Pesterquest -Jadeās route and first quadrant of volumes, The End
Aw man, how long I waited for this picture to show up, not only because Iāve been awfully spoiled on Twitter, but also because!!!! Theyāre together, and happy!
And I have many feelings right now!
Letās first take a look at theĀ VictoryĀ end panel, then have a general talk about the whole 4 volumes:
Among all those pillows, plushies and squiddles, our four friends are having a good time, the best of times.
Rose is painting Johnās nails, which is adorable and nice. Painting someoneās nail shouldnāt be a gendered activity. I liked to do it before, but Iām kinda allergic to some of its chemical products :/ But look how John is surprised and delighted! :D
Bec is snoozing, all peaceful and watching over them.
Jade and Dave have a great time drawing and talking about their fursonas! Omg Iām so glad that Pesterquest made true the one thing that missed in Homestuckās canon, daveās picture of his fursona, Awkete Purrmusk. ItāsĀ magnificent and Iām very grateful. Thanks to Courtney Brendle for Roseās and Jadeās ending illustrations :)
IĀ wouldnāt say that Johnās volume was plain, more like innocent and lighter. It made me realized that I missed John cheerfulness and naĆÆvety a bunch. Dave and him pestering each other was really nice and a nice touch in this volume. And even though! TheĀ āVague existential crisisā end felt a bit heavy. Making us vaguely uncomfortable. Itās a call back to Johnās mussing at the beginning of Homestuck. This feeling of emptiness, like it was missing something. A slight approach to Johnās depression, which was sadly left unexplored.Ā Everything linked directly or indirectly to the epilogues make me feel nauseous and wary. So it was a nice call back and it prepared us for the next volumesās themes. A well-balanced story.
Also, I wish that John could be more careful with strangers, a lesson we have all to learn u_u
Roseās volume was already more deep and into delicate matters, such as child neglect and alcoholism. We didnāt fixed the problem, but making Rose talks about it did her good. It taught me a lot about Rose. The way to win her heart (friendlily) wasnāt to talk about her interests but rather go straight to the subject, but letting her initiate it. Itās complicated and fascinating, exactly fitting for Rose. And I think it was a good introduction of her issues and personality for those who started with Pesterquest without having reading Homestuck beforehand. And!! Weāve got to see the mutant cat (McWhiskers) and adult Roxy! And I was so glad!! Her route was short but enough by itself, with nice references and realistic pictures! A well-balanced volume too!
Daveās volume was the first well-crafted one. A huge row of applauses for James Roach, who is usually a composer and did an incredible job writing Daveās route. It felt emotional, real, unnerving, funny, sad, and overall very satisfying. Different but interesting themes were addressed. Broās overprotective behavior and abuseness, toxic masculinity, internalized homophobia and denial regarding sexuality. The environment was there, it was palpable. I felt so many things and it left me with a temporary crisis, but it was worth it! I was rooting hard for Dave and was very invested in the story. Good job! Also theĀ āGet that bread, sonā end was mmmmmmmm, delicious! Unexpected but very welcome!
Now Jadeās volume, itās the one that shook me the most emotionally, it took my heart, make it vibrated slowly but sharply enough to make me puke (not literally donāt worry). It was a very long road, full of roller coasters, up and down. It was traumatizing, I was already sick so it wasnāt really a good idea to Liveblog for ~5 hours ^^ā It addressed many good things, Jadeās distress, her bottling up things for way too long, her heroin complex and sacrifice/suicide ideals, and her dark side including her hysterical behavior, that can be briefly seen in Homestuck. It hit me hard, I was about to give up but then I remembered two things, that I didnāt give a fuck about rules and thatĀ I wanted to make her happy.Ā I did so she could open her eyes and allow herself to be happy. Her being with her friends, seeing the whole gang reunited was just perfect. I wouldnāt have it any other way. My canon.
And it was good. Very moving and long. If you can handle it emotionally, then it totally recommend yāall to play it. 9.5 because Cal was there. But otherwise chief kiss mouah~
Iāll post the credits on the next post!
[Click here for the Chumroll bonus and the credits! =>]