I took a pretty long break in my reread. It started in January, and now it's August. Don't ask me what happened, I sincearly can't tell you, BUT, I AM still determined to finish my reread by the end of the year. I wanted to pop in a bit of a re-grouping of my thoughts here, since a lot of stuff has happened with Homestuck since my reread began. Or, rather, I started to take these issues more seriously because they started affecting the Unofficial Homestuck Collection.
I'm not going to rehash my thoughts from the video I made about the topic, but I WILL take a moment to reflect. Throughout a lot of my reread I point out consistencies or inconsistencies in character arcs and speculate about intension. For one, this is to further my own understanding of the text, but the bigger reason is my general "death of the author" stance. In trying to parse what MAY have been intended, I'm essentially trying to play with the idea of what could have been - roads not taken that might've made the story more compelling or cohesive in my opinion. If I wanted to further distance myself from Hussie's intent, I could phrase it as "what could have been" rather than "what the author may have intended", but in that sense I feel like I'm souring the conversation. We know SOMEONE wrote Homestuck, and whether that someone is a huge piece of shit or not shouldn't affect the reading of the text, right?
I'm personally still torn on that. On the one hand, there are some Choice Words I have when it comes to things like the classes system, or the hemospectrum, or the way the carapacsians and consorts are treated. On the other hand, systems like Prospit/Derse, the Aspects, and the general construction of the Medium are nothing to sneeze at. The craftsmanship that went into the worldbuilding is commendable, and there has to be a level of reconciliation between disliking the author and liking their work, or the way their mind constructs worlds. For my own sanity, I try not to dwell TOO much on everything Homestuck The Company has done and continues to do, but there's an almost guilty feeling in putting that aside to consume the original comic again. Maybe I'm just being overdramatic because this is all still fresh on my mind, but I can't be the only one that got genuinely angry seeing that website rerelease trailer, right? I can't be the only one trying to make heads or tails of genuinely reprehensible actions, and feeling unable to when the whole point of Homestuck is the chaos of it.
I feel like I need to figure out an approach, or a philosophy behind my approach, by the time I finish this reread. Not just for Homestuck, but for other franchises I've grown disillusioned with over time. So, the goals of this reread haven't changed, they've just been solidified and expanded on.
Post-break, post-bluesky, post-unofficial-collection-website-takedown.
(3480) The reveal that this is young Dave is interesting, and the Time symbol would make me assume it's his future self talking to him, if I didn't know any better.
(3481) God, such a breath of fresh air to see Aradia in a good mood. My previous assumption about Dave talking to his future self might not be incorrect, symbolically speaking. Just as he's talking to a more realised Time player, Aradia is talking to a less realised Time player, and as they're both servant classes with similar arcs it's not a surprise that they're narratively less foils to each other, and more extensions of each other.
(3485) I mentioned it before but it's interesting to me that ghosts have to be walked through what happened to them. Remarking that Aradia is a fairy actually reveals something interesting about troll symbology in Homestuck - in that, they're more guides than they are their own people. The story is about the human heroes, and trolls are the fae that guide them on their quests and in their deaths. The "caretakers" while the humans are the "heroes", it's interesting because the trolls still have a micro-mythology of their own within their session, but it's given less weight than the humans', because their mythologies are essentially supplamentary. They deepen our understandign of the humans and of human culture, and while the trolls themselves have rich inner lives, their story failed and the humans' is meant to perservere. I wonder what an inverse would look like, a troll session guided by a failed human session, because in that sense you'd have to reverse the human/fae symbology. Possibly deepening the idea that troll traditional folk tales are more akin to trickster stories, or stories of faustian bargains that get circamvented, fae style? Or would you lean into the idea that humans, unopposing figures without wings and horns, are more akin to spirits of a home than they are to trickster divinities, essentially "cleaning up" a respective session rather than guiding it through riddles like our trolls do? Why did I write an entire paragraph about this?
(3490) There is an almost cold precision in the way Aradia walks Dave through the grieving process, like she's done it before and will have to again. Dave is a stand-in for a lot of things in a lot of scenes, but I think this one, facilitated by a fellow server class, is a scene where we see Dave at his most naked. His first instinct is agression, then denial, then sense and logic. Once that fades, all he can think about are his friends, how he can still help and be of use, but it's not his place anymore. Whatever place he had is gone in death, and as much as that's a metaphor for canonicity in this scene, it's also a metaphor for growth I think. This isn't Dead Dave's story anymore, and it's time to move on. This memory is of another Dave, and while he can invision himself as that Dave, he doesn't want to. He's sick of being "that Dave", and wants to be something else. That's the purest moment of death as transformation that I can think of.
(3491) This is what I meant by doomed timelines being metaphors for non-canonicity. Here, Dave is essentially grappling with loss of plot, with loss of purpose in a story. He's suddenly thrust into a very ordinary moment, a new friend showing him around and asking if he wants to go to her house. He's back to being a kid after days spent playing the hero. It makes sense that his first instinct is to just go home and process, he still has to grieve after all. After that, he can go back to making friends, and making sense of his lack of purpose, and playing with Time like it's a game rather than his goal in life.
(3492) This is that thing I mentioned with Feferi and Aradia switching roles, Aradia intends to stay alive, while Feferi gleefully prepared for when she will wind up dead forever. It's interesting to juxtapose it to Tavros and Dave specifically, since they're another pair I've previously lamented lacked proper closure of what was set up for their relationship. The bubbles are the place where hitherto unexplored dynamics and possibilities go, and Aradia is the guardian that CHOSE to be alive on her own terms rather than a slave to the narrative. I just love the dream bubbles so much I'm sad they were destroyed by the ending for literally no reason.
(3493) Interesting that Vriska implies the "best way" to find the Tumor is through a cave system, but then says "winners cheat". As I speculated before the doomsday device that was within Dave's grasp in Jade's paraphanalia is likely what would allow players to dig for the Tumor, there'd be no reason to look for a cave in that case, but just as Dave's bullshit card reader seems like an asspull for a game that has the capcha mechanic, it's also possible the doomsday device is a sort of "patch-in" to help players if they're REALLY stuck without any other way to suicide their session.
(3494) It fucks me up that John and Vriska's genuine bond is juxtaposed to the suicide mission she's going out on. To me, it sounds like a kid who's doing something she hates, with people she doesn't want to be around, and her friend who can't talk her out of her self destructive habits and instead just listens, and hopes for the best. "It's not farewell" and "I'll text you before I leave" sounds really, mundanely tragic when ripped out of this context and into a less dramatic one. She IS going out to her death, because she's choosing to keep playing the hunter and killer. She "has to try" to kill Jack, despite all signs pointing to that being a bad idea (most of all Eridan sharing part of her plan even if it's flipped on its head), even though she spent a large chunk of their previous conversation lamenting that she isn't the killer her society needed her to be. She's lost, and in the dark, wandering towards her own death instead of sitting still and waiting for help. Understandable to a degree, but a palpably bad idea.
(3503) This passage (much like the Equius minigame before his death) is meant to prime us for the death of these two, but I'd like to point towards Roxy's drunkenness and DadEgbert's little narration blurb about immediatly removing her garments. It's played for jokes obviously but they're also in an apocalypse. Unlike the kids, they have developped modes of dealing with stress, even when hightened, and in this case it's getting stupid drunk and talking about shagging. In a most dignified fashion, of course. Again, unlike the kids, these two already have figured out that in the face of doom and apocalypse, turning to other people and being there with them, holding them close, whoever they are, is what's most important. And also letting go of all inhibitions I think.
(3505) Also interesting that their romantic moment is juxtaposed to Dirk's shades viewing them through the eyes of someone with murderous intent. A surface level read would be jealousy, my personal read is that Dirk's hatred of irrelevance is so palpable that seeing Mom Void find meaning in it isn't something he can let go.
(3507) It's very interesting, to me, that the first writing of Mindfang's we read is her sbusing one of her female slaves to piss off her very male kismesis. It's narratively juxtaposed aginst the way Vriska forced Tavros to kiss her while Kanaya watched. In both scenarios, the Serkets are being abusive emotionally (and in Aranea's case sexually) towards an unwilling partner, while a willing partner starts to question their devotion and the colour of the quadrant they feel. Kanaya realises she's redder for Vriska and hates herself for it, Dualscar realises his jealousy may be turning red, and he starts retreating into himself. Mindfang talks about how she doesn't care about the caste system, and how she dominates for the sake of itself, essentially. She's driven to manipulate and abuse because in her mind, that's the only way to survive the system she disagrees with. Perpetuating abuse for the sake of itself, for the sake of her temporary survival while she feigns disinterest in the colour of blood. She's trying to send a messege to Dualscar, and he's too preoccupied with his own feelings to register it. Fittingly enough, the messege is probably lost on Vriska too, because reading something like this since she was young seems genuinely damaging. Not only in the sense that it's given her fucked up ideas around the social order and how to perform it, but also because Mindfang's abuse is specifically physical with a female slave, while purely mental with the male Dualscar. This is because of the difference in blood colour, but to a young lesbian troll, it might just seem like "oh fuck, if I don't trick men into doing what I want, I might end up like that subjugated slave, I can't let that happen." Alternian society is fucked in a lot of ways, but Mindfang's perspective specifically is rife with contradictions and complexities that a young troll wouldn't be able to parse from actual codes of conduct and tradition.
(3509) Mindfang valued "the slave" in the Potential she held for a genuine bond with Mindfang, which of course could never actually be genuine because mind control was involved. And also because Mindfang didn't give a shit about her as a person. Dualscar had the slave assassinated for the sake of petty revenge. A parallel is being drawn to Eridan who killed Kanaya, but Kanaya and Vriska's bond never went red, it didn't go anywhere near it. Was it because Vriska was afraid Eridan would do something stupid out of jealousy? Or did Vriska found Kanaya's care to be unsatisfying to her masochistic urges? Much to think about.
(3510) Another nod to Mindfang's opposition to the blood caste system being rooted in domination rather than liberation. It's not really about the bounty, or the law, or the fact that Dualscar is a shithead, it's about the fact that Mindfang wants to keep the control she has over the people around her.
(3513) Took me a few reads to realise, but I think the bottom line is, Dualscar's harbouring of red feelings towards a Fuschia blood is considered traitorous by design, so just as he's looking to outside help to settle his score, Mindfang could easily tattle on his intentions to someone else and get him killed. Weird.
(3514) Dualscar dies and his death is fuel for the Vast Honk (aka the arrival of Lord English), seems fitting for a Bard of Hope. But there's also a hint in this bit of the text that Dualscar is a privateer, just as I suspected, rather than a Pirate like Mindfang is. In this regard, I think it's possible he was considered "low" among the fishy royalty as he took on the mantle of a pirate in the name of the queen, rather than being a true aristocrat. If that's the case, that might be why Mindfang found him so "interesting" in the first place, his presence on her battlefield was odd and out-of-caste thinking.
(3517) Mindfang isn't considered a threat to the Highbloods, far from it. They comission a "neophyte" (new) legislator to hunt her down, essentially assuring her failure in the matter, and I think they did so because Mindfang upholds social order rather than truly opposing it. As long as you don't come for OUR heads, you're allowed to take as many as you want, we rule by fear after all.
(3518) Interesting bit of MISinterpretation from Mindfang, she not only misunderstands Redglare as not a threat, but she also falls into the trap of assuming the highbloods want her alive on HER terms (her adventures being fun) rather than on theirs (her violence is benificial to them). Redglare, though, seems to have a genuine conviction for justice.
(3519) Mindfang's oracle is the cue ball, the same one that eventually blows up Vriska's eye coutesy of Terezi's meddling. Not only is Redglare's impact on Mindfang forshadowed, it's so grand in scale that it's Generational. The bitemark on Terezi is also really good foreshadowing for the fact that Terezi essentially has to be reborn the way Kanaya was, and that it's precisely Kanaya who will fuck up the going-ons of the remaining Highbloods, because she is not going to be anybody's slave, or victim. She's not a nobody. She is Kanaya Maryam and it's time for her to Fuck Shit Up.
(3524) Her immediate targetting of Gamzee tells me she saw him as the biggest threat here, which fuels my Aspect reading of Rage and Space being opposed.
(3526) Vriska is dumbfounded by this because she genuinely failed to consider that Kanaya is a whole person who can do her own thing even if it doesn't fit into Vriska's mythology of all her "friends".
(3528/3529) Arguably the most satisfying panels in the comic.
(3532) Kanaya's targetting of Eridan is decidedly more personal than of the other highbloods. She punched Vriska in the face for personal reasons, and kicked Gamzee in the nuts similarly, but Eridan? She BROKE the symbol of their friendship and his power (over her), but her rage here isn't the same as when she first tried attacking him. It's calculated, and petty, and by god is it satisfying.
(3536) Just as I mentioned before, Eridan became the dark mage and therefore couldn't be the one to oppose Rose's darkness. Rather, it's Kanaya herself who now embodies the light and danger she was so attracted to. She is the rainbow drinker that will conquer the darkness of Rose and bask in her true light. I'm getting a little over the top with these I know but let me have this.
(3537) rip bozo you had it comin lmao
(3539) Ok I am DEFINITELY reading too much into the symbolism here but, as Kanaya wasn't the one who killed Equius, wearing his shades has to have a different symbolic meaning, right? I posit that her single most decisive act of pure selfish agency, to Kanaya, can only be understood as a "masculine" outburst of violence, before she goes back to her feminine passivity and lipstick and somesuch. Since I don't think she ditches the shades until much later on, I think she holds onto this feeling of STRENGTH for the sake of herself and honestly? We love that for her.
(3544) TOO LITTLE TOO LATE VRISKERS THAT SHIP HAS SAILED AND SUNK. YOU DISASTER LESBIAN. YOU ONLY LIKE KANAYA WHEN SHE MURDERS YOUR EX well ok that part's valid. But on a serious note, the thing I said about the "sexual abuse of a slave woman" passage in Mindfang's book leaving a mark on Vriska might actually be true. She only lets herself feel something red for Kanaya when it's undeniable that she's not going to die, and that Vriska can lose without being victimized.
(3546) Huh. Interesting that the narration calls dad and mom "a family" when I genuinely read them as just friends who gave into temptation at the end of the world. I dunno man I think some of this heteronormativity is baked into Homestuck and isn't always meant to be dismantled by the reader. But I'm gonna do it anyway!
(3548) Jack claims a trophy off of each of the guardians, EXCEPT for grandpa. On the one hand, it could be read as grandpa already being an absent figure, and therefore wearing a piece of him wouldn't aid in the symbolism of Jack Noir being the destroyer of all things that gave the kids safety. On the OTHER hand, Jack is more often than not an accidental stand-in for Lord English himself, in antagonism and in plans. For this, I posit: he has no item of grandpa Harley's, because Jake is the one fated to defeat that which Jack symbolises, and while Jake himself has plenty of Caliborn-themed items and symbols, there's nothing that's Intrinsically Jake that carried over to Grandpa that can be taken for that reason. The fedora is Jane's, the Scarf is Roxy's, the shades are Dirk's, and Cal sits idly in his hand as a symbol for the one who's already here. But no Jake in sight.
(3551) MORE FUEL FOR THE FODDER THAT JACK REPRESENTS CALIBORN, OR AT LEAST ACTS AS HIS UNWILLING AGENT.
(3554) It's interesting that, similarly to how Bec can only speak in the language of the Green Sun, even when trying to aid Jade, Jack seems to have no way of properly controlling his own urges and impulses. His "omniscience" is more a burden than anything else, and the way the Queens treat the rings seems to facilitate that reading. In claiming divinity, you become a symbol rather than a person who can fully and freely control their actions and thoughts.
