HSE: John Egbert, Pt. 1
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- Опубліковано 6 бер 2020
- / optimisticduelist
www.keep-rising.org
Hey pals! This time, we finally get to know Homestuck's first young hero, John!
A friendly and witty kid who is, nevertheless, kind of a nerdy loser. Let's get to know him a bit in part 1 of our journey!
What's your favorite John moment? What do you love about our prankster scamp? Let me know in the comments! And of course,
Keep rising! - Ігри
![Project [S]: Act 1 Episode 1 Animatic](/img/n.gif)
This reminded me of how John, despite being the most "normal" of the kids, has the most muted/quiet reactions to tragic events in the story, from his dad's death to Game Over. Through the story you rarely see John break down outside of his tantrums over weird and admittedly childish things
He represses shit really hard and we don't really see the fallout until he's in situations where the only thing he can do is think about that shit. This most notably happens in the Epilogues, Candy in particular, but also throughout his 3 year journey on the ship.
Insert that one comic of John putting his Hate crush on terezi into his bottle of feelings.
Except for Calliborn and his shitty story. I think everyone can agree, while possibly a silly thing to get upset over, given the fact that they are fictional characters, having a author god character fuck around with your story like that is a cause for anger.
So you could say that he's given himself some ≈breath≈ing room from his trauma.
@@ashikjaman1940 yup! That's the one.
As an heir of breath, John’s imagination also isn’t really his either. He just inserts himself into the worlds he enjoys. Being Nicholas Cage in Con Air. Being the main character in Armageddon. It’s all about inheriting the imagination that others have crafted.
gender
I can't get enough of Pesterquest's Sprite for John. He looks like such a precious dork and I love it.
"...and their name is..."
ZOOSMELL POOPLORD!
The man
The myth
The legend
Himself John Egbert
69 likes.... nice.
I have always related to John. The average hero, the invisible main character, the protagonist everyone somehows forgets about. John is a great character, he would do everything he could to save the people he cares about. He is the character that is not too showy, but strong nonetheless. The Heir of Breath wishes for an imaginary reality, he finds everyone around him as a great hero but himself, so he would rather be them. I love John, he is actually so well constructed i might cry
i always thought of john as the mandatory totally normal person - and I was right in some way - but of course, even john's simplicity has depth, and his blissful ignorance turns out to be one of the weirdest things about him.
it is shocking to see a "default" character that isnt just weird and special in his own way, but one that is weird and special BECAUSE of his "defaultness". if you know what i mean.
Well, in any other cast of characters, John would be the random silly prankster. But in Homestuck, he is the most default compared to others.
God i just came back from re-reading the whole game over/retcon ordeal and I'm traumatised again. Thanks for bringing a bit of joy with your videos. Especially since it's John
wow, i was just dong the same thing!
as in, half an hour ago!
@@flowermother2844 oh god we suffered together. Now I feel obliged to propose
Fuck I read too much of that stuff
JOHN IS BEST BOY
eridan ampora He is such a PURE boy!
THE BEST OF ALL GOOD BOYS
No Dave and or dirk is best boi
@@lordskull4382 Dove and Dork
this video reminded me of a cool thing i always liked about early homestuck (acts 1-4). that is how the beta kids got progressively weirder as they were introduced, slowly easing the reader into the true weirdness (uniqueness? creativity?) of homestuck's universe. john is kind of quirky, but still a pretty normal 13 year old kid. rose is weirder, what with all the running around in thunderstorms, the cat mausoleum, and secret underground lab. dave may seem cool and normal to his friends, but the violence, puppets, and general abuse tell us otherwise. finally, jade is weirdest of all, growing up alone on a private island with an ancient temple in the middle of the pacific with a super-powered dog, extremely advanced robotics/technology (wardrobifier, anyone?), and visions of the future. the gradual reveal of more and more weirdness was so interesting and so fun!
Aw. This video is great.
I was wondering if you were going to talk about johns pranksterism being a fufilment of the ancesteral memory of jane. A fairy known as a trickster.
