The Felt

are a rival gang of the Midnight Crew on the planet Alternia. While the Midnight Crew have a playing card theme, are based around the game of pool. Each member is green in appearance and has a hat with the color and number of one of the 15 pool balls. 7 and below are solid colors, 9 and up are striped, and 8 is solid black. Their headquarters is an entirely green mansion. The name of and the recurring use of the color green both evoke the green felt cloth that lines a pool table.

Many of have time-altering abilities - or at least believe that they do. Spades Slick has made it his personal mission to murder them all, on top of the Midnight Crew's primary mission of plundering 's secret vault. also have an obsession with clocks and timepieces, possessing one thousand clocks, all of which Spades Slick has vowed to destroy.

With the exceptions of and, the origins of  are unclear; while 's origins are a key mystery of the entire Homestuck narrative, there is no clear explanation for where the other numbered members came from, either, nor have hints been particularly forthcoming. While it would make some sense for all of them to be recruited exiles, à la, they do not remotely conform to existing carapacian physiology (they do not seem to be chitinous, their flesh is green instead of black or white) and there have never been any Prospitians or Dersites in the comic who remotely resemble any of them.

At the end of the Midnight Crew intermission, all of except  and  are dead (and possibly Scratch, unless of course the MC intermission took place chronologically after Act 5 Act 2), at least in the timeline Spades Slick finds himself in.

Several of the "dead" numbered Felt seem to come back during Act 5 Act 2's Scratch interlude, making it unclear to what degree traditional mortality applies to them.

However, since these "dead" numbered Felt are MATCHSTICKS (11), and QUARTERS (14), who were already dead at the beginning of the Midnight Crew intermission earlier in the story, and the version of Spades Slick in Act 5 Act 2 has clearly already gone through the MC intermission (missing arm [robo-replacement], one eye out [patched]), it's quite possible that this Spades Slick has traveled back in time to before the MC intermission somehow (eg, sendificator in one of the trolls' command station bases), and is in fact the reason those members were already dead when it started.

We don't see Slick kill CROWBAR (7), but since he has Crowbar's Crowbar (uses it to kill Matchsticks), he may have done that first off screen. (Unless the version of Crowbar's crowbar he has is simply retained from his past in the MC intermission, which hasn't happened yet.)

There is a poster of in Dave's room which he uses to make the Felt Duds.

Pool Cue -
 is the leader of, and apparently a demon from outside the universe. His appearance and clothing is possibly based on a pool cue. Yes, his name is written with an animated pool ball cycle.

He apparently cannot be destroyed by ordinary means, but only through time-manipulation techniques. Named after the pool term 'english', meaning spin on the cue ball, and retroactively also named after Lord British from Ultima, who could only be killed by glitches and Easter eggs. Owns a Cairo Overcoat that represents the spacetime continuum and gets damaged when time-related things get out of hand, and a backup coat that may or may not possess the same qualities. In appearance, he is a hulking giant (easily ten feet tall) with a peg-leg, clawed digits and a skull-like head with a construction suspiciously similar to that of Caliborn, Calliope and Lil' Cal. is effectively the cue of the group (as noted by his leg) as he is the actor which drives forward events, by using in order to affect other individuals on his field of play. is said to have control over time and will be (was) summoned to the universe when it ends (ended) by a mysterious ~ATH code.

Cueball -


 has been seen in text form in chat with Vriska Serket and Rose Lalonde, using HS 4102 (white text and no alias). He is near omnipotent and near omniscient. His name is based on the term for pocketing the cue ball. Unlike the rest of, he was not introduced or even hinted to exist until Act 5; as he wasn't even on the Midnight Crew's hit list, it's unclear if he's considered a "formal" part of the gang (although a number of gang members are seen in his residence during Act 5 Act 2).

