swanpyart

[swanpyart]

Clearly Stranger walks like Ariel in the one comic

Bit of a weird question (for fanart reasons), but I have to ask if no one else has yet:

How many legs does the Stranger princess have?

#slay the princess #slay the princess game #stp the stranger #the stranger #stp

[swanpyart]

So I just saw a post by a random personal blog that said “don’t follow me if we never even had a conversation before” and?????? Not to be rude but literally what the fuck??????????

I’ve had people (non-pornbots) try to strike conversation out of nowhere in my DMs recently, and now I’m wondering if they were doing that because they wanted to follow me and thought they needed to interact first. I feel compelled to say, just in case, that it’s totally okay to follow this blog (or my side blog, for that matter) even if we’ve never talked before.

Also, I’m legit confused. Is this how follow culture works right now? It was worded like it’s common sense but is that really a thing?

#what’s going on like seriously

[swanpyart]

Unaware, you realize the school for super-powered teens is actually a prison.

[swanpyart]

Master doc that contains different resources and support for many countries including Palestine, Congo, Haiti, Hawai’i, etc ((op is underneath the link))

#palestine #free palestine #free congo #free sudan #free haiti #free yemen #resources #hawaiʻi

[swanpyart]

a collection of my playlists highlighting black artists in multiple genres of music. a little late for BHM but better late than never <3 enjoy! suggestions and additions are always welcome.

black people created rock: a forever growing playlist of various sub - genres of rock made by black artists and musicians; from classic rock, pop punk, rock rap, metal, post hardcore, etc. from underground bands, popular artists experimenting with their sound, artists from other genres collaborating with rock stars, and more!

a southern gothic tale: country / folk / blues / bluegrass; there are some rap / pop songs that include country elements in them but for the most part it's what you think.

black alternative: black artists that make music outside of the expectation. alt [rnb/pop], hyperpop, indie [pop/rock], dream - pop, bedroom pop; you name it, it's probably in here.

black g!rl pvnk !: similar to my black people created rock playlist, except it's just black women. this playlist also includes rap that takes heavy inspiration from alternative subculture.

juicy fruit, certified bubble yum: [bubblegum] pop by black artists. oftentimes our music gets categorized as rnb / urban / hip hop even when it's clearly not! there's been a historical record of black music being put in the wrong categories by reviewers and the academy trying to box black music into a box. while some songs may have rnb elements, it's clear that they're classic, well-made, and respected pop songs!

#spotify #playlist #playlists

[swanpyart]

This was a fantastic addition and a great theory. Honestly, it does track with his viewpoints. Thank you!

But even if Narrator wasn’t in a cult, I think the idea of him coming from a very extremist mindset was definitely heavily fueled by his isolation. The more his loved ones died around him, the more steadfast he became in death being an evil to be defeated, and the more prideful he became. He even mentions that no one knows he did this whole thing, which means he died, alone in an empty home, with nobody to stop him, and no one will ever know the real reason he did it.

I think what makes it so tragic is that Narrator doesn’t actually hate death, he just THINKS he hates death. He has no concept of what dying feels like; as an Echo, he has no idea what his original creator felt when he died. What he actually hates is all that surrounds it; love, grief, anger, betrayal, defiance. Ironically, something the LQ and Shifty ALSO know very well, but Narrator dismisses their perspectives as not being like his own IMMEDIATELY. He just can’t comprehend that other mortals like him don’t want what he wants, or that entities he sees as enemies can emotionally relate to him.

And isn’t it so tragic that the man who died all alone and unloved wants to give the LQ a form of “paradise” of never dying, and the only way to get it is to kill the Princess immediately and never getting to know her as a person at all, and spending eternity alone? Almost as if he wishes that were HIM, alone and never having loved at all, because it would have spared him all his pain? How when he describes the kiss between LQ and the Thorn, Smitten points out that he might have an interest in a compelling romance deep down? And Narrator shrugs it off? How he always wants to be the first version of him you meet, as if that makes him special to you?

