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https://www.deviantart.com/vasheren/art/JOHN-BE-KARKAT-276866981
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[S] Piperorgankind
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB2dC6bduvw
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLweJucEPL0
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P1YEwFwjcU
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( ^ 2 x movies about superhero themes combob! )
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So back to themes and leitmotifs! Homestuck is intensely linked into music, and uses music a lot to it's advantage. After seeing stuff in [s] caliborn: enter, i decided to go back looking for more musical themes.
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I was able to pin down some stuff pretty easily, .... but what, for example is John's leitmotif?
It's hard to make a 1 to 1 comparison, to traditional film genres, because HS is a little between genres, but in some ways at least, John and post godtier people act like superheroes, powerful, having their own "thing" , .... and there is sort of a subgenre of superhero themes in films! So obviously for John there's Showtime! But I think John has two leitmotifs. Because shit be complicated yo! So we have Showtime, which starts out like this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj8dYgtfiag
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Sort of contemplative, simple, a good introduction, which moves onto this.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKURlfskGsE
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Both of these videos, thy're both really interesting songs! They're sort of slippery and mischevious, which can sort of hint that maybe John isn't the sort of hero that goes after things with his big muscles, but is instead sort of a trickster! but the picture doesn't seem quite complete, and there's other songs associated with John, so maybe John has 2 themes. .... So what's the other "John song" ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45v9g7KX-Ko
( ^ a youtube abt "borrowed leitmotifs")
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYBzZj7Bddk
( "put the bunny back in the box!!!!" )
So the other isn't really "from" homestuck originally, but has been used in homestuck enough that it now has a "place" in homestuck too. Which is called a "borrowed leitmotif".
And in particular, "How do I breathe" is associated with the bunny, every time it plays it's in conjunction with seeing the bunny and the gifts in general. so it's tied in with the round robin of gifts the friends give eachother, including the all-important and central toy bunny.... Which are instigated by John and genuinely improve the friends's lives! So in a way the song becomes the leitmotif for friendship! Or specifically John/friendship! Also, "How Do I Breathe Without You"?? Really??
Which ties into John's "thing". He's a Hero of Breath - of tricksterness and freedom and even (buddhist style) *detachment*. Thinking outside of the box! And his "powers" and strengths flow from there (and his weaknesses too sometimes, "i want to talk to the real dave", really John??). He's the heir of breath! But he also needs his friends to help "anchor" him and hold him downward sometimes. And he also uses his powers *for* his friends, that's what he "does the superheroey thing" for!
So that sort of shows the the main tension of his character and arc, trying to balance those two forces.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB2dC6bduvw
So Showtime gets it's final form in Piperorgankind! Which is a neat bit of meta-storytelling because he's actually.... playing it as well, as part of his final heroic quest includes seeking out a ancient magic pipe organ and learning to play it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2AC447Wqc0
This version like all good superhero songs brings the threads together, Showtime shines on the pipe organ. But where's "How Do I Breathe?" .... slipped into the place where "How Do I Breathe" should be, they've put the carnival - esque music we recognize from the [S] 5 Times Showdown Combo. Which is a episode from "Murderstuck" which is full of stuff about blood and bonds and friendship! And it's a song associated with his new friend Karkat, the troll. So now his circle of friends has expanded to include Karkat and all the trolls/aliens! So now including that, he's saving the world for them too. And it shouldn't be any other way. < 3