#pristin lq

[glitchh1337]

the right thing to do

[determinedowl23]

so you guys like the apotheosis now that she shows empathy. mkay. gotcha gotcha gotcha.

[wolfateacatagain]

Surprised I didn't realise the cursed sketch was a lesser dog reference, though the Exeggutor joke was still a good one >:D

Btw, did I say I love Den in your style? She looks regal

...I had an idea, so I had to draw that idea.

Inspired by a new Den route. I imagined her picking TLQ up by his scruff, like he is a kitten or a cub, and I could not resist drawing this. This is also my first time ever making fanart for the Den, she is so intimidating and difficult to draw for me, but I love her!

I also drew this quick sketch of her... but oh, this sketch is cursed:

For context: Abby, the artist for Slay the Princess, stopped by in Black Tabby Discord and dropped a surprise reference sheet for the Den. Now, the important part for context is this quick note:

...well, uh

...Somehow, it gets worse

...Den has gone where no Princess has gone before.

I am sorry, but I am also not sorry

[cedesect]

I want to talk about the happily ever after route for a second. I want to talk hows it's actually about the narrator. I want to talk about how smitten and the princess directly parallel the relationship between the narrator and LQ.

Smitten as the shadow does what he does out of love for the princess- a misguided sort of love. I'd argue the narrator feels the same kind of love for LQ. A love that traps, that cages. He thinks he knows whats best for LQ- he "rewards" him with something endless and meaningless in "the good ending". "happily after ever" is a VERY similar title, and in it we are also trapped in the cabin by someone who thinks he knows what we want, and that something is something endless, and meaningless- plates refilling, games resetting. It's awful. it's torture, the narrator admits this when he watches the events unfold, it's one of the only times we see him show such abject... I mean, it's hard to describe the emotion. He's a little bit distraught, a little horrified, a little disgusted. he sounds broken, really, like the full weight of his actions has just been shown to him.

These lines stand out to me, too. This chapter really puts him in a new light, even if it's just for a moment, before the echo of him fades away. God, the Pristine Cut is a masterpiece. I've had so much fun with it so far, its really fucking great.

[mysterydragon14]

your voice designs are amazing!!! I'm very very excited to see your design for broken when it gets posted- he's my absolute favorite <33

thank you so much :3

i was originally gonna do cheated next but i had no ideas for him and broken was just waiting for a clean ref also I collected all the memories of the pristine apotheosis for reference and i loved it (even though this sheet doesn't have pristine cut spoilers)

I originally refused to give my voices ascessories but broken just gotta have some sort of chain or at least a collar also his beak is chipped because on the way to tower the princess breaks LQs beak his wings are trimmed/clipped, making him flightless even if he could fly before I also randomly decided to make his scales crecent moons since the apotheosis has a bit of a sun theme going on

[sop-soap]

list of minor things pristine cut has taught us:

-the narrator reads from a script

-LQ sees the title cards

-when the voices in LQ's head are arguing, it's in real time, so he spends a lot of time just Staring

-the princess wears mascara

-LQ is tall enough to touch the ceiling of the cabin

-he also has TEETH.

[wolfateacatagain]

!!!!

The Hero and the Beast // The Princess and the Dragon

You are here to [Slay / Save] them.

-

(sketches and notes under the cut)

inspired by the parallels between the den / beast originally being inspired by questing beasts and the archetypal naming of the long quiet as a dragon. took some liberties with the designs and anatomy.

i chose to title it 'the hero and the beast' rather than 'the den' despite using her design because i felt the name was more evocative of that mythical monstrousness, but narratively and aesthetically i like the den better than the beast route for this. similarly, the cage fit narratively and in environmental aesthetics for the princess' 'save them' scene but the body was too far from the baseline (the center 'choosing' characters are intended to be gestalts rather than any one particular form) and the scale was too small to cleanly draw all of the chains so i went with the prisoner as the chapter ii that leads to the cage.

drawn in pencil on 5.5" x 8.5" paper and digitally rendered in medibang.

[sonjalikestodraw]

Heehee sweary gamer rage boy funny, lemme just *trips over the Thorn chapter and falls in love with Cheated* Updated for Pristine cut! :D

Design notes:

Based on a street pigeon; pigeons were once domesticated and "cheated" by humanity.

