This is a static copy of In the Rose Garden, which existed as the center of the western Utena fandom for years. Enjoy. :)

#126 | Back to Top06-17-2012 11:49:57 PM

satyreyes
no, definitely no cons
From: New Orleans, Louisiana
Registered: 10-16-2006
Posts: 10328
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Re: Absolute Destiny Sburb

Months ago, I wrote:

Editx2: ((In fact, let me just go ahead and predict that UU is a Whore of Speech.  emot-rofl))

Prediction fail.  emot-rolleyes  But I was right that she'd be an undiscovered class.

Not to mention an undiscovered species.

Okay.  Wild theorizing time.  Tossing shit out there.  She looks like a cross between Lord English, Doc Scratch, and the Felt.  Her name is Calliope, which starts with Cal.  Calmasis also starts with Cal, so this is probably uu's name.  Lord English looks like Cal; I think Cal was probably used in his prototyping.  We also have this:

TG: then what kinda alien are you
TG: wait dont tell me youre ACUTALLY from urnanus??
UU: heehee. no.
UU: that jUst happened to be a planet from yoUr system i thoUght was lovely.
UU: i was particUlarly strUck by its UniqUe rotation.
UU: it has very nice...
UU: bollocks, what's the word.
UU: the term that refers to a ball's topspin?
TG: ???

The word she is looking for is "English," which is a word used in pool to mean a ball's topspin.  I learned this a long time ago when I was figuring out how Lord English's name is connected with Doc Scratch (also a pool term) and the Felt (who are pool-themed).  Now why in the world wouldn't UU be able to remember this word?

So it looks moderately likely to me that uu is Lord English.  Lord might even be his title: Lord of Time.  That would fit with Lord English being a time-traveling monster (as well as, possibly, the Twelfth Doctor).  Okay, good!  emot-biggrin

Edited to add a groaner: if uu is in fact Lord English, no wonder he likes playing games with twists.

Last edited by satyreyes (06-18-2012 12:04:01 AM)

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#127 | Back to Top06-18-2012 07:59:36 AM

Anthiena
Egghead
From: ...the space between your ears
Registered: 10-21-2006
Posts: 1108

Re: Absolute Destiny Sburb

I have been on Trollplay a fair bit, messing around. I posted logs and accidentally with uu. It caused a few to ship it and now I think I have accidentally got people to crackship Terezi and Lord English. I am sort of bugging out about this.


I stopped seeking to be sought after. That wasn't being true to myself.
I want to become someone who can exercise power. I want to become a prince. - Ikuni

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#128 | Back to Top06-18-2012 01:21:43 PM

Hiraku
Easter Elf #40
From: Singapore
Registered: 02-21-2007
Posts: 6342
Website

Re: Absolute Destiny Sburb

Which also reminds me that there's also Lil' Cal, which Dirk adores to no end.

Strangely enough, uu really doesn't like Lil' Cal. I wonder if the fact that the puppet is named that way meant that maybe it is actually a weapon against uu, or maybe the Cherubs in general. :|a

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#129 | Back to Top06-19-2012 12:22:15 AM

Saito Hoshikawa
Thorn of Death
From: Satan's armpit in Texas
Registered: 12-27-2010
Posts: 481

Re: Absolute Destiny Sburb

EDIT: Never mind.

Last edited by Saito Hoshikawa (06-20-2012 09:31:38 PM)


"Whatever all this is, it needs to not be a thing at all."

Being a ghosty piece of shit with no standards since 2014 (maybe earlier).

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#130 | Back to Top06-19-2012 01:39:52 AM

Malacoda
Sunlit Gardener (Finale)
Registered: 07-26-2009
Posts: 180

Re: Absolute Destiny Sburb

I think I was supposed to type out some theories here but then I started to ship Calliope and Roxy. emot-redface


In other news, based on the newest update (and by newest I mean the one page right after the grand reveal of Calliope's adorable face), Calliope's/uu's room is a mess. Worse than Vriska even.

