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NOTE: This is a continuation. Find the starter piece for better context.
“...ure she’s fine?”
“Believe me Razputin, if anyone could fix her, It’s me. And if anyone’s gonna lop my head off and stick it in a jar if I couldn’t, it’ll be Truman.”
“Yeah, and I’d be next.”
The first thing Lili was certain was that she was restrained, vices at her wrists and a psychic dampener around her brain, the second was that she had a splitting headache and moaned in kind.
“You hear that? I think she’s waking up.”
It took a moment for Lili to shake off the weight on her eyes, but when she did, she was relieved to see the familiar visages of Raz and Otto Mentalis, head scientist of the Psychonauts, standing close by. Raz was quick to rush to Lili, giving her a hug despite the quiet protests of the older man.
“Just a minute Raz, I have to make one last check before I let her out.”
“Let me...” Lili looked at herself and saw she was stuck in a medical examination chair, and judging by the Macgyvered second pair of cuffs lower down, she could only imagine the state she had been in when she arrived. As Otto ran his brain scanner over her, the memories of what happened in that brain came back sparkling clear. Noting the furrowing brow on his patient, Otto was quick to survey his lab for any sudden embers or clouds of smoke.
“Lili Lili, it’s alright.” Raz held his girlfriend’s hand as he spoke with an attempt at a soft tone. “You’re okay now. We’re out and everything’s fine.”
“Alright?! Fine!? Raz, I got turned into a damn maid!” Lili only managed to start her deep breathing exercises when Raz flinched away, blowing on his hands as he dusted away the scorch marks on his gloves.
“Yes, Raz told me what happened.” Otto said as he looked through the results of his scan. He then hooked a thumb towards a pile of paperwork on his desk. “And I’ve going over the file you two managed to steal. Might I say, you had a lucky break this lad saved you. To put it simply, what happened to you WAS the plan, or rather an example of it.” Otto brushed aside the kids’ noises of confusion, though he did undo Lili’s restraints. “I still haven’t figured out how that Psylirium got there, but it seems such small amounts of its radiation, when planted in the mind, makes foreign objects VERY susceptible to assimilation into the brain’s workings. It’s frighteningly clever, actually. The ultimate in secret assurance. A Psychonaut tries to dig around, gets accosted by Censors, and before they know it, they’d be just another needle-nosed stamp slammer.”
“Or another OCD.” Lili groaned as she leapt off the chair. “I really am sorry Raz.”
“Hey, it’s alright. You weren’t yourself. And what matters is all that mess is over.”
From behind his desk, Otto wagged his finger. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that.” This time, he at least gave the two a moment to mutter before he continued. “It is true, Lili, that your brain is back to its normal patterns, but...in the simplest terms I can manage, it’s seems the OCDs you encountered left a mark on your psyche. Perhaps I should demonstrate.”
Among the various papers and bolts of Otto’s desk, there stood a glass carafe of hot coffee. The scientist picked it up and closed his eyes for a moment, as if in thought, before throwing the jug to the floor.
Glass shards hadn’t time to clatter before a dustpan rolled underneath, and a sponge and mop worked away the liquid as a fourth blue hand sprayed the whole scene with lemon-scented disinfectant. The clank of the trash bin closing shut was what finally alerted Lili to what had happened, and she looked to see herself once more in the uniform and body of an OCD.
Though he trusted his girlfriend, Raz was quick to leap between her and Otto. “Keep behind me Dr.Mentalis, I’ve seen what…OCD’LE’ can do.”
“Oh, calm down Raz.” When Lili turned to face him, Raz did indeed calm down, seeing her eyes holding their normal sanity as she gazed over her extra limbs. “I think…I’m still in control here.”
Throughout the moment, Otto was still unaffected. “That’s what I said. You still have a mental memory of your OCD self, and it looks like you’re capable to shifting into it even in the real world.”
Even as Otto spoke, Lili was concentrating until she returned to her natural self in a puff of blue smoke.
