#surprisingly i never got into homestuck

[hellonerf]

finding out you used to like ch is horrifying. I used to be there and you being there makes a weird amount of sense. Like yeah the weird old Tumblr person likes Homestuck, that amount of sense

i was in a lot of eyetwitching fandoms lol but i was mostly on ch instagram, didnt make anything nearly as edgy as my hetalia art it was honest to god just closet shipping indonesia and malaysia... 😅 this isnt the bad rep fandom i got the most traction in unforch 🙂

[homestuckreplay]

Gushers Tasting Notes

(page 974-979)

John is, once again, coming along in leaps and bounds with his sylladex activities. His array of queuestacks (great band name) looks like a circus tent in the panel overlay. Perhaps John is recalling the embarrassing memory of Cirque du Soleil filing a restraining order against his dad (p.253).

But mostly this update is Gushers themed, so let’s get some important historical context. Gushers were created and marketed by Betty Crocker in 1991, a subsidiary of General Mills. Betty Crocker is a fictional character crafted by the company to be relatable to 1920s housewives, and she also makes Fruit Roll-Ups and Fruit by the Foot, so John needs to be careful.

Gushers were originally made in strawberry and grape flavors, but tropical and watermelon have since become popular. Since the start they’ve been made in the famous hexagonal bipyramid (‘grist’) shape. They’ve always been marketed to kids, as focus group testing showed that younger people liked the product far more, and are known for their weird commercials. From 2005-2009 they’ve run the ‘Gushers Re-Do Your Room’ flash game, where players can rearrange furniture and paint walls in a digital bedroom, and get extra items through codes on Gushers packs . The gushers-grist connection and this game being a simpler Sburb makes this a very unexpected, but possibly intentional, Homestuck intertext. In 2009 Gushers are also running the ‘Beware the Gush’ promotion. They’ve created thirteen pieces of web content, accessed by codes on Gushers packaging and ranging from a fake German TV commercial to a Google Maps tie-in, intended for kids to “gush their friends” – the multimedia aspects of this are also very Homestuck, and I bet John is gushing his friends.

I found a mini packet of Gushers in my craft box, so have done a taste test right now instead of relying on memory. Now my favorite candy is Welch’s fruit snacks blue variety bag, so to me Gushers are a pale imitation of the king, but even so I will taste these Gushers like they are a fine wine.

Appearance. Mass manufacturing takes its toll on the Gushers shape. The barest hint of the bipyramid is visible, but these candies have been squashed and battered into near-unrecognizable blobs.

Flavor diversity. The Gushers packet still includes nine candies, the same as in 1991, although the size of the actual candies has shrunk. I got all four flavors, but four blues and only one orange.

Smell. Gushers of all flavors carry a gentle aroma of wax, reminiscent of a basic candle, which makes me wonder how one would behave if set on fire.

Texture. The outside of a Gusher is a homogeneous squeaking silicone with just enough resistance to provide enrichment. The inside liquid is surprisingly cool, resulting in a pleasant contrast in temperature as well as consistency.

Taste. A lick of the Gusher’s smooth outside reveals The green Gushers are fairly sour, with notes of sherbet, while the red have the overt, juicy sweetness of a maraschino cherry. The common blue Gusher’s notes of pineapple and mango conjure ideas of ‘island time’, and the rare orange Gusher dares to suggest bright, ripe clementine.

After effects. Having recently consumed Gushers, I can feel a faint film of sugar clinging to my tongue. I have not begun tripping or suffered any adverse health effects as of (13.4 minutes post consumption) but I will update this post if this changes.

Overall opinion. As the ancient truism states, ‘Gushers don’t gush, they ooze.’ I found that the oozing center of the Gusher best revealed itself when eating the Gusher in two halves, otherwise, the liquid was too engulfed in its prison to come to the forefront. With this in mind, I award Gushers a 7.5/10. I would be cool with getting these for my birthday.

For a moment John considers taking an extended candy break, and honestly he’s earned it. Unfortunately it seems like John may never eat a Gusher again, because he’s realized for the first time that his arch nemesis the ‘heinous batterwitch’ is the mastermind behind them.

In [S] John: Mental breakdown (p.979), John, looking very smart in his new suit actually, is surrounded by pulsing Gushers and definitely-real flavors: Cool Fructose Monsoon, Kiwi Mango Colonic Rush, Wicked Watermelon Groin Injury, Mixed Berry Social Anxiety Disorder, Neon Green Ecto-Facial Blast, Jammin Sour Diabetic Coma, Wild Cherry Apeshit Apocalypse and Ranch Dressing Rampage. (His new box is Massive Tropical Brain Hemorrhage). He looks concerned, then afeared, then terrified and near-screaming, and eventually comes to the conclusion that ‘this is stupid’, accompanied by record scratch.

I do not think this is stupid. I do think it’s notable that John’s had similar breakdowns before when WV has been commanding him, and John doesn’t respond to anything besides the voice shouting in his head. Watching this I wonder if this is a problem John has dealt with more generally – I think there’s a solid argument that John has depression and/or autism, and freezing in the face of a difficult situation could be linked to either of these.

In terms of this specific trauma, John has had food pushed on him to the point of pain or sickness, I find it very believable that he’d physically struggle to eat anything made by the brand he associates that with, even if he knows it’s irrational. Betty Crocker also represents the ideal of the American housewife, someone who devotes her life to cooking and caring for the house and kids. Someone who, due to the expectations on her, might be considered stuck at home. Or something. Dad is filling that role in John’s life so it’s not quite so gendered in their house, and Betty Crocker the cultural idea could be another reminder of a suburban nuclear-family future that John wants to avoid.

On another note, I’ve noticed a few instances of color in the narrative text recently, which has previously always been black. This first showed up on page 919 where Jade takes over the narrative with her speech, finishing with a red ‘<3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!’. It happens again on page 934 with the green word ‘ectobiology’, and it’s here on page 978 with John’s ‘WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY???????????’ in Betty Crocker red. The only earlier examples are page 640 (an embedded image reading ‘SWEET CATCH!’ in green) and page 663 (a link to Sweet Bro & Hella Jeff using red Comic Sans). Based on all this, I wonder if color enters the narrative text when one of the main characters ‘takes over’ and wants to add something. Although these uses don’t correspond to Pesterchum colors, they all seem intended as things the kids are saying or writing, except for ‘ectobiology’, which is so closely associated with John that it’s practically his name.

> John: Search house for non-Crocker branded candy.

[yours-the-author]

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony Extended Zodiac: My Thoughts

It's been a while, hasn't it? I finally decided to get this done, so let's hop onto one more ride of Homestuck and Danganronpa craziness! If you're unfamiliar with what the heck is going on, I've included links to previous posts I've made in this topic. THH and the Masterminds posts feature more detailed explanations of what this is and how it works, which I *could* rewrite here, but... I dunno, I'm eepy. Anyway, here's the Table of Contents, so to speak, and the actual good stuff will be below the cut, like always:

Trigger Happy Havoc

Masterminds

Goodbye Despair

Killing Harmony (You are here!)

And, as always: Spoilers for Danganronpa inbound!

