diff --git a/album/references-beyond-homestuck.yaml b/album/references-beyond-homestuck.yaml index 0efc405f..da817825 100644 --- a/album/references-beyond-homestuck.yaml +++ b/album/references-beyond-homestuck.yaml @@ -26934,6 +26934,36 @@ Lyrics: |- Feelin' kinda free, security House is the sound, that moves you from the ground --- +Track: Ghost Town +Duration: '3:39' +Artists: +- The Specials +URLs: +- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WACzk0ZEuJk +Lyrics: |- + This town, is coming like a ghost town + All the clubs have been closed down + This town, is coming like a ghost town + Bands won't play no more + too much fighting on the dance floor + + Do you remember the good old days before the ghost town? + We danced and sang, and the music played in a de boomtown + + This town, is coming like a ghost town + Why must the youth fight against themselves? + This town, is coming like a ghost town + Government leaving the youth on the shelf + This town, is coming like a ghost town + No job to be found in this country + Can't go on no more + The people getting angry + + This town's becoming like a ghost town + This town's becoming like a ghost town + This town's becoming like a ghost town + This town's becoming like a ghost town +--- Track: Girl You Need A Shot (Of B12 [Boyz 12]) Duration: '2:02' Artists: diff --git a/album/unreleased-tracks.yaml b/album/unreleased-tracks.yaml index 42810489..36c08358 100644 --- a/album/unreleased-tracks.yaml +++ b/album/unreleased-tracks.yaml @@ -805,3 +805,165 @@ MIDI Project Files: Commentary: |- James Roach: its over +--- +Section: Tracks featured in Beyond Canon +--- +Track: hell_tierwav +Artists: +- James Roach +Duration: '0:25' +URLs: +- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv6Fsf41V2Q +- https://www.patreon.com/posts/short-music-105550485 +Referenced Tracks: +- Penumbra Phantasm +- Killed by BR8K Spider!!!!!!!! +- normal song name +- Unite Synchronization +- Open the Door +Commentary: |- + James Roach: ([Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/posts/short-music-105550485)) + HI, James here. Thought it could be fun to put some partial music previews for upcoming updates here with no context. I wanted to show thanks for all the paid members for sticking with us, and give you something that is exclusive to just you guys. Sound fun? + + This was based off of [[track:normal-song-name|a track I did for Pesterquest]], but ended up changing quite a bit. What is it for? You will see... soon! + + James Roach: ([Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/homestuck/comments/1dpcjhj/homestuck_beyond_canon_update_p_651655/lag3gc2/)) + excellent analysis actually, i did want it to represent "relevance" in the sort of roundabout way the characters whos themes i mixed in do. (the arpeggios from [[track:unite-synchronization|unite synchronization]], [[track:killed-by-br8k-spider|killed by br8k spider]]) + + since it uses [[track:normal-song-name|a pesterquest song]] as a base and its mainly [[track:open-the-door|the hiveswap cherub/portal motif]], i thought it might give it that cross-property "relevance" as well. + + then, also, used [[track:penumbra-phantasm|penumbra]] because i thought it sounded cool and has that sort of mysterious vibe in a fandom way. anyway not an exact science and i AM talking out of my ass a little bit but im glad someone figured out the vague intention. +--- +Track: vrisbeachdreamy +Artists: +- James Roach +Duration: '1:05' +URLs: +- https://cdn.beyondcanon.com/assets/story/homestuck-beyond-canon/multimedia/656/html5/assets/vrisbeachdreamy.mp3?1720261000929 +- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Isici7Gpq98 +Referenced Tracks: +- Cobalt Thief +--- +Track: c1 +Artists: +- James Roach +Duration: '2:13' +URLs: +- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGZj_q1SPQ8 +- https://www.patreon.com/posts/preview-from-107816029 +Referenced Tracks: +- Ghost Mound +Sampled Tracks: +- Ghost Mound +- Ghost Town +Commentary: |- + James Roach: ([Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/posts/preview-from-107816029)) + Hi, James here. We're gonna be tryin out something with these next few updates, so here is a preview track from the the first one. We needed a handful of tracks and since we aren't in the position where we can be paying people to do outsourced work on a short notice like this, it fell to me to write 'em. A lot of them are sort of loose concepts/sketches like this so I'll post a little bit about them here. + + This one uses samples from one of my favorite songs [[track:ghost-town|"Ghost Town"]] by [[artist:the-specials]]. It also has a few bits from [[track:ghost-mound|"Ghost Mound"]] which is a song from Hiveswap that I didn't name. Obviously this is named after the Specials song, but it didn't sound anything like the song or have anything to do with it, which was annoying at the time. I never really mentioned it but I always sort of hated how the old lead writer made lyrics for those songs because they weren't very good and we don't get along. + + Anyway, now the songs co-exist because of that. That is the only reason I added those samples in. It has nothing to do with the update, I just liked it. Or does it? It might? It doesn't. Or does it? Hmm. Damn.. does it? + + Anyway, so this little exercise in sampling made it in. I would have liked to spend more time like mixing and extending it, but there were a bunch of other tracks I needed to do. I will be sharing those in the coming weeks as well. OK see you soon. +--- +Track: c1end +Artists: +- James Roach +Duration: '2:57' +URLs: +- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFobPlcQYL8 +Referenced Tracks: +- Davesprite +--- +Track: ch2 +Artists: +- James Roach +Duration: '1:57' +URLs: +- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv_gA4HFutA +--- +Track: ch3 +Artists: +- James Roach +Duration: '2:41' +URLs: +- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SacUjWdSNUI +Referenced Tracks: +- vrisbeachdreamy +--- +Track: nana +Artists: +- James Roach +Duration: '1:40' +URLs: +- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGwh_xg7JIs +- https://www.patreon.com/posts/page-666-track-109229956 +Referenced Tracks: +- Killed by BR8K Spider!!!!!!!! +Commentary: |- + James Roach: ([Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/posts/page-666-track-109229956)) + Now who could this be? +--- +Track: erisol +Artists: +- James Roach +Duration: '1:16' +URLs: +- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R5XbwD_xm0 +Referenced Tracks: +- The La2t Frontiier +--- +Track: scrA +Artists: +- James Roach +Duration: '3:28' +URLs: +- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8DhKD8h9-A +- https://www.patreon.com/posts/another-track-it-110480651 +Referenced Tracks: +- WORST END +- English +Commentary: |- + James Roach: ([Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/posts/another-track-it-110480651)) + Last time nobody guessed correctly... but THIS time I think its a little on the nose. Here is one of three tracks from the upcoming upd8. +--- +Track: scrB +Artists: +- James Roach +Duration: '2:50' +URLs: +- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nye55Ao3EH0 +Referenced Tracks: +- scrA +- English +--- +Track: 11-5a +Artists: +- James Roach +Duration: '3:28' +URLs: +- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1uKVNrOdXg +- https://www.patreon.com/posts/next-episode-111832535 +Referenced Tracks: +- Davesprite +- Chorale for Jaspers +- track:nuclear-james-roach +Commentary: |- + James Roach: ([Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/posts/next-episode-111832535)) + Track for upcoming update. We were going to re-use a track from a previous session, but I thought that seemed lazy so i repurposed something older. Made the base of this track about 2 years ago for a friends birthday, then extended and added familiar melodic themes. Also added a little surprise at the end for longtime listeners of my tracks. + + Do you recognize some of the other themes in there? Gosh, wonder what it could mean! +--- +Track: 11-6 +Artists: +- James Roach +Duration: '1:32' +URLs: +- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm46eyffAXA +--- +Track: terezi_vn +Artists: +- James Roach +Duration: '1:42' +URLs: +- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUhyTnks3qo diff --git a/artists.yaml b/artists.yaml index 4a695dc4..39650db2 100644 --- a/artists.yaml +++ b/artists.yaml @@ -522,13 +522,14 @@ Artist: Andy Bane URLs: - https://twitter.com/andyvenom --- -Artist: Andy R. +Artist: Andi R. Aliases: +- Andy R. - Breya Rivera URLs: - https://soundcloud.com/strovi399 - https://strovii.tumblr.com/ -- https://twitter.com/Strovistuck +- https://twitter.com/andistuck_ --- Artist: Andy Stott --- @@ -7358,6 +7359,10 @@ Artist: Mila Kunis --- Artist: Mildred Hill --- +Artist: Miles +URLs: +- https://twitter.com/rcktpwrr +--- Artist: Minecraft --- Artist: Minish @@ -11204,6 +11209,8 @@ Artist: The Simpsons --- Artist: The Smashing Pumpkins --- +Artist: The Specials +--- Artist: The Stanley Brothers --- Artist: The Super Mario Players diff --git a/flashes.yaml b/flashes.yaml index d4bd14be..81b8b310 100644 --- a/flashes.yaml +++ b/flashes.yaml @@ -1726,7 +1726,7 @@ Contributors: - Adrienne Garcia (animation director, animation, character design) - Alex Mankin (additional engineering) - Andrew Hussie (director, executive producer, scripting) -- Andy R. (animation cleanup) +- Andi R. (animation cleanup) - Angela Sham (animation director, animation, character design) - Ash Paulsen (additional contributions) - Aysha U. Farah (director, scripting) @@ -2082,7 +2082,7 @@ Flash: Magic Is Fucking Real Directory: pq-vol2 Contributors: - Aysha U. Farah (writing) -- 'Andy R. (art: characters)' +- 'Andi R. (art: characters)' - 'Courtney Brendle (art: backgrounds, endings)' - David Turnbull (programming) Date: September 4, 2019 @@ -2106,7 +2106,7 @@ Flash: A King's Feast of Ass Directory: pq-vol4 Contributors: - David Turnbull (writing, programming) -- 'Andy R. (art: characters)' +- 'Andi R. (art: characters)' - 'Courtney Brendle (art: backgrounds, endings)' Date: October 2, 2019 Featured Tracks: @@ -2160,7 +2160,7 @@ Directory: pq-vol8 Contributors: - 'David Turnbull (writing: Tavros, programming)' - 'James Roach (writing: Aradia)' -- 'Andy R. (art: characters)' +- 'Andi R. (art: characters)' - 'Courtney Brendle (art: backgrounds, endings)' Date: December 5, 2019 Featured Tracks: @@ -2216,7 +2216,7 @@ Flash: The Call Of Leadership Directory: pq-vol12 Contributors: - Magdalena Clark (writing) -- 'Andy R. (art: characters)' +- 'Andi R. (art: characters)' - 'Gina Chacón (art: backgrounds, endings)' - Kohi (programming) Date: February 19, 2020 @@ -2256,6 +2256,431 @@ Featured Tracks: - Embittered Shore Flash: Just Go Ahead Now --- +Act: Beyond Canon +Directory: beyond-canon +Color: '#f2a400' +List Terminology: Flashes in this story +--- +Flash: '[S] (Vriska: Figure shit out yourself.)' +Directory: vriska-figure-shit-out-yourself +Date: June 26, 2024 +Featured Tracks: +- hell_tierwav +URLs: +- https://beyondcanon.com/story/653 +Commentary: |- + Miles, James Roach: ([Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/posts/06-2024-writer-108028072), excerpt) + + [[artist:miles|MILES:]] THE [S] PAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! + + God it felt good to get this out. We may have mentioned this somewhere, but originally, this