#thinking about him and vriska and how he suffered in relation to her and how she suffered obsessing over him drives me crazy

[kabutoden]

could you draw tavros bug? I looked for him but couldn't find him :[

Thx! <3 :]

i keep thinking about this ask. tavros bug. tavros bug. there is he. i think hes complaining about how people keep telling him to grow up when he's objectively never going to get to do so.

tavros...

[divineerdrick]

Homestuck: Beyond Canon Upd8 for July 23, 2024

Alright! We've got a new Upd8, and apparently it's a doozy! As usual, we'll start with the news post first!

Oh! There's a vod of the SAHcon panel. Might have to look that up.

James mentions a "big flash," and wants to give the team a break before either they start work on it or they drop it (wasn't sure here). I'm all for this. I don't want this team to burn out. Apparently there's progress on the plush, but James isn't telling us yet because it might not make it into the final version. Other than that, it's just this upd8. They're planning on more like it, so this won't be the only one of this style.

And what is this style?

It's a freakin' visual novel is what!

Looking at the options we have some basic VN selections, including options for skipping text. We have a History panel, which hopefully will allow us to go back to prior choices. We can also save and load. We don't have an option for full screen, so that's a little frustrating. But otherwise, away we go!

Yay! New talk sprites!

Absolutely love this one!

Oh man! Tavros got sucked into this too? Or is this some sort of construct or projection?

Oh wow. Vriska's trying to reconcile and every time she gets a prompt, she comes up with something else awful she did to him. I'd say we could be here a while, but I'm pretty sure she's going to lose patience soon.

"Hours later, but not many." Or we do that XD

Vriska doesn't get that the patterns that lead her here are the problem. She doesn't understand that being "an expert on this revenge thing," is part of the problem. The problem was that she was always trying to force Tavros to conform to some image of strength she had for him in her head, and used only the methods that she thought made her strong. That is, when she wasn't just losing her patience and doing something out of spite and anger.

Just as she thought she made things square with him before, she's not listening to him now. She's still never gotten that her failure to help Tavros wasn't Tavros's fault. It's always been her fault for not trying to understand who Tavros was and what he needed. By trying to help Tavros get revenge on her, she's just repeating the pattern again.

"Before I screw your life up," wow, I think she might have just had a genuine realization there! That's what she needs, though she still needs to understand why. She needs to understand why she did it, and why it caused Tavros so much suffering.

"Kill me." Oh wow. We've literally been exactly here before. How can she not realize that it didn't work then, and it's not going to work now!

"TAVROS: nO, i LOVE TO RUN AND, i DO NOT PLAN ON STOPPING, aNY TIME SOON,"

Ouch.

"Thief: Do the right thing."

Oh this is so not going to be the right thing.

Wow. She looks way too happy to have gotten Tavros to kill her. She is so not going to be happy when this almost certainly doesn't turn out to have worked.

Yep! That sure looks like we're back where we started! Respawn time!

Yay! Davepetasprite^2 talk sprites!

'Nother Vriska talk sprite. Is this a look from her past we haven't seen yet?

Hah! Groundhogs Day reference.

Sorry Davepeta, you can't help but make that innuendo sexual. It is your nature. Well half your nature.

Oh wow! When they said, Year 2, they weren't depicting a second point in the time frame. Vriska has been at this for over a year! "welcome to hell"

Whatever problems Dave and Nepeta respectively had, they just can't relate to the twisted mindset Vriska adopted to survive on Alternia.

"purrppets and then theres pawppet33rs" That one took me a while.

I think Davepeta just admitted that both Dave and Nepeta prefer to follow and let someone else be in control of things. No wonder Dave put up with so much of Jade's constant desires to form a stable polycule. I think I'll have some more to say about this later. Might even put it in a separate post.

Oh! Well that's that I guess! Might as well talk about this "panel" then.

So let's start with this. I do not believe in "leaders" and "followers". I think that's such a false dichotomy, that it barely deserves commentary. I think at best you can say that a person would be more likely to take charge, follow along, do there own thing, or disengage under sociologically normal circumstances. Already, that's four potential responses verse two, and these only apply under each person's "normal."

But even if we break it down to just "leaders" and "followers", Homestuck has already broken that dichotomy plenty of times. Take our beloved nub horned ball of of anger. Karkat presents at the beginning of Act 5 as a "leader." He was even somewhat good at it by Vriska's own admission. But Karkat was never happy as a "leader." He was doing it because he felt he had to. Being an exceptional bloodthirsty Troll warrior wasn't going to be good enough for him to avoid getting culled. He needed power, fear, and respect. He needed to be a "leader."

But once everything was over and he was given the chance to relax, he abandoned the role and was all the more happier for it. Pre Game Over, he wasn't particularly happy but he seemed less miserable than he did in game. And most of his anxiety revolved around not knowing where he stood with Dave and Terezi. Post Game Over he seems to have practically thrived. Letting Vriska, Rose, and Terezi handle all the planning and organization allowed him to finally enjoy life for once.

But now on Candy Earth C, he's a "leader" again. While he seems to be delegating a lot to Meenah, he's still the one everyone looks to. And while I can't say our beloved Knight of Blood is thriving, he's definitely much more comfortable as a "leader" now.

So all of that being true, has HSBC made any case for any character being a "leader" or "follower"?

But let's assume the premise and say Davepeta is correct. I think Nepeta can be said to be a "follower" in such a dichotomy. Even when it upset her, she still went along with Equius's wishes. But I would still stress she didn't exactly get a lot of screen time. We never got to know how Nepeta might have developed as a character over a full Homestuck run.

But what about Dave? Does Homestuck depict Dave as a "follower"? We definitely have plenty of examples of Dave going along with the plans and wishes of others. But I feel like we have far more examples of him taking initiative, doing his own thing, or even refusing to go along with a plan. Dave didn't want to play SBURB. Dave ignored Jade's advice to let the Crow hatch the egg. While he followed Terezi's plan, he eventually needed a break and basically broke with her after they finished the time loop. When Jade needed help, he acted on his own to get her situated in the game. He didn't like Rose's plan and refused to let her be the one to sacrifice herself when it seemed like that was the only option. He refuses to go along with Karkat's plans to try and setup quadrants with Terezi. In Game Over, he jumps into the fray to try and placate and then fend off Jack and PM. In Collide he takes the lead roll in the Strife at several points, including being the one to land the killing blow. Even Davepeta, as Vriska points out, was the one that secured victory against Lord English.

I think at most, what can be said is that normally Dave prefers to go with the flow. As he puts it, "maybe id rather just be like the dave of guy." This is one of those places where again, I have to ask if Homestuck has ever depicted a "leader/follower" dichotomy. Dave really seems happiest when he's just being Dave doing Dave things. Given a fully informed choice, Dave might have done everything he could have to avoid the SBURB session taking place. He stayed on the sidelines as things went to shit on Earth C, even as Karkat was looking to him for help. I just don't see Dave as a "follower."

That doesn't mean he has any angle to relate to Vriska. But for being an enlightened Sprite^2, I don't think Davepeta's take is a good one.

[serketinewillfulness]

🍦 the choice of character is yours

"name three good things about a character you hate"

i see we have chosen violence.

i don't actually hate any of my own characters, i love all of them. so it'll have to be others. i'll even give you a two for one deal here.

the expected one - tavros nitram, homestuck

Tavros is an excellent foil and contrast and inextricable from vriska's arc as a character that should "have it all" compared to her, but actively refuses to engage in the same games she plays. A vision of a kinder world she is never allowed to access. This is despite Tavros being lower on the haemostratum than Vriska. He is a perfect rejection of her. A petty, cowardly rejection, but a necessary one that cannot be extricated. She would not be Vriska without him.

He additionally fulfils an interesting role in relation to Gamzee: here is another highblood that wants him, whose advances he cannot rebuff too openly, and who carries around his corpse after death because of how obsessive he is. I don't like how the fandom treats these two, but I think their dynamic is incredible to contrast against Tavros and Vriska. Tavros likes Gamzee a lot more, but that same discomfort showcases the power imbalance between the two, and Tavros is arguably more uncomfortable with someone whose intentions he cannot gauge as readily as Vriska's.

Plus, while it was really annoying, you have to admit the dancing after triumping over Vriska was really funny. Still can't stand it but like good for him.

the one that doesn't mean anyone to most people - lyra sonoshe, mythical

She's a very driven and committed person who does what is necessary when it is necessary.

The people she's dedicated to she won't leave behind.

She can and will make the difficult decisions that no one else wants to make.

also i'm killing you for making me suffer.

[random-conspiracy]

Blorbos (I guess?)

(Here's the thing, I have 5 minutes before I have to go back to drawing architecture plans. Don't tell anything to the Administrative-High-Secretary part of my mind.)

Time ago I did not have something as a favorite character beyond some guys I liked, but nothing more. Then Tumblr made some silly brainwashing shenanigans (blorbo) and this is the list updated to this exact moment:

Karkat Vantas (Homestuck [As if the clarifications were necessary])

Harry Du Bois (Disco Elysium)

Daniel James Fenton/Danny Phantom (Danny Phantom)

Evelyn Wang (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

The Warden (Superjail)

Perseus Jackson (Percy Jackson & The Olympians)

You can bet your ass I'm completely forgetting someone. I'm pretty sure of that. I constantly have to remind myself of writting down my favorite movies/series/books/music/etc because I'm one disco night of completely forget who the fuck I am.

Everyone of these pieces of shit are crucial puzzle pieces in the way I think of myself and the world. (Ok, that sounds waaaaaaaaaay deeper than it actually is, but whatever).

Karkat Vantas: God damn it. I mean. How not to love him. He's so brave and silly and crazy and mean and full of love for his friends and full of hate for everything. When I think about "putting blorbo in situations" he's the one because is so fucking funny. I want to push him in a washing machine (full cycle) and then give him a party. About fanart, I specially like the ones where he's smiling. After the chaos Homestuck was and even before with Alternia's death traps, I really (REALLY) want him to be happy. And here me out, I'm aromantic so I don't really relate a lot with romantic crushes and stuff BUT that stupid animation of him hate-falling for Egbert broke my heart. The music, the MUSIC!!!. AAAAAAAAAAAAAA. (However, Dave Strider is another cool dude, and seeing them together is the only thing that still makes me want a romantic relationship).

Harry Du Bois: I like to think about Karkat when I need comfort in my life, but the real deal in that place is for Harry. During the game I was so attached to him that when I found out about the hobocop (sleep outside, specially the trash bin thing), I was pretty sure I was going to cry if that happened. Harry is hilarious and I love him. Is a fucking mess and the most sad wet pathetic cat (I don't care about Vriska). I tried to make the best person out of Harry. Be kind, be gentle. Go to sleep and don't abuse drugs, caring for himself and for others. "You can live Harry!" I used to whisper. Now, when I find myself at 3:00 am feeling empty, drinking unhealthy dosis of coffee and energy drinks, without having taken a bath in a week I think of him. And I cry.

Daniel James Fenton/Danny Phantom: This one is slightly creepy. When I was a boy I used to have very non-traumatic thoughts like "what would happen if I died?", "would someone care?". I used to imagine myself as a ghost wandering through my funeral. And OH BOY! You can bet your ass I used to think about Danny too. Not quite dead, not quite alive. And turns out I wasn't the only one! Hahaha. A quick check of the #Corpse AU tag and holy shit. The Phandom is doing horrible things to this kid and I'm here for that. I don't have those thoughts anymore (at least not that recurrently). I like his silliness, and specially, the theme of identity. Have you ever imagined what it must be like to hold your own skull? Visit your own grave? He's the one I make suffer the most (as a way to process my own dark thoughts), hahaha, but as the others, I imagine for him a happy life. (Even if your corpse is rotting in Amity's forest).

Evelyn Wang: Until last year, I did not have a favorite movie either. That changed after 10 minutes of EEAAO. I have watched this movie at least 50 times just in the following 3 months and I cry every time. If I told you about Evelyn, what should I tell you? I love how she's a little of shit at the beggining. And I look through her eyes, wondering "what if?". I'm in my 20's but everything seems so possible. Being an architect, devouring the world, dying in a traffic accident. Everything is happening at the same time and I feel that I'm falling behind. Her journey is finding the empathy that she lacked to embrace her life. Glimpses of other worlds. A buffet of possibilities and choices. Full of inconditional love. You can look at my cover photo: Is Rock Evelyn, and her phrase "There are no rules" will forever be in my heart (and hopefully, in my skin this year). She made me want to live. (Oh my god, I'm about to cry again). And, as a extra. I know the DMS-V ADHD syptoms from memory and watching the movie was like playing bingo. I'm sorry Percy, but EVELYN? Girl, you don't have ADHD. You ARE the ADHD!

