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tfdtreasurer · 1 year ago

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<3 erinep!!

i have no real reason for liking it as much as i do, maybe im just weird ?

Not weird at all anon!

You say you have no reason but I can think of plenty. Erinep is one of those ships that I'm shocked isn't more popular. In many ways, they have an interesting dynamic that makes for good storytelling.

They're both trolls kind of known for their unrequited crushes, so it makes intuitive narrative sense to have them get over it through each other. Nepeta's flaw is that she lacks the courage to make romantic advances out of fear of failure. Eridan's flaw is that she makes romantic advances with the expectation of failure and thus creates self fulfilling prophesies of rejection.

Eridan is so weird...

It's their flaws that led to the canonical obstacle to them as a ship, the fact that they have gotten off to a rocky start romantically. Eridan having gossiped with Karkat, is aware that Nepeta has feelings for somebody else, but in true Eridan fashion, attempts to ask her out anyways. Nepeta thus diagnoses her as a creep and insincere. Considering that my own interpretation of Eridan is based on insincerity and how weird Alternian society makes you, yeah I'd call that fair. Creep is certainly strong language that would suggest little chance for romance developing but lets not forget whose Nepeta's moirail is, and what she calls him in her own words. She's well aware that hemospectrum hangups lead people to be way weirder than they really would be, and as one of the most compassionate trolls, she's probably sympathetic to that. It is in the same conversation that you get her calling Eridan insincere that you get her feeling bad that she died. Because Nepeta is just that nice.

Getting over it

That being said, they still both require some character development to make the ship work, which from a storytelling perspective, is good. They don't need to be each other's moirails or anything, I approve of Meowrails and would not want to disrupt that, so other characters can help drive their development instead (*Cough cough,* Kanaya, but this is the erinep post). Nepeta has two main paths: giving up passively and not asking Karkat, or ripping the band-aid off and asking him out. The second option is in my mind the best for character development as it provides closure. However, there's also a parallel narrative decision to be made: does Eridan tell her what will happen, since she knows, or will she let Nepeta ask Karkat out anyways. I'm a complicated girl and so I think the third and most emotionally complicated option is the best: have Eridan encourage her to ask Karkat out. It's in keeping with Eridan's approach to Kanaya's crush on Vriska, and isn't necessarily mutually exclusive with Eridan telling her what will happen. They can have a conversation where she warns Nepeta what happened with her, the emotions she felt, but also recognize the necessity of asking anyways. It'd be a good moment for Eridan's character to develop too, recontextualizing for herself her rejection by Feferi. And bam, voila, hey presto, you've got them both taking their first stepping stone of emotional maturity together. From adversity, progress.

Feferi's #1 hater propaganda

If you see this blog you should know that I'm Feferi's #1 hater, and so Eridan perhaps being honest with somebody would lead to her revealing why she was such a desperate loser in past (the breakup+rejection combo leading to messy pinball-like attempt at rebounding). And while getting over the flush crush is required for both of them, I believe Nepeta would be kind of shocked at the nature of Eridan's moirallegience. What do you mean she just started calling you her moirail? She didn't consult you about that? What do you mean she thought the job was over after entry? She thought weirdo behavior stops on a dime? What do you mean she knew that you didn't appreciate it and she went on with it anyways? What do you mean she expected it to be a two way street? Me and my healthy moirail were always super clear about being moirails, and of course I stuck with him after entry. The gig with my own weirdo is practically full time, but you do it because your genuine feelings for the person. I did it because my efforts were appreciated by someone that recognized their issues as issues and wanted me to be their moirail. Hell, if you're going to change canonical events that allow all noncanonical shipping to happen, you might as well give Nepeta one successful "shipping moment" (the irony is not lost on me, shut up) by letting her matchmake Eridan with a moirail that would care about her (*COUGH. COUGH.* kan, but like also while I don't care about the recent pale erikar trend, that could be hella character moment for Nepeta to make that call).

Hunters

If your interpretation of Eridan emphasizes her brief environmental commentary, the fact that Nepeta lives fairly detached from industrialized society makes how they relate to each other interesting. Nepeta is if anything characterized as being very not wasteful, and in her own words: "i dont kill anything i dont eat, that would be mean." This stands in direct contrast with Eridan who has resigned to how her occupation may be infinitely necessary and entirely justified, but is distinctly evil in purpose and function. It helps that although orphaning doesn't appear especially wasteful (the whole whale does get eaten), it draws on historical industrial whaling which was infamously wasteful. There's something very interesting there between, again, the most compassionate troll hunting for herself, and the orphaner hunting for somebody else. It would be an emotionally complicated mix of sympathy and disgust, made part tragic by the fact that Eridan transparently expects the disgust, but would be absolutely flabbergasted by sympathy. It continues the cute but somewhat tumultuous path that I think characterizes some of the best love stories.

Extra

There's also a few other little things that can tie them together and make good stories out of their ship.

If you see Equius' overprotectiveness of Nepeta as a significant flaw, he can be given development by Nepeta properly dunking on Eridan during a low stakes lover's spat. Proving that although she may have not played FLARP with the rest of the "dangerous" trolls, she's no less capable of handling herself. You can play it for comedy as it's always fun to see Eridan dunked on, and Nepeta could ride her around by the horns like a Left for Dead jockey as Equius looks on proudly. For anti sea dweller reasons maybe? We'll keep working on it, Equius.

Speaking of FLARP, they're both RP dorks. Common on alternia so perhaps nothing really special, but the distinction between FLARP and RP is more significant than the distinction between LARP and RP (astonishing, I know). FLARP, an acronym which is already losing its meaning to me, is kinda psychotic and so I'm inclined to agree with Equius that it should be avoided. Nepeta toning Eridan down from FLARP+orphaning that was her hobby to a more healthy and low stakes RP would be both awkward and cute. Plus it can serve as a character moment for Eridan where the orphaner dualscar character is retired and she can fully embrace the 🌠 wwonderful wwhimsy of wwizardry 🌠.

And sometimes it's just the silly little things that can justify a ship. Maybe the cat likes fish. Maybe the military history nerd likes trenchcoats.

IDK, erinep is just cute. Solidly approved, anon, erinep has been placed in the "works really well" tier just below GOATED tier.

Whew, yet another tantric Homestuck analysis sesh. People insane enough to have read to the end: Don't forget that hopping anonymously in the asks to suggest Eridan ships for me to spend time analyzing is entirely free.

#eridan #eridan ampora #she/her eridan #nepeta #nepeta leijon #erinep #homestuck analysis #homestuck character analysis #homestuck shipping #ask response #we dont tag character hate here we leave their tag alone #heck why not ill put erikan on here too since I make the case twice and its a dead tag anyways #erikan #I'll soon run a monopoly on this tag #then youll all rue the day you laughed at my absurd ship #meowrails #because they get their mention too

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valle-de-sombra-de-muerte · 9 months ago

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Thank you for your response and reflection. Definitely one of the best analysis I have read about them in a long time. Thank you for being honest and holding the characters to what they actually do, and how the text is trying to guide the narrative of them, instead of the fandom's perception.

I don't think I have encountered this argument for their relationship before (I mean I might have, over the years… but I couldnt remember when) , but it is absolutely valid, because it's reassured by the text.

Later on Equius does mention to her that he 'shudders to think' what he might ended up as, were it that Nepeta was not his moirail.

And this what the text tells us, as in, what the point of moirallegiance is. Trolls are described as an angry race, who need the help of others to avoid causing damage to themselves or their surroundings.

In essence this is a effed up responsibilty. Everything about trolls is messed up but. If you think about it, even this is too. Like "I dont really care for or like that guy but somebody needs to hang out with them or theyll kill everyone". This is the kind of shit Alternian kids need to think about. Kids and fun.

Yes he definitely *tries* to mold her into something of his own image, but fails, because Nepeta is resilient and also because he is a massive screw-up. Like an ineffectual villain that destroys his own doomsday device, and makes himself look like a complete imbecile.

And yes Nepeta is indeed just simply a nice person. As you said, she is an optimist, and because of this, a little naiive. She can detect bad intentions but still wants to give a chance to basically anyone. In the chaotic and cutthroat world of Alternia someone like her wouldn't really fit in, but she still manages to survive and keep being an optimist.

I definitely like this being added to their narrative because it makes them imperfect.

And yes. That is something that is important. Because now, meowrails no longer have this 'pristine perfect model relationship' flag hanging above them, as the fandom so graciously awarded them this honor.

I admit I am a complete and utter hypocrite, because I too was always a part of those people who loved to sing praises about meowrails to the moon and back.

