#Another Jungle leitmotif

[homestuck-music-tournament]

Another Countdown

Album: Homestuck Vol. 9 (Bonus Track) Composer: Michael Guy Bowman Leitmotifs: Another Jungle Characters: Jane Crocker

You may know this from:

[S] Odi: Enter Already (From MSPFA "Loftlocked") (Flash Broken)

[m39]

Doom WADs’ Roulette (2007): Epic

You know what folks? Change of plans! I must play something else before Community Chest 3 kills me with its marathon-long content. So let’s take a look at another WAD on the list before gathering material for CC3 between reviewing other WADs. And today, we have a perfect WAD that will jump-start my heart back out of the boredom.

G8: Epic

Main author(s): Alexander S. (Eternal)

Release date: October 10th, 2007 (database upload)

Version played: ???

Required port compatibility: Boom/Limit-removing

Levels: 5

Epic is one of the earlier WADs created by Eternal, who actually started posting WADs in 2007. Not only did this WAD earn one of the Cacowards but the author himself also earned the Mapper of the Year award; all in the same year, making it all look like he was just getting started. But we will have to play this WAD to see if it was all well deserved...

Spoilers: It was well deserved.

While it might not look as good as some of the other WADs released in 2007, Epic still looks great. And it’s mostly due to taking place in desert-like areas (with some jungle parts sprinkled here and there) that might give you ancient Egypt vibes. And since I’m a sucker for ancient shit, of course it would hook me in. The final map with the titular citadel is something worth seeing yourself.

Now, I’ve seen people calling this WAD an Egyptian one, but I’m not entirely sure about it, since the maps look like they have elements not only from Ancient Egypt but also from Mesoamerican civilizations. Not to mention some of the modern/army base-looking buildings here and there.

Music-wise... I think it’s all right. Nothing really to complain about, although I feel like the tracks for Sand-Storm and The Citadel are too short for such maps. Not to mention hearing Daedalus’ leitmotif so many times in the past that it gets infuriating.

These maps aren’t that complicated. You just need to remember that there are two moments on Arc of the Pendulum where you have to shoot a switch to progress.

Each map has something different to offer. A Fool's Paradise has you fighting somewhere that looks like a dock built near an ancient temple. Sand-Storm is a big, sprawling level where you can go to most of the locations in any order; you end up here by the teleporter in the previous map and you end up blowing the one from the other side, killing two poor shmucks in the blast radius. Arc of the Pendulum spends most of its time in some castle complex before ending up back in the jungle, near the train station that leads to the citadel. Helltrain makes you board the train at the end of the previous to get to the next map.

And of course, the titular Citadel, which on the foundation level is Sand-Storm again but on a bigger scale, but it tends to fresh it up, with six keys to find instead of three, a short visit to the Martian vessel, you even visit the titular building itself after taking care of the outdoor area surrounding it.

There is also one thing that doesn’t happen in the WAD – supposedly, it would make (at least some) hanging corpses destructible, like the hangmen Keens.

Now, I don’t really think Epic is hard. Sure, there are some tougher moments, but it never really felt like I was about to turn into the walking punching bag for demons. And even though there are cheap moments like with monsters hiding in corners/popping from the ground or hitscanners in the wide areas that don’t really have anything to hide from them, I think I can forgive the author for these for now since this was one of his earlier works (and the hitscanner thing happens rather rarely).

Some of the enemies get updated sprites. Hitscanners now wear different headgear per type, Imps are darker and have yellow eyes, and Revenants’ eye sockets are now green, reminiscing their Doom 3 variant.

Although I don’t remember encountering many bugs, the author recommends not playing the Citadel with the latest (at the time) version of PRBoom among other problems.

Epic might be unpolished in some places but I believe it’s one of those WADs that every Doom WAD enjoyer should play. It’s an excellent introduction to the man's work of Eternal (even if that’s not actually the first WAD he created), and it’s the biggest proof of why he was regarded as the best map maker of 2007.

Now, as for Community Chest 3, as I said at the start, I’ve decided that in the case of the community projects, I will play them the first time and gather the screenshots of where the secrets are/interesting locations between reviewing other WADs; in parts. By now I’m halfway done with CC3 secrets and I’ll try to finish searching for them before tackling The Ultimate Torment & Torture.

Until then, I’ll see you all next time.

Bye!

[night-heron-writes]

Buddy Daddies Episode 9 "No Sweet Without Sweat"

~*~Warning: Spoilers for Buddy Daddies Episode 9 under the cut~*~

Overall this was a very cute episode with almost no angst, which means next week is going to be painful. We're entering the final arc of the season here, and things are going to ramp up.

