#stp networked wild

[newquestion]

misinterpreted networked wild

of course there's one more image! here you go!

[phantombre]

You know, I haven't drawn the Princess in a while, so here's (in my opinion) the most intriguing lore wise:

A web of nerves laid upon a web of nerves laid upon a web of nerves...

[mercuriallily]

So after going through the whole game multiple times to compile what Shifty says when you bring her each vessel and each vessel's poem (and their variations) during the endgame, I thought other people might be interested in those as well, so I decided to make a few posts with all that info! This post will have each of the Chapter 3 vessels' endgame poems

Chapter 2 vessels Chapter 3 vessels Endgame poems (Chapter 2s) Shifty vessel animations

Apotheosis (after embracing oblivion): You are helpless and weightless, suspended in the gravity of an idea that reaches far beyond the scope of your existence. The very ground beneath your feet loses its meaning. There is nothing but me. When you were confronted with my vessel's apotheosis, you chose to accept me, to allow me to burn away everything you are and fill you with nothing but my divine will. You accepted that I was everything. Without me, there is no future to look towards. It is hope that carves meaning into consciousness.

Apotheosis (after trying to slay her): You are weightless, suspended in the gravity of an idea that threatens to consume you. And you are alone. A tiny island caught between the death of the old world and the birth of the new. But alone is not helpless. When you were confronted with my vessel's apotheosis, you chose against all odds to defy me. To hold on to your inner self, with all its flaws, even in the scorching light of my divinity. Without me, there are no externalities to resist. And it is struggle that carves meaning into consciousness.

Burned Grey: I kill you. You kill me. Back and forth we go, faster and faster and faster. I kill you. You kill me. Hollow eyes watch from the dry corners of a memory. A home built on all the futures that were supposed to be, preserved until the moment of reunion. The fire of the heart sets it all ablaze. I kill you and me. An ending is a passion that can only be expressed with a moment in time. It is a seed for a new beginning. To linger on an ending is to rob it of its life. And without me, all that's left to do is linger.

Den: You are devoured, prey for something bigger than you that stalks and slinks in shadows. But even after the pain of defeat, you returned. The dance is its own truth. It is the movement that matters, not the pause you mistake for an ending.

Drowned Grey: I kill you. You kill me. Back and forth we go, faster and faster and faster. I kill you. You kill me. Hollow eyes watch from the dark corners of a forgotten place flooded by emotions left unspoken. The tide rises. I kill you and me. An ending is a passion that can only be expressed with a moment in time. It is a seed for a new beginning. To linger on an ending is to rob it of its life. And without me, all that's left to do is linger.

Eye of the Needle (after fighting her): I crush you, I bleed you, I grind you to paste. My scars are a memory of what you used to be to me. I want those feelings back. You run but you do not run away. You take me somewhere new. Somewhere we can dance like we used to. But I could not follow your steps. There was no better gift for me than the gift of defeat. You showed me how much more I could be. We made each other better. To have no challenge is to fade into nothing. A life without obstacles is no life at all.

Eye of the Needle (after freeing her): I crush you, I bleed you, I grind you to paste. My scars are a memory of what you used to be to me. I want those feelings back. You run, and you run far. And the flesh I hurl at you is answered by the empty air of a place I'd never been. Cold and lonely, but also true. I didn't know what to make of my freedom then, but I know what to make of it now. You challenged me, and by challenging me you gave me purpose. A life without obstacles is no life at all.

Eye of the Needle (after refusing to fight her): I crush you, I bleed you, I grind you to paste. My scars are a memory of what you used to be to me. I want those feelings back. You run, but you don't run far. I crush you because I have to. Because there is no honesty in mercy. Who lost and who won when you entered my cave? You died on the floor, but my soul wept in ways your body couldn't. But in the disappointment of my victory, you gave me a new challenge to face within myself. Without obstacles to overcome we stagnate into nothing.

Fury: What is a person? Is it their body? Is it all of their body? Pluck the eyes, peel the skin, strip the tendons, mince the meat, grind the bones. When it is all gone, do you still have who you started with? A person is not a body. Death is a transformation into something new. It is only bodies that fear it.

