#‘take Aradia’s hand’ do you WANT HER?!?!?!?!?!?!

[artificialcaretaker]

HERE’S HOW WE CAN STILL WIN GUYS-

[girlbowser]

gonna go completely insane for a second here.

was thinking about mspar. who will obviously not. appear in hsbc. bc it makes almost no thematic sense for that to happen

but like… i made a connection. that i want to talk about.

mspar in pq is defined by two things, early on

really, really, really fucking hating the direction the epilogues took the "story", and wanting to take it into their own hands to fix it.

like, the imagery about this being a Bad Thing is pretty unsubtle. in the prologue, mspar literally tramples over homestuck panels, crushing them underfoot. and by the end of pq, what they have done isnt just create a new timeline where "everyone is happy," they've overwritten homestuck to do it. theyve Literally retconned the story and replaced it with their fanon ideas of how to "fix" things. that's why ultdirk and the director have to come and tell you that it needs to stop.

there's a lot more about mspar's actions in pq being like… pretty unambiguously villain shit, in my reading, but thats a sort of separate ramble to what i wanted to be insane about (let me know if you want me to ramble about. mspar being the bad guy. another time.)

basically. mspar's design looks a hell of a lot like doc scratch. obviously. theyre both round-headed narrators.

doc scratch's textbox is literally just mspar's inverted. theyre foils, in a sense. scratch enables canon while hurting everyone to do it, and mspar enables fanon (…while hurting everyone to do it, differentways.)

and that got me thinking like. a lot of this description i just wrote applies to another character too.

someone in the text who was introduced as a reader of the stories of the heroes, as an author of fanfiction and fanart

though, obviously meat and candy calliope are accounted for. it's not literally that mspar is calliope. besides, its not even like calliope wears a similar hooded black outfit to them, or makes a huge fucking deal about loathing the complexity of postcanon,

hey wait a minute

and theyve got a lot in common. even beyond the superficial. for example, they both just. appoint themself as the guardian of their timeline, because they have to "fix" homestuck. (whether the characters in homestuck want this or not.)

jade harley literally tells *both characters* "well, what if we don't want your protection!!!! why won't you leave us alone!" and then they just sorta ignore her wishes

and the connection keeps going. like. mspar and altcallie have both stood outside of the green sun with aradia and absorbed a canon into themself so they can rewrite it.

this extremely specific thing they have in common!!!! kinda fucked up!!!!!!

like, im not saying this because i literally think mspar is going to crack their head open and reveal altcallie a la Lord English in that intermission.

but THEMATICALLY.

they have a lot in common.

way more than i realized until literally two days ago!

like mspar is LITERALLY another narrator at least on the scale of ultdirk and doc scratch and the like and LITERALLY ALL OF THEM ARE VILLAINS shdashjfhasfhsajdhgashfkgshjdgsdfgsdhjg. there is stuff to think about.

(conspiracy brain.) and of all the outfits mspar wore in friendsim, it's specifically the black hoodie up that they got sprites for….

anyway.

obviously pesterquest and hsbc werent referencing each other because the second one did not exist yet.

but like! i think theres something there. in terms of da Themes and Motifs.

(if there are more close readings of pq, id be SUPER curious to find em :3)

[kat-of-seventy-seven-roses]

Homestuck Mythical Creature au / Cryptid Au

Very tempted to make an ask blop :p need to see if anyones inch rested

thought processes under the cut (bc some choices are wild)

Johns a pooka, an irish fae trickster who shapeshifts into animals. his favorite form is the bunny. john and jane are both fae, so their pranks range from harmless to mentally scaring to life altering. absolute chaos grimlins. dirk is also an irish myth, so he knows them well and is often trying to get them to not ruin the local population of humans. so they do pranks on him insted. john loves to steal dirks head and hide it places.

rose speaks to the eldritch horrors and is slowly becoming one herself. she wants to become a litch.

Dave is a harpy! a very chill one who doesn't tend to sing with his full chest, so people dont start crashing into his doorstep. dave dies in some magic accident that caused davesprite to rise up from the ashes. but dave harpy is ALSO fine no ones really sure how. may have been roses doing.

Jade is a werewolf obv. but shes also a witch and has formed a coven with rose and roxy.

Jane is ur avrage fae faerie/sprite. her favorite fae rule to get people to break is "dont eat their food."

Roxy is both a cat who is also a wizard i need not elaborate

Dirk is a headless horseman. not to be confused with THE headless horse man. thats another dullhan with a well paying halloween gig. dirk is often subject to losing his head, so he made a magic pumpkin to pilot the body when this happens. he does have a very large and scary but beautiful horse.

Jake is the bigfoot. and one of the most well hunted (and well travled) cryptids. thus, his friends often make jokes of not ever seeing him except in blurry images. its not his fault hes very large and loves to travel! and is also not very photogenic...

Aradia is a monthra!!! however she made a deal with a devil and became a ghost... not sure WHY yet or why it kills her. but it does. its all in her plan or smth, but that doesnt stop sollux from being very upset that hes the one that has to take and keep her soul. she is reserected later by the coven, still soulless but it doesnt matter bc her soul is in good hands and thus she still feels it. shes much happier now.

Tavros is a minotar self explanatory he is a small minotar, tho. a mini minotar if u will.

Sollux is ur run of the mill soul for potato chip demon. an excuse to give him twin tails and horns. him an kitkat gave me the most trouble! but then i went with a solkat devil angel motifi and im kinda attached t9 it now. even if its sorta a cop out. i simply couldnt find twin creatures that werent gods or children of gods. nor any crab creatures...

Karkat is an angel. he WAS human notably he was human for awhile even good friends with kanaya before he died. he never found love but helped so many with theres that he became an angel that was a lot like cupid. thus he was a small angel incharge of match making and also likened to a baby and hes very much NOT happy about this. it pisses him off, solluxs often gives him a hard time. about it. (extra angst is that kitkats also really fucked up about never knowing what love felt like but having to give it to others. and he has it in his head that that means he never will know, bc no ones matchmaking the matchmaker. but theres a song he hears everyonece anwhile by a stray harpy that makes him feel a lot lighter.)

