#finished psychonauts 1 last night

[the-family-fortune]

Literally watching the good things fall apart animatic to quiet the goblins in my brain.

#oh its a night yall #idk if its understimulation or what but these last two or three weeks have been hyperfixation hell #i mean. psychonauts isnt even a hyperfixation anymore its a straight up special interest #december 3rd will be the ten year anniversary of when i first played psychonauts 1 #...........................do you think i can finish the tarot by that time? #uh oh

[snapscube]

What dub has been the longest production so far? What about the shortest?

I don't have exact numbers on hand so this could be incorrect but the longest production was Until Dawn Parts 1 & 2 I think. For quite a few reasons. It came after a pretty major unintentional hiatus and after a lot of turbulence within the larger group so scheduling was kinda the last thing on anyone's mind for a bit. Then at the same time I was also going through a lot of different dub ideas that ended up being nonstarters, including the eventually shelved Psychonauts dub, so a lot of time was spent in the conceptual phase. Then the cherry on top of all that being I decided to produce the dub in two completely separate parts with their own standalone production processes, as opposed to something like the Spider-Man dub which was meant to be one single part at the beginning and was mostly produced simultaneously but had to be split in the recording and post production phase due to technical difficulties and my own impatience during the early SRTF days.

As for shortest production, part of me wants to say it was actually the SA2 dubs. I've mentioned this before but the success of the SA2 dub was MAJORLY unprecedented. It was basically started as an internal test pilot that I wasn't sure was going to see the light of day but then, yknow, that happened so I was like yeah there's no way we're not releasing this as the first episode. I put a lot of work into the sound effects placement and overall editing as I usually do, but the speed of production on it was unique cause it was all so fresh and I became very hyperfocused when I did start to gain momentum in the edit, so post production was finished in like... a couple nights I think?? Though there was a gap between the Hero and Dark story releases.

Again, this could be inaccurate cause my memory is shit but that's the best I got for ya right now haha.

[gentle-giant-swag]

HELLO EVERYONE! I SHALL NOW REVEAL THE BRAKCETS

First up

Wait

MOST FUCKABLE GENTLE GIANT

The A bracket (finished)

Battle 1-16

(most submissions in form 1 and most submissions in form b)

Starts Friday the 9th of June. 5pm CET. The brackets will be posted between the 9-10th of June.

Side A, 9th of June. 5pm to 8pm cet

Raphael Hamato (rise of the TMNT) vs Totoro (my neighbor Totoro)

Heavy (team fortress 2) vs Big Friendly Giant (BFG)

King Dedede (Kirby) vs Scorpia (She-ra)

Bismuth (Steven universe) vs Susan Murphy (monsters vs aliens)

Fezzik (the princess bride) vs Dick Gumshoe (ace attorney)

Master Chief (halo) vs Bumblebee (bumblebee)

Big Macintosh (my little pony: friendship is magic) vs Massimo Marcovaldo (Luca)

The titan (the owl house) vs Tyson (Percy Jackson)

Side B, 10th of June, 5pm to 8pm CET

Ivan Bruel (miraculous ladybug) vs Asahi Azumane (haikyuu)

Takeo Goda (ore monogatari) vs Caduceus Clay (critical role)

Milly Thompson (tri-gun) vs Sandy (Lego monkie kid)

Jaguar D. Saul vs Jean Bart (one piece)

Komamura (bleach) vs William Ellis (identity v)

Beelzebub (obey me) vs Kazanari Genjuurou (symphogear)

Senri (plus anima) vs Murakumo (rune factory 5)

Holly (super lesbian animal rpg) vs Brutus Feels (Kane and feels)

The B bracket (finished)

Battles 17-32

Characters who have returned from the spring bracket and from fandoms I’ve personally interacted with. So the spring bracket but we blacklisted big man

Date: Tuesday 13/6 to Wednesday 14/6, between 5pm to 8pm CET

Side A (Tuesday)

The iron giant vs Baymax (big hero 6)

Gonta gokuhara (danganronpa) vs Jonathan Joestar (JoJo’s bizarre adventure)

Dj (total drama) vs Yasutora “Chad” Sado (bleach

Muriel (the arcana) vs Jasmine (total drama)

Subject Delta (bioshock) vs aaarrrgghh (trollhunters)

Klaus Von Reinherz (kekkai sensen) vs Asterios (fate grand order)

Hunk (Voltron) vs Gooliope Jellington (monster high)

Dragonite (Pokémon) vs Asgore Dreemurr (undertale)

Side B (Wednesday)

Alphonse Elric vs Major Lewis Armstrong (full metal alchemist)

Urbosa (legend of Zelda) vs Glamrock Freddy (five nights at Freddy’s)

Milla Vodello vs Helmut Fullbear (psychonauts)

Dedue Molinaro vs Raphael Kirsten (fire emblem: three houses)

Winston vs B.O.B (overwatch)

Kanji Tatsumi (persona) vs Common Wubbox (my singing monsters)

Mordecai vs Muarim (fire emblem: gay rights path of radiance/radiant dawn)

Minsc & Boo (baldur’s gate) vs Big the cat (sonic the hedgehog)

C BRACKET (ongoing)

Battles 33-48

Those who fell in between the A and the D bracket. So this one has some pretty chaotic matchups

Date: Sunday the 18th to Monday the 19th, 5pm to 8pm cet

A bracket: Sunday

Nicholas St North (rise of the guardians) vs Grear Danes (irl)

Falkor the good luck dragon (the never ending story) vs Susan Strong (adventure time)

Grandpa Max (Ben 10) vs Cerberus (Greek mythology)

Kiryu Kazuma (yakuza) vs Dr Joshua Strongbear Sweet (Atlantis)

Fatgum (my hero academia) vs Takashi Morinozuka (ouran highschool host club)

Will Powers (ace attorney) vs Luther (Detroit: become human)

The Tick (the tick 1994) vs Evan Buck Buckley (911 on fox)

Riki Nendou (saiki k) vs Hearts Boxcars (homestuck)

Side B (Monday)

Shirahoshi vs Tony Tony Chopper (one piece)

Jetfire/skyfire (transformers) vs Indus Tarbella (epithet erased)

Sisyphus (hades) Vs Grog Strongjaw (critical role)

Hugo the abominable snowman (looney tunes) vs Aone Takanobu (Haikyuu)

Android 16 (dragon ball) vs Tiny (ever after high)

Wrecker (Star Wars: the bad batch) vs K (virtues last reward)

Goldlewis Dickinson vs Potemkin (guilty gear)

Yasha Nydoorin (critical role) vs Lily Bowen (fall out)

D BRACKET

Battles 49-64

Aka the one where the contestants sadly got the least amount of votes)

Date: Thursday 22/6th to Friday 23/6th 5pm to 8pm CET

Side A: Thursday

lain chu (dragon hunters) vs Panda (tekken)

Isaroth (genshin impact) vs Bizarro (DC red hood and the outlaws)

Jienji (Inuyasha) vs Jackie Wells (cyberpunk 2077)

Looks to the moon (rain world) vs Jogu (naruto)

Bane Perez (identify V) vs Zinnia (super lesbian animal rpg)

Vulkanon (rune factory 4) vs Argus (Greek mythology)

Mountain (ark knights) vs Taiga Saejima (yakuza)

Abbi (Omori) vs Gorem (bakugan)

SIDE B: Friday

Junko (storm hawks) vs Hajin (monstress)

Gylph (super lesbian animal RPG) vs Bongchun (Bongchun bride)

Fitz Fellow (detective grimoire) vs Bubbles (questionable content)

Dubo (omega strikers) vs Bob the titan (Percy Jackson)

Otto the giant water dog (wondla) vs Kurita Ryoukan (Eyeshield 21)

Mele the Horizons Roar (ishura) vs Gentle Bear (dog island)

The Selfish Giant vs Banjo Lilywhile (the hogfather)

Livio the double fang (trigun) vs Hank McCoy (x-men)

I will make propaganda master posts and if you want to add, just use the ask box or dm me with propaganda for one of the characters who’s going to participate. But that’s all!

May the best gentle giant WIN!

SECOND CHANCE BATTLES FOR ROUND 1

27/6, apricot bracket

Battle 1

Battle 2

Battle 3

Battle 4

29/2, shavedown of the apricot bracket

The battle

1/7, blueberry bracket

Battle 1

Battle 2

Battle 3

Battle 4

3/7, shavedown

The battle

4/7, citron bracket

Battle 1

Battle 2

Battle 3

Battle 4

5/7, shavedown

7/7, durian bracket

Battle 1

Battle 2

Battle 3

Battle 4

8/7, shavedown

The (un)official GGSmod messed up someone’s name post

The crime list

Ask game

#gentle giant swag #tumblr tournament #fandom tournament #tumblr bracket #fandom bracket #my neighbor totoro #bioshock #Kirby #jjba #ace attorney #trigun #total drama #danganronpa #the arcana #the iron giant

[bcdrawsandwrites]

[ID: A Bad Things Happen Bingo card. Various prompts are marked with a half-brain symbol, while the “This Is for Your Own Good” specifically is marked with a full brain symbol. /end ID]

OKAY! So here’s my first fic for my second @badthingshappenbingo​​ challenge!

Note that at the time of my posting this, I am still open for requests--if you want to request something from me, please go to the post linked in my pinned post and read the rules!

This one was requested by @wulverarctos​​!

[ID: A Psychonauts fanfic banner on a black-to-gray gradient background. On the left in white text it says “Prompt #1: This Is for Your Own Good.” On the right is an animated yellow figment of Loboto’s teddybear with a pair of electroshock electrodes (which look vaguely like a pair of headphones with a wire coming off the top center) on his head. /end ID]

Prompt: This Is for Your Own Good Characters: Fred Bonaparte & Caligosto Loboto, pre-Psychonauts (orderly!Fred and patient!Loboto) Warnings: Choking, discussion of electroshock therapy

---~~~---

Cool air whistled through the open windows at the end of the hallway, the moon outside providing the faintest illumination in the otherwise dark asylum. The weighty, metal flashlight Fred wielded could have brought more light, but he knew from experience there wasn't much to see. He'd walked these halls more than enough times to be able to do it blindfolded.

Stopping by the last door, he peered through the small slot. Once again, thanks to the clear night, he was able to tell just from the meager light shining through the windows that each patient in the room was in their respective bed. One was tossing and turning, but she was still on her bed and under the sheets.

Fred wished he could say the same for himself. He covered his mouth, letting out a muted yawn. He was done with his nightly rounds now, at least, so it wouldn't be long now for him.

Strolling to the end of the hall, he ducked down to peer through the window. At first he smiled up at the clear night sky, only for his brows to knit when he realized just why so much light was pouring into the hallway.

A full moon.

The hair raised on the back of his neck, and he shuddered, straightening his back. Years ago he'd laughed off the whole "things happen on the night of a full moon" saying as superstition... and then he'd become an orderly.

But nothing had happened tonight—nothing yet, anyway. Every patient who wasn't scheduled for treatment was in their bed, and the asylum was peaceful.

...Well, if you ignored the constant creaking of the building, the squeaking of stretcher wheels, and the occasional moan and groan from one or seven of the patients at any given time. But those didn't count.

Fred breathed in the night air and nodded. Yes, it was a perfectly normal night—the moon just happened to be full, that was all. And he'd finished his duties for tonight, so finally he could get some shut-eye and—

A shriek pierced straight through the asylum, up from the lower floors, causing Fred to jump so high he nearly hit the ceiling. A cacophony of shouts and yells immediately followed, and Fred took half a second to let out an exasperated whine.

So much for sleep.

Any more self-pitying could wait. He was right by the stairwell, and his long legs made quick work of it, carrying him down toward the source of the noise. But the second he realized just where it was originating from, he screwed up his face.

Not here.

Steeling himself, he opened the door and ducked through it, only to reel back and bash his head against the frame at the sight before him.

"LET GO! LET GO!"

"Get him off!"

Within the cramped room with its single bed, desk, and an electroconvulsive therapy machine were a doctor, three nurses, and a patient that Fred was all too familiar with. The patient was in a strait jacket and a shower cap, and the doctor and two of the nurses were trying and failing to pull him away from the third nurse, whose hand the patient was biting down onto. Fred didn't need to ask a single question to know why this had occurred.

The doctor, seeing Fred rubbing the back of his head in the doorway, growled through gritted teeth, "Bonaparte! Do something!"

"I-I got it, I got it—" he stammered, taking a half step further into the cramped room. Immediately the patient swung his weird mechanical eyes up toward him, his brow furrowed, red and green lights clashing with the dim yellow bulb overhead, daring Fred to oppose him.

Fred glanced back at the ECT machine, swallowing. He knew this was a standard treatment, but he also couldn't blame any patients for being resistant to it. Still, he shook his head and fixed the patient with a firm gaze. "Let her go, Caligosto. You know we've told you not to bite anyone!"

Caligosto's brow furrowed further, and he let out a muffled snarl like an angry dog. He had the capacity to act civil when he wanted to—Fred had seen it probably more than any of the other staff—but when it came to treatment...

Bending his knees until he was eye level, Fred leaned closer to the patient. He had to squint in the light of those weird eyes, but he hoped it made him look more intimidating. As much as he hated his patients to see him that way, in this case, it had to be done. "Caligosto, let her go, right now!"

It worked, but of course, not in the way Fred would have hoped.

With a grunt, Caligosto yanked his head back, teeth ripping over the poor woman's hand. She shrieked and pulled her hand back, looking for something to sterilize it with, while the patient snickered through gritted teeth, his mouth stretched into a manic grin.

Fred sighed, raising himself back up. That was over, at least—

The nurse gasped.

"M-my ring—!"

As she was speaking, there was a deep gulp from Caligosto.

Fred, the doctor, and all three nurses stared down at the patient before looking back up at each other.

This was going to be one of those nights, wasn't it.

At first Caligosto grinned smugly up at the nurse, only for his brows to raise and his face to start losing color. His chest gave a heave, only to halt partway through, and his eyes began to flicker. His arms frantically pulled at their restraints as his throat convulsed in a choked gag.

The doctor spat out a curse, yanking Caligosto off the bed and pulling him up against himself. Immediately the patient began to kick his long legs, nearly causing the doctor to lose his grip, and Fred knelt near Caligosto again.

"Stay still, he's gonna help you," Fred explained in a gentle, hushed voice.

Caligosto's eyes twitched over in Fred's direction shakily, but he stopped squirming, allowing the doctor to jam his hands against his gut. It took a few tries, but finally the patient hacked up the ring, which splatted in a coating of saliva and mucus against the bed. The patient's legs buckled, and he hung his head, wheezing.

"Finally," the doctor grunted. Fred nodded in agreement and was about to turn away when the doctor continued: "Maybe he'll be a bit more compliant now."