Feels bad man

This is probably a silly question, but I really wonder how much the Narrator’s plan for the world when you slay the Princess would realistically be as efficient as he thinks.

Like, will animals die? Not just people, but will ALL life forms stay the same forever? Do the animals know that? Do they still attack each other and try to hunt each other for food? I know the Hunted and the Beast are not exactly representative of animals in this universe, but the LQ and Shifty are both gods who did not really need to play cat and mouse in order to survive, but they did it anyway, so…

What if someone is horribly injured, like to the degree that they SHOULD be dead but now just… can’t. Will they heal automatically? Are they made of rubber, so such an injury would not be able to happen in the first place? What if someone needs a surgery for like, an illness? Will it be impossible to cut them open? If someone has a terminal illness, do they just… have it FOREVER? Cus that would be actually the worst honestly. Imagine getting cancer and the universe freezes, and now you live with cancer for literal ETERNITY. Gee, thanks Narrator.

Also, what about FOOD? So much food relies on killing other life forms. So, if things can’t die, then there’s no more meat (unless the meat is still alive, which would be horrific) or certain plants that require you to chop them down. Can you chop trees down to build houses? Would the tree stump die? Does the tree keep growing even when you chop it up? Do new ones grow? Is there any point where supplies just runs out? Do people even eat anymore? Cus let me tell you, every world culture defines themselves on their cuisine, so I can imagine people would HATE not being able to eat the stuff they used to.

Also, do people keep having kids? Cus if literally no one dies, there will be absolutely nothing from stopping overpopulation in like a hundred years. Or is one of the side effects that, because no one can die, no one can be born either? Well, that’d suck for any parents who were planning to have children when the universe freezes.

I’m sorry, I don’t think Narry thought this through before doing this whole “killing death” thing, which makes it even worse that he fucking died. I know his universe is dying, but at least then no ones gotta live with the absolute buffoonery that is an eternity of weird shit like this.

[swanpyart]

No don’t worry I completely understand, and thank you for the lovely analysis, it makes a lot of sense with the game’s themes. I guess I’m just taking things a bit literally.

I guess I’m just not sure IF this would be a heaven or not. Like, “perpetual stagnation” still sounds like it would generally suck. What’s there to even do? I guess you can start a new hobby, but Narrator’s idea of nothing changing runs on the assumption that everyone’s life would improve being stuck in one place. But I’d argue that, if the Narrator’s world is on the brink of an apocalypse, MOST people’s lives suck, only with Shifty dead they just suck forever.

Can anybody improve at new hobbies, or are they doomed to remain at the same skill level as when they started? Can masters of their craft ever evolve to do more than what they know? Can bad relationships ever mend? If someone’s addicted to drugs, will they always be unable to overcome their addiction?

And this isn’t even addressing the other logistical issues I mentioned earlier. Like can people have kids or not? If they can, there runs a risk of overpopulation, because the only thing that stops people from mingling is geography. If not, then that erases the possibility of people who want to have kids to have any… which I suppose is the better option, but still, kind of sucks for them.

The thing is, Narrator is pretty full of himself, and his whole plan kinda rolled on the assumption that everyone else in his world shared his opinion, which I think stemmed from the fact that he was a very lonely guy in general (he mentions that everyone he loved is dead, so I think after a while, he became very isolated from others). If so, it’s possible that he didn’t get to know any other perspectives on death beyond “it’s bad” from personal experience. Ironically, if he’d taken a note out of Shifty’s book and gotten some more perspectives in his world, he might have found some people who were able to carve meaning out of the apocalypse and found some friends.

But this is all speculation lol

This is probably a silly question, but I really wonder how much the Narrator’s plan for the world when you slay the Princess would realistically be as efficient as he thinks.

