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Pre-Release Theories
Joey and Jude are paradox clones, and ectobiologically related to the Homestuck kids
Specifically, Joey is John and Roxy's ectobiological daughter and Jude is Jade's biological son, making them cousins rather than siblings.The flashlight works as a weapon because trolls are nocturnal
It hurts their eyes. It is like the blistering Alternian sun on a stick.- Even better: she chooses the flashlight because of some personal reason (like "it was the flashlight my guardian gave me on my Xth birthday") as in, she doesn't even realize this was effective against trolls.
- So far, we don't know how trolls react to Joey's flashlight, so this theory is inconclusive.
Somehow, the characters are going to enter a universe that survives.
Andrew Hussie has said that this story will not involve Sburb, but that may have been more related to the common fan desire to have Homestuck as a video game where players go on their own version of a Sburb play-through. Every version of Earth and Alternia get destroyed in the comic. Downer Ending plus Foregone Conclusion equals Too Bleak, Stopped Caring. The game is a Stealth Prequel
Currently, the game had been shown as a work set before the events of Homestuck, but largely unconnected. Some connection will happen, tying it to the start of Homestuck. The game is a Stealth Sequel
Currently, the game had been shown as a work set before the events of Homestuck, but largely unconnected. Some connection will happen, making it so the Hivebent characters exist because the universe (and one earth) was saved in Homestuck. Everyone dies in the Reckoning
Because Hussie. Everyone survives the Reckoning
Somehow. The Earth that Joey and Jude are from is in the new Universe Frog.
Similar to the above. Hiveswap is in its own universe separate from Homestuck.
Word of God stated that Hiveswap isn't an AU or within the same continuity as Homestuck. In theory, it makes more sense when you think of how space and time works within the story.An AU implies an alternate reality version of a preexisting universe. Relatively speaking, Post-Scratch Earth is an AU version of Pre-Scratch Earth, in that it involves the same people, just in different circumstances. But Post-Scratch Earth isn't considered an AU, but it's own entity separate from Pre-Scratch Earth.
Secondly, it's been established that time starts acting really weird once you enter the void between universes. Each universe is encapsulated in a kind of time bubble; time is more linear when one is inside this bubble (i.e. within the universe). For example, from the perspectives of A2 Trolls, they had just created the B1 Kids' universe, but due to being in different time bubbles, the B1 universe has already progressed through billions of years. Therefore, for Hiveswap to not be within the same continuity, it means that the events don't cross into the time bubbles of any of the established universes from Homestuck (B1, B2, A2 or A1).
In conclusion, Hiveswap isn't an AU or within the same continuity due to being an entirely different universe within its own, independent time stream that exists somewhere out in paradox space. And returning to the earlier point about Post-Scratch Earth having the same characters under circumstances, it's possible that different/similar instances of the Guardians, Kids and Trolls also exist in Hiveswap.
- All timelines exist in the same Frog.
The game will introduce new concepts that are certainly confusing and convoluted, but not to the point of Homestuck
It's a video game, and new information can't just be brought in by the truckloads. Compare to Homestuck which has 7 years worth of information under its belt to explain the mechanics for how everything worked. Hussie's style is to convolute the simplest things, though, so we'll definitely be getting a taste of some of the more out-there explanations for how things were. It'll probably be as confusing as Undertale was.Expect alot of time bogus mumbo jumbo and something about how Joey or Jude is their siblings and their parents or whatnot.
The Subjuggalos will be mentioned offhand once or twice, but won't play any significant role in the story
Let's face it: Gamzee's "theme" was just to be a joke about Juggalo culture. And though it was mentioned to be a large part of Alternia's society, it wouldn't really make sense to make a big deal out of alien ICP expies. Plus, having them be villains or enemies could be somewhat offensive (Hussie obviously didn't care before, but this is getting released for a mainstream audience, so some cautions should be taken). Most likely case is that they'll be introduced as a possible threat to the heroes that never comes to fruitition, as well as joke background characters who sometimes say funny things.Worst case scenario the heroes end up in their comedy club or something and spent a level or two getting out.
- Since Act 1, we've definitely had a mention of the subjuggalos, when observing the Heiress's portrait, while also mentioning their chucklevoodoo power.
The universe Joey and Jude come from is from some Post-Post-Scratch Universe
Some versions of the kids scratched their session, and the universe that exists now was the result of that. The green-mouthed monsters are there because of...
- A meteorite that fell to the Earth, just like in Attack the Block.
- A meteorite that came from a SBURB session that the aliens played, but the meteor got sent to the wrong planet.
- Time travel. They time-traveled to that date to harass Joey and possibly the rest of Earth's population.
- A DNA/paradoxical/ectobiological experiment gone wrong, which was how they got created.
- Someone summoning mini versions of the Horrorterrors.
- Orders by the Cult.
- The fact that the Noble circle of Horrorterrors doesn't want Joey or Jude going through the portal, because they're preventing Universe C from being created, and they oppose Doc Scratch.
- Them traveling there by starship. The monsters are an alien race that invaded Earth.
- Ancient ruins beneath the Earth that were uncovered, possibly by Joey and Jude's relatives.
- Doc Scratch sending them, or a different nefarious Chessmaster.
- Anything involving Alternia's green moon in general.
- Mishappenings in the Skaianet lab.
- Mishappenings in Pa's adventures.
- Their intensive search for the Cherub switch Joey used.
- A rocket.
- The fact that they are a mutative, corrupting force that seeks to plague the planet.
- Them going back in time to a parallel universe where the past is the future, then sending themselves to the future in the past universe from the first universe's alternate timeline universe 20 minutes before the other parallel alternate universe imploded.
- The fact that they are a primitive, virus-like race that seeks to eat everything in sight, including planets.
- A similar planet-swapping device that Joey and Dammek used. They could have been harassing the family to get it back, or atleast were in the search of obtaining it.
- Some reason that makes no sense at all.
- Something that won't be properly explained, with only vague hints that lead to mass speculation.
- Anything directly involving the Condesce.
- We have not found the source of the monsters' whereabouts since Act 1.
The Switch that Joey and Dammek used is...
- A device similar to the pads within the frog temples that allowed people from Earth to enter prospit or derse, that was there since the beginning of time.
- Or a device like that that Joey and Jude's family edited to transfer across universe.
- Something that came from a frog temple.
- Something that Joey and Jude's family created from scratch. (Specifically either Jude or Pa)
- Something that Joey and Jude's family stole from the same place the green monsters are from or have been residing or searching to obtain.
- Something that was in Joey and Jude's manor before they even moved there.
- Something that's been in Joey and Jude's manor for generations and no one knows what it does or even its existence for a long time.
- Something Jude/Pa himself made using an eldritch-y guidebook.
- Something Joey or Jude made subconsciously without even knowing it, like how Rose scribbled MEOW all over her walls.
- Something that an ancient alien race used as means of transportation.
- Something that was sent to Joey and Jude's manor by means of time travel.
- Something that Pa uses, and probably used the last time he was seen on Earth.
- Something that came from SBURB or SGRUB or any of those type of games.
- Something that came from the companies who helped make those games, such as Skaia Net or Crockercorp.
- Something that came from one of the twelve ancestors to the post-scratch trolls.
- Something that came from Doc Scratch or Lord English.
- Something that sunk to the bottom of the ocean or was buried and left there for millions of years.
- Something that Joey or Jude will create in the future and send to the past.
- Something actually involving Cherubs.
- An instrumental key in creating the first guardian.
- Something that makes no sense at all.
- Something that won't be properly explained, with only vague hints which'll lead to mass speculation.
- There has not been a conclusive source since Act 1, although Joey has made the implication that the portal has always been there, and Jude seems to know of its purpose.
The trolls in Alternia (or atleast in this Alternia) are pretty dense
Just judging by the way they all look. The trolls will be pretty easily fooled and manipulated, because they're children, and if they were any smarter Joey wouldn't be able to survive. Think similar to the salamander village John encountered on his planet, but more normal. The trolls will have wacky, eccentric personalities, some even saying some lines that will become memes in no time. But their violent nature is not to be overlooked, and the game will remind you of this with a few Wham Episodes.- The only troll that's been introduced is Xefros, and he seems semi-dense, but it's probably too early to confirm this theory.
