1. How Hiveswap is happening is a more recent question to me, since the epilogues released. Basically the epilogues codified how the timeline stuff works using the three pillars. The most..
Wait never-mind Hiveswap foreshadowed the three pillars
. Technically speaking, the friendsims. Marvus' and the reader talk about just that. I think if anything this might cement that they might be applying the Three Pillars concept to Hiveswap too considering its where the concept was foreshadowed. Still, it seems Canon is based heavily around sburb sessions. And short of us ending up in a session come act 4 that doesn't seem to be the case for Hiveswap. Marvus uses the term 'extracanon' during their bad end. At the time i thought it meant that Hiveswap was an addon of sorts to homestuck like dlc. Makes sense in a weird way and adding the gamified elements back to homestuck. But then the latest pesterquest happened. The reader couldn't teleport back into friendsims, back into Hiveswap.
If Hiveswap isn't extracanon to homestuck, then what is it extracanon to?
2. Why Joey of all people? A very neglected, animal loving, father hating half orphan who is slowly realizing she is either bi or a lesbian, is not only out of her very universe but into the past technically, to a isle of the flies planet full of angry and violent super powered teens. While the whole place is about to apparently devolve into rebellion and civil war. Why on earth was she sent there?
Its clear that sending her there is deliberate. The name of act 1 is kansas city shuffle after all and there is more to it than that. The serpent monster could have easily gotten Jude, but it wasn't there to kill anyone. It targeted Joey and joey alone, chased her through the house. To compound the mystery is the Key. Becuase it didn't merely jump into the key hole of the cherub portal, it coiled around her wrist and forcefully pulled her to ensure it was by Her hand that the portal opened. As if it had to be... And if you hesitate to put the key in, and dick around trying to get all the dialogue, the narration becomes very gollumlike. As is her affinity to the creepy ass key.
Which leads into the third mystery.
3. Who is the Architect/puppetmaster/author? Another thing without question proven by the Epilogue and Homestuck^2, is that a story needs someone conveying the story. We don't know the exact limits to the power to control a narrative. Though it basically makes one god either way. Doc scratch is a possible candidate and was the most likely before the epilogues, but i had my doubts. His part of this tale is without question, but Joey's behavior back on earth, away from doc's 'sphere of influence' implies that someone was conducting her thoughts on earth. At the very least, Doc scratch either has a partner, or is cheating on his master with a shiny new one. Personally think the most likely person is Dirk. Short of either Dave or Rose gaining the power to manipulate a narrative. We ultimately don't know Hiveswap's purpose at this time and it is far too early to even speculate. Or even put a number up asking 'what is hiveswap's purpose?'
4. The cherub tech. The cherub portal to start with, is unlike anything we know about in paradox space. Its literally a stargate that links places over both space and time. Its almost like the portals that SKaia uses, more than appearifiers, transportalizers, even the fenestrated walls. But then there is both the key and the blueprint.. As it turns out yes the map might be tech too. The key is clearly amorphic and organic. And if you try to dip the map that Joey finds in Dammek's hive into milk, it curls away to avoid getting wet, implying it too is alive.
5. Boldir and Marvus. These two man. Boldir got us questioning what is going on in the friendsims. Marvus got us questioning how paradox space itself works, and the very nature of what Hiveswap was. Marvus especially is talking about shit that even Boldir might not be aware of, the machinery behind the fate system of the paradox. The depth of what they know is unsettling. Who are they? How do they know these things? What more is there to them?
I am almost certain that a mentioned rewrite of the Script after the friendsims might have been inspired by how both marvus and Boldir were written in particular. And largely thanks to the Epilogues and Dirk's shenanigans. Knowledge privy only to the omniscient like scratch, and the Ultimate selves.
6. the Axolotl. Foreshadowed in an image in Joey's house (further emphasizing the kansas shuffle ass nature of this incident), we see an axolotl like lusus. The thing is however, the preview material of old for Hiveswap showed this axolotl as an apparent First Guardian. If it retains this attribute when it appears in Hiveswap, hooo boy the mystery there. Where the sweet fuck did another first guardian come from?
For now that is all i got. Maybe some shit gets answered, or just more questions will come, when Act 2 FINALLY freaking gets here.
