Something Strange | Slay the Princess (Pristine Cut) - Part 25 | Blind Let's Play

[@MsCrotalus]

This is my favorite ending, the lines where contrarian is surprised she'd love him even though he's the 'worst' part and the hero pointing out there's no 'worst part' get to me every single time. I'm so glad you saw this ending!

[@Cellybeans]

Saaaaaame 😭

[@reubensalter8125]

He saw this version once but got the loop ending instead. And who doesn't want to end a series on this one? I mean come on! It has everything you could want from an ending 😊 Plus this one even wants us to accept all aspects of ourselves, including godhood even if it's not what we are currently, so why shouldn't we? Self acceptance is important.

[@AxiomArchives]

I'm glad too! Those lines regarding Contrarian were super touching :D I'm not sure about my favorite ending yet, but this one is definitely up there.

[@Senfree]

The first time I remember seeing snow, and it's beauty, it wasn't in contrast to terrible things, it was only in contrast to an environment that previously didn't have snow, and I found the falling crystals so beautiful. You don't need suffering to enjoy something, but something rarer can definitely sparkle among the routine, and there's so much out there that's new.

[@AxiomArchives]

This is a very good point!! Meaning can be found in something new, without the need for bad emotions or experiences to hold it up against, and since there can always be something "new", meaning can always be found.

[@sunnysunsins]

4:35 this and the dragon route are the best looks we get at LQ. Here specifically we can see he has at least 4 sets of wings. Which makes it even more interesting that he seemingly can't use them? At least he didn't in any of the routes

[@reubensalter8125]

He does in Fury and Apotheosis. And he uses all of them at the end. Plus both of those routes are just one perspective, so he clearly changes shape to fit the situation, especially in Adversary where he looks smaller but more burly, Nightmare where he looks more frail and Wounded Wild where he looks normal.

[@sunnysunsins]

@reubensalter8125 "You've always looked like this"

[@reubensalter8125]

@@sunnysunsins That's just one perspective though, it doesn't apply to the whole game. And again he clearly looks even slightly different in every route and that includes how many wings he has; in Wounded Wild he clearly has 2, which grow to about 4 or 6 in the mirror since he's everywhere at that point. And even the Devs say he looks smaller in comparison to Adversary, and again, I have to mention his slight beefiness in her POV and his frailness in Nightmare's. Plus, again he clearly uses them in Fury and Apotheosis where he's described as flying or soaring: in Quantum Break he's flying towards her as he's stripped away; and he's hurled by Apotheosis towards the hole, so it makes sense that he uses his wings for balance. Plus he has so many more wings that he uses during some of the endings.

[@AxiomArchives]

Maybe he doesn't know he looks like that? Or maybe he knows he has wings, but doesn't feel like he can use them? That is very interesting! Also, as a side note, I find it very interesting that in the Cage vignette at the timestamp you mentioned, it looks like the Princess's perspective is being shown from her body, and not her head in the cage.

[@sunnysunsins]

There is one more princess! The other Gray, the one you get from Damsel

[@AxiomArchives]

I'm a bit surprised no one had requested this before now lol. I've added it to the list!!

[@weegiblook7953]

i definitely relate to the contrarian way too much and this ending definitely hits

[@AxiomArchives]

Yeah, I understand that. Having the ability to question things, to go against the grain, and then have that be considered "the worst part of yourself", seems very...poignant? Idk, it's feels important in a way I can't quite put my finger on lol.

[@02miguener99s]

If you are going to explore other posible routes, I will suggest the den with skeptic, and the fury through the adversary (by not fighting), and I think they have something very interesting to show that you might not see with other versions of the routes. Still very good to see this ending, it's always a joy to see how the people who start with the Stranger ending engage with the rest of the game, and it was nice to see someone experience the different routes this game has to offer.

[@svu1191]

Prestine cut ending is basically you killing every princesses and overpowering the shifting mound its a declaration of independence from her and defeating her this way gives a world that doesnt have change and death but is also worth living in. Its crazy

[@reubensalter8125]

Actually it's not just killing every Princess, it's overpowering her in a way that shows her you don't need her. Again, that's not strictly limited to killing - you can also abandon her, reduce her to nothing, even die either alongside or to her after killing her, while pointing out you didn't die because she was taken. But if she manages to get the upper hand in some way, like in Den with Skeptic, or you end up in equal position, like with Thorn, it won't work.

[@bugboi9858]

Would saying this count as spoiling him about the new ending? Would this count as spoilers?

