Heeeello and welcome to this Homestuck re-read blog.
I'm Mio, a young (started reading HS back in 2018~ish) and veteran (read it several times + Voxus let's read) reader of Homestuck.
Here's a few elements before starting:
•This is NOT a blind readthrough, this blog will content many spoilers, minor or majors, so be sure to have read Homestuck at least twice (once for the first experience, twice for better understanding and catching on missed or overlooked details).
If you have read it only once, chances are you heavily forgot the plot and will inadvertently spoil yourself.
Awww wanna discover it blind with someone else? Go read this very cool Homestuck liveblog :) It's still ongoing! (don't scroll too much though to avoid the latest posted liveblog session)
•There will be analysis, personal opinions, and I may not sound as cool as other HS Tumblr users but I do hope you'll enjoy the ride~
•This blog will definitely content slurs, whether in the comic itself or my comments. If this put you off, I'm sorry but I don't intent to censor myself on this. On the other hand I will definitely put content and trigger warnings as Homestuck explores heavy and even gory themes/imagery sometimes (ex: suicidal thoughts, blood, body horror, psychological horror…)
•I love receiving asks! So if you have a question about the webcomic or just want to contribute to a reading session don't be shy ^^
•No hate mail and no character hate in my mail please. If you want to criticize something, do it in a constructive way. Also do it politely, thanks.
TLDR; It's not a blind reading, please read HS beforehand (twice if possible).
It's a modest attempt at liveblogging.
There'll be slurs, be aware. No censorship about it, however CW/TW mentioned.
I love fan mail, but not hate mail~
If criticism, constructive ones only.
Enjoy~
Beginning.
The items force the MANHANDLED CAKE into the TOILET.
And just like that, your SYLLADEX is full again. God this thing is annoying.
Cleaning a toilet seat is annoying as it is, now imagine having to remove CAKE. *bluh*
I guess it [full sylladex] can be compared to having your pockets full of stuff.
God it looks so annoying but imagine: free hands, no bag.
The dream tbh
Sylladex in our universe when?
John: Go to bedroom.
I wish we could have the 3rd and 4th walls view for the other teens, too bad the story had to be rushed starting act 5.
I don't think I would have minded more world and character building, especially for the alpha teens! :D <3
John: Admire "Failure to Launch" poster.
You're not usually into chick-flicks, but Matthew McConaughey's cool charisma could salvage any heap of smoldering wreckage.
This is your "McConaughey Wall", a casual shrine to an amazing actor. The film above that one is a lot better, you think.
CAN YOU SEE HER? I WANT YOU TO PICTURE THAT LITTLE GIRL. [chokes up] NOW IMAGINE SHE'S WHITE.
You got us Matthew! Your smooth talking exposed our latent racism! Damn you are good!
Never saw that one, I'm even less of a romance flicks lover than John, I guess I prefer romance through webcomic/manhwa/fanfic forms.
Sorry real life actors, movies demand way too much effort emotionally wise for my autistic ass.
"Your smooth talking exposed our latent racism!"
I like how John is so sincere about it, but at the same time you can definitely feel the cynicism/sarcasm from the author in this paragraph x)
It's always easy to slide a bit of political righteousness into a piece of media, but even so easy to fall into white savior behavior, one that don't really care about integrity and strong morals.
I'm throwing conclusion here, but can't really give a sound criticism with only one quote from a movie I never watched.
Just my pinch of salt I suppose.
Also, it's cute that he has a shrine about one specific actor, it's certain that he admires him (or even has a crush) on a level.
Oh boy, would you look at that! A [S] page! :D
Nothing fancy, I remember that it's just a sound effect that last maybe 2 seconds.
(for some reason I couldn't copy/paste the second picture)
Heck yeah more colors! Still very elementary but we don't have much diversity right now so can't complain.
You enter the BATHROOM. You can see your BACK YARD from the window. The jewel in its crown is the SWING SET which has provided you with years of joy. There is also a SPRING-MOUNTED POGO-RIDE, which has been responsible for more than one painful injury, and has provided you with years of lament.