And I think Hussie is about to thoroughly joss or completely complicate the notion that Calliope and uu have some multiple personality body sharing going on.

Last edited by Malacoda (06-19-2012 01:40:31 AM)

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#131 | Back to Top06-19-2012 02:04:16 AM

satyreyes
no, definitely no cons
From: New Orleans, Louisiana
Registered: 10-16-2006
Posts: 10328
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Re: Absolute Destiny Sburb

Is that a ~DE.ATH manual lying around Calliope's room?  I wonder if she or uu coded the program that brought Lord English into the universe when it ended.

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#132 | Back to Top07-09-2012 06:00:33 PM

satyreyes
no, definitely no cons
From: New Orleans, Louisiana
Registered: 10-16-2006
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Re: Absolute Destiny Sburb

Well, it took [sacrificing his own life], but it appears that Dirk has finally made out with everyone.  emot-rofl

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#133 | Back to Top07-28-2012 03:30:06 PM

Hiraku
Easter Elf #40
From: Singapore
Registered: 02-21-2007
Posts: 6342
Website

Re: Absolute Destiny Sburb

satyreyes wrote:

Well, it took [sacrificing his own life], but it appears that Dirk has finally made out with everyone.  emot-rofl

That he did. And it was good.

That being said, latest update is leaving me with intense feels of uneasiness. I haven't felt this way about homestuck since Jack Noir became Bec Noir and essentially became almost invincible.

I was just thinking..... if Caliborn is Lord English (I'm really basing this off of the fact that Caliborn chewed off one leg, just like how Lord English only has one leg), does that mean that Lord English truly is, in fact, unbeatable? o_o Assuming the two Cherubs come from a distant future, only to come back in time to basically kill everybody. If this is the case, I think this might mean that there's no real way to wipe Lord English out of existence unless you can somehow sever the time loop that he established for himself to... in a way perpetually existing.

Another note, the fact that Dave and Dirk seemed to be the one who sees "things", possibly things deep into the void. I wonder what plan Hussie has in store for the Strider bros.

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#134 | Back to Top07-28-2012 04:20:29 PM

satyreyes
no, definitely no cons
From: New Orleans, Louisiana
Registered: 10-16-2006
Posts: 10328
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Re: Absolute Destiny Sburb

Hiraku wrote:

satyreyes wrote:

Well, it took [sacrificing his own life], but it appears that Dirk has finally made out with everyone.  emot-rofl

I was just thinking..... if Caliborn is Lord English (I'm really basing this off of the fact that Caliborn chewed off one leg, just like how Lord English only has one leg), does that mean that Lord English truly is, in fact, unbeatable? o_o Assuming the two Cherubs come from a distant future, only to come back in time to basically kill everybody. If this is the case, I think this might mean that there's no real way to wipe Lord English out of existence unless you can somehow sever the time loop that he established for himself to... in a way perpetually existing.

Interesting point!  Thinking about how stable time loops work, I think the answer is that Lord English could still be killed.  I'll be able to illustrate better if I take the case of John, where we know more of the facts.

John's birth is the result of a stable time loop.  He was "born" (cloned) in an ectobiology lab, shipped to Earth by meteorite, and raised by Dad until installing Sburb and entering the Medium, eventually coming to an ectobiology lab where he clones his own past self.  The effect (John's birth) is eventually its own cause; that's what defines a stable time loop.

Now, does that mean that John can't die?  Not at all!  It just means that John can't die before cloning himself (at least, not in the alpha timeline).  After he's cloned himself, the time loop is stable and he can die without causing any temporal paradoxes.