I liked this, because theres alot to say about john, with all his weird plot shit. But the vid went the more domestic route.
I'm sort of worried- would John return in HS^2 and/or partake a major role? Or did Dirk view him as such a load he decided to manipulate narrative to leave him altogether?
After all, who would say that he isn't above turning John's own friends to have such a view of him, as well.
they will come back in some way, i assure you. it'll probably be some big deal when they do, i'm betting. :o)
I mean, if HS^2 is taking place when it seems to be then wouldn’t John be like dead currently?
@@beblazeblue93 More than dead if Dirk's whole spiel about the Cherub poison is real
Well, if Dirk is controlling the narrative through the aspect of Heart, we can assume that he wouldn't be in complete control of how the story progresses. His emotions would be. My guess is that he's gonna be taken down through his own neurosis, giving the cast enough room to get John back with timeywimey shit.
@@Sleepy12ftPanda IDK, the way the cherub poison worked like it sounded like it worked, the Johns literal "narrative importance" would have died along with him. Whatever that means.
Man, please, put english subtitles again, the automatic ones don't help too much :(((
I don't speak english natively and your videos are really interesting to me 👌
I can't believe your just now making a video on John.
Last time I was this early, John was still 10.
Smooth John is ultra cursed
Back when he REALLY was a "beta kid".
He is a DORK, not a NERD
John has gone through a lot, and even if Dirk mocks him as being boring and just someone we can project on, John is someone we can relate while Dirk is a sociopath that is becoming annoying. John, just like the MSPA Reader, has made friends, has entered relationships with some of them, has experienced loss, and has even questioned stuff about himself, or herself if you know what I mean.
us not relating to dirk is a part of dirk's plan
@@dumpsterDeity He wants to be a villain, but he is so bad at being the villain. Even Terezi thinks he sucks.
@@dumpsterDeity dirk's plan? Interesting
Eggboy time
Although I am a Rogue of Breath, I can relate to John on a very personal level. Imagination is a constant part of my life, no matter how much I strive to bring myself back to reality (Probably the rogue aspect). I also have a love for music, as I play around on the piano (same as john), but I often feel like I forced it upon myself to become a musician because I come from a family who is heavily engaged in music (stealing freedom from my choice). Speaking of, I find it interesting that I sing in (And sometimes conduct) a choir as a rogue of breath, because being in a choir means that I have to use my breath in unison with others, stealing the freedom of breath from myself. (Or others when I'm conducting). also, I've been told that my singing is breathtaking lol.
2:52 Isn't that more like Hope?
6:16 And he literally sees reality as a movie. And doesn't believe that Vriska is an alien ghost because aliens and ghosts come from different genres. Mmmmalo has a lot of interesting things written about it:mmmmalo.tumblr.com/post/156819414658/act-1-on-reality (although most of them are crazy epileptic trees).
breath/imagination connection made me do my hmmm face
Not really since air/breath is generally together with mind, and Jonh has more imagination or creativity than hope in himself
@@LiNestHetalia they meant Hope as an aspect. Imagination/aspiration/living a dream are concepts that rather describe the Hope aspect than Breath.
I think that this is the first time that I've seen Breath be connected to the imagination. And honestly, I'm kind of unconvinced. If anything I would say that John is one of the least imaginative characters of Homestuck. In Hussie's opus so far imagination has often been tied to the ability to alter or even create the world. Actions of imagination, like artistry or righting often take on a psupo-prophetic power as they both foreshadow events to come (from the perspective of a binge reader) or inspire/are reworked again and again into the story. (See Complacency of the learned -> both the trolls and the cherubs; caliopi's artwork -> act 7). While one might try to create a separation between imagination and creativity, I don't know if I would. If anything John's distant and some times inconsiderate relationship with his friends is a symptom of his lack of imagination. And while mechanically he serves often as an audience surrogate, exposition is regularly given or explained to him, not something he explores or imagines for himself.