was just going to be a series of (still very cool) gifs. But when we saw it all together, we thought “fuck it, let’s go for broke”. We wanted to measure our abilities, as it were, and [[artist:kim-quach|Kim]] blew this shit out of the water yet again. + + I could say so much more, but everyone probably wants me to shut up. So I will. I will shut up, for one topic, and then I will immediately start talking again. Other writers, take it away! + + [[artist:james-roach|JAMES:]] No you basically said it all there. The track uses a handful of other hyper-relevant themes. I want to say it was on purpose. I talked about some of the choices in other places, but for these short little cutscene style [S] pages I thought it would be cool to do some sound effects. Homestuck doesn’t have many. This was an issue that came up during hiveswap production all those years ago. We tried to do it homestuck style and for short ones like this it kind of just doesn’t work. Maybe we can find a balance. + + Also nobody ever tells you how inconvenient it is to type brackets all the time I’m going back to calling them flashes. + + Kim Quach, Chumi: ([Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/posts/06-2024-artist-107993576), excerpt) + + [[artist:kim-quach|Kim:]] The last thing we see of her until we see her get zucked into The Point…. R.I.P. Vriska you will be missed….. jk she’s fine (probably), but let’s get to talking about the animation! + + As some of you may have already heard, this particular page wasn’t initially going to be a whole sound page. Actually, the writer of this particular update, [[artist:miles]], said he originally envisioned this would be a short gif LOL. But the more I worked on boarding this particular sequence, the fancier it got. It felt appropriate that it’d be a little Epic and Mysterious. “What does this machine do?! What happened to Vriska?! What’s happening?!?!?” Need to build up that tension! + + + + Kim: I approached boarding this sequence like I would with any traditional storyboard for animation! Noting all the actions, the number of shots, the camera movements, etc. Usually I would make a rough animatic before I’d start animating, but considering this sequence utilized a mix of both After Effects and traditional hand-drawn animation– I put this together a bit more unorthodox. + + I did consider for a hot second hand animating the first four shots (like the sliding assets and the warping), because AE can kind of be hell to fiddle around with. But y’know what I realized. It was more hell to hand animate it LOL. + + What I HAD to hand-animate, though, was the actual Vriska warp as she’s flying into the portal, the sand in the timer, and the fire. If I hadn’t, any preset I could find only seemed odd looking… + + + + Kim: If it’s of any interest to y’all, fun fact, most of the assets and hand-animated sequences were done in Clip Studio Paint. Here’s a peek of how it looks behind the curtain! While I can’t speak for Andrew’s animation process– I think what may be an interesting tidbit for people outside of the animation field, usually in animation there’s a lot of extra bleed room outside of the camera! Some secret little things and details you don’t see in the final animation itself… 👁 + + Just kidding, there’s usually nothing exciting in there, (cos it’s always meant to be cut out anyway) but the extra bleed serves as fail-safe in case things need to be adjusted around or resized. Cool to know there’s a little more to it though, right? + + Looking at this screencap, not gonna lie, my file organization for this sequence is a little insane but I Made It Work LOL. + + + + [[artist:chumi|Chumi:]] AHHH + + Kim: Here’s the Vriska warp isolated without all the crazy camera transitions and whatnot. It happens a little fast though, doesn’t it? It’s okay, it’s supposed to happen very quickly, but you may have missed the funny little warped Vriska faces that briefly show just before she disappears LOL. Here’s the warp slowed down for your convenient observation. :-) + + + + Kim: “Wait a minute, wasn’t it a wider shot when Vriska was warped into the Point?” Good observation theoretical asker! I did a sneaky little camera trick actually! When the camera zooms outward, it happens very quickly that I swap the background out for the wide shot. + + + + Kim: It happens so seamlessly you don’t even notice it, right? Here it is again at 20% speed. 👀 + + + + Kim: Call that Movie Magic, babey….!!!! + + + + Kim: This is the only rough animation I still have for this whole sequence LOL. I’m still pretty proud of this shot tbh! The camera working upwards revealing the activating flame, the hourglass clicking into place, the focus shift onto “what will this timer do?” then the PSYCHE! mwah love it. + + Also, this entire shot was animated in CSP! When I first started animating in CSP, I always figured the animation function was pretty rudimentary, but when I found out you could do camera movements and sliding assets WITHIN the program….. It was a game changer. + + Making animations for Homestuck really is a dream come true! I’ll be getting back to you guys more on the next animation in the next part of this update, heheh. + + Chumi: Kim is the goat. Kim is the goat!!! +--- +Flash: '[S] {Vriska: Come to.}' +Directory: vriska-come-to +Date: July 6, 2024 +Featured Tracks: +- vrisbeachdreamy +URLs: +- https://beyondcanon.com/story/656 +Commentary: |- + Miles, James Roach: ([Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/posts/07-2024-writer-109375638), excerpt) + + [[artist:miles|MILES:]] Starting, of course, with ANOTHER [S] PAGE THAT DROPPED AT THE BEGINNING OF JULY!!!!