HS^2: Chapter 2 is out

[Nep]

Prediction:

Jane sends soldiers and drones to Vriska and (Vriska). They're already fucked.

Also second prediction. Gamzee is not dead.

[Generalrabogolfo]

i hate every single thing that has come out of this update.

[Blob55]

i hate every single thing that has come out of this update.

I like it more because we get to see the kid's kids and no Dirk.

[BrobyDDark]

I liked this update because Vriska made it fun, and seeing that worthless clown piece of shit get kicked around and moved like a fucking garbage bag full of clown horns was cathartic. It was interesting seeing Harry Anderson's design. I kinda figured he'd look more like John than a Strilonde. Get this boy some god damn shades!

Meanwhile, I guess it totally skipped passed me when I read the Epilogues that Tavros was Human.

Also, love Vrissy's design, but not really her interactions with Vriska until towards the end, where it shows that Vrissy is definitely a responsible person compared to Vriska, Harry, and even Tavros.

[VASKA]

A bit about this update confuses me

How old are these kids? I was under the impression that they were like 14 at the end of the epilogues but the fact that Tavros drives and that attention is called to the fact that Tavros and Vrissy aren't in school makes me think they're closer to 16.

Why are Vrissy and Vriska being considered "alternate selves"? We know Vrissy was hatched in the brooding caverns, so wouldn't she be Vriska's descendant, at least once removed (Paradox clone Vriska + steamy troll smex = Vrissy)?

Why are the Serket's in any real danger? Crocker privilege is mentioned, but Vriska is literally one of the Creators, one of the most important people to this planet's culture, and Vrissy has a parent that is both a creator and a human, which would probably put her in good standing with the human kingdom. The coulrocide really seems like it would be more of a faux pas for them.

Beside that, I really think this update sets the tone for what death is going to be like in Homestuck 2. It doesn't feel like dying and murder did in Homestuck, where there's no lasting consequences. This really gives off the impression of "wow, shit, they're murderers, and Gamzee isn't coming back". I'll be disappointed if they cheapen death too soon, although I'm sure resurrections will be coming eventually.

[Nep]

Why are the Serket's in any real danger? Crocker privilege is mentioned, but Vriska is literally one of the Creators, one of the most important people to this planet's culture, and Vrissy has a parent that is both a creator and a human, which would probably put her in good standing with the human kingdom. The coulrocide really seems like it would be more of a faux pas for them.

Never underestimate Jane's hatred for trollkind after HIC did a lot of awful stuff to her and her friends.

Also Karkat's bunch literally killed her dad so there's that too.

[BrobyDDark]

Why are the Serket's in any real danger? Crocker privilege is mentioned, but Vriska is literally one of the Creators, one of the most important people to this planet's culture, and Vrissy has a parent that is both a creator and a human, which would probably put her in good standing with the human kingdom. The coulrocide really seems like it would be more of a faux pas for them.

Well, there's a huge civil war going on right now between Trolls and Humans, Vrissy's mothers are on the Trolls' side, and Gamzee was the lover to basically the ruler of the Human kingdom, as well as a religious figure. Also, nobody really...likes Vriska all that much in-universe? John, Kanaya, and Rose would help her, obviously, but she'd get no sympathy from anybody else for killing Gamzee.

If being Gods could have solved any part of this, I'd wager Karkat, Kanaya, Rose, John, and Jake coulda stopped this ages ago.

[thorondraco]

eyelashes = girl is a very old school design sensibility that I don't think you can reasonably expect to be true of anything these days, especially in work by trans and gay people. it is not a "suspicious" design choice, they've just made Harry look a bit more like Roxy than like John, probably because Tavros already looks like that.

Its a design choice that was used throughout homestuck too. So that is where my confusion stems from i guess. Would think they could have give him the eyeshape without the distinct lashes. But it feels they deliberately gave him those lashes for some reason.
Could be just to make him look more like his mom of course. Though this is homestuck and far as i am concerned everything is a conspiracy XD.
I think John makes me suspicious about everything in Candy. Cause apparently he has influence on candy. Small yes, subtle perhaps, but an influence still. The beats of candy went along with his moods. From baby crazy and saccharine, to a bit darker, the world feeling off and wrong, to at his darkest, all out war, and hope coming in when John regains that hope himself. Not to mention everyone else literally forgot how the timeline was generated.