The Warden: He may be the one I care the least, in a intimate sense. BUT JESUS CHRIST!!! The energy this goof has is obnoxious. Fire, hell and rainbows. Oh boy! OH BOY OH BOY OH BOY OH BOY OH BOY OH BOY OH BOY OH BOY OH BOY OH BOY OH BOY!!!! (And the mannerisms god lord. I want to steal his gender)

Percy Jackson: And finally, the first character I had a deep relationship with. I mean, I never was sooooo into him. He made me realize that MAYBE I wasn't what we call "straight" hashahsha. (I feel you Nico). Another goof you may say, but I really like the way the prophecy is handled about him , like the gallow of his own death. I don't have something particular for heroes, but he was a very important part of my life (the books in general) when I was a kid. I used to felt them as a part of myself in a way that I usually slept hugging them. I refused for a long time to read the last chapter of The Last Hero because that would be like throwing the last shovel of dirt in the grave of a childhood friend. Because that's what he's to me.

All these people are idiots, have menatl issues and need a hug. What else can I tell you? Probably before I see the last movie of Spiderverse, The Spot may be here too. But probably more related to The Warden than the others.

I guess you can learn more about what type of guy I am through these characters and my relationship with them. [Thx for reading]. (I'd love to learn about yours too).

(That's it baby! Front view picures! Everyone! Smile for the photo! [They're so done ahshahs])

[selamat-linting]

parts 2 of my previous homestuck post, now on to the things i find silly!

-yaoi tournament will live free forever in my head. so as the horse cock. this is the worst thing hussie has ever done. i legit did not know it was an actual horse cock like i think it was just a giant blue dildo 😭😭😭😭

-the dancestors are really lame people like oh my god. beforus kids are giant dorks i cant believe their alternia counterparts are so badass like, take aranea and mindfang. just look at the contrast. first one is a nerd who would pay people for attention and the other is a girlboss who doesnt give a shit.

-one thing i do like from kankri is that he gave us plenty if funny karkat suffers joke. i love how this loser makes karkat do the walter white face lmaoooo he just cant get a break is he?

-and penis ouija!!! god why is he like that? everytime karkat is on screen i feel secondhand embarrassment like. i cant believe i shared classpects with this guy. why are you biting dave's cape are you in kindergarten? worst of all i think i've done something similarly embarrassing in school. thats it im changing my classpect im a knight of light from now on fuck off.

-still, thats not as horrible as rose's fuckup with her date. oh my god somebody gives her a chill pill she is going to lick herself bald like a stressed kitten. which is really funny because she and kanaya seems so... not nervous when talking to each other. you'd think their date would be a normal casual discussion between two awesome self assured girls. No its not. theyre both have gotten good at looking like theyre not close to exploding. but we all know none of them are Hinged.

-And oh, tavris they are doing you both dirty. like, its an improvement that vriska actually says something positive to him and that tavros did speak up against her at some points. but the narrative doesnt really want them to grow as a person. i think hussie has gotten too attached to vriska the unapologetic thief of light to the point that its reflecting badly on her and other's character development. okay fine i did say i wont take it seriously, but im a writer too. ofc i will notice the issues.

- this might be an unpopular opinion but i like the elevatorstuck music. gamzee is like, getting close to be my scrunkly like i know he does atrocities but he is really funny when doing it.

-the lands for the alpha kids are really fascinating. its less lively than the beta kids but im glad i actually get to experience the puzzles they have to solve on quests and its relations with the players' classpect. i want to see jane fulfilling her planets wish to be green and fertile. she gets too much shit talk from caliborn so i want to see her get a win yknow? and she's so goofy like her beta counterpart i want to see her happy and silly like egbert too.

-speaking of egbert, im kinda worried for him. can you believe it? he doesnt like con air anymore. i've been in his phase of starting to lose all joy in things i used to like and feeling lonely even with people around me and its not pretty. i know he went through a lot. i hope the experience with the dream bubble would make him happier even if just for a bit

-and another beta kids i want to be sad about: davesprite! he's so alone. all of his friends from the timeline is gone, he's not the main dave anymore and john keeps treating him like a replacement. its like he's relegated to a nobody who happens to have a recognizable face. poor guy.

-and to be sad again, i know i made fun of karkat a lot, but i have the biggest parental instinct for him. aside from terezi. he's the biggest crier out of the group. he's shouty and annoying but thats very much the kind of annoying shit that children do yknow? at first i dont like him because of his attitude to jade, but slowly i did warm up to him. he never really hated anybody and most of his tantrums are generally harmless to other people. in fact, he blames himself a lot about things that are out of his control. he's the one with the least body count from the rest of the trolls and he literally had to grew up hunted and unwanted by society. i want to give him a hug, i truly do.

-okay back to fanboying. roxy!!!! shit. man i adore that she has an aura that makes any surveillance camera blackout nearby. yes, girl, BECOME UNGOVERNABLE.

-and i cant believe im saying this, but i miss sollux. at first i was just joking about finding him interesting because he has my star sign and is good at coding but yeah. i do miss the guy. where is he really?

[funboxsupreme]

okay, if you started with setting up the Vriska of 40k, then one of the three or four obvious next steps is, who's the Tavros of 40k?

That's harder to define if only because "Vriska" as an archetype is extremely well-known and unique, so trying to draw parallels with whomst is a Tavros is going to be drawing comparisons between how I personally view Tavros and his place in Homestuck's story/fandom and whichever character in 40k I think fits that vibe.

For Tavros... Man Tavros is one of those characters people either ignored or only thought about in relation to Vriska, and for some reason his treatment at her hands is either justified or ignored. I recall early on a lot of people thought he was annoying or rooted for him because he was basically the most unluckiest kid in the troll group. So he was kind of the cringefail boy of the time whos misfortune was memed on but he still had his dedicated fans (love them btw)

TBH, my gut is saying Mortarion? Because he's not the most popular, extremely unlucky, and people seem to disregard his suffering in the canon or treat him as just an unlikable/unlucky guy who's grumpy for no reason (he has a good reason). His fans are so dedicated though, love that for them.

[crappy-homestuck-confessions]

Headcanon Anon with the kids' behaviors during 1 on 1 interviews!

John-Struggles to sit still; loves rambling about his hobbies and often has to be reminded to stick to the topic at hand; most interviews end without the interviewer learning anything substantial. Rose-Suffers from social anxiety so this comes across as her being very cold and unexpressive in interviews; gives curt, honest replies that seeks to end the interview as soon as possible; can be led into confessing to a murder if the interviewer is good enough. Dave-Lies blatantly, especially if it can be quickly disproven with a Google search or if it contradicts prior information, even if that prior information was given in the same interview; wears the same expression and will not take off his shades even if the lights went out. Jade-Talks enthusiastically about projects but gets a bit mum when the topic turns personal; doesn't believe that she's interesting enough to talk about and tries to veer the topic back to projects. Terezi-Trolls the interviewer throughout the whole interview and asks more questions about them than answering the questions about themselves; enjoys making interviewers cry. Kanaya-Is polite and answers to the best of her ability; she has to be warned by employers to not break any NDAs regardless of how honest she wants to be. Tavros-Is nervous throughout the interviews and is prone to repeating himself or the interviewer. Karkat-Can start off polite but has a tendency to go into rants that he can't be stopped during; the original topic tends to be forgotten. Sollux-Clams up and stares until they go away. Feferi-Prefers to do interviews while active, such as swimming, rock climbing or driving a car; gabs on and on and has to remember not to digress too much. Eridan-Keeps the interview focused on himself and tends to drag them out for as long as possible. Nepeta-Gets easily distracted and will fidget around; tends to only be interested in answering the most technical of questions or anything relating to romance on the project. Equius-Loves talking and has to be stopped by the interviewer when he runs out of time; tends to stick to one topic and gives its entire history regardless of whether it's relatable to the project. Meenah-Messes with the interviewer's stuff regardless of complaints; tends to leave suddenly if bored. Vriska-Will leave if the interviewer dares to talk about anything else other than her; flips a table regardless of whether she finishes or not. Jane-Is polite and formal; does best during cooking interviews. Jake-Tries his best but can have trouble being understood; might need to be guided throughout the entire interview to get anything substantial out of him. Roxy-Jokes/flirts with the interviewer; always tries to make sure both of them are having fun. Dirk-Answers correctly if he cares, lies blatantly if he thinks it's a waste of time; any attempt to catch him off guard ends with him leaving. Aradia-grins through the whole thing like Danny Elfman; it's left a mystery if whether she answers with the truth or with a lie. Gamzee-Is relaxed; tends to meander and ramble about nothing for no reason though. Damara-Just smokes through the interview; annoyed enough, she'll begin to proposition the interviewer. Rufioh-Answers as best as he can; often makes friends with the interviewer.

.

[autumnblogs]

Day 44: Preoccupied about the same things as Trolls, revisited

Welcome back y’all! Before we get into this, I want to talk about the Condesce/Meenah as a parallel character to Mom Lalonde/Roxy. You can read a bit about @mmmmalo​‘s takes on Openbound, and why they think that Meenah is symbolically Roxy’s Doppelganger here.

I want to call attention to some specific similarities between them, and while I think it’s a bit of a stretch, Homestuck draws parallels between characters all the time.

Both the Condesce and Mom Lalonde are matriarch figures estranged from their potential offspring by dire circumstances and servitude to a patriarchal authority and his time-spanning plan - for the Condesce, that’s English obviously, but for Mom Lalonde, that’s Grandpa Harley - servitude to his design renders her a wreck of an alcoholic forced to endure the end of days with no means to stop them from happening, living with a daughter who wants nothing to do her.

Both Meenah and Roxy are rebels against a repressive order, inclined to shirk their assigned Role in service to someone else’s master plan, but ultimately, through some roundabout means or another, give service to it anyway (for Meenah, scratching the game, and ultimately ending up English’s glorified slave for eons in the end; for Roxy, at first refusing to play Sburb in hopes of spiting the Batterwitch, but ultimately ending up playing into her schemes anyway).

They are both rebellious spirits who are repeatedly forced to participate in Paradox Space’s Alpha Timeline all but against their will by hegemonic forces, slaves to a system that they exist in perpetual rebellion against, and by the end of the comic, they both get to help strike a decisive blow against the ultimate foe. Unfortunately, unlike Roxy, Meenah is ultimately the kind of person who chooses at practically every occasion to continue cycles of abuse instead of breaking them. There is ultimately no possibility of reconciliation between these estranged sisters.

So, I see a lot of the Alpha Kids in the four Alpha Trolls who appear in this flash. As the Faux Heroic Himbo, the parallel between Rufioh and Jake is obvious. I don’t think that it’s fair to characterize Jake’s relationship with Dirk as being “cheating on Jane,” though that’s probably how Jane feels about the whole situation; I’ve always gotten the impression she feels entitled to him.

More after the break.

The imagery here is an obvious parallel between Jake and Dirk’s big damn kiss, and Rufioh and Horuss’s - but between Rufioh’s bravado and general obliviousness, and Horuss’s clear triangular parallel with Dirk and Equius, we should expect that the situation is switched here - Dirk = Horuss, Rufioh = Jake.

While it could easily just be a bit of extraneous characterization, I’m inclined to regard Rufioh’s characterization of the women in his life as “Dolls” especially because of his symbolic proximity to Lord English. (He is at best one degree of separation from him, as Jake English’s Alpha Troll Doppelganger) - and the fact that Puppets and Dolls are pretty much synonymous with each other in terms of the way that English interacts with them.

More extremely obvious parallels.

Both of the Zahhaks have hangups about dating down the Hemospectrum, and as long as we’re examining Dirk through the lens of the Zahhaks, allow me to speculate; I think that part of the reason Dirk chooses not to directly identify with the label of gay is less aloofly progressive futurism, and more that he is uncomfortable with his own sexuality.