Kaede Akamatsu - March 26

Arcer - Sign of the Officer (Aries, Prospit, Blood)

Born in the early days of Spring, Kaede is an Aries!

Aries are adventurous, confident, and energetic, traits that can make for great- if occasionally foolhardy- leaders. Kaede is quick to become the de facto leader of her class, guiding everyone through trials and tribulations with the power of her belief in her friends and her determination to escape the killing game. She's willing to throw her all into it, even risking her neck on the Death Road to Despair in the first chapter of the game... but unfortunately, she has an occasional tendency to be unaware of those around her, not noticing the exhaustion everyone's in until it's pointed out to her. Still, there's no denying her leaderly qualities, so she's a pretty reasonable Aries.

Prospit was a fairly easy decision for Kaede's Lunar Sway; she's reasonably optimistic and plenty creative! When she decides to try ending the killing game, she's surprisingly creative with it: taking Shuichi's plan and subtly making adjustments that fly right under the player's nose in an attempt to catch the Mastermind. I mean, constructing a ramp out of books to direct the shotput ball right onto the killer, even though she had never seen the top of the book case up close until that very moment? She's clearly good at thinking things up on the spot, which another trait common to Prospit dreamers! I think this one suits her well.

I had a few choices in mind for Kaede's Aspect, and in the end, I think she's a pretty good contender for being a Blood bound hero. It mostly comes down to her natural leaderly qualities; she has charisma up the wazoo, magnetically drawing the other students towards her with her "push forward no matter what" attitude. She also has a bit of a "do as I say, not as I do" kind of thing after the first class trial, making a final request before her execution that everyone escapes without killing even though she was willing to kill to help everyone live. If only things could work out so easily...

Finally, there's her Word: the Officer. This may seem rather weird; an officer is defined as someone in a position of command or authority, and Kaede certainly isn't so bossy. But she does play a bit of an authoritative role in an inspirational sense, inspiring her classmates (Shuichi especially) to keep working hard to escape the killing game with as little death as possible (with varying degrees of success). Up until her untimely death, Kaede was definitely the leader of the group, guiding them towards a more hopeful future of being friends with each other... and while not nearly as many people end up surviving as she'd have hoped, she technically did get her wish granted in the end.

---

Shuichi Saihara - September 7

Virza - Sign of the Puzzle (Virgo, Derse, Mind)

A late summer child, Shuichi is a Virgo!

Virgos are detail oriented, intelligent, and perfectionists, holding no one to a higher standard that themselves for the sake of getting everything just right. Shuichi definitely shows those traits, but he's also a bit timid and even doormat-like, especially early game. Really though, can you blame him? The first time he pursued the truth in his pre-game backstory, he got someone arrested who had only killed to get revenge for their family, making him doubt himself greatly. Thanks to Kaede encouraging him though, he eventually discards the hat he hides under to face the truth completely.

Someone shy and quiet like Shuichi makes Derse seem like a no brainer, but it's more than that. Derse dreamers are cerebral and have difficult with sincere vulnerability, often hiding behind a hard shell to keep themselves safe. Once they've warmed up to someone, though, they're powerful allies, and Shuichi's "powers" are no joke! It even comes to a point where Monokuma has to rely on Shuichi completely to uncover who the murderer/murderee of the fifth class trial is, since his mini flying cameras were all shut down by Kokichi just long enough for his deception to be set in place. If even the murder bear that's making you kill each other relies on your skills enough to actually get things done, then you know you've got something special.

Naturally, someone intelligent like Shuichi would have an intelligence focused Aspect, and between Light and Mind, Mind was the better choice. While Mind players are capable of creating and completing great plans with unbelievable grace, they can also get easily overwhelmed by their many possible choices, making them freeze up in the face of potentially making the wrong decision. This is literally Shuichi in the first class trial: he realizes the truth of the whole case, but freezes up instead of bringing up the facts, which results in him nearly getting pinned as the Blackened. It was only thanks to Kaede that he didn't get everyone killed from his fear of the truth. If that doesn't make him a Mind player, I'll eat Shuichi's hat (please do not make me eat his hat).

Finally his Word, which was a bit of a struggle to fit, but he's the Puzzle. Sure, his intelligence makes this seem obvious, but a person who is a puzzle/is puzzling is someone who causes confusion to others, being difficult to understand or even downright nonsensical. For the most part, Shuichi is a pretty straightforward person, but his reasoning for his early game behavior seems to puzzle Kaede, and some later decisions like (correctly) calling Gonta the Blackened of the fourth trial definitely puzzle the heck out of most people, especially Kaito. Shuichi can definitely be a puzzle, in more ways than one.

---

Kokichi Oma - June 24

Gemiborn - Sign of the Uproarious (Gemini, Derse, Rage)

The Ultimate Supreme Leader of the world (or not?) is a Gemini!

Geminis are smart, and aren't afraid to take advantage of it. They can talk in circles around most everyone, using their seemingly boundless energy to get what they want from others. Kokichi fits this perfectly; easily one of the most talkative "trouble makers" of the Danganronpa series, Kokichi smooth talks his way into all sorts of trouble- mostly for the others, but even himself on occasion. The Insect Meet and Greet in particular comes to mind, or really any of his interactions with Gonta, especially in the fourth class trial.

Someone so openly underhanded and closed off like Kokichi also makes for a perfect Derse dreamer. He hides any and all insecurities under his many, many lies, and his rebellious methods of ending the killing game make it hard to get close to him: revealing the killer of the fourth class trial early and managing to pull the wool over Monokuma's eyes to stop the fifth trial. Underhanded? A little. Meanspirited? Definitely. Effective? Almost too perfectly. It's no holds barred for a Derse dreamer like Kokichi.

Now, this may seem a little controversial, but I decided to give Kokichi the Rage aspect. Making him a Void player seems more reasonable at first; after all, who else is so up front about casting doubt on what's right and wrong? But the word for a Gemittarius- the Sapient- just didn't quite fit. So why a Rage player? Aren't they supposed to hate lies and false ideas? Well, yes... but that's the thing. Kokichi's "truth" is lying. To him, lies make the world go round, and most truths are lies, anyway. Kokichi is also insatiably cruel and fearless, more than willing to make everyone hate him for the sake of ending the killing game on his terms. No matter how much he might get attacked for his ways, he sticks to them and never compromises on who he is. Also, he's a bit... enRAGEing, hahaha! (Everyone boos)

Finally, his word, which was the main reason behind all these choices: the Uproarious. Typically defined as someone who makes or attracts a lot of noise, taking a more metaphorical approach makes him a perfect fit. I don't think I've ever seen a Danganronpa character cause as much of an uproar among both the other characters and the people who play the game; almost every let's player I've seen hates Kokichi (or at the very least, is extremely annoyed by him), and I'm sure he was quite a headache for the audience watching the 53rd Killing Game. Probably caused quite an... UPROAR... these are the jokes, people.

---

K1-B0 - October 29

Scorra - Sign of the Impromptu (Scorpio, Prospit, Mind)

Picking my favorite character from V3 was difficult, but I eventually decided on the character that fascinates me the most: K1-B0, the Ultimate Robot! His whole narrative purpose and in-game functionality is just... oof. I could go on for a while about that, but I won't. Anyway, surprisingly, he's a Scorpio!