(3557) Even with how bleak everything is, Bec's sacrifice was not in vain, as his genuine love for Jade lives on to this day. I just. I get a little emotional thinking about a girl who's dog was so thuroughly her best friend and only companion that THAT bond and love between them is inadvertantly what saves the world.
(3559) Another fascinating glimpse into the world of the carapascians and consorts. High ranking agents don't even seem to care about the players as much as they care about their mundane lives, and honestly I can't blame them. The players are figures of myth that are annoyances more than anything else. There's an entire war going on on Skaia and these idiots think it's all about them. They don't seem to (or maybe aren't capable of) grasp(ing) how much of a threat the players really are. After all, if they COULD know, chances are no dersite player would have a living dream self.
(3562) Jack's assault on the session being fuelled by pure undiluted boredom is, in my opinion, a very good commentary on the aspect of Rage itself. Dissatisfaction with life that fuels destruction of unbearable proportions, and in this case it can also be seen as a Destructive Approach to analysing fiction. Methodically and brutally likking everything out of boredom is a pretty apt way to describe nitpicking something just because you didn't find it entertaining. I've certainly done that before.
(3569) I truly adore that Aradia found a way to subvert her doom. She won't die, and she WILL help her friends. She's a wonderful character in that her triumph isn't as narrative-shaking as it is personally satisfying. I wonder if that's an aspect of time, or if that's an aspect of servant classes? That they can't find true fulfillment within narrative and have to subvert and find life outside of it. I think it's probably a time thing, but we'll see when Dave god-tiers.
(3580) This panel, this pose and composition, just like it did with Jade represents "going home". With her lusus by her side, she's happily excavating and living life. She isn't AS happy as she will be later on post-god-tier, but she's still happy. She's more of a child, she's more of a free person unburdened by the doom that waits for everyone.
(3584) The frog temple was underground???
(3586) Finding the temple, the remains of Cal and of Herself, are all symbols of the doom she will endure. The session, the demon(s), and her own inescapable fate as a servant. She "went home" in a more tragic way than Jade did, because she found discomfort and disorder, while Jade found reconciliation and progress.
(3589) Ow My Heart Hurts
(3591) Despite also being a psychic, Aradia was always more in-tune with death, even in death. Alpha Aradia's main concearn right now seems to be waking up "dormant" ghosts and reminding them of what happened and who they are. I'd also like to comment a bit on the lore from the previous page, in that Aradia visited or was interested in Kanaya's ruins and Sollux was the one helping her decypher its mysteries. It's just a neat bit of worldbuilding (relationship building?) for the trolls. I wonder if that's how Kanaya met Aradia, and by extension Sollux, and by extension Karkat? Was Aradia inedvertantly the one to connect their whole group and start their session, or is Karkat partly responsible for the connection part? And what the FUCK is written in the ruins?????
(3592) I practically didn't even see Jade there LMAO, also once again I like the bubbles being an avenue to just let the kids act normal for once. Roboradia and Sollux are both relieved, they're "doomed" by the narrative but free as people. They don't have to fret, they can just exist.
(3596) I don't know how to feel about the word "groomed for" being used in the context for a metamorphosis that was decidedly empowering and necessary for Kanaya. The rest of the conversation is interesting though, if I rememebr correctly this is about the genetic sequencing right? We'll see...
(3597) So, this is happening for Sollux while Karkat was dragging him around, for Kanaya while she was turning into a vampire, for Jade after she entered the medium, and for Aradia right after she ascended. This is kind of complicated BUT Kanaya and Sollux at the very least seem to be in the same timeframe. Kanaya is also partially glowing so that's neat. It's very possible she wasn't aware of the "metamorphosis" while it was happening.
(3598) Kanaya repaired the Cal doll that Jack stole from Dirk (further showing the Space aspect's animosity is towards Rage rather than it's opposite of Time, even when the embodyment of Time is the enemy), who himself got the puppet from the meteor that fell with baby Dave, who actually got it from the Derse planet of their session. The doll seems to originate in Dave's subconscious, fitting as he's the only human time player, and also one of the subjects of Caliborn's eventual anime fascination. There's also something to be said about how right after Cal is repaired, the sequence that follows is the one that created Doc Scratch.
(3601) Huh! God tier Aradia can revert to Ghost Aradia form from before the session. Can anyone who enters the dream bubbles physically control their physical form?
(3602) The writing is genuinely poetic in this sequence. You can tell it is because I don't know what "less an arm and an eye" means in this context.
(3604) Interesting that Vriska's part of the code has three symbols while Terezi's has five. Aradia describes the scales as tipped, but I'd wager to guess that it's more about how they complete each other, even when one takes and the other loses.
(3605) Each piece of the code was written in the rule books. Also, on the previous page, god-tier Vriska showed up. I wonder if she's still alive here? If she's in the same timeframe as Kanaya and Sollux she must be, but who knows at this point. Also, I would be remiss not to mention Terezi crying as she writes her code. All four of them wrote it while in some kind of mourning, of themselves mostly, so I wonder if she wrote this after disarming Vriska, or after she first lost her own sight? I'm leaning towards the ladder.
(3606) Aradia I'm happy for you but the little interaction between Kanaya and Terezi is really funny. Terezi isn't in the same timeframe as Kanaya is, therefore it's possible that Vriska isn't, either. Seeing Terezi's bitemarks might be, paradoxically, what gives Kanaya the idea to try and start drinking blood. Also why is Jade here.
(3607) Ignoring that this is an additional 6 symbols rather than 8 because the k's are repeated, it's interesting that Gamzee's part of the code only came to be in a doomed session, further lending credence to my theory that doomed timelines are non-canon, the place where rage festers best.
(3608) The framing of this sequence makes me think this isn't just a timeline where Gamzee went insane, it's specifically a timeline where his rampage began because Terezi and Karkat became romantically involved, therefore leaving less time for Karkat to properly befriend and become moirails with Gamzee, pacifying him for a good long while. In a weird fucked up way, Gamzee is acting as an almost "red auspistice" for Karkat and Terezi, keeping them both close to himself in order to prevent them from being with each other, and when they fall out of that pattern, he kills them both. It's also not lost on me that this is the dream vision that will haunt Terezi from now on, and is explicitly what she envisions before going on to kill Vriska to prevent it. It's interesting, to me, that Aradia here spells out that Gamzee went insane, and yet Terezi seems to have enternalized none of it the way Kanaya must have. I wonder why?
(3610) I like the detail that the book is written in every colour of blood except for Aradia's, because Gamzee killed everyone but her.
(3611) The codes being written on walls is purely symbolic, the books are really what matters. Not only because they hold the full genome sequencing, but also because the books being stolen and used to create the first guardian is sort of indicative of the childrens' personal mythologies influencing the session they partake in. It seems to be Derse agents specifically who create a first guardian, likely because the guardians are a threat to the players, even if Bec ended up being a friend. 2/3 of the First Gurardians we know ended up being much more of a nuisance and a threat than a help to their given players, and it makes me wonder about the first guardian of the alpha trolls' session. Did they encounter it at all? Was the genome sequenced from 4 dersite players and 1 prospit player instead? If so I'm willing to bet that singular prospit player was Aranea. Or maybe Kankri? Probably more likely Kankri, as it's either a Vantas or a Myriam that contributed to the code (if we run with the idea that it has to be a different bloodline as well as a different planet, like how it was with the kids, Rose vs Jake). Anyway, what I meant to say was, while Skaia's systems can be head-spinningly cyclical, the players' personal mythologies are literally written into the DNA of their session, which is really fun and also weird and creepy.
(3612) Bec was made with only one imprint, right? Why was Doc Scratch made with two? It can't be the size of the session, it might be because both dersite and prospitian kids gave codes for the genome, or at least I assume that's why it is.
(3615) Oh shit, are we finally starting the Doc Scratch arc? Or is that for later?
(3618) And so the intermission pays off! We finally continue where the midnight crew left off, and what a continuation it is! I find it interesting that Jack and Scratch are both given vague symbolisms of Lord English, and in trying to find him Jack has accidentally become a symbol of him. If I were to further interpret this, I think the clash between Jack and Scratch is symbolic of Caliborn's own impatience with his mission. A part of Caliborn yearns for ruthless destruction while the other is aware that he needs to be calculated and act like the god he intends to be. There is an order and refinement with which Caliborn conquered his session, and I doubt the kind of impatience and brutality Jack embodies was ALL he had in his arsenal to do so.
(3619) I hate to say it but Scratch's narration is actually really entertaining because it reminds me of the narration of the Narrator from The Stanley Parable, which Scratch is essentially a superpowered version of.
(3621) Their dynamic is so funny actually?
(3626) Once again Rose's little cult is both cute and worrying. "You'll get back to [your friends] later" is so tragic knowing what's about to happen.
(3627) This entire converstion is actually a very good thesis on the aspect of Light. Relevance, truth, and luck. Doc Scratch is essentially an embodyment of it, hence his tanting of Vriska and his reaching out to Rose. She regards him with bemusement, but when he starts talking like a creep, she changes her mind. It's an "I wish I never learned that" moment for her. However, Doc Scratch is technically correct. All women are young from his perspective, but the fact that he keeps being interested in talking to 13 year old girls specifically IS REALLY FUCKING WEIRD. It's another extension of Caliborn and his misogyny, specifically how his demeaning of women is a power grab and how he's mentally stuck as a teenager even when he's an unkillable demon. Doc Scratch though, in this instance, is light itself, pure truth, so he doesn't speak in falsehoods but his opinions, by virtue of being opinions, cannot be falsehoods. Light is a contracting aspect, and in narrowing his worldview, Scratch has decided on one interpretation of his actions that he regards as the pure truth and nothing but, because he defines himself as someone who never tells lies. To change, in a way, is to have lied in the past. He can't allow himself this, because time is no agent to him. Furthermore, it explains why Rose "regresses" from having woken up on her dream planet. Much like Scratch, she's narrowed her view of herself and her situation, and decided there's only one thing she can concievably do - self-sacrifice.
(3628) I'm assuming something of Echidna's always has to be used to form a scratch. This also makes me wonder if void session without a time or space player, or both, can even perform a scratch. Are void sessions just doomed worse than all others?
(3629) With how heavily Scratch is related to The Scratch, it's making me wonder for how long the idea of the Scratch as a concept has been woven into Homestuck's narrative. The puppets in Jake's foyer, Bro beginning the scratch process, Roxy doing Roxy shit through Skaianet... How long ago were the Alpha Kids planned? How much of their Session was planned?
(3630) "One to destroy Jack's power source and defend all of existence, and another to ensure our cosmic progeny at the price of oblivion."
I can't help but read these two "suicide missions" as two types of heteronormative doom. Protector and weapon at the cost of bodily autonamy, and birther of a system at the price of personal oblivion. This is making me think each of the kids are queer in one form or another that Prevents them from properly fulfilling these roles - Jack will not be defeated by destroying his power, nor will the kids die for the sake of progeny. If I continue my belief in the June reading, then I have to account for what could make Jade and Dave queer to the point of being unable to fulfill typical gender roles. For Dave it's easy, he's gay like Rose is, but there hasn't been too much hinting of it up until now, though that could be a consequence of both him and John not having anyone they HAD real romantic feelings for until all the Bullshit. Jade, tohugh, is harder to pin down. Earlier I described her (in contrast to Kanaya) as happily fulfilling her "motherly" role to the session with her science and enginuity. The exact phrase I used being "she'd happily grow kids in test tubes like she grows flowers in pots", and I think Jade might be infertile in that cosmic sense. She doesn't "give birth" the way Echidna does, but she still creates life and new beginnings. My instinct is to lean into the transfemanine reading, because it would provide a nice parallel to the way her and John's queernesses "match" like Dave and Rose's do, but as my theory around their ectobiology goes, I don't think she can have a Y chromasome if John also has one. Then again, biological sex is weird and sometimes doesn't actually reflect chromasomes... I'll look into that, because I don't think and isolated Jade on an island who never really had a parental figure would be at all barred from being transfemanine from day one.
(3631) Rose's role of Seer of Light is emphasised in this page, alongside a bit of groundwork laying out the rules surrounding Lord English. Every time I try to write his name I misspell it in a new way before correcting it. Anyway. Rose's role is that of a "fortune teller", someone who knows truth and divinations by virtue of them existing, her vision can be focused and narrow and reveal pressing answers at the cost of losing sight of the peripherals. Just as she ignored the literal cue ball while talking to Scratch. I'm starting to think her descriptor of "the big picture" from a previous conversation with Dave was innacurate. I think that SHE thinks she has the bigger picture, when in reality her aspect and her title force her to follow a single thread, no matter how much the tapestry it weaves ends up being expansive. I'd hazard to compare her to Jade, actually, as Jade seems to be much more beholdent to a "bigger picture" while Rose keeps herself to the nitty gritty of a given task. I think Witches, much like Seers, CAN be oracles, and often are, but their divinations are more... vibes based, for lack of a better term. It's about constructing the Shape of an image, rather than it's details, if that makes sense. I am a lot like Rose, I get hung up on a LOT of details, as is obvious...
(3632) Continuation of what I was talking about, Rose is irritated by leading questions because instead of giving information, they force her to zoom out and try to gather it herself. There's also something interesting about how Terezi is a blind prophet, but Rose's answer to Scratch's question is forced to be "with her eyes". He has, indeed, groomed Rose, and Kanaya, and Eridan, to be puppets and perfect embodyments of their roles. With Kanaya and Eridan there's a clear motive to help Lord English, but with Rose there seems to be more of an investment in just... Destruction for the sake of itself. By making her go on this more violent path, he's ensuring that she is more likely to blow up the green sun by her own volition, or at least that's what he assumes. Just like he assumes that Kanaya becoming vampyric will lend itself useful to his grand sceme rather than destructive to it. It's just mind games with these people.
(3635) Just as Vriska's power is literal luck stealing, Rose's power is literal sight of the truth. It's interesting that the prompts are "Rose: Ask" and "Rose: Answer", as it seems like she answers her own question. Is the cue ball as an instrument purely accidental? Is it more about Rose tapping into an "inner eye" of sorts, letting her glimpse the truth she already knew? Much to think about.
(3636) A literal light in Rose's eye that's going to be snuffed out. I presume the symbol isn't just for that, though. Do seers have a knack for realising their full potential without god tier?
(3638) Rose's mourning is so heartbreaking. She completely loses composure and starts spewing random thoughts without the grace she usually does. Jade comments on her complicated relationship with Roxy, and Rose describes her interpretation. Rose felt Guilty. She thought she was holding her mother back from her true potential, a young girl seeing a woman resigned to the sole role of mother and nothing else, and feeling responsible for her lack of whimsy. All along, that whimsy wasn't lost, it was Rose's cynicism that wouldn't let her see it, and now that guilt is worse. Guilt that makes her think she should've saved her mom. Guilt that makes her think she shouldn't survive the session if her mother doesn't. Guilt that's plunging her deeper into darkness. Jade and Scratch here are acting as vessels for light, Jade is Light in the sense of Hope, while Scratch is Light in the sense of Focus. Rose's lowest point is discarding light entirely, and durning to darkness for comfort and purpose. Darkness, just like the aspect of Void embodies, the aspect of her mother.
(3639) Further evidence, to me, that the cue ball is an ordinary vessel. The answer was within Rose all along. And the answer is that it doesn't matter if the horrorterrors are evil. Grief has consumed her. Revenge is all that matters.
(3641) I can't pin down why this panel fucks me up so much. The way Kanaya mourns losing sight of Rose, the way Vriska mourns losing her glasses, like Kanaya needs Rose the way Vriska needs visual aid? Is it the way a Seer of Light's loss is juxtaposed to a failing Thief of Light? Is it the way that, no matter how much Kanaya glows herself, she's always attracted to sources of light, and losing Rose is still something to mourn, even in her victory? She saved herself, but couldn't save her. Is it just the way Equius' shades force stoicism on Kanaya's grief? She wears a blank expression because there's no one left to confide in. Not her moirail, not Rose, not Karkat, not Eridan. It's just a lot. In one kind of shitpost-y image.
