I would be laughing even harder if the Pristine Cut coming out this fall has a potential kiss moment with The Fury... *after* managing to somehow convince her to not kill you. If this happens, I'm gonna say "Called it!"
@@RiptoGaktYeah that's definitely not gonna happen. Also she doesn't kill you she unwinds you and..... She's still going to do it anyway. Anything else is likely to be after. Though maybe she'll give us a "kiss" in her own way? 😅
On the contrary. Isn’t the Princess at the end of the game that you can leave with the first one you’ve encountered? Due to how sad it is when the shifting mound takes away her, it makes for a really cool motivation to get through all this misery just to save her and leave once and for all. That makes a much more compelling story than other paths if you ask me
@@fdragon0216It's not actually that sad. It's fulfilling. Plus it's better to just get weird for the sake of being weird. Also who'd want to save her when we can leave with someone even better? Five "someones" to be more exact.
@reubensalter8125 best part? in At least one point before the end, she mentions that the others will find their way back to her once she gets enough, so the end that you leave with is ALL of them, not just the five that you get in your playthrough.
@@reubensalter8125 okay now, we have to discuss the game’s whole purpose then… Shifting Mound taking Thorn away was not fulfilling at all, period. You could argue that for any other princess, especially Damsel, but not Thorn. In fact, this is the only path that made me hate the Shifting Mound. Thorn route is a route that depicts fair and honest character development, showing that spirit and the will to change and become better, to make amends to those you have hurt are far more strong and genuine than senseless violence or flawless love. And the big part of that is the weaknesses, flaws and feelings derived from them. The Long Quiet betrayed the princess because he was too weak to oppose the Narrator. In turn, this betrayal hurt her feelings and made her realize she’s not that strong, which made her all suspicious and cautious, longing for revenge. The protagonist feels a sense of guilt, which makes him let the Princess kill him, which utterly confuses her. Why would anyone harm themselves because of their past flaws, especially considering how irrelevant they are in the presence of the Shifting Mound? Well, its because this is the noble thing to do. Weaknesses lead to pain, pain leads to thought, and thought leads to the correct way forward. This makes flaws and mistakes an unavoidable part of any good life, and existence without them is meaningless. Like say… being an immortal all-powerful god for the rest of existence! This path so perfectly illustrates why, in my opinion, leaving with the Shifting Mound and with the Stranger to a lesser extent is morally wrong. The Shifting Mound is indeed needed to the society, but that doesn’t make her a totally good being. She manipulates the truth, she plays on the Long Quiet’s thoughts and feelings to promote her own ideas. Yet she runs away from simple truths and questions. How can a goddess of change function if she doesn’t have an open heart to other point of views, other perspectives (a question you can outright ask her in the end of the game, and she will avoid answering)? How can a goddess of death appreciate the meaning of death when she’s immortal? If the Long Quiet and the Shifting Mound were once a single being, why does she treat the other princesses, also a mere past part of her, so unequally in relation to the protagonist? And what makes us think that she doesn’t plan on just absorbing the Long Quiet as well, reuniting once and for all? The Stranger, from what I understand, is a less strong version of the Shifting Mound herself. It’s definitely a lot more acceptable leaving with her than with the Shifting Mound herself. It undoes some of the questionable ideas, but not all. In the end of the day, its a matter of what you believe in, and what makes the most compelling story for you
My favorite route right next to the Damsel. Hell, probably even better. Bc it’s not just lovey dovey infatuation with no obstacles. It’s more realistic. People will have issues. And they can be severe. I like how you basically stab each other to death and then make up. Realizing that both parties made a mistake. And that if the bad is to ever end, a new trust has to be given. Blind trust. No, trust against reason, the hardest of all. But it works. And it results in a passionate love that is… unbelievable. God I love this game…
That's not really blind trust. Blind trust would be prisoner route. This is a more transparent form of trust. Both parties truly know they can trust each other as opposed to doing it reluctantly or with some form of doubt.
