#s94

The funny thing is, you probably did have trouble sleeping because of an evil blue girl. Vriska's been awfully trigger-happy lately.

GG: but of course i got older and realized that was silly, but then i just speculated that maybe it was suicide

Homestuck's overall tone isn't too dark, but sometimes it sucker-punches you with shit like this.

The Jade who 'got older' was still younger than thirteen. She thought he killed himself, and then she stuffed and mounted his corpse.

AT: i JUST WANTED, AT: tO MAKE IT POSSIBLE SO THAT i WAS THE ONE INVOLVED WITH BEING THE HERO THERE, AT: tO SAVE YOU, AT: lIKE, tO PUT MYSELF IN YOUR STORY, iN A BRAVE CAPACITY, [...]

I think I just got monkey-pawed.

Tavros, when I said I wanted you to learn from Vriska...

This was not what I meant!

AT: tHAT'S WHAT FEELING GOOD AND POSITIVE ABOUT YOURSELF IS ALL ABOUT,

Kanaya and the rest did their best, but the simple fact of the matter is that Tavros doesn't understand self-esteem. He needs therapy, not well-meaning teenagers.

AT: rEMEMBER, i TALKED TO YOU A LOT WHEN YOU WERE SLEEPING, [...] AT: wE TALKED ABOUT LOTS OF THINGS, aND WE HAD SOME THINGS IN COMMON, aND IT WAS NICE, [...] AT: aND i THINK [...] AT: tHAT MAYBE i HAVE SOME POSSIBLE RED FEELINGS FOR YOU,

My expression is Jade's. We are in sync here.

GG: i dont think i can reciprocate! [...] AT: bUT WHAT ABOUT, AT: mY ATTRACTIVE BRAVADO, [...] AT: iSN'T THAT, AT: sUPPOSED TO BE VERY ATTRACTIVE, aND ENCOURAGE THE MAJOR HAVING OF FLUSHED FEELINGS IN OTHERS,

Forget Karkat and Vriska. I think it's Tavros who's been watching too many Earth movies.

There are too many layers of indirection here for Jade to be anything close to responsible. She was a toddler playing with a pistol, it accidentally went off, and someone else redirected the bullet.

Not only did Jade not kill Grandpa, an argument could be made that she didn't actually shoot the gun.

AT: wHAT'S, AT: a GRANDPA,

Laugh all you want about Karkat's note-taking, but if Tavros had been similarly analytical in his approach, none of this would have happened.

AT: wELL, AT: nOW i FEEL VERY STUPID, AT: bUT, AT: i DON'T THINK i WILL GIVE INTO BAD SELF ESTEEM THIS TIME ABOUT THIS, AT: iT'S IMPORTANT TO STAY CONFIDENT ABOUT STUFF, DON'T YOU AGREE,

Well... sure, but it almost sounds like you're completely disregarding what just happened.

Beating yourself up over this would be unproductive - but you still made a huge mistake. You need to acknowledge that fact, learn from it, and make amends any way you can.

AT: aND i THINK THIS IS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO BOND, aND BECOME CLOSER IN AN EMOTIONAL WAY,

Oh, god.

Tavros, just - just please just bow out of this conversation while you have the chance. Jade's being incredibly understanding about this, and you're really starting to push your luck.

AT: [...] i HAVE ROBOT LEGS, aND i FEEL GREAT, aND i CAN WALK, [...] AT: aND NOW, i FEEL EMBOLDENED TO DO BOLD THINGS THAT HEROES SHOULD DO, AT: lIKE, sAVE THE LIFE OF A PRETTY GIRL [...]

But why? You certainly weren't this bold before you were paralyzed.

It feels like Tavros is latching on to anything he thinks should give him self-esteem. It's obvious that he's never really understood confidence - but HEY, BEING ABLE TO WALK AGAIN FEELS PRETTY GOOD, AND CONFIDENCE IS WHEN YOU FEEL GOOD, RIGHT? }:D

It's obvious he's not doing on purpose, but Jade still doesn't deserve this. It's not her responsibility, and she has enough on her plate at the moment.

Spritehood proves to be no barrier to Tavros. He may be the universe's punching bag, but he's still one of the most powerful Players we've seen.

I wonder if his psionics are being buffed by his Aspect? That certainly seemed to be the case with Vriska.

GG: why do you want to commune with bec again? […] AT: i WILL SUGGEST TO HIM THAT HE ATTACK YOUR ADVERSARY, [...] AT: aND MAYBE BEAT HIM, tO SOLVE EVERYBODY'S PROBLEMS,

It's an excellent idea - or it would be, if Jack wasn't fated to enter the troll session. His future after fighting the trolls is unknown, so it might be possible to beat him there.

In any case, I like where Tavros's head is at. I still think he should cut out the middleman and try to control Jack directly.

GG: but hes my best friend!!! GG: and you have already managed to get one of my family members killed

That's fair. I do think Bec could win, though - Jack isn't a true First Guardian, and his Green Sun power should be diluted, just like with the Underlings.

GG: but all of our adversaries have inherited his powers! GG: i would imagine the strongest guy would have all of his powers, and then some!!!

...or not, apparently. Well, I guess Jade is just speculating here.

I think it would be odd if the Ring's 'representation' of an object was more potent than the original. I suppose combining the powers of the four Kernels could create something greater than the sum of its parts, but wouldn't the meager powers of a crow, cat and clown be dwarfed by those of the Bec Kernel? They seem completely superfluous now - as does the generic power boost afforded by the Ring itself.

The piece of Bec within the Underlings is definitely weaker than the OG. I'm sure the Ring is a lot stronger, but I'm not convinced that it's stronger than Bec.

𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐖𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝

Yеar: partial overhaul 1998