Fred froze, then turned to assess the situation again. His coworkers were all staring darkly at the patient, whose eyes were dim and flickering and whose face was panicked, his breaths coming in short gasps.

"H-hang on." Fred held up his hands, hunching his shoulders. "I think he's had enough for tonight. M-maybe we should postpone the treatment for now."

The doctor stared up at Fred for a long moment, bushy eyebrows furrowed, before he let out a growl, shoving the patient in Fred's direction. "Fine. Get him back to his room, then, Bonaparte. We'll schedule the treatment for another date."

Caligosto stumbled into Fred, who awkwardly caught him. "Uh—y-yessir," he replied, turning around to move the patient out of the tiny room.

Just as he moved Caligosto through the doorway, however, the doctor grabbed the back of Fred's shirt and yanked him back, hissing into his ear: "You will do something to break him of that biting habit."

Wincing, Fred nodded, and the doctor let him go.

Finally out of that hellish place, Fred placed a hand on his patient's back and guided him toward the stairwell. "C'mon, Caligosto, let's get you to bed."

As they began mounting the stairs, Caligosto's eyes swung in Fred's direction, flashing. "Postpone?" he croaked, his throat raw.

Fred cringed. "I know you don't like it, but it is treatment." When his patient's eyes tipped downward toward his feet, Fred ducked down closer to him. "It is. It's supposed to help you get better."

The eyes snapped back toward him again. "Have you ever seen a patient get better?"

The question caught him off guard, and he nearly tripped up the stairs. "N-not yet, but it can take a while for treatments to work!"

"...they thought so with my first one, too," came a low rasp.

Fred's head snapped back over to Cailgosto, his eyes wide, but his patient's head was hanging again. Curiosity tugged at the back of Fred's brain, but he didn't want to bother his patient any more tonight than he already had to. They said nothing as they mounted the last few flights of stairs, up to the individual room where Caligosto was kept. He was one of the patients that needed a room of his own, as he was prone to conducting… dentistry on any roommate he was given.

Once at the room, Fred produced a set of keys and unlocked the door, not missing the look of relief on Caligosto's face as he stepped into the room and sank down onto the bed. He was staring eagerly at the worn teddy bear that sat propped up against his pillow, and squirmed his arms against their restraints.

At first Fred went to untie the restraints as usual, but the doctor's words ran through his mind again, and he stopped himself. "...Caligosto, before I go, I need to talk to you about something."

Caligosto groaned. "What is it?" he whined, swiveling his eyes to look up at him. "I'm tired."

Fred drew in a breath. "You can't keep biting people."

"Oh, but I can!" Caligosto tipped his head, flashing a smile, his yellow teeth gleaming in the moonlight.

"You can't, though. I know you don't like the treatments we have to do, but it's for your own good."

"You'd think that, wouldn't you?" Caligosto's smile widened, his eyes glowing brighter. "Anything those silly doctors tell you."

Blood rushed to Fred's face. "Th-the doctors know what they're doing!"

"My father was a doctor, until he wasn't." His eyes took on a wicked glint. "None too bright, if you ask me!"

Fred nearly asked why, when it dawned on him the moniker Caligosto went by before he'd been apprehended: Doctor Loboto. It wasn't exactly hard to put two-and-two together to figure out why his father would no longer be in the medical field.

"...These doctors aren't your father," he said instead. "They want you to get better... and I do, too."

Something about the way he'd said it seemed to catch Caligosto off-guard. His patient's smile faded, and he shut his mouth, his mechanical eyes scanning the floor.

Fred moved in closer, sitting next to him on the bed and placing a hand on his patient's shoulder. "That's why you've got to trust us, Caligosto."

But Caligosto shook his head, standing up. "N-no!" he cried. "You don't understand—you don't know what that does do you—"

"You're right; I don't." Fred stared at him firmly. "But they do."

"No they don't, you toothless numbskull!" his patient snarled, stamping his foot and leaning close to his face. "You know what you are—you're—you're a smiling doormat in front of a torture chamber—!"

Anger bolted down his spine, enough for him to spring to his feet. "Now that's enough!" he snapped. "No more of that, Caligosto, do you understand? No more biting, at least—"

"You'd bite too, if you knew what that treatment did!"

Fred drew in a breath, trying to calm himself down; arguing with a patient never ended well. "Okay, so what does it do?"

"I don't know!" Caligosto wailed, stepping back. "I-I can't remember—it's made me forget things, but I don't remember what I'm forgetting, and, and—!"

Ah, right. Slowly the anger drained from Fred's chest, and some of the tension left his shoulders. "That's just a side-effect, Caligosto," he said gently. "It'll pass, don't worry."

"But it won't! It hasn't! I still can't remember what it made me forget…!"

"Well..." Fred glanced aside. "Let me put it this way: if you stop fighting with the doctors, they won't give you that treatment as often, and you'll recover even faster." He looked up, giving Caligosto an encouraging smile. "How's that sound?"

But Caligosto shook his head, taking several steps back. "No, no, I won't! They can't!"

Fred heaved a sigh; Caligosto was never the easiest patient to deal with. "I didn't want to have to do this," he muttered, scanning the room.

His eyes fell upon the teddy bear sitting on the bed.

Caligosto followed his gaze, and gave a jolt of panic. He was fast, but Fred was faster, snatching the bear off the bed. "NO!" the patient wailed, crashing against the bed. He was quick to scramble back upright, teeth bared in a frantic snarl as he rushed at Fred. "Give him back!"

Bracing himself against the door frame, Fred held the teddy bear away while lifting up one of his legs, catching Caligosto underneath his bound arms and gently pushing him back. He fixed his patient with a firm look. "No, Caligosto. You know the rules. If you can't behave, you get personal item privileges taken away."

"N-not that," Caligosto cried, pushing against Fred's leg desperately. "Please, please—"

"Then you have to agree to stop biting. Stop fighting with the doctors and nurses!"

But Caligosto only wailed again, his legs scrambling as he tried to get closer. In spite of Fred's efforts to keep him away, he managed to push Fred's leg back, getting closer to the teddy. As his arms weren't free to grab it, he opened his mouth, as though attempting to snag it in his teeth.

"No, Caligosto. I'm sorry for this." With a swift kick he sent his patient stumbling backwards and crashing back into his bed. As Caligosto struggled to sit up right, Fred lowered his leg and stared at the teddy in his hands, noticing that one of its button-eyes was on the verge of falling off. "With your biting habit, the eyes on this thing wouldn't be safe for you, anyway."

Caligosto let out a choked noise, and Fred looked up in alarm. But he only sat on the edge of his bed, mechanical eyes dim and staring at nothing.

"...I'm sorry, Caligosto," he said, and stepped out of the room, locking the door behind him.

The creaks and groans of the tower and its residents drowned out the choked sob behind him.

—

He really should have gone to bed, but the curiosity that itched at the back of his brain wasn't going to let him sleep.

(Nor was the weight in his chest, but he wasn't going to think about that right now.)

Fred kept the teddy bear tucked under his arm as he angled his flashlight down at the filing cabinet drawer, frowning as he used his free hand to flip through the folders. Larence... Linzy... Loboto. There it was! After retrieving the folder, he opened it atop the drawer, scanning over the records. Many of them were recent treatments he'd had, but Fred looked further, past the papers signed by Houston Thorney.

There.

There was a record from a hospital on the other side of the country, the copied ink faded and hard to read. But it was from at least a decade ago, and seemed to be a record of a specialized procedure, of a...

A shudder wracked Fred's spine, and he shut the folder, shoved it back into the drawer, and slid it closed. He stared blankly at the filing cabinet for a moment, then found himself looking down at the teddy bear, and gave a start.

The lopsided button eyes of the bear stared back at him, and for the first time he noticed the patch between them, covering the top of the bear's head.

He'd heard of the procedure. It was only done in extreme cases, but it was supposed to be effective. Wasn't it? Yet here Caligosto was, years later, in a mental institution.

Fred shook his head, clutching the teddy bear close.

"Don't worry, Caligosto. We'll be the ones to help you... I just know it."

#fred bonaparte #caligosto loboto #psychonauts #bad things happen bingo #fanfic #my art #my writing

[video-game-kids-tournament]

Alright, so it's come to my attention that we're one contestant short for when the preliminaries finish!

Submit your blorbos y'all!! there's one spot left!!

Requiring one more submission

9-Volt from WarioWare: 2 votes

Alisaie Leveilleur from Final Fantasy XIV: 2 votes

Baby Zombie from Minecraft: 2 votes

Bowser Jr. from Mario: 2 votes

Charmy Bee from Sonic the Hedgehog: 2 votes

Chihiro Fujisaki from Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc: 2 votes

Chikorita (Your Partner) from Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon: 2 votes

Cuphead from Cuphead: 2 votes

Futaba Sakura from Persona 5: 2 votes

Grimmchild from Hollow Knight: 2 votes

Katie Forester from Yo-Kai Watch: 2 votes

Kirby from Kirby: 2 votes

Jade Harley from Pesterchum: 2 votes

Jean from Fire Emblem Engage: 2 votes

Joker from Persona 5: 2 votes

Lancer from Deltarune: 2 votes

Lucas from Earthbound: 2 votes

Misfortune Ramirez Hernandez from Little Misfortune: 2 votes

Mono from Little Nightmares 2: 2 votes

Nanako Dojima from Persona 4: 2 votes

Olle from Bramble: The Mountain King: 2 votes

Skull Kid from The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask: 2 votes

Sonic the Hedgehog from Sonic the Hedgehog: 2 votes

Sunny from Omori: 2 votes

The Faceless Boy from INSIDE: 2 vote

Umbrella from Skullgirls: 2 votes

Youngster Joey from Pokémon Gold & Silver: 2 votes

Requiring two more submissions

Agent 3/Neo 3 from Splatoon 3: 1 vote

Akari from Pokemon Legends Arceus: 1 vote

Alex from Oxenfree: 1 vote

Alphinaud Leveilleur from Final Fantasy XIV: 1 vote

Alvin Jr. from Telltale's The Walking Dead: The Final Season: 1 vote

Amanda from Amanda the Adventurer: 1 vote

Arabella from Baldur’s Gate 3: 1 vote

Ari from Okage Shadow King: 1 vote

Ash Ketchum from Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow: 1 vote

Aya from Mad Father: 1 vote

Baby Peach from Mario Kart: 1 vote

Barbara Finch from What Remains of Edith Finch: 1 vote

BB-28 / Lou from Death Stranding: 1 vote

Billy Hatcher from Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg: 1 vote

Bon Bonne from Mega Man Legends: 1 vote

Braith from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: 1 vote

Buddy Armstrong from Lisa the Painful, Lisa the Joyful

Cassie from Five Nights at Freddy's: 1 vote

Clara from Honkai Star Rail: 1 vote

Classic Sonic from Sonic the Hedgehog: 1 vote

Clover Field from 999: Nine Hours Nine Persons Nine Doors: 1 vote

Commander Keen from Commander Keen: 1 vote

Cove Holden from Our Life: Beginning & Always: 1 vote

Cunoesse from Disco Elysium: 1 vote

Daniel Diaz from Life is Strange 2: 1 vote

Edea Lee from Bravely Default: 1 vote

Eleanor Lamb from Bioshock 2: 1 vote

Elodie from Long Live the Queen: 1 vote

Ellie from The Last of Us: 1 vote

Elsword from Elsword: 1 vote

Emma from Pokémon X + Y: 1 vote

Gladion from Pokemon Sun/Moon/Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon: 1 vote

GingerBrave from Cookie Run Ovenbreak: 1 vote

Hatchling from Outer Wilds: 1 vote

Heather Mason from Silent Hill 3: 1 vote

Hook from Honkai: Star Rail: 1 vote

Hortensia from Fire Emblem Engage: 1 vote

Hugo from OFF: 1 vote

Ida from Monument Valley: 1 vote

Inkling Girl/Boy from Splatoon: 1 vote

Iris Wilson from The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles: 1 vote

Jack Marston from Red Dead Redemption 2: 1 vote

Jane Penvellyn from Curse of Blackmoor Manor: 1 vote

Jo from Your Turn to Die: 1 vote

Jose from Persona 5 Royal: 1 vote

Juliana from Pokemon Scarlet/Violet: 1 vote

Karol Capel from Tales of Vesperia: 1 vote

Kel (Headspace) from Omori: 1 vote

Kieran from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (DLC): 1 vote

Lev from The Last of Us: Part 2: 1 vote

Lili Zanotto from Psychonauts 2: 1 vote

Little Princess from Guardian Tales: 1 vote

Luka VanHorn from Beacon Pines: 1 vote

Madotsuki from Yume Nikki / Dream Diary: 1 vote

Marlene Wallace from Final Fantasy VII: 1 vote

Mary from Ib: 1 vote

Masked Kid from Underhero: 1 vote

Miles Edgeworth (baby) from Ace Attorney: 1 vote

Mission Vao from Knights of the Old Republic: 1 vote

Mizuki Oikura from AI: The Somnium Files: 1 vote

Monaca Towa from Danganronpa: Ultra Despair Girls: 1 vote

Mol from Baldur's Gate 3

Nanashi from Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse: 1 vote

Nico Emery from Valkyria Chronicles 4: 1 vote

Nicole from Class of '09: 1 vote

Noelle Holiday from Deltarune: 1 vote

Nugget from Kindergarten: 1 vote

Pajama Sam from Pajama Sam: 1 vote

Paula from EarthBound: 1 vote

Peacock from Skullgirls: 1 vote

Pip from Limbus Company: 1

Red from Pokémon Red: 1 vote

Ricken from Fire Emblem Awakening: 1 vote

Sal Fisher from Sally Face: 1 vote

Sara from Your Turn to Die: 1 vote

Selene from Pokémon Ultra Sun + Moon: 1 vote

Serge from Chrono Cross: 1 vote

Shadow the Hedgehog from Sonic the Hedgehog: 1 vote

Shaun Mars from Heavy Rain: 1 vote

Sig from Puyo Puyo Fever 2

Skykids/Avatars from Sky: Children of the Light: 1 vote

Sunny Emmerich from Metal Gear Solid 4/Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance: 1 vote

Susie from Deltarune: 1 vote

Squares from Puyo Puyo Tetris 2: 1 vote

Tetra from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker + The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass: 1 vote

The Blitzball Kid from Final Fantasy X: 1 vote

The Child from Run 3: 1 vote

The Farmer’s Child(ren) from Stardew Valley: 1 vote

The Girl from Fear and Hunger: 1 vote

The Orphan of Kos from Bloodborne: 1 vote

The Young Wizard from Wizard101: 1 vote

Tiphereth A and B from Lobotomy Corporation: 1 vote

Tulin from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom: 1 vote

Vella Tartine from Broken Age: 1 vote

Vertin from Reverse: 1999: 1 vote

Vincent from Stardew Valley: 1 vote

Xion from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days: 1 vote

Yoshi from Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door: 1 vote

Yuu from The Cruel King and The Great Hero

Zagreus from Hades: 1 vote

#contestant info #video game kids tournament

[mmmthornton]

lil about me meme! tagged by @crunchyfemale :D

1) nickname: Mmmary

2) sign: Aries 🔥

3) height: I forget the exact measurement but I remember that it was exactly the average height for women in my age group lol

4) last google search: Looking up a restaurant I was going to for a work party

5) song in your head: Chant from Hadestown (specifically the part where Hades goes "Young man you can sing your ditty / *I CONDUCT THE ELECTRIC CITYYYY*")

6) number of followers: Over 1k last i checked, but i've had the same account for a decade now so most of those are deactivated I'm sure lol.