The Damsel is a very hollow/shallow vessel. While it is cool that you can make a "morally good" princess, the Damsel lacks any real personality or depth beyond "I just wanna make you happy." This one, the Thorn, is quite the opposite, embodying the major themes of anger, betrayal, repentance, perseverance, trust, and love (not an easy, straightforward love, a very rocky yet persevering love. A more "real" love). Another vessel that has a lot of depth of character is the Stranger if you get her on your 1st out of 5 vessels and then meet her at the cabin at the end. Edit: the Wild is also a really cool vessel
@@Qwnntm Actually the Damsel has a lot more personality and her love for you is genuine. She only seems hollow because she is most likely traumatised by what happened. Also she also wants to leave. She even implied it. She only deconstructs if you ignore her desire to leave and start to perceive her as someone with no thoughts or desires of her own, which is clearly false. That's what makes the chapter so interesting imo. Also the Thorn isn't the opposite of damsel, it's something else entirely. Also anger isn't a huge part of it, it's more the hurt and fear and frustration that comes from it, depending on how you got there. Also repentance isn't even that big of a part in it compared to Spectre, since both parties can be in the wrong (if you betray the princess and you kill each other), or you find yourself making up for actions that weren't entirely your own (narrator possesses you and she kills you, though it makes more thematic sense if she calls it a betrayal of will.) It's purely about betrayal and broken trust and it doesn't have to be romantic love, it can also be more platonic. And it can be a little more than just rocky if you decide to go back for the blade, close the door without saying anything then finish her. What is the opposite of Damsel however is Burned Grey. By killing her you're basically doing her a favour by giving her a lot more agency than she previously had. But at the same time her love for you has evolved into an obsession, a need to be with you forever, even if it means in death. What started as a generic love story with a twist and commentary on the nature of damsel tropes becomes a tragic story of passion and doomed romance. Plus it's always fun to see Smitten and Cold take shots at each other while Hero worries about their mental states.
@@Qwnntm Imo the damsel is surprisingly deep and effective as a foil in the right perspective, you can notice it with the wich route, you may not give it a lot of thought, but she keeps the dainty hands, a VERY damsel feature, of course, she takes advantage of it, but it is a subtle clue that deep down the love isn't dead, just hidden at plain sight, with a layer of hate, you know the most ironic thing of the damsel route? Her music theme is called "it was that easy" It parallels something in particular The THORNS route if you reconcile, besides, you can compare the thorn princess and the damsel and they look very similar, playing the damsel route after the thorn route gives a deep sense of irony and guilt The funny thing is, playing the damsel route after the thorns route fits incredibly well by simplifying all this to a simple question If you had the chance to do it all again, would you change your actions? Would you do everything in your control to stop her suffering the pain you saw her go through? Would you believe in her words if she said she wanted to make you happy? Do you want to make her happy? Nice to see you back...smitten
Ill be honest, i kinda wish that the Shifting Mound would have let them stay in the Long Quiet for longer, just so that the protagonist (who preferably gets back his memories if he had any) could enjoy her company more
A reminder that all the bickering of voices in his head is happening in real time. Which means *the entire time* Hero, Opportunist and Smitten were torturing Narrator, LQ and Thorn were making out. In this case, almost 1.5 minutes, goddamn
If only the voice of the contrarian could see this 😆 This is the most annoyed the narrator has been and its great Best route (besides the Razor). For once I was actually unhappy the grabby hands came to take the vessel away, this one had so much depth/character arc. Wish there was an option to get a version this vessel in the cabin at the end, she encapsulates the major themes of the game perfectly
@@Qwnntm Honestly I think it makes more sense we don't see her again because she was only a small part of who the princess really is and by extension the princess you meet at her heart, which I guess is better shown if you got Stranger as the first. If we saw another vessel again it would dilute the ending since we did technically leave with her before. Also it might not be the same but you can Cheated in this one instead of Smitten and it perfectly encapsulates who he is - someone who is sick of losing but in the end just wants everything to be fair. And if we're talking about themes, another good one would be Adversary since it showcases a more physical form of romance and highlights the competitive nature of the two entities and the need for a life and death cycle.
