honestly I’m thinking about this post again and this just happens with like every goddamn movie the two of them see, together or otherwise. dirk comes out of literally every movie he watches (except the sbahjs, which are just relics of the old universe tbh) with a laundry list of complaints a mile long and jake just comes out of every movie he watches with a rambled list of things he loved and a bet that the sequel’s going to be even better than the first one!
and there’s something just weirdly contagious about jake’s enthusiasm. while dirk will never change his mind that the movies are bad (dirk thinks like literally every movie ever made [again, except sbahj films] is bad, it’s a problem) but he does kind of stop complaining and just scuff his foot into the dirt and smile a little. yeah jake, he says, trying not to let jake see him grinning. that part where the evil dude literally turned into the ghostbusters logo was pretty rad. yeah jake, it was pretty neat that the nice guy was actually the evil dude all along. yeah, jake. something about jake’s eternal enthrallment and happiness about even the worst movies humanly imaginable (but also, the best movies humanly imaginable) just makes dirk tingle from head to toes to be a part of.
im pleased to hear this but the alpha squad has owned my soul pretty much since last year when i fell back in love w/ dirkjake and i’m pretty sure they’ve got it for good
can i like 2x combo give the alphas my soul? is that a thing? i hope so
(2/2) And if everyone is selfish, then what’s the point in making an argument about anyone? I see in this point a recurring trend in the arguments: the focus is on proving a theoretical concept at the expense of psychological nuance. Pages are active, active is selfish, therefore all actions of a Page are selfish. Yet I feel, from Dave’s final comment to Rose about character arcs, that all these characters are meant to be more complex and messy than the abstractions of their mythological roles.
Yeah, talking this stuff out with Viko has made me realize I’ve been overemphasizing the selfishness/selflessness angle a bit more than I think is accurate, or at least like, clearly posited in the comic. Not every single behavior an Active player engages in is necessarily selfish, and vice versa for Passive players. In particular, I think Viko raised a very good point about Jake’s dying for Jane. The Masterpiece/Dirk moment I feel is somewhat different, specifically because it’s so coded with romantic subtext.
I don’t think the distinctions are meaningless, but Alt!Calliope and Caliborn are the only characters I’d say really hold to the Selfless/Selfish mentality absolutely (well, besides Gamzee, who never seems motivated by anything but Caliborn when he has motivation to speak of). Everyone else is, by and large, more complicated. Which makes sense, since engaging with others and having that push and pull of wills is bound to bring out different facets of an individual.
So I think I’d say as with everything else, the Active/Passive describes a tendency or predisposition with Selfishness/Selflessness, too. It still seems like a pretty consistent established element, but I think it reads a lot stronger as one element that also takes others into account–such as how proactive vs. reactive a player is, how self-focused vs. group-focused they are, the “benefit oneself” vs. “benefit others” behavior in terms of mechanics, and so on.
Makes for less concise and easily transmitted analysis, but then Homestuck inherently resists reductive takes, so that makes sense.
So yeah, I’ll readily admit I’ve gotten carried away and made some pretty poor overwrought arguments–It’s a bad habit of mine. Honestly the strongest arguments for Jake being selfish are his treatment of Jane early on during the session (which directly parallels Horruss) and what he does when power-boosted by Aranea: Make Brain Ghost Dirk exclusively to make himself feel safe and protected when he had the power to pretty much win the whole session by himself, if he were so inclined.
Since those points together describe both Jake’s largest impact on the session over time, AND Jake’s impact at his most effective being to his own benefit, I’m pretty comfortable resting Pages’ active status on those particular points, as far as Jake’s concerned.
That said, with regards to your statement
I see your reasoning on that idea, but my issue is the idea of abstraction, which was brought up in the critique but which you did not, imo, address.
I’m not super sure what idea you’re referring to. As such, while I tried to address what I think you’re getting at, I’m not super sure that I did. Feel free to follow up if you have lingering questions or if you were getting to something else? Otherwise, thanks for giving me the chance to clarify my position on this front.
I have noticed it, but if it has particular significance, I’m not aware of it either. It’s something I think about every so often.
It makes a fair degree of sense, though. the way i read knights, they tend to serve others quite often. Seers transmit information to others and tend to send others on quests/work through them. It makes sense to think they’d work well as a pair, since Seers need others willing to follow their instructions, and Knights are willing to do so quite often.
This matters a lot. The previous fights for net neutrality were won in part with the support of scrappy online companies like Tumblr, whose CEO, staff and users worked together to send a strong message to Congress and the FCC about the importance of a neutral internet, free from ISPs who slow down your connections to services unless they pay bribes for “premium” carriage.
With Trump’s FCC set to slay Net Neutality, the internet is once again planning a day of coordinated action: on July 12, sites across the net will send their users to the FCC and Congress to demand that ISPs be held to a public service standard befitting the trillions of dollars in public subsidies they receive every year in the form of access to rights of way through our cities and between them.
However, Tumblr is not among the companies presently slated to participate, and sources within the company told The Verge that the company and its CEO, David Karp (once a staunch Net Neutrality campaigner) have been given orders to sit this one out.
Hey there folks, we’re back to our new normal: it’s Ash here once again! I’ve returned from my brief outing to E3 last week and – don’t you worry – I’ve got a brand-new Hiveswap development team interview lined up for you today, just as scheduled!
