===>

Oh, are we moving on from Del'fi at that dramatic pre-battle standstill? I expected a scene-change but-- wait, from the next link, this may or may not still be Del'fi-- or wait, maybe Ly'lac, I didn't recognize her home arch and spires here at first, right next to Ly'lac's home:

> Be the baby.

OMIGOSH IS THAT A BABY NYMPH?!??!????

Did they seriously make proto-baby-squiddles even CUTER than squiddles??? Of course they did, oh gosh they're geniuses.

You cannot be the baby. Why in the world would you want to be a baby? Especially one so unfortunate to be born during THE GREAT LOSS.

Oh, something bad might also be about to happen to this baby, especially because now that I think about it we don't know any with brown upper-organons yet. And this says it's happening during "The Great Loss", which is... lemme check the previous mentions of it:

(p819) Recently, the mere mention of it triggers a major vibal nosedive, and vaguely reminds you of the PROPHECY FORETOLD REGARDING YOUR "BIRTH". Something about a global calamity, THE GREAT LOSS or whatever. (p1075) Some simply desired to be a part of something greater, while others saw it as a way to possibly circumvent prophecy; if only a few were destined to endure THE GREAT LOSS, the subsummation of their species all but guaranteed their participation.

Okay, so "THE GREAT LOSS" absolutely refers to The Reckoning coming down on Deltritus, and the meteors on the last page and this page are present day meteors. Meaning this is a present-day doomed baby. Ouch.

We've really gotta be closing in on our first Shurb Entry fast with the meteors getting this conspicuous. Isn't Ly'lac ages away from her house, and AA's present she still ought to retrieve from it somehow? Wait never mind, I'd forgotten that the second present landed right on her and she captchalogued it without opening it. So considering she already prepared for a long journey, Ly'lac might end up Entering from wherever she can next get to or concoct a computer that lasts long enough. (And Meemaw's definitely coming with, I hope, as a Kernelsprite or Guardian or otherwise.)

===>

Holy shit those doomed babies are so adorable.

What the fuck is that conspicuous damn Narwhal horn doing.

Her sisters seem to have unanimously agreed to take a doze in the middle of their shared birth. And on such a calamitous day! Not that they have many thoughts about current events. The lone fry, faithful to her instincts, makes her way to the sea, even as it begins to ache from the first percussive impacts of the song that will end the world.

Whoa holy shit, an [S] page!!! We couldn't be getting her entry so soon, could we? Unless that other present contained a working Farsphere or she has a spare unexploded computer at home and makes it there? Is she going to be carried back up from the depths on a Narwhal's back? Fuck, I'm nervous-excited, I'm not sure I'm awake enough to react to an [S] today but I'm gonna do it. No wonder the tweets said there was a newspost but I couldn't see it on the main page, it might be about the flash, unless this whole [S] is for a cartoonish drop sound effect.

FUCK IT WE BALL LET'S GOOOO

> [S] Ly'lac: Descend.

Oh my fucking god, her freaking out about this now-leisurely Meemaw descent is so fucking adorable.

Oh, is she falling asleep? Dream sequence upcoming?

WHOA, UNINYMPH BACKSTORY WHAT? METEOR CHILD CONFIRMED???

WHO THE FUCK IS THAT FLYING PEGATULP FIGURE OF CHAOS

WHY DOES THAT LOOK LIKE A STRIDER-GLASSES MEEMAW-ALIKE ASCENDING OUT OF THE OCEAN ABOVE THE NYMPH DELEGATION

WAIT THAT'S THE CAGED UP OVERGROWN UNINYMPH AFTER ALL THESE YEARS ISN'T IT? THE NYMPHS MADE A DEAL TO TAKE HER HIM BACK AND THEN LOCKED HER HIM UP IN THE NEARBY DEPTHS ALL THESE YEARS.

Holy shit that was a beautiful little flash. Let me grab some screenshots...

The uni-nymph grew up incognito among the Satyrs after being given a headdress with fake (or actually not?) Satyr ears and tail. A spy that looks winged, possibly a Nymph (unless it's the later Pegatulp with grinning eyes, preparing to make an entrance having found out the secret), is hiding behind a pillar, presumably verifying his location for his further abduction. (I forgot until I checked back that Del'fi described the "Uni-Nymph's chronicle" using he/him for the figure. Possibly just the depiction of the figure in "OURAN GYMNASIKKOU HOST CLUB" and the actual figure used different pronouns, but from the wording of the page I assume Del'fi was talking about the actual historical figure.) There's also a Light aspect symbol highlighting this ancestor in this one shot, whether significant or not, possibly referring to his secret being observed or his truth being divined from afar alike. Could Rose have been involved? Would she orchestrate something so cruel? I don't particularly think so-- I'd assumed their race had simply been left to it. Light symbols are bound to be used in preponderance surrounding the race that Rose created, even as deeply connected to Void as the race may be, as per the allure Void has always held for Rose.

And then there's THIS ASSHOLE. It's clear from the cadence of the flash that this cheery Pegatulp, probably an Ancestor of one of our Satyrs, sparked off the announcement of the presumably mutually agreed deal between the Satyr and Nymph factions to capture the Uni-Nymph back into Nymphkind's custody-- from Del'fi's abridged retelling:

Despite being a largely popular anime, the show was ended after only one season, though a part of you was grateful for that. There's no way she could have translated The Council's "reclamation" of the Uni-Nymph and the slaying of Barley Frat in a school AU.

