Pesterquest Finale: Speculation (Patreon)

When the Hiveswap Friendsim began, a long time ago, we lacked context of where the story was going to be headed. It seemed like a simple enough premise- A random 'MSPA Reader' figure lands on Alternia, and goes on a journey to survive in this new, hostile environment, and form various bonds across the many different new friends they bump into. It was wacky! Zany! And- Oh god Boldir. NIHKEE'S BAD END-

The zany search for friends on Alternia suddenly became something more, with more depth. A tale of manipulation of a narrative avatar, the desperation to help people living in a hellish world, a pawn moved across the board without even realizing, setting up the stage for what's to come, before being taken away from the board entirely. The MSPA Reader, guided by the designs of Doc Scratch himself, to do his bidding, starting to break the boundaries of memory across Timelines, remembering events they shouldn't, and finally meeting with the Big Man, forced to stay at Scratch's Apartment, and read Homestuck in order to put the pieces of this tale together.

So of course, when what started like a fun game became an intriguing tale of manipulation across Timelines, tying into canon, and giving us a backstory for the MSPA Reader, it was obvious that Pesterquest was going to go beyond, as we already started with the context, the idea, that there was going to be more than meets the eye.

And yet, where the overarching, hidden layer in Friendsim was rather straightforward in retrospect, Pesterquest has managed to throw us through loop after loop with every new Volume. So of course, the question arises:

What the fuck is going on? 

What the Fuck is Going On?

What the fuck is going on indeed! Because hoo boy, does Pesterquest raise questions, even within the first volume. After having read the Epilogues, and disliking where the story was headed, wanting to know more, wanting to actually understand the point of everything they have been through, the MSPA Reader escapes the now burning apartment, and... Manages to find the House Juju.

Through interaction with the fabric of the narrative, they are sent to the beginning of the comic, where they manage to fuck up John's copy of SBURB, completely unravelling the Timeline within a minute of being on Earth. Furthermore, their memory of what they've gone through has been wiped completely, and with a growing control over their newfond Retcon Powers, they begin to make further and further alterations to the Timeline.

The starting point is eerily similar to that of Friendsim's, but Pesterquest goes off the rails almost immediately, and only gets crazier as time goes on. Interaction with various points of the Timeline. Destabilizing the fabric of reality. Bringing characters that shouldn't have met yet together. The identity crisis! I could go on about this for hours, so instead, let me point out some key points scattered across Pesterquest that will serve us piece things together.

- The MSPA Reader has become their own character. While initially an audience insert, with a drive to make friends for no discernible reason, Friendsim showed us in the end that they had been manipulated from the start. And while the loss of memory seems to play a bit into them being easily manipulable, the implication through 13 Volumes of the game is that they're no longer simply us, and more them. They realize their nature, as a non-human entity, and want to find more about themself. They remember their past in Friendsim, and realize there's more beneath the surface. They have the genuine goal of helping these poor kids live better lives, despite the underlying fear of playing right into some other entity's hands in the process. They even manage to refuse our commands in this latest Volume, asserting their own strength of character and conviction.

- Their power is growing with each passing Volume. Initially unable to overcome a First Guardian's warping power, the Reader realizes they are capable of bypassing Bec when they accidentally bring Jade along to Alternia. Their finesse, too, capable of warping Jake without the Brobot, despite being at a distance from him, and having the two engaged in close combat. Rules, set regarding the extent of their powers, have been slowly broken down and shattered.

- They have changed the Timeline to an extremely intense degree, and brought the Characters together at various points, allowing Alpha and Beta Kids, as well as Trolls, to meet in several occasions. This has cut them completely from the stream of canon events, of how things were supposed to play out, and definitely opens the door for more things to butterfly effect from their current state.