He is Alternia's First Guardian, an entity meant to protect the planet on which they are born, as well as facilitate the planet's 'ultimate purpose'. It is suggested that he is a skilled manipulator, whether through overt (mind control) means, temporal inevitability, or simple psychological exploitation. Like, Scratch is different from the rest of in that his name is not printed entirely in green (the o is white, like a cue ball) and his skin likewise is not green (also white). His head doesn't look like a ball as much as a white hole in space. He does not bear any particular resemblance to the members of the Midnight Crew or, making him something of an oddball. This is due to how he was created: just as Becquerel was created by combining Halley with the MEOW Code, was created by combining Lil Cal and a Magic Cue Ball with 5 codes ( t1CK, t0ck , 8r8k , H34DS , and honk HONK ). The white color from the cue ball colored his head (which appears much like the cue ball itself), as well as the rest of his skin.

Following his inevitable death, he becomes the vessel for none other than.

1 - Itchy


Named for "ichi," the Japanese word for one, and as an allusion to the cue sport term scratch. It is also an indicator of his demeanor; he appears tense and highly strung, and is loaded with caffeine.

Itchy has the ability to slow down time relative to himself, allowing him to act with blinding speed. This has enabled him to give Spades the slip repeatedly (and also allows him to cheat at cards).

Itchy used his abilities to sneak up on Clubs Deuce, free Doze and swap the Midnight Crew's hats around. Despite his lightning-fast speed, his reaction time seems lacking—Spades Slick was able to trip him up by simply sticking out one leg and waiting for him to stumble over it. Deceased after Spades HS 3088 (had his way with him).

2 - Doze


Named for "dos", the Spanish word for two.

Doze has the ability to slow down time, but only for himself, which may also be related to his name (doze as in sleep). As such he is completely unfazable, a trait that comes in handy whenever he is captured, which is often. Doze was captured by Clubs Deuce and given a sound drubbing with Clubs' Crook of Felony. He was freed by Itchy, and began an incredibly slow escape. Clubs recaptured him, tying him up with a Stretch Armstrong doll and shoving him into his Battledrobe. He was later killed when Clubs Deuce put an explosive in his hat. The same explosion took out Trace.

3 - Trace


Named for "tres", the Spanish word for three, as well as his ability to retrace people's Past Trails.

Trace is skilled at infiltration, and has invaded the Midnight Crew's secret hideout multiple times. He can also interact with people's Past Trails, although if they are aware of his ability and that he is the culprit, they'll know for certain that he'll be at that very location in the future. He resembles a shark (a pool shark), and his ability is related to a shark's natural skill of following a source of blood in the water over a great distance.

Trace uses his abilities to harass Diamonds Droog from the future, revealing his future location. Trace then follows Clubs Deuce's trail through the mansion, finding Doze tied up in the hall. However, under Diamonds' directions, Clubs had left a bomb in Doze's hat. The resulting explosion kills both Doze and Trace.

4 - Clover


Most likely named for the four-leaf variety of that plant and his leprechaun-like personality and stature.

Clover is extremely superstitious, getting very worked up when Spades Slick attempts to destroy vault with Crowbar's crowbar. His skills include amazing luck, as well as (apparently) the power of flight. His luck apparently makes him very difficult to actually harm (he states that a gun pointed at him would probably just jam), although this hasn't been visibly tested. Likely functions as an accountant or brains figure, but is far from tight-lipped. He will gladly provide advice to anyone, even the rival Midnight Crew—if, that is, the person asking is able to solve one of his mindbending time-based riddles. Despite his stated immunity to grievous harm, he can still be enticed to help with less lethal instruments, such as a rolled-up newspaper—this renders his riddling somewhat moot.

Clover is assumed to be deceased in the final timeline Spades is sent to. It is possible that the opening of the vault caused enough bad luck to render his powers useless. He reappears after a while, so his luck didn't run out after all, unless Weird Time Shit is involved. He also has been shown to be in possession of one of Quarters' coins, namely the one allowing him and Quarters to switch places across timelines with a coin toss.

He is apparently closely related to the Hero of Light, as suggested HS 5727 (here).

He is the only member of other than English not to  be confirmed as dead.

