#in favor of a narrative arc about this dickhead feeling bad and wanting to do better | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dedicatedfollower467 · 4 years

Text

DIRK’S PESTERQUEST ROUTE REACTIONS AS THEY HAPPEN

spoilers etc. yada yada yada i’ve been waiting for this for fucking EVER.

this is fucking massive, for the record.

“The one and only” lmao suuuuuuure whatever you say dirk.

i fucking adore his metal scuba suit though holy SHIT

“[talking in meatspace] isn’t exactly my forte” akdfsljkadsfhksadf you bet your ASS it isn’t mr. strider. (at this point i’m assuming this is actually hal, wouldn’t be the first time that we met “dirk” and it turned out to be hal)

the power of his own “voice” is almost too much for him MY CHILD.

OH HELLO HAL. GOOD TO SEE YOU USING YOUR USUAL RED. LOVE THE THEME MUSIC CHANGE TOO. IT’S GOOD MUSIC.

i fucking KNEW it i fucking knew that was hal lmao

so in that case HI DIRK HELLO MY ASSHOLE BABY CHILD.

“The use of the speaker system is new, but it makes sense he’d up his game for interfering with relationships I’m busy forging in 3D. I guess I should go ahead and be proud of him for it.” god i really wish dirk and hal could get along but they both hate themselves and therefore each other way too much for that...

“Every line of muscle in his body is held in excruciating placidity. You’ve never seen a jaw so purposefully unclenched” dIRK!!!!

“you’ll prove it to him with your deeds. it seems like that might be his love language” BOY FUCKING HOWDY IS IT. also how did i never put that together before ofc dirk’s love language is acts of service practically everything he does is an attempt to serve his friends in some capacity and he’s SO BAD at telling them with words.

(his secondary love language is gifts, evidence: brobot and detective pony)

god i’m so excited and so nervous lmao

i love this sprite with the verrrrrry slight smile he looks so sweet.

hell yes the fucking ROCKET BOARD.

“this is a much more comfortable thing for him than the conversation was” I’LL FUCKING BET IT IS.

“with Dirk it’s almost like he’d be less penetrable without [his shades]” oh well now THAT’S an interesting thought/observation.

holy shit that’s a cute fucking smile holy shit holy shit look at that grin AHHHH I’M DYING MY BOY IS SMILING.

“Not sure how well my deep, personal beef with the imagery of the sea will land for you, but there it is.” WELL THAT CERTAINLY MAKES THAT ONE LINE FROM HOMESTUCK 2 A LOT MORE EMOTIONAL, WHICH IT ALREADY DEFINITELY FUCKING WAS.

“Ace Attorney monologue” OMFG HAS DIRK PLAYED AA??? WHO’S HIS FAVORITE CHARACTER? WHAT’S HIS FAVORITE GAME?? i mean he’s definitely got the hair to be a fucking ace attorney character especially in pesterquest lmao

OH MY FUCKING GOD IS HE HOLDING BACK A LAUGH. IS THAT WHAT THAT MOUTH IS. HOLY SHIT. HOLY FUCKING SHIT. I LOVE HIM. I LOVE THIS ALKJADSFLADHADS

“He’s leaning forward, laughing, dimples carved into his freckled cheeks. There’s a small twist in your heart about it, and you can’t place why.” A *SMALL* TWIST? A SMALL TWIST? TRY A TWIST THAT’S WRENCHING MY HEART WIDE FUCKING OPEN AND SPILLING ITS CONTENTS ALL OVER THE FUCKING PLACE.

“At least make me try and earn it first.” THAT’S THE MOST DIRK THING I’VE EVER HEARD AND ALSO FUCKING HEARTBREAKING WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK.

“I can just fold [my hand] and hope your shit works out instead.” Ah yes, dirk’s incessant and almost pathological need to be in control at work again.

“I want to be the only one in charge of endangering my own life. You got me.” oh dirk. oh honey.

“How much has this boy wanted to be known?” oh okay yeah that’s fine i didn’t need my heart anyway pesterquest, you can have it.

oh. hi ultimate dirk. i fucking knew this was gonna fucking happen.

“i can’t believe i was ever this pathetic” LEAVE HIM ALONE. (but also i know you can’t because you fucking hate yourself and it’s fucking tragic)

OH. OH OKAY WE’RE NOT JUST GONNA BE FUCKING NARRATIVE WE’RE GONNA BRING THE ACTUAL FUCKING DUDE HERE.

