For those unaware, Andrew Hussie has designed, drawn and developed some lore tidbits for the Beforus ancestors! 6 have been revealed so far, with the remaining 6 to come soon.
Aradia - The Rankmaid
Her title is synonymous with "rotten girl" which means fujoshi, because thats what she is. She's the original author of the "How To Draw Manga" book Caliborn uses to become a great artist. She is a member of the "Lost Weeaboos" and hangs out in the tree forts with Tavros doing weeaboo stuff.
Nepeta - The Muckrake
She's a journalist who specializes in celebrity gossip, especially the romantic kind. She pens a column about which well known troll is in which quadrant with who. Receives much gossip from certain highbloods.
Kanaya - The Gardener
Tends to the gardens of the higher castes, and sculpts topiary into shapes which foreshadow unfathomable future events in other universes. Nobody has any idea what she's doing with these bushes, but think she's cooking anyway.
Vriska - Lamplady Swansong
She was blinded in a horrible accident involving a karmic chain of events. Lamplady is a Nightingale reference, but she also carries a lamp because shes on night shift as a nurse. She doesnt need the light to see, it's for her patients. On Beforus, cerulean bloods used their psychic powers more empathically than on Alternia, and were prone to being healers. She got the nickname Swansong because her patients tend to die due to her terrible luck.
Equius - E%emplar Danklook
As an indigo blood he has to set a good example for his lessers. He's exemplary, a sexy model citizen, but has a secret life in the voids of society. Nobody knows what this means, and nobody wants to.
Feferi - Shepherd Constern
Called Shepherd Constern, or just The Constern for short, but is more formally known as Her Imperilous Consternation. Consternation is a title due to the great worry and concern she has for her lessers, which she and all her ruling predecessors must take great responsibility for. Her hair is shaped like Gl'bgolyb and random trolls get stuck in it but she doesn't notice. Shepherd is her formal title, which is 8 letters per the ancestor convention on both Beforus and Alternia. However the corresponding title for the Condesce was never revealed. It was actually Winnower Condesce, which means someone who thins the herd, as opposed to taking care of it. But the Condesce viewed this title as cringe, and made it illegal to call her that.
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SO. What are we thinking. I need to digest my thoughts before locking in on the analysis train but I AM having thoughts about Humanstuck!Condesce's name being Winona.
My first thought, honestly, was curiosity over the "fujoshi" thing, considering that it's kind of stressed in the comic how being straight or gay is considered alien (lol) for trolls like karkat and most of the troll cast. Like with the Future AG joke and all that.
I mean OBVIOUSLY some trolls are explicitly just gay (Kanaya) but it's interesting that they have a explicit word and title for somebody who ships boys together. Idk.
I also got to say, having Nepeta be a *celebrity gossiper* is just a masterstroke. Taking the "shipping real people" aspect of her character and making that into her ACTUAL JOB is a connection I don't think I would have ever made, incredible work.
Not sure why Aradia specifically is a fujo, I love everyone's designs and that the clothes are more elaborate to fit Beforan culture
just a chill guy who lowkey doesn't give a fuck
https://breadavota.cafe/bakery/dangerousmarkets
https://www.reddit.com/user/dangerousmarkets/
Lets just say E%meplar Danklook is making me pretty GIDDY.
get it? like. giddy up? hehe
aradia is a fujoshi because fujoshi are funny and also cool (when they arent misogynistic)
Is anybody gonna talk about how Feferi is wearing a trickster mode dress?
Maybe fujoshi on beforus means shipping trolls of the same blood color mixed with a specific relationship dynamic?
I think they're all cool though, don't know why Rankmaid is causing such a reaction. While it doesn't relate to her Alternian characterization, it creates such a cool loop in the narrative. The Rankmaid teaches Lord English who teaches the Handmaiden who teaches Aradia...
The biggest Dancestor fan in the Incipisphere.
The Muckraker is one of the best designs Hussie has ever done. In general the art here is fantastic, and I really love all the designs, esp Vriska and Aradia alongside Nepeta. Some of the lore tidbits are a bit silly (i hate the lost weeaboos) but overall these are super fun and i can't wait to see the rest
THANK YOU for creating this thread! All of the designs and bits of lore look absolutely incredible.