[@reubensalter8125]

@@bugboi9858 The second half of their paragraph does, but the first one doesn't.

[@StickmanCorp]

Please, mind your spoilers.

[@Cattywattys]

I think a good thing to do would be to try to find all the red text and the ending it leads to. That sounds satisfying

[@AxiomArchives]

I'll for sure be doing that!!

[@Cattywattys]

@@AxiomArchives seems you sure did

[@Cattywattys]

I don’t think the change would be all at once. The whole reason the narrator wanted you to kill the princess is because even in this construct. The shifting mound still existing lets change still happen

[@reubensalter8125]

Also we contain a piece of change within us which would allow a variation of what we saw in HEA to play out, the difference being everyone would just keep forgetting before they notice anything stale.

[@Cattywattys]

@ I’m curious where exactly does it say they will forget?

[@reubensalter8125]

@@Cattywattys The narrator in the mirror says his world would consist of an endless repeating pattern of forgetfulness leading to the joys of rediscovery. Combine that with both HEA and the "good" ending and you've got people doing the same thing over and over again blissfully unaware of anything that would be considered wrong. Or so I see it anyway.

[@Cattywattys]

@reubensalter8125 wow neat

[@Kayta-Linda]

@reubensalter8125 as someone who’s very good at doing the same things over and over and barely doing anything new, I don’t think the Echo’s plan is all that horrible. Just.. when one thing starts to bore you, switch to the next. Then, return to the previous one. You’d be surprised how nostalgic you’ll find it and how much of it you’ve naturally forgotten. There’ll *always* be something new there.

[@shiningdawn865]

@1:05 I'd imagine a scenario like outer wilds where an inhabitant (like Chert) realizes the end of the world isn't some far-off, distant thing in someone else's lifetime. It's impeding doom in your lifetime and there's no escape. @19:20 oh no you stabbed the princess! I always thought it just got stuck in the window ;-; (I'm pretty sure she's fine though) I think some of the ones that I'd be interested in seeing you play are Cage with a Voice other than Paranoid, Apotheosis (but kill a god), The Grey (Burned), and The Den (Freed or Embrace Instinct).

[@reubensalter8125]

Or instead of killing Apotheosis... You show her empathy on a completely different level. Also Den with Skeptic definitely. Especially either freed or buried

[@AxiomArchives]

The Outer Wilds comparison makes sense! If everyone knew the world was going to end, it would make sense that everyone would be "consumed with thoughts of oblivion". And yeah, I'm sure she's fine xD

[@bloodymares]

I wonder, if you leave with the Stranger, does it count as the harem ending?..

[@aaroncharlesdelara9784]

If you've searched up and listened to to the 'Unknown Together', chances are you've listened to the original version and you would be right about them being different. There are 3 versions of the 'Unknown Together': 1. First one is the original version of the base game. The instruments are solemn in this version with softer pianos and softer violins. This is probably the most listened version of the song. 2. Live Version from the Initial Release of Pristine Cut: This version has louder violins and pianos which causes some dissonance. 3. Updated Live Version: This is the one currently in the game after a patch. This is a live version which is closer to the original version. This one is much more solemn with a bit of dissonance.

[@reubensalter8125]

I actually prefer the third version; it's closer to the first version but it's still something new since it combines various aspects from both. Plus it leads with the Hero and the Princess theme which really helps bring the game full circle 😊

[@AxiomArchives]

Oh that's super interesting!! I haven't had the chance to look up a lot of the music yet, so I didn't know there were multiple versions!! I'll have to look into those when I'm done for sure!!

[@weegiblook7953]

i recently thought of one line from the narrator in the wraith: “the unknown is always worse than the known”. because… wow is that hypocritical or what

[@reubensalter8125]

Not really, and I don't think that's actually what he says.

[@weegiblook7953]

@ it definitely is what he says, unless i’m just hallucinating (shows up when the voices are talking about running away, not sure if it appears in every variant of the wraith) and it’s hypocritical because that’s exactly what he’s doing, right? he’s changing something known to something unknown (a world without death), and according to this line, that would be something worse and this is coming from a long-time narrator defender btw, but this line…

[@02miguener99s]

​@@weegiblook7953 Oh wow I never thought about that, the inconsistancies in character that sheer desperation breeds I guess

[@02miguener99s]

3:30 I guess you'll have to see ;)

[@RasmusVJS]

@@weegiblook7953 I wouldn't really call it hypocritical, since, to an alive being, death is even more unknown. So he is consistent in doing everything he can to preserve his status quo.