The first thing I noticed about this episode was the background music during the scene where Kazuki, Rei, and Miri were asking Kyutaro to come to the field day. The music playing in the background was typical classic-esque music that would play in a cafe, but what caught my attention was that it was played in a minor key. (Don't ask me which key, I don't have perfect pitch.) Minor keys are often used in music to signal ominous things. If I have my music theory straight, D-minor is considered the saddest key. It'd be interesting to know exactly which key this piece was played in.

Another thing that caught my eye was the way the shot zoomed in on Kyutaro's face when his eyes narrowed, and then the immediate cut to the opening song. This does not bode well, and combined with the musical implications I am starting to get an inkling that Kyutaro will betray our protagonists.

Rei going overkill to secure a spot was hilarious and also very touching. He went out in the middle of the night to secure the best spot to watch Miri. However, the barbed wire monstrosity was a bit much. Plus the way he just easily vaulted over the brick wall? He missed his calling as an Olympic gymnast smh.

Also Kazuki's camera setup kills me. I grew up with a dad who loves to take pictures and has all the snazzy cameras, but even he never used three at once. Look at that telescoping lens on the middle one! Kazuki is prepared.

The discord helped me identify the brand that the cameras spoof off of. If you look at the marking on the camera, you'll see that it says "Milox", which is a spoof of Nilox. Here's a screencap so you can see it clearly.

I think somebody needs to tell Kazuki that this is not what people usually mean by "fun fact".

Absolutely dying at the fact that the daycare mamas still believe the whole "oil baron and washed-up comedian" story. 😂 What kind of fanfiction-type bullshit has Kazuki been coming up with?

Miss Anna is the MVP of tug-of-war. We stan a queen.

Poor Taiga has managed to make enemies for life out of both Rei and Kazuki. That child isn't going to make it to elementary school.

What really got me about this episode was that the leitmotif I've nicknamed "Miri's Family" started playing the minute Rei unfolded the scavenger hunt card that says "family", and it doesn't stop playing until the field day is officially over. I think that's the longest we've heard it play! I'm almost in tears bc Rei and Kazuki have realized that Miri thinks of them as a family. A big moment for the both of them, and the leitmotif makes it all even more touching.

But the post-credit scene. Ah fuck. It's October now, and Kyutaro has yet to either give the organization information or tell Rei and Kazuki. So his decision so far is not to decide? It looks like the organization is starting to get antsy and press for information. Kyutaro better abide by what he told Rei and Kazuki in episode 5:

One final note: It's absolutely hysterical how wrong my predictions were for this episode:

The daycare mamas' group chat pops up again, probably speculating on Rei and Kazuki's relationship history or how they got Miri

Rei and Kazuki get way over-invested bc they don't understand the idea of "friendly competition". (Almost a given, especially after that promo video 😂)

Kyutaro will show up at least once, likely in the post-credit scene

the post-credit scene will be the the only part of the episode that addresses the request for information.

We will get a hilariously over-the-top training montage where Kazuki and Rei coach Miri. I'm talking like on the order of the dodgeball episode of spy x family where the kiddos were climbing a jungle gym but it looked like mountain climbing 😂

we get at least one new important musical theme, or one becomes important that wasn't earlier.

I'm at 2 for 6 with my predictions.🤣 Maybe I'd better stick to the musical analysis...

[banananasarethebest]

Peel and Conquer

Woody Allen’s Bananas (1971) is a sequel to Steno’s Banana Joe (1982) and you can’t tell me otherwise. Completely disregard the obvious obstacles of contradicting release-times, for I have a grandiose statement to make. This one will be short and sweet. We have found it. We found the bananest banana-themed movie of them all. Banana Joe takes the crown. It is the ultimate banana-centered action comedy, and by that I mean the original, wild, sometimes imperfect bananas, not the artificially-flavored candy monstrosities. 

Already from the very beginning Banana Joe warms you up like a hefty spoon of hot custard. It tells the story of Banana Joe, a cheerful, friendly, kind-hearted man who lives in a remote village buried deep in the South American jungle. He is a simple man, but he is very, very, very serious about his bananas. He grows them in his small plantation, and sells them in the nearby village. The idyllic life lasts no longer when a group of corrupt, profit-seeking businessmen pay him a visit and announce that they wish to exploit the villagers and take over the banana trade. For the hard-working, socially-trusted man that he is, Banana Joe refuses to surrender and takes on the adventure to confront the invaders. It takes him a long, uneven, predetermined battle with bureaucracy, multiple fist-fights, a road-race, and even a brief stopover in the army, but he fearlessly faces all these challenges. In short: anything for the beloved bananas. 

