MS Paint Adventures VIII: H8ers Gonna H8

[Hytheter]

A good hit that took away almost all of Dog Jack's health.

Do you mean here? http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=007258

I think you're reading the health bar wrong. The white portion is health lost, not health remaining; so Jack has only lost a tiny fraction of his health, nowhere near "almost all". The grey portion, where the vial is still inside the gel, is Jack's remaining health.
You can see what I'm talking about in this early flash: http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=002297
When someone gets hit, the vial is pushed further out of the gel until it gets pushed all the way out (which is death). That's why when they level up their "gel viscosity" increases - a more viscous gel holds onto the vial better so it's harder to eject.
edit: You can see what "almost no health" looks like in this flash: http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=002743

So yeah, John barely did any damage with his attack, and that was using a sucker punch that Jack probably won't fall for again. It's also worth noting that, iirc, Jack can't teleport in the furthest ring, but he can in sessions - so he'll be much more capable when he arrives than he was when John fought him.

[Shogo]

Oh . . . **** . . . Well then, I stand corrected.

I'm so used to health bars emptying from right to left that I always just kind of assumed that John was dominating in that battle.

Well . . . I guess it's still going right to left . . . Just in a different way.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Potato.

Spoiler

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Jaspersprite is the best.
Vriska <3 Arquiusprite seems to be more and more a thing.
Also poor Jake. :C

[Aquillion]

I am pretty sure Vriska is underestimating Spades Slick + the Felt. Slick is a lot sharper than he seems (he beat the Felt when they were on opposite sides without using any special powers of his own), and with all their time powers, the Felt is really nasty when under competent leadership. Cans alone is incredibly dangerous, since God Tier immortality doesn't protect you from being punched into next week and effectively removed from the fight.

[Zejety]

Spoiler

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I wonder if Karkat and Kanaya will return to frog duty?

[Squark]

I am pretty sure Vriska is underestimating Spades Slick + the Felt. Slick is a lot sharper than he seems (he beat the Felt when they were on opposite sides without using any special powers of his own), and with all their time powers, the Felt is really nasty when under competent leadership. Cans alone is incredibly dangerous, since God Tier immortality doesn't protect you from being punched into next week and effectively removed from the fight.

Well, yeah. Like Dejurin said, I'd be surprised if anything goes according to plan. Vriska's dialogue is so laden with ironic foreshadowing, it's painful. There might be a few red herrings in there (Grandma English's ashes never took a tumble to my knowledge), but in general, characters saying something is never going to happen in this comic is a sure way to make that happen.

[Devils_Advocate]

Spoiler: Speculation

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I think that what Vriska may be heading off to do soon is to ensure Lord English's origin, much like what she did with Dog Jack.

But not because she's working for him, but because that's stuff that has to happen. E.g. Doc Scratch bamboozled Rose and co. into creating the Green Sun, which I think might be necessary for universes to exist or something? Basically, John's retconning could eliminate all life from existence if it leads to certain crucial events not happening, so it's pretty important for someone to ensure that that doesn't happen. Or doesn't not happen. Hopefully you get what I'm saying.

Hence Gamzee's "plot armor".

Shipping aside, Vriska made it clear from the start that she really likes Arquius.

Spoiler: Dialoglog

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VRISKA: Then, I made Arquiusprite happen 8ecause, first of all, he's a national ****ing treasure.
VRISKA: Literally everything he says is perfect and hilarious, and if I hear a single word to the contrary from the peanut gallery, the mother****er with a 8eef rockets to the top of my **** list. So please, I enthusiastically invite one of you no-taste mouth 8reathers to talk smack a8out the A-man. Make my day!

VRISKA: No8ody's allowed to interrupt me when I'm talking up Arquiusprite! That's the rule.

She could be kidding, but I honestly doubt it. I don't see any Homestuck character who isn't a Strider being that committed to a pointless joke, unless you count Andrew Hussie himself. (The Striders' sense of humor is pretty nearly exactly Hussie's sense of humor, I think.)

In looking through the archives, I also found a diagram of the individuals who presumably are "still" converging on the Medium post-retcon.

Confirmed! Well, that clears that up. It's convenient how a bunch of stuff is the same as we already saw.

Cans alone is incredibly dangerous, since God Tier immortality doesn't protect you from being punched into next week and effectively removed from the fight.

Eh, just requires a time traveler to retrieve you. Possibly with guidance from a Seer to get to the right time? It's not completely irreversible in the short term, anyway, is my point. Just needs the attention of the right person, like how Jane is needed to reverse Heroic deaths. Less of a threat than those, really, if she can only resurrect each individual once.