- There are entities aware of their actions. The audience included, ironically. During Aradia's route, they pepper inconsistencies across the Timeline in order to cause chaos, and Aradia jokes about how such inconsistencies have 'made them' very mad, an obvious callout to people analyzing said inconsistencies and posting about them during the prior routes. But there's more. The Condesce has managed to both track and take possession of an iteration of the MSPA Reader, granting her Retcon Powers in just the same way. There's the fear MSPAR shows about their actions playing into the design of some higher entity like Scratch once more, and yet Aradia reassures them that even orchestrators like him are unaware of just the influence and power they actually hold. And of course, there's the Hallway Guardian, an entity that has hindered MSPAR's progress ahead of time, forcing them to keep going through the routes one after the other, in order. This Hallway Person doesn't seem malicious, as its presence seems pacified by actually bringing Terezi through the Good End, but there are many questions that arise from its very existence.

All of this has been fascinating to go through in the Months since Pesterquest launched, but soon it's all going to come to an end. And coming to an end means that we're going to need some resolution or hints regarding these major points. So, how can a narrative like this even end properly?

Before speculating on the End of Pesterquest however... Let me just address the elephant in the room.

BUT WHAT ABOUT DIRK?

Yes. I know. The last Volume is Dirk's Volume, and with his current status as a Villain, and his awareness of the Narrative, many are worried that what could otherwise just be a normal Dirk Volume, showing him how he is without Ultimate Ascension bullshit- Which is sorely needed honestly- could be tainted by his smug-ass anime face.

But consider exactly that. This is a Volume about Dirk. Getting to know and befriend him. It wouldn't make much sense for much, if any of it, to be dedicated to Ult Dirk. He is aware that something happened, we know that from the Easter Egg during the fake Crash Screen in the first Volume. But... That's about it.

After all, Dirk is already Beyond Canon. Not only is he outside of the continuity the MSPAR is currently messing with, he's, rather explicitly, looking to perpetuate Canon and dealing only with what seems Relevant and Plot-Worthy. A Doomed Retcon Timeline is not only very likely outside of his area of influence entirely, it's also just not relevant to any of his plans? There's no reason why Dirk, who values canonicity to the point of simply disregarding the Candy Timeline entirely, would fuck around with the MSPA Reader, unless the MSPA Reader themself accidentally visited him.

Now THAT could be a fun idea. Having MSPAR mess up their zapping and end up in the Theseus, for the Quick Bad End. I'd be okay with a nod like that without having it take over the rest of the narrative! On top of that, with MSPAR's latest stunt in completely ignoring Choices during Roxy's Route, it's entirely possible even if Ult Dirk DID make an appearance, that he would be outright unable to influence them at this point. What Dirk's route could provide, however, is an eagerly awaited Alpha Reunion, just like with the Beta Kids.

Because Dirk's is not the Final Route after all. There's an Epilogue, just like with Scratch in Friendsim, and that is where the answers are going to be delivered, allowing Dirk's route to, hopefully, be free of external fuckery and let us actually get to see more of him as he currently is.

So we have a bunch of loose plot threads that aren't tied up, there's a lot going on in the Timeline, and I would much rather if Ult Dirk wasn't part of what's going on right now. So. What does this all lead to exactly?

The End

The end of Friendsim was very bittersweet. Finding out they were manipulated, and being taken away from everyone they cared about was tough, but it was an interesting twist, specially considering we're meant to interact more with these characters and actually see their stories in Hiveswap Act 2. And while it's totally possible for Friendsim to also have a Bittersweet End, we've already had enough bitterness for a lifetime, haven't we? The purpose, the one consistent thing across all of Pesterquest, is that the MSPA Reader isn't okay with the pain these poor kids are going through, and actually wants to help them get better. Suddenly disappearing just the same and leaving them isolated like in Friendsim doesn't strike me as something that should be used twice now, should it?

No, the End of Pesterquest is probably going to come in two Layers, the Personal Satisfaction, and the Meta Fuckery.