We had (and still have) a swing set, and it too gave us years of joy :)
Sadly, all is but ephemeral. The ropes pilled, bits of the plastic seats broke, it was left neglected, eroded by time and rain.
On the other hand, we didn't have a peculiar ride that traumatized us.
I rolled too fast once with my roller blades and scratched my knees.
But I can't think of something similar as John's case.
On the sink is your DAD'S RAZOR. On the rack to the side is a FRESH TOWEL.
John: Remove PDA, envelope and package from cake.
Speaking of, I received my package today! I only realized tonight that it has to be in the mailbox lmao
(why is it blurry?!)
Woohoo! I can't wait to hang it in my room :D
Looks like I can't copy/paste several images into tumblr post anymore, I have to put the link and manually change the last number for each.
Can't say I'm thrilled about it *groan*
You take the RAZOR and use it to perform surgery on the CAKE.
You take the TOWEL and clean off the extracted goods.
That must have been a hassle to do.
As long as it's clean and done, it's fine I suppose.
Also, we past the first 100 pages!!!
Finally!
Act 1 is 247 pages long, so if I keep up a regular pace, hopefully we can finish this act before March 2024.
Fingers crossed!
You pause at the juncture and head down the hall. You are going to need something to clean up the mess you are about to make by dissecting this CAKE.
To the left is the BATHROOM. To the right is your DAD'S ROOM. It is locked, and you are forbidden from ever entering. He has secrets.
'Juncture' added to the list!
It sounds really crazy to me, and I'm aware it's not a universal experience, but I could always access to my parents' bedroom.
First, there wasn't really anything taboo or incriminating. It wasn't a big deal. (except when there was gifts)
Second, the door couldn't and to this day can't close. It's also quite meaningful in a metaphorical way: "The door was never closed".
No shame, we were always welcome to go snuggle or come if we had a problem.
Quite the opposite for John. Dad wants his privacy, which is valid, but somehow I feel like there's not enough emotional bond, like if John wants to talk about something serious with him, can he?
Would he?
He has his own version of what Dad is and does.
"He has secrets", everyone does. But to John, it's quite something, something incriminating or extraordinary.
Later, we will discover that Dad's room is quite plain. And he couldn't access it because:
-Privacy
-The gifts for his birthday are in there
-There's no reason for John to be in there in the first place
-Plot reason
-Lack of understanding about his Dad
After all, someone's home, and especially their room represents their head. In other words, John who never and couldn't access Dad's room, can't understand what's Dad thinking or who he fundamentally is.
And maybe, knowing John would snoop, he is forbidden to go in there.
I mean, I wouldn't have a little kid rummage through my stuff either.
So:
John doesn't have the means to understand his Dad, or his way of jumping to conclusions prevent him to do so.
But Dad doesn't give him the means to understand him either.
I feel like we're at an emotional impasse here.
You captchalogue the CAKE on the couch, expelling the PIE TIN from the bottom card.
And once again, his sylladex is full.
I heard for a long time about 'tin' material, it's only when we were cataloguing grandma's possessions that I've been told about tin.
Photo took at my deceased grandma's apartment, July 2023
Here, the cups in the middle, the milk jug and the napkin holders are made of tin. She had a lot of stuff, some pretty and rather old.
The kind of stuff that she found, bought, or received from the previous generation. And we kept some of her furniture too!
If you never saw objects made of tin before, now you have :)
It seems a bit random to talk about this, but I think it's at least a bit relevant since the Egbert are about respecting your elders (especially those already dead) and heirlooms.
Now to talk about John's sylladex, it's important to say (or remind) that the fetch modus you chose corresponds to the way your mind is organized.
With this information, we can easily deduce that John welcome one thought, and compulsorily expel another one, damned to oblivion until he decides to pick it up and 'remember' it again.
I guess I can relate, even if I find this method atrociously unpractical.
Like he gives little to no shit to what he takes and get rid of (ex: the PDA in the near future).
Or I guess he's just clumsy.
John: Combine the cakes to make a double decker cake.
You then merge the two CAKES across all five cards.