[Great equalizer]

Why don't they get Tavros to "commune" Bec Noir? He already did it with Bec once.

[mythmonster2]

Why don't they get Tavros to "commune" Bec Noir? He already did it with Bec once.

It is Vriska making these assignments; she probably doesn't have enough confidence in his ability to do it.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Why don't they get Tavros to "commune" Bec Noir? He already did it with Bec once.

I also think that if it comes to it, the Condensce can "overpower" the other troll's mindwhammies.

[guttering flame]

Potato.

Spoiler

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Jaspersprite is the best.
Vriska <3 Arquiusprite seems to be more and more a thing.
Also poor Jake. :C

Could this be the real reason Vriska won't spriterect Nepeta and Feferi? She wants to be Arquiusprite's matesprit / moirail and fears the competition?

[GorinichSerpant]

Could this be the real reason Vriska won't spriterect Nepeta and Feferi? She wants to be Arquiusprite's matesprit / moirail and fears the competition?

This idea amuses me.

[Calemyr]

The whole Vriska <3 Arquisprite makes a lot of sense, actually. The AutoResponder basically fills in all the gaps in Equius's personality: charm, self control, sense of humor... On his own, Equius is much like Tavros: someone Vriska finds noteworthy, but with personality "flaws" that really grate on her. She tried, several times, to "fix" Tavros into becoming what she desired, because I think she believed he could achieve it, but got increasingly hostile about it when Tavros would prefer to take the easy way rather than rise to the occasion. For the most part, she didn't have that kind of expectation of Equius, seeing him as dull and creepy and just using him whenever the need arose. ARquiusprite is everything Vriska liked about Equius, but also none of what she disliked. She finally was able to construct the ideal matesprit out of one of the two imperfect options she had on hand.

[Tectonic Robot]

The whole Vriska <3 Arquisprite makes a lot of sense, actually. The AutoResponder basically fills in all the gaps in Equius's personality: charm, self control, sense of humor... On his own, Equius is much like Tavros: someone Vriska finds noteworthy, but with personality "flaws" that really grate on her. She tried, several times, to "fix" Tavros into becoming what she desired, because I think she believed he could achieve it, but got increasingly hostile about it when Tavros would prefer to take the easy way rather than rise to the occasion. For the most part, she didn't have that kind of expectation of Equius, seeing him as dull and creepy and just using him whenever the need arose. ARquiusprite is everything Vriska liked about Equius, but also none of what she disliked. She finally was able to construct the ideal matesprit out of one of the two imperfect options she had on hand.

But Arquissprite is also kind of a snot.

[GalateasGallows]

But unfortunately, Arquiusprite has repeatedly signalled disinterest in Vriska, right? Like, "Thank you for the STRONG endhorsement, lowblood slash person I've never heard of and don't care about". So would she even want a matesprit that isn't interested?

[Calemyr]

But unfortunately, Arquiusprite has repeatedly signalled disinterest in Vriska, right? Like, "Thank you for the STRONG endhorsement, lowblood slash person I've never heard of and don't care about". So would she even want a matesprit that isn't interested?

She is effectively 16, isn't she? Isn't being attracted to someone who isn't attracted to you the general definition of being 16?

[Sigh]

At the very least we can presume that her OTP is NOT Ghost!Vriska/Ghost!Meenah.

[Derjuin]

Spoiler: Poe tay toe

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Sick gun, Vriska. Crockercorp tech, though...

I love that John's dad's wallet was "just a regular wallet". Now they have the much superior option, the 8-ball-et!

I can only wonder what she's going to try to do to her ghost. It doesn't sound good either way.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Spoiler: Taters

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See, I much prefer Vriska's ghost to the current Vriska because she's actually had some goddamn character development!

But hey, I'm an optimist. Maybe I'll get to see Caliborn curb-stomp her just a little.

Vriska really needs a crushing defeat from someone she underestimates so that she can mature a little.

[Squark]

Sick gun, Vriska. Crockercorp tech, though...

It's Jane's. She used it in the one-flash act.


EDIT: Whoops, no, it's Roxy's

[Draconi Redfir]

Honestly i think Karkat should have been assigned to Spade Slick due to their past relaitionship, it's POSSIBLE, not terribly likely, that SPades would reccognise him and calm down a bit since they were reasonably close. idk though.

[Calemyr]

Honestly i think Karkat should have been assigned to Spade Slick due to their past relaitionship, it's POSSIBLE, not terribly likely, that SPades would reccognise him and calm down a bit since they were reasonably close. idk though.

