:33 < well, ok, goodbye!
:33 < but you had better believe I will s33 you again soon, equius!
I’m going to briefly talk about how I came to appreciate these two something crazy, Equius especially. Reading through Homestuck, yes, he came off as a little creepy sometimes. For a while I didn’t really know what to make of his hormonal teenage roleplaying shindig but then I realized that—you know what?—it was harmless. Equius was harmless.
And that’s a pretty big deal, all things considered.
Unlike Gamzee and Eridan, and even Vriska, he was a highblood troll who didn’t lose his shit and or embrace the cruelty his kind was supposed to inflict on lowerbloods. In that department he was all talk, despite having the physical advantage over his peers, high and low-blooded. In fact, more often than not, he helped the low-blooded trolls, and even fell in love with the the troll lowest in the caste. Regardless of what he preached, he didn’t conform, and he didn’t act on it. And I believe he was adverse to the cruelty on some level. He was probably as close to a pacifist as an alien child from a planet dominated by interspecies competition, aggression and violence could allow.
Equius also made a point not to use expletives, to speak eloquently, and to keep himself under control. In that respect Nepeta did a fantastic job. Their incredibly successful moirallegiance was a blossoming bud of hope for a better troll society, a more understanding and accepting society, the same one that Feferi wanted, had she been given the opportunity.
And, just, gosh. Thinking back on their deaths—the snuffing out of what their characters represented—still makes me so sad.
Um.
As much as I love Equius, can we not make him out to be some sort of saint? Not acting on his ideals does not change the fact that he tried to encourage others to live up to his views of the hemospectrum; I believe the way he interacted with Gamzee and Vriska especially to be directly damaging, and to a lesser extent a lot of the others as well. When he doesn’t match words with actions, that’s not him secretly knowing better, that’s him feeling inadequate to live up to how he feels he’s supposed to act. He was polite; he was also rigid and controlling. He fell in love with a girl of the lowest caste - who at the time was in no state to consent to anything, and, taking flashbacks into consideration, probably would not have wanted anything to do with him anyway, much less the kind of “aid” he gave her. (GC: M4YB3 H3 COULD B3 F1X3D
GC: W1TH ROBO PROSTH3T1CS
GC: 1F YOU D1DNT M1ND G3TT1NG H3LP FROM…
GC: UH >:\
AA: n0!
AA: neither he 0r i sh0uld have ever had anything t0 d0 with th0se hateful sn0bs
AA: it was a big mistake)And that’s without even getting to the fact that he not only attempted to mind control her into returning his feelings, he didn’t seem to understand why she wouldn’t be ok with that.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love Equius. He’s one of my favorites. He’s also a troubled 6-sweep-old with deeply problematic views that hurt a lot of people, including himself. And frankly, Perfect Fairminded Gentleman Equius would be boring. It’s his flaws that make him such an excellent, loveable character.
I wasn’t saying that Equius was a perfect gentleman or a flawless Saint, nor was I putting him on a pedestal. Actually, I agree with your points, but you seem to be exaggerating mine.
I was just jotting down my thoughts. Less of a perfect breakdown of Equius Zahhak with bullet points for each quirk and attribute, and more of what I thought he as a character represented. There were many instances when his actions made me uncomfortable, regardless of whether or not they aligned with the hemospectrum’s laws.
His word did have power over Nepeta, and he did try to force Aradiabot to love him. I’m of the opinion that the latter was not as despicable as some might consider it (although I used to think it was completely sick)—these days I feel like it was merely the desperate ploy of a kid with a huge crush. And, ultimately, it didn’t shake things up too much, otherwise I might’ve stayed with my original opinion.
I definitely subscribe to your point that Equius felt inadequate when it came to him acting like he was “supposed” to. I apply that mostly to his death scene, as he allows Gamzee to strangle him, when I believe he probably could’ve fought back and even killed Gamzee. But he didn’t.
Despite that, I think he contributed more help than harm to the story and the individuals that he interacted with, that’s all. And I still believe his moirallegiance with Nepeta was powerful.
I’m not calling Equius Zahhak an angel or someone without his fair share of troubles. No one in Homestuck is.
good thoughts on all sides, and i have nothing to add other than MOIRAILS MOIRAILS MOIRAILS
