deconstructthesoup

[deconstructthesoup]

TITANIA FOR TOWER

WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT I LOVE A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

I've seen a lot of people give names for the Voices, and as a Vessel enjoyer, I decided to give my names for them, too!

Damsel: Danielle

Prisoner: Priscilla (Pris for short)

Witch: Willow

Beast: Beatrice (Bea for short)

Tower: Diane (my thought process was basically "goddess, divine, Diana, Diane" for this one)

Adversary: Addison (Addy for short)

Nightmare: Natalie (Nat for short)

Spectre: Sienna

Razor: Zora

Stranger: Stace (gender-neutral name for a they/them princess!)

Burned Grey: Bernice

Drowned Grey: Drusilla

Thorn: Therese

Den: Demi

Apotheosis: Aphrodite (keeping with the goddess theme)

Eye of the Needle: Iris

Moment of Clarity: Clara

Wraith: Winifred (her whole vibe kinda speaks to her having an old-fashioned name, in my opinion)

Fury: Fiona (though I've also considered Alecto)

Wild: Wihelmina

#kicking myself #these are awesome op

[deconstructthesoup]

I've seen a lot of people give names for the Voices, and as a Vessel enjoyer, I decided to give my names for them, too!

Damsel: Danielle

Prisoner: Priscilla (Pris for short)

Witch: Willow

Beast: Beatrice (Bea for short)

Tower: Diane (my thought process was basically "goddess, divine, Diana, Diane" for this one)

Adversary: Addison (Addy for short)

Nightmare: Natalie (Nat for short)

Spectre: Sienna

Razor: Zora

Stranger: Stace (gender-neutral name for a they/them princess!)

Burned Grey: Bernice

Drowned Grey: Drusilla

Thorn: Therese

Den: Demi

Apotheosis: Aphrodite (keeping with the goddess theme)

Eye of the Needle: Iris

Moment of Clarity: Clara

Wraith: Winifred (her whole vibe kinda speaks to her having an old-fashioned name, in my opinion)

Fury: Fiona (though I've also considered Alecto)

Wild: Wihelmina

#slay the princess #stp the damsel #stp the prisoner #stp the witch #stp the beast #stp the tower #stp the adversary #stp the nightmare #stp the spectre #stp the razor #stp the stranger #stp the burned grey #stp the drowned grey #stp the thorn #stp the den #stp the apotheosis #stp the eye of the needle #stp moment of clarity #stp the wraith #stp the fury #stp the wild

[deconstructthesoup]

In theory, it shouldn't be a shock that the rogue teacher is a rebellious, chaotic no-rules-nothing-matters-you-have-to-smoke-or-I'll-lie type character, because rogues are usually chaotic madlads who you shouldn't leave unattended.

But

Every single other rogue we've met in the Spyre universe has been a straight-laced, lawful, type-A individual who get giddy over stuff like color-coded planners and having to look over paperwork. So Eugenia Shadow is outside of the norm, as far as we know.

RIZ DISCOVERING HIS ROGUE TEACHER IS A BALLER AND SLOWLY LOSING THE WILL TO LIVE IS MY NEW FAVORITE SCENE

#also the whimsical little music that played when eugenia was doing her introduction was spot-on #fantasy high #fantasy high junior year #dimension 20 #eugenia shadow

[deconstructthesoup]

man, if kipperlily hates the bad kids, i bet she fucking LOATHES the seven, who canonically have a cross-grades adventuring party (which seems actively discouraged given that almost every other party is formed freshman year first day), gamed their exams to stay together longer, were sent on several quests assigned by aguefort himself, and, when the time came that they would have HAD to break up to comply with the rules, they got to skip the last stand entirely and went on a quest basically custom-made for them to find the superintendent and graduate early together

[deconstructthesoup]

Little miscellaneous stuff about the Slay the Professor AU:

It's heavily implied that you change appearance based on the chapters as well, because, well, you're Shifty, and that's your nature. Of course, you never see yourself when you're in the city, but the Professor will take note of this (like, the Scientist will call you "dollface" in his chapter when you have the Voice of the Doll, the Dragon will say that you'll go down easy "even with all that armor" when you have the Voice of the Warrior, the Inventor will playfully refer to you as a "scaredy-cat" when you have the Voice of the Prepared, ect).

The Guide is the one who resets the construct when you die or fail to slay the Professor, and he does this as a way to save you---when you die, you don't hear him saying "everything goes dark, and you die," but instead you hear "you're dead, but only for now. This won't be the end." He's also the one who wrenched control of the construct from the Professor, though he didn't anticipate that it would keep him from telling you the truth about everything.

