Yes, Terezi regrets killing her, but more significantly, she realizes she was cornered into that choice and wonders, had she been thinking clearly and known all the facts, had any thoughts or circumstances changed, would there have been more options? Would killing Vriska be the only way to stop her?
GC: 1 K33P WOND3R1NG 1F TH3R3 W4S 4NOTH3R W4Y GC: SOM3TH1NG OTH3R TH4N L3TT1NG H3R GO, OR K1LL1NG H3R
GC: WH3N 1 CONFRONT3D H3R, 4ND 1T W4S T1M3 TO M4K3 UP MY M1ND GC: 1 THOUGHT 1 H4D 1T 4LL F1GUR3D OUT, L1K3 TH1S W4S WH4T 1 H4D TO DO. NOT JUST TO S4V3 3V3RYBODY, BUT 4S SOM3 STUP1D R1T3 OF P4SS4G3 OR SOM3TH1NG? GC: TH3N 1T C4M3 T1M3 TO DO 1T, 4ND 1T W4S 4LL H4PP3N1NG SO F4ST... GC: 4ND 1 FORC3D MY OWN H4ND. 1 COULD 31TH3R L3T 3V3RYON3 D13 1N ON3 R34L1TY, OR K1LL 4 FR13ND 1N 4NOTH3R GC: 4ND 1 T3LL MYS3LF THOS3 W3R3 TH3 ONLY TWO VORT1C3S 1 S4W... GC: BUT TH3N, 1 W4S TH3 ON3 WHO M4D3 TH3 S3R13S OF D3C1S1ONS WH1CH L3D UP TO TH4T CHO1C3, 4ND COMPL3T3LY P41NT3D TH3 OPT1ONS 1NTO TH4T CORN3R
TEREZI: 4ND NOW 1T F33LS L1K3 TH3 ONLY "H3RO1C" TH1NG 1 3V3R D1D W1TH THOS3 POW3RS TEREZI: W4S US3 TH3M TO JUST1FY K1LL1NG MY FR13ND [...] TEREZI: 4ND WH4TS WORS3 1S TEREZI: TO TH1S D4Y, 1M ST1LL NOT 3V3N TOT4LLY SUR3 1F 1T W4S N3C3SS4RY [...] KARKAT: WELL, YEAH. OF COURSE IT WAS NECESSARY. KARKAT: EVEN IF IT WASN'T THE MORALLY RIGHT CHOICE OR WHATEVER, IT WAS OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING THAT HAD TO HAPPEN. [...] KARKAT: IT'S SIMPLE. IF YOU HADN'T KILLED HER, YOU WOULD HAVE WITHERED AWAY IN A DOOMED TIMELINE.
Maybe, in the end, these retcons reinforce to Terezi that indeed, killing Vriska is the only viable option, and she makes that decision with a clear mind and of her own accord—not one limited by Rage. By knowing Vriska is responsible for Tavros' death and not all the others, as well as no longer viewing their confrontation as a JUST1C3 role-playing game of sorts, Terezi will no longer have lingering doubts and regrets, and instead embrace her role as a Seer of Mind.
If the retcons are geared toward this intent, they wouldn't so much undo events as undo Terezi's outlook and attitude—her depression, self-hatred, and rejection of her role. Really, only events post-Cascade and events revolving around Terezi would change. And there weren't even that many of those during the meteor trip.
But here's the main reason nothing significant will change pre-Cascade: Doc Scratch's narration.
The Seer of Mind had challenged the Thief of Light to a simple game of chance. If the result was the undamaged side, the Thief would agree to stay. If not, she would "go." [...] The actual result was trivial; it was a constant across all timelines. [...] The Thief used her abilities to steal the fortune of her opponent, and forced the flip to yield what she regarded as the most favorable outcome. The Seer anticipated this move, correctly.
I've never much enjoyed navigating the vortices of alternative possibility. The path which alone has my absolute mastery is the alpha timeline, a continuum I define as that which boasts exclusive rights both to my birth and to my death, two circumstantially simultaneous events. Any divergence from this path to my knowing will taper into blackness like rotting roots.
