Homestuck And The 12 Archetypes

Remember how Dave entertained the idea of becoming a paleontologist?

DAVE: dead things are actually pretty rad DAVE: i feel like if i was legitmately into all this then more should have come of the interest [...] DAVE: maybe i could have really developed this interest DAVE: maybe i could have been something cool as a result [...] DAVE: i could have been a paleontologist DAVE: instead of what i became [...] DAVE: that would have been the dopeness!

Looks like he’s gone into a similar field---archaeology!

He’s searching for and excavating cultural artifacts (of JPEG artifact Liberties). That’s a new level of irony, too: recovering remnants of an ancient civilization created by his older (i.e. future) self from a parallel universe. It’s both figurative and literal layers upon layers of irony, which is so Dave. He’s combining his passions, and it’s beautiful. :’)

Vriska's Return and the Alpha Timeline's Fate

There is something downright ominous about Vriska’s return. Something about it just seems so foreboding and …wrong.

It brings to mind John’s reaction to Caliborn’s retelling of events in “Homosuck”:

Her return is so ominous, evidence suggests that John will eventually retcon his retcon to restore the original Alpha Timeline.

But what makes Vriska’s return so foreboding? What significance will this new Alpha Timeline have upon reality? And why must John undo this change?

Overview of Topics:

Personal growth

Terezi’s inverted behavior

Characters’ meta-awareness

Retcons, void timelines, and semi-stable retcon loops

Caliborn’s statements

Doc Scratch’s omniscience

Alt!Calliope

Gamzee’s importance

Vriska’s Thief of Light and Page of Void roles

Horses: the Ultimate Bad Omen

Vriska’s return is disturbing because it undoes all the experiences and personal growth the heroes have undergone for the past three years on their journey through the Furthest Ring. The very notion contradicts something in story Hussie himself emphasized as important:

They have to face all those issues themselves, or they will never learn and grow as people. […] The journey itself is more important than the destination. The struggle is what builds character and teaches us about ourselves and about life.

He elaborates, comparing Trickster Mode shenanigans to Mario using a Star to overcome obstacles:

But the point is, [Mario] didn't really win. That magic star was actually devastating to his development as a human being. WHY. Because he skipped over many critical trials on his spiritual journey. Mario NEEDS to stomp on all those mushrooms. He NEEDS to bonk those bricks with his head, for the sake of his personal growth. By using the star, he is denying himself many powerful moments of catharsis.

This idea very much applies to John’s retcon powers and using them to change the Alpha Timeline, the events of the story. Like Trickster Mode and Mario's Star, retconning seems like an easy fix, a cheap, deus ex machina solution. It’s cheating. Dave even states, “messing with the alpha timeline [...] almost seems heretical.” Solving problems by retconning them out of existence is ineffectual and does not lead to growth.

By Terezi having John reset the timeline, undoing Vriska’s death, many of the characters will no longer face the challenges and hardships they previously would have. Terezi undoes the guilt that torments her, her abusive relationship with Gamzee, and the healing of her eyesight.

It is absolutely understandable that Terezi would want to do this! How many people wish they could undo something in their lives, especially mistakes they deeply regret making? How many people would change these mistakes if given the capability? However, in doing so, Terezi is denying herself the opportunity to grow and to heal from these experiences.

The events of our lives and the actions we take shape, define, and refine who we are as individuals. By having John retcon Vriska’s death, Terezi is essentially changing who she is and who she will become. Consequently, she’s changing who the other characters are, as well. Terezi is acting as a Witch of Heart, one who changes and controls the core identity of individuals.

The comic even visually hints at this role behavior when Terezi wears Jade’s Witch shoes:

Her Witch of Heart subrole should support her Seer of Mind role, not the other way around! Using the subrole, one’s inverse, as the lead role is not a healthy mode of operation! It spells disaster! This behavior foretells dire consequences.

There is something else foreboding about Vriska’s return. The characters all seem to intuitively KNOW these events are not supposed to happen. They KNOW things have been changed, that this is not how the story is supposed to go, that this is not the intended path of the Alpha Timeline. They have an almost meta-awareness of it.

JANE: But it wouldn't surprise me if the one who dealt my fatal blow was the leader of the raid [Vriska].

