#s154

The dÎsc is tø€ badly da™aged. You can no lcœger play Homeµ&uck.

Wait, are the glitches just a meta joke?

Not going to lie - that's a little disappointing, if true. The idea that the session was collapsing was really interesting, and I was looking forward to seeing how it progressed.

You will n««d to seek t÷e §ervice of so‰ê‡ne who is capaðle of fixing a scrat#h_ A s¤ratch dØctor, if y†ù will.

I don't have a clue what the implications are, here.

If Scratch takes control of the Homestuck disc, will he be able to narrate false information to us? Can he retcon established facts by changing the disc's 'data'? Will he assume direct control of the characters, just like we did?

Judging by the comic's immediate Feltification, I think my guesses were pretty on the mark.

In some abstract way, Scratch is assuming direct control.

What a shame. There are many moments trapped on this disc which you would have no doubt found to be quite exhilarating.

Get on with it, 8itch. What do you think we’re paying you for?

If you don't mind waiting here while I complete my repairs, I will tell the rest of the story. I will show you as well, as I recover data from the disc. […] The Seer of Mind had challenged the Thief of Light to a simple game of chance. If the result was the undamaged side, the Thief would agree to stay. If not, she would "go."

The word 'go' is a little ambiguous here - and judging by Scratch's use of quotation marks, he agrees. Depending on how this goes down, Vriska could go to fight Jack, or go to the afterlife.

Something I'm really enjoying about this Scratch interlude is the tick-tock rhythm suggested by his phrases. The way his sentences alternate between command and narration lend them a weight that you don't usually see in a text-based medium.

Also, John's Vriska Hammer is an interesting upgrade. I always assumed the Zillyhoo, which is presumably on the same tier as Ahab's Crosshairs, was the strongest weapon of its kind, so it's strange that an upgrade is even possible.

Maybe the Vrammer has the same damage as the Zillyhoo, but can also activate a Fluorite Octet effect on command.

I'm reasonably convinced of this much. When the Hero of Breath dies for good, it won't be as a scoundrel.

John's ultimate fate is a dark pocket - which, according to my theory, means that Hussie simply hasn't conceived of how he'll die.

That makes sense to me. John's the closest thing to a protagonist we have, so if he does die, it'll probably happen near the end of the comic.

And there she goes, full of vim and vigor.

Let's have it, then. How long is this Light Player going to last against Jack?

He literally doesn't give a fuck LOL

I'm sure Vriska's happy no one saw her getting disrespected like this - or at least, no one but Scratch.

The Seer relayed her terms through the generally understood argot of an assassin. The result "go," while at face value would suggest the Thief was allowed to leave, was actually the Seer's code word for the threat of death. This was obvious to everyone, including the Thief.

The Seer took her scale, and weighed the Thief's soul against the fate of her species.

While the Thief turned to fly away, making a show of claiming her prize, the Seer would stab her in the back the moment her guard was dropped.

The Thief saw her do this, and smiled, confident the scale would tip her way.

She was right.

...what?

No, seriously. What?

I was absolutely, unflinchingly convinced that Terezi was going to go through with it. Vriska's suicidal plan left her with no other options, and Gamzee's been working to erase the seeds of doubt which have started to take root in Terezi's mind, replacing them with cold-blooded tunnel vision. It felt inevitable. Inescapable. A foregone conclusion to a narrative years in the making.

I'm impressed that Rose is still standing, let alone holding her own. The fact that she's putting up a better fight than a God Tier is a pretty incredible feat, and it's clear that she's stronger than any Player is normally allowed to be.

Go get him, queen - and don't worry about the fact that he'll survive to attack the troll session. It's probably fine.

Damn, Rose! Those Lalonde-Strider fightgenes are putting in work!

The Seer wouldn't win this duel.

But she’ll be damned if she doesn't make him work for it.

I warned my neophyte protege not to stare into that ball.

I told her about stares.

Which means that the above Horrorspeak translates directly to 'it keeps happening'. That one's getting filed away for the ol' translation project.

The duel ends. The Seer dies. The Slayer departs. The Heir comes back to life.

If there truly stood some chance of permanence to the Heir's corpsehood, I can hear you asking now…