Pesterquest: Volume 4, entitled 'The Loneliest Girl In The World', is the fourth installment of Pesterquest, a Homestuck spinoff visual novel. The befriendable character in the fourth installment is Jade Harley . It was written by David Turnbull. Volume 4 was released on October 2, 2019.
Plot[]
While you still haven't quite recovered from all the food at Olive Garden, you are determined to make more friends. This time round, you know the full name of the person you're about to visit: Jade Harley. You find it odd that her other friends don't know all that much about her, but you aren't going to let that get in the way. When you're teleporting to her place, however, you hear a loud bark, nuclear green energy crackling around you. Startled as you are, you still manage to appear safely in a room. The dog in question stands over you, and he seems friendly enough. You find it extremely jarring to see Jade pointing her gun at you even though her dog is perfectly at ease with you, heeding her warning to stay perfectly still.
You try to convince her that you mean her no harm, but she is reluctant to point the gun somewhere else despite clearly not relishing the idea of killing another living thing. Irritated with your inexcessant chatter, Jade demands to know what you're doing, interferring with their lives and all that. She seems especially angry with you, since you have not appeared in any of her prophetic dreams and she is now unable to visit Prospit whilst asleep. She goes on to explain that your arrival has drastically shifted the forces of fate, all due to the fact that you've destroyed John's copy of the Sburb beta. Not quite grasping what she's so upset about, you tell her that you're just here to make friends. Jade isn't done with her rant, and openly muses the possibility of you being a Prospitian double agent, since you don't resemble a Dersite, a troll or a human.
Taken aback with her last comment, you begin to doubt yourself. With a pitying look, Jade tells you that you resemble the 'Your Character Here' blank poses in art comissions and are probably some wild card unaccounted for by fate. Right when she's about to loosen up, she remembers that she has a few questions for you and would like to fix the entire situation as soon as possible. You are starting to take issue with the gun pointed at your face.
- If you choose to get the gun away from her, you try to divert her attention by asking about her grandfather, whom she seems rather fond of. While she seems open to the idea, she mentions that he's also a stuffed corpse, freaking you out immensely. That made you twice as determined to remove the gun from her person, and you wait for a lull in the conversation before attempting to disarm her. Right as you are about to rip the gun out of her hands, Bec steps in and tosses you into space. You remark on the tranquility of your surroundings, but later decide that it's probably asphyxiation talking. SPACE JUNK'D
- If you choose to stay calm and explain yourself, Jade decides that you're being sincere and takes your word for it. You are incredibly relieved when she finally puts her gun aside, and the two of you begin chit-chatting. While giving you a tour of her room, you note the many toys littering the place: Manthro Chaps and Squiddle plushies. Jade goes on to describe her favourite Squiddle, her expression sad and wistful all the while. She quickly regains her cheerful demeanor and leads you downstairs, leaving you no chance to inspect the high-tech gadgetry by her bed. Taking the transportalizer, the two of you appear in her garden where you spend some time admiring her handiwork and the beauty of the island spread below the tower. Jade laments that she can't visit the Frog Temple down below since Bec had deemed it too dangerous, though she grumpily notes that her grandfather had been there multiple times. She then snaps mid-conversation, clearly unhappy with how her grandfather 'abandoned' her here with no way for her to leave, esentially confining her to lifelong solitude. Concerned, you ask whether she's alright, to which she breezily affirms. She proceeds to take you to the Big Game Trophy Room, despite finding most of the displays hideous. After chatting some more, she asks whether you've been on crazy adventures of your own. Since you're still suffering from amnesia, you are unable to regale her with outlandish tales of your own and instead offer to help her talk out her parental issues. She tries to sweep things under the rug the first few times, but loses her temper when you insist on it. Horrified with the accusation she'd just screamed in your face, Jade disappears upstairs to cry. Taking a deep breath, you return to her room and gently ask whether she'd like to address the few issues that have been bothering her. Jade apologizes to you, then opens up and explains how she'd been yearning to actually live life and meet people in person, since she'd been stuck all alone on this island all her life. When your attempt to take her elsewhere is thwarted by Bec, she leads you back to the transportalizer to explain how things work. All in all, it becomes quite clear that Bec would not let her leave the island no matter what. You try to think of something to cheer her up.