Also Karkat acts the most' normal' out of anyone there, the only one ot act and to sense something is very amiss, and he is a Blood player and thus as John's opposite he has certain resistances to a breath player.

Anyway we will have to see. Could just be a major femboy. could imply something else is going on. But if ANYONE is gonna turn out to be a new transgender character, it is probs gonna be Roxie's kid.

[Blob55]

I calculated the kids' ages at 15.

[JakeMorph]

I think it is really bizarre that you seem to think "Harry inherited transgenderism from his parent" somehow makes more sense than "Harry inherited big eyelashes from his parent"

[VASKA]

I'm actually rereading candy right now looking for a single tiny detail, can confirm that Harry Anderson canonically just has long eyelashes from Roxy

[thorondraco]

Prediction:

Jane sends soldiers and drones to Vriska and (Vriska). They're already fucked.

Also second prediction. Gamzee is not dead.

Then Karkat and troll soldiers come in to save their asses. Or Harry anderson smuggles the three of them out of there.

[thorondraco]

I'm actually rereading candy right now looking for a single tiny detail, can confirm that Harry Anderson canonically just has long eyelashes from Roxy

Hmmm. Perhaps i got confused but i don't trust homestuck stuff to be was it appears most of the time.

[Nep]

Okay this can't be helped buuuuuuuut.

Spoiler

Show

[thorondraco]

Seen some peeps on the reddits complaining about Vriska losing the parenthesis and Vrissy going by that nickname now.

To be fair Vrissy was never really Vriska. Vrissy is Vriska's Descendant. Different life, experiences, nuances, even if she retains a bit of that bitchiness. It be like saying that Vriska is another Aranea.

Vrissy was at least nice enough to concede that Vriska was really the first Vriska anyway so its only right that she keeps the name. She almost seems like an inbetween of Aranea and Vriska. Far less restrained and prissy as ARanea, but far more well kept and poised than Vriska. Also she doesn't have Vriska's mental issues.

Vriska is still stuck in candy for the current moment. At least until she finds her way back to Canon. With the likely trigger being non other than Terezi.

[ThePungeonMaster]

Solid update.
The kids designs are everything I could have asked for and more, and it's nice to see them so early in HS^2's run.
Liked the Vriska and Vrissy interactions, and really just the writing in general. Not necessarily bad, but it's interesting in what ways the story will differ from HS^1's. The writing seems to be coming into it's own now, as it's tone is becoming more distinct from regular Homestuck. In particular it reminds me of how Dirk was reminiscing about HS^1 in his monologue in the first update, and how sprites were used for the majority of that update, but since we haven't seen sprites used once. Makes me think it's implied sprites are more a thing of HS^1, or more linked to the videogamey constructs of SBURB.
Really the main issue still is how infrequent updates are, and I think that most of the issues with HS^2 could be solved with more frequent updates.
Also:

Vrissy is the most stupid fuckass name I've ever heard in all of paradox space.

I was actually around when they were taking submissions for the name, and I didn't end up putting anything in because my dumbass couldn't think of anything more clever than "Vriska^2", and IMO, Vrissy is fuckin' perfect simply because of how goddamn stupid it is.

[thorondraco]

Okay this can't be helped buuuuuuuut.

Spoiler

Show

GOD damn it.

[TH4NK YOU B3N]

Shit, they had suggestion boxes? God dammit. How do you get there so quickly? You get fuckin. Notifications?

homestuck2.com/story/63

Tavros's hand looks like shit.

and the prose of page 69 is so awkwardly written

I don't think I've ever seen a design of Harry Anderson Egbert as having light hair before now. I think that's a little strange.

Did you know that men actually have more naturally pronounced eyelashes than women, and beauty products/media just kind of flips that on its head? I just thought that was interesting.

it is interesting.

[pfeffer-29]

in-depth analyses will have to wait. for now, all i can say is:
v r i s s y
truly, this horrid name is the best christmas-eve gift to ever be given.

[epsilondraconis]

I'm slightly confused about the timeline here... I'm assuming all of the events of Chapter 2 take place immediately after the events of the epilogue, which means Vriska falls through the black hole, meets John, kills Gamzee, meets Vrissy, and then goes to the school all in one day. A few hours after John witnesses Vriska and Gamzee going at it, John talks to Jake who had decided to take Tavros and leave Jane, and Chapter 1 takes place after this. But now we see that Chapter 2 takes place on the same day as Chapter 1, which means all of this took place on the same day?