(Bold emphasis mine.)
Why is this information significant? The Alpha Timeline seems to have already taken John's retcons into consideration. So far, all events as known from Caliborn's perspective, like John dying in an explosion and his "ghost" returning periodically to haunt him, seem to be accurate post-retcon information. (Of course, this is also assuming the Jade and Jane hanging out with Calliope are from the same and Alpha timeline.)
If retcons don't change or contradict Caliborn's knowledge, I would think this concept would extend to Doc Scratch, as well, considering his omniscience and influence. Undoing Vriska's death would dramatically change his story.
Not to mention, it would change this:
But it is the desecration of a priceless timepiece where I must draw the line. I'm afraid I must now insist that you take your beating quite personally.
Events that directly affect and influence Doc Scratch, Spades Slick, and the destruction of the universe leading to the creation of the Green Sun.
The one way events could change is if Doc Scratch is playing a rare prank. If that is the case, Terezi doesn't need to kill Vriska, but someone else does in order for the god tier clock-related events to occur. An escaped Gamzee would be the likely culprit.
Regardless, Vriska still has to die Justly, or too many crucial events change.
Today marks the 10th anniversary of this blog!
Stats and highlights:
Posts: 114
Followers: 471
Total notes: 27,037
Top 10 most popular posts of all time:
[S] Jasper: Mental breakdown
Karkat x Clover
Classes Chart
Dave x Karkat Quadrants
Dave the Archaeologist
John <3< Terezi?
The Mirthful Messiahs: Lord English and Calmasis?
Skaia's clouds and Alt!Calliope
Vriska's Return and the Alpha Timeline's Fate
Classpect Profile Guide
Although this blog has been inactive for many years, and Homestuck ended many years ago, I want to acknowledge that Homestuck was a huge part of a previous chapter of my life, and I'm grateful for that experience and for the friends I made through it.
Homestuck also sparked (and/or fueled) my interest in astrology, which led to me becoming an astrologer.
I don't know what the future holds for this blog. While I still post regularly on my general "reblog blog" @pixie-styx-mix, I don't have much interest or motivation to blog about Homestuck anymore, especially since its end. (And Homestuck^2 basically killed my interest, too.)
I still have several unfinished posts sitting in my drafts that I don't know if I'll ever publish. Some of them are completely obsolete theories, anyway. (And some of them are about Steven Universe, which also ended years ago.)
I've thought about finishing and publishing some of my posts. I've also thought about continuing this blog, but pivoting the content and expanding to theories and meta-analyses about other media/fandoms. Maybe even posting creative, non-meta content.
I guess we'll see what happens.
Thank you to everyone who's followed, supported, and/or engaged with this blog over the past 10 years!
While this concept is certainly clever, there are a couple major flaws:
1) Classes (and aspects) have to be monosyllabic.
#monosyllablism was never actually a hard rule #just an extremely common pattern that happened to be that way until it didnt
It’s not just a “common pattern”; it’s a Word of Huss rule:
Q: “Are there classes and titles other than the ones shown so far in canon, or have we seen them all?”
AH: Maybe. Readers tend to make up their own. Some of them sound decent to me, others do not. They can only have one syllable. Any that has more than one syllable is automatically not good.
Q: “Are all God Tier titles made of monosyllabic components?”
AH: Yes. Class and aspect, one syllable, always. This is a rule.
Side note: I saw the “Seer” discussion, and was curious about it myself. The class Seer is pronounced as one syllable. While the "seer” can technically be pronounced “see-er” (two syllables) or “sear” (one), "see-er” is only used for an observer/one who sees, while “sear” is used for a prophet, sage, diviner, clairvoyant, or oracle. I checked the pronunciation and definition to be sure.
2) Waste and Matter work as inverses, but not as active/passive pairs.
Lord and Muse are a class pair that do the same thing in different ways, one actively, one passively. (You use the word “define”, while I prefer “embody”, but the concept is essentially the same.)