Moment of Clarity: There are few things more terrifying than one's own heart, and there is almost nothing more terrifying than sharing it with another. But the most terrifying thing of all is to leave one's heart unshared. You are the only thing like me, and I am the only thing like you. Could you bear the weight of an eternity alone? Do you dare to shape a reality of solitude and thrust it on creation?

Networked Wild: A web of nerves lain upon a web of nerves lain upon a web of nerves. The shade of a beautiful beginning we can never return to. Where did you end and I begin? When you felt what it was to be me, we held on to each other and pierced the veil of truth. Will you abandon that curiosity now that we are no longer joined in physicality?

Thorn (after abandoning her): A thought is a vine, and some thoughts nurture thorns that bleed the soul. An endless growth that blots your vision and strangles your trust. When I succumbed to myself, you left me to rot. A painful eternity, but one that is only unceasing if you remove what happens next.

Thorn (after being stuck together): A thought is a vine, and some thoughts nurture thorns that bleed the soul. An endless growth that blots your vision and strangles your trust. When I succumbed to myself, you left me to rot, and in your abandonment, the two of us were bound in our suffering together. A painful eternity, but one that is only unceasing if you remove what happens next.

Thorn (after freeing her): A thought is a vine, and some thoughts nurture thorns that bleed the soul. An endless growth that blots your vision and strangles your trust. When I succumbed to myself, you patiently stood by me and cut the thistles that rooted in my skin. Your compassion is what freed us both, but compassion is a thing that must be nurtured, and you cannot nurture that which cannot change.

Thorn (after trying to slay her): A thought is a vine, and some thoughts nurture thorns that bleed the soul. An endless growth that blots your vision and strangles your trust. When I succumbed to myself, you pretended to stand patiently by me, pretended you would cut the thistles rooted in my skin. But then you took my trust and used it to strike at my heart. The two of us were bound in our suffering together.

Wounded Wild (after cutting her free): A web of nerves lain upon a web of nerves lain upon a web of nerves. The shade of a beautiful beginning we can never return to. You knew me and I knew you, even more than either of us know each other now. And you chose to pull apart that weave. But you did not choose to end me. We were still one, but we were also separate, and we were free. We were as we are. Will you excise that part of yourself now that you see me from yet another angle?

Wounded Wild (after slaying her): A web of nerves lain upon a web of nerves lain upon a web of nerves. The shade of a beautiful beginning we can never return to. You knew me and I knew you, even more than either of us know each other now. And you chose to pull apart that weave. And when the tapestry was undone you struck at my heart. You saw me as a part of you to be excised, but in that desire for excision, you made yourself whole. Will you still be whole if you destroy me?

Wraith (after freeing her): Flesh is a vehicle, and to destroy the flesh is to strand the spirit. With violence, you stranded me, and with violence, I sought to twist your flesh back into mine. You did not resist my violence when it overcame you. Did you understand that the flesh wasn't you, or did you choose to gift yourself to someone who thought she hated you? To fear me is to fear losing the flesh, but the flesh is not the spirit.

Wraith (after throwing yourself into the abyss): Flesh is a vehicle, and to destroy the flesh is to strand the spirit. With violence, you stranded me, and with violence, I sought to twist your flesh back into mine. When forced between choosing your death, and forfeiting your body, you chose agency. But agency requires action, and action requires an endless tapestry of events. In your final moments, would you remove action itself from reality?

[vickysaurus-art]

The Shifting Mound with every other princess as her minis! With the Apotheosis joining last, but the very opposite of least, it’s finally done! For now, because I plan to ink it, and those spots around Fury are reserved for the Pristine Cut princesses, so it won’t really be done until autumn at the earliest.

[deconstructthesoup]

I think the chapter where the Narrator is the most villainous-sounding is in the Networked Wild. Why?