I still do, I still love them. But I think it's important to take them as they actually were. Instead of always living in tooth rottingly sweet headcanonland. So with all this, I feel like this pairing gained some layers as far as my interpretation goes.

It's a complicated matter. He's misguided and doing shit that is morally wrong, but aligns with the stuff he was taught. She thinks he's putting up an unnecessary front, but doesnt have the worldlyness to really dig into it. She's a little disconnected from everything, but can sense the potential goodness in all. He, as a blue blood has privileges that were granted to him, and even encouraged to do, so he tries to single her out and shut her off from the others. Even Eridan had black flirt-flarping sessions with Vriska. But when most trolls would try and completely avoid him, this one, Nepeta, stuck around. He can't let that go. He can't let her hang out with potentially dangerous trolls. He doesn't want to be alone.

She can do without him though. But she's afraid if she's not around he might do something that everyone would regret. So she sticks around. Its scary. He looks really menacing. But then ends up kind of genuinely liking him? Because he is actually less rigid than appears to be.

It seems they're getting the hang of it. All of Nepeta's mannerisms rub off on him. It's real psychology, we all adapt our friends and surroundings way of being in small ways. It really seems like they have made such progress.

And then they were gone.

But the point is, Nepeta is struggling with complicated, multi-layered feelings regarding him. Not to fall off too much into romanticism (because I will like the bleeding heart moron I am), but I think that's great, because it makes it seem more real. It wasn't the absolute most perfect relationship that popped out fully formed from Hussie's head. No. Like real relationships there's a bit of hurt in each of us. We don't always mean to hurt those we love. But sometimes we end up doing it anyway. The question is, if we can learn from these points of our lives.

Him failing at a critical moment, perhaps the most critical moment in paradox space, was all that bad shit finally catching up with him.

That's why I agree with Hussie now. I know him now, like you do Hussie. And yeah a massive force of whiplash was always heading towards him, courtesy of the universe.

But the aftermath is important too. I remember how I always feared that the actual meowrails reunion would be absolutely completely bitter. Just cuss him out and leave him to rot. I always thought, "well that's what he deserves", so that's what he'd get.

But the eternal shining light of friendship proved me wrong. All off-screen of course (nepeta already furgave you for that). Figures. But still. Maybe we can continue after the hurt feelings? After the damage? Maybe we can start over? Maybe we don't have to burn the bridges? Guess we'll never know. It doesn't make it easier IRL neither. I don't know if holding on is a good idea. I don't know if Im letting them 'get away' with stuff, or if Im using them for my own purposes. I dont know if Im holding them back or if its other way around.

But for a small, fleeting moment it seemed like friendship was real and unrelenting. And that's all I cared about.

This is wonderfully put, anon. This might be the first time I've read such a thoughtful reflection of Meowrails that acknowledges the relationship's flaws, yet still comes out with a positive outlook on it.

Though our preferences may not align, I find your perspective valid and I can definitely understand the appeal it holds for you. Thanks for sharing this with me.

#homestuck #homestuck reread #nepeta leijon #equius zahhak #meowrails #important post #asks

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jarmes · 1 month ago

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Hey! I just finished watching your video on fix-its, and I thought it was incredible! One thing point that I thought to add (as someone who is creating my own fix-it) is that I think the premise of people getting over their issues by having one or two conversations about it feels inherently unsatisfying, because it's not how people actually solve their problems. Therapy is great, but 1) apologizing over and over again =/= therapy and can actually be unhealthy. I see this with Jake a lot, where Jake just apologizes over and over again both in fixits and in canon, and it doesn't actually help anything. His friends are still pissed at him, and by constantly blaming himself and suppressing the resentment and powerlessness that leads to his avoidance, he just reinforces the behavior. 2) The most critical parts of therapy tend to be deconstructing ongoing experiences with a therapist as they happen to you, and seeing yourself improve over time. Rose and Roxy are not going to get over their alcoholism in a day. That doesn't make sense. Lots of people say they will stop drinking and replace it in a month. The proof is in the pudding. 3) The reality is that, when severe breaches of trust happen, apologies are not enough to fix the issue. I don't think there is anything Eridan could ever say that would make Kanaya forgive him for destroying the matriorb. And you know what? She shouldn't have to. A lot of fix its tend to focus mainly on smoothing over conflict, and I think that is why they feel so OOC, because that smoothing just can't happen with the characters as themselves. I decided to write my own "fix it" in response to that "something missing" feeling about existing alternate endings, and I found myself writing something that was (especially based on the current chapter, lmfao) a lot darker than even the meat epilogue. I went through all the common "fan complaints" (why didn't Terezi John save the meowrails? Why she prevent Vriska from killing Tavros), and every time, I addressed them, it was like whack a mole. Maybe something would get fixed, but another issue would pop up, and it might be worse than what happened in the comic. I ended bringing my own baggage into it, but as I'm writing this I feel like I've actually created something I'm proud of. I don't think, 8ish years ago when I was unsatisfied with the ending, that I could have written something as true to life, because all I wanted to do is make everyone happy. I'm open about that being my eventual goal, but as someone who's "been through a lot"(tm), healing and finding happiness is not only not linear, it's complicated and it's messy, but it's ultimately REAL. One of the most compelling things Hussie has said about writing is when they were talking about the Mario star powerup, about how skipping all of the baggage and the mess and the conflict might lead you straight to the finish line, but it's an incomplete happiness. And that is what is at the core of the epilogue. The retcon skipped the mess, it skipped the hard parts, it papered over darker elements like Terezi's abuse, and left all the characters happy, but *empty*. That's why they're such assholes in the continuations. They never learned.

Interesting takes

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splorfstuffss · 2 months ago

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as a huge meowrails lover this is like one of my favourite reads of their dynamic

coz like they aren’t successful moirails, if they were then they would still be alive. but they’re still probably the most compatible moirails in the comic because they are both so willing to stand by each other even if their views don’t align or it gets frustrating sometimes

i do think that though that they still kept that compatibility during murderstuck and perhaps they even developed a closer relationship by that point. they became less critical of each other and equius, as a result of him growing and becoming less hateful, even indulges in her interests with her, seemingly just for the sake of making her happy. i don’t think i’d even say he got over his anger issues by that point because there’s still destroyed robot parts littered about the place, kind of insinuating that he’s been beating the crap out of them still. he just couldn’t direct that anger towards gamzee coz he’s a little freak /pos

they’re absolutely a flawed couple tho. like nepeta never opened up to equius about her feelings. she only ever spoke to jaspers/jasprose about her insecurities and love life and i’m gonna guess the meowrails feelings jams were mostly for equius since she’s the only one of the two asking the other if they need it. i don’t think that is because equius doesn’t care about nepeta’s feelings, i think if he didn’t then he wouldn’t go out of his way to try connecting to her through roleplay. equius does appear to be very repressed emotionally with how it takes him spending time in sburb to get him to start indulging in his interests fully, him not understanding that trying to control aradia was a bad thing, arquius repressing his guilt and how he tells nepeta that “there’s only so long a man can talk about his feelings”. so low-key i don’t even think it would cross his mind to check if she needs a feelings jam. maybe murderstuck equius might but we don’t see him offering one

so yeah they’re not perfect and not exactly even able to properly communicate their feelings to each other but i think had they been given more time they could have worked on this. but their failings didn’t allow for that. equius couldn’t ignore his fetish tendencies and so failed to stop gamzee while nepeta didn’t listen to equius and left her hiding spot. i don’t think that makes them any less of moirails though. they’re kids and they make mistakes in relationships like all their other friends do

though weirdly i think i would still say the “soulmates” part of moirelagence still kind of applies to them. not in the being perfect for each other sense but by the fact they always seem to find each other. obvs there’s nepeta and equius but then darkleer and the disciple were thought to have pale feelings too. horuss and meulin are definitely the meowrail’s toxic counterpart but they are still a pair because of nep and equius’ good compatibility. we don’t know if the dead versions of them from [s] roxy: sleepwalk ever spoke but yet again they’re in proximity of each other despite possibly being from two entirely separate timelines. they find each other again as fefeta and arquius where we get possibly the first real showing of pure stressful emotion from equius when he realises he’s going to have to grapple with how he failed nepeta. multiple other ghost versions of them are seen together over the course of different pages (fr besties in every universe like damn). and then there’s davepeta and arquius. one of the first things nepetasprite asks is how equius and karkat are doing and then once she becomes davesprite they almost immediately decide to go find arquius after figuring out their new identity. the two have such a sweet conversation when they meet, it’s genuinely so precious how both they have both come by that point that they are able to actually open up to each other in a way where equius/arquius can admit the faults in his views and nepeta/davepeta can loudly be the silliest they’ve ever been around him. it’s tragic that they don’t really get to hang out after their brohug but i would argue that if we go by the epilogue’s idea of davepeta dragging lord english into the black hole then they ended up together once again by the end. i hope the lil sliver of equius in lord english was happy to get to see his moirail again one last time

anyway lol i love a good critical look at the meowrails. they’re so precious and good for each other but also the thing that gets each other killed and it’s so tragic but perfect for their story

(also if we’re throwing in alternate ships for them, then i offer u equius x roxy or nepeta x rose)

Would love to hear your thought on meowrails break up and who they end up with?! Especially interested in Hal <> Nepeta!