7) amount of sleep: At night? Not too much but I am a HUGE fan of naps lol.

8) lucky number: Same as Ms Crunchy, 420 babyyyy 😎

9) dream job: Idk that I really "dream" about labor (I am a lazy stoner witch after all), but ever since I was in high school my professional aspiration was always "accept as few paychecks from people I hate as possible", so there's flexibility as to how to go about that.

10)  what are you wearing: Work party outfit! Check my "Selfies" tag.

11) favorite media: lol thats a big question that covers a loooot of ground. I'll go with the thing I enjoyed the most, most recently which was playing Psychonauts 2! Its a very fun game with creative worldbuilding and an intriguing spy-ish mystery plot.

12) favorite song: A lot of songs, but I was jamming to Rose Colored Boy by Paramore earlier and its so much fun to rock out to.

13) fav instrument: Like, that I play? Piano

14) aesthetic: Blue collar, butch, stoner, witch-vibes tend to suit me.

15) fav author: Just finished rereading some Zora Neale Hurston so she's at the top currently. GREAT characters tone in her fiction that keeps it relevant no matter where or when you read it.

16) favorite animal noise: The cat boot-up noise when you wake them up by petting them.

17) random: I'm good at baking bread and bagels, but I cannot bake a cake successfully unless I have a box mix; even then, there's a high chance of failure lol.

Thanks for the ask! I'm tagging @rustycoralnipples , @vifetoile, and @irlydidntthinkthisthru if you like!

#ask game

[burstfrenemy]

Back to “Work”

I've once again fallen off the wagon.  No guitar for weeks, no drawing, no film study, no blog posts.  Maybe only 2 nights per week of yoga on average.  But now I'm back to do better.  

I've decided to go back to the beginning, where I started nearly a year ago.  I'm ready to move on from the tinkering phase of Steam Deck ownership and finish some more games!  There were 20 games on my original list last summer, and some of my favorites are Deck-ready.  

The original list:

1. Mole Mania (GB) 2. Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS) 3. Uncharted 2 (PS4) 4. AC Odyssey (PC) 5. Mario Maker 2 (Switch) 6. Donkey Kong 94 (GB) 7. Doom (93 and 2016) (PC) 8. Hades (Switch) 9. Pac Man (Arcade1Up) 10. Monster World 4 (Genesis) 11. Hatoful Boyfriend (Vita) 12. Disco Elysium (PC) 13. Half Life Alyx (PCVR) 14. Psychonauts (PC) 15. Halo 1 (XBONE) 16. 2D Castlevania (DS or GBA) 17. Starcraft 2 (PC) 18. Luigi's Mansion 1 or 2 (3DS) 19. GTA5 (PC) 20. Game Builder Garage (Switch)

I'm going to focus only on Steam Deck PC games (no other systems/no emulation for now).  That narrows the list to AC Odyssey, Doom, Disco Elysium, Halo, Psychonauts, and GTA V.  I'm confident I can finish every one of them within a reasonable timeframe - AC Odyssey is the only one that intimidates me due to its sheer scale. No rest until I’ve finished them all.  And no games until after yoga.  That’s my commitment.  I'm going back to the wifey-randomizer - stay tuned!

[neomedievalistbr]

games ive started playing (or replaying) in the last year and still havent finished bc i cant get motivated to:

Bioshock

Bayonetta

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Dead Cells (this one i bought in 2018, and still havent finished. yeah)

Psychonauts

Night in the Woods

Red Dead Redemption 2

Jedi Fallen Order

Nier Automata

Dragon Age Origins

Darkest Dungeon

AI: The Somnium Files

Zero Escape: 999 (TECHNICALLY finished, although i only got the bad endings, so 🤷)

Telltale's The Walking Dead S1

Dark Souls II (this one is bc i didn't like it, but ill force myself to finish)

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Scarlet Nexus

Ace Attorney 1 (i forgor to put it here 💀)

games i wanna start playing:

FFXIII trilogy (FFXII, FFXII-2, Lighting Returns: FFXII)

#yumuda.txt #jesus christ thr list is bigger than i thought

[oodlyenough]

psychonauts 1!

I finished the original Psychonauts last night, by which I mean I reached the Meat Circus, instantly flounced and watched the rest on youtube.

I played the PS2 version ported to PS4 on my PS5 just like god intended for undoubtedly the smoothest possible gameplay experience :P "Press Start to begin" on a controller that no longer has a 'start' button really set the tone.

For some context, I first tried this game many years ago (on a Macbook no less), got frustrated by it quickly and quit. I've only come back years later after loving Psychonauts 2 so much. (Psychonauts 2 review over here.)

I am going to try not to make this post one big comparison -- feels kind of unfair, given how much time passed -- but it's uh hard because obviously that's my natural inclination and the context I was thinking of while I played.

Spoilers for game 1 and some nonspecific (tone/etc) spoilers for 2.

The pros:

Obviously the game is very funny. There were tons of lines I wanted to clip, or punchlines that surprised me. The script and story were surprising and full of personality. The game has a tone unlike any other game I think I've played... it honestly reminds me most of Invader Zim, lol.

I was about half-way through the game when I realized just HOW MUCH possible dialogue and NPC interaction there is, something I totally underestimated for a 2005 game. I've since been watching dialogue compilations on youtube, lol.

Because of the above I have to adjust my original opinion that the NPCs (specifically the campers) felt a bit hollow. This was my bad for not seeking them out often enough to keep track of their names and their lovelives, lol. I still struggle to remember any of their names, but I like that all of them had their own little subplots going on in the background of Raz's story, whether or not you paid attention to it.

The game is very creative. This was my favourite thing about 2, but the original gets bonus points for being, well, the original and pioneering these ideas in the first place. While I found some of the opening levels kind of bland/disappointing after seeing how grandiose stuff got in 2, Lungfishopolis was the major turning point into some really creative stuff.

Even when I was getting irritated by dying or having difficulty platforming, etc, the creativity of the levels was undeniable. Every level was very unique and distinct, nothing felt like a reskin. Lungfishopolis was probably my favourite from a design standpoint -- so funny -- and Milkman Conspiracy my favourite from a dialogue standpoint, every single line from the G-Men just killed me.

I like collectathon platformers, what can I say. I am a child of the Spyro era. I'm not even a 100%er I just like finding secret passages and ledges full of Stuff.

The matador outfit for Raz in Black Velvetopia was adorable

What the fuck the random turtle at the end of the game fahklfhkl

I thought the Gloria's Theatre level was also super cool, even if I had to look up a lot of the solutions on youtube, lol. Just a really cool concept and fun change of pace.

The cons

I don't want to harp on the clunky controls too much because it's a game from 2005 that I am playing on a 3-gen-later console... so... I try to adjust my expectations accordingly. But holy shit!!! The number of awkward jumps, times double jump just seemed to not work??, wonky hitboxes, the terrible lock mechanic for psiblast attacks, TK throw being awkward af, whew. Very frustrating. That platforming section to get the musket in Waterloo World was CRAZY difficult for me and for what ?? It's basic platforming... 😭 Grab the bar Raz you asshole. I was sitting there ragegripping my controller like YOU'RE AN ACROBAT!!!!

I hated the ammo mechanic and I'm SO GLAD it went away. There was nothing more agitating than ending up in a boss fight with no mental aggression left and being like Guess I'll fuckin die.jpeg

There were lots of "What the fuck" game design moments for me. The Linda bossfight, getting sideswiped by suddenly needing a power or item that seemed optional until now and having to grind arrowheads to do it, the nightmares in the Milkman Conspiracy ?!!?!, these kinds of choices would just tank my enjoyment as soon as they came up. I ran to youtube a lot to figure out a strategy.

The script, while very funny, shows its age in a lot of places. Not "just" in the awkward use of That One Slur or the weird extended "Indian burial ground" jokes, but in other stuff too. Raz and Lili's relationship gets off on a super weird and off-puttingly heteronormative foot basically from jump -- a shame, because by the end of the game, and in 2, I'm fond enough of them, and found some of the "girlfriend" gags funny. Having Raz of all people call Milla the "mental minx" had me like 🥴.

The whole asylum plot felt just kind of icky and insensitive at times, I'd even say kind of ableist.

Also the level design of climbing that fucking tower where if you miss a jump you may have to redo the whole thing I swear to god 🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪

How come the cut scenes look SO much worse than the gameplay lol? I mean, whatever, I'm not expecting majesty from a 2005 indie, but I don't think I've ever seen a game where the cut scenes look WORSE than the gameplay before.

The concluding scenes in Meat Circus and after felt kinda rushed to me. Not terrible or anything, but they gave me major vibes of "we ran outta budget and we gotta wrap this up asap", lol. In particular I felt like we needed more from Raz and Augustus than we got, and honestly I felt like the game *wanted* to give it to me but didn't really have time so we just got a handful of dialogue and now you gotta punch this giant butcher.

In conclusion

Overall I found the tone of the game more callous than 2... which took a lot of adjusting for me, since the heart and sincerity in 2 is a large part of what I loved about it. I don't think the game intends to be cruel but I also think it doesn't take its own concepts seriously enough to treat them with the kind of sensitivity they need.

A big example for me is Raz just bruteforcing his way into people's minds when they were inconveniencing him lol. Extremely happy they changed this in 2. I understand that in the end what he does in their minds helps them (mostly??? Boyd u good???), but sheesh...

Raz in general feels like he got a, uh, personality update in 2. To be honest I think this change is emblematic of the whole tone shift, as well as the changing sensibilities of 2005 vs 2021. I still liked him in 1 but I don't think I'd feel as attached without 2. It did make me really appreciate [plotline redacted] in 2 more though!

I'm happy this game exists and was able to find enough cult success to eventually lead to 2. It's creative and interesting and funny, but it definitely is showing its age. I feel like 2 took all these good ideas and expanded on them and made them better, which is exactly what you want a sequel to do. I would recommend Psychonauts 2 to anyone who enjoys platformers; I would only recommend Psychonauts 1 to someone who really liked 2 and is willing to suffer through dated gameplay as a result.

#psychonauts

[otagamerkorin]

Trial by Fire (including very little actual fire and honestly just a whole lot of snow)

Merry (very belated) Christmas @blasphemousfungus! I was your secret santa for @kibasniper‘s Psychonauts Secret Santa! Unfortunately, due to a lotta stuff going on in my life, your present isn’t completely done yet, but here’s the first (honestly kinda massive) chapter of it! I plan on putting it up on AO3 as well, so I’ll ping you then too! For reference, this was highly inspired by mystery_notebook (or I think they might be @tvguts on here?) fic Like It Used To Be, But Better, which is amazing and you should totally check it out. Anyways, I really hope you enjoy it!

Edit: Just realized I completely forgot to give it a title. Whoops.

When they had gone into the asylum, none of the members of Thorney Towers had expected to come back out not only dear friends with a 10 year old, but also under the close monitor of an organization of secret psychic agents.  Initially is had only been to ensure that being around Loboto while in such delicate condition hadn’t left any lasting damage. Luckily from what they’d been able to work out from the fours scattered memories of the time, the dentist hadn’t involved them in any of his experiments, but better safe than sorry. The surveillance really hadn’t gotten in the way of their new lives much. A few calls a week, the occasional in-person check in to see how they were doing, not much to write home about in the grand scheme of things.

After a time though, things had begun to get...interesting.

It was actually Boyd who kicked the whole thing off, so to say. It had been a day like any other, possibly even more quiet and domestic than usual considering they’d just hit the weekend. According to the other three, he’d simply been drying dishes after dinner that night when a wayward mug has slipped off the counter behind him. The resulting crash has two effects. 1.) The former nightguard jumped about three feet off the ground with a startled shriek. And 2.) The dishtowel in his hands promptly burst into flames. Luckily he’d dropped the flaming cloth into surprise and a bit of group panic and rapid stomping has quickly put out the blaze, leaving the four gathered in the small kitchen, staring down at its burnt remains.

The lot of them, Boyd especially, were dumbfounded by the whole event and immediately phoned up their new psychic associates, if only to make sure they weren’t all going crazy again. There had to be some mundane explanation for this, right? But after a few quick tests from Sasha, it was official: Boyd was most definitely a psychic.

Signs from the others quickly followed.  Fred would frequently find papers and pens floating in orbit around him whenever he got embroiled in his nursing reinstatement exams. Edgar would sometimes find those around him caught up in a sort of bewildering mental fog, leaving them staring around in confusion. And while Gloria had always had quite the green thumb, now the plants in her garden flourished with just the touch of her hand, the woman assaulted with a hundred whispered voices of delight whenever she appeared at the gate with her watering can. Lili was especially happy about the latter, having never met a fellow connoisseur of florakinesis until that point, let alone one who was so friendly.

To say everyone, both Psychonaut and otherwise, was baffled was an understatement. None of the four had shown an signs of psychic powers earlier in life. So why now?

It was Razputin of all people who offered a hypothesis.  They were all aware that the large amount of  Psitanium around the camp and asylum had been less that helpful for the fours delicate mental state, what with the whole “making the sane less sane” thing and all. Perhaps though, the other half of the phrase may also be in play. What if being around all that Psitanium has brought whatever deeply buried psychic powers the four shared to the surface?

Honestly, it was the best they had to go on. There were hardly any cases of spontaneous psychic manifestation in those beyond adolescence and the four weren’t showing any of the usual symptom relating to those sort of circumstances.

Regardless, it didn’t change the fact that the organization now had a whole mess of new psychics in the mix who needed training.

Which is what brought Milla to the front gates of the Von Gouten Arts Academy for Girls (formally Hagatha Home) bright and early one Wednesday morning. The former actress had bought the dilapidated old academy around a year ago using some of the wealth she’s amassed during her glory years. (It was amazing how much interest a saving account left to sit could accrue.) Since then she’d been fixing the place up, hiring teachers and generally getting the place running even better than before, eventually joined in her endeavors by the other three Thorney Towers residents when they moved onto the grounds with her.

Milla found herself smiling up at the stylized “VG” woven into the metal of the newly installed gate in the stone fence that surrounded the property. Gloria really was doing an excellent job with the place. Rolling her window down, the Mental Minx leaned out and pressed the button of the call box installed in the fence wall. For a moment there was silence and then a familiar voice crackled to life on the other end.