As a part of Slayer's psyche, represents Anger Born of Worry + Sense of Justice/Fairness

Razor shredded his outfit and destroyed clipped his wings :(

Let's do some fashion crimes! He's in White Tie casino attire. Gambling theming fits his risktaker mindset, while the formal wear is symbol for how he's a stickler for the rules and hates random bullshit.

BUT he wears a (gasp) Black Tie-style blood-red cummerbund. Because I like cummerbunds. It represents getting stabbed in the gut in chapter 1.

Wherever Slayer gets chopped or pierced, Cheated gets scarred. Notably in-game our throat gets slit, so that one scar is always there, along with our knife hand getting lopped off. (He'll take it for Slayer's sake, but he's gonna complain about it the whole time)

If he hasn't met Razor or Nightmare, like in Thorn, the cummerbund is white and his outfit and wings are intact. "Fuck off Opportunist, I'm getting Thorn outta here!" He's her friendly angel, in black and white for alliance with both Slayer and the Princess.

In Wild, as per her route's aesthetics, his clothes are intact and recolored dark (black for LQ and the dark, green for the absolute reality), and Wild gave him poppy decor for sweetness and connection with the Princess.

In Cage, he's pissed off with the other Voices and Slayer, thus wearing red, while the white suit is for alliance with the Princess, almost like a wedding suit.

Fun fact: he's a trans dude ~

Like Oppy, he's in modern clothing instead of vaguely medieval/ren faire like the rest, because of how he talks like a gamer trying to exploit mechanics.

Barefoot to match Razor.

Has Hot-blooded Sideburns.

The dyed sidecut is a reference to various let's players, and also just looks nice. I think it suits him to have a punk hairstyle that he can meticulously maintain, yet claw at and mess with when he's frustrated (which is... all the time).

You'd best believe that when he gives Razor The Look, he pushes back his hair :P

[salty-an-disco]

I love that among the many feelings The Long Quiet always has, he did not expect himself to look LIKE that.

I'm kind of imagining him now trying to ask the Echo at the Mirror if he was the one to make him look like that, and how different scenarios could go.

I love how much Pristine Cut fleshed out LQ/Gary themself as a character. Even tho you can roleplay them as certain ways, they still very much have their own personality and set of beliefs and perspectives. It's just a matter of which side of it you get to see (much like with Shifty!!)

I actually think, when it came to Narrator's and Quiet's appearance, it was the other way around. Narry killed and put a piece of himself in Quiet, and the consequences of that is that he looks a lot more like the god he created. It didn't matter what Quiet looked like after all, he was more focusing on making sure they had some humanity in them so that they'd sympathize with his cause. The princess looking human tho, I think was very purposeful in his part, since she couldn't look too threatening as to not influence our thoughts.

Very interesting then that the more monstrous versions of the princesses (Nightmare, MOC, and Beast/Den, specifically) tends to have darker color palettes and in Den's case, have a lot of Quiet's characteristics. When stripped down to instinct, this is what they look like.

[strangeracrossthestreet]

So, I think PATD route finally answers a question I don't think has ever really been answered before.

What is the Pristine Blade?

And what do I think it is? It's what the Narrator used to cut Shifty and LQ from one into two...

[modeus-the-misanthrope]

Live reaction of LQ, Hero, and Smitten.

Okay so this little tiny ittsy bitsy teaser got posted in the discord and like. Why is damsel frowning. She didn't even frown when she got STABBED just smiled and cried😭 how did we fuck up so bad that the damn damsel is going:(

[mpsideadump]

Pristine Cut new routes!

I've currently played through all of the new routes (as in the new branches of Specter, Damsel, and Prisoner) and I just wanted to get all of my initial thoughts down and share them with you guys!

So

I TALK SPOILERS, DONT CLICK THE READ MORE BUTTON IF YOU HAVENT SEEN THE NEW ROUTES OR ARE NEW TO THE GAME

The Princess and the Dragon was the first one I did and FINALLY SEEING THE LONG QUIET IN FULL because we're inside the Princess's body is AMAZING!

Like?????

And the fact it confirms that LQ just stares when he's talking with the other voices, and the voices can share control of the body and they actually have distinct mannerisms! For sure now one of my favorite chapters!

The Cage's design is SO COOL! I'm not disappointed in how the Cage turned out cuz the way the Woods look and the Cabin being on a floating island makes it one of the more distinct Ch.3s. I will say that I am disappointed in how my run of the Chapter went cuz Skeptic turned into one of the worst voices for me when he's paired with Paranoid (my favorite voice and unfortunately).