But before we get to that, I’d like to toss a great, big “Thanks, man!” Cohen’s way for posting last week’s interview in my stead and, in fact, interviewing me so I didn’t have to very awkwardly interview myself. I may not be a super-cool artist or animator, but hopefully you all found what I had to say to be sufficiently interesting nonetheless!
But speaking of our illustrious creative types, today I’ve got an interview lined up with James Roach, Hiveswap’s sound designer and lead composer! These weekly interviews have been focusing mostly on the game’s visual elements and aspects up to now, but why should eyes get all the love? Not that eyes aren’t awesome and all, but I have it on good authority that ears everywhere are alsolooking forward to Hiveswap. Fortunately, James has very graciously prepared a smattering of Hiveswap sound samples for you to listen to as you read through the interview, so be sure to get equipped with some headphones before you begin!
Take it away, James!
Introduce yourself to the fans! What is your specific role on the Hiveswap team?
I’m James Roach, and I’m the Sound Designer for Hiveswap! I teamed up with [Undertale creator and composer] Toby Fox to compose the soundtrack for the game. I’m also responsible for most of the game’s sound effects and ambient sound alongside Marcy Nabors!
When and how did you get your start on the Hiveswap project?
When I saw the opportunity I reached out to What Pumpkin and sent along my portfolio. I was never part of the “Homestuck music team” in any official capacity, but I was pretty active in the community, so they knew of my work. I was as surprised as any of you when they offered me a job! They paired me up with Toby, who at that point was already a Homestuck music veteran. We’ve both been on the project ever since then.
Tell us a little bit about your career background! How did you get your start in music and sound design? Do you have any advice for others looking to enter this field?
I have been playing piano since I was about four years old. My family and culture have a strong musical tradition, and my mom thought playing music would keep me out of trouble. I got my start scoring web cartoons and doing freelance work. I only started doing sound design in the last few years out of necessity. A friend needed sound work done for their thesis film and had nobody else to do it, and I can’t leave a friend hanging! As far as advice goes, I recommend having your work accessible and easy to find. Make connections and be easy to work with. Being reliable, consistent, and professional will go a lot further than solely being good at something.
We’re making a video game, so of course the question must be asked: what’s your favorite game of all time, and what games are you playing currently?
The first game I remember having a big impact on me was The Legend of Zelda on the NES. My favorite game of all time is probably Bastion, but I don’t play a ton of video games anymore. I play a lot of Dungeons & Dragons. It’s all I ever talk about. My friends are so tired of me. Anyway, did you know a group of Myconids is called a “Circle?” Myconids are like cool mushroom guys that live underground. A lot of people think they might have a hive mind, but did you know they communicate using spores? Another cool thing about Myconids is–
Are there any games that you currently use or have used as inspiration for your own music and sound work here on Hiveswap, or just in general?
Obvious notes are stuff like Transistor, Luigi’s Mansion, Monkey Island, and so on and so forth. A lot of the inspiration for Hiveswap’s soundtrack comes less from games and more from my own musical and cultural background. There’s also a third-wave ska song. I have a really complicated relationship with ska.
As someone who writes music for video games, surely you must have a favorite video game composer or two (or three)! Who are they and what games have they scored?
You can’t talk about video game music without mentioning Nobuo Uematsu (the Final Fantasy series’ original composer) in some capacity, and his work has always been an inspiration to me. I think there’s an obvious Darren Korb (Supergiant Games) influence on my work as well. I’m really looking forward to hearing more of the Pyre soundtrack. I don’t know if I’m allowed to say that Toby has greatly influenced my work, since I worked with him specifically on this, but he absolutely has. The way he writes counter-melodies is phenomenal.
What’s your workstation like? Do you listen to any particular kinds of music while you work? If so, tell us about it!
Because I’ve been doing a lot of Foley work, I have this bizarre assortment of things lying around everywhere in my apartment for the weird, specific sounds they make. I’ve had this bundle of straws (which I flick rapidly to make monster footstep sounds) on my desk for weeks. There’s a broken umbrella (perfect for a monster’s wing flapping) hanging on the door, and a big pot with a fork and a broken slinky in it (scraped and slapped together to make creepy, echoey laser sounds) just lying around too. It’s a disaster to live in.
Favorite Homestuck character?
Aradia Megido.
Favorite Homestuck ship?
I used to be all about Intermission shipping, but it’s a little complicated to get into.
Favorite Homestuck flash?
I think like most people who started reading as a carryover from Problem Sleuth, “WV: Ascend” was the big “Whoa!” moment for me, so it’s always had a special place in my heart.
Do you have a personal message you’d like to relay to all the Homestuck and Hiveswap fans out there?
Hey.
Where can people find more of your work? Link us to your own little corner(s) of the Internet!
Whenever you close your eyes and open your heart… I will be there. No, I’m kidding – please follow me. You can find me on Twitter and SoundCloud!
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“Can’t hoooold on much longer… But I will neeee-ver let go!…” –oh, wait, I’m back on? Sorry about that, James’ last answer there brought out my inner Crush 40 fanboy. (Sonic Adventure had a killer soundtrack though, didn’t it?) Thank you again for letting us pick your brain for a while, James – and for those lovely sound samples, of course!
2014: “Don’t refer to something as your ‘spirit animal’. Instead, why not call it your ‘patronus’ or ‘daemon’ or something that isn’t culturally appropriative?”
2017: “Fursona. It’s your goddamn fursona.”
Flying through Storytelling 