Like, will animals die? Not just people, but will ALL life forms stay the same forever? Do the animals know that? Do they still attack each other and try to hunt each other for food? I know the Hunted and the Beast are not exactly representative of animals in this universe, but the LQ and Shifty are both gods who did not really need to play cat and mouse in order to survive, but they did it anyway, so…

What if someone is horribly injured, like to the degree that they SHOULD be dead but now just… can’t. Will they heal automatically? Are they made of rubber, so such an injury would not be able to happen in the first place? What if someone needs a surgery for like, an illness? Will it be impossible to cut them open? If someone has a terminal illness, do they just… have it FOREVER? Cus that would be actually the worst honestly. Imagine getting cancer and the universe freezes, and now you live with cancer for literal ETERNITY. Gee, thanks Narrator.

Also, what about FOOD? So much food relies on killing other life forms. So, if things can’t die, then there’s no more meat (unless the meat is still alive, which would be horrific) or certain plants that require you to chop them down. Can you chop trees down to build houses? Would the tree stump die? Does the tree keep growing even when you chop it up? Do new ones grow? Is there any point where supplies just runs out? Do people even eat anymore? Cus let me tell you, every world culture defines themselves on their cuisine, so I can imagine people would HATE not being able to eat the stuff they used to.

Also, do people keep having kids? Cus if literally no one dies, there will be absolutely nothing from stopping overpopulation in like a hundred years. Or is one of the side effects that, because no one can die, no one can be born either? Well, that’d suck for any parents who were planning to have children when the universe freezes.

I’m sorry, I don’t think Narry thought this through before doing this whole “killing death” thing, which makes it even worse that he fucking died. I know his universe is dying, but at least then no ones gotta live with the absolute buffoonery that is an eternity of weird shit like this.

[swanpyart]

This is probably a silly question, but I really wonder how much the Narrator’s plan for the world when you slay the Princess would realistically be as efficient as he thinks.

Like, will animals die? Not just people, but will ALL life forms stay the same forever? Do the animals know that? Do they still attack each other and try to hunt each other for food? I know the Hunted and the Beast are not exactly representative of animals in this universe, but the LQ and Shifty are both gods who did not really need to play cat and mouse in order to survive, but they did it anyway, so…

What if someone is horribly injured, like to the degree that they SHOULD be dead but now just… can’t. Will they heal automatically? Are they made of rubber, so such an injury would not be able to happen in the first place? What if someone needs a surgery for like, an illness? Will it be impossible to cut them open? If someone has a terminal illness, do they just… have it FOREVER? Cus that would be actually the worst honestly. Imagine getting cancer and the universe freezes, and now you live with cancer for literal ETERNITY. Gee, thanks Narrator.

Also, what about FOOD? So much food relies on killing other life forms. So, if things can’t die, then there’s no more meat (unless the meat is still alive, which would be horrific) or certain plants that require you to chop them down. Can you chop trees down to build houses? Would the tree stump die? Does the tree keep growing even when you chop it up? Do new ones grow? Is there any point where supplies just runs out? Do people even eat anymore? Cus let me tell you, every world culture defines themselves on their cuisine, so I can imagine people would HATE not being able to eat the stuff they used to.

Also, do people keep having kids? Cus if literally no one dies, there will be absolutely nothing from stopping overpopulation in like a hundred years. Or is one of the side effects that, because no one can die, no one can be born either? Well, that’d suck for any parents who were planning to have children when the universe freezes.

I’m sorry, I don’t think Narry thought this through before doing this whole “killing death” thing, which makes it even worse that he fucking died. I know his universe is dying, but at least then no ones gotta live with the absolute buffoonery that is an eternity of weird shit like this.

#slay the princess game #slay the princess #stp the narrator #slay the Princess the narrator #the narrator

[swanpyart]

(i Will go back to everlasting haitus if that GFM slows down too much btw, seeing it to its goal ASAP is my primary focus right now)

#getting close! #i don't want to move the goalposts but i don't want donations to slow to a crawl just bc they are halfway there #they obviously do still need to get all the way there to get the whole family out + get medical care they need #and they need it -quickly- and i -know- we -can- but it requires people besides me! #please help me help them

[swanpyart]

Hey, amidst the chaos of... everything on the internet, pay attention to Hawaii/Hawai'i!