Nepeta is my go to cat creature a nekomata. a two tailed cat yokai.

Kanaya is a vampire. obviously.

Terezi is a dragon! still blind! still licks. but can now transform and has wings, very scary. shes basiclly just her lusus lmao.

Vriska is a spider lady. i have arachne here bc its similar, but shes not arachne the myth proper. shes just a spider with the top part of a woman at the head. A Jorogumo a spider lady yokai and is basically actually what im picturing.

Equius is a centar and fuck if i ever have to draw him....

Gamzee is a clowwwn, just a clown, just a silly lil guy. What do you MEAN clowns arnt mythical creatures??? what do u mean u saw him under ur bed when you were a child? u must be mistaken. as a nod to ICPs boogieman. when gamzee is not high as a kite and is just a clown, he is one of the most terrifying and unkillable creatures known to children kind.

Eridan is a selkie. basiclly a mermaid but part seal. personally, I'd like to make him part seahorse. but not in the hippocampus way. i chose this bc he can shapeshift, thus he pretends to be a high elf sorcerer, yes he does get dunked on about this.

And finally, Feferi is a siren! who happens to be able to become very VERY **VERY** BIG. she doesnt lure people to drown them but she DOES love to keep live captives in cages :)

[aperfectlylesbian]

Hmm, I think (it's an idea for now) I'll kill another one of Agatha's children, just to keep her sharp.

AKA this draft that made me cry;

-

It shouldn’t be like this, Agatha thinks, watching her daughter slowly lose her light in her eyes. Aradia’s body is between her legs, her head resting on her chest, her breathing shallow and raspy. Her daughter murmurs about things being okay between her mothers.

That now they could be happy, be together, like it was before, and like she wanted it to be forever.

Rio... Rio is beside their daughter, her fingers gripping the girl’s hand tightly, her knuckles turning white, while her eyes are filled with pain, a pain that Agatha knows, but not in the brutal way that Rio ended up knowing.

When Nicky died, it was peaceful, Rio was gentle and took him in a moment of peace.

Aradia was bleeding to death. Each drop of her blood became a Tiger Lily that bloomed in the earth. It's almost poetic, the flower that gave her name, had adorned her grave. Agatha runs her hand through her dark curls, her blue eyes meeting her mother’s.

“Mama.” Aradia calls, not in that bright, cheerful tone she’s used since the day Agatha first saw her, small, lively, a little whirlwind of magic and smiles, just three years. She's far from the figure Agatha has become accustomed to. Her voice is shaky, but a faint smile spreads across her lips.

“Shh, shh, my wildflower. Mama's here, mami's here, spare your strength.”

Aradia's voice is low, almost inaudible, very unlike her sister's. Agatha can still hear her youngest daughter's screams, echoing in the back of her mind.

Abelia screamed with hatred dripping in every word, "It's your fault! This is your fault! You live in this damned mourning of yours, that you didn't even realize you were killing us! You killed my twin! Why, mama?! Why were we never enough for you?!"

Agatha's body trembled as those words echoed again, Abelia's brown eyes always returning to her mind, filled with tears and reflecting with anger. An anger that Agatha didn’t see growing in her own daughter.

Rio placed a hand on Aradia's cheek, wiping away the tears that were streaming down her face. She brought her daughter's hand to her lips and kissed her fingers.

Agatha sees Death lower her head, her shoulders shaking — her daughter, the one she carried, the one she gave birth to, is dying, and there’s nothing she can do. She can only wait, wait so she can take her soul to a better place.

Their daughter, ever stubborn, ignores her mother's request, and tilts her head up, her eyes meeting Agatha's again.

“Ey, mama. I’m sorry,” she says slowly, “I’m so sorry that, I couldn't be, the little boy you, love so much.”

[mindfang-srevenge]

Homestuck Trolls and Which TMA Entity They're Most Aligned With: A List By Static, with the STRONG NOTATION that this is not a diss track, just a general summation of thoughts

Karkat— Extinction. He's the mutation that heralds the end of the world. He's the mutation that dooms the world. His existence inspires the fear of the end of society, and the question of how that society could rebuild.

Vriska— Web. A gimme. Spider8itch is gonna spider8itch. She's literally got manipulation powers that-- if she would use them correctly-- would constantly invoke the fear that her friends had no free will, and were just following her orders.

Aradia— End. She takes on the job of reaper for the entire universe, there's no way her very presence doesn't inspire at least the knowledge or vibes of death in her friends. She's the ferrywoman of this universe, and more than that, she's an archaeologist. She takes an active interest in the dead and the gone. This girl's unnerving, and I adore her for it.

Sollux— Desolation. A man who's had everything taken from him, and taken from him again, and taken from him again. First with Aradia's death at his hands, then when he's killed trying to get his friends into the game, then when he gets incinerated by Jack, then when he's blinded by Eridan, then when he gives it all up to propel the ship across the yard, then when he-- you get the point. Sollux continually inspires, rather than the fear of death, the fear of total and utter loss. It's probably something to do with the Doom aspect, y'know.

Terezi— Eye. She who knows all, she who 'sees' all. She's adept enough at this job to be able to trace both the past and the future, to understand exactly where things went wrong even if she doesn't have the power to fix it herself. Good at predicting outcomes. All of these are eye traits.

Gamzee— Stranger, both because of the circus aesthetic and because of the fear of the 'other' that he inspires. He walks like their friend, he looks like their friend, he even kind of sounds like their friend-- but is it really him? Are they supposed to trust him, especially after what he did? There's something wrong here, there's something wrong about him, and he's a Stranger aboard their ship.

Eridan— Slaughter. He's constantly fulfilling the trait of 'mindless violence', after all, whether he's killing landdwellers or shooting angels or even killing his friends. He shoots first and asks questions later. He's actively thinking about genocide at almost all times. This man is a menace.

