#i know like this is an Stp post

[adelle-ein]

slay the princess art dump

the pristine cut is so good guys

[knockknockitsnickels]

Scattered thoughts but I think the Narrator's very existence kind of demonstrates the issues with his "vision" for existence.

He describes life without the shifting mound as something to the effect of "periods of forgetting followed by rediscovery", which is exactly what he goes through every route - it's always a new narrator, and he's always experiencing the path for the first time.

And because of that he can never grow, or change - he seemingly comes to some kind of realization about what he's putting the princess through in part of Nightmare, but by the next chapter it's a new narrator and he's forgotten all about it. He's stuck with the same viewpoints and same limited information as when he started.

I don't know it's interesting but also a little hilarious to have a character who's so stubborn and set in his views that he literally resets reality whenever he's wrong about something

[tapestryundone]

yknow what why not. have this from last night

(just the text under the cut)

IM INTRIGUED BY WHATEVER HE HAS GOING ON bc he likes fun but seems also deeply unhappy with himself which FEELS like it contradicts his whole being Like That but it makes Sense. why is he so self consious

it FEELS related to him as a voice being like. a desperate desire for agency at all costs. to be able to have fun in an extremely stressful situation. im struggling to put my finger on it but its liek

all of the voices are tied to complex emotions and hes like. the epitome of trying to get someone to leave you alone by doing anything you can to piss them off. like hes decided he Likes to do that, actually, and its NOT a desperate attempt to gain control in a situation where he has none, bc hes genuinely compassionate but it gets hidden behind the fact that he wants to upset hte narrator. hes the opposite of the opportunist in that he doesnt want to appeal to people who have power over him, he doesnt want to fight them or run away from them, all he wants is to aggravate them because he doesnt think he CAN do anything else. its pestering someone bc its the most power you can exert against people and situations you dont wanna be in, and then convincing yourself that its what you wanted in the first place

as a guy who likes fun DOES make him clash w the tones of a LOT of the game but i think its like. easy to look at the other voices and pinpoint what survival mechanism they are and then contrarian shows up and its less obvious

but hes a persons NEED to have fun, similar to cold. where cold has rejected the notion of emotions but still seeks novelty, contrarian NEEDS to experience joy and is trying to force it to happen, even if it involves goading the others or making bad long-term decisions. hes a very emotion-heavy voice and i think thats probably WHY hes quick to feel guilt and shame, bc it stems from teh same need to feel satisfied with actions and your environment, because in a situation like this, you CANT get entertainment from yourself. but he cant entertain anyone but himself. but he cant actually do that because its weak, poorly executed attempts at levity that falls apart under pressure

idk if this makes ANY sense im just intrigued by him. bc the stranger route started as a joke but it seems to serve as the BIGGEST outlier of a chapter in the whole game to teh pt where it can give you an entirely new ending that even goes so far as to include a second voice in the ending which makes me feel like he has to be important SOMEHOW

maybe its just the underlying emotions of it all. above all else, people want to enjoy life. it doesnt matter if life is stagnant, or if life is a unending cascade of changes, because its only bad if the people it affects do or dont enjoy it. because what the world does and doesnt need revolves around if it makes you feel good. hell i feel like theres a case for the fact that the contrarian ALWAYS gives you new, novel options. he ADDS change wherever he goes. hes the among the most connected to the shifting mound of the voices in that what he wants changes by the moment because what he wants above all else IS change and novelty. and hes a persons need for joy in life, something that is so distinctly mortal, to not just exist but to ENJOY existing, something that the narrator gave the long quiet and the shifting mound. he just extremely represents choices that are Out There. and the fact that the contrarian ascribes "the courage to do things that others may not do" as being him is ALSO interesting to me. maybe hes not just a persons ability to seek joy but also a persons ability to push back against outside pressure. a complement to the heros desire and conviction for agency, being the ability to push back when that agency is denied, to be able to live and feel fulfilled through ones OWN choices, not someone elses

