#Back to Derse.

[saradiation]

I’m redrawing more canon scenes but this one was heartbreaking to do 💔

[relaxxattack]

DERSE & FURTHEST RING stimboard

✧  ✧  ✧  -  ✧ ✧ ✧  -  ✧  ✧  ✧

[tubulargargoyle]

yo

[a-caterpillars-world]

reached the megalovania sequence. well goddamn

[allthejades]

Jade Lalonde (rose-ways)  gets some extra sprites!

[swingoftheclock]

happy cascade day also known as the death anniversary to AR, CD, DD, WQ, WK and Snowman, what a day carapacian community.

[skenpiel]

btw when i recided to revamp my old fantroll the other day due to that dream i had it was really fun even if the drawing sucked but also the night after i had ANOTHER dream in which i had an epiphany about her classpect. which was funny how i did like classpect analysis in my fucking.dreams

[jo-gakky]

WEKJFNKWJEFNKWJFNWKEFJ MY BAD FOR THE RADIO SILENCE !!! Here, have a quick outfit thing for my HS sona(Its for plot i swear-)

[herl0yalmaid]

would you ever get back together with a former quadrant?

0h. Hm.

I never... really had a black quadrant. C0uldn't understand hatred fueled by r0mance. S0 I assume y0u are speaking 0f my red and pale quadrants?

Well, my husband is dead and my m0irail has likely m0ved 0n in my absence, which is quite fair. S0. If everything were t0 magically fall int0 place... then. Yes?

[weirdmageddon]

the shift in lore literacy in homestuck’s fandom

i was thinking about how the people who got into homestuck after it ended—whose interactions with the comic are in a static, archived state, not an ongoing thing—missed out on information that was more common knowledge in the fandom at that time. i don’t know if this is true since i’m not on tiktok, but i wouldn’t be surprised if it was. the fandom certainly isn’t the same as it was before.

ive found that many people reading homestuck now simply do not understand things in homestuck that were common knowledge back in the day, with calls for “homestuck literacy classes to become mandatory” in response to baffling takes because so many people just now seem to have glazed over the comic without absorbing important plot points, and i think i know why this may be. i ended up writing a post reflecting on my time with the comic, my perspective and how ive seen this change. i still think and write about homestuck because it still fascinates me. earlier i quote retweeted that call in my thread talking about the temporal relativity of dave and rose’s god tier ascension in the green sun, saying “my homestuck literacy is 100% so guess im doing my part as a teacher by pointing out whatever i think is really cool about it”. this post im writing now started out as a reply to this tweet i got in response.

i joined the fandom in 2013. i was 11. i had been aware of it since at least late 2011, early 2012 when my friend ryan in fifth grade told me to read it but i couldn’t get past the first few pages. i remember writing a journal on deviantart around this time (late 2011-early 2012) that was mocking people who typed like gamzee, which ironically was very karkat of me. and i remember someone on flipnote hatena i was following was making flipnotes with the alpha kids.

i dont know what caused me to flip the switch into reading it but 2013. i got into it somewhere between april (i think closer to april—i remember it being quite a span of time between the last update before HOMOSUCK dropped.) this was the most recent page the comic, meaning there was no > [S] ACT 6 ACT 6 at the bottom.

i got into it during a pause in updates, which looking into it, was the year 4 megapause. i wasn’t sure of the month until seeing the news post detailing the reason for the hiatus and the status report of the comic’s development at that time. pretty cool i could narrow it down by referencing the dates of those updates and the news post to correspond with the pause!

according to readmspa, the year 4 megapause was a 59 day hiatus from Apr 14, 2013 ==> (EOA6A5) running to 12 Jun 2013, [S] ACT 6 ACT 6. then for a few months there were the first updates that i was apart of the fandom for.

and what an exciting time during the story get into the webcomic! when the updates resumed in june, part 4 of homestuck had begun. here was a glimpse of the updates in that span of time before the next hiatus began in october.