Active classes [verb] (with/through) [aspect], while Passive classes invite [verb] of/with/through [aspect].
In order for classes to be a +/- pair, that [verb] must be the same. Waste and Matter are OPPOSITE/inverse verbs, not the same verb.
If Waste is passive and “Invites Disregard” of/with/through [aspect], then its active counterpart must be “Disregards (with/through) [aspect].” But you have Matter as Regard, not Disregard. So yeah, they work as inverses but not a class pair.
Still, the concept is clever and I love the pun it makes.
so this was spawned from the thought that each of the 12 classes kind of form their own ‘quadrant’ when looking at inversion possibilities.
Witch, Heir, Seer, Mage. (All the combos between Active/Passive and Manipulation/Information)
Knight, Page, Thief, Rogue (All Combos between Active/Passive and Application/Relocation)
and Prince, Bard, Maid, Sylph (All combos between Active/Passive and Creation/Destruction)
so I thought wouldn’t it be funny if Lord and Muse and two other fake classes formed their own Quadrant also, so we’d have a quadrant of quadrants of classes :oD (also because I like when numbers add up in a certain way, 12 is pretty on its own as 3x4, 14 is kinda :/ but 16, now there’s a fine number if I ever saw one! 4x4 or (2x2)x(2x2) I love it)
the first one I went to was Waste, Hussies own fake class because lol
then I tried to come up with what their class verbs would be and how’d they interact with each other.
Lord and Muse I’d already had as Define, because they both effect action to have effect on Homestuck in either passive inspiring ways or active domineering ways. Lord being active for Muses passive.
so we have this so far:
-Lord = Defines (Aspect) or Defines with (Aspect)
+Muse = Invites Definition of (Aspect) or Invites Definition through (Aspect)
then for Hussie’s I decided that since he’s said before he will not directly affect the story as an author insert in any way (except for the yellow yard thing) and also because I remember him being all wizard of oz-y with his whole “DISREGARD THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN, HE’S NOT IMPORTANT.” and also because ‘Fondly Regard Creation’ etc.
That Waste and the other class’s Verb would be “Regard/Disregard” as in to look but dont touch, just sit and watch what happens or to ignore it completely, able to watch everything happen but not able to do/change anything about it. To counter Lord/Muse abilities to directly affect what happens while not always seeing everything that happens everywhere?
but Waste being the passive of the two would make it
+Waste = Invites Disregard of (Aspect) or Invites Disregard through (Aspect)
which would make the Active counterpart = Regards (Aspect) or Regards with (Aspect)
which I already love :D
and then the last thing would be to come up with a punny name for that Active Regard Class, that means something actively watching something while also meaning something of the opposite of Waste (Because I still consider Lord/Muse to invert to eachother, they are still Master Classes. Waste and ???Class would invert to eachother too, as the 'joke/unmastered’ classes haha. I like my jokes only when they don’t directly change what is already canon lol so they won’t touch Lord/Muse)
I eventually came up something when I figured it would only be a Matter of Time until I did and then boom. Matter and Waste.
You Waste something when you Disregard it. Something Matters because you are Regarding it (Why pay attention to something that doesn’t matter?).
Waste would be passively inviting you to disregard something unimportant. Matter would be actively regarding something that is important. Both can do nothing but watch events unfold.
so our last Quadrant of Quadrants which includes both the Master Classes and the Joke/Unmastered Classes would be:
-Lord Defines (Aspect) or Defines with (Aspect)
+Muse Invites Definition of (Aspect) or Invites Definition through (Aspect)
-Matter Regards with (Aspect) or Regards (Aspect)
+Waste Invites Disregard of (Aspect) or Invites Disregard through (Aspect)
also something poetic hidden in the fact that while the Author calls himself the Waste in the story. When you ask what really Matters is that there would be no story without an Audience to view it.
