unintelligible-screaming:

as an archival reader, i caught up at exactly the upd8 where davepetasprite^2 became a thing, and my first reaction was to laugh. i mean, it was pretty funny. the existence of davepetasprite^2 means a lot for character development and themes and all that, but it’s also important to acknowledge that part of the reason it happened was because it was hilarious. i’m about to delve into all its “serious” meanings, but i wanted to mention that first because i think sometimes when we read/write meta we ignore humor in considering the structure and rationale of the story. comedy is really hard to write, and in homestuck, layers of comedy are constructed as skillfully and intricately as layers of theme.

that being said, davepetasprite^2 represents an abrupt character shift for both davesprite and nepetasprite. their characters and personalities fused, and somehow, the combination left them happy and fulfilled. that’s because the majority of davesprite’s problems were countered by certain elements of nepetasprite’s personality, and likewise, many of nepetasprite’s struggles were improved by certain elements of davesprite’s character.

before the transformation, davesprite was upset about being left behind, not being the “alpha” dave, and his inability to live up to the heternormative masculine ideals that shaped his upbringing. his frustration at his situation turns into self-hatred which he channels outward as anger. this (and a number of other factors) slowly poison his relationships. his fear of emotional honesty makes dealing with these issues even harder.

also, before the transformation, nepetasprite was overwhelmingly sad and lonely. she died under tragic circumstances, and before that, she spent much of her screentime feeling sidelined. she feels useless and ineffective because she was unable to save equius or herself, and she feels unwanted because of her unrequited romantic feelings. she spends her free time imagining her friends’ romantic pursuits as a substitute for her lack of a love life — in her conversation with jasprose, she admits wistfully that she’s never been on a date or even had anyone like her before.

but becoming davepeta makes davesprite and nepetasprite happy with themselves for the first time in a long while.

toxic masculinity and heteronormativity is a major theme in homestuck, and davesprite’s internalized homophobia leads him to construct his identity around that. but when his identity combines with a girl who has made her desire for romantic relationships — with a specific focus on guys, esp. karkat — a huge center of her life, he is forced to confront and absorb the parts of his identity he doesn’t want to acknowledge. in their new nonbinary self, davepetasprite^2 is free to cast off harmful gender roles.

earlier i mentioned that davesprite’s frustration often manifests as anger directed outward. but (PLEASE correct me if i’m wrong!) nepeta never outwardly expresses any kind of serious anger or aggressive emotion that i can recall… except for when she realizes that equius had been murdered and her fury is so strong that that she dies trying to get revenge. that’s a pretty big contrast! nepeta hints that she wishes she wasn’t so shy and timid, that was the kind of person who could get angry about things, and she even states that what she likes about karkat is his ability to express anger:

i should mention that many people, including myself, don’t believe that anger is a purely bad emotion. anger can make people do bad things, but anger also motivates oppressed groups to fight for their rights. it’s like a knife: you can use it to stab someone, or you could make them a meal. in homestuck, anger has a complex role. for example, rose succumbs to her anger and goes grimdark, which is bad for her; but john breaking his cheery facade and expressing anger is a positive sign for his emotional development.

nepeta(sprite)’s lack of anger makes her kind and sweet but leaves her lonely and dissatisfied, and davesprite’s surplus of anger at his situation is justified but leaves him with self-hatred. in becoming davepeta, their impulses balance out.

i think that davepetasprite^2′s introduction into the story tells us a lot about nepeta and davesprite and provides a strong conclusion to their character arcs — it was a very deliberate, meaningful choice, and i like it. but at the same time, it’s still kinda unsatisfying, because we never get to see them work to solve their emotional issues.

in real life, we don’t get randomly fused with exactly the right person to fix all the problems we’re not ready to confront. despite the fantastical events throughout the narrative, most if not all of homestuck’s other characters have to resolve their internal conflicts through organic means. for example, rose may be an immortal godtier seer of light, but she can’t just magically “see” an easy way to overcoming her alcoholism. the introduction of davepetasprite^2 is interesting and clever, but personally i don’t think it’s a great move in terms of storytelling.

…but then again, if we didn’t have davepeta, we wouldn’t have this:

so i guess we should count our blessings 😛