Title of this is pretty self explanatory; Iām the anon who started to adore this AU more than I probably should and just came up with a bunch of headcanons for it because I love worldbuildingā¦ā¦ and saw the panels from the Rankstuck origin with the random troll and human designs and figured to drag my fankid and fantroll trash into the mix.Ā
This large headcanon of mine is of an entire separate society and culture that resides within the Infinite Forest of the Horrorterrors.Ā
But why would anyone want to live their considering how never-ending and dangerous they are to all who enter?Ā
Because a powerful Aspecter took what the Condesce'sĀ āYou are welcome to live in the Horrorterror forest if you disagree,"Ā Ā seriously.Ā
The person who is to be accredited with these people was a man by the name of Liam Haze.Ā A Mage of Void who was one of the Aspecters discovered by the Handmaid,Ā Condesce, and Hass Harley; and newfound abilities allowed him to detect the hidden powers of wayward Aspecters, and guide the original trio toĀ them prior to the creation of the Rankstuck world.
Upon arriving with the rest of the Rankstuck world "colonistsā, he felt betrayed by his former teachers and decided to take his newfound friendsā fate into his own hands and free them of a life of just being ābreeding fodderā and have truly meaningful lives. And many years later more found their way to him by running into the forest to avoid punishment for telling the banned stories of their old universe homes.
As the years went on these new nomads of both Aspecters and aspectless people began to form their own traveling society within the vast expanses of the forest. The first many years were INCREDIBLY hazardous and trying toĀ LiamĀ and his followers; but he used his powers of learning, the unknown, and mystery to grasp what the founding three and the other loyal citizens of the kingdoms would find impossible to comprehend.Ā
They createdĀ gates; pathways only identifiable by Liam and those he taught could navigate and detect. The Aspecters who were skilled in Heart, Hope, Life, Light, and Mind worked tirelessly with classes known for creation to create ghostly guides calledĀ spritesĀ that could assist when one was separated from their migrant bands or advice from a third party. To tap into the potential of theĀ dream bubblesĀ that the horrorterrors would glub into shelters or communicate with others over a long distance.Ā
Liam and his followers had become what would be known to this worldĀ as the Skaia people.Ā
Despite Liam Haze'sĀ long Aspecter lifespan though; after many, many generations he eventually died. On his deathbed though, he was happy it turned out this way. As it ensured that the people he taught to survive in this harsh forest would not only stay out of the clutches of who he deemed to be ātraitorsāā¦ but also pass down their knowledge and wisdom to the future generations of Skaians, and allow the new generations to explore their powers without preconceptions and bias as to how strong/weak they are.
Since their numbers grew quite large for many a generation; they were no longer able to travel as one incredibly large band and sustain and share all the resources they had at the same time. This contributed to the creation ofĀ Sessions.Ā Much smaller groups that could range from 2 to 48 people that were all trolls or humans; so they could share their findings with each other and not have most of the group go hungry; as well as to continue to reproduce humanity and troll lineages. However all still to this day will travel to the final resting place ofĀ Liam known to all Skians asĀ the MediumĀ to celebrate theĀ Ultimate Reward Festival.Ā A big event thatās kind of like the Fourth of July, a county fair, and religious holiday all rolled into one that celebrates what they deem to be their ultimate reward: Freedom from the Handmaid, Condesce, and Hass Harley.
Other parts of the Skaian culture developed withoutĀ Liam as well. When young Skaians reach the age of 13 years or 6 sweeps of age; they go onĀ Quests.Travels that are mandatory for young Aspecters to reach the full potential of their powers and for those who are aspectless to prove they can help their Sessions and survive on their own. During this time the Aspecters becomeĀ Servers; protecting and directing the powerless on their Quest that could mortally harm them. While the aspectless becomeĀ Clients, who must be like the aspectless tools against the aspect-immune Horrorterrors and gather important resources for their Sessions.Ā
Neither Aspector or aspectless can be considered adults and official members of their Session until they complete their respective groupās Quest. These tests are also very important for those who have already past though; as it allows them to map out more of their incomprehensibly infinite world; find the locations and nests of Underlings or Horrorterrors or even Dream Bubbles, and create new paths for Sessions to stick to on their never-ending journeys.Ā
But for the many generations before the Kingdom rebellions began,Ā Hass Harley and the Condesce had no idea the Skaia people even existed. As they lived incredibly deep into the Horrorterror Forest and rarely went to the edge of it by choice. However they would sometimes mock their old student and friend, by claiming Liamās abandonment of them to be outright disrespectful and that he was like an oil slick that caused many people to slip into death prematurely. They even coined their old friendās modern day nickname:Ā Bilious Slick: āThe Speaker of the Vast Croak.ā
But during the revolution; they noticed that some of the rebels were getting supplies from unknown sources. After many, MANY generations had gone by the Empire and Dominion discovered their existence.Ā
The Skaians originally had only slight contempt for those who lived in the two kingdoms. They were scared of the new world as much as they were, and felt they needed good leaders. They were lead astray from actual freedom and were what they would deem to be very confused. But when a Session discovered wounded rebels that ran deep into the woods to hide from those who wished to stop them; they decided to come to their aid, in hopes that those in the Kingdoms could attain the freedom they now achieved.Ā
But after the rebellion died down due to Redglareās āinfluenceā, the two immortal rulers thought that these newly discovered āuncivilized peopleā needed to be dealt with.
