The Ultimate Riddle

The Ultimate Riddle is a concept in Homestuck, first alluded to by NannaspriteHS 2325 and later elaborated on by Karkat Vantas. It seems closely related to Time shenanigans, Weird plot shit, paradox clones, and the immutability of fate. According to Karkat, the gist of the Riddle is that "YOU WERE ALWAYS THE KEY TO SEEDING YOUR OWN EXISTENCE THROUGH THIS GAME. AND ANY HOPE THAT IT COULD HAVE PLAYED OUT DIFFERENTLY OR THAT YOU COULD HAVE AVOIDED THIS WHOLE MESS WAS ALWAYS JUST A RUSE. [...] BECAUSE IF IT DIDN'T GO DOWN THIS WAY THEN HOW WERE YOU EVEN BORN, GET IT."HS 3803 The clues to the Riddle are found in the game world in the form of strange poems that players discover during their various quests. Karkat mentioned that these poems are also necessary to solve Weird puzzle shit.

Karkat also mentions the Riddle in relation to his backwards trolling of John and the Time shenanigans that result in HS 5322 (this chatlog), when John contacts Karkat, who realizes that his own future actions will trigger John's desire to contact him, causing their present conversation.