From the way this figure is flying in as a dark, cheery avatar of descending death, I'm also reminded of one of Swiss's book covers:

--Oh shit, and BOTH mention the Barley Fraternities!!! So that possibly-upside-down flying asshole in the top of that book cover is definitely the SAME Pegatulp asshole. For some reason the [S] Peruse Librarium page isn't loading properly for me on any browser, so I'll pull the text of Swiss's description of the book from the Wiki:

Rise and Fall of the Barley Fraternities The Fraternity System, historically, has been composed of 3 tiers. Honey tier fraternities are the highest-achieving, highest-funded, and highest-power communes your society has to offer. Oat tier fraternities are one tier below, but still quite respectable institutions. Some of history's finest have been oat-tier dark horses. Grass tier fraternities are... well. You want to keep things diplomatic, so you'll just say that if you were only able to make it into a grass-tier fraternity you'd have to perform steppuku. For a brief period, there was a fourth tier; a reclusive, monastic order of socially anxious isolationists. They spent the majority of their existence in unremarkable obscurity, contributing basically nothing, but their final decades were marked by a profound change: a commitment to revelry so infectious that it went on to fundamentally change the nature of satyr society, prompted by the appearance of a man who flew across the sea from the uninhabited Cursed Land, Australia. He catapulted their order to the highest echelons of power and influence, which you always found weird because he was just a savage degenerate. At any rate, that didn't last long, because at some point their so-called "revolutionary" danced them all into the sea. So you guess maybe he wasn't such a fucking cool guy after all.

Connecting these two sides of the same historical events, it's unclear EXACTLY what the Pegatulp's appearance had to do with selling out the Barley Frat to be dragged into the ocean and drowned by the Nymph Council, and whether he was culpable or as much of a victim as the rest of the Frat, though the [S] we just watched definitely implies some sort of culpability. (Pegatulp-ability.) Though the hidden Nymph from the earlier panel implies The Council already had eyes on the Uni-Nymph before the Pegatulp's arrival. Did the Pegatulp trade the Uni-Nymph away from Satyrkind and sacrifice the Barley Frat for the sake of further fame and influence with Satyrkind in general? Was undermining and destroying the Barley Frat perhaps an intended goal of his, even?

Whose ancestor was the Pegatulp? (Tentatively "The Revolutionary", or was that more sarcastic?) He was too important to not be one of them, and was smiling too wide to be a disguised Dirk. In the running are Swiss's (catapulting their order to power and influence), and TC's (always shown in shadow, giving into mirthful revelry, hailing from an unknown/isolated land, Australia being "down under"). Insubstantial, possibly specious ties, frankly, not enough for firm conclusions. Either one sounds weird, as these Ancestors were clearly VERY different from their descendants, even if there's a chance they share an Aspect like Del'Fi and The Great Combiner seem likely to do-- we don't know enough of the story of this Pegatulp ancestor to say for sure, nor have enough hints of the other Ancestors to narrow it down. We know The Grey Rain was brought about by a Satyr "tyrant king" and Nymph "enchantress" working together, who now that I'm looking for mentions of the same terminology is possibly the same one who brought down The Great Combiner:

But when all seemed lost, the neptunian golem of a certain long excommunicated enchantress appeared. Then apparently she just wagged her finger, shooshed her to sleep, and tossed her back into the freaking ocean.

--and is certainly the same pair of Satyr "omnicidal madman" and Nymph "megalomaniacal heretic" who invented the ~PTH programming language together. This gives the Grey Rain pair parallels to Ly'lac and TC which may mean the Tyrant was TC's ancestor, not this Pegatulp despite the mirthful characteristics. I wouldn't be incredibly surprised if the ~PTH/Grey Rain ancestors weren't precisely Ly'lac and TC's, though. We need a little more information to suss it out.

I know for a fact people made the Grey Rain Couple -> ~PTH Couple connection earlier, but I wonder how many made the Barley Frat / Uni-Nymph Incident one since a couple updates ago, tying it together with that Rise And Fall bookshelf book? Either way I'm glad I've at least belatedly hit on it now with these more blatant hints.

There was another screen that showed the one member of the Frat shaking hands with a Nymph to seal the deal while other frat members who hid him amongst them being subdued and pinned to the ground, but I'm not fetching every frame, and in terms of what I want to analyze... On to the last big relevant screenshot of something that went by too quickly:

Is that the Dirk Strider glasses-moon in the distance visible above the shoreline, or a darkly-glaring slightly-less-ancient Meemaw? Or maybe even some Orb-like robot of Strider's / The Exemplar's overseeing the events? It's genuinely difficult to tell. Also the Nymph guards leading the Uni-Nymph back to the sea look just like the crystallized Abyssal Anchoress, which makes me wonder how they all got their Upper Organons in that shape or if they're wearing some sort of Shell over them; their "hair" below the helmline actually looks like hair more than tendrils, in this shot, though I'm probably reading too much into that.

Then Uni-Nymph's betrayed eye, teary.

Finally, no need to screenshot it, but we ended the Flash sequence on the present-day absolutely gigantic Uni-Nymph behind bars, his Narwhal-like horn thrust so high that the tip is obscured by the ceiling and possibly drilled into it. It could even be drilling and thrusting up and out of the ocean somehow, though if that's the rising spire on the previous page it'd have to be even bigger than I thought. Oh, and he's DEFINITELY awake and observing Ly'lac and Meemaw's arrival, which makes me damn well hope Meemaw wasn't the one in that earlier screenshot overseeing his "reclamation".

Gosh we got so much more out of that [S] page than I was expecting, especially in proportion to its length and complexity. Incredibly well done. Now then, on to the next page:

===>

OH HAHAHAHAHAH OKAY MEEMAW IS WIDE AWAKE AND KNOWS THIS MIGHT BE BAD NEWS UH OH XD

Fucking hilarious. Gee, I really really hope you weren't a part of that delegation, Meemaw! You don't want to be made all dead and Kernelsprite-Ready so soon!

Gosh I never expected the Uni-Nymph to get so much relevant play so soon as to be ACTUALLY RIGHT HERE about to be discovered. Never saw that coming.