Hussie is the Waste of Space, but we the fandom are just a Matter of Time :D
*EDIT* I didn’t mention this originally but I don’t want people to get confused between canon stuff and fanon stuff lol
Muse and Lord are an active passive pair AND an inversion pair, they invert to eachother and they are each others active and passive form. They do both to each other that’s why they are master classes
My additional extra funfanon doesn’t change or interact with that, I like keeping things seperate, so Matter and Waste are also eachothers Active/Passive forms, and they invert to each other as well.
So the opposite of a Matter of Time is a Waste of Space, just like how the Opposite of a Lord of Time is a Muse of Space
The song “Eternity, Served Cold” plays in both [S] Caliborn: Enter and [S] Collide. There is some overlap, but the first half of the song plays in the former, and the second half in Collide.
[S] Caliborn: Enter ends here:
And in [S] Collide, when the rest of the song begins to play, it starts here:
This has to be intentional and significant.
In my previous post, I posited a theory that all standard classes and aspects can describe an individual, beyond the Hero Title and subrole.
Here's a step-by-step process of how to determine a Classpect Profile, all 12 roles. I will use myself as an example.
1) Divide the aspects into 6 complementary pairs/opposites:
Space & Time
Light & Void
Hope & Rage
Heart & Mind
Breath & Blood
Life & Doom
2) Look at each individual aspect, and consider how you typically interact with it. (See Aspect Keywords post for reference. bladekindeyewear and infinitywhale go into more depth here and here.)
For interactions, here are some keywords for class types:
Manipulate/Change (Witch/Heir)
Understand (Mage/Seer)
Destroy (Prince/Bard)
Create (Maid/Sylph)
Redistribute (Thief/Rogue)
Apply (Knight/Page)
You can also use these keywords for individual classes:
Control (Witch) Influence (Heir)Experience (Mage) Study (Seer)Demolish (Prince) Deconstruct (Bard)Generate (Maid) Mend (Sylph)Take (Thief) Share (Rogue)Exploit (Knight) Empower (Page)
3) Next to each aspect, write the class keywords you think might fit. You should be able to narrow each aspect down to a few potential keywords.
(Note: I recommend starting with the 6 class type keywords instead of the 12 unique ones because it paints a larger picture of the class themes, but if you’re confident (or feel lazy), feel free to start with the 12. You can also mix and match, but just be sure to distinguish types from individual keywords, or it may become confusing down the line. For the purposes of this guide, I’ll start with the 6.)
Possibilities, in my case:
4) Eliminate any keyword that doesn’t have an inverse under an opposite aspect. Inverse keywords are Manipulate & Understand, Destroy & Create, and Redistribute & Apply.
For example, in my case, Manipulate and Redistribute Space don’t have inverses—Understand and Apply—for Time, Space’s opposite, so I can remove them as possibilities.
Narrowed results:
5) Split the class type keywords into individual class (–/+) keywords.
For example, Apply, keyword for Warrior classes, divides into keywords Exploit (Knight) and Empower (Page).
(Note: If you started with the 12 individual keywords, Steps 5 and 6 aren’t necessary.)
6) Narrow your results by removing any class keywords that don’t fit your interactions with an aspect.
7) From there, eliminate class keywords without an inverse keyword for its opposite aspect, just as before. Inverses are Control & Study, Influence & Experience, Demolish & Mend, Deconstruct & Generate, Take & Empower, Share & Exploit.
For example, in my case, Mend Space doesn’t have an opposite Demolish Time, so I eliminate Mend.
8) Use the process of elimination to figure out the rest. No duplicate keywords/classes are allowed, so remove any duplicates of those already solved.
(Note: All class keywords will be used, so if you’re missing any, you’ll have to go back and reconsider your options.)
For example, in the previous step, I narrowed Light and Void to Influence and Experience. That means I can’t use Influence or Experience for Hope and Rage, which narrows Hope and Rage to Mend and Demolish. Likewise, I narrowed Heart and Mind to Empower and Take, because those were the only instances I had of those class keywords.
Simple process of elimination narrowed my results considerably! Most of them are solved!