I've heard that there's actually a bunch of variations for this chapter that end up with a happier ending, but the one I got where LQ gets decapitated and he just watches his body fight the Princess's felt a bit too jaded for my tastes. I'm gonna be experimenting to see what else I can do!

And finally...

OH MY GOD HAPPILY EVER AFTER IS OFFCIALLY THE BEST CHAPTER IN THE GAME!!! (in my opinion!)

I'll be honest, Damsel wasn't really my favorite because going through it as it was was just kind of...boring. Deconstructed Damsel was far more interesting because it pointed out the problems with her as she is (and the doodle is hilarious to boot). The Burned Grey, while a cool design, also wasn't really all that impressive to me because that chapter always ends with you and her burning together (but I do get what that route was trying to get at, which is how destructive a person blinded by love can be).

Happily Ever After takes that same idea and applies it to the fricking Smitten! SMITTEN!!

We finally have a chapter where Smitten is taken to the extreme and I'm all for it. The way he kills us to get to it is fricking terrifying, and the form he ends up taking to control the Princess is also heartbreaking (pun partially intended).

BUT HAVING THE FRICKING NARRATOR FINALLY REALIZE HOW BAD HIS IDEA IS AS WELL?????

Him witnessing first hand the torture of having someone else tell you what to do and how you should be happy as well as what stagnant, never-changing life actually looks like....

And him getting a mini-redemption arc out of it🥲

And gaaaaaahhhhhhh that final dance under the stars with her was perfect😭😭😭

I actually didn't want this Princess to go and was so sad when she got picked up by Shifty (its what I felt towards Thorn but like 10x worse).

Overall, I honestly believe that "Princess and the Dragon" & "Happily Ever After" can make great final princesses before Shifty is fully reconstructed. HEA even more so because of Narrator's redemption and I have the sneaking suspicion that getting this as the last Princess might actually change his opinions when you meet him.

The Cage was pretty good, but like I said I need to see a more uplifting variation of it to be more satisfied with the chapter itself.

[hello-universe-lovers]

"Well, hello there! Fancy seein' y'all here!"

"..."

My Cold debuts with a new Princess: the Belle, an Offshoot of the Damsel. The color ref is not height accurate so refer to my rough height estimate.

You know where the Spoiler rants are (this is a long one since I am introducing a new Princess)

The Belle:

- Spawned from a last ditch effort from the Narrator to keep the Damsel jailed. He locks the cabin door as the Player and Damsel were leaving, only letting out the Player, but not the Damsel. To bypass this, they decided to swap clothes, leaving the Princess in her current clothes and the Player in the Princess Dress. But she won't leave the Player trapped for very long. She decided to stay around the cabin, creating a farm around it, and waiting until the Player decides to leave.

- I went through many ideas for the name (Cowgirl, Rancher, Southerner(j), and so forth) before settling on the Belle from "Southern Belle"

- The Axe is from a melted down Pristine Blade. (Don't ask how that worked)

- the Crown on her hat is floppy. It's not real metal.

- She still has the traits of the Damsel (wanting to make you happy, speaking sweetly, etc...) but it has been tempered by hard work and a southern accent.

- I may or may not have based her color palette on a certain frequent stp reblogger...

- no one knows how or why she has a piece of her dress, when she gave it to the Player before leaving.

- No one knows how she was able to make a farm either.

- there are only poultry on her fields. But bountiful fruits and vegetables.

- doesn't necessarily like Cold (his mood is a Debby downer), but she likes having someone to talk to, even if they don't talk back.

Voice of the COLD:

- obviously he is my most simple design so far.

- I interpret his "clothes" are a result of being tired of daily routine. If he had his way, he'd wear nothing at all. But Hero would throw a hissy fit if he just walked around naked.

- His hands and feet are just like LQ's

- He has 2 eyes. There is nothing on the other side. Just the 2 eyes on 1 side.

- The Mug is from the Belle (he stole it)

- His hair is surprisingly silky for someone who's never seen taking a shower

- whatever liquid is in that mug, he is addicted to it.

- Yes, he has interrupted the Narrator with obnoxiously loud sipping.

- Doesn't like the Belle all that much (the mundane farm life bored him), but he still keeps stopping by, under the excuse of needing a refill. (He stays there for 3 hours, at least).