and in an environment that so often denies that agency, his Whole Deal is trying to wrench back that agency even if he knows it wont work. the Trying IS the point. but in spending so much time trying to wrestle agency back you dont really pay attention to situations where you dont need to do that. because as far as hes concerned, you dont have agency, cant have agency, and wont have agency, so the best he can do is be a dick about it. as far as hes concerned, choices dont really matter. if everything is changing, if you can make EVERY choice, then do those choices matter? which always shocks him when they DO. because as an entity that exists to try to piss off those denying you agency, you dont realize where the line between 'choices that dont matter' and 'choices that have effects' are. but by his nature he ALWAYS forces his actions to matter without realizing it. maybe THATS why the knife never comes back after he throws it away. because it is in his nature to allocate agency where there previously was none. to the detriment of Literally Everyone

guy who makes agency exist but doesnt realize hes causing that and keeps acting like his choices dont have consequences

and that in itself is like. his comment abt EVERYTHING being as bad as nothing. feels like it rly strongly is tying him to what tlq and tsm once were. because they used to be the combination of everything and nothing. but now they are everything and nothing, apart. and maybe thats part of where contrarians weird self consciousness comes from, because his very existence is to force EVERYTHING to be possible, to do EVERYTHING, to cause as much change as possible, but its still not what he wants, he wants a balance that doesnt exist anymore

idk if this is making ANY sense i feel like ive accidentally talked into circles like 50 times but out of all of the voices the context of his purpose intrigues me the most actually bc i think everyone else has pretty straightforward purposes and then theres. This Guy who JUST causes problems. but its weirdly sincere about it. and i think its intentional bc blacktabbygames does not shy away from making Guys Who Are Just Obnoxious and unwavering in their goals, and for how much each of the voices so adamantly resist yet desire change, contrarian and hero are both the most malleable and changing

[graynide]

having way too much fun on Twitter again because everyone's getting hyped over the upcoming Dog Man Movie Trailer releasing in a few hours and I have to say, is this what it feels like??

there was so much info being released about it: after all the leaks, the countdown, the early synopsis already displayed!?

like this is Pre-hype going on before the entire fandom SHAKES. I've never been here before whoa

[measureyourlifeincake]

my stp brainrot has combined with my casual interest in historical dress youtube and I decided to draw the Princess in a more historically-inspired outfit than her original design

If anyone's curious, her outfit/hairstyle is supposed to be from around 1828 ("around" bc my main reference/inspiration was definitely from 1828 but I had so many tabs open with different inspo images from nearby years and I don't remember which ones I actually used. also did you know it is surprisingly difficult to search for royal portraiture from a specific year) because based on some cursory googling, it seemed a lot of the elements of her canon base dress (off-the-shoulder, sweetheart neckline, poofy sleeves, straight waistline around the natural waist, skirt that isn't super full/poofy) seemed historically plausible for that time period

I also drew her hair in a more historically-accurate style for the period (but don't ask me exactly what's going on there because I'm not entirely sure myself) but I kept her canon tiara because it seemed plausible enough. anyway this was really fun to do!!!

[persianflaw]

moderate tee em eye in the tags bc i'm on mobile and can't add a readmore

[random-autie-fangirl]

Oh, wait!

He can be a "terrifying beast with unfathomable power"

that's how I describe the beast prince (you know, I'd probs be more likely to change the vessel's/memories names if some of these parts of Asriel weren't called the same name as the vessel I associate him with, he's literally called both "your best nightmare" and "a terrifying beast" and guess what...those are the routes based on the omega flowey fight and chara and azzy's shared form respectively!)

Thinking of bitter narrators, protagonists, and royals who can be either incredibly kind and incredibly cruel depending that the narrator hate no matter what...

Because the thing is… Asriel can be a sweet and gentle damsel in distress who just wants to make his loved ones happy

He can be guarded and world weary and skeptical and clever, keeping secrets to keep himself safe

He can be your best nightmare, a sleep paralysis demon, someone to run and hide from, though he fears being left alone more than anything, someone who desires companionship even though all he knows how to do is hurt

He can be a long lost prince, his life unfairly cut short, longing to rest and to return home, tentatively forgiving of the one who got him killed.

He can be an angry and bitter little gremlin, hope marred by bitterness, vengeful and distrustful after a betrayal from someone he loved and trusted.

(Skipping the beast, la la la la...)

He can be an endlessly strong adversary, the "final boss" to fight and defeat

He can be a seemingly all powerful god who wants to destroy (well, reset) everything

He can be a goofy little murderer, putting on a fake cheery and nice persona that's so obviously fake it circles right round to being funny again

He can be all of these things and more

[beartitled]

Did you play the pristine cut of STP? What do you think of Dragon, Cage and HappilyEverAfter if so?