Joey will underestimate the violent nature of trolls
Mostly from her impressions of troll culture judging by her interactions with Xefros. If his personality above is anything to go by, then Joey will think trolls are just quirky and dorky human teenagers with grey skin, basically. When she sees how gruesome trolls can be, she'll be shocked. Xefros will die
Can't be Hussie without a major character death. This troper's guess is that the story will be lighthearted, and then take a dark turn once people start dying. Xefros' likely to die a non-gorey death sacrificing his life for Joey, such as falling down a cliff.- Xefros has not died during Act 1, but he sure seems to have come close to it.
A troll introduced as a nice person will turn out to be a psychotic traitor
Hiveswap will have its own equivalent of Aranea or Gamzee. How it'll play out is up to the game, the only thing that's true is that they'll fool Joey into thinking they're trustable and then betray them. They could be a casteist upholder of Alternia's no-mutant laws, a member of the law itself, or just someone who's mentally unstable and prone to evil. It could even be the Heiress herself putting up a good face. Doc Scratch will make a cameo
Possibly as a mysterious text presented to Joey or just an offhand mention of his name, as a callback to Homestuck. Even more vaguely, a mention of how creepy the green moon is or a reference to the midnight crew or the Felt.- Well, the in-game hint function has the Doc's snarky, fourth-wall breaking attitude, and the security protocol Xefros receives is from 'Scratchtech'. It's not quite confirmed but it's very, very plausible.
Homestuck fans will explode in popularity by playing Hiveswap, which will lead to flame wars over Homestuck purists who are miffed at Hiveswap fans who don't bother reading the original material
And every other complaint. Basically there will be "casuals" who played Hiveswap or watched a famous LPer's runthrough but didn't read Homestuck. Fan rage ensues, especially from Fantroll creators. Xefros's lusus will play a prominent role in the story
Either as transportation or just a supportive character helping Joey and Xefros beat the baddies.- Zoosmell shows that he does care for Xefros by helping to save him from the debris, but that's likely the only role he'll play in the story seeing as Joey and Xefros leave him behind in Outglut.
Many fans of Hiveswap will obsess over a semi-controversial character
They'll probably be an undeniably pretty anti-hero with unique hair who evokes some of the darker themes of the game, and probably acts as a boss, complete with memorable dialogue, who is probably psychotic or atleast has a weak grasp on morality, who said fans sympathize with. They also might enjoy destruction or world domination. Bonus points if they betray the main character, have a sudden evil reveal after acting nice to the protagonist prior, cry atleast once, or have a deep traumatic background to excuse these actions. Quadrouple points if it's an obvious Parody of these character types that fans will take literally.- No such character was introduced in Act 1.
Joey won't return to Earth in the ending
Like above, four acts. Joey won't be back at Earth until the end of Act 3. Joey won't fight the Heiress herself, she'll just have something really bad happen to her offscreen
Joey fighting the Heiress seems a little too predictable, plus, there's really no explanation for how she would get there. The Condesce drones are the Alternian equivalent of the Green Monsters
Not in terms of backstory or origin, but of mechanics: they'll have different types, some weaker than others. And in Act 2, focusing on Strideer, they'll be the reason why he left for Earth: Being pursued by them. The cover poster for Hiveswap seems to indicate this. The Homestuck Fandom will have a resurgence, many of them being those who have played Hiveswap first before reading Homestuck
Title says it. Hiveswap will answer questions Homestuck left unanswered
Seems highly unlikely considering the fact thst Hiveswap is going to be in an unrelated timeline.- The only thing Hiveswap answered were if couches had sopor slime in them or not.
Act 1 will end sort of abruptly, or have an ending that seems too quick in comparison to the rest of the game
The game will be short, essentially, short enough that people wonder why the ending was so abrupt. I say this to piggyback on the whole two acts thing, since, if they did make two acts at the same time, those two games probably wouldn't be that long, especially for an indie game company.- Confirmed, the game ends as soon as things pick up speed.
SBURB/SGRUB or any of its kind won't exist in this Universe at all
The game is a big What If scenario in which, what if there was a universe in which SBURB or SGRUB didn't exist? This is kind of an iffy one since Alternia was created due to the game, but it's still a possibility.A better question for this scenario would be "What if none of the pre-scratch kids or post-scratch trolls played the game in their respective universes?"
The Condesce's drones will act as Demonic Spiders
They'll be tough enemies that start being fought halfway into the story.- Act 1 has passed, and there has not been a battle with a drone.
Joey and Jude's universe exists as efforts of John or Caliborn erasing SBURB/SGRUB from existence
Title says it. Joey is a trans/cross-dresser
Yeah it's a bullshit theory but the prediction had to be made. It'd be a big leftist twist, and also, Joey is usually a guy's name. And the four main characters of the game (Xefros, Dammek, Joey and Jude) are 3/4ths male. When has Hussie ever made an inequally-gendered quartet?- When he made the imaginary female versions of Problem Sleuth's main cast. Hysterical Dame, Nervous Broad and Madame Murel are all female, but Ace Dick simply doesn't have enough imagination to conjure a female version of himself, and therefore is still male.
- As a more recent example, the pre-retcon B2 sprites also count. Arquiusprite and Erisolsprite have two male components each, therefore they are both male; Fefetasprite has two female components, therefore she is female; and lastly, Tavrisprite has a male and a female component, therefore they are non-binary, for a 2/1/1 ratio.
- If you want to argue that the four main characters of the game are 2 male, 2 female, shouldn't your theory be that either Jude, Xefros or Dammek is DFAB and not that Joey is DMAB? I mean, there's just as much evidence for that; Jude is a gender-neutral name, and other than the rumble spheres, there are no physical differences between male and female trolls, so the bets are completely off for Xefros and Dammek.
- I do understand, though, where this theory comes from. It is definitely jarring that Homestuck, which features pretty much all sexual orientations under the sun and even non-binary characters (even if they are just amalgamations of a male and a female character), still struggles with trans representation.
Everyone is trans
To solve the above. What Pumpkin will become a game company
After the release of Hiveswap, they'll continue making games if successful, making the creation of webcomics more of an Early-Installment Weirdness phase. The game is never coming out.
They'll just keep pushing back the release date and hope that eventually backers will get tired of complaining and just give up.- Jossed. The game is being released on September 14th. [1]
9/4 is the release date.
It's the five year anniversary since Hussie was given money to make this game.- Almost confirmed. It releases ten days after, on September 14th. [2]
Who is the white man?
Someone translated Xefros's graffiti on the picture of the fuschian ruler. One of the statements is that "She's in this with someone — the white man" Who is that man?- Doc Scratch.
- Jude or Joey Harley (possibly from somewhere in the future)
- A different human that we don't know about.
- A cherub.
The Alternia that we see in Hiveswap is the one the Cherub later decimated
And the Hiveswap switch is related to this Cherub, or the way the Cherub entered this universe. This Alternia is the one Nektan Whelan and Mierfa Durgas were shown in, because these two characters exist in this game right now. Something will hint of the Cherub's arrival at some point. What was with the radio coming from Joey's kitchen?
Something seems odd and Red Herring about it. Why is it there, and what could it mean?- It came from the cult.
- It came from the distortion from the aliens invading Joey's house.
- It was noises from the Reckoning.
Trizza is Doomed by Canon.
Lore states only two fuchsia bloods can exist at a time, Condy has killed other Heiresses before, and considering Feferi will exist on Alternia at some point... What is Hussie's secret project?
Hussie said he was working on a secret project that he would announce after Hiveswap. What could that be? (More of a generally-mspa question, but whaddyagonnado)
- Act 2 of Hiveswap. He was co-developing both at once.
- A brand-new MS Paint Adventure.
- Paradox Space book 2.
- Some game/media item related to the Homestuck kids.
- A Short MSPA based on Joey and Jude/Dammek and Xefros.
- Homestuck Volume 11.