Because, well, you've defied him. You're joined again with the Shifting Mound, and you're getting closer and closer to finding a way out. Shifty sees him as cold and unnatural, trying to force the two of you into boxes that can barely contain you. And when you continue to grow, and reach, and find the edges of the prison, he drops the act.

He spits that you will never be whole again. That you can never find the boundaries of his prison. Is he talking to you? Is he talking to Shifty? All that matters is that he's telling you what he really thinks---he sees the Shifting Mound as a curse that needs to die, and he takes you, the Long Quiet, for granted. If you succeed in killing her for good, then your "reward" is to stay in his construct forever. He doesn't even know what the hell your role is. You're just "the god he made to be rid of death."

And god, the Networked Wild really does showcase his desperation and his hatred, but it also showcases how weak he really is. He was just a man who thought he could play God, and now he's just one of many little voices in your head.

Anyway Narry is an absolutely fantastic villain all around

[neverpathia]

A web of nerves, laid upon a web of nerves, laid upon a web of nerves.

AAAAAAAAAAEEEEEEEEE IT IS FINALLY OVER HOLY SHIT THIS PIECE TOOK THE LIVING AIR OUT OF ME

It's the Opportunist. And the Networked Wild.

this is for an art trade with @lilywily143 please enjoy your food

I got lazy with the lower half, oops, let's ignore it then

little close up on the couple

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm still more of a Smittunist shipper myself but honestly this was pretty fun to do.

[arseniy-arsenicum33]

Have you guys ever heard about this game "Slay The Princess"?

I sure have... It's been constantly spinning in my mind for a couple of months...

So I've tried to make something in Hero Forge about it... Here are my attempts at slaying modeling Chapter 2 Princesses...

Bonus: Hero Forge doesn't allow more than two figures on one base, so there is no way I could model The Stranger... So here is five of her fragments:

And also Tower lifting the chin of a raven that was used to determine Her hand position... He was so charming to me, I've decided to show you... Not Long, but a Little Quiet...

All models are free to use in your DnD campaigns, and will be available through links in my Google Doc... Once I finish compiling it... I also need to acknowledge, that I'm not the first person doing this... That honor, as far as I'm aware, goes to @imafuckingnerdineveryway and their two sets of models: Long Quiet and Shifting Mound Adversary and Damsel Which were partial inspiration for starting this project... Check them out! More people should engage with Hero Forge as an art program!

[ciphertologys-coward]

Here’s a collection of every single princess I drew for my slay the princess drawing challenge! This took me about two weeks maybe? I didn’t draw during the weekends to give myself a break

I unfortunately never got around to drawing the shifting mound herself 😔😔

[coldranger]

*inhale*

SP3CTRE IS MY HOMMIE. MY PAL. I WANNA KEEP TALKING TO HER. I WANT HER TO BE HAPPY. I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK TO MY BODY. I WANT TO KEEP HER COMPANY. I WANT HER TO LAUGH. I WANT TO HEAR HER TALK ABOUT NOTHING AS WE SIT IN A DARK CABIN TOGETHER. I WANT TO BANTER.

*exhale* Anyways yeah guys I'm enjoying pristine cut

[deconstructthesoup]

I was looking around for the fifth one and then I realized

5 princesses i got

[birdmitosis]

knock knock kit! for the stp ask game

9. (Explore) What line from The Narrator do you like the most?

13. (Explore) Any Vessel-Vessel you want to see interact?

29. (Explore) Can you share an idea/WIP of a fic/fanart/fanedit/AU you have in the works right now?

OMG thank you!! I am so happy to do more of these :D

[Slay the Princess ask box game is here!]

9. (Explore) What line from The Narrator do you like the most?

This is a very hard question, because I like a lot of his lines for multiple reasons. The entire speech leading into the Moment of Clarity! In the new HEA chapter, his line of "I hope this was worth it. Genuinely, I do." In the new Cage chapter, the hilarity of the timing and delivery of his usual "If the Princess lives here, slaying her would probably be doing her a favor." His unexpected reassurances to Hero if you successfully slay the Tower, the "Don't let those be your final thoughts" bit. The unexpected heartbreak of, if you choose to lie or tell the truth telling him you're going to slay the Shifting Mound at the final mirror, his "Are you lying? I can't tell," after he's been able to tell throughout the entire game if you're lying...