As a guy who repeatedly appeals to reactionary ideals and rhetorical devices like “Western Civilization,” “Reason,” “Logic,” maybe there is a degree to which we can read Horuss and Equius’ self-repression through the haemospectrum into Dirk suffering from internalized Homophobia.

This is a real long shot, but I’ve always gotten the impression that Dirk is a bit of a bottom. Maybe his desire in building up Jake into a powerful counterpart, like English’s desire to transform Jake into a powerful rival, is built out of a desire to be Oedipally usurped by a former pupil - to have his Eromenos turn the tables, and become the Erastes in turn, in power-dynamic terms.

In Classical Civilization, homosexual relations weren’t unheard of, and were pretty reasonably common, but it was seen as shameful to bottom, especially for someone of a lower social standing than you were (Julius Caesar was mocked as the Queen of Bithynia when it was rumored that he bottomed for Nicomedes IV, which was a serious attack on his political career).

Wild speculative tangent over.

Now this is interesting; Meenah is unwittingly drawing a parralel between Damara and Vriska. The main commonality between them is that, like Vriska (and also like Rose, and also like Jane - who is the fourth and final character in this particular set) her spite and resentment is used as the vector for English’s manipulation of their setting.

Like Vriska, Damara deliberately sabotages the ability of her session members to win, helping to create a powerful foe who forces a session to be scratched.

Like Rose, Damara descends into nihilistic substance abuse to cope with feelings of emptiness.

Like Jane, Damara’s actual feelings of emptiness come about as a result of feelings of rejection in relation to betrayal from within her close friendship circle.

Ironically, while Damara’s reaction is far worse than Jane’s, her anger is actually probably far more understandable - Jane is not entitled to Jake.

The situation between Horuss and Rufioh is also similar to what will resolve between Jake and Dirk shortly - they are just basically incompatible, or at least they will be until both parties do some work on themselves, but a combination of an oblivious party who can’t stop talking about himself, and social timidity on the part of the other prevents the situation from resolving amicably.

“As Long As I Know That I Am Free”

Sometimes, encountering our ancestors doesn’t have to be a source of tension, anxiety, expectation, and fear. Porrim models parental love for Kanaya in a way that, unusually for ancestors in Homestuck, is purely beneficial for her younger counterpart.

It’s okay to identify with roles and identities that have been corrupted or hegemonized by our culture. There’s nothing intrinsically bad about being a man, or about being a woman, as long as our embodiment of those roles is emancipatory to us.

Kanaya can still be a Mom, if that’s what she wants to be. Violence and money aren’t the only form that power can take.

Sometimes, learning the right lessons is just a matter of pausing for a second and being critical of all narratives; deciding for ourselves what we want to be. It’s the lesson that Porrim has to teach Kanaya.

This is just objectively true.

Aranea positions Rufioh as both a foil to Cronus, and to herself, further strengthening the Jake as Rufioh parallels.

What I think is really interesting about all this, is if we want to read the other three trolls as Jake, Dirk, and Jane, that makes Meenah the Roxy of this group! And while Roxy has never been vicious or deliberately cruel, there’s a certain resonance between her persistent hassling of Jane, her meddling in the Jake English Sweepstakes, and the disaster that it provokes, and Meenah’s bullying - I even early on in my first readthrough took a disliking to Roxy because of what I viewed as exactly that - bullying her counterparts, assertively trying to get them to behave the way she wanted.

https://homestuck.com/story/5401

Oh man, where to even begin with Karkat riding off into the Penis Sunset. Like, the Sun in relation to Dave is persistently an icon of Bro’s surveillance of him, and then there’s his burgeoning affection for Karkat (he mentions story time with Karkat in the third Openbound suggesting that he actually took Karkat up on his offer to read through trashy Troll Romance).

Like, there’s probably something in Dave’s troubled psyche that’s on display here but damn if I know what it is. Maybe he’s ruminating on the fact that Bro would probably not be too accepting of his relationship with Karkat, hence the juxtaposition of the symbol of Bro’s hostility with the imagery of Karkat riding a dick?

https://homestuck.com/story/5404

I don’t really need to explicate much on what Rose is trying to say, I think but just in case, here’s a little rundown of what she’s trying to explain.

The apple is a symbol of an irreducible idea. Many ideas are reducible - as molecules are reducible to atoms, and atoms are reducible to quarks and stuff, so are ideas reducible to increasingly more abstracted and basic units.

The closer to notionally irreducible a thing becomes, the more difficult it becomes to express an idea, until at last, that which is truly irreducible resolves, and reveals to us the true, intrinsic nature of reality. For every complex idea, we can refer to more fundamental ideas, until at last, we arrive at an idea, which when probed, responds back simply, “It just does that.”

This, I think, is that to which we ought to give the name of God; that force so fundamental that it truly does just do that.

In the world of Homestuck, Symbols, and with them, Rituals - stories! Are manifestations of the primeval and irreducible ideas. Everything else is a universe in orbit around the Divine - the Aspects themselves, perhaps, or something more fundamental than the Aspects even.

What makes reducing these stories to the irreducible principles that they allude to so difficult is that you’re effectively trying to explain the electromagnetic force by comparing it to rubber bands, when in fact, the electromagnetic force is what makes the rubber bands behave that way in the first place.

As a Ritual, Rose’s drinking is pretty similar to John’s Dad roleplaying - an attempt at unity with Her Mom. Another empty signifier.

https://homestuck.com/story/5405

Dave is already really embracing his new role as the actually most sincere and straightforward member of the party. Lovin’ it.

It’s kind of nice that Aradia and Vriska are getting along now. That’s gratifying for personal reasons.

Ah yeah, I forgot that was ever addressed officially.

https://homestuck.com/story/5435

The man

HASS the ring.

https://homestuck.com/story/5440

And with the depressingly empty Void session established via a single flash, we shall conclude for the evening.

Tomorrow, we’ll get to know our little villain.

For now, it’s Cam signing off, Alive, and a little Annoyed that I wasted a couple hours playing the Outriders Demo this afternoon. Seriously, what an aesthetically bleak and kind of mediocre-looking class-based cover shooter.

[bladekindeyewear]

Boots Reads Homestuck Epilogue(s) Part 15 - Candy Page 34

==>

John finally decides to let the relevance of his story end, and enjoy that he’s made at least some of his other friends happy with his choice.  Time to read Page 34...

VRISKA: Pfft, yeah, wh8tever. I’m basically Immortal, bitch.

Preeeetty sure you’re confusing yourself with one of your parents.

Pff, actual healthy kismesis with a Tavros?  Wow, we’re getting all sorts of redemption by not-really-Vriska proxy here.

HARRY ANDERSON: he’s always getting all weepy whenever i talk to him anyway. HARRY ANDERSON: i don’t think i could have taken another round of him choking back tears while apologizing to me about “what happened with me and your mother, harry.” HARRY ANDERSON: i mean, god. he’s not even fucking DRUNK when he does this. HARRY ANDERSON: that might actually be the most embarrassing part.

.......

Okay, having grown up with a father who suffered from serious depression and would break into tears embarrassingly easily, uh.  I can relate?  But also fuck you, that’s inconsiderate.

--Dammit, new Vriska is catching wind of old Vriska.

Vriska and (Vriska) both start shrieking at a pitch John’s only ever heard one time before. It was a sound that once accompanied the end of everything. A sound once heard the night he dreamt in anime.

Oh that’s brilliant.  If the entire Candy arc ended here it’d be great, though I know it’s not quite over yet.

==>

...Oh shit, we actually get to see what happens immediately next.

Interesting introspective thoughts!  Or, trying her best NOT to be introspective and failing.

Oh my god, SHUT UP Gamzee.  Vriska, just kill him already??

PFFF HE SENT A PIC OF IT TO KARKAT :D

Pfff.  Yeah, Vriska, TRY and ignore what just happened and how it was almost entirely your idea.

(Vriska) is so furious, she has no way of pinpointing the exact moment her intent stopped being intimidating him into silence and started being guaranteeing his silence, forever.

Thank FUCKING goodness, PLEASE kill him.

YAY he’s dead! :D  (Even though he’ll probably revive anyway because bullshit.)

Heheh. NOW we get a cross-Vriska heart to heart.

==>

Alright, a bit more John moping.  Man... this Candy section is a whole lot easier to swallow AFTER Meat than I imagine it would have been before.

.....heck.  EITHER of these epilogue branches are really fucking hard to swallow the first time around without the other’s context.

Oh huh, it’s his house from the Medium then?  Relocated and stuff?

Jake, hm.  Is Jake going to try and leave his son with John like that failed kidnapping in reverse or?

Jake snaps the elastic on his pair of red underpants. It’s the only thing he’s wearing.

Oooookay then.

JAKE: She had a certain way she liked me kipped out and well, i didnt want to bring anything that belonged to her when i left. Nothing she er, might miss. TAVROS: You took me,

Jake winces.

TAVROS: And,,, you took you,

Jake’s wince deepens.

Oh, so that’s what this is!  Jake fleeing with his son from an abusive relationship.  About gosh darn time.  .....geez, how bad did it get for JAKE to finally muster the gumption to do that himself after all these years???

Jake is one whole wince now

I know THAT feeling.  Or at least feel like I do.

John you dedicate your life to keeping this child happy

JOHN: it’s just been kind of a rough forever.

:C

JAKE: Maybe you should blame me? JAKE: Maybe i need someone to blame me. For once. JOHN: ...huh? JAKE: I think im starting to realize that ive been going through life with the mindset that nothing has ever really been within my control.

YES.

This is how Vriska broke Tavros way back in the comic, by constantly denying him agency.  Jake’s been battered down the same way too, and it’s not too late to pick up the reins.  He’s already DONE that by finally leaving his genocidal wife.

There’s a bit of Page of Hope-yness to this whole disastrous Candy timeline, come to think of it?  People fulfilling others’ desires out of obligation constantly, doing what they think others want?  Roxy, Jake, Dave and Karkat... all fucked over at the aggressive whims of more active folk, rolling over when they really shouldn’t have?  Or in Roxy’s case, her CHARACTER basically SHOULD NOT HAVE IN THE SLIGHTEST?

JAKE: Havent you ever wanted to let someone make the tough choices for you?

Huh.

Or maybe he is doing exactly what Jake has always done. In a certain light, isn’t ascribing all this mess to some unconscious influence he might have had over the metaphysical shape of reality just a way to brush off his simpler failures as a man and a father?

Yes.  You can act and change this too, John.  You almost did with the kidnapping before!  Go and take down the new Batterwitch.

Hm, Hopey thing?

JAKE: John. JOHN: yeah? JAKE: Take my hand. JOHN: what? why?

Oh shit.  Are they going to be able to FIX some of this BS with some sort of hopey thing??? :D  Probably too much to hope for but still!

Being flung from Jake’s orbit of Hope and Change

Pffff.  Had to throw in an Obama didn’t you.

...Oh.  Oh wow.  Oh we get to figure out what the fuck was up with Roxy all this time.  Oh boy.

JAKE: So what if it doesnt change anything? Wont it matter to your family to see you care? JAKE: Wont it make you feel better to try?

:D

Heheh, Hope aspecty stuff.  The ability to believe that something matters even when you “know” it doesn’t.

==>

...Yeah, it’s pretty easy to relax on a dead Gamzee.

Oh cool.  These Vriskas are alike enough to bond!  New Vriska is still in her teenage unbalanced go-for-it stage, and old Vriska has been knocked down a peg by the clown incident, putting them on a close enough level to not want to instantly disown each other, unlike old Vriska and ghost Vriska.

VRISKA: The Mayor’s dead, dude.

HOW did the Mayor die?!??  Did I just FORGET that from the end of Homestuck or something??

(I mean, probably.)

Callback to the clouds in that first Jade dream John had.

(VRISKA): Or may8e the truth just makes me kind of nervous. VRISKA: What “Truth”? (VRISKA): Don’t tell him I said this, 8ut, I think John is just an extremely powerful 8eing. Even when he sucks. (VRISKA): And he certainly does appear to suck in this reality. (VRISKA): And yet, the uneasy feeling is there. (VRISKA): It’s a vague feeling I’ve had in the 8ack of my mind for a long time, 8ut it really hit me when I was talking to him earlier. (VRISKA): It’s distur8ing to think a8out that much power 8ottled up in one stupid nerd who’ll never understand it. VRISKA: What Power are you even talking a8out? VRISKA: Like, lame Wind Powers? (VRISKA): No, I mean... (VRISKA): The power to shape reality. Even without intending to.

