taking-a-raincheck

[taking-a-raincheck]

fuck this shit again

have the voice of the opportunist, and this is really making me realise how much I suck with colouring in my drawings. the lineart looks like this

oh, there's a little teaser for para in the corner. oops.

though I think I've probably made oppy just as slimy and sleazy as he was meant to look. so that's a point in the drawing's favour, I guess. he probably looks like a dilf if you squint hard enough.

broken's done so now there's like nine more to go hoooo boy.

by the way the thing I'm doing where I cover their right eyes with their wings isn't just a cheap cop-out for me to avoid drawing said right eye. it's symbolism (oh totally). because they can only experience a very specific point of view. it limits their perspective. in the end, the voices can't always truly see the right thing, and the way they are restricts them into seeing only what's left behind. so their left eye remains uncovered.

now i don't have anywhere as much to say about the opportunistic bitch but I do have a bit. for one, I'm not part of his massive hatedom. he's such a charming little rat bastard and I'm here for it

he's so horrible (affectionate)

no but I really love how each and every one of the Voices is just like a defense/coping mechanism. individually, they were developed by TLQ to make sense of the situation and adapt to whatever bullshit he's being forced through at the moment, right? but in excess, or even when the situation takes the smallest unexpected turns, they can get pretty unhelpful pretty quick.

oppy in PatD perfectly encapsulates this. (wow, what a profound insight, captain obvious. who could've guessed. not like every third post about pristine cut says this already.) fine oppy in PatD was peak

okay but let's face it I just can't hate the guy he's such a flip-flop girlfailure.

well it's kind of interesting how, in a way, this dude also exhibits another potential reaction to fight or flight situations. there's freeze but we're not talking about that today. and then there's fawn. the opportunist wants power, but that's not just what there is to it. in the end, this desire for power stems from an underlying need for control. often, he's manifested by a taste of control for the first time. control spawned from betrayal spawned from fear. from apprehension. from the need for autonomy, met with a lack thereof (thanks narrator you son of a gun), but then regained in triumph.

the opportunist clings to each sorry sliver of power he can get. because once he's tasted it, he requires it so deeply it's become something he just has to have, like an addiction. and he may appear kind of pathetic, or risk everything else for each new taste of power. and he may stop himself from letting himself stray too far, may force himself away if he must. and affection, or kindness, or connection, or trust- they cannot exist, not for this control he craves so much. yes, he's selfish. but being anything else that's not selfish isn't even a choice at all in the face of this power, this control, this sheer craving of his.

but in the end all the opportunist wants is belonging. he wants a purpose and he wants meaning, especially to others. he wants to matter. and having control is surely a way to show that you matter, right? being at the top has to show that you mean something. that you're not pointless. that you exist and have a right to exist.

even if all the actions you take, vile and scheming and despicable, tell everyone else that you shouldn't.

then again, his perspective blinds him. as with all of the other voices.

now it shouldn't be too much of a hassle to figure out the symbolisms in his design but in case it wasn't obvious enough his tie brooch was supposed to be an ouroboros. I thought it was neat when I first designed him. I'm having second thoughts now. plus, I tried to steer his design in a different direction from most others, who tend to stick with "tumblr twink in a nice suit". um...well, I don't know if it worked.

and GOD why did I choose this specific shade of green. I mean, it's unnecessarily tacky? and bright? and way too obvious like him? hopefully it matches? oh well.

[taking-a-raincheck]

heart lungs liver nerves heart lungs liver nerves heart lungs liver nerves heart lungs liver nerves heart lungs liver nerves heart lungs liver nerves heart lungs liver nerves heart lungs liver nerves heart lungs liver nerves heart lungs liver nerves heart lungs liver nerves heart lungs liver nerves

[taking-a-raincheck]

I just had a thought: the "what football will look like in the future" is an example of a world where The Princess was slayed 👀

[taking-a-raincheck]

Hello Rainy!!! (sorry if you have been asked qny of these before but here we go!)

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

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

Hey Chao! No worries, I'd love to answer your questions :D

Vessel-Vessel Interactions I'd like to see:

I don't know about you, but I'd love to see interactions between Fury, Wounded Wild, Dams3l, and/or Sp3ctre. They all have this common theme of a deep connection they had (or thought they had) with The Long Quiet that got ripped away, leaving a painful emptiness behind. (In Sp3ctre's case, it'd mostly be with her Stenciled version, or in the ending where you leave her in the basement.) I'd just be so frickin interested to see them comparing their different coping mechanisms and responses to a similar pain.