But I think when it comes down to it, my favorite line from him is a very, very simple one. Even when I'm speeding through things to get to a different chapter or specific choice, I always slow down to listen to the exchange between him and Skeptic in the Prisoner chapter, and his delivery:

Narrator: "And… maybe I wanted to be the first version of me that you met. I didn't want to be confronted by the alternative." Skeptic: "That's pathetic." Narrator: "I never said I wasn't."

His delivery of that last line was the first time I ever saw a hint of vulnerability in the Narrator in the game, a moment of pure open honesty and emotion, and it immediately set me down the path of sympathy. So... yeah. "I never said I wasn't" has to take the cake for me.

13. (Explore) Any Vessel-Vessel you want to see interact?

Ooooh, A LOT actually! A lot of the Chapter II (and Chapter III) "counterparts" could have really great dynamics, especially (IMO) Beast & Witch, Damsel & Prisoner, Nightmare & Spectre, Cage & Happily Ever After, and potentially Den & Thorn. I feel like Happily Ever After could also interact super interestingly with both Den and Thorn. The two Greys could be great together, Adversary!Fury & Wounded Wild, Adversary!Fury & Thorn, even either Fury & Razor...

I also feel like it could be really fascinating to have one of the Chapter II Princesses meet their counterpart's shared Chapter III? Like, nearly all of them I can think of an amazing potential dynamic. Adversary & Tower!Fury. Witch & Beast!Wild (Networked or Wounded). Prisoner & Burned Grey. Nightmare & Spectre!Wraith and Spectre & Nightmare!Wraith both! A sort of "that could have been me" situation where either swiftly or gradually they could come to understand each other incredibly deeply.

(I also feel like Adversary & Razor would have a lot of fun together! Plus, Sal got me shipping Spectre & Witch, so, you know... Them. :D)

29. (Explore) Can you share an idea/WIP of a fic/fanart/fanedit/AU you have in the works right now?

I don't have a current fic WIP unfortunately -- I really should get to working on something -- but I have randomly been poking at a Pokémon AU where all the voices + the Narrator are the Gym Leaders & Elite Four of a region. This is, no joke, my notes on how I've been choosing the teams for them, using the four I have 100% nailed down as examples:

Broken (PSYCHIC = priest, empathy)

Oricorio (can change forms, but keeps it Pa'u Style) (Tower/her calling us bird all the time)

Gothitelle (Apotheosis)

Hatterene (Fury)

Exeggutor (Wild)

Veluza (Razor)

Metagross (Cage)

Cold (GHOST = associated with so many ghosts, Spectre as main route, tries to be unfeeling)

Banette (Nightmare/Wraith)

Chandelure (Burned Grey)

Jellicent (Drowned Grey)

Froslass (Spectre)

Zoroark (Hisuian) (Fury)

Aegislash (the pristine blade)

Paranoid (ELECTRIC = the nervous system, defibrillator)

Rotom (can change forms) (Wraith)

Pawmot (heart)

Kilowattrel (lungs)

Toxtricity (liver)

Galvantula (nerves)

Boltund (arguably HEA/therapy dog tbh)

Smitten (FAIRY = sweet and light and love but can be scary as fuck)

Gardevoir (Damsel/Burned Grey)

Alcremie (Damsel/HEA/cooking)

Dachsbun (HEA/cooking)

Shiinotic (HEA)

Florges (Thorn)

Togekiss ("angel")

[mercuriallily]

So after going through the whole game multiple times to compile what Shifty says when you bring her each vessel and each vessel's poem (and their variations) during the endgame, I thought other people might be interested in those as well, so I decided to make a few posts with all that info! This post will have Shifty's responses when you ask her what she thinks about the Chapter 3 vessels

Chapter 2 vessels Endgame poems (Chapter 2s) Endgame poems (Chapter 3s) Shifty vessel animations

Apotheosis: This one is dominance. A figure capable of bending everything to her will. She will make for a terrifying and divine heart. Do not mourn her, for she would not be able to mourn you.