AND WE’RE GONNA PLAY AN OMINOUS-ASS VERSION OF "BEATDOWN” HOLY SHIT. CHRIST CAN WE GET ANY MORE HEAVY HANDED HERE????

also holy shitting christ ultimate dirk is swole. ‘twink ass bitch’ my ass, he’s at least a twunk.

“You fuck off and let people live their arcs.” NO FUCKING WAY, NOT IF HIS IS GOING TO END UP AS YOU, DICKHEAD.

“Oh fuck.

You remember it.

You remember Homestuck.”

well, probably not all of it, it’s pretty goddamn long, and very hard to remember all the details. i should know, i’m currently re-reading it.

oh no.

oh no, this looks like regular dirk but ominous “beatdown” is playing which makes me very fucking nervous.

“You cared about him before you knew every tiny fucked up detail about his life, and now, with a reminder of where his story leads leaning smugly against the railing, you find you still do.” YOU BET YOUR FUCKING ASS I DO!!!! HOLY SHIT!!!!!!

“He’s intense and pushy and profoundly complicated, and right now he is helping you to your feet, his hand steady and firm on your back as you find your balance.” I’M CRYING.

“This isn’t as simple as an evil Dirk and a good one. If you’ve learned anything from your travels it’s that everyone has the capacity for hurt inside them, and everyone the capacity for love.” I’M STILL CRYING.

“The combo of all splinters of Dirk, fermenting in his flesh container and not holding onto his shit nearly as well as he likes to pretend” an apt and succinct description of ultimate dirk.

“No, I can see it. If anyone was going to pull off an “I’m you, but stronger,” it would be all of me, combined.” DIRK I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

“Your allegiance is not to the story, but to the people within it.” A-FUCKING-MEN MSPAR!!!

“The ends always justifies the means, Dirk.” I feel like that’s the breaking point there. IDK what’s going to happen next but that line sure was a line about philosophy, aka one of Dirk’s biggest special interests.

“[Ultimate Dirk] doesn’t have to work overtime to create more pain just so he can feel like he’s in control of how much punishment he gets and how badly he deserves it!”

oh.

oh wow.

oh WOW that’s hitting it on the fucking nose, MSPAR.

“He’s going to drown in [longing and loathing and Ultimate Dirk] if you don’t do something” STOP COMING BACK TO THAT GODDAMN LINE PESTERQUEST YOU’RE FUCKING KILLING ME HERE.

“You know how he loves -- though it’s fierce (to a definite fault), he does not do it easily.” STOP MURDERING MY HEART WITH PERFECT SNAPSHOTS OF DIRK AS A PERSON EVERY TWO SECONDS MSPAR I CAN’T HANDLE IT.

AHHHHHHHH IT’S DAVE!!! IT’S FUCKING. CANDY DAVE. I JUST. I CANNOT. HOLY FUCKING SHIT. HOLY SHIT!!!! HOLY SHIT!!!!

“you look like someone ironed the mayor so that’s a million more points in your favor” DAAAAAAVE!!!!

“Dave pulls him into a short, back-thumping bro hug which Dirk weathers like a wet cat not trusting a towel to dry him off.” AAAAAHHHHHHHH I’M FUCKING DYING I’M DYING I’M DYING HELP I’M DYING GOD HELP HOLY SHIT, FIRST OF ALL, THE SPRITE/ILLUSTRATION, SECOND OF ALL, THAT DESCRIPTION OF DIRK, THIRD OF ALL I’M FUCKING DYING

CANDY DAVE I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

you deserve so much better than the raw hand the candy epilogue dealt you jfc.

“Bringing fucking guns to a knife fight here.” I mean, did you really expect MSPAR to play fair when the health and happiness of all their best friends is at stake, UD?

SAD ENDING IS SAD.

“Be good to that me, will you? Treat him right?”

dirk, this is yourself. you’ve never treated yourself right. ever. tbqh you probably never will. ultimate dirk is absolutely no different.

(but also this makes me wonder if we’re gonna see “Trust yourself” timeline Pesterquest Dirk showing up in Homestuck 2? That would be fucking wild I’d love to see that.)

“are we anti-ocean here”

“Oh yeah, extremely.”