JANE: This was the unanticipated factor. JANE: Their leader was someone who was not expected to show up with them at all. […] JANE: You see, Callie, your historical documents make no mention of the leader of the raid, because originally, the curtains closed early on this plucky customer. JANE: But the hero was written back into our story by some inscrutable gambit of circumstance which we may never fully understand.

JOHN: i randomly appeared and knocked vriska out cold, just like the scarf told me to. […] TEREZI: YOU W3R3N'T SUPPOS3D TO DO TH1S! TEREZI: 1 W4S SUPPOS3D TO K1LL H3R! TEREZI: YOU JUST DOOM3D US 4LL!!!

Does Terezi’s reaction sound familiar? It should. Dave reacts the same way when John accidentally “zaps in,” interrupting his and Jade’s conversation and retconning events that originally occurred.

DAVE: you being here DAVE: thats not supposed to happen […] DAVE: its not supposed to go down like this i can feel it JOHN: i know! […] JADE: whatever dave and i were going to argue about JADE: i think the moment has passed JADE: the whole thing is kind of ruined to be honest

Dave has the same thoughts as Terezi: that John should not be there, these events are not supposed to happen, and John has doomed the timeline. John explains to each of them that this is not the case because it’s “not time travel,” yet Dave and Terezi remain skeptical and uneasy.

This meta-awareness and sense of a doomed timeline occurs elsewhere, too: when Aranea puts on the Ring of Life and invades the merged session.

MEENAH: you know all youre doing is making another doomed timeline where everyone dies right ARANEA: Of course I know that.

After the events of Game Over, Roxy and John sense the timeline is doomed, as well.

ROXY: this is starting to feel an awful lot like the end […] ROXY: maybe we should just ROXY: admit to ourselves this is probably what its like when you find yourself in a timeline where everything went wrong ROXY: and you know it means youre doomed

But here’s the thing. In each of those cases, the timeline isn’t "doomed" in the traditional sense, events undone because of time travel. In both cases, events are actually retconned by John, making the timeline not doomed, but void.

John voids the Game Over timeline by going back and retrieving the Ring of Life, preventing Aranea from obtaining it.

Regarding Dave and Jade’s confrontation, John purposefully retcons his retcon, setting events back to how they originally transpired, voiding his interference. He creates a semi-stable retcon loop.

In the new Alpha Timeline, because the characters have this same meta-awareness that these events are not supposed to happen—that Vriska is not supposed to be alive—and they sense that the timeline is doomed, I suspect John will retcon his retcon again, undoing the undoing of Vriska’s death, and creating another semi-stable retcon loop.

Why? Meta-narratively speaking, so events will play out how they originally were intended, how the characters KNOW and FEEL they are supposed to happen. So it won’t undo all the character growth the characters undergo. Besides,

It's also logical, since there is essentially nothing new in paradox space. Everything that can happen is either a visual or substantive reproduction of something which has already transpired on a timeline, offshoot or otherwise.

Another semi-stable retcon loop is bound to occur at some point. We were shown the first one for a reason.

Aside from all the parallels to events surrounding John's previous semi-stable retcon loop, more evidence supports a retcon of this new Alpha Timeline.

Caliborn points out the irony that Vriska “ACTUALLY THOUGHT SHE WAS GOING TO BE RELEVANT” and tells her to “KEEP DREAMING,” which is visualized by a “PSYCHE-OUT!!!” watermark and Vriska losing her head.

In the current iteration of the Alpha Timeline, Vriska’s new life state gives her the opportunity to have greater relevance and importance than before, when she was dead. “Dreaming” can even be a euphemism for “dead,” as death in dream bubbles compares to the state of dreaming and never waking up.

Caliborn seems to know Vriska will not be as important as she thinks she will be, and by telling her to “KEEP DREAMING,” he’s effectively telling her to stay dead. If John retcons his retcon, and Vriska actually remains dead after all, not only will this fulfill Caliborn’s statement, but it would prove to be the ultimate “PSYCHE-OUT!!!” to everyone, particularly to us readers.