Scorpios are seen as the most dangerous of the signs, throwing everything they have into everything they do. For someone as mild mannered and polite as K1-B0, this may seem like a mistake... but we have to remember that the K1-B0 we know for most of the game is different from who he actually is. When his "hair curl" is attached, he's under the control of the audience at home, acting as a sort of self insert for the people who watch Danganronpa. Once that wire gets cut at the end of the fifth class trial, though, he becomes determined to end the killing game by any means necessary, taking the most destructive option of blowing up the school and everyone in it to achieve his goal. Surprisingly Scorpio-like!

I chose Prospit as K1-B0's Lunar Sway, because there's never really a moment when he purposefully hides who he is; even when he's free of his antenna, he's honest and straightforward with his goals and personality; the only real difference is how destructive he's willing to get. He's also a fairly optimistic and easy going guy; even when others are being robophobic, he's polite, firm, and generally nonviolent in his approach to correcting that behavior.

For his Aspect, I chose Mind, which... was a surprisingly difficult choice to make. A number of Aspects matched him well, but it really came down to his word as the deciding factor, and even then, it's a bit of stretch... I'll explain more in a minute. For now, though: K1-B0 is definitely a logic based fellow, being rational in the face of all the irrational things happening around him, even if he sometimes comes off as a bit cold and inflexible to others emotional needs. But he's learning, so that's what matters most! He's eager to get as much information as possible so that he can make the best decisions and be the best Ultimate Robot!

Finally, his word: the Impromptu. To be impromptu is to do things without planning or thinking, which really doesn't match K1-B0 for the most part... until we get that darned antenna off his head. Then, it's no longer a matter or rationality; it's a matter of ending the killing game, and ending it quickly. Depending on how you view the end of the game, too, shows that there's a bit of impulsivity to him still: he chooses to allow the survivors to live, even though he was supposed to destroy everything about the Danganronpa world they were in. Maybe it was the viewer's decision, or maybe it was his own; either way, it was certainly very impromptu a decision.

---

AGH! Finally, I'm done! I really do enjoy doing these things, but they're also really tiring! I've been at this for hours... partially because I conked out and took a nap halfway through. Comfy couches really are too comfy... Anyway, I'll get around to adding/editing the table of contents for the previous posts later; my laptop is dying and I NEED to go to bed! Thanks for coming on the ride, everyone! Mind your step as you exit, and I'll see you around, some other day.

[spectralsleuth]

🧩🎨☁️🏜️❄️🍬💌🥑

WHOAH WE GOT A BIG ONE HERE

🧩 ⇢ what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

Disclaimer: every piece of fanfiction is a gift from an angel. I love it all, because no matter how cringe or silly it is, the alternative is that fic NOT existing and that is unacceptable to me. That goes for any art.

Okay salty little hater time: Who the fuck started saying "greenette" or "pinkette" to stand in as an indicator for a person with a certain hair color. It is the new "orbs" in fanfiction. I literally have backed out of a fic, walked around a bit, and then gone back in resigned. It's so funny and I actually think of it really fondly, because it's a symptom of fandom the same was all the old fic tropes back in the early 2000's were. But god it even hurt me to write out. Weird formatting and paragraphs breaks I can adjust to pretty easily.

🎨 ⇢ link your favourite piece of fanart and explain why you like it

THIS TAROT SERIES FROM KAYSON (@tangledinink) They picked all of the series perfectly for the cards, they didn't just half heartedly pick the aesthetics that fit, and every single one is absolutely GORGEOUS. The style fits in with the other art/fics perfectly while still having that special little background/detail flair that Kayson likes to use. Fantastic. ('Strength' for LSoW Yoshi was an inspired pick as well. Love it.)

MATCHING BEST IS THIS COMIC by @cool-chocolatebouquet A whole comic! On one of my fave parts of mine and @alicat54cwriting's crossover??? So funny and good.

☁️ ⇢ what made you choose your username?

My username was 'spectralsleuth' for a while because I had thoughts of making a webcomic series about a detective who is dead, and was brain rotted by Homestuck naming conventions. (Which in itself was a satire of early 2000's internet culture, only dramatized.) That never happened, but the name stuck for all my accounts because I'm too lazy to think of a new one.

'audioEidolon' was what I started with on discord forever ago, and I wasn't ever planning to talk to anyone on voice chat because I was shy. (Thus the 'audio eidolon' name.) But I made some really good friends playing DnD and we talk almost every day, and have done for almost seven years now. So I guess my internet nickname will forever be 'Audio' or 'Audi'.

🏜️ ⇢ what's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work?

I love comments that pull out a line they specifically liked, or struck them. Maybe it's selfish, but I like seeing the specific things they liked because THAT'S the kind of comment that you think about while writing and forever after. (Despite how nice and easy as generalized comments are. I love all comments!) I even prefer comments that pull a specific line to say they didn't understand it, or noticed it was a little weird or out of place over generic ones, because it shows that they're invested and actually internalizing the writing. In this day and age of bots and AI, it's nice.

❄️ ⇢ what's your dream theme/plot for a fic, and who would write it best?

MAN THIS IS A TOUGH ONE. Every time I think, wow I wish that fic existed, I generally write it myself! I really can't think of anything I've wanted that I haven't at least started to write myself.

🍬 ⇢ post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character

Oh man I don't know if I even HAVE an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character? My 2003 Leonardo opinions are surprisingly rare I think, he's one of my favorite TMNT characters of all time, and I think he and ROTTMNT Leonardo actually have the MOST in common between their counterparts. I never understood those crossovers where Leo and Leonardo were so bewildered by each other.

💌 ⇢ how many unread emails do you have right now? 

ZERO BABEY. So I actually have OCD and notification stress me out really bad. Like make my tummy hurt and I dream about them. This is the notifications for all three of my main email accounts:

Ignore the ranchers I'm too lazy to crop, the photo widget has like 100 pieces of fanart I really like for all my fandoms. (Natural evolution from printing pictures at the school library to put in your see through binder cover)

🥑 ⇢ you accidentally killed somebody, which mutual(s) do you text for help?

@heckitall honestly? Not because we are besties (WE ARE) but I think Heck would have genuine logical knowledge and together we could figure things out and how to hide the body. (Heck hmu I got a job for you.)

[spidrgrl]

What are your thoughts on caliborn

To be honest, I never really knew the guy personally until now (we have a Caliborn in sys), but my opinion has mainly stayed the same!

As a character, one in Homestuck no less, he's actually written SURPRISINGLY well. No joke, this is one of the few in Homestuck that's written in a smart way. He symbolizes the toxic side of the fandom pretty well, he's comedy gold if I'm being honest, he's a good villain, and he's not incorrigible or anything. Does that make sense???????? And the only thing that's really terrible about him is the whole sexism part, which actually fits his character? Call me crazy but I think it fits his character since he's written to be an out of control, toxic teen boy that has NO clue what he's doing. It's not an unnecessary gross thing that absolutely soils his reputation (see Doc Scratch, Meenah, Cronus, literally any of the trolls including me, etc), it's a genuine flaw this time!