That just leaves two classpect pairs I’m unsure about, or 4 total.
9) For any remaining pairs left to solve, look at each class description more closely…
…And figure out which descriptions most accurately fit your interaction with each aspect.
In my case, I feel like Knight fits better than Maid for Space, which narrows Space and Time to Knight and Rogue, respectively.
I still can’t determine Breath and Blood, as Maid and Bard both seem fitting. I use dahniwitchoflight’s Aspect posts as a guide, looking at descriptions for all four. Bard of Breath sounds especially like me, and Maid of Blood more than Bard of Blood.
10) Convert the keywords back into classes, and that’s it! You’ve now determined your full Classpect Profile!
I like using my Classes Chart and Aspect Keywords to create a brief description of each of my 12 roles.
Example:
Seer of Life: Invites understanding of/with/through Life (life force, energy, growth, power, persistence, wealth, boldness, enthusiasm, efficacy), guiding others.
All 12 seem pretty accurate to me!
How to determine a Hero Title and subrole Look at which aspect pair has the strongest influence on your actions and perspective. Most likely, it will also match the dual class pair that most accurately describes how you naturally operate in general. Both class and aspect are important to consider, especially if you have difficulty narrowing either down to one pair.
One of those classpects will sound like you at your best; it’s your area of greatest potential and method of having a maximum impact on reality. Its opposite/inverse classpect is your primary focus when you are stressed and in an unhealthy frame of mind, yet it’s also something you can put to good use. You’re probably naturally skilled with both classpects.
Your Hero Title is your best, ideal, and healthiest state, and your subrole is the stressed-but-useful state. Sometimes it’s easier to figure out your subrole first and invert it to discover your Title.
As for me, I am a Seer of Life! My subrole is Witch of Doom.
Alternate possibilities? If you’re not fond of your Hero Title, go with the alternate roles that have the next strongest influence in your life. Most likely, these will be the classpect pairs in which you can easily distinguish a “healthy” role and an inverse “unhealthy” role.
In my case, Heir of Light Mage of Void and Sylph of Hope are strong alternate Hero Titles. (Ugh, why do my top three aspects have to be the color schemes I most dislike? Void is awesome.)
Using an alternate role won’t be as ideal as your primary role, but it’s still a useful option.
Now what? After you’ve determined your Classpect Profile and Hero Title, I highly recommend learning more about each of your 12 roles in Dahni’s Aspect posts. Then use your Classpect Profile however you like!
I hope this guide was helpful and informative!
How I used all 12 of my roles through my Classpect Profile theory and guide:
Seer of Life I invited others to understand their power and energy to affect reality. Through my own energy and enthusiasm, I invited others to understand themselves better, providing knowledge for potential personal growth.
Witch of Doom I changed the rules for Classpecting!
Heir of Light I invited change in the information regarding Classpects, altering the relevance and significance of other roles in relation to a person’s identity.
Mage of Void I understood the value of roles that were previously unconsidered, unknown, and irrelevant.
Sylph of Hope I invited creation of Hero Title possibilities, allowing people to generate more options for themselves.
Prince of Rage As a result of creating possibilities, I destroyed the lack of options for a Hero Title.
Maid of Blood I created connections between all the classes and aspects, uniting them all as part of an individual.
Bard of Breath As a result of creating connections, I allowed destruction of the disconnection and separation between the classes and aspects.
Rogue of Time I invested a lot of my time putting together this theory and guide, with the goal that others would benefit from it. So I gave my time for the benefit of others.
Knight of Space Uh… Hmm… I made use of Tumblr, utilizing its space as a platform for posting this stuff? I also maximized the usefulness of links and tags …probably?
Thief of Mind I hoarded the logic, reasoning, and thoughts of others (and myself), taking and compiling ideas and theories to come up with my own theory about Classpects. I also redistributed my own thoughts on the subject.
Page of Heart By inviting others to understand themselves and their roles better, as well as creating more Hero Title options, I’m empowering others to discover their core identity, whom they really are, the inner self. I may not have a strong handle on it myself, but I hope others can utilize their information to tap into their potential.