Doc Scratch provides another indication John will retcon his retcon. Doc Scratch claims to have “absolute mastery of the Alpha Timeline” alone, any deviations withering from his perception. If the Alpha Timeline remains on its present course, it would make Doc Scratch either a liar or incorrect about this mastery.

When John retcons Vriska’s death, it voids events of the original Alpha Timeline, events Doc Scratch explicitly shows us.

    John's retcon turns the original Alpha Timeline, the events Doc Scratch shows us, into a void timeline. If Doc Scratch’s knowledge only pertains to this pre-retcon Alpha Timeline, his mastery is not of the true Alpha, but a voided version of it.

Doc Scratch is omniscient and does not lie. Yet at the same time, he has difficulty with Void.

AG: Sure you know a lot, 8ut I know for a FACT there's stuff you don't know. That's true. But the gaps in my knowledge exist by design. They are the pillars of shadow on which my comprehensive vision is built. Necessary pockets of void meant to effectuate outcomes I've foreseen and which will require my influence. Each dark pocket, in time, will be filled.

Occasionally I discover there are things I have not always known. It gives me the opportunity to make deductions, which are practically always flawless. […] But sometimes that is the nature of these hollows in my perception. It feels a bit like dark water, sloshing about the cavity in my head.

Wouldn’t it make sense for the new, current Alpha Timeline to be eventually retconned back to how events originally transpired? It would make the present Alpha, wherein Vriska lives, a void timeline. Void, which can escape Doc Scratch’s perception.

Considering Vriska “occupied a blind spot” to the Condesce, Jane, and Jade with her return, it seems reasonable she could occupy one of Doc Scratch’s “dark pockets,” as well.

If John retcons his retcon and creates a semi-stable retcon loop, it would validate Doc Scratch's mastery of the final, true Alpha Timeline, and it would reinforce the notion of pockets of Void in his knowledge.

But all of this raises another question: If eventually John is going to retcon the new, current Alpha Timeline back to its original state, what importance does the present timeline have?

The answer is Calliope’s alternate reality self.

JADE: like i said, [Alt!Calliope] just finished telling me that she was able to beat her brother in this reality JADE: but apparently, that wasnt supposed to happen? JADE: so she lived out the rest of her life in a doomed timeline and eventually died

Now, granted, this Calliope could be any Calliope from any regular doomed timeline, but I don’t think this is the case. This Calliope seems too important and special to be a random doomed one. This Calliope indicates her story is tied somehow to our John, the same John with retcon abilities and unstuck in canon.

JADE: and then she did this kinda fancy transition [...] to a story about MY brother... who was stuck in a doomed timeline too […] JADE: almost all our friends had died JADE: and johns only hope was to return to his planet, and attempt to complete his personal quest

Jade’s wording about Calliope is suspiciously similar to descriptions of timelines John retcons: Her defeat over Caliborn isn’t “supposed to happen.” If this Calliope is one who retroactively embodies Paradox Space, it would make sense for her to have been a part of the Alpha Timeline at one point, even if that timeline is eventually retconned. A standard doomed Calliope likely would not have enough importance to have such drastic influence over all of reality itself.

The difference between this Calliope and all other doomed Calliopes, why she unprecedentedly dominated her brother, could be in how they were raised: without Gamzee’s influence. In the present Alpha Timeline, Gamzee is suspiciously absent at the end of the three-year journey.

  The meaning of Terezi’s ominous message, “you don’t need him,” has not yet been explained. Perhaps it refers to Gamzee. If removed from the picture, he cannot raise the cherubs, influencing their upbringing, personalities, resources, and knowledge.

    Remember, just as Calliope is “not supposed to” dominate, Gamzee is “not supposed to” die. Hussie even states he is “not aware of a single timeline in which [Gamzee] dies.” If Gamzee only ever dies in a void timeline, each time the Alpha retconned so his death never occurs, Hussie’s supposed lack of its awareness makes sense.

If John retcons his retcon, it will make the current Alpha Timeline, wherein Vriska lives, a void timeline in actuality. It seems fitting that a Thief of Light from a void timeline would steal the Alpha Timeline’s Light—its importance and relevance. Not to mention her Page of Void subrole, empowering others to exploit Void—a void timeline—maximizing its use.