I do think he deserved more development. He and his sister both should've had that right. Also, if they ever just retcon HS^2 like they should have a long time ago, HE should be the main villain. Everything in Homestuck sets him up to be that! Jane shouldn't be a dictator when there's LITERALLY all you could ever want in a villain RIGHT THERE.

Knowing him though is slightly different.

I first heard about him from John when all of us that survived were all together. He told me about an annoying guy who very clearly didn't mature and a bunch of other details, but pointed out that he was green and that he beat his assssssss. I told him I was proud of him for that, and there wasn't really any more talk of him besides that, at least not to me.

He was an insignificant prick until, woah, hold up, there's a guy screaming on the top of his lungs about wanting to be the host and demanding to speak to anybody in charge! Honestly it's really funny seeing him run around, he hasn't been near front lately but like, I DO know that he got into Madoka Magica lately.

hegegge he's REALLY silly to me

[thewertsearch]

Asks Comp - 16/4

I literally did not know The Baby Is You was a thing. To be welcomed back into the comic like this after four months is very on brand for Homestuck.

... and wow, its outro really does match the end of this song, doesn't it? That's even funnier than if he'd snuck some of Megalovania in there.

Ooh, that's another liveblog I'll want to check out when I'm done! I've never actually seen a Worm liveblog before. Adding it to the list myself!

Nothing's really changed since I've been gone! I make a conscious effort not to do much Homestuck analysis off-blog, since I want my journey to be fully documented here.

It's good to be back! I'm looking forward to a full reread when I'm done.

Would you believe I didn't even know there was a book?

I also didn't know the movie had two (allegedly) terrible sequels, which is very funny. Neverending story indeed.

Thank you! I can't take too much credit, though - most of my tagging system has been crowdsourced from askers!

At some point, before we reach the end of the comic, I'm going to have to formalize my approach to liveblogging Homestuck's side content.

What I'll probably do is give each of them the 'lite' treatment initially, but if they turn out to be more canonical than I thought, or particularly interesting to liveblog, I'll 'zoom in', and analyze them properly. We'll see how we go!

Could you imagine the relationship dynamics in your average troll soap opera? The shipping web for a single season would make our heads explode.

It's a fun question. What sort of object symbolizes everything?

The first thing I'd try would be a star chart, Dave's magnifier and a literal planetful of Grist.

Added to the list! Not until later later on, though - I'd worry that the opinions and theories of another liveblogger could interfere with my own, especially if they're talking about it with someone who's already read it!

I would find it hard to disagree.

Do people think Act 1 is pointless?

I mean, it is the slowest Act in terms of pacing, but slow pacing isn't always a bad thing. You sort of have to take it slow when your readers have this much to get to grips with.

...okay, maybe we didn't need quite as many Sylladex mishaps as we got. But we still needed some. Homestuck has a lot to introduce you to.

I always pictured an English accent for Hass - although, interestingly, I didn't picture one for Jade. As a headcanon, I like the NZ one better.

Where did Grandpa grow up again, actually? He was raised by Fake Mark Twain, who was from Missouri - but I don't have a clue what a Missouri accent sounds like, let alone one from a century ago. I have a funny feeling that it's not the accent I'm imagining coming from Jade.

Now that's a ship I'd never have seen coming. Props to Hussie for coming up with something more controversial than my Feferi<>Equius.

All four kids, with four endgame weapons, might be able to challenge Jack's current incarnation - but they're not going to get the chance. You've hit the nail on the head - he's semi-perfect Jack for a reason.

I have several theories for Jade's prototyping, and every single one of them would make Jack even more dangerous than before. It's just barely possible to challenge him now, but things will only get worse.

Read the room, Serket!

Would Vriska have tried to negotiate? She feels like the type of person who'd rather take a beating than admit they're outclassed. Plus, I'm not sure how much she'd have to offer Aradia, who seemed entirely motivated by revenge (and, possibly, secretly motivated by timeline stuff).

All that said, I would have loved to hear Vriska trying to worm her way out of this.

I love it! Please send in the completed house, if you get the chance. That's going to look so cool with a moving meteor.

And they're both easily distractible! This feels like two people who might actually get on surprisingly well, if they were in, say, the same high school class.

It's hard to say what's a rarepair, since I don't know what ships are rare in the fandom - although I'd have a few guesses about the most common ones.

If we're going for a ship with very tenuous connections, I will submit Rose x Feferi for your appraisal. They're both fans of the Noble Circle, and their signature colors are pretty close.

You know what, I'll just review all of your ships. Tavros/Gamzee - PB&J - is pretty cute. [] I'd recommend Miracle Child for a number of reasons, but it does include a well-written Gamtav. Jack/Droog is more <> to me than it is <3. Like One Sundered Star might be influencing that? I'm not really sure. Somewhere I think I saw a Jack<>Droog. Your pre-shipping chart post isn't in the chrono; also, I'm pretty sure the A6A6I5 ask is one of mine. Gamzee/Eridan is a rarepair; I've seen it, but not often, and it's a <> in the fic I'm referencing. Kanaya<>Terezi and Feferi<>Vriska are strange enough that I've never seen them anywhere, really. [] And finally, Vriska and Tavros. These two are the textbook example of why the ashen quadrant needs to exist, and they're a perfect pair for it. [] ~LOSS (8/1/23)

I don't even know if Carapacians have moirallegiance - but those two would definitely work if they did.

Out of all my ships you flagged as rare, I think my favorite is Feferi<>Vriska. I just think they'd gel weirdly well together!

[cjcroen1393]

Humans | Lowblood Trolls | Midblood Trolls | Highblood Trolls | Cherubs | Carapacians

Happy belated 4/13 everybody!

So it’s clearly no secret that Homestuck and Pokemon are two of my favorite fandoms. This of course means I had to combine them somehow, and the best way to do that was to turn the Homestuck kids into Pokemon trainers, right?

Originally, I was gonna go the lazy route and do the Pokemon Team Planner to make up their (and the Trolls’ and Cherubs’) teams, and I’m still going to do that later, but the problem is I can’t do that until the Gen 9 dex is added to Pokemon HOME.

So instead, I just drew the Beta and Alpha Kids with what I personally think their signature Pokemon would be!

For an explanation:

John Egbert: John’s ace is Quagsire, also known as Casey! This should have obvious reasons behind it lol. He also has a Mimikyu, to represent the stuffed bunny from Con Air. I like to think John found that Mimikyu and mistook it for a ratty old Pikachu doll, only for Rose to reveal to him what it really is like a week or so later.

Rose Lalonde: Rose of course needed a Psychic-type cat and I could think of no better Pokemon to fit that description than Meowstic (Espeon could also count, but we don’t know for sure if it’s really a cat). Since the cat is obviously supposed to be Jaspers, I used the male Meowstic. He communicates with Rose telepathically sometimes, and once shared a secret with her that she never decoded until years later.

Dave Strider: Now many of you probably expected him to have Corviknight, and I’m sure he has one on his team, but I think Archeops works better as his ace, and no not just because it’s my personal favorite Pokemon. Archeops not only works for Dave’s bird motif, but it also fits with his love of preserved dead things and paleontology. He probably got it as a Plume Fossil that he added to his collection and then Jade was like “You should try getting it revived” and Dave was like “You can revive them!?!?”