- Some other album.
- Book versions of the rest of Homestuck.
- These coming is confirmed.
- The Epilogue to Homestuck.
- Also still coming, confirmed. We don't know if this or the above are the specific secret project Hussie mentioned, but they are coming, and were re-announced after Act 1 released, so.
- Caliborn's Masterpiece.
- The end of Bard's Quest.
- Something SBAHJ-related. 8^Y
- Confirmed! Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff and the Quest for the Missing Spoon was announced a few months after the game's release.
- Hauntswitch, which is Dammek's side of the story.
Post-Release Theories
Dammek is the leader of only one of four branches of the resistance.
A "tetrarch" is a Roman title regarding one of four leaders each assigned to one of four territories. The cult members are trolls and Grandpa Harley brought them here
Before I get into the meat of this theory, I just wanna say this small theory: The monsters attacking Half-Harley Manor are from Alternia. They look alien, and... well, this isnt huge evidence, but "That's how I beat snake" and "SERPENT GENESIS" share the same leitimotif, but thats not really a big clue.But then how did the monsters get there? After all, the portal wasn't activated until Joey used it. Well, do you remember the cult Jude was investigating? An easter egg proves that the cult was real all along. From the shape of their bodies, it looks like they wear cloaks that look similar to the one the sufferer wears.Yes, I believe the cult members are trolls. You cannot see horns, but it is possible they hid them under the cloaks. I think they wanted to bring Alternia to Earth, and, like all cults do, did a ritual... which is appearifying native monsters, like the scratchware. Again, this theory is silly.But how did THEY get to earth? Simple: Grandpa Harley (or I guess since this is hiveswap, dad) brought them. we know the snake portal takes one troll, and one human and... well, hiveswaps them. Harley must have visited Alternia, as he has a non-earth globe (which by the way, houses the attic key and to activate it you need green and red beams of light, similar to the light beams that joey and dammek are being thrusted through) and he goes off on adventures... maybe to a whole other planet? Maybe we will find Grandpa somewhere on Alternia.So, possibly because grandpa (might have) went to alternia more than one time, a group of trolls have been swapped to half-harley manor, and have been sneaking around Earth. The reason being grandpa just wants to explore. Perhaps his wife wanted him to stay and actually take care of his kids, so she hid the key in her jewelry box. Sadly, because Joey has to unlock the portal, it can be infered that she locked the portal, leaving Grandpa trapped on alternia... at least until Joey comes along :) Jude Harley is Fedorafreak
This might be coincidental, but as I was thinking things over i noticed three oddly familiar quirks about Jude Harley.The thing that stood out first was Jude's pattern of speech. He talks exclusively in short, abrupt statements, as if everything is a mission log. It makes perfect sense with his personality and the fact that all communication happens over a walkie-talkie, but I couldn't help but feel and odd sense of deja vu. The issue was, I couldn't remember why it seemed so familiar until I remembered two more of Jude's quirksJude has jars of piss in his treehouse, and a pair of excessively hiked-up pants.
It's probably nothing. Its almost certainly nothing. But all the same, I have to wonder if Nannasprite knew she was telling Fedorafreak the story of his father's early life
>BOROS refers to a 4th-wall breaking mechanic introduced later into the game series
Ever since I've achieved all the other achievements in Act 1, its sorta bugged me that the achievement ">BOROS" is unobtainable as of the moment. It's the completionist in me, though I do love the idea of an achievement obtained from some sort of interaction with another Act. Perhaps it's as simple as loading your Act 1 data into Act 2 when it releases, hence the "Pick up where you'll leave off." However, that doesn't exactly make a whole lot of sense, given that the achievement is to be obtained in Act 1 and not Act 2, aka you'd have to be running Act 1 and continue from something to get the achievement. Which leads to some questions.First off, some say that maybe it's something to do with loading a certain save of the possible "Hauntswitch" into Act 1 of Hiveswap. What for, I'm not sure, given that Hauntswitch won't come out until after Act 4 of Hiveswap if it ever gets made at all. Act 1 would need an update of some sorts to support... whatever you'll be doing in back in Act 1? But I thought of something that would fit more self-contained in Hiveswap's storyline."BOROS" is obviously supposed to represent the second half of the word "Ouroboros." Ouroboros, for those unaware, is the ancient symbol/idea of a snake eating its own tail; it represents the natural cycle of the universe, where life comes from death, creation from destruction. In a nutshell, it's a loop. This symbolism actually fits right in with the other Gnostic references in Homestuck itself (Hell, it's even directly referenced in Homestuck, specifically the red/green sucker Juju). With "boros" being the tail end of the word represented in the achievement, there must be the head of the word somewhere else, perhaps in the name of another achievement...? Where the game tasks you with something, you obtain the "Oros" achievement, and when you load into Act 1 with a given save file, you unlock Boros for "Picking up where you'll leave off."Here where the pure speculation comes in. I believe that, at some point during Act 4, we'll be given a task, or something happens that forces us out of the game. Assuming Act 1 has updated at some point at Act 4's release, we'll be taking that save file that Act 4 left us... and loading right back into Act 1 with something to do. Perhaps it's time travel. Perhaps it's something not unlike John's abilities to be unstuck from the canon. I'm expecting Hiveswap to, at some point, completely break the 4th wall and let us as the player screw around in the previous acts as a meta climax to the game. All that I can really infer from all this, is that there is some sort of loop in play, where the end comes right back to the beginning.Hey, maybe it'll be less exciting than that and simply lead to the plot being an infinite loop. Maybe, who knows. But I wouldn't be surprised if Hiveswap goes down the meta storytelling route. In fact I feel as though it's a popular storytelling idea as of late. Homestuck did it a bunch here and there, especially with the retcon arc, Undertale had themes of it if you looked deep enough of looping/resetting the game and using it as your playground, the unrelated game "One Shot" was completely stuffed with this kind of plot, etc.. And, honestly, the idea of booting up Act 1 from later on in Hiveswap to retcon or do some sort of task seems like an interesting yet awesome idea with a bunch of potential.But who knows how long this goddamn snake will be if Acts 2-4 take forever to come out. Dammek's treatment of Xefros is a case of Acquired Situational Narcissism.
Xefros never mentions if Dammek was always the way he is, or if he only started acting like The Bully until later in their lives. Considering Xefros still has a bad case of Internalized Categorism, Dammek possibly still has internalized classism and was trying to control the one person a caste below him subconsciously. Diamonds Droog or the Midnight Crew is connected to Xefros, or his position in Arena Stickball as the Pusher
When examining Xerfos's room, you'll discover he likes the sport Stickball. Yes, clearly this is an expy of pool and there's tons of felt references in it (Stitcher, Dozer, Tracer, etc.)However, oddly, the player is called the pusher. What's weird is that, unlike the rest, this has no clear tie to any other character in Homestuck. You'd think it'd be like "The Lord" or something to tie back to English...but no. The Pusher. So, maybe this has another meaning, like pushing the felt around.So...I did some research. And I found something. Someone who does trickshots in pool (in this case, a master pusher) has a specific and familiar name. And what's that name?A Cuestick GeniusAnd who in Homestuck is a Cuestick genius? Well, look at this.
If kept as cameos, Nektan and Mierfa will be implied to be highblood allies to the resistance.
Perhaps they're supporting them with a large amount of money. If the narrative ever switches to Doc Scratch.
He'll go on a long spiel about Dammek and Xefros's ancestors as well as Grandpa Harley. The man certainly has been on Alternia before if the memorabilia in his house says anything. Perhaps he managed to mingle with troll culture during one of his expeditions.- Somehow, I don't even think Dammek and Xefros have ancestors. In Homestuck, the whole deal with ancestors is that because trolls reproduce in a way which makes tracing lineage near-impossible, they latch onto whatever historical figure shares the most DNA with them, as well as the same symbol, and the only reason the Sgrub players have ancestors they can point at is because the two sets of trolls were created in an ectobiology lab and are almost certainly related to one another. Since Xefros and Dammek (as far as we've seen) are not ecto-grubs, even if they do have ancestors, they're significantly less related/relevant to their lives. The adventures of Jake on Alternia are entirely plausible, though, as he absolutely has a large involvement in the Alternian culture (Sufferer plush, globe of Alternia in the trophy room, the likely reason Joey knows the Alternian script).