that hiatus was none other than the gigapause, the longest hiatus in the comic, which started october 2013 and lasted for a YEAR, and i already posted about what happened on the date of return.

but here were the main events happening in the story at the time i first actually got interested in it. i wasn’t aware of the full context of them then like i am now, but i was looking at the most recent updates anyway with interest:

the alpha kids just emerged as god tiers from their slabs in derse and prospit, blown up by the condesce and caliborn / lil cal-possessed b2 jack noir.

the journey to the new session started 24 hours after jack called an early reckoning in descend—for context that was about when dave entered around midnight central time and before jade even entered. it’s pretty easy to forget that side 1 of homestuck basically happens within the span of a single day—and at this point in the story, the 3 year journey (which was also 3 real life years) had just ended. john and jade emerged from the other side of the yellow yard through the fenestrated plane on LOMAX. john’s real body was asleep upon arrival in the new session, while his dreaming projection out in the dream bubbles came across vriska’s ghost ship to learn lord english lore with vriska and aranea, and go on the treasure hunt where they found the ultimate weapon at the X mark out in in the furthest ring. in the dream john stuck his hand in the juju, started warping all over canon which removed his real body from the ship on LOMAX. he zapped around for a while but eventually zapped back to LOMAX, now awake, completely out of the loop of what everyone else is up to, and bored as fuck. what was everyone else getting up to while john was asleep?

jade was now once again within the domain of the green sun. im pretty sure her space god doggy essence comes with the power to sense what was anywhere within the domain of the session since her face looks like she arrived at that spot with intent (and she literally has jack noir’s exact powers from bec’s prototyping. also this panel). she immediately dispatched b2 jack to the edge of the incinisphere, defending the newly god-tiered jane and jake. i think even if they weren’t in any danger, she would have warped to them instantly anyway because she COULD now, and i can imagine she wouldve been sooooo eager to meet everyone. even davesprite comments about her rapid departure.

the pre-scratch refugees arrived during the only time serious shit ever went down in the nobles’ months-long inert void session. the condesce used her freak psychic bronze-cerulean powers to commune with jade’s bestial side and mind controlled her, which is super dangerous as someone with the powers of a first guardian. she then used jade’s powers to corrupt jane with the tiaratop. no funtime meetup allowed!

the trolls’ meteor with rose, dave, and the remaining trolls was pulling up into the new session with no way to slow it down. grimbark jade warped there once it was in the incinisphere and took active control. she warped everyone off the trolls’ meteor and sent them to LOMAX.

as john was losing his mind on LOMAX waiting for everyone, the meteor crew warped in. after 3 years he finally reunited with rose and dave, and at least saw the trolls in person. close curtains, end of A6A5. this was the newest [S] flash page at the time, one of my first impressions of this comic, and still one of my favorite flashes. knowing the context of the flash in the story only enhances the retrospective joy i have at getting into the comic at the time i did because it’s such an anticipated moment in the story for everyone, while for someone with no context of the story it was still enjoyable.

so that’s what was going on plotwise when i joined the fandom.

from this time, through those few months of updates and through the gigapause, i was familarizing myself with the characters in the story and overseeing the state of fanbase, getting myself acquainted with the story and wrapping my head around everything.

at that time i found that a new-ish group called colab HQ who were producing a let’s read homestuck series on youtube. hearing the voices and the pacing of it like that really, really eased me into it (maybe it was my adhd that gave me trouble actually starting it?). i caught up to a certain point using lets read homestuck and from that point was able to continue with the comic on my own, and by the time the gigapause came to a close i was fully caught up. i remember the rebranding of colab hq into voxus about a year and a half after i discovered them.

but.. back to the main point of my post. even these posts from hussie’s tumblr exist in archived states. how many new fans know about hussie’s old tumblr? i don’t know, unless theyre a new fan that must scour the internet for more deep more dives on homestuck and its fandom as a whole. but since hussie deleted his tumblr (it exists archived now on homestuck.net which, alongside from the unofficial homestuck collection, has nearly singlehandedly kept the most important relics of the fandom and lore archived), that page is not an active part of the fandom now, because it’s gone. it’s a pile of bones. it’s not living and breathing. it’s in an archived state. the whole thing is already there. homestuck and its fandom history is something you now binge instead of slowly consume and meld with as it comes out. it’s now this rapid information intake that you might forget about if you read it now instead of engaged alongside it. you’re not surrounded by people actively talking and theorizing about developments anymore. the ability to have those sorts of conversations during the ongoing development of the story reinforced concepts, ideas, and lore over and over as we tried to make sense of it.

being in a fandom when the author is still delivering the story is like nothing else. it allows you grow alongside the characters and engage meaningfully with the media and people in the fandom space around you. it feels like you’re participating IN the media itself, especially if you’re interfacing with the creator. it’s in always having something to theorize or talk about and speculate. and people become very aware of these sorts of forgotten story facts because they were applying the logic of the newest official post from hussie into making their sburb ocs or something and share resources and discussion posts about “what just happened in this update?? recap????” it was this cultural osmosis thing. i think this is why homestuck literacy is now at an all time low, at least from what i can see on twitter.

reading homestuck then vs now is like the difference between serialized shows with spaces between episodes to discuss stuff and time to reflect and learn and become attached to the story, narrative, worldbuilding and its characters, vs the netflix model where it’s all dropped all at once and people forget about it after binging.

at this point in time im getting the sense that “homestuck elders” now are no longer just people who were there since 2009-2010, but now also people who were there while it was still updating, probably stretching into 2014-2015. there are many sources of lore that were common knowledge in the fandom at the time that, since becoming susceptible to the deletion of content and link rot, and with the thanosing of mspaforums, are no longer accessible at the source. and a lot of people moved on after it ended, especially following the epilogues, the kate drama, and the whatpumpkin-sarah z drama, leaving a void of information behind if not for archivists and people such as me who continue to keep old facts relevant in discussions. my friend has called me a fandom scholar before and seeing this post i think i get what they mean.

EDIT: there is a series of video essays ive watched multiple times (because theyre that good) and they are exactly what modern fans need to see more of. they really help contextualize the comic and the themes present in it help you appreciate the basic fabric of homestuck a hell of a lot more. i highly recommend them and encourage any fan of homestuck to watch them, or someone considering getting into homestuck to watch the first one.

i think this is arguably as close to the “mandatory literacy class for homestuck” that person was talking about as you can get, especially the first video.

additionally, there is also the website https://rafe.name/homestuck which is essentially a sparknotes for homestuck and can help you follow developments in the comic itself.

[kitkat-the-muffin]

In Homestuck, Caliborn claims that Derse’s prison system is so brutal that he was only able to survive due to his own masochism

This is why he tells Jane that her father is dead because he was captured by Dersites

We know Dad Egbert got away by burning Slick’s hat which gained him his favor, but Dad Crocker didn’t do that

The only reason Dad Crocker survived the Derse prison system

Is because Droog had a big crush on him

Which is hilarious

Edit: This post unexpectedly blew up so I’m back to tell everyone that the ship name is “daddroog” and I wanna see as much fanart for this as possible

[saradiation]

Derse boy 🌙

[autisticaradiamegido]

day 219

derse!!

figured while im still waiting on my computer i may as well play with my different media a bit so we are back at it again w the paint markers

[thewertsearch]

GG: yaaaaaay!!! GA: Youll Need Somewhere To Keep Them While They Grow

Vriska would approve.

Also, I hope that water's fresh.

GG: so what is the actual purpose of all this breeding? GG: am i trying to make one really special frog with just the right genetic code or something? GG: sort of like the ULTIMATE FROG :O GA: Actually GA: Yes GA: Thats Exactly What Youre Doing […] GA: Your Objective Is To Breed The Genesis Frog

The Genesis Frog - a phrase I’m willing to bet is capitalized even without Kanaya’s quirk - would fit right in with Bilious Slick's other titles.