FUCK did he really cause all this??? Even the Roxy shit?!???  D:  D:  D:

It’s being left vague but it IS sounding like John was actually RIGHT about all that stuff.  FUCK, if the “villain” who messed up Roxy is actually just John’s subconscious...  :C

Even if the epilogue ends right here, though, with John about to call Roxy, I can imagine it working out, though.  It’s on a right enough track there.

(VRISKA): I’ve spent so long caring so much a8out what other people thought of me. Mainly that they saw me as important, or making a “difference.”

Mhmm mhmm.  Light n stuff.

Yeah, realizing that importance isn’t ALL that’s “important” is really, um.  Important.  Ahem.

Hm, other Vriska, that smile had seven pairs of dots, not eight.  :?

(VRISKA): The POINT is, I was so mad at her. (VRISKA): That happy ghost version of myself, who was free of everything. (VRISKA): I was pro8a8ly mad 8ecause she got to 8e who she really was, without stressing a8out it, which is something I never felt like I was allowed to have.

Indeed.

(VRISKA): I guess I mean there’s someone specifically I fell out of touch with, who it feels like I’ll never see again.

Too bad, only ghost Vriska got her reunite with ‘Rezi.  :P

(VRISKA): On some level I knew she was right. She was happy and honest with herself. And that’s what made her... (VRISKA): A version of myself who was actually worthy of someone I cared a8out.

Yyyep.  As I said.  :)

VRISKA: You’re just talking a8out The Girl You 8linded that one time, aren’t you? (VRISKA): Ummmmmmmm.

Heheh.  Yeah, you’re not going to hide that sort of thing from your sharp near-clone.

Oh cool!  She gets to see all those messages and feel turboguilt or something.

...oh shit.  Is a message going to actually get to her?  It-- oh shit.  Didn’t Terezi have her phone buzzing in her pocket and ignored it in the end of Meat or something?  Or at SOMEONE did and I thought it conspicuous but it didn’t get addressed in that side of the story and-- FFFFuck is she eventually going to see it or??!  D:

She’s GOT to have seen it before running all the way off with villain Dirk, right?? D:

==>

Okay.  You seem to be thinking clearly, Roxy.  What’s going through your head? Give us some answers.  Don’t fuck this up too much, John.

but she knows by now that it’s not her job to make him happy. That was something she gave up on years ago. But wanting to? That feeling is still as fresh as it always was.

FUCK was this all just a placid feeling of obligation to make John happy for all he did to ensure victory or something??? D: D: D:

She’s still working through what she feels about distancing herself from Jane

Yesssss

If he’s truly about to be real with her for the first time in forever,

Gosh fucking DARNIT John, you could have fixed all this DECADES AGO if you had a real talk with her ONCE!!!!!

ROXY: the more i thought abt it the more i figured holdin on to that one thing made me lose out on some other shit ROXY: u might relate JOHN: haha, you got me there i guess.

:c

JOHN: i’ve been doing a lot of thinking about how things got to be like they are. JOHN: i guess i’ll just come out and say it. JOHN: i completed fucked up your entire life. JOHN: i’m not going to pretend like there are two sides here. it’s my bad, totally. JOHN: like, not just what happened to our marriage, though it’s also true that that’s completely my fault. JOHN: but even before that... JOHN: i think i fucked up on just this massive, fundamental level, and it’s what i did— JOHN: or, well, what i didn’t do— JOHN: that caused every stupid bullshit thing about the way this world is.

...Huh.

That may not actually be true, and Roxy might be about to prove how self-absorbedly reductive that is.

ROXY: oh nah ill stop u rite there my man

Okay YES.  If this wasn’t him, then SET HIM THE FUCK STRAIGHT.  :D

She knows more than he does, and she doesn’t need to hear it.

TELL US TELL US TELL US

YES TEAR INTO HIM he’s wanted that for so long stand up for yourself and tell us what the fuck happened and why

He’s been looking at her, really looking at her, and she doesn’t want to blink, just in case that shatters it.

Yes because he was looking for the real Roxy that would call out his BS

JOHN: i used to be so angry that you wouldn’t tell me what you really thought, before. JOHN: not like i wanted to FIGHT fight, but like. JOHN: i’m just not used to this flavor of roxy. ROXY: hm ROXY: sounds to me like u just disproved ur own hotshot theory then genius JOHN: huh? ROXY: you wished i was one way the whole time we were married ROXY: but i wasnt

YES!!! Yes his theory’s disproven!  He never WANTED Roxy to just act that way, he wasn’t the cause of this, I was hoping for that!  :D

ROXY: i was bad at standin up for myself then and im learnin to be good at it now

D:

That’s....... sad, if that’s the explanation.  But it’s better than mind control I guess.  :(

JOHN: but... JOHN: you were never like that before i... ROXY: dude ROXY: where tf do u get off trying to decide what is or isnt me being “like me” enuff ROXY: do u think ppl stay the same their whole damn lives or what

Oh wow.  Now Andrew’s slamming SLAMMING of fanfics.  He’s saying “who are you to know for SURE that they wouldn’t act that way”??  That’s pretty good.

ROXY: i like the way things turned out just fuckin fine ROXY: so maybe u could stop wastin precious eternity thinkin ur so special that its ur fault everyones not perfectly happy

:’)

Mhmm, and they’re free from the heroic design arcs or what have you.  Or... were, until Dirk tore them back in again.  Tossed aside their fucking victory with his selfish... ugh.

Mhmm, Roxy’s the perfect person to explain that not being in a canon, Light-filled timeline isn’t really a bad thing.

ROXY: i just do things the best way i think to do em and then shrug n hope it works out?

Roxy thinks about time and the spirals of choice that hang just outside her periphery, and the vertigo grows.

Good advice, and hm.  Maybe there’s some Void sight kind of playing into this as well, making it easy for her to get paralyzed by indecision and she’s had to learn to work through it.

...Ooh, that was a really cool non-binary gender diatribe in the narrative text.  That’s some nice stuff.  I felt like that was missing from the Meat side, glad we got it here at least.  :D

JOHN: there’s literally nothing to do but keep moving forward. JOHN: i may as well not be a big fucking downer about it if i don’t have to be.

Thank goodness.

YES, JOHN SHOWING HIMSELF STRAIGHT-BACKED FOR HIS SON!!! :D

Man, I wish my dad had done that instead of all the other shit he did.  At least he’s dead.  :)

(Here’s a hint in case you’re wondering why I was relieved when my Dad offed himself.)

But that’s off topic.  Let’s wrap up this epilogue already!!

==>

Page 39... only three or so pages left, right?

Pff, Karkat’s keeping them safe.

Heheh, more shitty Liberty statues.

Heheh, using them for weapons caches.

Gosh I hope they actually love each other and are mostly happy.  Jade seems happy, at least.  :(

Dammit, there go the doubts.  He wouldn’t have had those doubts with Karkat. :C

He’s standing in the Oval Office of the White House.

Oh heck yes.  Please tell me...

And over there... is something he doesn’t quite recognize. It doesn’t seem to fit in. He steps closer to investigate, wiping away at the layers of moss and dirt to reveal a surface he most certainly does recognize. It’s a transportalizer.

YES

Dave doesn’t waste any time. You don’t find something like this in the Oval Office and start agonizing over whether or not to use it. He steps on the platform, and in a blink his surroundings are completely different. The centuries of overgrowth are gone, and he appears to be in some sort of crypt, boxed in by walls of smooth, golden stone. At the far side of the room, something is hanging on the wall, encased in a sort of display. It’s a mounted god tier costume, about the size an adult male would wear. He recognizes the symbol. It’s the same one Jake used to wear when they were teens. It is the symbol for Hope.

HELL FUCKING YES

YES OBAMA

OBAMA: Hello, Mr. Strider. OBAMA: I’ve been waiting a long time for you to show up.

Dave’s jaw hangs open. The legends have been confirmed. As well as several key headcanons of his. Without thinking, he drops to one knee and bows his head.

DAVE: m... mr president DAVE: its an honor sir

Man, forget my past stomach clenching.  Forget my hesitations, my turbulent emotions, all the ups and downs the various facets of these Epilogue chapters have given me.  THIS is the best.  THIS makes it all worth it.  This is the best thing to have ever happened, and if I ever feel any regrets about ANYTHING that transpired in the Epilogues, I’ll feel infinitely better the moment I remember it gave us THIS.

The most beautiful scene I’ve ever witnessed.  All my liberal, economy-ranting hopes and dreams confirmed.  It’s glorious.

OBAMA: Come on now, Dave. We can’t be having that. OBAMA: I’m nobody’s king. I’m a democratically elected representative who took an oath to serve his country and his people. People like you, Dave. OBAMA: If anything, I should be the one bowing.

OBAMA.  I MISSED YOU OBAMA.  I CAN HEAR YOUR VOICE THROUGH YOUR TEXT AND ITS SO COMFORTING AND UPLIFTING

DAVE: mr president what i mean is im a huge fan of yours and i hope this doesnt sound fucked up but on some level i feel like ive been waiting my whole life for this moment?? OBAMA: I know, Dave.

Yes, yes you have.  Yes, we can.

OBAMA: Most people thought I was gone. But I was keeping an eye on events. OBAMA: Wouldn’t miss it for anything.

I, too, would like to have the feeling that Obama is still out there, keeping an eye on things.  Watching, smiling... providing some last background of Hope as things seem so temporarily sour.  That feeling would be amazing.

...I mean he’s still alive IRL, sure, but not Obama watermark smiling lovingly from the sky or anything like it should be.

Yes, back to reading.  Back to this glorious, definitely canon moment.  The moment we learned that Obama was with us the whole time.  :’)

DAVE: sorry if this is nosy but if you didnt die when you disappeared then how did you die OBAMA: Most of that is classified, Dave.

Pfffffff  :D

OBAMA: When I was a boy living in Hawaii, on my thirteenth birthday I was visited by a mysterious stranger. OBAMA: He was an older man with a mustache. Kind of a corny, old-fashioned, adventuring type. He tried to convince me we were related. Of course, I thought he was full of shit. OBAMA: To this day, I’m not sure about that. Maybe he was. I didn’t think much of his tall tale at the time, but what did pique my interest was his story. OBAMA: He was voyaging all over the Pacific looking for a mysterious island, which supposedly had all the answers he’d spent his whole life searching for. OBAMA: During his travels, he set up outposts all over the ocean to help with his search. Such as one near where I lived as a boy. The outpost had a laboratory, an archeological dig site, a network of underground tunnels, the works. OBAMA: One time, I snuck in there and did some exploration of my own. Somewhere in the maze of underground ruins, I found a transporter pad, just like the one that brought you here. OBAMA: It sent me to a new realm. A place they called the Medium.

Grandpa Jake of Earth A, thank you SO much for bringing us this gift.  The gift of Obama.

OBAMA: Hey, why don’t we take a walk. You’ll have a chance to collect yourself. And there’s something I’d like you to see.

:O :O :O

I am shivering with anticipation.

Ah, leave it to Obama to help Dave with the final steps of his character arc.

OBAMA: Are you sure that’s all he is, Dave?

FIX THINGS OBAMA!!!! :D :D :D

Wait, what if Obama can turn things into an actually legitimate DaveKatJade?  That would be a miracle only a god of Hope could pull off.

OBAMA: I’ve had my share of doubts about all that, just like any other man. OBAMA: And I’ve had plenty of the same kind of struggles as you, Dave. DAVE: wait DAVE: you...

Obama nods, smiles wistfully. Dave arches his eyebrows high above his shades. They stare at each other, and in the look they exchange, they seem to say all that needs to be said between two grown men on the matter.

:’)

OBAMA: Believing is the key to understanding the truth underlying the words, the truth underlying the ideas they represent, and the truth underlying who we are as individuals. OBAMA: The power of belief, the power of Hope, that’s what endows that which is intangible, ephemeral, or uncertain with a sense of reality. OBAMA: It brings focus to the insubstantial, the mirages of the mind, the multiplicity of what is possible, of what could be, and isolates it—concentrates it—to turn it into that which is. OBAMA: And the result of that, Dave, is what we call truth.