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!!!! This was the final third of what, internally, was referred to as Update 10 (which contains everything from John and Vriska arriving at the meteor to Vriska meeting up with Davepeta in her hive). If we’re being fully honest, we forgot to pop this final third into last month’s Patreon commentary, LOL. So I’ll cover it here. + + It’s been so, so cool to see the multimedia aspect of Homestuck kick way the fuck back into gear. We get one crazy flash of the OUTSIDE of an esoteric singularity realm, now we get one of the INSIDE? Are you kidding me? Never let it be said that we don’t spoil you. + + + + MILES: Here, Vriska finds herself in a locale that is all-too-familiar, yet eerily different. This bit actually WAS conceived as an [S] page from the getgo, as we really wanted to sell the mysterious, haunting nature of this transition, and James and Kim did a fantastic job with the sight and soundscapes. I love the wistful, spacious vibe of it all. I also knew for sure that if we were going to find ourselves in yet another purgatorial, Silent Hill-type situation, those enigmatic Homestuck Horses were going to need to show up again, in all their spectral majesty. Horses, as you and Vriska well know, are extremely important staples of Homestuckian metaphysics. Something deep is afoot here. Or ahoof, I guess. + + [[artist:james-roach|JAMES:]] Miles this may please you to know, but everyone was like “wheres equius’s house? + + Kim Quach: ([Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/posts/06-2024-artist-107993576), excerpt) + + [[artist:kim-quach|Kim:]] AND NOW… It is onto the next flash animation! This one’s actually pretty short since there’s not as many moving parts compared to the last one. Since this one’s a bit more standard, I was able to put together a rough animatic for this one. That way, I can pass the rough animatic down to James, our musician, so he could figure out the audio timing. + + + + Kim: Ya like seeing the temporary assets I used for this? LOL + + + + Kim: I don’t usually do this kind of animation that often where it requires a lot more puppeteering, and splitting up parts to animate as separate assets.. Puppeteering I still consider a new type of animation (even though it’s not by now; I know, I know–!) I was trained in traditional paper animation and hand-drawn digital animation, but I’m fascinated by getting to know how new animation methods work (like Live2D, After Effects, and Adobe Animate) and using this as an opportunity to train myself in them! + + + + Kim: Kim: This shot of Vriska actually has a whole fullbody hiding in the bleed–! I wanted to lowkey reference this panel and type of Hero Mode style below for this shot in particular, since the poses were quite similar, hehe. + + + + + + Kim: After watching the final version of the flash, does looking behind the curtains of it feel like forbidden information to you guys? + + Also, what’s particularly interesting about this shot is that we’ve never actually seen the surrounding area around Vriska’s hive depicted before. 🤔 It almost feels cursed seeing it from this view… Something else seems to be missing too, hmmmm…!!! + + Bonus: If you stayed and watched ‘til the end of the flash…….. I applaud you. That’s it. LOL + + Last but not least, HUGE props and thanks to our technical staff, Kohi, for helping composite and put together these multimedia panels on the website. These animated sound pages wouldn’t be possible without Kohi’s help and expertise! +--- +Flash: '{S} Begin Session.' +Directory: hs2-begin-session +Date: July 23, 2024 +Featured Tracks: +- c1 +- c1end +- ch2 +- ch3 +- nana +- erisol +- scrA +- scrB +- 11-5a +- 11-6 +- vrisbeachdreamy +- terezi_vn +URLs: +- https://beyondcanon.com/story/666 +Commentary: |- + Miles, floralmarsupial, James Roach: ([Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/posts/07-2024-writer-109375638), excerpt) + + [[artist:miles|MILES:]] To Hell indeed. Welcome, O sinner, to Helltier. I feel like we’ve said welcome to hell a billion million squillion times in this document. Anyway, from here on out we’re getting into the VN section! HOLY fuck is it cool to see this actually real. + + [[artist:floralmarsupial|FLORAL]], Feelings Haver: So crazy that this thing is out and playable and not just a design document and a bunch of scripts. Seeing it all put together is so amazing, so grateful to the programmers!! + + [[artist:james-roach|JAMES:]] Yeah, damn. When We first envisioned this it was sort of just a daring dream. We didn’t even know if it was possible. + + + + JAMES: This stemmed from a somewhat unanimous desire to see talksprites again. I wanted to try something that felt familiar, but was something new. I wanted to try and push it just to see if it would be cool. And, you know what it kind of is! + + My section in this, (dubbed internally as part one, but is effectively just the prologue) is pretty brief. Looking back in the work chat, It seems kind of insane to me now that I could advise Floral about anything writing-wise, but early on she asked for my advice about word-count. + + + + JAMES: Bro really said “write less” + + FLORAL: This was good advice, it really forced me to focus on the essentials ( I still ended up writing a couple thousand words though TOT) + + MILES: I’m actually glad you did, though, because it reminded me NOT to do that for once with my part that’s coming down the line. For once, TEMPORARILY, Miles was able to remember to shut the fuck up... and also all the words you guys wrote are amazing. As a chronic over-expositor, I’m always pro-more-words. + + + + JAMES: This has sort of taken off as a whole thing, and part of me knew it might. I made a corny post on tumblr about it (the site where