Ok! Just a disclaimer before anything: this is not at all saying you shouldnt ship the meowrails, this is just a canon discussion blog and I have noticed... some stuff... but ship whatever you want, I literally don't care, all HCs are valid, etc. etc.

"Everyone has an important job to do." This is a phrase that gets repeated in Hivebent a few times, which makes it important, as Homestuck often uses repetition to build up an "internal lexicon" and deliberately highlight when situations have similar connotations (Hussie discusses this on their Formspring). So what's the context for this specific phrase? Well, it shows up three times, and for at least two of those times, it's associated with failed moirallegiances.

GA: But It Just Means Theres Got To Be Someone Around To Keep An Eye On Them GA: And If Not Me Then Who GA: Everyone Has An Important Job To Do AG: Ok, so you're spying on me. Kind of creepy! Man, m8y8e you should get a l8fe.

And

CC: I will need to connect after my goofball moirail does so I can keep my goggles on )(is nefarious escapades. CC: Its a toug)( job but its important! Everyone )(as an important job to do.

So, okay, apparently the context of this phrase is "this person is in a moirallegiance that will NOT work out"... well, here's the third time it pops up (though it's the first time chronologically):

Your best pal of all is A LITTLE BOSSY, and people wonder why you even bother with him. But someone has to keep him pacified. If not you, then who? Everyone has an important job to do.

So... hm. This isn't the only thing I have to say about meowrails breakup, but it is the most prominent one, and maybe the most damning, depending on how much weight you put into Homestuck's oft-deliberate use of parallels.

Maybe something a bit more damning is the way Hussie speaks about them in the book commentary? Pretty much every time they turn up, he has some comment to make about how Equius doesn't really "need" Nepeta, and about how he tends to talk over her and usurp her agency, like so many shitty boyfriends IRL.

We don't know much about Equius yet, but we get an awful lot of info about him with this excerpt. He's racist, a huge snob, doesn't like swearing, is stern and controlling, has a patronizing fondness for Nepeta, and thinks archery is cool because of its association with nobility. Combine this with the snapshot of his room we'll see soon, and suddenly we have an extensive character portrait. This was all important to establish quickly, because it helps us understand in record time that Equius is in fact one of the greatest characters ever created.

Equius says he appreciates that Nepeta's angry. I guess meaning that he respects an angry disposition, like his own. Especially early on in his characterization, it's suggested he has anger issues (like him taking his rage out on robot dummy combatants). But I'm not sure this trait holds up. Over time, he seems to show a lot more passion about his weird stuff, his passion for archery and muscular horse men, his submissive obsessions, his deference toward those higher on the hemospectrum and fetish-like indulgence in depraved attraction toward those lower. Ultimately he comes off more as a ridiculous nerd, with a soft spot for a lot of silly and creepy shit. My view on this is, it's not that the text lost track of the fact that he was supposed to be angry. It's more that this was his initial state of mind early on, and the more he started blowing off steam with his various indulgences (Aradiabot, etc.) the less he had to be mad about. We just meet him at a really high-strung point in his life. I think it's more accurate to say his "anger" is a form of hyperintense focus on being stern, aloof, proper, and averse to nonsense, which is a facade serving to cover up his inner personality, which is barely in control at all. Like Nepeta suggests, deep down he wants to play the kinds of silly games she plays. He wants to let go completely, and indulge every ludicrous and depraved whim he has. His arc tends to be more about caving to these indulgences, and all the mixed consequences that follow, than resisting them.

Here's [S] Equius: Seek the highbl00d, another playable RPG game. [...] But Christ, why am I talking about that garbage when we are about to review some truly choice material focusing exclusively on your favorite meowrails. It is a great illustration of their tragic dynamic; deeply committed and caring partners in the diamonds quadrant, and yet compromised by Equius and his stubborn class-driven faults, his pathological reverence for his superiors, his forced and probably not genuinely felt sense of disdain for lower bloods like Nepeta, and ultimately his failure to rise above these flaws when presented with a real test of character and friendship. A test imposed, of course, by a boorish murderclown, who from this point onward just ruins fucking everything, constantly.

Hussie is an unreliable narrator (of the "he's deliberately playing a character who's biased, opinionated, and sometimes wrong, because a major theme of Homestuck is that you have to question who's telling the story and if they can be trusted" variety), so it's difficult to parse exactly what he's saying is salient, especially since he talks so damn much. But even so, he constantly goes out of his way to highlight how the meowrails DON'T work out - which is even pretty canon in the comic.

In Hivebent, the two are established as working along this dynamic: Nepeta soothes Equius's anger issues, while Equius keeps Nepeta from recklessly endangering herself (for example, prohibiting her from LARPing). But as Hussie says, Equius's anger problems become basically nonexistent by the time Murderstuck rolls around, and his actual problem is his overindulgence in his fetishes; meanwhile, his bossy, controlling attitude to Nepeta was always kind of suspect, but it actively becomes a source of frustration to her that she can't wait to shirk (he bans her from talking to the humans, and she goes behind his back to do it anyways - even celebrates when Karkat gives her express permission).

In the end, they die for their failures as a moirallegiance - despite being fresh off a feelings jam in a pile, and so, supposedly at their least likely to hurt themselves or others, Equius's horny gets him killed (Hussie has always maintained across multiple platforms that Equius could've easily overpowered Gamzee, he just chose not to because Hot), and Nepeta doesn't listen to his orders to stay put. In later conversations with ARquiussprite, Equius is always framed as the one here who was wrong - who failed to keep Nepeta safe and has something to apologize for. I think it's also pretty important to notice that in the bubbles, Equius is never seen doing so - but IS seen being really weird to Aradias - fully implying that he's actually been avoiding taking accountability to Nepeta in favor of indulging in his fetish shit, out of shame and guilt.

As Hussie says, the meowrails are an important relationship, and when I say they don't work out, I don't mean they shouldn't have been together in the first place. On the contrary; I think they actually were good for each other, way back on Alternia. Nepeta DID keep Equius's frustrations in check, and Equius DID keep Nepeta out of trouble. But as time went on, Equius just got really comfortable with treating Nepeta like an object he owned - something convenient, which he can use when he's feeling sad, and ignore otherwise - and Nepeta started growing frustrated with his increasingly petty control. They grew as people, their needs changed, and they stopped being good for each other, but they stayed together - out of inertia and sunk cost fallacy on Nepeta's end, and on Equius's end, because it was convenient and pleasant (for him) and useful (for him) so why would he throw it away?

While this is something I think could potentially be worked out with relationship therapy, the thing with Homestuck is that it's big into the idea of soulmates, especially in the pale quadrant (which is described with that exact term). Its ultimate thesis on romance is that, while you have to do a lot of personal work in order to be the kind of person who can BE in a soul mates relationship, ultimately a relationship SHOULD have an element of just... easy compatability, idiosyncracies clicking together in just the right way to bring out the best in both parties. It's idealized, and there's criticism to be made about that, but that's still ultimately how romance kind of functions in Homestuck. The perfect match is out there for you, and while you have some growing to do in order to be ready for it, it's supposed to be easy once you get there. Consider how Eridan can calm Karkat down literally just by talking to him normally, or how Sollux regularly outright professes that Feferi's just fucking amazing - these are relationships where the involved parties don't need to tell themselves "everyone has an important job to do" with grit teeth to justify keeping the relationship going.

Meowrails lacks that inherent compatability, according to the evidence, but of course, that brings up the question of who they SHOULD date in pale instead. Hey, did you ever notice that Dirk (and by extension, Hal) are EXTREMELY Equius-coded?

So here's the thing. Hal's favorite alpha kid is Roxy, who is also pretty Nepeta-themed, being a cat-associated Rogue. They regularly flirtLARP with each other, but when we get a glimpse of this so called flirtLARPing, it's actually Roxy almost, but not quite, getting Hal to admit that he's actually not really that into Jake, he just feels obligated, as an extension of Dirk, to make DirkJake happen. They almost, but not quite, have a feelings jam.

