An elite curriculum analyzing cult internet masterpieces, media cross-pollination, and experimental digital narratives from the 2000s and 2010s.
In The EarthBound Halloween Hack, who is the final boss fought to "Megalovania"?
A. Dr. Andonuts
B. Porky Minch
C. Giygas
D. The Creator
LORE ARCHIVE: Toby Fox's 2008 ROM hack concludes with a shocking battle against a mutated, psychologically ruined Dr. Andonuts inside the world's subconscious. This fight is famous for debuting "Megalovania" long before its use in Homestuck and Undertale.
The Undertale song "ASGORE" explicitly borrows a key melodic sequence from which theme?
A. Fallen Down
B. Heartache
C. Spear of Justice
D. Spider Dance
LORE ARCHIVE: "ASGORE" integrates Toriel's battle motif ("Heartache") into its secondary hook. This musical recycling illustrates the broken connection, shared history, and parallel burdens of the tragedy-stricken King and Queen of the Underground.
In which interactive flash animation did "MeGaLoV-aNiA" make its webcomic debut?
A. [S] Wake
B. [S] Cascade
C. [S] Collide
D. [S] Enter
LORE ARCHIVE: "MeGaLoV-aNiA" was licensed for Homestuck Vol. 6 and premiered in flash comic [S] Wake. It accompanied a dual-narrative battle: Aradia Megido waking up in her God Tier state, and Vriska Serket engaging in combat with Jack Noir.
The "garbage noise" played on Deltarune's cell phone is a slowed-down audio sample of:
A. Modem handshake
B. Barking dog
C. Room 264 (Gaster)
D. Kickstarter voice
LORE ARCHIVE: The garbage noise is a slowed down clip of mus_smile.ogg, the sound associated with the legendary hidden entity W.D. Gaster in Room 264 of Undertale. This sound design asset links Gaster directly to the meta-boundaries of Deltarune.
Round III: Andrew Hussie (Part A)
Which pre-Homestuck text-parser comic parodied pulp detective inventory mechanics?
A. Jailbreak
B. Problem Sleuth
C. Bard Quest
D. Whistles: Starlight
LORE ARCHIVE:Problem Sleuth parodied classic puzzle-adventure and text parser interfaces. The joke of inventory tracking (such as carrying infinite imaginary objects in "imaginary bars") served as the blueprint for Homestuck's later "Sylladex" system.
What is the specific term for the cosmic reset initiated by scratching the Beat Mesa?
A. The Retcon
B. The Scratch
C. The Great Glitch
D. The Reckoning
LORE ARCHIVE: "The Scratch" resets a Sburb game session. By using the needle of the Beat Mesa in the Land of Crypts and Helium, the timeline is wiped clean and populated by the players' guardians as players instead, allowing a secondary timeline attempt.
INTERNET ALCHEMY ANSWER KEY PAGE 2 OF 3
Round III: Andrew Hussie (Continued)
Which game studio was originally contracted to develop Hiveswap before controversies erupted?
A. The Odd Gentlemen
B. Lab Zero Games
C. WayForward Tech
D. Chucklefish
LORE ARCHIVE: After raising $2.4M on Kickstarter, What Pumpkin hired The Odd Gentlemen. Due to alleged developmental delays, asset discrepancies, and resources allegedly diverted to other projects (specifically King's Quest), Hussie terminated the contract and shifted development in-house.
What is the primary theme/social setting of Andrew Hussie's 2021 visual novel Psycholonials?
A. Chess colony
B. Clown social cult
C. Victorian theater
D. Occult taxidermy
LORE ARCHIVE:Psycholonials is a scathing satire of online radicalization and internet clout. It follows Zemi, a girl whose clown-themed aesthetic movement spirals on social media and transforms into an island-bound, militaristic, revolutionary cult.
Round IV: The Nexus (Shared Realms)
Toby Fox famously coded Undertale prototypes in Andrew Hussie's basement. Where was this house located?
A. Seattle, WA
B. Boston, MA
C. Austin, TX
D. Oakland, CA
LORE ARCHIVE: During peak Homestuck years, Andrew Hussie resided in Belmont (near Boston, MA). Toby Fox lived in the basement guest area, where he composed tracks for Homestuck and designed the earliest battle and dialogue code for Undertale.