@reubensalter8125 Thats why I said "a version" of the Thorn. Similar to how if you get the Stranger on the first attempt you will find a more developed version of them at the end in the cabin. The adversary was actually the first one I got ever. I agree about the themes in that route. Didn't realize you could get the cheated for the Thorn chapter, gonna have to try that now
@@Qwnntm The whole idea is the last princess you meet with is *the* first princess you ever met based on whether or not you took the blade. You meet the Stranger again because at that point you haven't actually met the princess since you decided not to go to the cabin. A version of Thorn wouldn't work because by that point you've technically met her twice. Plus it would dilute the scene where you initially leave together and also feel really cheap if you got to leave with her twice; the endings we have work because you never actually left with *those* princesses. The only way I do see this working is a really random twist like Razor popping up from behind the door and skewering you both before speaking to you during the credits.
In a sense she has a big cut of the pie if we speak about the shifting mound personality, no matter how antagonistic we are to her, even with princesses like the Grey or the fury it puts into context how fundamentally unwavering is her love for the long quiet, so in a sense she is still subtly present, and leaving the cabin with her in a sense honors her wishes
Fiat Iustitia, Ruat Caelum, not familiar with the game so I can't really say much on the story, but Murder is obviously wrong, so who cares about the world, killing the princess is wrong, unless we have just cause
![BOWKYLION - วิงวอน (ex-change) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cLdnZWDaO-w/mqdefault.jpg)
Me seeing the Narrator having a bad day : rolling on the floor, laughing
You and the contrarian would be bffs
I would be laughing even harder if the Pristine Cut coming out this fall has a potential kiss moment with The Fury... *after* managing to somehow convince her to not kill you.
If this happens, I'm gonna say "Called it!"
@@RiptoGaktYeah that's definitely not gonna happen. Also she doesn't kill you she unwinds you and.....
She's still going to do it anyway. Anything else is likely to be after. Though maybe she'll give us a "kiss" in her own way? 😅
@@reubensalter8125 Or as close to one as you could possibly get, especially with a 15-foot gorey-gib-inducing demon lady.
@@RiptoGakt I meant as in... It's in the trailer, just for a split second. And she can get as close as she wants, we don't even have to move
This truly is the best route in the game idc what anyone says
IDK. What about the Perfect Woman route?
Pure Adversary supremacy!!!
You would be correct
Three words. Happily ever after.
I still can't recover...
@@exarquazowexa7247"I was so glad to dance with you"
Best route of all
This is still my favorite part
God I could not imagine this being someone's first blind run, and then spending most of the rest of the game just killing each other.
On the contrary. Isn’t the Princess at the end of the game that you can leave with the first one you’ve encountered? Due to how sad it is when the shifting mound takes away her, it makes for a really cool motivation to get through all this misery just to save her and leave once and for all. That makes a much more compelling story than other paths if you ask me
@@fdragon0216It's not actually that sad. It's fulfilling. Plus it's better to just get weird for the sake of being weird. Also who'd want to save her when we can leave with someone even better? Five "someones" to be more exact.
@reubensalter8125 best part? in At least one point before the end, she mentions that the others will find their way back to her once she gets enough, so the end that you leave with is ALL of them, not just the five that you get in your playthrough.
@@jonathangoodwin5609 I'm referring to the Stranger who is quite literally five different princesses merged into one. But yeah you're right.
@@reubensalter8125 okay now, we have to discuss the game’s whole purpose then…
Shifting Mound taking Thorn away was not fulfilling at all, period. You could argue that for any other princess, especially Damsel, but not Thorn. In fact, this is the only path that made me hate the Shifting Mound. Thorn route is a route that depicts fair and honest character development, showing that spirit and the will to change and become better, to make amends to those you have hurt are far more strong and genuine than senseless violence or flawless love. And the big part of that is the weaknesses, flaws and feelings derived from them. The Long Quiet betrayed the princess because he was too weak to oppose the Narrator. In turn, this betrayal hurt her feelings and made her realize she’s not that strong, which made her all suspicious and cautious, longing for revenge. The protagonist feels a sense of guilt, which makes him let the Princess kill him, which utterly confuses her. Why would anyone harm themselves because of their past flaws, especially considering how irrelevant they are in the presence of the Shifting Mound? Well, its because this is the noble thing to do. Weaknesses lead to pain, pain leads to thought, and thought leads to the correct way forward. This makes flaws and mistakes an unavoidable part of any good life, and existence without them is meaningless. Like say… being an immortal all-powerful god for the rest of existence! This path so perfectly illustrates why, in my opinion, leaving with the Shifting Mound and with the Stranger to a lesser extent is morally wrong.