Spoilers for STP pristine cut under read more (+ a lot of text warning)

Hehe I see STP ppl are excited and want more silly comics

Well there’s a lot of things to say tbh 👀

Overall really enjoyed new content so far

It kinda feels like a fanservice for the people who already played the game

Which is not a bad thing, don’t get me wrong ☝️

I just view the original game as a perfect instalment, which doesn’t really need a continuation

New scenarios is just a pleasant bonus

(I’m one shot/short story fan okay 👉👈)

I already saw Dragon and Happily After routes

Yet to see all the variations the Cage route has to offer (heard ppl said it’s the most diverse one)

The Princess and The Dragon

HEY REMEMBER HOW I SAID I DON’T LIKE THE IDEA OF CHANGING THE GENDERS OF THE CHARACTERS BC THAT WAY THE DYNAMIC WOULD BE UNSETTLING?

YEA SO THIS ROUTE EXPLORED THAT DYNAMIC GUYS

I enjoyed this route, bc again

It’s scary, uncomfortable, makes you feel unsafe and uneasy 👁️👁️

Awesome depiction of how scary this type of situation would be

And of course bonus points, we got to see the bird bois 🎉

(Opportunist go brush yo teeth, u spooky lookin ass)

Happily ever after

Ok

Noooow we’re talking

I love that route, it’s my favourite so far

The pain, the suffering, the absolutely devastated British crowman

Brilliant, chills

This one actually feels like a missing part of the og game to me

I wanted to go into details about my opinions on that route in the future post

But now I want to talk 😈

👏Smitten👏my boy👏how are you in your edgy villain era already omg

Can we just admit for a second how badass Smitten is for escaping protagonist’s body?

Like-💥

This was the first route I saw and was like “Ooooh that’s probably the new gimmick, every voice is doing to escape and shenanigans happen” AND NO Smitten is just that guy™️ absolute chad

Minus points for “we will give her something she doesn’t know she wants yet”

*hits Smitten with newspaper*

Bad voice 💥🗞️bad 💥🗞️ we listen to what 💥🗞️our queen 💥🗞️wants 🗞️💥🗞️💥💥

But it works okay

The atmosphere is immaculate, I was legit concerned for a moment

Ok now give me a moment to be a nerd ☝️🤓

I love how this route gives Smitten flaws

I think finally we saw that every voice has them, because voices are an isolated part of a person, a pure feeling if you will

And Smitten represents that naïve love idealisation/love obsession

The guy loves the princess, she is pure perfection to him

This feeling is blinding and honestly pretty toxic irl

During the whole og game Smitten was never conflicting?

He pretty much the comedic relief of the whole game (and least it felt like that to me)

I think he was kinda a missed potential

Yes, love is sweet

Crushes are can be funny, silly and overall just positive

But it can be so destructive, so painful and so so exhausting when it gets to the point of obsession

And that route gives you a direct illustration of it

Which is amazing

I honestly think we don’t have enough media just showcasing this feeling of obsessive love and how dangerous it is

(yandere trope doesn’t count 👿 this trope just kinda glorified the issue)

And the tragedy is SMITTEN IS TOO DELUSIONAL TO EVEN UNDERSTAND WHAT HE’S DOING WRONG

My poor poor birb boy

He’s too focused on doing everything perfectly, to make princess satisfied, to make us satisfied, why isn’t it working? He does everything he can, why doesn’t it work? How doesn’t it work?

HE’S TOO LOVESTRUCK TO TAKE A STEP BACK AND REFLECT

AAAAAAAAA

God I’m insane about Happily ever after

As a person who struggles with this exact feeling of idolising and obsessing over ppl, I just really feel that route

Goth Smitten incoming *coughs*

Thanks for your question ❤️ hope you enjoyed reading my mess of thoughts💥

Share your thoughts in comments/reblogs if you want ppl

[dangthatscrayz]

Some stp swap au doodles

That’s it. That’s the post. I noticed in my sketches it’s easier to tell their face shape I choose for them. Just know, my digital art is far more accurate to know I see them. Like their faces are so dark you can’t tell what’s the little face mask I made or is just the feathers. Also the smitten, hunter and the opportunist all have long claws. I make the rules, I like drawing sharp nails. I do what I want.