The rebellion is being orchestrated by Doc Scratch
Alternia as it stands is not racist enough, or too racist, or not racist in the right way, for the future players of SGRUB. The rebellion, whether it succeeds or fails, will alter Alternian society just enough to match what Homestuck presented. Any discrepancies will be corrected by the government's inevitable reaction.- Well, we know that Trizza will be out of the picture by Sgrub's time either way, so her active oppression/monitoring/violence will be gone by then whether or not Scratch has anything to do with it.
- At this point it's confirmed Scratch has a direct hand in things, and since Feferi needs to be alive and well by the time SGRUB is played by the Homestuck Trolls, it's a safe bet that he has reason to back a rebellion against Trizza. If he has been working with her to set her up for a downfall as Dammek suspects, this plays into the first act's title: Kansas City Shuffle.
A homestuck troll will cameo.
They'll be younger than they were in the comic—maybe three sweeps, max—but their interactions with Joey and Xefros will reflect their future character. Trizza is the way she is partially due to being manipulated by Doc Scratch
.Ala Vriska and Rose. The translated graffiti in Dammek's room mentions "she's with the White Man". The portals were created specifically for certain individuals to avoid SBURB's/SGRUB's destruction of the planet by escaping to the next universe.
At some point in the chain of SBURB, possibly even before Alternia/Beforus, the portals were either created in order for people to escape the doomed planet they were currently on, or else it exists as a universal constant with the same purpose. The information is passed on between each universe, and that's what the cult that Jude has been observing is trying to do. Dammek is a double agent, working for Trizza.
Just to emphasize Alternia's 1984-like totalitarianism. A. Claire disappeared into the portal.
So far it's a mystery how she died, right? Well I think Jude hinted at it when Joey was about to enter the portal:JOEY PLE... I CA...OSE YOU T....LEASE DO...
Which is almost definitely
JOEY PLEASE... I CAN'T LOSE YOU TOO... PLEASE DON'T GO
The word "too" is an assumption, but I think it's obvious based on context. But that implies he lost someone else because of the portal, too, which explains why Jude already knew that the portal was dangerous and kept the attic key deeply hidden. Most likely the person he lost was A. Claire. It would explain her disappearance, why Grandpa keeps the portal locked away and covered up now, and why A. Claire had the portal key before she disappeared.I'm pretty positive about that part of the theory, but I have some more predictions. According to the wiki it's been confirmed that A. Claire is dead, not just missing. I think, when she reached Alternia, she was killed by Trizza. It would be hinted at by Xefros' comment about Trizza hating aliens, and, more importantly, would connect Joey to Xefros' and Dammek's rebellion and give her a personal reason to oppose the main antagonist of Hiveswap.
One more thing, which is a bit more of a stretch. It's been mentioned countless times that Joey gets the impression that Grandpa really hates animals, even though he used to love them (Halley). She hinted that he might have been "betrayed" by an animal. I think an animal is what pushed A. Claire into the portal. Either Jude's mysterious pet, or Bec. Either way, the accident could potentially tie in to Dammek's communion abilities, which would be a direct parallel to Tavros later killing her husband, Grandpa, the same way.This accident may also be why Grandpa now isolates himself from his family. Since he presumably found/built the portal, he blames himself for his wife's death, and is afraid that he'll put the rest of his family in danger too; especially Joey, who he can't look in the eyes perhaps because she reminds him of A. Claire. Now he spends almost all of his time killing animals because he resents them for the accident, and researching Sburb because he wants to get to the bottom of the mystery that led to his wife's death. Sburb has a lot of serpentine imagery like the portal does, and the portal leads to the universe that created Earth through Sburb, it's not surprising that he would look for a connection there. Although it's more likely that it's actually Lord English's / Doc Scratch's doing.
Dammek is not a bronzeblood.
This theory has been making its rounds on Tumblr, with an example being this post. Some of the key points that the believers of this theory bring out are as follows:
- Other than actions involving blood, such as bleeding and blushing, the only indication of a troll's blood color is via their eyes, and Dammek's are covered by his sunglasses.
- He has circular disks in his hive, even though Xefros states that they are a luxury that lowbloods cannot acquire.
- Dammek's lusus, in the lore, has been specifically stated to seek adopting any other troll (or even a human, such as Joey during the course of the plot) after their troll's death, with the implication that Dammek killed the lusus's previous troll.
- The way he treats Xefros does seem to be a bit weird for someone just one caste above him, especially since there are pictures of Dammek wearing the same kind of butler uniform that Xefros has.
Joey and/or Jude is allergic to peanuts.
John's allergies, which were only once briefly mentioned, became a Chekhov's Gun when Jake's dreamself died after being fed peanuts. My guess is that one or both of Grandpa Harley's children has also inherited the allergy.Dammek is (or thinks he is) a descendant of the Summoner and is attempting to continue his work.
- Both deer and bulls are part of the same animal order (Artiodactyla). Even if Dammek is not a direct descendant of the Summoner, he possibly has his genes.
- Dammek is (assumably) a bronzeblood.
- In Homestuck, Eridan explains to Jade that there is a subset of trolls that believe it's their duty to seek out their Ancestor's legacy and continue what they were trying to do.
Hiveswap will have Act Acts and/or Intermissions, like Homestuck did.
I have been a Homestuck fan since around the time Act 5 began, and even back then, Hussie knew he was going to finish Homestuck in 7 acts, so at the time, it looked like Homestuck was going to be over soon. As a result, when suddenly, one of the pages was titled "END OF ACT 5 ACT 1", I felt incredibly cheated, and since then, the problem got even worse, what with further divisions of acts into acts and intermissions.
With that note aside, Hiveswap Act 1 just felt... too short. Not just short enough on its own, but short enough to make me think "the game cannot be just 4 of these segments long". And since Homestuck has been known to cheat like this with act acts, it wouldn't be too much out of character for Hussie to do the same with Hiveswap. Of course, this alternative (assuming the act acts also cost money) is possibly worse, with simple calculations in the back of your head not leading to Hiveswap's correct price in its entirety, but perhaps telling a story exactly the way you want to is worth more than any money or publicity.
- Well, there's the Troll Call and Friendsims, if you count them as Intermission material.
Halley did indeed betray Jake, but not by choice.
If Joey examines the picture of Jake and Halley, she wonders how her Pa could've gone from being so good with animals to being a Great White Hunter. She suggests a betrayal, and then immediately backtracks, which almost certainly means a betrayal is exactly what happened. Why? Well, wasn't The Condesce able to control the minds of animals? And wouldn't she have reason to be furious that Jake ran away from her? Joey will learn something bad about her mother.
Joey has a contentious relationship with her Pa, but she has nothing but good things to say about her missing mom. But her mom was the one who had the key to the portal when it would've made more sense for her adventurer of a father to have it, and she quite possibly painted the Green Sun as a Green Star on Joey's ceiling. At some point, we're going to learn something that makes Joey's mom look like something that's less than a perfect angel. One or two of the Homestuck ancestors have natural descendants through the Mother Grub.
Since Jake Harley had biological children, Joey and Jude, in addition to his ectobiological children, John and Jade, it's only reasonable to suspect that some ancestor genetics were strong enough in the slurry to have prominent presence in some of the trolls in Hiveswap's time.- Even if they did, there is literally no way to trace such things. There is a reason trolls have a vague term for "ancestor", rather than a much stringent one for "genetic parent". In addition, the strength of a troll's genetics is dependent on the passion of their relationship (whether flushed or caliginous), which is another weird thing to account for.
Near the end of the final act of Hiveswap, there will be an actual vocal song sung by Xefros.
Not just “censored” lyrics like in the Grubbles album, but a fully-voiced song sung by none other than Xefros himself. Either it could play during the credits or a potential Final Boss. My guess is, it would be a remix of a previous Grubbles song or an epic orchestral medley of other songs. Xefros is a tetrarch.