I think that ASPIRATION is a good word for breath though. To achieve anything, especially the things one aspires to one must act. In my mind on of the fundamental elements of Breath is Action. John as the main character is often given action and direction by those around him. He is forced to act and choose. And often it seems that when John is stuck the whole narrative is stuck.
Some times John can seem like not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but that's often because he speaks (acts) before he thinks. And a lot of the issues that you rightly bring up about his relationships are rooted in the same issue. John isn't the most self-examined person (not so say that he doesn't engage in self-examination, but it is difficult for him and happens rarely, and often at great pain. Even, or especially, when it would solve a lot of his problems). John prefers to act, to be doing something. His hobbies are all active things or at least things that require doing: a lot of his favorite movies are action movies; you get the sense that John doesn't exactly study magic, he practices, he DOES magic but he doesn't often put in the brain work for it; pranks, especially the ones that John likes to pull are based on slapstick, that is action-based, humor.
John is most unhappy, most prone to the depression that plagues him when he has nothing to DO. No task before him, or when hall that is required of him is to wait.
John is ultimately given the most freedom to act within the story by becoming unstuck in cannon.
Action is also a good description for breath because it forms a nice dichotomy with it's foil: Blood. Hussie has often spoken of two different types of story beats. Meat and candy of course, but also between action (often meat aligned) and dialogue (often candy aligned). The blood players, as we've seen have a propensity for dialog or words at the very least-- going so far as to dialog with themselves if no one else will talk to them. If "Narratively" Blood is an aspect aligned with dialog and relationships it would make sense for Breath to be aligned with dialog's counterpoint: Action.
Tavros' journey is not toward achievement/manifestation of his imagination indeed his imagination is often a manacled crutch that hobbles him along his journey. His apotheosis is not in becoming the Ruffio of his imagination, but by setting that crutch aside and DOING what needs to be done, by actively being the Tavros he needs to be.
I agree that Breath is very connected with fun. But I would frame this as the Breath aspect indulging in Action without Meaning. Similar things might be seen in other aspects like a Blood player's walls of text that go one, sometimes without ever reaching a point, or a Blood player inventing and then analyzing fictional people and putting them through elaborate fictional tribulations, a heart players obsession with the potential, possible, imagined feelings (even at the cost of not paying attention to their actual feelings). I think every aspect has possible expressions of their aspect without Meaning.
I guess this is all to say, I'm interested to hear what more you have to say about the connection between Breath and Imagination. Looking forward to part 2.
I enjoyed reading that. Good analysis
Air is literally the element of mind, of creativity and intelligence, and what is breath if not air?
Like guys it's basic elements theory
@@LiNestHetalia granted the aspect of Breath is elementally tired to air, but I would connect it most closely with the concept of pneuma, often called "the breath of life."
Pneuma it's the animating, organizing forever of the cosmos. In some Gnostic cosmologies pneuma acts as the transmissive linkage between logos, the mental Devine will that shapes the cosmos (i.e. the author) and the inner matter of the world. It activated and orders the world, giving it life, motion, direction, asperations. So while air is the element of the mind and creativity, pneuma it's more specifically about the action of creating that is imposing a will, a reason upon matter than it is about the mental biblical activities that I associate with imagination.
