Pesterquest 10 out, the FEF has come!

[thorondraco]

These two routes were pretty good imo, though i still have to think a bit on the Fef one.

Eridan's route was basically showing his enormous overflow of negative qualities and some of his good ones, and most of all he is a result of Alternia's poisonous nature. It tortures all one way or another. And more than anything, he is completely unhappy as he is and doesn't know how to change that. Though maybe it makes it a little hard to believe he would go all renegade and kill feferi in Homestuck, but at the same time he would be in a situation where he is basically completely alone and there is no hope.
Also he is now regaining fucking Homestuck memories. HO SHIT.

Feferi's was a bit of a tripe in itself. Firstly, feferi's design is just beautiful. She so cute and also rather beefy looking. She is a sweet heart here like usual but i am disappointed we didn't see the darker glimpses of her. Then again its made clear we will be back to this later, though what next is uncertain.
But then Karako pops up and i'm like 'wtf?' and then it went al philosophical and shit and it kinda inverse my brain a bit.

We again get a double good ending, two routes achieving, something and seemingly both equally canon. Which seemingly includes feferi and the reader becoming godtiers via pure meditation? The other dealing with the more immediate situations.

More so karako makes me wonder what IS the dark carnival. While its seemingly linked to Lord english, the statements made by Karako are obviously not anything related Lord english or anything like that. The heavy water metaphors make me think he might be possessed by a Horror terror. Talks of cosmic rivers within rivers and while vast, one can navigate the greater rivers still if one grows more aware. And more so he states again and again STORY. The story. Which story are we talking about? Homestuck's story? The alterations caused by Pesterquest? Or a story that is yet unseen? And the Light of Reality.

However he also mentions a series of Creators with rank after rank, with a specification of gender for one beneath the one above it all.

The whole dialogue shares themes of acknowledging the overwhelming forces around you, yet the hope of bending those forces to your will through knowledge or even force of will. It makes me wonder what Dirk is? Did he become one of the people who play chess, or is he a piece who became as powerful as the players themselves?

Also another question comes to mind. WHY karako of all people? It could have easily have been some vague yet horrifying eldritch being being all wise and shit. It could have been a ghostly version of feferi as a mouthpiece. But they chose karako of all people to be this liason of the horror terrors... Which links Hiveswap closer to Homestuck, as it makes it retroactively, Karako as the one who became Feferi's liason to the horror terrors, allowed her to gain wisdom from them.

[hailvera]

I was... well, really disappointed with the Feferi route. I'll focus on that since I think most of my opinions about Eridan's route are positive, but yet again she was robbed of any real character growth. Compare this to other routes for characters who were cut from the comic early—Eridan, Nepeta, Tavros—they all received development that made them feel more like characters instead of just plot devices. Hell, even Gamzee had more character given to him in his route. But Feferi's route was devoid of any of her interests. She has no hobbies, she has no personal problems, all she talks about is exposition and a retread of the same "Alternia sucks, but when I become Empress, I'll fix it!" that we heard in her roughly 20 lines of dialogue in the comic before she dies. And then the route just... ends, abruptly, after the 2nd choice, with no conclusion or resolution.

Very, very disappointed in what could've been one of the best routes. At least her sprites were adorable.

[thorondraco]

I was... well, really disappointed with the Feferi route. I'll focus on that since I think most of my opinions about Eridan's route are positive, but yet again she was robbed of any real character growth. Compare this to other routes for characters who were cut from the comic early—Eridan, Nepeta, Tavros—they all received development that made them feel more like characters instead of just plot devices. Hell, even Gamzee had more character given to him in his route. But Feferi's route was devoid of any of her interests. She has no hobbies, she has no personal problems, all she talks about is exposition and a retread of the same "Alternia sucks, but when I become Empress, I'll fix it!" that we heard in her roughly 20 lines of dialogue in the comic before she dies. And then the route just... ends, abruptly, after the 2nd choice, with no conclusion or resolution.

Very, very disappointed in what could've been one of the best routes. At least her sprites were adorable.

It seems set up to start up later. The spark has been ignited bu tis not yet time for the fires to start, which honestly gives it abit of a better pace. We could see her darker sides or other issues later. Feferi's character growth seems to be the kind that is tied towards how she reacts to winning.

Though to be fair part of it was probably because for once, befriending her was not the Reader's primary objective. It was at least secondary but he was there to try and figure out if this whole thing could be fixed. It would almost make no sense for us to see her cuttlefish zoo and other such things when the reader is there to inspire her to action. He was a friendslut on a mission here.
Feferi was relatively easy to inspire here because she wants to make a change but lacks certainty and a plan of action. She never had time to do so because she thought it was all gonna end anyway.

so its a pesterquest route that is slightly devoid of a greater understanding of Feferi. Cause the reader was more intersted in something else here...

Also it kinda retroactively and further links Homestuck and Hiveswap together by making Karako a mouthpiece for whatever eldritch Zen master, and likely the reason why Feferi said the horror terros were not so bad.
The really weird thing is that apparently Karako even looks alive, implying something weird there. And also leaves the question of, what happened to that incarnation of the Reader who was with Karako?

Who knew Chtulu was a buhddist O.o

But yea short of it is, it was two people bonding over a desire to improve the world and mostly a moment for Business rather than friendship, but friendship came anyway. I do wish we saw more of Fef's business but honestly, Feferi working to improve the world is probably where you would get more of her development anyway. Especially as it might show some of the shadows in her heart. And we are definitely returning to Alternia in time.