Whichever avenue you go, Dammek and Xefros are fairly close, especially considering Dammek's revolutionary efforts, which would make sense if Xefros was also high-ranking in the revolution. In addition, Xefros mentions, separately, that he is excited to meet Joey and that the other tetrarchs will also be, which could be construed as him meaning "tetrarchs other than Dammek", but he could also possibly mean "tetrarchs other than Dammek and himself" with equal probability.
As for why Xefros consistently refers to "Tetrarch Dammek" and "the Tetrarch" despite having the same title as him? Well, it was already brought up that a tetrarch is only one of four leaders, so of course they would refer to each other with their "equal" title. Likewise, Dammek is known to be into what we know as communism, meaning that a Roman Empire-style triumvirate (or, in this case, well, tetrarchy), with no tetrarch being superior to another one, must make sense to him as well. This would especially be in contrast with how Alternia does put a single person (either the empress, the Condesce, galactically, or the heiress, Trizza as of Hiveswap, globally) on a pedestal to the exclusion of everyone else.
This is further implied by the photos Dammek has in his house, which are nearly always those of him and Xefros as equals. If Dammek really did see himself as a superior to Xefros and not an equal, it would more likely than not show. There is also the monitoring of Xefros' hive, which could be seen as "clingy moirail but also obviously a superior" material, but could also suggest that Dammek views Xefros' security as crucial. While Dammek may see Xefros and the other tetrarchs as equals, ultimately, he still is the leader of the rebellion, even if he might not plan to be the leader of the new system (or even have a personality cult regarding himself, like Trizza) if he succeeds.
In addition, there are two known details about the direction Hiveswap is taking: a) that it will feature five playable characters, three of whom we've already seen, and b) that it will allow you to choose your main allies, likely those currently being revealed in the Troll Call. However, to suggest that those will be playable is to suggest that there will be far more than five playable characters, which means that whoever the remaining two are, they must be important to the rebellion in either way and there will not be an option to depose of them. Hence, it more likely than not makes sense for those two to be the remaining two tetrarchs, which, coupled with Hauntswitch, would give us a nice overview of what each and every tetrarch is like.
A. Claire isn't dead.
Joey thinks she died, but we know nothing about the actual circumstances. We don't know if it's a Never Found the Body situation, but it's possible; inconsistently with (Grand)Pa Harley's previous ways of dealing with the dead in Homestuck, there is no taxidermied corpse in the house. In future installments, Joey will end up in a circumstance in which she HAS to use a gun.
Whether she'll betray her principles to avoid worse consequences or Take a Third Option remains to be seen, or may be a player choice. Xefros is Transgender.
His quirk picks out X, eks, ten, cross, and trans; did that or the X motif come first? Also, Doc Scratch sends a message to him. The Doc's usual thing is choosing young girls to do his dirty work, and given he's the minion of the world's biggest misogynist, he likely wouldn't respect the gender identity of a perceived female. Also may not be helping his self-esteem issue or constant fear, in a culture which punishes non-conformity of all other types so severely. Certainly not conclusive, but the devs have said there are more trans trolls in the roster than the confirmed ones... The portal is a juju.
This is pretty obvious but it’s worth outlining here. The portal and its key are both covered in the same spiral and snake motifs associated with cherubs, as well as the red-green motif. Every juju in Homestuck has been in the possession of a cherub, originated from them, or was associated with them. The key specifically also shows the same compelling force as the lollipop juju; trying to use the key on things other than the portal gets messages showing that Joey is being psychically compelled to open the door, in the same way Jane was compelled to lick the lollipop. The key even physically forces her to use it! Jujus are often also inexplicable; it’s unknown where they came from or where they go, and when we do know, it’s all a stable time loop. It’s unknown how or why the portals are there.
The main point against this theory is that Jude and Dammek both have schematics of the portals. While it actually is possible to break apart a juju - we see Lil Cal get shredded to pieces at one point - the look of the schematics suggests the portals weren’t just fixed up, they were built. This would discredit them, because, as stated, jujus are magical and cannot be made by mortal means.
However, this still leaves the possibility that the key is a juju, while the portal is not. The key also uses cherub motifs with the red-green spiral pattern, and the compelling force seems to be produced by the key. Its presence is also inexplicable; no one knows where it went after it was used, or how it came in A. Claire’s possession. This theory, however, raises its own set of questions about how or why the portal is there, or why it’s a portal in the first place.
The monsters attacking Harley Manor are the results of ectobiology experiments using the First Guardian code.
First, there’s a definite physical resemblance, which inspired this in the first place. First guardians are always eyeless and are entirely white in coloration, though Gcat’s mouth is neon green. The monsters are all eyeless and entirely black in coloration, and have neon green mouths. They look like corrupted first guardians, or something to that effect. My theory is that someone - most likely the cultists - got ahold of the first guardian code and the required machinery and misused it. That’s not quite as unlikely as it sounds; while the code hasn’t been written down by this point in time, Homestuck’s signature is weird time shit, and Sburb tech has been seen outside the Medium is association with Skaianet, such as in Jade’s home. As for why they turned out corrupted, it’s possibly because their creator tried to use human DNA. Every Guardian so far has been made from non-human components, either animals or inanimate objects. While the monsters don’t look outwardly human, many of them have human-like body parts such as arms, legs, and teeth. Maybe something about human DNA and the FG code makes them incompatible, creating mutated monsters when combined.
Diemen's lusus was a wiener dog, a pig, a cow, or a pig/cow hybrid
The former for the obvious pun, the latter three because oblong meat products are usually made from all beef or a mixture of beef and pork. Act 1 Confirmed Theories
Hauntswitch is the name of Dammek's story, while Hiveswap refers to Joey's story
You can see in this shot where Dammek and Joey are passing eachother while heading to eachother's respective planets that the title "Hauntswitch" is written behind the "Hiveswap" title.- Confirmed by various official sources.
The game will end with many questions left unanswered
There's around four acts (four games) to explain everything. Most likely we'll learn some intricacies of Alternia culture and some things about how the switch works or the vague origin of where the green monsters are from (doubtful since they'll only show up in the introduction), but not about the grand reasoning behind it all, or how Joey will be able to return to Earth.- Confirmed, we don't know anything about anything.
Hiveswap will be more lighthearted than Homestuck
From the way things look, it seems like the game is going for a more quirky, aesthetical vibe similar to Earthbound. There won't be much blood, unless its for comical reasons (and not comical like the comedy Hussie tried to do during the Murderstuck arc). The game will have a feel similar to Monsters Inc. To go with that, romance won't be a major thing either, no Love Dodecahedron to follow and whatnot.- Blood is never seen, only referred to, and same goes with the romance. The world is colorful and bright, and Alternia's violent nature has yet to be seen (except from the burning of the subjugs, but the explicit details of this burning were not seen). It's quirky, but not a deathfest.
Joey will end up in Dammek's hive and recieve a contact notification from Xefros, who she'll then talk to, with Xefros believing that Joey is Dammek
It's a really specific theory but it's predictable.- A split second shot from the trailer.◊ You lucky dog.
What is the green cube Joey is seen carrying?
- A simple cube that opens some doors.
- Confirmed. For now, it has no other purpose than to open the door to Dammek's gaming room.
The below theories are all Jossed:
- A MacGuffin that some trolls want, that Xefros or Dammek possibly found.
- Something that is involved with the whole switch that caused Dammek and Joey to switch planets.
- Something personal to Xefros or Dammek.
- A puzzle device with no real explanation. Or atleast at first.
- Something Joey always had in her mansion.
- Something that glows whenever it can be used, or whenever its Spidey-sense activates.
- Something that loses power when activating doors.
- A juju treasure.
- A Skeleton Key that can activate anything.
The colors of the windows in buildings don't indicate anything Caste-related, they're just arbitrary
A common theory is that all the trolls have windows matching their caste, and that that's the same for every troll. Wrong. Tavros's hive had blue windows, and Gamzee's hive had yellow windows, and so on. The same applies to Hiveswap. The colors of the windows on buildings and hives don't indicate anything related to the blood of the troll in it.- Dammek's green and Xefros's pink windows seem to confirm this theory that was already confirmed before.