5 - Fin


Named after a slang term for US five-dollar bills, although the name also recalls his strangely shaped head. It is also possible that he is named for the French or Spanish "fin", both meaning "end". He also has notoriously sharp teeth, and, like Trace, resembles a shark.

Fin has a habit of scooping crimes planned by the Midnight Crew, much to Spades' chagrin. He does this by following people's Future Trails, much like how Trace follows Past Trails. By following someone's future trail to the end, Fin is able to know the location of that person's death, hence his name; he has never been seen putting this ability to good use. Because Fin leaves evidence of his past whereabouts and actions, Diamonds Droog was able to interact with Fin from the future, suggesting that it might have been possible to do the same with Trace (albeit much harder to predict where to strike and when). Fin died of blood loss resulting from the injuries inflicted by Diamonds Droog.

6 - Die


Named for the number of sides on a standard cubic die, and 'die' as in death.

Die carries a voodoo doll, and a number of pins, corresponding to both and the Midnight Crew. When a pin is inserted into the doll, the holder is warped to an alternate timeline defined by the death of whoever the pin corresponded to, although the nature and time of death vary greatly. Die uses this skill to settle grudges with other members, by warping to timelines where they are no longer alive. Since every member so far has died of Midnight Crew-based complications, this usually causes him to appear close behind whenever a member of is murdered. When Die attempted to get rid of Spades Slick via this method, he found himself on the barren post-Hivebent Alternian landscape - affording Slick's assertion that he "made this town" a more literal meaning. He pulled Slick's pin shortly after, reappearing in the current timeline, where Spades Slick HS 3137 (helped him live up to his name).

7 - Crowbar


Named for the similar shape of a crowbar and a 7. The word "crowbar" also has seven letters in it.

Crowbar carries an actual crowbar with the power to destroy any temporal artifact it strikes, and completely negate that object's effect on the timeline in the process. He appears to be something of a higher-up next to most of the rest of, as Spades Slick described him as "running the show"; this may be because of natural leadership abilities, or because his crowbar allows him to actively control his cohorts should their time-travelling get out of hand.

Crowbar was killed prior to the intermission, but Spades met him again in an alternate timeline when he started monkeying around with Die's voodoo doll. Spades bludgeoned the alternate timeline Crowbar and stuffed him into his Warchest, bringing him 'back to life', in a sense, in the original timeline. Was missing in time, along with the original Sawbuck, when they accidentally shot one another, but Slick HS 3195 (sorted things out) when they reappeared. After his death, Spades used his crowbar to put an end to Eggs' and Biscuits' shenanigans, in addition to bludgeoning Matchsticks to death in Scratch's apartment.

Slick later broke one of Scratch's clocks with the crowbar which may have killed Vriska, or coincided with her death.

Crowbar's crowbar was confirmed to be a Juju Breaker in Openbound Part 2, where a version of it was unearthed from a chest by Kurloz Makara. It is unknown if this is the version seen in the Intermission.

8 -


 was originally the Black Queen from the Trolls' game session. She was dethroned by Jack Noir and the Red Team. She became an exile and took the name Banished Quasiroyal. She was then approached by, who presumably recruited her into , giving her the identity of.

Named for the slang for pocket 8's in poker. Could also be a reference to the similarity in shape between a snowman and the number '8', or possibly a pun ("she's " is almost a homophone of "she's no man"). Her name is also possibly intended as an ironic reversal of her black complexion as a distinctive feature among members Her number could also be appropriate, as the 8-ball is the only black one in the pool. She is the only female member, and one of the three whose name is not printed entirely in green; the "o" is printed in black, making the "o" look like an 8 Ball itself, in the same way 's name reflects his white complexion and cue-ball theme.

While she lacks the time-manipulation powers of other members of the, killing her would destroy the universe, corresponding to the automatic loss in pool resulting from a player sinking the eight ball before all his or her other balls have been sunk. As a result, everyone is obligated to cease any gunplay (and presumably any other dangerous activity) when she's around.

