Homestuck/Characters/Pre Scratch Trolls

Billions and billions of years ago, a group of twelve trolls played Sburb/Sgrub. However their society left them unprepared for the rigors of the game and a mysterious glitch affected their session, preventing them from succeeding. With no other options left, they initiated a Scratch and reset themselves and their universe. In this new reality their Ancestors - the modern trolls we know- became the players, while the pre-Scratch players would become the modern trolls' Ancestors. This time, with troll culture shaped by Doc Scratch, the players were able to win...sort of.

This seemed to be the end of their story, until a pair of hitherto-unknown deceased troll girls started appearing in dream bubbles...

Universal Tropes:

 * Anime Hair: They all have more animesque hair than their descendants. The pre-scratch version of the Grand Highblood's hair is actually worse than Gamzee's.
 * Cast Herd: Averted thus far, but the pre-Scratch session did have 12 players, all of whom perished and might appear in dreambubbles, and the influence of some of the pre-Scratch Ancestors has been hinted at, suggesting they too might make an appearance.
 * Possibly even defied, as Aranea says she and Meenah both were pretty much loners.
 * Now that they all have sprites, it seems inevitable that all of them will make some sort of appearance. Several have appeared as The Faceless already.
 * Call Back: From what little has been said about their session, it's greatly similar to the Human pre-Scratch Session, only where the Humans did everything right and barely managed to survive, everything went to shit for the Trolls.
 * Chekhov's Gunman: The existence of the pre-Scratch Troll players was first introduced by Doc Scratch.
 * Chekhov's Boomerang: It's later implied that they were the friends Jadesprite had met in the afterlife.
 * Crystal Dragon Jesus: There's apparently some sort of religion based around either the Sufferer or pre-Scratch Karkat, though nothing else about it is known.
 * Dead to Begin With: Meenah blew them up with a small Tumor at the end of their session.
 * Deal With the Devil: Word of God has likened their decision to initiate the Scratch in their own session as one, given that it basically allowed Doc Scratch, often described as the manipulative devil figure of the series, free reign to twist the post-Scratch Alternia into the Crapsack World it eventually became.
 * Fantastic Caste System: Like in the Post-Scratch world, they have the Hemospectrum. However, rather than being outright racist, theirs simply determines what role you will play in society. Notability, the higher bloods actually help and guide the lower ones, rather than oppress them.
 * Generation Xerox: They're identical to the Ancestors and heavily resemble their parents, the Modern Trolls.
 * The A1 Handmaid appears to have the same land as Aradia's.
 * Milky White Eyes
 * Mythology Gag: Aranea and Meenah were suggested names from when Vriska and Feferi were introduced.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The pre-Scratch versions of the current trolls' Ancestors performed the Scratch, that's why post-Scratch Alternia is such an awful place, and why their universe is on Lord English's menu.
 * On the other hand it was a Sadistic Choice; either they let their species die out or give them some hope of survival.
 * Not Sinister Silhouettes: Seen here.
 * Perfect Pacifist People: Subverted, though when compared to Post-Scratch, it seems like this. They still have people with vile intent though, just look at Meenah.
 * Plot Relevant Age Up: They seem to be noticeably older than the other trolls; probably being roughly 16 like just about everyone else is in Act 6.

Aranea Serket


The first shown ghost troll, met by Jake briefly after blacking out. She is the pre-Scratch iteration of Marquise Spinneret Mindfang. She was the Sylph of Light of her session, sharing her aspect with Vriska.

"AG: That is to say, she is who I would have 8ecome on your world, had I arrived in her place. Alas, I did not."
 * A Mind Is a Terrible Thing To Read: A consequence of being The Empath is that you know when people are having negative thoughts about you.
 * Be Careful What You Wish For: She wanted to be strong, independent, and not care as much about what other people thought of her. The Scratch gave her that wish, at least vicariously, in the form of the life of Mindfang... but she readily admits that the price of the other effects of the Scratch make it Not Worth It.
 * Call Back: Her hair is a mix of Vriska, John, and Terezi's.
 * The Sufferer's necklace may be a reference to a line in Mindfang's journal, where she found the Sufferer's tale "compelling".
 * Cannot Convey Sarcasm: A number of her comments, particularly about her post-Scratch counterpart, can be read as sarcastic, though it's hard to tell since everything is text.

"GC: H3H3H3H3. YOU R34LLY 4R3 L1K3 4 N1C3 VR1SK4"
 * Crystal Dragon Jesus: She wears a small Cancer symbol around her neck, and it's even visible on her sprite. Notably Mindfang was not a follower of the Sufferer's - but see above.
 * Cute Little Fangs: Per her first appearance.
 * Deadpan Snarker: At times.
 * The Empath: The basic form of her psychic abilities.
 * Expy: She has a number of similarities to Rose, though part of that is possibly because they are both Heroes of Light.
 * Fan Nickname: The Skaia imageboard has her tagged as 'Nerd Mindfang', after speculation that she is in fact pre-Scratch Mindfang (which was later proved correct).
 * "Kindfang" has shown up in Something Awful's MSPA thread.
 * Good Counterpart: To Vriska. It's even lampshaded, although Aranea herself admits that she wasn't perfect either and that the others didn't really like her much.