- Should you choose to challenge Bec for superiority, you tackle the unsuspecting canine and wrestle him to the ground. There is only one way to prove yourself as the alpha, and you do so by punching Bec in the snout to establish superiority. Enraged, Bec retaliates and sinks his teeth into you. After hurtling through space, the two of you land on Derse in a painful heap. You are unable to calm Bec, but right as he moves in for the kill you phase yourself through him and end up in front of the Green Sun. Ready to pass out from blood loss, you hear voices behind you. Sollux wonders what you are, prompting Aradia to chastise him about his rudeness. Aradia happily remarks that you would need to restart and try again. GAME OVER
- Should you choose to explore, you tell her that she can go explore the Frog Temple while you distract Bec. The moment Jade vanishes outside, you begin petting Bec all over. When Bec senses Jade approaching the temple however, you give him belly rubs to give Jade more time. After a while, Bec falls asleep, allowing you to reunite with Jade at the top of the temple. Inside the temple, Jade is perplexed to see the Lotus Time Capsule frozen at 04:13, but her attention is quickly directed to the transportalizers hidden under a platform. Excited, Jade hops onto the golden pad and you follow suit. Even though Jade is very happy to be back in Prospit, she feels as though something's amiss and rushes off to see the Queen. When the guards to the palace refuse her entry, Jade storms off in a huff, beckoning you to follow. You happen to glance skywards and see a dark figure silhouetted against Skaia, and whatever it is frightens you to no end. Right as you return to the temple, the transportalizer to Prospit is destroyed with red tendrils. On the way back to her home, Jade spends a long moment trying to understand what is going on with the game. In the end, she concludes that she's just been an immature kid and she should stay put on the island as fate had decreed it. You aren't sure what she's actually going on about, but you certainly don't like the idea of leaving her here all alone.
- If you accept the new destiny you've written for Jade, you admit that you're kind of a jerk. You keep telling yourself that she's happier this way, but you aren't entirely convinced.
BAD ENDimportant, heroic end!!!!! :D - If you do not accept the new destiny you've written for Jade, you decide that there's something you can do for her. Jade is surprised that you haven't left yet, and explains that she really doesn't mind being alone if it's for a bigger purpose. You give her a speech about never abandoning hope or happiness for whatever reason, which lifts her spirits. Right as you promise to visit her every now and then, you ask Jade to prepare for a slumber party. Jade isn't entirely sure what you're planning, but goes along with it all the same. In the meantime, you zip around to gather John, Rose and Dave to Jade's house. Both John and Rose are startled to see you pop in without warning, and Rose becomes quite flustered when John compliments her drawings in her room. Dave took some convincing to join in, since he got in some trouble with Bro after that unnanounced trip to Olive Garden. Soon everyone is gathered in Jade's garden, and she is incredibly touched with your compassion. When nightime rolls around, you decide that it's time that you took your leave. You know that the four kids sprawled on the floor will never be free from the bullshit that hounds them, but the current moment of peace is more than enough. VICTORY!!
- If you accept the new destiny you've written for Jade, you admit that you're kind of a jerk. You keep telling yourself that she's happier this way, but you aren't entirely convinced.
Character Sprites[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The town listed as Jade's post office address is Hauntswitch.
- When the MSPA Reader examines Bec, they vaguely recall seeing a similar looking dog once. This is a reference to Hiveswap Friendsim: Vol. 3, where they meet a dog lusus named Ladyy.
- Upon meeting Jade, the MSPA Reader mentions that she looks more like a Gigi, a nod to the name fans used for her before her official name was decided. It comes from her pesterchum handle, gardenGnostic.
- Similarly, the MSPA Reader also said Jade seemed more like a Lynn, a reference to "Lynn Bishop", the second name suggested by Zeitlos Eisen, the suggester of Jade's final name.[1]
- During the interrogation session with Jade, the MSPA Reader mentions that they are well versed in wrestling, postmodern art and have controversial opinions on traditional jurisprudence.
- When Bec transports the MSPA Reader to the Green Sun, they momentarily wonder whether they've been avada kedavra'd.
- The MSPA Reader mentions seeing Jade with droopy dog ears and a tail tucked between her legs, alluding to Jade's appearance after she ascended to god tier and merged with Jadesprite.
- During the MSPA Reader's tussle with Bec, they punch Bec in the snout to establish superiority, which is a callback to this.
- The text on top of the blood spattered screen reads: Image 'bg getmeoutofhere' not found.
- While following Jade on Prospit, the MSPA Reader mentions stepping around a Prospitian lady carrying a paint can, which is a reference to Ms. Paint.
References[]
- ↑ Zeitlos Eisen. MSPA Forums. October 14, 2009.