(3646) Single focus, single goal. Kill Jack and Die trying.
(3658) Every time I read something sbahj-esque I feel like I glimpse into a fever dream.
(3661) Derse is a Waxing Crescent, Prospit is a Waning Crescent. As both kid PJs feature Waxing Crescents, I feel this is intentional, because the Waxing crescent represents a moon that is slowly being consumed by light, while Waning is one that is being consumed by shadow. Prospit is under threat, and so is Derse, and the players are the agents by which light is allowed to spread, they themselves must take the hero's path. Also yeah I call pullshit there's no cave entrances here Vriska lied!!!
(3664) The fact that there's already a clock in the tumor never fails to be chilling. It also adds fuel to the fire of my hypothesis that each session has a tumor because destroying the medium is a necessary step in the process, whether a new universe is created or not. THOUGH, since Scratch talked about the humans' session having a cancer, the Tumor could be the physical embodyment of that. He ALSO said the session that comes after theirs would bear fruit though, so I have reason to believe some of his information is innacurate by obfuscation/implication.
(3669) The bunny timeline shenanigains are played for laughs but I once again have to point out how the whole present thing changing with time is a physical representation of the love and friendship the kids have for each other, and how it can both be weaponized and comforting, but most of all always built on top of itself to further expand it. I forget what happens to the bunny after Cascade though.
(3675) I wonder how soon in Homestuck theorizing did people begin to piece together what would happen with the scratch universe? Because this is terribly on the nose. Also the needle the size of a skyscraper thing... is accidental divination a thing? Is that something Hope players do?
(3678) ZILLYHOO WEAPON!!! the first(?) of its kind. Also love that DC is just,,, part of this little squad now. Man forgot what he was doing.
(3679) Also if we want to talk about queer re-interpretations, the most powerful weapons in Sburb are rainbow themed. Also I need to point out, a friend of mine pointed out that the avatar for zillyhoo seems rage-ish, in the sense that its nonsensical and game breaking - the assumption being that the pink smiley face is actually in reference to a Denizen of Rage, which is a theory I've taken wholesale because it's cool as fuck and kind of fits the themes of Rage being tied to Clownery in Homestuck.
(3681) WAIT SO WHERE THE FUCK DOES THE GIANT NEEDLE COME IN??? also, yeah, uh, this whole thing is vaguely rage-ish to me so I'm doubling down on my zillyhoo/rage connection.
(3690) JOHNS ANTICS ARE ALWAYS SO FUNNY!!! I'm starting to think a core part of the Heir experiance is tomfoolery and being kind of a baffoon.
(3695)For the sake of my sanity, and my sleep, this will be the last bit of Homestuck I read before going to bed. Which is great because I love this game and everything it's about, so I will have a lot to say and a lot of procrastinating to do before I go to sleep!!
Rose doesn't even comment on her mother's corpse. She's gone cold in rage and is only thinking about revenge. She doesn't even bat an eye at the dead carapascians, which, yeah, are less pressing but still shocking, aren't they? I also find it remarkable that Rose just Takes the trophies, Bro's shades, her mother's scarf, without further comment...
The Skaia castle is massive, and knowing there's a lot of them all around the battlefield makes me wonder how much time players are MEANT to spend on skaia alone once they reach god tier... There's books here about the frog that the kids might genuinely find useful if their journey WAS the linear one invisioned by Skaia. I'd also like to once again comment on the amount of agency the chess people have, and how they ARE fully fledged people that Rose remarks things about or assumes and projects based on their expressions. It's an interesting dynamic where she's meant to be a hero, but doesn't act like one, therefore isn't percieved as one, and WOULD be able to glimpse into their lives if she weren't preoccupied with her own bloodlust.
Rose has multiple near misses with Jack, and it's interesting that he inedvertantly leads her to the curtains room. The curtains being Red - Red - Red - Red - Blue & Red. A metaphor for the Acts that have already happened/are happening, it seems. Wait why is there a scratch disc in a random Skaia Castle? Can the scratch be performed here too? Is that a feature in all castles? Is the scratch device ONLY on Dave's planet, or can it show up in other places? Ough. The next curtains are opened, they are Green - Green - Green - Green - Green - unopened Green. I can't map these onto future acts properly, that's probably not what they're meant to be anyway.
JOHN SHOWS UP: Rose and John being completely unable to communicate feels like they're stuck in two different phases of grief, Denial and Anger. John isn't even particularly trying to cheer Rose up, just understand her, and he can't and she's weirding him out.
The golden room dedicated to the Queen and King statue feels like another bit of heteronormitivity, especially with the way it compares JohnRose to the king and queen. It's very odd, especially since Rose is the farthest thing from a Queen of light right now. Then again, John isn't exaclty a "king" of light, either... Rose specifically refuses to go the way John came from, and WANTS to take him to see their parents. She's going to communicate one way or another I guess...
FINALLY John comments on the dead carapascians, but it doesn't last long. HOWEVER it results in him being able to understand Rose a little better. Which, in this case, means he's slowly leaving the denial phase. Which is sad and tragic, but also I can't help but love Rose and John's dynamic even in these circamstances....
The fact Jack leaves Jade's tapestry alone never fails to give me chills. A remourseless murderer, and a best friend...
Again with the weird heteronormitivity!! John brings up the marriege thing during what's otherwise a suspenseful climb up to a murder scene, and he says it casually as if he's just trying to... bring up the topic? It's strange, since Rose also seems to regard it as odd. This flash is giving me proto-snowgrave vibes, where there's heteronormative overtones placed on friends who are grieving lost families during a massacre that shouldn't have affected them, technically. Difference being that the heteronormitivity here is less outright villainous, but they still seem to be pushed towards each other by their narrative, the thing preventing them from being "married" legally speaking was their parents being together, and now they're dead, so marriege is technically not off the table! I feel really weird writing this while Black Rose/Green Sun plays in the background becuase it's the perfect encalpsulation of what kind of fucked headpsace Rose is in right now.
"They wait for he who would extinguish candles whilst fanning a fire. They wait for she who would thaw solid flesh and resolve it into a dew. They wait for she who would breed lilacs out of the dead land. They wait for the one who would drop it like it's hot whilst the pimp's in the crib."
"This is a book on theoretical physics, and complex spatial geometrics based on the hypothetical addition of orbs to the queen's ring. The shapes in the diagrams are very complex. This sort of nonsense is regarded as crackpottery at best. Why would the queen ever wear more than four orbs? Four towers, four orbs, four heroes; this is a sacred truth." "It is a holy parchment. Maimed Clown. Undead Cat. Impaled Crow. Omnipotent Dog. These four shall be held in reverence for the eternity they serve to cut short."
I'd love to analyze these excerpts but it's gonna have to wait.
(3696) Jack is an unbeatable foe. Coming here was a suicide mission. As much as Rose empathises with John, her rage prevents her from being the friend he needs, as he succumbs to anger alongside her, but unlike her, he was killed in an instant. John's death, to Rose, can't be just another body on the pile. That was a dear friend, a leader, a hopeful cry into the heavens that maybe the suffering has meaning if we enjoy the adventure that led us to it. His loss is a complete loss of care for anything alive for Rose, all she cares about now is blood and revenge.
(3698) We don't get any direct dialogue of John mourning his father, which means Dave and Rose's mourning processes are essentially set up to be parallelled. Where Rose immediatly flies into an uncontrollable rage, Dave sits back. He wants to be alone, and he wants to feel like shit. It's oddly emotionally aware of him, because the moment someone else shows up he starts falling into old habits, cracking ironic jokes and talking about cock. This is the first(?) time it's really pointed out as being odd, and it's specifically juxtaposed to what Bro taught Dave. The kind of masculinity Dave was taught isn't the kind he embodies, and it's eating him alive. He doesn't think he's worth a hero title because, to him, what makes him who he really is is worthless (being gay, taking care of the timeline), but what makes Bro and John heroes seems to be that percieved masculinity that Dave LACKS. In essential terms, Dave's self loathing stems from him fearing he LACKS what makes other men around him good and normal and worthy of being heroes, while what he HAS is worthless and undignified. I can see how people could read that in a transfemanine way, but I think in this case specifically it's more tied to the abuse Dave's been enduring his whole life. He even specifically states that he didn't love Bro, and he seems to mean it, meanwhile Rose never SAYS she loved her mom, but in the way she talks about her and mourns her and grieves it's obvious she very deeply did. Dave feels perpetually inadequate, no matter how integral he is to the session or how admirable he is to his friends, because he was TAUGHT to FEIGN confidence while constantly being undermined, terrified and beaten. Like, all of this and I didn't even mention that Bro is gay too. Dave never knew, and he never COULD have known, because Dirk taught him to mask the same way he always masked. He taught Dave survival skills in the brutal ways that he had to learn them, perpetuating a generational cycle that's now left Dave directionless and insecure.
(3699) Maybe unimportant, but his run is a visual callback to Kanaya's. Is Dave trying to get petty, personal revenge for his abuse?
(3703) Dave seems to be lamenting the fact that no-one else is angry. While this is kind of funny on account of Rose's murder spree, he isn't incorrect in his assesment, metaphorically. Because Dave isn't really mad at Jack, the true anger he's feeling comes from the fact that even in death, he can't break his Bro's shitty sword. He can't get a one-up on the guy, even when he isn't alive anymore. And it fucks with Dave, because it seems their hierarchichal abusive structure survived death, the one thing Dave has/will master. And in it not dying, the abuse hasn't died, it's still with Dave, so his instinct is to lash out and take the anger out on someone else. First partly on Terezi, then he identifies Jack as the real target of his ire. Because Jack represents taking away everything the kids thought was sacred and safe. But, again, Dave never had that safety - the way he describes the rest of the humans reveals their family situations. John is "too nice", he wasn't abused; Rose is "scheming", reading too much into her mother's gestures and ruminating; and Jade is "a liability", it'd be a bigger problem if she TRIED to do something, because Grandpa Harley was an absent kind of abusive, rather than physically abusive, and trying to step up to him and get angry with him would only wound Jade more, because there's technically nothing THERE to be angry with, the man is already dead. Dave, though, feels angry with his Bro, and feels alone in that anger, because none of his friends were abused the way he was.
(3705) In the same way WV acts as a pseudo-father figure to John in the sense that he's an inner voice (an inner parent voice?), AR is Dave's inner voice too, just less. familial. Less familiER. Instead he's a voice that's nudging Dave towards realising his Bro wasn't a hero, "this is illegal, and he was a criminal" in the sense that "he did bad things, and he was a bad person".
(3707) It's interesting that Dave's the least equipped to recognise a foreign voice in his head, just like from a character perspective. He's already awake on Derse, but doesn't have a great hold on his waking mind the way he has on his sleeping mind. There's something to be said there about how your private life can be all figured out but the moment you Exist in a World you get confused and disoriented with it all.
(3709) I think I'm starting to get it, blowing up the terminals and their holding cells is a ritual of sorts. And I just now noticed that the inside of the Dog ship is Green, when the inside of the Bottle Cap ship was Purple. It's all tied to the server/client stuff but I also think it's worth wondering why it's set up that way. Maybe it doesn't really matter. Blowing up all the ships is a "cristening" of the universe, just as the kids' rituals christened them INTO a new universe, finally bringing it into existance as a real place. Partaking in a ritual to welcome a new beginning.
(3710) We're now switchin to Terezi's feelings of inadiquacy and I'm fascinated where this will go.
(3711) Terezi suspects Eridan, what with the fishy line, and stands over Nepeta's corpse the way Dave stood over Bro's. Is there another parallel here? Perhaps Terezi feeling her own skills as a friend are lacking, when Nepeta was able to effortlessly subdue a highblood of Equius' strength with pure cunning?
(3712) This conversation is now parallelling the one Vriska and John had. Of course, Terezi and Dave's version of being emotionally vulnerable with each other is still steeped in jabs and quippy remarks, rather than a full mask-off. I don't think either of them are capable of that. Terezi turns her back to the capricorn creature, ignoring the signs pointing to Gamzee's guilty verdict because she's too preoccupied by the thought of Vriska - of her own personal shortcomings. She isn't a killer, and she thinks there's something wrong with being unable to just stoicism her way into being one. She's worked her whole life towards being a legislasher or whatever, but now feels as if it's a job unfitting of someone unable to get her hands dirty. She's stuck in the past, both with Vriska, and with the role lawyers USED to have on alternia. "They didn't used to spend all their time in offices, they used to be hunters. I thought I would grow out of my stuffy mind games and really get out there. But I can't."
There's also a neat bit of symbolism to Terezi's blindness to the giant capricorn monster. On the one hand, when at her best, Terezi is "The Blind Prophet", perfectly embodying the aspect of mind that empowers her and she's able to be terrifyingly observant and clairvoyant through it, even when genuinely sightless. On the OTHER hand, being so reliant on her mind aspect is exactly what leaves her vulnerabe and (for lack of a better term) blind to her surroundings. She's blinded by emotion and her obsession with Vriska, and is unable to properly rely on her senses to scope out Gamzee. The clown's a killer who works in the shadows, he SHOULD be the perfect criminal for Terezi to catch, by relying on sounds and smells, but she's unable to because of her overwhelming guilt about Vriska. It's all the poor girl can think about, and despite all the evidance leading towards Gamzee, she just turns away from it and walks away, lamenting to Dave how she feels there's something wrong with her. The thing that's wrong is her plan to kill Vriska, but she can't tell, because she's failing to percieve the clown in the room.
(3713) I also find it FASCINATING that Dave points out the human/troll discrepancy in the same conversation that Dave makes a reference to Terezi's whole a-lucky thing. Out of the main trolls, Kanaya and Terezi always seemed the least prepared for human conversations, while Karkat and Vriska would've undoubtedly been happier as humans. This conversation makes me think, though, maybe Terezi and Kanay would've been happier when human, too. If only because the pressures plaguing them would be different and less... murderous. Also I think there's a miscoloured pixel or two under Terezi's hands in her walkie sprites.
(3714) Resident evil reference? And we're finally getting the disc thing?
(3717) Ah, we're getting a little meta with it about controlling Terezi. Can't really complain. The way the narration says "sweet precious Gamzee" makes me think Terezi might've had the hots for him for a while? It'd explain why he's not even on the suspect list even when shit hits the fan. The fact Gamzee ransacked Mindfang's journal though is interesting. I'm sure Vriska only ever took her eyes off of it for a second, but that's enough for the clown man I suppose.
(3718) Gamzee going out of his way to taunt and fuck with Terezi tells me he percieves her as more of a threat than she percieves him as. It might be him trying to stoke a rivalry/black romance between them, or maybe he's just planning to be extra mean when trying to kill her, just like he was with Equius. This music is NOT appropriate for the shit I'm writing...
(3719) The narration calls out how the room isn't canon, but Gamzee made it canon!!! That's some weird rage shit, for sure.
(3724) This is exactly what I'm talking about!!! Terezi's blind to her surroundings even when AWARE of them, because of her obsession with Vriska!!! I'm starting to think Gamzee's only leaving "Vriska" clues for the sake of trying to stoke that rivalry I mentioned earlier, but Terezi is absolutely not reading the signs and is just thinking about Vriska. God.
(3725) Woah hearing the original Midnight Crew is throwing me off...
(3730) I forgot the scratch was foreshadowed by Terezi playing with records of all things...