Jade Harley: Jade was actually surprisingly tough to pick a Pokemon for, since there are so many dog Pokemon out there who could play Becquerel’s part. I decided on Houndstone -- it’s “the most loyal of dog Pokemon” for starters, it’s white and it has access to Phantom Force so it can teleport. Also it has no eyes. Like in canon, Bec used to belong to Jade’s Grandpa, but in this AU, I like to think Bec is the ghost of Halley, Grandpa Harley’s old dog.

Jane Crocker: Jane was trickier, as she doesn’t technically have an animal motif like the others, but I ultimately decided on Stoutland, because it both fits with her love of detectives and has an absolutely fantastic mustache! Of course Jane would like this one XD Being the most normal of the Alphas, Jane most likely got Stoutland as a gift from her Dad.

Roxy Lalonde: Roxy ran into the same problem as Jade in that there were so many cat Pokemon to choose from. Ultimately, I went with Sneasler (and yes, Sneasler is a cat) because it fits with Roxy’s Fistkind strife specibus and honestly I just like the vibes these two have together. Two sassy queens XD If you’re wondering how Roxy got a Hisuian Sneasel, I like to think she appearified her by accident and decided to keep her. Also they’re both trans. Deal with it.

Dirk Strider: Dirk got Ceruledge because it’s one of the few Pokemon that’s explicitly a swordsman, but more importantly, it also very clearly looks like Derse. I imagine that Dirk’s Bro left him a Charcadet with the appropriate armor to evolve it into a Ceruledge, and the two often spar with each other.

Jake English: Contrasting with Dirk, Jake gets an Armarouge. Whereas Dirk has a sword-wielding Pokemon resembling Derse, Jake gets a cannon-wielding Pokemon resembling Prospit! It fit so perfectly, honestly. I think that Jake would’ve found his Charcadet while exploring his island and eventually dug up some armor for it in an ancient ruin of some sort.

I would’ve done the Trolls, Cherubs and maybe even some of the Carapacians too, but this was exhausting enough to work on so maybe later. I still definitely wanna do those Team Planner things though, so I’ll try to get around to that when the site makes the right updates!

EDIT: Fixed a portion of Jane’s Stoutland that I forgot to color.

[randalbf]

The day it all started, April 13th. When a bored EdwardSiccorHands25 changed the world.

April 13th, 9002. EdwardSiccorHands25 had broke his 20 century long edge streak. It was a hard time for the Edward Scissor hands lover, he was in quite the rage. He needed something to get this horrible loss off of his fried mind. So he started to draw. Admittedly, he is very bad at drawing people. So he started drawing heads. Then little bodies. He soon came to a creation of John Eggbert. John Jelq Eggbert.

Somewhere in the East Coast of Pennsylvania, a man named Dirk Clax(er) was around. Surprisingly, he was created by EdwardSiccorHands25, but was manifested into life. He recently lost his munting Buddy after they got grossed out when Dirk said they should munt their grandma. Dirk, defeated, went out to find someone alike of him. He went on his favorite site for chatting and Getting Good with Friends, Pesterchum.

“HEY! any MUNTERS looking for a MUUNTING BUDDY?” He soon got a reply from a user named “jelqking200” saying, “yes! I’ve been waiting for this. We should meet up.”

DIRKCLAXMAX800 . . . “oh hell yeah. Where?”

jelqking200 . . . “come over to [EH], there’s a place by there.”

DIRKCLAXMAX800 . . . “okay”

And so Dirk got ready.

Dirk met John at his house. John looked like a total nerd to him. Dirk looked like a total nerd to John. But they got along just fine, deciding who was going to be orally connected to the corpse.

The pair were making their way to the burial site of their victim. But they came to a realization that the coffin was already unburied. Dirk lifted up the lid, and which lay the dried-up-already-munted body. Blinking and looking at John, who adjusted his (dumb) glasses. Dirk closed the lid and walked away.

“yeah, looks like it was already munted. We could maybe edge to it though…” Dirk said, trying to reassure John. John shook a bit. His (stupid) teeth biting his lip. “No! I can’t start a new edge streak on this. I could maybe Clax..but I’d belt rope…” Dirk shrugged. “fair.”

During this, a red pill floated and glowed above the open hole where the casket once was. Dirk convinced John to leave after telling him they could goon together later. Dirk looked at the pill. For a moment, he thought he should run. But the Clax blood in him said no. He must reach pure Brainrotina.

Dirk felt his eyes widen as he gained new, forbidden knowledge. He felt his brain melt as the pages of a previously written comic named Homestuck, familiarly named like Goonstuck, flashed before his eyes. A voice talked to him.

“In the beginning, [EH] made gooning, claxxing, jelqing, and munting. These were the four laws. The four respects. If you could goon, you could Clax. If you could Clax, YIU could Jelq. If you could Jelq, you could Munt. If you could Munt, you were the highest of them all. This all changed when Mewing was created by the filthy, ungrateful goonstuckians.

They fought and fought amongst each other. Who could looksmax more? Did I mog James from church? It was catastrophic. Until EdwardSiccorHands25 came.

He made the turn from looksmaxxing to edgemaxxing. Never stop edging, he would say. No matter if it hurts, don’t let yourself belt rope, he would shout. Millions of edge meetings. 100s of gooners dying from losing their edge streak.

EdwardSiccorHands25’s lasted 20 centuries. Long after Muntiaon was created and torn down. Long after Earth was renamed Looksmaxxing Planet. He had seen it all. And you, Dirk Clax Strider, were created by him. And so was John.”

Dirk’s head was spinning. He hadn’t heard of this place. He yearned to be there.

“where..where is EdwardSiccorHands25?” Dirk said, a little quiet.

“DIDNT you look in the casket?” Dirk suddenly gained his normal site again. He immediately ran to the casket and saw the dried and munted body of EdwardSiccorHands25. Not just end of an edge streak, but the start of Pure Brainrot…true Goonvona.

April 13th is the death and start of Goonstuck - The Brainrot Saga.

[melancholicwriteaholic]

Me and @waitwhathowdidigethere (who still insists they want to come back to tumblr someday) arrived in London Ontario at around 10:30 AM, and parking was surprisingly easy and cheap. It was all smooth sailing from there.

Tennocon was more than I ever hoped and I felt actual joy while experiencing it. In the past the only draw to conventions was the Homestuck Meet Ups. Besides them, I mostly went to them because I kind of expected myself to have fun even if I never did. But Tennocon was the first time I actually enjoyed myself all throughout the day.

I chatted with fellow fans of Warframe, had some conversations with the voice actors, got a bunch of autographs, and of course LOVED the live shows and the one workshop I attended.