However, she was shot directly through the heart by Spades Slick in [S] Cascade, last seen laying in a pool of her own literal blue blood. The repurcussions of this include the end of the trolls' universe, and accounting for half of the Green Sun's power.

She is apparently related to the Hero of Mind, as suggested HS 5744 (here).

9 - Stitch


Named for the scar on his face, as well as the phrase "a stitch in time saves nine" and the fact that he is a tailor.

Stitch has the ability to fix temporal entropy which manifests itself as rips and tears in the fabric of 's Cairo Overcoat(s). He carries two pins, which are similar to Die's pins, except that they are white with yellow stripes, which would make them correspond to Stitch. He has an assortment of effigies in his workshop, which correspond to the members of (and after some cajoling, Slick and Droog as well.) These effigies display how the person they represent is wounded, and become scorched and black should that person die. They can be used to remotely heal whoever they correspond to by stitching up the cuts in the fabric, or to inflict harm by immolation. Duplicate effigies also appear to accommodate time duplicates—Eggs and Biscuits have their effigies stored in a separate warehouse to accommodate the many, many copies they create.

Stitch was imprisoned by Diamonds Droog, someone who, appropriately enough, could be considered "dressed to the nines". Droog forced him to build effigies for the Midnight Crew and sew up Slick's injured eye. He attempted to burn the effigy while they were distracted but was killed by Slick. Oddly enough, an alternate-timeline Stitch was also killed by Slick and stored in the Wrathtub of an alternate Hearts Boxcars.

10 - Sawbuck


Named after a slang term for US ten-dollar bills, which, like Fin, probably comes from the shape of his head.

Whenever Sawbuck is wounded (or when he wounds someone else), he and his attacker (or target) are sent to a random point in the current timeline. Apparently very hard to injure, as Spades says that he can only ever seem to inflict fleshwounds. This may be related to his temporal ability, although if it is, there's no implication as of yet how it makes him so resilient; it may just be because of his corpulence, or maybe bullets don't travel back with him, though this doesn't explain his resiliance to blades and the like.

Spades Slick carried an alternate Sawbuck back from another timeline while mucking around with Die's voodoo doll, before beheading both the original Sawbuck and his duplicate (along with an alternate Crowbar) with one swing of his rapier wit.

11 - Matchsticks


Named for the shape of the number 11, and for a source of fire, which he uses and fights against.The word "matchsticks" also has eleven letters.

Matchsticks was already deceased by the time the intermission began, although later on he was seen with a fire extinguisher in 's burning room. According to Andrew's Formspring, he can travel to any time and place in the timeline by using fire as a gateway. He keeps a fire extinguisher with him so he can put out the fires and prevent any more of him from arriving, unless he wishes to exploit the fire for battle purposes. A fire alarm in Scratch's room, and possibly other such fire alarms in the mansion, can be used to summon Matchsticks. He was killed (possibly being his sole cause of death in the timeline, with him having been summoned forward in time, never to return) in Scratch's room by Spades Slick.

12 - Eggs


Named for the most notable product served in a dozen, and his eggtimer.

Eggs is a dangerous moron. He can use his eggtimer to travel back in time by increments up to one hour. Eggs can thus become a one-man fighting force, with each incarnation a little more damaged than the last. According to Andrew Hussie, Eggs may branch off into a new timeline each time he goes back, as opposed to staying within the same timeline. Eggs potentially has no limit to how many time clones of himself he can have — this is vexing to friend and foe alike, as this senseless warping creates quite an unstable time loop, leaving his comrades (specifically, Stitch) to deal with the collateral damage.

With his egg timer destroyed by Spades Slick's judicious application of a crowbar, Eggs was left without any time-clone backup and, subsequently had his head bitten off his shoulders by Hearts Boxcars.

13 - Biscuits


Named for a baker's dozen, and his oven.