(EDIT: I 4got to get the smitten doodle in high resolution woops, when I finish the doodle page I’ll post a picture where you can’t count the pixels)

[knockknockitsnickels]

Day 16, final day before the Pristine Cut, my attempt at Ms. Chain Princess (possibly Prison3r but I've seen ppl speculate she's sp3ctre) from the trailer. See you all post pristine-cut 🫡

[tapestryundone]

still feel so vindicated by tpatd. i dont rly have proof of it but i always wanted tlq to be a bit of a strange beast but i was worried it conflicted w canon (the wraith in particular, and the lack of a visible mouth in his appearances) so i scrapped some ideas i had to make him more beastly so tpatd was such an incredible and welcome surprise

[cursedappendage]

Slay the Princess Vessels in Japanese Pt 1

Part 2(Chapter IIIs)>> Part 3(Narrator, Princess, Voices)>> Part 4(TLQ, TSM, Echo)>>

LONG TEXT POST INCOMING though I guess that's normal for tumblr

Anyway I wanna geek and talk about the Japanese translations for the Chapter/Vessel names in Slay the Princess(could also do one for the voices but thats another post probably)

format will be: OG name JP Name(Romanization) [ENG Translation of JP Name](Japanese has no articles so just assume presence of "the" when you feel necessary)

OK LETS START(StP spoilers obvi)

Chapter I The Hero and the Princess 第一幕。勇者とプリンセス。(Daiichimaku. Yuusha to Purinsesu.) [Act 1. Hero and Princess]

Pretty direct translation, not much to say here(voice of the hero is also referred to as 勇者の声(Yuusha no Koe) but that's for the voices post)

Now, most of the chapters after chapter 1 have the word 乙女(otome) to refer to the Princess. The word means young woman, or maiden. This translation will use "Maiden"

Going in the order of the game's "Memories" Menu, left to right, starting with the ten Chapter 2s

Chapter II The Adversary 第二幕。戦士。(Dainimaku. Senshi.) [Act 2. Warrior.]

Only 7 out of 22 of the vessels don't have 乙女 in their names. 戦士(senshi) means soldier or warrior, referring to someone who fights on the battlefield(not necessarily belonging to an army, in contrast to 兵士heishi also meaning soldier). Pretty straightforward, I guess you could say the JP name is more focused on the fact that she fights rather than her being a rival.

Chapter II The Tower 第二幕。塔の乙女。(Dainimaku. Tou no Otome.) [Act 2. Tower Maiden.]

This can be read as "Maiden of the Tower", but as we know the "tower" part actually refers to the Princess herself(I think). Basically the same as ENG, not much to say. (Any vessels with の乙女(no Otome) can also be read as [Maiden of ___] instead of [___ Maiden])

Chapter II The Spectre 第二幕。亡霊の乙女。(Dainimaku. Bourei no Otome.) [Act 2. Ghost Maiden.]

亡霊(Bourei) means ghost, a dead person's spirit. Another one that's pretty direct. Though, the dialogue in this chapter uses the term somewhat interchangeably with 幽霊(yuurei), meaning spirits in general, and おばけ(obake) a very broad term for spirit/monster(they're a class of youkai).

Chapter II The Nightmare 第二幕。ナイトメア。(Dainimaku. Naitomea.) [Act 2. Nightmare.]

This one is just the straight up english word. Not much commentary besides the fact that i'm not entirely sure why some of them don't have "maiden" in their names.

Chapter II The Razor 第二幕。刃の乙女。(Dainimaku. Yaiba no Otome.) [Act 2. Blade Maiden.]

The JP name is a lot more obvious than "The Razor" but you kinda get the idea with both(sharp stabby stabby woman).

Imma do the Razor III & IV chapters here too cuz they are all considered part of The Razor vessel

Chapter III The Arms Race 第三幕。腕比べ。(Daisanmaku. Udekurabe.) [Act 3. Contest.]

腕比べ(Udekurabe) is contest(usually of strength/skill) and i find it funny cuz this one also has the word arm in it(腕Ude)

Chapter IV Mutually Assured Destruction 第四幕。恐怖の均衡。(Daiyonmaku. Kyoufu no Kinkou.) [Act 4. Terror Equilibrium.]

Or "Balance of Terror" but I like "Terror Equilibrium" more. I think like with the ENG name this refers to how, by the end of the chapter, both the Princess and TLQ are equals in their fight.