It seems very probable to me that many of the things Lord English does as his adult demon self are aimed at making sure he comes into existence in the first place, via Calliope and Caliborn and Doc Scratch, and therefore via the kids as well.  So yes, he's in a stable time loop.  But once he has guaranteed that he will come into existence, he can be killed without causing a paradox.  Of course, that doesn't mean it will be easyemot-biggrin

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#135 | Back to Top07-28-2012 06:49:39 PM

Hiraku
Easter Elf #40
From: Singapore
Registered: 02-21-2007
Posts: 6342
Website

Re: Absolute Destiny Sburb

Ha ha, yeah.... Looking at what the guy's capable of doing... I think it's fair to say that it's going to be very very difficult, it'll even have Bec Noir shaking in his boots (is he wearing boots or were those his feet)

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#136 | Back to Top07-28-2012 08:07:31 PM

satyreyes
no, definitely no cons
From: New Orleans, Louisiana
Registered: 10-16-2006
Posts: 10328
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Re: Absolute Destiny Sburb

In a lot of ways, the Flash didn't match my expectations!  I thought uu would turn out to be Calmasis, but he's someone called Caliborn instead.  Still a Cal, but not the Cal I expected.  That's interesting to me.  Maybe Calmasis in Rose's book just represents a generic cherub name, meant to represent Calliope and Caliborn together.  Or maybe Calmasis is someone else.

Here's what I don't get.  Caliborn has red cheeks, like Lord English.  We just saw Caliborn lose a leg, like Lord English, and lose a tooth, like Lord English.  All signs obviously point to Caliborn becoming Lord English.  But we saw Lord English pop out of Doc Scratch.  And Doc Scratch didn't come from Caliborn either; he was the result of cloning Lil' Cal along with a cue ball.  So how on Earth can Caliborn be connected to Lord English?

I really, really don't know, so I have to come up with a crazy theory.  I always come up with these and they're always wrong, but I have to try anyway, or else I feel like I'm not playing along.  Here is my theory.

Near the end of the Flash, we saw Caliborn's kernel absorb his entire planet, apparently including Caliborn himself.  But kernels don't just absorb stuff passively; they turn into kernelsprites when prototyped, and then, if the player enters the Medium, the kernel part splits for Derse and Prospit, leaving behind sprites like John's Nannasprite.  My crazy theory is that Lil' Cal is Caliborn's sprite.  If so, it makes sense that Lil' Cal resembles Caliborn -- since Caliborn was part of its prototyping -- and in turn it makes sense that Doc Scratch and Lord English resemble Caliborn.

I like this theory a lot.  The problem is that Lil' Cal already kind of has an origin story, involving Gamzee, Dave, a hoverboard, and a stable time loop.  But this can't possibly be the whole story, because it doesn't explain anything about why Lil' Cal looks like a cherub or Lord English.  So the Lil' Cal story must be incomplete, and my theory might fill in the blanks?

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#137 | Back to Top07-28-2012 08:54:57 PM

Hiraku
Easter Elf #40
From: Singapore
Registered: 02-21-2007
Posts: 6342
Website

Re: Absolute Destiny Sburb

Hmmmm..... Here's my take, though.....

I recalled that Caliborn is something of Time. If Lord English and Caliborn are the same, it might mean that Caliborn/Lord English can travel through time by manifesting himself through different things that might associate with him somehow?

I recalled that when Hussie was shaking Doc Scratch like a rag doll, meanwhile, Lord English shows himself before Aradia's ancestor. And then we see Doc Scratch becoming Lord English in the flash afterwards. I also recalled that for Lord English to appear, Doc Scratch will die. Maybe Lord English/Caliborn achieves time traveling by possessing corpses from different period...? This is a long stretch, but that might be able to explain how Lord English could potentially appear at any point in time.

Calliope said that Caliborn is the most active class controlling the Time aspect. Just what his class can achieve, I imagine it's something more terrifying than either the Prince or the Bard.

That would be like a very disturbing version of the Avatar.... where different incarnations attain the "Lord English" state via death. I think in this new Flash, Lord English rises from the sarcophagus after it has reached its quest bed.

