#cyv reads homestuck

[cyvonix]

Fun fact! I actually tried to read Homestuck once before in 2015, and only made it to the end of Act 2. Now that I'm finally getting into it for real, I decided to basically redo an old piece of Dave fanart I made at that time. I would wager my new version captures a lot more of his actual personality lol. (2015 version below)

#cyv reads homestuck #homestuck #homestuck fanart #dave strider #dave strider fanart #cyvart #art #fanart

[cyvonix]

Cyv Reads Homestuck - Act 3 Wrapup

where doing it man

where MAKING THIS HAPEN

Holy SHIT, where do I even begin? Act 1 was fun. I enjoyed it. Act 2 intrigued me. It kept me wanting more. Act 3, by all accounts, has latched its hooks all the way into me. I am IN, dude. While this act retains the quirky and random interactions that made the previous ones so casually enjoyable, the astonishing leap in the density and frequency of narratively interesting content here is undeniable. And now, at the end of it, I'm the most excited I've been to see the next turns these insane plot threads will take, and how these characters, who have fully endeared me by this point, will develop.

All of the characters have been left in a place that leaves the story ripe to explore so many things. Starting with John, who has now reached the first gate. I have no idea what that even means for him. I know that it was the goal, and that apparently each will be more difficult to reach, but we haven't been told in any way what the journey to those other gates will actually entail. The side story with his dad trapped in the dark kingdom has also been fun to witness, and I'm sure we'll be getting more of that soon enough.

With Rose, it leaves the most obvious cliffhanger. Now that she has also entered the Incipisphere, what happens? We've only seen one character in this environment thus far, so who's to say what adding another one to the mix will even look like? Dave has obviously been tasked with being Rose's server player (the ways he fucks with her game even in the face of imminent despair was absolutely hilarious) so that leaves me to wonder if he will also be transported into this world at some point, but also how Rose will be able to simultaneously manage John's game now that she has a client world of her own to take care of. The other interesting thing with Dave is his relationship to his brother, which clearly hints at the parental figures in their lives being absent in one way or another. With Dave also so clearly seeming to look up to his brother in an immense way, I think that could lead to some really great storytelling.

And then, there's Jade. Oh lord. What can I even say about Jade Harley, other than rambling off the many ways in which I was bewildered by her constant disregard of every "normal" aspect of the three other kids. My point being that she is a total and complete mystery. She seems extremely sweet, and almost aloof, but has by far the most compelling narrative implications of any of the cast. Not only does she not have surviving family at all, instead being cared for, or at least assumed to be, by some sort of magical dog creature of unknown origin named Becquerel, but she is also living on some sort of secluded island littered with ruins that seem to beg the reader to ask their purpose. As if that weren't enough, we now know that she is capable of using her dreams to see into both the past and future, to reasons that are unknown even to her. And as we've already seen how this can drastically affect the events of the story, including in the thread we've been following surrounding the odd denizens of the post-apocalyptic future, I have no doubt that this will play a large part in things going forward.

Finally, the mystery of Sburb continues to deepen, as several of the characters keep finding control rooms, symbols, and various other interfaces that so clearly resemble the iconography of Sburb. Just what the hell is this game? What is its true purpose? How does it tie in to the overall balance of light and dark in the world that has been proclaimed to us? I have a feeling that these questions will not truly be answered for a long time, but the breadcrumbs are enough to keep me fully engaged. Even the lore of this world itself, the idea of the Incipisphere, Skaia, and the two kingdoms in constant conflict for eternity, and all the things that this cosmology implicitly allows the exploration of, is so exciting to me.

Whew. So yeah, I guess that's about as condensed as I'm going to get my thoughts on this one. What a wild ride. I guess here are some other miscellaneous things to mention:

I read the entirety of Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff. What a horrid, crusty, amazing archive of media.

Of course I know that the trolls will eventually enter this story, but I have zero spoilers for the context or even who they are as character; just that they exist. Thus, I've kept track of which trolls have appeared in Pesterlogs so far, and those are: carcinoGeneticist, grimAuxiliatrix, and adiosToreador. So we'll see how that goes in the next act.