11/10, thank you DE

[fefairys]

17.) describe the “required reading” to understand your vision. be as pretentious as possible.

wow this asker seems really cool and sexy everyone should go follow him omg... haha but fr i just wanted to talk abt this one and theres nothing u can do to stop me. this got long >:)

homestuck of course. homestuck is required reading for literally anything i make, just to better understand where i'm coming from as a person even if it never comes up in the thing itself. but for psy specifically, it comes up A LOT especially when it comes to quadrants. these guys relationships are so fucking quadrant-pilled its insane.

even though its based off of saiki k, i honestly dont consider saiki k "required reading" as much as the rest of the stuff im listing here. like, at worst, knowing saiki k will just mean you know which bits we stole and how unoriginal the whole thing is lmao. but i still recommend it. its fun.

death note is a huge one. surprisingly so. we did not plan that from the beginning lmao but we rewatched death note like right before(/during? idk) writing to get closer to jett's character, and we ended up putting a LOT of death note parallels into it. watching death note will not only help u understand jett as a person better, but will support your analysis of the comic itself better. it all about death note, bro. only knowing the basic premise of death note does NOTHING u have to know the intricacies to know what the hell im talking about. we've already seen this a little bit. "what would L say?" that line is the start of Everything.

the truman show! not as huge as death note, but there are a lot of themes carried over and a lot of inspiration. and it's psy's favorite movie! i wont talk about this one too much bc psy will do that later. but something psy fails to consider is how the comic itself is sort of truman show-ing them lol. they dont even think about it, or really see it that way because they [think they] are the one controlling it. but yeah.

specifically for understanding melody: legally blonde (the movie) because it cracked her egg. other than that i dont think it's THAT thematically relevant but u could definitely make some cases for that as well. (make some cases. get it. lawyer joke.)

specifically for understanding tate: his playlist. because psy is in control of the narrative, tate isn't allowed to be shown as sympathetically as We actually see him. his main Traumas that inform who he is as a person are almost never touched on, only ever vaguely hinted at. but you can learn a LOT more about him if you listen to his playlist and pay attention to the lyrics.

honestly, give a listen to everyone's playlists and pay attention to the lyrics. there's a LOT of analysis to be done there. (though keep in mind some of the songs r just on there cuz they're songs the characters like and have nothing to do with them thematically lol. fun game figuring out which is which!) (actually i made a chart for that lol)

[monstrousmaws]

Fire Emblem Three Houses Modern AU Headcanons: Blue Lions

(this is extremely headcanony and biased so if u disagree I absolutely get it)

Dimitri

He is the most normal of the group

No social media

Hes not up to date on trends or slang or anything so he’s often quite lost when the others talk about things

Has fairly vanillia music taste all things considered. Mostly classical music

Dedue

Haven’t thought of much for him

Dislikes it when the other kids are too unruly but WILL indulge them occasionally, like slipping “Never Gonna Give You Up” into Dimitri’s road trip playlist

Ashe

I have so much for him get ready

Hes very quiet and often mumbles into his hoodie

Wears a Blue hoodie everyday, even if it’s too hot for that

Everyone thought he was cis and straight for a long time

Nope he’s Grey-Biro Ace and Trans

Hes secretly an Emo kid

He startled everyone on the first of October showing up to class in eyeliner and an MCR T-ahirt

Listens to MCR and other Emo bands, also like music from StarKid shows

Claude finally convinced him to keep dressing Emo after October. He’s never been happier

He and Claude are dating and are very close

Autism, ALL the Autism

Into StarKid musicals and Doctor Who

Has Tumblr and Discord and that’s it

Annette

The only person in Blue Lions besides Sylvain to know about Ashe being Emo beforehand

Emo/Goth/Scene? She’s some kind of Alt fashion girlie

Also likes MCR, but has a generally more pop-y music taste

Undiagnosed ADHD

One of the school’s “Nerdy Prudes”, alongside Ashe, Marianne, Bernadetta, Ignatz, and Lindhart

Into Superwholock, but mostly into Doctor Who nowadays

also only has Tumblr and Discord

a Homestuck

Sylvian

Horny Bastard

Close friends w/ Claude and Ashe

Likes pop and rock music

No one knew he was trans until they saw him shirtless. He got top scars

Super good at video games

He’s a surprisingly decent singer

Twitter user(derogatory)

Calls Homestuck things like “Housetrapped” or “Residencerestrained” to annoy Annette

Felix

Would be an Emo if he cared enough

Listens to hard rock and metal

Gets into fights on Twitter

Drinks black coffee

Mercedes

The most religious person in her class

Went to Catholic School before she started attending her current school

Has tons of crazy stories about Catholic Schools

LOVES HORROR FILMS

Ashe once got back at her for scaring him by making her play DDLC. She loved it

A Prep

Ingrid

Uses both Twitter and Tumblr

Tries to keep her Tumblr blog a secret from her non Tumblr user classmates

Secretly REALLY into Superwholock

Also secretly a Homestuck

basically she acts all “cool” but is secretly a huge dweeb(affectionate)

fucking amazing at video games

Bisexual icon

[mageofmindfr]

Thoughts on The Heir of Hope? I could really use an outside perspective right now. (Thank you)

Hallo! I have not been active on the internets from my computer in multiple days because my internet died and I wanted to give you a proper answer with correct grammars :33

... Ok so I really am sorry for not answering my internet has been spotty at best for like a week but it’s pretty good now so I can finally actually answer!

Well, heir of hope... let’s start with heirs, shall we?

Heirs, as far as I interpret them, are more literal versions of pages; while a page would channel the spirit of their aspect as part of their personality, a heir would become their aspect physically (which is a fact that’s supported by canon! I love having theories and then remembering that they’re actually entirely canon ^^”). So heirs’ personalities tend to reflect their aspect more literally as well, being almost archetypes for “this is what being X aspect means”.

I’d say they’re a simpler class, but that might not be entirely accurate, because aspects have a lot in them, if you’re willing to look. Like how void may be about mysteries and things hidden in shadows, but also includes contradictoriness (is that a word? It feels like it should be a word), or how breath can be wind but also scatterbraininess (never let a breath player build their own schedule, it’s like a hurricane went in and messed all their meetings up... which, I suppose it is.. but that’s a tangent for another post, maybe). There’s a lot of room for exploration there, finding where you fit into your own aspect, and whether there’s traits there that you wish to change, or improve upon, and whether you’re willing to put in the work (you’ll find that, if you’re willing, it may come easier than you expected to start the change you want to see in yourself, though it’s still bound to be difficult.. as is any change one should make. The key is being truly, actually willing and eager to better yourself, and know that sometimes you should ask for help, and that regardless, things take time...)

So. If a heir’s personality is built on existing within the space of their aspect... what about hope?

... You know, hope is surprisingly hard to figure out. Though, the same can be true for rage, since both of them have two players that destroy their aspect, making them act inherently unlike said element... so we literally only have Jake to go off of and saying “you’re like Jake English but your personality is more hope” wouldn’t be particularly helpful... not to say kind of inaccurate.

I found (through two hours of research, god, apparently I’ve been sitting here trying to not get confirmation bias over theories for two hours... Then again I have been thinking about heirs for a while anyways, so it would’ve been longer if I had been putting off answering any longer...) that hope is one of those aspects that are dreadfully unclear. It’s pretty difficult to take hope literally, as even in its literal sense it’s not tangible like void and breath are, so, how do you become hope?

Well... I’m sorry to disappoint, but I believe that’s up to you. Hope’s one of those aspects that are, in essence, whatever the player makes of them. Like most others, actually, I just find that the players we follow happen to be wholly uncreative in their use of their aspects... Except those that use it subconsciously, in which case it’s more that the game looked at them and probably said something like “wouldn’t it be really funny if I made Dirk Strider a Prince of Heart?” which, well. I’d say “sad” is a better word, but the game’s got a weird sense of humor and is also wholly irrelevant to right now!