On a brighter note, here's a review of all the "Cal" that has been mentioned or existed in Homestuck-verse:
http://demonsistersruru.tumblr.com/post … -homestuck

Last edited by Hiraku (07-28-2012 09:05:32 PM)

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#138 | Back to Top07-30-2012 02:28:51 AM

Saito Hoshikawa
Thorn of Death
From: Satan's armpit in Texas
Registered: 12-27-2010
Posts: 481

Re: Absolute Destiny Sburb

satyreyes wrote:

Here's what I don't get.  Caliborn has red cheeks, like Lord English.  We just saw Caliborn lose a leg, like Lord English, and lose a tooth, like Lord English.  All signs obviously point to Caliborn becoming Lord English.  But we saw Lord English pop out of Doc Scratch.  And Doc Scratch didn't come from Caliborn either; he was the result of cloning Lil' Cal along with a cue ball.  So how on Earth can Caliborn be connected to Lord English?

Pardon me if I seem crazy, but didn't Calliope have Doc Scratch's holster in her room, noting that they share that strife specibi of pistolkind? Is it possible that Calliope and Doc Scratch may be connected, as Caliborn and Lord English are, considering that both Calliope and Doc Scratch each carried/"hosted" the other in some way?


"Whatever all this is, it needs to not be a thing at all."

Being a ghosty piece of shit with no standards since 2014 (maybe earlier).

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#139 | Back to Top07-30-2012 08:03:16 AM

Hiraku
Easter Elf #40
From: Singapore
Registered: 02-21-2007
Posts: 6342
Website

Re: Absolute Destiny Sburb

Saito Hoshikawa wrote:

satyreyes wrote:

Here's what I don't get.  Caliborn has red cheeks, like Lord English.  We just saw Caliborn lose a leg, like Lord English, and lose a tooth, like Lord English.  All signs obviously point to Caliborn becoming Lord English.  But we saw Lord English pop out of Doc Scratch.  And Doc Scratch didn't come from Caliborn either; he was the result of cloning Lil' Cal along with a cue ball.  So how on Earth can Caliborn be connected to Lord English?

Pardon me if I seem crazy, but didn't Calliope have Doc Scratch's holster in her room, noting that they share that strife specibi of pistolkind? Is it possible that Calliope and Doc Scratch may be connected, as Caliborn and Lord English are, considering that both Calliope and Doc Scratch each carried/"hosted" the other in some way?

Ah yes! "Host"! THAT was the word I was looking for! Thank you so much!

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#140 | Back to Top07-30-2012 11:33:56 AM

satyreyes
no, definitely no cons
From: New Orleans, Louisiana
Registered: 10-16-2006
Posts: 10328
Website

Re: Absolute Destiny Sburb

Saito Hoshikawa wrote:

Pardon me if I seem crazy, but didn't Calliope have Doc Scratch's holster in her room, noting that they share that strife specibi of pistolkind? Is it possible that Calliope and Doc Scratch may be connected, as Caliborn and Lord English are, considering that both Calliope and Doc Scratch each carried/"hosted" the other in some way?

Mmm, good connection!  Yes, Caliborn and LE each transform and subvert a host body in order to come into existence, so it's very natural to guess that Calliope and Doc Scratch have some kind of literal or metaphorical relationship.

This actually helps me understand the relationship between Lil' Cal and Lord English.  When you alchemize two items together, like Lil' Cal and a cue ball, the resulting item has qualities of both of the inputs.  Assuming that Lil' Cal is closely tied to either Caliborn or the uu/UU duo, one of the qualities of the resulting item should be that there is a host who gives rise to a monster.  (Assuming that Caliborn actually is a monster.   We're still taking a lot on faith here.)

On repeated rewatch and after consulting with a friend, I do need to retract for now my theory about Lil' Cal being Caliborn's sprite.  Caliborn's meteor definitely went white and entered the Medium before it reached the kernel, so presumably Caliborn was not prototyped.  My friend has a different guess about what happened, which I find plausible and fascinating.  In his theory, the Cruxtruder was shared by Calliope and Caliborn, just like they share their bodies.  When it was opened, Calliope's and Caliborn's kernels were released simultaneously, and tried to prototype each other.  This created a paradox that resulted in both of them turning into a black hole.

