i def want to talk about it, but I kinda feel like there’s only so much to say until we see how, exactly, John’s issues manifest/potentially even resolve themselves in the epilogue.
The story isn’t over, and John–like Vriska, Terezi, the ghosts, and Gamzee–is an area of the story I don’t really feel I have a hard grasp on without having the context of the epilogue, since I’m not 100% certain what Homestuck is trying to say.
I took a break from music streams to do a Friendsim stream with @revolutionaryduelist, so he can educate me a bit on how the hell classpects work. At the end of first stream, this went down.
Happy Hivebent!!
this is surreal to look at but it was genuinely pretty damn fun
In this episode, we take a closer look at the God Tier power-up system, and its various perks. I also make a case for understanding God Tier powers as being an innate inner power of the players, manifested through their wills and thoughts, rather than a power-up granted to them by the game.
This means I argue that every character uses their Classpect powers throughout their lifetimes, whether or not they actually make God Tier. It also means a player can develop God Tier-level powers without actually being God Tier.
God Tier tends to grant players power because experiencing the messianic death and rebirth of the heroes’ journey tends to make people feel more like heroes, and so more able to self-actualize–NOT because doing so arbitrarily unlocks their superpowers. In other words, I argue God Tier is a shortcut to Heroes’ inner potential–not a requirement for it.
This warrants a closer look at examples of characters in Homestuck typically considered not to be good “examples” of their Hero Titles. I provide some examples of how I understand such characters, as well–including Karkat, Nepeta, and Gamzee.
Lastly, this understanding ties Homestuck’s take on psychic powers to that of it’s namesake, Earthbound–and suggests the possibility that Hiveswap’s characters could well develop God Tier-like powers, too.
Please feel free to discuss and question these ideas in the comments. I’m sure we’ll be revisiting your responses sooner or later, and I’m very curious as to how this video will be received. Thanks for reading, and keep rising!
Flying through Storytelling 