@@souloflegonds while I agree, I don't think it's exclude the more basic elemental aspect of his symbol, basically Jonh also represents the air that gives breath/life to the material (or the air in our mortal existence) and so he has the FREEDOM (generally linked with air/the sky) of giving LIFE (breath) to IMAGINATION (mind), all aspects strongly connected with air (the element he start controling)
And it's a perfect analogy to the fact that he do needs fantasy to "survive" his existence, he uses the fantastic world of movies, his own imagination, to create his persona, to create himself, and while Jonh is not the most thoughtful beta kid, he IS the one that generally help the other kids to understand their own existence or at least find the answers to their dillemas (most of times ignoring his own problems) using his MIND, and sometimes referecing or using his IMAGINATION/CREATIVITY in the process, and I would even quote other parts of his personality/behavior that do remember or are referencing the element of air
Homestuck uses alot of philosophical and theorical elements, and I wouldn't ignores the interpretation of the elemental theory in there
@@souloflegonds also let's remember that most heroes we know do have one power in common: fly
And what better represents flying than a bird? Birds, animals that are many times relationed with freedom, life, and yes, air
And yeah, I know, bird is more a Dave thing, but in the metaphorical meaning it is a good way to explain how larger and strong is Jonh's relation with his element (he is a hero, with a lot of freedom in the plot, with a big imagination power, and generally creative in his way to find answers)
But well it's my opinion
Ohhhh shiiiit theres so much about john i didnt know, i was always uninterested in him since i also saw him as the "base" character and the other ones seemed more interesting or relatable. But this video is very good at showcasing the interesting stuff about him, per say :D
Also that percieved normalness is probably why so many people may be against June, or just anything very different concerning john, since he's the normal protagonist hah
The main interesting thing about John is not John himself, but the way he changes other through Breath. He was literally the one who created his friends' traits.
John is absolutely my favorite character, it's absolutely fantastic!
[works on a John Egbert megalo in the background]
[looks up to see oD video on the lad]
[realizes I can use some of the motifs in some of the songs he features]
Nice
I’m sorry a what
@@literallyn01imp0rtant it's called Ghostwriter On The Storm
i haven't clicked something so fast! hell yes!
John’s Breath powers were unfortunately underutilized.
Tudor Aragorn of Greyscot John is underrated in how powerful he is. He could make a planet wide tornado before reaching god tier and literally drilled through a planet shortly after.
idk he was one of the only characters to fully awaken to his powers and finish his planet quest. breath is freedom and detachment, he straight up broke reality by retconning the story and was able to zap anywhere and everywhere because he was no longer bound to the narrative (well the original story of homestuck proper anyway) he became the only john allowed to exist beyond a certain point in time.
bladekindeyewear.tumblr.com/post/36797950396/breath-blood-and-the-flow-of-reality
@@ashikjaman1940 it was the most frustrating in Meat epilogue English fight. Jade and Rose just got killed in first 2 secs and Dave with John just forgot they have any powers, and if in case of Dave it's ok, because he's knight and many other meta shmeta shit, John just forgets he can materialize into wind to avoid damage.
this made me fall in love w john all over again. my sweet heir headed boy :'))
Do you think you could do a video series covering the different Homestuck classes and detailing how they would relate to characters or real people?
That'd be cool!
"Partly because [Dave] believes Bro is straight." I'm curious what you have to back that up. Obviously he thinks John is straight, but Bro? I don't remember any discussion of Bro's sexuality.
Christofferoff Most people assume that someone is straight until they find out otherwise. Dave didn’t really analyze his Bro or the stuff he did so it’s a fair assumption that Dave thought his Bro was straight
One of the early comics Dave made had the handing out women like cheap cigars joke, which he called derived of his bro's work. This give the impression Bro as being attracted to women as well as not drinking his respecting women juice
@@mariogonzales829 That's a good shout, I'd forgotten that scene. Thanks.
I do think Dave and Dirk touch on the subject when there having their talk. I do distinctly remember Dave putting the pieces together and making him "the biggest fucking idiot in the world" but maybe I'm reading to much into that.
SteperOfTheLongEarth no I don't think you are. I remember that distinctly too. Plus before that with the whole analysing and picking apart masculinity and society and what he'd learned from his bro. It all just points toward dave learning a lot of homophobic and hypermasculine behaviour and thinking from bro, so straight I'm sure seemed logical..
Before I got into Homestuck, people made John out to be a huge incel loser when in reality he's probably one of, if not the chillest of characters. Not sure what those guys had against him tbh, note I don't talk to people online much, they were mostly in person high school 4chan types who aren't really much of the audience any more these days, thank gog, but damn, poor little old John? You call him an incel when Eridan is right there?