What was the central narrative parody of Toby Fox's absurd 2010 rock opera "The Baby Is You"?
A. John pregnant with Dave's baby
B. Hussie raising a troll avatar
C. Sweet Bro fashion line
D. Karkat blood color laws
LORE ARCHIVE: Fox composed "The Baby Is You" as a joke response to the MS Paint Adventures forum moderators banning any discussions of pregnancy. The resulting multi-part track tells an incredibly distorted story where John Egbert is pregnant with Dave Strider's child.
Grading Guide: Bonus Creative Challenge
Evaluation Criteria: Award up to +2 bonus points if the response creatively synthesizes the stylistic trademarks of all three figures (e.g., Ryan Ross's theatrical baroque lyricism, Toby Fox's complex leitmotifs/rpg logic, and Andrew Hussie's convoluted self-referential narratives).
Ex: "A visual novel about an emo band trapped in an escalating timeline loop of a text adventure game, set to a chiptune orchestral soundtrack that adapts to the player's choices."
INTERNET ALCHEMY ANSWER KEY PAGE 3 OF 3
In The EarthBound Halloween Hack, who is the final boss fought to "Megalovania"?
A. Dr. Andonuts
B. Porky Minch
C. Giygas
D. The Creator
LORE ARCHIVE: Toby Fox's 2008 ROM hack concludes with a shocking battle against a mutated, psychologically ruined Dr. Andonuts inside the world's subconscious. This fight is famous for debuting "Megalovania" long before its use in Homestuck and Undertale.
The Undertale song "ASGORE" explicitly borrows a key melodic sequence from which theme?
A. Fallen Down
B. Heartache
C. Spear of Justice
D. Spider Dance
LORE ARCHIVE: "ASGORE" integrates Toriel's battle motif ("Heartache") into its secondary hook. This musical recycling illustrates the broken connection, shared history, and parallel burdens of the tragedy-stricken King and Queen of the Underground.
In which interactive flash animation did "MeGaLoV-aNiA" make its webcomic debut?
A. [S] Wake
B. [S] Cascade
C. [S] Collide
D. [S] Enter
LORE ARCHIVE: "MeGaLoV-aNiA" was licensed for Homestuck Vol. 6 and premiered in flash comic [S] Wake. It accompanied a dual-narrative battle: Aradia Megido waking up in her God Tier state, and Vriska Serket engaging in combat with Jack Noir.
The "garbage noise" played on Deltarune's cell phone is a slowed-down audio sample of:
A. Modem handshake
B. Barking dog
C. Room 264 (Gaster)
D. Kickstarter voice
LORE ARCHIVE: The garbage noise is a slowed down clip of mus_smile.ogg, the sound associated with the legendary hidden entity W.D. Gaster in Room 264 of Undertale. This sound design asset links Gaster directly to the meta-boundaries of Deltarune.
Round III: Andrew Hussie (Part A)
Which pre-Homestuck text-parser comic parodied pulp detective inventory mechanics?
A. Jailbreak
B. Problem Sleuth
C. Bard Quest
D. Whistles: Starlight
LORE ARCHIVE:Problem Sleuth parodied classic puzzle-adventure and text parser interfaces. The joke of inventory tracking (such as carrying infinite imaginary objects in "imaginary bars") served as the blueprint for Homestuck's later "Sylladex" system.
What is the specific term for the cosmic reset initiated by scratching the Beat Mesa?
A. The Retcon
B. The Scratch
C. The Great Glitch
D. The Reckoning
LORE ARCHIVE: "The Scratch" resets a Sburb game session. By using the needle of the Beat Mesa in the Land of Crypts and Helium, the timeline is wiped clean and populated by the players' guardians as players instead, allowing a secondary timeline attempt.
INTERNET ALCHEMY ANSWER KEY PAGE 2 OF 3
Round III: Andrew Hussie (Continued)
Which game studio was originally contracted to develop Hiveswap before controversies erupted?
A. The Odd Gentlemen
B. Lab Zero Games
C. WayForward Tech
D. Chucklefish
LORE ARCHIVE: After raising $2.4M on Kickstarter, What Pumpkin hired The Odd Gentlemen. Due to alleged developmental delays, asset discrepancies, and resources allegedly diverted to other projects (specifically King's Quest), Hussie terminated the contract and shifted development in-house.