The Voice I'd be if I were in TLQ's Head:

The Voice of the Creative. Sort of mixing elements from Contrarian, Cheated, Paranoid, and Opportunist, I'd be the voice that is constantly suggesting new ways to deal with situations, even if they're completely insane. At my worst, I'd be screaming out whatever nonsense I could think of that would either kill us immediately in a really interesting way, or kill us immediately in the biggest 'f**k you' to the Narrator/Princess possible. At my best, I'd be spotting all sorts of little details in the construct itself, or in the behavior of the Narrator/Princess, and thinking up lots of ways to use them for whatever endgame TLQ seems to be aiming for. My foil would probably be somewhere between Broken and Cold. My princess would probably be 'The Artist' or something like that, a princess who can manipulate the reality around us by drawing things into being. (Can you tell how much fun I'm having with this XD)

[taking-a-raincheck]

What are your thoughts on hunted's possible uh... arc in the den route?

Sorry for the wait on answering 😅 I had to actually get around to experiencing that *particular* arc of Hunted's, and then school decided to kick my ass on top of that X,D But here's my initial impression: 😥😰😰😭😭😭

Ohhhh my baby. My baby boy T^T he's been so scared for so long and as soon as he sees a way out, a way to not only survive, but to rise above his fear, he latches on with all his strength, digs in his claws and refuses to let go. It doesn't matter if we've reduced ourself to a mindless beast just like the one we're fighting, it doesn't matter if we're hurting her and hurting ourself so so badly, as long as we keep moving, keep fighting, keep eating and getting stronger and rising further and further above ourself, we'll be safe.

(he reminds me quite a bit of Opportunist here tbh, but that's a post for another time)

Hunted (and every voice, really) is just so tired of hurting, and it makes my heart shatter into thousands of tiny pieces :')

[taking-a-raincheck]

3, 4, 5, and 6 for the STP ask game? :D

Hello hello! Thanks for the ask :]

3: favorite vessel

Oh dang, there's so many to choose from uhhhhh... do you mind if I list my four favorites instead? I have a big soft spot for Eye of the Needle w/ Hunted as (I think) my first vessel ever, also I love love love how our voices manage to work together to finally defeat the Princess on our own terms. Same deal for Den at first, now I love her for both the voices' dynamics and the insanely incredible turns her route takes no matter what you do. I love the new Fury for the pain she finally manages to share with us, also the new body horror in that route is one of the only times I found myself genuinely speechless (and genuinely freaked out 😅). Finally, the Stranger princess from Strange Endings is my baby and I want to hug her and spin her around and tell her I love her so so much 🥺

4: least favorite vessel and what would redeem her in my eyes

My least favorite vessel would probably have to be Tower 😅 sorry Tower fans. I'm just really not a fan of the way you have to submit and debase yourself completely in order for her to not horribly injure you, but she only has a tiny bit of respect for you if you fight back despite all that. Razor and Nightmare sort of fall into the same category, but I find that you're able to sympathize significantly more with both of them than with Tower. I know that Apotheosis definitely makes Tower more sympathetic, but I wish there was a bit more of her struggling evident in her main chapter for us to empathize with.

5: favorite voice

Hero. No contest. He's my (other) baby, my specialest most amazing boy and I love him immensely 🥰 However, I also have extra-soft spots in my heart for Hunted, Paranoid, Cheated, and Contrarian (in that order).

6: least favorite voice and what would redeem him in my eyes

I honestly don't dislike any of the voices, but my least favorite voice would have to be Smitten. He just seems to be particularly one-note, often either in an unhelpful or a straight-up bad/unhealthy way, even when compared to any of the other voices. I think I'd like him quite a lot more if we'd got to see more of the caring, nurturing side of his loving nature, both in relation to the Princess and to the other voices.

I hope this answered your questions adequately 😁

[taking-a-raincheck]

Slay the Princess Ask Game

You're on a path in the woods. And at the end of that path is a cabin. And in the basement of that cabin is a princess. You're here to slay her. If you don't, it will be the end of the world.

(Explore) What's your favorite Chapter?

(Explore) If you have a least favorite Chapter, then how would you go about changing it?

(Explore) Who's your favorite Vessel?

(Explore) If you have a least favorite Vessel, then what do you think would make you like her?

(Explore) Who's your favorite Voice?

(Explore) If you have a least favorite Voice, then what do you think could make you like him?