The concept of Jade's dreaming mind/dreambot and the golden city, including the sleeping John Egbert, is clearly important. And clearly has something to do with whatever species is roaming the deserted future. But I have such little idea of how to begin parsing that at this point that I don't have much to say about it. But I am absolutely keeping it in mind

If you actually read all of this: Damn. Thx for inexplicably caring what I have to say despite being an irrelevant poster and like a decade late on this shit :P More (much smaller) updates to come soon as I move forward with this story

#cyv reads homestuck #act 3 #homestuck #homestuck act 3 #homestuck act 3 spoilers #homestuck liveblog #homestuck spoilers

[cyvonix]

Well uh, happy 4/13. Cool to actually be able to say that now lol

#cyv reads homestuck #homestuck liveblog #homestuck

[cyvonix]

Cyv Reads Homestuck - Act 5 Act 1 Wrapup

Just finished Act 5 Act 1. Holy FUCK. I actually need a moment to collect my thoughts. Might be a minute. Which is to say, no time at all for you, unless you want to simulate the experience of me writing this by walking away from the screen for a few minutes...

Hey, welcome back. Unless you just kept reading in which case you're ruining the sanctity of this whole thing. Shame on you. Anyway.

Act 5 has been a huge departure for Homestuck in a few different ways, and the biggest reason for all of them is our new focus: the trolls. The trolls and their bizarre world help introduce us to entirely new aspects of the story, and presumably prep us for what is to come in terms of both scale and content. This act is one of extremes, taking further steps toward both sides of the emotional spectrum.

On the one hand, things are sillier than ever. The strange and oddly beautiful world of Alternia, its incomprehensible culture, its boisterous personalities; it's all wonderfully playful in its execution, reveling in the ability to craft a whole new world from scratch, unbound by the expectations of our own reality. The characters we're introduced to, consequently, are equally fun to learn about and be placed in the shoes of. Seriously, all the trolls except Equius are a joy to read, each filling the role of a specific archetype that is simple to understand from the onset, yet developed into fuller personalities as the act progresses. There's practically a particular troll for every kind of person, and I can totally understand how such personal connections were formed from a fandom perspective. These motherfuckers BEG for it.

On the other hand, things have never been more dire, more dramatic, more unsettling. Firstly, in the interpersonal sense. This act struck me as one where, as opposed to the previous acts feeling very much like a story about children, it is explicitly a story about teenagers specifically. There is a much greater emphasis on the confusing and sometimes frustrating experience of existing as an adolescent around your peers, letting the determinant factors in how things progress be friendship, romance, jealousy, rivalry, and all the other angsty feelings you would expect from a cohort of this age range. And despite the alien world and any of the bonkers social rituals or mating practices thrown into the mix, these core emotions still come through as clearly as they would in human children, climaxing in often devastating displays of sadness and revenge.

Outside of mere sociality, the cosmic horror present in the world of Homestuck is also more pronounced than ever. With the formal introduction of characters such as Doc Scratch and Lord English, the stakes are raised even further, leading us to inhabit a world truly eldritch in nature, one where time loops and visions of the future can be ghastly and harrowing. Some are left destined for damnation, as we and they are both left simply waiting to see how their undoing will occur. The idea that many of these characters seem trapped within an inescapable path to their own destruction, that some timelines are preordained to be martyred for the greater good - it's all quite unnerving.

Knowing all of this, I can hardly imagine how it will feel once we refocus on our four main characters. Hussie has opened the flood gates in respect to the depth and seriousness the storytelling is permitted, and with the events of the fourth act providing so many world-changing developments to the kids, I can only imagine that they and this new storyline will converge in the biggest and most revelatory act yet. Because as much as I've praised this act, it admittedly did feel mostly like setup; the careful placing of pieces and recitation of instructions before they are all catapulted into something greater. For this, I couldn't be more excited. Once again, thanks if you read all of this, I appreciate it lots and would love to hear what you think. Here are some random highlights and unorganized thoughts of mine before I sign off:

My favorite troll from an aesthetic and relatability perspective is Nepeta, the beautiful perfect catgirl she is.