“Good morning! Do you have an appointment?”

“Well, I would certainly hope so Darling.” Milla teased and she could practically hear the smile in Boyd’s voice when he replied.

“Dang, is it really Wednesday already? Well, head right on up Mrs. Vodello! I’ll let the rest of the gang know you’re coming.”

There was a buzz and the whirring of mechanisms as the gate opened and allowed access to the road beyond. Continuing on down the path, she soon found herself pulling into the large round driveway in front of the building. A group of students tending to one of the flower beds out front waved as she parked and stepped out of the car, Boyd likewise stepping out of the guard shack nearby and making his way over.

“Good morning to you Ms. Vodello! You the only one here today?”

“Not quite.” She replied with a chuckle, just in time for the back door of the car to fly open and Raz to stick his grinning face out around it.

“Hi Boyd!”

“Hey, good to see you too Raz! Come on inside, the rest of the gang should be on their way.” He replied with a grin, reaching down to ruffle the boy’s hair as he led them inside.

For as horrid as the place had apparently originally been ran, the former owner had at least had good architectural sense, and the large oak front doors opened into a soaring foyer, complete with a grand spiral staircase. One that Gloria was already beginning to make her way down as the doors closed behind them.

“Well good morning Ms. Vodello! And to you too Raz dear!” The former actress beamed, taking Boyd’s offered arm as she stepped down the last few stairs.

“You came at just the right time. I just finished up with morning announcements. Please, feel free to head right over to the practice room, the rest of the boys should already be on their way. Oh, and I’ve also had some snacks from the dining hall sent on ahead. I hope you both like blueberry muffins!”

“That sounds just delightful darling!” Milla replied cheerfully, smiling wider when she saw the stars in Raz’s eyes at the mention of food. Milla sidled up beside the actress as they started down into one of the academy’s wings, one of Gloria’s arms still linked with Boyd’s.

“So how have the plants been treating you darling?”

“Oh, better everyday! My garden is thriving and I think I’m really starting to get a good hold of this whole telepathy thing! Getting it across to all my little lovelies that there’s really no need to shout every time I come in hasn’t been easy, but I think it’s finally starting to stick. The roses and lilies are still a horrible bunch of gossips, but I doubt there’s much I’ll ever be able to do about that.” She replied with a laugh.

“They do come in useful to make sure none of the students are pulling anything they shouldn’t though!”

“That’s wonderful to hear! How about you Boyd? Have you been making any process in your off-time?” Milla asked, the guard rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Yeah, a bit. It ain’t exactly been fast progress, but one step at a time you know? But hey! At least I haven’t accidentally lit up anything important again since you taught me those exercises. There’s only so many times I can almost burn down Edgar’s classroom before it starts to get ridiculous.”

Milla smiled softly, reaching over to pat the guard on the back.

“Well, learning to fully control one’s powers can be a long path. It took me years to master my own skillset. Like you said, it’s just one step at a time. I think you’ve made wonderful progress though, and I’m very proud of you darling.” She mused and the man flushed a bit at her praise and mumbled a word of thanks, tugging his hat low over his eyes bashfully as Gloria gave him a smile.

The group of four quickly found themselves at the extra dance studio in the buildings far west they’d assigned at their practice room, and upon stepping inside found Fred and Edgar already waiting for them.

“Oh, hey Ms. Milla. And you too Raz. Sorry, gimme just a sec to finish up some papers.” The tall school counselor called over distractedly, scribbling away on a clipboard from where he was sitting on a nearby bench.

“Apologies for my rather ruffled appearance as well, mi amigos.” Edgar chimed in, wiping his hands down with a long-since-stained painting cloth. Both his hands and the old shirt he wore were splattered with the stuff, having somehow even managed to get some on his face and hair.

“You caught me in the middle of a bit of early morning painting.”

“Just be sure to remember and get some rest dear. We can’t have our best art teacher burning the candle at both ends.” Gloria replied with a smile as she strode over, reaching up to stroke away a smudge of paint on his cheek. The artist gave a soft smile as he leaned into the touch.

“Oh course mi amour.”

“Good. And that goes for your too Fred. Don’t think I haven’t noticed a certain someone sneaking out of bed early the last few mornings.” She called over, and the counselor jumped a bit at being called out, flushing bashfully as he looked at her over the edge of the clipboard.

“Right, you’re right. So, what’s the plan for today Ms. Milla? Seeing as how Mr. Dark and Serious isn’t here, I assume we’re working on our levitation?” Fred asked, setting aside the clipboard as he pushed himself to his feet, the Brazilian woman giving a laugh at his joke.

“Oh come now, Sasha isn’t that bad. But you are correct! Today we’re going to be working more on your levitation!” She replied, settling back as though sitting upon an invisible chair and crossing her legs as she floated up a few feet above the ground.

“Now, last time you all managed to manifest a “Levitation Ball” as we like to call it. This time we’ll be taking the next step and practicing our ability to balance atop them. Razputin darling, if you would demonstrate?” The Mental Minx requested and the young psychic nodded, raising a hand above his head.  A large ball of swirling orange energy formed in his palm and he tossed it down, easily jumping up and balancing atop it.

“Now then, we aren’t all trained acrobats like Razputin here, so it might take a while to find your balance and get the hang of it. Consider it like balancing on a medicine ball. Remember, thinking lighter, rounder, happier thoughts can help in manifesting the ball more easily. Go ahead and give it a try! And please let me know if you need any help at all.”

Early on in these lessons the group had felt a bit silly to be using psychic instruction methods typically meant for children, but they’d gotten over it quickly enough. After all, most psychics got their powers much younger than the lot of them were, so starting at a lower level of instruction was only appropriate. It helped that the simple exercises really worked wonders too.

Though that didn’t mean it was gonna be easy. Forming the ball was one thing. Staying on was another.

A fact the group quickly discovered.

Fred gave a squeak as his light blue orb suddenly slid forward, taking the foot he’d just managed to plant atop it along with it, threatening to pull the man into a split as he hopped forward to follow it. In his defense, Edgar and Boyd didn’t seem to be doing much better. The latter had managed to get atop his off-white bubble, but was now swaying about wildly as he tried to keep balanced, arms windmilling in an attempt to steady himself. The former was having much the same troubles, quickly getting dumped back onto the floor each time he attempted to clamber up.

Gloria was the only one of the bunch who seemed to be making much progress. The woman had moved over to one of the practice room’s ballet bars and was gripping it for stability as she gingerly set one foot on her own ball. With a small grunt she hefted herself up, the orb wiggling worryingly beneath her for a moment before stilling.

“There you go! You’re doing wonderful darling!” Milla cheered her on, clapping encouragingly as the other woman smiled.

“Why thank you Milla dear. After some of the ridiculous shoes I’ve had to wear in my years on the stage, this isn’t so bad.” Gloria replied, putting her arms out to balance as her stance wavered a bit.

“Oof! Well, I’m glad one of us seems to be getting it, mi amor. This is far less easy than Señorita Vodello makes it look.” Edgar replied with a grunt, the wind getting knocked out of him as he fell to the ground once more. Milla let out a thoughtful hum, tapping her lips as she watched the struggling group. Suddenly her eyes flashed with inspiration and she snapped her fingers with a grin.

“Well, I think I may know a way to help.”

The whole group, including Raz, whom had rolled over to try and help Boyd stay upright, turned to look at her in interest.

“I’d like you all to form two, smaller levitation balls instead of one.” She directed, miming the shape of two basketball sized orbs.

“Uh, ok. But how is that gonna help?” Fred asked, already focusing on trying to reform his ball into two even as he tiled his head in confusion.

“Well, as you know, those like me, who’ve had a lot of practice, don’t require a physical representation of their levitation in order to float. Most of those who do tend to only create a singular orb to assist them, so they can don’t have to split their focus. I’ve found that others though, who have a nice grip on the psychic side of things, but are having a harder time managing the physical part, tend to prefer use two. Think of them a bit like ice or roller skates.”

“Oh, I think I see what you mean amiga!” Edgar replied in excitement, focusing till his deep red ball split into two smaller ones. Carefully, he stepped atop on, managing to balance one-footed long enough to successfully stabilize himself using the other. Cautiously, he rolled forward a few feet, face splitting into a smile as he managed to keep his balance.

“Well, well, this actually is easier.”

The others quickly followed his example, and the slight adjustment seemed to do wonders. Soon Gloria was twirling lazy loops around the room like a proper skater, Edgar trailing a bit more slowly, but no less enthusiastically, after her. Fred seemed to be doing a tad bit better than before, but was still gripping tight to a much more steady Boyd’s shoulders as the two slowly drifted in circles, Fred’s long legs doing their damnedest to keep him upright.

“Never been great at skating either, but this is a bit better I guess.” The counselor murmured, glancing up to find his partner giving him an encouraging smile.

“Hey, it just takes a little practice! I’m sure you’ll levitating like a pro in no time!” Raz encouraged, giving a whoop of delight as Gloria grabbed him and twirled him around as he glided past.

“Impressive, but I’m afraid we’re going to have to cut the class short for today.”

The whole group gave a jump at the sudden voice, Fred giving a yelp as the levitation bubbles below him popped and dropped him on his ass, and they all turned to see Sasha standing in the now open doorway.

“Sasha, darling! What are you doing here? Didn’t you have other business today?” Milla asked in confusion, drifting over to help Fred up, and the German sighed seriously.

“Yes, but I just got a call from the headquarters. It seems...that Agent Pandor has disappeared.”

Milla gave a gasp, pressing both hands to her mouth, and Raz cocked his head in confusion.

“Uhhh, who’s Agent Pandor?”

“Ms. Tanya Pandor. One of the Psychonauts junior agents and a specialist in subterfuge and information gathering. I’m afraid you haven’t had the opportunity to meet yet.”

“But isn’t Tanya on vacation right now?” Milla asked and Sasha nodded.

“Yes, she had gone skiing at a lodge up in Colorado. The HQ asked her to check in regularly for security reasons. According to what I was briefed with, reports dropped off a few days ago. After a few failed attempts to get ahold of her, eventually the HQ resorted to calling the lodge itself to check in on her, thinking maybe she’d fallen sick. When they checked her room however, the whole thing was empty. It’s as though she just vanished.”

“Oh my! That sounds troubling indeed!” Gloria gasped, mirroring Milla as she held a hand to her mouth dramatically, and the German nodded.

“It certainly is. While Ms. Pandor wasn’t one of our top agents, her skills are none the less important to the Psychonauts and her disappearing is far from ideal. Finding out what happened to her has been assigned as our team’s top priority.”

“Well, is there anything we could do to help?” Fred piped up and the two senior agents looked over at him in confusion.

“What do you mean darling?” Milla asked and the counselor fidgeted nervously with the hem of his shirt as he replied.

“Well, I mean we’re technically part of the Psychonauts to now, even if we’re just in training, right? So that means this agent is one of our buddies too. And it’s only right to try and help out our friends whenever we can right?”

“I agree!” Edgar exclaimed, clapping a hand down on his companion’s shoulder as he turned to face the assembled agents.

“If there’s anything we can do to help and find this missing girl, we’re more than happy to do so!”

Boyd and Gloria nodded along in agreement as Sasha’s gaze scanned over them, the German man’s head tilting in thought.

“Well, I suppose more eyes on the ground would certainly help. And since Mrs. Pandor wasn’t on a mission or anything, this could be a fairly safe environment for you all to get some field experience...”

“Well, I think it sounds like a great idea!” Raz chipped in, folding his arms and nodding wisely, earning an eye roll and a sigh from the older agent.

“...Very well, I suppose it couldn’t hurt.”

“Excellent! Don’t you all worry, I’ll get all the arrangements handled! Just be ready to go in a few hours and remember to pack warmly!” Milla replied, clapping her hands together cheerfully, as Raz gave out a quiet cheer.

The three agents departed quickly after that, leaving the group to make arrangements. It took a bit of scrambling to get everything organized with the rest of the schools staff, but soon enough they found themselves packing.

“I sure hope that poor gal is ok. Hopefully we can find her quick.” Boyd mused, leaning hard onto his suitcase in order to try and get it to lock around the mound of sweaters and other winterwear inside.

“Oh, I’m sure she’s just fine Boyd dear. Those Psychonauts are a tough bunch after all. No doubt she’ll appreciate your concern when we do find her though.” Gloria reassured him, folding up a thick woolen dress to tuck into one of her own bags.

“I must admit, I’m a bit excited. I’ve never been to a ski lodge before.” Edgar pipped up, an excited smile on his face as Fred let out an amused laugh.

“Can’t say I have either. Well, cept for this one time back in college. And with all the drinks that weekend, I can barely remember it. I’m sure it’s not gotta be anything tooooo over the top. Those places always talk themselves up.”

*

“Holy hell, they were not talking this place up.”  Fred muttered, his and the rest of the motley crews jaws dropping open in shock as they leaned out the windows of the truck to stare at the vista unfolding before them.

The place was really less of a lodge and more of a small village, what with the amount of connected buildings that made it up. The whole residence was constructed of pale wood, stone and brass, all woven together into a beautiful work of architectural engineering at the base of the snowy mountain. As they pulled into the parking lot at the place’s edge, they passed beneath a large ornate arch reading “Goldsmuth Lodge and Resort”.

“Yeah, Tanya does not mess around when it comes to her vacations. No really surprised, that girl barely gets any time off.” Oleander agreed, nodding in appreciating at the sight as the car slowed. When Milla and Sasha had announced their new plan to the other higher-up, the man had been assigned to the case as an additional supervisor, as well as another pair of eyes. Raz had tried to convince Lili to come along as well, but apparently there was few things the girl hated more than cold weather, not too much of a surprise coming from a florapath, so his requests had fallen on deaf ears.

Once their oversized vehicle had stopped, their collective group spilled out to stretch, several backs popping after the lengthy ride. They couldn’t very well retain their cover if they came flying in on a Psychonauts jet after all, so they’d been forced to stash it at one of the organizations safe houses and drive the rest of the way instead.

“Well then, let’s unpack and get checked in. The sooner we can find Ms. Pandor, the better.” Sasha announced, adjusting his glasses as he scanned the large plaza for the proper entrance.

There was suddenly a yelp and the sound of tumbling luggage from the rear of the vehicle. Glancing around the back of the truck, they found a mound of bags and suitcases that had no doubt tumbled free when the hatch had opened. A moment later a bag fell away as a familiar blue head popped up out of the pile and swiveled to look at them, the figure immediately giving them a sheepish smile, a hand also emerging from the pile to give them an awkward wave.

“I still can’t believe you convinced HQ to let us bring Loboto along.” Raz mused in amusement, Oleander shaking his head as he walked over to help extract the rehabilitated (in progress) criminal from his luggage prison.