Nepeta— Hunt, which feels a little obvious. She's the stalking purredator. She's constantly RP'ing as a creature that would like no better than to play a lovely little game of cat and mouse. If she got more screentime and/or things to fight, I'm sure we could see many more examples of this in-text.

Equius— Lonely. Nobody really seems to like this man? I mean, for obvious reasons- he's kind of a creep-- but he lurks on the edges of the friend group, moreso even than Gamzee or Eridan. If he didn't live immediately next door to Vriska I'm not sure anyone but Nepeta would know him. He probably speaks to his robots more than any other troll, and he doesn't seem to particularly want to speak to anyone but Nepeta? Every conversation is so stilted, so formal, almost as if he doesn't know how to talk to people even if he did want to.

Feferi— Vast. Look, as a seadweller, she's a little more connected to the depths than most-- but she also can't leave the depths, forcing Eridan to do her hunting for her. Her lifespan is implied to be near-endless, judging from )(IC's. She's trapped on all sides by endlessness.

Tavros— Buried. Much in the way that Feferi is trapped by an expanse both around her and within her, Tavros is trapped on the ground despite his wishes. He's buried at the back of his friend group, the butt of the jokes. He's also figuratively buried by his self-doubt, which feeds into his role as Page. I feel . . . incredibly bad for this man.

Kanaya— Corruption. It's the Fear most associated with the bringing of new life, which both as a jadeblood and the protector of the Mothergrub Egg, she's deeply in tune with. Her lusus is also a winged bug-thing (mothergrub, shut up). Kanaya herself is a parasite on the other trolls, because she's a rainbow drinker.

[thewertsearch]

More confirmation that Vriska really did die - probably to Aradia - and is currently inhabiting her Dream Self. She's lucky she wasn't on Prospit when the Demon showed up, or she would have died for good.

ARADIA: its really weird that y0u keep antag0nizing me ARADIA: i c0uld snap y0ur neck with a twitch VRISKA: Yeah 8ut you won't!

You probably think that predestination will protect you, since Aradia won't violate it - but should you really trust your safety to the whims of the Alpha timeline?

I mean, it's already sanctioned the loss of your arm, your eye, and one of your lives. I don't think it likes you very much.

VRISKA: You saw the demon up close, right? You fought him! Or at least your doppelgangers did. [...] VRISKA: What was he like! [...] VRISKA: Primarily I'm interested in your take on his weaknesses, tactical disadvantages, stuff like that. [...] ARADIA: are y0u seri0usly intending t0 fight him

Throwing hands with a First Guardian is suicide.

They're not just powerful, they're also blindingly fast, and if the Demon fought intelligently, it could teleport Vriska into a black hole before she could blink. She simply has no answer for a technique like that - not unless she's been holding back this whole time, and that definitely isn't Vriska's style.

Vriska could always cheat, though.

She may be overconfident, but she's not stupid. I have no doubt that she's fully aware that in a traditional battle, she's screwed - so if she's actually serious about killing the Demon, she must have something up her sleeve.

For example, she could:

Cause him to use up his energy reserves, which might not actually be infinite.

Send him aeons back in time. We know they can live for billions of years, but how about quadrillions?

Trick or manipulate him into destroying himself.

Separate him from his First Guardian powers. Perhaps the MEOW code can be erased from his genes?

A superintelligent First Guardian like Doc Scratch would see through most of these plans - but a superintelligent First Guardian would have already located the trolls. The Demon is apparently on a rampage, and his attacks don't seem to be all that calculated - so I suspect he's a creature of instinct, like Bec.

It's also possible that the Demon isn't actually a First Guardian, and is just using their powers somehow. This could be a good thing, since he might be less dangerous than the entities he's mimicking.

But it might also mean he's Lord English, and I have a horrible feeling that English is significantly more powerful than a First Guardian.

Either way - good luck, Vriska. Make sure your corpse falls somewhere Kernelsprite-accessible.

She might only play Chaotic Evil, but I do appreciate that Vriska's willing to roleplay with Nepeta.

NEPETA: :33 < i changed my mind, why dont we just not do any roleplaying instead VRISKA: ::::(

Half of Vriska thinks she's better than everyone else, and the other half just wants to be included.

VRISKA: [...] I demand that you spend the next several hours mastering stairs. [...] VRISKA: [...] Now hop to it, and don't think twice a8out it, or I'll know. We don't want to have to do it the hard way now, do we?

Kanaya is ten feet away, and she's pissed off enough as it is.

Vriska had better be careful, or she'll be buried under a Load Gaper Pile to match the Horn Pile across the hall.

I love that Vriska's quarters are just, inexplicably full of spider webs.

Like, where did she get them? Did she alchemize them for the aesthetic?

Who knew that something so terrible was stalking the depths of this laboratory?

This poor chess mutant didn't, that's for sure.

Wait.

Literally?

God damn. Well, she clearly wasn't kidding about having all the luck.

Vriska, the Thief of Light, steals favorable outcomes from her opponents, leaving unfavorable outcomes in their wake. Light represents luck - or, perhaps, good fortune.

I'm not sure how well that gels with Rose, though, since Jaspers didn't allude to luck when he was explaining her Quest. I'll have to go back over his speech.

...wait. I just realized something.

This really was an impossibly lucky roll! I was suspicious of it at the time, but so much else was going on that I forgot about it.

The probability of this outcome was less than 0.00001%, and Vriska still forced it into being. The ramifications of her being able to do this are staggering. Vriska can make miracles happen, and she's now the most cracked character in the entire comic.

She might actually have a shot at the Demon. This changes everything.

[gaphic]

hi im really interested in your hot takes on the classpects. as i was reading through that post about how homestuck is about breaking or following the narrative my first thought was about how this probably leads to a very different interpretation of the classpects than ive usually seen, but im not sure if im familiar enough to think it all out myself - and then i saw you mention offhand you have Hot Takes about it so. color me curious?