Hope can mean a lot of things, but literally it’s more... well, the way my brain tried to put it together is kind of like how determination works in Undertale (… without the space-time shenanigans, since those are both elements in actual Homestuck). You don’t give up, and there lies your power. By believing in yourself, you have power. By trying hard you can do.. whatever you want. At least, that’s the literal way to see it (which is the only way we see it in actual Homestuck, but, again, aspects contain so much more than just their literal definitions, and the players we meet during our time reading are dreadfully unimaginative). We never see any other definition, though I’ve seen some people mention that hope may also have to do with the literal definition of light, or holiness, because.. magic. Or something. Not sure I buy that, but also visualizing “hope”, which is a wonderfully grand concept is probably hard, so, glowing it is, I suppose.

What all of this ends up meaning is.. Well, the Heir of Hope is someone who is embodied by their hope. I usually suggest stuff like a horoscope but it’s getting pretty late here and it’s also 10 degree weather, and saying “don’t give up” feels awfully tacky of me... So I’ll say this, instead; stay true to who you are. I’m not implying you’re perfect, or anything, but more that your true self is a wonderful person who, had I not been a Mage of Mind who dreams on derse’s moon and therefore an expert in overanalyzing social interactions before I even know the other party’s name, I’d love to talk to. I feel like you can be an uplifting person, if you let yourself be, and that you’re an inspiration to be around once you start talking about stuff you’re passionate about. A presence to light up a room, maybe, or at least one that people notice when it’s missing (because you only notice the absence of light in the darkness).

Again, sorry this came out late, I hope me working on this post for... three hours (yeesh, how the time flies when you double check against confirmation bias that the third heir we meet is, indeed, Mituna Captor, and that he did indeed “become” doom by accidental brain deletion) makes up for the three days where I was looking at this question from my phone and going “I should start writing” and then instead made my trollsona art and also read fics I have memorized because I tend to procrastinate (and also I spent 10 minutes just now trying to remember the word for procrastination and googled it as “word for not doing thing”. It was not there. I'm in agony/j).

Hope (hah) you still enjoy it even if it’s late? ^^”

[halfangelhavoc]

I've been on a weird journey reflecting on Homestuck lately and I've come to the surprisingly liberating conclusion that Vriska, who I once absolutely loathed, would have been a much better character if she was not written by Andrew Hussie.

Like...I'd been invested in Homestuck more for its weird time shit and cosmic wackiness than for its character arcs, so I didn't pay so much attention to those arcs, which meant the complexity in Vriska never registered to me. I'd taken her as just an asshole, and I don't think that's entirely wrong, but it overlooks her whole upbringing, and it was only within the last year that that part clicked for me - that she's a product of...something verging on abuse, insofar as a lusus can even be abusive. Of course she wouldn't form connections with others, of course her whole existence would practically revolve around antagonizing everyone around her, irritating them into staying at arm's length; her lusus had to eat other trolls. She had to learn, from early on, to not associate with other trolls, because most of the folks she met, she was probably going to be responsible for the deaths of - because if she wasn't, her lusus would've eaten her instead.

The conclusion I came to from that realization was that Vriska was a complicated character whose arc ultimately folded in on itself and negated any chance of personal growth - the whole dream-bubble dead-end situation - and I took that at face value and said that while her upbringing was terrible and her plight was easier to understand through that lens, it ultimately didn't make up for how she turns out in the end, with nothing having changed, with the narrative abandoning the her that got the chance to learn in favor of the her that needed to exist then and there to help things fall into place.

Except, like...just within the last couple months, I realized that that's not really her fault, it's the narrative's. Homestuck was a story that was invested as much in its weird time shit and cosmic wackiness as I was, to the same detriment - forgetting its character arcs, sidelining them, or otherwise putting them second-place behind the overarching narrative. Ultimately, the story it was trying to tell, the story Andrew was trying to tell, was in some way incompatible with the characters being used to tell it; there were too many stories to tell, too many characters who deserved some time in the limelight, and it just so happens that that hit Vriska the hardest. She didn't really get a proper reflection of her upbringing, the way, say, Dave did, in bulk conversation with other folks during act 6 act 6. The whole thing was really poorly laid out.

I feel like it's weird of me to say it but figuring all this out feels like I solved an important puzzle. Folks liked Vriska, I couldn't stand her, even the sight of her pissed me off, whether official or in fanart. She was public enemy number one for me, as far as fictional characters were concerned. But after realizing this, after finding that missing "Andrew Hussie kinda sucked at telling this story, honestly" piece and connecting it to her instead of just to Homestuck as a whole, I've really, honestly opened up to her. Like, I like seeing her in fanart now, I like her character now. I want to give her a hug. It's...kind of a magical feeling.

This is the kind of thing I'd tend to post on Cohost, not here, but it also is very fandom-aligned so I'm dumping it all here. lol, says the mocha. lmao

[the-mspfa-200-favourites-project]

ParadoxSwapped

We’ve seen Kidswaps that ignored one half of Homestuck’s characters. We’ve seen Kidswaps that were surprisingly good. We’ve seen some blood swaps (or I think…was it actually just *one* bloodswap AU?)…but we’ve never seen the most tantalizing swap of all:

WHAT IF THE TROLLS WERE IN THE POSITION OF THE BETA KIDS?

Truly. The Question. On Everybody’s mind. And that question. Is the one. That this WEBCOMIC. Sets out to answer.

It’s also kind of prescient in the way that it swaps John’s role in the story with like. Nepeta’s. (Cough Cough I can’t wait till I get to talk about NepetaQuest 2022 Cough Cough). Anyways yes. Nepeta’s all about SCIENCE and hates MAGIC except, in true homestuckian fashion, she’s actually just really into Magic and really likes it.

This one, whilst not the best kidswap I’ve seen, is actually quite interesting and well put together. So well put together I don’t quite know what to even SAY here. Some days, I get up and read a webcomic and try to write some notes on it but I’m just like. At a loss for words to even write! So here’s some notes: man this fanadventure is going really fast. One of the main things I really like about Act 1 of Homestuck is it knows that it’s got to build up to it’s big, narratively significant moments. It’s like 214 before we get to see rose, but in this fanadventure it’s like page 24???????? I think honestly the space between big, major events that impact the narrative in significant ways is an important part of making a good MSPFA. But yeah this is—say it with me folks, it’s one of my favourite words—competent.

[highly-opinionated-nerd]

Read in 2023:

Seven Against Thebes, and The Persians (~525-456 BCE), by Aeschylus- his works were surprisingly fun to read!

Strip Tease (1993), by Carl Hiassen- I grew up in Central Florida, so of course I’m a fan of Hiaasen’s. My first time reading one of his adult works- I enjoyed it! There was only one glaring moment of ‘female character poorly written by a man’, for the most part it was fine, haha

The Bacchae and Other Plays (484-406 BCE), by Euripides- the Bacchae was my favorite, because the women-hating man got ripped to shreds at the end! But they were all interesting I have many thoughts about all of it

Ven Polypheme novels 1-3 (2014), by Elizabeth Haydon- absolutely delightful, love the world building and the way she talks about magic.