My favorite from a personality perspective is Kanaya, because she just seems to be a really sweet and caring person and I'm intrigued to learn any more about her. Maybe tied is Terezi, who I find a blast to read absolutely all the time and who also seems to be a pretty nuanced character despite first appearance.

My favorite from a storytelling perspective is Vriska, who I fuuuckin hate. ARGH. Can't stand u. But god damn you're written so well and are so interesting and I wanna know bout u.

On a somewhat related note, wow! [S] Make Her Pay! Cool ass animation this time around: lots of beautiful artwork, sick soundtrack, awesome set pieces. Wonderfully done.

The end of this act?? Omg???? The entire monologue section from Aradia was bone chilling, and led up to what was such a SHOCKING revelation to me in that the trolls created Earth I fucking guess????? idk, maybe other people had guessed it by that point and I'm just an idiot but absolutely no part of me even slightly guessed that that was what was going on and it was insane and awesome to learn.

The art overall kinda took a big step up this act, just wayyyy more panels that were detailed pieces rather than the representational sprite art. I dig it.

So so so curious what ungodly series of events leads to the kids causing a literal rift in time space

#cyv reads homestuck #act 5-1 #homestuck liveblog #homestuck #homestuck spoilers #homestuck act 5

[cyvonix]

if you would've told me that being a computer science major would genuinely and significantly streamline my understanding of several largely relevant concept in homestuck, I would not have believed you. But here we are and John is talking about potential AND and OR operations on the binary data of the punchcards. It honestly surprises me that so many young teenagers in the early 2010s would have powered through a lot of this pretty obtuse shit

#cyv reads homestuck #act 3 #homestuck #homestuck liveblog

[cyvonix]

What other voices have you decided on?

Oh we doin this? We doin this

Keep in mind I haven't fully met everyone yet so there will obviously be exclusions, but as for the ones I've gotten to know the personalities of:

John - Actually weirdly one of the ones I'm still not set on but somewhere around Dipper Pines?

Rose - Mandy (Grim Adventures)

Dave - Kevin 11 (Ben 10)

Jade - Connie (Steven Universe)

Aradia - Huntress Wizard (Adventure Time)

Tavros - Dil (All Grown Up)

Sollux - Daffy (The Looney Tunes Show)

Karkat - Moxxie (Helluva Boss)

Nepeta - Felix Argyle (Re:Zero)

GA (Haven't gotten her name yet) - Maud Pie (My Little Pony)

Terezi - Amethyst (Steven Universe)

Vriska - Marceline (Adventure Time)

Gamzee - Otto (The Simpsons)

#cyv reads homestuck #act 5-1 #homestuck liveblog #homestuck #homestuck headcanon

[cyvonix]

starting the intermission. idk how much this actually has to do with the main story, I just know I've seen ppl say not to skip it

#cyv reads homestuck #intermission

[cyvonix]

the thought of karkat bricking a new pc every time he tries to start a programming project is really fucking funny

#cyv reads homestuck #act 5-1 #homestuck liveblog

[cyvonix]

holy shit the animation with john giving the bunny to the babies and CG just fucking melting into cringe is maybe the hardest I've laughed the entire time I've read this omg I fucking love these characters so much dude

#cyv reads homestuck #act 4 #homestuck liveblog

[cyvonix]

actual laugh out loud moment from me holy shit.

Also a note, I'm curious as to how people reacted when these breadcrumbs started being dropped back in the day. Because obviously I know this is an actual alien, everyone fucking knows the trolls exist in this story (although I have managed to keep myself unspoiled concerning literally anything about their personalities), but I wonder if it worked as like an anti-bait and switch kind of thing back when it was all new.

#cyv reads homestuck #act 3

[cyvonix]

Where the fuck does Jade live??? Some,, island somewhere?? And more than that, the island we saw get obliterated by the meteor in the Ascend animation? Perhaps I am simply dumb but piecing together the exact timeline of events is... proving troublesome.