Everything in your SYLLADEX is smushed between the CAKES. Why don't you think these things through first??
Yeah.. he sure is impulsive, isn't he?
Now all of his 'ideas' are one big disgusting hellish Play Doh ball.
Man, different colors smashed together and turning into old grey-brown play-doh was the worst.
Also, I need to add "smushed" to the vocabulary quiz.
You snag your DAD'S PDA. Maybe later you'll switch the background image to something hilarious as a prank. Besides, it may come in handy later.
As long as it's harmless, I'm game.
What's up y'all, we're back at it again :D
The motivation is back, and I have bits of future commentary/reaction already in mind. The early acts are slow, rightfully so in order to put several story elements into place.
Doesn't mean it's not interesting, just that I'm eager to reach certain parts of the webcomic, which is mainly what refilled my motivation gauge haha
Your spare CAPTCHALOGUE CARD is forced out of the SYLLADEX, and consequently integrated with the deck. You now have five cards to work with.
At last! More room in is head/sylladex.
John: Take package.
This RED PACKAGE is addressed to you.
Speaking of package, I'm expecting one today or this weekend.
The HS 2024 calendar to be exact!
And boy oh boy, it took its sweet time. It was stuck at customs ><' and I had to pay (again!) to let it through.
Quite costly but it'll all be worth it in the end, I'm glad to be able to own a physical HS calendar again.
If you want it, sadly it isn't available no more as a physical one, but you can donated any amount and download its digital version.
John: Take envelope.
You got the SBURB BETA!!!
Yayy~
This planet imminent doom is getting closer everyone!
Oh! I remember that this night I dream people was queuing to test a simulation. It was a game. I think I dreamt of it this because I catched up with the Animator vs Animation /Animation vs Minecraft haha.
Go check Alan Becker's awesome stick figures videos if you haven't already!
On that note, let's end the shot-outs and continue with Homestuck proper.
I was about to write a new post but it seems neither of my blogs is accessible right now.
Especially the reread one. But Tumblr itself isn't down.
Sooo, I guess I'll wait.
Now that DAD is busy placating the SMOKE DETECTOR, you can safely sneak away.
Haha that's kind of funny.
You know what? It's mandatory in France to have a smoke detector now and I think we do own one, but it's not attached and not even in the kitchen? Gonna talk about it with mom, cause we have our nose in so many things and 'house project' is a big one.
We're insulating and renovating several rooms in the house, and the kitchen is one of them. We want to keep the rustic style but with the convenience of modern furniture.
Also
Can't you believe that every single kitchen company offer:
blocks
Big, soulless, bland, squeaky furniture blocks. Little color, no depth (literal and metaphorical ones), no originality.
It has aesthetically nothing.
Look at the Egbert's Welsh dresser and ceiling cabinet!
(ooh new word for my vocab~)
It has a distinguished shape, a history, it 'lives'. It's authentic!!
How as a society did we let soulless blocks take over and dominate our homes??!!
Yes, it is alarming, along with the decline of color in objects and architecture. Have you looked at people in the streets? So much black and dull colors, it's crazy.
Change can be great, but also a terrible thing!
Of course I want sliding drawers that can contain several trash bins for recycling purposes (so convenient).
But why does it have to be ugly and artificial?
Give me gorgeous crafted wooden kitchen furniture damn it!
URGH!!
Anyway, that was my rant on the topic.
Hold on, now that I take another look, the smoke coming out fron underneath the book makes it look like it has an ominous aura haha.
Alright, we can move on now.
You take PIE TIN and unequip the BEAGLE PUSS.
Everything in your SYLLADEX is pushed back a card. The SMOKE PELLETS are ejected from the deck.
Yes! This could be just the distraction you were…
==>
Nothing happens.
What a huge letdown.
We'll call it anticlimactic comedy.
John: Take the cake!
"When two great forces oppose each other, the victory will go to the one that knows how to yield." -Oscar Wilde
Aaaand time to check who actually said/wrote that.
……
Lao Zi. Not even remotely the same nationality, era or philosophy.