BONUS SLEEPING MOUND THOUGHTS:

(Explore) "What do you think of this vessel?"

"This one is loyal. She refused to leave you alone, but discovered joy and contentment, in waiting for you. She will make for an honest heart.

Do not mourn her, she has earned her rest."

((Cold you are so me coded it hurts me. Good thing Belle can balance you out!

[modeus-the-misanthrope]

I cracked the codes and figured out how we will make Damsel do her sad frowny face in the Pristine Cut!

First get her to the upper room of the cabin, as shown.

Once there when she asks, "What do you wanna do." You will get the option to ask, "Well...if I can ask you something a little personal...." This will cause her to lean forwards in interest. Like so.

And then she will respond "Of course, anything. Just say what you want." Which will be responded to by LQ without the players input asking. "Do you know if Prisoner is seeing anyone?" Resulting in the camera zooming ij further on this expression.

[dualogical]

Divorce the Princess AU - credit to Cabin Enthusiast

I've talked with a few people in the Tabby Discord. They agree that there should be an ending where Quiet separates from SM but doesn't slay her.

Think about it: Whether intentionally or not, they have hurt each other, and sure an option is to shove everything under the rug, but there can be more options.

Maybe once Quiet goes to the Heart with Hero and are above the basement - let's suppose Hero got them out of Her - the Voices can stage an intervention? It's difficult to see you're in a bad situation if you're in the thick of it. Hero genuinely cares for your wellbeing and I'm sure Contrarian wouldn't be opposed either. Smitten and Broke would possibly be the hardest to convince. Just talk things out with people that can see from the 'outside' or at least one step removed.

Here's my readings/evidence

Adversary: Look, I love adversary and it can be healthy, sure! But if the wrong options are picked she beats him to death, even moreso if he tries to go upstairs and hide from her. Needle outright blames him from what she's become. Even SM agrees she victim blamed him!

Damsel actually doesn't do anything, she's fine. LQ can make her deconstruct but it's accidental at least? (I hope the Pristine Cut doesn't make me eat my words)

Prisoner is also fine other than strangling him with her chains. Boundaries, people.

The Greys kill you but to be fair you killed them first so it's a bit of a cycle.

Spectre: LQ outright killed her first. I've never been killed so I don't know if ripping out the heart is an appropiate response. Wraith has some lines in the posession moment that's heavily reminicent of other things.

Witch: If it's Witch alone I can say 'fair', because it's a cycle of betrayal. Both hurt each other in this one.

Wild is also pretty okay but you can also read the route as codependency given form.

Nightmare and MOC are pretty irredeemable in my book, what with hurting him enough times even the Voices are heavily traumatized. That's an overreaction to being locked in a basement. I get the initial lashing out but to keep it going...

Beast and Den: She fucking eats him. Enough said.

Tower: The most obvious one, verbal abuse galore and makes him hurt himself. Fury from what we have won't be a cakewalk either. And given the trailer Apotheosis can stone you

[cheeseandcake-from-ao3]

What are your thoughts on the expanded routes, new routes, as well as new ending in the pristine cut?

I love the expansion! It was Sorely Needed, and the extra content on the Spectre, Apotheosis, and Prisoner are my favourites!

Spectre because we get Princess PoV! And to see how Horrifying LQ looks! Also Oppotunist is a barstard and I both love him and find how quickly he falls for the princess hilarious. Honestly her being so fine with us backstabbing (Front-stabbing?) her makes me only more worried for her. Let The Princess Have Therapy 2024.

Apotheosis because Broken and Paranoid get a moment to shine and it's everything I've ever wanted. Let them get angry and go a bit off the rails. As A Treat.

Prisoner because I love drowned but it works less with the whole. Her cutting her own head off. (I had more of a rant, but that went way too far into headcanon territory, so...)

My thoughts on the new ending are... It's an ending, I guess? Maybe that will change it time. It's fine as it is, but I'm not throwing I party over it. I also find it Odd that if you stop it near the end, SM goes right back to saying "I was right, this doesn't prove otherwise, yada yada." Please give us an ending where we can just go seperate ways as symbolism of everything and nothing being fundamentally split from each other because LQ and SM's relationship makes me uncomfortable sometimes. This is me writing my wants and not me making a demand from the writers DO NOT TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY