#Heir of Void

[starlit1daydream]

On the subject of Equius Zahhak: hypersexuality and patriarchy.

It's been a hot minute since I promised to write something like this, and I've been meaning to test a new writing style for these big posts anyways - so I'm going to try my hand at explaining my personal interpretation of Equius Zahhak.

Equius is one of my favourite side characters in Homestuck, and though the individual components of his characterisation are intentionally facetious and humourous, all of these components then come together to form a fantastic and deeply layered commentary, however unintentional.

Let's begin with the basics: our introduction to Equius proper.

The narrative makes it clear from the start how you're meant to feel about this guy for starters - he's a creep and a weirdo. Nepeta says as much in their very first interaction on-screen:

This is backed up by the narrator themselves exhibiting a discomfort with him, painting him as a cryptic and eerily observant loner:

Once again, he's making people uncomfortable. Discomfort is going to be a very common theme going forward, particularly once we tap into Equius' personal interests and the justification behind them.

The next sign is when we first see him properly on-screen, and the narrator is immediately mortified by the state of his room and advises us to move on with the story.

So, immediately, any cognizant reader knows what's up. This guy is a joke character. A punchline, a fool, a weird asshole with no redeeming qualities. This is, of course, the intended reaction.

...Which then brings us to the subversions involved with Equius' character. Every single off-putting and strange thing about him is subsequently repainted in a more flattering light by the conclusion of his screen-time.

What begins as an overcontrolling, possessive demeanour towards Nepeta becomes a genuine, albeit perhaps overbearing desire to protect his moirail from harm. The context of him being Vriska's neighbour helps us infer that he's very, very aware of the dangers of FLARPing.

What starts as a bizarre and testosterone-poisoned obsession with strength becomes more of a fleshed-out character flaw. It's an inherent fault that Equius cannot control that brings him more distress than anything else. We'll delve into that later.

This is not, of course, to say that Equius is without genuine fault. You are still meant to find problems with his behaviour, of course you are; the Aradiabot fiasco is an intentional violation of personal agency based around an unhealthy obsession. He allows himself and his moirail to die because of his refusal to disobey the vapid and classist hemospectrum.

Okay, so why is he like this?

I'm glad you've asked. This is where this delves more into conjecture, based around a few different things.

The state of the internet and online culture at the time of Equius' inception; and the ramifications therein.

What we know to be true about the aspect of Void, and how Equius interacts with it.

The added retroactive context of Hussie's handling of queer topics (as a non-binary person themselves!), particularly on the subject of gender identity.

Let's start with point one.

Equius and hypersexuality.

At the time of Homestuck's inception, it was a veritable fact that the internet was overrun with overt sexuality, oft for the sake of shock value as opposed to arousal. Screamers and shock sites like 2girls1cup, goatse, Mr. Hands... (that last one is particularly relevant).

I cite Mr. Hands in particular because therein we get to the use of bestiality as a gross-out punchline. This is what Hussie's invoking with Equius; you're looking at this guy and seeing a gross freak who hangs horse porn on his walls. It's appealing to the fact that:

Homosexuality was considered a funny punchline.

The furry fandom was considered a funny puchline.

Bestiality was considered a funny punchline.

And so, this thirteen year old child hanging gay horse porn on his walls is meant to be played for laughs.

But with the retroactive lens we're looking at this through now? It's not only deeply disturbing for reasons I don't think I need to explain, but it's also a portrait of unhealthy teenage sexuality and the ramifications of exposure to explicit content at a young age.

Because it's a veritable fact that Equius does not understand boundaries and has a deeply flawed relationship with his sexuality. It's the kind of hypersexuality induced by childhood exposure to sexual material, and I would go as far as to call it a kind of CSE.

Need more proof of this? Dave Strider. Bro's weird sex puppets and usage of pornography as a punchline undeniably fucked Dave up, and explains the way he so regularly uses sex, particularly gay sex as a source of humour. Dave is the same problem that Equius rises, played seriously at a point in the story wherein these things are no longer treated so facetiously.

Furthermore, it becomes clear that Equius does not actually understand what he is consuming and emulating. Pornography isn't pornography to him, it's fine art. He's uncomfortable and unhappy with his sexuality because he lacks a label for it and doesn't know what it is he's feeling. This is tied to his Aspect of Void; but more on that in just a second.

This is uncomfortable. It is meant to be uncomfortable.

Equius' toying with casteplay and power dynamics is a clear representation of this frayed relationship - and it also segues into our point about his lack of self-worth.

Equius, the Heir of Void.

The Void Aspect. The Aspect of irrelevance, secrecy, ignorance, simplicity and absence, amongst other things.

The Heir Class. The Class that indicates an overabundance of the player's Aspect that overwhelms them and embodies them.

Equius is he who inherits, becomes and is consumed by emptiness. Because Equius Zahhak does not have a sense of selfhood or self-worth. The inference brought about by his title as the Heir of Void is that Equius is overwhelmed by nothingness.

Combine this with his Dersite status and the consensus on Lunar Sway (Prospit indicating externalisation, Derse indicating internalisation) and you get a very clear image of how Equius' title translates.

An overwhelming, consuming sense of internalised absence and nothingness. This is where Equius' hemospectrum adherence comes in! It's a cover up to compensate for his purposelessness and lack of meaningful identity. He sees himself as being deficient in anything real or of substance, and so adheres to the system placed before him because it is the only thing he feels he understands.

Once again, this is uncomfortable and a real phenomenon amongst teen boys. We see it with Eridan, too; young and confused teenagers with no sense of purpose falling into harmful and bigoted pipelines because they have no sense of direction otherwise.

(In a roundabout sense this explains Tavros' role as well; The Page indicates a deficit in their Aspect throughout the session and so the trolls lacking Breath in the form of directionlessness fits fairly well).

It's almost like watching a young boy fall into the alt-right, or start feed into Andrew Tate-style snake oil bullshit. It's the exact same kind of exploitation on a much larger scale; because it's the whole of Alternian society orchestrated by Doc Scratch.

You know... the Doc Scratch meant to represent online groomers?

So, we've been over about all I can cover about Equius' sexual trauma, lack of boundaries and emptiness/lack of self. So, how does this translate? Particularly thinking on the last point, I'd like to give my two cents about a very interesting headcanon for Equius that's been circulating a lot lately.

Equius, and gender identity.

A transfeminine reading greatly enhances the content of Equius' character, and provides a narratively satisfying character arc and means of development for them.

(From hereon out, I will be referring to Equius by the pronouns she/her).

I've seen Nekropsii sum this up beautifully, and I'll paraphrase this interpretation to the best of my ability; Equius' manifestation of masculinity is akin to a poison to her.

It makes her into a grotesque, testosterone-poisoned freak that physically cannot interact with anything around her without hurting it. It is the metaphorical confusion and fury of dysphoria made literal. It is the emptiness and lack of self that I myself can corrobate as a trans woman myself.

Masculinity is a curse for Equius. Much like quite a few other Homestuck characters (Dave & Jake come to mind), Equius really fucking hates being a guy.

So, this ties into my final point.

How I personally would have developed Equius had she been given the screentime to keep being relevant to the story.

The transfeminine character arc seems obvious. I believe that, if a person would be willing and able to tackle the more obscene and deliberately uncomfortable components of Equius' character, you could make an incredibly raw and interesting portrayal of transition and identity.

What's more; this is corroborated by Equius' closest relationship. Nepeta Leijon, the Rogue of Heart. The girl whose role indicates the ability to share identity and selfhood. Nepeta could very, very easily function as a catalyst for Equius gaining her own identity and being helped through the transition process. It makes an already STRONG and stable moirallegiance all the more interesting and heartwarming to witness.

This is not to say that Equius should not have agency herself, of course; an important part of this development would be the formulation of an independent self without debilitating outside influence. It would be allowing herself not to be consumed needlessly by Void.

Equius, and further relationship dynamics.

Equius' relationship with Gamzee (which I have always read as a one-sided kismesis) is also very important to me. This is not healthy. Equius is using Gamzee as a vessel for her fantasies and lack of boundaries, and through her black feelings she vents out her frustration with her sexuality and intrinsic need to obey and serve someone of a higher caste.

I don't think I need to tell any of you how well that works out once Gamzee goes sober. (I'd rather not dwell on the topic of the Makaras too long; that's something for a wholly separate post - and one that I'm sure would end up being rather scathing towards Hussie).

Finally, Equius' relationship with Aradia. This is also one I feel is unhealthy and once again one-sided. It is the same principle as Gamzee; merely in the red quadrant as opposed to the pitch one. Equius is using somebody as a vessel to vent out her feelings of purposelessness and frustration, and deliberately ignoring the lack of reciprocation.

Both of these connections are similar; and both of them end with Equius getting her shit kicked in.

How one would retool and treat these relationships post-character development is up to them, but I personally think it would be healthier for Equius to step away from both of them. I don't think Aradia would want or need Equius' continued presence in her life, and Gamzee is notoriously terrible at relationships. (We know damn well how a reciprocated blackrom with him turns out, just ask Terezi).

Equius, in conclusion.

That's all I really have to say on this matter; a long-winded and ultimately self-serving wall of text that I'm sure will come off as masturbatory and stupid when I read over it again. That being said, I wanted to lay all of this down in one place.

tl;dr - Equius Zahhak is a complex and interesting character with commentaries on teenage hypersexuality and unhealthy masculinity, and reading her as a trans woman provides an incredibly interesting character arc for her in the long term.

[sickfires]

heir of nothing. heir of everything.

[goodeguy]

voiding hearts

drawing these purretty STRONG meworails in their god tiers (ft. equius' new pointy and broken shades)

+ equius sans glasses (D--> Warning: 1oodness)

:33 < Purretty cr33py!

[blinkees]

hiii :3 could you possibly make me a heir of void blinkie? thank you <3

[tavtiers]

the Heir of Void: one who passively manipulates the unknown

sources: x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x

[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.

[burgermcdond]

sekaistuck (but almost only niigo)

[bhdoneart]

My equius godtier design!!! I love the transfem equius headcanon and so I thought she’d look amazing in a femme godtier design. I love her so much

[mysterioushistorian]

i forgot his wings but whatever

[alexsgrimoire]

Equius Strengthen Talent Spell (Taken from @popculturepagan (now deactivated))

Equius admits that his supertroll strength is kind of freakish, and can be inconvenient, but boy does he love being STRONG. He drinks Lusus milk to help him stay STRONG. This spell is designed to help you channel Equius to strengthen your own talent. The idea is to take something about you, a talent or a trait, that makes you unique and make it even more powerful and talented!

What you will need:

A blue thread

Milk (Any kind— Equius prefers whole, but whatever your lusus picks for you is great too! If you are lactose intolerant, soy milk and almond milk are great alternatives.)

A small drinking glass, made of glass.

A Napkin and a Blue Pen

Whatever you need to perform your talent/trait

1. Pour yourself a glass of milk in a small glass drinking cup.

2. Take the blue thread, and very carefully wrap it around the cup. Wrap it around seven times, for luck. As you wrap the thread, think (or say) to yourself:

This is the thread that will bind me. As my talent grows, as my strength grows, let it work for me and never against me. This b100 100p wraps around and keeps me contained.  This is the thread that will bind me.

Put a special emphasis on “blue loop”.

3. Draw the sigil for “Heir of Void” on the napkin in the blue pen and set the glass down on it.

. If you can, put it near a shrine or holy space. Pray quietly.

"This milk nourishes me. Soon I will be at 100 percent. In what I choose to be, I shall be STRONG."

4. Drink the milk. Drink all the milk.

5. Now, practice whatever your talent it— whether it be singing or art or reading or whatever it is— practice it for about 20 minutes. As you do, try to use as much of your body as possible. If you are drawing, move the pen with your whole arm. If its singing, really feel it come from the gut. Emote your feelings in large gestures. Get physical- use your body.  

As you practice, you should feel energized. You should feel like your talent is pouring out of you. Hold on to that feeling as long as you can.

6. When you finish practicing, say or think “I do love being STRONG.” Really let the ‘strong’ rumble in your gut.  If you want to, try to thank Equius for helping you increase you’re figurative strength.

7. Leave the glass, if you can, by your shrine or holy spot. Make sure ants or other bugs can’t get to it. If you want, you can repeat the process of pouring the milk,saying the prayers, drinking the milk and practicing, as many times as you like.  

Every day you repeat the spell, try to hold the glass of milk a little gentler. Maybe hold it with a pinky out, then two fingers out… ex cetra. You are, of course, getting stronger!!

Every day that you drink the milk and practice with your entire body, you should get stronger. Continue the spell for a while and you will surely be a force to reckon with!!

[yourfaveisclasspected]

THE LONG QUIET is an HEIR of VOID!

Requested by @lovedtogekiss!

[starlit1daydream]

ever since you and nekropsii's posts about the zahhaks came out, i can't stop thinking about equius's bowkind strife specibus and its relationship to equius's own innate strength as a metaphor for transfem suffering. a graceful, elegant weapon utterly crushed in her hands because as she sees it, she's too strong and dangerous. it's what she wants, but due to something she had no control over (assigned gender at birth and super-strength), it couldn't ever last. and she never got to master the bow. its very pieces were weaponized to kill her, the broken image of femininity suffocating her, done at the hands of those above her in society.

sorry for unloading this in your askbox, i just felt insane and you're a bit of a Zahhak warrior so i wanted to make sure i wasnt losing my mind over mere projections

HOLY FUCK?

This is absolutely reaching, but I don't care - this is golden. I'd never have thought of it myself, and honestly I was scratching my head trying to link her specibus into the rest of the analysis.

Adding this to my list of Zahhak Beliefs, this is amazing. Perfect metaphor; makes me wish I hadn't glossed over Ephona's death in the essay so much. I suppose I thought that it had already gotten enough analytical focus that most people were already aware of the general gist of the meaning there.

10/10 take.

[en8y]

[IMAGE ID: three horizontal flags with nine stripes; each flag has the void aspect symbol in the center; a dark blue shape made of six curved lines, none of which are touching or connected. it is outlined in medium blue. the middle stripe is twice as large as the rest of them, which are equally sized. the first flag has these top three colors: dark blue, warm medium green, and teal. the second flag has these top three colors: forest green, medium purple, and white. the third flag has these top three colors: dull orange, warm light purple, and deep blue-purple. each flag has these bottom six stripes: medium blue, off-white, medium blue, dull blue, deep blue, and dark blue. END ID.]

voidasithief: a gender connected to being a thief of void; this gender is connected to the void aspect, void aspect aesthetics, thief aesthetics, and thievery!

voidasiheir: a gender connected to being an heir of void; this gender is connected to the void aspect, void aspect aesthetics, heir aesthetics, and being genderqueer!

voidasibard: a gender connected to being a bard of void; this gender is connected to the void aspect, void aspect aesthetics, bard aesthetics, music and musical aesthetics, being silly or goofy, and MUSiN genders!

@radiomogai @liom-archive @obscurian @drowntowns @electrosaccharine

[ultra-clashpects]

heir-mage of light-void?

THE HEIR-MAGE OF LIGHT-VOID

The Heir-Mage of Light-Void is someone who is stuck between two separate worlds and two different desires, one to be known and to know everything, and the other to disappear into the shadows and never be recognized or perceived by anyone or anything ever again. The Heir-Mage of Light-Void strives to understand and to become one with their aspects, they yearn to know how the world works and everything that they possibly can, but they also want to squander any lies that might be floating around in the ether that travels from one person to the next.

The Heir-Mage of Light-Void rarely ever leaves their comfort zone, always staying just on the brink of safety but far back enough to where they won’t be found unless they want to, using the Void and the shadows to hide themself from view until they’re ready to make their grand reappearance into the Light. The Heir-Mage of Light-Void lives in a delicate balance between the known and the unknown, the public and the private, the Light and the Void, and eventually they will be able to essentially become one with both of these, completely controlling the flow of information as they decide what people get to know and what stays hidden, what secrets get aired out and what information gets to stay locked away and forgotten by everyone who ever knew it.

The Heir-Mage of Light-Void is part Heir of Light, which means that they are intuitive and witty and creative, they seek out the Light and the goodness of the world, and they love to help out others and teach people the right way to do things or how to properly get away with doing something, or just generally helping in any sense. They believe in the goodness of the world, knowing that there is Light even in the darkness and that sometimes you just need a little bit of help to bloom and show your true potential, and the Heir will become the Light that teaches and helps those along the way.

The Heir-Mage of Light-Void is part Heir of Void, which means that they like to stay out of the view of the public and prefer to spend their time alone, maybe with a loved one or two, but there’s nothing better than finding peace in the solitude of your own life. They are great at keeping secrets, they rarely ever discuss information or private knowledge with anyone at all, and they are one with the shadows that protect people like themself and even though they have a tendency to get in their own head at times, they always remain down to earth and reliable no matter what.

The Heir-Mage of Light-Void is part Mage of Light, which means that they understand all the vast things that the world offers them in terms of knowledge, which is both a blessing and a curse because they didn’t exactly ask for all of the powers that they get but it’s a benefit so they’re not really going to complain about something good happening to them. They are intelligent and they’re great at telling what is important or good and what is meaningless, they have the ability to enlighten others as to the state of the world and how to fix things in their own personal lives, and really the only thing that they want out of life is a break.

The Heir-Mage of Light-Void is part Mage of Void, which means that they live in the shadows and they can create darkness from their understanding of it, which often proves helpful if they’re trying to hide or protect something from someone, but they don’t always get to get off scot-free every single time they do something that might be bad or illegal, and they can’t run from the consequences of their actions forever. They are likely somewhat disconnected from reality, living in their own little bubble where they cannot be harmed by anyone or anything, only ever emerging when they want to, but with all the time that they spend alone in their own solitude, they can use it to grow as a person and work on developing their powers so that they are ever stronger and perhaps one day, invincible.

[thebigcjart]

Fansession Character Songs

I know I’m not done yet with outlining all the characters for my Homestuck Fansession, but I was so compelled to make this post talking about what music I think fits the characters the best.

Kane Mendoza - Heir of Void

Main Song:

Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7LL5Jv3cAZoqs4wnzTUWl3?si=Ilriw6lRQ5W158IoeI3LEA

Jake Alassa - Mage of Light

Main Song:

Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1ub5u3F79jawu18fGJYr9o?si=eBF1fxxkSWOYqCoAHAR_0w&pi=u-lXp2ygnkSYma

Alli Sharpe - Seer of Space

Main Song:

Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6hvQa9S1BdFVHRxXjNl2LU?si=NkZxNAncReWUfOrAFqh5Dg&pi=u-GPlqGdMXTy-N

Mark Striker - Prince of Time

Main Song:

Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6lZWWcK7saOUc3bgjCp4nU?si=2aL13dqzQxOHyIWgby5qRA&pi=u-QE4_8O0gTuGr

Hiro Hitoshi - Page of Heart

Main Song:

Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5wmIZfOb4mJYv2badJtSL9?si=g1miMxnNRX2sx_7D6TNH7Q&pi=u-jWnJCAfQTn-J

Lono Anakoni - Sylph of Hope

Main Song:

Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0cxdOHGwFWrhjnuTFUsWvs?si=GxmWSq0QSYylP5L1fKLPTA&pi=u-nB8wEwIrSISF

Dean Casuco - Knight of Rage

Main Song:

Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/49vEee1VY9SAYkBJ6Tdj3O?si=wc3RnFDbQt-RLc-fQW5Kug&pi=u-SRw3_w9fTMif

Honorable mentions:

Jakane (Jake x Kane ship)

Alternate Mark main song

Session Theme

[giftofclasspects]

and the void playlists are done! here are a few of my favorites,

witch

rogue

maid