YOU ARE QUITE RIGHT IN THAT ASSESSMENT!

ok here's my take: it's literally Not That Deep. sburb is an incomplete RPG, not a deity or a greater consciousness. it doesn't actually know what is good for the players personal development. it is entirely skin-deep.

this is reflected in the performatively hollow echeladder mechanic, and in the sprites- who, lest we forget, are NPCs. that's why they're so 'mysterious.' they exist only to keep players on track, and 'the following quest objectives are HIGHLY PERSONALIZED to help you reach your full potential! great answers await you!' is a line written to serve that purpose. jaspersprite drops the facade a little bit and reveals he has no idea what he's talking about, the game is just making him say it

in keeping with this, classpects are not determined by people deep interior selves. they are determined by surface-level observations and by party optimization. the game generates a handful of possible classpects based on traits like 'bookish,' 'pirate' and 'cheerful,' then cross-references that with balanced team builds. the alpha session, being less complete, lacks the party optimization algorithm

Roxy is a do-good hacker (criminal) who uses an appearifier, she's a rogue who makes stuff appear out of nothing. Dirk carries on about being a leader and being toxic, he's a prince who destroys souls. Jake is weak/insecure and ignores reality, he's the 'untapped potential' class with the power to imagine things into existence. Jane is the only one who seems a little less literal, and I suspect that has to do with the Condesce, since she was the one who released the sburb alpha. Condy is a life player, therefore Jane is a life player (plus, she has that penchant for foiling assassination attempts, avoiding death) and she's a maid because Condy wants a handmaid

Aradia robs graves, Dave collects dead things, Caliborn is into murder, time is the death aspect. Callie, Jade, and Kanaya are all artists, space is the creation aspect. Karkat fantasizes about being a member of the royal army and he's obsessed with his blood, he's a knight of blood. I could go on but you get the point lol. classpects are superficial and depend heavily on what balances well, not your personal truth

likewise, I think your average '[closest object to you] + [current weather condition] = your sburb planet' type meme is pretty much exactly how the sburb planets actually work. they're not 'designed to challenge people' beyond the literal quest challenges

i think this reading immediately clears up a lot of apparent inconsistencies in the comic, like how Dave's planet is his own personal hell while Vriska's planet is her own personal heaven. the game doesn't actually know how they feel about these things or what would help them grow

[seeds-of-life-daily]

how far does your seele rei au diverge from canon :0 if I may ask

Thank you so much for asking this !! Well, I gave it some thought, and I wouldn't say it would stray too far from canon, but some big changes would be made. One of which being, well, the main thing. That Rei gets raised by seele. I covered some of the changes it would make to Rei and Kaworu in this post I made a bit ago, but after giving it a bit more thought, I wanted to note down a few more changes I would make to canon in this AU. One of which, probably the biggest divergence in this au, is that Rei doesn't get forced/conditioned to take such a maternal and feminine role. Other than the usual maternity stuff that comes with having the soul of a progenitor, she wouldn't have to experience it with the intensity they do in canon. They also won't get sexualized, since that was another thing that I really disliked in Evangelion. Not to go off on a little tangent here, but when talking about canon, I really think Rei never really wanted to take on that kind of role. The femininity was something they were made to feel like she had to do. She was taught it meant to serve, to be complacent, to fill a role, and to mother. Whenever I think of Rei and femininity my mind always goes to that one Aradia gender meta, since the parallels between the two are insane, and it just voices basically most of my thoughts. In the seele!Rei AU I like to think that Rei's more self-expressive. Being reserved, but a helping hand because she wants to. I think they would also take part in their interest to learn more. We don't know too much about seele, but since we know they probably let Kaworu have access to music and human culture, I think Rei would also have the opportunity to indulge in more books, the internet, and so on. Also, since Rei isn't a clone of Yui here, she won't be subjected to Shinji's Freudy antics as much. She would still somewhat look simmilar to Yui, but this time not made from salvaged remains. Now, another thing I would change is letting Kaworu develop more as a character. In most adaptations of Evangelion, we only see him mainly interacting with Shinji. In this AU, he will not only have Rei as a sibling, but I plan to make him interact with Asuka and Misato too. I think a talk between Kaworu and Misato would be really interesting. Especially when she finds out he's an angel. Imagine meeting the kid that got created, and half of the population, including your dad, died because of that. An interaction with Asuka would be similar. Imagine meeting the guy who's here to replace you if you get worse at piloting. They would eventually get along, but at the start, I can definitely see some conflicts going on there. Since Rei's with seele here, they have both seeds of life in their custody, so it would be even easier for their instrumentality plans. While it's true that Lilith's still in the NERV basement, and Adam's still getting kidnapped (angel-napped?), seele can at least be sure that if one of them dies, at least there's another vessel to work with. (Speaking of which, what would happen if two instrumentalities happened at once? Maybe seele didn't think that Adam, in her embryonic state, could be enough to initiate one? Maybe they were too focused on the Dead Sea Scrolls that they never bothered to think of it?) While we're on the topic of instrumentality, they would totally try and rebel against it this time. After spending a good amount of time at NERV with the rest of the Pilots, I think they would attempt to go against the whole "everyone becomes one in the big primordial soup ocean" plan. Those are just the major changes I would make, but overall? Yeah, it would be canon-divergent, but it would still follow most of the happenings of canon.

[luminousbravery]

Hcs with Aradia or Dave with a fellow time player s/o? Specifically one with attachment issues and is touchstarved (this totally isn't self indulgence at its finest) your writing is lovely!! It makes me smile every time I see it

i'm so glad!!! i wasn't entirely sure what type of time player to go for, so i made it kind of vague. i hope you enjoy!

ARADIA AND DAVE WITH A TIME PLAYER S/O

DAVE

I think that Dave would absolutely adore having a time player S/O

Like, he'd SO be into doing crazy shit with your time powers.

Together, of course.

Like, I think that Dave would like to go around time with you just to prank your friends.

OR, perhaps, Dave and you would start a time prank war with each other.

Going back in time to fuck with a past Dave.

On the other hand, Dave going into the future to play a prank on the older you. (It'd dawn on future you immediately that you, in fact, got got.)

You two probably create a time paradox or two, but it's probably fine.