YES, WE FUCKING ARE, AND AGAIN WITH THE REFERENCES TO HOMESTUCK 2 JESUS FUCKING CHRIST.

oh, of fucking course ultimate dirk’s a sore loser, he’s ultimate dirk, fucking duh.

“You did it. You got him a good end.” i fucking love that this game is literally just. explicitly saying exactly what i was freaking over and desperately wanted.

like i’m just gonna take a moment here to admit that i was really nervous that dirk would end up like candy timeline dirk and just off himself. i was really afraid that a good end just straight up wasn’t possible.

i love that it’s not. and i equally love that the game acknowledges that a FUCKTON of us really wanted to give him that.

“Maybe [Doc Scratch] and Ultimate Dirk were working together the whole time.” maybe doc scratch has been ultimate dirk this whole time. or vice versa.

“There are just so many details to remember” lmao i made that point like a dozen paragraphs up.

i.... do not recognize the text style of whoever just say “hey. we can talk about this.”

IT’S HUSSIE. HOLY SHIT. IT’S DEFINITELY 100% HUSSIE.

i....... don’t know who that is? the woman?

is this like. the person who’s been running pesterquest?

it totally is.

i don’t know who that is i don’t know enough about the homestuck machine to know who that actually is.

lmao ultimate dirk and the irl director are fighting over how incredibly self-indulgent this metanarrative is, which is fucking amazing. i kind of love this? i really kind of adore this.

i can’t help but notice that the director has blank white eyes.

i.e. the Author is already dead, yo.

“They’re just an artifact of the medium” HOLY FUCKING SHIT THIS IS FANTASTIC. I AM HAVING SO MUCH FUN HERE.

“I’d say thanks but I feel like you all got more out of it than me” I’M DYING I LOVE THIS HOLY FUCKING SHIT THIS IS SO FUCKING FUNNY.

“Stop flirting with my audience you anime ass motherfucker” LMAOOOOOOOO

“I wouldn’t look like this if you didn’t want me to” I KNOW I’M JUST QUOTING BASICALLY THIS WHOLE THING BUT LISTEN I LOVE IT, I FUCKING LOVE IT, IT’S FUCKING PERFECT, GOD. JESUS FUCKING CHRIST THIS IS SO GOOD.

“I actually let the artists have a lot of creative license” somebody’s horny for ultimate dirk.

eridan DESERVES that gender arc and i’m excited for him.

“Happy people don’t get stories told about them.” I’m sorry, I’ve read enough Domestic Fluff fanfic to tell you that’s just blatantly not true, Ultimate Dirk.

wait.

wait wait wait wait.

pesterquest is a RETCON???????????

THAT was not something i was expecting

you click “don’t” betray your friends and pesterquest just fucking closes like this is fucking undertale jesus fucking christ.

but....

i don’t wanna betray my friends.

but i wanna see what happens....

god dammit this is exactly like the murder run of undertale, i don’t wanna do it but i have to know.

“Andrew Hussie would never do this to me” yeah well, Andrew Hussie barely ever interacted with you soooooo...

and if i throw the beta in the sewer again pesterquest quits. again.

i mean, i knew it would but... *sigh*

that’s a fucking depressing ass ending.

... except that “Savior of the Waking World” still hasn’t been unlocked...

Huh.

I’m... gonna see what happens if I start John’s route over again.

oh duh, of course it’s a retcon, MSPAR touched the Homestuck juju. i forgot about that.

(a big part of me wants to look up the process of getting the true ending. but a bigger part of me wants to figure it out for myself.)

hmmm. okay so replaying john’s ending once didn’t do it.

i guess i coooooould try replaying the whole thing? that sounds. like a lot of effort.

or i could try not betraying my friends approximately five million times let’s see what happens if i do that.

i’m going to do that experimenting in another post cuz this is already huge. see ya in part two.

#pesterquest #pesterquest spoilers #def plays pesterquest #homestuck

15 notes · View notes

alonebadman · 7 years

Photo

Dark Souls Trilogy: World-building, Story, and Rendition

Dark Souls is an incredibly popular dark fantasy action RPG series. Created in 2011 as a spiritual successor to niche hit, Demons’ Souls, the game garnered a cult following. Dark Souls II, released in 2014, became the game that put the series on the map with solid first year sales, mixed reviews, and a suitable DLC story/addition. Dark Souls III, released in 2016, combined the best elements of I and II, returned to the original setting, and for now, closed out the story of the Dark Souls Universe.