Since the Professor is, well, human, and not a god that represents an overarching concept, he's always the same when you and the Long Quiet journey back to the library together to confront him, even if you got the Substitute the first run---though, you do have the Substitute's library if you did get him the first time. And yes, he is the way he is throughout the game because your nature affected him... or, well, in his mind, corrupted him.

The Professor is also... pretty manipulative when you meet him in between collecting the shards for him. He acts kind to you, and congratulates you on a job well done, but there's a favoritism present towards the vessels who hurt you---like, he calls the Academic, who straight-up considers you lesser and actively controls you, "a noble and overarching mind" and the Wizard, who's one of three vessels who don't mean you harm unless you show them harm, "a weak and addled mind, but a mind nonetheless." It's very much a situation of not being quite sure who to trust.

I have no idea whether or not there's a mirror. Get back to me on that.

#slay the princess #slay the professor au #stp the narrator #the shifting mound #the long quiet

[deconstructthesoup]

How the library changes based on the chapters in Slay the Professor:

Chapter 1: "The interior of the library is unassuming. The walls are lined with shelves that are full of old books, the floors are made of wood that creak gently underneath your feet, and you can imagine that it would have been a nice place before it was abandoned. The only real furniture of note is a librarian's desk sitting near the door to the basement, empty except for a single, pristine blade."

The Wizard: "The library has changed since you last saw it. The bookshelves are designed in a whimsical fashion, filled with spellbooks, magical wands, and small cauldrons. The floor is now carpeted and plush under your feet, with designs that bring to mind the changes of the phasing moon, and there is a skylight overhead that lets in the moonlight. The door to the basement has the same moon-phase design, and looks almost inviting. Even the desk is different, with a curved and delicate design... but the pristine blade is still the same."

The Warlock: "The library has changed since you last saw it. The bookshelves are seemingly made out of the roots of gnarled trees, and all of the books are bound in what looks like snakeskin. Packed dirt lies beneath your feet, and the floor is lined with roots that threaten to trip and snag. The door to the basement is no longer a door, but a series of vines intertwined in a thick, near impassable curtain. Even the desk is different, seemingly carved from an incredibly large tree root... but the pristine blade is still the same."

The Creation: "The library has changed since you last saw it. Cobwebs line the bookshelves, which are filled with books that look old to the point of disintegration. The floorboards appear in danger of collapsing under your feet if you take a false step, and you get the sensation that you are the first person to come here in a great number of years. The door to the basement, on the other hand, appears to be reinforced steel, meant to be keeping someone inside. Even the desk is different, the wood rotted from age and withered over time... but the pristine blade is still the same."

The Scientist: "The library has changed since you last saw it. Lights flicker overhead, illuminating shelves that contain lab equipment and jars full of animal remains alongside books that appear stitched---not out of leather or cloth, but out of skin. The floor is a cracked tile with stains of an unidentifiable nature, and... oh, god. The door to the basement has been blasted off its hinges, and the desk has been overturned, leaving the pristine blade lying on the floor."

The Academic: "The library has changed since you last saw it. The bookshelves now reach up twice as high, towering over you and making you feel incredibly small. The floor is covered in a rug with a design that resembles an eye, giving off the sensation of being watched. The door to the basement, like the bookshelves, has doubled in size, inscribed with lettering in languages you cannot understand. Even the desk is different, now circular and large enough that a stepstool is needed to reach it... but the pristine blade is still the same, perched on the very edge."

The Archivist: "The library has changed since you last saw it. The bookshelves are no longer bookshelves, but rows and rows of file cabinets, some open to display files inside. The floors are hardwood, yet much sturdier than the first time you came here, barely registering your footsteps. The door to the basement appears to be just a simple office door with an illegible nameplate. Even the desk is... well, not very different at all, just a little more clean than before. But the pristine blade is still the same.

The Doctor: "The library has changed since you last saw it. The bookshelves now resemble a series of large rolling carts, filled with old magazines and medical tools that appear to be stained with blood. The floor is linoleum and just as bloody as the tools, speaking wonders to the individual living here. Even the desk is different, resembling more of an examination table than anything else... but the pristine blade is still the same.

The Dragon: "The library has changed since you last saw it. The bookshelves are now made of carved rock, and contain treasure chests full of precious gems and metals alongside the gilded spines. Everything else in this place is made of stone, right down to the door---no longer a door, but a boulder to be rolled to the side. The desk is now just a slab of rock coming up from the floor... but the pristine blade is still the same."

The Inventor: "The library has changed since you last saw it. The bookshelves more closely resemble display shelves that you would see in a workshop, and there are odd little clockwork contraptions resting alongside the books. The floor is now made of industrial-like metal, causing the sound of your footsteps to be almost deafening. The door is surrounded by pipes and has a clockwork design on it, giving off the impression of a complicated mechanism. Even the desk is different, now just a worker's bench placed carelessly in the corner... but the pristine blade is still the same."