“Well, Cagliosto is certainly in desperate need of some outside socialization. A relaxing place like this could be perfectly helpful with his recovery, darling!” Milla replied with a chuckle as she watched Morry lever the skinnier man up and almost fall over himself in the process. The former mad scientist quickly grabbed the agent by the front of his coat in a panic to keep him upright, the two flushing as the motion inadvertently tugged them chest to chest. Sasha gave as an amused eyeroll as the German could feasibly manage, while Milla and Raz gave a quiet giggle at his side. The two former villains had been dancing around each other for months now, much to the amusement, and occasionally frustration, of everyone watching.

“Well, like Sasha said, the sooner we get inside, the sooner we can really start enjoying ourselves. Here, let me help you there dear.” Gloria smiled, the rest of the group trailing after her as she stepped up to help retrieve the fallen luggage, Loboto giving her a thankful, if sheepish smile in return. While the four had long since forgiven Caligosto for all the asylum business (after all, he had been cursed at the time with, as he himself put it, the “insanity of a manatee”), things were still pretty awkward between them. Gloria though, every friendly, had doing her best to help bridge the gap in the meantime.

It took a bit to gather up all the luggage, and even longer to find the right entrance, but eventually they managed. The walk there had been interesting at least. Everywhere they looked, there was some new, interesting winter activity the place seemed to offer, from ice skating to toboggan rental. Their own rather modge-podge group was also getting a number of curious onlookers, which was far from ideal, but there wasn’t much they could do about it really.

The lodge’s lobby was wonderfully warm compared to the wintery chill outside, and they could already feel the scattered flakes of snow melting on their coats as they strode up to the main desk.

“Hello there! Can I help you ladies and gentlemen?” The brunette behind the desk asked with a smile, Sasha plucking his glasses off to wipe away the fog they’d accrued from the heat inside as he spoke.

“Reservations for Nein, Vodello and Gouten.”

“Alright then, just a moment!”

The young woman’s finger flew along the keyboard in a blur for several moment’s before she paused, biting her lip in concern.

“Oh, well there seems to be a small problem. You ladies and gentlemen called for a reservation rather last minute and it seems your rooms aren’t quite ready yet. My deepest apologies. You are all more than welcome to wait in the lodges lounge till they’re ready, free of charge.” She replied, giving an apologetic bow of her head as she gestured towards a pair of open doors nearby.

“Oh, it’s no problem at all darling!” Milla replied, waving a hand nonchalantly.

“Apologies for the rather sudden reservations. Our little trip was a bit of a recent development.”

“Thank you for your understanding Ms. I’ll come and inform you once your rooms are ready.”

The lounge was somehow even more impressive than the grand lobby they’d just stepped out of. He place was lit in a dim but cozy manner, a long bar stretching along one wall. The rest of the space was filled with a number of comfortable tables, armchairs and couches that encircled a handful of square open-sided pillar fireplaces that dotted the room here and there. With an excited “ooo!”, Raz rushed off to look around with Loboto trailing after him, the bunch chuckling at his antics as Sasha glanced around.

“How about you all stay here for a bit? We need to ask around the staff and see if we can find anything regarding Ms. Pandor’s disappearance.” He proposed after a moment.

“Are you sure? Is there any way we can help?” Boyd asked, fidgeting nervously.

“No, it would be best if you aren’t seen with us too much while we’re actively investigating. To help avoid casting suspicion on you lot as well and all.”

“Keep your eyes and ears open while we’re gone soldiers! Always vigilant!” Oleander commanded, giving them a little salute as the trio went off. Shaking her head in amusement at their antics, Gloria gestured toward the bar.

“Care for some drinks while we wait boys?”

Despite the lodge’s rather bustling crowd, there were only a few people at the bar and they were easily able to find seats.

“Hello there folks, what can I get you?” The bartender, a man looking somewhere in his 30’s, asked.

“Hot Chocolate!”

Gloria’s yelp of surprise at the sudden shout quickly devolved into giggles as Raz and the former villain popped up beside her, clambering up onto the next stools.

“And a cider for me sir.”

As the bartender went to work assembling the groups drink orders, he glanced over at them with a smile.

“Don’t think I’ve seen you folks around before. Welcome. What’s the occasion for the visit?”

The group glanced at each other, all trying their best to hide their slight panic. They hadn’t exactly been properly prepped for people asking them about their motives yet after all.

“Oh, uh, we, uh, came to visit with a friend we heard was staying here.” Boyd stuttered nervously. Picking up on what he was trying, Gloria slipped straight into her old actress skills and gave a sigh.

“Yes, a Ms. Tanya Pandor. She’s one of our old students. Unfortunately, it seems that we may have just missed her.”

The bartender paused, tapping his chin in thought.

“Ms. Pandor you say? Actually, I do remember her. Very exuberant. And you heard right, she seems to have left already. Was the talk of the staff rumor mill for a day or two actually. Some of her coworkers called asking to speak with her on some matter, but when the staff went up to let her know about the call, she was nowhere to bee seen. Must have left damn late at night for nobody to notice her. Which is odd really...”

“Odd, how?” Loboto asked, the group jumping a moment at his voice, seemingly having forgotten he was there, before leaning towards the bartender in interest, the man glancing around before lowering his voice.

“Well, we’re really not supposed to divulge things about the other guests, so you didn’t hear this from me, but I may have been one of the last people to see her. You see, I was assigned as a ski slope guard that day, you know, to watch and make sure nobody got injured and needed medical attention. I was stationed on one of our more challenging hills, the Black Diamond one, when I saw Ms. Pandor go whipping by. I know it has her because she had a very distinctive ski jacket she always seemed to be wearing. This whole black, purple and gold affair. Plus she has been very kind and gracious to the staff. We tend to remember those sorts of things. Anyways, she gave me a wave as she went past and seemed to be having the time of her life. It seems so strange that she would leave so abruptly without saying anything. I do hope something didn’t upset her.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry too much about it, dear.” Gloria replied with a smile, waving a hand nonchalantly.

“Tanya has always been the spirited type, zipping from place to place. Just a little lightning bolt.”

“Yes, she certainly did seem like that type. I’m sure you’re right. Ah, that’s right, your drinks!”

The group was quickly presented with their fine beverages, including a healthy topping of whipped cream and sprinkles for Raz and Loboto’s chocolatey treats. Edgar and Gloria’s cider was just as delicious, rich and warm. (Fred and Boyd’s spiked eggnog was perhaps not the most professional thing to be drinking during a spy investigation, but nobody was about to call them out on it.) For a time they sat at the bar, chatting away to the bartender about the various activities around the lodge, before Raz suddenly caught the shape of their other companions watching them from a nearby doorway. Nudging Gloria, he nodded over towards them, and the woman took the hint, turning to the bartender with a smile.

“Well, I’m afraid we must be going now dear. We can’t spend all vacation here in the lounge after all. Thank you for the lovely time.”

“My pleasure Ms. I hope to see you all again soon.” He replied with a nod and smile as they stepped away from the bar, his eyes widening in surprise and delight when he noticed the generous tip the group had left tucked under one of the empty mugs.

Following their missing members lead, the group ducked over into a more private corner of the lounge to meet them.

“Did you guys find anything?” Raz asked quietly, Sasha giving a frustrated sigh in return.

“No, unfortunately not. None of the night staff noticed her leaving that day. Which leaves us back at square one.”

“Well, luckily for you, we just might have a clue.” Fred replied with a smile, the trio looking over at him in surprise.

“Wait, really?!” Oleander exclaimed and the counselor gave him an unamused look.

“Geez buddy, give us some credit. We’re not completely useless. But yeah, apparently somebody saw Tanya out on one of the ski slopes earlier that day. Whatcha wanna bet there might be some sort of clue somewhere out there?” He replied, Oleander reaching up to stroke his mustache in thought as he considered the other man’s words.

“I’d say you’d probably be right on the money. Maybe Pandor saw something out there that made her haul ass out of here, though I’ve never known her for the scaredy cat type. And that would still leave the question of where she went.  But it’s a lead.”

“How’s about this?” Sasha pipped up, waving a hand to get all their attention.

“The three of us have worked out with the management to take a look in Ms. Pandor’s room, see if she maybe left some sort of clue behind. While we’re doing that, you six could head out onto the slopes and take a look around. A group of casual vacation goers, including a child, would likely draw a lot less attention than the three of us for the time being.”

“Well, I think it sounds like a marvelous plan!” Loboto replied exuberantly, pausing and rubbing his neck sheepishly when they all turned to look at him.

“If that’s alright with you all of course.”

He was met with a chorus of headshakes and “no, that’d be fine”s, so he grinned once more and nodded in satisfaction.

“Sounds like a plan then!”

“Just please all be careful.” Milla replied, eyes full of concern, and Raz gave her a comforting smile.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be ok! Besides, whenever are we not careful?”

The 50-yard stare of no doubt Whispering Rock related war flashbacks that she gave him in return spoke volumes.

*

“Thank god for government provided tailoring. Trying to find snow wear for proportions like mine is hellish.” Fred sighed quietly in satisfaction, adjusting his perfectly fitting ski jacket to a chorus of chuckles. The 6 of them were currently waiting in line at the equipment rental shop. Once they’d gotten their luggage up to the rooms and finally unpacked, they’d found the new sets of winter gear amongst their belongings, perfectly tailored and clearly a gift from the Psychonauts organization. How said organization knew their measurements was a mystery they neither had, nor wanted, the answer to.

“I must admit, they are rather fetching, aren’t they?” Gloria replied with a smile, giving a little twirl to let the hem of her longer coat poof out for a moment like the skirt of a dress.

Eventually the line cleared out enough for them to enter the small store displaying the various types of equipment available for rental and purchase. Splitting up to look, they all quickly selected their preferred styles. It didn’t take long for most of them to reconvene near the counter, each carrying a fairly simple pair of skis. There was no need for the super high-grade stuff, none of them were professionals after all. When Raz came running back with a snowboard, none of them were really that surprised. Skis had seemed a bit boring for the boy’s exuberant personality to begin with. What did draw their shock however was when Fred came trotting up behind the young psychic, a long light blue board slung over his shoulder.

“Uh, mi amor, are you sure that’s what you meant to get?” Edgar asked, eyeing the board in equal parts confusion and concern, and Fred laughed in return.

“Oh yeah, don’t worry about it. Never said I had been using skis when I went someplace like this back in college. Always been useless with them. Snowboards were a different story though. Used to skateboard a lot back in high school too. Now let’s go see if I’ve still got any of that old muscle memory still rattling around.”

As a group that was inexperienced, and in some of their cases completely unfamiliar, with the equipment, getting into their rented pieces ended up a tad more challenging than intended. Boyd nearly poked himself in the eye with one of his poles and Raz promptly fell backwards into a snowdrift after figuring out how hook his boots into the board, but eventually they managed to get their nonsense together enough to try and get in line for the ski-lift that would take them up to the Black Slope.

Try being the key word.

Just as they were in the process of settling themselves at the back of the line, a slightly nervous voice called out behind them.

“Hmm, now I don’t claim to be an expert on skiing, but something tells me this isn’t how it’s supposed to go.”

Turning to look back, they found Loboto had not only somehow managed to put both of his skis on backwards, but was now also slowly sliding away from them down the slight decline, ski poles digging into the snow in an attempt to stop himself. Boyd, being the closest to him, darted out to try and grab the man, but missed his hand by a hair, and he began to pick up speed.

“Whoa! Look out there!”

Someone suddenly darted behind the former mad scientist, catching him by the shoulders and stopping his uncontrolled journey. As the person carefully pushed the man back up towards the group, they got a better look at them. It was a young man in his early 20’s, with pale skin and messy sandy blonde hair.

“There ya go!” He announced, settling the dentist back in front of the rest of the group and crouching. down to look at his skis.

“Ah, here’s your problem! Here, this should help.”

With deft fingers, he unhooked Loboto from the skis, flipped them around and had him step back in, hooking him securely into place.

“Uh, thank you. I’m a bit of a beginner.” The blue skinned villain thanked him, cheeks flushing the tiniest bit of dark blue in embarrassment, the younger man glancing over at the sign announcing the coming hill at his words.

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly recommend this hill to someone still getting their snow legs, but I can’t fault you for wanting to jump into the challenge head first!” He replied with a merry laugh.

“Oh, don’t worry, we’ll be very careful. Thank you for your help, Mr...?” Gloria replied, the young man jumping to attention when he realized her pause was requesting and answer and reaching out a hand to shake.

“Oh, just call me Josh! A pleasure to meet you folks!”

He quickly exchanged handshakes with them all, Raz included, as the line to the chair lift drew shorter.

“You certainly seem to know your stuff.” Edgar complemented him, glancing over as Loboto turned his ankle this way and that to look at the ski mechanism in fascination.

“I would certainly hope so, considering all the years I’ve worked here! I know all the ins and outs like the back of my hand!”

“Well isn’t that wonderful. This seems like a splendid place to work.” Gloria replied with a smile.

“Oh it is, I couldn’t be luckier. Oh, looks like it’s you guys turn!”

Turning to look, they found the couple behind them settling into their chair on the lift, the next one incoming. As they stepped up to wait on it, Josh stepped away, giving them a wave as he turned to leave.

“Hopefully I see you guys around! If you’ve got any questions, just let me know. If want to know anything about the lodge or hills, I’m your guy!”

“We definitely will!” Fred called after him, the group raising their arms to wave back, before prepping to climb aboard the lift.

The benches ended up only being able to fit 3 people, so they ended up separated into two groups, Fred, Boyd and Edgar in the first chair, with Raz, Gloria and Caligosto grabbing the second. For the former, the ride up was honestly pretty pleasant and peaceful, the view from up so high showing them a beautiful vista.

“Wow, we really are up high huh?” Boyd, wondered out loud, glancing down over the side of the chair at the forest spread out below them.

“Si, we certainly are. Hmm, I wonder, is this the sort of view you normally have mi amor?” Edgar asked, looking at the lanky man between them with a cheeky smirk. Fred gave the painter an unamused look as on his other side Boyd let out a snorted laugh, breaking into giggles.

“Seriously? Your pulling out the tall guy jokes?”

With a grin and chuckle, the Hispanic man leaned up to give the taller man a peck on the cheek as their other partner leaned against his shoulder in a giggling fit.

“Apologies mi amor, I couldn’t resist.”

In the other chair however, things were going...less pleasantly.

Raz gazed down at the trees below as they rode along, humming some song the piano player in the lobby had been playing. Feeling something bump his leg, he glanced over, seeing Loboto’s legs jittering back and forth enough to jostle against him. Now that he thought about it, the whole man was shaking. Glancing up at the dentist’s face, he found the older man’s gaze fixed straight down at the ground. His hands were fisted in and tugging nervously at the strings of his ski hat (they’d all agreed the shower cap might be a bit too conspicuous), causing the large pop pom on top to bounce rhythmically. And judging by his harsh breathing, the guy was probably about 2 steps away from hyperventilating.