With his fears no longer in play, Raz’s eyes filled with stars as he rushed Lili into a leaping hug. “Oh man, Lili! This is beyond amazing! It’s like you’ve unlocked a whole new brand of psychic powers! Wait till True Psychic Tales hears about this! We’ll get the front-page cover art for sure this time!”
Lili too was excited, her giggling a mix between humor at Raz’s own jubilation and the thought of other mental foes who could get such a treatment.
“Glad to see you two are taking things so well.” Otto said, pulling a thermos from under his desk. “It’ll take some time for me to analyze these blueprints and determine the maker. Why don’t you two take Lili’s new form for a spin?”
Neither needed any further encouragement. Returning to her OCD form, Lili slicked her brush shoes up. “Hey Raz, last one to Green Needle Gulch and back pays for milkshakes.”
“You’re on.”
Setting up his levitation bubble, Raz blasted off after Lili, leaving Otto behind to shake his head and offer his own chuckle at the sight.
“Ah, to be young again, and have every day be a new discovery.”
Lili has tasted the fruits of sanitation and reaped the harvest in full. OCD Lili form unlocked! Check the skill tree for upgrades.
____________________________________________
While I understand that the good ending is a little shorter than the bad (though were you expecting less from me), both have the implication of Lili being able to use the power of the OCD and, by extension, the player. I will say this till my dying day: more games need to have situations in which you are transformed or otherwise corrupted into the enemy's ranks. The idea of someone who believes themself a simple mook given the agency of a main character is always a fascinating idea, but seems to only be relegated to single screen bad end text or fan sites like this and DA. Or even barring that, at least give us the change to use attacks and powers like the enemy.
“...ure she’s fine?”
“Believe me Razputin, if anyone could fix her, It’s me. And if anyone’s gonna lop my head off and stick it in a jar if I couldn’t, it’ll be Truman.”
“Yeah, and I’d be next.”
The first thing Lili was certain was that she was restrained, vices at her wrists and a psychic dampener around her brain, the second was that she had a splitting headache and moaned in kind.
“You hear that? I think she’s waking up.”
It took a moment for Lili to shake off the weight on her eyes, but when she did, she was relieved to see the familiar visages of Raz and Otto Mentalis, head scientist of the Psychonauts, standing close by. Raz was quick to rush to Lili, giving her a hug despite the quiet protests of the older man.
“Just a minute Raz, I have to make one last check before I let her out.”
“Let me...” Lili looked at herself and saw she was stuck in a medical examination chair, and judging by the Macgyvered second pair of cuffs lower down, she could only imagine the state she had been in when she arrived. As Otto ran his brain scanner over her, the memories of what happened in that brain came back sparkling clear. Noting the furrowing brow on his patient, Otto was quick to survey his lab for any sudden embers or clouds of smoke.
“Lili Lili, it’s alright.” Raz held his girlfriend’s hand as he spoke with an attempt at a soft tone. “You’re okay now. We’re out and everything’s fine.”
“Alright?! Fine!? Raz, I got turned into a damn maid!” Lili only managed to start her deep breathing exercises when Raz flinched away, blowing on his hands as he dusted away the scorch marks on his gloves.
“Yes, Raz told me what happened.” Otto said as he looked through the results of his scan. He then hooked a thumb towards a pile of paperwork on his desk. “And I’ve going over the file you two managed to steal. Might I say, you had a lucky break this lad saved you. To put it simply, what happened to you WAS the plan, or rather an example of it.” Otto brushed aside the kids’ noises of confusion, though he did undo Lili’s restraints. “I still haven’t figured out how that Psylirium got there, but it seems such small amounts of its radiation, when planted in the mind, makes foreign objects VERY susceptible to assimilation into the brain’s workings. It’s frighteningly clever, actually. The ultimate in secret assurance. A Psychonaut tries to dig around, gets accosted by Censors, and before they know it, they’d be just another needle-nosed stamp slammer.”