Meanwhile, Hal outright calls his conversation with Dirk, as Dirk grapples with whether or not he should kill Hal, a "feelings jam", and Dirk also has a convo with Caliborn about how maybe he should consider the merits of selfcest.

What these interactions hint at, to me, is Nepeta <> Hal, and Equius <> Dirk... and I think if you consider it from the standpoint of their personalities, it works, too?

Nepeta is pretty consistently shown to have a knack for knowing how other people actually feel. Her shipping charts are incorrect in terms of compatability, but she's got a scary knack for reading intentions and desires - as befits a non-destructive Heart player. She's able to pinpoint that Eridan's advances on her are insincere, but he's not that bad a guy; she notices that Karkat is a big softie who loves his friends so much; she correctly reads that Equius is a big ol' goofball who loves to play games. Hal, as a Mind player, and even more as originally being a Dirk splinter and an AI, is deeply distressed by his lack of "self"-hood; it's Roxy who calls out first and most blatantly that he's clearly his own guy with his own real feelings, which seems to be why he gravitates toward her. Nepeta would do this even harder, since it's kind of her entire Thing, and I think Hal would really appreciate that, since Hal is at his worst when he thinks he's acting in someone else's best interest (Sylph lol).

Meanwhile, what Nepeta really needs IS an enabler. She's a rebellious soul with radical ideas about how the hemospectrum is stupid and dumb, and she's RIGHT and she should SAY IT. Hal's amazing at giving people what they "want", pulling strings to ensure DirkJake happens, while also framing it as something that Jake would want - this bombastic, action hero kiss-in-front-of-a-volcano. Nepeta's clearly attracted to characters with Equius-esque qualities, but after spending so long with Equius, who does nothing but push her down with a patronizing "hush, greenblood, it's for your own good," I think she would do well with an insane partner in crime who instead goes "fuck yeah girl, let's make this shit happen." Especially since her personal insecurities are that other people will find her dumb and silly (an impression that Equius certainly didn't HELP with...) - having Hal in her corner going "uhhh you're literally my favorite and I will engineer situations to fall directly in your favor?" would be a huge help to her.

I'm actually not entirely sold on equius <> dirk - they're maybe too similar? - i have in my notes here john <> dirk and equius <> jake. idk. the shipping web starts to get complicated

#meowrails #nepeta leijon #equius zahhak #homestuck #splorfss rant

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baroquepopcorn · 1 year ago

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SDJGSSGHUTD SO LIKE NEARLY A YEAR AGO YOU SENT IN AN ASK TO ANOTHER BLOG (i remember seeing the post at the time but i misattributed the ask to an anon. but im also 90% sure it was how i found your blog cause your leprechaun romance post is right after it in my drafts)

about how equius has really bright blood compared to other trolls and might be a mutant and they kind of shut it down like "erm actually hes just mutantly strong (they call him abnormally strong in comic, the word mutant isnt used for him like it is for others like sollux. also not the question) and the hiveswap characters all have the same colour (hiveswap isnt canon)" but you were so so real for that BECAUSE LIKE

ive practically got a thesis on this. equius has the brightest blood for a troll sans karkat (though still isnt as bright as a true #0000ff would be. but like its indistinguishable from egberts text blue its that bright) and the darkest text colour/ largest difference between text colours second only to feferi whos text is darker but to a far less drastic degree and gamzee whos text is actually lighter, probably tying in to his uncaring attitude towards the cast system.

and like. part of me is willing to accept the fact that its just because his sprite was made first w/o thinking and the text colour thing had to be changed last second + a too dark blue against a black background would be hard to read but like. then youve got equius' dynamic with aradia and her rust blood status and his feelings of inferiority and then later on theres (red!) arquius

and so like.... blueberry blood equius as a mutant rust blood in the same way karkats a candy(/cherry) red blood as a mutant lime blood

(and you might point out that lime isnt equidistant (ha equi-) from rust like indigo is so karkat be an olive for that to work, to which i point you to the fact that as far as homestuck colour theory is concerned all shades of green are the same. its why JADE harley has TRUE GREEN text/eyes and JADE blood is BLUE GREEN and calliope is a called LIME blood and her blood is TRUE GREEN but TROLL LIME bloods are YELLOW GREEN and TRUE GREEN is olive)

(olive which in nepetas case is substantially darker than most other trolls, again, probably for readability compared to jades and limes and what was at the time jadesprites, later jakes, colour but also like. the meowrails. the symbolisms. the contrast. you get it)

all shades of green are functionally the same (same with purples+pinks and also blues but the blues are weirder cause all the blues still have their own unique symbolisms and dynamics in colour theory while being intrinsically connected and also blue girls. yknow. i digress.)

anyways my point is they hated you because you spoke the truth and your the only one whos been right about homestuck ever

thank you I’m flattered

You’ve really thought about this a lot

What are you thoughts on guardian emulation theory as an alternative to inversion theory?

Or troll mother grub vestigial parisitoidism theory as an explanation for troll biology?

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nearapologist · 3 years ago

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homestuck memes for today (i need psychiatric help)

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4lph4kidz · 3 years ago

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Bro Strider? Or Vriska ig. Or maybe Nepeta

fuck it i'll do all of them

bro strider

Sexuality Headcanon: gay, probably closeted, definitely weird about it

Gender Headcanon: transjackass (stealth)

A ship I have with said character: uhh. i don't endorse this man kissing people. bro + grandpa I GUESS in certain contexts but i dont really trust like that. the ones i do trust are real ones who know who they are

A BROTP I have with said character: do you have ANY idea how insane the idea of beta roxy and dirk knowing each other makes me. it breaks me.

A NOTP I have with said character: can i put bro / grandpa in otp AND notp??? it really depends, i dont see it handled in a way im cool with most of the time yknow

A random headcanon: he has lots of tattoos.

General Opinion over said character: sorry. i kind of hate him. but it's mostly because i know fuck all about him and it's hard for me to extrapolate stuff about him from dirk because for me dirk's such an obvious product of his environment? and dirk's most shining redeeming quality is his love for his friends and loved ones. bro does not have that to anywhere the same extent so he's just. some shithead i guess. he has some of the same motivations and beliefs by the looks of it, and like yeah there's also the evil puppet rotting his brain but i still think a lot of the stuff that is wrong with him is his own fault. idk, it's hard for me to be kind about him after a certain point in his life, but i am kind of enamoured with young kid shithead bro in the 80s just being kind of a terror to everyone. just... dirk but worse.

vriska

Sexuality Headcanon: 8i

Gender Headcanon: transfem

A ship I have with said character: vrisrezi, again, is the most ever

A BROTP I have with said character: fuck it. vriska and arquius are funny

A NOTP I have with said character: uh nothing's coming to mind except meenvris and tavris which is like. duh.

A random headcanon: she bites

General Opinion over said character: vriska (vriska) is a character designed from the ground up to be divisive. i'm not aggressively pro-vriska but i definitely think she is a good character. not necessarily a good person but she's interesting to follow, she's flawed, she's dealing with a lot of fucked up shit, and she makes some very wrong and outright cruel choices, but ultimately she's just a kid from a terrible world that forced a lot of trauma and violence on her. i like her. nepeta

Sexuality Headcanon: pan aro

Gender Headcanon: nonbinary transmasc, rip nepeta you would've loved neopronouns

A ship I have with said character: jadedavenep maybe. that could be cute.

A BROTP I have with said character: i mean meowrails is right there but i think her dynamic with terezi was cute too.

A NOTP I have with said character: none

A random headcanon: she bites too

General Opinion over said character: nepeta is a very likeable character whose life implies some interesting stuff about alternian society. she might not have a big role in the story but i do love her! i think she's great, sincerely.

#ask meme

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fefairys · 2 years ago

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2 11 12 14 15 17 18 20 21 23 25 26 27 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49!! 50 51 52

holy fuck juice i knwo u said u were sending a lot but damn. thank u i love u. ok.

under the cut because its so long <3

2. How quickly did you finish reading the comic? i dont remember... i think a few months??? i first watched all of the voice nexus videos (back when they were still collabHQ) and they were around mindfang's journal at the time, then i read the rest on my own. i think it was probably like. 3 months or so? maybe 4?? i know that i missed a new years countdown because i was busy reading homestuck LMAO.. but the fastest i've ever read it all the way through is 7 days.