There have been plans from a non Hawaiian organisation to build a 5 acre parking lot, 13 lot subdivision and a comfort station for tourists on the ridge of the sacred Pololū Valley!

This project doesn't acknowledge Pololū Valley as a wahi pāna (a celebrated and storied place in the cultural traditions of Hawaii/Hawai'i) and instead treats it as just plain land that can be sold to a highest bidder.

Pololū Valley is anything but that.

So please sign the petition to stop this project! As of writing this, 883,470 people have, but we need more!

Petition to protect Pololū Valley

Reblog to reach more people, please! Don't just like and move on, sign the petition and make sure more people see this!

#hawaii #hawaiʻi #pololū valley #petition #protect pololū valley!

[swanpyart]

The thing is, I still disagree with the idea that Shifty is being manipulative though, for a few reasons:

1. I feel like people get the impression that Shifty’s development into her true form is the action of a conscious being fully aware of what she’s doing for selfish reasons, but she isn’t. Before LQ gives her the Vessels, she’s a disconnected network that doesn’t realize she’s a god yet. To her, collecting the Vessels is not “unwillingly assimilating innocent parties who have nothing to do with her” but rather “separate pieces of an entire identity are being returned to me”. The Vessels ARE her, only facets of her entire being that represent different philosophies on the truth of change and death. She’s not using them unwillingly, they are a part of her, and the Vessels were blind to wind up as part of her on purpose. She’s not doing this to gain power, she’s trying to do what LQ is: rediscover what she truly is.

2. Personally, I feel like Shifty’s philosophy doesn’t gel with some people because she’s looking at the Vessels from a symbolic standpoint, whereas LQ, the Narrator and the audience are looking at them from a humanistic one. We see the Vessels as individuals who are being stripped of individuality, but Shifty sees them as different stages of her development, because they ARE her. This is why it feels like she’s dismissing them, because she treats them as stages of her own personal growth rather than individuals seperate from her. That doesn’t make her wrong or manipulative.

3. This I personally disagree with, as I don’t think she’s being hypocritical at all. I don’t think she’s trying to use our past feelings to justify herself, but the SYMBOLISM of what it means for the LQ and her to create that relationship for why they need to escape into godhood. If anything, much of what she says pulls away from the personal feelings of the experience and focus on what each Princess represents. When she describes the Damsel, she doesn’t say “look at how in love we were!” Because she’s aware that it wasn’t a sincere relationship, but she instead points out that LQ and Damsel were able to escape because they worked together. She’s not drawing on the impulsive desire for romance like the Smitten, she’s referring to it like it was a demonstration of their relationship with death and change. Does this make her detached from humanistic perspectives, and is the main reason she isn’t very convinced by OUR arguments? Yes. Is she being manipulative? Honestly, also yes, but unintentionally, because her very nature means the conversation is always going to be dismissive of the humanistic perspective, because it is one she chiefly lacks. Her and LQ are opposites, so while she has all these different ideas, he has the one she explicitly does not.

4. Also, I can understand the point here, but I also disagree. Something that was true at age eight CAN be true at age twenty; plenty of ideas persist for years, and lessons can last forever. Shifty doesn’t really ever say, “if you loved me at this point in time, you should love me now,”: heck, the more I think about it, I don’t even think Shifty ever really brings up the idea of “love” explicitly unless you do first. She’s not trying to guilt trip you because she doesn’t think you should feel guilty about ANYTHING you’ve done, and she’s using actual philosophical examples from past experiences to argue her points. Plenty of the Vessels have awful relationships with us, and Shifty still uses those to point out the strengths of both her and the LQ. That’s not her trying to sugarcoat past troubles, it’s her pointing out that their worst moments do not have to define them.

(I also feel like saying that she’s trying to use our feelings for her to convince us of her perspective kind of glosses over the fact that, if she loses the argument, she dies. I’d probably yap someone’s ear off if it bought me more time, tbh.)