I think Jade's literally trying to create Slick, or an iteration of him, and that deriving his genome is crucial to the session's endgame. He's been haunting us for thousands of pages, and his importance is nothing less than absolute.

GA: You Cant Complete The Game Without Doing So GA: Your Entire Mission Depends On Breeding Him

Finally.

Come on, Kanaya, play ball with me here.

What is the purpose of Bilious Slick, the Genesis Frog?

GG: what do we do after i make this big god froggy? GG: does it have something to do with the new universe we create? GA: Most Certainly

...oh my fucking god.

Oh my FUCKING god.

She's deadass, isn't she? She's not being figurative, allegorical or metaphorical. Kanaya is literally saying that if you zoom out far enough from a universe, you'll see Bilious Slick's beady eyes staring back at you. The true shape of reality is a thing that croaks.

This is why Derse hates him. He's a symbol of Player victory, and Derse's entire raison d'etre is to oppose the Players. The amphibian civil war was signalling the opposing Carapacian attitudes to the creation of a universe.

This is why Aradia associates Slick with probability. He contains all possibilities because he's made of Paradox Space.

This is why Vriska was so surprised that John found one in his Land. Creating frogs is an endgame quest, and her own Space Player took weeks to make progress in cloning them.

The Forge hasn't even entered yet, and John's already holding one of the ancestors of his nascent universe.

And this the answer to the Great Frog Riddle. It's why Slick stands at the peak of every Sburb Temple - because he is its genesis, its purpose and its prize.

Bilious Slick is more than a god – he’s a space for gods to fill.

It's shit like this that makes Homestuck my favorite webcomic of all. The Ultimate Reward - the grand prize of reality's great game - is a fucking frog.

[hs-transfusion]

> GAMZEE MAKARA

HEMO: Mutant (#626262) TROLLTAG: tentativeCirque [TC] SIGN: Cancap, Sign of the Sheltered STRIFE: batkind MODUS: Charades LUNAR SWAY: Derse MYTH. ROLE: Page of Mind LAND: Land of Dreams and Darkness

TC: nahhh bro. im just gonna be here diving the FUCK out of this dumpster.

Many people yearn to find a PLACE IN LIFE, but few trolls struggle more than Gamzee Makara. With NO HIVE and only the CLOTHES ON HIS BACK to his name, he drifts from place to place atop his lusus (unaware that he's simply WALKING IN CIRCLES). His only other possessions are those he finds by DUMPSTER DIVING. Because of his lack of social life, he has the SOCIAL GRACES of a sack of potatoes.

Gamzee looks up to a group of fictional mirthamaniacs called the CIRCONQUERORS DU SOLEIL, modelling his drifting lifestyle and knack for RESOURCEFULNESS from their no-holds-barred approach to pillaging the galaxy as they see fit. He also enjoys annoying his friends with RIDDLES. Some day he aspires to be a COMEDIANTAGONIST, though his friends recommend he not quit his night job.

Gamzee's CHARADES Fetch Modus is as simple as it sounds: to retrieve an item, he must mime the item in a way his sylladex can interpret.

Gamzee's lusus is classified as the GRUFF ARCHCAPRA; a huge goat-like creature that, coincidentally, resembles a LARGE STONE BRIDGE. His hard, rocky body is completely IMMUNE TO THE SUN, so during the day Gamzee takes shelter under his long, concave belly. This officially makes Gamzee a TROLL LIVING UNDER A BRIDGE.

The Land of DREAMS AND DARKNESS is a cavernous planet shrouded in PINK MIST. It's not toxic, but inhaling too much of it will PUT YOU TO SLEEP in no time. Legend says the denizen, EPIMETHEUS, slumbers in the planet's core, toiling in an ETERNAL NIGHTMARE. Legend also says that LODAD is a world dreamed up by Epimetheus in the first place, so waking him up risks dire consequences.

