Augustus Aquato |
–Augustus to Raz
Augustus Aquato is a circus acrobat and the father of the Aquato children. He is husband to Donatella Aquato. Despite being a psychic himself, past trauma had caused him to be wary of other psychics, however in Psychonauts he overcame his aversion to them. He started to embrace his psychic side in Psychonauts 2.
Personality[]
Augustus is a reserved man keen on protecting his family. He used to have trouble expressing his true feelings, but as of Psychonauts 2, he is more outgoing and accepting of psychics.
Appearance[]
Augustus is a fairly lanky man with yellow skin, maroon-colored hair and beard, and dark purple eyes. He has dark bags under his eyes and a scar over his right one. He wears a brown shorts over a torn up, green and white striped jumpsuit that's held together with patches and safety pins. He also wears a blue boot on his right foot and a green one on his left which is worn to the point that his toes are exposed.
Story[]
Background[]
Augustus was born in Grulovia. As a child, his mother and father, Marona and Lazarus, died in the Valermo Dam disaster while protesting against the Malik family. His aunt, Lucrecia Mux, caused the event as a counter to the protests - an act that transformed her into the bloodthirsty monster known as Maligula. Not having the heart to kill Lucrecia, Ford Cruller used the Astralathe to suppress both her and Augustus's memories of the event and make them believe that she was actually her sister, and thus Augustus's mother. Ford also made them believe their family lineage was forever cursed to die in water by the Galochios in order to keep Lucrecia from discovering her hydrokinesis, stirring her memory, and reawakening Maligula. As a result, Augustus became very wary of psychics and psychic powers despite being a psychic himself. Lucrecia and Augustus fled Grulovia together to escape the "curse". They started a new life away from Grulovia. Augustus later married a woman named Donatella and they had five children together.
He, his wife Donatella, and their children all became traveling acrobats. Upon seeing one of his sons, Razputin, developing psychic abilities, Augustus became worried for his safety. He attempted to divert Raz's attention by forcing him to practice his acrobatics daily.[3] When Raz received a pamphlet for Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp from a mysterious audience member, Augustus promptly ripped it up to attempt to dissuade him from going, fearing that involvement with psychics would jeopardize his son's safety and happiness. Unfortunately, Augustus soon discovered that this only encouraged Raz, as he had stolen Sugarcube and ran away.
Psychonauts[]
Luckily, when Raz arrived at Whispering Rock, one of the camp's counselors, Milla Vodello, contacts Augustus to have him come pick Raz up, letting Augustus know he was alright. However, once he arrived at Whispering Rock, he found the place to be empty. Worried, Augustus used his psychic connection to track Raz down and pinpointed him in an abandoned insane asylum called Thorney Towers Home for the Disturbed. Once he was there, he found Raz's brain in a tank with another brain, surrounded by unconscious people. Confused, Augustus used his powers to enter Raz's mind.
At first, Augustus could only appear as a ghostly image and wailing "Razputin", before finally breaking through into his son's mind. After asking Raz what happened, the two are confronted by a rotting version of Augustus, ranting about how much he hates psychics. Saddened by how his son sees him, Augustus explains that he doesn't hate psychics or Raz, and that he only wanted his son to be safe. He then uses PSI Blast to launch Evil Augustus into the meat grinder pit. Unfortunately, before Augustus is able to "unweave" Raz and Oleander's psyches, the Two-Headed Dad Monster is created. Augustus then gives Raz "everything [he's] got," transferring his mental powers to him and allowing Raz to create a giant psychic version of himself to defeat the monster with.
After Raz defeats the monster, his and Oleander's psyches are unweaved. Augustus comforts a disoriented Raz and tells him that his and Oleander's brains are being taken out of the Brain Tank. Raz is eager to tell Augustus about his adventures at camp, but Augustus tells him that while Raz was unconscious he "poked around a bit," and then asks Raz about Lili.
Before Ford Cruller declares Raz a Psychonaut in the final scene, Ford says that Raz has a "special quality of [...] heart" which he says he received from Augustus. When the other Psychonauts receive the information that Truman Zanotto has been kidnapped, Augustus allows Raz to board the jet with the others and sees him off, allowing him to become a Psychonaut.
Psychonauts 2[]
In Psychonauts 2, Augustus and his family follow Raz to the Motherlobe and set up camp in the Questionable Area to keep a watchful eye over Raz. He is much friendlier toward Raz and other psychics, and even learns pyrokinesis from Norma.
After Lucrecia's memories were returned, Augustus learned of his true origins and unraveled the lie Ford Cruller implanted inside his head. He, and the rest of his family help launch Razputin toward the giant water tornado created by Maligula in order to save her. Fortunately, he accepted the truth and now works with his family to heal himself mentally. Unfortunately, the repercussions of the implanted lie and its revelation have given Augustus something of an identity crisis.