ARADIA

Oh, if you think Dave would have a blast, Aradia has that x10.

But she isn't going to be one to play around with your time players like Dave might.

No, Aradia prefers to remain on the safer side of the time adventures you two have.

I think that she would enjoy to go time sight seeing with you, however.

All of your dates with her end up being in a different time period.

Just to take in the view together.

She wouldn't want to mess anything up, though.

But the time-dates with her are quite romantic.

[davekat-sucks]

I think i definitely would've liked Calliope more if she was presented as a bad person. I love how she absolutely malded (this term works here (wig)) when she was losing that chess game. Beforehand she was acting all snide and flirty towards Caliborn, like come on, "you're being such a good sport now finally", sending hearts <3 to him, saying weirdly suggestive shit. Like damn girl you're usually not this upfront. Then she gets thrown off guard and gets extremely defensive, it's hilarious. I really liked her when she acted two-faced, you can even take this literally, she's delusional. She dresses up as a troll because she has a fetish for them then starts shipping herself and friends together, no wonder why Caliborn sees her as so pathetic. All she has is ruses, i don't even think that SHE THINKS that she's all that strong. She pretty much relies on other's to get her through stuff and she even pretends to be someone else to progress the story. I've said it in the past but i think she should've been a misandrist, i think it would be funny for her to enable her female friends obsessive dispositions towards their crushes. Remember her drawing of Roxy trying to kiss Dirk while he looks visibly uncomfortable? It's stuff like that, have her perception on men be that they're props for the girls and you need to get a one-up on them in anyway to control them. Like drawing Dirk in a pink costume and being called something as gay as "the prince of heart" as an attempt at emasculating him. There's potential for this idea. She's better at being more composed and tactful than Caliborn, a good set up for being manipulative, she uses her fake politeness to slither her way onto C-Earth where i think she would have great potential to become a villain.

Just a bunch a thoughts about her bleh, she was kinda boring half of the time in the comic, stuff just gets handed to her and she's supposed to be a good guy despite forcefully separating Roxy and Rose that one time. Gave off control freak vibes. Her character feels inconsistent, like Hussie couldn't choose what he wanted her to be. I feel like her potential was underutilized

While Caliborn tries to be more in your face direct kind of deal, Calliope would have been someone who plays the more passive role. Doing her best to hide her true intentions or feelings and only showing her true colors when she is not able see the results she wanted or something else beyond her control comes her way. Calliope would shown to be no better than Caliborn and prove show how Cherubs are awful species. Sure there could be a chance of good Cherub, but like with trolls, there is some trait that would be frowned upon by human standards. Like you got Nepeta, she is playful and sweet, yes, but people forget she still hunts animals for food and PAINT. Some may find FLARP sessions that Tavros, Terezi, Aradia, Vriska, and Eridan engage in to be dangerous since it can lead to physical harm, be it from other players or the monsters they had set up. To trolls, such activities like this are a norm because they had been conditioned to live under it. But perhaps for Cherubs case, it might as well be in genetics as a species themselves that they act this way. If she is also represents the 'good' side of the fandom, then one should show toxic positivity is just as bad. People who have good intentions, but their noble deeds can lead to harm if the intent behind it is still selfish, consciously or subconsciously. Maybe those who are part of the good fandom side that may disagree with certain opinions, everyone else immediately goes against them instantly at the drop of dime because they fear they instantly become bad, when there is more to it than that. Actually show the grey morality on both sides of the fandom that would represent people like 4chan & old MSPA fans with Caliborn and Calliope with Tumblr.

[rogue-of-heart-classpecting]

what would a maid of heart or an heir of void be like?

MAID OF HEART

The maid is someone who has been controlled for a long time until they suddenly become free. They switch the narrative and become the one who chooses what their aspect is and does. They are a powerful commander of their aspect. Before, it seemed like it was all laid out for them, like Aradia being instructed by the dead on what actions to take to start the game. They dutifully do their aspect’s bidding at the instruction of someone else. But eventually, when the time comes, they break free of whoever is controlling the aspect’s narrative and they decide what the aspect means from then on. Aradia is a bit distant from the group after she god tiers. She’s incredibly happy though. Creepily happy. She bends time to her will, and wields it like a thread; like a lasso. She moves people and things around as she pleases.

A heart player… oh, we all know how heart players are by now. Their core of function is their emotions, their feelings of right and wrong, their love for others. A maid of heart… was instructed in their very soul. Someone tried to tell them how to think, and feel, and behave, and it worked. For a time. This person obeyed the rules, and was shaped into someone they didn’t recognize. But… once they rise to their challenge… they will have to overthrow their controller, in their heart if not in a more literal way. They will realize who they truly are, and discover that they’re capable of more than they thought they were… and it’s ok to be capable of those things, and to want those things. It’s ok to be who YOU want and you choose. And they can become one of the most powerful players in the end. It’s like Mulan. Yeah.

HEIR OF VOID

Heirs are… accepting of their aspect from the start. John was super excited to start sburb and went along with anything thrown at him, in breath-player style. Equius finds value in the stupid racist system. He engages in the futile act of building and breaking robots. He also is supposed to use archery as his weapon of choice, but since they always break, he just uses his fists. None of this ever bothers him and he accepts this meaninglessness. Mituna, the heir of doom… his life fucking sucks. He apparently did some huge doom-thing and “inherited” doom… in this case “””doom””” being an intellectual disability. Hussie sucks. Everyone mistreats this guy and he just accepts it and goes along with it. Yeah. Hussie sucks. The heirs also all inherit their aspect— mituna becomes physically (brain) weakened. Equius is completely erased from the story and only returns as ARquius, who isn’t really him. John is able to escape the narrative and gain “true freedom.”