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#141 | Back to Top08-29-2012 01:27:30 PM

Anthiena
Egghead
From: ...the space between your ears
Registered: 10-21-2006
Posts: 1108

Re: Absolute Destiny Sburb

I wrote out an Utenabent, it's just a drabble inspired by many things on IRG (Code name ROSE one of them) but... should I post it? For a laugh, here is a list of characters.

"main" faction:
Utena - Hemononymous - umbralInheritor
"Fearless" leader with a "talent" for getting into trouble and a wish to change the social order of the Alternian Empire. She goes without spewing her color anywhere. She's closest to Wakaba and has a healthy respect for her team members, just not the surest grasp on "things that won't lead to an actual or metaphorical suicide on my own end".

Juri - cobalt - bellicoseAuthorian
Something of a hacker and really something of a swordswoman, she is one of the two who defected to Utena. Part of it was her disgust for the backer's attitude, the other to see if this loon of a troll is really crazy or really sincere about her aims. Or both. Either way, she'll take the shenanigans and blowing stuff up. She loves to snark at Utena in a very black manner. She has a rather tangled past with her quadrants, a topic none like to bring up because of how messy it is.

Miki - Indigo - tremoloElegy
An indigo who broke things off with a moirail of the same caste when things went sour. They haven't seen each other in sweeps and unlike Juri, he unironically supports Utena as his leader. He has uncertain affections, unknowing of what to do or what quadrant to choose. He is the other defector... he helps Wakaba in the cloak and daggerkind stuff, having the blade to go with it. Him and Juri have long been sparring partners, though he is barely off of Alternia compared to the others.

Wakaba - Bronze - sanctified Germination
She feels rather pale for Miki and the two are fairly close but not as close as her and Utena. She had a flushcrush for someone who turned her down and humiliated her. She's a sort of spy, her pretty but fresh-faced looks enabling her entry in many, many places.

Anthy - Olive - [REDACTED]/Rose Blade
[REDACTED]

"Rival" faction:
Touga - hemoanonymous - defensiveTiberius
The de facto leader of the other group, he'd taken something of a hit when two of his quality agents defected. He doesn't mind losing it to Utena, however and seeks her, if as a sort of redcrush or to destroy her is yet to be seen. He is just known as wanting her and what she has.

Nanami - violet - egreciousGarrote
The financial backer for the group. She doesn't actually get her hands dirty much, but she is an excellent fighter and very frighteningly fast. She condescends ironically, not against the lowest member of the crew (Saionji has talked her into some ridiculous reason not to) but against everyone else. She, of course, roundabout causes one of the crew to snap.

Saionji - jade - allegoricalEpoch
The lowest blooded member of the crew and in some kind of relationship with Touga. Most aren't sure exactly what it is, but most believe it to be black. Or something. He is the former owner of the Rainbow Blade, which he lost in a duel to Utena, who renamed it something far less pompous. While ships might not be entirely hard to find, he grew particularly attached to the Helmsman. Or so he claims.

Keiko - purple - gallantMalignancy
One of Nanami's toadies, she is the only one that stands out, partly because of her intelligence, partly because of her visciousness.

Nemuro - gold - numeratedApostate/Shadow Prince
A helmsman. He's somewhat insane and convinced everyone is talking to him on Trollian.

Unaffiliated:

Kozue - Indigo - cyanoticDemiurge
Miki's "sister".

Shiori - rust - avianShatterpoint
A person in Juri's past and a sore point for Juri.

Last edited by Anthiena (08-29-2012 01:28:52 PM)


I stopped seeking to be sought after. That wasn't being true to myself.
I want to become someone who can exercise power. I want to become a prince. - Ikuni

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#142 | Back to Top08-30-2012 11:24:03 PM

Hiraku
Easter Elf #40
From: Singapore
Registered: 02-21-2007
Posts: 6342
Website

Re: Absolute Destiny Sburb

Whoa... how did I miss that?! Those are awesome descriptions, Anthiena! But how come Anthy is redacted?