It goes without saying that Steno’s comedy is in no way comparable to today’s standards of both cinematography and humor. Banana Joe, played by Bud Spencer, is the stereotypical unsophisticated-but-strong guy. That’s his main personality trait, just that he is not the sharpest tool, but he is determined and muscular. Similarly to Allen’s Bananas (1971), this, so to say low, level of comedy would not and should not be the daily bread, but it is the case in the feature film from 1982. In its defense, it must be said that the slapstick humor is, yet again, extraordinarily executed. Joe often has no clue how to act, he is like a bull in a china shop, and everything surprises him, but it is done surprisingly tastefully, as if it was catered for the often too subtle and refined contemporary audience.

On a different note, there’s one more aspect of Banana Joe that deserves a particularly loud applause. Some movies feel like two-hour-long music videos, in all the worst ways. Some feel like walking commercials, with nothing else but product promotion instead of an actual plot. And then there is Banana Joe, a film that feels like both of these, and neither at the same time. All is thanks to the catchy theme tune overarching every second scene of the story. While it by all means resembles a soundtrack to a banana advert, somehow it doesn’t strike as repetitive, but more so as a seal of all the elements of the film. Just like bananas are central to the plot, the music binds the artwork together with a leitmotif of the titular character. 

There is not a single minute of Banana Joe that passes without a banana visible in the frame, or mentioned in the conversation. The production went absolutely bananas with props, and I can't help but wonder how much of the yellow, peel-guarded goodness was wasted during the making of the movie. It seems that ecological concerns are yet another thing that would be added to the list of adjustments had Banana Joe been filmed today. But after all, it is the old-timey feeling, at times resembling a dusty shortbread found in the depths of the pantry, that gives this movie character. 

Joyous in its simplicity

Oozing with sass and punchy humor

Especially well-suited for an energy-boost on a rainy evening

Ripeness rating: 9/10

🍌 exemplarily golden, lusciously sweet, ultimately flawless

🍌 looks like the perfect Chiquita banana from ads

[raine-dance]

Oh come on, Homestucks. This is the Homestuck website and we are GETTING OUR SHAME GLOBES HANDED TO US on RESPLENDENT FLATWARE.

Propaganda time.

Listen, My Lullaby is good and all. But Eternity Served Cold is the culmination of all that has come before it, narratively. It is the theme of the very beginning. The ascension of one Caliborn to godhood, to narrative control and to the recontextualisation of everything bad that ever happened to humanity and trollkind. It is the theme of the very end. The final battle amongst the final battles of [S] Collide. The fight against Lord English, the mad god that Caliborn becomes.

We start off with the Sburban Jungle motif - moreso than any other track, the theme representative of the comic as a whole. When Sburban Jungle finishes, English continues - to phrase it another way, Caliborn takes over the story. Revelawesome pops in at about 2:40 - and, well. The theme represents what its title might suggest. Power that you can only be awestruck in imagining. Full control of everything, the ability to play god, what happens when you destroy the meaning of what is heroic and what is just and take it for your own. Some other musical stuff happens. Listen. That's the first half, alright? That's not what I wanna talk about. It's amazing, sure, but I've only got your collective attention spans for one post, I might as well skip to what really matters.

The second half is what plays during Lord English's final moments. The fight is canonically parallel to all of the others that are happening in [S] Collide. As English is at his most triumphant, so are all of the other villains - Jack Noir, Jack English, Spades Slick. The Condesce. The Felt. The heroes are out of it, and seem down for the count... until Serenity flies by.

Serenity, and the theme that plays when she arrives, are important. Serenity is a firefly. Thousands of pages beforehand, her brethren were the ones to carry our main character, John Egbert, to godhood, and when they did so, we were introduced to a new leitmotif - and I do consider it a leitmotif, because it does have a thematic attachment - hope.

Penumbra Phantasm was never released, and yet it is still the favourite theme of many Homestuck fans. When John ascends, Savior of the Waking World introduces Penumbra Phantasm to the soundtrack as a motif. John rises up, and all of his friends, scattered across the medium, frantic, confused, and ultimately directionless, see it, and feel hope.

The theme would continue to play at pivotal moments in the plot, and it would continue to represent this important emotion in the harsh, cruel story where everyone dies at least once.

And here Serenity is, and here the theme plays once more.