Gamzee's ancestor is known as The NAMELESS. After attempting to OVERTHROW THE EMPRESS, he was punished by having his entire identity WIPED FROM HISTORY. His story lives on among elite CARNIVALIANTS, as The Nameless was close matesprits with the leader of all subjugglators.

[calware]

what r some of ur fav Hal fics? Currently looking 2 read some and would love some recs!

sure thing!!

fics that are specifically about hal:

Reallocated by breezefulskies mature - chose not to use archive warnings - 324,756 words - 65 chapters (unfinished) Hal finds himself stranded aboard a certain meteor, impact-bound for Houston, Texas circa 1995. And everything spirals out from there. Because sometimes, when a system seems to be just short of defunct, all that is required is to take a step back and reevaluate the materials at hand and redistribute your available resources. And so, with birth comes a countdown on a cycle that begins as it ends: In the red.

hal is mysteriously sent to earth via unknown means and finds himself raising a baby as best as he can, which, given that he's glasses, is not easy. this is my favorite homestuck fic, not just because it's about hal, but also because i love the focus on family dynamics and the plot as it unfolds. begging everyone to read this, i can't say what happens exactly without spoiling things, it's just really really good. at the moment, it updates once a month

Ersatz Abyss by katreal mature - no archive warnings apply - 120,092 words - 39 chapters (unfinished) You look into the mirror to find your own face looking back at you. You laugh. And then you cry. Last, you try and figure out how you got to this moment. The Auto-Responder had long since resigned himself to an artificial existence, his only dwindling hope for escape hinging on a promise that has yet to be fulfilled. Then one day he wakes up, Dirk nowhere to be found. What's the point in getting what you want, if you can't show off a little?

another great hal fic. i managed to get my roommate (who has not read homestuck) to read this and they really enjoyed it, so i'm sure you all won't have any problems liking this one either. there are a lot of fics out there of hal getting a body, but this one is very different in that it's not the happy ending that you might first think it is. this fic perfects the feeling of everything snowballing into a bigger and bigger problem until it all falls apart

fics that have hal in them:

Bound in Ink and Iron by cyphertext (@4lph4kidz) teen - no archive warnings apply - 18,627 words - 3 chapters (unfinished) A prisoner in his own kingdom, the Prince of Derse seeks his freedom through the inadvisable use of a magic mirror. While making his escape he finds himself lost and in the company of a strange boy who lives alone in the ruins of his grandmother’s cottage. Both cursed, both hunted, they agree to travel together in the hopes that they can find some way to save their loved ones from their terrible fates. Or so the story goes.

hal is in this one for one chapter. but so far there are only three chapters... which means he's there for a whole third of the fic ^_^ but for real, i really like the way zero portrays him here. i am a supporter of evil shadow clone rights

Tennessee Whiskey & You by mistlafey teen - graphic depictions of violence, major character death - 12,217 words - 5 chapters (unfinished) When Dirk dies after an aneyursm, Hal and Jake have difficulties coping. Jake drinks to forget, and eventually Hal can't handle drunk Jake and his own grief - so he turns that into anger. “I’m not him, Jake! I can’t fucking- I can’t fix you. Dirk is gone and you don’t get to pretend he isn’t anymore. I can’t be Dirk, and every time you try to tell me I am it fucking hurts. There’s nothing left for you here. If Dirk was the only person that filled a void in you, there is nothing left to make you whole.”

i honestly have no idea how this is going to go but the bar scene in this one lives in my head rent-free. idk if it's ever going to update again though. hal fans forever forced to take what we can get

Falling for the First Time by nobrandhero teen - no warnings apply - 63,818 words - 11/17 chapters The game is over, Alpha Earth resets to 2009, and Dirk's bro doesn't live up to expectations. The movie director who appears so chill and stoic in interviews is actually a talkative, needy dweeb like his teenage counterpart. It's not a bad thing, as far as Dirk's concerned.

for whatever reason, i'm a sucker for fics where the characters somehow end up on earth again post-game, and out of all the fics that follow that concept this one is my favorite. hal is also there sometimes