===>

OH GOODNESS. She died of shock!!! D:

Those Xs above her eyes-- were her "eyebrows" her upper organon's extra eyes all along?

Poor, sweet, dear, precious, Meemaw. She was so damn old. All that's left is to honor the deceased with a tradition that's been passed down for generations.

NOOO, DON'T EAT HER YET! KERNELSPRITE, KERNELSPRITE! Augh, none of you have any way of knowing about that yet! D:

I hope the Uni-Nymph is going to interrupt them before, well, feasting is done. Though Ly'lac looks a little too small to eat an entire Meemaw in one sitting, so maybe that'll save her for the kernelsprite (I want Meemawsprite so bad).

===>

OH COME THE FUCK ON

I miss Meemaaaawwww!!!!!!! (T o T)

(It's so Homestuck to mix such a tragedy with such an ace visual gag, I'm upset but I'm also dying this is too perfectly hilarious.)

On another dark note that just occurred to me... I wonder if creating an entire race who immediately eats their own dead was, in part, a morbid way of reflecting Rose's childhood-bred distaste for Funerals by averting the practice altogether.

> Ly'lac: Turn around.

THE NARWHAL wants to speak with you.

As suspected from the flash/[S], Ly'lac's long-dreamt-of Narwhal and the imprisoned Uni-Nymph are one in the same. I suppose he's taken a "seahorse" form in Nymphian wild adult-build variety. Holy shit.

That's all! What a banger update!!! Holy shit that was... SO good. So many disparate pieces coming together, so early, and giving us just enough of a taste of the lore to be craving even more to come. I'm still busy mourning the loss (barring regurgitation) of any Meemawsprite chance, but The Narwhal being (potentially!) prototyped would lead to some significantly more visually interesting and intimidating prototyped monsters.

Before I go I ought to find that news post they tweeted about...

Yup, I should've expected more warning and explicit preparation before the Big Probably Ly'lac's Entry Flash/[S]. Oh, and cool, they'll be offering more Patreon benefits than just the monthly Commentary and Art, possibly some streams?? Asking people to contribute if they can so they can do more for us and with the comic. Happy Pride, etc-- you can read the news post yourself. If they post any bonuses on the Homestuck Discord like they promised there, feel free to tell my askbox or replies, or even maybe add me on Discord and let me know. (The Homestuck Discord gives me a headache so I prefer to check only when absolutely necessary, get content exported from there to me by others in screenshots instead of natively, etc.)

See you for the likely beginning-of-month Patreon Commentary that'll likely go into even more juicy details on the flash we just watched!

===>

Oh.

Huh.

Seems like Ly'lac and the Narwhal DID definitely have their talk, and Ly'lac is... unexpectedly chill with subsequent Narwhal interactions like this, considering she was complaining about that "damn narwhal again" in her dream earlier and--

Wait, that's weird. I'm getting a completely different hit web-searching for Narwhal in Beyond Canon's text history that I absolutely missed, from WAY back when Ly'lac was first talking to (er, being talked to by)

AA: But fate's furious fist does indeed approach with intent to kill. AA: To kill thee, in particular. AA: As sure as the narwhal's finale is said to fall on "deaf" ears. AA: (The translation is oft debated) AA: (Though, I should know better than to tell thee of all nymphs.)

So uh. Just how much about the Narwhal living imprisoned under where she was living did Ly'lac ACTUALLY know about earlier? Certainly she'd been plagued with visions of The Narwhal before, but was this really her first time meeting him? Had she researched him before because of her dreams, or known/unknown proximity? All of this is heavily unclear, especially with Nymphs' prophecy-rich culture.

I hope we get more clarification in this naglog, but I'm not holding out too much hope! I expect this entire relationship between Ly'lac and Narwhal to remain infuriatingly vague until at least after Entry into Shurb. And I highly doubt The Narwhal will survive Ly'lac's Entry but I can at least hope he gets prototyped, it'd lend some very consistent and appropriate factors to prototyped-enemy design so it's extremely viable, and more sources of Ancestor commentary will always be great now that we know the Nymphs' Ancestors are accessible, likely unlike the Satyrs' unless they have some quite ancient SACRED URNS lying about somewhere, which isn't impossible I admit.

Anyway, on to the conversation! I love to see Ly'lac so consistently cheery lately by the way, it's such a welcome change for however long it'll last.

-- gavageCunctation [GC] began negging tinnitusChakra [TC] -- GC: hey brobro. GC: guess who got her freaking orb fixed... TC: well. TC: if i had tø hazard a hunch... TC: if i had tø wiggle my damn hunches... TC: ready tø fucking pøunce øn an answer tø yøur LATE AS HELL reply... TC: i'd have tø guess it was yøu, dude!!! GC: heh exactamundo. GC: the worlds greatest detective at it again... TC: veritably, my dear fløtsam.

Gosh, they're cute.

GC: however bo'bo slice i gotta remind you that a nymph is never late. GC: nor is she early... GC: she always arrives precisely when she feels it. TC: raw. TC: raw magical realness. TC: spit that mystical shit.

Adorable.

GC: watch out, i'm spitting all over the orb rn... GC: better get some glasses. TC: sø i can drink it up? GC: you sick fuck... TC: pøssibly the sickest. GC: ha ha ha you and cc both being nasty as fuck today. GC: one of these days we need to lock you nasty freaks up... TC: funny yøu shøuld mentiøn that...!

Okay that's uh, yeah. TC not afraid to be tactically unsettling. Generally that seems to be a Thing I really love about (presumably) Void players, FYI. (I'm definitely not Void-aligned, but GOSH do I LOVE Void players, I can't think of a single fictional character with a Void vibe I haven't thoroughly enjoyed, it's definitely an under-served character type (as is appropriate for the aspect).)