Haven't seen any JP streamers not take the blade in The Razor Ch 2 so I don't have the names for "No Way Out" and "The Empty Cup" ;-; I don't have the game myself so if anyone could show me any screenshots or smth of the JP title cards for these chapters i'd appreciate thank you

Chapter II The Beast 第二幕。ビースト。(Dainimaku. Biisuto.) [Act 2. Beast.]

Like the Nightmare, straight up English word

Chapter II The Witch 第二幕。卑劣な乙女。(Dainimaku. Hiretsu na Otome.) [Act 2. Foul Maiden.]

One of only 2 Princesses where an adjective is used instead of a noun. 卑劣(hiretsu) means lowly, mean, base, despicable, etc. This is basically the Witch's attitude(can be seen very clearly in our interaction with her and the fight to the death). This chapter is one of the only ones where the title differs quite a bit from the ENG name, though I also think that's what the English name is supposed to imply, rather than her being magical in some way(though she can call the roots of the wild apparently).

Chapter II The Stranger 第二幕。冷淡な乙女。(Dainimaku. Reitan na Otome.) [Act 2. Cold Maiden.]

Cold as in indifferent or apathetic. The 2nd and final adjective Princess. I'm actually unsure about why this one is named this way, as the Stranger is actually everything at once.

Chapter II The Prisoner 第二幕。囚人。(Dainimaku. Shuujin.) [Act 2. Prisoner.]

Direct translation. Another one where I'm not sure why she doesn't have "maiden" in her name, especially since both her Chapter 3s do

Chapter II The Damsel 第二幕。乙女。(Dainimaku. Otome.) [Act 2. Maiden.]

This one is interesting to me. Like most of the other names, this one has the word "maiden" in it. But here it's just "Maiden". Guess it makes sense though. This chapter we see her as just a damsel, just a maiden locked up in a cabin basement. Anywayyyyy Chapter 3s will be their own post as well as the voices Hope this was interesting for y'all, I wonder what the translations are for the other available languages.

Part 2(Chapter IIIs)>> Part 3(Narrator, Princess, Voices)>> Part 4(TLQ, TSM, Echo)>>

[bowie-boy]

what about your trans Wilson headcanons pretty please? 👀👀

An excuse to talk about my beloved, trans Wilson…this is an amazing day

(Def me projecting but) Wilson was one of those kids who always knew. Growing up with two brothers, he didn’t really get as a kid that he was different from them and got confused when his parents treated him differently

His first early sign of being trans was when he tried to pee standing up and pissed all over the floor (he assumed he would just grow a penis as he got older) (also me projecting dw abt it)

Once he realized he was technically “a girl,” he went along with it but never really felt connected to being female at all, which led to him feeling really displaced and unattached to people around him all the time

He found out that being a trans dude was a thing sometime in undergrad from one of those 80s talk shows and felt like the world exploded beneath him

Definitely went through an extensive questioning period (even though he definitely knew he was trans) where he would make really long lists of reasons why he was trans, why he couldn’t be trans, pros, cons, etc. and mull over them excessively because he was terrified of making a mistake (me projecting bc OCD Wilson is real and true to me but that’s another post)

Part of this phase involved going to gay bars and finding trans people and basically giving them the verbal equivalent of an “Am I really trans?” Reddit post until they told him he probably was and to stfu

Wilson came out and started transitioning between undergrad and grad

His parents weren’t super accepting at first and didn’t offer to help him pay for anything, nor did they gender him correctly at all, which took top surgery off the table for a long time

The only family member of Wilson’s that was accepting from the get-go was Danny (sad)

Wilson always looked pretty masc so once he started T he passed easily almost immediately but even to this day he’s still paranoid to no end that people somehow Know he’s not cis

Wilson really leaned into dating women once he started transitioning (he’d fooled around with people of both genders in the past while extremely drunk but dysphoria had pretty much taken any kind of sexuality exploration off the table for him)

Got married to Sam way too fast bc he assumed no one else would ever accept him for being trans (Sam’s version of acceptance was like. Never bringing it up)

In my perfect beautiful T4T hilson world, House was Wilson’s first ever trans friend and was his connect for getting top surgery

In an equally real world, Wilson being trans was the one personal detail House never found out until Wilson revealed it at some point in small waves purely to drive House insane

