Homestuck Vol.8 - 25 Bargaining with the Beast

[@koopakape]

Man I'm really sad we barely got to see any of the denizens, or learn much about them, that seemed to be one of the coolest and most endgamey parts of sburb. *spoiler* I'm especially disappointed John never got to beat his up for killing him in another timeline, though I guess he ended up completing his quest which was good enough :P

[@DrakarusBonehelm]

Well, the thing about the denizens is that, while their overarching concept is the same, and every player of a specific aspect will have the same denizen, unless it's overridden by Yaldaboath instead, they vary greatly between session so it doesn't really matter. All we found out was 1, every player has one. 2, they speak in monster gibberish that only players of their associated aspect can comprehend. 3, they are associated with their namesakes in mythology. 4, they are responsible for, and the only solution to, they player's planet's "issue", whatever it may be (Oil everywhere, no life in the sea, a cold forge or whatever the hell LoHaC's problem was) 5, they must be defeated to reach the battlefield under normal circumstances. 6, game sessions usually synchronize players nearing the denizen encounter with the start of the reckoning. Frankly, there's not alot we don't know about them. We just never got to see them all that often because they were suppose to be these mysterious overseers/demigod boss monsters. Though, yes, I'd like to have gotten more info about them... Specifically what the heart aspect's denizen is, as that my aspect and I doubt I'm badass enough to earn Yaldaboath.

[@karkatvantas9557]

Denizen =/= Aspect, as proven by Aranea whose denizen is Echidna, supposedly the Space denizen.

[@DrakarusBonehelm]

Karkat Vantas Correct, however, that is framed by the overwhelming evidence supporting Aspect = Denizen. AKA, it may not even factor into this topic. I'm not entirely sure why Aranea had Echidna, but it was probably for some greater reason than simply throwing a wrench in this exact topic. I suspect that Echidna, much like Yaldaboath, will override the denizens of other players who are destined for some greater, likely game breaking, future. IE Aranea causing a catastrophic end to the alpha timeline, requiring John to play causal surgeon with the Terezi-scarf-guide-to-fixing-shit. For instance, if Jade wasn't meant to have Echidna through her aspect, but still get Bec's powers, she'd likely get Echidna anyway due to her game breaking potential. The reason why John didn't get Echidna is probably because their session had a space player, which likely trumps Echidna's override option, forcing her to take Jade rather than John, in spite of Johns absolutely ridiculous abilities. long story short, I'm certain that Aspect = Denizen, and that Aranea was just a special exclusion for whatever reason.

[@crystallineAurora]

That and also John's power seems to be also belonging to Typheus/Typhon (i don't remember which), because Typhon told him in his riddle filled way how to use the retcon thing in the first place.

[@DrakarusBonehelm]

Stefan Reimann But after Terezi's magic scarf quest, Jhon saved Vriska, meaning he lost those powers. He even mentions it a while after he KO's her that he'll need to be careful again.

[@Alanthos17]

"Hello, Echidna." "I've been waiting for you, dear."

[@EJ-ns7qi]

Okay but can we just take a moment to appreciate how amazing this art is

[@Tinytetochan]

This reminds me of something studio Ghibli would pull off, the look of the whole thing. Hats off to the artist

[@twoeleven7840]

> Echidna: Retrieve arms from *chest* :P It works even better.

[@nodoby6943]

Wow Echidna is even more majestic looking than I had imagined her to be.

[@Mnemofyre]

For some reason, when I look at this image, it makes me think of Fantasia. Which is interesting, given Echidna is the wife of John's denizen, and together John and Jade could potentially use one of the most powerful Fraymotifs available, being, "Fantasia's Inhale"

[@TaiWind]

oh god now I can't stop reading it as "Bargaining with the Breast"

[@endernightblade1958]

Jegus fuck no

[@777CrimsonChaos]

Actually, the trophy in grandpa's basement was stated to be a Typheus minion during some point of the story, I believe when John's trying to get Jade into the Medium. But yes, the Denizens apparently share appearances with the browser icons. It also seems they're connected to certain role aspects. Ex: Jade and Kanaya are of Space and share Echidna and Rose and Vriska are of Light and share Cetus.

[@YatoCalamity]

Wow, I want this picture in my room. Because that ''Monster'' sure does not look evil. She/it looks gorgeous.

[@xander2175]

*sees fanart* THAT'S Echidna?

[@melon4735]

Yes. We've already seen Echidna a few times.

[@xander2175]

well yeah in statues...

[@melon4735]

No, I think we've seen a glimpse or two. But, I dunno.