“Um, Loboto?” The young boy asked, seeming to snap the dentist out of his daze, at least partially, both he and Gloria looking over at him.

“Are you ok?”

“Now that I notice, you do seem a bit...tense, dear. Are you feeling alright?” Gloria added gently

“Oh, just fine! Happy as a clam! No reason at all to feel nervous!” He replied exuberantly, the smile on his face horribly forced, eyes darting to the drop below them every few seconds.

Raz stared at him, mind puzzling over the info. The slightly loony man was usually fairly fearless, sometimes to the point of his own peril. So what could have gotten him so stirred up?

Glancing down at the ground far below them, something suddenly clicked in the boy’s head. A memory rose to the front of his mind, one of a night at an asylum what seemed so long ago, and a certain dentist’s supposed demise at the hands of a turtle powered tank. Raz felt the pit of his stomach drop, guilt sweeping over him at the realization.

“Uh, hey, is there any way this about the time you...you know?” Raz asked gently, hand gestures miming the image of a person falling off something, and flinched when the man’s head snapped around to look at him, smile wide.

“What?! No, no, of course not!...Maybe...probably...” He replied, his vibrato visibly deflating as he tried his best not to look down.

“Oh, Loboto dear, it’s alright. There’s nothing to worry about.” Gloria fretted, catching onto the issue and reaching out to pat the blue man’s back.

“Yeah, these ski lifts are like, totally safe!” Raz exclaimed, in an attempt to help.

As though mocking them, the lift jerked for a moment, sending them swinging a bit. Loboto sucked in a sharp breath at the motion, hand instinctively tightening where it had been wrapped lightly around Raz’s forearm in a grip that would definitely be leaving bruises the next day. Gloria grimaced when she saw Raz wince, raising a hand to tap her chin in thought.

“Oh dear, well this isn’t good.”

After a moment an idea hit her, and she leaned over to catch the mad dentist’s gaze smiling gently.

“Loboto dear, have I ever told you about the first time I ever took to the stage?”

The man paused in his panicking, seeming to calm slightly as he gave her a confused look, Raz looking at her in equal confusion but seeming to roll with it.

“Um, not that I’m aware of?”

“Well, let me tell you. I’ve preformed on hundreds of stages of the years, all over the world. The theater was my lifeblood. But the first time I performed in front of people, oh, I was terrified.”

“R-Really?” The man replied, eyes widening.

“Oh, absolutely. It was the worst case of stage fright I ever felt. I was absolutely petrified. My palms were sweaty, my head was spinning. I completely froze up on stage. And that wasn’t the only time. No no, I’ve had stage fright hundreds of times in my career. I almost refused to go on stage for my own awards ceremony, I was so nervous. But let me tell you something very important I’ve learned.”

She leaned in close, taking the man’s hands gently in her own, both he and Raz leaning in in fascination.

“There’s nothing wrong with being afraid. Everyone fears something. I’m scared of messing up on stage, overwhelmingly so. Young Raz here has his own fears, as do you. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Being brave doesn’t mean the absence of fear. Anyone who says so is an idiot. No, to be brave is to look fear in the face and still continue on in spite of it.”

Leaning back, she looked out at the forest surrounding them.

“This really is a lovely view, isn’t it?”

“Yes...Yes I suppose it is.” The dentist replied quietly, gazing out at the landscape around them seemingly with new eyes. He still seemed nervous certainly, gaze fixed firmly on the horizon in an attempt not to look down, but his shaking had stopped and his breathing had steadied. From behind his back, Raz gave the actress two big thumbs up and a grin.

As they neared the peak of the hill, they could the others laughing about something in the chair ahead of them, quickly hurrying off of it to make room as they reached the landing. As soon as it was their turn, Loboto practically threw himself off the ski lift, clearly trying to reach Terra Firma as quickly as possible. Gloria and Raz followed at a more normal rate behind him, pausing for a moment when the boy looked up at her.

“Not gonna lie, that was kinda awesome.”

“Why thank you my dear.” She replied sweetly, before giving him a little grin and leaning in closer as she lowered her voice.

“I’ve had a lot of practice at that speech. You’d be amazed how many new actors and actresses get opening night jitters. Still works like a charm.”

Leaving the boy to sputter in surprise for a moment, she skied on to where the others were waiting at the hills peak.

“So, what’s the plan?” Fred asked, adjusting his feet in the snowboard as Raz caught back up with them.

“Keep together and keep our eyes out for anything suspicious I guess?” The boy replied with a shrug, earning a nod from the rest of the group.

“Sounds like a plan bud.”

After some quick adjustment of clothing, equipment and whatever else, they set off.

It became quickly apparent that none of them were even close to professional skiers, though some were faring better than others. Fred’s muscle memory did seem to be kicking in, handling his snowboard with surprisingly few complications, while Gloria’s seemingly natural graceful-ness was doing her skis well. Raz took a spill every now and them, but likewise, his acrobat training seemed to be translating pretty well to snow-sports.

The others weren’t faring quite as well. Edgar seemed to be developing a habit of falling over onto his back pretty often, his large upper body pulling him over whenever he began to lose his balance, while Boyd seemed to be having the opposite problem, having taken more than a few headers face first into the snow already. Loboto was surprisingly staying up pretty well, perhaps his long legs were to blame for his better balance, but every few second he would begin to weave wildly back and forth on the slope before correcting himself, only for the cycle to repeat again shortly thereafter. The whole lot of them were certainly getting a lot of curious looks from the more advanced skiers that would occasionally pass them, the occasional trail guard they passed seeming even more concerned.

With all the chaos, it’s a wonder any of them ever saw anything.

“Whoa, wait everybody!” Raz suddenly cried about halfway down the trail, skidding to a sudden stop. He was nearly bowled over by the others in their attempts to stop, Edgar managing to fall onto his back once more and slid a few feet past him with an exasperated sigh.

“Dios mio, this is becoming tiring. What’s the matter mi amigo?”

“Look at those trees over there.” He replied, pointing to part of the forest that lined either side of the path. Glancing to where he pointed, they spotted what he seemed to be gesturing to. A swath of low branches in a certain area were snapped and bent, as though something had run into them or pulled them out of the way.

“Yeah, that definitely looks like it could be something.” Boyd replied with the critical eye of a security guard, the whole group moving off the path and towards the woodland to examine them. Upon closer inspection, there was most definitely something amiss. While the branches closer to the path broke inwards towards the forest, others further in seemed to break outwards.

“Hey, what’s that?” Raz asked, squinting further into the woodland. Unhooking himself from the snowboard, he darted further into the trees, moving to the edge of the breakage, and crouching down, seemingly digging around near one large trees roots. After a moment he seemed to free whatever he was holding and started back in the others direction.

“Look at this guys.”

He held it up for them to see, the group leaning in for a closer look. It seemed to be a long scrap of torn fabric, patterned in thick, alternating purple and black stripes, with a flash of gold along one edge.

“What do you guys think it is?” Boyd asked in bewilderment, squinting at the piece. Beside him, Edgar gave a sudden small gasp.

“Wait, didn’t that bartender say that Señorita Pandor wore a jacket in these colors?”

The group gapped at him for a moment before turning back to the scrap with renewed interest.

“Holy hell guys, I think we just found an actual clue.” Fred sputtered in amazement, Raz’s eyes lighting up.

“Hey maybe there’s more stuff to find back there! Come on, let’s go look!” the boy crowed, moving to run back into the trees.

He didn’t get very far though, as the wind suddenly kicked up, nearly knocking him over as it ripped through the trees with a swirl of snow.

“Geeze, I though trees were good for avoiding wind. Come on!”

He tried to take a few more steps forwards, only to get knocked back by another gust, being forced to take a few steps back to the group this time. Quickly the wind began to build, howling around the lot of them and kicking up the snow into near white out conditions.

“Damn, they’ve got some crazy weather in these parts!” Boyd called over the noise, Fred replying as he threw up his arms as much as he could to block his face.

“Not the sort I’ve ever seen before!”

“Wait.”

They all quieted, turning to look over Loboto, who was currently looking around in confusion.

“Now, I may have been called crazy one or twice in the past, but does anyone else hear something odd?”

The group stilled, listening hard over the wind. All at the same time, they seemed to catch it, Fred glancing around the group in sudden nervousness.

“Does that sound like growling to anyone else?”

Indeed, the sound mixed in amongst the howling of the wind was much deeper and guttural, rumbling through the air.

Crack

They all froze at the loud sound of splintering wood, all slowly turning in unison to look deeper into the woods. A shape appeared through the blur of snow, the growling growing louder and the shape becoming clearer as it drew towards them. Eventually it stopped at the edge of the broken branches and their hearts all collectively stopped as they made out what it was.

A massive beast, easily 8 or 9 feet tall, bipedal, and clothed in long white hair, only it’s slightly darker face and palms peeking out through the thick fur. For a long, drawn-out moment, there was nothing but the howling of the wind. The only thing to interrupt it was a tiny, likely instinctual whisper from Raz.

“Holy shit.”

The beast didn’t seem to like that very much and its growl deepened. With one massive hand, it reached up and tore a branch from the tree beside it with the sound of screeching wood, before reaching back and hurling it at the group. With a collective cry of surprise and panic they all managed to throw themselves out of the way of it, the large chunk of wood landing amongst the other broken branches nearby. Its failure seemed to enrage the beast even more and it reached down, clawing and tearing a truly gargantuan chunk of snow up out of the ground. It lifted it up and above its head, clearly reeling back to launch it at them, and Raz let out another, this time very foreign sounding, curse.

“Oh, that looks like a real bad time! Boyd! I’m gonna need some help!”

With that, the boy darted out in front of the rest of the group, the security guard seeming to pick up on his plan and following along behind him. Just as the beast hurled the massive snowball, Raz threw his hands up to conjure a psychic shield, Boyd’s own hands joining just beside his to release a spray of flame outside the barrier just as it contacted.

The snow clump exploded around them. Most of it dissolved into steam under the sudden onslaught of the fire, what remained splattering against the curved wall of psychic force in a spray of water and slush, flying off on either side of the group.

“Where is it?! Can anybody see what it’s doing?!” Raz called out, trying to squint through the cloud of steam now surrounding them.

“I don’t know, I can’t see!” Boyd replied, waving his hands to put out the small flames sparking on his gloves.

As the steam was cleared by the slowly calming wind, Raz blinked in surprise at the scene before him, shield disappearing as he lowered his hands.

The beast had vanished, seemingly into thin air.

For a moment they all simply sat there, most of the group having fallen to the ground in the scramble to get out of harm’s way, the air thick with unspoken disbelief. Till finally, Fred said what they’d all been thinking.

“Was that a goddamn yeti???”

“In my professional dentist opinion...yes.” Loboto replied, staring equally slack jawed at the spot.

“What?? Where did it go?? A beast that big does not simply disappear into thin air??” Edgar sputtered, clambering back to his feet as though a higher viewpoint would somehow reveal the 9 foot tall creatures hiding place.

“I...I don’t...-“

“Oi! What are you lot doing back there!?”

The whole group let out a collection of shrieks and yelps at the sudden shout, whipping around to look behind them.

An older man armed with a hefty walking stick stood at the edge of the ski trail, staring into the woods at them with a grumpy scowl on his face.

“Wha- who are you?!” Raz asked, at a loss for words, and the old man’s expression seemed to sour even further.

“Ambrose. I’m the grounds keeper here. And I should be asking you the same thing!”

“Did...Did you see...?” Boyd asked, dazed by his seeming unconcern for the fucking yeti that had been in front of them 20 seconds before. The old man leaned to glance at the place he was gesturing to, brow creasing.

“See? I don’t see anything. All I see is a bunch of troublemakers putzing about in the woods. Get out of there! You’re supposed to stay on the trail!”

Like a bunch of scolded children, they all quickly gathered themselves and scurried back out onto the path in front of the man, who pointed an angry finger at them.

“Now don’t let me go catchin you messing about in there again, understood?”

They all obediently nodded and, seemingly satisfied, he turned away with a nod, grumbling the likes of “people these days” as he slowly hiked further up the path.

“...Ok, so we’re all in agreement that we gotta tell the rest of the gang about that right?” Fred asked, seemingly still dumbfounded, and was answered by a chorus of nods.

The rest of the trip down the hill was largely uneventful. Somehow, an encounter with a mythical creature has seemingly improved their snow-sports skills, and they managed not to have any more major spills on the rest of the way down the mountain. The sun was setting by the time they reached the bottom and, after getting their equipment situated, the six ventured back through the main lodge in search of their three companions.

They did eventually find them back in the lounge, tucked away in a corner table with their drinks.

“Ah, hello everyone!” Milla greeted them with a smile and wave as they made their way over.

“Did you have a good day out on the slopes?”

“Uh, yeah, it was, uh, pretty, pretty good.” Fred replied, sharing a look with others.

“How’s about you guys?”

Sasha gestured for them to sit, voice lowered as he spoke.

“Well, we looked over Ms. Pandor’s room and it was just as empty as we’d been told. Not a trace of her. The only things we found was the Psychonauts bug she put in the rooms phone when she got here. Which means that she likely didn’t leave willingly, if she didn’t have the chance to remove it. That or she simply forgot it when she left.”

“Yeah, and that sort of absentminded-ness doesn’t sound like her. Girl might leave her workspace a mess, but I’ve been on missions with her before, and she’s a neat freak when it comes to hotels and stuff. All the tidying she does, she probably leaves them cleaner than it was when she got there. Gotta ask her if she’s got some sort of service industry trauma from college or something...” Oleander added, trailing off into rambling at the end.

“So did you six find anything out on the slopes?”

The group glanced at each other and eventually it was Gloria who haltingly began, realizing just how insane what she was about to say was going to sound.

“Well, there may have been a bit of an incident out on the trails...”

“We got attacked by a yeti!” Raz suddenly blurted, bringing the conversation to a screeching halt. Sasha turned to look at him with a truly flummoxed expression, seemingly completely thrown for a loop at the boys’ words.

“...R...Run that by me again??”

“Well, it’s a bit of a long story.” Boyd replied with a sigh.

It took quite a while to explain the events that had befallen them all, added to by the fact that dinner arrived in the middle of it, but eventually they got the whole incident out in the open, the three senior agents staring at them in bewilderment by the end.

“Are you sure it wasn’t some sort of polar bear or something? Those things can get big as hell when they’re on their hind legs.” Oleander offered and Gloria shook her head.

“Now I know how this all sounds, Agent Oleander, but we know what we saw, and that was most definitely not a bear.”

“Plus, we found this!” Raz added, reaching into his jacket and pulling out the fabric scrap, handing it over to the trio.

“The bartender we talked to said he saw her wearing a coat like that!”

“Well, I’ll admit, this definitely looks like Tanny’s sorta style.” Oleander admitted with a shrug, handing it over to Sasha to look at.