TC: but høpping back øn the detective wave før a mømø, nøw that i've cracked the cøde and deduced the absølute shit øut øf the case øf the missing birthday bitch via my incredible pøwers øf waiting før yøu tø get yøur wøbbly-ass head in the game... -- tinnitusChakra [TC] sent a file HAPPYMORPHDAY_EUPHORICYARDSTYLEREMIX_VIP.mp3 -- TC: CØNGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GC: oh fuck yes. GC: lemme get in on this...

I have to wonder if one of the actual song titles being prepped for either Entry or World Intro is set to show us something presumably like this track TC just sent Ly'lac.

Okay there's about a page of cute dialogue about them realistically batting back and forth about this song they're vibing to that I have to skip past here instead of pasting verbatim because it's just adorable and not plot relevant, beyond possibly being a source of more soundtrack titles. I mean, I REALLY enjoy this cute dialogue, just, no need to clog the liveblog post with it all. Moving on:

GC: some real bizarre shit just happened... TC: lay it øn me, dude.

Woooo! Time to talk about actual plot stuff!

GC: cartoons are real.

Pffff. That's a very Ly'lac way to put these new revelations. It's pretty interesting that not just her personal fantasy, but perhaps one of Nymphkind's various fantasies and genres of escapism in general, could be "cartoons are real" in a way where a Nymph teen would say this with serious awe, given how much Technology and Magic and Prophecy is already real all around them-- it kind of makes a surreal degree of sense, y'know? But maybe Ly'lac's just (adorably) weird like that and I'm reading too much culturally into it.

TC: yeah man, art is pøwerful as fuck. GC: no dude... GC: vriska is real. GC: like she's a real person... GC: she freaking messaged me. GC: called me rude and said i looked crazy which is how i know it's her... TC: øøøhhh. TC: yeah, i knew that. GC: what.

(Got a chuckle out of the line I italicized.) Time for TC to lay out (at least some of) just HOW much of this mess he's helping orchestrate he knew about up front well before Ly'lac had confirmation! This was definitely due, though I'm not sure how much of the full truth TC is ready to share.

TC: she hit me up like right after i hit yøu up! TC: as if yøur mørphday wasn't stacked enøugh, nøw we're getting visits frøm fictiønal ass femme fatales. GC: what the fuck bro you gotta keep me updated on shit like this...

I... am not sure if TC is being entirely truthful, here. He certainly ACTS like he knew a whole lot more about this apocalypse-causing Game they're about to play than any of the other players did beforehand, and whether or not he knew the Candy Kids were part of this until recently is--

Wait, god damnit. I have to tag this post Satyrical A/O/B because I just put together something stupid obvious. Previously I derided the idea that Satyrical "omegas" should be connected to the previous notion of the "Omega Kids" I hurriedly discarded the term for in favor of "Candy Kids" as soon as Satyr Romance was hinted at to be Omegaverse stuff. However, later one of the Patreon Commentary bits had the creators specifically referring to the invading four from the Candy side as the "Omega Kids", which did strike me as something that was interesting to have stuck with the authors in that way, but I didn't read further into it. However, if I DISCARD the romantic angle from Omega and re-read its description to apply it to the Candy Kids' potential role in the Game's dynamic:

The role of the OMEGA can be summed up as the role of the CHALLENGER. An omega exists as a galvanizing force within his harras that keeps it from calcifying, provoking his partners and daring them not to become too comfortable, ensuring that ideas and power flow freely between its members. Traits traditionally considered omega are indomitability, creativity, and spontaneity.

Applied narratively I have to admit that this is extremely vague, as-of-yet, but it could be considered some of the meta influence that the Candy Kids are going to have on the group dynamic of the 10 players, or something.

Wait, did someone Ask me about that in my Inbox? Now I'm getting deja-vu, I distantly remember someone submitting an Ask to me with at least a somewhat similar gist, but I didn't post my response, PM'd because at the time I hadn't agreed with their conclusions. Dammit, I don't remember! Just in case, consider all the above Omega Kid talk to have not been my original idea at all. Not that I think I'm likely to be the first to have drawn the above conclusion to be a possibility, I'm just really late to the party.

Okay tangent over, where were we. Right, I'm skeptical as to how open or not TC is being with Ly'lac as there are HEAVY hints that, at the very least, he knew that Shurb was going to spark off the end of the world, and Ly'lac didn't seem to.

TC: yøu can save that shit før sømeøne whø wasn't busting his biceps making all kinds øf last minute arrangements øn yøur behalf while yøur sneaky ass ducked my messages! GC: ha ha ha true... very true. TC: besides. TC: i think yøu're gønna be able tø find it in yøur hearts tø førgive me when i lay døwn my next mørphday gift, sø last minute even i didn't knøw i was giving it tø yøu MYSELF until just tøday. TC: that cartøøn? TC: she's gønna be real-life in-persøn actually før truesies TC: LEGIT TC: jøining us før tøday's gaming sesh. GC: yeah i knew that. TC: 8D GC: dude do we know everything...? TC: everything except i guess what it feels like tø be an uninførmed ass ignøramus! GC: ha ha ha bet it sucks major haunch fat. TC: all slurping øn it like mørøns. TC: "øøøhhhhh i døn't knøw shit frøm shit...!" TC: "guess i'll slurp!"

I know they're just being playful and riffing on each other, but given that TC is almost certainly hiding a ton of important shit from Ly'lac about this game, less as a "surprise" and more to have secured her continued cooperation up until now in Orchestrating the End, I'm not sure TC realizes how the people he left in ignorance are going to feel about him having done so once the truth comes out, and he's going to have to emotionally reckon with that. Good character trial for a Seer of Void too proficient in and absorbed in his role, much like early Terezi Pyrope.