The Shifting Mound is indeed needed to the society, but that doesn’t make her a totally good being. She manipulates the truth, she plays on the Long Quiet’s thoughts and feelings to promote her own ideas. Yet she runs away from simple truths and questions. How can a goddess of change function if she doesn’t have an open heart to other point of views, other perspectives (a question you can outright ask her in the end of the game, and she will avoid answering)? How can a goddess of death appreciate the meaning of death when she’s immortal? If the Long Quiet and the Shifting Mound were once a single being, why does she treat the other princesses, also a mere past part of her, so unequally in relation to the protagonist? And what makes us think that she doesn’t plan on just absorbing the Long Quiet as well, reuniting once and for all?
The Stranger, from what I understand, is a less strong version of the Shifting Mound herself. It’s definitely a lot more acceptable leaving with her than with the Shifting Mound herself. It undoes some of the questionable ideas, but not all. In the end of the day, its a matter of what you believe in, and what makes the most compelling story for you
My favorite route right next to the Damsel. Hell, probably even better. Bc it’s not just lovey dovey infatuation with no obstacles. It’s more realistic. People will have issues. And they can be severe. I like how you basically stab each other to death and then make up. Realizing that both parties made a mistake. And that if the bad is to ever end, a new trust has to be given. Blind trust. No, trust against reason, the hardest of all. But it works. And it results in a passionate love that is… unbelievable. God I love this game…
You sound like a voice lol
That's not really blind trust. Blind trust would be prisoner route. This is a more transparent form of trust. Both parties truly know they can trust each other as opposed to doing it reluctantly or with some form of doubt.
The Damsel is a very hollow/shallow vessel. While it is cool that you can make a "morally good" princess, the Damsel lacks any real personality or depth beyond "I just wanna make you happy." This one, the Thorn, is quite the opposite, embodying the major themes of anger, betrayal, repentance, perseverance, trust, and love (not an easy, straightforward love, a very rocky yet persevering love. A more "real" love). Another vessel that has a lot of depth of character is the Stranger if you get her on your 1st out of 5 vessels and then meet her at the cabin at the end. Edit: the Wild is also a really cool vessel
@@Qwnntm Actually the Damsel has a lot more personality and her love for you is genuine. She only seems hollow because she is most likely traumatised by what happened. Also she also wants to leave. She even implied it. She only deconstructs if you ignore her desire to leave and start to perceive her as someone with no thoughts or desires of her own, which is clearly false. That's what makes the chapter so interesting imo.
Also the Thorn isn't the opposite of damsel, it's something else entirely. Also anger isn't a huge part of it, it's more the hurt and fear and frustration that comes from it, depending on how you got there. Also repentance isn't even that big of a part in it compared to Spectre, since both parties can be in the wrong (if you betray the princess and you kill each other), or you find yourself making up for actions that weren't entirely your own (narrator possesses you and she kills you, though it makes more thematic sense if she calls it a betrayal of will.) It's purely about betrayal and broken trust and it doesn't have to be romantic love, it can also be more platonic. And it can be a little more than just rocky if you decide to go back for the blade, close the door without saying anything then finish her.
What is the opposite of Damsel however is Burned Grey. By killing her you're basically doing her a favour by giving her a lot more agency than she previously had. But at the same time her love for you has evolved into an obsession, a need to be with you forever, even if it means in death. What started as a generic love story with a twist and commentary on the nature of damsel tropes becomes a tragic story of passion and doomed romance. Plus it's always fun to see Smitten and Cold take shots at each other while Hero worries about their mental states.
@@Qwnntm
Imo the damsel is surprisingly deep and effective as a foil in the right perspective, you can notice it with the wich route, you may not give it a lot of thought, but she keeps the dainty hands, a VERY damsel feature, of course, she takes advantage of it, but it is a subtle clue that deep down the love isn't dead, just hidden at plain sight, with a layer of hate, you know the most ironic thing of the damsel route? Her music theme is called "it was that easy"
It parallels something in particular
The THORNS route if you reconcile, besides, you can compare the thorn princess and the damsel and they look very similar, playing the damsel route after the thorn route gives a deep sense of irony and guilt
The funny thing is, playing the damsel route after the thorns route fits incredibly well by simplifying all this to a simple question
If you had the chance to do it all again, would you change your actions?
