The Afterw@rd (a compromise between Afterword and Afterward[1]) is a location described by the MSPA reader as the “drifting grey place between universes”,[1] but could be more accurately referred to as between stories - such as Hiveswap Friendship Simulator and Pesterquest - or as “4N 4MBIGUOUS N3XUS OF M3T4PHYS1C4L R34L1T13S”.[2] Appearing as a long blue corridor, “low resolution” and “[s]imultaneously too bright and too dark to make sense of”,[3] it seemingly opens up directly into the residence of Doc Scratch.
History[]
The reader first arrives here from Gamzee's hive while trying to remember the name and face of Karako Pierot, but only stays for a moment. They later catch a glimpse of it from Equius' hive while trying to visit Nepeta Leijon, a character they haven't met yet at that point. In the same volume, they end up there with Terezi Pyrope by accident, teleporting while thinking back to another character from Friendsim. From here they repeatedly end up in the Afterw@rd while trying to get from Pesterquest back to locations or characters in Hiveswap Friendship Simulator, and frequently come into contact with a mysterious figure at the end of the tunnel standing in an “A-pose”.[citation needed]
The reader again finds themselves here in the Pesterquest Epilogue when Ultimate Dirk interrupts the end of their friendship with younger Dirk by slashing the game open, sending the player first through the game's code and then in the Afterw@rd. Finally reaching the end of the corridor, the MSPA reader arrives in Doc Scratch's apartment and discovers the true identity of the mysterious figure to be the Director.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Aysha U. Farah and Lalo Hunt. “No, not the Epilogue. God. This is impossible. You can't believe you are the main character of such a stupid story. He launches you straight into the...post-game. Final chapter. Afterword? Or, wait...Afterward? Both of them look weird. / Anyway, he launches you into the Afterw@rd, which seems to just be that drifting grey place between universes. But this time you aren't standing in the corridor, you are hurtling along it like a protagonist shaped missile. This is not going to end well.” Pesterquest: Volume 14. April 1, 2020.
- ↑ Sarah Zedig. “4N 4MBIGUOUS N3XUS OF M3T4PHYS1C4L R34L1T13S” Pesterquest: Volume 7, Route 2: A Fair Trial. November 13, 2019.
- ↑ Sarah Zedig. “You look around and try to get your bearings, but nothing seems to be in focus. It's all too... low resolution? Simultaneously too bright and too dark to make sense of.” Pesterquest: Volume 7, Route 2: A Fair Trial. November 13, 2019.