Temporal Mechanics

Homestuck commonly uses time travel as part of its plot. This page is dedicated to explaining the rules of these temporal mechanics.

The rules are as follows:


 * Each universe has one alpha timeline. This is the one timeline in each universe that is the baseline from which every other timeline deviates from. When you travel back in time far enough, you can realign with the alpha timeline.
 * Every timeline other than the alpha timeline is a doomed timeline. If an alpha timeline branches to create a doomed timeline, you can still go back in time to before the split to realign yourself with the alpha timeline.
 * Events of an alpha timeline can involve interference from doomed timelines. For example, Dave going back in time to become Davesprite is an event that is part of the alpha timeline, even though Dave was in a doomed timeline before he went back.
 * After Karkat Vantas and his session mates beat Sburb, they are able to use Trollian to contact John Egbert and his player mates at any point on their alpha timeline. They could not communicate with versions of the humans in doomed timelines. This is why Dave and Rose lost contact with the trolls in Davesprite's timeline after John died—because John dying there was not part of the alpha timeline, and so they had branched off into a doomed timeline.