#route notes

[immortalmailman]

In case anyone wondered where I'd been for the last four months, let me just say that time paradoxes are the devil to fix. Took at least half a month to see where it'd happened, and a good few weeks to find the right universe after that. My coat's never going to be the same.

[daily-odile]

nuh uh (papertrail au)

[turtleblogatlast]

I think a lot about Leo’s tendency to push his way into the spotlight despite clearly being a natural in the shadows. Hell, you could argue that his worst moments are when he’s forcing himself onstage, and his best are when he does things no one notices until it’s already been done.

[knockknockitsnickels]

I think this is one of my favorite lines from the Wraith route because of (imo) how much the meaning changes depending on if you got there via Spectre or Nightmare. For Spectre, it honestly strikes me as a genuine question. Why are you doing this to her? If you're on the Spectre route, you presumably already know the Narrator can't really be trusted, since you had to reject his reward to get here. What are you hoping to gain from continuing to hurt her? For Nightmare, it honestly just makes me sad. As the Shifting Mound describes her, "She desires only companionship, but the only thing she knows is how to hurt." This line feels like a plea from someone who genuinely doesn't understand why you keep rejecting her. She wants to be with you, but she just can't understand how to do that in a way which doesn't hurt you.

[the-great-papyru]

something i’ve never seen covered: flowey after neutral runs.

let’s say you do a pacifist run, spare flowey, and then just do not reset. you still hold the save file. before, you had the save file, yeah, but you were there and you were interesting. now he has nothing. yes, some dialogue is bound to change, but eventually he’s going to end up bored. and here’s where it gets interesting.

suddenly he has to live life in a linear fashion. no more going back. and i can see him being incredibly paranoid about every choice ever. he can’t go back! what if he does something to change the story irreversibly? so he starts gradually shutting himself off from everyone. more than before, i mean. he can’t even watch people; what if he’s spotted? he doesn’t know where people will be! so he ends up completely isolated from everyone; lonely, unstable, etc. papyrus is wondering where he is but he can’t just talk to him! what if he messes up, what if he reveals too much, what if he says something wrong and papyrus hates him, what if. he can’t interact with anyone. ever.

or.

or he swallows his fears. he’s a being of curiosity. he’s got to keep talking to people. what if they do say something new? what if he misses it?

and maybe, after enough time, papyrus does start saying new things.

but papyrus isn’t enough. flowey can’t miss any dialogue, things have changed and he wants to see them. so he starts branching out. papyrus “introduces” him to sans. and sans is a bit sceptical at first, but the flower really doesn’t seem to mean him or his brother any harm. and why would flowey? he’s got his dialogue. he doesn’t need to change anything. he doesn’t need to hurt anyone. and there’s no going back to get the favorable outcome. flowey messes up sometimes, and they have fights, and it’s okay. they get over them, and their friendship is stronger because of it. and they are friends. flowey didn’t mean for it to happen, he doesn’t even recognize it as friendship until papyrus points it out.

because he’s used to being the one “carrying” the entire “friendship.” (i’ll write an actual analysis about this later in another post, so this one doesn’t drag on.) and now he’s interacting with people without having to worry whether this is the optimal outcome. it’s an outcome he likes. and maybe that’s enough.

[quintessential-candles]

Hi I ranked mystic messenger characters based off of how likely they are to stab you

[clowwwnbytes]

slay the princess pristine cut spoilers etc

i was brainstorming with buddies on discord and started thinking about damsel ch3 having the blade with her, already pointed at her heart, then just started thinking about the blade as a tool.

i think about the blade so much. a cold reminder of your mission in this world, something so tiny that represents a huge wall between you, your ability to be willing to understand others, to understand yourself.

if you bring it with you you've chosen to take a defensive stance against something and someone you don't understand, but it's so comforting, it gives you options, it gives you control over any situation given you don't underestimate the person standing in front of you. even when you don't want it, when you think you don't need it, it will come back to you. a nagging feeling. you're given the option to be distrustful even when you don't literally have it in you, it's what you've been taught is safety, it hangs over your head and dangles above your heart at all times.

and in damsel ch3 it goes from a tool given weight by the role you're supposed to play, to the same thing but looming over her this time. the expectations of what you're supposed to want and what's best for the people around you and what keeps you grounded, the narrator sang the same tune before, and he hurt her and he hurt you. he hurt himself and his humanity in the process. and now he's taken the backseat and is forced to see how messed up that is by having the smitten be the one pulling the strings of the construct, someone with a perspective so different, but one that ends up hurting everyone all the same, even if he doesn't intend it to do so.

everyone is forced to look at themselves in the mirror.

carrying that blade is suffocating for anyone.

and now im thinking about mr. "let's throw it out the window" contrarian, the only voice you can bring to her heart along with the hero, someone that refused to engage with the narrative and someone that is well aware that his perspective is annoying and unneeded for its purposes.

and then he meets the whole of her, and she tells him about how his courage is beautiful. he's the part of the long quiet that knowingly or not, is more willing to throw aside any kind of logic in order to understand a situation in a way the rest don't want to, and he's *now* realizing that his existence is an important aspect to have.

[muffinlance]

could you tell us a bit about how you picked the title "blindsiding badgermoles?" i ask because i was thinking of starting a spanish translation, but from what i can find, spanish doesn't have a word for "to take by surprise" that's also a blindness pun. so i was hoping i could try and come up with a title that conveys a similar idea. thanks i love your work <3

Oh no translating puns across languages I WISH YOU WELL

So my goals when picking a title: make it short, easy to remember, and plot relevant, so it's easy for people to remember off the top of their heads when it comes up re-finding or recommending

So yep, it was "blind pun that's also story-appropriate" + "word that hints at Toph's involvement", with bonus alliteration. Feel free to follow that formula in your translation, if you can find suitable words

Good luck!

[potatobugz]

happy dreams

[afklancelot]

i think my favorite part of Slay the Princess is that whenever it gets to the stairs part of the route and the Narrator grimly describes the state of the stairwell, he always ends the description with a cheeky "damn bitch, she lives like this" every time. No matter what route it is*. For example, in the Stranger route:

no shit buddy

[horror-aesthete]

Renfield, 2023, dir. Chris McKay

[immortalmailman]

Oh, the stars are shining bright tonight, aren't they?

Well, best get my sunglasses. The mail's not going to deliver itself.

[dailykeiji]

i don’t know how anyone can hate keiji when he says shit like Okie Dokie and Shucks. sure he may have comitted several atrocities that he should be behind bars for but he’s just a silly goofy guy……. you’d hate a silly goofy guy?? for shame…………….

[tereladea]

My piece for @hatchetfield-bang for a piece by @anxiouspandatheatrekid's work! Additional sketch under the cut.

Check out her lovely story 2003! https://archiveofourown.org/works/58654951

[knockknockitsnickels]

"Sacrifice the Yourself" chapter 2: The Broken The Hierophant. Starring the Narrator, Voice of the Tower, Princess Princess, and furby Broken

[coolnonsenseworld]

A little promo with my little obsession on the side...........

Reminder all items are shipped from Poland - for details on shipping times check out FAQ or send me a private message!

 mmezzy.bigcartel.com