An heir of void COULD be like equius. They could suck hard and be creepy and like horses a little too much. They could also be like roxy though. They could like fantasy, and maybe fake magic or sleight of hand, making things disappear… they could love paradox and puzzles but not care about solving them. They might like knot tying or something. Equius loves doing shit that is totally counterproductive or doesn’t make sense. He builds stuff TO break it. This person could find meaning in doing and undoing things. They could hide stuff… they could also constantly be losing stuff. The important thing is that doesn’t need to bother them. They embrace meaninglessness and darkness and question. Even if they don’t realize they’re doing it, which is how the heirs we’ve seen typically act. They embrace their aspect effortlessly without even noticing.

[bubblesmxstress]

 ( • )( • ) [from @amplecatnip ]

>Aradia pauses in her attempt at fixing her coat, a grin splitting her face as she takes in the sight of Nepeta's chest being flashed to her. Now this is what adventuring is all about, baby, this is why she comes out to other worlds to begin with!

>She approaches with that grin still stuck on her face, reaching out to let gloved hands squeeze Nep's nips softly.

"Very nice! Now what do you want me to do with these?"

[skrunglebeasts]

i was possessed and wrote this whole ass thing after reading about who was in the finals for @coolesthscharacter

TEREZI: TH1S H4S B33N 4 COLLOS4L W4ST3 OF T1M3. ROSE: Agreed. TEREZI: UNO ROSE: Swap card. Give me your hand. TEREZI: B1TCH TEREZI: DONT BOTH3R. YOU W1N ROSE: On two fronts. Looks like the poll lines up perfectly with the results of our little time waster. TEREZI: OF COURS3 TH3Y D1D TEREZI: 1M L34V1NG ROSE: Don't enjoy yourself too much. I'll be moving on to hand the win over to Roxy. ROSE: Not that she deserves it any more than I do, but I figure it'll be a kind gesture. TEREZI: H4V3 FUN W1TH TEREZI: HUH ROSE: What? TEREZI: DONT M1ND M3 TEREZI: 1 JUST SM3LL SOM3TH1NG FUNNY TEREZI: H3H3H3H3H3 >:] ROSE: Ominous. ROSE: I'll see you later. TEREZI: 1 WONT ROSE: Aren't we past blind jokes? TEREZI: Aren't we past typing quirks? ROSE: Don't… ROSE: Do that. ROSE: It's weird. TEREZI: TH4TS K1ND OF MY WHOL3 TH1NG TEREZI: L4T3R LOS3R

Rose and Terezi exit in opposite directions, not bothering to spare a backward glance. Terezi's chipper mood bothers Rose for only the briefest second before she puts it out of her head. The troll loves mind games.

As she steps into the next room for the final contest, she considers a dozen different metanarrative consequences of this sort of contest and what that means for the continuity of everything. When the contest ends does she disappear? Is she shunted into the ultimate self who's story will never be completed? What does it mean for her to have even gotten this far, beating out even Davesprite. Has the cultural gestalt really shifted so much that a sad ghost boy version of Dave is no longer appealing? And is shs to be considered seperately from each of the entities that embody her? What is she? Who is…

Wait.

A silhouetted figure stands against the lights of the inexplicable room. A single blue light shines from the head…

ROSE: Is that fucking Sans? SANS?: nope!!!

The figure steps forward from the convenient shadowing and reveals a familiar, red-clad troll with a messy mass of black hair. In her hands is a skull with a blue light shining from the socket that Aradia is using to obscure her face. Rose sighs, a bit annoyed Roxy hadn't made it here. Of course this is what Terezi thought was funny.

ROSE: Hello, Aradia. ARADIA: hi rose

Her chipper tone is punctuated by the sound of the skull hitting the ground as she tosses it aside.

ARADIA: funny, right? ROSE: A little played out, honestly. ARADIA: come on. you of all people shouldnt say anything about "played out"~ ARADIA: your post-canon arc is just copying the one i had as a starting point and recycling it ARADIA: not that i mind! ARADIA: i find it flattering ARADIA: after all my old story has good ARADIA: b0nes ARADIA: to build on ROSE: Make up your mind about how you're supposed to sound. ARADIA: hmmm ARADIA: n0pe 

Aradia puffs out a breath to blow some of her curling hair out of her face.

ARADIA: So did you have fun getting here? ROSE: Not really. ROSE: Your ancestor flirted aggressively with me, then got mad that I called her boring. ARADIA: yours was very nice and quite interesting ARADIA: shes both very cool and very much a dork ARADIA: i can see where you and dave get it ROSE: Hey. ARADIA: though you clearly take more after dirk so you got a higher percentage of dork genes ROSE: … ROSE: Moving on. ROSE: Vriska was Vriska about the whole thing and got upset that no amount of luck could save her from being the icon of Homestuck's ire. ARADIA: i dont think thats what it was at all ARADIA: maybe she was boring, too ARADIA: after all ARADIA: how can you find anything exciting about someone who has done nothing wrong? :) ROSE: … ARADIA: 0u0 ROSE: … ROSE: Okay. ROSE: Well. ROSE: Sollux didn't really want to interact with me and spent the whole time with headphones on and listening to a podcast. ARADIA: hehe, sounds like him ROSE: Davesprite was monumentally awkward and seemed to be in the midst of a breakdown about not being "really real" because Davepetasprite^2 was in the running. ARADIA: sounds like him, too ARADIA: first mistake of anything like this is attempting to apply any level of canonicity to it ARADIA: better to just calm down and enjoy yourself ARADIA: but i suppose he wouldnt be davesprite or any kind of dave at all if he didnt appeal to the sad boy loving demographic ROSE: Are you going to keep interrupting me? ARADIA: probably ROSE: I played Uno with Terezi. ROSE: That's it. ARADIA: neat! ROSE: Let me return the question: Did you have fun getting here? ARADIA: i did! ROSE: … ROSE: Any details? ARADIA: no ARADIA: ill leave those to your imagination ;) ROSE: That's a copout answer and you know it. ARADIA: youd be surprised ARADIA: a little goes a long way ARADIA: lets focus on the now ARADIA: how do you want to do this, rose? ARADIA: among the multitudes of possibilities, the many threads that spread out before us ARADIA: which do you wish to solidify as true? ROSE: Maybe I don't want to pick. ROSE: Maybe I also want that to be left to the imagination. ARADIA: then ill pick! ROSE: What ROSE: But ROSE: Your entire continued existence hinges on one fact and that is that you are a voyeur. A perverted observer who has no interest in dirtying your own mitts as you passively allow the narrative to continue on it's way. You do not intervene. You don't take action.