you go to make your corniest posts) and it's actually a little nuts how many people will come and explain Homestuck to me. I’ll admit that at first I didn’t care that much about Vriska, beyond the fact that she was an important character with a lot of nuance and plot relevance. Obviously that has changed. Once you are on the other side of things you can’t help but love these little freaks. + + Ok. Here is the most important thing about Vriska. She has made mistakes because she is a teenager and teenagers make mistakes and do things wrong. Yes. I know. She was trapped. She was doing what was required of her by society, by her monstrous mother, by her friends. She was groomed. She was abused. She felt like she didn’t have a choice, and admits later that she even felt bad about some of it in retrospect. She was doing things in-line with a kismet based relationship. She had a hard life, and did what she needed to do to survive. I’ve heard it all, and a lot of it is true. + + So. Taking that all into consideration... Did she do wrong things? Yeah man. Sometimes they were a product of her environment and sometimes they were just because she’s a little mean. The actions are still there. We are able to look at it from a third party perspective, but try telling one of the kids she fed to her mom that it wasn’t wrong of her to do that. Sometimes you do shit in order to make it to the next day that you aren’t proud of. It usually isn’t murders, but there you go. + + But, you know, look. Hey. Yeah. Me too, bud. That’s so much more relatable than a flat statement admonishing her of any mistakes. I hope this makes sense. If I’m being a little more blunt about it I'd ask “What, you can’t enjoy a character with flaws”? That’s weak as hell to me. I support women's rights and women’s wrongs. (the entire audience is going “oh here they go again”) + + Anyway, where you fall in the Vriska binary is up to you, but don’t talk to me about it unless you come at me with something a little stronger than “well, you see alternian society” dogg don’t cite the deep magics to me. + + MILES: Not to pop in at the end of all this with some fuck shit but maybe it’s good she did all that wrong. Maybe it was funny. + + + + JAMES: One of my favorite bits is having someone apologize for things the other person has no clue they did. The more ridiculous the better. I wanted it to seem like Vriska has been sitting there for hours apologizing for ridiculous things you know she isn’t really that sorry for. + + I don’t know if you’ve ever had this happen to you but I had a family member who would do this all the time. “Hey, sorry I told Juan Jr. you smelled like tears. You know. Cause you’re crying all the time. Cause you’re a baby. Cause you cry baby tears all the time. I’m sorry I said that.” bro I wasn’t even there I would have lived my entire life never knowing this and being totally fine now I’m worried I smell like tears? What does that even mean??? + + I wanted to give Vriska that energy. She is genuinely trying to make amends but at this points it's because she HAS to. She sort of can’t really help getting a few of these in there. + + + + JAMES: I love this bit of Vriska thinking, “Ah, that's the solution. I need to tell him he was right.” Especially because she just did this a few days ago from her perspective and it made Tavros so happy to hear it he did like three to four separate little dances. This breaks her. + + + + JAMES: I like this sequence because it shows a few things. Vriska tells Tavros she’s ignoring what he said to establish a sort of social dominance. She then graciously offers to follow Tavros’s advice, which she just claimed to be ignoring. She then basically just does what she wants anyway, steamrolling Tavros’s ideas in the process, but still manages to insult him by saying that his idea (which is actually just her idea that she’s framing as his) is actually really simple and stupid. She needs that. She needs it to be Tavros’s idea because there’s no way someone as clever as her would take this long to come up with such a simple idea. She then Immediately takes ownership of the idea back, by stating that it really was just that easy all along. Everything is easy for someone as strong and smart as her. Duh. She spends the next few lines then looking for affirmation from Tavros. It’s just that easy isn’t it? Isn’t it Tavros? It’s easy. Agree with me. + + FLORAL: I love the consecutive “oH, oK,” s, Tavros really is just along for the ride. + + JAMES: He’s kind of just happy to be included. + + + + FLORAL: I was trying to do a lot with these lines. It’s easy to assign Davepeta the ultimate therapist role and have them say all the right things BUT. + + I think one thing I find very funny about Davepeta being in this position is how Dave and Nepeta are both so actively different from Vriska, especially in how they handle other people. + + There is a dichotomy to Homestuck characters, are you the guy that will force your will onto the narrative or are you the guy to be acted upon by the narrative. People that externalize and people that internalize. It’s usually the latter that also forces their will onto other characters too. Wonder who that sounds familiar to? + + So for me, it was important to bring up this kind of insight which I feel could only be had between Davepeta and Vriska. Talking with someone you literally have no personal baggage with but you can’t relate to either. I’m super nitpicky about things like this because, to me, it makes the difference between two people talking a situation through and a protagonist talking to a “go this way” sign. + + + + FLORAL: AND YET AFTER ALL THAT the irony is that Davepeta does advise Vriska in exactly what