Stealing from @occultbooks but Wilson’s McGill sweater is 1000% his dysphoria sweater

Wilson and Chase go so many years at PPTH with no idea that the other is trans

Wilson’s comphet goes crazy until at some point post season one when his doctor ups his T dose and his sex drive gets completely thrown out of wack and he starts being attracted to House in a way he cannot ignore

Wilson learns from the Internet that starting testosterone can make you gayer and briefly considers dialing his dose back but the dysphoria is too strong so he decides to accept it as a “side effect”

Anyway eventually he realizes he was gay along and is just lowkey super repressed and maybe a little stupid

Amber never made Wilson feel awful about being trans from the get-go and was so supportive and curious and interested and that’s part of why Wilson loved her so so much

In non-T4T-verse, House pretends to be a chaser and is like wow Wilson it’s so hot that you’re trans it turns me on but actually he’s just hiding from vulnerability bc he really is just obsessed with Wilson and his body no matter what

Wilson is always afraid that his STP looks like a boner in his pants and House takes advantage of this paranoia by making as many jokes about it as possible bc he’s evil

Wilson never got a hysterectomy bc expensive but he still gets insanely awful cramps once a month that sometimes suck so bad he needs to stay home from work (this makes him hella dysphoric)

Wilson doesn’t like his top surgery scars but House thinks they’re the hottest thing ever which Wilson uses to make House feel better abt his leg scar

Wilson’s guilty pleasure is man spreading to a horrendous degree bc it helps his dysphoria a fuck ton

The reason why he wears those old man matching pajama sets is because that was his ultimate transition goal as a kid

On really bad days House does Wilson’s T shot for him (the catch is that House insists on doing the shot in Wilson’s ass)

This lowkey got extremely long my apologies but I could actually talk abt this forever

[troonwolf]

I’m literally a cult survivor.

syscourse reminder!

just because you don't like a certain side, doesn't mean that it's a cult.

please be respectful to the cult survivors in our communities. please.

[insert-random-account-name]

Crappy Character Analysis for STP

I really REALLY loved this game, and have been subjecting my family members to my thoughts so often that I finally decided to write them down. I'll probably do more in the future, but my thoughts about Voice of the Broken wound up getting so long I decided to just post it. I know I've given my thoughts about him in the past, but I wound up having more to add, so parts of this may be repetitive to a previous post.

THE VOICE OF THE BROKEN:

The Voice of the Broken is generally seen as dead weight, even being referred to as “The worst one” by the Voice of the Opportunist. This claim isn’t without reason: In his own chapters, he actively works against you, stabbing you in the lungs multiple times. Pre Pristine Cut, all of his other appearances are similarly unhelpful. In the Razor, (if you get him in Chapter 3), he just whines about how terrible everything is, and only has a couple mildly funny lines. In Chapter 4 of the Razor and the Moment of Clarity, there are too many voices to really have any insight on his character. His only other cameos in which he is a Chapter 3 Voice (That I know of) are in the Wild, in which all the voices are acting weird, or the Fury (through the Adversary), which ended too quickly to get a good grip on his personality. He’d always been a sticking point for me: If all of the voices have their “thing” that helps you, what was his? The Pristine Cut changed everything. From his new appearance in the Cage, plus his expanded dialogue in the Fury and the Apotheosis, his character is fleshed out to its fullest. Here are my thoughts.

The main way to get the Broken as a voice is to surrender your will. Whether that is to the Princess or to your own doubts is up to you. Because of this, he has the perspective that everything is hopeless. He views himself as nothing, and will immediately surrender himself to power. His obsession and servitude to the Tower, Fury (from Tower), and Apotheosis stem from a need to feel safe. He’s been hurt, and he’ll jump on any opportunity for the pain to finally stop. However, through his pain, he also has empathy. He sees that you aren’t the only one suffering. As far as I know, he’s the only one (besides Hero) to show any understanding for how the Princess might be feeling. In the Fury (from Adversary) he survives being unwound by accepting that you have hurt her in the worst way possible (for her) and embracing the torture rather than resisting it. At the end, he even attempts to comfort you, another rare sight. In the Cage, he calls out the Skeptic for being unfeeling, pointing out that disliking death is natural. He also realizes that the Princess claiming she isn’t in control stemmed more from trauma than actual fact, straight up calling her “Poor thing” as he recognizes what she must’ve gone through to get to that mental state. All in all, despite my original feelings about him, I think I like him not only as a character, but as a person.