She screws up her face in baffled disgust and stabs one finger in the air toward Aradia.

ROSE: You don't choose.

Aradia's persistent, placid smile widens slightly. It still doesn't reach her eyes.

ARADIA: not choosing is a choice ARADIA: i think thats something youve always struggled with ARADIA: a lot of people do ARADIA: choosing no action at all is still an action ARADIA: existence itself comes packaged with the burden of existing ARADIA: by simply being you are acting ARADIA: your existence means nothing ARADIA: your actions are meaningless ARADIA: but they are actions nonetheless

She turns on one foot, kicking off to float up and rotate gently and slowly in the air, as if attempting a slow motion pirouette. The languid motion controlled and beautiful. It makes Rose want to throw something at her just to ruin the image in the same way a child wants to crack a perfect sheet of ice just to see it come apart. ARADIA: and my choice has always been pretty transparent ROSE: Bullshit. ROSE: Your motivations, your reasoning, your purposes. All of that has always been obfuscated. You hide behind platitudes and more plot critical figures, but you never seem to be willing to show your hand. No one knows what your fucking deal is. ARADIA: hehehe ARADIA: thats just plain wrong ARADIA: ive destroyed more lives to save a single session than you could imagine in both your attempts to break yours or to do whatever it is you were doing with dirk ARADIA: ive been a ghost, a ghost frog, a robot ARADIA: even in that period of time you say i only observed i still decided to fight lord english for the fun of it ARADIA: and i lived :) ARADIA: what happened when a version of you tried to attack lord english? ROSE: Mgh. ARADIA: theres a reason im here ROSE: And what reason is that? ARADIA: same as it ever was

Aradia floats up, arcing her back until she's hanging upside down, arms and legs hanging limply. She's still smiling. It still doesn't reach her eyes.

ARADIA: i mostly want to see what happens when this whole place breaks apart. :) ROSE: … ROSE: I want to kick your ass. ARADIA: then do it ARADIA: or dont ARADIA: either way ARADIA: i think youre gonna have a bad time ARADIA: CUE MY FIGHT MUSIC! ROSE: You motherfucker.

[madam-melon-meow]

The Good, The Bad, and The Alternative- a homestuck fanfiction. Chapter 24, an excerpt:

Vriska’s brows climbed higher and higher as she approached her next stop. She’d been told Sollux and Aradia kept a swanky house, but this was much nicer than she’d expected. The turret rising in the middle was surprisingly castle-like, and the fancy iron filigree on the window frames screamed wealth. The huge tree that sprawled across the entire lawn like an inverted spider gave the place some appealing coverage from the open street, and she appreciated the shade it cast.

She approached the heavy, dark-wooden double door with a bounce in her step. Eighty rapid knocks later, and she heard a shout from inside the house.

“One second!” called the rich voice.

Aradia. Vriska thought immediately. The hollow, almost sourceless echo of the voice through the door gave away the ghost’s nature.

She and Sollux had been the first people to point out Vriska’s upbringing was not normal vampire procedure. While helping her recognize those things, they’d been doing their best to try and help her out of the cult, but Serket’s mind control and the sheer number of mind vampires able to keep her in check denied them at every turn.

Not even Sollux’s deals could make a dent.

Vriska remembered choking down the lump in her throat while she listened to him explaining that some kind of Chaos curse was laid upon her soul, and that his deals would never be able to take effect on her. Just another little gift the priestess had given her, apparently.

Abruptly, a green flash blinded Vriska’s vision. As she blinked the spots away she saw a figure half-embedded in the front door.

“Damn! This teleporting stuff is really particular. Good thing I’m not corporeal!”

Vriska watched as the form of Aradia slid out from being bisected by the door and turned to face her. As soon as the ghost’s eyes fell onto Vriska, they went wide, her mouth slightly agape. She whipped back around to the door and stuck her head through it, yelling on the other side. “SOLLUX! Vriska’s here!”

When she turned back around her arms were spread wide and a truly massive smile covered half of her whole face. She floated forward and wrapped herself around Vriska.

Vriska laughed and returned the hug. At first Aradia felt cool, like hugging a tube of aloe gel, but then she started growing warmer and warmer, until it went right past human body temperature and started feeling like a particularly affectionate radiator was gripping her.

“Hot!” Vriska hissed. Aradia immediately pushed her away to arms length, an apologetic expression on her face.

“Sorry! I wanted the first hug I gave you to be extra warm.” she said.

Vriska offered a half smile.

“You’re a lot shorter than I expected.” Vriska said, glancing at the top of Aradia's skull, where even as she floated she was a few inches shy of Vriska.

“I think you just grew.” Aradia returned, cocking an eyebrow. “You living folks and your mutable flesh.”

“Did you say Vriska or brisket?” Sollux appeared in the doorway, one hand on the frame, one in the pocket of his jeans. His glasses flashed in the light as his gaze leveled on Vriska. “Well fuck me sideways, you really did make it.”

“Like there was ever any doubt.” Vriska said, mostly sarcastically.

“I never had a single one.” Sollux said, as he passed a wad of dollar bills over to Aradia.

Want to find out what happens next? Read on:

[hspolls]

You know what time it is! Round 3 Roundup!

Schrödinger’s Egbert and Roxy meet at the edge of a dying universe, once again. Many of their friends have fallen, many familiar faces no longer around. They take each others hand, thinking about the reality they are finding themselves in. And yet, there is an inspiring power that pushes Egbert forwards. They don’t know what the source is. But, fleeing the crumbling universe, where everything seems wrong, people are fighting left and right, and the number of those left standing dwindles, they look back. She’s gone. Egbert continues along, one more friend lost.