11. Favorite Alpha kid? roxy :3

12. Favorite Alpha troll? porrim or latula.. or mituna... but porrim came to my head first so i guess she's the real answer

14. Least favorite Alpha kid? :( ...i guess dirk. but i still love him a lot.... i love the alphas...

15. Least favorite Alpha troll? cronus

17. Favorite Beta kid? rose or jade.. i relate more to rose but i am in love with jade

18. Favorite Beta troll? aradia probably..

20. Least favorite Beta kid? :( dont have one. i love them all too much i cannot answer this!!! if i must answer i guess i'll say dave since i've drawn him the least lol

21. Least favorite Beta troll? eridan

23. Favorite guardian? mom <3

25. Favorite Alternian ancestor? dolorosa... alternia's first mother. do u think about this? cry.

26. Least favorite Alternian ancestor? dualscar. im seeing a trend in my least favorite trolls SLDKFJ

27. Favorite carapacian? those random prospitians that meenah mistook for problem sleuth, pickle inspector, and ace dick

29. Favorite Friendsim character? oh god i dont know D: i like so many of them... fuck!!! i really like mallek tho... for gay reasons. also cirava. NEED to smoke a blunt w them.

30. Least favorite Friendsim character? zebruh. literally forgot about him and was like "oh i dunno i like all of them :) let me see" and looked them up and saw him and was like oh wait yeah. its zebruh.

31. Favorite sprite? davepetasprite^2 !!!

32. Least favorite sprite? calsprite lol

33. Favorite pale ship? ogh... i don know... arasol maybe.. i like them red also tho but theyre really cute pale :3 but i'll always have a soft spot for meowrails theyre probably the only ones i ship ONLY pale and not other quadrants

34. Favorite pitch ship? im trying to think of something that i ONLY ship pitch and not other quads... i dont think that exists for me lmao uhhh... vrisjade pitch is fun.. also solkat but theyre all quadrants but i really like them pitch theyre so silly hehe

35. Favorite flushed ship? ARAFEF !!!!!!!!!!

36. Favorite ashen ship? vriska, kanaya, and rose doing a gay little dance, taking turns auspisticing each other 😌

37. Favorite vacillating ship? SOLKAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯

38. OTP? right now im really feeling solkat. arafef and vrisrezi are up there though

39. NOTP? besides obvious incest and kid/guardian pairings, i think gamrezi is the one that makes me most uncomfortable when i see it. leave her alone!!!

40. BROTP? aradia and dave :) also karkat and kanaya friendship is everything..

41. Character you’d choose to be your moirail? ohhhhhh maybe nepeta :3

42. Character you’d choose to be your kismesis? karkat. (kins sollux)

43. Character you’d choose to be your matesprit? aradia <3333 or kanaya or rose or terezi or (continues to list every girl)

44. Character you’d choose to be your auspistice? hm. i dunno. i dont want an auspistice leave me alone SDLFKJ i can handle it 😤 besides, the "main" "purpose" of an auspistice is preventing infidelity, but aint no infidelity when ur polyam!!! ill hatefuck this entire town so help me jegus

45. Character you’d vacillate quadrants with? oh. karkat as well. also vriska. maybe i should change my kismesis answer but idk if theres a character i hate in that way that i wouldnt want to vascillate with :/ i'll just leave it idk

46. Character you’d be best friends with? jade :D or roxy!! :D yeah :D

47. Patron troll? Are you happy with them? equius. no.

48. Zodiac troll? Are you happy with them? aradia! yes!!! :D

49. One character you didn’t like at first, but like now? i HATED vriska on my first read SO MUCH!!! but now i love her shes in my top 5 :) and also i am her.

50. One character you liked at first, but don’t like now? does not exist if i liked them i like them still <3

51. One ship you didn’t like at first, but like now? OH solfef!!! i HATED solfef so much i was like this is stupid and doesnt make sense but now i think its kind of cute. but aradia should be there too.

52. One ship you liked at first, but don’t like now? again, if i liked it i like it!!! there are ones that i used to care about more, but don't anymore, but i still like them! :)

#homestuck #asks #answer meme #anonymous #(even though i know it is juice)

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thewertsearch · 1 year ago

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GA: Either Im Sleeping Or Im Dead Which Is It […] AA: you are unconscious now and will likely wake up as your new self very soon […] AA: you are undergoing a metamorphosis which you have been groomed for since you were very young

By who, though? Doc Scratch? Grubmom? The Alternian government, even?

And was Kanaya turned into a vampire, or was she born with the potential to become one? Metamorphosis seems to imply the former, but it's still very unclear.

AA: much like i was for my various personal iterations including this one GA: You Mean GA: Being A Ghost And Then A Frog And Then A Robot And Then A Fairy AA: yes!

Aradia likens this transformation to her own adventures as a ghost, robot and fairy, but all of those changes have mechanisms that we understand, whereas Kanaya's is a mystery. If it's anything like Aradia's ghost form, maybe necromancy was involved?

And, again - who's the culprit? If this was something that was imposed on Kanaya externally, rather than an inherent trait, then Scratch feels like the most likely meddler. If so, her vampirism was designed to benefit him - but what could his angle be?

What effect has Kanaya's vampirism even had, so far? What has she caused to happen, that wouldn't otherwise have happened?

All she's really done is bisect Eridan... whilst sparing the Veil's real problem, Gamzee. Well, he is the Most Important Character In Homestuck, so Scratch can probably make use of him.

But... I really don't like that line of thinking. It implies that Kanaya spared Gamzee at Scratch's bequest, knowingly or unknowingly, and the thought of Kanaya serving Scratch is too terrible to contemplate. Let's put it aside for now.

TA: 0k s0 i'm supp0sed t0 act 0ut what i did bef0re, when i br0ught her these shitty d0ll parts, is that's what's g0ing 0n here? GA: Yeah Im Still Not Sure Aradia Are We Supposed To Be Role Playing

And you didn’t even wait for Nepeta.

Actually, that's a good point - where is Nepeta? Is she sitting in some other bubble, berating Equius over how he died?

TA: thith ith kinb 0f thtupib. AA: youre stupid and you sound stupid! TA: h0py thith, i b0 th0unb thtupib. TA: why the fuckth ith by b0uth fthull 0f all thethe theeth subbenly?

Ah, hang on - Nepeta's not actually dead yet.

Sollux's tooth issues are congruent with page 3429, immediately before Equius is commanded to Seek The Highb100d. Plus, Kanaya's still down, and she was up and about by Seek. The Meowrails yet live - and Eridan's still alive, too, but I doubt his ghost would show his sorry face regardless.

It’s funny how the Furthest Ring, a space which is supposed to be temporally untethered, is correlated so closely with the sequence of events on the Veil.

#homestuck liveblog #full liveblog #act 5.2 #3596 #s138 #netherite seeds take a while to grow it turns out #also - OOTS girlies; are you seeing the parallels? are you seeing them? i am and i'm scared.

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betweengenesisfrogs · 5 years ago

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The Triumph of the Marginalia

Marginalia, n.:

1 : notes or embellishments in the margins (as in a book)

2 : nonessential items

-Troll OED

Is it just me, or is Nepeta and Equius’s arc the most slept-upon piece of brilliance in all of Homestuck?

A brilliance, might I add, that culminates in possibly the most triumphant, fulfilling emotional moment in the entire work:

https://www.homestuck.com/story/7928

*stands back and beholds its majesty while from the background comes the sound of James Roach brutally murdering ska*

No, but actually, I mean this 100% unironically, and by the end of this post, I think you’ll agree with me.

By now, I think we all understand the Act 6 double metaphor: the series of temporal loops and universes that Lord English commands is paralleled with, and in fact totally identical to, the narrative of Homestuck. Our characters’ lives exist within this context. They struggle to escape it, and are defined both by it and by the rejection of it.

Enter Nepeta.

The metaphorical meaning of Nepeta in Homestuck is irrelevance, and that’s why she’s the most relevant character in any discussion.

Nepeta was one of the characters killed off during the Murderstuck arc. Hussie argued that she was perfect for this role. In fact, I believe he said something like “Nepeta is sweet, but if you look up the dictionary definition of ‘expendable character,’ you’ll see a picture of Nepeta playing with a ball of yarn and looking very cute.” She’s an endearing combination of shipper girl and apex predator, but not one of your Vriskas or Terezis in being a driver of the plot. Hussie, it seems, created her just to round out the troll cast. He described one of his purposes in Murderstuck as being to axe some of the less necessary trolls to reduce the scope of his character list.

Except that didn’t really happen, did it?

Like a cat with nine lives, Nepeta just keeps coming back.