“Or another OCD.” Lili groaned as she leapt off the chair. “I really am sorry Raz.”
“Hey, it’s alright. You weren’t yourself. And what matters is all that mess is over.”
From behind his desk, Otto wagged his finger. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that.” This time, he at least gave the two a moment to mutter before he continued. “It is true, Lili, that your brain is back to its normal patterns, but...in the simplest terms I can manage, it’s seems the OCDs you encountered left a mark on your psyche. Perhaps I should demonstrate.”
Among the various papers and bolts of Otto’s desk, there stood a glass carafe of hot coffee. The scientist picked it up and closed his eyes for a moment, as if in thought, before throwing the jug to the floor.
Glass shards hadn’t time to clatter before a dustpan rolled underneath, and a sponge and mop worked away the liquid as a fourth blue hand sprayed the whole scene with lemon-scented disinfectant. The clank of the trash bin closing shut was what finally alerted Lili to what had happened, and she looked to see herself once more in the uniform and body of an OCD.
Though he trusted his girlfriend, Raz was quick to leap between her and Otto. “Keep behind me Dr.Mentalis, I’ve seen what…OCD’LE’ can do.”
“Oh, calm down Raz.” When Lili turned to face him, Raz did indeed calm down, seeing her eyes holding their normal sanity as she gazed over her extra limbs. “I think…I’m still in control here.”
Throughout the moment, Otto was still unaffected. “That’s what I said. You still have a mental memory of your OCD self, and it looks like you’re capable to shifting into it even in the real world.”
Even as Otto spoke, Lili was concentrating until she returned to her natural self in a puff of blue smoke.
With his fears no longer in play, Raz’s eyes filled with stars as he rushed Lili into a leaping hug. “Oh man, Lili! This is beyond amazing! It’s like you’ve unlocked a whole new brand of psychic powers! Wait till True Psychic Tales hears about this! We’ll get the front-page cover art for sure this time!”
Lili too was excited, her giggling a mix between humor at Raz’s own jubilation and the thought of other mental foes who could get such a treatment.
“Glad to see you two are taking things so well.” Otto said, pulling a thermos from under his desk. “It’ll take some time for me to analyze these blueprints and determine the maker. Why don’t you two take Lili’s new form for a spin?”
Neither needed any further encouragement. Returning to her OCD form, Lili slicked her brush shoes up. “Hey Raz, last one to Green Needle Gulch and back pays for milkshakes.”
“You’re on.”
Setting up his levitation bubble, Raz blasted off after Lili, leaving Otto behind to shake his head and offer his own chuckle at the sight.
“Ah, to be young again, and have every day be a new discovery.”
Lili has tasted the fruits of sanitation and reaped the harvest in full. OCD Lili form unlocked! Check the skill tree for upgrades.
____________________________________________
While I understand that the good ending is a little shorter than the bad (though were you expecting less from me), both have the implication of Lili being able to use the power of the OCD and, by extension, the player. I will say this till my dying day: more games need to have situations in which you are transformed or otherwise corrupted into the enemy's ranks. The idea of someone who believes themself a simple mook given the agency of a main character is always a fascinating idea, but seems to only be relegated to single screen bad end text or fan sites like this and DA. Or even barring that, at least give us the change to use attacks and powers like the enemy.
Category Story / TF / TG
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 110 x 120px
File Size 55.8 kB
While I certainly.would like to do more with it somewhere down the line, a lot of factors would have to be in play. The most important being, I feel like I would have to do it in a walkthrough or concept design style just to feel like I'm not spinning my wheels. Either that or not be entirely linear with writing scenes.
Also, while this wouldn't be an 'end all, be all', I would like to know if more people wanted to see more of it too.
Also, while this wouldn't be an 'end all, be all', I would like to know if more people wanted to see more of it too.
The worst part is, there are games (99% indie) that get so close, just a hair's breath away but always have some caveat that ruins it or softens the blow. I mention my thoughts on what would need to be done in the description of the bad ending, so I understand it would be work but still...
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