What is the primary theme/social setting of Andrew Hussie's 2021 visual novel Psycholonials?
A. Chess colony
B. Clown social cult
C. Victorian theater
D. Occult taxidermy
LORE ARCHIVE:Psycholonials is a scathing satire of online radicalization and internet clout. It follows Zemi, a girl whose clown-themed aesthetic movement spirals on social media and transforms into an island-bound, militaristic, revolutionary cult.
Round IV: The Nexus (Shared Realms)
Toby Fox famously coded Undertale prototypes in Andrew Hussie's basement. Where was this house located?
A. Seattle, WA
B. Boston, MA
C. Austin, TX
D. Oakland, CA
LORE ARCHIVE: During peak Homestuck years, Andrew Hussie resided in Belmont (near Boston, MA). Toby Fox lived in the basement guest area, where he composed tracks for Homestuck and designed the earliest battle and dialogue code for Undertale.
What was the central narrative parody of Toby Fox's absurd 2010 rock opera "The Baby Is You"?
A. John pregnant with Dave's baby
B. Hussie raising a troll avatar
C. Sweet Bro fashion line
D. Karkat blood color laws
LORE ARCHIVE: Fox composed "The Baby Is You" as a joke response to the MS Paint Adventures forum moderators banning any discussions of pregnancy. The resulting multi-part track tells an incredibly distorted story where John Egbert is pregnant with Dave Strider's child.
Grading Guide: Bonus Creative Challenge
Evaluation Criteria: Award up to +2 bonus points if the response creatively synthesizes the stylistic trademarks of all three figures (e.g., Ryan Ross's theatrical baroque lyricism, Toby Fox's complex leitmotifs/rpg logic, and Andrew Hussie's convoluted self-referential narratives).
Ex: "A visual novel about an emo band trapped in an escalating timeline loop of a text adventure game, set to a chiptune orchestral soundtrack that adapts to the player's choices."
INTERNET ALCHEMY ANSWER KEY PAGE 3 OF 3
Which Alternian troll communicates using alternating capital letters (the AlTeRnAtInG quirk) and is deeply obsessed with juggalo culture, Faygo pop, and clown-themed "miracles"?
A Equius Zahhak
B Karkat Vantas
C Gamzee Makara
D Kurloz Makara
In Alternian history, who is the legendary, messianic ancestor of Karkat Vantas who preached a sermon of ultimate class equality across all blood levels before being executed with heavy chains?
A The Sufferer / The Signless
B The Psiioniic
C The Grand Highblood
D The Disciple
Each Sburb player is linked to a sleeping dream self on either Prospit or Derse. Which of the original four Beta Kids is the first to canonically wake up and explore Prospit years before the game begins?
A John Egbert
B Rose Lalonde
C Dave Strider
D Jade Harley
SYLLADEX SHOWDOWN DIAGNOSTICS PAGE 2 OF 3
Section III: Classpect Taxonomy & Cosmic Law
The Class and Aspect system structures Sburb players' roles. What is the passive counterpart to the active stealing class, the "Thief" (as exemplified by Vriska Serket, the Thief of Light)?
A The Rogue (e.g. Roxy Lalonde, Rogue of Void)
B The Prince (e.g. Dirk Strider, Prince of Heart)
C The Knight (e.g. Dave Strider, Knight of Time)
D The Mage (e.g. Sollux Captor, Mage of Doom)
Doc Scratch is an omniscient, near-omnipotent antagonist who serves as a host for Lord English. What physical object serves as Doc Scratch's literal head?
A A solid gold billiard ball
B A spinning green clock face
C A magic cue ball
D A glowing radioactive orb
John Egbert gains the legendary "retcon power," enabling him to alter canonical events across space-time. Which artifact did he touch inside a glowing treasure chest to gain this absolute narrative-overwriting ability?
A Caliborn's Juju (The Treasure)
B The Ring of Life
C The Green Sun's Core
D The Ring of Void
What is the name of the green-skinned, pool-cue-wielding Cherub antagonist who rules the post-Scratch universe and eventually ascends to become Lord English?