However, everything the heroes have done so far has advanced Lord English’s machinations. What exactly will happen is unclear, but all the ominous foreshadowing surrounding Vriska's return hints that something disastrous will occur and force John to go back and retcon this timeline.

One clue is Jane’s phrasing of Vriska’s return and the raid she leads in the merged session:

JANE: The tilt between the friendly and felonious was a true horse race again. A real barn burner in the brewing.

Jane’s colorful wording metaphorically surrounds them with horses.

VRISKA: I think I've just decided that 8eing surrounded 8y horses might 8e the ultim8 8ad omen. Nothing good can ever follow or precede those circumstances.

The Ultimate Bad Omen. Vriska’s return is ominous indeed.

Rose’s Quest and the Pink Sun

  You wonder if this rain will ever let up. It's driven since the month began, perhaps long enough to forget its purpose. It no longer even knows to assuage fire. Somewhere a zealous god threads these strings between the clouds and the earth, preparing for a symphony it fears impossible to play. And so it threads on, and on, delaying the raise of the conductor's baton. How you hate this season. "April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain." -American sports legend, Charles Barkley

(Charles Barkley quotation actually from T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land.)  

We know from Jaspers the gist of Rose’s quest in the Land of Light and Rain:

JASPERSPRITE: Rose im just a cat and i dont know much but i know that youre important and also you are what some people around here call the Seer of Light. JASPERSPRITE: And you dont know what that means but you will see its all tied together! JASPERSPRITE: All the life in the ocean and all the shiny rain and the songs in your head and the letters they make. JASPERSPRITE: A beam of light i think is like a drop of rain or a long piece of yarn that dances around when you play with it and make it look enticing! JASPERSPRITE: And the way that it shakes is the same as what makes notes in a song! JASPERSPRITE: And a song i think can be written down as letters. JASPERSPRITE: So if you play the right song and it makes all the right letters then those letters could be all the letters that make life possible. JASPERSPRITE: So all you have to do is wake up and learn to play the rain!

Hussie even summarizes and clarifies this information:

[Jaspersprite] explained elements of the mythos of her land, and how she'd need to learn to play the rain to produce the musical analogue of a genetic code to reintroduce life into the ocean.

Produce a genetic code? That sounds familiar. Where else have we seen a genetic code?

“MEOW” combined with Halley’s ectoslime to create Becquerel.

“t1CK t0ck 8r8k H34DS honk HONK” combined with Lil Cal and a Magic Cue Ball to create Doc Scratch.

“BARK” combined most likely with Jaspers to create God Cat.

These genetic codes are used to create First Guardians. First Guardians all have the Green Sun as their power source. So most likely, these genetic codes are related to the Green Sun itself.

So, Rose’s Quest is to play the rain, to produce a genetic code that reintroduces life into the ocean. Like the previous codes tied to the Green Sun, what if the genetic code Rose plays is tied to a different sun, a Pink Sun?

There are clues everywhere for a Pink Sun paralleling the Green Sun.

Rose is a Seer of Light, and the Light symbol is a sun. It would make sense for the genetic code to be for a literal source of Light, a literal sun.

But what other significance might this code and Pink Sun have? Well, "They wait for she who would breed lilacs out of the dead land." “They” being the Nobles—the kids of the Alpha Session.

The “dead land” may very well be the Land of Crypts and Helium. Jane’s planet is filled with seed pods that seed and water the planet, yet nothing is able to grow on the surface. What her planet lacks is Light—sunlight. (Her denizen is even Hemera, goddess of daytime.) Perhaps by “playing the rain,” Rose provides the Light LOCAH needs—in the form of the Pink Sun—enabling lilacs to breed out of the dead land. Considering during Trickster Mode, half the planet sprouts flowers everywhere, it seems to be the intended transformation LOCAH will undergo.

But wait, Rose’s planetary quest is to reintroduce life to her planet, to LOLAR. More specifically, to restore ocean life that was eaten by her denizen Cetus.

JASPERSPRITE: But sadly there are no fish i think. JASPERSPRITE: They were all eaten by the Denizen! ROSE: Who? JASPERSPRITE: It ate everything in the ocean and got so full that it took a long nap. JASPERSPRITE: No there is surely not a single living thing left!