The heroes get up. They fight back. Across the medium in the present, and in the dream bubbles against Lord English. Then we get Doctor - the theme Penumbra Phantasm was made as a counter-melody to, and a theme that is deeply personal to us as a fandom due to its connections not only with Egbert and a theme at the core of Homestuck's discography, but the dearly departed Buzinkai, who wrote the theme. And hey. The fights... they're cool and all. We get an Undertale reference, Aradia does some neat shit... but the scene with Serenity is perhaps one of the most emotionally resonant in the entire comic.

So if you, yes you personally dare let this lose on Round 1, I will personally see to it that all of your food is eaten and you have to spend money on a groceries run. Good fucking day.

Villain Song Showdown Bracket H Round 1

Eternity Served Cold (Homestuck) - Villain: Caliborn/Lord English

My Lullaby (The Lion King 2) - Villain: Zira

Mod comment: I got more submissions for My Lullaby than I thought I would. Do you guys like Lion King 2 that much?

[marinapeixes]

To celebrate the re-release of all the HS music on Bandcamp, here is a list (with links!) of my favorite HS music. There’s talent and heart in the vast Homestuck musicverse, and I highly recommend exploring it if you haven’t, returning to it if it’s been a while, and sharing your own favorites if they’re still in your mix today.

So here are my top 25 favorite Homestuck songs, including fan material:

In comic | On albums | On fan album* | Not in any collection**

Doctor | Candles and Potency** | Planet Healer | Pale Rapture | Trepidation | Voidlight / Whispers in the Voidlight** / Haven** |  Carne Vale | Austin, Atlantis / piano duet** | Crystalanthemums / Crystalguitarthemums* | The Lyrist | Skaian Birth / Skaian Dreams Remix / Skies of Skaia | Ascend | Terezi’s Theme | Sburban Jungle / Sburban Countdown | Renewed Return | Another Chance | Knight in Two Dreams** | Seer of Same-Colored Scalemate Combos** | Cuddlefish* | Purple Bard |  Forever / Beta Version / The Deeper You Go | Three in the Morning (RJ's I Can Barely Sleep In This Casino Remix) | Superego |  Skaia Ad Infinitum* | Dreamers and the Dead

Short but somehow very long descriptions of why I love each track under the cut:

1. Doctor | George Buzinkai | Homestuck Vol. 1-4 The original. The iconic. A genuinely haunting and atmospheric track, I think this was a big part of what really drew me into the story when first reading it.

2. Candles and Potency | Jeremy “Solatrus” Iamurri | (Youtube) I’ve posted this here before but like. This is still such a mystery to me. It was played as part of the stream leading up to the release of Volume 10. Why...was it not part of Volume 10. Why does it have no official release.  I live in terror this video source for it will be taken down. It’s a stunning remix of Candles and Clockwork (x / x). Listen to it all the way through - the piano bit is my favorite.

3. Planet Healer | Seth “Beetfox” Peelle | Homestuck Vol. 5 Changes the mood of Doctor from “mysterious” to “inviting.” Great soundtrack for a playable segment of the comic, great to listen to on its own.

4. Pale Rapture | The Black Curtain | coloUrs and mayhem: Universe B This song has a noticeable physiological calming affect on me. I also just like it.

5. Trepidation | Svix | Homestuck Vol. 9 Energetic and uplifting. One of my cheer-up songs.

6. Voidlight | Thomas Ferkol | Homestuck Vol. 10 (Whispers in the Voidlight / Haven) I think I’m okay admitting that I like the preview version of this better than the final - because I still like the final great deal. I like that Whispers in the Voidlight has less layer, but I like the ending that was added to Voidlight. I’m pretty happy having both versions in my mix. It is a very comforting song to me.

7. Carne Vale | Malcolm Brown | Cherubim Still gives me shivers. This was the standout for me when Cherubim was released, and I’m glad it was put in the comic later - it made [S] Game Over. more palatable. 

8. Austin, Atlantis | Clark “Plazmataz” Powell | Homestuck Vol. 9 (Austin, Atlantis (piano duet)) I cried the first time I listened to this. That’s...a recommendation. Sometimes the titles of instrumental songs don’t affect my impressions of them on a conscious level, but this one definitely did, and I actually felt an emotion like looking at a sunken city that I used to be able to walk though. Both versions are very good.

9.  Crystalanthemums | Alex Rosetti | Homestuck Vol. 5 (Crystalguitarthemums* | Eric “Jit” Scheele | Land of Fans and Music 2) Another iconic leitmotif. I love the track itself, and Crystalguitarthemums is a fan release that has a similar mood of tranquility. 

