#87: Death from Above! Nepeta Appreciation Station

[SarcasticFrisbee]

But if that was the case, then why even go and confront Gamzee in the first place? Why not be like Karkat and just run away, if you aren't even going to fight your "destiny"? Some sort of Sisyphean obligation?

He probably went with the intention to talk, then was subjugglated.

But, didn't he believe that Gamzee was just submitting to the natural behavior of those within the heirarchy? Even if he didn't, he would have agreed with Karkat that Gamzee had snapped. His motivation doesn't make any sense to me if he wasn't even going to put up a fight. :|

[Gumba Masta]

Another one gone, another one gone, another one bites the dust.

Who will be next?

[HasABeard]

She's got freaking 2 ft-long claws on her side. If she's any kind of joke, she'll leave a dying laugh.

Just like how Equius left a dying puddle of sweat. Die as you live.

IDE/Theory: Nepeta will follow Equius' directions and just hide in that vent for the entire remainder of the story.

And be the last surviving character.

Please this. I don't believe it, but I want it.

It does have potential for character development. Alone in the vents, hearing distant echoes of honks and terror and scuffles fading in and out in the distance, praying to troll jegus that you're not found and doing your best to never think about what you've just seen and what must be happening.

Deny reality. Like a real shipper

[Siegmundfried]

You know, I was actually starting to like Equius a bit with recent developments.

And then he had to die in the most pathetic way possible. Back down to the bottom you go.

So this means that Tavros is still higher on your list?

Equius, despite being one of the strongest trolls, just stood and let himself get killed masochistically.
Tavros, despite being the troll with the least amount of combat, took the fight to a god-tier troll. He got killed, obviously, but hey, at least he tried.

[ezekahr]

Just like David Carradine...

[Owwin]

Another one gone, another one gone, another one bites the dust.

Who will be next?

Nepeta, then Sollux. I am betting all of my boonbucks. All of them.

[The_Codfish]

Oh hell.....

Why didn't Equius fight back at all? I mean, I'm sure he could have just snapped the strings with his STRONG fingers.

[Stop Him]

But the story AH intends to tell isn't just a series of random hilarious events played out of order. Andrew does put a lot of thought into exactly what he wants to "do to the readers" in each scene. Whether it's to reveal something new about the background mythology, or to build up expectations that he can later subvert, or to establish something that he can use as a callback later.

In this sense it's perfectly reasonable and fun to debate Andrew's intent in this scene. On the face of it, it looks like Equius is going down without a fight. Does this contradict other things that have been established about Equius's character earlier? Is this a time when Andrew will go along our current expectations or is it time to subvert them?

It's reasonable - when there is reason being used, when you can deduce clues reasonably from the work itself, or to some extent from authorial comment (like Formspring - although the sarcastic nature of some of AH's answers should keep people taking what he says with a grain of salt).

But, look - if you start out saying "AH puts a lot of thought into this story", and then you say, "it seems like he's just doing this to be [whatever]", you're no longer giving him credit for putting that same thought into the latest development, are you?

It's that kind of statement that irks me, the kind that assumes that, because a development happened that wasn't to a critic's liking, because an author chose a different path than the one a reader would prefer, that somehow then it's not a carefully-considered act of the author, but some kind of cheat or shortcut. I don't see that as reason, I see that as bias.

[Dr.DMX]

Another one gone, another one gone, another one bites the dust.

Who will be next?

If it's Terezi I'm going to have such a fit.

[Teleharmonic]

Why not be like Karkat and just run away, if you aren't even going to fight your "destiny"? Some sort of Sisyphean obligation?

Well, if there's one overriding theme this comic has been hitting us over the head with throughout its run, it's that destiny is inescapable and all events are foreordained, and attempts to change or fight this are invariably doomed.

The slowly dawning realization that Hussie might actually mean this has for some time now made me fear for my mental state when Homestuck ends. At the very best, we will be forced to imagine Sisyphus happy.

[weirdguy]

And the score is as follows!
Vriska: One
Gamzee: Ties with Vriska at one
And in the lead at the moment iiiiiiiiis
Eridan: With two corpses of hivebent trolls on his non-existant conciousness!

He didn't kill Kanaya hard enough. All three are tied neck and neck!

Well, that's why I said corpses and not kills

Vriska: 2
Gamzee: 1
Eridan: 2?
Aradia: 1
Kanaya: 1/2

[machiavelli33]

Don't forget Aradia, who technically has one - even if Vriska kind of allowed herself to die off.

