The kids warp over to Caliborn. He sticks the Betas in his Juju, and all indications are they’ll just pop back out later when Vriska releases them in [S] Act 7.
Gamzee gets cut in half by Dirk, and then Caliborn beats the shit out of the Alphas. Then he gets focused on Dirk because he always had kind of a weird kismesis attraction thing going on with him, ends up beating Dirk up really bad, Jake sees Dirk in danger and throws a tantrum of cosmic proportions while unlocking his Hope powers and beating the crap out of Caliborn with his gay hope bubble.
The beating gives Dirk the time to fire off the soul-destroying spell we saw Brain Ghost Dirk use on Aranea, thanks to the sudden appearance of Arquis (who emerges from Literally Nowhere–he’s part Void player, remember?) who holds Caliborn down. Caliborn’s soul is forced into Lil Cal’s, along with AR’s(a Dirk), Equius’, and half of Gamzee’s body/soul.
As the most willful player, Caliborn predominates over the other three and presumably consumes their souls–they now exist as parts of him, so they’re essentially dead. Lord English seems to be made up primarily of Caliborn with only the most passive hints of Gamzee’s soul present. Doc Scratch seems to be primarily AR, with glimmers of Equius and subservient to Lord English’s will.
Incidentally, this lines up with the player’s Class type–A Lord is the “most Active” kind of player, and Princes are also “very Active” according to Calliope. Bard are Passive, and all signs point to Heirs being passive too. Gamzee and Equius adopt the passive roles in their new existences accordingly.
Caliborn wanted to be “bros” with Dirk, and now he gets a warped version of Dirk as his eternal bro puppet forever.
Feel free to send another ask if you’re still confused about something in particular!
I mean. In my view, relationships always require being careful–any long-term relationship is going to have ways people can hurt each other, that’s part of the deal. There’s lots of other ways Dirk and Jake’s relationship could go south: Dirk’s self-loathing not being communicated enough, Jake’s escapism and self-delusion taking hold again, etc, etc.
This is as true of Dirk potentially self-sacrificing for Jake needlessly as it is of, say, Rose indulging her carefully cultivated posturing at the expense of her communication with Kanaya which is something we saw put a great deal of stress on Kanaya in the comic.
All relationships require balance. All relationships require constant communication and assessing your own and each other’s needs. All relationships come with risk of pain. That’s kinda just the way of it.
This week we’re talking to 2D artist Gina Chacón, whom many of you know already!
Introduce yourself to the fans! What is your specific role on the Hiveswap team?
I’m a 2D artist! I’m mostly dedicated to environment art these days, but I’ve also made loads of concept art and things like in-game posters. That Bubsy poster sure was fun to do!
When and how did you get your start on the Hiveswap project?
Before Hiveswap came along, I was already making some art now and then for Homestuck merch as a freelance artist.
Suddenly, one day I received an email from What Pumpkin asking how much free time I had, to which I replied that I was about to finish a short comic. Shortly thereafter, an email from Andrew Hussie himself arrived along with a job offer, and that totally blew my mind! You can imagine how my hands were trembling from excitement and joy as I tried to type out a reply!
Tell us a little bit about your career background! How did you get your start in art and graphic design? Do you have any advice for others looking to enter this field?
I always saw myself working in and around art. I’ve worked as a freelancer since 2003, and every job offer I’ve ever gotten came because someone happened upon my online gallery and took interest in my work.
My advice for anyone in this field – or looking to get into it – is not only to constantly be practicing and honing your craft, but also to make yourself known and get your work out there in the public sphere. Trust in your skill as an artist and have faith in your ability to overcome challenges you haven’t surmounted before!
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 (if any)?
That’s a tough one! My safe answer is Zelda: Ocarina of Time, but I have so many favorites for each console that it would probably take a lot of space to list them all.
I’m currently playing Steins;Gate, Odin Sphere Leifthrasir, Danganronpa 2, Persona 5, Final Fantasy XV, and my ultimate blocker to finishing all of those: Overwatch. My team is dumb and I love them.
Are there any games that you currently use or have used as inspiration for your own art and graphic design work here on Hiveswap, or just in general?
After playing Odin Sphere for PS2, I quickly became a huge Vanillaware fan. George Kamitani’s art style is my eternal inspiration, along with Haradaya’s style for the Disgaea games.
What are your preferred programs and applications as an artist and graphic designer? What are the tools of your trade?
I’m a PaintTool SAI lover, but I use Photoshop CC a lot for Hiveswap and occasionally Clip Paint Studio for my own custom brushes.
I’m a terrible traditional artist, but I also experiment with Copic and watercolors now and then.
What’s your workstation like? Do you like to listen to any particular kinds of music while you work? If so, tell us about it!
Heh, I guess my workstation is mostly just filled with things a 14-year-old weeaboo kid would want, but I love my useless stuff. Here’s a picture of my workspace!
My playlists consist of anime music, video game soundtracks, and podcasts. Video game- and movie-related podcasts are my favorite!
Favorite Homestuck character?
Roxy Lalonde! As soon she was introduced, she became my favorite kid and I love everything about her. ❤
Favorite Homestuck ship?
John/Roxy – my heart melted in every panel they appeared in.
Favorite Homestuck flash?
I’m a post-Cascade reader, haha. That was my first approach to MSPA after having no idea what Homestuck was and watching that first panel with John just standing there. Thanks, Tumblr.
Do you have a personal message you’d like to relay to all the Homestuck and Hiveswap fans out there?
Thanks for all your support and patience! I’ve had so much fun being part of this game and I can’t wait for everyone to play it.
Where can people find more of your work? Link us to your own little corner(s) of the Internet!
Thanks, Gina! We’ll be back next week with another interview.
I just want the people I love to be ok. I don’t know why that seems so insurmountable a thing to try for. Every time we get close to balancing things out for good something goes wrong or one of us loses balance and shit goes to hell, it’s exhausting.
Sorry I usually don’t vent here but I had a bad night and had a fucking spider on me just now and getting into whole conversations rn is a bad idea since im on lunch break so a vague post on Tumblr it is
No, I pretty much always assumed it was referring to Davesprite himself. Whether they grow back on their own or not isn’t super relevant, I don’t think–the point is Davesprite was in pain and really hurt and chose to prioritize the session over himself. There’s a lot of questions to answer about Homestuck, but I never considered this one of them, tbh.
An interesting way to look at it is that Hephaestus could have fixed Davesprite HIMSELF, making him the alpha dave, and Davesprite is on some level aware of this and still turned it down.
No, I pretty much always assumed it was referring to Davesprite himself. Whether they grow back on their own or not isn’t super relevant, I don’t think–the point is Davesprite was in pain and really hurt and chose to prioritize the session over himself. There’s a lot of questions to answer about Homestuck, but I never considered this one of them, tbh.
me, a fool: i can totlaly write an essay on homestuck’s parallels with earthbound and mother 3, nothing will go wrong, i’m–
Flying through Storytelling 