him. Compton’s too busy with his own anxiety and isolation to even notice if Lizzie’s getting into trouble. And well, Oleander and Otto would probably encourage it. One would lecture on how not to get caught next time while the other would give tactical advice for the next one and offer to cover for them and make a fake alibi. I’ll let you decide who’s who.

And of course after the events of PN2, Razputin gets dragged into this. Now at first, some of the teens really don’t want to have Raz hang out with them. Mainly because they don’t want to be “babysitting a ten year old”, with some like Lizzie and Morris fearing that he’d rat them out. But as time goes on, he ends up becoming an honorary teen of the group. They sort of become a bad influence, what with getting him involved in pranks and teaching him things he shouldn’t know like swears or how to steal. But Raz is still a good kid.

I got more, but I might save them for the future. I have ideas on what Raz would do when he spends time with the junior agents. However, these might end up being future writing prompts…? We’ll see. If you wanna throw in your two cents or hear more about the other characters feel free to ask. Granted, even if I don’t get much, that probably won’t stop me from doing more posts like this down the line cause I can talk about these funky characters for hours.

[razputin-vodello-au-archives]

So, what are the plans for halloween? Got anything spooky planned?

[Norma] Since Raz and Lili are soon to leave their care-free childhood for the dreaded period that is being a teenager resolves around -

[Lizzie] Meaning we feel that Raz is finally old enough for Norma to trust him to behave himself.

[Norma] (Pause) True. Since ...that ...we decided that we're gonna put together our own little Halloween party in the Lumberstack diner - while we're still able to get there before the whole area turns into a construction zone.

[Lizzie] Still weird, knowing that the Aquatos aren't only building a whole dang circus, but they're gonna be living there. House, backyard, pool, the whole shebang. Kinda sucks we're losing our hangout area.

[Norma] It's only like ...three quarters of the QA they've bought, the rest is still under stewardship of the Psychonauts. And technically, the Luberstack isn't part of the QA, so it's gonna stay.

[Lizzie] Yeah. And we're a few years away from getting our full 'Agent-ship certification', so we're not gonna be there a lot anyway then.

[Norma] You told Raz about your 'post-graduation' plans yet? The whole 'running a tattoo shop with Millie' thing?

[Lizzie] Not yet. Haven't had the right moment yet, and I'm kinda stalling too. I mean, for years we've been coming up with team poses and team-up attacks and now I gotta tell him I'm not becoming a full Agent? It sucks.

[Norma] Doing things despite they suck is a part of growing up, Sis.

[Lizzie] No fun! I wanna be a kid again.

[Norma] Mentally, you are.

[Lizzie] (Laughs) Zing! Walked right into that one.

[mirchloe]

i wanna write a fic where raz takes bobby out to get sushi for the first time...because they've just started being friends...

bobby never really had many opportunities to have "fancy food." sushi is fancy to him because he's never had it - it's not something from a can or regular groceries/stuff swiped from a convenience store. the most fancy he's ever gotten is the lumberstack diner. raz is surprised and jabbers all the way to the nearest sushi place. he's telling bobby about the history of sushi while they're waiting in the restaurant and tells bobby his favorites, and his grin gets even wider when bobby goes with his suggestion (salmon nigiri). he ends up liking it! it's good! and raz is just beaming, which is making bobby feel weird, but he can't use the chopsticks no matter how much raz tries to teach him.

[closeted-calliope]

For those of you seeing me post for the first time in ages and hoping for a RA fic update, sorry lmao. On the bright side, my depression has lost its grip on me and I can write again, so that will probably come soon In the meantime, I have broken brain over Psychonauts 2, especially Sam Boole the Queen herself, and I've decided that she and Lizzie should be girlfriends on the soul reason of They're Both My Faves And I Want Them To Kiss (also some other reasons that aren't important here) So uh if you also like Sam and/or Lizzie, please enjoy >:3c

also dw if you haven't finished the game, there aren't any endgame spoilers

[britishsass]

If the Lumberstack diner doesn't have a little bell on the door that rings when it opens, then I will be sorely disappointed because that feels exactly like its vibes.

[blazichu]

You know what, with the canoe imagery in the first part of Ford’s mind and the line post-game, I can understand how Admiral Cruller is a thing. Given the recreation of the campfire area and the backer trailer, Janitor and Ranger Cruller aren’t too far out there, either.

Chef Cruller, though... I don’t know. The honey pepper boar bacon doesn’t mean anything by itself; that’s just part of his bacon obsession. Compton’s mind tells us that his favorite food was the lumberjack stack, but that doesn’t really have anything to do with being the person cooking. I’m legitimately lost as to where that aspect came from.

[ccliffjumperr]

so many phrases in psychonauts 2 echo around in my mind i cant get them out of my head and i dont mean in the "oh i think about this a lot" way, i mean its stuck in my head

[aquato-family-circus]

something I think about often are my imagined blueprints for the green needle gulch area that include things that the game obviously doesn't need or want to include

good example: you ever wonder where these guys would eat? i wonder. my brain has constructed a beautiful mind cabin built in the same style as the cafeteria from whispering rocks but smaller and a little more homey. the gang gathers around for group meals at least at breakfast time bc several of them agreed its important brain food. even if that means wrestling otto out of his lab.

everyone takes turns cooking meals weekly so it doesn't just fall on anyones shoulders. There's a communal fridge everyone has to agree to clean on a weekly basis too. we can't have a repeat of The Incident.

and they don't cook Every Night. they cook big servings so obvs sometimes they have left overs.

then there's the lumberstack obviously. it's a classic standby for when No One feels like cooking.

and sometimes they order delivery from really unfortunate delivery boys who get so lost trying to find them unless someone agrees to go meet them like a mile from the actual gulch.

speaking of ppl getting lost ive always headcanoned the mailboxes everyone has are set outside their defenses so that they don't miss their packages. this is the delivery boy meet up spot.

the place is nutorious for being spooky and weird but the folks living there usually tip pretty decently.

[poobletoods]

concept: bob n helmut celebrating their first anniversary since helmut got his body back and visiting all the places they used to go on dates the lumberstack seems to be not operational anymore but i'm sure compton would love to bring some supplies over and make pancakes for em (and probably enough for the whole squad) so they can eat over-syruped pancakes just like old times

they try to roller skate again and end up falling on their asses for like an hour straight but they're still laughing the whole time and having so much fun

they go to a spot where they used to have picnics a lot and it's a little overgrown now but the plants are more than willing to move aside for a bit so they can sit on some nice soft moss and eat little sandwiches and watch butterflies and bees and beetles go about their days (and then they probably take a lil nap out there, let the old men rest)