(3735) I think through reminiscing about "the good old days" Terezi is both hyping herself up for the murder, but also accidentally hightening the fallout of guilt that will follow. Maybe THAT was Gamzee's plan all along? Who knows at this point...
(3737) ^ Doubling down on what I said above, she's embracing the doll like an old friend, and just like I assumed before, she uses the dolls as a crutch when she can't control real people. She compliments the dragon's loyalty while diminishing Vriska's, therefore the scalemate ACTS as her ideal scourge sister that she lost when Vriska stopped playing nice, by Terezi's standards. There's also something to be said about Gamzee replacing the doll with Cal instead. Literally he's preventing Terezi from feeling happy so she'll go out of her way to hunt Vriska (and Gamzee, still thinking about the blackrom thing), but metaphorically it's cementing that Terezi feels uncomfortable confronting real problems and villains, so she'd rather just reminisce and try and fuck with Vriska instead.
(3740) The text pointing out how childish Terezi's actions are further solidifies to me that she goes to roleplaying as a comfort from the horrors, just as she did with her dragonsuit, she's doing the same with the Redglare suit. The only difference is, she's convinced herself she's on a mission rather than just trying to avoid her issues like earlier.
(3742) This is exactly where Mindfang's hypocrasy in "opposing" the social order comes to light. I know from future that Redglare was a follower of Kankri's, hence why she doesn't bat an eye at taking out someone of higher blood. The behest of the GHB is a formality, she'd be seeking justice either way. But Mindfang can't wrap her head around that, her blinding and disarmment is a callback to Vriska but also a literal subjugation of her from someone she thought below her, in skill and blood and Relevance. Redglare takes away what makes Mindfang intimidating, she's now disabled and fleetless, and it's why she's able to apprehend her without much worry. She's strategically disarmed one who does it to others, for the sake of giving her her cummupance. What's striking to me is that however much the kids base their lives off of their ancestors, their situations can't be compared. Terezi "took revenge" on Vriska in a similar fashion, but it came from a different place, a personal place. Redglare wants to fuck up the dominators of the world, Terezi wants to control them. Mindfang wants nothing but control, Vriska has completely lost hers.
(3744) Yet further calling itno question both Terezi's confidence and her sound judgement. She's emulating Dave (going to confront his abuser) and Redglare (ruthless persuit of a random criminal) while she herself is an uncertain yet determined child. The Dave metaphor is more apt, because while fighting Bro on the roof is what he "needed", it fucked him up severely, just like what Terezi "needs" to do is to her own detrament, I'm assuming she'll justify it to herself that way, too, but hindsight is 20/20 so I know this decision is fulled by half-baked evidance and emotional disregulation.
(3748) Mindfang is being sarcastic, but yes the highbloods DID store the courtroom full of lowbloods, because Redglare alive is more of a threat than Mindfang alive. Redglare was attempting to execute someone of higher rank, which can't be allowed, but Mindfang? She's upholding the social order, even now. What a sucker.
(3751) The way Mindfang talks about potential lovers is always sadistic, and Vriska tries to emulate it even though she's deeply masochistic. It really paints a vivid picture, of a maladjusted mother fucking up her daughter without much care. "Defying" the social order and despizing it, while actually just reinforcing it both in the treatment of who comes next in her bloodline, as well as who's below her right now.
(3753) I still don't know what the tyranny is, but Mindfang calling redglare a "true seer" in taking out her arm rings hollow to me. My sister most of all posits the interpretation that the Ancestors of our trolls mostly acts as baggage/echoes of the beta trolls, rather than genuine reflections of the alpha trolls, but I disagree. In this panel, Aranea is not embodying a thief. Yes, she's a pirate, but she's also a sylph-y trickster who can't keep to herself to save her life, constantly meddling in affairs even when they put her in danger. She's terrifyingly capable when cornered, and her aspect isn't taken away from her at any point, she remains a scorching ray of light all throughout her time, even when in metaphorical chains. Her read of Redglare was also incorrect, for Redglare didn't forsee SHIT about the trial. She lobbed off Mindfang's arm for her own benifit, and her entire existance is to SERVE the aspect of mind the way Dave serves the aspect of Time. Kind of makes Terezi's stair sequence hit even harder, huh? Emulating a servant class when she's a scholar class, just like Vriska emulating a "pirate" (sylph) when she's really a thief. And they both suffer for it. Vriska isn't a fairy who can survive an overwhelming foe with a singe outburst, she's an underdog who has to outsmart her enemy before they outsmart her. The whole scourge sister rivalry really IS just a case of senseless murder, just like all other kills on the meteor were...
(3755) So Aranea provided protection for Horrus after he defied the Highbloods in order to spare Meulin. It's interesting to me because it's, again, that thing about the social order, and how Aranea's the one opposing it essentially the least right now. Horrus questions if what he did was the right thing, while I'm sure Equius is questioning why he DIDN'T do the right thing... Again, however much the ancestors may be parallels, they're almost opposite to the beta kids, and it's fascinating.
(3757) Mindfang's experiance with The Orb is similar to Rose's, except Rose's use of the scrying was finding answers to current predicaments. If left with more time around the Cue ball, I'm sure she would have eventually asked it similar things as Mindfang, but not the same. Mindfang was petty, she wanted to know who she'd fall in love with and how she would die, all personal questions partaining to her ego, while Rose would disregard such questions I assume. Romance is a thing you stumble into, death is an inevitability you always have to account for, and Rose's psychologically minded gambits usually prove more effective than a Serket's egotistical and manipulative gambits do. Mindfang herself says consulting the oricle comes at a cost, and I think Rose pieces that together once she brushes shoulders with Doc Scratch like she did when her mother died. I dunno, I'm spitballing again, I just find it interesting that no matter how surface-level similar Aranea is to both Rose and Vriska, she is still different (and worse) than them both in a palpable way, maybe not palpable to Vriska, but it is to everyone else (I hope).
(3759) I was gonna write a whole thing here but then something happened in my server and now I'm completely dumbfounded. Jesus. I was hoping I could get to cascade tonight but with a friend doing a stream tonight as well I don't know if I can... I should probably stop micro-analyzing everything BUT... This passage is interesting in the sense it restates those incorrect god-tier roles Aranea keeps assigning everyone, and I'm starting to think she does so in that mythical sense rather than actually trying to clock something intrinsic to their characters, which is ODD because the whole thing she does in openbound is provide exposition for the alpha trolls. Mindfang is a version of her that never had to care about other people but herself and it SHOWS. Even the way she describes Rufioh is weird, because at first I assumed he'd be the one rival/lover she holds in higher regard? But then she talks about taking his will again. In the end, Rufioh is a Rogue of Breath, I think he took her breath away and rather than her taking HIS agency, he's the one that took hers by like. Charming her or something idk how heterosexuality works. It's important to note all this because he's the one who kills Mindfang in the end, probably to aid in the whole rebellion effort, but it's left open-ended. There's a thread here, I believe, about how Mindfang wanted to mould Rufioh into a perfect mate, but instead got outclassed, and Vriska tried to uphold generational shit by bullying Tavros as retribution (metatextually), by trying to mould him into her perfect kismesis instead, which failed. Vriska following in Mindfang's footsteps was toxic from moment 1, and I still don't understand how Vriska hasn't realised that... did she always have asurface-level reading of Mindfang's journal? Did she never question if there was more underneath the prose and egoism? Oh who am I kidding she's 13 I didn't even catch the gender-based issues between most of the HS kids back then, of course she didn't question her idol.
(3760) Yeah, the disc got REALLY badly damaged. I think it's another fourth-wall-y thing to show off Gamzee's involvement, because after the retcon there's none of that scratched disc stuff. But the conversation between Terezi and Vriska is also interesting. Terezi sadly admitting she thinks Vriska smells nice, Vriska happily admitting she's happy to see Terezi but masking it with talk of "rivalries". It really makes me think Vriska is just trying to be Mindfang's successor, and nothing else, which to me seems both justified and like a cop out. Like there had to be a constructed narrative for why she bullies Tavros specifically, instead of her being genuinely manipulative and targetting the guy who's most susceptible to abuse. It makes her symbolism more shallow for the sake of touching on Ancestor plots - ankle deep mile wide sort of thing. I don't DISLIKE the Mindfang backstory, I just wish it wasn't so... paint-by-the-numbers the reason why Vriska acts the way she does with the people she does, again it makes her seem less decisive. And once again, Terezi sidestepping the Gamzee issue by focusing on Vriska and the consequences her actions will have. One reading is that Terezi is pleading with Vriska not to commit suicide, the other is that she's trying to stop Vriska from killing everyone. Both are simoltaniously correct AND incorrect. And, as always, the coin flip is arbitrary.
(3764) FINALLYYYY WE'RE IN THE DOC SCRATCH ERA - I might be able to reach Cascade yet!!!
(3766) He's talking about cascade he's MOCKING ME-
On a real note though, I think it's nice that we're actually getting a kind of fortold end point of Act 5 and know when Act 6 will begin. I know a lot of ppl shit on Act 6 but frankly I can't wait for a change of pace.
(3771) With Scratch's dialogue it's harder to parse the symbolism of the given scene, and I actually want to focus on the green menece for a second. The entire changing of the website is jarring and really makes you feel like you're "no longer home", it violently rips away whatever normalcy you have in order to thrust you into the uncertain, while our host is very, very certain. He only tells truths, but he's eerie and cunning and manipulative, his lies by omission can't be understated. There's also a neat detail that the icon of The Unofficial Homestuck Collection also changes to a cue ball for the sake of this atmosphere. It's very immersive! It's a kind of eerieness you can only really get from a perfectly circular white head staring at you from everywhere you look.
(3774) Vriska is essentially inviting Terezi to kill her. How am I NOT supposed to read this as suicidal, especially after all the talk of her not fitting in, and "something wrong with me" talk? Terezi, as previously stated, is the sadist to Vriska's masochist. Terezi is inviting Vriska to run away. "Get away from me before I do it", and "I dare you to kill me before he can." It's interesting to me because I can't parse the end goal for either of them. I'm starting to doubt there is one. I think they're both just waiting to see if the other will actually pull the trigger and finally end the game, and if so, then both of them are on a suicide mission.
(3776) This is where I have to question both my own reading as well as Scratch's. He posits that Vriska gambled on Terezi NOT killing her, while my interpretation is the opposite. While, yes, Vriska says she wants to fight Jack, more than anything else she wants to prove her worth - she wants her life to MEAN something. The problem is, she's emulating Mindfang, and just as she tried to make Tavros into her perfect rival, I think there's an arguement to be made that she wants to make Terezi into her perfect murderer. She can't die by Tavros' blade, so the next best thing is to die by her sister's. It's odd to me that Doc Scratch interprets Vriska's actions as anything BUT suicidal, especially in the way he underminds the kids overall. Is her ideation of ego-death outside of his periphery because it's so deeply human? Or am I reading part of Vriska in a way the author genuinely didn't intend?
(3786) It doesn't surprise me that Doc Scratch seems to somewhat revel in the inevitability of the deaths of his protoges. It's that creepy obsession with dominating young girls, literally grooming them and then watching them crumble from the influence. It's terrifying because the way he acts, Doc Scratch more often than not is a narrative tool, and because of that his actions towards these kids is never unpacked the way someone like Bro's actions are. This leads into a far less sensible reading of mine, where Calliope and Calliborn represent two halves of a whole author, two seperate ambitions that form a cohesive conductor with a baton, and in that symbolism I find characters like Scratch and the various Jacks as extensions of that metaphor. The antaonists in Homestuck that aren't heroes are less people and more tools of the author, and therefore aren't allowed catharsis or arcs the way heroes are. Eridan is a bad kid, but he gets his cummupance, and it's satisfying. Jack is a harbinger of doom and a mass murderer, but his cummupance is less than unimpressive, it feels almost paradoxical in its lack of depth or weight. A similar thing happens with Doc scratch, where after his death, he essentially becomes a footnote the way Caliborn intended - the way the author intended. I don't want to be overly antagonistic towards Hussie but I can't lie about the way Scratch's actions and lack of retribution rub me the wrong way.
(3793) I'm sad to say I kind of agree with Sburb's ruling that John did not earn a hero's death. As much as his friends call him one, John hasn't done anything particularly remarkable during his journey, and he's only now going to do the scratch. It's part of my reasoning for why I think all the kids sort of "failed" their quests, or really their rises to maturity and heroism. The trolls are self-explanitory, but with the humans it's more complicated, especially in the context that they did everything "right" and none of them killed each other, and they all reached god tier. In a normal game session, god tier marks the point at which a player has "ended" their arc, so to speak, and become an embodyment, or tool, or master user of their aspect. The kids, however versed in their abilities, have not reached the psychological aspect of that by the time they reach god tier, and it's kind of starting to weigh on me because I know/remember what comes in the retcon. I don't want to dwell on it too much because it won't show up for a WHILE, but it's pinging me as odd that I KNOW what is going to be retconned, and am both taking it into account while also disliking it.
(3794) I'm a big fan of this composition. The fire is probably just meant to be aesthetic, but with the ominous tone and the context of Doc, I kind of see this as him foreshadowing John and Caliborn's fight(s), even if John doesn't die during them. When DOES John die? After this, I'm not sure if he does. But Doc Scratch is certain in his moral assesment of John, I think purely because of his devotion to Caliborn.
(3795) Yeah so maybe I should just shut my mouth for a page or two because Scratch essentially just confirms my speculation in the above paragraph.
(3796) Huh, wait, this is a good point to bring up. The words used typically for Kanaya are flipped onto Vriska, calling out that she's mimiking a Sylph. On top of that, the last messege she left John went unanswered, and without proper Light-based resolution, or even Breath-based resolution. Was John ALWAYS meant to go back for her? To not break his primise to talk to her one last time? I'm not sure, because I rememeber they had a very good exchange in the dream bubbles after Vriska's death.
(3706) In the same vain that Vriska got away from Terezi, Jack got away from Vriska. This further fuels my idea that Vriska's mission was ultimately a suicidal one rather than a sadistic one, here she shares visual pllacement with Terezi, left hanging and without a violent outlet, despite "seeking" one. She wanted to destroy what she had created, but it got out of hand, and killed everyone she loved. Vriska's actions always have and always will be destructive of those around her even if her ultimate goal is self-destruction, and I think there's a poem in that.
(3808) I think it hightens the tension of "tick tock" that I'm waiting for a stream to start in another tab. Anyway. I still find it jarring and creepy how Scratch always seems to find a way to take a moral high-ground in the ways he interacts with his "proteges". Here he's basically admitting that he's a bad and creepy influence, but with Rose he denies it with "Facts and Logic". Is that part of the game? Eugh. I hate this guy.
(3810) Translation: "Timey-wimey non-linear bullshit that we pretend is linear, just don't question it ok??? I fucked up the timeline and can't fully explain everything away. Just work with me here. Please."
(3813) It's getting to the point I have to start paying attention to the banner artwork as well. I think Jack is doing something with Gasoline?
(3815) While Jack starts on his plan to set the green bullshit room ablaze, we... ok wait I was gonna write some pseudo artistic butllshit but. Doc Scratch is too short for his own chair. His legs dangle off of it. Why. Wh. WHY IS HE SO SMALL- anyway, I'd like to awknoledge for a second that, as expansive as Homestuck is, this storybook/picture show setup for this intermission kind of highlights that most of what we see of the plot are essentially selective snapshots of these characters' lives. A slight nod to the fact that a complete Story doesn't necessarily ential the Complete story, if you know what I mean.