she needed to hear! Alternia was a planet steeped in death but one thing Vriska (and Karkat and TEREZI to a degree) internalized that the other trolls may not have is that death is a losing state. Their whole self worth is tied to it. Everyone needs to prove they deserve to live. + + This idea of death existing outside of personal humiliation and failure is so outside of Vriska’s world view, no wonder she didn’t put two and two together. + + + + FLORAL: While writing, this was the version of Tavros I referenced the most, which is kind of hard because we only see him in one flashback but I really wanted to capture this whimsy he had before his life got kind of miserable. I also thought about how he approached his planets quests, dude likes the grind! He’s the type of kid that wants to stick as closely to the rules as possible because the rules are there to make things fun! This isn’t the Tavros that was paralyzed, or traumatized, or became a gollum reference. + + And that’s important, because again none of this is about saying sorry, or making amends, we’re here to deconstruct the root of the issue. + + + + FLORAL: One detail I haven’t seen anybody comment on but personally tickled me was the implication that not only has Vriska aged a couple years outside the Hell Chamber, but also spent substantial amounts of time inside of it too, just to have it all erased. It’s an Inception situation, which makes the fact she never once asked Tavros what he wanted to do soooooo funny to me. + + + + FLORAL: All Vriska does in Act 5 is try to get boys to win at some game, whether it’s SBURB or against Terezi. I think a lot of people see Vriska as some kind of sadist? But the reality is she cares very deeply for people, it’s not just about HER winning, it’s satisfying to her to see other people become stronger too. She just doesn’t grasp that her “end justifies the means” mentality isn’t universally recognized. There’s also nothing objective about her values either, but because they are based in survival they feel objective. + + Don’t you know how the world works Nitram? Don’t you know what’s waiting for you? + + + + FLORAL: It was fun finding ways to get Aradiabot to piss Vriska off, which we know is usually not caring enough. Vriska really is just so mad nobody gaf. That’s why the original Aradiabot beatdown was such a sense of catharsis for both of them. Vriska was just so happy to see Aradia CARE, that she wasn’t broken and unreachable forever. Facing indifference really makes some people feel truly powerless. + + It’s one thing I really appreciate about Vriska’s writing in the original HS, that she is desperate for connection even if it’s through violence. In a lot of ways, it feels like violence is the thing most comfortable to her. It’s insightful and true to a lot of peoples experiences. + + + + FLORAL: If there is a way for me to tie in aspects…. by god I’ll do it. Especially if it means highlighting my favorite part of the Time aspect, it’s theme’s surrounding death and decay. It’s a perfect contrast to Light, in a lot of ways. Light empowers it’s players, makes them believe they have the tools to control outcomes. But Time… that’s untouchable. It’s a constraint more than anything, an oppressive force, just like irl. The outcome is the same for everyone, and there’s no stopping that. It’s set. + + + + FLORAL: This part to me was one of the most important things to get across in this chapter, to really sell the nuance of this situation. It’s all about acceptance, and that acceptance had to be tested and followed through with. No guilting or being down on herself about being a trash hag, unable to change Aradiabot’s mind. + + I think one of the most important things when growing up is realizing it’s not some unbearable burden to be unliked by some people. It’s not proof you’re undeserving of people in your life or even that singular person hating you, it’s just a boundary. + + Thankfully… the boundary respecter is in the building now. + + JAMES: This really is such an important lesson to learn in your own life, you know? There are always gonna be people that don’t hate you but they just aren’t that interested in you in a meaningful way. You just gotta be ok with it. + + + + FLORAL: We got a good bit of catharsis at the end of a lot of hard truths! YAHOO! There is something foreboding too though, because while a lot of people consider getting better for other people, self improvement is pretty isolating. And doing something for yourself, is sometimes the hardest part of journey’s like this. + + JAMES: well thats all folks thanks for comin + + Kim Quach, James Roach, Andi R., Haven Daniels-Taylor, Chumi, floralmarsupial: ([Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/posts/07-2024-artist-109375739)) + + [[artist:kim-quach|Kim]], is running out of bits: IT IS TIME… THE HOMESTUCK VISUAL NOVEL!!! + + [[artist:james-roach|James]], Director: The first one ever. + + [[artist:andi-r|Andi]], the cursed warrior: It’s crazy how we have never made one before. + + [[artist:haven-daniels-taylor|Haven]], VN enjoyer: I, personally, enjoyed this so much. + + [[artist:chumi|Chumi]], sad that summer vacation is almost over: Hi everyone, thanks for tuning in! So, we got a whole month of Vriska! We got a lil bit of Tavros, lil’ bit of Aradia as well! Some Davepeta sprinkled in there, how exciting! Thank you for your support as we did something a bit new this time. 