curlicuecal:

Xefros Tritoh – an extended zodiac analysis

But seriously, everything about Xefros’s official sign *fascinates* me.

Ariborn– Rust/Derse/Rage – the escapee

I mean first we have rust: right on point with things we’ve seen about Xefros in-game, but also highlighting some points I think it’s easy to forget or overlook.

RUST

So: craves adventure and new experiences, resilient to damage, energetic, low on caution– not only is he super-psyched about wanting to become a professional athlete in a sport where trolls frequently DIE, like, a LOT, but he joined a rebellion. We’ve also seen him be pretty chill while bleeding to death under a pile of rocks (and then bounce right back after the rocks were removed).

Low on caution, foolhardy, willingness to trust that can get them in trouble: oh yeah. How quick did he decide to trust Joey, a complete stranger, and how much of that was motivated by “aliens are EXCITING! X:) ”

Again, his resiliency to damage (and his own winning nature) is getting him through.

Friendly but can be selfish and quick to anger, tendency to stir up drama and excitement… haven’t seen this yet, or the “confidence.” My feel is that Dammek, in an effort to curb what he sees as Xefros’s dangerous interests (sports) and tendency to trust (he gives his password away and tells strangers he is part of a rebellion) has instead mostly managed to stomp the fuck out of Xefros’s confidence in himself. We could also couple this with “they have incredibly high expectations of themselves.” *That* we’ve seen, and what it really seems to need is the counterbalancing of accomplishments being pointed out.

An interesting pair to that though: “They have incredibly high expectations of themselves AND FOR ROMANTIC PARTNERS. If someone doesn’t live up to these, they may deem them not worth their time.” Now *that* is interesting, especially in regards to his trainwreck of a relationship with Dammek. One thing we can for sure see is that Xefros has chosen an exciting, talented, badass partner for himself–a literal leader of a rebellion–and for all Dammek seems to be stomping on some of the more reckless interests, he’s also, you know. Got that exciting and dangerous rebellion thing going on for Xefros to participate in.

“If they aren’t careful, Rust Signs can end up in a cycle of excitement, followed by crushed expectations, followed by a quick recovery and new flush of excitement.”

Hmmmmm. Welp, Xefros is leaping headfirst into following another dynamic, motivated friend headfirst into rebellion, lets see how this works out for him.

Okay, Rust mostly made sense, but it’s the other two that caught me a bit off guard and I think opened up some interesting inferences.

DERSE

“distinct and restless skepticism,” “live in a state of dissatisfaction,” “rebellion is in their blood.” Might seem out of place in contrast to the trusting nature, but we’ve seen all the dry, dry little comments Xefros has made about his lot in life as a supposed future janitor. And then, you know, there’s the ACTUAL REBELLION. 😉

From this we see he is probably better at understanding his own mind than the world around him (works for me, he seems pretty self-aware of his own motivations, but less clued in about other people’s) but prone to hiding insecurity under self-deprecating humor. Yep, yep, yep.

A shrewd problem-solver who sees one true path among a snarl of wrong ones–yeah, I could see Xefros being bull-headed and single-minded, and we’ve definitely seen him make some sharp analyses (without seeming to notice them). There’s some more in the derse section, but I feel these are the more important points.

RAGE

Now this one is FUN. I am EXCITED. Also it’s a reminder that, like Gamzee, our sweet little moppet is also harboring some serious potential to do damage in whatever way he sees fit. Rage are the “bringers of chaos.”

I’m especially interested by a “contempt for lies” and finding truth far more important than the good. There’s an inkling here of how he could get himself snagged in a destructive relationship, if someone is sticking to pointing out “true” things to him, he’ll tend to value that insight, even if they’re simultaneously destructive.

Rage prefer anarchy to false stability, and are perfectly happy to tear down a faulty system with nothing in mind to replace it. Just the shadows of this in Xefros’s character so far, but super excited to see more of it.

Bringers of doubt, yes, doubt is a big part of Xefros character at the moment, though mostly self-directed, “they can be frustratingly difficult to convince otherwise when they have attached themselves to an idea.” Now this is interesting, and again ties into this idea that he can be very stubborn and single-minded. Right now we’re seeing a lot of that attached to his self-image and his relationship with/perception of Dammek.