“Regardless of what this beast you saw might be, there is most definitely more going on here than a simple wayward agent.” The german acquiesced.

“Well, how’s about we all get a good night sleep and continue the investigation tomorrow. You all must be exhausted.” Milla offered kindly and Edgar gave a groan as he stretched, back popping loudly.

“After the beating we took out there, you don’t know the half of it Ms. Milla.”

Luckily for them, their rooms at the lodge were, just like the rest of the property, amazing. They’d been separated across 4 adjacent, and connected, rooms, with the senior agents sharing one and the former asylum members another, leaving Loboto and Raz to bunk solitarily. Their mother organization had, knowing and being blessedly supportive all sorts of relationships, even been kind enough to book the four a California King, while Sasha, Milla and Oleander were more than happy to settle for a King.

“Ugh, we literally just started doing spy stuff and I already feel like an old man waiting for retirement.” Fred groaned, stretching and feeling some muscle in his back twinge.

“Hehe, implying you aren’t already an old man.” Edgar teased him with a chuckle from where he was kneeling in massage position over the lanky man’s hips, his own aching back already having been kindly tended to by Gloria before her bath.

“Hey, keep up that talk and I’ll have to revoke smooching privileges.” The counselor shot back, pointing a finger over his shoulder threateningly at the larger man, even as he melted blissfully beneath he ministrations of the artist’s talented hands. Edgar finally managed to work out the last knot at the base of the man’s spine and Fred gave a little groan of relief, going boneless on the mattress beneath him.

“You boys better not be having too much fun in there without me!” Gloria called from the bathroom and Edgar laughed, smoothing his hands lovingly up and down the thinner man’s back a few times before climbing off him.

“Alright, all done. Time to move mi amor.”

Fred gave a little grumble that sounded a lot like “Sleepy. Don’t wanna.” and the painter rolled his eyes fondly, grabbing him and, like an owner with a lazy puppy, simply dragged him out of the way, patting the spot that opened up.

“Your turn.” He called over to Boyd, who’d been looking out onto the rooms snow covered balcony that overlooked the lodge’s main square, and the guard abandoned his post with a grin.

“Oh thank goodness.” He replied, shucking his shirt off and flopping onto the bed with a sigh, sending the nearby Fred bouncing slightly. He gave another grateful sigh as he folded his arms beneath his head and Edgar set to work.

“Damn, today was a crazy day. The more I think about it the less it makes sense.” He mused, earning a snorted laugh from a slightly more awake Fred as the man reached out to run a sleepy hand through the guard’s hair.

“That’s an understatement.”

“Well, I must admit, I find it all a little bit exciting.”

The three men glanced back to find Gloria emerging from the large bathroom, dressed in a fluffy towel and currently braiding her long damp hair.

“Yes, there’s a been a bit of danger I suppose, but what adventure doesn’t have some danger?”

“Sure as hell beats grading papers at least.” Fred agreed, earning a collective laugh.

“Would you like one when I’m done, mi bella?” Edgar asked, gesturing to the massage in progress, and Gloria shook her head, stooping down to give him a kiss on the cheek regardless.

“No, but it’s sweet of you to ask.”

Soon enough they all found themselves properly prepared for bed, lights flipped off, and beneath the plush covers of the bed, tangling together in the warm heap they’d so quickly become accustomed to.

“Goodnight you guys. Love you.” Fred murmured sleepily, answered by a small chorus of similar sentiments.

Before long, the four found themselves drifting off, eager to see what new, and potentially yeti-related, adventures awaited them in the morning.

#psychonauts #psychonautssecretsanta2020 #you guys wanna split a cab #lobotoly #calimorry #sasha/milla/oleander #god knows what their actual ship name is #razputin aquato #sasha nein #milla vodello #morceau oleander #caligosto loboto #gloria von gouton #edgar teglee #boyd cooper #fred bonaparte #Plus a whole mess of OC's #secret santa #My writing

[freykugel]

Vidya Inventory

Games in Progress

Baten Kaitos Origins - Stuck at Holoholo bird for almost 10 years

Legend of Zelda Wind Waker

Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword - started, then sis took the Wii, and now probably won’t ever finish

Super Mario Galaxy

Captain Toad Treasure Tracker

Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild - burnt out from material gathering instead of FURTHERING THE PLOT

Radiant Historia Perfect Chronology - finished original but not remake

Persona Q

Bravely Default - Level grinding hell

Fire Emblem Awakening - at final level but support grinding

Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance

Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam

Mario and Luigi: Dream Team - stuck at Giant Luigi boss battle

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey - level grinding hell

Etrian Odyssey IV - got burnt out from FOE grinding

Rune Factory IV - I forgot everything and micromanaging

Pokemon Ultra Moon - got distracted but still on my journey

Final Fantasy VIII

Metal Gear Solid

Devil May Cry - I never actually learned to play so bosses-as-mooks killed me

Digital Devil Saga 2 - At final dungeon

Disgaea Hour of Darkness - trapped myself by increasing monster levels when level grinding on invincibility map

Jak and Daxter - would it count if my sister played it all and I watched as a babb

Katamari Damacy - did not fill the sky with stars

La Pucelle Tactics - got my ass kicked by bunnies or something

Okami - I FORGOT EVERYTHING

Xenosaga - an entire movie I forgot

Persona 2 Innocent Sin - I never finished it on the emulator so I should restart on the Vita... was in level grinding hell I think before I got distracted

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep - Uhhhhhh

Yakuza 0 - I WAS MONEY GRINDING AND I GOT DISTRACTED

Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth - I progressed further when I got locked in my room during that time my heater broke but once it got fixed welp

Final Fantasy XV - I got to Altissia after ages of level grinding...

The Last Guardian - LET ME GET TO THAT CLIFF STOP GOING THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION I WANTED TO GET THAT BARREL FOR YOU

Uncharted 4 - Came with the PS4 but then I got other games

World of Final Fantasy - did not understand battle mechanics

Super Mario Odyssey - got distracted by Octopath

Octopath Traveler - CURRENTLY IN PROGRESS

Games Untouched

Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean - I definitely should play this but Origins and the Holoholo bird ruined me

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

Donkey Kong Country: Returns - Wiimote waggle hell

Epic Mickey

Paper Mario: Color Splash

Yoshi’s Wooly World

Xenogears - I’VE BEEN MEANING TO PLAY

Suikoden IV - got burnt out from my playthrough of Suikoden III

Suikoden IV Tactics - same as above

Yakuza Kiwami - need to finish 0

Detroit Become Human - my sound system being poopy stopped me

Steam Games In Progress

1bitHeart

Assassin’s Creed

Bastion

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Borderlands - terribad at shooting

Braid - the completionist in me is screaming

Cuphead - guess who sucks at this

Detention - I’m a scared baby

Dishonored - FOV making me dizzy

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - distracted by other games

Final Fantasy XII Zodiac Age - finished original but don’t remember the story at all so eventually gonna do this one

Hell Yeah! - was entertaining

Jazzpunk - Playing too long makes me dizzy :S

Limbo

LISA - was trying to see if i could beat a generally unbeatable encounter

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain - chicken hat can only do so much for this shitty player qq

Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight - I suckkkkkk

Night in the Woods - got distracted, not terribly sucked in yet

Ori and the Blind Forest - so beautiful but got distracted

Owlboy - THAT FUCKING CANNON MINI GAME I’M GONNA KILL SOMETHING

Portal - at the time it kept making me dizzy on my laptop

Psychonauts - RIP my laptop that worked hard

Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove - 9v9 terribad

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - I got mad that my female MC couldn’t date that one lady...

Tales of Zestiria - story is lackluster and not inspiring me to finish...

Ys Origin

Steam Games Untouched

Batman: Arkham City

Bayonetta - I did watch a walkthrough of it...

Bioshock 1-2/Infinite

Dragon Age 2 - LET ME IMPORT MY ORIGINS DATA

Life is Strange

Mass Effect 1-2 - I suck at shooting help

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeros 

Portal 2

Siants Row 2/the Third - eventually I’ll bash people in the head with a purple dildo

Tales of Berseria - feeling guilty not finishing Zestiria

Tokyo Dark

Transistor

Ys series

#no one asked for my opinion #vidya rambling #in my defense at least i started on a lot of these #oops #did not list all of my games since some of them are either casual or just owned because they were free or something #rogue-likes and such do not count #at least this gives me an idea of what i should work on #except i'm playing octopath traveler now #stop me from level grinding in there and turning it into another WIP

[blindrapture]

“Vidya Games” could actually be a funny pun if Sanskrit is considered

Right, well. A couple months into living in the NEW HOUSE, enjoying my NEW COMPUTER and also my brother is here and keeps BUYING ME GAMES, so let me talk a bit about the GAMES I have been PLAYING.

Hiveswap Friendsim

This is a visual novel being released episodically in between acts of the greater Hiveswap. There are five volumes right now. If any MSPA readers are here and haven’t already played it, then listen: You’re basically the Jailbreak guy, and the game is basically a longer and more thought-out Bard Quest, set in the (Side 1) Homestuck universe. The goal of the game is to make friends with everyone you run into. It’s good. Fucking good. Not only is it constantly hilarious, it tugs at your emotions at times in ways that are kinda hard to expect? And it seems to be one semi-consistent narrative, across all the volumes, which... is promising! If you know nothing about MSPA or Homestuck, it’s probably not a bad place to start. Volumes are only a dollar on Steam, and you’ll get pretty immersed in the worldbuilding. (I don’t want to talk about it much more because... well, I guess I might wait for it to be closer to something like “done.” But also, I would want to get very Homestuck if I were to talk about it, and for now I’d rather just talk video games.)

Hotel Dusk: Room 215 Another visual novel, this one was back on the original Nintendo DS. You’re an ex-cop who is now a traveling salesman, and you stop at an isolate hotel for the night. All the guests have secrets, and something tells you you’re going to learn something new about the day your cop buddy betrayed you those many years ago. Now, I’d beaten this nearly 10 years ago. I remember loving every minute of it, and I vaguely remember some of the plot reveals. But it was cheap at my local game store, so I’m playing through it again. Wanted to mention it because... it is a wonderful game, great for anyone who has a DS and can find the thing. It’s a 3D adventure! With a lot of text. And some puzzles.

Professor Layton and the Lost Future PUZZLES. JUST PUZZLES. Also a plot that I’m.. still getting through! I beat the first two also nearly 10 years ago, decided to finally get around to the last one in the original trilogy. I remember the first two’s puzzles often gave me great difficulty, but uh. I’m kinda breezing through this one! I am nearly 10 years older, I mean, so that does make sense. And I know a lot more about how puzzles are crafted. (the story is a little silly. the first two’s stories were also a little silly. it’s nice. I really hate the voice direction, though, and how SLOW AND CAREFUL EVERYONE SPEAKS. .....it’s for a younger audience than I am.)

Earthbound Chances are, if I need to explain anything about this game to you, I’m not the one you should be asking. There are plenty of smart articulate people on the internet who would be more than happy to introduce it to a new audience. I grew up knowing about and, uh, emulating this game, but one of the things Adam got me first was a Super Nintendo mini classic thing, and that comes with a legit (legal) copy of Earthbound on it. So I’ve been playing through the game. This is also the first time I’ve, um... gotten past the Third Strongest Moles without, um... using cheats for... level-ups. <__<;; SO. I’m kinda still on what I guess is my First Ever Earthbound Playthrough. Haven’t played it in a while, because as I’ve said, Adam keeps buying me more games, and every one of them interests me in some way. BUT I CAN REMEMBER, from my playthrough:

- I named Ness “Quinn.” Paula is “Issy.” Jeff is “Dolph.” Poo is “Kev.” Dog is “Karkat.” Favourite food is “S[hepherd’s] Pie.” Favourite thing is “Love.” - I have already had a CLOSE SAVE, finishing a battle right before my HP rolled down to zero. - My mum has been watching off-and-on. She laughed when someone ran into the Onett library bathroom, or.. wherever that was. Whenever the photo guy leaves, she wonders why he hasn’t yet given us any of the photos he’s taken. - Mondo Mole gave me the most trouble, not counting ALL THE FUCKING ENEMIES IN THE THIRD STRONGEST MOLE CAVES.

Anyway, that’s all the games I feel like talking about right this minute. Let me give you a list of all the other games I’ve been playing.

THE BIG ONES, I (ALREADY, OR WILL) HAVE A LOT TO SAY ABOUT:

YUME NIKKI - DREAM DIARY - Proteus Metal Gear Solid 5 (the really big one!!!) Fallout 4 Black Mesa A Hat in Time Life is Strange Mass Effect: Andromeda

THE OTHER ONES. WILL TALK ABOUT IN PAIRS:

Super Mario World + Galaxy + 3D Land (the MIGHTY MARIO TRIAD) Sonic and the Secret Rings + Sonic 4 (the NAUGHTY SONIC CORNER) Super Metroid + Super Smash Bros for 3DS (the.. uh.. SAMUS GAMES?) Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath + Psychonauts (the WEIRD EARLY 3D PLATFORMER DUO) Bioshock: Remastered + NaissanceE (the FIRST-PERSON UNLIKELY LADS) Slender: The Arrival + Layers of Fear (the SCARED JORDAN PAIR) Euro Truck Simulator 2 + Universe Sandbox 2 (the SIMULATORS) Left 4 Dead 2 + Evolve (the rare event: JORDAN ENJOYS MULTIPLAYER)

Which ones sound most interesting? <3

#games #jordan talks about stuff #really i just wanted an excuse to mention mgs5 because I WILL talk about that at some point

[ichosepoorly]

About Me Meme

Tagged by @mistress-negs

Rules: Answer 30 questions, tag 20 blogs

Nicknames: Chris, Chrissie, Kitty

Gender: Female

Sign: Capricorn/Aquarius cusp

Height: 5′8

Time: 1:07 pm EST

Birthday: Jan. 19

Fav bands: Nightwish, Ludo, Franz Ferdinand, Muse

Fav solo artists: idk... Billy Joel?

Song stuck in my head: Seagulls. ( https://youtu.be/U9t-slLl30E )

Last movie I saw: watched Beetlejuice a few nights ago (I’ve seen it a hundred and sixty seven times and it keeps getting funnier every time I see it!)

Last show I watched: Arrested Development (pretty much always my go to)

When did I create my blog: Uh, 2016 but I just started using it last year really

What do I post: Stuff I make or things that make me laugh or excite me

Last thing I Googled: ...the exact quote from Beetlejuice featured above.

Do I have any other blogs: Nope

Do I get asks: Rarely. But feel free to ask away.

Why did I choose my URL: because Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a fantastic movie.... and because I make poor decisions.

Following: 112

Followed by: 125

Average hours of sleep: anywhere from 3-8. My sleep cycle is garbage

Lucky number: None. I have no real luck to speak of.