(3817) There's dual meaning here. On the one hand, this visual callback shows us the fear that's fuelling Terezi's upcoming choice, her awareness of what could have been influences her judgement of what will be, which is both powerful as well as distressing for her. On the other hand, the narration from DS that follows kind of gestures towards the repetition between trolls and their ancestors - and further implicitly hints at the Alpha sessions we're yet to even catch glimpses of. Everything that could happen has happened and will happen, and while I think a story like Adventure Time explores that theme in a more personal sense, Homestuck explores it in the sci-fi incomprehensible scale sort of way. In the same vain the Hussie at some point said all ships are canon or whatever, this line hints that there's an uncountable number of ways this session has gone, and there's an uncountable number of sessions that went that same way, like an echo. It's why I'm still in such firm of an opinion that there HAS to be some other way to save these kids.
(3819) I didn't mention it earlier but I DO want to awknoledge Vriska's genuine distress and anger at Jack's killing of Karkat and Terezi. No clue why he didn't finish off Kanaya and Sollux but, there's something to be said about the way her grief is paralleled with Rose's. Because, very explicitly, Rose was persuing Jack for the murder of her mom, Vriska is sort of doing the opposite, being the one who created Jack and wanting to put him in the ground out of a need to live up to her mother figure's legacy. A sort of backwards-upside-down generational trauma that's going to backfire. The fact the image is "flipped turnways" I think hints at the fact that, no matter how similar these fights are, they fundamentally differ in ways that's hard to reconcile - Rose's grief and Vriska's overzealousness. It's ALSO interesting that, even with the image flipped, Karkat still ends up in the same place John was, meaning they are narratively more similar/linked than Vriska and Rose are, which is again FASCINATING knowing they're both light players with serfice-level similar goals.
(3820) Wait I just noticed, did Jack light the place on fire only because the bowl ran out of dogs?
(3822) His house is on fire and he's pulling that fucking face... Yeah he's Caliborn alright.
(3825) Is there a logistical reason why a perfect 8x8 roll results in a mindfang cosplay? Or is it just aesthetics. Because I'd genuinely love to know. It's probably dnd rules where nat20 gives the coolest possible result, and because it's Vriska, for her the best possible result is literally turning into Mindfang and being overpowered to all shit. Wonder what would happen if someone else threw those dice though...
(3827) VERY VERY INTERESTING that the narration highlights that Vriska killed her Denizen rather than striking a bargain. Also, said narration doesn't do a very good job of distinguishing Vriska from said Denizen. "the guile of a cheater, the luck of a Clover, the hubris of her mentor, and the drive known only to the pathalogically competative" could EASILY be referring to her Denizen because of the sentance structure. Do we ever find out who her denizen even is? I see Cetus brought up a lot because he's Rose's, and Denizens are assumed to be aspect-based most of the time, but I'd argue that if Vriska is powerful enough to oppose Jack even with her emotionally unfullfilled Godtier state, Vriska could be one of those rare exceptions where a Denizen is spawned to match the guile of their player, rather than the Aspect, like with Dirk and Caliborn.
(3829) Where... where are they fighting, exactly? What physical location in the medium is this? Why is Jack holding his burning bludgeoning weapon? Why can't Vriska regenerate her health or something of the sort with her 8x8 superpowered roll? Can she not roll again without risking losing her current loadout? Is that the mechanic? Am I thinking too hard about it all?
(3831) Ah, that's why he picked it up. It's also interesting to me that DS isn't rooting against Vriska (or rather doesn't believe in her downfall) despite her being arguably the biggest threat to Jack (an extension of himself and his boss).
(3832) The way homestuck portrays the mind aspect is almost mesmerizing to me. I also want to again highlight how "alpha" timeline seems to be in part tied to the masculine overcompensation of time players a-la Dave and Calliborn. DS is only a "master" of the "alpha" timeline, hence his disinterest in all other possibilities. BUT, the implication here is that the Alpha timeline is both uniquely gifted as well as uniquely cursed (kind of like Vriska herself), and it's interesting to point at this, to me, because of the aformentioned infinity of Paradox Space. If there IS another path to save these kids, maybe several that didn't involve DS, we can't know about them because he IS here. His master, the LORD of TIME claims ownership of the narrative, and the narrative's view on timelines in particular. It's sinister because it almost replaces the hand of the author in practice, Caliborn is to blame for the narrative choices of Hussie - "it was always meant to be this way" versus "the villain made it so nothing else is possible". It's a genuinely strange conundrum from the meta-analytical side of things.
(3833) Terezi being compared to "the" conductor with a baton that would later on become Lord English's defnining symbol, gives her this air of sinister-ness that befits her, but maybe not Caliborn. Comparing any of the female characters to him even by implication is definitely strange. Though I guess Calliope is similarly a conductor with a baton? Though she is far less destructive with the symbol. Terezi is described as an explorer and advisor, the symbol of the conductor is almost antithetical as it implies leadership and control. Maybe she aided her frineds in the kind of manner that made them Percieve her as larger-than-life than she actually was? Or maybe DS' vocabulary in describing things is limited because of his sole focus on bringing Lord English into existance. Much to ponder. The narration being explicitly unreliable rather than implicitly is an unnatural change of pace and it's making me run around in circles a lot more.
(3836) I'm drawn back to the way Redglare opposed the caste system in a way Mindfang never did. Terezi is choosing the needs of the many over the wants of a few, and in that repeating the pattern of their ancestors. Even if Mindfang killed Redglare, Terezi killing Vriska is the same feud and the same principals in a different context - a rehashing and rephrasing rather than an echo. Again, very interesting, but I can't help but feel this cyclical timeline shenaniganary is in part due to DS' own need for clocks and cycles and shit.
(3837) Vriska's murder is visually similar to John, and the intended reading is probably the senseless violence - victims of a crime that didn't have to be comitted. In my mind, though, its far more reminiscent of unearned hero titles. John's death was neither heroic nor just because he wasn't an accomplished hero, meanwhile Vriska's death WILL be just because she wasn't an accomplished hero. It's a senseless loss in the way any civilian death is, and its anticlimactic and unbefitting of a "leader" of "heroes", because neither of them have actually earned those titles they carry.
(3839) The way the blue seeps into the yellow and makes it a dark teal, like Terezi's colour, is probably intensional. It's also poetic in the sense that Vriska's blood spilled is, essentially, already what colours everything about Terezi.
(3843) I had to rewind several pages to catch up with what's going on in the banner - Jack fucking died here? I kinda forgot that. Anyway why did Gamzee invite Karkat to the roof? Was it specifically so he'd be a victim of Jack if Vriska actually went through with her plan? If so that explains why Kanaya and Sollux weren't killed too. But I'm also willing to guess Karkat didn't actually believe the note from Gamzee the way Terezi did - rather he was drawn to the roof specifically to make sure Gamzee didn't do anything to Terezi. His hesitant expression tells me as much, and makes his reaction to Vriska's murder that much more palpable.
(3844) Snowman's eyes showing up during Karkat and Terezi's emotional moment of mourning kind of further solidifies to me that the Prospit and Derse Kings and Queens act as heteronormative symbols - the white royal couple with JohnRose + now the black queen with Karezi. It seems too specific to be an accident. Kanaya and Sollux are technically also here but - wait if Kanaya and Sollux are here then Gamzee's note can't be why they were spared from Jack and Karkat wasn't. Hm. Weird.
(3847) Am I even allowed to question how Gamzee got the hammer of zillihoo?
(3849) Oh ok I see... Snowman's saving of Jack is juxtaposed to Gamzee's "saving" of Terezi, encouraging her to kill Vriska so she'd become his rival instead. Kismasitude sometimes involves killing your enemie's murderers I guess. Weird sequence but it's interesting to see parallel interactions like this. Also where the hell did DS go?
(3850) Hm ok several things are happening at once. There's a throughline though of Vriska's superiority complex, DS' passive observance and Snowman's casual demenour. A detatched-ness that feels both overwhelming and underwhelming. It's weird to describe reading this portion of the comic and it's getting even harer to comentate. I remember the DS arc being difficult for me to parse likely because of this neverending train of goings-on to keep track of. I still gotta write shit out or I risk completely glossing over things, like the aformentioned Snowman-heteronormitivity connection.
(3851) I've been staring at this page for quite a while now. The clocks are mesmerizing. Snowman's space gimmick thingy is meant to be part of her shadow but because the srats are noticably brighter than her it instead fucks with the perspective and gives the effect of a highlight. There's also something to be said about Derse corralating to JUST while Prospit to HEROIC. Just with the previous ships to queens comparisons I made, JohnRose is a bond forged with the characters at their best, acting their most heroic, while Karezi is forged with them at their lowest, acting Just but at their own detrament. Karkat showed up to that roof ready to grieve, so he offered Terezi comfort, but probabaly didn't give the kind of vitriol Terezi actually needed/felt herself because of her own actions. Similarly Snowman's actions are justified, to keep Jack alive is to keep the Alpha timeline alive, but there's a palpable disgust to the blood on her lips now (at least I think it's disgust?) coupled with Vriska trying to course-correct and not be mean to Tavros only after his death. Just in principal, deplorable in practice.
(3852) Ok I was doubting myself before, but this tiny chatlog once again confirms to me Vriska's suicidal ideation. At the VERY least she seeks ego death, a fullstop to her "gamer" career, a fullstop to everything that made her what she was (which was bad) to something new that makes her what she isn't (John, a symbol of freedom, a symbol of masculinity and friendship). Vriska is trying to reconcile with herself and her own mortality as Snowman and Slick reach a mutual understanding, as John's clock reaches the rebirthing equilibrium. Trying to find the middle point between two extremes, and in this case Vriska's middle point seems to be dying a Just death rather than a Heroic one, because one good deed does not a hero make. Tragic, but fitting. Terrifyingly fitting.
(3853) The rainbow power eminating from a reviving John reminds me of the power Lord English weilds, though I might be getting my aesthetics mized up. The colours don't seem to correspond to anything in specific - not aspects not troll colours - its literally just a massive power surge that brings John back from the dead.
(3854) Heteronormitivity, again. Especially with Vriska's first palpable jealousy over a female "rival" which used to mostly come off as aspirational, is now genuinely insecure. She wishes she were in Rose's shoes, she wants to die a heroic death and be brought back by the hero of breath she helped make. Also Slicks' feet being so goofy in comparison to Snowman's uber detailed design is very funny to me.
(3856) The panic and verosity DS has about Slick and Snowman making out is, to me, a parallel to what's happening with Vriska in the sense that her and John were never meant to be, and the (currently playing) lord of the timeline wants to put a stop to a budding romance because it is not within his vision. Doomed to fail by the narrative sort of thing, ESPECIALLY with Vriska talking through Rose's dead body essentially. It's just a lot of converging paths and it's hard to put into words but I think, while Vriska's wishes to live a normal life are well-meant, they're unachievable in the same way a true revival for Rose is under these circamstances. Rose stays dead, Vriska stays dead, Snowman will die too. Hnhgnhghhh words are failing me but you know what I mean.
(3857) HMMMMMM on the one hand Vriska's interest in human culture is an expression of her inner child that barely gets to thrive, on the OTHER hand her use of phrases like "we can do whatever you want, no weird alien (my) stuff" makes the imigery parallel with a dead Rose very. Hm. Distinct. Stepford wife sort of imigery, a dead woman playing the role of a romantic interest. Snowman has Less of that since she's an active agent, but Vriska and Rose are both taking extremely passive roles, they're kids, they're acting out what they're told and taught, while Snowman is a fully fledged adult acting on informed and established whims.
(3858) The red of the blood juxtaposes the red of the lava, the volcano that both brings life and destruction. There's somethign to be said about Jade's infertility theme coupled with Rose's death and with Snowman's forcefully auspesctized romance. Something about unfulfilled desire... Or maybe, if we take into account Vriska's accidental narration - a cutoff point where the inner desire is replaced with outside forces and responsibility. Hm, the redness of blood and lava, like the red aspect of Blood? Much to think about. It's only half past ten but I feel like I'm gonna pass out soon lord help me why do i type so goddamn fuckign much oh my fucking god
(3859) Thriving Jade, dead Vriska, spared Snowman, and grieving Terezi. All of these seem tied to blood as an aspect if my reading of these shenanigains is correct, especially with that goddamn volcano in the background. I know Lava is typically associated with the Time aspect because of Dave, but the actual behavure of volcanoes is definitely reminiscent of a "colder" aspect like Space fittingly enough. I almost just typed spade instead of Space. Also for the record I perpetually call slick "jack" because its easier and also calling him spades is confusing for my brain in specific because of blorbo reasons.
(3860) (muting the flash while I type this) Jack in specific is the one who breaks Vriska's clock and gets it stuck on "Just". it was going to perma-land on Just either way, but Jack specifically breaks it, and it makes me think about how in the dream bubbles, we see no other dead Vriskas but "our" dead Vriska. Is she just... weirdly cursed to never have a heroic death or an equilibrium revival, because her clock is stuck on "just"? Like her sins can't be washed off. Or maybe Slick is again acting as an avatar for Caliborn who just really hates women. I have no idea anymore.
(3861) So the theme seems to have switched from Blood to Rage. Interesting. Those aspects are close to each other on the wheel. I wonder if this entire intermission can be mapped onto the Aspect wheel in a cyclical, clock-like fashion. Something to ponder once I have time for a more clear-headed re-analysis of my own bullshit. Me when the seer of breath analyses plot to extreme measures. I'm normal.
(3865) Yeah, the theme is now 100% rage. Though, with Karkat's questioning of John and Vriska's relationship I'm already considering that we're going to lapse into Heart soon. This is very VERY interesting.
(3866) The intersection between Rage and Heart is interesting. It's like the common ground is violence, or rather agression, which CAN define Rage but not wholely or productively. God I love aspects.
(3867) Jade and Dave's powers being overwhelmingly powerful when they team up because they're opposing aspects is genuinely very interesting... especially since neither reached god tier.
(3868) So there IS a time limit to the revival-via-smooch thing, however... Rose's dream self seems to have been shielded from any harm brought upon her waking body... Possibly because of that black mist surrounding her? Was it part of what the horrorterrors did to help her on her quest? Many such questions. Also I'm appreciating that the seperate plotlines are getting less simultanious as time goes on. Almost as if we're going back to a normal pace, time-style. I think I'm kind of pulling shit out of my ass now but I don't care.
(3869) That panel of Jade accidentally shooting Dave kinda traumatized me as a kid and it's seared into my mind in a particualrly detailed manner. However, I did not remember the shitpost image beneath it. And Rose's dark magic seems to be explicitly what's keeping her dream self away from pain, now. Out-of-worldbuilding I think it's shorthand for her having already accepted her death more than once, and the death of others is what really sent her into a rage, so her dream self doesn't feel the sting like those of others might. Also Karkat just kind of idly expositioning at John instead of actually talking to him is both funny, but also very palpably a baindaid solution to the lack of the conventional narration we had up until the DS intermission.
(3870) Focus shifting to a singular goal and a singular image, and a singular interpretation of future events. I think we're in Light territory now, especially with the returned over-emphasis on DS. I'd also like to point out how Jade and Dave (the only couple pictured here WITHOUT comphet overtones) are the only ones who DON'T kiss on screen/in panels. Like there's something about this kiss that's different from the others. I would say that it's tied to the fact that Jade genuinely wants to kiss Dave/its not comphet if its actually heterosexuality, but I'm not 100% sure. It could also be an aspect thing, or a further hammering home of Jade's "infertility" theme.
