#minda reads oots

[thewertsearch]

Ask Compilation 09/10

Welcome, thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy!!

Impressed that you managed to catch up in one day, to be honest. I haven't done a full reread yet, but I tried rereading Minda's OOTS liveblog last year, and I think it took the best part of a week?

Thanks - I'll add 'em to the list!

Cheers, guys! It's good to be back, and I'm touched that this blog has become a part of people's lives like this. 😅

I didn't really come up with any new theories while I was gone - I had a lot on my plate, and to be honest, I only really come up with theories while I'm reading or rereading the comic. ADHD-induced object impermanence strikes again!

I still think Life is going to be 'healing-themed' or 'nature-themed'. The former is one of my favorite flavor of powers, and the latter I'm so-so about, but I'm sure Homestuck could find a way to make it work!

I'm starting to think this dang 8-ball isn't as prophetic as I thought, and it's actually just a regular 8-ball. Damn red herrings!

Perhaps. The troll modi tend to say some pretty obvious things about their users - Karkat's is pointlessly masochistic, Aradia's is paranormal, and Gamzee's is a trip.

I don't know about the kids though. Sure, John's modus is meandering, like him - and Jade has multiple modi, because she likes to break the established patterns. I'm not so sure about the Derse kids - their modi are simple data structures, and don't seem to say anything about their personalities, unless I'm missing something obvious.

The full liveblog tag is more for archival readers, so meta posts, which are only really relevant at the time they're posted, don't really fit - but I'll give them their own tag going forward!

I caught some of Con Air on TV, once. It's exactly as over-the-top as you'd expect from this scene, and I kind of love it.

#asks #full liveblog #act 5

[mindareadsoots]

That makes a depressing amount of sense.

#order of the stick #minda reads oots #minda reads #book 7

[mindareadsoots]

Yeah, I can agree with most of those.

With Elan, he isn’t an Heir of Life, he’s an Heir of Light, which I feel is pretty self explanatory. Of all the Aspects, Light leans heaviest on the fourth wall since it deals with the concept of “the narrative” like it’s a very real driving force in the universe, which is also something that Elan is aware of and acts on. As for the “Heir” title, that partially comes from the way he uses that knowledge to guide the party and is partially based on his father...

Tarquin fancies himself a Lord of Light - someone who is able to bend the narrative to his will - but he’s really more of a Thief of Light, stealing narrative relevance that doesn’t belong to him. On both a symbolic and literal level, realizing this allows Elan to defeat him.

He realizes that Tarquin is not actually worth the time when there is a real Big Bad Evil Guy to defeat, and so he walks away, not even giving Tarquin the satisfaction of a climatic conclusion. It’s the ultimate defeat for someone who has tried to bend the story around himself.

“So wait,” you may be wondering, “Does this make Tarquin a Vri-”

#order of the stick #homestuck #minda reads oots #minda reads #in between #asks #oots asks

[mindareadsoots]

A lot of times, the thing standing in the way of positive change is the Bystander Effect. The feeling of, “Well, if this were really a problem, then somebody else, somebody in power would be dealing with it already.”

And a lot of times, no, that’s just not the case. Somebody has to stand up and ask the question.

#order of the stick #minda reads oots #minda reads #book 7

[mindareadsoots]

Didn’t expect an affirmative action debate in my D&D comic, but here we are.

#order of the stick #minda reads oots #minda reads #book 7

[mindareadsoots]

This is a fun way to highlight how much character development has happened, not just for the characters but for the comic at large.

#order of the stick #minda reads oots #minda reads #book 7

[mindareadsoots]

Stuff like this is why Redcloak is actually the most dangerous villain in the comic.

#order of the stick #minda reads oots #minda reads #book 7

[mindareadsoots]

The nihilistic wolf is one of my favorite characters in this comic.

#order of the stick #minda reads oots #minda reads #book 7

[mindareadsoots]

There is something to be said for the argument of, “You’re a liability here.”

#order of the stick #minda reads oots #minda reads #book 7

[mindareadsoots]

I always thought it was weird that teleportation spells fall under the Conjuration school of magic until I thought about it in sci fi terms.

In Star Trek, the transporters don’t actually “transport” anything. What they are actually doing is breaking down a set of particles (ie: a person) and reassembling an identical set of particles somewhere else.

Every time somebody uses a transporter, they are actually dying and being replaced with an exact copy. That’s how you sometimes get an episode where a transporter accident creates two copies of Kirk or Riker or whoever.

Something to think about when you’re trying to decide whether or not to take Misty Step.

#order of the stick #minda reads oots #minda reads #book 7

[mindareadsoots]

I was right, that looks painful.

This is why it pays to be nice.

#order of the stick #minda reads oots #minda reads #book 7

[mindareadsoots]

Ahahaha!

These poor paladins can’t catch a break.

#order of the stick #minda reads oots #minda reads #book 7

[mindareadsoots]

I knew the line in the sand would be important.

lol, the poor narrative structure

So, from what I can tell, inside all of these doorways are portals to other doorways, which makes mapping out this area that much more confusing. And since Haley broke the ward before they stepped through a couple pages ago, their party didn’t get taken someplace else the way the Evil Party did.

#order of the stick #minda reads oots #minda reads #book 7

[mindareadsoots]

Yeah, they have a good friendship.

One of my favorite character dynamics in Critical Role was the friendship between Keyleth and Percy since they were also very opposite to each other. Keyleth was very Lawful Good and idealistic, and Percy was pragmatic in a way that toed the line with an Evil alignment, but they got along great. It probably helped that Marisha and Taliesin were sat next to each other that campaign, and so they were able to get up to some shenanigans whenever they interacted. 

#order of the stick #minda reads oots #minda reads #in between #asks #oots asks

[mindareadsoots]

Oof

That’s a hard point to refute.

#order of the stick #minda reads oots #minda reads #book 7

[mindareadsoots]

I love it when characters figure stuff out.

Interestingly, this implies that when they set up this dungeon, they put different colored sand in each of the tunnels to make the border between portals. Or maybe the sand just naturally changed color slightly as some of it was exposed to sunlight and some of it wasn’t.

#order of the stick #minda reads oots #minda reads #book 7