Equius is another addition to the troll cast who gets pushed away from the main action. He was a character-writing challenge: how do you make someone who’s gross, uncomfortable, and racist kind of likable anyway? I’d argue Hussie succeeded, in large part because of Equius’s relationship with Nepeta. By the time you finish with Hivebent, you’ll probably have a little fondness for their moraillegiance. And if that doesn’t do it, the conversation that serves as their swansong in Equius: Seek the Highblood will tear your heartstrings to shreds.

Because Equius dies, tragically clownmurdered. There was, at the time, some stink over this from Equius fans. Would he have really let himself be killed so easily? Hussie countered: yes, and it was the most in-character thing he could have done. He died doing what he loved: being asphyxiated erotically and horrifically by a superior. Truly, there could be no more fitting end to his character than that.

And yet.

No sooner did Hussie complete his self-appointed story cleanup challenge than he immediately began to undo his own work. It’s almost as if, in declaring his intention to own those who preferred more characters to narrative economy, he immediately had to own himself??

By the time we get even a little way into Act 6, we’re deep in the dreambubble landscape, meeting dead characters left and right. And who should show up there but Equius and Nepeta? Equius attempting to get it on with a bunch of Aradias, who dump him. And Nepeta, living out her romantic dreams as a representative of a timeline where she got together with Karkat. They both appear as symbols of this deadness, this irrelevance. Except that that brings them back into the story, into the spotlight – the opposite of where they’re supposed to be!

Like many bits of commentary, Hussie continues to incorporate the metaphor Nepeta=Irrelevance into Homestuck. Karkat’s remark on their journey that he would love to meet “FIFTY FUCKING NEPETAS” and embark on “NEPETAQUEST” alludes to formspring remarks to the effect that, no, Homestuck was not going to have much time for the minor characters. Except it clearly did.

Why couldn’t the narrative let the meowrails go? Was it that despite the economy of Murderstuck, something was still incomplete? After all, one of Equius’s charms was that he appeared to be growing into a less repressed, kinder person. In Seek the Highblood, we see him letting his guard down enough to roleplay with Nepeta for a change. Their love for each other: wasn’t that ultimately what could redeem Equius in our eyes? So his dying and thus failing to protect her–isn’t that something that should be addressed?

You could imagine many a Nepeta and Equius fan saying this to Hussie back in 2011.

But Hussie was already saying it to himself.

The duo come roaring back into the story in the Trickster mode arc, mid Act 6, thanks to Gamzee’s ridiculous resurrections. True, Nepeta is still reduced as part of Fefeta, the character formed from killed-off girls who never speaks onscreen. But doesn’t using that fact as a running gag kind of draw our attention to it? Doesn’t the fact that Fefeta talks to Roxy constantly offscreen inform us that once we get outside the frame of the narrative, Nepeta has a rich inner life and countless stories to tell?

And it’s here that Equius gets something he never got in his original “arc:” the chance to apologize to Nepeta. You’d be forgiven for missing it since there’s so much else going on at the time, but he does, while fused with AR. Here’s what you’d miss, though: he’s grown as a person in the afterlife. He’s come to regret that moment of weakness, where his fetish kept him from protecting his moirail. Impossible as it seems, he’s continuing his character arc.

The scene ends with Fefeta exploding (she’s also, after all, dealing with Eridan), but it leaves us with a tantalizing question:

Will Nepeta forgive Equius? Is there even a plausible time and space in that story when she could respond to his words?

Do you see what’s happening here? Instead of being erased, Nepeta and Equius are starting to slip the bounds of the story that killed them. They leap in and out of the frame, half-mythical figures. Marginalized, they write their own stories in the margins. They exist in complete defiance of the original logic of Homestuck.

Lord English is an alt-Author figure, a dark, brutal reflection of narrative control and narrative necessity. His world, in which horrible choices are necessary, in which the alpha timeline is a ticking clock leading inexorably to his manifestation, is one that beats down people not deemed important enough by his narrative. Which makes it identical to the one we’re reading. Throw all the unnecessary characters in the trash. Kill them off, if it suits my purposes. The world doesn’t need Nepeta.

Which is precisely why it does. Because isn’t defying Lord English the entire point? Isn’t it what Homestuck reveals as truly heroic?

What might Nepeta be capable of?

Let’s talk about two other victims of English’s forces of marginalization. Davesprite might be the most quintessential example. He teaches us what the alpha timeline is and how it works, by going back to fix a doomed timeline and submitting to being doomed himself. Except he merges with a bird and avoids that fate. Okay, but he clearly gets killed off fighting Jack in Jade: Enter. Except he comes back and hangs out with Jadesprite. Okay, but he dies in the planetsplode in the Retcon. Nope, he comes back from that, too. Huh. He keeps slipping the fate decreed for him by – who else? Lord English.

But it’s a struggle, clearly. He’s caught up in various cycles of guilt and shame. Over being “not the real Dave.” Over his feeling that he has to be a hero in the sense Bro demanded he be. Hussie describes Davesprite as fitting the “way of the unbroken sword:” his experiences have led him to believe in being strong and capable at the expense of all else, in contrast with the other Dave, whose belief in Bros’ toxic ideas is beginning to slip – the “way of the broken sword.” And where did Bro get his toxic ideas from? At least in part, the whispering voice of the soul of Lord English.

Now we turn to Dirk. Like Dave, Dirk has a marginalized, “less important” splinter self but it’s more of a pressing concern. AR shows Dirk’s darker side: exhibiting manipulative tendencies that human Dirk is trying to move away from. He’s also a copy removed from humanity, who feels an understandable amount of disillusionment about being removed from physical existence and his own identity. But as much as Dirk may splinter, like his dumb anime sword, he never breaks. What this means in the symbolic language of Homestuck is that Dirk lives fully, instinctually, in the way of the sword. He believe in a world of hard choices, masculine heroism, and necessity. Ultimately, this, too, is part of what makes Bro so harmful to Dave. In AR and Davesprite, we have a strange parallel: two splinter selves, both of whom are enmeshed in the logic of LE.

Except AR, unlike Davesprite…kind of is LE.

What is Lord English composed of? Well, there’s Caliborn, the most unrepentant shithead of all time. There’s Gamzee, embodiment of horrifying clownery. And then there’s AR, a version of Dirk even more removed from the person he wants to be.

And…Equius?

Allow me a moment to get really indulgent and take a big puff on my Homestuck scholar’s pipe.

The metaphorical meaning of Equius in Homestuck is: sort of growing out of being a creepy racist.

Or maybe let’s say: the opportunity to do that. We said that Equius was on the verge of being redeemed (even had been, in the eyes of many readers). What does it mean to stick him in with Lord English’s souls? It means two things:

1) Equius is a product of his society, which was shaped by Doc Scratch, aka by Lord English, both of whom are kind of him, but Scratch picks up on his traits especially. This is a recognition of that fact: the part of him that sucks is, itself, Lord English in a dizzying loop.

2) Equius’s story is a tragedy. It is the story of a kid who started to escape his society’s tendencies, but was sucked back in by the evil force behind them.

Although…maybe that’s not the whole story.

Because both Equius and AR aren’t really that bad. AR’s pretty understandable, and by no means beyond the possibility of goodness. And the combination of the two? Honestly, pretty harmless. They counter each other’s worst tendencies by devolving into a weird goofball. In fact, AR even says he wants to do something heroic: to sacrifice himself for something really important. He does, kind of, mustering a last-ditch robohorse assault on Caliborn. But at the same time, this is the substance of his tragedy. A hero whose defeat of a great evil forces him to become the substance of that evil. Which could not be a more fitting summary of how these characters function in their story.

But maybe that’s still not the whole story.

Enter Davepeta.

At first glance, the creation of Davepeta seems like Hussie’s most batshit troll move yet. I feel pretty confident in saying that even those who predicted either of these characters returning didn’t see that one coming. However, a few pages of Davepeta’s presence reveals a fundamental truth:

Davepeta is fucking amazing.

In them, Davesprite’s depressive moods are buoyed up by Nepeta’s upbeat optimism. Nepeta’s reclusive shyness is balanced by Dave’s tendency toward brash banter. Both of them gain confidence from being the new person they are. They quickly let go of ideas inherited from the world that kept them from self-knowledge and happiness. Dave, his toxic masculinity; Nepeta, her fear.

A great point I’ve seen made is how much Jasprose and Davepeta resemble fantasy selves for Rose and Dave: indulgent, technicolor manifestations of people they could be if they let go of inhibitions and limitations. But I think Davepeta is the most unambiguously positive of the two.

The metaphorical meaning of Davepeta in Homestuck?

Growth.