Honestly, I feel like neither Shifty or LQ are wrong for how they feel, because one is a being of death and change insistent on the idea that these things are necessary for the universe to continue marching forward, while the other is a being of stagnation convinced it was Some Guy and forced to live through a mortal perspective. This is why the game doesn’t shame you for disagreeing with Shifty, or killing the Princess, or running away with her.

Of course, you don’t gotta like Shifty or even agree with her, but as a certified Shifty stan I had to say something lol

(about your thing with relating to shifty)

im more upset that she uses the vessels against LQ while also dismissing them as important viewpoints and perspectives. in my eyes she is just cherrypicking the parts of those lives that she finds meaningful while ignoring how they were real people that had fears and lives.

and yeah a little bit of taking them from their happy endings to be combined into something they never asked for.. she says they are gifts from lq but its not like he ever chose to give them to her.

(i know you said youre okay to debate but im honestly Terrible at it and i just wanted to share my view because i do have my reasons for preferring the princess(es) over shifty)

Ok. Sorry it took me a day to respond. I’ve been putting my thoughts together on this before i write back

a) not gonna argue there. shifty is manipulative and uses the experiences that she's had with us to try to convince, guiltrip, strong-arm, or really use any form of persuasion to get us to leave with her.

HOWEVER. I do not think that she as a whole ignores that they were real people that had fears and lives. Vessels, hearts, eulogies- shifty speaks to us of the identity of each and every princess as she cradles them in her embrace. She is not ignoring 'their' experiences because they are hers as well, because each and every one of those princesses is her, even if they functioned independently for a time. She does ask the Long Quiet to ignore these, but I don't view this as casting aside the aspects of herself less interesting or useful to her, but trying to convince the Long Quiet to look away from these contradictions, and to stay focused on the more compelling cases for escaping together.

So yes. she's a bit of a sophist. but she doesn't ignore the princesses, just ask the long quiet to

b) i mean… i have a lot of thoughts on this. They were always a part of her, they always were her, they just didn’t know it yet. I think all of them were searching for her, they just didn’t know that’s what it was they were searching for. The most aware of this is the spectre- she senses the longing within her, and realizes that she can’t quite explain what it is or why, just that she needs to be somewhere, rather than try to label it as something else, like the other princesses do. At their core, though, all of the princesses know that they need something, and that the slayer is the gateway to it.

Also…happy ending??? I know the game implies that they might have almost gotten this before being taken away, but let’s think about this for a second. There is no way out of that construct. There are only a hundred feet or so of woods and the cabin. What happy ending awaited them? The player and the princess don’t realize it at the time, but they’re not actually in the real world. They can’t reach the real world. They are trapped there until either a reset happens or they starve or kill each other or something along those lines. None of the princesses can actually escape without reuniting with shifty and rejoining the world. They’re just as trapped in the woods as they are in the cabin. If anything, shifty was actually rescuing them.

#change is important #change is natural #identity? perception? constant change? #shifting mound #slay the princess game #slay the princess #stp the shifting mound #stp the long quiet

[swanpyart]

Not a kiss (they only got beaks) but some romantic nuzzling!

This here won’t do.

Everyone immediately start drawing them kissing so we can make @salty-an-disco happy.

#slay the princess #the contrarian #slay the princess game #voice of the contrarian #voice of the hero

[swanpyart]

You’re on a Path in the Woods…

…a very long path.

#this is so good! #slay the princess #stp spoilers #stp #black tabby games

[swanpyart]

Fan Princess Idea: The Insufferable

If you go down and refuse to take any part of the situation seriously, you get a cartoon clown princess. She talks exclusively in references and Joss Whedon style "did that just happen?!" quips. She keeps mugging for the camera and doing obnoxious dances. The soundtrack is off-key circus music played on kazoos.

“This one is the single worst thing in the entire world. I’m not making her into a heart. Never bring me a vessel like this again. Jesus Christ. I'd say 'do not mourn for her', but you're obviously not going to."