[@nightweaver6456]

if you look at the browsers the players use you can see them :P

[@raezad]

i think you can deadass see it when doomed timeline calliope talks to jane

[@supercola3405]

And finally Rose's Denizen, her's comes form LOLAR. The planet is engulfed in water.Cetus appearance would be one of these creatures: a large fish, a whale, a shark, or a sea monster.Cetus's translates to "The bringer of a great storm" or misfortune. There you have it. These are some clues to as what the kids' Denizens would look like. Hussie knows his stuff. :)

[@celowein]

And incredibly, Jade managed to keep to her bargain.

[@Kodocha7]

the album art for this song is freaking gorgeous

[@TheManboat]

I would buy this as a poster - incredible artwork. Can't wait to see what the other denizens look like.

[@kingcroak]

> Echidna: Retrieve arms from boobs.

[@endernightblade1958]

There are no, and never will be, any arms in your oh my what is that glowy blue arm doing there

[@crowkerus]

Is it normal to think that the vocals at the beginning are repeating the word "waffle" over and over again? XD

[@OatZ]

cant unhear now.

[@crowkerus]

Sorry.

[@hashtagNight]

waffle waffle waffle waffle waffle waffle waffle...

[@crowkerus]

Hey, at least you guys HAD a point where you didn't hear it. I got this "waffle" crap from the start.

[@quinz8649]

+Ponythekidrs LOL, this is a thousand times funnier! Sassacre would be proud.

[@mattwalker8726]

I want to see this used in an animation where Dualscar 'talks' with the Grand Highblood...

[@cryptid6279]

This song is just lovely.

[@supercola3405]

To get a better clue as to what they look like and stuff lets take a look at ancient history .In Greek mythology Echidna and Typhon( Typheus) were siblings and were birthed to Tartarus and Gaia. The siblings were married. Echidna is the "Mother of all monsters, Thpheus is the "Father of All Monsters". Echidna was a drakaina, with the face and torso of a beautiful woman and the body of a serpent, sometimes having two serpent's tails. CONT.

[@EidolonOrpheus]

Finally someone understands my artistic vision

[@supremecrab4431]

Beautiful picture.

[@AlleyCatAlex]

oooh i love this art a lot!

[@Merreton]

@phase866 keep in mind that we have already seen a simplified version of all of the kid's Denizens. Go back through the comic and take a look at each of the kid's web browsers, the icons happen to be what would be their denizens. Also, there is a stuffed Typhon (John's denizen) in Jade's house, one of Jade's Grandpa's Trophies.

[@ihateyousomuchgplus]

am i the only one who thinks of shiva from the final fantasy series? (though imo i'm thinking of FF8 cos it's the only FF series i've played)

[@whimsicalgamer3917]

As Kew me too totally

[@shadowincvides]

YOU PEOPLE keep forgetting. jades grandpa killed a denizen. johns to be exact.

[@PanBelacqua]

Nah, that was just a minion of Typheus. Typheus itself would later be encountered by John - once in an alternate timeline where it killed him, and again in the GAME OVER timeline, where it "encouraged" him to gain a greater mastery over his retcon abilities.

[@echelus]

this art reminds me of SMT

[@NexEstVox]

It's actually Yaldabaoth, the denizen of Heart. Like the others, it matches Dirk's browser icon.

[@twoeleven7840]

Plus you can find a statue that is a side view of Echidna in one of Meenah's flash games.

[@inferno232]

Man, I see plenty of people saying that Echidna reminds them of something, but I see no one who is reminded of a certain alien life form. Surely I can't be the only one who gets Jenova vibes from her, can I? Well, I mean, there's no eyeball-boob, but still.

[@DerpSquid]

Well at least now we know what Yaldabaoth looks like.

[@inferno232]

Holy crap, is that what Echidna looks like?!

[@fiatify]

the troll's denizens were killed by the trolls, with the exception of Tavros's who WAS killed by Jack

[@xeshirem]

Most likely, Hussie gave it that symbol because Yaldabaoth is associated with the Sun.

[@AeternusSC]

Besides which, Yaldabaoth isn't strictly a Heart denizen. He's stated as being reserved by the game for the most naturally skilled fighters, given how he's also Caliborn's denizen.

[@phase866]

I saw. That flash was all sorts of cool.

[@WhiteLycanXII]

Sounds a lot like a 'final battle' track. Lots of tracks in HS do though, so I wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't one.

[@BeybattleTV1]

CANNOT UNSEE!

[@phase866]

I sooo wish we could have seen what Echidna and the rest of the Denizens looked like Dx

[@TheSwordUpsilon]

@TheWingedKnight101 Denizens are these big monsters from the webcomic Homestuck. Echidna is one of them. That is all I'm gonna say.