Homestuck (200-2016)- my 4th or 5th reread I think? and I still haven’t read Rose’s sburb walkthrough. This is so lame but I got great entertainment from reading out loud to myself, using character voices.

Ouran High School Host Club (2002), by Bisco Hatori- also one of many rereads. It’s one of the first manga I ever read. My family moved states when I was in high school, and the library where we ended up didn’t have the last couple volumes for me to finish the series...so I bought the box set, haha! No idea where I got the money for that at age 16. I kept catching myself smiling while reading. I’m still madly in love with Mori.

Tiger, Tiger (2018-present), by Petra Erika Nordlund- I used to read a ton of webcomics all the time, but I stopped for some reason. Most of the ones I’d been following ended and I never bothered to start new ones, I guess. While I was in the process of moving and all my books were packed seemed like a good time to start a new one. And I was not disappointed. The art? Awe-inspiring. The story? Delightful. There are a lot of really good names, too. If you’re insane about names, like me, just know, there’s a dude named Rakkatak. Highly, highly recommend.

Treasure Island (1883), by Robert Louis Stevenson- quick read, and highly enjoyable! GOD I love pirate stories. Treasure PLANET has long been a favorite of mine, but this was my first time reading the original. The line towards the end ‘I think we were all pleased to be so cheaply quit of him’ will stick with me as a succinct summary of the differences between the two tellings, I think.

Shadow Raiders (2012), a novel by Margaret Weis and Robert Krammes- I picked this one up at a book sale because it had a dragon on the cover. It is a completely unnecessary 700 pages long, and it doesn’t even end at the end, it’s part of a series! It took a long time to get into it, but the part in the middle where the two main story lines converged and there was a big battle was very compelling. Then it got slow again immediately after. I like the concept and worldbuilding, I have mixed feelings about the storytelling, and I have serious doubt that the characters were written to their fullest potential. Not sure if I’m gonna go looking for the rest of the series, hmmmm

Sakana (2010-present), by Mad Rupert- longtime favorite webcomic started updating again after a long hiatus, so I did a reread so I’d be refreshed and ready for new pages. God, I love Sakana, Sakana is so good

Metamorphoses (8 CE), by Ovid- took a little bit of a hiatus in the middle of this one but I finished it! I still have a hard time believing that this work is considered a comedy- there’s a lot of individual tragedies on parade here if you ask me. But it was an interesting read, I liked it

Holes (1998), by Louis Sachar- first reread in (checks watch) 16 years. I’ve thought about this book a lot ever since first reading it in fifth grade. I saw it at Target one day and it was in my basket before I could even blink. I still love it, I couldn’t put it down. Finished it in like 3 sittings.

Wayne Family Adventures vol. 1 (2021), by CRC Payne and Starbite- love, love, love the art style and all the colors. The individual episodes themselves were very short but still highly entertaining, fun quick read.

Darth Bane trilogy (2006-2009), by Drew Karpyshyn- to say I was obsessed with reading Star Wars books as a kid would be a grave understatement. Before I had a personality, I had Star Wars. Now that I’m an adult and building up my own book collection, I’ve been slowly bringing a few back into my life. The Bane books truly captured my imagination when I was younger, and I still love them so unbelievably much. I could go on all day about outwardly opposing philosophies and Force specialties and the way wielding power changes and harms you and, and, and... not quite done yet, so this series’ll be finished up in 2024!

[voxblade]

WARNING. WORD VOMIT INCOMING. I HAVE NO LIFE. OH GOD.

Well I already did Zim. Sooo... Unpopular opinion: Mage of Void. I have my reasons.

"but he's ALWAYS SEEKING information!!! His luck is comically bad! Surely that makes him a light player!"

Before we go any further, it will probably be a good idea to talk about Mages, seeing as they're probably the most mysterious class in Homestuck. We only meet two of them, neither of them have a ton of narrative focus and they have almost nothing in common. The usual fandom consensus tho is that the Mage class specializes in information about their specific aspect... ...while being tortured by it. Sollux and Meulin are as opposite as you could get in terms of personality. Yet despite this, they could talk to you about their aspects until your ears fell off(Doom and Heart, respectively. Yes, Sollux is also a talkaholic. Ask him about his day and he'll give you a fucking essay about all the ways his life has sucked and been drenched in misfortune since he was born, its actually kind of funny in a fucked up way). Curiously, it's these very hyperfixations that seem to hurt them the most. Sollux is surrounded by death, hates it, craves it himself to some degree, but he never fully succumbs. Meulin is a heavy romantic, but true love always evades her. They're sources of priceless, intimate knowledge, but it's painted over by their own biases. They will never have the full picture, but they will give you an excruciatingly lived and human one. Have I also mentioned that they really love to talk when you get them going?

Moving on. The void is nothingness. Its the unknown. Its the chapters that never made it into the final product. Its infinite potential. Its constantly evading your reach. Its shadows out your window. Its a dream you never had. Its the rumble of something ancient in the depths of space. You will never see it's full depth.

Lets keep all this under our cap.

Dib's thing is that he's constantly seeking out information, specifically about things that are beyond our scope of comprehension. Cryptids. Ghosts. The unfindable, the unsolvable. He turns his nose up at most science in favour of these deep dark secrets that the universe is supposedly keeping from humanity. And funny enough, Dib is actually pretty good at finding them! Especially in the comics, he has actually found ghosts and other aliens besides Zim on some occasions, which is more than most humans can say. What's more, he's got a lot going for him. He's surprisingly athletic, shows an advanced understanding of science and plan crafting for his age, and showcases nigh-suicidal courage. It's just that he always fails in a very specific place. What's that?

Exposure.

Dib is always at his most successful when there's no eyes on him. Bloaty's Pizza Hog? He was so close to destroying Zim's space base and getting information, until he called Gaz to gloat about it. Zitboy? If he had kept his stupid mouth shut and not told Zim that he knew about the weakness in his base, he could have held onto his advantage. Dark Harvest? None of that would have happened if he hadn't told Zim about organs. 90% of encounters with his dad or the Swollen Eyeballs? Regardless of if he has proof or not on hand, it will disappear by the time he gets an authority figure anywhere close to it. Any camera he has on hand will get corrupted or screwed over in some way. Any show he books will become a disaster. Anytime he tries to let people in on his knowledge, it fails!!

There are two ways to interpret this. 1) Dib is a void player who is ACTIVELY trying to buck his aspect and become a light player, which the narrative will always punish him for. Or... 2) This is the nature of Dib's torture as a Mage. Just as Sollux will be stuck in a state of half-death or how Meulin will never find true love, he will be the one to dig deeper into the secrets than any other human. He'll find the cryptids. He'll research the aliens. He'll have paper after paper written about ghosts. Dib will see things ungraced by any human gaze before his. ...And yet, he, himself, will embody the void as well. He will be doomed to be just as obscure and inscrutable to his fellow man as the very things he studies. Sad!!!

Also if hes a void player in my head in a class about gathering knowledge while facing personal anguish and Zim is a light player specializing in destroying knowledge while making others suffer that means their aspects do a yingyang thats pretty neat