The Substitute: "The library has changed since you last saw it. It is a patchwork of so many different libraries, blended together in an ill-fitting design that seems on the verge of falling apart. The only thing that's clear---the only thing that makes sense---is the pristine blade, still sitting on the desk."

#slay the princess #slay the professor au #yes this is the guide describing everything

[deconstructthesoup]

Can this be a trend? If so, here are mine:

Hero: Harry

Contrarian: Conrad (goes by "Connie")

Smitten: Smith

Skeptic: Skip

Cold: Colin

Paranoid: Perry

Broken: Ben

Stubborn: Scully (called "Stubby" affectionately by Adversary and Razor)

Hunted: Well... Hunter

Opportunist: Oliver

Cheated: Also Chester (it works)

And... you know what, I never thought about Narry before, but I'm totally in favor of him being named "Jonathan"

If I were to give the voices their own names

Harlow the Hero

“Contra” the Contrarian (Real name is a mystery~)

Simon the Smitten

Spencer the Skeptic

Caleb the Cold

Percival “Percy” the Paranoid

Bruno the Broken

Steven the Stubborn (Do not call him “Steve”)

Hunter the Hunted (It hates the irony of its name…)

Oswald the Opportunist

Chester “Ches” the Cheated (He prefers “Ches”)

And of course, Jonathan Crowe, the Narrator

#slay the princess #stp voices #stp the narrator

[deconstructthesoup]

Kudos to Hello From The Hallowoods and Fantasy High: Junior Year showing us just how menacing a Southern accent can be when used in the right context

#i haven't been keeping up with hfth but bobby dawn is so horrifyingly similar to solomon reed that it makes my skin crawl #hello from the hallowoods #fantasy high junior year #bobby dawn #solomon reed

[deconstructthesoup]

Woah, another person with the overlap interests of Dropout TV and Slay The Princess?

And Starkid, and The Owl House, and The Magnus Archives, and Midnight Burger!

#i'm a very eclectic person! #ask answer

[deconstructthesoup]

I saw a couple people saying that maybe Eugenia Shadow was part of Arthur Aguefort's original adventuring party, and that got me thinking about the possibility of the OG staff of the Adventuring Academy all being made up of his party members, who worked together to take down Kalvaxus

Like, maybe they were short-staffed in the beginning because they were just starting out, so Arthur originally pulled double duty as the wizarding professor and the principal. Maybe he had a huge, thirteen-person party, or there were just a bunch of multiclassers that were teaching two---or even three---classes at once.

...Now I kinda wanna see a prequel sidequest

#dimension 20 #fantasy high #fantasy high junior year #eugenia shadow #arthur aguefort

[deconstructthesoup]

Rekha's given us a new form of Chaotic Academia and I love that for her

#i think we should make a spreadsheet of the dropout folks who have shows #i saw a post about comparing brennan and sam's god energies that spiraled into figuring out what gods the other dropout hosts would be #maybe rekha's the god of knowledge? #dropout #smartypants

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Great, now I wanna do a whole "Dropout Hosts as the Lords In Black post"

Sam Reich as Tinky

#thank you for this #dropout #game changer #starkid #hatchetfield #sam reich #t'noy karaxis

[deconstructthesoup]

Some beginning ideas for the chapter 3 Slay the Professor vessels:

Unique to the chapter 2 Professor:

The Modern Prometheus: You get the Modern Prometheus if you remain in the library with the Scientist, and he will respond by tormenting you with visions of death and dying until it's too much for you to bear. When you reawaken in the city, all of your voices have joined you, but your will is entirely broken, and you have no choice but to let the Professor out... and there's nothing you can do to prevent that from happening.

The Surgeon: You get the Surgeon if you run from the Doctor or do a poor job of fighting back, both of which end in you dying anyway. He still has his organ-resetting and organ-breaking powers from when he was the Doctor, but he's much more precise---though, this also comes with him taking his sweet time, giving him a disadvantage if you try to fight him like this.

The Awakened: You get the Awakened if you kill yourself when the Academic takes over you and eliminates the Guide. He is an angel now, towering above you and glowing with heavenly light, as he has now been blessed with all the knowledge in the universe... and, yeah, there's no way to defeat him. He'll appreciate it if you try, though.

The Hoard: You get the Hoard if you're merely killed by the Dragon instead of being devoured by him. While he is still very much capable of speech, he is even bigger and more monstrous, and he's changed his mind---he doesn't want to eat you, but he does want to keep you around as an addition to all the treasures he's amassed. Yeah, he's pretty fucking terrifying.

