#3879

Imagine being in Dave’s head, during that last fight with Jack.

Imagine watching yourself die violently, again and again, from the vantage point of a different Dave.

By the time it’s your turn, you already know exactly where each bullet is going to collide with your chest. You're already intimately familiar with the particular tones of your helpless screams - so familiar, in fact, that you're screaming before the bullet has even hit.

You already know how this goes. The only new part is the pain.

TT: Well, if I've learned anything from my extensive skimming over the Wikipedia articles on dream analysis, TT: It's that this dream is very unlikely to have any literal significance whatsoever. TT: It's probably not about dying at all.

If Rose hasn't yet diverged from the bubble's seed memory, then this quote is fairly ironic, in retrospect.

...but if Rose has broken out of the original memory, then she's the funniest motherfucker in the comic.

TG: i think im getting this weird deja vu thing where i was sure we talked about this […] TT: Why don't you tell me more about your dream?

I am so glad we’re going with option two. Never change, Lalonde.

TG: so i kept dying and kept being crows and stuff TG: and then i started to notice something coming from the sky TG: it was this faint eerie singing and i look up and theres nothing there just darkness

This was another peek at Derse, then.

Dave, the Horrorterrors have been trying to reach you since long before the session started. Will you finally heed their call?

TT: Certain texts say singing from the unknowable void carries a message. TT: That its recipient has been selected for a mission of supreme cosmic importance, that will result in your death and that of billions more.

It sounds like Rose is saying that the Green Sun’s destruction will kill many, many more than just the Tumor's pilot.

Now, we already knew that, more or less. The Sun is the keystone of the First Guardian system, and destroying it is sure to cause massive problems with every session in the multiverse. I can't even imagine how dire the long-term consequences will be. We know that - I’m just surprised that Rose is admitting it.

I guess I assumed Scratch had convinced her that destroying the Sun would be strictly beneficial - but no. She knows exactly how much destruction she’s about to dole out.

If you know this, Rose, then what the hell are you playing at?

TT: But one that is essential to the perpetuation of existence itself.

And here’s our answer. Scratch hasn’t hidden the fallout of the Green Sun’s destruction from Rose. He didn't need to, because he's opting for a much more subtle manipulation strategy, framing her mission as some nebulous 'greater good', which 'justifies' any side-effects.

Protect the multiverse from Jack, Rose - and don't worry about English. He's, uh, 'sanctioned by Paradox Space', whatever that means, so don't waste your thoughts on him. Look away from him, Rose.

Look at me, Rose. The real threat is Jack Noir.

That is what you need to fix, you silly girl. He’s your fault, Rose.

Fix it, and damn the consequences.

The fact that Dave is already this sick of the Grimoire says so much about the kind of offscreen conversations these two are having.

They’re hysterical, the both of them.

TG: i looked up into the sky TG: didnt see anyone singing TG: but even though the sky was black i could see the sun […] TG: so i flapped my wings and flew up away to it like a fucking piece of garbage […] TT: This doesn't strike you as an impulse of self destruction? […] TG: it was more like somewhere to go besides watching myself die a lot from the vantage of a feathery murder of dumb shitty birds

Dave really fucking hates his role, doesn’t he?

I think that last fight with Jack really did a number on him. He's so desperate to escape these loops that he's not thinking about the consequences...

TT: So, if hypothetically you were to accept such a mission, or even insist upon one, it wouldn't be in the spirit of genuine sacrifice, but of escape?

...even if the consequences include death by Tumor.

I think Rose's analysis is pretty much on the money. Dave will try to pilot the Tumor, despite the danger - but it's not because he wants to die. No, it's just a sign of how much he fucking hates being the Knight of Time. He doesn't want death, he wants out.

TG: ok somethings wrong TG: this whole conversation is falling apart this isnt how it originally went at all

Farewell, blissful ignorance.

This must be a really weird experience, as your memories proceed to hit your brain like a ton of bricks. For just a moment, as your past and future selves collide, you're both one person, and two people.

TG: this is so sick you using the dream bubble bullshit to pick apart my psyche TG: am i dead or asleep […] TT: Maybe I'm just as confused as you about it? TG: yeah right TT: Am I dead or asleep, Dave?

Is it just me, or is Rose acting sinister more sinister than normal here? She’s being weirdly evasive about her current situation, despite the current crisis. The Tumor's clock is ticking, and Dave needs to know her status!