Hiveswap will retcon some of Homestuck's details of Alternia
Title says it, Hiveswap will retcon certain aspects or details of Alternia shown in Homestuck, and their excuse will be that its an altered Alternia (due to a different heiress) with a different culture, or it's a different universe, OR it takes place in a different time than the Alternia shown in Homestuck.- Considering the Alternian alphabet was changed◊, it seems likely.
- Hiveswap definitely expands on Alternian culture, but doesn't retcon that much. However, the stylization of the hives, furniture, etc, is definitely altered (Posters now usually have color instead of being just things ripped from google that was made black and white and had horns and yellow eyes added on), and everyone has arms all the time instead of sometimes, and sylladexes (alteast in Xefros's case) is very simple, and hives usually have more color now instead of being grey with a few highlights, with Kanaya's being the exception.
About half of the game will be spent evading the green monsters in Joey's house
They sure are showing alot of it in the trailer. And why would so much detail be put into it if it was only meant to be visited for one chapter of the game?Switching planets will be the halfway-mark of the game. And the same will go for Dammek's half of the story in Act 2.
- Confirmed for Hiveswap. Joey spends about the same amount of time if not a little more in Alternia than she does on Earth.
Hiveswap will be less confusing and weird than Homestuck
Judging by the linear story, the majority of the game will be sparred from Homestuck's more, how you say, eccentric qualities, to reach a more mainstream audience.- Well, it doesn't have time travel, 192 characters, 192 deaths, complex sylladexes, and Purple Prose all the time, so yeah, you could say that.
There will be callbacks to Hussie's earlier works
I know this one is super predictable, but maybe this time it'll be from more obscures ones, like And It Don't Stop or The Starlight Calliope.- It's not a lot, but so far there has been a mention of "humanimals".
Act 1 Jossed Theories
Hiveswap will release on April 13 (4/13)
This is written on April 3rd 2017. I'm guessing this because the game has ran so late that Hussie will probably just release it on 4/13. He did a similar thing with Cascade, in that it was delayed so much he just released it on a nearby anniversary date (10/25).- Jossed, at least for April 13th, 2017. A trailer released, though!
A third trailer will be released on 6/12, and the game itself will be released on 10/25.
Arc numbers are super cool. Hussie would drop dead if he ever found himself releasing the game on an unimportant date.- Jossed. There wasn't a third trailer released on 6/12. Hopes for 10/25 are still possible though.
- Fully Jossed, as the game released a month before 10/25.
Hiveswap will be released on Joey's birthday and act as a new Arc Number
Title says it.- Jossed. If memory serves right, then Joey's birthday is on October 25th, or November 11th.
- Both of those dates are jossed, but the latter was only off by two months - her birthday is January 11th.
Joey's Flashlight is a puzzle-helping tool
For things like light puzzles and whatnot.- They certainly seem to help her with monster battles, but most times, it's uninteractable, since Joey is saving the batteries. There are no light puzzles in Hiveswap so far.
There will be no quirks present in the game
Guessing from the lack of them here
, probably to make things easier to read for the players. Or there's an in-story explanation.- Jossed. Xefros definitely has a quirk, and he mentions quirks explicity in his dialogues with Joey.
Xefros will have a cowardly and cautious personality to Foil Joey's upbeat and brash personality
Judging by the pictures, Xefros always looked scared and is checking around corners for trolls. He has reasons to be this way too, since his best friend or moirail just disappeared and this strange alien just comes out of nowhere, and now the two have to escape. There will be many moments where Xefros is all like "Don't do that!" and Joey's like "What?" or "Nah, it's fine!" and does it anyway, and the two get into trouble. Related to feelings, Xefros will be cynical, but he'll improve by witnessing Joey's optimism.- This does not seem to be the case. Infact, moreso the opposite. Joey seems to care more about Xefros's well-being, him being in a rubble pile and all, than he does of her. Xefros seems to have a happy demeanor even when discussing things such as his self-deprecation and unworth, while Joey is more concerned about her own presence in this alien world, and coming to understand it. Xefros is not cynical, unless specified as cynical to himself.
- I'd put this as half-confirmed, half-jossed: Joey is more concerned and Xefros is more cheerful, but only in the context of Act 1. In Act 2, their dynamics seem to flip, with Joey being more willing to confront the less-than-savory aspects of Alternia while Xefros tries to reign Joey in when he thinks she's being reckless.
Hiveswap will not have any swearing beyond the word "Hell"
First of all, its ESRB Is Everyone 10+, and second, Joey and Jude are Jake's kids, so they'll probably use words like gosh darn and shucks buster instead of real swear words.- Jossed, kinda. Jude says "crap" at one point. And one item interaction can have her recognize Beyers as "the toughest son-of-a-bitch you ever met"
The conflict with Trizza will start when Joey doesn't laugh at one of her jokes.
She doesn't know about the decree about it.- Somewhat jossed, since Joey's conflict with Trizza really started when she agreed to help Xefros with the rebellion.
Joey has a catchphrase
Seems like a fitting accessory for an upbeat, classy character, perfect for a Running Gag.- Jossed, she simply doesn't. She does have a signature dance move though.
There will be merciful options for fighting enemies
Such as scaring them off or blackmailing them, like in Undertale.- Jossed. Joey never really had an option to fight the monsters in the first place, only find an opportunity to distract or run from them. A mercy option was never a mechanic in the first place, nor was a fight option.
A fantroll creator or two will claim that Hiveswap stole their character design
Seems like an inevitable possibility with all the different designs trolls will have in Hiveswap. How vocal and numerous these people are is what's unknown.- Only one troll was really introduced, and so far no fantroll creator is complaining. Although the quirk seems too irresistibly simple to not be taken from someone, but that's still up in the air.
- If anything, with the introduction of Zebede and Tyzias, people are complaining about Hiveswap stealing from Homestuck. A common argument is that Sollux's beekeeping, as the beehives are computers, ties well into his "computer geek" personality, and his two pairs of horns tie well into his duality/Gemini theme, but as of Zebede (and, for that matter, the cut beekeeper as well), it appears that every goldblood is a beekeeper with two pairs of horns, which takes away from Sollux.
THERE WILL BE SO MANY CHARACTERS AND MUCH DEATH
BECAUSE HUSSIE- The only character who died in Act 1 was a pigeon. Out of all the "characters" introduced, which would be Joey, Jude, Xefros, Dammek, Trizza, Xefros and Dammek's lusii, Roxy, Pa, Claire's mom, and the three gunbirds,the fact that only 1/13 characters died during the game probably indicates that death is not a main focus of this series.
- Two major counterarguments:
- Homestuck also didn't appear to be a story about death at first. The first on-screen death was in Act 2, and the first death that had real ramifications and did not fall into the categories of either "oh no a Goomba has died" or "oh no Mario has died but we still have lives left" was in Act 5 Act 2. And even then, dead Sburb/Sgrub players appeared in the dream bubbles; the first real, "no going back and no chance for resurrection" death of those characters was in Act 6 Act 3.
- Of the characters mentioned above, a lot of them have some relation to death in other ways. A. Claire died before the events of Hiveswap, Jake and Roxy have been shown to die explicitly in Homestuck, Trizza is Doomed by Canon because Feferi, Joey can die in a Game Over cutscene and Xefros has been left for dead when his entire neighborhood was razed and likely would have died if not for Joey. That makes 7/13 characters who have been associated with death in some way, and while it's far from the near-perfect death run of Homestuck it's still something to be considered.
- Two major counterarguments:
Both Joey's story and Dammek's story will be released at the same time
It just doesn't make sense that we'd have two parallel, equivalent stories released consecutively, with years in between them, especially when Dammek is advertised to be as important as Joey in the art and the promotions. (Why would they advertise a character we won't know anything about for years?) Hiveswap will instead be released as both act 1 and 2 together. Not in the same game but in separate downloads. This makes sense regarding the prolonged production, too. The next trailer for Hiveswap is likely to be focused on Dammek.- Seems to be Jossed, we don't know anything about what happens to Dammek after being seen with Joey as they switch planets.