I love him so much and he deserves the world. That's really all there is to say on the matter.
Thank you so much for this video! 😄 John has always been my favorite character in HM since day one T-T
This was an incredible video. Can't wait for part 2.
Thanks for reminding me why I loved homestuck back then... I don’t know how you analyzed and condensed all this into a video but good job.
I should’ve seen this coming but I was so shook!!! Can’t wait for videos about the sweetest boy
Thank you so much for making Homestuck content I always look forward to it
Oh boy, I CAN'T wait until the video about Dave...
john is a precious egg.
I forgot how naive John was before the game.
Jasmin Guiza Well he was literally 13
267622 That’s true.
Thank you for this vid, OD! up until now, I completely missed all that stuff about john and, although he didn't mean it in the slightest, how his joking kind of hurt dave. That orginally went directly over my head
Man this video is a fresh breath of heir
[ta ta ting]
I swear i thought for like 2 years it was EGGbert...
For a long time I thought I was a blood player but then I took the official quiz and it told me I was breath. At first I didn’t really know what that meant and after some research I was still confused. Your explanation of breath in relation to John makes it a LOT more understandable! I can totally see now why I’m a breath player!
Don't believe quizzes if you have a good understanding of who you are.
lord buss bro idek what my favorite food is :/
Welp. Its official.
I'm a breath player and John is just frikin me. Wow ok. Like I knew I related to him super hard but damn. DAMN.
A series on all of the canon kids? Yes!!!!!
Can't wait to see John in Homestuck^2. Hope they take good care of mah boi (also make Johnrezi great again pls, they deserve a happy ending)
I think the real question here is
Do the Ectobiolobabies have belly buttons since they didn't have umbilical cords?
Uuuuuuuhhhhh well zusah ushsjybufsbvkusfv uhh
Ah yes, Johnathan Eggboi
Never read homestuck but looks John Egbert Its dead
He Its so well constructed and he Its not Just a load he Its incredible too and i Hope he comes back If homestuck Still Its not over 👍 🤝
John kinda reminds me of gon from hunter x hunter... just a weird thought
Innocence
Man now I HAVE to play them? Damn it I was hoping I could ignore pesterquest
Dude All You need is John
Happy 4/13 everyone
Well it took you long enough!
Just kidding, thanks for my boy.
wait...
i know this guy
Wondrous dorky boy god
hellllll yes
It seems to me like you fundamentally misunderstand why heterosexuality is normalized in movies. While I could go into the topic, it might be pointless unless you can acknowledge how important heterosexuality is for survival of human race and why the concept of manly and womanly things exist in the first place. One thing I can add though is an idea that people that deconstruct these kind of things might have a certain agenda in mind, and a lot of people have fallen for it, not realizing the implications. That's all.
me, after watching this video: holy shit im john
I’m do used two watching your videos at double speed that the intro seems bafflingly slow when normal
Whats the music that is playing around 6:00 ?
It’s still Doctor
Is a dave video possible?
Why do you ask?
@@vicenteisaaclopezvaldez2450 I would like it to be made :^)
Dave Strider27 Well I think it is inevitable. I think Rose might come before him though.
@@literallyn01imp0rtant yhh :'^)
keep rising my friends
He's a dork than a nerd so... Change your fact Hun.
Ahh!! I'm so happy you're finally covering June :D she's definitely my favorite character and the one I associate myself with most
I will confess that as a socially reclusive heterosexual guy that was raised in a good family and mostly on the internet I only really connected with John in Homestuck. As such the notion that John is trans feels like the rest of Homestuck community trying to force me either into a gender role I don't want to be in or out of the fandom all together. Thank you for at least making one video without bringing that up.
Lmao if having a trans character exist feels like people are forcing you to transition or leave, I think the problem is you. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Also why would him being trans change everything you found relatable in him? This is just so stupid and sad
@@user-yv6vx You are actually right. Which means that not being eble to relate (partially, at least) to John without him being trans (as some people do) is equally stupid and sad.