More than its brutal gameplay, fancy armors, and quality memes, Dark Souls is considered one of the best “stories” in recent games history. Many fans, myself included, attribute this to its extensive item descriptions, visual storytelling, and quiet but whole character arcs. The game’s lore presents a fully fleshed out Germanic style dark fantasy world. The games all together tell countless millennia of an entropic cycle of forces, sacrifice, and the spectrum of good and evil.

But does Dark Souls as a whole tell a good story? Or is it simply an illusion of clever world-building and the game’s visual experience? I would say yes and no. I’ll break this down game by game.

Dark Souls (2011): The first game in the series. A Twilight of the Gods style story where a millennia ago, strange humanoids discovered the powerful Lord Souls, became walking gods, and overthrew the Dragons. As the gods carved up the world, one race (humanity) was subject to become their servants and vassals. The game’s world follows a relatively traditional dark/high fantasy golden age that lasts for a thousand years. Unlike most fantasy settings though, things go from bad to oh shit by the time the game begins. A hundred years have passed since the appearance of the Darksign, a swirl like mark that brands humans and curses them with undeath. These Undead, soul devouring monsters, are shepherded away to various prisons around the world. The First Flame fades, and you, a nameless undead, are tasked with saving the world.

Dark Souls has a pretty standard 90s fantasy plot: kill several powerful figures, collect a macguffin, and then fight NotOdin/Zeus at the origin of life. That’s simplifying it but that’s the core of DS’s story. As a whole, DS is light on actual narrative but heavy on lore, world-building, and little subplots. There are very few elements that are original (basilisks, skelly men, necromancers, dragons? Pretty much your standard DND setting). However, the game’s rendition of those familiar elements is what makes it relatively unique. You play an Undead, you’re not expected to succeed, the world is dying, and your allies are as crazy or shady as you are. The game doesn’t provide much roleplaying other than yes/no responses, and what people you can attack/kill. Most subplots are quiant and sad but don’t have as much impact as hardcore fans would believe. Some characters have no resolution (Quelaan?), and it becomes irksome. Artorias of the Abyss is actually more satisfying given your role in the world, the supporting cast having small arcs/resolutions, and a genuinely satisfying ending to a standalone story that provides massive setup for the second game. The original game’s two endings are ambiguous and led to fan theories for three years...

Dark Souls II (2014): My favorite of the trilogy. Many fans find II a mixed bag gameplay, lore, and storywise. The reason why Dark Souls II I believe is the best of the trilogy is because it tells its own take on the core myth, develops an interesting setting influenced indirectly by the previous game’s sidestory, and expands upon certain world building elements (The Curse, The Abyss, The Cycle). II follows the story of the latest kingdom to rule the current age. Drangleic is ruled by King Vendrick, a beloved human king who used his strength to subdue foreign giants and claimed a foreign woman as his bride. He built a great kingdom, gained great insight into the soul, and he reigned well. Like before, the Undead Curse arises. Unlike I, the gods are oddly absent. Humans are the dominant race of the age, and it reflects in its setting. Drangleic is built on the ashes of previous kingdoms. Most locations you visit/traverse, are ancient kingdoms conquered, controlled, or left to rot by Drangleic. Most of the enemies are humans twisted by the curse, became demons of their own accord, with a mix of traditional setting enemies like dragons and chaos demons. II’s story is all about humanity, what it means to be human, and what it takes to break the curse. II isn’t perfect. The NPCs are slightly blander save Benohart, Lucatiel, and the memey Gavlan.

However, II’s best NPCs are easily Vendrick and Aldia. Unlike in I where you fight Gwyn, II allows you to meet and actually form a relationship with Vendrick that leads to a pleasant lore/story resolution. Unlike in I, Vendrick is cursed by the time you meet him. He is pitiful and there’s no grand battle like Gwyn. In the Crowns DLC, you mentally travel back in time and meet Vendrick before he hollows. Vendrick is an incredibly sympathetic and nuanced character. Prideful, remorseful, and despondent, he provides a ton of information, commentary, and essentially guides your character to become his successor. Aldia, his elder brother, is very much the same but ties back to I’s plot. He tried to escape the cycle Gywn created but failed. Immortal and undying, he challenges you to look beyond the cycle and perhaps find another path. In the updated ending, Aldia is the final boss of the game. While not a particularly great boss fight, thematically, Aldia is a threshold guardian. He’s curious why you do what you do. You’re not of noble blood, of great fame, you’re a nobody. But as the game reinforces its primary theme, you stand before him, slayer of the Kings of your age, and conqueror of Dark, a man or woman with no great claim, has the potential to inherit the throne. There are two endings: inherit the world’s order (link the fire or become the new dark lord), or, like Aldia and Vendrick, the game’s second ending is one of the best endings I’ve seen in a story, regardless of what medium. It encapsulates the game’s story and themes in a fitting narration by Aldia. There is no real path to breaking the curse, others have tried and failed, but like your mentors before you, you endeavor to seek what lies beyond humanity’s cursed fate. It is a bittersweet ending to a story that does not need a sequel.