Not giving a fuck about what the world thinks. The world, aka Lord English. Because Lord English could never have predicted that his machinations would also spawn a confident, powerful fusion of two beings he had discarded as totally irrelevant.

They’re also a multicolored non-binary furry, so that’s even more points in the pissing off shitheads column.

They are someone Lord English never conceived of, never could have conceived of, but which lay as potential within his domain all along.

And if Lord English is a reflection of the author, of what Hussie feels one has to destroy or sacrifice, than Davepeta is an indulgence existing in defiance of all that.

And this makes Davepeta the most powerful person of all.

They are the light at the end of the tunnel. They are the person you could be, if you could get past your mental shackles and just grow. It may not be possible to ever get there as a mortal human, may only be for a godlike sprite, but striving to be like them matters, is purpose and fulfilment enough.

And they love ARquius.

Nepeta believed in Equius, believed he could grow, and was growing. So as much as ARquius traps himself in a Lord English loop of his own making – grown, perhaps, out of Dirk’s belief that there should be a loop, that importance is admirable—Davepeta pulls from him, in his last scene, his finest qualities. His love.

Equius asks forgiveness again, and this time, Nepeta’s able to give it. Davepeta easily accepts ARquius’s apology, an apology which never could have existed within the confines of a normal narrative. A reconciliation that both of them fought for by defying their narrative, by existing outside it. By being not the trolls who lived and died, but their broader, conceptual selves, who exist beyond lifetimes. Beyond the comic page. And they consummate that reconciliation with that most cherished and loving of gestures:

A hug.

And even as this is Equius and Nepeta’s reconciliation, it’s also Dirk and Dave’s. Which, I should mention, is also taking place, simultaneously and circumstantially simultaneously, just below. It’s a more difficult one, certainly, especially as filtered through the splinters of Davesprite and AR. Here forgiveness is not quite the right word. But – knowledge, and recognition, and a kind of peace. It’s Davesprite’s chance to reunite with the part of his brother he loved, while also being a person who’s grown beyond him. And it’s AR’s chance to be loved.

Oh, sure, the art is ridiculous, the pose absurd. But that’s what makes it sublime.

I mean, what did you think that Sbahj comic was really about?

A boy distancing himself from his feelings through irony, never acknowledging that the story he’s telling is about two bros who desperately want to hug each other, but don’t know how.

Here’s the hug.

I want to dip into Epilogues territory for a moment, but it’s territory which is fairly well implied by Davepeta’s statements and role in Collide. The Meat Epilogue, I think, only illuminates what was already there.

Lord English is uniquely vulnerable to Davepeta.

And why shouldn’t he be? They, like so much else in Homestuck, are a consequence of his actions spiraling far beyond his control. But it’s more than that. Davepeta is finally able to lay the unbroken sword to rest by following the “prophecy” about Dave defeating Lord English. On the one hand, that’s kind of what happened. But it’s also completely different from what English intended, antithetical to his desires and goals. Which makes the victory all the sweeter. But at the end of the day, Davepeta doesn’t fight for the reasons Davesprite did. They’re free of that, now. Instead, they fight from a place of genuine compassion. Because Davesprite, like Dave, knows the true meaning of being a hero: caring about one’s friends.

But the most important thing about Davepeta is that they know Lord English, on a level that perhaps neither he nor they recognize. Both AR and Equius are in there, and both are capable of redemption. It’s only Gamzee and Caliborn who are truly beyond it.

How does Davepeta defeat Lord English?

With a hug.

They wrap their claws around him, and carry him into the sun like a piece of garbage. It’s an aggressive hold, but it’s also effectively an embrace.

And I have to wonder: in those final moments, did they sense a connection there? Did Equius and Dirk stir somewhere within Lord English? Did they give him a moment’s pause? Resist him? Make it just the tiniest bit easier for Davepeta to do their work?

If so, then that, too, is heroism.

At the very least, it’s circumstantially simultaneous with the hug we see in Act 6, and so it carries the same message:

Redemption.

Not for the shitheads, but for those who wanted to be better.

And if this isn’t enough, there’s a third reconciliation here, too: between author and reader, or to put it in other terms, author and character.

If Lord English is a shadow of the author, what part of the author can be redeemed? Maybe not the destructive, antagonistic urges. But the part that plans and designs and philosophizes as Dirk does. That part of Hussie wanted Davepeta to be there, to strike that final blow, and made it happen.

Because, when you get right down to it, as much as Hussie pretends to be antagonistic toward his readers and the characters they enjoy, it’s the fans, the shippers, the furries, those whose hearts go out to a cute, shy cat girl that he most celebrates.

Hussie fucking loves Nepeta.

Nepeta and Equius are, sneakily, the best characters in Homestuck, because they understand its fundamental message: that to succeed in Homestuck is to defy Homestuck. They defy everything it throws at them, and somehow, improbably, come out on top.

All of this is there on that page, a whole edifice of storytelling culminating in that singular, grand, supremely indulgent expression, a feast of looping leitmotif and color and imagery and meme and sound. It’s all there, if you know where to look.

Nepeta and Equius love each other, and that’s pretty fucking great.

See? I told you.

<> Ari

#nepeta #equius #davepeta #homestuck analysis #arquius #meowrails #davesprite #hal #trying to get out ahead of hussie's commentary for a change #happy 4/13 :33 #<3 #stay tuned #feast of homestuck 2020

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luminescentlyricist · 5 years ago

Text

♌ Tea Cups And Tenderness ♐

arsenicCatnip [AC] began trolling centaursTesticle [CT]

AC: :33 < *ac smiles at ct, swishing her tail and waving in a welcoming meownner*

CT: D --> Hello, Nepeta.

AC: :33 < *ac pounces on ct, glad that her meowrail is here to k33p her company*

CT: D --> I am glad you are here too, you make for e%cellent company.

AC: :33 < *ac asks ct how his day is going, hoping for a pawsitive answer*

CT: D --> I must confess that I am rather lonely.

AC: :33 < *furrowning, ac asks why, dropping off his back and nuzzling his cheek comfortingly*

CT: D --> Because you are not here in person.

centaursTesticle [CT] ceased trolling arsenicCatnip [AC]

~~~~

Equius knew that his love for the catlike troll was... morally wrong, just as his feelings for Aradia had been. To a lesser degree, yes, but to have feelings for a lowerblood of any level felt distinctly unbecoming, as did having feelings for a higherblood. He felt as if he had his place in the world, and he was determined to keep it as it was. He had feelings for no 'b100b100d', however, and thus was conflicted.

Nepeta stared longingly at her shipping wall for periods of time, often ones that were considered troubling. She was almost obsessive, the way she cared about the more-often-than-not imaginary relationships she had constructed and displayed, displayed as her pride and joy. She cared for Equius so, so much. But she couldn't shake the careful drawing that she hid from view, the one 'ship' that she wished for more than anything. She knew that the other didn't reciprocate feelings for her, but she persisted in her daydreams nonetheless.

~~~~

The two were moirails, and they couldn't have been better for each other.

Equius was strong, strong and steady. He was a protector, and though he could come off as too strong, almost... disgusting in his ways, he loved her and wished her the best.

Nepeta was soft. She was loving, understanding and the gentlest of souls. She helped him as much as she could, and although many cringed at her fascinations, she loved him and wished him the best.

They were capable of becoming more, so much more, but the roles they held in each other's hearts and eyes was enough. It made them happy. The joy that they felt could far surpass any doubts they might have had, shatter any negativity as long as they kept close. When they were separated, they had Trollian, but it would never be enough to satisfy their need to... be with each other, to have physical closeness.

The tea had been brewed in a hopeful, happy manner, as Nepeta had thought everything was actually going to be fine, despite the encroaching gloom. Equius' comforting, warming darkness was the only one she had expected. The catlike troll was ever the optimist, however, and that would serve to help her through the next events.

"Oh no! The Purrl Grey has been on for too long! It'll taste pawful!"

She hissed, tail lashing about - as opposed to its normal gentle sway - and running to check the lilac pot with a worried expression. She couldn't believe it had been steeping so long! She was so careless. Her tail slid motionlessly across the floor, shifting only when she herself moved. She felt downcast within moments, as she had tried so hard to make everything so, so perfect for Equius in her land.

She checked for a supply of sugar in the small dwelling she had made there, as she liked her Cameowmile nice and sweet, before giggling to herself. She was going nuts, being alone, surely. She spun around, gazing at the hills and mounds of Little Cubes, her eyes bright and filled with a childlike wonder. Even though it felt like she had seen it all a million times, it never failed to amaze her time and time again.

"Silly Nepeta! Your land is made of sugar!"