Essentially, I used all of my roles, but all through the filter of my primary, Seer of Life role. The other 11 roles assisted and enhanced the primary role. This is how a Classpect Profile operates.
Well, it sounds like John might have a black crush on Terezi. But... does she feel the same way? (Or rather, will she at some point?)
Check out Terezi and Karkat’s conversation regarding her kismesissitude with Gamzee:
KARKAT: I'VE GOT TO SAY, I DIDN'T SEE IT COMING. IF YOU TOLD ME SWEEPS AGO YOU AND HE... KARKAT: I WOULDN'T BELIEVE IT. LIKE IF THE WRITING WAS ON THE WALL THERE, I SURE . . . DIDN'T READ IT.
TEREZI: Y34H, 1T SNUCK UP ON M3 […] TEREZI: R1GHT UND3R MY NOS3 TOO TEREZI: SOM3HOW 1 D1DNT PUT TH3 P13C3S TOG3TH3R 4T TH3 T1M3 4ND L3T H1M G3T 4W4Y W1TH MURD3R
TEREZI: 4ND GR4DU4LLY 1 ST4RT3D H4V1NG TH3S3 UNCONTROLL4BL3 THOUGHTS 4BOUT H1M TEREZI: D4RK THOUGHTS TEREZI: 4ND WH3N 1 WOULD C4TCH 4 WH1FF OF H1M 1N TH3 CORR1DORS, L1K3 H3 W4S T4UNT1NG M3, TH4T JUST F4NN3D TH3 FL4M3S
Recall John’s prophecy:
With the scarf shenanigans, did Game Over!Terezi purposely orchestrate the beginnings of a caliginous relationship between John and her past self? Could THIS be the main purpose of those trivial changes to the timeline?
I’ve been mulling over the Prospit/Derse dreamer distinction and I think it primarily boils down to this:
Prospit dreamers instinctively embrace their calling and their role.
Derse dreamers instinctively resist their calling and role.
What exactly that means and how it manifests itself varies from person to person. (And Space and Time players might be an exception, possibly defaulting to Prospit and Derse, respectively.)
But the distinction makes sense thematically, considering how Prospit and Derse seem to operate.
So JASPROSESPRITE^2. Has a full body. Instead of a ghost butt. And looks like Rose’s dream self. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?!
Hi! I was wondering if a Knight of Mind, Heir of Blood, or Seer of Heart would be a better leader?
Well, it would depend.
A Knight of Mind would be good at using façades and choices, exploiting and maximizing the usefulness of thoughts, rationale, and the outer self in order to get things done. If balanced, they could also use their Rogue of Heart inverse to obtain, redistribute, and share souls and inner desires.
An Heir of Blood would be good at influencing and inviting change relating to bonds, pacts, and connections of a group. If balanced, they could also use their Mage of Breath inverse to understand what direction the team should take—their goals and quests—and use that knowledge to act or lead.
A Seer of Heart would be good at understanding the core of each person in the group, such as their strengths, weaknesses, fears, and inner desires. They would then guide the team using that knowledge. If balanced, they could also use their Witch of Mind inverse to change others’ minds—their rationales and decisions—and their outer selves.
I’m inclined to think an Heir of Blood would make one of the best leaders in general, but there are a lot of factors to consider. It’d depend on the individual leading, the group dynamic, the purpose and goal, and what the team actually needed. It’d also depend on how “realized” (and competent) the person is.
Certain classpects are probably naturally better skilled and equipped to lead than others, but each classpect has the potential to be a good leader (or a poor leader), depending on the circumstances.