Dark Souls III (2016): Set in the final Age of Fire, you are an Unkindled, an Undead who linked the First Flame but was reduced to ashes. Reborn in an unmarked grave, it’s your task to kill and retrieve the ashes of the most recent Lords of Cinders. III is interesting. It feels like what II should have been and II feels like what III should have been. Unfortunately, II’s story is largely downplayed/ignored in favor of I’s Gotterdamung plot. As a whole, III has a slightly better cast of characters but a somewhat weakened plot compared to I and II. While the game returns to the conflict of the gods and humans, it borrows liberally from II’s elements, themes, and conflicts. It feels like Miyazaki took what he wanted from II and repurposed them for III.

III’s cast is a quirky bunch of outcasts, expies, and returning characters from previous games. They are interesting but some have rather boring outcomes, repeated plot elements, and dead end stories like II’s weaker NPCS. The best npc is the game is Yuria of Londor. A founder of the Sable Church, she helps guide you to what is either the best ending or worst, depending on your interpretation. Yuria is a Darkwraith, a follower of Kaathe from I. Despite her ominous personality (killing a would be rival with little evidence doesn’t exactly inspire confidence), she is surprisingly well meaning. If you complete her questline, she becomes devoted to you and implores you to free humanity by becoming a new type of Lord. What III excels at is its final conflict and four different endings. While II still remains my favorite thematic ending, III provides four different satisfying conclusions to the trilogy as a whole. The first in the traditional link the fire, and keep the world running. Same as before, but the flame is very weak. The second ending splits between two endings. One, you let the fire flame finally die, and darkness settles in. It is implied a new flame will ignite one day born of the dim ashes left behind. Some people interpret this as you and the Firekeeper being the only two characters left in the world, which makes zero sense, given humans can and have survived close to the Dark. It is a somber ending but a rather fitting one. The other is the dickhead ending. You kill the Firekeeper, steal the First Flame, and essentially enjoy the end of the world.

The final ending is arguable a conclusion to II’s break the cycle. The Sable Church has weird connotations (true monarch? spouses? It all sound similar to Vendrick and Nashandra’s story but who knows?). After defeating the final boss, you literally become a vessel for the first flame, absorb its power, and stand over the ashes of the first flame. The dying sun turns a dark sun with a white ring, reflecting the Dark Sign. Yuria, your spouse, her sister, and various reused Hollow NPCs bow before you. She implores you to make Londor whole. It is supremely badass and ominous but unfortunately doesn’t give you much closure. It’s clear you’ve broken the cycle Gywn created but at what cost? Once again, Souls’s often ambigious endings are great food for thought but can be frustrating for what was advertised as the final entry in a series.

The two dlcs tell a standalone story that connects back to I’s world myth. It recontextualizes many characters, the history of the world, and provides an explanation for the origin of the curse. The final battle of the DLC is arguable a perfect end to the end. Two nobodies fight each other, both seeking the same goal, at the end of the world. Honestly, it is a very good thematic end to the series as whole.

Dark Souls as a whole is flawed story. It often lacks proper closure, introduces dangling elements never explored, and it’s fill in the blanks storytelling can lead to wonderful headcanons that are none the less fan-fiction. However, Dark Souls is a monomyth. It is extremely similar to the Legend of Zelda. Each game is a sequel to the previous but essentially tells a different interpretation of the monomyth. And this is why Dark Souls exceeds its flaws. Each game tells a different version of the core story. It is similar to traditional myths from antiquity. Dark Souls is not a perfect story but it is an interesting one that tells three different versions of the same story. It is also a great rendition of high fantasy juxtaposed with the Dying Earth.

#dark souls #dork souls #storytelling #worldbuilding

1 note · View note