"JAKE: Youve sensed it when other fellas have had the hots for you eh?
 * Got Me Doing It: It takes all of five minutes of being with Meenah again for her fish puns to surface back into her.
 * Healing Hands: She offers to cure Terezi's blindness; it's unclear if she has other healing powers from being a Sylph of Light.
 * It's a Long Story: Subverted. Aranea warns that the story surrounding her team's death is a long one that requires "major contextualization", before being shut up by Meenah's hand over her mouth. Meenah then proceeds to give a version of the story so short it gives the word 'abridged' a whole new meaning.
 * And then, having hit her Rage Breaking Point, Aranea summarizes to Meenah the stories of their A2 counterparts in a single dialoglog.
 * Meaningful Name: Aranea is a genus of garden-variety orb-weaver spiders. It's also Latin for spider.
 * Vriska's last name of Serket was always somewhat unusual since Serket was a god of healing (Vriska is as far from a healer as you can imagine). However, Aranea shares the same last name as Vriska and has some sort of healing powers from being the Sylph of Light.
 * Mind Control: Though she hasn't been seen using it, she has hinted she is capable of mind controlling other trolls like Vriska.
 * Mind Over Manners: This is apparently standard behavior for emotion readers; it's just hard for them to think that feelings should be secret when you can sense them all the time.
 * My Sensors Indicate You Want to Tap That

ARANEA: Fellows, yes. And ladies. It's happened."


 * Nice Shoes
 * Not So Stoic: Is shown to have the "patience of a saint" in most of her appearances, and then she promptly flips her shit when she finds the rest of the dream bubble gathering she assembled in utter pandemonium by the time she returns with Jake.


 * Parody Sue: Invoked. She mentions she was a boring version of Sue who would often turn discussion around to being about her.
 * Played with as well. Aranea is the one who consulted Echidna, not the Dolorosa's counterpart. This is contrast to Jade and Kanaya, who did.
 * Physical God: Like her post-Scratch counterpart, she had ascended to the God Tiers.
 * Pimped-Out Dress: Compared the the Beta trolls' Boring but Practical outfits. It also seems to be an inversion of the typical plain black troll shirt with their symbol in their blood color, as her dress is a deep blue (seemingly her blood color) with a plain white symbol.
 * It's also very similar (possibly even a reference) to the white fairy dress Vriska once wore.
 * Product Placement: Her necklace seems to be a picture of the one actually available in the What Pumpkin store.
 * Rage Breaking Point: This.
 * Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness
 * Spirit Advisor: The truest example of the trope in Homestuck yet.
 * Time Abyss: She's spent so much time in the Furthest Ring that time no longer has much meaning to her.
 * Zettai Ryouiki: Type B.

Meenah Peixes


First seen when Roxy was temporarily trapped in the Furthest Ring, she is the pre-Scratch iteration of the Condesce, and was the Thief of Life of her session.

"MEENAH: dont know who she is but i know W)(AT she is
 * All According to Plan: She's quite happy to find out that she's dead, even though she thinks she's in hell, because it means her plan worked. According to Aranea, this is because Meenah's plan is what kept them from all being consigned to non-existence by rebooting their session.
 * Ax Crazy: Assaults Roxy immediately after being introduced with a Slasher Smile the whole time. She later tells John she wants to kill Roxy for the hell of it.

MEENAH: shes done

JOHN: huh?

MEENAH: ever do any baking nerd

JOHN: yeah, a little...

MEENAH: then you know -EXACTLY what you do with somefin thats done

MEENAH: you stick a fork in it"


 * Aranea also leaves her with the kids and trolls for a few minutes to get Jake. When she comes back, she sees Meenah trying to kill everyone.
 * She also seemed very impressed by The Condesce's actions.
 * Call Back: Her hair is reminiscent of Jade's God Tier hood. It is also similar to the Handmaid's hair, except the twin tails are in the back instead of the front.
 * Her Slasher Smile and demeanor seem by and large similar to the Condesce's, while her weapon is identical to Feferi's and Condesce's shared Weapon of Choice.
 * The part where she attacks Roxy is a Call Back to the Midnight Crew Intermission where Spades Slick tries to choke someone unconscious.
 * The baking metaphor above may be a nod to the Condesce's role as the Batterwitch.
 * The Cameo: In a Freeze Frame Bonus during a Deranged Animation sequence in Jane: Enter. The nature of the cameo suggests a connection to The Condesce and possibly Post-Scratch Earth
 * Fan Nickname: Much like the Scorpio troll, the Skaia imageboard tags her as 'Punk Condesce'
 * Fandom Nod: The narration later says she's "punky looking".
 * Flash Step
 * Hurricane of Puns: Fish puns obviously, and even more so then Feferi and Eriden combined. She seems to like it when other people do it.
 * Jerkass: Pretty solidly pegs herself as one when she dismisses John as a nerd and tries to kill Roxy again.
 * Meaningful Name: "Mina" or "Meena" is Sanskrit for the Pisces zodiac sign (literally meaning "fish"). It is also an Indian caste. "Meen" is also a homophone of "mean", which she certainly is.