Nepeta murmured to herself, walking out of her dwelling and looking around. She soon collected a basketful of sugar cubes, and bent down to the green tea river running like veins through her land. Sticking her tongue out, she looked around just in case Equius had been able to come to her land so soon. She didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of him. Happily, as she did most things, she bent over and quickly lapped at the green tea.

It was bitter, and she stuck her tongue out in disgust. She decided that she'd have to topple a whole hill worth of sugar into it later; it would give her something to do while Equius wasn't there, and it would be a lot of fun. Sweetness, as well as being sweet, really improved everything, or so she thought. She stood from the banks of the tea river, humming to herself as she licked the sticky residue of the sugar off her hands.

Skipping, she made her way back to the dwelling, humming softly. Equius would arrive at any minute, and she wanted to be there when he arrived. She was looking forward to seeing him, very much so, but also wanted to make sure that his often untameable strength didn't cause him to break the door as well. She'd worked on the small hut for a while, if only to keep her fidgety 'paws' at bay.

The troll soon arrived, beads of sweat trickling down his face relentlessly. She walked and got him a fresh white towel - those she had stocked up on for this reason alone - from the cupboard. He walked into the door of the hut, taking the towel from her. Equius almost seemed too big for the small dwelling, but Nepeta wanted it no other way. His size bought her comfort. He wiped his face gratefully, a broken-toothed smile coming to his lips.

"Thank you, Nepeta. It is good to see you."

Equius stood in the hut, looking around at the home Nepeta had made for herself. He was proud of her for doing such a thing, even though his head grazed the roof when it sloped down on occasion. Judging by her shorter-than-average size, and the fact that sugar grains crunched under their feet at every step, she had used the stackable cubes as leverage. She would have spent far more time than was necessary on the dwelling.

It made his hardened heart full with warmth and his gentle smile stay, unwavering, to know how much effort his Moirail had gone to, even if it wasn't specifically for him. She obviously had a real passion for what she was doing, and her fingers were still sticking together due to the baking she had done. She had set everything up just so, but she had been rather busy. She had only just had time to clean up a little before he came.

"Just a meowment, please, Equihiss."

Nepeta chirped, scampering off and to the little sink. She hummed some more as she washed her hands. Her short fingers saw the light for the first time in a while, as her bright blue paw-gloves nearly always obscured them from view. She had liked baking, as well as licking the bowls when she was finished, but didn't particularly enjoy washing up properly. She usually took her time with it, nonetheless, but she hurried because she wanted to get back to her blue-blooded friend.

She slipped her gloves back on, wiggling her fingers in relief. Although her skin was grey, and was already rather light in colour, her hands were noticeably more pale than the rest of her skin because of her habit of wearing them. She had dyed the tail and gloves when her moirallegiance with Equius started, wanting the blue to remind her that he was always with her, even when they were not together in person.

Soon, the troll bought the things she had baked to the small table, setting the plate of steaming hot muffins down and setting out a couple of placemats so that the teapots wouldn't scorch the table. She had left the Cameowmile to sit and cool down a little while the Purrl Grey steeped further, as Equius had told her that he liked his tea 'E%TREMELY STRONG'. She didn't want to burn her mouth, however.

It was evident that she had used too much sugar in the muffins, presumably to try and deplete the supply that was naturally given to her by the Land Of Little Cubes And Tea. She hadn't known that the supply was nearly infinite, so as to prevent sugar-based land degradation from Nepeta using it all up. She liked everything she had nearly as sweet as she was, which was copiously, overly sweet. That said, Nepeta wasn't a stuck-up, and her positivity always seemed to be genuine.

She padded over to the long-brewed tea, bringing it over to the table and setting it down after pouring a cup for Equius. She had reinforced the cup somehow so that he wouldn't crush it, and the tea was piping hot. She had even added some of Arthour's milk to it, as Equius had bought it over with him. He said it kept his bones strong, and she didn't doubt it, but she thought to herself that he didn't need any more calcium. He was already too strong for his own good, and for others'.

Nepeta cherished him and appreciated him far more than most, despite his almost debilitating strength and his sweating problems. There were a lot of negatives to Equius, but most tended to forget about him completely. She had reason to believe that he was seen in a negative light by most of the other trolls that bothered to acknowledge his existence, and considered that extremely unfair. Even Vriska seemed to dislike him, and Aradia hold the blue blood in her robotic veins against him, even though he had done them a courtesy and replaced their body or body parts.

They talked over tea and muffins, and joy radiated from the two trolls. They had never shown such happiness unless they were together, and even then Equius had been... apprehensive about his feelings for Nepeta. In this small hut in an expanse of sugar, they had found cause to believe that they truly were moirails, and that they were perfect for each other. The guardian and the helper, the stoic and the empathetic.

Equius soon left, his hands clutching a basketful of muffins, the likes of which Nepeta absolutely insisted he take. She claimed that she couldn't eat them all herself, but he knew that it was a lie, and simply an excuse to share what she had made for him. It was lighthearted, and she watched him go with a small and satisfied smile lighting up her cheeks. Nepeta knew that she had made him happy, and that, in turn, made her the most gleeful troll in the whole of Alternia.

But that had been long ago.

Almost too long.

~~~~~~~~~~~

So, they sat together in the darkened lab, stoves and long-cold teapots providing a barrier to what lay beyond. The two had sought shelter from him as soon as they could, sought one another because they knew it would be even colder without that comfort. The two would have liked to meet like this in a more positive setting, but that was not to be. The time of tea and piping-hot muffins in a land of sugar was long gone. It was likely that they'd never experience such a thing ever again as long as they were trapped.

The clown was lurking in the cloaking dark, and that was terrifying to them both, but Equius didn't move a muscle as Nepeta shivered against him. His role in the moiraillegiance was to guard her to his dying breath, and to have an unwavering resolution and stoicism in the face of danger. He would fulfil that role to the best of his ability. However strong he was, when a distant smashing of a bottle was heard, Equius' fingers tightened around the wood of the bow that he held, and a crack rang out.

"Do not worry, Nepeta."

He murmured, feeling the troll flinch against his body from where she was curled, obviously scared out of her mind. Aside from this, he hadn't felt her move in a while. He thought it had been a long time, though he had no way of knowing. Equius had thought her dead, for she had become literally petrified with fright for some time earlier. Although he hated it, it was a relief to feel her shivering form. It was movement, at least.

He had left her sore in the back from his hugs many a time, and did not want to risk such a thing happening ever again, especially due to his moirail's emotional fragility. She already suffered so much, particularly in their current situation. A broken back would likely kill Nepeta, as she had not - and would not - gain the abilities and immortality that came with the highly coveted ascension to God Tier.

"I am here, and I will not let anything happen to you for as long as I live."

Equius spoke, though he expected no reply. He knew that she was feeling far too weak to even gain the energy to do so. All he had to go on, all the signs that she lived, were her wheezing breaths, and the gentle shudder of her every limb. He himself was fighting the urge to close his eyes, to slip into the comfort of fading away. The void that he held called to him louder and louder until it was a deafening roar in his ears, though he had no voices in his head as Sollux had.

The goldblood had never interacted with him, and he found that better than if he had. Equius was a troll who had followed the hemospectrum closely for all of his sweeps of life, and had thus forbidden himself from interacting with Sollux and his lowblooded... breed. Power didn't matter to him, though he was so fixated on his own, and paid no mind to the boy's psionic prowess, nor his hacking skills. He wasn't self-absorbed, and he cared for those who cared for him, or that he felt he could trust.

One of the few people he felt he could trust was slowly, agonisingly dying against his body. Her breathing was so shallow that it became barely noticeable, and her chest barely moved. He provided her with all the warmth that he could, but had no idea if his efforts would be enough to save her. It was safer, he decided, for him to let her... he couldn't. He couldn't even think of the word. His Nepeta, dying. It was... preposterous. But it was better for her to fade in his arms than to die fighting that horrid, maniacal clown.

Equius brushed a strand of hair away from her face, his hands finally beginning to tremble. He didn't want her to die, even more than he feared death himself. He'd been lonely for so, so long. He'd finally pushed all that away and embraced his relationship with her, and he wanted to be safe and happy. With her. His stubbornness was a big downside when it came to socialising, but he refused to let her go even now, and it was sad that they were closest when she was so far away. He'd have his revenge, sure, but wanted to stay by her side until her very last breath.

She breathed it all too soon, and for the first time in his life, he felt a tear slip down his cheek.

#nepeta #equius #nepeta leijon #equius zahhak #homestuck #angst #luminescent lyricist writes #🏠 stuck at home 🏠

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