Better late than never, I suppose. This ended up taking me longer than I thought. Plus I procrastinated on posting it. >_<
So, a bunch of battles take place:
The Condesce vs John, Roxy, Rose, and Kanaya (+ Jasprose, Nanna, and Jane)
The Felt vs Jake (+ Jane and undead army)
Cans vs Arquius (+ Dad)
Clover vs Karkat
Jack English vs Spades Slick vs Dave, Terezi, and Dirk
Bec Noir vs PM vs Jade
Yaldabaoth vs Caliborn
Hussie vs Vriska
Lord English vs the Ghost Army (including Meenah, Tavros, Aradia, and Davepeta)
The Fraymotifs are awesome! I love the Zazzerpan tornado callback from [S] Enter, and also Kanaya reading a book and applying lipstick while the others attack!
I’m guessing Kanaya never bought any Fraymotifs, or she would have used them. (They are insanely expensive, and I think Vriska and Terezi were the only ones who earned tons of boondollars. Plus Kanaya was focused on frog breeding.)
Roxy’s Void attacks are glorious. I have no words.
Wait, when and how did Die get his doll back?
Arquius attacks Cans by summoning robo-horses and bashing him repeatedly with the fridge containing Gamzee. Hilarious yet ominous!
Cans does his fourth wall-breaking attack by punching everyone out of the panel and onto LOFAF. Remember, Karkat was last here in Echidna’s lair, and he woke up when LE did the Rainbow Death Laser on his dream self. So now he can battle! ...With Clover. XD
So Crowbar kills Jake, and apparently the Condesce kills Rose and Kanaya, because Jane does the Lifey Thing on all three of them.
John uses the Fear No Anvil hammer! Nice callback!
It looks like Nannasprite attacks the Condesce with heavy objects from John’s house? But it doesn’t seem to affect Condy, and instead hurts John and Roxy?
Jake. Jake what are you doing. XD
Casey’s undead army! Hooray! I can mark that on my bingo card!
Dirk uses a Zilly Santa weapon!
When Dirk dies, Terezi and Dave use an amazing Fraymotif. From what I can tell... Terezi does the Mindy Thing, and envisions (at least) four alternate paths.
Then Dave selects the most favorable path’s timeline? Or he merges the most favorable choices into one timeline? It results in there being three splintered, living Dirks who then seem to merge.
And Slick somehow has two cuestaffs, one in staff form, another in gun form? I’m guessing the Slicks merged, too, then. So a timeline merger makes the most sense. Either way, nice callback to Slick riding the horse hitcher!
Dad is so powerful and strong, he intimidates Cans and Arquius! That really says something!
The battle between the dogs makes a nice parallel to a Cherub mating ritual, with PM as the Cherub heroine.
Interesting, though, how PM has a red background, while Jack has a green one.
Glimpse of Yaldabaoth’s face:
Vriska vs Hussie. This is hilarious and ridiculous! Also I guess this is a Problem Sleuth allusion? (And also looks like Caliborn’s art style, haha!)
As the interlude of “Eternity, Served Cold” (song from [S] Caliborn: Enter) plays, Alt!Calliope approaches the Green Sun, the processional cracks in Paradox Space are nearly complete, Lord English faces the ghost army, and Caliborn defeats his denizen and obtains the house juju and God Tier clock. This is... incredibly ominous, to say the least.
Also, the God Tier clock is stopped dead center with the Time symbol, I suppose indicating Caliborn’s earned immortality?
Serenity brings hope to the heroes! (I assume this is Serenity flying to different locations, rather than multiple fireflies?) Interesting how it first focuses on her body spiral, especially because [S] Caliborn: Enter ended on the red sun spiral right before this part of the song could begin. (Post on this here.)
Another callback!
The Mayor and Serenity reuniting is so adorable and heartwarming! :’) <3 (They’ve been separated since sometime before Year 2 of the meteor journey)
Tavros’ lance is made of Fiduspawn host plush bears, haha! (Apparently he had this weapon in [S] Make her pay.)
Aradia uses her Time spell while she, Meenah, and Tavros attack Lord English. Hehe, I love Aradia, and also I love all these callbacks!
