u/gutza1

Out of all the ancestor characters that have appeared in Homestuck, the impact of the Beforan Ancestors on the character and psyche of the Dancestors appears to be an afterthought. Something that unites the beta kids, alpha kids, and Alternian trolls is that they all live in the shadow of their ancestors in one way or another. What would the beta kids be without their ancestors? What would Vriska be without wanting to be Mindfang? Why would Terezi, a Seer, be obsessed with fighting for justice if her Ancestor wasn't Redglare? The legacy of one's ancestors and how it affects an individual is a common theme for all of the main characters in Homestuck. Yet Hussie's Beforan Ancestors often neglect to explain why the Dancestor trolls are the way they are.

For example, imagine if the reason Latula was obsessed with being a "radical gamer girl" skateboarder was that Beforan Terezi was either the creator of Beforus' SBaHJ and Alpha Dave analogue, or a renowned video game developer, or even a renowned stunt athelete and Latula is trying to live up to her example? What if Beforan Karkat was some legendary figure in Beforan society and his Knightly crusade is what inspired Kankri to believe in social justice? What if Cronus was a loser because Beforan Eridan was raising him like a father and Cronus was in his angsty teenage rebellion phase ("FUCK YOU DAD!")? What if Mituna decided to sacrifice himself because Beforan Sollux had done so and Mituna, as an Heir of Doom, inherited Beforan Sollux's fate?

Unfortunately the astounding laziness that characterizes many of the Beforan Ancestors stems from Hussie's approach to designing the Dancestors themselves. I personally think that it was a complete mistake for Hussie to have introduced 12 new trolls right after he killed half of the original (and much more compelling) troll cast. For instance, Feferi could have easily taken Meenah's place in Act 6's story, and Vriska could easily have tried to bring herself back to life and "fix" the story the same way Aranea did. In the end, the Dancestors seem doomed to be a half-baked concept, and Hussie's Beforan ancestors only reinforce my suspicions.

What do you all think?