The Clipped: You get the Clipped if you hand the knife over to the Warlock as a sign of trust, and though he immediately betrays that trust and feels pretty smug about it, you do see a little bit of panic setting in as you fade out. When you find him again, he regrets killing you, and while he claims it's because he knows that he can't escape without you, you can see that he's rethinking his perspective of you. (This is not a romance route---the love story is between you and the Guide---but it is very much a "I think I understand you" route.)

Nothing Up My Sleeve & The Clockwork Man: One of two possible routes that can spring from the Inventor, this is what you get if you go down with the knife. You can keep on fighting against his onslaught of firearms and spinning blades, but it'll always end in the same way---with him eventually shedding his skin and revealing that he's an automaton, with the only thing that's flesh-and-blood being the brain set inside of his metal skull.

Conned And Trapped & The Last Spark: The same as the other Inventor route, except you didn't take the knife, you don't fight back, and it ends with his mechanical body falling apart.

Shared Chapter 3s:

The Judge: You get the Judge if you kill the Wizard or the Archivist, and while they are the same route, they are radically different depending on which Professor you start out with. If it's the Wizard, he will take on the visage of a heartbroken man who degrees that, because you betrayed him, you will be burned at the stake. If it's the Archivist, he will take on the visage of a cold and merciless man who degrees that the only justice you will receive is to be drowned in a well.

The Lich: You get the Lich if you either repeatedly attempt to kill the Creation or successfully kill the Scientist. The Lich has lost all sense of mercy and sympathy and is done with attempting to reason with you, and will puppet your body so you can lead him outside, where he will attempt to end you once and for all. He's pretty much one of the scariest Professors you can get.

The Plague: You get the Plague if you try to fight the Doctor without the knife or keep on fighting until he puts you out of your misery, or if you break free of the Academic's control and kill him. The Plague is hateful and only wants to make you suffer, and will do so by infecting you with a sickness that kills you over and over again, in increasingly agonizing ways.

The Underworld: You get the Underworld if the Dragon devours you and you kill him from the inside out, or if you either kill the Warlock or get trapped in the basement by him. You awaken, not bound to the Professor as one, but in a place where you see nothing but the repeated cycle of death and torment, over and over again. You hear the Professor's voice in your head along with the Guide and your aspects, hissing that this is all because of you, that it is your fault, that everything would be so much better if you were gone. And you can ignore him, and listen to the Guide when he says that this isn't the full story---and if you do that, you get the briefest and barest glimpse of the world beyond the city. But if you listen to him and follow the voice, you will find the Professor chained to a rock, tired and dejected and bitter. It's up to you whether you release him or leave him there.

Also, quick note---when a perspective of the Professor is collected, he cracks and turns into shards, which are then retrieved by a pair of talons. The perspectives are referred to as "shards," and the Professor doesn't consider them parts of his heart, but rather, parts of his mind.

#slay the princess #slay the professor au #stp the narrator #i'm having a lot more fun with this than i anticipated #i'll probably go back later and talk about how the library and city changes through the chapters

[deconstructthesoup]

I just watched Who Framed Roger Rabbit and I've decided that if Mentopolis ever gets adapted into something, I want it to be in a similar medium

Like, everything that happens in the real world with Elias is all live-action, and everything that happens in Mentopolis is 2D animated---except for anything involving the key, in which case it's a strange blend of live action and animated

#dimension 20 #mentopolis #who framed roger rabbit #also literally nobody was kidding that movie is spectacular

[deconstructthesoup]

Totally forgot to comment on the fact that Celia's a mom!!!!

#and sam just went “okay” like it was no big deal! #she named her son jack! how sweet is that! #the magnus protocol #celia ripley

[deconstructthesoup]

In case everyone was wondering who the voices are in Slay the Professor, here's a handy-dandy chart:

Voice of the Researcher=The Princess (base)

Voice of the Apprentice=The Damsel (less lovestruck, more starstruck)

Voice of the Charming=The Witch

Voice of the Restless=The Spectre

Voice of the Doll=The Nightmare (only, she's the one who's afraid now)

Voice of the Humbled=The Prisoner (though much more visibly dejected and hopeless)

Voice of the Curious=The Stranger

Voice of the Hateful=The Adversary

Voice of the Warrior=The Tower (though less of a domineering goddess and more of a badass lady knight)

Voice of the Prepared=The Beast (acts on instinct, just like a predator animal)

Voice of the Rebel=The Razor (she's the silly one!)

#slay the princess #slay the professor au #stp the damsel #stp the witch #stp the spectre #stp the nightmare #stp the prisoner #stp the stranger #stp the adversary #stp the tower #stp the beast #stp the razor

[deconstructthesoup]

We're getting him next week, it looks like!

Feel like shit just need Sprak Lefreve back as fast as possible

#goblin fans where y'all at #sprak lefevre #dimension 20 #fantasy high junior year #fantasy high