Looking at it closely, it looks like Aradia makes Time for them, freezing LE in time, like she did before with Bec Noir. Meanwhile Meenah attacks very similarly to Dirk’s soul destroying spell; she must be stealing his Life force. (Shouldn’t it be cyan, though, like Jane’s Lifey Thing? Although, actually, Feferi’s Life powers are fuchsia, too. I suppose the color depends on the Life player’s color.)
Then it looks like LE tries to speed up the time Aradia made? Or otherwise do some sort of Timey Thing that resembles Dave’s record being scratched and then repaired. And then he breaks free.
Okay, this looks familiar, like a callback. But I can’t place where it’s from. This is bugging me!
This scene from [S] Game Over is the only similar reference I can think of, but it’s too different:
Ghost Army attacks! And also Shrek with his son Eridan ...who does not have ghost eyes? Hahaha, what even?! (Hello there, god tier Sollux and Latula ghosts! Nice to have sprites of Mage, Doom, and Mind garb!)
Davepeta! Undertale reference! THIS. IS. THE GREATEST. THING. EVER! I love this so much I am giddy!
I mean, Heart+Time basically IS Determination! So perfect! Also Davepeta has 33 HP, with reference to Nepeta’s number and how Davepeta uses the B33 emote.
A pink dream bubble next to a shrinking green bubble. More foreshadowing of the Green Sun’s destruction and the creation of a Pink Sun?
I’m really worried for Jane. I hope she’s not dead. We barely got to see her fight, and her showdown with the Condesce happened offscreen. This isn’t right.
Heir of Grief is such a lovely song! As is the sequence with the Beta Kids.
On LOTAK, Gamzee’s still in the fridge and crying. I never thought I’d say this, but... I... actually feel bad for him. :(
Love Crowbar’s stunned reaction to Jake defeating the felt. Also, victory for Karkat! He defeated the smallest, yet MOST DIFFICULT Felt member! Also Clover’s so kinky! XD (More on Karkat and Clover here.)
Jade auspisticizes Bec Noir and PM! But PM is so furious, she overcomes her Bec loyalty instincts and KO’s Jade, favoring her goal (Breath) over her bond (Blood).
That look of defeat on both Dirk and Dave... They know what must be done. :c
I am reminded of Dirk’s “shoulder to shoulder and to shoulder” line. Also Dave breaks Dirk’s Unbreakable Katana. For the first time since his death on LOFAF, Dave time travels to create stable time loops.
I already commented on the black hole with 2/3 of LOTAK and Gamzee, which is incredibly ominous.
PM slices off Bec Noir’s arm, KO’s him, and take the ring! This is not the first time a Jack has lost an arm to a kismesis who’s a queen.
Roxy takes down the Condesce?! Doesn’t Condy have an conditional mortality curse that her killer should inherit? Or was that transfer unique from the Handmaid to the Condesce? I guess it’s unclear. I’m incredibly skeptical of Condy being dead for good, though, considering her curse and how Terezi survived impalement (at least for a while).
It feels like Jane really got shafted in this upd8. She didn’t have much action or screen time, and basically her battle with the Condesce happened off-screen. If anyone should have taken down the Batterwitch, it should’ve been the heiress to Crockercorp. I guess we’ll have to see if Condy’s certainly dead.
That ending, though... That eerie ringing sound, the screen freezing and going static...
The clockwork mechanism being completely still and then fading to black on a white background... This is incredibly ominous. Not to mention those curtains didn’t close. (Compare Collide’s act closing to Cascade’s. In Cascade, the window curtains, though shredded, still closed.)
Some follow-up questions:
Where did Sollux go?
What happened to DD and CD?
How is it the comic went straight from A6A6I5 to A6A6A6 with no curtains closing to indicate the Intermission’s end?
But yeah, I am left with the strong impression this is a false victory. Lord English isn’t defeated, anyway, after all.
Wonderful flash, though! Major applause to everyone involved with making it! Looking toward to, yet incredibly uneasy and anxious about the upcoming finale.
Special thanks @hzapping for showing me how to make animated GIFs (ended up in the Clover post) and for helping me locate a bunch of reference links.