The female troll who hates Trizza that Xefros alluded to is...
- Stelsa. Creators' comments implied that she has story importance.
- Konyyl.
- Elwurd.
- Tyzias.
- An unrevealed troll.
- Polypa.
- Daraya, cause why not.
- Jossed - it's Cridea.
Future Act Pre-Release Theories
The rebellion will kill the Grand Highblood.
Gamzee's cult was called "obscure" in his first appearance, but in Hiveswap every purple seems to be a member. Did the rebellion succeed in doing enough damage to the cult's structure to make it fall in status so hard? At least some of the other trolls knew Joey was human from the start
They just played along or didn't comment on it for various reasons (ie. not caring, being reminded of the MSPA Reader, etc.). As for the specific trolls...- Remele - Explicitly calls out Joey's bad disguise on Chittr.
- Tyzias - May not know Joey's exact species, but should at least be suspicious.
- Boldir - Likely would have realized something was up, but because she's more focused on waiting for the person she's meeting with, she doesn't give Joey much focus.
- Marvus - Never really hints that he knows she's human specifically, but he almost certainly knows she's not a troll.
- Elwurd - Pays close attention to Joey throughout the game, which means she could notice certain things like Joey’s horns being fake. Assuming that “knows your mom” isn’t just a gag, Elwurd may also see the resemblance between Joey and A. Claire.
- Alternatively, only Joey and Xefros will be saved. Previews for Act 3 suggest that it will take place on Jeevik Island, which was where the train was headed; it's possible that Scratch might have sent them there right as the train was crashing, but not saved anyone else in case it became too suspicious.
Karako is Troll Antichrist.
As said in this post, he has parallels to Gamzee, to Karkat, and to Caliborn, and he's a tiny child but already ridiculously powerful, able to 'voodoo three seadwellers. We've also never seen the Dark Carnival despite being surrounded by death, including purple death, which implies it could be a vision caused by Karako's Mind powers; the Antichrist is supposed to be a spreader of falsehoods... Main Characters possible classpects
Hauntswitch Theories
The first part of the game will be a P.O.V. Sequel
It will start with Dammek exploring his hive whilst talking to Xefros, up until the point where he goes through the portal to Earth and ends up in Joey's house. Dammek is going to stumble out of the attic in a daze and fall down the stairs.
To be fair, no one would be able to warn him this time.- Maybe Xefros warned him about them beforehand?
Dammek and Xefros/Jude will be separated for 99% of the story, like in Hiveswap Act 1
And will be communicating solely through walkie talkies and techpads. Hauntswitch is going to be one long Break the Haughty session for Dammek.
He's in a world he doesn't understand, the sole redblood in communication distance likely isn't going to tolerate any demands for his stuff or servitude, and, if coming in unarmed, the only gun in vicinity is a harmless water rifle among dangerous monsters.- Not entirely true. If you examine the attic in Half-Harley Manor (which is where Dammek will appear on Earth, given that the portal is there), you can find a stash of guns hung on the ceiling by a net, which Joey presumes are loaded, since Pa wouldn't want it otherwise.
- Speaking of those guns...
Dammek will accidentally throw the guns off the net, where they will crash through the floor into Joey's room.
While talking about those guns, Joey also states that if her assumption of the house's geometry is correct, they are directly above her room. Seems like rather obvious foreshadowing at this point.
Xefros will be seen as a liar
Or just harder to believe, since Dammek actually isn't rude and doesn't steal people's ideas. Whatever Xefros is telling Joey, it's to gain her sympathy — even if it's not true. The cult is a group of...
- Subjuggalos who entered Earth through the portal.
- People who worship the green monsters as gods outright.
- Followers of the Horrorterrors.
- Followers of Doc Scratch.
- Skaianet employees.
- Leprechauns.
- Exiles.
- Consorts.
- SBURB/SGRUB Players or entities.
- Viceroy's Caravan.
Jude will have dropped his walkie-talkie as well as his flare gun.
In Hiveswap, while playing as Xefros, you are still forced to pick up his tablet and cuebat, despite it being implied that Dammek and Xefros were in contact just before the swap itself happened. Hence, considering one could play Hiveswap and Hauntswitch in either order, from a gameplay perspective, it would only make sense if Jude was also forced to pick up his walkie-talkie and flare gun once Hauntswitch switched to him. Troll Call trolls that will be enemies in the next act(s).
Place your bets! Winners will be bolded:- Chahut: Just look at her.
- Nihkee: Seems to be The Napoleon, and is described as a “subcultural gatekeeper”.
- Kuprum and Folykl: The former seems to ardently support the empire while carrying the latter, potentially making them a tag-team enemy. Plus, if we can fight them as Xefros, perhaps they’ll try to drain his psychic energy via Folykl.
- Amisia: She's implied to use troll blood as paint. Perhaps she needs some cherry red...
- Triona she's described as a "Tattleterror" which is probably not good for someone trying to hide a secret someone like Joey trying to hide her true origin.
- Marvus: Seems to be the ringmaster behind the evil subjuggalo circus.
- Barzum and Baizli Soleil: A tag team duo of subjuggalos who look absolutely creepy.
- Lynera Skalbi: Even if she's not a boss, something about her bio suggests she has a high position in the jadeblood matriarch and boosts her own status. Her fuschian glasses may suggest ties to Trizza, and her aspect is Rage... not good.
Megalovania will play at some point
Toby Fox is one of the composers, after all. Place your bets down there:- The Final Battle against Trizza. It was first used as the theme of the Final Battle of Halloween Hack AND recently as the theme of the Final Battle of Undertale's Genocide Route.
- Chahut's battle theme. Megalovania has been often used along murderous characters (your player character in Halloween Hack, Bec Noir and Vriska in Homestuck and the Genocide Route in Undertale) and Chahut is obviously a murderous Subjugglator.
- Alternatively, Fox could throw a curveball at us and use Megalo Strike Back instead. This old Earthbound fansong was discovered by Undertale fans and was crowned as the unofficial themes of Chara and W.D. Gaster. As for an enemy it could play against? If the "Double Agent Dammek" theory is true, then it could play against him if Joey gets to fight him.
Jude and Dammek will get in an argument over the fact that Jude's name only has 4 letters.
He comes from a culture where everyone his age has 6 letters in their name, due to this he will either think that Jude is messing with him or that Jude lacks the trust to tell him his true name (Something he might respect considering how he is), and Trolls tend to be surprised to learn that there are functioning societies that function completely differently from their own. Charun will be Gamzee 2.0.
Charun is a Rage player, an Erudite Stoner who eats worms, and a fan favorite. These traits are uncannily similar to Gamzee's, who was an Ensemble Dark Horse sopor pie-eating stoner character before he went sober and killed a bunch of the cast. Perhaps the worms have a similar effect on the brain as sopor slime does? Or maybe they get a little too pissed off at the highbloods' prejudice? Tegiri will be a Lethal Joke Character.
Everyone is making jokes about how Tegiri is an Occidental Otaku Internet Jerk who's probably an absolute weenie in the real world. However, since this is Andrew Hussie who's leading the game, his 300+ culls could be real, and he'll turn out to be an underestimated badass who is That One Boss to boot. The members of the rebellion against Trizza are...
- Zebede Tongva. He's wearing socks and sandals, which many theorize to be a rebel-indicator.
- Tyzias Entyyk: Same as Zebede, and her controversial theories regarding jurisprudence suggest adversity to the Alternian Law system.
- Tegiri Kalbur: He's also wearing a form of socks and sandals, and his bio indicates that he's there to help the lowbloods.
- ?????? Elwurd: Her lack of a first name suggests she may be a Tetrarch.
A shitton of possible troll characterizations and roles.
Note here that low and mid bloods are more likely to be NPCs scattered through Alternia. Higher-blooded trolls have a better chance at being plot-crucial.