GC: poor hapless goofs... almost makes you wanna cry. TC: nøt really my rødeø. GC: that is just too real.

TC isn't one to cry, hm? Perhaps touching on latent trauma there.

TC: but hell yes, sø yøu're up tø speed? TC: yøu're løcked in? TC: TELL me yøu're løcked in, i need yøu løcked in. GC: i'm popped, i'm locked, and i'm doing the opposite of dropping… GC: feeling pretty good honestly. GC: feeling like i was congested for tides and tides but after sitting on my head i finally yanged out a thick lump of sedimentary bile out of my supranaval cavity and i can finally breath again… TC: hellllll yes.

Yeah I mean, Ly'lac does seem pretty locked in right now compared to her intro. Good mood for Entry, regardless of the optimism. Hardly surprising given all the important shit she just learned like her favorite fictional character being her real friend she's going to meet, etc.

TC: what have yøu even been up tø? TC: i had tø get a drøne tø set up a bunch øf stuff at yøur place. GC: oh i got blown up. TC: that is sø yøu, ly'ly. GC: woke up on some purple planet and spoke to some weirdos... GC: caught up with my homegirls. GC: got a new wand... GC: killed some shit. GC: had to eat meemaw actually... GC: digest in peace to her. TC: :( TC: that's a bummer. TC: she was øld as fuck, wasn't she? GC: as fuuuuuuuuuck...

There might not be anyone in Homestuck quite as good at unintentionally understating events they're recounting that happened to them. Like, people like Dave can intentionally, humorously abridge things to "shenanigans", but Ly'lac doesn't even know she's making things sound so humdrum, like she did when describing her Derse dream to CC.

TC: well i'd pøur søme øut før the øld gløbe but it's wires all the fuck øver the place right nøw and the ønly fløørspace i even have tø spare is DANCE FLØØR DESIGNATED, sø i'm nøt abøut tø gø intrøducing any møre tripping hazards all up in my sanctum. GC: your old ass caretaker would probably appreciate fewer tripping hazards lmfao. TC: LØL. TC: yøu'd maybe expect that from a guy whø's been arøund that løng but the exemplar is super spry when he's nøt crushing øne øf his certified cøma-naps.

Huh. So there's the for-sure confirmation-- TC has literally been overseen by The Exemplar for at least the most recent part of his life. I wonder if that was after his earlier-life trauma or the cause of it? Dirk Strider doesn't have a very good parenting track record, and the ideals he's trying to bring about with his race of Satyrs and whatever the immense importance of this particular Game is... would have varying effects on children with different constitutions, especially one as strange as TC's. If he's indeed as Void-aligned as we surmise, I expect TC's choices and actions to be a huge surprise and blind-spot for Dirk despite having, presumably, directly taken a part in raising him.

These coma-naps of his... is Dirk using technological or narrative assistance to hibernate for varying stretches of years and years at a time, waking at strategic points to shape and assist his race? Is Rose Lalonde doing similar, and whether or not she is, is she using the same method? It'd be quite interesting and appropriate for them to take very different approaches, and for Rose in particular to have taken a very hands-off, behind-the-scenes, and Seery initial-setup-for-later-consequences method of helping orchestrate the history of her race, a very Derse-player-analogue approach as opposed to Ultimate Dirk Strider's transformation into taking a very Prospit-player-analogue approach. Dirk in the Light, Rose from the Void.

TC: yøu already knøw i'd catch suuuch a lecture før it thøugh, seriøusly what is it with øld peøple and nøt shutting the fuck up? TC: løve him thø. GC: you're a good kid bro...

Dirk giving TC long lectures sounds correct, and TC tuning a good bit of the self-important rants out while making sure he looks like he's listening also sounds correct.

TC: yøu tøø ly'lac... i knøw yøu ate meemaw up sø admirably, i bet it was hønestly awe-inspiring. GC: the guy watching didn't really have anything to say about it but you're probably right tbh. GC: which, looking back is funny because he talks sooooooooooooooo much usually... GC: at least he used to. TC: :ø ? GC: it's lowkey complicated as fuck... i'll tell you later.

Just how fucking much has The Narwhal spoken with Ly'lac before??? Yeah we're definitely going to be drip-fed this info out over a good stretch of the comic. Ly'lac doesn't come across as someone heavily influenced by the rants of an ancient prisoner, but, I guess she wouldn't be the type to appear that way, would she?

GC: just know there was a guy... TC: was, eh? TC: bet. TC: yøu're like søme kind øf prødigy at øld-peøple death-adjacency.

(Extremely Doom line there about Ly'lac, though Ly'lac DOES live in an old folks' care area.)

If The Narwhal died at the end of the conversation she had with him, how is she currently riding his drilling horn up to the surface??? Probably some weird Nymph thing. Nymphs are weird. Maybe if Ly'lac was too full to eat The Narwhal, she's instead following some of his instructions and like... hmm... did he transform his body toward some only-quasi-alive physical purpose sort of like The Great Combiner seems to have? Did he convince Ly'lac to prototype him by the horn instead of doing away with his body? Lots of questions here.

GC: old people die, it's basically the only thing they do. TC: ønly øld dude i ever kick it with døesn't seem tø cøncur but he's definitely an øutlier...

I misread this at first-- yeah, living with an immortal is definitely a bit weirder, especially in contrast to the Nymphs who despite their apparently incredibly long lifespans often seem to define themselves by mortality and inevitable demise.

TC: writing this shit døwn thøugh... TC: "øld... TC: peøple... TC: die." TC: there, cønsider it scrawled. TC: i'd pøp it in the ~PTH før pøsterity but yøu've gøt it at the møme. TC: actually it is just straight up alsø already in there, LØL. GC: those murderous psychos really thought of everything... TC: i'd like tø believe we perfected it thøugh.