(3871) A lot of information in one conversation! And a very long one at that. We're definitely in Light territory, especially with the refocusing courtesy of DS. A lot of this convo focused on Jade specifically, and I'd like to hihglight that she 1) Talked to her Denizen, and it was likely what gave ehr the foreknowledge to execute her plan to the best of her abilities; 2) befitting the lost-inner-child theme, Jadesprite is seen as "selfish" by Jade who has become entirely goal-focused and fails to see the point in her own personal grief; 3) "limed for infuriatingly vague" and "whitened for smug tool" seem like accidental (or intentional) cherub sibling foreshadowing, especially knowing Jade is a space player and DS is English's birth vessel. There's also something to be said about how basically every major female character has had to take information from DS and utalise it while all the dudes were spared of said bullshit. I don't like it one bit. As an aside, Jade seems to be the only one actually playing the game as intended, without skipping and without exploits. She's breeding frogs, completing her planet quest, conversing with Echidna, and though she's helping incite the scratch she's doing it in the most by-the-books way imaginable. That's a prospit dreamer for you I guess!
(3872)OH something I wanted to point out earlier, but forgot to - the clocks for the equilibrium all have a Skaia symbol on them, that seems to be a functional part of the mechanism. This is symbolic, I think, of the way Skaia treats its players like variables, or rather the way 0pacifica describes the entire sburb Ordeal as (heavily paraphrasing) "the Skaia organism's reproductive cycle". Skaia's existance is involved in every player's god tier, once they ascend they are imbued with its magics, and Skaia itself can raise them from the dead if it deems their death an equalized force, or rather a non-destructive force. It seems to regard both Prospitian AND Derse sentiments as extreme (the worship of Skaia vs the demonization of it) and values players who are able to tread the line between villainy and self-sacrifice, between vice and virtue. It doesn't want perfectly heroic players, just as it doesn't want perfectly malicious players, and I find that fascinating. ANYWAY,
(3873) I think we've passed through life in the previous page, and are now fully in the Breath area. Total freedom and no sense of direction, just the way I like it. These are gonna be confusing to comment on so bare with me...
(Nepeta and Jasprose) Wonderfully autistic, as all Nepeta conversations should be. I'm kind of starting to see Meow's reading of Nepeta's crush being comphet, if I'm being honest. Nepeta is usually pretty shameless about a lot of things, but it's like she's looking for an excuse to not approach Karkat romantically, which would make sense if it's only her personal narrative tool. She hasn't even told Equius about it (like it's arbitrary rather than truly emotional) and is more concearned about the people she might make jealous or uncomfortable. Jaspers' following story about death and rebirth kind of hints at the idea that their "next selves" might fall in love even if their first ones didn't, but I actually think it's narratively, the opposite. Nepeta is a "reincarnation" of a desciple desperately in love with a seer, but unlike her predecessor Nepeta's infatuations were less dire, therefore saving (or rather dooming?) her from the same fate that befell her ancestor. Weird and personal, heart player style.
(Jadesprite) Something something, Time and Space players always find each other. Davesprite's sword was also just??? Snatched??? Or broken, I don't know. All I know is that apparently sprites bleed, and his blood is yellow. I wonder why? Neither he nor Dirk are yellow in colour, and it more just seems like a choice to emphasise the bright blood. OR it could be that sprites bleed the opposite planet colour (Derse player -> Prospit-coloured sprite blood). I think I'm gonna go with that last idea. Anyway Jadesprite and Davesprite finding each other around(?) the same time Jade and Dave lose each other is def some kind of poetic.
(Dave) First of all, younger Rose bringing her laptop out into the snow, to make little snow horrorterrors, while wearing the cutest little pink jacket I've ever seen, is so funny. "We love Rorbalorb" - my sister, 2025. Secondly, Rose correctly interprets Dave's dream being that of escape rather than self-sacrifice (or rather, he correctly corrects her). Rose is the one who's plan was suicide, Dave isn't self-serving but he's CONSTANTLY looking for an escape. This dream seems to hint the green sun is that escape from him, either via scratch or via Jade-symbolic-rebirth type shit. I'm leaning more towards the former because this seems to be a narrative red harring that Rose would indeed be the one to deploy the bomb and sacrifice herself. Neither of them will stay dead from this endevour, and it's important to consider the narrative importance in establishing the opposite so that the revival/rebirth has meaning. Just like with John, we need to mourn his death so his godhood ascension is more impactful. In this conversation, we're pondering Dave's death, but ultimately mourning Rose's. Even though neither will stay dead - hence the escapades of "are we dead, or are we asleep? You tell me."
(John and Vriska) Vriska's meanspirited taunting of John before she properly got to know him is... both odd and also terribly in character for both of them. She "can't help" but hassle him about what she hasn't done yet because she revels in the attention, it's insufferable. Her mess of a room is a reflection of her mental state, just how John's growingly whimsical room is a reflection of his. His world is expanding, hers is chaos-ifying further. Even when they're finally able to see each other there's so much distance, there's so much coldness. Vriska is a dead helper and John is a nobody, she's standing on the outside looking in, while John is literally encountering a ghost of someone he hasn't met yet - kind of like their actual first meeting, funnily enough.
(Derse Ship) The fact that the fate of the Tumor, and by extension all of existance, is in the hands of these three side characters is. Something.
(3895) DS just repairs the fucking book???? Just like that???? Ok. Stupid god powers. It's bullshit.
(Davesprite and Jadesprite) There's a little bit about choice here and a litle bit about self-actualization. I think this conversation, out of everything, gets to the core of the player quests and the folly in the way the kids approached theirs. Everyone was so focused on being heroes and doing what had to be done, that none of them allowed themselves to grow as people. It's that extreme I was talking about, with Skaia preferring players who are more neutral rather than fully heroic - it values personhood over martyrdom, and conversations like these (however short) highlight that psychologically speaking, it IS best for these kids to be people first heroes second. Jadesprite isn't a coward, she's just scared, and Davesprite isn't a hero, he's just doing what has to be done. It's interesting to ponder what a session without so much complicated bullshit might actually do to help its players grow...
(Hat) Hat :(
(Derse ship) There's nothing really to analyze here other than the fact that the bunny - the physical embodyment of friendship between the kids - with age and cunning is what allows the universe to be saved via the tumor. This whole Derse ship shenaniganery is one small metaphor for the entirety of the betas' session. It's also making me think about how gCat might be the embodyment of the Alpha kids' fraught friendships, but I haven't gotten there yet...
(Rose and Dave) This sequence of events is very strange. Where did the sword come from. Why would Rose knock Dave out if he would stay asleep on the moon during her suicide mission. Or did she already realise it wasn't suicide? Either way, I'd like to backtrack for a second to that whole "Dave of Guy" thing, because it's indivative of what I was talking about concearning the sprites earlier. It seems like saving the world (or rather finding a way to outsmart the game) is in direct opposition to the kids' maturing mentally, and coming into their true god tier titles. Dave says Rose was a bad seer, and then goes on to say he never wanted to be a knight. And yet, in this very sequence, they're using their given powers to their fullest extent in order to one-up each other and discuss their own failings. This game gave them tools, and both of them turned them on themselves. Again, kind of very sad, but also indicative of Skaia as "narrative" - to not work to its benifit is to work towards the characters' own detrament, because the narrative has a vested interest in seeing their stories come to a satisfying conclusion. I think. There's also that whole thing about Skaia not trying to make them into perfect heroes, so there might be a bit of hypocrasy in what I'm saying. There's definitely more than one way to read Skaia's involvement with everyone.
(Spiderbreath) The entire sequence of John and Vriska essentially trying to recapture their childhoods is a sister conversation to the ones about the various Daves and the girls they're with. There's plenty of fun little tidbits of them showing each other around their lives, and it's interesting how resigned Vriska is while John is still curious. He starts to sound more resigned as he realises what's going on but this whole... passivity for the sake of patience is very strange for Vriska. Not unwelcome, but I can kind of Feel her tapping her foot impatiently through the text. She's not naturally this leniant and I feel like it all results from that ego-death she experianced courtesy of Terezi actually killing her before Jack did. Actually, this John was ALSO killed by Terezi! And probably also took a huge blow to his ego when he did. Him and Vriska are in very good positions to understand each other better as the versions of themselves they are in this scene, and it's very odd because there's a palpable sense of unease through it all. Though maybe that's because I feel like I'm spying on two random teenagers on a date.
(3936) I think I'll get through this last batch of images before clocking out for the night, the Damara arc is gonna be a lot to get through and analyze, so for now: pictures.
(Kid Sprites) There seems to be a distinction between "the" choice, and just "a" choice. Choosing to kill your denizen or flee from them is "a" choice you can make, but "the" choice the denizen gives you is active, the sort of thing that once you learn/hear you cant unlearn/unhear, so your "the" choice is informed and you can't go back to making a delinquent one. I assume. Because what Jadesprite does seems to sort of "mimic" "the" denizen choice. She's made aware of the fact her fear isn't absolute, and she's given the/a choice: help Dave or stay put. She chooses to help. Just like with Davesprite, it's not fully important what the other option was, the thing that defines "the" choice is that it's absolute, and defines the trajectory of the character from that point on. Jadesprite IS Jade, just the inner child aspect of her, and the inner child is still able to make rational decisions just how a normal child can. All you have to do is give her the option to.
(Nannasprite) Surprisingly, this conversation is ALSO about personal fulfillment. Or, rather, the (extra)ordinary lives that happen without Skaia's involvement. While Nanna (Jane) is left to ponder what could have been, it's in contrast to John and Vriska's missing of their past. Both stem from a feeling of unfulfillment, but while the kids idolise their childhoods Nanna is very much of the mind that her past was flawed, and could have been better, but she was still happy. That, to me, is the most important part. She was happy even when she didn't have a lineage of heroes, she was happy even when away from her brother, she was happy even without revenge on the batterwitch. It's all very sweet, and it kills me that these ordinary and happy lives are crushed under the weight of Skaia'a overbearing potential.
(Derse ship) I have no idea how WV ends up on dystopia earth but it's seeming less and less likely by the minute. This poor man.
(Spiderbreath........ 2!!!!) I like the difference in Vriska telling John her actual name instead of Mindfang's. It's a big moment of progression and I honesly preffer ghost Vriska over OG Vriska by a longshot. Anyway, Vriska confirms not only that her Denizen is a She, but also that it IS Cetus, like I originally kind of dismissed. My mistake. Vriska (and most of the trolls) made "a" choice to kill their Denizens without engaging with "the" choice. It's implied Tavros DID make "the" choice, and maybe it revolved around being asleep long enough to get robo legs once shit hit the fan? Hard to say. Though, John's relationship with Typheus is interesting. Like most antagonists that are proper foils to him, he seems to regard him as a friend rather than a foe. Ghost John knows as much as he does because his "the" choice involved being able to weigh his own death against the death of the world - a sacrificing of the ultimate freedom for the ultimate reward sort of thing. It's odd since it seems to go against the kind of choice you'd expect an heir to make, but then again, maybe he only made this choice so the "alpha" John could in turn inherit the freedom that non-alpha John claimed? In that instance, ghost John is still a somewhat more accomplished Heir of Breath than the actual "alpha" god-tiered Heir of Breath. We're running into the problem of god tiers being both game mechanics and symbolic of character arcs, at what point does the mechanic end and the actual narrative start? I feel like this dychotamy between ghost John and alive John is somewhat defining that line.
(Rose and Dave) Dreamselves can just fly wherever after revival, ok cool, but ALSO. This entire section seems like a failed "the" choice to me. Not just because Rose fails to wake Dave up, but also because she's austencibly making "a" choice. She has limited information and has double-crossed her closest co-conspirator, and so has doomed herself to a fruitless choice that won't pan out as she hoped. Unlike Jade who desperately tried to wake John up as their moon was falling, Rose is desperately trying to keep Dave asleep while their moon flies, and both thought they were doing it for the benifit of the world when it was actually born out of tried and true loneliness and the need to be with someone before your final moments. It's really very depressing, I'm starting to think "a" choice(s) tend to be misguided in the sense that a player is blinded by emotion, or devotion, or something or other they've convinced themselves of. Not even in a subjectivity vs objectivity way, but just in a "this is what I WANT to happen" instead of "this is what SHOULD be happening" it reminds me of that trope in disney movies, where there's (almost) always a conflict between what the hero wants vs what they need. I think the split between the choices are somewhere on that axis, and it makes sense with what Vriska and John talked about in regards to their denizens, as well as "the" choice that Jadesprite made with Davesprite.
(Jade and Fuckass) Just like John, Jade has a very studious and pleasant relationship with Echidna. There's no animosity, and it's mostly about mutual benifit. It seems like awake Jade has had to make several "the" choices to keep the plot moving, while the most important one we see is from Jadesprite who's "the" choice is less Denizen based and more personal-fulfillment based. Space players tend to look inward a lot, even when being social, so I can see how that might be an important part of a Space player's "the" choice. Karkat also doesn't say nearly enough about his Denizen as I hoped he would, the clammy motherfucker, but I really do have to wrap up here because all the lights are off and it's getting difficult to type. I hope I won't have forgotten my trains of thought by the time I get around to continuing my reread. And I pray to god I reach Cascade before september ends because if I don't I don't know if I can finish this fucking comic this year jesus FUCCKKK
(3974) It's my birthday tomorrow I should be doing schoolwork but I'm reading homestuck and it's late as fuck let's shoot for the moon lets get to cascade tonight
(Aradia (+Sollux??)) Not sure how or why, but Aradia is certain both of the humans will arrive. This seems like kind of a spoiler doesn't it? Did the horrorterrors tell her? She IS a derse dreamer... Anyway it took me way too long to get the "2d" joke, jesus. I wonder why one of Sollux' eyes healed? Is that just his dream state that he has both eyes, or is it his waking body too? This dude's duality theme gets old after a while...
(Derse ship) Seeing the pile of Jake's garbage in space, as well as the earth post-apocalypse, makes me realise all the exiles shit happened very shortly after the session/during it. It's kind of surreal... though I guess it was all set "years in the future, but not many"... WHACK
(GamTav) It's easy to miss, but Gamzee's first rhymes hint at his later sobering up - "if magic is all we've ever known, then how do we know what's really going on?" He's blinded by belief in a way someone like Eridan isn't, in that he's literally dulled his senses in order to enjoy life rather than indulging in rage. He seems to be aware of it too, like snapping wasn't unforseen but rather an almost calculated step towards understanding the truth. The truth being that "miracles" are just a game of the higher caste, that his true birthright isn't holy but subjugatory. In that context, the hook Gam comes up with of "if magic is real then you'll stand up on your feet" isn't a decleration of faith but rather an invitation for it to be broken, because Tavros DID stand up eventually, but even then Gamzee was made aware of the fakeness of it all. He raps about the "magic of the carnival" being that murder comes AFTER peace, that light makes you wince because of that. It's frightening how much of his eventual spiralling out of control was so pre-known on Gamzee's part. Also I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the shipping fodder, with the peanut butter jelly stuff. Gamzee's so casual with relationships in his high state, both with Tavros and with Karkat, that his very methodical and persistent persuing of Terezi once he's sober is definitely distressing. Tavros, as Dave's once-upon-a-time foil, might even serve as a bit of a hint towards the homosexuality of the Striders in this moment, because of the rapping parallel and Gamzee's villainous disposition being tied to his romantic persuit of Tavros. A sort of "narrative source" to why The Gay would be hidden for so long, even though Dave apparently has dreams that he jokes with Rose are phallic in imigery.
(Jade and Frogogogs) There's a hand petting one of the frogs, and Jade laments she misses her doggo best friend. She really truly treats Jack very unseriously and while it makes sense not to deal with him in a permanant way while there's more important things to attend to, I know how she eventually deals with him later on, too. The familiar/witch symbology is really potent here, too, the Green Sun is the source of her power, even through Jack, but she's steadily growing to overpower it rather than succumb to it. It's very satisfying in that way. On the other hand, Kanaya describes the frogs as having "songs" and there being certain "dissonances" in them that breeding them removes. It's very musical imigery for space players, which further leads me to believe it's the job of Time players to help rather than knights. Kanaya seems to be keeping Karkat involved in the process even now for HIS own good rather than the good of the mission, since her, Jade, and Echidna seem to be able to cooperate and make this work.