Ocean life? Hmm…

What is something heavily associated with both Rose and the ocean?

  The Horrorterrors (Squiddles)!

What if, when Rose plays the rain and reintroduces life on LOLAR, she creates the Horrorterrors? The very same ones currently residing in the Furthest Ring. The same ones who likely created the Trolls’ universe.

If so, perhaps the Pink Sun has ties to both the Horrorterrors and to the flora of LOCAH. That would make the Pink Sun a Light—a symbol—of Life and Void.  Just like…

…The Rings of Life and Void!

When the Draconian Dignitary puts on the Ring of Void, shades of pink and purple flash around him. Symbolic—even powered by—the Pink Sun, perhaps?

(Image made static because seizure warning.)

Compare to when the Queen’s Ring transforms Jack Noir after Bec prototypes himself, giving Jack powers of the Green Sun:

And then there are the green and pink moons of Alternia, paralleling the Green and Pink Suns.

The green moon is home to Doc Scratch, representative of the Green Sun (symbolic of Space) as a First Guardian. Yet pre-scratch, the pink moon is home to Meenah, Thief of Life, further tying the Pink Sun as a Life symbol.

LOLAR and the rain itself have symbols of Light, Life, and Void through their colors—yellow, cyan, and pink.

Yellow represents the sun emblem of Light, its Seer Rose. Cyan represents Jane, Maid of Life, whose planet lacks Light. Pink represents Roxy, Rogue of Void, whose planet’s element is Neon—that is, Neon Light.

Aside from the Pink Sun, restoring life to LOLAR, and sending Light to LOCAH, Rose may even have a role in Dave’s quest, considering the rain “no longer even knows to assuage fire”—its purpose forgotten.

Regarding Dave’s quest,

It's meant to rain this season but there ain't been a drop in sight. Even a little drizzle would help. Might help to fizzle this sizzle a little bizzle, set the record straight on this global turn-tizzle.

Perhaps the rain Rose plays—or even the Pink Sun itself—will aid in his quest. (But more on Dave’s quest in another post.)

It seems pretty clear that Rose represents the “zealous god” who “threads these strings between the clouds and the earth.” As for “delaying the raise of the conductor's baton,” perhaps the conductor is…

  You wouldn't trade your dualing weapon for any other. It is lightweight, elegant and precise, like a conductor's baton with stopping power.

…Calliope!

A Seer would not charge into the fray headlong but direct it as a conductor with a baton.

…Or Terezi, or even Rose herself. Perhaps all three!

As for “mixing memory and desire,” that sounds a lot like…

    …What the heroes have been doing all along!

If they are meant to create not just a new universe, but a new reality to escape Lord English, wouldn’t their new reality consist of memory and desire? A new reality conducted, inspired, and embodied by Calliope, Muse of Space; located in the currently blank canvas Void to where LOWAS, Roxy, and John escaped; its information (Light) to be supplied by Rose and the Pink Sun; and filled with the memories and desires of the heroes.

Doomed vs. Void Timelines

A doomed timeline is associated with time travel. It is an offshoot timeline, branching from the Alpha Timeline. It is destined for failure, for an ill fate. It can never succeed because, by itself, it cannot propagate reality's existence. A doomed timeline invariably ends when someone travels in time to undo its events.

So what happens when someone retcons events? Retconning is different from time travel. It doesn't create a doomed timeline because the timeline is the Alpha, not a branching offshoot. It doesn't create a stable time loop, either, because events are actually changed, as opposed to linked by causality. Doomed timelines and stable time loops are the results of time travel, not retcons. So what is the result of a retcon?

A retcon, instead, creates a void timeline. When the Alpha Timeline is changed, it renders previous Alpha (or canon) events null, void, ineffective, cancelled out.

The Alpha Timeline is the timeline of Light; it is the most important, significant, and relevant timeline, the path that successfully propagates reality and existence itself. Retcons turn the Alpha Timeline's Light to Void, making previously canon events unknown, irrelevant, ineffective, and as though they do not exist.

So, to clarify:

Doomed timeline = Offshoot timeline events undone via time travel.