(Ancestor Nymph/Satyr pair mention.) Also, I wonder if this should count as ominous foreshadowing for the older original-Homestuck crew sailing in to interfere with things, and/or Dirk and Rose?

TC: øn the subject øf their grand and unfathømable mysteries, get yøur hydrøstatic ass back tø yøur røøm sø we can reap the rewards øf øur audaciøus genius! TC: we need tø get øur game øn, knøw what i'm saying? GC: yeah. GC: fuck yeah!!! GC: it's freaking game time. GC: wait actually i'm mad...! GC: dude why'd you make me go first now vriska's mad at me.

Vrissy's probably just impatient with you for not having started yet, and Vrissy is always impatient, if older-Vriska is anything to go by. Well, pre-therapy, at least.

TC: økay well first øf all yøu're the mørphday girl sø she can just deal, this is øur shit she's all interløped up øn. TC: even thøugh she's welcøme tø løpe. TC: but secønd øf all she's hønestly møre støked and ready tø get this game gøing than like, actually MAD. TC: she's cøøl! GC: whaaat you've been talking? like talking talking??? TC: she hit me up øn cha.OS literally secønds after i depløyed it publicly! TC: which was naturally a fascinating little mystery in and øf itself, but løng støry shørt her and a few øther buddies øf hers cruised thrøugh and they're sliding intø øur sessiøn. TC: we've been scheming tøgether øn the particulars før a bit nøw. GC: wow that's. GC: that's freaking awesome…!

Hmm, so maybe TC at least hasn't been hiding that his involvement with the Candy Crew is incredibly recent.

GC: ha ha you wouldn't try and leave me behind or some shit right...? TC: be seriøus. GC: lol i wasn't serious.

She was definitely, understandably, at least a little bit insecure inside.

TC: well i cøuld say a whøle løt møre, but every secønd yøu spend nøt gaming is a secønd yøu spend nøt being able tø hear this shit frøm me, AND HER, in PERSØN, yøu fuckin gøøn! GC: fuuuck… GC: idk. GC: i'm not ready yet… GC: can you kick her out the game. TC: real shit? TC: aight høld øn øøøne sec. GC: don't do that.

Good joke, nice banter.

TC: listen, døn't even fret yøur frønds, it's nøt like yøu're gønna see her right away! TC: there's a very particular ørder tø the link-ups and yøur first ørder øf business? TC: kicking it ridiculøus with yøurs trøøly cøøly. GC: oh thank the fucking sun...

"Thank the Sun" seems like a kind of weird saying for a Nymph of all people to regularly use... but then again, it IS emblazoned across the Seer of Light's uniform. And on The Great Combiner's forehead, and doubtless countless other places throughout Nymph civilization despite the race's clear Void alignment...

Interesting confirmation of entry order that Vrissy apparently is going to be Ly'lac's Server player, and TC at least semi-reliably (credibly enough to have startled AA) claims TC is going to be the second player in, with Ly'lac as HIS server player. (Whoops, see a few paragraphs below.) Which, given the way sessions go, may or may not come to pass as he expects, although his word seems suspiciously Seer-like reliable, though it could just be the way he talks (and others talk about him).

We could easily have a double or triple daisy-chain situation going on like the Hivebent Session did, even if the entry order TC gave is correct, just to speed up everyone making their way into the game with so many players.

Also... TC and Ly'lac seem glad to bring each other into the Game first, but Ly'lac is also sitting on a SECOND GIFT from AA that she seemed certain would make sure that the Nymphs could potentially enter alone. Which, as little as I believe her... could be some sort of surprise element to cause at least a bit of entry order chaos. Well, no doubt actually that whatever AA's second gift was, it will no doubt cause SOME sort of chaos. It might even be something Ly'lac ends up prototyping? Something related to a different Ancestor? Who knows.

GC: how long is it gonna take to get all this shit set up? TC: yøu knøw i wørk fast as fuck, sø barring a few fun bits i wanted yøu tø have a chance tø dø yøurself, it's already ready! TC: and yøu'll have the smøøthest server player in the dørm guiding yøur every step. GC: ha ha ha yes bo'bo!!! TC: ly'ly, i think that's gønna have tø be a FUCK yes.

Ah, all the premade Shurb stuff has been deployed in Ly'lac's place already?

Wait, I need to correct my earlier self. TC was NOT saying that Vrissy would be Ly'lac's Server player and the last to Enter, he was saying that HE would be Ly'lac's Server player, leaving Vrissy's specific entry order unsaid. Apologies, I needed to reread a bit of the earlier stuff. That's-- yeah that falls in line with expectations, when we haven't even SEEN this TC's living situation it feels like it would be a little weird to have him enter second. His whole mastermind situation and privileged upbringing seems primed for him to be last to enter, not second, it didn't feel quite right the other way even though I believed what I thought I was reading.

TC: this is gønna bbbbbbbbbbnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

--Ah! That would be CC's Nightmare Curse forcing TC to fall the fuck asleep. It wouldn't be a proper Shurb session without a Server Player out of commission at the most inopportune time possible. (But luckily, with everything deployed so that Ly'lac can hopefully figure it out on her own.) Go have some extremely long and important magically-induced dreams, TC!

-- incoming automated message from BOBOT [BB] -- BB: IT APPEARS THAT HE'S FALLEN ASLEEP. BB: HE IS SNORING LOUDLY.

Bobot???

Look, this COULD be a cute Roxy reference from Dirk Strider, and I have to admit there's a more than decent chance that's the reason. But I don't think Ultimate Dirk really WANTS to make cute Roxy references. Not intentionally, at least. And this sounds too intentional. I know I could be wrong, but my bet is that TC named this automated system, and having independently come up with Roxy's Bobot term in yet another Void Hero hint for the TC classpect pile. --Oh, right, TC's nickname's Bobo, too!