Edit: aka what weirdguy said

[MechaHephaestus]

I expected to see Equius to STRONGFLEX his neck and break the string. So disappointed it didn't happen.

[maddenedHatter]

even if it is creepy how he died its just so sad. being choked with his broken dreams.

[SarcasticFrisbee]

Another one gone, another one gone, another one bites the dust.

Who will be next?

Nepeta seems too obvious, but she's the only real disposable character we have left. :|

Also, I want to say to everybody that I really am sorry if my attitude earlier hurt anybody's feelings. It was silly for me to let my emotions eek out to the forefront the way they did. So although an I'm sorry means nothing... I'm sorry.

[Zauren]

It's pretty obvious that Equius didn't fight back on purpose. He felt it was his role to be killed by highbl00ds, and was probably happy that finally Gamzee lived up to his hemospectrum. He even called him 'sir' before being shot. Which isn't surprising, but I wish he had punched Eridan in the face first.

But if that was the case, then why even go and confront Gamzee in the first place? Why not be like Karkat and just run away, if you aren't even going to fight your "destiny"? Some sort of Sisyphean obligation?

I agree. Even if Equuis feels he must die at the hands of a (land-dwelling) high blood, that doesn't mean he has any obligation to go out seeking death. This was just pathetic as all hell.

For shame, Equuis, for shame. No moarnful dirges for you, sir. None whatsoever.

I never said it wasn't pathetic and shameful... just that not resisting made sense in that situation. I agree he probably hoped to talk to him but being strangled to death he was disturbingly fine with also...

[BewareOfNerd]

Oh gog Aradia, get over here and rewind everything with your magic time powers right now.

[The Orange Man]

I can't get over that face. Equius enjoyed that murder so much. Really, it's just the worst thing.

[Kadaashi]

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Well I'm pretty disappointed.

I believe we will see him again according to Aradia, right?
I sure hope so.

What's he basis of seeing him again according to Aradia? IS there a conversation we are supposed to get but haven't had yet?

When you talk to Equius as Nepeta in the last flash, she says that she saw Aradia in her God Tier outfit, and Aradia was smiling, saying she would see Equius again soon

Which just seems to mean that deadquius is going to see her in the Furthest Ring

I can't even be sad.

Just disappointed.

This. :|

it's like

why even give him as much characterization as you did in the "Seek" flash to just have him die like a chump joke

He didn't even fight back. At all. The most he did was hesitate a little in the flash. Equius is much stronger than this :\
not a good feeling at all

[ErrorEx]

even if it is creepy how he died its just so sad. being choked with his broken dreams.

Broken?
This IS Equius' dream.
MORE LIKE A NIGHTMARE.
For me.

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i actually always really liked Equius but shh don't tell

[a prickly pear]

For shame, Equuis, for shame. No moarnful dirges for you, sir. None whatsoever.

Is this really such a shameful death? As soon as Gamzee went into Stephen King's It mode, people were calling for Equius to come beat him down. Now the flash shows that Gamzee can outrageously overpower Equius, and regardless of whether that originates from his blood caste or simply from his crazy clown powers, that a noble, direct attempt to defeat a force of evil is kind of stupid (like Tavros) even when you're actually quite strong (not like Tavros at all). Equius had his friend at his back, an evil before him, and the strength to confront and he did the most noble and proper thing imaginable. It just turns out that his decision there was both incredibly stupid and amazingly gratifying. He died better than Feferi or Tavros did, at least.

[Nepeta]

He probably went with the intention to talk, then was subjugglated.

But, didn't he believe that Gamzee was just submitting to the natural behavior of those within the heirarchy? Even if he didn't, he would have agreed with Karkat that Gamzee had snapped. His motivation doesn't make any sense to me if he wasn't even going to put up a fight. :|[/QUOTE]

He went there to talk with Gamzee. Gamzee shot him in the leg to subjugate him. He realized there was nothing he could do, and that was his destiny to die there at the hands of the one he had scorned for so long.

He never went there with the intention to die, but it still happened.

[Owwin]

Oh hell.....

Why didn't Equius fight back at all? I mean, I'm sure he could have just snapped the strings with his STRONG fingers.

He was busy looking for a bucket. XD

[weirdguy]

Vriska's original body was done for either way - if Tavros had kissed her, we're still left with dat Vriska corpse.

[gilesgoatboy]

right before Kanaya died, we found out she had the Matriorb, and saw her making friends with Jade, and had a moment to appreciate her as a character and care about her future. then we got the same thing with Equius and Nepeta. from here on in I'm going to assume that any characters who reveal their vulnerabilities as emotionally complex individuals are fucking doomed.