by @marathemara​

The creation and destruction of Princes shows off Hussie’ s writing chops in a wonderful way. Princes are beautifully tragic figures, each with their own flaw, each striving for mastery of their Aspect even as they are fated to destroy it, or to destroy with it. You don’t have to like a Prince, but once you’ve met one, you can’t help but feel sorry for them.

Eridan, the Prince of Hope, believes he is the expert on Hope. And that confidence is his tragic flaw. He charges ahead believing he’s right, and his belief in his own rightness powers the wand that kills two of his teammates, injures another, and destroys the Matriorb that is trollkind’s last hope for survival. He doesn’t even get to destroy his teammates’ hope completely, though that’s only tragic for him.

Dirk, the Prince of Heart, is tragic in that he sees his terrible destiny rushing at him and doesn’t know how to stop it. Calliope tells him early on what it means to be a Prince of Heart: he is doomed to destroy his identity and those of the people around him. He splinters himself into robot after robot, he takes over the lives of his friends, he knows it’s happening but cannot escape it, at least in the Old Alpha, when he realizes his destiny by literally dissolving into the ether out of shame. In the New Alpha, his interaction with Dave has brought him to a more conscious realization of what he’s done, and his destiny as Prince of Heart may well be to end the legendary Strider identity crisis. That would be pretty sweet.

Eridan and Dirk are easy to understand and to pity. I have more trouble identifying with our third Prince, Kurloz Makara, but as the Prince of Rage, he too is a tragic figure. When we meet him, he is doing penance for a sin committed an eternity ago: while sleeping beside his matesprit Meulin, he let out a terrible scream which (Aranea says) contained all the Rage of the Vast Honk, deafening Meulin and scaring everyone who heard it. In his rage, or maybe in someone else’s rage, he ruined his matesprit’s life and his relationships with his teammates. And now he is a pawn in Lord English’s convoluted plans to bring the angriest and most destructive being ever conceived of into existence. You really gotta feel sorry for him.

The Princes of Homestuck are all interesting and well-written people. I wouldn’t be friends with any of them, but I’m glad they exist.