BB: ALL BLACKSTAR REMOTE UNITS HAVE BEEN SET TO [DANCE MODE]. BB: PLEASE AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTION.

"Blackstar", huh? Hell of a corporate name for TC to be intertwined with. Lots of significance there, obvious Light/Void duality ties.

BB: I AM OBLIGATED BY MY PROGRAMMING TO REMIND YOU THAT I AM AN ARTIFICIAL, UNENSOULED NON-ENTITY, AND THAT ANY AND ALL COMMUNICATIONS FROM ME ARE SUBJECT TO THE MYRIAD FAULTS INHERENT TO ARTIFICIAL "INTELLIGENCE", AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS CONVERSATIONS.

Now THIS reeks of Dirk Strider's particular influence, eager to prevent any sort of repeat of Lil' Hal.

-- automated message from BOBOT [BB] concludes -- GC: heh, too many xans i guess. GC: don't forget to ping me first when you wake up, party boy!!! -- gavageCunctation [GC] ceased negging tinnitusChakra [TC] --

Interesting that downer drugs would still be called "xans" given the branding associations with Xanax but, really it's probably because there's hardly any other shorthand they could have used that the majority of readers would have recognized; more people are familiar with that specific drug's market name than broader, more technical terms like Benzodiazepine drug class.

I wonder from Ly'lac's remark if TC's done stuff like this before, gone to sleep on her (probably less abruptly)? He might have a looser leash on the chemical regulation of his system than he seemed to imply, at first; I expected him to be an unexpected master of his Stallion Intendocrine System, a master of drugs rather than drugs mastering him as might suit someone who truly Understands Void and can navigate its dips and temptations to regulate himself without succumbing to the draw of substance abuse, but perhaps there's a nuanced line to be drawn here that the story will elaborate on later.

===>

PCHOOO

Fitting! Ly'lac's back home, and Bobo (totally probably Bowie as everyone has been saying for quite some time at this point) would've already set down the Shurb devices.

Although I wonder, will Shurb hold some noticeable mechanical differences from Sburb/Sgrub, and not just in the session goals/structure? The equipment like the Alchemiter already seems like it could be construed as a fusion of Nymph magic/alchemy and Satyr technology, going along the lines of my old theory that this is "the most important session" because it creates The Game in the first place, so I wonder to what extent the Nymph and Satyr players might have to "roll their own" stuff? Assuming I'm at all on track, anyway. And nothing keeps all the equipment from already being invented via stable time loop anyway.

===>

Oh THAT'S how. I'd always assumed the horn was stretching but apparently it was launched through the ground. That works. Oh, and leaves the horn possibly to be ensnared soon enough by the Kernelsprite, which could both bring Mr. Narwhal back as an advisor and give the game's Enemies a more limited, consistent physical attribute to copy.

I can see the Lathe deployed right there, too-- convenient expansion of a platform around the top floor.

===>

Spinny spinny

Wait, we're at page 1100 of the story. It feels like they might not want to miss the chance to put Ly'lac's Entry animation on either page 1108 or 1111.

===>

Oh hey, auto-partying Ly'lac robot! Didn't see that coming. Slightly TC got things going here damn fast before he got cursed asleep. Slightly disturbing that the Shirt Symbol on Ly'lacbot is almost Aradiabot/Equius blue, and not even TC's purple color, but that coincidence is pretty understandable if... oh y'know... TC IS A FREAKIN' VOID PLAYER LIKE I'VE BEEN SAYING

Ly'lac, why do you look consternated instead of happy like you were a bit ago? Did they just not have a happier sprite-mode face to use handy? (And is that giant Narwhal horn going to land nearby enough to get prototyped pre-entry? SOMETHING is probably getting prototyped pre-entry, though it's not mandatory. We saw what SEEMED like four prototyping towers on Derse (unless doubled due to our poor viewing angle, but I doubt it), which would mean most likely either two of the Nymphs and two of the Satyrs prototype pre-entry, or NONE of them do and all the Candy Kids prototype pre-entry, which I think is far less likely.

Oh cool, Ly'lac might be having their possibly-first-ever LIVE back-and-forth with Vrissy! Hopefully it's going well, maybe the consternation will just be from confusion over all the weird machines and lack of TC-instruction on them. (Also, fun to see she's trying to catch up with the BeyondAnon's webcomic in another window, though in the third window I'm not exactly sure what Ly'lac's searching for.)

There's one more very important person you've left on read and you're running out of excuses to avoid talking to her. But she's probably busy. She definitely probably has more important things to do than talk to a sap like you. Definitely. Probably. For sure. The most respectful course of action, at this point, is to- OH GOD IT'S HER.

Oh, maybe she was just nervous about catching up on whatever messages AA left for her, and the consternation-visage was pre-surprise.

COME ON I WANNA SEE THE VRISSY/LY'LAC CONVO LET'S SEE THEM INTERACT LIVE I BET IT'LL BE AWKWARD BUT STILL FUN

===>

Oh my goooosh she's so nervooous it's adorablllle!!!!!! SHE'S SO SHY THAT IS SUCH A CUTE IMAGE AAAAA. (Again, reminder, all of TC's robots went into Party Mode because he fell asleep, this one included.)

-- adamantGriftress [AG] began pestering gavageCunctation [GC] -- AG: Heyyyyyyyy, took you Long Enough! GC: hi. AG: … yeah, hi? AG: Welcome 8ack! AG: Are you done Killing Monsters? GC: i don't know… AG: Wrong Answer! AG: You're gonna have to kill a Whole lot more!

Yeah Ly'lac is about 10,000% nerves right now. (Killing monsters? Vrissy couldn't be talking about the monster Meemaw iced for her; it seems more likely Ly'lac was asked by The Narwhal to put him down, and Vrissy misinterpreted the scene.)