My favourite ones may be Vriska and Equius. Both are INCREDIBLE moves! To make Vriska an innocent girl who will end up icing most of her patients against her will simply because she's this unlucky is hilarious, and "Twink distinguished BDSM Equius" is a take on the character I wouldn't have imagined in a thousand years.
About Aradia being a fujoshi, I would argue the heart and soul of fujoshis is not in the yaoi itself, but in how transgressive and "dirty" it is. It's also not that uncommon to see Earth fujoshis to be quite into yuri as well, so I imagine a Beforian fujoshi would be into ALL kinds of porn and kinks, and the most bizarre the better.
I also find myself legally obligated to post once again this fantastic Fujoshi Nepeta portrait:
[ Drawing by Chomplicated: https://chomplicated.tumblr.com/post/742430658571501568 ]
Read Alabaster here: https://mspfa.com/?s=236
Feferi's is the only design that seem predictable so far which I think is good. It's also silly how Condy is apparently The Winnower
My sigature is broke :[ Gif no load
kanaya is wonderful and perfect as always. that's my contribution
6 friends are under the impression that they're playing a co-op game. They are not.
6v6.mspfa.com.
> I think they're all cool though, don't know why Rankmaid is causing such a reaction. While it doesn't relate to her Alternian characterization, it creates such a cool loop in the narrative. The Rankmaid teaches Lord English who teaches the Handmaiden who teaches Aradia...
Yeah I don't think there's anything wrong with it so much as it's just surprising to see it given to Aradia specifically when it doesn't relate to her existing character as much, it's something I'd expect more for Nepeta
Though most likely it's because Aradia = dead = rotting = rotten girl and Hussie just expanded on that
just a chill guy who lowkey doesn't give a fuck
https://breadavota.cafe/bakery/dangerousmarkets
https://www.reddit.com/user/dangerousmarkets/
im living like a queen off these images and im already so excited to see what the other six look like
Read Cold, Cold Flood on AO3!
Maybe they worked from Dancestor Damara, since Dancestor Damara was derived from hentai cliche. To reapproach this kind of medium from another, and more meta, angle is very Homestuck.
Read Alabaster here: https://mspfa.com/?s=236
Remember, this also means that on top of all the ways Caliborn embodies internet men, he now also picks up that book, sees a drawing of an anime girl drawn by another girl, and concludes "a man must have drawn this". It's perfection to me
i keep coming back to look at all the little details on each of the characters... reporter-nepeta's pen and the bridge of hot-equius' glasses being in each others colors, the way the spiderweb patterns on nurse-vriska's blindfold look like shatter marks originating where her pupils would be, the fact that gardener-kanayas hat is decorated with roses... im gonna be doing backflips about these images for a while
Read Cold, Cold Flood on AO3!
the designs don't sit up well with me personally, but i have to say, i love that vriska is blind here, might be a vrisrezi parallel oe something, maybe it means beforan terezi has a missing eye and arm... we will see
I think it's cool that in both societies, Equius has strict adherence to how the caste system is set up.
feferi's one is so fascinating to me in ways i cant find the word to describe but i love it all the same
also of course nepeta would be into celebrity gossip it fits her so well and im honestly surprised that no one thought to make her do that until now
https://jovial0dyssey.carrd.co/
OH OH WOW I. WOULD LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THSIS. I LOVE Equius, he is unironically maybe my favorite character and I can never EVER pick favs,,
I really love the parallels between B!Equius and A!Equius with the latter usually being seen as 'creepy' or 'weird' by those around him because of his off-putting personality and looks but B!Equius on the other hand is dressed pretty nicely, classy even compared to his Alternian counterpart and being described as "a sexy model citizen" (ps. he IS SEXY!!! HOT MAMA OH MY!!!) which leans into his adherence to the blood caste system even on Beforus. also I like the little dig at him still being kinda creepy and avoidant (haha get it...) and him being a void player, saying that he "has a secret life in the voids of society. Nobody knows what this means, and nobody wants to."
Other things I noticed,
1. Nepeta is still wearing lots of blue and the bridge of Equius's glasses is olive green, MEOWRAILS??? LETS GO.
2. Kanaya has purple buttons on her gloves, what does that mean.. hmmm... colors man.. colors..
3. Vriska being blind but someone already pointed that out
rails b4 pails!!
:O3