[pareidolla]

hello.

can you tell me what your biggest gripes normally are when people write broken?

like, I get the feeling that there's a fine line between "adorable pathetic sopping wet cat" and "annoying pathetic sopping wet cat" and I personally find Broken in the former. but I cannot really tell what the line is.

I have written Broken before and not to self promo but here is the link in case anyone is curious; like it got positive reviews for the most part. Still, would be nice to know.

hello dearie!! i'm so flattered you asked ♡

i did write this little post about broken a few months ago, and i'd like to first reiterate that i don't want to be labeled an arbiter of broken characterization or anything similar. one thing i admire about the stp fandom is how we all contribute our own distinct flavor to the characters, and i don't want anyone to feel like they're writing broken incorrectly simply because it differs from my interpretation. if i ever were to write a broken fanfic then his voice would be completely off (i just can't help but make him act cute!! he's just an anime girl to me!!!!) so honestly don't place too much stock in my opinions.

with that being said — i'd say my biggest gripe when it comes to depicting broken is when he's pathetic, flat-out, without any rhyme or reason to his actions. he can't perform basic actions, he cowers away regardless of who he's interacting with, and yammers away about giving up just because.

for anyone struggling with writing broken, i think you should first and foremost understand his motivations. ironically, tower is a great place to start here!

one could argue smitten and broken could have switched princesses, with smitten accepting the princess's nature as a world-ending divinity and broken's mirror image being someone equally hollow. except, that's not what either of them desires. smitten wants be the perfect knight in shining armor who whisks away the princess on horseback, and broken?

its easy: once you let her in, you'll be safe forever.

she doesn't want to hurt us. she's just doing what she has to.

what's the point of fighting if she's just going to win everytime? it hurts being sliced to pieces.

broken's main desire is to be safe. you ultimately gain him by failing to be a hero: giving up, expressing hesitance in a key moment, or fruitlessly struggling against a power so much greater than you. as a result, his princess, his love, appears not as a horrific creature, feral beast, or vicious demon, but as a a goddess, someone capable of protecting him.

think of tower less as the dommy-mommy broken was so incredibly horny for he cut his own throat just to kiss her feet, and more as a hurricane. a force of nature which tore apart his home, showed him the frailty and meaninglessness of his life, then offered him both meaning and shelter within her eye of storm—as long as he gives his body to her. which is ideal for broken because it restores the control he's lost by, ironically, offering it to someone else. if he is obedient and lovely and grovel then his savior will take pity on him and he will never suffer again.

to return to my main gripe, if we understand broken desires safety and fawning is his trauma response, then we should know it obviously wouldn't be triggered by every little thing, especially in a controlled environment.

for instance, if broken was invited to a game night with the boys then he's not going to be sobbing pathetically in the corner like a child. he is, and i cannot express this enough, a grown adult man. there are several approaches to writing this—personally, i'd have him decline the invitation outright, muttering excuses about being too busy and he'd sour the mood anyway. if wrestled into it then he'd sit quietly, trying not to take up too much space or attract attention, and then fudge a game once or twice to keep the others happy. ultimately, he doesn't care about winning, and just wants to avoid any fights.

having said that, being conflict-averse does not imply cowardice. broken is a hater, and i love that about him. he's very empathetic and gentle and sweet and the perfect boyfriend, yes, but he's so fucking sassy it's amazing. broken may shy away from conflict but there are several scenes where he expresses his disbelief over how unusual the other voices all are, bickers with them, or straight-up insults them in their face.

like, i'm chill with interpretations where broken secretly admires the voices and aspires to do better, especially post-para apotheosis, but most of the time he hates their fucking asses. he wholeheartedly believes he is the only normal person in a sea of freaks. a caged bird watching as the other birds fling themselves against a glass window. yes, he is a pitiful little sheltered pet who let's out a sad whine every few minutes but please he still has his teeth!!

phew. okay this got too long. uhm! i don't really know how to end this ♡♡♡ i will say i did like your fic! i've been starved for non-wholesome smitbroken look at those boys enabling eachother. if anyone else is reading this, please go forth and create your own broken fic; i will read and i will enjoy it. this is a threat.