Wise words by a man who likely could resist everything but temptation.
But it's actually I really good advice. A'ight I'll integrate it in my "words to live by" everyday life.
If the two parties are stubborn and strong, better know when to give up so it doesn't exhaust you and goes on and on.
The CAKE forces COLONEL SASSACRE'S TEXT out of your SYLLADEX.
Unexpected (for the newcomers) gamer move incoming.
==>
Sassacre you beautiful bastard. Now's your chance!!!
That moment when your racist great grandpa comes to your aid from the beyond in a comical harmless way. Don't we love it all?
You cannot ABSCOND! This pesky GUARDIAN is blocking your path! You will need to engineer some sort of distraction.
Don't you hate it when you feel (or literally is) cornered?
Also, how the fuck did I managed to copy paste the gif, AND in good quality as is. I spend several minutes to crop it and *sigh* If it works it works!
Tumblr sure is mysterious in its ways.
Anyway, we're back everybody!
Long story short, life happened but jumping from video to video and just thought 'heck, why not find a good let's read Homestuck, one that I haven't come across yet'
And I did, and it's good so far, they had a good laugh and so did I :)
So yeah, it's what motivated me to continue this 'live'blog.
Cheers to Ariah & Jay~
Yeah I changed the way I format the narration, y'all tell what you think the notes if it's fine/readable or not.
And now he brandishes yet another ARTIFACT OF CONFECTION! The man is ruthless.
Hmm, I wonder how efficient and 'dangerous' throwing pastries can be. Like aside from *bitchy mumbly* itch a washte ov food, what sort of damage does it?
Maybe it's less about injuries and more about strategic confusion, like if your face's covered in frosting you're disorientated and busy trying to get rid of it. Especially in the case of wearing glasses.
That's why our dear Egbert thought of it and is ready to parry!
You'd better brace for impact in the most comedically striking fashion possible.
John: Equip disguise for defense.
The BEAGLE AEGIS absorbs the brunt of the treat. Looks like DAD will enjoy the prankster's gambit on that exchange, as is usually the case.
(fuck yeah, the copy paste worked again!)
Gonna love the simple and yet pretty color palette used. It's just cool, and it works.
Anyway, the blow is absorbed by the silly disguise. "Aegis" means protection. Better take notes y'all, did you forget there's a quizz at the end of Act 1 on fancy vocabulary? I didn't!
jesus get a fucking pen
We'll get to the quote in like, 20 pages from this panel.
Dad seems to enjoy himself, but does John? Can't tell if there's a genuine trickstery unbalance between the two or if John just an angtsy teen that sees contempt in his interaction with his dad.
Or maybe I'm reading it wrong and he's just bored that Dad always winning those comical strifes.
—> John: Captchalogue pie tin.
Ha ah! Halloween season jumpscare~
You thought you'd seen the last of me (and this liveblog)!
This 'fight' is funny and laughable. It isn't really to be taken seriously.
DAD lighting the candles on the cake can be seen as threatening (and dangerous!) if you was none the wiser that is. It's the boy's birthday, and his dad is aggressively celebrating it.
Makes me wonder if strifing really is a custom in Homestuck, or if it's specific for the universes that will play SBURB/SGRUB.
Whichever is the case, it's a mock battle is this situation.
Or perhaps ageing IS threatening to John. Adulthood (or rather adolescence here) is a scary thing.
Colors, logic, art appreciation
I can't stop appreciating the art style and the dedication to its scarce (for now) details.
Like here, the very moment the candles are lit the flames go bworh!
(damn and all at once?)
That's a transition frame, right? So neat.
The nuance between the predominant black and white style and the colors is well-done. Less is more.
The 'STRIFE!' logo thingy appears (two colors, kinda echoing to the candles. Flames = threat; but also Rochefoucault's quote from earlier?! hmm thoughts for later) and we have a brand new concept shown to us:
Strife options.
Aggrieve and abjure.
By the way neon green and sky blue goes well together, it almost hints at John's and Jade's exchanged colors duality.
Color theory is great once you get the hang of it!