10. The Lyrist | Thomas "EidolonOrpheus" Ferkol | Cherubim I tended to skip the less exciting tracks on Cherubim at first, but now I love this for being sad and sweet and very pretty.

11.  Skaian Birth | Mark Hadley | Song of Skaia

(Skaian Dreams Remix | Homestuck Vol. 2 (original), Skies of Skaia | Mark Hadley | Homestuck Vol. 1-4) The “Skaian” motif is very magical sounding. Like Voidlight, I find Skaian Birth very comforting. As of the posting of this, the Song of Skaia album seams to have bean eaten by the mass-reuploading...I hope it gets reuploaded as well.

12. Ascend | Joren “Tensei” de Bruin | Homestuck Vol. 10 This was such a good medley track. It was so ambitious in how many motifs it tried to pull together, and the fact that Tensei said they were tackling a music style that they hadn’t seen much in HS music before...and it all paid off spectacularly.

13. Terezi’s Theme | Toby “Radiation” Fox | Alterniabound  What a great character theme. It’s pretty busy for a VG theme, but it seems to tell a whole story. I think it was The Lemonsnout Turnabout that established the harpsichord as a Terezi sound, and that was also a Toby Fox track, and it’s very effective.

14. Sburban Jungle | Michael Guy Bowman | Homestuck Vol. 1-4 (Sburban Countdown | Michael Guy Bowman | Homestuck Vol. 1-4) Early on I considered this just as iconic as Doctor, and I was surprised it didn’t get used more. (If you want to see it used effectively as a motif, check out #21 on this list.) It really helped the mood shift as the comic got more serious and dramatic.

15. Renewed Return | Marcy Nabors | Homestuck Vol. 10 Another great medley track. Whereas Ascend has kind of a party atmosphere, Renewed Return is solemn and dignified in a way that is very satisfying as a conclusion to a long narrative.

16. Another Chance | Eston Schweickart, Erik “Jit” Scheele | One Year Older Homestuck is freaking long, and very meandering, and I’ve forgotten many of the plot beats. But one way to remember them is if they have a killer tribute song. Another Chance always reminds me of a time when achieving god tier still felt like an incredible achievement, of how menacing Bec Noir was, and of the feeling of seeing a character resurrected. One Year Older appears to be another casualty of the reuploading...this was a beautifully cohesive solo album, and I hope it comes back somehow. Please give it another chance.

17. Knight in Two Dreams** | Malcolm Brown | (Tumblr) Hm. I think what I love about is that this track makes the time spent on the meteor feel real. The rhythm makes me thing of the passage of a lot of time. The music also makes me think of a sort of unease with being in close quarters with people and not being able to leave. And finally, it also has the sense it is waiting for something...as they are all waiting for their journey to be over.

18. Seer of Same-Colored Scalemate Combos | Alex Rosetti | (Tumblr) Speaking of Terezi’s harpsichord...This was the theme for a fun tile-swapping puzzle game made by insecureillustrator, which sadly I think is defunct now. In any event, the song is really fun.

19. Cuddlefish | Thomas Ferkol | Land of Fans and Music 2 Very sweet and calming. I like thinking of quieter moments in the HS multiverse, like the trolls started SGRUB.

20. Purple Bard | Gec | coloUrs and mayhem: Universe A I wish I knew more music words because I want to say what I like about this song is...the...mixing?? It’s very immersive, there are a lot of layers to it that contribute to making it creepy and kind of hypnotic.

21. Forever / Beta Version / The Deeper You Go | Michael Guy Bowman | Moebius Trip and Hadron Kaleido The instrumental tracks on MTAHK all give me a sense of depth of time, the remoteness of Skaia and the Medium, and the cyclical nature of SBURB. Spooky. It all makes the story seem much bigger somehow.

22. Three in the Morning (RJ's I Can Barely Sleep In This Casino Remix) | Clark “Plazmataz” Powell, Robert J! Lake | Homestuck Vol. 1-4 I love this one largely because it is nostalgic from when I first got into Homestuck in 2012 and for a while only had Volumes 1-4 to listen to (I didn’t discover the Bandcamp page until later). It might have to do with the fact that it’s sandwiched between Sburban Jungle and Doctor on the album, but it’s a fun and yet soothing track.

23. Superego | Yan "Nucleose" Rodriguez | coloUrs and mayhem: Universe A This captures a mood that I can’t put into words. I’m not sure if this was composed as a Vriska track, but if it wasn’t I’m glad it ended up as one, because it’s a feeling I don’t think any other song has. 