#slay the princess #slay the princess fan princess #slay the princess meme #during the final speech she comes up with a slide whistle noise #then the shifting mound just pushes her right back under #and moves to the next princess with no fanfare

[swanpyart]

For the record, I am not a trans woman, I am an asexual woman, and I answered “yes”, but I think it depends on a few things.

For one thing, it’s a bit too specific. There’s a whole spectrum of genders, and I think it differs from sexuality in that sexuality is comparatively more easy for the individual to identify internally (knowing who you do or don’t want to get with is perhaps easier than identifying yourself). I might suggest that this hypothetical friend might consider trying different pronouns, or suggest some resources. I guess it depends on the context; I’m autistic, so I wouldn’t just come out and say “maybe you’re a trans woman?” I’d probably pose the question as “Are you questioning your gender identity at all?” Or “Hey, this is a common experience that many trans women deal with. Perhaps I can help you do some research on it?”

I don’t think it’s be wrong to suggest being a trans woman, as it’s definitely in the wheelhouse, but I think the poll is worded a bit oddly because it doesn’t leave much nuance and could be misunderstood. Is this friend open to questioning their identity? Are they at all interested in receiving this advice from you? Are they asking questions related to their gender, or is it that you noticed some behavior of theirs and you feel the need to bring it up?

Also, it’s possible people are answering no because, since they are not trans, they don’t know if this individual is actually showing gender dysphoria or if it’s their own bias/stereotyping/lack of knowledge/awkwardness that may be causing them to wrongly assume. I think most who answered the poll don’t want to wrongly assume someone’s gender unless prompted by someone else.

So, my answer was “yes, it is appropriate, but with some slight caveats taking into account.”

Consider: you are talking to a friend who is a cisgender man, and he says or does something which you think implies either gender dysphoria or a desired gender euphoria.

[swanpyart]

-Voices-

A collection of portraits depicting the voices from Slay the Princess, taking inspiration from the style of the video game Disco Elysium! The Voice of the Hero, a knight, an iconic silhouette against a luminant halo. A color palette of black, blue, and teal.

The Voice of the Hunted, a beast trying to protect its heart from danger, represented here as a crosshair.

The Voice of the Smitten, the knife wound letting loose lovely streams of swirling bodily juices into the air.

The Voice of the Cold, dark, and angular. Something completely unafraid to kill.

The Voice of the Skeptic, attempting to fly, tearing himself away from chains and what looks like his own body.

The Voice of the Paranoid, Frantic and multi-eyed, clutching at a wound.

The Voice of the Contrarian, flying in stark contrast to the others, glowing instead of secluded, a mischievous fairy or will o' the wisp, instead of a grotesque figure.

The Voice of the Broken, shattered and leaking. A humanoid figure is no longer recognizable.

The Voice of the Stubborn, Fiery eyes, and big meaty claws. The brushwork is chaotic.

The Voice of the Cheated, smoke leaking from puncture wounds still embedded within him. He's holding a cigar, too; probably where all the smoke is coming from.

The Voice of the Opportunist, carrying multiple masks on his person, and wielding a poorly concealed knife.

And finally (for now) The Long Quiet itself, the night sky, swirling sigils blurred in the dark.

#these are so cool I can’t #I love the trippy and macabre designs #it’s hysterical to imagine these guys just sounding British #slay the princess #slay the princess game #stp voices #stp voice of the hero #voice designs #not my art

[swanpyart]

this showed up in my FB memories, the lightning bolt trick! I don't sketch out the lightning bolt much nowadays but it's still super helpful when I need to lay out tricky arms and leg poses. And I still apply the logic of it, especially with how I draw arms :' ) Biggest thing it helps with is shape breakdown and visualization, we gotta use whatever works to break down shapes into simpler concepts for our brains 👏💓

#anatomy #legs #gesture #art reference #art tutorial #art help #art resources #art tips #art advice #art tricks