The Condesce, continuing her mission for power, comes face to face with her first intimidating foe. The Maryam holds her chainsaw steady. The battle rages on still, but the Condesce is not standing proudly. The battle may be over for her soon.

Rose and Terezi, realizing the reality of the deteriorating road and the situation that puts them in; in which only one can continue on; face off in a battle they both knew was inevitable. It is lengthy, it is arduous, and there are many points at which it seems like neither of them will be able to go on. But in the end, glimpsing a moment to grasp victory and seizing it; Rose wins the battle.

Mom Lalonde, not recognising the partial Strider that stands (floats?) before her, assumes they are another aggressor trying to stop her in her tracks. She attacks in what she believes is self-defense - And Davepeta reacts in the same manner. They don’t intend for the attack to be lethal, but they misjudge the power they hold, and the maternal Lalonde falls. They are mortified at their actions. But they have to continue on.

Becquerel is assailed by a surprise opponent - The hardy detective known to many as Problem Sleuth. Bec doesn’t realise it, but he is not a figure that should be here, not even from the same reality. The universe is falling apart. This world is not stable. Bec vanquishes yet another foe.

Ms. Paint approaches our sweet Jade Harley. She has news. She knows she was never going to make it to the end of the war, and so she just wants someone to know. And the patron of Space seemed like her best option. Reality is not what it should be. Things are going wrong. An irrational fighting spirit; almost a rage, is building in all the standing survivors. “You feel it now,” she tells the Harley. “You can’t tell me you don’t. Please, you have to do something to stop this.” Jade tells her the truth. She doesn’t know if there is anything she can do. But she will try to find a way.

The Peregrine Mendicant faces off against her second Leijon. Believing the battle will be yet another walk in the park, she lets her guard down - and pays the ultimate price.

In a close-to-forgotten corner of the universe, Viceroy Bubbles Von Salamancer grows his powers, honing his skills in the field of magic in order to secure his victory in the coming battles. It isn’t enough. The power that the cat holds is simply too much, for even a seasoned magician like himself to overcome. Another name is added to Vodka Mutini’s list of kills.

Seeking to avenge his fallen family, Clubs challenges the first person he sees to a battle, a dire mistake on his part. Aradia defeats him and barely makes a sweat. She’s living to see the state of reality, and the way that all this will progress onwards.

Feferi, hoping to use her royal powers to fall the Serket that fights on so strongly, becomes another to fall in the battles against her. The Serket’s powers grow further.

Dirk and Calliope, both of their powers having grown throughout the battle, come face to face as well. At first, it seems that Dirk has the upper hand; until it starts to appear as if the universe itself does not want him to prevail. Calliope perseveres through the end of the battle - and comes out of the battle alone.

Doc Scratch believes that there is no unforeseen force in the world that could possibly challenge him; but he is proved very wrong when Latula comes to face him. It’s unclear how she knows, but she berates him for all the heartless things she has done, and then - well, he falls to the floor like an unwanted puppet.

In the most surprising matchup of all, Karkat and Dave come face to face, destined to battle. But, they mutually decide that battle will benefit neither of them. But just as they are prepared to accept their fates for their refusal to battle - A stray firefly wanders onto the field? There is a flash of light, and... the boys are gone. Never to be seen again. There was no contest.

[thewertsearch]

EB: why are you taking such an interest in my fashion, anyway? AG: Trolls are an extremely fashion-minded race, John. You should make a note of this, since you pretend to 8e a scientist or something.

We've been told the opposite - but we've also seen that highblood trolls do care about their outfits, so Vriska is only half-lying.

EB: laaaaaaaame. AG: Look at that! You counted out 8 a's for me, John! That is so thoughtful of you. [...] EB: i didn't even count. it just… EB: turned out like that. [...] AG: <33333333

John, please run. Vriska paralyzed her last crush.

GA: Ive Just Been Meaning To Say GA: That I Read Your Instructional Guide

It took Kanaya eight more chatlogs to bring up the GameFAQs guide. I guess when you're getting to know your crush, you don't want to cop to a parasocial relationship until you're sure it won't scare her off.

TT: Sorry to hear you were subjected to that. GA: Why TT: It was a little melodramatic in retrospect. Heavy-handed.

You're above all that now, though.

Right?

TT: Have you ever written a message you regretted instantly upon sending? GA: Lately GA: Almost Perpetually TT: That line included? GA: Wow Yeah Kind Of

I think it's called 'being thirteen'.

GA: At The Time Of Reading It Lent Some Useful Insight GA: Into The Nature Of The Game I Hadnt Yet Considered GA: And GA: The Author I Guess [...] TT: When exactly did you read it? GA: Uh GA: By The Way GA: What Are You Doing Here

What's so uncomfortable about telling her when you read it? It's not like you have to admit you idolized her.

I guess she just wants to change the subject before they get anywhere close to that confession. Kanaya started this conversation, but it's clear she's not quite ready to finish it.

There's something here, buried deep underneath the temple. It's enormous, and it doesn't match LOLAR's sparkleglitter aesthetic at all.

A secret dungeon? Her Denizen's lair? An egg?

GA: Are These Tactics Really Necessary GA: [...] I Thought Our Methods Earlier Were Effective GA: In Illuminating The Underpinnings Of The Game GA: You Ask Some Questions GA: And I Answer GA: If I Can

Yeah, but I never got the sense that the trolls really studied the game. Karkat was pretty dismissive about Sgrub's deeper lore, and most of his team lack Rose's analytical mindset. Terezi might be helpful here - and she did tell Rose she'd be back later.

I guess Rose could go for broke, and ask the troll who actually has the answers - but you'd probably get more insight from a brick wall than you would from Aradia Megido. Still, she might let something slip.

GA: But These Means Presently On Display GA: Are Making Me A Little Nervous GA: I Think Its Kind Of A Reckless Use Of TT: Of what? GA: These Forces

Thank you, Kanaya. Is it finally time to talk about this?

Rose is fully aware that an early-game Player isn't meant to be this strong. How much power is she getting? What are its limits? Under what conditions is it given, and what are the consequences for breaking them?