maybe it’s time for a proper replay of the flash games because i’d either totally forgotten or was just not learned enough at the time as a teenager to pick up on the big spoonful of dissociative identity jokes slapped on top of everything else about Horuss… thinking charitably, I wonder if this was to point in the direction of the amalgam Lord English reveal? Openbound’s allusions to Voldemort and horcruxes (…Horuss = Horcrux?) certainly indicate that this idea was in the forefront of Andrew’s mind during this stage of writing. seems pertinent that the word “system” also acts as a double entendre referencing Horuss’ part-machine nature (“Whenever I talk to you, my system gets a little switchy”)

perhaps more that coincidentally, Horuss and Cronus, who I suppose we’re supposed to think of as being “kin” with Lord English in their own unique ways, both get rather brusque descriptions from the author avatar: Horuss “is just Equius on horse steroids. The end.” while Cronus “is the worst character in Homestuck by a nautical mile. Any questions?” flippant dismissals of characters of little overall value, yes, but considering the interesting background we get on the rest of the Beforans, it does come across like something about these two in particular is being obscured? or even that the author character is hesitant to talk about these two in particular for some reason?