One of the many things that weakened Redglare was her control of Aspecters to āslayā the horrorterrors that could harm their lands. But seeing as they were being control and had no say in their actions, these people failed to realize that they were killing Skaians as well. This became known as to the Skaians asĀ The ReckoningĀ and since then it has caused more contempt and hatred to the āinsidersā of the two kingdoms than Liam ever had. To this day this part of the deep forest is a sacred memorial burial ground for Skaians known as theĀ Battlefield. And it is not uncommon to see a Session traveling through this area to pay respects to those who lost their lives on that day.
With the ranking system now in play during the current time of this AU; Skaians are now regarded as dangerous illusions conjured by the Horrorterrors and their Underlings. Rare, powerful, and realistic Human and Troll like mirages conjured by the beats to let fighters guards down.Ā Bilious Slickis finally known to the citizens of both Human and Troll kingdoms in their taught history; but his actual origin of being a human Void Aspecter had been revised.
Both Hass and the Condesce made Liam out to be the first traitorous and insidious outcast. Who lured hundreds of innocent weak doom, heart, void Aspecters and lower ranked classes to their deaths; by promising their already āweakā abilities could reach the level of power that Life or Hope Aspecters had.Ā This propaganda about Bilious being an outright villain has made the word āslickā the worst insult one could call another Aspecter. And sometimes the more foul-mouthed citizens of the Empire and Domain use this as a swear word to insult and demean banished outcasts.Ā
On the topic of who the Skians would be in this AU; I think that troll and human version of the Carapaces would be appropriate aspectless Skians. But I also personally imagine some of my aforementioned fankids and trolls would be as well.
But for another quick note on Skian Aspecter culture: Skians ideas on how aspects and classes work is highly reminiscent of what we are familiar with in Homestuck canon. All aspects and classes are equally powerful, but how they manifest themselves powerwise is up to the development, training and ingenuity of the Aspecter wielding them. Skians also have the belief that aspects have inversions and what not, like how with Light and Void are opposites, etc. They donāt have bias caused by the ranking system as they were never exposed to it.
In regards to the potential plot of the Rankstuck AU, I really like the idea that one day Dirk or Roxy wander off during their first month of being in the Magenta Shadows team and encounter a Session of Skians for the first time; with the Session containing human or troll versions of the Aimless Renegade, The Mayor, PM, and maaaybe the White Queen?? I have no idea what their human or troll names would be though; as well if they themselves would all be Aspecters or aspectless. Or maybe theyād be a mix of both??Ā
Also imagine the Midnight Crew as a Skian Session that are known criminals. And they hate the Kingdoms so much that they plan heists against them and give the supplies to other Sessions like Ronin Hood and his Merry Men. Only theyāre more stabby and violent.
Also if youāre curious as to why I chose Bilious Slick, the name of the genesis frog to be a human Aspecter who started all the shenanigans; itās because I wanted to make a reference to Homestuck canon and how the āevil royaltyā hates the Genesis Frog. I also chose him as to create some transformation symbolism; the Aspecters figuratively changed from tadpoles in schools following the Handmaid and pals only to become frogs that were free from the constraints of the pond. Thereās also some frog cannibalism symbolism in there if you squint hard enough too. Frogs in nature will kill their own; which is shown here by the Humane Domain and the Alternian Empire killing off Aspecters from a different society.
As for the reason for making Slickās original name to be Liam Haze though. Liam is a diminutive of William. Bill is a nickname for William; and you can hear āBillā as the first syllable in āBiliousā. Bilious can also mean irritable or distasteful. Which ties back to his disgust and anger in regards to his fellow Aspecters being brought to the Rankstuck world as breeding fodder. But also reflects the modern day Rankstuck kingdomās hatred of him, too. The Vast Croak is also a pun. Because croak can also be slang for being dead or dying?? Get it?? Ha ha??Ā my puns are hilarious what are you talking about
Haze can refer to an actual haze or fog, which obscures things like his Void aspect. But it can also be a nickname for Hazel. Hazel refers to the hazel tree; and Liam lead his people into a forest. But in Celtic mythology; hazel trees are known to have very magical properties. And hazel tree wood was often made to make helpful magical objects like walking sticks or staffs to help others.Ā
This post is a very and incredibly long infodump for just one little headcanon; but I hope you like what I came up with and read everything I thank you from the bottom of my nerdy Homestuck-loving trash heart. I really enjoyed messing around and building upon your AUās fantastic history and lore!! I hope that you can do more things with it soon!!Ā Ā : D
And who knows maybe Iāll pop in again with more ideas or exposition on my HS fanchars in this AU, ha ha.
i promise to write a more coherent response later when iām not busy - but right now i just want to say that itās really really cool, your ideas fit with the world very well, and i just LOVE everything about it
janainaart
prguitarman
stormborns
pixelskylines
romaincrisis
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