@@lordbuss ah yes, because trans people, who have almost no representation at all, are not allowed to wish for more representation or desire relatable characters. Meanwhile there are 2.5 billion cishet male characters that yall have to relate to, but "wah wah if this character is trans then its forcing me to either be feminine or leave altogether" which is honestly the most bizarre thing I've ever heard. These things are not the same.
@@user-yv6vx If the question is "are people (any kind of people) allowed to wish for more representation", the answer is obviously yes. But if relatability is irrelevant, it is equally "stupid" to not relate to a trans character as it is to not relate to a cis character. If you must be similar to a character to relate, then RomanQrr's complaint is legitimate. I don't think you must be similar to relate to a character, which is why i think RomanQrr is wrong. But saying that he is wrong "because there are 2.5 billion cishet male characters", means that he is actually right, that he must be like the character to relate, and that he is forced outside the Homestuck fandom, to the other 2.5 billion characters.
Gender based relatability is either relevant or irrelevant.
I am not saying RomanQrr is right. I am saying that both of you are equally wrong.
@@lordbuss lord buss I was saying he could identify with the other millions of cishet characters because part of his point was to equate a trans person's desire for representation with a cis persons. And also to respond directly to his complaint of being forced out. If he voluntarily chooses to leave (because no one is forcing him to do anything) then hes got lots to choose from. I'm not saying relatability is irrelevant at all. I'm saying its important. But if he leaves the community literally no one is forcing him. And are we gonna ignore the bizarre comment about his suggestion that it would forcibly feminize him somehow? Yes, John homestuck is going to forcefem you personally. He's coming to your house to do your makeup and put you in a dress. Just such an utterly bizarre thing to say. (And since this is UA-cam, yes, I know he doesn't think a fictional character will come to life and forcefem him if thats not obvious enough)
Yes! June!!! Yes!!!
.
..
I liked John character until the epilogues, after that i couldn't stand him or the others
What character even is likeable in the Epilogues anyways.
@@merrittanimation7721 Aradia, Rose and Kanaya :)
@@lordbuss rose cucks her wife in the epilogues
It’s DORK not nerd
Okay I like these videos a lot and you do a great job making them, but as a piece of well-meaning criticism: the "Keep rising~" thing sounds... somewhere between sinister and suggestive. I genuinely hate it, and after a certain point you started doing it *twice*
Anyway, compliment sandwich, great job making these videos! Bye bye (ALSO MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!)
As bad and headcanony as always, Duelist.
June is such a good character : )
you mean john? yeah?
Jane?
John?
You mean June, right??
Its not revelant, since he's only analysing HS1
This John vid is gr8 but IMO spends a lot reinterpreting Dave. I interpreted Dave as hetero until the epilogues. Dave was damaged by Bro, then learned genuine emotion isn't weakness & loved John as "brother" instead of a "bro". Welp my reading has been retconned to be wrong, by epilogues :/
hope part two is big brain and connects the points in this to how june is trans canonically
Gay SJW propaganda no wonder you worked on homestuck^2
Tf
@@signlessnyx what?
Dude as much as I don't like HS^2, the trolls are all bisexual by default and can reproduce with any gender. Lord English himself is a transmasc hermaphrodite who shared a body with his sister only transitioning once he gained full control of the body.
Homestuck proper is VERY queer friendly. Literally Dave himself is plied to have been gay since day one.
What
Dave isnt bisexual, he's straight(?) There isnt anything that substantiates a same sex attraction with any epistemic weight.
Did you even read Homestuck???
próprioDemiurgo Brasileiro? 🤔
próprioDemiurgo oh wow a fellow brazilian in a homestuck video como vai
u w0t m8
There actually is though, after the retcon Dave talks about how the stuff he believed as a kid about masculinity and gay people was wrong and heavily implying that he had realized he was attracted to boys, he asked Dirk about how he came out as gay to his friends, and that’s leaving out all the stuff from the epilogues where any remaining subtlety is thrown out and it’s made clear that Dave likes boys