It's interesting though that Echidna's "the" choice is described as impossible, by both Jade and Kanaya. Jade speculates the ultimatum has something to do with facing mortality, while Kanaya thinks it's that way for everyone. For John in the doomed timeline, maybe, but I think Echidna's "sacrifice yourself to create the universe" is less player-universal and more space-aspect-specific. Theme of rebirth after all, to be made anew you need to die first. A space player's "the" choice seems to corner them into agreeing to their own demise, but I suspect this is a "red harring" of sorts to make them descend before letting them ascend. The request she asked of Jade isn't impossible at all, and if anything I think Jade would've done it of her own volition even if Echidna didn't ask. Just like with Hephestus and Dave, seemingly impossible or ardous tasks are actually quite simple when faced head on, as a player's Denizen acts more as a monsterous guide than any sort of enemy. Killing them is a viable choice, but you LOSE that mirror "self" that allows you to make "the" choice you need to make in order to reach your full potential as a player.
(Gamzee's note/Karkat) Karkat's remourseful voice is always sad to read. Again, the meteor's lavish with riches and gold that are meaningless and it only adds to the feeling that being trapped here is the worst fate tht could've befallen these kids. Karkat admits Aradia was always cleaning up his mistakes, and in that (and in Damara being introduced soon) I think it's supposed to hint at the importance of the Megidos. That Karkat's the "leader" emotionally, while Aradia was the REAL leader, strategically. Unlike in the kids' session, Karkat didn't lead with example or optimism like John did, he tried to control everything and it blew up in his face. Control is the last thing he has, he just has responsibility, and Aradia probably tried to explain that more than once but he never listened. It's a shame, because this Karkat isn't even in a doomed timeline, but he tells himself it is because it's comforting. "This isn't how things were meant to go" is a much nicer thought than "my failures were unavoidable". It's much harder to grapple with being a bad person, and that being PART of who you are rather than it being something you can sweep under the rug or just atone for via death. Karkat is apologizing so much in this memo, it's that apology Jade always wanted to hear, it's that apology Kanaya needed to hear, and it's that taking of responsibility that actually defines Karkat as a good leader. He says he was in such a hurry to win that he didn't do what was necessary, and I think part of that is his quest planet. He didn't grow as a player, he just plowed through everything and thought he was too good to take advice, or to admit wrongdoing. His undoing, here, is facing that he was wrong, while facing his own mortality. Maybe he didn't take "the" choice his denizen offered, but one way or another it seems "the" choice finds its way to their player, no matter how long they avoid it.
I'd also like to analyze the frog for a second. I think I didn't realise before, but the reason this is the "red" universe is because the frog is partly red, like Karkat's blood. That seems to be the cancer he's talking about. It really, truly, is terrifying that the entire universe humans live in is a sick, slowly and agonizingly dying thing, that with its last breath is trying to breathe out the kids that are going to make a new one, to continue its lineage. Since the scratch "resets" the universe, I assume that happens within the frog? Does it get reborn in a way? Is it still going to have cancer? And, does this imply that the blue universe - the trolls' universe - was also made with a cancer, but it was blue? That the Alpha trolls didn't know who made their universe, because whoever did might've fucked up their own handiwork and decided it was better not to live in the universe that was diseased and doomed to fail? Much to think about in the implications of that.
(4019) We're rapidly eating through the "next page" commands, this is getting dire.
(Universe) There's something to say about the blood player talking about fighting something inheret to reality. Breath players are the most idealistic, Blood players are the most materialistic, but not necessarily pessimists or optimists in either regard. Karkat's outlook, though, is that nature is inherintly cruel. He thinks he made something as an extension of that, not realising the universe IS fertile ground for another world (once it's reset via scratch). Jack being "the cancer" in Karkat's eyes, coupled with his explination of "the cancer" being a series of events rather than a single cell, is further evidance to me that Jack is an avatar of Lord English, with the goal to destroy the whole universe rather than just a few kids. It's interesting that Karkat is so close to figuring out what's going on, but is too caught up in what he, personally, understands rather than looking at the bigger picture. Yes, their sessions were doomed, but not by mortal hand - rather by the work of cherubs. It always was and always will be something devine far outside their control that they have to overcome, anyway. I feel like Karkat, as a materialist, can't quite wrap his head around the idea that the destruction of everything wasn't foretold by a bunch of kids fucking up genetics, but is already here, and will not leave until destroyed.
(Gamzee) There's something to be said about the way Gamzee clings to Cal, the actual and genuine artifice housing the vast Honk he's talking about, while also "whincing at the light" like he previously described. He can't make heads or tails of his fantasies of heaven - of an equality that would make it all worth it, of a place where he could love and be loved. He's macking on a dead Tavros and its gross, but it's an equal and opposite to what he's doing with Dave, the red to contrast the blackness he actually feels in his heart. Duality shit man. The light he wishes he could still cling to, while facing off against the source of his darkness - a time player no less. He anticipates, and wants, and fears, and doesn't believe in the Vast Honk, all at once. Also, Gamzee being the force that spawned John's dream plush of the imp is... another instance of Gamzee "patching up" loopholes in the plot by way of complete and utter nonsense. Bard of Rage style. Though I'm skeptical of whether he actually spawned Cal in Dave's dreams, that could be a fabrication/delusion since it makes sense to me that the first real avatar of the Lord of Time would show up in the nightmares of the first male time player these sessions have.
(Doc Scratch) The FIFTH wall? Oh that's an interesting concept. The four walls are the ones that surround the characters, the Fourth one reffering to the one the audiance can see through, and the fifth wall being above them I guess, the one the author reaches their hands through to set things into motion. A cieling, perhaps? Anyway, hi Damara. Why does your tea table have room for three? You, DS, and who else? a missing second half to the English surrogate maybe? hmmmm.
(4037) If I had to guess, we've moved past the "hope" territory of the aspect wheel and are now in "mind" terriroty, hence actions having consequences again. This is, of course, nothing to say about DS' "parenting" mathods, the fact that he's the most explicitly grooming Damara, and the fact this violent outburst is described as "one of her moods", it makes me think she usually IS complacent, but ultimately rebels when she's had enough. It's also strange to me that she isn't talking, or if she is her dialogue isn't even awknoledged the way the other kids' words are. Is she truly mute, or just "functionally" mute? Either way it's disturbing to think about.
(4039) There's also something about how Damara has to break convention, or rather the rules of the artstyle, in order to reach her needles. Potentially a small bridge between Mind and Space?
(4041) I think she WAS fully planning on killing him. Like this was her last ditch effort. And the magic that seeps out of him after this is the same kind that revives the players, and the same kind that (I think) is associated with LE. It could be that Scratch, as a First Guardian, is protected by the same "skaia majic" that brings back players who have god tiered... or maybe this is just visual shorthand for "a lot of power" who knows.
(4044) Once again, the physical abuse is genuinely terrifying! As is the uncaring cadance he threatens her in.
(4046) I just realised she only has two options. "Attack" or "suicide" probably. God.
(4049) I don't even need to say it, right? In a normal household, a suicide threat isn't met with violence and taking away of "privaleges". DS is just a heartless, cruel, and sadistic pseudo-parent and I hate him to an unspeakable degree. Poor Damara, man...
(4050) "Employment opprotunity" read: slavery.
(4052) Oh God I have to follow two plotlines again okay. Great. I'd also like to point out that it really seems like the Sufferer was specifically telling the tale of the Alpha Trolls, which is a theory I saw floating around a lot but didn't know if it had actual support in-text.
(4053) Right off the bat, DS confirms that the reason Alternia is as violent as it is - is because of his own involvement. What was the first guardian of Beforus, I wonder..? And for that matter, DS seems to say that any session that doesn't produce its own paradox clones/offspring is the "calling card" of LE. Is he present in other sessions as well? Or is he referring to the general concept of a Lord of Time being summunable only in chains of events that revolve around a necessary glitch in the timeline to be repaired? That sounds more interesting, frankly. Does that mean a Lord of Space is only summonable in sessions where there's a spacial glitch that must be repaired, like a missing frog temple? It'd be interesting to speculate about the other aspects as well... As a sidenote, this blurb is making me wonder what Echidna wanted in return for this deal, what "impossible task" she asked of Porrim to fulfill before/during the scratch. Maybe to become the mother of a monster herself? That Porrim thought impossible to do, until she was reset and lived her life as the Dolorosa, who mothered the only real anomaly to Echidna's promise?
(4054) This single page actually discusses something I always wondered - if the lowbloods have numbers, how come they didn't revolt against the minority oppressors? It seems they did, but that what really tipped the scales was the involvement of the seadwellers - possibly because they live for longer, there were more of them? I don't know, it's just speculation, but very strange to think about nonetheless.
(4055) It's honestly very brutal the way the Sufferer was tortured, and frankly I think his last sermon being the vast swear word is, like. Probably not prophetic but just him swearing violently in pain. Though, knowing Kankri's temperament it's possible he really WAS preaching during his entire execution, even through excrutiating pain.
(4056) Oh NOW we're getting the alt text?? I guess it makes sense since it's the author's voice worming it's way into the story once more. Also, was Damara trying to break the wall so Hussie of all things could save her? Or at the very least distract DS long enough to let her escape? Anyway, the text hints that arranging a sign, a name and a lusus for a troll that isn't born yet is something that can be... done? The signs are arbitrary, and the lusi seem to be "made" seperately from the trolls themselves. Weird!!!!
(4057) Once again Kooki needs to read ahead. "Creature sympathetic to his scent" and "bred"... The lusi are selectively bred in order to be sympathetic to the trolls? Did. God, wait, does this entire species function as parasites? Firstly with the grub mother, but did they domesticate everything on the planet with the sole purpose to misuse them as parental figures for their offspring??? What the hell???? ANYWAY, the fact that the jadebloods are forbidden from visiting the surface not only explains why Kanaya was so obsessed with fantasy novels of creatures who loved the sun (a forbidden thing even on the surface), but it also... makes me think the Dolorosa took in Kankri as basically a last straw? Like she always WANTED to escape, and seeing this small helpless bug made her think "yeah, I want that innocance to live, and not just to survive, but THRIVE, just like I want to", hence why she was the first to follow his teachings.
(4058) Something something shipping pun, but also I want to focus on how... their love transcended the four quadrants? And that's something Eridan talks about that later rubs off on Rose and Kanaya's relationship??? Is. Is the crashed ship Eridan lives in the mythical first ship the Sighnless sailed on??? Is that why he's obsessed with romance??? What. What kind of narratively unintended connection did I just make.
(4059) The way the Desciple was obsessed with the Signless would later be mimiked by the Executioner's obsession with her, unable to guage if he really did the right thing by letting her live. Page of Void, his action of sparing her allowed the Signless to be remembered through her writing, and was increadably important for their world history, but completely UNimportant in the grand scheme of the story at large. Wild stuff! Also, this confirmation that the Dolorosa was the slave Mindfang and Dualscar were fighting over never ceases to be so, so creepy in how casual it is. God... DS sucks so bad.
(4060) The Condesce extended his lifespan? Can thieves of life do that? Steal life for the sake of someone else? Who was she stealing the life from? Very strange... Also, the parallel between the Sufferer and the Psyonic both being chained in similar ways is... poetic, I guess. There's tragic yaoi in here somewhere I'm just not a big enough Kantuna fan to parse it out.
(4062) I wonder why the Condesce stayed on pre-scratch earth long enough to raise two kids. Why didn't her armies tear apart the planet as planned? Also, had to go back a few pages to reread the Hussie blurbs, lmao
(4063) HUH. Hussie calls DS' story "troll fanfiction" and it makes me think he's definitely an unreliable narrator in this story, much like Mindfang was. I was already squinting at the idea the Condesce was "infatuated" with the Psyonic or whatever, but this definitely confirms to me that he's telling this story improperly, or rather leaving gaps that make it serve his narrative better, like he usually does. Exactly with that in mind, I have to question this whole "natural disposition to violence" he describes the purplebloods as having, or even the arrogance he describes the Condesce as having. The entire ritual around killing potential heiresses was set up by DS via GlubGlub, and the Condesce's participation in it was essentially necessary, until she got far enough away from the mess to make a run for it, for better pastures. Maybe that's why she stayed on earth? Maybe she wanted a world all her own to rule, and that's why she stayed where a session would be played? It certainly seems like a tactical move on her part, especially with the way she kept her living battery alive for so long...
(4064) This all but confirms DS' story is bullshit. The lone heiress wasn't left on the planet. The Condesce likely turned around to try and enter the session that destroyed Alternia rather than to stop it (hence why no military help is present when the kids enter the game). The vast Glub killed both the Psyonic and Sollux in one fell swoop, and that feels poetic to me in their dumb dualism way.
(4067) An ancestor can show up AFTER their offspring? Oh that's fascinating. Also, I'd like to reiterate the previous panel where DS implies the Condesce WOULDN'T look around the home planet, further showing that "saving" it was never her intention. IMO at least.
(4069) LE extending Damara's life is literally described as a curse. This sucks. I am also flipping tables. I am also fascinated by the fact that the Handmaid of all things is "responsible" for the class warefare on their planet. It makes me wonder if Aradia hearing the voices of her ancestors WAS Damara all along, trying to live vicariously through Aradia, only to revive her as a ghost after she died, to spread her curse and insure the timeline stayed on track. The Handmaid's whole life is decidedly nothing but tragedy, but I wonder if maybe Aradia was close with a scary folk tale or two, who'd guide her and offer comfort, at least partly, in a world that was so violently stacked against them?
(4070) Aaaaand THERE it is. The Condesce is playing the role of witch, rather than actually being one. The fact she couldn't refuse Damara's offer makes me think this was a fucked up re-treading of some "the" choice a denizen gave one or both of them. Once again I'm very skeptical of DS' wording, and it may be that the Condesce wanted the power that the Handmaid weilded, and chose to take it Thief of Life style, only to (through that) inherit the responsibility of a Witch that she thought she was going to kill.
(4072) Again, it seems like Damara is mute, and it makes me wonder if she was MADE mute by DS. Can she even hear him? Does she have a concept of language? Is she so heavily abused that when she faced the Condesce, no words were spoken of the fate she knew would befall them both, as the royal played into a role she had no idea she was even bargaining with? God, it's so... absurdly fascinating, while being obstructed by this pompous jackass with an orb for a head.
(4074) At this point I'm also questioning if Hussie is talking, or if he's a "meta" narrator like DS. I mean, we certainly can't see his mouth as he narrates. And Damara seems pretty put off by him. It'd be funnier if he was yelling out loud though.
(4076) Oh, new narrative voice. Hi LE. Is Damara "escaping" at the same time her older self is dying on the ship? God, death really was her only escape? It's tragic, because death is also the aspect and the lord that shackles her. This poor girl.
(4077) DS is a lifeless puppet when Hussie enters the scene, not just because he's an avatar for the now present LE, but also because through that extension of the conductor's baton or whatever, he's also an extension of Hussie. The half of DS that was missing? The Calliope to his Calliborn? I think that's Hussie himself in this instance, Space pijamas and all. It's so, so fucking weird.
(4080) Oh... oh Damara literally met her doom in her escape. she met LE. Her feedom was her death and her death was her enslavement. She's functionally a ghost that haunts alternia because of the cruel abuse she suffered. Jesus christ.