🙇 It’s great to see that so many people loved what we cooked up, the team is over the moon!! Anyway, let’s talk about it! + + Kim: The sprites for this section were delegated to different artists amongst the art team! Before we get into the actual sprite art of it though, we first all had to decide on a general style direction for the sprites to follow. As the Art Director and, of course, the artist of the sprites that’ll be recurring the most throughout the novel (Vriska’s!) I did several passes on how these sprites could have possibly looked like. + + + + Kim: The style took several different turns until we arrived at the one closer you see in the game itself! We wanted something that felt evolved but reminiscent of the previous Homestuck talksprites. Something not too anime cutesy, but still felt familiar to the comic’s style–something balanced between Guardian mode yet that classic Homestuck cartooniness. Looking at the final sprites, you can tell we were all really drawn to Homestuck’s classic bug-eyed-ness too LOL. Another particular stylistic detail that I’m particularly fond of is that pixel “scratchiness” and ink-like feel of the pen tool, keeping the sprites a little “sketchy” and not too tight. + + + + Kim: As you can see from the prior sketches we opted for a more neutral and universal pose so that we could economically make other expression variants! I initially was thinking of referencing her old Alterniabound sprite, but Vriska being thrown into this hell hole is a bit more miffed than she is her usual sassier self. + + There was also an alt expression of her smiling in her god tier outfit too, but I suppose it didn’t make it into the final cut! You guys can have it here as a bonus LOL. + + + + Kim: Enjoy these other unique poses! + + + + [[artist:floralmarsupial|Floral]], doesn't usually go here: This was the first update I was able to do some real art on (outside of my silly little thumbnails) and I decided to take on Tavros for the talksprites. + + + + Floral: Going into it, I wanted his talksprite to capture a small part of the Alterniabound sprite charm while falling in line with our style sensibilities. I put some brain power into it, and the baby head with far apart eyes ended up being key to the whole thing. + + Andi: AHHHH these Tavros’ WERE SOOOO ADORABLE. They completely captured his vibes.I think Floral absolutely nailed the alterniabound essence. Thank you for bringing him back to us… + + Chumi: TAVROS IS SO CUTE I am obsessed. + + Haven: So perfect lovely baby boy. + + Chumi: I did a few of the featured CG’s, mainly the Tavros vs. Vriska ones. They were all quite easy to do since they were essentially redraws of already existing assets. A few edits and voila!! Throw ‘em into the game guys!! + + James: Chumi is like an expert at panel edits at this point. I keep asking her to do them. + + + + + + Chumi: Of course, these are references to the Eridan vs Kanaya fight. When drawing Tavros, I was looking up a lot of javelin-throwing pictures and thinking “Man this kid must be strong as hell to throw a lance one-handed” LMAO. + + Kim: Tavros is actually the strongest beta troll right behind Equius (this is a lie). + + Andi: This scene really hits right for me and feels totally like Vriska to do this. I think Chumi did amazing capturing the simplicity of the nostalgic part of the style and also Tavro’s lancing pose. It’s got a nice line of action! + + Floral: The shapes Chumi uses in this silhouette are so chef kiss!! I just love how they read right after the other, the motion is so clear. + + + + Chumi: This CG is an edit of Vriska dying on LOMAP before going God Tier. Her expression was changed so she’s smiling because this “skewering-before-falling-off-a-cliff’ was her plan all along! Too bad it didn't work out as she hoped. + + James: I didn’t ask you to make her smile, you did that on your own and it worked out great. + + Kim: The smile is actually such a funny and interesting addition to this because at this point of time you can see how self-assured she is about this Whole Deal when she couldn’t be more far off LOL. It’s like Aradiabot said… you’re not here for “redemption,” Vriska, you’re here to grow up!!! + + Andi: think making her smile triumphantly is the right move. When she does things her way, of course it's going to feel right to her. But in this case, she literally made things last ten times longer than it needed to be. She’s going to have to learn her lessons for as long as it takes. + + Kim: And this brings us onto part TWO!!!! (Or is this technically Chapter 1 since the first bit is technically the Prologue? Whatever, ANYWAY–) + + + + Year 2 Vriska Concept Art by Kim Quach + + Kim: It’s now been two years since Vriska has been tromping around this hell space… We wanted to show she’s kind of gotten a little “comfortable” being stuck around here. Or rather, just kind of given into the fact this wasn’t gonna be an easy in-and-out situation as she thought it was going to be and has probably gotten tired of wearing her god tier garb. She’s got her hair tied up, jacket tied around her waist– yeah, she’s gonna be here a long time. + + + + Kim: And it looks like she’s not all jazzed about that either LMFAO. + + I also wanna take a moment to highlight my favorite sprite I did for this chapter– Vriska’s “Mind Control” sprite! + + Chumi: The second and third sprites are so expressive and funny… Girl you are stuck in hell!!!! + + + + Kim: I’m a little sad a good chunk of it gets cut off by the edge within the game because I love the motion her ponytail adds to this sprite, but you guys can appreciate it in full here LOL. + + Floral: Everything about this design really is so so good and when I saw this sprite for the first time I went full on heart eyes. The way you can feel her trying to laugh it off and struggle with whether or not to use her powers. It all comes through so clearly! + + + + + Haven: I got to do the backgrounds for Vriska’s first two stages. I gave them both black