Relationships[]
Ford Cruller[]
Augustus' relationship with Ford Cruller is complicated. He tells Raz that he feels confused and tricked, but decides that Ford has been through enough already. Because Ford is in a relationship with Augustus' mother, that would also make him an uncle figure to Augustus.
Marona Galochio[]
Marona Galochio was Augustus' biological mother. It is unclear how much Augustus remembers of his mother, but is clearly saddened when he realizes the truth that she had died years ago.
Lazarus Aquato[]
Lazarus Aquato was Augustus' father. It is unclear how much he remembers of his father, however Augustus appeared sad when he recounted his death to Raz.
Lucrecia Mux[]
Lucrecia is Augustus' adoptive mother. He loves her very much, but has some complicated feelings because of their history. At the end of Psychonauts 2 he becomes aware that she is actually his biological aunt, and still accepts her as family.
Razputin Aquato[]
Razputin Aquato is Augustus' middle son. He loves Razputin very much but can appear overbearing in his attempts to protect him from harm. At the end of Psychonauts, Raz proves to his father that he is a mature individual capable of taking care of himself. In "Psychonauts 2," Augustus sees Raz as a ringmaster and works on developing his powers to support his son.
Donatella Aquato[]
Donatello is the wife of Augustus. Their romantic bond is very close. He is unable to fault her, being oblivious to her lie about his toy train collection being destroyed by elephants.
Frazie Aquato[]
Frazie is Augustus' eldest daughter. He knows she is psychic, but is waiting for Frazie to reveal it on her own terms.
Mirtala Aquato[]
Mirtala is Augustus' youngest daughter. Like the rest of his children, Augustus deeply cares about her.
Dion Aquato[]
Dion is Augustus' eldest son. Like the rest of his children, Augustus deeply cares about him.
Queepie Aquato[]
Queepie is Augustus' youngest son. Like the rest of his children, Augustus deeply cares about him.
Evil Augustus[]
Evil Augustus is the malicious mental counterpart representing Augustus in Raz's mind. Raz sees him as an abusive father who despises his son's happiness and psychic gifts. The real Augustus is disgusted with his evil counterpart's behavior toward his son and aids Raz in defeating him in the Meat Circus.
The Butcher[]
Augustus is enemies with The Butcher and aids Raz in defeating him in the Meat Circus.
Psychic Abilities[]
- PSI Blast: Used during Meat Circus to hit Raz's mental version of Augustus. His PSI-Blast color is orange, just like Razputin's.
- PSI Power Transfer: He transfers his psychic powers to Raz in order to defeat the Two-Headed Dad Monster, creating a colossal version of Raz formed out of psychic energy.
- Telepathy: Augustus tries to telepathically communicate with Raz during the Meat Circus.
- Telekinesis: Shown using it to move a crate in the Psychonauts 2 reveal trailer.[4]
- Astral Projection: Augustus can astral project into minds without a psycho portal or a brain tumbler. Interestingly, this skill is only observed in experienced psychics.
- Pyrokinesis: Norma teaches Augustus pyrokinesis in Psychonauts 2.
- Levitation: One of Augustus' idle animations in Psychonauts 2 is him trying to briefly levitate.
Etymology[]
- "Augustus" is a given name which refers to Augustus, the first emperor of the Roman empire and a Roman title meaning "venerable".
- "Aquato" is derived from the Latin word "aqua", which means "water".
Trivia[]
- Augustus only appears in Psychonauts during pre-rendered cutscenes, and as such cannot have Clairvoyance used on him.
- He was originally unnamed in "Psychonauts," being referred to in the ending credits as "Raz's Father."
- Augustus's mind was originally meant to be entered in an earlier draft of Psychonauts 2, where Raz would have to enter his father's mind to defeat the curse placed on the Aquato family so he could defeat a stolen water-wielding mech being piloted by Gristol Malik in Truman's body. This idea was scrapped when the entire third act of the story was completely rewritten.[5]
- In Psychonauts 2, Augustus comments that he believes the hottest thing in the world is his wife, Donatella. It is also implied they sometimes have sex in the trampoline netting after long circus shows.
- Augustus met Donatella when he was 17 and she was 18.[6]
References/Notes[]
- ↑ Augustus was a young boy when Ford used the astralathe on him and Lucrecia, an event that took place 20 years before the events of Psychonauts 2.
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cadoized/status/1503274627723763713
- ↑ According to Raz during Ford Cruller's Pyrokinesis training session
- ↑ https://youtu.be/76INCOjtRGQ?t=73
- ↑ https://www.doublefine.com/news/5-cool-things-from-the-art-book
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGrbOQiAHPY&t=381s