"AG: [Vriska] was a serious trou8lemaker in your party. Many player groups have to deal with those.
 * More Teeth Than the Osmond Family
 * The Nicknamer: Dismissive jerk version. She calls Karkat "nubbyshouts" and doesn't really care to learn the names of anyone new that she meets, such as calling John "nerd," "god-tier boy," and "blue boy." This goes so far that she can't even remember the names of some of her session's other players.
 * Pink Means Feminine: Aversion. She's associated with pink because of her blood color - tyrian pink, not because of any feature of her personality.
 * Prongs of Poseidon
 * Double Weapon
 * Rebellious Princess: According to Aranea, she saw the role of Empress as a "glorified slave" and disliked the caste system as a whole. In fact, an instance of her running away led to her initially discovering the game. This is no doubt a reference to Feferi's own characterization, though unlike most examples, she is far from heroic.
 * Scary Shiny Glasses: Though that's mostly due to her Milky White Eyes.
 * Four Eyes Zero Soul
 * Slasher Smile: Seemingly constantly.
 * Short Hairwith Tail: Actually two thin tails, both long enough to trail behind her on the ground.
 * This Is for Emphasis, Bitch
 * Time Abyss: Averted. It's only been a few hours for Meenah since her death unlike the rest of her group.
 * Token Evil Teammate: For the pre-Scratch trolls as a whole. As Aranea puts it:

AG: I feel as though we had one of the worst cases in our party. 8ut when all was said and done, she was still our friend."


 * Villain Protagonist: She's an alternate version of the current Big Bad. Note that similar things have occurred with other Big Bads, like Cal and H3H3H3H3. YOU R34LLY 4R3 L1K3 4 N1C3 VR1SK4 being a primer on Doc Scratch, or Spades Slick providing characterization for Jack Noir.

?????? Megido
The pre-Scratch incarnation of the Handmaid. She was the Hero of Time. She initiated the Scratch in her session.


 * Chekhov's Gunman: Her appearance is seemingly identical to the young Handmaid shown in Doc Scratch's apartment.
 * Dual-Wielding: Like her other incarnation, though these seem to be the Quills of Echidna.
 * Improbable Weapon User: Like Rose and her post-Scratch self, she wields needles.

?????? Nitram
The pre-Scratch incarnation of the Summoner. He is presumed to be the Hero of Breath of his session.


 * Spiky Hair: Resembling flames.

?????? Captor
The pre-Scratch incarnation of the Ψiioniic. He is presumed to have been the Hero of Doom of his session.


 * Bob Haircut: This or headphones.

?????? Vantas
The pre-Scratch incarnation of the Sufferer. Very little is known about this character. He is presumed to have been the Hero of Blood in the pre-Scratch Troll Session, and the leader of said session.


 * Generation Xerox: Averted. According to Meenah his personality is completely different from that of his Ancestor, Karkat. However their appearances are still similar.
 * Red Eyes Take Warning : Seen here, indicating he has already reached puberty. However, possible subversion since his personnality has yet to be revealed.
 * The Sleepless: Unlike the other Pre-Scratch Trolls, he's shown with bags under his eyes, in line with the Post-Scratch trolls and their horrific nightmares as a species. This seems to indicate he has nightmares.
 * The Un-Reveal: Unlike Pyrope, his name is initally left mysterious... because Meenah has forgotten it.

?????? Leijon
The pre-Scratch incarnation of the Disciple. She is presumed to have been the Hero of Heart of her session.


 * Catgirl
 * Green Eyes: Seen here
 * Wild Hair

?????? Maryam
The pre-Scratch incarnation of the Dolorosa. She is presumed to have been the Hero of Space of her session.


 * Green Eyes: Seen here

?????? Pyrope
The pre-Scratch incarnation of Neophyte Redglare. Very little is known about this character. She is presumed to have been the Hero of Mind in the pre-Scratch Troll Session.


 * Cool Shades: Presumably red ones.
 * Identical Grandson: According to Meenah she resembles her Ancestor, Terezi.
 * Spiky Hair

?????? Zahhak
The pre-Scratch incarnation of Darkleer. He is presumed to have been the Hero of Void of his session.


 * Incredibly Lame Pun: Has a pony tail.

?????? Makara
The pre-Scratch incarnation of the Grand Highblood. He is presumed to have been the Hero of Rage of his session.


 * Anime Hair: His huge horns don't even show up in his silhouette.
 * Messy Hair

?????? Ampora
The pre-Scratch incarnation of Orphaner Dualscar. He is presumed to have been the Hero of Hope of his session.

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