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#143 | Back to Top08-31-2012 01:35:10 AM

satyreyes
no, definitely no cons
From: New Orleans, Louisiana
Registered: 10-16-2006
Posts: 10328
Website

Re: Absolute Destiny Sburb

Oh my God there's an update.  Is there ever an update.  And it is.  Amazing.

I don't even know what to say.  It's like playing Homestuck Ancestors: The Colbert Report: Tumblr Edition: The Hundred-Thousand-Word Self-Parody.  Go see.

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#144 | Back to Top08-31-2012 07:35:39 AM

Hiraku
Easter Elf #40
From: Singapore
Registered: 02-21-2007
Posts: 6342
Website

Re: Absolute Destiny Sburb

satyreyes wrote:

Oh my God there's an update.  Is there ever an update.  And it is.  Amazing.

I don't even know what to say.  It's like playing Homestuck Ancestors: The Colbert Report: Tumblr Edition: The Hundred-Thousand-Word Self-Parody.  Go see.

I know, right???

And, I love all the pre-scratch Trolls, so much! I love Kankri the most! Now that I've seen him talk, I'm beginning to wonder if his proselytizing nature is the reason why his post-scratch self was executed :| Not necessarily because of the fact that he's rust-blood (That, too), but also because no one can stand listening to him going on.... and on.... and on.... and on..... Karkat took it well. In fact, I think to quell Karkat's inner-rage, just put him in the same room with Kankri.

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#145 | Back to Top08-31-2012 11:07:01 AM

satyreyes
no, definitely no cons
From: New Orleans, Louisiana
Registered: 10-16-2006
Posts: 10328
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Re: Absolute Destiny Sburb

You know, to be honest, I was hoping not to meet the other ancestor trolls.  It's not like we don't have enough characters already.  But God help me, I love them all.  emot-gonk

Of last night's new additions -- Kankri, Porrim, and Latula -- I think that with my head on straight I like Porrim best, but there's something about Latula that is irresistible to me.  I line her up against Terezi in my head, and I alternate between thinking they have nothing in common and thinking they're exactly alike.  And her song... is the most early-nineties thing I've ever heard. emot-rofl

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#146 | Back to Top09-05-2012 09:23:45 AM

Anthiena
Egghead
From: ...the space between your ears
Registered: 10-21-2006
Posts: 1108

Re: Absolute Destiny Sburb

Hiraku wrote:

Whoa... how did I miss that?! Those are awesome descriptions, Anthiena! But how come Anthy is redacted?

Because she is a Helmsman. :3


I stopped seeking to be sought after. That wasn't being true to myself.
I want to become someone who can exercise power. I want to become a prince. - Ikuni

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#147 | Back to Top09-05-2012 03:28:33 PM

Aine Silveria
Pumpkin Bride
From: Allegan, MI
Registered: 11-03-2006
Posts: 2098

Re: Absolute Destiny Sburb

I have to admit, I avoided the everloving fuck out of this fandom, and the source material. Conceptually, it didn't jive with stuff I'd like, I thought. I don't even know what I thought of it, but none of it was positive.

And then I was bored. And I found a link to it. And I started reading. And I read, and read, and read. For hours. And now I can't stop reading it. Even though it's one of those things that I really don't get why I keep reading it. And I certainly can't really keep up with the timeline jittering.

Does it make sense eventually? Or am I trying too hard? (I just finished Act 5 Act 1? Whatever that means. In the course of 24 hours. >> )


http://i1130.photobucket.com/albums/m526/aines_pixels/mikageirgsig02-2012.png

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#148 | Back to Top09-05-2012 04:23:40 PM

satyreyes
no, definitely no cons
From: New Orleans, Louisiana
Registered: 10-16-2006
Posts: 10328
Website

Re: Absolute Destiny Sburb

Aine Silveria wrote:

Does it make sense eventually? Or am I trying too hard? (I just finished Act 5 Act 1? Whatever that means. In the course of 24 hours. >> )

You marathoned the trolls in 24 hours?  Pretty amazing emot-biggrin

Does it all make sense eventually?  The most honest answer I can come up with is that:

A) The jury is still out on that, but
B) Hussie keeps turning nonsense into sense through amazing alchemy that gives me faith in his storytelling.