[@supercola3405]

Now for Dave's. Hephaestus was a Greek god of fire, born from Zeus and Hera. He was the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy, fire and volcanoes.Like other mythic smiths but unlike most other gods, Hephaestus was lame,(crippled) which gave him a grotesque appearance in Greek eyes. He served as the blacksmith of the gods, and he was worshipped in the manufacturing and industrial centers of Greece. Remember, Dave's planet is LOHAC. CONT.....

[@Dovepumpkin]

Andrew said it, and it shall be. And it was good.

[@DistrictIvory]

Welp, I guess this is as close as we'll ever get to knowing what the Denizens look like... :/

[@profskitty]

@Pwi3000 well she did give advice and such to Jade. She's not as much a monster

[@supercola3405]

And Thpheus was the largest and most fearsome of all creatures. His human upper half reached as high as the stars. His hands reached east and west and, instead of a human head, he had a hundred dragon heads; some however depict him as having a human head and the dragon heads being attached to his hands instead of fingers. CONT..

[@10shi_256]

@phase866 That is actually exactly what Echidna looks like.

[@PrivacyPolice]

all i have 2 say is EPIC!

[@watcherfacehurtlolol]

@phase866 fluthlu was featured in problem sleuth

[@Romzyx]

Echidna kinda reminds me of Shiva from the Final Fantasy games.

[@RandomGstudios]

echidna is right there in the art. so you do get to see her. 8 /

[@TheShieldsMD]

Then at 1:24 suddenly the crystals stop forming, and there's a second of pause. Then from somewhere underneath, a huge snake woman appears...

[@twoeleven7840]

A snake with a sun for a head. If that isn't terrifying, I don't know what is.

[@Magnetohydrodynamics]

This reminds me of Golden Sun

[@crowravencorvenrow]

@Xick Yeah, and WV made a new Can Town.

[@TheThestudent52]

they are the same in model and pre enter lifes. personality by extension

[@Enigma3650]

we did get a vague idea D: look back at the kid's internet browsers

[@c_Railyn]

I look at Echidna and all I can think of is Hevlaska.

[@shadowincvides]

oh ok

[@melisamanzo8514]

Best part 2:23

[@777CrimsonChaos]

You know, I don't think that ever did get properly explained... even the MSPA Wiki has nothing on that! 0_0 Grandpa's by far the most mysterious of the guardians... Besides the apparently dead post-Scratch ones anyway.

[@puppable]

@Lactose723 I'm just saying that that is what it looks like.

[@jackwestern815]

Sorry, I couldn't resist saying that. But it is basically true with this one.

[@shadowincvides]

oh god your icon

[@ultimamage3]

@myforkinyoureye I thought the same thing! +1 for D.Gray-Man reference.

[@Xick]

@phase866 The Denizens are still alive.

[@spiddermen5]

this sounds like a sc2 protoss theme

[@EmiFoo]

@HeadlessLevata looks like Shiva doesnt it :o

[@jamescameron5090]

Stranger Things was the intro.

[@jeffmanbrawler]

I must've missed the panel where jade seeks advice from her Denizen

[@batterup98]

I think it's in the "feel free to examine the clippings while I tidy up" or something to that effect near the end of the scratch.php pages.

[@crowkerus]

batterup98 It's never been shown, but it's been stated that it's happened.

[@FormThisWay]

We have never seen a denizen besides Yaldabaoth, and we couldn't even see his face, it was so bright.

[@flamingcellist7993]

Form This Way actually, they showed Typhus in one of the more recent updates as well as throughout the comic.

[@FormThisWay]

Darren Tanner We still haven't seen Typheus' face.

[@Wonderlight-o6o]

Why am I feeling sad?

[@jamesream3745]

I don't remember this, when did it happen?

[@TheCorporateSerf]

@DistrictIvory Not really Considering Jade shrunk the planets down as per her agreement with the Denizens We'll be seeing them again whenever that 3 year boat ride is done

[@zanite8650]

Mother of monsters

[@phase866]

Is that album art, then?

[@vivianek838]

bargaining with the breast******

[@kathrynshaydis4111]

the denizen reminds me of fantasia by disney... BUT WHY!?!?!

[@lpBren]

if you mean the 1940 fantasia, maybe you're thinking of the winter pixies?

[@DistrictIvory]

@stupidguyx Or, of course, Hussie desides to be a huge trolls and never shows them. :P

[@cadrebd289]

in the beginning it sound like they're saying waffle

[@bvbob1]

But now they are asleep...

[@Chaotixs11]

Who here would get killed for accidentally staring at it's chest too long?

[@endernightblade1958]

Accidentally? This is probably the most attention Echidna's got in a long time.

[@13magna1]

Curse You !!!!!!!

[@crunchu2361]

kids x their denizen it's shit or ship it

[@endernightblade1958]

meh it works sometimes rarely.

[@phlash649]

666 likes

[@bluepopcorn11]

im sorry but WTF!?!