Burned Grey: This one is passion betrayed. But even in the end, her love never faded. She will make for a bright heart. Do not mourn her. She has served her purpose.

Den: This one is consumed by instinct. A predator pushing those around her to adapt. She will make for a bold heart. She wishes me to devour you. To make you a part of myself. But she is only a voice. Do not mourn her, for she is part of something greater.

Drowned Grey: This one is guarded sorrow. She saw herself as alone, but in the end had the courage to share with another. She will make for a deep heart. Do not mourn her - she has finally been heard.

Eye of the Needle: This one yearns to grow and struggle. Even now I feel a will pushing against mine, not realising that we are one. She will make for a fierce heart. Do not mourn her. We will provide her with the growth she fought for.

Fury: This one is desecration. She placed the weight of her agony on you, yet it is she who unwound herself. But there is passion and empathy in her misery. She will make for a burning heart. Do not mourn her - she has finally found peace.

Moment of Clarity: This one is filled with sadness. A doll abandoned to the company of her darkest impulses. She desires only companionship, but the only thing she knows is how to hurt. She will make for a tender heart. Do not mourn her - she has finally found her way home.

Networked Wild: This one is like a shadow of me, twisting vines in search of answers. She will make for a curious heart. Do not mourn her - she has found what she yearned for.

Thorn: This one yearns for connections she feels she doesn't deserve. Even when shown compassion, she hid herself away. She will make for a cautious heart. Do not mourn her - she isn't alone anymore.

Wounded Wild: This one is like a shadow of me, twisting vines in search of answers. She will make for a curious heart. Do not mourn her - she has found what she yearned for.

Wraith: This one is loneliness turned to seething. She could not find her strength in others, so she found it in herself. She will make for a driven heart. Do not mourn her - she isn't alone anymore.

[vickysaurus-art]

Shifty with the princesses as minis inking update: now with Spectre, M.A.D., and most of Networked Wild (part of her will connect to Wounded Wild so I can't ink that yet) inked. I also figured there's no need to wait for everyone to be inked before I start shading and colouring, so I got started on that too. I think it makes Wraith especially look better.

[deconstructthesoup]

So, as far as I can figure out, the chapter 3s (at least the ones that we have pre-Pristine Cut) are in four categories:

Unique to their corresponding chapter 2 princess, basically an evolved version of them (The Apotheosis, The Moment of Clarity, The Eye of the Needle, The Den, The Thorn)

Can be reached via two different chapter 2s, basically fusions of them (The Fury, The Wraith)

Can be reached via two different chapter 2s, but can be incredibly different depending on the decisions you make (The Burned Grey/The Drowned Grey, The Networked Wild/The Wounded Wild)

The Razor routes (The Arms Race/Mutually Assured Destruction, No Way Out/The Empty Cup)

[strixcattus]

Some cosmology for the STP D&D-esque AU:

There are two gods that are pretty universally revered, the Shifting Mound and the Long Quiet. (The Narrator didn't, in-universe, intend for them to be known to the Construct's inhabitants... but things do leak through despite all intentions to the contrary.) The Shifting Mound is hailed as the goddess of growth, transformation, and death, while the Long Quiet doesn't have a domain of his own, rather standing as a counterweight to her—the pauses between her constant motion. These are the "sleeping gods," so called because, despite their widespread worship, they don't intervene in mortal affairs at all. It's thought they're currently going through a period of hibernation, but since they're so detached from the world it's hard to know for sure.

Then there are the Titans, entities with divine magic that live in a realm separate from the world. They're not exactly gods, since they didn't create any part of the world and don't really govern any aspect of it either, but they're hailed as such in communities across the world, and they can grant holy magic. Most people think that Titans and "gods" are one and the same, but in reality most Titans don't engage with the mortal world as gods.