There is one friend that MSPAR is aware of that we have no specific route for. Calliope. Someone who's become cut off from the current sequence of events thanks to MSPAR's intervention, and that would need their Retcon Powers to actually interact with the rest of the group. And Calliope is a Cherub, from the C Universe. She has the Book with all the story of the Kids' adventures in SBURB, and may even have some information on the MSPAR themself. Calliope is the piece that completes the puzzle- The relationship of the Kids to each other, the different Universes, the MSPAR could very easily remember having read Homestuck thanks to meeting Calliope, and fully getting their memories back, they would have more context about what they have done, and how all these poor kids deserve to get together and have fun and be happy.

Whatever they pull or try to pull from there, we'll see, but the Epilogue Route including the Cherubs, and finally unlocking MSPAR's memory, as there's nothing more to play through, letting them make their choice and bring the full group together, would be extremely cathartic, and fit thematically with the themes of the game- These Kids have been through enough already, it's time to let them just enjoy themselves and grow up together.

It would, however, not solve many of the mysteries currently going on in the setting, and that's where the 'Meta Fuckery' comes in.

People, pulling the strings and manipulating these poor kids for their purposes, hindering MSPAR from advancing. The realization of MSPAR's identity and purpose should come, precisely, with a confrontation with these forces. The Condesce with Retcon Powers is a loose canon, she may not even appear, and instead become the antagonist of a future instalment, but the Hallway Guardian? Whatever holds authorial authority within Pesterquest? Something needs to get elaborated upon.

And honestly, right now, I believe the major 'something' MSPAR is going to be interacting with, is either Hussie Himself, or the WP Team. What is the Hallway Guardian, after all, more than the developers of Pesterquest telling us, the audience, that we're not going to be getting content from future routes until we get those routes? What is the force driving the narrative, after all, more than the writers having devised this fun little adventure for us to go through? MSPAR is going to become aware of the state of the Timeline, of all the changes they've made, the alterations to how it was originally supposed to go, and have to grapple with the whole idea of "Side Content" and "Non-Canon" directly. And if their reaction to the Epilogues is anything to go by? They're not going to be exactly happy about it.

Pesterquest is ending, that is a fact. Their adventure is coming to an end. And if it's coming to an end, they have to make sure the people they've been trying to help so far are at least in a good situation, that they can keep interacting with each other. They're not going to leave them again, not like with Friendsim, and with their Retcon Powers, they have the authority to overpower authorial and narrative intent, and do what they will.

In fact, considering Aradia helping them remember all of their past lives, I wouldn't be surprised if MSPAR straight up ended up becoming their Ultimate Self, as a sort of 'Guardian' perhaps. Now that could bring that bittersweetness I was talking about in a satisfying way, couldn't it? A sacrifice of MSPAR, to keep the Kids connected, give them the chance to be happy, but, in the process, giving away all agency they may have. But now this is entirely speculatory isn't it?

In the end, only time will tell what the Ending will actually bring. But with the sad finale of Friendsim, now that MSPAR actually has the Power to overcome most threats, and having tried to make them be happy up until now, it would only be fitting if they finally snapped. Canon, cruel and merciless as it is, can't bind them any longer, and they're going to be exactly what they've been building themselves to be for so long. The best fucking friend ever.

Who knows. Maybe I am completely wrong and we get another sad ending. Or maybe, just maybe, Pesterquest is not the 'end' of this Timeline, and we could get back to non-canon side content. Like Paradox Space, something slice-of-life with little comics and panels with the Kids and Trolls in this new completely twisted Timeline and getting together in a more healthy environment.

Such is the nature of theories. I can gather all the clues in canon, and still come to the wrong conclusion. But it's fun to think what may be. A happy Alpha Reunion? Everyone getting together? Rosemary finally happening on-screen and not in a dream?

Whether I'm right or wrong, one thing is sure. MSPAR has something waiting for them. A tough choice, regarding the friends they have made thus far, and the immense power they hold.

And considering our reach to them is more limited than ever now?

I am eagerly waiting to see what it is they choose to do.