#s109

The most important character in Homestuck fondly regards the miracle of a new beginning.

The most what? Important what?

Curveball after curveball. So far, Gamzee has done nothing noteworthy. He's a silly stoner who likes to drink Faygo and hang out in the background of the comic. The only thing I can think of that might make him important is - and I can't believe I'm saying this - he's one of the most meta-aware characters in the comic.

Is this something more than a joke, after all? Has Gamzee's sopor abuse actually granted him a more profound awareness of reality?

...oh my god. I just realized something genuinely bone-chilling.

He's looking directly at Homestuck's Fourth Wall.

Let's move on. I need time to digest the fucking implications of this.

Oh, shit!

Up until now, Becsprite could be counted on to project Jade from perils such as this - but Becsprite's no longer in the building.

Doc Scratch? Here?

This is exactly what we don’t need right now.

"The kingdom of heaven is within you."

PLATFORM BOOTS S109 by mermaladesimtr

JADE: hello! JADE: ummmmmm JADE: jade? JADE: can you talk? JADESPRITE: i…

Well, this is a first, isn't it?

A Dream Self is never meant to converse with its realsona. After all, there's only supposed to be one person in the equation. For hundreds of pages, I've been wondering what would happen if one was prototyped - and the answer seems to be that the Jade equation now contains two souls, not one. They're two independent incarnations of Jade, coexisting in the same space for the first time ever.

How similar are they, I wonder? Presumably Jadesprite's memory cuts off after the end of Descend, so she's essentially a version of Jade from hours in the past. From now on, they'll continue to diverge from each other as they experience different lives. Just like with Dave and Davesprite, these girls are now siblings, not 'sonas.

JADESPRITE: what did you do…

...uh oh.

In all my excitement, I forgot about a rather important facet of this situation.

JADESPRITE: WHAT DID YOU DO??????

Jadesprite's a First Guardian now.

This isn't something any human is prepared to handle. It's godhood, but not the safe, Sburb-approved kind that comes from a Quest Bed. It's raw, unfiltered power, knowledge beyond comprehension, and absolute control of distance itself.

What does that do to a person?

We've been playing fast and loose with Sburb's rules for too long.

Eventually, we were bound to cross a couple of wires that should never have been allowed to touch.

Looks like Gamzee's getting bored. At least we know he survives until the end of the countdown...

...wait. That's not paint, is it? That's Gamzee's blood.

You know, I've been complaining about the kids' plans for ages - maybe I should put my money where my mouth is, and come up with a workable one myself.

I think we can still make the Becsprite plan work, if we tweak it a little. All we really need to do is prototype him with an ingredient that can counteract his unwillingness to harm Dersite Agents. It might be worth prototyping him with a Prospitian Agent, who would surely relish the chance to take down the tyrant who destroyed their planet.

If we go with that plan, then we'd also have a First Guardian Sprite who can use the Queen's Ring. I don't know what would happen if a FG sprite gained additional First Guardian traits from the Bec kernel - but I feel like the resulting entity might legitimately be able to overpower Noir.

TG: youre about to do what youre about to do TG: and im not going to tell you not to TG: i wont do the bullshit troll thing and tell you what youre going to do and then just dare you not to TG: while knowing damn well you will anyway […] TG: whats next is up to you

That’s a good attitude to have – particularly towards Jade, who’s been dealing with this exact bullshit ever since we first heard from the trolls.

GG: hey tavros! GG: i was thinking about your plan GG: about uh… GG: "communing" with my lusus :) GG: maybe its not a bad idea! GG: are you there?

Jade wasn’t privy to Vriska’s sabotage, so she still thinks Bec would be willing to fight Jack. That plan’s a non-starter now, and it’ll be even less of a starter when Tavros confronts Vriska, and immediately has his ass handed to him.

You don't think you can afford to wait around for him. This leaves the only other plan you can think of. One of last resort.

I’m pretty sure I know what’s about to happen - and as a result, I think I have a pretty good understanding of Jade’s thought process here.

If Bec won't help...

...then let's give his powers to someone who will.

Even if you did, you’d have to break it in order to wield it - and unlike your regenerating sword, I don't think Bro's katana will be very effective as a half-blade.

GG: dave we have to stop him!!!!! TG: what GG: jack! […] GG: why dont you stop jumping around through time like a maniac and stop being like a hundred daves all the time and come to my house so we can make a plan to kill him??

I’m liking this new, more pro-active Jade. With Rose distracted by Doc Scratch's games, we probably need a new leader, and I think Jade could fit the bill.

However, I don’t think any number of Daves would be enough to take Jack down. That’s exactly what Aradia tried, and we all know how that turned out. If a thousand telekinetic necromancers can't put a scratch on him, I don't think Dave will fare much better.

TG: besides we cant beat him TG: look what he did to bro and davesprite together TG: im at the top of my echeladder with all the fraymotifs and i stand no chance

Dave’s already stronger than Future Dave was when he came back to the past. His progress is astounding - but the session's power creep has got so bad that it doesn’t even matter.

Like - let's imagine, for a second, that all four kids attacked Jack with their full power, right now. If they all synergized perfectly, taking full advantage of John's hurricanes, Rose's Horrorterror connections, and all the time duplicates Dave can make....

They'd still be reduced to a fine mist.

Jack has inherited a power strong enough to raze the entire Earth, and none of the kids can touch him. Becsprite initially seemed like an opportunity to match that power, Sun-to-Sun, but Vriska, for her own godforsaken reasons, nixed that plan.

The kids have got nothing. Even their plan to cheat by destroying the Green Sun is probably hopeless, because we know it ultimately serves Doc Scratch's ends, not ours. Things are really dire.

TG: only thing we can do is hold out until the scratch GG: what is the scratch? TG: guess i shouldnt really say TG: since you sort of lead the way in making that plan

And then there's the Scratch plan itself, which is apparently Jade's idea - although I'd be extremely surprised if Doc's grubby little fingers weren't all over this one, too.

Opening rifts in space is certainly Jade's department, so I think she's going to suggest it as a counter-plan to Rose's more risky Sun strategy.

TG: if we cant beat him TG: all we can really do is exile him to a place where he cant teleport back TG: which hopefully buys us some time TG: to try to take out his power source in a crazy suicide mission

A two-pronged approach, then. They trigger the Scratch, push Jack through a rift, and then send Rose's dream self out to destroy the sun before he's able to return.

...man, this is such a dangerous idea. Even if it wasn't being influenced by Doc, it'd still set off some huge alarm bells.