Finally, there are demons, who are the same species as Titans, but live in a different realm. They're worshipped as gods as well, but less often, and they're generally less powerful than Titans. They, too, can grant holy magic to their followers, but fewer people are interested in this deal since demons are typically seen as more wicked. Both demons and Titans are capable of having children with mortal humanoids, but it's much rarer among Titans.

Clerical magic can be granted by either demons or Titans, or through catching a lucky break in worship of the Shifting Mound and Long Quiet. Warlock magic can also be granted by demons and Titans, as well as other, less widely-known entities. Generally speaking, if it's focused around spells the mage chooses to learn, it's clerical magic, and if it's focused around abilities the patron chooses to grant, it's warlock magic. Clerical magic usually also comes with fewer strings attached—generally the only requirement is that the cleric remains faithful to their god, while warlocks may frequently be called upon to carry out their patron's dirty work.

Titans, demons, and other entities include:

The Triad: A group consisting of the most powerful Titan, the most powerful demon, and their considerably weaker younger sister (half-sister to the Fury). The Apotheosis considers herself ruler of the Titans, the Fury considers herself ruler of the Underworld, and the Tower considers herself ruler of the mortal kingdoms. To what extent they can exert this power may vary—in particular the Tower is rarely known to mortals. The Eye of the Needle: A middling-powerful demon who left her realm to enter the mortal world in search of opponents who were more interesting to fight than other demons. She has a half-humanoid daughter out there somewhere, but they haven't spoken since the girl was old enough to take care of herself and set off on her own. Demons don't really do "family." The Networked Wild: An entity formed by the collective network of plants (among other aspects of nature) across the world forming a redundant brain with a capacity impossible for any mortal mind to truly comprehend. Its existence enables the existence of druids, and witches often tap into it as a source of external power. While it contains an impossible-to-determine number of minds (some of which are mortals attempting to tap into its wisdom by temporarily becoming a part of it, which rarely goes well upon separation), it is theorized that there is a single consciousness at the heart of the network, whose identity is unknown. The Wounded Wild: A nature spirit embedded somewhere within the western woods. She was forcibly cut from the Networked Wild a long time ago, and guards her location carefully, less her assailant return to finish the job. It's theorized that magic, particularly druidic magic, would behave unusually around her because of her separation from the rest of the Wild. The Razor: An entity just left of anything with a known classification. She's not any sort of spirit, humanoid, or semi-humanoid (which includes Titans, demons, and fey), but she is a powerful entity capable of granting a warlock pact if she finds someone interesting enough to sponsor. The Stranger: It's only rumor, but there have recently been religious sects emerging that believe in an earthly incarnation of the Shifting Mound, insisting that she is perhaps the first true god since the sleeping gods went into hibernation. Most people regard such groups as trying to take advantage of people's loyalty to the sleeping gods.

[everestgale]

hello! for the stp ask game:

16. (Explore) If you were a Voice in The Long Quiet's head, what would you be?

25. (Explore) What’s a moment in the game that emotionally destroyed you?

28. (Explore) What was your first playthrough like?

Thank you for the ask :]

[Ask Box Game Here]

16. Definitely Voice of the Distracted. For the record, I got distracted by a bunch of random thoughts while writing this sentence ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

25. The new Damsel chapter absolutely devastated me. It resonated too much with me. The description of the feast progressing, getting worse and worse, even though it's exactly the same food, and everyone realizing the exact same thing... I felt so hollow and devastated, but in a good way.

"If your answer would blow it out, then it needs to be blown out." "It does, doesn't it? Then… that's my answer."

Honorable pre-Pristine Cut mention goes to the sequence between Nightmare and Moment of Clarity.

"Birth, death, birth again. Decay and bloom..."

28. I unfortunately spoiled most of the game before I got the courage (I normally dislike horror) to play it myself. So I don't remember the exact vessels I got, except that I went with Spectre!Wraith as my first princess, and then progressively tried to be nicer to the Princess. If I were to guess, it was probably Wraith -> Moment of Clarity -> Damsel -> Networked Wild -> Thorn. But that's just a guess.