- Marvus: An affable showman who's willing to kill if it means entertaining people. Ringman of the Dark Carnival, and perhaps the last in a Boss Rush of other purple-bloods.
- Cirava: A smug Mellow Fellow with a thing for AESTHETICS. A random NPC in suburbian Alternia.
- Polypa: A mercenary who is hired to hunt down Joey. A mid-boss encounter.
- Elwurd: Considering how she "knows your mom" she may be a major character in the plot, perhaps even a third party member.
- Folykl and Kuprum: The latter is hunting Joey to serve the Heiress, the former is reluctantly helping. A two-for-one enemy.
- Barzum and Baizli: Stoic mimes for Marvus' Dark Carnival. Included in the above-mentioned Boss Rush.
- Tyzias: A conspiracy nut collaborating with the lowblooded rebellion. A supporting cast member who could dump exposition.
- Her Friendsim route has her mention that she's learned a few things about the Signless and the Summoner in her extensive studies, so she might end up dropping a literal Mytholgy Gag or two. Things like asking Xefros if Dammek has wings or commenting on Joey's interesting shade of candy red blood.
- Ardata: A sketchy fortune-teller. An NPC who could provide ominous foreshadowing.
- The second act hasn't even been released yet, and this is already jossed. She's a movie star who uses caged trolls for entertainment.
- Diemen: Oblong meat product, and that's all he exists for. Another throwaway NPC.
- Galekh/Tagora: One (or both) of them could be this game's equivalent to Nern Guan; they’ll appear to be some sort of Exposition Fairy... but ultimately turn out to ramble about either primarily untrue facts or personal life stories, with actual exposition being conservatively peppered in. In return, you get something useful from them, such as a good item.
- Tegiri: Another mercenary who will only serve the rebellion if you prove your worth in combat. An optional party member, perhaps.
- Boldir: A conspiracy theorist who, upon getting tipped off by an anonymous source, is hunting for an alien. And by "an alien", we mean you. Either she manages to capture you and triggers an amusing cutscene (possibly resulting in you getting a good item/party member), or she fights you. Said fight could play out two ways: she turns out to be a much stronger enemy than her appearance lets on (Zebruh's profile implies that Olive females are rather strong), or she'll be a Stone Wall Flunky Boss with a much stronger associate (matesprit or moilrail?) doing the bulk of the damage.
- Azdaja and Konyyl: A pair of matesprits/moirails that are sickly-sweet whenever they're together, but still extremely competent in combat. A powerful tag-team boss, possibly with Azdaja acting as a Fragile Speedster and Konyyl being the Mighty Glacier. Defeating them will give you allies, either in-story, or as party members.
- Marsti: A one-off janitor NPC. May have a cleaning-related sidequest that you can do for her that rewards you with something useful.
- Alternatively, she could play the Almighty Janitor trope and be much, much more important than she looks, indicated by her Void aspect.
- Zedebe: A random NPC scattered in Alternia. May have a bee-related side quest that could give you a crucial or good item.
- Who is this?: A Joke Character that may only appear for a short while in the game screaming something random or as an NPC. May turn out to be a Lethal Joke Character with connections to Lord English given that he has a gold tooth.note
- Daraya: A character that may have a side-quest relating to getting her out of detention. May give you a good item or an optional party member, perhaps?
- Nihkee: A one-off miniboss who either ambushes you (probably for some petty offense) or is found in some sort of wrestling-themed area.
There will be Alternian equivalents to Seeker Bears (Searcher Cholerbears) and Survivor Dogs (Endurer Woofbeasts).
Wanshi will probably get into a fight with fans of one or both of the series, with Bronya possibly being a member of the former fandom.
Ardata and Marvus are limebloods in disguise.
Think about it. If WP had them wear grey signs, then the fandom would be able to figure out their secret extremely quickly, so keeping their signs ambiguous would help them keep their blood colors a secret. Plus, both trolls have odd quirks that set them apart from the other trolls of their respective castes.Ardata: Aside from having a Third Eye, her horns don’t curve inward like the other known Colbalts, and none of them are spiked. Plus, she’s a highblood close to execution, so maybe her masquerade was exposed.
- Most likely Jossed, at least in the case of Ardata. In the Friendsim, she has a picture of her as a cobalt grub on her wall, and she sheds a blue tear at one point.
Marvus:
- His last name, Xoloto, was on the ICP Wiki for a while as a term meaning a fraudulent member of the juggalo community, put up there about a year before the Troll Call were released, when the cast would have been in development. It's since been taken down; did the developers put it there as an ARG-esque clue? His name could also be interpreted as a corruption of either "axolotl", tying in to the powerful lime-fire-breathing axolotl lusus◊ shown pre-release; "xoloton", the Old Nahuatl word for slave or servant, implying low birth; or Xolotl, a powerful dog-like deity of lightning and death in Aztec Mythology, possibly alluding to the allegedly authority-challenging powers of the lime caste. Xolotl was also a god of monsters, which could tie into lime's connections to the axolotl and the cherubim.
- He was confirmed by the devs to be lying about his sign. Since the trolls aren't playing SGrub and don't know consciously of their signs' connection to the aspects and lunar sway, he would have no reason to lie about his sign if he was just a purple of a different aspect. Ardata was released without a sign too and bled blue onscreen, but could be a red (or blue) herring. (Her sign, if Derse/Doom is her real one, is probably just on the back of her cloak.)
- The Fan Disservice in his route could be there as a distraction from all the subtle things that are off about him.
- Known limebloods (the mutated Vantases) have stubby horns, but that could be due to their mutation. On the other hand, look closely; Marvus' asymmetrical horns swap sides in his full-body illustrations between Friendsim and Act 2. They could be prosthetics. It's harder to notice because the walksprites mirror-flip often, and the devs might be counting on that.
- There are also inconsistencies between the art and how he's described. The narration calls him "modest height" and "lanky", which definitely isn't how he looks, and some mention is made in Act 2's hints of his "padded chest". Tying into that...
- ... he's mind-controlling his audience to be obsessed with him and to think his rapping is better than it is, if he's even rapping at all. Zebruh's description of it is far too exact a description of what Zebruh would want to listen to - i.e. subtle hints of rebellion but not enough to get him in trouble - and the player character claims it would "please every associated subgenre" but can't describe what he's rapping about in more specific terms than "not racist", which is exactly what they would want after speaking to Zebruh for hours. They call Marvus "not racist" again later, after him calling them a gutterblood and announcing his plans for seadweller genocide, and become totally obsessed with him to the point of both losing their established cowardice and agreeing with Zebruh.
- Speaking of whom, in his route, Zebruh refuses to even talk to the player if they say they have a high blood colour, and he expresses only disdain for the other clowns' raps. Other than Marvus, he only expresses attraction to people he feels he can control. Why would he be so obsessed with this particular highblood unless something else was up?
- We don't know limeblood powers for sure, but Karkat was able to calm Gamzee, and whatever Marvus is doing is not a standard purple power; chucklevoodoos can only cause fear and anger. (Kurloz controlled Meulin more directly, but that might have been Prince of Rage powers instead; we haven't seen any other purple who can do that.) What if what he can do is because limebloods, as the opposite on the zodiac wheel to purplebloods, cause good feelings instead? It could fit: ceruleans can control people and their opposites, brownbloods, can control animals; jadebloods serve the giant female monster which gives birth on land, while fuchsias serve the giant female monster that spreads death through the ocean. Homestuck has a huge theme of balance and opposites, so...
- He does get injured, but we never see his blood.
- He takes the player to the Green Room specifically and there's a sopor pie on the table, but he isn't stoned. Could be to get the players associating him with green.
- He doesn't actually swear, as purples usually do; he censors his curse words, somehow managing to pronounce "fxxk". Who else was obsessed with cleanliness of language but fellow lime-linked Kankri?
Roxy / Mom Lalonde will be the tritagonist of Hauntswitch.
A piece of flavor text suggests she was out shopping when Hiveswap began. She’ll get back midway into Hauntswitch Act 1 and become a playable character. Crossover Theories
Joey is the Blue Soul from Undertale.
Both use ballet shoes as a weapon.
