#callirox

probably the biggest way that roxy actually DOES do good things for calliope, however, is way earlier - when roxy inspires calliope to break the rules.

I go into it in greater depth in the giga essay, but tl;dr, homestuck is very invested in making us question "the rules", including things like tropes, narrative convention, etc.

its ultimate thesis is that, while this is not ALWAYS true, often, these rules are total bullshit and literally meaningless, if not outright malicious and intended to rig the game in the favor of sinister forces. So there's an idea that questioning the rules, even if they turn out to be rules for a good reason and not a bad idea, is incredibly important to do.

the cherubs specifically are like, extreme representations of several of homestuck's themes, and this is one of them. Their lives are governed by a series of strict and arcane rules and especially taboos, to which they both feel a great need to adhere to no matter what.

Now, Caliborn is specifically characterized as being the guy who loves and follows the rules. in the chess match he has with calliope, he wins by playing a perfectly legal game, which is obviously a metaphor for his later reign of terror as lord english, whose actions are described as "sanctioned by paradox space". in fact, he calls out calliope for being the big fat cheater between the two of them, since she's the one who allowed him to switch his king and queen, even if he didn't actually do that.

LE, of course, is a symbol for oppressors and abusers, so there's a really strong message there in his association with "following the rules" about how easily they can be co-opted by evil forces, and used to rig the game for everyone else.

One of the taboos the cherubs have is not giving out their names - being called by name immediately wakes up that half of the personality, so it'd give the one who does it an "unfair advantage".

but... one half of the personality is literally fuckin' caliborn. yknow?

i'll let hussie speak on the issue:

We always look for the moral of the story, the lessons of right vs. wrong, sort of unconsciously. "Cheating = bad" is a recognizable moral of this kind, so when we see her ranting here about the need to cheat, as consumers of moral tales our alarm bells go off. "This is a bad person who has an immoral ethos, and she will likely be punished for this later, and we should want that as readers."

The problem with this view is, of course, it's just not that simple. As a matter of valor and integrity, in a vacuum, yes, cheating is bad and immoral. However, in a situation you know to be rigged against you in certain ways, full of hurdles and milestones that are fundamentally meaningless, or even in some ways designed to mess with you or hold you back, is cheating then okay? Does it even count as cheating anymore, or is "cheating" just a negative word for what's actually the correct and logical solution to a murky problem, partially designed to deceive you and waste your time?

see, the thing is, in a vacuum, yes, giving out your cherub name is cheating and would give you an unfair advantage... but we don't live in a vacuum. If caliborn gave out his name, would anyone they know even bother to use it? No, obviously! And is it unfair - given that the two are speaking with a social species, presumably to remain included in a social group - for that group to prefer one side of their personality to the other? Or is that, in fact, just how existing in a social group works? "fair" and "unfair" are illusions, just like "rules" as a broad concept are. The only Real reality is action and consequence, two things without endemic moral weight.

Anyway, to get back on topic, that's the thing we see roxy actually do for calliope: it's too little, too late, but her influence causes Calliope to break the rules and cheat by giving out her name. in fact, caliborn is ONLY able to win because the "rules" worked out in his favor: they prevented calliope from taking actions against him that would've immediately rendered him powerless, protecting him from the consequences of his own shitty personality and awful takes, buying him time to plot his sister's assassination and assume a position where he could take ownership over the rules (i gaze meaningfully at how anti violence rules at school protect bullies, or how the legal process protects the wealthy). so the fact that roxy was able to inspire callie to break them (and even get her to admit to other rule-breaking desires, like wanting to experience redroms) is actually huge. it's like the #1 thing callie could've used more of.