Homesuck: Vriska Rising

[Archbio]

Your last check bounced.

[Krylo]

Originally Posted by Fifthfiend

Yes Krylo I am clearly obligated to agree with one fictional character's views of another fictional character based on that fictional character's fictional credentials.

I mean Hermione says right there on the page that Harry Potter is the best and most excellent of wizards.

There's really nothing to say here except that you've effectively failed reading comprehension 101.

When an author introduces a character as an expert of a certain thing, goes on to put them in a position to be MORE RIGHT about a specific facet of that certain thing, goes on further to give them supernatural powers enabling them to be right about that thing, and then has them tell you something straight up about that thing, that's a narrative device.

It's a way for the author to tell us something without the author literally writing a footnote on the bottom of the page.

When they then go ahead and back up what that character said with more evidence from other characters, we can be pretty certain that the author is telling us this thing.

Unless you want to go all death of the author on this, you are wrong.

Completely, irrevocably, and unquestionably wrong. There is no middle ground here. There is no gray area.

Hussie has gone out of his way with Terezi, with Vriska, with Vriska's actual actions, to show that she is broken in this specific manner. Hell, I'm pretty sure he's even said it in his formspring.

If you disagree with the author on what drives a character, then you are, simply, wrong.

[Loyal]

Originally Posted by Archbio

Equius dying in a way that was set up exactly by the very first thing we read about him is justified by being a "joke character?" They're all joke characters! The trolls in general not having character development is justified because "not working emotionally through the game" is the theme of their part of the story? Then why spend I don't know how many pages writing about their sorry asses?

Vriska's grotesque way of absolving herself of guilt by just being evil again is one step up from "troll society" because guilt is alien to them? How aliens have the trolls been written, really? And what's with the mass of (onscreen) non-murderous troll that are now serving as (literal) fodder to the star murderers? Why are any of them surprised/horrified at murders if this is a troll thing?

Yeah, the matter of troll society is one of the things that bug me most persistently. Between the casual murder, morbidly high casualty rate for the flimsiest of reasons, and the trolls being in a constant state of war with everything, I have difficulty buying the idea that the troll society, as written, would accomplish anything but an exceptionally bloody and self-destructive end if they actually did function as written. At best, they sure as hell wouldn't be able to advance to the level of space-faring planet-raiders.

[Art of Hilt]

Originally Posted by Archbio

You know, I don't have any specific hate on for Vriska, but while I haven't been able to read the updates that you're all commenting on yet (the site seems to be down for me,)

It's down for everyone while Hussie is switching hosts.
Someone managed to save the update and the pesterlogs in image form before the site went down... somehow. No idea how. But. Yeah.

Here you go until the site comes back up:

One
Two
Three
Four/Final update

e- rereading the updates it's clear that john is some kind of fucking priest
just look at the reception going on over there jesus fuck

[Fifthfiend]

Originally Posted by Krylo

There's really nothing to say here except that you've effectively failed reading comprehension 101.

When an author introduces a character as an expert of a certain thing, goes on to put them in a position to be MORE RIGHT about a specific facet of that certain thing, goes on further to give them supernatural powers enabling them to be right about that thing, and then has them tell you something straight up about that thing, that's a narrative device.

It's a way for the author to tell us something without the author literally writing a footnote on the bottom of the page.

When they then go ahead and back up what that character said with more evidence from other characters, we can be pretty certain that the author is telling us this thing.

Unless you want to go all death of the author on this, you are wrong.

Completely, irrevocably, and unquestionably wrong. There is no middle ground here. There is no gray area.

Hussie has gone out of his way with Terezi, with Vriska, with Vriska's actual actions, to show that she is broken in this specific manner. Hell, I'm pretty sure he's even said it in his formspring.

If you disagree with the author on what drives a character, then you are, simply, wrong.

Yes Krylo I do in fact disagree with the author that his interpretation of this character's actions and motivations fits how he has portrayed them, congratulations on finally understanding what I have been saying this entire time.

If you're going to now maintain that this is inherently wrong and that there is no possible interpretation of characters in a story besides that of the author then have fun being ridiculous I guess.

[Specterbane]

Originally Posted by Fifthfiend

Yes Krylo I do in fact disagree with the author that his interpretation of this character's actions and motivations fits how he has portrayed them, congratulations on finally understanding what I have been saying this entire time.

If you're going to now maintain that this is inherently wrong and that there is no possible interpretation of characters in a story besides that of the author then have fun being ridiculous I guess.

Are you trying to say that characters have a life of their own beyond the compression of the one who created them and manages their actions?

[Krylo]

Originally Posted by Fifthfiend

Yes Krylo I do in fact disagree with the author that his interpretation of this character's actions and motivations fits how he has portrayed them, congratulations on finally understanding what I have been saying this entire time.

If you're going to now maintain that this is inherently wrong and that there is no possible interpretation of characters in a story besides that of the author then have fun being ridiculous I guess.

Originally Posted by Specterbane

Are you trying to say that characters have a life of their own beyond the compression of the one who created them and manages their actions?

Basically this.

You can say that the author has poorly written their character to underscore their motivations, but fictional characters are, hey, fictional. They don't have any motivations that the author doesn't put into them.

You're arguing not that she is sociopathic, but that Hussie is a poor character writer, which, welp. Whatever, man. Just stop saying stupid things, then.

OR you somehow believe that fictional characters are living breathing beings that exist in their own special dimension of magic and trolls or something. In which case... well. Have fun being insane, I guess.

[Kim]

Vriska isn't sociopathic, because sociopathy is a specific kind of mental disorder, though many like to equate basically being an awful person with sociopathy. However, I'm kinda meh about Vriska's "humanization" during this bit, and I've never really liked her Aizen moments either. Vriska is at her most enjoyable, for me, when she's stabbing Tavros after the whole "gonna get yer legs" gesture, or stuff like that. Stuff that I can laugh at because it's awful.

I'm concerned that Hussie's basically rolling like Kojima with Vriska right now, characterizing her more in depth so that it'll be SO SAD when she dies, which I fully expect to happen in the near future. We'll see.

[Geminex]

Guys, when you're arguing about Vriska then HUSSIE HAS WON.

To be a bit ~bothsidez~-ey, I agree with Krylo that the picture we now have of Vriska fits pretty well. I guess you could say that the development was clumsily done, what with taking place in just one 3-panel chat, but it's not the first time Homestuck has done that, so I think it works.

On the other hand, eh. Fictional character, I really don't mind how Fifth interprets her, or how he receives the development Hussie's been doing/shoving down her throat.

I do think we should not be arguing about fictional internet trolls.

[Loyal]

Originally Posted by Specterbane

Are you trying to say that characters have a life of their own beyond the compression of the one who created them and manages their actions?

I believe he's saying that the way an author intends for something to develop isn't necessarily the way that development will actually happen, or more specifically how it will come across to the readers.

It's hardly a new phenomenon. Take FFTA, for instance. Who're we supposed to be rooting for again?

Also, characters (well-written ones anyway) totally should have a "life of their own," in that they react to the setting they're in rather than what the author says they should be doing.

Guys, when you're arguing about Vriska then HUSSIE HAS WON.

Don't. Just. Don't.