24. Skaia Ad Infinitum | Andromeda's Cadre | Beforus This reminds me of all my old favorite DDR tracks. The melody makes me think of the changing Spirograph that represents Skaia.

25. Dreamers and the Dead | Thomas "EidolonOrpheus" Ferkol | Alterniabound This and Cuddlefish have always had a similar feeling to me (moreso than other Thomas Ferkol tracks). I like to think about exploring the dream bubbles as analogous to swimming through Alternia’s oceans.

Honorable mentions to Rustblood and It Be Like That Sometimes, which are only not on this list because they are technically Hiveswap and not Homestuck. If Homestuck really is continuing, and if there’s going to be more Hiveswap, I’m very much looking forward to more music.

[downinmybeastheart]

Candle Cove Headcanons: Some settings and stylistic choices

Settings

(Note: Some of these are based off of things from the wiki and fandom!!)

The main setting is Candle Cove, which refers to both a cove and the town nearby.

The town is fairly quaint but somewhat dreary, kinda like the scenery in Flapjack but lower budget and a bit more color.

There’s quite a few locations in candle cove that should be taken note of:

Main square/street: cobblestone path, shops and buildings, and an area for either a few kiosks, a musician, or any plot relevant/fitting role.

Candle snuffer: A tavern/bar. Genuinely serves rum and stuff, but also juice and milk for kids I guess. Weird, but perhaps it was to make it more appropriate for a kids’ tv show (got this one from tv tropes “for fun” page, so thanks!)

The cove itself: somewhat tropical looking coast, but humble. There are torches/candles that are lit sometimes

Other notable settings include...

The Sea - not much to say. This is where every island and some of the minor characters would be found.

Isle of the Banalites: Home of the Banalites, small yellow humanoids who love bananas. Very tropical, even a volcano. The Banana King is found here

The Skin-Taker’s lair. : a fairly well put together set (or, set of sets) with a sepia sort of palette. Inside a cave. Somewhat close to the cove and the island it’s on. There are a few different rooms, all of which have decorations and furniture made with skin.

The ships- the interior of the laughingstock and Horace’s ship (tbn) are also shown. They have a similar setup, but the laughingstock is a tad bit cleaner and is less dark. The Laughingstock is definitely a “hero’s” ship, while Horace’s has a villainous sort of vibe to it, with a red/black/gold palette.

Varied caves and underwater places

Roethorn Rainforest : there are many similar rainforests and jungles, but this one has been in a few episodes and has a particularly bad rep. Near the end of its debut episode it floods, with Percy and Janice fighting against not only Horace, but the rushing water. In another, Percy is poisoned by a plant on the island. Some people even believe part of the finale takes place in Roethorn. The only reason the characters return is due to its vast treasure and other forced plot reasons.

The Bloodlands- On the same island as Candle Cove. Formally a humble village, it was overrun by the same monsters that once plagued the Cove, and it burned down. Now all that’s left is a cursed place. The beach is rocky with marbled sand, stripes of reddish tints of tan. The water is murky and seems to suffer from Red Tide. It’s not shown on camera, just mentioned, though it may have appeared in the finale. Strangely, according to a map shown in one episode, it faces Roethorn.

Some notes on the show’s aesthetic/set/design

The sun and moon are occasionally shown on screen, in the upper corner of the stage. They usually are colored pencil or watercolor drawings of the object held there with a stick/string/whatever. Only used half the time. The sun has an orange tint while the moon has a blueish one. In one episode the moon had a face, but only on that one occasion.

The backgrounds of the sets are actually fairly well put together, as well as some of the props. Still amateur and low budget, just not horrifically awful.

Ocean waves are portrayed by cardboard or wood cutouts. They look a bit shabby.

Most of the music is the one calliope leitmotif, but there are some other melodies as well. A few are more tropical sounding, others are more intense. The one thing they have in common is that they all seem kind of... off.

The overall vibe is a nautical one, somewhat muted colors and antique-ness, but with a childish sort of nature to it. The Banalite island and other settings out in the ocean seem a lot more tropical, and they definitely have a more “dollar-store-luau” sort of vibe to them.

The costumes and puppets look fairly cheap. There’s a lot of poorly made accessories. Janice looks alright since she’s a kid in fairly casual clothes, but every other character played by a person in costume really looks like they either rummaged through the costume closet last minute or are on their way to a Halloween party.

As for the puppets, they look very mismatched. Many are either poorly repurposed from other projects or thrift stores and others are put together from different parts, like Percy. Others are hand puppets made from scratch with somewhat cheap fabric.

