Psyche Ward
is a Worm and Psychonauts crossover story by Masterweaver, in which Taylor somehow ends up dumped in the path of Sasha and Milla, and is enrolled at Whispering Rock when the agents sense her abilities. It can be found on Archive of Our Own and Spacebattles.
- Amazing Technicolor Population: The Psychonauts world, as in canon, has people with skin colors like green or blue be common enough that no one really bats an eye at them, while on Earth Bet such pigmentation would be unheard of.
- Amplifier Artifact: Taylor needs the help of a projection pendant to get into Oleander's mind for Basic Braining.
- Chicken-and-Egg Paradox: When Taylor sees a "mental cobweb" in Basic Braining, she notes how it's another Literal Metaphor and wonders if they pick their names for these phenomena based on what they are, or if they form in shapes based on how people think about mental processes. Oleander tells her that that's advanced Psychonaut business.
- Fake Memories: Discussed. Taylor worries that her memories of Earth Bet are just the result of whoever dumped her in the path of the Psychonauts tampering with her mind for some sinister reason.
- No OSHA Compliance: Taylor lampshades this about Whispering Rock a couple times, and wonders if OSHA even exists on her new Earth, given the time period it's apparently in. Milla apparently hasn't heard of it though.
- Ontological Mystery: Someone or something either sends an unconscious Taylor into the Psychonauts universe in the path of Sasha or Milla, or alters her memories to create a false past on Earth Bet before putting her in their path, and not even Taylor is sure which is the truth, or who would do it and why.
- Power Misidentification: Possibly, Milla assumes from Taylor's insect-control powers that she's a psychic, while she assumes that it's because that she's a parahuman, though Milla suggests that both could be true. The latter scenario gains more ground when Taylor is able to use a Psycho-Portal to enter Oleander's mind, although she does need a projection pendant to do so.
- Tastes Like Purple: When Oleander kicks her and Raz out after they complete Basic Braining, Taylor feels like she's tasting cinnamon through her skin.
- Token Adult: Downplayed, but Taylor is the only teenager among the campers, who are all at least a few years younger than her.
- Wrong Context Magic: Taylor's powers are implied to be different than normal psychic abilities even if her fears of Fake Memories are accurate, with Lili showing surprise that Taylor can control insects instead of just convincing them to do what she wants.