Volatile and unpredictable–I am excited to see him shine!–“at their best they are original, revolutionary, and fearless.” Hell yes, hell yes, hell yes. This is the Xefros that went out into a fascist warzone to help a stranger and kept trying to help even while pushing on through his own serious injuries.

Funnnnnnnn. What a doll.

He’s “The Escapee” which raises the question of what he’s going to escape from–I’d say the role assigned to him by life.

I wanna do Dammek next, because dang I have thoughts about that mystery boy and his sign.

*edit* Dammek analysis here

curlicuecal:

In which I overthink Hiveswap names in order to speculate wildly :33

So, Jake’s mysterious, vanished wife.

“A. Claire”

Claire, from “Clare”: light, clear, fame

play on “Eclair”: enlightened, to light up (like a sun), flash of lightning (pastries named because they were “gone in a flash”

[insert speculation over whether this is just dark humor about her dying young or whether she was literally gone in a flash]

The french pastry can also be called a “bâton de Jacob” (Jacob’s Staff), after an old tool used in navigation for measuring the altitude of a sun or star. This tool was also called an arbalest and a Ballastella (ballista; beautiful star).

“Jacob” is likely a reference to the biblical patriarch. (“For with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am divided into two camps.”) A Jacob’s staff can also refer a conjurer’s staff or wand. In the epic poemThe Faerie Queene, the staff was the tool of a mage/witch in disguise and was associated with dividing things and/or people, usually into two parts. In some traditions, Jacob’s staff was used by Moses to part the Red Sea and was also the staff that transformed into a serpent.

Why is any of this relevant? The mural on Joey’s ceiling was painted by her mom, shortly before she… died(?). The mural depicted the (earth’s?) sun, a la the homestuck symbol for light, and a green star/moon/planet/compass.

This green star is the same one Joey wears on her shirt, and is reminiscent of Doc Scratch and his green sun, as well as the red and green moons around Alternia.

A. Claire had a cherub key, appeared to know or otherwise have some connection to other worlds, and died/vanished mysteriously right before Jake started running around the world trying to gather artifacts related to other worlds and making the key work. Just… saying.

When Joey ends up on Alternia she notes the scrap of paper Dammek has been using to work on his cherub machine looks familiar. (Has there been contact before?)

Joey, meanwhile, has several lines indicating she doesn’t quite remember all the details around what happened to her mother; at least one line suggesting she has seen the cherub key work before; and plenty of indication that, like her mother, she has knowledge and connection to other worlds and is mentally influenced by the key.

She references a green moon, non-earth planets looking familiar when she holds the key, and the sky depicted in the mural being from another planet. Joey’s strife specibus is a light.

Jude meanwhile seems to know a little more about what is going on with his dad and the cherub machine. He has an obsession with the idea of alien abductions. The image on Jude’s shirt is a person disappearing into a flash/beam of light, which is non-coincidentally what it looked like when Joey activated the cherub machine and was transported to alternia.

P.S.:

Additional note about The Faerie Queene, which I mentioned above: one of the primary protagonists is the Redcross Knight

know anyone who likes red Xes?

revolutionaryduelist:

grippingtraverse:

curlicuecal:

Hiveswap thought I want to poke at more–

Jude had a lot of humorous little lines referencing running away, retreating, balancing caution with bravery, or just generally sending mixed signals about how brave he was or considered himself.

Suddenly occurred to me that this is a BIG ISSUE with his dad–who appears to make running away from his problems (or addressing a sub component of his problems by running away) his primary coping strategy.

And then we have Jude’s pigeons who: 1) charge in bravely and immediately die 2) run away and leave problems unsolved 3) do whatever Byers’ best effort counts as.

Thematic? Especially when we consider one of Jude’s parents apparently did something that got her dead or vanished? And the other took off questing on related issues immediately after?

#other Jude issues: repeated memory issues#and repeated ‘forget/don’t worry about the past’

@revolutionaryduelist

um thanks but also, like…how dare you? i was supposed to sleep tonight, not spend 8 hours in bed crying about jude