However, some say that there was one or a few puppets that appeared near the end of the show that were both really disturbing and really well made. There is no proof that these puppets existed.

[skaian-fiddler]

State of the Webcomic

Im not sure what I wanted this to be when I started writing it. I know that as of late, Homestuck, in terms of its fanbase and its surrounding politics, has been pretty bleak. And I know that it feels like there arent alot of us left that care anymore. So I guess this is going to be something of a chronicle of the comic, and its involvement in my own experience. If youre just here for classpecting memes, feel free to totally disregard this. Otherwise… strap the fuck in I guess? Theres a nonzero amount of words about to come at you. For this 4/13, this is my account of Homestuck.

On April 13th, 2009, some guy with a shitty url published the first page of an indie webcomic. As I have come to understand, this fact would eventually become something of a ‘big deal’. At the time, however, it was not. I wouldnt be aware of its existence for quite some time.

Some years passed, and people started learning that this weird thing existed. The webcomic had survived through its fledgeling stages, and had managed to gain enough momentum and a fanbase large enough to keep above the surface and on peoples radar. At this stage, the only thing I knew about the webcomic was a single word, whispered in hushed tones: “Homestuck.” A few more years passed and the fandom began to grow steadily in proportion to a roster of increasingly convoluted characters, as well as the hair-brained complexity of the comics plot.

And then, Cascade.

I heard rumor of a webcomic that went off so huge that it fucking broke Newgrounds. Suddenly the fandom was omnipresent, and potentially out of control. From what ive picked up, it was a pretty rad time to be a nerd. “Somewhere, a soused uncle deliberately shatters china on the floor. Muddy livestock is decorated, and then lost track of. The question ‘Who's mule is this?’ at times can be heard over the din. This is now your reality.”

But, as much as I was starting to learn exactly what Homestuck was, I was hearing equally as much in terms of negativity about its fandom. Of their overwhelming presence during conventions, their reputation for immaturity, the torrents of unsealed gray face paint flooding the lobbies of unsuspecting hotels. So, I stayed away. This was like, late middle school for me, and there was no way in hell I was going to risk putting my image-obsessed ass on the line for a bunch of rainbow blooded zodiac alien shitlords and their apocalyptic tendencies. So, I stayed away.

It really was the first time something pop culture had ever gotten this big. Openbound hit, and it got bigger? Somehow? More trolls? Jesus christ. The fandom kept growing at an exponential rate, faster than people could process it, and so much so that nobody else knew how to handle it.

And then it… stopped.

The Gigapause, I think it was called. At the height of their power, the fandom was left with nothing, no new content to grab hold of, no new development to fuel their fan works, no anything. The fandom starts to lose speed. A spot of hope happens, during act 6 and is subsequently dashed against the rocks below as the Omegapause kicks in. I wasnt paying attention. I was busy, there was work to be done trying to get into college.

And just as suddenly as it had come, it was gone. The webcomic concluded in a way that implied that not only the readers, but the fictional characters themselves were freed from the scope and size of their own work. Anyone still reading watched Collide, in what I can only imagine to be 20 minutes of pure catharsis. The fandom got hit with Act 7, and that was it.

This whole time, that entire span of that seven years, nobody had ever ‘told me about Homestuck.’  Until, about a year after it ended, a friend of mine told me that the way I talk reminded them of a character called Karkat (after what Im assuming was a fairly aggressive bitch fest about something or other). Upon my asking what in the fuck kind of name Karkat is, they nostalgically smiled, and asked me if I had ever read a certain webcomic.

We went back to my dorm and they pulled it up on my computer. We read for a couple hours. I didnt think too much of it, but it was amusing enough. I put it away, and forgot about it until one lazy day like month later. And then I think it was Rose dropping a bathtub in Johns hallway that sealed the deal. I dont think I have to tell anyone following a fucking classpect blog about how addicting reading Homestuck is. I got really into the classpect system, as you can see. Im damn near constantly nerding out about videogame-esque class systems and personality studies, and I thought Homestuck’s god tier system was so fucking creative and interesting. And the music, holy shit. A flash webcomic? With LEITMOTIFS?!?

I eventually figured out that thinking Homestuck is cool in 2018 was… lonely. The people that still were fans of the comic enjoyed it in hushed tones, and in shame. It was sad, in ways. A part of me wished that I had gotten to experience it at its peak. I am not one such member of this fandom that has existed when the work was in its primordial stages, and I do not for one second claim to have been at the apex of the movement.