Biscuits is another dangerous moron. He believes that his oven allows him to travel forward in time (like Eggs' eggtimer allows him to travel back) if he sets the timer and climbs inside. He believes that when the timer rings and he exits the oven, he will appear in the future the same amount of time later as the timer was set to. Of course, this means he just sits in there waiting for the timer to ring. Tends to team up with Eggs, who takes Biscuits back in time with him by holding the oven (with Biscuits in it) when he does so. According to Hearts Boxcars, unless Eggs does this, Biscuits is little trouble.

For most of the intermission, he and his companion Eggs, backed by numerous time clones of themselves, were pestering Boxcars. Following the elimination of these time clones and the death of Eggs, Biscuits fled to the "safety" of his oven. He was killed in the future after Clubs Deuce put a time bomb into his oven, and is considered deceased (although technically he was alive and hiding uselessly in his oven for some time, until the present caught up to when the bomb went off).

14 - Quarters


Named for "quatorze", the French word for fourteen. Also a reference to the American 25-cent coin, and the writing of one quarter as ¼.

Quarters apparently constituted a portion of 's "muscle", but was already deceased by the time the intermission began. He somehow appears again in 's room a short time after Matchsticks. According to Andrew's Formspring, Quarters possesses a collection of quarters bearing the images of pool balls. If a coin is tossed, the Felt member corresponding with the side that faces up will be summoned from some place in space and time. If the member on the other side is present, the two will switch places and times. If a member tosses their own coin and gets his own number, they will die. Quarters lets Clover keep his coin because Clover is so lucky that he will never get his own number. Members 1 through 5 share their coin with the member with their own number plus ten. 6 shares with 9, 7 with 10, and 8 with herself. Thus, the double-8 coin has two special traits: it can easily be used to summon the conflict-halting, and letting her toss it is highly inadvisable.

Quarters wields a minigun with an insane amount of bullets, which was used to kill Spades Slick. In the process, he also destroys the model of Skaia in its current form (whether this is some kind weird foreshadowing or not is unclear). However, the killing of Slick is seen as an alternate timeline through 's mind, and she interferes by killing Quarters before he can turn Slick into Swiss cheese. Quarters' hat ironically lands on the model.

15 - Cans


Named for "quinze," the French word for fifteen.

Cans is an enormous man whom Spades regards as a challenge to kill — he doubts they brought enough ammo. Cans was the last surviving member of to be revealed in the central timeline, when he made his entrance in a display of prodigious strength Kool-Aid Man style. HS 3230 (OH, YEAAHH!) He has the ability to literally punch (or, rather, "clock") his enemies into next week; when he hits Diamonds Droog, Droog is sent a week into the future, where he is in the middle of grocery shopping. He also manages to clock Hearts Boxcars into a completely different calendar (year).

Cans is deceased in the final timeline Spades is sent to.

Trivia

 * Quarters' coins link pairs of Felt members. Some are relevant pairings, others don't make much sense. Die and Stitch have a similar power, with their destructive/healing voodoo doll and effigies. Doze and Eggs make a pair of morons with a funny duo name (dozen eggs). Itchy runs around so fast he probably starts fires sometimes, while Matchsticks puts them out.


 * Andrew has stated that the Past and Future Trails of Trace and Fin were inspired by the Future Trails from the movie Donnie Darko.


 * Various of 's Time Artifacts (identified as jujus) turned up as treasure in one of the dream bubbles that broke, including Crowbar's crowbar, Biscuits's oven, and the calendar that Hearts Boxcars was clocked into by Cans.

Speculation
It seems possible they are from the green moon of Alternia where, also a follower of , is seen in a familiar looking green mansion. They also may be members of the cherub species, due to many parallels including ownership of jujus.

Interestingly, the object carried by the Hegemonic Brute in Act 3 looks like the inside of English's vault door as seen in the Intermission, though sans green coloring. It also resembles the vault in which (as the Black Queen) stores her ring.

The presence of Karkat's exile terminal within the vault indicates that Felt Manor is possibly built at the former location of Terezi's hive. The significance of this, if any, is yet to be seen.

's coat, when first shown, has a total of fifteen tears on it. It's possible that these correspond to The Felt, and could also mean that the members of The Felt are linked to various breaks and glitches in timespace.