Aggrieving is offending someone. Rather than a physical attack, it suggest an emotional one. "I don't want your overwhelming love dad, or your stupid cake". Something among those lines.
Also, he's such a dork making those movements with his hands. It looks like pseudo kung fu moves.
He attacks and a lot more green appears on screen. Freakin' love the flash game effect on the background, and the simplified Slimer looming behind John, as if it was his familiar/symbolic beast having his back. Comical and kinda scary, with his ridiculous small eyes and large mouth.
So he strikes, and is auto-pastried which is a pun on Auto-parry, a term and running gag from its predecessor Problem Sleuth.
Still on my color observations (what can I say, I'm an artist that love art) this AUTO-PASTRY! is magenta kinda (but not really) close to the batterwitch's fuchsia. Guess I was too eager with that one.
However it's nice to see there's different hue of the same color
The flashing dual color thing will also be used later for kernelsprites and ^2 sprites (this duo is Jasperosesprite^2's).
The joker magnet echoes to the 'auto-pastry!' text, emphasizing the fact that the cake has comical properties.
Then he slides back into his previous position, simple and efficient (battle and artistic choice wise).
If Aggrieve was an offensive and active tactic, Abjure is its opposite.
But before he reacts, it's DAD's turn to attack with a RPG naming system, like the Final Fantasy series (probably a tribute).
'Guardian Rubric: Coddlebrand'. Rubric is a title, but can also be a rule or a explanatory note (school).
Is 'guardian' here a category or is he actually grading John on the spot? Perhaps the remaining word will shed some light.
Coddle is overprotecting, so that's what John could rejecting.
Brand is a label, so is it a category or insincere 'marketing'.
Depends on the point of view we position ourselves: Dad's or John's.
But here's a succinct (even subliminal) text that appears during the cake attack: 'Dotesmite!' What does it could mean? *do some research*
Ooooh I see.
Crushed by fatherly affection.
Smite is hit, but according to world reference there's also a biblical meaning: kill/strike down.
John in itself is a biblical name, but I don't see Dad Egbert being cruel to his son. He ain't Abraham.
From there there's not much left to do in this flash.
I'll just note that the movement effect during the Abjuring is reminiscent of John's windy powers, the blue and yellow colors coincident with his future God Tier outfit.
Harmonious improvisation on Hussie part, for sure.
Welp! We're done with this first Strife flash.
It's writing was very laborious for unknown reasons and I'm very very sorry for 2 months of inactivity.
Thank you for your patience, and I'll see you soon for the rest of Act 1.
—> Coming soon
I swear I'm not doing it in purpose, in fact today I fiddled with the idea of finishing the flash post, but I guess other stuff happened and instead I fiddled around.
Perhaps I'll work on it tomorrow or the day after.
[S] STRIFE is almost completely written.
I will finish it tomorrow or this weekend.
I am so excited to continue the Homestuck reread :DD
But for now, chill evening~
Hey, I'm back!
Apologize for the lack of news, for like an ENTIRE month.
Real life stuff happened, Palia happened 👀🌱🦋
I decided to completely redo the [S] Strife post, without looking too much at the previous draft.
This project didn't stop to be interesting and worth it for me, I just couldn't muster the motivation to continue it.
For some reason the commentary on [S] STRIFE turned out to be disorganized, snotty (in my opinion) and my ideas are just sooo empty. Like writing just for the sake of sounding academic.
The sustenance is fine (if not slightly out of focus), I guess I can't get my head around the form.
Hence the redo.
So I'll jump into a new draft. I'll keep you informed of my progress.
See ya soon~
Sorry for the lack of post or news.
I'm trying to restructure the [S] STRIFE flash cause I found it kinda unpractical to read.
I'm going to focus on it the coming week.
Unless I manage to found a divine amount of energy and motivation I highly doubt that I'll be able to reach page 100 in just a few days xD
(I planned to reach this milestone before September, whoops)
Anyway, thank you for reading my Liveblog and I hope you'll stay tuned for the rest~
Back to school is getting closer, maybe some of y'all already restarted school/work. Stay strong ^^