Didn't Spades comment that he never really liked the kid at the start of Hivebent? Of course, that event still gives me a headache: Boxcars and Droog both acted as exiles, but when Spades stepped into his role as exile the other three were dead.

I guess you could say that Karkat is likely the person he has the least compulsion to kill, other than a specific subset of carapicians.

[Draconi Redfir]

Didn't Spades comment that he never really liked the kid at the start of Hivebent? Of course, that event still gives me a headache: Boxcars and Droog both acted as exiles, but when Spades stepped into his role as exile the other three were dead.

I guess you could say that Karkat is likely the person he has the least compulsion to kill, other than a specific subset of carapicians.

I kinda got the impression that the end of the intermission wasn't the first time Spades had acted as exile towards Karkat. i could be wroung though. who knows?

[Draconi Redfir]

I am pretty sure Vriska is underestimating Spades Slick + the Felt. Slick is a lot sharper than he seems (he beat the Felt when they were on opposite sides without using any special powers of his own), and with all their time powers, the Felt is really nasty when under competent leadership. Cans alone is incredibly dangerous, since God Tier immortality doesn't protect you from being punched into next week and effectively removed from the fight.

Wait, Slick really DOES have the felt on his side? When did this happen? from what i recall he killed them all, then got cyborgified, then escaped english's wrath when hussie was gunned down... admittedly i have no idea how he got from that lake to the medium again. the whole felt think was kinda boring and uninteresting to me.

Spoiler: Taters

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See, I much prefer Vriska's ghost to the current Vriska because she's actually had some goddamn character development!

But hey, I'm an optimist. Maybe I'll get to see Caliborn curb-stomp her just a little.

Vriska really needs a crushing defeat from someone she underestimates so that she can mature a little.

Now you see, this is something that always confused me. Why does a matter so much that a character change and develop? Vriska already has a pretty strong and interesting personality as it is, i honestly don't see any reason to change it. Hell, with a story going as long as Homestuck is i'd argue that too MUCH charactger development could be a BAD thing, like... the characters would be nothing like anything they were before, hell i can see this with Rose even now, i honest to god can not see any simmilarities between the Rose we have now, and the Rose we were first introduced too, it feels like one just spontainiously vanished and the other appeared, like they aren't even the same person!

If a character has a strong and interesting personality already, then i leginimately don't see the need for them to change at all. If you have a sniveling crybaby character then sure, make him a badass. but if a character is ALREADY a badass, i don't see why you'd want to make him a sniveling crybaby.

[Aquillion]

Wait, Slick really DOES have the felt on his side? When did this happen? from what i recall he killed them all, then got cyborgified, then escaped english's wrath when hussie was gunned down... admittedly i have no idea how he got from that lake to the medium again. the whole felt think was kinda boring and uninteresting to me.

He brought them back to life by pulling all their pins from the juju doll and then used Lord English's cuestaff to convince them that he was in charge.

[Derjuin]

He brought them back to life by pulling all their pins from the juju doll and then used Lord English's cuestaff to convince them that he was in charge.

And then stuffed them in an oven, turned them into a nonsensical playing card, and took a spin in the idiot wagon through infinite oblivion with some giant octopus things.

I love this story.

[Aquillion]

And then stuffed them in an oven, turned them into a nonsensical playing card, and took a spin in the idiot wagon through infinite oblivion with some giant octopus things.

I love this story.

Alternatively:

ARGH. I HATE THE THINGS I'M FORCED TO SAY. AND ACKNOWLEDGE AS REAL. BECAUSE OF YOU.

[Shadow of the Sun]

If a character has a strong and interesting personality already, then i leginimately don't see the need for them to change at all. If you have a sniveling crybaby character then sure, make him a badass. but if a character is ALREADY a badass, i don't see why you'd want to make him a sniveling crybaby.

See, the difference between you and me is the follows: in my opinion, Vriska is not, and never has been, a badass. She's done awesome things (arguably), but her character is such that she has never been badass, in my view.

[Draconi Redfir]

i never said she was, that was merely an example. i was saying that she had a strong and well defined character. Egotistical, indipentant, in-your-face, "do it my way or you're doing it wrong", snarky, leadership qualities, etc. if you already have a strong character then there isn't a lot of need to change it unless the story demands it. and if the story demands it, well, then you get cases like Rose, where you're not really talking about the same character any more.

[Murk]

In general, I agree. This obsession with "character development" some people have is unnecessary. A good character doesn't necessarily have to change. Exploring how this character deals with new situations can be more than enough.

However, in Vriska's case I want character development because it would be so very satisfying to have her say "damn, I was a terrible person before". And then again. And then have her say it a few times more.