outlines to lend a bit of a video game-like feel to them. + + Kim: I’m such a big fan of these backgrounds too. Haven has such a good grasp of volume and the 3D form, I can literally imagine turning these maps around in my mind. I’d honestly be convinced if these WERE video game backgrounds. + + Floral: I’m always impressed by Haven’s work and these backgrounds are so awesome, there’s a real coherency to them if that makes sense? Everything works in harmony from the colors to the forms and I love looking at them! + + + + + Haven: I also got to do Aradiabot sprites! Here’s my initial sketches + + + + Haven: And the final sprites themselves. + + Kim: The bit of pixel dithering on the metal was such a nice touch for these sprites too (chef’s kiss) MAGNIFICO. + + Floral: Actually gasped when I saw these for the first time like SHEEEESH so good. + + + + + Andi: This drawing was especially sentimental for me to draw. Make Her Pay feels so sooooo far away, yet Vriska finds herself in this position again, with her fated frenemy. This holds the essence of when Aradiabot socked her in the face, but instead of violence, she holds out her hand to escort Vriska to the next phase. + + Floral: Amazing! + + + + Andi: Funnily enough, this staging actually wasn’t intentional when I first drew it in the sketch phase. It was a coincidence that it was so reminiscent of this scene. But still, I think sometimes we artists have a visual library we can pull from and I think I was subconsciously remembering this as I was drawing it. I fully leaned into it once the drawing was almost finished. I think it’s a very poetic visual. These are Vriska’s core memories and I think reliving them the way she has to is very important. + + Kim: I’m honestly so glad you leaned into the visual callback of it… Taking this moment that was once (of many) a brutal moment of Vriska’s life, but this time it is now a moment of kindness… an extending open hand instead of a tightened fist. IT’S POETIC!! IT’S BEAUTIFUL!!! + + + + Floral: Enter the questcoon! I was trying to not be too precious with this background since I could the structure of it would drive me fucking crazy if I did. So instead I picked a picture of a domed amphitheater and layered rock textures on top of each other over and over again to get something that felt naturally chaotic. + + + + + + Chumi: Gettin’ a lil’ emotion just looking at these CGs again. It’s a really tender moment. + + Andi: Floral coordinated this scene for this in text and I followed through with this. This also re-uses some parts of previous old HS1 panels. I wanted to emphasize the weight of this scene and how extremely sentimental and emotional this situation is for her by having Tavros and Aradia lie her down gently on the slab that was probably the most physically traumatic place to bleed to death in the past. A bit of grace while Vriska truly understands her actions. Just a phenomenal moving scene, written by Floral. + + Kim: I love the gentleness of this scene… Every time I look at these CGs and especially seeing it all together in the game itself makes me tear up every time. This is such a subtle acting detail but the way Aradia even gently helps Vriska lay her head down… something as small as Aradia not wanting Vriska to hurt her head on the rock flooring because she CARES!!! AUGH!!!! + + Floral: Andi once again absolutely delivered with these CGs and completely sold the scene from the gentle warmth coming off the rocks and all the facial expressions and EVERYTHING. + + + + Floral: And to kick off the end of chapter 2, we are bringing back echeladders YAHOOO!! I was in charge of the UI assets and surprisingly this one took the longest. There’s something about these pages that capture a certain vibe and I was really hoping to make people feel nostalgic for it. + + We created a “Hell Tier Puns” document between everyone to try and accumulate enough titles, “Dante Basco’s Inferno” in particular getting a good giggle out of me. “8oundary Respecter” of course was the perfect tier to end for this section. + + + + Kim: We even made a new little sprite for Year 2 Vriska just for the echeladder LOL. + + Floral: What other titles can we expect to come? What is going on with this candle? How many of these damn things are we gonna see??? + + Andi: And now….. DAVEPETA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! + + + + Chumi: Davepeta… We are winning!!! + + Andi: I remember when we were beginning assignments for the sprites, I immediately volunteered to do Davepeta. They’re one of my favorite sprites and I was very grateful they let me. + + Floral: Makes me go uuuwaaaaaaa at the roleplaying and cutesy ones in particular. + + Kim: We couldn’t have asked a better person to do the Davepeta sprites… literally SO cute. Big fan of the >3< sprite. Nya nya… Maybe Homestuck can afford to be a little moe. + + Andi: It was really fun to try to capture their mannerisms as stoicism isn’t the only defining trait here anymore! (Considering most people see Davepeta as Davesprite with a sprinkle of Nepeta.) But no! Nepeta is just as much in the front as Davesprite is! I wanted to show more of Nepetas' quirks here, her cute expressions and charms. Especially her role playing habits seeping through unapologetically. + + Also, man, I was worried about how Davepetas wings would manage to fit in the scene but I think it's okay if they're a little obscured. Most people went ahead and ripped them and saw it all anyway. Thanks for enjoying the sprites guys! It did make me happy to see our hard work paid off!! You may see a few new unique sprites or two coming soon. Look out for it :3 +--- Side: Fan Adventures Color: '#c466ff' List Terminology: Flashes in this story