So what does this shitty history lesson good for anyway, right? What does it all mean? It has been nine years to the day, this 4/13, and Hiveswap is the only thing from keeping what was once considered a monumental aspect of pop culture from fading into complete obscurity. I am hopeful of the future of Homestuck, but I cannot help but also feel that one day, in the near future, it will be lost to time. And so, here we are today. I walk amongst the bones of the sun-bleached empire that used to be Homestuck. Not many people live here anymore. One day, it might be empty. One day, it might be that nobody remembers it at all.

But not as long as you are here, reading horseshit like this rant. Not as long as someone is drawing shitty fan art of the Mayor, not as long as someone is shamelessly jamming out on the bus to Sburban Jungle, and not as long as someone out there who cant think of the word ‘Pisces’ without instinctively associating it with the color fuschia. Humanitys drive to build things, to create, is rooted in an effort to outlast their own lifespan. And the same is true for this thing that we have all come to love (hate?), and for all of the thousands of people that have found some connection with each other over a common bond. I know that this whole rant has had some serious cringe potential, but know this, you bunch of nerds: As long as you are out there, reading, enjoying, then the fandom is still alive and well. And better yet? You arent alone.

Happy 4/13, kids.

“I keep having these dreams. Great empty cities, silent roads stretching for miles. The Earth from space, all dark. Not a single light to guide me home. But if someone really came from another world, what would the Earth look like to them? A wilderness? A wasteland? I don't think so. Even after thousands of years they’d see a world shaped by our hand in every aspect of its being. They'd see the cities and the roads; the bridges, the harbors. And they would say: Here lived a race of giants.”

-Acclaimed Actor and Sleeping Prophet, Charles Dutton

-Alexandra Drennan, The Talos Principle

[heir-of-puns]

Ok so to be honest, I got kind of sick of how shitty all the drum stuff on Sburbia sounded, and since my leitmotif tributes have been turning out pretty great (for my skill level), I wanted Sburbia to be worthy of its namesake Sburban Jungle, which is, in my opinion, the most iconically homestuck song in the music canon. So I just went ahead and completely redid it from scratch. I didn’t name it something else because Sburbia is a clever name and I like it shut up. The orchestral version in there is by Walt Ribeiro, whose stuff is absolutely incredible. I tend to be reluctant to use very off-the-beaten-track songs, since the further I get away from the hs canon, the more skeevy I feel about using other people’s stuff. But I did pay for it, it layers beautifully over Sburban Jungle, and it works really goddamn well in the arrangement so I made an exception for myself. So anyway here’s Sburbia again, completely redone. You can check out the original and one with slightly cleaned up drums (but not enough) here and here.

Arrangement of:

Sburban Countdown - Michael Guy Bowman and Mark Hadley

Sburban Reversal - Mark Hadley

Another Countdown - Michael Guy Bowman

Sburban Jungle.doc - The Hypergiants ASMR

Sburban Jungle - Michael Guy Bowman

Another Jungle - Michael Guy Bowman

Homestuck ‘Sburban Jungle’ for Orchestra - Walt Ribeiro

Sburban Deadline - ostrichlittledungeon (via Janestuck)

Songs belong to their artists and/or What Pumpkin. Sburban Jungle by Michael Guy Bowman.

[homestuck-music-tournament]

Another Jungle

Album: Homestuck Vol. 9 Composer: Michael Guy Bowman Leitmotifs: Sburban Jungle, Showtime, Another Jungle Characters: Jane Crocker, Jake English, Dirk Strider, Roxy Lalonde, Dad Crocker, GCat

You may know this from:

[S] Jane: Enter.

[S] Ashley: Enter. (From MSPFA "Sburb: Refresh")

[homestuck-music-tournament]

Cascade

Album: Homestuck Vol. 8 Composers: Toby Fox, Tensei, Clark Powell, Malcolm Brown Leitmotifs: Cascade, Flare, Doctor, Penumbra Phantasm, Savior of the Dreaming Dead, Black Rose / Green Sun, Sburban Jungle Characters: June Egbert, LoHaC, Bec Noir, Jade Harley, Courtyard Droll, LoFaF, Serenity, Peregrine Mendicant, Aimless Renegade, White Queen, White King, Wayward Vagabond, Horrorterrors, Draconian Dignitary, Dave Strider, Rose Lalonde, Derse, The Bunny, Spades Slick, Sn🎱wman, Skaia, Jadesprite, Davesprite, LoLaR, LoWaS, Gamzee Makara, Lil Cal, Doc Scratch, Green Sun, Aradia Megido, Sollux Captor, Terezi Pyrope, Karkat Vantas, Kanaya Maryam

You may know this from:

[S] Cascade.