Void timeline = Alpha timeline events undone via retcon.

Upon first glance, this passage seems to describe the Beta Kids’ kernelsprites...

...The pre-entry prototypings that evolve the battlefield and affect enemy characteristics.

Now, the passage seems to be alluding to the components that created Bec Noir, who we all know has wreaked havoc across the kids’ and trolls’ sessions and universes.

But what if the passage is referring to something else?

“Maimed clown”...

“Undead cat”...

“Impaled crow”...

(Davepeta is kind of both the Undead Cat and Impaled Crow combined.)

“Omnipotent dog”...

(Notice how even though Bec Noir and PM have all four prototyping elements, they’re only ever referred to as dogs at this point.)

“These four shall be held in reverence for the eternity they serve to cut short.”

What if this passage has yet to come, and is related to the end of Paradox Space?

Gamzee is obvious in his role, and Bec Noir would be no surprise, either. But others, such as Jasprose, Davepeta, and the Mayor (recall his dream) would be really interesting and unexpected.

Muse of Space: Rise up.

UU: . . . yoU have already spent a long time gathering intelligence Unbeknownst to the aUthorities.

  !CALLIOPE: my soul would have to wait here. !CALLIOPE: for what felt like a very, very long time. CALLIOPE: wait for what? !CALLIOPE: you. !CALLIOPE: echidna told me that your visit would be my signal.

UU: how mUch more do yoU expect to accUmUlate even if yoU coUld stay Undetected? UU: and how mUch strategic advantage is left to gain by delaying yoUr discovery for mUch longer?

  UU: as i told yoU earlier, my brother is hUnting for me. so i have created a little sanctUary in space to stay hidden from him. UU: . . . he is highly sensitive to my presence, so it is very easy for me to get his attention if i'm not carefUl.

  CALLIOPE: this is it then, is it? CALLIOPE: am i to spend the rest of eternity hiding inside this vortex? CALLIOPE: how can i go in search of myself if i am blown to smithereens the moment i set foot oUtside? CALLIOPE: maybe the trUth is... CALLIOPE: sUch a fate woUld be preferable to this. CALLIOPE: i am so dreadfUlly lonely. u_u

  UU: i say the time to make a stand is now!

  UU: make yoUr presence known. let them see that the [mUse] is awake, and make it abUndantly clear what that means.

[T]hose in the territory of a good cheru8 will likely come to view it as a protector, waiting quietly for millenia in deep space, ready to attack any encroaching threat.

UU: perhaps it is their tUrn to be nervoUs? to cower in the shadows and live in Uncertainty?

UU: i mUst remain hidden from everyone for as long as i can. TG: why? TG: why not come out and be all like TG: here i am yo its me! secret weapon ghost callie ;)

UU: that is my advice. do with it as yoU will.

!CALLIOPE: live.

Homestuck allusion in Paranatural!

[1] [2] [3] [4]

So JASPROSESPRITE^2. Has a full body. Instead of a ghost butt. And looks like Rose’s dream self. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?!

7/7/15 Upd8

I CALLED IT! I SO CALLED IT!

HAHAHAHA! BOO. YEAH! *Flips table* *Happy dance*

Okay, maybe not the way that it happened, but Tavros + GCat prototyping, nevertheless!

Classes Chart

Here's a chart of all the classes, both Standard and Master.

My goal was to define, describe, and categorize them as efficiently and accurately as possible, based on my understanding of the classes. I based as much as I could on canon information, while inferring the rest.

(For clarity, "–" denotes Active, and "+" denotes Passive.)

(Note: If chart looks distorted/shrunken, right-click and View Image.)

Special thanks to bladekindeyewear, dahniwitchoflight, infinitywhale and probably others for their insight and information, helping me understand the classes and aspects. I couldn't have made this chart without them.

Some clarification: I am aware Hussie essentially said any gender can have any class (i.e. female Princes). I don’t like the idea of gendered classes, anyway, and I think it’s needlessly restrictive, not to mention sexist and stereotyping.

However, my chart reflects what’s been depicted in comic, based on what Calliope states, looking at the characters’ classes and gender distribution, and then making some inferences based on Hussie’s penchant for balance and based on class names and god tier outfit designs.