I didn’t think we’d be learning more about the Hope aspect straight from the mouth of Barack Obama.

OBAMA: He taught me about many things. Combat, philosophy, life, love... DAVE: love??? DAVE: hold on are you saying DAVE: that...

PFFFFFFFF :D :D :D

OBAMA: She’s settled happily into the specific. That’s her path now. OBAMA: All of you have embraced that life, in this safely sequestered version of planet Earth. OBAMA: All of you until now, Dave. OBAMA: This is why you’re here. OBAMA: I believe you’re ready to wake up. DAVE: ...

:O

...this is suddenly possibly going to be getting slightly sad isn’t it.  D:

--Oh shit, so THIS is where Davebot came from.

How is he going to break things off with Jade though???  D: D: D:

...Oh my GOSH he’s just going to suddenly vanish and abandon her isn’t he.  D:

...alright, merging with his other selves, et cetera...

It defers to its greatest knight, risen anew.

Yeah that’s nice but am I supposed to pretend you’re going to say goodbye to Jade offscreen or

--ah that’s why the bot didn’t have shades, gotta use the genuine Stiller ones

==>

Page 40, and the start of this sounds a lot like the Postscript.  But we’re getting more this time, thank god.

ARADIA: when i watched as everything broke apart ARADIA: and got swallowed up by the black hole ARADIA: which is where i ended up too ARADIA: that black hole... ARADIA: thats basically you right JADE: yes. ARADIA: and when you speak of your brother ARADIA: thats lord english JADE: yes. ARADIA: and hes dead JADE: not just yet.

Oh shit.  John’s final blow didn’t kill Lord English did it.  Alt!Callie is going to strike the very last killing blow herself isn’t she.

JADE: lesser beings have so much trouble perceiving divinity in the uncanny.

Divinity?  Like, Lollipop-style divinity?  I mean, I guess this IS the Candy branch...?  But what made this so “perfect” to begin with?

JADE: this world, unlike the canonical horrors from which it is hermetically insulated, will always fail to meet the combined criteria for truth, relevance, and essentiality that would endow this realm with any real gravity. JADE: its own naturally occurring supply of gravity, rather than the artificial supply i have given it. JADE: as such, what transpires here is characterized by experiential frivolity. JADE: physically, it is cordoned off by the black hole’s event horizon. it is safe. untouchable. JADE: inescapable. ARADIA: that sounds ominous

Oh.  So this outside-of-canon timeline-verse whatever that Candy takes place in is like a trap?  For Lord English to be trapped in forever, inside not just his OWN story like we thought before but into a place where he’ll be forever irrelevant, while, like... the “Prince” and others following him for pursuit or camaraderie reasons manage to escape somewhere even different?  --No wait those people are OUTSIDE this place, in the “real” timeline/universe of Earth C. So Dirk’s destination is somewhere completely different; oh, and alt!Callie is the only one with the power to escape the black hole, to bring Davebot and Aradia with her back to quote-unquote “canon” or the closest thing to it to bring bastard Dirkbro down.

Or... something.

JADE: one could describe it as a phantasmal projection confined within my horizon. JADE: it was created by a choice that made it possible for that horizon to expand infinitely, to consume infinitely. JADE: and since that choice could not coexist with canon events, this place manifested to here to support its consequences. JADE: if this world were capable of anything either essential, relevant, or true in some stable combination, then it would perpetuate a corrosive paradox. JADE: as such, insulation from what is out there, and the inescapable well it rests in, is what protects all it holds inside. JADE: and since i am the embodiment of the black hole in which it rests, JADE: i am the one protecting this world.

Oh huh.  So when we saw alt!Callie creating the black hole out of the Sun, she was actually using John’s “choice” and his timeline split to engineer the paradox that drove that singularity’s expansion?  And so she’s going to be the lord and safeguard of all that is Non-Canon, and also seek to guide the heroes trying to save what IS Canon?

Hm!

JADE: physical destruction is one thing. JADE: obliteration of the entire canvas for all of reality over a given cosmic span is another. JADE: and yet there are even more insidious forms of destruction and subversion of life to consider. JADE: methods that are difficult to grasp for those on your plane.

Yep, destroying Heart.  Destroying Soul.  Destroying the uniqueness that drives individual agency and choices, and suborning people completely to your will and ideals without their consent or choice.

Hmm....

JADE: but longer stories have the power to draw consciousness into them. they possess arresting and hypnotic qualities which can be used by their tellers to alter the awareness of the listener.

Yep, like a biased narrator with their claws on the > prompt for characters.

JADE: i brought to your attention that the story you were listening to had a speaker with a specific identity. JADE: and where there is an identity, there can also be an agenda.

Yep yep.  And by commandeering the story to his own agenda, Dirk’s been robbing everyone of a fundamental right to their own existences.

JADE: this is the sort of corruption i now must dedicate my existence in this new body to ending once and for all.

Heck Yes; returning the narrative to as objective a speakerless-ness as can be attained or simulated, and divesting the bias from agenda’d narrators that can wrest all control from the participants in a story, enslaving them and making them the author’s puppets instead of true to themselves as characters, people, etc.

--Oh my GOSH, was Dead!Jade eating the remains of Lord English at the end of that Postscript???  She was, wasn’t she?  :D :D :D

That’s pretty fucking awesome.  And a pretty fucking fair fate for him to get cannibalized by his sister.

JADE: consume his body. JADE: absorb his essence. JADE: and then using this host, i will generate enough power to move beyond the staggering pull of the event horizon encasing this world. JADE: a prison of my own making, which can be escaped only through the supreme unification with my other half. JADE: it is crucial to the cosmos that i succeed. JADE: the prince of heart has to be stopped.

:D :D :D :D :D

Pretty awesome!  A decent setup to a story that probably shouldn’t be told, the implied sequel that Meat invites up or whatever.  And... oh phew.

Oh PHEW.

OH FUCKING PHEW. HOLD ON.

So.  The very last line of the epilogue, the last bit:

The hole leaves behind an absence in the sky so calm that continuing to call it a sky wouldn’t seem to do it justice. It’s a perfectly neutral expanse into which anything one can imagine might be summoned. And for a while, anything was. But not anymore. Where the hole gaped just moments ago, there now exists an imaginary line.

Above this line resides all that matters. Below exists all else. Never again the twain shall meet.

Okay!  :D :D :D

So, when I read that last line, I was INCREDIBLY disheartened.  I thought that Andrew was declaring that canon would never interfere with anything again, that this was the FINAL WORD on Homestuck and everything to do with it as far as canon was concerned, and that Dirk’s crimes and such would forever go unresolved and left to the imagination.

But that’s not what the line meant.

What’s INSIDE the singularity, and thus “under” the imaginary line, is everything non-canon, all the possibility and fanfiction and dead ghosts and such who are trapped in this safeguarded realm alt!Callie created to protect them, away from the influence of any future plot danger beyond the mundane issues they create for themselves.

And what’s OUTSIDE the singularity, above the line, is canon.  A canon which actually continues, and which this line doesn’t necessarily cut short.

I don’t know if Andrew will ever continue this nonsense, maybe to show me a Rose who’s actually happy as a robot or something?  But... er, that’s not the point.  The point is that even though the story “isn’t over”, it’s left so it CAN continue, so that the final state of these ISN’T a permanent cliffhanger to be left forever unfulfilled intentionally.  I’ll still be traumatized by the state some of these characters are left in, until Andrew maybe possibly chooses to resolve some of this nonsense with later content, which he probably won’t.  Heck, this actually might be easier for him to create a new work with, given how much baggage has been left behind on old Earth and in the singularity, so all you have is a much relatively smaller cast of characters on a chase to wherever Dirk is planning to go?  But, like.  When I read that Postscript, I stopped believing anyone I saw suggesting we’d get anything after this.  Any sort of work of... you know... continuing, er, Homestuckiness from Andrew, no matter what it was.  But even just... leaving it open even if he isn’t going to DO anything about it, and having that final line NOT be an aggressive cutoff?  Is just nice.  Nicer, anyway.

And this singularity is kept safe for us to enjoy ALL of the old stuff, the multitude of possibility that the in-singularity version of Roxy glimpses out of the side of her eye.  That--

Oh my Gosh.  THAT’S also what the final line means.

Above this line resides all that matters. Below exists all else. Never again the twain shall meet.

Homestuck fanfiction is now COMPLETELY FREE FROM CANON.

Within this singularity, nothing has to stay true to absolutely every underpinning of the earlier comic.  Nothing has to make sense.  Nothing has to be narratively consistent with anything else, though it’s obviously more enjoyable if it is.  Truth, essentiality, and relevance may all be FLEXED as much as any individual fanfic writer needs to!  And... and earlier, before this epilogue.  When we would get Snapchat stuff of the story on Earth C.  And even before that when all we had was the ending flash.  There was still a FEAR on many parts that there was more to canon that Andrew wasn’t telling us, that whatever was in our imaginations about what may have happened was “wrong”, that any fanfic you wrote was liable to be disproven formally.  But that’s not the case anymore.  Because with that line, with alt!Callie sealing off this realm and taking just a last few soon-to-be canon-impactors out of one of its timelines, Andrew has left ALL of the earlier trappings of Homestuck, of Earth, of all these characters and ghosts and fragmented possibilities, permanently free from canon influence from the rest of time.  Meaning no Homestuck fanfic that takes place in this singularity-granted realm may EVER be busted by Andrew’s future work.  He’s done what he first aspired to do when he declared all fantrolls in existence canon.  He’s finally “killed the author”.  He’s made the very FACT of an author an enemy, to be pursued in its own canon story outside of all this.  He’s set EVERYTHING free.

Wow.  So that’s what all the point of all this was, huh?  :D

Let me read the last few pages of Candy anyway.  Where was I again?

Oh, about to click the last page.  ==>

Oh my GOD.  This Postscript is about the end of MEAT, where the Meat Postscript showed us the end of CANDY!!!  :D

Let’s hear where this shit is all going!  I’ve been wondering what realm Dirk is actually heading towards to try and start fucking up.  Reading...

...Oh, okay.  I thought I glimpsed someone mentioning something about Rose “doing Dirk’s laundry”, and I thought I just missed some narrative comment on laundry made when Dirk took Rose out of the apartment on that final trip out to Jake’s for a spaceship?  But I guess this was the scene they were talking about.  Fuck you, Dirk.

One of her more reckless shipmates chipped a tooth trying one, despite repeated warnings to stay away from the stuff.

So Terezi IS there?  And probably received that final message from Vriska to think about.

It’s a stray ruby slipper. The other is about ten feet away, down the hall. No sign of their owner anywhere.

Yep, that’s definitely Terezi.

...Oh cool, Rose’s body isn’t quite dead?  She could be returned to it or a souped-up version of it if she’s ever brought to her senses outside Dirk’s corrosive influence.

A new planet is within sensor range. She studies the millions of statistics all pouring in at once.

They’re heading for a planet?  Somewhere else in Universe C?

It’s an M-Class planet. The right size, right age, right distance from the sun. There’s no advanced life yet. It’s exactly what they’ve been looking for all these years.

Shit, a NEW planet?  For all this shit to go down on?  Maybe I don’t need to see what happens next, that sounds potentially a little boring.  The future adventure this story entails COULD just be implied and never followed up on.

Once the new race has established

What race??? Human, hybrid?? It’s not TROLL, y’all would have brought Aradia if that was the case, right?  Or is this why there are tons of trolls in Universe C that Caliborn and Calliope’s parent trolls got to incinerate ages later, seeded across planets by these assholes?

The ones who get the chance to play what will arguably be the most important session in the history of Sburb?

Ahhh.  Okay.  So this may INDEED be something interesting, something worth seeing.  A new session, one where Dirk is the villain, Rosebot is enthralled, and old heroes are on their way to help see him thwarted.  Along with the mystery participants of a session we’ve yet to see.

Enough time goes by that she begins to wonder if he’s asleep. But no. It’s just the irritated silence of a man who knows he isn’t currently dressed well enough to attend to something important.

DIRK: Are my fucking pantaloons ready yet?

Yeah, fuck you and your anime pantaloons straight in the Yaois, Dirk Smartass.

Okay!