#cyv reads homestuck #act 3 #homestuck #homestuck liveblog

[cyvonix]

uhhh wassup with vriska's eye

#cyv reads homestuck #act 5-2 #homestuck liveblog

[cyvonix]

WAHHHHHH they're so cute i love them

#cyv reads homestuck #act 5-1 #homestuck liveblog

[cyvonix]

aint no fuckin way they put Nepeta on planet LOLCAT

#cyv reads homestuck #act 5-1 #2532

[cyvonix]

i think i would die for gamzee

#cyv reads homestuck #act 5-1 #homestuck liveblog

[cyvonix]

Cyv Reads Homestuck - Act 4 Wrapup

... So I just finished Act 4.

Ummm..... How do I put this ... ....

I genuinely do not know how to put into words the intense feeling of excitement and satisfaction I am feeling. But I guess I'll try.

Let's just get it out of the way right away, best end of act animation yet, like hands down. The level of artistry, the dynamism of the camera and the animations, the excellent Toby Fox track, (I see now that bro knew how to use a recurring motif even before Undertale) it was just perfection. What an incredible way to finish off an incredible section of this story.

I'm going to hold off on going in depth into things like theories and predictions, because I feel I do plenty of that on my smaller liveblog posts and frankly it's getting so complex that if I were to lay them all out in a sufficient manner this post would be entirely too long for my liking. I would like to talk about some of what this act made me feel, however.

Something that was present in small doses previously but in Act 4 has been fully assimilated is the elevated way that everything is presented. Cinematic, I suppose, is one of the words I could use to describe it. But I feel it's more than that. It feels as though the team who put this together - obviously Hussie, for the greater proportion, but also those he worked with - had, by this point, entirely gotten a grasp on how to tell a compelling narrative with this particular format. The obtuse references and forum humor have been stripped back and toned down, not to the point where they are gone entirely, but enough that everything feels a bit more accessible, existing more as a part of its DNA, rather than its backbone. Instead, that space is filled with more authentic and illuminating characterization than we've seen at any part of the story so far.

In the way that a voice actor may settle into their role after a few seasons, by this point Hussie has mastered his already impressive knack for writing the unique voices of these characters and letting them just kinda bounce off of each other in ways that, despite being entirely silly and in the context of a science fiction epic, just feel so real, dude. Like, fuck, I love these characters. I didn't feel that way until this act, really. Sure, they had many funny and charismatic moments in the past, and I've gradually warmed up to them over time. But in this act, the veil (lol) really gets pulled away more than it has before, and what gets revealed is genuine connections between these friends, friends that are snarky and sarcastic and snippy with each other, but friends who care about each other, and are interesting, passionate people. Even the trolls, who could have easily remained joke characters and nothing more for this entire act without basically any issue, have been treated with the dignity of allowing more than one aspect of their personalities to peek through, surely to be explored further later in the story. For fucks sake, the faceless adults, only seen from the context of the kids before this point, have even begun to receive some genuinely compelling revelations. I love these characters. All of them.

The lore/world aspects of Act 4, as I mentioned, are far too complicated for me to fully get into here. But what I will say is that this part of the comic has fully sold the grand scale of the overarching narrative. Whether its the greater knowledge brought forth by the trolls, or the ability of the animations to showcase how many moving parts are at play here, things have been set up with an astonishing amount of style. Getting further glimpses into this strange system of planets has been beautiful and fascinating, and the twists and turns in the development of Jack Noir as our apparent main protagonist have been enticing. Jack is certainly intimidating, and ruthless to boot, so the story has done a great job of setting up a looming threat to build toward, especially taking into account the ominous revelation of The Reckoning. On top of this, the time fuckery has hit an all time high, but despite that, its integration into the story has felt more natural than ever, and maybe it's just me getting used to this bullshit, but it's honestly starting to feel easier to wrap my head around. And even if not, it's extremely fun to watch pan out.

All this said, I remain super excited to continue. Again, if you enjoy hearing what I have to say about any of this, whether you're an old fan or maybe even joining me for your own first time, please, talk to me about it! Lemme know what you think, or what you thought, about all this crazy shit. I absolutely love having discussions and hearing from people who are veterans to this world compared to me. It makes my day to see that someone can reinvigorate their interest in this through my experience. I gotta go to bed (writing this at like 3 am) but man I wanna start Act 5, and of course will post more updates when I do. TTYL <3

#cyv reads homestuck #act 4 #homestuck #homestuck liveblog #homestuck spoilers #homestuck act 4