A Calliope
B Doc Scratch
C Caliborn
D Lil Cal
Design Challenge: Classpect Synthesis
Choose a hypothetical Sburb player role (Class and Aspect) and explain how their power would operate to solve a critical, doomed timeline event.
SYLLADEX SHOWDOWN DIAGNOSTICS PAGE 3 OF 3
A. Gold Blood
B. Burgundy / Rust
C. Bronze Blood
D. Lime Blood
LORE ARCHIVE: Burgundy or rust-blooded trolls (such as Aradia Megido) are at the absolute bottom of the Alternian hemospectrum. They suffer from high mortality and systemic oppression, but are compensated with potent psionic powers, particularly psychokinesis and talking to the dead.
Which Alternian troll communicates in AlTeRnAtInG letters and is obsessed with Faygo?
A. Equius Zahhak
B. Karkat Vantas
C. Gamzee Makara
D. Kurloz Makara
LORE ARCHIVE: Gamzee Makara is a purple-blooded highblood who behaves as an incredibly relaxed juggalo. His speech typing quirk mirrors his stoner-like state, which is fueled by eating sopor slime pies that temporarily pacify his natural highblood murderous rage.
Who is the messianic, revolutionary ancestor of Karkat Vantas executed with red-hot chains?
A. The Sufferer
B. The Psiioniic
C. The Highblood
D. The Disciple
LORE ARCHIVE: The Signless (or The Sufferer) was a mutant lime-blooded troll born without a typing quirk or psychic ability. He experienced a vision of a peaceful, classless society, which led to a historic rebellion that was brutally crushed by highblood enforcers.
Which of the original four Beta Kids is the first to sleepwalk and explore Prospit?
A. John Egbert
B. Rose Lalonde
C. Dave Strider
D. Jade Harley
LORE ARCHIVE: Jade Harley's dream self was awake on Prospit for years prior to the game, communicating with her in her sleep. This unique temporal placement allowed her to witness Prospit's clouds, which forecast upcoming narrative events.
SYLLADEX SHOWDOWN ANSWER KEY PAGE 2 OF 3
Section III: Classpect Taxonomy & Cosmic Law
What is the passive counterpart to the active stealing class, the "Thief"?
A. The Rogue
B. The Prince
C. The Knight
D. The Mage
LORE ARCHIVE: The Rogue acts as the passive counterpart to the Thief. While a Thief steals an aspect for their own self-benefit, a Rogue steals their aspect on behalf of others or redistributes it to aid their team (e.g. Roxy stealing Void to materialize weapons).
What physical object serves as Doc Scratch's literal head?
A. Gold billiard ball
B. Green clock face
C. Magic cue ball
D. Radioactive orb
LORE ARCHIVE: Doc Scratch has a smooth white sphere for a head, which acts exactly like a magic eight-ball. It allows him to access absolute, omniscient information about the universe, serving as a terrifyingly polite oracle for Lord English.
Which artifact did John Egbert touch to gain his absolute retcon power?
A. Caliborn's Juju
B. Ring of Life
C. Green Sun Core
D. Ring of Void
LORE ARCHIVE: By touching Caliborn's juju (a glowing, house-shaped ornament in a golden chest), John gained the power of "retcon." This is separate from typical Time-travel, as it allows him to physically alter established, written canon without creating doom loops.
What is the name of the green cherub who eventually ascends to become Lord English?
A. Calliope
B. Doc Scratch
C. Caliborn
D. Lil Cal
LORE ARCHIVE: Caliborn is the hostile male Cherub who dominates his sister Calliope and plays a solo session of Sburb. Through massive trials and alchemizing Lil Cal, he eventually grows into the multi-temporal demon Lord English.
Grading Guide: Classpect Synthesis Challenge
Evaluation Criteria: Award up to +2 bonus points if the student correctly applies the mechanics of a Class (active vs passive, e.g., Witch, Knight, Heir, Seer) and an Aspect (Time, Space, Breath, Doom, Light, Void, Mind, Heart, Blood, Rage, Life, Hope) to resolve a logical crisis.
Ex: "A Seer of Mind predicts the precise choices of a highblood to prevent them from attacking, thus keeping a crucial timeline from going off-course and doom-looping."