So that’s the end of the epilogue.  BOTH epilogues.  And... I like it.

I don’t know why.  I mean it was all excellent before, and my stomach’s still a BIT clenchy, but I like it now.  I misinterpreted things from the Meat ending, and now everything... everything makes a little more sense.  Some things seem resolved, others earned...

And... in a way I feel like I could actually oddly accept, even if there’s never anything that touches on this ever again...

It doesn’t seem “over”.  :)

[utopianparadoxist]

Marvus Xoloto: Lord of Blood?

Alright all the weird intense Rage stuff aside, here’s some Classpect talk.

So long story short, Marvus feels like our legit Lord. Like, the verb Command is right there. I’ve written about why I see Command as the key verb for Lord, Muse before, but to recap/add on to the idea:

Command comes up with Caliborn like, a lot. Its also the name of the little arrows that connect every page of Homestuck. Every Command is a sort of direct attempt at mind control to the characters, as Hussie frames it--whether delivered by Exiles, the audience, or “The Author” himself.

The Muse seems inclined to wield that power through inspiration--once given a compelling enough idea, an actor can do nothing but work in relation to it, an artist can do nothing but work on it, as though they were possessed or enslaved.

The Lord seems to wield it through sheer dominance, or charisma--like a King who’s will cannot be denied. I’m sure I don’t need to explain how that relates to Marvus. Y’all know.

So let’s cover why I think he’s a Lord of Blood specifically.

PSYCHE.

I lied there’s a little more Lord stuff to go. So with Boldir, I guessed that just like our apparent Muse had a spiral in a place important to her, so might our Lord. Initially, with Marvus, I didn’t see anything and figured it was bullshit.

Imagine my surprise when I took another look at the Church. Now, to be fair, this spiral was always there, so its not exactly unique to Marvus. Chahut brought us here first, after all.

But it’s notable that Marvus brought us here because he was somehow aware it provided metaphysical safety. It’s “Hallowed ground, bizznatch.” That could be simple religious belief, but Marvus is a little too aware of the nature of reality for me to buy that. He’s aware of the rules of PSpace in a way Chahut isn’t, and the spiral is one of the rules. So it feels somewhat significant.

I also guessed that, since Boldir’s sign actually features the spiral, the sign of our potential Lord might well feature it as well. This was how I initially arrived to my guess of Lord of Blood. The sign of the “Taskmaster” felt fitting to someone who seemed like the ringmaster of a circus, and it still feels somewhat accurate here.

Now I can add this nugget: This is also one of a few purple signs that feature a crucifix or cross in the design. Given that a crucifix figures prominently in his path, that also feels notable.

Even so, this is all pretty circumstantial and quite likely bullshit. Like I said before, Marvus seems to showcase a mastery of many Aspects, and so its difficult to really be sure I’ve got him pinned down, especially based on some hazy symbolism stuff we aren’t sure is relevant.

Even so, lets get to his Blood imagery, which I feel is pretty strongly emphasized in this route--more than any other Aspect, barring Rage. And into why I think its through Blood that he carries his most definitive command over other people.

There’s a couple outright references to Blood early on, describing his effect on everyone around him. His very nature creates conflict, as the overzealous loving passion of his fans meets the violent restriction of his bodyguards.

(Note: “Violence” here isn’t just force applied to hurt someone, but the denial of choice: Society saying no to the free spirited desires of the individual. It’s bondage, where Breath is flight.

This more abstract and cerebral take on violence is the one Kankri is more concerned with, but we see it with Karkat too--he knows all too well what happens to someone “outside” the norms of restriction, not just wrt blood color but with his desires and inclinations as well.)

These are classic Blood themes, all coming to the fore simultaneously.

Passion and commitment meet societal restriction, and the violence through which restriction is enforced. Blood flows in the wake of that conflict.

We see the conflict distilled during the concert. References to physical agony and mortal suffering are made, both of which are significant Blood ideas--the most recent example being Tyzias’ famous quote: “there’s so mmmmuch suffering.”

Though to be fair, that might have at least something to do with Zebruh. Blood may be associated with physical bondage and suffering, but Doom is quite literally the suffering Aspect, so its something of an area of overlap--Likely born at least partly from their close association on the Aspect wheel.

And the MSPA Reader of course falls into the romantic, committed, relationship-focused side of Blood--willing to do anything at all to share a connection with him.

The two ideas fuse at the height of his performance, as it makes the MSPA Reader keenly aware of their physical suffering and subjects them to enormous violence and agony, whilst paradoxically keeping them spellbound to the mortal plane where they’re experiencing it. Violence, suffering, commitment, relationship.

Later, the MSPA Reader directly takes on Blood’s violent enforcer position, punching out teens desperate to establish a relationship with Marvus.

And Marvus doesn’t just absently invite these dynamics. He’s keenly aware of both the commitment to a relationship with him his fans experience, and the social obligation he would be subjected to as a result of it, unless the performance is violent enough.

He’s also deeply cognizant of the social restrictions imposed on Purplebloods as a caste, and the various forms of literal and institutional violence through which they’re enforced.

As well as the revolutionary implications of subverting or questioning those restrictions. In other words, Marvus has a deep understanding of the social glue that holds Alternia, a vertical structure held together by repression imposed from top to bottom, with blood spilled through brutality the whole way down.

But of course, understanding doesn’t make a Lord. Command does.

I’ve long said that Paradox Space is a place born of the wills of the individual, and it could be said that what the classes describe, more than anything, is the means by which a Hero most effectively applies their will to reality to achieve any given desired result.

This is what makes Lords and Muses so powerful--they shine at understanding the capabilities and inclinations of everyone around them, and more than anything, controlling and directing the other to achieve their own desired result. A Page might inspire others to serve them and rise to Kingship through their devoted teamwork, but to a Lord this innocence is unnecessary:

Be it freely given, manipulated or coerced, a Lord is supremely talented at dominating, and getting others to give them exactly what they want. When Marvus’ presence suggests silence, the silence is absolute among all blood castes. When Marvus wants his audience ready to turn up, they are so fucking ready. His every request is undeniable, and his will is others’ command.

What makes him scary is that he knows how to use that power. What he does with the Player’s execution is actually pretty clever--he pulls off a small magic trick, simply pretending to stab them. The illusion would fall apart under the most cursory scrutiny, but Marvus knows that doesn’t matter, because he’s working his real magic on the audience.

Marvus knows exactly how his stage will be segmented, and all he needs to do is kickstart a cascade of violent euphoria amongst the lowbloods, who by their structural disadvantage are too far away to tell the difference. (Interesting that the tealbloods are singled out as the rough origin point, considering their Mind association and how vulnerable Terezi was to Gamzee’s Rage-y predation.)

Even any highbloods who figured out what he’s up to are screwed, trapped by their own lucky blood closest to the stage and under his net, where they must fight if they want to get out alive. But nobody does. Once the climactic bloodbath is finished, nobody survives.

Which Marvus expected would happen. He told us so earlier. If Marvus isn’t literally massacring his fans with every performance he gives, he’s doing it during enough of them that it doesn’t feel much like hyperbole. And he does it effortlessly, through a simple understanding of how to move the crowd the way he wants to, like the ringmaster of a circus or the conductor of an orchestra.

This is one hells of powerful clown--frightfully intelligent and ruthless when he deems it necessary, even under the niceguy suave wokeness. Joey’s going to have a powerful ally on her side if they team up. Though I can’t help but worry that the old Purpleblood capriciousness might have him turn on us if the circumstances are right. Or, his ruthless pragmatism could make him end up feeling like a bit of a Vriska.

Probably both are gonna happen. Oh well. Anyway that’s why I see him as a Lord, and one of Blood specifically. Don’t hold me to it because frankly, if I’m really honest, there’s only one train of thought with Marvus that I’m really committed to:

He’s really hot and I’ve been the naughtiest, so frankly he can--

[USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST]

[Patreon]

[analytic-chaoticism]

Who’s Going To Die In The Homestuck Epilogue Tomorrow?

Homestuck is finally ending for real now so, obviously, somebody is staring down the barrel of Hussie’s final Chekhov’s gun, except also for real now. After 10 years, the shed wall has more bullet holes than wood knots and the proverbial horse stands dutifully awaiting the next shot in a series of hundreds, but it might actually get put out of its misery forever this time, with John and Vriska - in my mind - the most obvious candidates for permadeath. I’ll briefly discuss the (de)merits of both outcomes - and how both could (maybe, hopefully, please?) be averted - under the cut.

For context, I’m assuming that John will meet Terezi and Vriska at the Green Sun/Black Hole before he goes gallivanting with them through time and space. 

We’ve known John Egbert for 10 years and for all the characters and perspective switching we’ve done since 4/13/2009, he is our protagonist. Homestuck is a story about breaking free from fated suffering - the will of Lord English - and becoming an independent agent, so it should only make sense that the main character is an embodiment of that freedom: the Heir of Breath.  

It’s for this reason that John dying forever at the end of it all - having survived the death of his dad, an omnicidal dog god, the reset of reality, misadventure in the bubbles, a solo retcon journey through Paradox Space, a fight with Caliborn and another on the horizon, killing the Condesce, and making it to Earth C - would be really bad narratively and philosophically! There are no merits! Let’s go over why it Just Won’t Happen. 

1. As the quintessential bildungsroman character (a story requiring the survival of its protagonist to gain experience of the world, find their place in it, and mature with hope for the future) and audience surrogate, killing him in the final act would just be bad writing. It goes against the story’s holistic narrative and philosophical arc and totally undermines Act 7 thematically. 

2. In a story about overcoming fated suffering, the depressed character with the most repressed trauma - who represents freedom and is working to help everyone escape that suffering - dying without coming to terms with sadness and reconciling with his friends and purpose to find happniness? It’s even worse writing. The only possible merit to his death is having to directly confront that trauma in a super sadstuck way; what stakes will it take for him to overcome his disaffected ennui, right? But killing him is a real shitty way of dealing with those problems. Dying with regret is just... super lame. It could be said many characters die with possible regret in HS but if a character doesn’t at some point get revived in one way or another and their death served a purpose, then, on word of God, they just weren’t that important. 

3. It defies the narrative of fantastical escapism. At one of its many cores, Homestuck is a story about kids playing a crazy game about wish fulfillment: bringing the dead back to life, meeting their friends, having an adventure, and becoming super heroes. As the Heir of Breath, especially with the retcon powers, John is ALL ABOUT fantastical escapism. John dying for suffering, subverting escapism, is 100% counterintuitive thematically. Super unsatisfying conclusion to his arc. 

4. People cite this scene with Scratch as evidence that John is going to have a permanent heroic death one day, but I would argue that the metaphysical way in which John would permanently be tying himself to the narrative to ‘maintain canonicity’ (whatever the FUCK that entails) would be a little bit more than a Just or Heroic thing. For me, this was more about Scratch acknowledging John as - though not infallible personally - a totally good guy. And note that reference to Vriska and her ‘Justness’ at the end there: 

Instead, I imagine the whole situation, despite the seeming distinction between Meat and Candy, COULD go something a little more like this - 

A story that is just meat - dense with exposition, action, violence, and tension (plotcentric) - is bad, and a story that is just candy - light with fluff, fanservice, frivolity, and comfort (charactercentric) - is bad. In isolation neither is of consequence to the reader, and reader investment is what this whole epilogue and the quest to avoid ‘dissipation’ is about. You need both to develop the other in a healthy and satisfying way, ultimately producing a well-developed set of characters. Homestuck is the best story of all time and it’s been meat and candy all the way, I don’t foresee that changing. For me, the ‘dual epilogue’ is a 1+1=3 situation. Typheus’ choice for John here was a practice for a metacosmic-scale third option regarding the meat/candy ‘binary’ he’s faced with now.  

The whole story, John - though he represents freedom - has never made his own choice besides in this moment. He’s gone on quests for prophets, just like he’s doing now, and done whatever people told him or expected him to do. Becoming a free agent is the capstone of his character arc and what better way to realize that than assuming control of the narrative and Doing Whatever You Want For Real - the Ultimate Riddle (as many people theorize) which I imagine we’ll see more of soon being ‘do as you will.’ 

But let’s imagine that John does become in every way a martyr for the narrative itself in a Christ-like sacrifice befitting of the Easter Sunday I will probably be reading this upd8 on. How could he get out of it because, trust me, John Is Not Dying Forever:

Transcendence. We’ve descended and ascended, so what comes next?