(Explore) What line from The Shifting Mound do you like the most?

(Explore) What line from the player character/ The Long Quiet do you like the most?

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

(Explore) What's your favorite Vessel-Voice dynamic?

(Explore) Any non-canon Vessel-Voice you think is fun to see?

(Explore) What's your favorite Voices dynamic?

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

(Explore) What's your favorite ship/s?

(Explore) What’s your least favorite ship/s?

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

(Explore) You're a princess locked in the basement of a cabin, what kind of princess would you be?

(Explore) You are an Echo of a man long gone, how would you deal with the events of the game?

(Explore) Do you have any unpopular opinion regarding the game?

(Explore) What's your favorite ending and why?

(Explore) What’s your least favorite ending and why?

(Explore) Do you have any headcanons for [Character]?

(Explore) Any first impressions regarding [Character]? How about now?

(Explore) What’s a moment in the game that disturbed/ freaked you out the most?

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

(Explore) What’s your favorite CG in the game?

(Explore) How did you come across this game?

(Explore) What was your first playthrough like?

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

(Explore) Can you recommend a writer/artist whose works you really like?

[taking-a-raincheck]

heart, lungs, liver, nerv-ously pulls out a wedding ring

[taking-a-raincheck]

[You keep walking toward the edge of oblivion]

[You stop]

Hey, new guy. Hear me out... but I've got an idea.

I am very interested to see where this is going! So it appears it's time to

Begin.

(again.)

[You awaken. Again.]

[Massive walls surround you. You feel that a presence has not left.]

The Narrator: You're on a path in the woods. At that end of that path is a cabin. And in the basement of that cabin is a princess.

The Narrator: You're here to slay her. If you don't, it will be the end of the world.

[You know the drill.]

[taking-a-raincheck]

Trick or treat! 😊

Here you go! Your treat is...a comic!

To be continued!

[taking-a-raincheck]

(sorry for the wait in replying 😅 I'm hope I'm not too late)

I'd love for you to send in a prompt or two! Trick would be angst, obviously >;) and treat would be the fluffiest of fluff 😇

A quick note in case anyone was wondering: if y'all are interested, I'll try my hand at writing some STP ficlets for Tumblr trick or treating (fair warning, there will probably be Pristine Cut spoilers). This'll be my first time doing something like this, so I can't promise excellence, but it should be fun either way 😁

[taking-a-raincheck]

A quick note in case anyone was wondering: if y'all are interested, I'll try my hand at writing some STP ficlets for Tumblr trick or treating (fair warning, there will probably be Pristine Cut spoilers). This'll be my first time doing something like this, so I can't promise excellence, but it should be fun either way 😁

[taking-a-raincheck]

[taking-a-raincheck]

Spooky adventures from the last year! ^o^

[taking-a-raincheck]

[Explore] I'm personally starting to lean toward option 3. Any preferences, new voice?

I am very interested to see where this is going! So it appears it's time to

Begin.

(again.)

[You awaken. Again.]

[Massive walls surround you. You feel that a presence has not left.]

The Narrator: You're on a path in the woods. At that end of that path is a cabin. And in the basement of that cabin is a princess.

The Narrator: You're here to slay her. If you don't, it will be the end of the world.

[You know the drill.]

[taking-a-raincheck]

[Explore] So the way I see it, we have three options here. 1, we try to scale that... really big wall and get to whatever's on the other side. 2, we go to the fricking cabin and finally meet the infamous world-ending princess. Or 3, we bury ourself in a shallow grave and take a good long nap until the world ends again.

I am very interested to see where this is going! So it appears it's time to

Begin.

(again.)

[You awaken. Again.]

[Massive walls surround you. You feel that a presence has not left.]

The Narrator: You're on a path in the woods. At that end of that path is a cabin. And in the basement of that cabin is a princess.

The Narrator: You're here to slay her. If you don't, it will be the end of the world.

[You know the drill.]

[taking-a-raincheck]

[Explore] ...Right. And I guess we've already seen what he does when we don't do what he wants. [Gesture at the massive walls surrounding you] That.

I am very interested to see where this is going! So it appears it's time to

Begin.

(again.)

[You awaken. Again.]

[Massive walls surround you. You feel that a presence has not left.]

The Narrator: You're on a path in the woods. At that end of that path is a cabin. And in the basement of that cabin is a princess.

The Narrator: You're here to slay her. If you don't, it will be the end of the world.

[You know the drill.]