Instruments: I used to play clarinet poorly. (My band nickname was “Squeaker” so... yeah not good)

What I am wearing: a pajama top jeans snowboots and my warmest coat because apparently I live in the arctic wastelands of America’s East coast

Dream job: Kitten Hugger

Dream trip: London and Ireland

Fav food: Most food. Depending on my mood. Spaghetti is always good. Lamb shawarma or chicken kebab from a greasy NYC food truck.

Nationality: American

Fav song: Ninja Rap-Vanilla Ice

Last book I read: I start a lot of them but don’t finish. Latest to the pile is Rivers of London

Top 3 fictional universes I wanna join: Discworld, Psychonauts, and i have no idea.

#meme #would ya like to take a survey

[randomthunk]

Okay, I’ve been tagged about a dozen times and I’m going to prove that once every year I do a tag meme so I’M GONNA DO IT

Relationship status: Single (though wanting, but getting a boyfriend involves effort outside of what I’m willing to do at the moment)

Favourite colour: BLUE

Lipstick or chapstick: Chapstick to the beyond. I’m probably the one person who actually finishes her tubes instead of losing them. Has to be one of those that has mint that cools down your lips or else it’s useless to me. Brand of choice is Blistex medicated mint.

Last songs I listened to: Midnight Movies (Saint Motel), Favorite Liar (the Wrecks), Fire Escape (Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness), Mexican Radio (Wall of Voodoo), Istanbul (They Might Be Giants)

Last movie I watched: I honestly have no idea. Closest is probably the “Reign Men” documentary-ish thing that was on CSN Chicago the other night.

Top three TV shows: Let’s stick to what’s currently-ish on and: 1.) Doctor Who 2.) Brooklyn Nine Nine 3.) Cubs games THEY COUNT

Top three characters: 1.) 12th Doctor 2.) Clara Oswald 3.) 11th Doctor

I have a dozen favorite characters but I’m not going to try and number that right now so let’s take the easy way out.

Top three ships:

1.) Whouffle (Doctor/Clara), preference to Whouffaldi but I still have ambitions of drawing other #s/echoes in the future. 2.) NaruMayo (Phoenix/Maya), because I’ve been championing this one for like ten years now and new Ace Attorney games gives it life. 3.) Sasha/Milla from Psychonauts, and between Tim Schaffer joking about “the Sasha/Milla kissing game” in the memory vault viewer app commentary, Rhombus of Ruin giving us SUCH CUTE comments between the two, and Psychonauts 2 still on the horizon, I await on baited breath of excitement.

I’m not tagging because I’m a lazy jerk, and also because I think this is the one thing in life I panic about.

#meme answer

[iheartyoshi]

List of all the videogames I’ve played (or recall playing)

I remember making a post about this a while ago. I’m just doing this again because I want to keep track of the games I’ve played and to make sure I finish them. 

This was fun because I remembered some of my childhood videogames. Anyway: List of videogames played ever since I was a kid to present: 1. Super Mario 64 - N64 2. Super Mario Bros. -Don't know. (it was like those swapmeet controllers. that had 100 games) 3. Tennis -Don't know. 4. Baseball -Don't know. 5. Contra (Don't remember which number.) - Don't know. 6. Pokemon Yellow version -GBC.* 7. Pokemon Crystal version -GBC.* 8. TMNT -GB 9. Super Mario Deluxe -GBC. 10. Loony Toons -GBC. 11. Buzz Lightyear -GBC. 12. Sonic Adventure -GBA.* 13. Digimon: Battle Spirit -GBA. 14. Digimon -PS1. 15. Banjo Kazooie -N64 16. Crash Bandicoot -PS1. 17. Spyro -PS1. 18. Bomberman Fantasy Race -PS1. 19. Walt Disney World Quest: Magical Racing Tour -PS1. 20. Croc -PS1. 21. Metal Gear Solid (Original) -PS1. 22. Super Street Fighter (Cannot recall which one) -GBA* 23. Monster Rancher- GBA 24. Fire Emblem -GBA 25. Yoshi's Island (Remake of SMW2) -GBA 26. Mario Kart -GBA* 27. Mario Kart -N64 28. Super Smash Bros. -N64 29. Metroid Fusion -GBA 30. Dragonquest (I think III) -GBA 31. Mario and Luigi super star saga- GBA* 32. Pokemon Ruby Version -GBA* 33. Digimon racing -GBA 34. Mario Party 4 -GC* 35. Super Mario Sunshine (yoohoo!) -GC* 36. Luigi's Mansion. -GC* 37. Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker -GC. 38. Zapper -GC 39. Animal Crossing -GC* 40. Animal Crossing DS -DS 41. DDR: Mario Mix -GC* 42. Splinter Cell-GC* 43. 007: Agent under Fire-GC* 44. Metroid Prime -GC* 45. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes -GC* 46. SSX Tricky -GC* 47. Madden (Forgot the year) -GC 48. MLB: All Stars -GC 49. NBA: Courtside-GC 50. Ty: Tasmanian Tiger -GC 51. Ty: Tasmanian Tiger-GBA* 52. Pokemon Fire Red Version -GBA* 53. Toon Town-PC' 54. Disney's Extremely Goofy Skateboarding -PC 55. Need For Speed: Pursuit-PC 56. Tony Hawk Proskater- GC 57. Taz the tasmanian devil-GC 58. Mario Kart: Double Dash-GC 59. Turok-GC 60. Timesplitters-GC 61. Mario 3V3 -GC 62. Pro Rally -GC 63. Viewtiful Joe -GC 64. Ratchet and Clank: Up your Arsenal -PS2 65. Kingdom Hearts -PS2 66. FFX -PS2. 67. Guitar Hero 2 -PS2. 68. Guitar Hero 3- PS3 and Wii* 69. Metroid Prime: Corruption -Wii* 70. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.-Wii* 71. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time- N64 and 3DS <ip></ip> 72. Mario Kart DS -DS* 73. Mario 64 DS -DS 74. Super Princess Peach-DS* 75. Golden Sun -GBA 76. Pokemon White -DS* 77. Pokemon Heart Gold-DS <ip></ip> 78. Pokemon Channel-GC* 79. Big Brain Academy-DS 80. Nintendogs-DS 81. Metroid Prime Hunters-DS 82. Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes-GC* [Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection on PS3] 83. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.* 84. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. * 85. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. <ip></ip> 86. Metal Gear Solid: Portable OPS-PSP 87. Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep-PSP (unfortunately, I was unable to finish game since I had to sell the PSP) 88. The World Ends With You-DS 89. Yoshi's Island DS-DS <ip></ip> 90. Yoshi Touch and Go!-DS 91. Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time-DS.* 92. Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story-DS <ip></ip> 93. God of War:Chains of Olympus-PSP.* 94. FFVII: Crisis Core-PSP.* 95. Metal Slug Anniversary Collection-PSP.* 95. Patapon-PSP 96. Patapon 2-PSP 97. Need for Speed (I don't remember the name)-PS3 98. Mario Party 8-Wii.* 99. Metroid: Other M.-Wii. <h></h> 100. Just Dance 2-Wii. 101. Super Monkey Ball 2-GC. 102. Super Mario Strikers-GC 103. Super Street Fighter IV-Xbox360. 104. Halo 3-Xbox360.* 105. Gears of War-X360* 106. Gears of War 2-X360* 107. Gears of War 3-X360.* 108. Devil May Cry 4-X360* 109. FFXIII-X360.* 110. Blacksite: Area 51 -X360* 111. Skyrim-360. <h></h> 112. Lost Planet-360 113. Lost Planet 2-360 114. Modern Warfare-360 115. MW2-360 116. MW3-360 117. Call of Duty 2-360 118. Assassin's Creed-360 119. Portal-PC* (Finished in 3 hours on a school night! I'm so bad.) 120. Portal 2-360.* CO-OP is <h></h> 121. Team Fortress 2-PC' 122. Maplestory-PC' 123. DOMO (Dream of Mirror Online)-PC' 124. Counterstrike-PC' 125. Combat Arms-PC' 126. Gunbound-PC' 127. Dungeon Fighter-PC' 128. Eden Eternal-PC' 129. Atlantica-PC' 130. Vindictus-PC' 131. Dragon's Nest-PC' 132. WonderKing-PC' 133. Super Smash Bros Melee-GC* 134. Super Smash Bros Brawl-Wii* 135. Rayman Arena-GC* 136. God of War 3-PS3. 137. Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction.-PS3* 138. Ratchet and Clank: A crack in time.-PS3* 139. Secret Agent Clank-PSP 140. Final fantasy-iPhone 141. Final Fantasy 2-iPhone 142. Legend of Zelda-NES 143. Metroid-NES 144. Super Metroid-SNES 145. Little Big Planet- PS3 146. Little Big Planet 2-PS3 147. Metal Gear Online-PS3 148. Castlevania-PSP 149. Marvel Vs Capcom 3-PS3 150. Megaman-PS1. 151. RockBand -PS3* 152. Rock Band 2-PS3* 153. Beatles Rock Band-PS3* 154. Super Mario Galaxy-Wii* 155. InFamous-PS3 156. Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney-DS* 157. Dead Rising-X360 <ip></ip> 158. Harvest Moon-GBA 159. Limbo-PC 160. Bastion-PC 161. Psychonauts-PC 162. Persona 3-PS2 <ip></ip> 163. Persona 4-PS2* 164. Professor Layton and the Curious Village-DS 165. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations-DS * 166. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Apollo Justice-DS* 167. FFXIII-2 -PS3 <ip></ip> 168. FFIX-PS1 169. VVVVV- 3DS 170. Blayzbloo- 3DS 171. Resident Evil 5-X360 172. Castlevania: Lord of the Shadows-X360 173. Battlefield 2-X360* 174. Dance Central-X360* 175. Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix-GC* 176. L.A. Noire-X360 177. Sonic Generations-X360* 178. Assasin's Creed 2-X360 179. Dark Siders-X360 180. Dark Siders 2-X360 181. Heavy Rain-PS3 182. Animal Crossing: New Leaf-3DS 183. Garry's Mod-PC 184. Don't Starve-PC 185. Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies-3DS* 186. Castle Crashers-PC* 187. Skullgirls-PC 188. Bravely Default-3DS 189. Phoenix Wright: Justice For All-DS* 190. Ace Attorney: Miles Edgeworth Investigatons*-DS 191. Diablo III-PS3 & PC 192. Resident Evil 6-PS3* 193. League of Legends-PC' 194. Pokemon Y-DS*

195. Guacamelee! Gold edition-PC

196. Bit Trip Runner-PC

197. Symphony-PC

198. Sonic Adventure DX-GC

199. The Last of Us-PS3

200. Return of Samus-NES

201. Survival Kids-GBA*

202. Earthbound-SNES*

203. Chrono Trigger-SNES

204. Final Fantasy Tactics-PS1

205. Stardew Valley-PC/Switch*

206. Overwatch-PC’

207. Destiny-PS4′

208. Dark Souls 3-PS4 <ip></ip>

209. Bloodborne-PS4*(technically done but I need to finish DLC)

210. Fallout 4-PS4 & Xbox One <ip> </ip>

211. Mass Effect 1-PC*

212. Mass Effect 2-PC <ip></ip>

213. Tomb Raider-PC*

214. Pokemon Sun-3DS <ip></ip>

215. Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes-3DS <ip></ip>

216. Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice-3DS*

217. Strider-PS4 <ip></ip>

218. Super Street Fighter 4-PC

219. Super Street Fighter 5-PS4

220. Skullgirls: Encore Edition-PS4

221. .hack//G.U. Vol. 1 Rebirth-PS2

222. Dragonball Z Xenoverse 1-PC

223. Super Mario Odyssey-Switch*

224. Darkest Dungeon-Switch<ip></ip>

225. Overcooked-Switch

226. Splatoon 2-Switch<ip></ip>

227. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild-Switch* (done with main story, just messing around in game.)

228. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe-Switch

229. Subnautica-PC <ip></ip>

230. Sea of Theives-PC

231. Mario and Luigi: Dream Team-3DS

232. Assassin’s Creed 2-360*

233. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood-360

234. Destiny 2-PS4

235. Final Fantasy 15-PS4

I’m going to get back to this later because I actually need to finish my games. I don’t like how I have so many unfinished ones on here. There are probably many more I have forgotten. These are all the videogames I've played.

*=Finished. '=Massive Multiplayer Online/Massive Online Battle Arena <ip>= In Progress. </ip> <h>= On Hold. </h>

#list of videogames #i have no life my guy

[vael]

I ruined my Steam profile for $20. Here’s how.

Steam has a trading card system. You’ve probably noticed that after leaving a game, you have inventory notifications for cards from the game you were just playing. If you’re anything like my friends list, you mostly ignore them. Well, you can make some money with them if you’re so inclined.

1. Set up SteamGuard. You should already have done this, and the Steam app is convenient if you need to message a Steam friend when AFK.

2. Download Steam Idle Master. Put your account information in. It’s open-source: it will do nothing with this information beyond idling for you. (even if someone tried, you have SteamGuard)

3. Run Idle Master; usage is pretty simple. Keep it running for all your games. It’s possible to idle a few games at once, so it’ll do that and annoy the fuck out of your friends. Set yourself to Offline. It took 80 hours to get through my library.

4. Now you have a bunch of cards! But boy, is it a pain to sell them one-by-one. That’s where Steam Inventory Helper can help you. I personally used a watered-down tampermonkey script, but the linked extension is better. Install that sucker and log into Steam via the web.

5. Sell everything in bulk for -0.01 value. Confirm the trades via the mobile app and wait a few days for the money to roll in.

6. Feel accomplished? Maybe. I made $20 that I’ll eventually spend on games. I avoided going to Paypal to finish the rest of my transaction to buy Inside. However, I trashed my profile in the process. No, I didn’t spend 4 hours in Psychonauts. But if one of my friends is looking at Psychonauts in the store, they’ll see I played it for four hours. I hope that one day, Steam will bring development back to the actual client and service rather than the onus of their development being gamepad-related. When that time comes, they could take privacy seriously and allow us to hide our activity in games.

I made $20. I make twice that in an hour and I spent $47 taking my family out for dinner last night. Perspective is a strange thing. I think I’d rather not have ruined my play log. At least any interested parties will know I certainly did not play a game for four hours and not receive one single achievement; ergo, I didn’t play.

Misc. Info

https://steamdb.info/ will help you level up your account for cheap. Making badges is kinda fun.

Every 10 levels, your chance to get a weekly booster pack (for each completed game) will increase. I’m only level 20. A level 150 fellow said he gets multiple booster packs per month. It’s been three weeks and I’ve seen nothing.

Also, I sold some TF2 items (which was heartbreaking; I couldn’t bear to lose my blackbelt in jarate) for about $5, not included in the $20. And, I made it to level 20 by crafting Darkest Dungeon badges.

#steam #games #gaming #free money