Juju nonsense. The house or something else, who knows?

Denizen nonsense. I’ll get into this in a second.

A second John takes his place and we get ours back. ‘2 endings,’ right?

The Ultimate Self is gearing up to be important. It’s Jesus 101 people. 

So I’m expecting Abraxas, Jake and possibly Karkat’s denizen, to make a significant appearance in the epilogue. The epilogue itself, as the rest of the story, is geared up (with it’s black and white symbolism) to basically revolve around the cherubs which I fully expect to get more lore on. As @revolutionaryduelist details in this video, Abraxas is “technically at the center of Paradox Space, as a deity that represents both everything in the multiverse that exists ever both physically and conceptually,and the very process which leads to the creation of those things.” Abraxas is, as the true god in enlightenment, the opposite of Yaldabaoth, the false god in ignorance: more relevant, truthful, and essential as a deity - representing the 3 pillars of canon. Yaldabaoth was Caliborn’s denizen, giving him the clock and juju he required to assume ultimate power in the first place. It makes sense that Abraxas would have a hand in his undoing. Abraxas also shares a connection with the cherubs physically and metaphorically, and considering the importance of the cherubs, I think it’s safe to assume this similarity will become relevant. In this way, Abraxas could Just Get Up To Some Nonsense to save John (who is related to Typheus, a potentially Christ-like figure within the denizen genealogy as John is to the story). Resurrection of Christ anybody? Our snakey parent who art above Paradox Space? As somebody connected to magic, it also makes sense that Abraxas could pull off the miracle of the century if needs be.

All in all, John’s not dying. So what about... 

Vriska?

Vriska dying forever is almost ALL merits. This is NOT because I hate Vriska: she is one of the best characters ever written, has never done anything wrong, if she dies I will weep, and I NEED Vrisrezi to become Earth C endgame, but I can’t deny the narrative quality of a potential sacrifice. 

Vriska has never had direct karmic comeuppance for anything she’s done besides Make Her Pay and getting killed by Terezi: all other forms of punishment for her actions were either problems with self-hatred or people she cares about suffering - there’s been little direct consequential action taken against her. Even when She’s 8ack with a second chance she gets to dominate and bully others and still be the leader. And look at what she did to Tavros. That was just mean (but will hopefully be relevant in the epilogue because I love GCATavros oops). Her character is also marred in the emulation of Mindfang, and being an inauthentic individual is a Great Crime in Paradox Space which you could say she has been punished for but we can always squeeze a few more drops out of the cloth. Key to understanding Vriska is knowing that she has little ill will. She said herself, she wants to be a hero. That’s why she’s obsessed with becoming the Most Important Person. She wants to save everyone. It just so happens this conflicts with her selfishness (coming in parts from Spidermom, Mindfang, and her caste) which sweeps people up as collateral damage. The important thing is that she feels really guilty about losing control to her ego/persona and hurting people. 

And she turns to John for absolution. For freedom from her circumstance and misery. 

EB: i guess i had no idea how different we really were.

EB: what i am hearing is seriously scaring the shit out of me!

AG: Yeah, I know. I wish we didn't have to 8e so different. I'm just trying to 8e honest with you, 8ecause like I said, I have nowhere else to go.

John is ignorant of her culture and her behaviour at large, and his kind, innocent disposition makes him the perfect person to tell her that she hasn’t done anything wrong, or - at least - can become a better person. That’s why his opinion matters so much to her when nobody else’s does. 

And even knowing that she’s not a flawless person, she still doesn’t think that she deserved to die. She has never been truly absolved of her guilt, and turning to a stranger - and an alien, whom you manipulate even though NOT doing that is the WHOLE point - to do that for her is cheating in the same way Tricksterism was for the alpha kids. 

That said, John does present a genuine avenue of character development and emotional vulnerability for the girl who would become (Vriska). (Vriska) became her own person free of Mindfang’s shadow, having overcome the trauma of her past and the need to be ‘the best,’ which is as close to well-adjusted as we could hope for Vriska to be. But this character arc - a form of redemption itself - ends with the death of (Vriska) with GO!Terezi as Paradox Space collapses around them in the most emotional and romantic moment in storytelling history. John’s effects have yet to take hold on post-retcon Vriska as they did on pre-retcon Vriska starting from the above interaction forward, as Vriska is still a 8ig 8itch. John has come to recognize this, and I’m sure it will come up at some point, perhaps inspiring some kind of change in our anti-heroine. 

Sacrificing herself for canonicity - maintaining all relevance EVER in a mostly selfless but still kind of selfish act that represents a major step in a redemption she would never get to complete but may not fully deserve besides - is the perfect end for her personally and thematically. Vriska saving John would be wild after their entire relationship including but not limited to the pivotal moments of their ghosts meeting and him saving her life so she could once again experience relevance in the first place; she’d basically be repaying him: something she has never done willingly for totally selfless reasons in good faith and karma before. Wouldn’t that be the most bittersweet character growth to end on? John would FINALLY be a mechanism for her absolution. It was cheating when John didn’t know her. Now it’s been earned after their relationship has evolved so thoroughly and John sees her for what she is, presumably removing his ability to absolve her from the equation entirely. What a 180 that would be. Her arc would technically be incomplete as a character who never fully matured, but what a beautiful step in that journey to end on. It would also be a form of direct recompense to John, having manipulated him in the past as Scratch alluded to! The (Just) master becomes the (Heroic) student! What a great fuck you to Scratch that would be after he ruined her life and fucked up her personality (so would her surviving to become a better person outside of Scratch’s narrative but we’ll get into that). 

Vriska has been primed to destroy the Green Sun for a loooooooong time. 

Within the scope of the story before we were introduced to serious meta like ‘dissipation,’ destroying the Green Sun would have been the most significant thing a person could ever do. But there’s a reality beyond Paradox Space and a wider ‘canon’ that needs to be maintained both within and outside of the Green Sun’s influence. Vriska never truly got to cash in on the Green Sun imagery. What if she got a second chance to do so?

Assume in some way that the most significant object within Paradox Space and its resulting black hole eating all of reality - which, as Terezi showed us in the Credits (making it still canon) has something strange at its centre - plays a role in maintaining canonicity. I know, a bit of a gimme, right? Presumably,we’re going to explore the confrontation with Lord English as part of the ‘unloading’ of the house juju. If the mechanism for canonicity lies in all this green mess, we’re killing 2 birds with 1 stone! Her relationship with John serves its original purpose in a newly genuine context and the green sun foreshadowing would finally amount to something. 

I think Vriska would be almost perfectly content to die like this. It fulfils her philosophy and places her in canonical lore as the most significant, undeniable hero. As Hussie discusses in the Viz book 4 author notes, one of the dynamics Homestuck revolves around is Vriska inserting herself into everything and the Scourge Sisters’ karmic cycle that arises from that, so wiping it all clean would be a fitting end. 

That said, I don’t want Vriska to die forever, because I love her with all my heart and I would never want to do that to Terezi, and Earth C would be way more fun if Vriska got to fully develop as a character with friends outside of canonical restraints/pressures. Let her enjoy candy after a life of meat! (Vriska) got to enjoy candy with Meenah and Terezi after she gave up on meat. Vriska has never had true candy comparatively. All of her relationships and romantic leads have had undertones of contention and manipulation that it would be fantastic to be free of in a new world where she can leave the burdens of ‘importance’ behind. This happening, I feel, is one of (if not the best ways) Hussie can further the commentary on candy being just as important as meat: making someone who has prioritized meat her whole life happy with candy once she learns to let it into her life. Meat is NOT the only important thing, Vriska. 

How could she escape dying forever if she wanted to sacrifice herself to save John from doing the same? Sounds pretty final. I can’t imagine the ultimate self is in her near future, she doesn’t have retcon powers, and unless she pulls a juju out of her ass (maybe auryn somehow???) then the only mechanism I can see working is denizen nonsense. Beyond this, we know Terezi would not be content to let Vriska be dead forever. I was thinking maybe, on Earth C once the dust has settled and canon is Gucci, the kids could use their god tier powers to recreate Vriska (Terezi/Dirk for memory and self, life from Jane, a body from Roxy/Jake/Jade etc.) but that might be a long shot. Who knows. But also resurrecting Vriska as a free person in a free world would be... really Cool. Like, wow... what a scene. Ultimately, I think both potentialities would be pretty rad and would make me weep like a baby. I’m open to anything here. 

In the end, we’ll see what happens tomorrow! I started Homestuck when I was 12 and its influence on me for the last 6 years as both a person and a creative is incomprehensible. I cannot imagine who I would be without it, and I don’t want to. Making analysis/theory posts and getting involved with community discussion has been one of the best things ever and I’m glad I could squeeze this one in before the end of everything. I’ll have plenty more to write about Homestuck and Hiveswap in the future, but it’s crazy to think this is the end of theorizing for Homestuck proper. Homestuck as a property has plenty more to give and I’ll be here with ideas for all of it :)

Thanks for reading!

[yellovv]

hoo boy. -cracks my knuckles-

[ID: the first image is a screenshot of a Reddit post on the Am I The Asshole subreddit, titled "AITA for accidentally revealing that someone's husband named their baby after a Homestuck character which directly resulted in their pending divorce?" and followed by a notice that says "Sorry, this post has been removed by the moderators of r/Am I The Asshole."

the second image is a reaction pic of Tails the Fox from Tails Gets Trolled with wide eyes and mouth agape, looking shocked and unable to compute whatever he has just seen.

the third image is a screenshot of an archived version of the rest of the AITA post, and it says: "AITA for accidentally revealing that someone's husband named their baby after a Homestuck character which directly resulted in their pending divorce? Trust me, I KNOW this sounds ridiculous and if it wasn't happening to me I wouldn't believe it either. So I work in childcare and recently we enrolled a new baby named Vriska. Now we are encouraged to build a rapport with the parents and to talk about them about shared interests whenever possible, so I often talk to some parents about nerdy things or others about fashion and makeup, etc. When I meet the mother for a pickup I told her how cool it was that her child was named Vriska (even though I personally don't think it's cool to name your children after your fandoms but I wasn't about to say that) and told her that I also loved Homestuck thinking it would be a quick way to build rapport. The mother looked genuinely confused and asked me what Homestuck was so I told her it was a comic and one of the characters was called Vriska, but sensing the awkward air I quickly said "oh nevermind! it's probably a coincidence, don't mind me haha!" but I was confused because I'm sure the name Vriska didn't exist before Homestuck. She proceeded to tell me that Vriska was a cute original name her husband came up with from the word "vrishchika" which is Hindi for Scorpio, but that's also straight up Homestuck Vriska's name origin. Apparently he went so far as to create a fake paper trail of his research and showed her books and sites on the word 'vrishchika' so she'd believe him without looking into it. She's one of those crystals and astrology types, and was gushing about how thoughtful he was because he's not into her beliefs and that he thinks they're stupid so it was such a sweet gesture for him to go into so much trouble researching a name that aligned with her beliefs and I'm just nodding along politely because I'm internally losing my mind. Long story short, she came back to pull baby Vriska out of the program because she's moving in with her parents and personally thanked me because she googled Vriska and got her now ex to fess up the whole truth and basically that he REALLY loved the character Vriska and that she didn't know about it because that love was of the uuuuh 'waifu' love rather than the 'I relate to this character' love, so as you can imagine she was furious and decided to leave her husband for lying to her, among other things. I'm honestly guilt-ridden that I directly shattered a marriage and now baby Vriska will suffer because of this, which is why I think I could be the a-hole. I don't know the whole story, maybe he's a really good father? But I also think maybe I'm not the a-hole because who wants a husband who quite frankly sounds manipulative and insane. I'm torn over this because my friends think I did the mother a favour, but my family and coworkers can't believe I broke a marriage over a simple name. So Reddit, what's my verdict?"

the fourth image is the same reaction pic of Tails as used above. end ID]

i would give anything to know what the commentors were saying about this one.