Would you do everything in your control to stop her suffering the pain you saw her go through?
Would you believe in her words if she said she wanted to make you happy?
Do you want to make her happy?
Nice to see you back...smitten
"Unfortunately the moment doesn't last forever" nu-uh. Yes it do.
THORNS MY BELOVED!
Ill be honest, i kinda wish that the Shifting Mound would have let them stay in the Long Quiet for longer, just so that the protagonist (who preferably gets back his memories if he had any) could enjoy her company more
I do too. It was nice while it lasted. Thorn was...spectacular.
"It doesn't matter either way because this is good stuff!"
DONT LET THE HANDS TAKE HER FROM MEEEEE
I Tried Doing this ending but we ended up fighting to the Death then got Crushed
You have to bring the blade with you in chapter 2, then give it to her as a sign of trust.
You got Wild though and that route is amazing. Plus that's probably my favourite fight scene alongside Eye of the Needle.
A reminder that all the bickering of voices in his head is happening in real time. Which means *the entire time* Hero, Opportunist and Smitten were torturing Narrator, LQ and Thorn were making out. In this case, almost 1.5 minutes, goddamn
If only the voice of the contrarian could see this 😆
This is the most annoyed the narrator has been and its great
Best route (besides the Razor). For once I was actually unhappy the grabby hands came to take the vessel away, this one had so much depth/character arc. Wish there was an option to get a version this vessel in the cabin at the end, she encapsulates the major themes of the game perfectly
@@Qwnntm Honestly I think it makes more sense we don't see her again because she was only a small part of who the princess really is and by extension the princess you meet at her heart, which I guess is better shown if you got Stranger as the first. If we saw another vessel again it would dilute the ending since we did technically leave with her before.
Also it might not be the same but you can Cheated in this one instead of Smitten and it perfectly encapsulates who he is - someone who is sick of losing but in the end just wants everything to be fair.
And if we're talking about themes, another good one would be Adversary since it showcases a more physical form of romance and highlights the competitive nature of the two entities and the need for a life and death cycle.
@reubensalter8125 Thats why I said "a version" of the Thorn. Similar to how if you get the Stranger on the first attempt you will find a more developed version of them at the end in the cabin. The adversary was actually the first one I got ever. I agree about the themes in that route. Didn't realize you could get the cheated for the Thorn chapter, gonna have to try that now
@@Qwnntm The whole idea is the last princess you meet with is *the* first princess you ever met based on whether or not you took the blade. You meet the Stranger again because at that point you haven't actually met the princess since you decided not to go to the cabin.
A version of Thorn wouldn't work because by that point you've technically met her twice. Plus it would dilute the scene where you initially leave together and also feel really cheap if you got to leave with her twice; the endings we have work because you never actually left with *those* princesses.
The only way I do see this working is a really random twist like Razor popping up from behind the door and skewering you both before speaking to you during the credits.
In a sense she has a big cut of the pie if we speak about the shifting mound personality, no matter how antagonistic we are to her, even with princesses like the Grey or the fury it puts into context how fundamentally unwavering is her love for the long quiet, so in a sense she is still subtly present, and leaving the cabin with her in a sense honors her wishes
Johnny Sims, you legend
I haven’t had this much fun torturing the Narrator since that Stanley Parable.
@@cristaltophat there's a fun new route in the Pristine Cut where the Narrator realizes everything he's been trying to get you to do is wrong
@@JayTorin oh yes that ones also great, you can actually bring that ending up with the original echo he doesn’t take it well
I want all of us to admit right now that as fans of the thorn route, we dedicated our lives to and what happens next ending
Only thing that comes close to this scene is Damsels Happily Ever After
Fiat Iustitia, Ruat Caelum, not familiar with the game so I can't really say much on the story, but Murder is obviously wrong, so who cares about the world, killing the princess is wrong, unless we have just cause
????????
@@Yanramich I' m commenting on the Narrator's critizism of the other characters
@@memeboi6017 my brother in christ you know NOTHING about the game
@@YanramichLMFAOOOOO