(4083) I know Cascade is coming. I think I have to leave that for my birthday, though (shhh it's technically already midnight but you know how it is, it isn't tomorrow until I wake up hehehehehe)
(4085) There's something to be said about the way Karkat dismisses Terezi and Kanaya's attempts to Kill Gamzee. As I said earlier, Karkat came to that roof ready to mourn. He saw Terezi's grief over her own actions and he wants to prevent any more bloodshed. Even when Terezi finally pieces together Gamzee's black advances towards her, Karkat just fully dismisses it, because even THAT isn't good enough. It's too violent, and it's too risky. He wants everyone who's alive right now to STAY alive, at any cost, and that involves pacifying Gamzee rather than revenge of any kind. Good for a Knight of Blood, bad for everyone else.
(4090) People often point to Karkat's text in these panels to hint at a greater meaning - the lime symbolising that Limebloods were capable of pacifying purplebloods, etc etc, and while I don't believe that theory the later Extended Zodiac confirmation of the Vantas' filling the Limeblood niche was certainly... something. In these panels, though, I don't see lime as a colour that's narratively important, rather I see it as an equal contrast colour to the pink of the "pap"s that symbolises moirilligance.
(4095) The fact they were able to reconcile at all is fascinating to me. For all the murdering under his belt, Gamzee was ultimately also grieving Tavros, and trying to make sense of everything that was overwhelming him. Even if he was a murderous kid, he was still a kid, y'know?
(4096) Just like with DS, this narration is implying that Karkat is continuing the Sufferer's legacy by calming down the clown. In actuality, though this is an equal and opposite spin on the fate of his ancestor, this doesn't actually solve the Gamzee problem. It's more wishful thinking, pacifying Gamzee for a time just like the pies did, only to eventually backfire and make him even more violent. Miracles don't stop the oppressor, justice does.
(4099) Oh thank god, no more recaps.
(4106) I'm... gonna be honest, I forgot the universe frog died. I forgot it was because it got dumped into lava by a shaving cream explosion. God. I love Homestuck.
(4108) Another panel that was seared into my brain as a child. The way Clubs slowly stops dancing just... always filled me with an incurable sense of dread and empathetic terror. Eugh, I'm kind of shuddering, even now...
I'm going to struggle a bit to get all my thoughts out but thankfully, Cascade is split into multiple parts I can skip to, and also has a pause button. I will try to keep this organized but I promise nothing.
(Intro) John is using an oversized needle for the scratch, even though I believe he was supposed to use one of Echidna's quills? Is that what her quills look like? Very strange. It's fun to see John show off what he's capable in god tier mode though! The game really does throw everything in has at him to prevent the scratch, but he's able to keep up with god powers, and seemingly without sustaining much damage. The fact the Vriska hammer is helping him is, to me, symbolic of the friends that helped him get this far at all. Again, John isn't really a "fulfilled" hero, he's a tool of the narrative first and foremost and right now, he's a tool to do the impossible that none of his friends could.
Hopping over to Jade and Jack (I forgot he had those tenticles I'm gonna be honest) it's clear he has SOME kind of understanding of the game mechanics, that Jade is dead but that the god tier bed can help her. It, again, makes me wonder why he killed John on HIS bed... since he didn't seem interested in a fair fight once they got to Skaia. It's possible he just didn't care about John reaching God tier, but he was deliberately more careful when killing Dave off of his quest bed. It's all very strange, and it makes me think it has something to do with each of the kids' mythologies, like he KNOWS the Derse kids are more dangerous than the prospit kids or something, therefore doesn't mind killing John even if he reaches god tier, but has to be careful around kids like Dave and Rose.
There's also a momentary symbolism of Jack holding the wallet of John's dad, like he's playing a fatherly role in Jade's life. It would certainly be a subversion, where Jade nearly killed herself as a child but then killed her gran/dad instead, meanwhile here she WAS killed by an explosion that was her "dad"s fault while he survived. It definitely has an air of neglect even when you mean well, on the part of Jade's parental figures, at least to me.
(Part 1) The way the screen expands is always so cool and cinamatic, and the way the universe dies from the red miles..... god. GOD. Cinema. On a real note, though, for a minute there I forgot WV even trapped himself in the ship. And I honestly can't help but feel bad for all the other exiles too!! WQ and WK had so little time together, and PM had to witness the massacre of "her" kingdom as soon as it was established. She lost so much, only to then realise she could've stood a chance all along if her friend wasn't a giant idiot about that goddamn ring. The frog temple mechanics overall are still very confusing to me, about how theyre dismantled and rebuilt and how the seeds and flowers work but, oh well, I can only question SO much of this lore, right? Haha... ha... ha... I talk too much.
(Part 2) The way Jack got to the Trolls' session is still so strange and disturbing to me. His entire timeline is all out of whack. He started in the kids' universe, comitted several massacres, killed John, a few Daves, and then helped Jade ascend, he then entered the frog temple and travelled forward/backward in time to end up on the desolate earth, where he killed a bunch of innocents then got to the trolls' session. From there, he comitted so much more genocide, wiped out their planets, looked for the rapscallions who posed a chance at fucking him over, only to turn his attention to the universe frog and decide to kill that too, at which point PM catches up to him and their chase across time and space begins. I'm usually not a recap person but god these villain timelines are all out of whack.
(Part 3) The wallpaper on derse is RED, while the one on DS' moon is GREEN. There's cherub symbolism here, I KNOW there is, especially with the way the Red universe was killed with a timed bomb while the green (blue) universe was destroyed by killing a woman who can teleport. Can we, also, talk about WHY killing Snowman destroys the universe? That's her lore as the 8 ball of the group I'm aware, but she's also the black queen. When did she gain this power? Why is it her specifically? My sister suggested it has something to do with the cue-ball bullet, but I'd argue not since at all other points in the comic she's also "at risk" or rather, is being spared, because doing any damage to her harms the universe as well. It's very very strange imo and it's never really explained.
Pausing to talk about less lore-heavy shit for a second, I need to awknoledge how 1) the friendship bunny is what Dave is carrying on his shoulders, 2) the kids DIDN'T KNOW there'd be god-tier beds waiting for them in the Derse moon, and 3) Dave got to keep the sword after ascending. I guess it's so powerful it can survive the tumor explosion? Makes me wonder what other powerful atifacts are just floaring around in the vast nothing from all the blown up sessions, if there even are that many- THIS PARAGRAPH WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT LORE, I wanted to highlight how Dave and Rose genuinely thought they were going to both die and were ready to accept that fate, Dave chased after her basically just so her suicide wouldn't be a lonely one, and yet in that "the" choice, they find out neither of them are going to STAY dead. It's a real "fate conspired to make this suicide a moment of self-actualization instead" and its fully in that "descend in order to ascend" theme. I just think it's beautiful ok?
Also, the fact the universes are red and blue specifically, the dual colours associated with the doom players, kind of shows that their sessions were always meant to be doomed. It's their core symbolism, just like with the cancer, that there was no hope to thrive in the environment that was created. Also why does Snowman bleed blue? Is that what makes her tied to the universe? Or does it have something to do with her being queen, much like WQ made PM? HMMM.
(Part 4) Time for Jade to fix everything! I like the detail of her, at first, experimenting with her powers with the meteor, only to then try her hand with Skaia, and then move on to fulfilling Echidna's wish. It seems like the best of "both Jades", she's fully become the Witch of Space by conquering what was threatening to conquer her, while also unifying the two split paths in her own psyche. True fulfillment never lied in one extreme or the other, or any kind of self-denial, it was always about self-acceptance and claiming her power with the kind of sciantifically-minded precision she always does. Her inner child and her inner parent united, she's the one of the kids that's grown the most into an adultduring this adventure, and that feels triumphant in this moment but, to me, that also speaks to the larger issue that she never had a proper parent, and essentially had to raise herself. Even in the victories there's a thread of tragedy, and we love to see it.
The symbolism of the hummingbirds actually... They're very active birds, they have to constantly fly and drink and their only rest is when they sleep - much like Jade who was the busiest/most active in their session and only really paused to sleep, which was part of her working as well. As an extension, the fireflies are part of John's symbolsim too, aren't they? They represent hope in homestuck, specifically the spark of hope that guides even in the darkest of times. John acted as that bright spark of optimism and chance to his friends, the one that was able to help in the darkest of times. God, it makes me wonder that the planet's animal/bug symbolisms, the creatures that flock to the quest beds - are meant to be symbolic of something else about the characters that ISN'T wholely defined by their classpect title and quest.
Also, I can't not mention the beautiful character art, right? These renders of Jadesprite, Davesprite, Dave and Rose are so, so fucking good. This rendition of God Tier Jade is the most iconic to me, when she first ascends, and I think she's basically the symbol of cascade because of that. The entire sequence of 30 seconds before the bomb explodes is so, so good, so many things happening at the same time and so much information is re-stated for the sake of emphasis, it's so fucking cool oh my GODD it's literally peak cinema and I don't say that lightly. To me, it's genuinely a marvel of visual storytelling how Cascade can have so much going on but still be so clear in basically ALL of it's information, including the stuff that might not've been expected. It's just such a good payoff for everything leading up to it AAAAAAAA
(Part 5) John's successful completing of the scratch ensures the end of the world, and it's paralleled to PM's semi-acceptance that her entire world is going to burn down without remourse. But, just as the ring she finds is a way out for her, the overpowered Jade that finds John is an out for him. Dave and Rose find solace in being there for each other much like the sprites do, and it all feels very... commrodery in the face of Doom. Literally. Doom as an aspect is very much tied to community and I think those instances of Dave (the closest we HAVE to a doom player) having company even in the darkest of moments, even when everything is going to crash and burn, is very beautiful. To contrast, Gamzee's snippet of correspondance with DS is very, very disturbing to me because it seems to re-state that feeling of "commrodery" but it's for the villains instead, it's Gamzee surrounded by the voices he can't comprehend and playing the role of "sucker" for the sake of the end of the world.
(Part 6) The green sun being MADE by the tumor seems opposite to the information Rose was given by DS. I might (regrettably) have to reread their conversations together to check if he DID lie, because if so I have a LOT more of his "true statements" to rethink. Now that I'm looking at Aradia by the sun, it makes me think she knew the humans would servive not because anyone told her, but because she just inferred as much from her own experiances with a dying derse moon. Fascinating stuff! It's also interesting that Jack and Bec and all of the First Guardians derived power from a power source that technically didn't exist yet. Is the Green Sun immune to temporal limittions because it's an expression of the purest, most voletile that Space has to offer?
HUH WAIT interesting detail, "dead" Sollux (the half-blind one with aradia) has his duality theme and no glasses, but the fully-blind Living Sollux has FEFERI'S GLASSES. Life is so inextricably part of Feferi, even when she's dead, that it's HER symbol that denotes which Sollux is alive and which one is half dead. FUCK. The entire sequence of the trolls looking up at the forming of the green sun is so... "flare fired off at the end of a disaster movie" coded to me. The way Terezi tries to point but is corrected is still so adorable to me. This... this entire part with the Green Sun is simultaniously a betrayal of what we THOUGHT we knew, while also being a very, very relieving light to finally give meaning to the darkness. It's a very odd feeling to describe. Triumphant, maybe? Definitely not hopeless, but somehow also not hopeful. The way Sollux was even able to prepell them towards the green sun, despite him losing his eyes, and how FAST he was able to prepel them... Doom really is about an unspeakable amount of effort to do the impossible, at the price of everything else, isn't it? At the price of oblivion you might say, haha...
(Part 7) Dave and Rose's ascension being parallel to PM's is interesting to me because, out of all the prospitian agents, she's the most fuelled by what you might describe as a "derse" trait - revenge. Rose and Dave essentially ascend out of spite, or rather a freak accident that allows them to stand a chance during their suicide mission, a lot like PM in that sense. Unlike WV and AR, who I can kind of gleam as being an heir and knight respectively to parallel the kids, PM I can't decide the title of. Perhaps a witch? She has the closest things to familiars that any of the exiles have. Perhaps a seer? Her persuit of Jack seems to parallel Rose's. Would the Queen be a seer then? What about BQ/Snowman? Many questions, so few answers.
The symbology around breaking the fourth wall to escape is already all there, I don't need to talk about it much. The burnt curtains that fall and the clockwork around them, as well as the fire burning all around... Are these walls/curtains placed somewhere within the player sessions? It'd explain why everything is on fire when we zoom out to where Jade and John escaped. It could also be purely symbolic, but when it comes to Homestuck you can never be sure of that. All in all, in the same way the Author ENTERED the story, his characters escaped, and I feel like that could be a metaphor for the way fiction is both a form of escapism, but also a plead, or rather an attempt, to be heard and understood in a more personal way. We tell stories about characters that are actually about humanity and about ourselves, and putting ourselves in the story insures the characters themselves can escape, and become something bigger, enter the perception of someone else outside the fourth wall and there, become part of something collective, and unconscious. God I love Homestuck.
(4111) Originally I thought the Lord English reveal was part of cascade, but honestly? It makes sense that it's seperate. He's introduced with his own song, that's wholely unique and - if I'm not mistaken - doesn't have any immediatly recognizable leitmotifs in it that could make musical sense with what we know thus far. The 8-balls in LE's ball conglomaretes seem to act as... dead space, almost? If I had to be a nerd about it, they seem like 0's in binary code, where the shifting balls are 1's which represent "active" while the 0's represent null, or dead. I might be takling out of my ass here but I do want to prescribe the one sequence where we see a wall of balls into binary. It's also interesting to me that DS specifically lost a leg before being violently transformed into LE - Calliborn's symbolism and mythology is woven into every inch of this comic. A Space player's escape through the fourth wall is only possible when the LE coat disappears from the fourth wall. And also LE is the one that cries out the "vast honk" and it's... weird, in the sense that from hindsight I know at least half of Gamzee ends up in Lord English. Did he feel satisfied that he played a role in the vast honk so directly? Is he even able to think anything or has his cosciousness been fully subsumed into the Caliborn persona? Many such questions. anyway here's my futile attempt to make sense of the balls:
1011111100111111001
1001111011110010100
0111111011001111111
1100111111111110101
1111111101111110111
1011101111111110111
1110100111110111011
1111011001000011110
1001101011111110111
1111110110111111111
1110111111111111111
1111111001000101001
0101001111111111110
Does this have any real meaning? Fuck if I know but it looks neat. It's 18 numbers per row, because that's how they fit on-screen, but in normal coding they'd have to be divisible by 8 in order to fit into the byte structure. It could be a case of "alien code" that doesn't function in the same metrics that our own does, which seems the most in-universe explination, especially knowing leprechaun systems are so out-there, but I also think it'd be neat if LE's release code was TECHNICALLY understandable even to us, a sort-of cosmic horror that's written in a human-ish tongue, a-la the OLD_DATA from inscryption.
(4112) There's so many sound pages in a row my god, this was SUCH a monumental moment for the comic, wasn't it?
(4113) God, even the page number of this one is symbolic. The universe reset and so did the courtains, so did the sburb logo. On that meta aspect, it's interesting to me that even when the universe reset and all the trolls and exiles are gone, we STILL get an in-universe audiance established IMMEDIATLY in the form of Calliope's monitor. I also like that we don't see anything out-of-order, the shots we see of Roxy's to-be house and Dirk's to-be appartment are all in the same timeframe Jane is in, just like Jake's island is. It's a subtle thing to make us USED to the ordinary world before we get into all the bullshit surrounding the new apocalypse and the new game session. It's also interesting that this one is set distinctly in November, during fall. The change in colour palette of John's neighborhood is very purposful I think, because we're still very much in the fallout of an apocalypse and what's essentially a giant sun-creating nuclear bomb that went off, even if the life that was created FROM that ash isn't yet aware of the scale of things. The Alpha kids' session is post-apocalypstic in a lot of ways, some that I think even the Beta trolls' session wasn't. It's new, it's hopeful, but god, is it also steeped in the dirt and ash of what came before.
(4115) We really are just starting all the way from the beginning, huh?