[homestuckexamination]

Okay so I know dirk and caliborn both have the strongest denizen, the one who shows up for players who are natural warriors and really strong. But I didn't realize Jake's denizen, abraxas, was implied to be the really weak one karkat had? For some reason, I thought jake was supposed to be a really good fighter, and was just letting Vriska bully him. Is Jake actually weak? How is abraxas tied to the cherubs if calliope had echidna? I'm also confused about jake lol. What is he

Jake is strong, and so is Karkat. See, here’s where the lore with the Denizens starts to get deep- Yaldabaoth is the ‘strongest Denizen’, for ‘natural-born warriors’, but both his Name and his Title suggest otherwise. He’s the self-proclaimed God of All Monsters, and taking into account the Gnostic roots of the name Yaldabaoth, he is a False God. A cruel, false creator, who creates a flawed reality with suffering and death. Abraxas, on the other hand, is the True God. Yaldabaoth holding dominion over the Material World, the World of Darkness, but Abraxas being the God of the World of Ideas, of Light.

It’s NOT explicitly stated that Karkat had Abraxas, however if he suspects he had the ‘weakest Denizen’, it would make sense for his Denizen to be the opposite of Yaldabaoth, and that can only be Abraxas. This simple statement actually has some interesting ramifications, specially because we know, Abraxas, the True God, wouldn’t merely be ‘the easiest boss’. There’s definitely something more to the arbitrary selection of Yaldabaoth and Abraxas, and it likely has to do with their Choices, and the Roles of those who are assigned these Denizens. The prophecy of taking LE down befell Jake’s shoulders, Karkat was allowed to lead his people in the new World, and while both of them have shown themselves to be very capable in combat, they are also… Emotional boys who love their friends and struggle with a lot of bullshit. So there’s more to them than we’re told directly by the characters.

Now, Calliope may have had Echidna because she’s a Hero of Space, but the mere fact Caliborn is the Yaldabaoth of Homestuck immediately ties Calliope, her opposite, to the World of Ideas. Where Caliborn is a cruel, manipulative asshole, Calliope learns love, compassion, creativity… He abhors his sister’s creations, and even when he himself learns to draw, he uses it to make a flawed, awful version of the events of the story, while Calliope draws romantic fanfiction and stories where everyone is happy and not fighting. And just like that, Calliope herself is cast into the darkness of the Furthest Ring, barely in contact with those she cares about, while Caliborn has full, 24/7 surveillance of the characters of the story, and is insidiously present and manipulating every last bit of the story.

It’s Alt Calliope, at the end, that tears down this awful reality to Collapse upon Lord English, while Callie lives on in the new World. Lord English is trapped in the reality of his own design, his own Time Loop. Fixated on creating a world of destruction, on causing as much death and suffering as he can, while the protagonists escape into a Universe which holds the very symbol of Light within it, just like the Sun at the beginning of Homestuck. Caliborn embraces the ideals of a Yaldabaoth, and becomes the single most oppressive force in Paradox Space. On the other hand, Calliope embraces creativity, ideals, and it’s a version of herself that puts an end to the Yaldabaoth’s World of Darkness. However, I don’t think this quite ties her to Abraxas- I am not, by any means, an expert when it comes to Gnosticism, but if anything she seems more akin to Sophia, or even Christos, providing a means of escape from Yaldabaoth and to the World of Ideas.

In either case? By design of their duality, the Cherubs are both related to Yaldabaoth and Abraxas, even if Calliope had Echidna herself, and the fact that Jake had Abraxas is no coincidence. There’s… Really so much symbology with their entire Arc, but I would need to dig really far through conversations and panels to get everything, so yeah.

[justpompadoit-blog]

RULES Name your top 10 favorite characters from 10 different fandoms and then tag 10 people.

1. Sailor Moon

I love all of them and wish I could list every senshi, but I gotta say 90s anime Usagi is just my darling. She’s immature, scared, a crybaby, and fucks up a lot, but she’s also so loving and does so much for people. I just love having that in a protagonist, and a superhero. I haven’t seen that in a main character that wasn’t a subversion since and it’s just so important to me and gives such a positive message to people who can be heroes even if they don’t feel heroic. 

2. Yu Yu Hakusho

Team Uremeshi is bamf, but I gotta stick with Kuwabara. Punks with a heart of gold is a cliche, but it is one I love to death. I’ve loved the guy since that really early episode where he threw everything he had into studying just to help his friend out of a jam. And he hasn’t stopped being a sweetie since. Plus he’s a goofball and I gotta love that. 

3. Chrno Crusade

Anyone remember that manga and/or anime? Because I do, and Rosette Christopher was the SHIT. She was spunky and energetic and took no names, but she never fell into the fem fatale trap either, clearly dealing with her own struggles, insecurities, and emotions. She was an excellent protagonist and grew, so, so much as a character. (Well, manga, anyway. The anime botched that to hell, but that’s a different rant.) Also, while there was definitely fanservice in the manga, and it didn’t avoid skeeziness, Rosette still stood on her own as a compelling character to follow and didn’t need to shove sex appeal in your face to get you to care about her. And like, ten years later after the manga concluded, we could damn well see some more female protags like her. 

4. Tales of the Abyss

I still cry about Luke fon Fabre. He just. Grew so much as a person, and suffered way more than he ever deserved. He was able to become his own person and not live in anyone else’s shadow, (and broke away from a REALLY toxic and manipulative relationship, and I’m so, so proud of him.) His ending was fucking heartbreaking, but hey, happy end epilogues, am I right? Just. Don’t ever mention Tower of Rem to me, plz. 

5. Princess Tutu

Duck??? B-but Rue. But also, Fakir. But then again, Duck... NO, RUE. Fuck, I mean Fakir. I MEAN.

No. 

FEMIO. 

6. Persona

There are too many characters that I love, but lets just go with Kanji Tatsumi. Punk with a heart of gold, but also struggles with his sexuality. He was really REALLY relateable, and even if ATLUS ended up botching his and other characters’ arcs with their homophobic tomfoolery, I’m always gonna love this big nerd. Also, his social link was the best. Period. 

7. The Promised Neverland

They’re all good kids, but I think I’m enjoying Ray’s arc the most so far. Just seeing him struggle on his own, and hardening himself to save those most precious to him, only to have Emma steamroll through those walls and demonstrate that NO, you can rely on others and still make it out ok. Just. Chef’s kiss. He’s held it all in for so long, and god, I can only imagine how much he must of been struggling, esp. with Isabella legit being his birth mother. 

Also, my favorite thing about making Ray icons is skimming through the manga and just slowly watch as most of his expressions go from stoic stares and angry sneers to more open smiles and excitement, and just seeing how gentle he can be with Emma and the other kids. gUH. I am dead, fam. 

8. Steven Universe

Insert generic I love them all statement here, but I really do. Especially the main Crystal Gems. I’m a sucker for characters struggling and growing from crippling self doubt and low self esteem, so it bounces between Pearl and Amethyst. Watching them in the latest episodes and seeing how far they’ve come has brought me great joy in this house. 

9. Berserk

Guts is the only lone wolf edgelord muscle man that I will accept. Tragic manpain backstories can be a pain, but his just so raw and. You can see how clearly it still effects him, and how he copes with feelings other than “RAUGH RAGE DEATH VENGEANCE”. People who whinge about the later chapters being too fluff and not dark enough can kiss my asscheek. Having Guts surrounded by people who are genuinely supportive and care for his well-being, is so satisfying. And ignoring her crush on him, his and Shierke’s relationship is just really important to me. She does so much to keep him grounded and with his companions, and just. You’re doing great, sweetie. Best witch award. 

10. Homestuck

Goodness, would you look at the time, it’s time for me to gush about Dave Strider! Not only is he a huge nerd, but he’s genuinely funny and provides the best dialogue, is responsible for the best comic sensation of our time, and has overcome so much from his background and just had become better for it. I love this fucker. I love him and his douchey, shitpost spewing, shades-wearing sweetness. He is a fandom fave for good reason. 

Also Vriska is a gremlin and I l o v e her. 

I was tagged by @jaganeyed

I tag: All of you. Go forth. Gush about your faves. It fills me with energy. 

[homestuckdatingsite]

Hey, could I have a match up? I'm a Gemini, an INTJ-T, slytherin, alignment is neutral good. I try to see both sides of every situation and respect each opinion, and because of that I'm pretty good at calming arguments. I'm also good at reading people and their motives. I'm pretty quiet and sarcastic, I have social and generalized anxiety disorder, but when I'm close to someone I can let loose a lot. I'm very passionate about learning, and I would consider myself to be very smart! Thank you!

Terezi Pyrope

Honestly she was the first person I thought of while reading your submission

She would respect your ability to see both sides of an argument and your ability to defuse situations, she’d actually probably ask for your help in defusing some situations involving vriska

Terezi would also understand your anxiety- even though she doesn’t have anxiety she’s definitely struggles with mental health, she’d try and help you when things get rough and would always be willing to lend an ear

As someone who also loves learning things she’d be willing to study things with you and teach you some stuff that she knows that you’re interested in

She absolutely l ov e s your sarcasm- like- she loves it to death man. Sarcasm is one of her favorite things

Jake English

Since Jake suffers from severe social anxiety he’ll totally understand your struggles, he’ll try always be willing to lend an ear to your problems and try and help you when you want it and if he can

You’ll also probably be a good match for him because when he gets into drama due to him being pretty bad at reading people, you can help defuse the situation- and probably help him be less oblivious when it comes to people

He will l o v e your passion for learning and be totally willing to learn things with you and teach you things that he knows that you’re interested in

It helps that he’s quite passionate too

You guys are kinda like an opposites attract kind of thing, you balance each other out yet you can still relate to and understand each other

Now onto friends!

Dave Strider

You know what they say, irony and sarcasm go hand in hand

Ok nobody says it but we can pretend they do

I headcanon him as lowkey having social anxiety, so my interpretation of Dave would be able to relate to you

He definitely has a lot of for you, because he honestly has no idea how to defuse situations, so he probably praises your ability to do that to his other friends

You probably also lowkey remind him of Rose so he he’d probably think of you as a siblingI hope this was ok! if you want anything changed please let us know!

[crunchbuttsteak]

I just found the original text of the post and it was so much worse than John Karkat.

Trust me I KNOW this sounds ridiculous and if it wasn’t happening to me I wouldn’t believe it either.

So I work in childcare and recently we enrolled a new baby named Vriska.

Now we are encouraged to build a rapport with the parents and to talk about them about shared interests whenever possible, so I often talk to some parents about nerdy things or others about fashion and make up etc.

When I meet the mother for a pick up I told her how cool it was that her child was named Vriska (even though I personally don’t think it’s cool to name your children after your fandoms but I wasn’t about to say that) and told her that I also loved Homestuck thinking it would be a quick way to build rapport.

The mother looked genuinely confused and asked me what Homestuck was so I told her it was a comic and one of the characters was called Vriska but sensing the awkward air I quickly said “oh nevermind! It’s probably a coincidence don’t mind me haha!” but I was confused because I’m sure the name Vriska didn’t exist before Homestuck. She proceeded to tell me that Vriska was a cute original name her husband came up with from the word ‘Vrishchika’ which is Hindi for Scorpio but that’s also straight up Homestuck Vriska’s name origin. Apparently he went so far as to create a fake paper trail of his research and showed her books and sites on the word Vrishchika so she’d believe him without looking into it.

She’s one of those crystals and astrology types, and was gushing about how thoughtful he was because he’s not into her beliefs and that he thinks they’re stupid so it was such a sweet gesture for him to go into so much trouble researching a name that aligned with her beliefs and I’m just nodding along politely because I’m internally losing my mind.

Long story short she came back to pull baby Vriska out of the program because she’s moving in with her parents and personally thanked me because she googled Vriska and got her now ex to fess up the whole truth and basically that he REALLY loved character Vriska and that she didn’t know about it because that love was of the uuuuh ‘waifu’ love rather then the ‘I relate to this character’ love so as you can imagine she was furious and decided to leave her husband for lying to her, among other things.

I’m honestly guilt ridden that I directly shattered a marriage and now baby Vriska will suffer because of this, which is why I think I could be the a-hole, I don’t know the whole story, maybe he’s a really good father? But I also think maybe I’m not the a-hole because who wants a husband who quite frankly sounds manipulative and insane.

I’m torn over this because my friends think I did the mother a favour but my family and coworkers can’t believe I broke a marriage over a simple name.

So reddit, what’s my verdict?

FEAR.JPEG