#dreamer analysis

[nora-reads-homestuck]

Mainly facial features. For example, all the Prospit boys have similarly shaped eyes. Same goes for the Prospit girls, who also all have fangs and smooth hair curves. The Derse boys have short-ish hair and are rather serious. Things like those.

Hmm, that’s interesting! Could be coincidence, but then again, maybe not!

[nora-reads-homestuck]

I have a pet theory that Derse Dreamers are challenged most with questions of identity, while Prospit dreamers are challenged most by their responsibilities. The old 'Who am I?' versus 'What do I do?'. This division fits Vriska and Terezi as Prospit dreamers a little better.

That’s cool, too! It especially makes sense regarding the human kids. John and Jade are pretty secure in who they are, and Dave and Rose have clear thoughts on what they should (or want to) do, but the reverse is not necessarily true. Once I’m caught up and my theories are more solidified, I plan to compile all these theories and weight them, and build a quiz… in addition to the probably 5,000 other Prospit/Derse quizzes out there. :P

[nora-reads-homestuck]

A while back, I studied the sprites (and personalities, to some extent) of the trolls, and it seems there are two triads of trolls with similar features on each planet. Specifically, the Prospit boys, Prospit girls, Derse boys and Derse girls.

What did you find? Because I admit I’m stumped. What kind of ‘features’ do you mean?

[nora-reads-homestuck]

xstationcubed:

On the subject of Derse/Prospit dreaming, Hussie’s posted a response on that subject. Most of it remains spoiler-y, but the end gives a pretty decent summary, of which these are the most relevant non-spoiler-y bits.

“Being from Derse means you are from a culture of offense and aggression. Being from Prospit means the opposite. You could argue that these are qualities that either rub off on the dreamers, or they are designated as those dreamers in the first place because of those qualities. You could take the view that these are innate tendencies to overcome … Or maybe sometimes they are tendencies that are resisted, and need to be understood and embraced.”

There really isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer to the question. Just like the rest of the game, it’s all incredibly varied from person to person.

OH MY GOD I LOVE YOU. This is golden. Not only is that an elegant explanation for the Prospit/Derse sorting hat question (though I’m not about to assume that’s the ENTIRE explanation), but this is TOTALLY RELEVANT TO MY IDEAS ABOUT EMBRACING/DENYING YOUR ROLE. Hussie puts it even better: 'overcome’. I like that. I’ll adapt my theory accordingly.

Anyway, going by this explanation, maybe Vriska’s assignment to Prospit was exactly what it appeared to be at first: a punch in the face, getting shunted to the ‘goody two-shoes’ team to learn some humility… perhaps in the hopes that it would ‘rub off on her’. :D

[nora-reads-homestuck]

The ideal self thing might've meant physically - Vriska and Terezi are good examples. Terezi's comfortable with the way she sees the world while blind, so her dreamself is also blind - and probably so would her god self. Meanwhile, Vriska seems to prefer having her arm and eye, her ascended god tier body following her dreamself's suit. Who knows to what extent that goes, maybe it only works for something you've actually looked like at some point, or maybe there are no limitations at all.

That is a thought, true. Hmm, I don’t know… I think I’m getting to the point where any further conjecture on this subject can only be conjecture, unless we tie Hussie down and give him veritaserum.

[nora-reads-homestuck]

On the other hand, Vriska certainly considers herself a hero, and we know dreamselves take self-image importantly (c.f. Vriska's and Terezi's eyes).

That’s true, and an interesting addendum to the other theory! It also makes sense that Rose and Dave would view themselves as ‘warriors’ and John and Jade would view themselves as ‘heroes’. That also might explain why Nepeta ended up on Derse, considering she was all about being a jungle warrior. But then again, would it really have made sense for Feferi, with her dreams of changing troll society, to have viewed herself as anything other than a hero? Hrmm…

[nora-reads-homestuck]

ericvilas:

I've literally heard of a prospit/derse test that's "do you make your bed after you get up"

dude1818:

Every Prospit dreamer makes their bed and no Derse dreamer does. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

roshenekro:

"Shit, is there some kind of formula for this???" Well, i have no idea if you was told about this already (you most probably was), but there's exactly one 100%-correlation which also makes no sense whatsoever: all Prospit Kids make their beds, all Derse Kids do not.

That’s an interesting theory, with one rather glaring flaw—it’s impossible to prove or disprove, because the trolls don’t have beds to make! In a sample size of four kids, that’s really not saying a lot.

[nora-reads-homestuck]

In a less formulaic approach, some have speculated that Prospit dreamers are heroes who must prove themselves warriors, while Derse dreamers are warriors who must prove themselves heroes. This makes sense if you consider the kid's personalities.

That might have made a lot of sense…. if it weren’t for Vriska! Or, maybe it holds true for most players, but Vriska is a weird exception. It seems pretty clear that there are a number of variables that go into whether a player is assigned Prospit or Derse. I guess my question would be, had Hussie decided on what these variables would be before he assigned Vriska to Prospit? My guess would be yes, considering the Derse!Vriska red herring. In that case, what is it that makes Vriska an outlier?

Anyway, this is a neat way of looking at it! If the hero/warrior dichotomy is really the case, then I would definitely be a Prospit dreamer. I’m far too passive to be a natural warrior.