Every few updates, I understand more.  Sometimes new questions get raised, but old ones do get answered.  I can at least promise that you're not reading the webcomic equivalent of Lost; Hussie isn't just throwing stuff on his website that he thinks looks cool and dramatic without any intention of ever explaining it.  There is a master plan.  Even if that master plan sometimes involves Mobius double reacharounds and breaking the fourth and possibly fifth walls.

Anyway, whether you read on or not, that epic Homestuck binge qualifies you as a fan as far as I'm concerned.  Welcome to the club.  emot-wink

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#149 | Back to Top09-05-2012 08:06:18 PM

Aine Silveria
Pumpkin Bride
From: Allegan, MI
Registered: 11-03-2006
Posts: 2098

Re: Absolute Destiny Sburb

(Oh, I'm still going. I can rarely keep track of how far along I am, though. Thank you, I suppose?)

I mean, that part, that part I love. That there's this random bit of nonsense that's explained pages later and isn't nonsense at all. And as confusing as all the time travel and time hopping and all is, it makes it work, and I can go... 'oh! I get that. kinda, at least'. But it's so jarring. You have jokes in ambiguous taste everywhere, and usually, I hate that sort of humor. And right alongside, these beautiful wonderful bits of foreshadowing you didn't even know was foreshadowing. And the cast is huge and growing larger, though; making sense of them all might be fixed by a readthrough (again!) once I'm done with what's up. The art is strange, off-putting, and yet attractive.

Is this me, still trying to dislike it, or is it really all that I said to anyone else?


http://i1130.photobucket.com/albums/m526/aines_pixels/mikageirgsig02-2012.png

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#150 | Back to Top09-05-2012 08:47:15 PM

satyreyes
no, definitely no cons
From: New Orleans, Louisiana
Registered: 10-16-2006
Posts: 10328
Website

Re: Absolute Destiny Sburb

Aine Silveria wrote:

Is this me, still trying to dislike it, or is it really all that I said to anyone else?

Hee, I really have no idea!  I would say that all we can really do is judge it on its own terms, but the thing is that it's not really like any other work of art I've ever seen.  PBS has a web series that recently compared Homestuck to James Joyce's Ulysses, and while that is misguided in... a lot of ways... it's at least true that Homestuck is born original and it's almost impossible to find the right standard to judge it by.  So all I do is say "The story is amazing, and it's told in a way utterly its own, and I'm enjoying the fuck out of it."

Jarring.  Yes, certainly -- often on purpose.  To take an obvious example, watching Vriska and Tavros interact makes me profoundly uncomfortable, and it's meant to.  And it's jarring in other ways too -- with Hussie periodically showing up in his own story... and you're just passing the point where Homestuck got big in a big way, so you can look forward to all kinds of meta-commentary on the absurd (and absurdly amazing) Homestuck fandom within the narrative.  As I say, I've never seen any other work of art like this, and it's as bizarre as it is beautiful.

A huge cast.  Absolutely.  It will stabilize for a little while where you're at, now that Karkat's crew is in play, but it's not done growing.  The story is currently up to Act 6 Intermission 3, out of a promised seven acts, and we're still meeting new faces.  It seems impossible that so many individuals' stories can coexist in the same overall narrative without just creating a big jumble of chaos, but somehow Hussie juggles it all.  It's all tied together by the shared experiences of the individuals, and by the story's consistent themes and even recurring in-jokes.  (How many times have we been told about stairs?  All of the times.  All of them.)  You're right to think that repeated readthroughs will teach you a lot, but even if you only read forward and never back, Hussie usually contextualizes events just enough to remind you who these characters are and why we care about their stories.

So I dunno.  Homestuck amazes me.  I have no idea whether it's "good" in some kind of abstract critical sense.  I don't know whether you ought to like it or whether it's even important whether you like it.  But I like it, for whatever mysterious reasons, and it amazes me.  So here I am.  emot-biggrin

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