AG: 8ut it's good to finally talk. GC: ha ha ha wow alright…! GC: i'm sorry for acting weird. talking to you like this is a little crazy for me… AG: It's okay. AG: Sorry I said your Head was weird earlier. GC: it's okay i know my head's normal. GC: do you mind if i ask you some questions…? AG: Weeeeeeeell, depends on how many. AG: We don't got All Day!

I really can't get enough, in pretty much any story, of characters with WILDLY different assumptions and information trying to reconcile that information and relay it to each other. Seriously, I lap that up like crazy, I'm addicted.

GC: i only have two. GC: one is weird though so... AG: I can handle a Little weird. AG: Lay em on me. GC: why are you using the adamantGriftress handle? AG: Oh, were you messaging me on the other one? AG: I guess I just outgrew it! AG: Didn't feel it suited me anymore. GC: wow. GC: way back when AA told me you'd only respond if i messaged you on this account i honestly thought she was being just weird and annoying and bizarre as usual but i might have to pay her an apology...! GC: ugh wait nevermind i can't ever let her know that listening to her actually paid off.

Hold the heck on, Vrissy had a plot-relevant past chumhandle that she switched from??? That sounds familiar (John). I'd guess she copied old-Vriska's "arachnidsGrip" but that feels like a cop-out, something else would be far more interesting. Somewhat unsurprising to know that the Prospit-dreaming AA was able to help Ly'lac and Vrissy stay temporally and extradimensionally pester-connected, much like Jade did by connecting her friends together back on Earth A.

GC: ok sorry im rambling can i ask you the weird question, vriska? AG: Shoot. GC: what's it like in the cartoon world? AG: Wow, you already know a8out that?

HAH!!! This is one hell of a misunderstanding! Vrissy would understandably believe after all she's heard about the Candy Side's precarious state and wild mood swings that it was "cartoon world".

It sounds like this isn't going to be fully cleared up in this conversation and Ly'lac is going to be mildly disappointed in the future that cartoons aren't quite literally real. As far as we know, anyway.

GC: heh well, you could say i know a thing or two about that... AG: I have to say, you and TC seem A Lot less surprised to talk to us than I was expecting! AG: Sort of anticlimactic? AG: We kind of figured you guys would 8e completely in the dark. AG: 8asically hapless sitting ducks without us. GC: i mean we might not measure up to your standards but me and my friends love us a lil chaos. AG: Yeah, I can see that! AG: You 8lew that horse thing's head Smooth Off! GC: ha ha ha... you were watching...? omg...

Yep, that was the earlier Killing Monsters misunderstanding.

AG: It must have said something to Really Upset you 8ecause, like... what a way to Go. AG: I guess it was Quick? AG: Honestly I had to look away. GC: not really what i'd consider quick, with all due respect lol. GC: this new wand has kind of been throwing me off... GC: Beam Of Death usually arranges a speedy meeting with the cousin of sleep but he just got really really really sick and then exploded. GC: and i'm glad he blew up when he did, it was starting make me feel bad ha ha... GC: i'll get the hang of my spells again once we're in the game though lol don't worry. AG: I'll hold you to that!

Yep, Ly'lac's spells with The Latchkey are still causing possibly-Life-based(-through-Doom-stealing?) cancer-splosions instead of what she expects. Damn, I'm VERY sorry The Narwhal had to go through THAT.

AG: On that subject, I'm glad you're done 8lowing up monsters 8ecause as I'm sure TC mentioned to you, we have a Lot of Game to get to! AG: And I know he was 8eing Super Gentlemanly a8out letting you t8ke your time getting set up 8ut we are sort of Seriously On The Clock! GC: yeah i'm shifting into speed mode right now... AG: Is that a thing you guys do? AG: Like, a Squiddle Thing? AG: Never actually watched that show. GC: what is squiddles? AG: Some 8ullshit cartoon my mom liked. AG: Sorry for kind of indirectly calling you 8ullshit just now. GC: nah it's ok i don't give a fuck... i'm bullshit adjacent. AG: That's Cool!

Maybe I should have realized that being Rose Lalonde's adoptive daughter would make Vrissy learning at least a bit about what Squiddles are/were somewhat mandatory. Kind of funny they're making that connection now, it's like they're both meeting cartoons.

AG: So what's like, your guys' Deal? AG: You're seadwellers? GC: yup, mostly. AG: Right. AG: And you all Kill monsters a lot I guess? GC: from time to time... AG: Alright...! AG: Um, AG: You're a girl nymph right? GC: what do you mean?

Oh my gosh we're already broaching the potentially Nymph-foreign topic of sexual dimorphism, depending on the wildlife. XD This is awesome.

AG: Haha sorry I know that's a pretty 8lunt way of asking. AG: I know if someone asked me that I'd lay them Right Out, 8ut it feels #Unwoke to assume. AG: Can nymphs even 8e girls? AG: Do you have that here? GC: lol vriska, yes all girls are nymphs... AG: All of them? GC: yerp. AG: Wow! So there's Never Even 8een a 8oy nymph before? GC: nope... GC: oh actually no, there was one. AG: Oh damn, what happened to Him? GC: i just killed him a bit ago, you were watching... AG: W8, that was a Person???????? AG: What the hell! GC: nooo lol it's chill, i've euthologized nymphs before i so didn't really mind doing it. AG: I meant for It! AG: Him. AG: Him? Him.

Vrissy stumbling the fuck over trying to not be #Unwoke is both hilarious and fitting. Also I love "euthologized" instead of "euthanized".

GC: he asked for it... GC: honestly it's my bad for putting it off all this time. GC: but i'm a busy nymph, you know what i mean...? AG: What, he's just 8een sitting down there Asking you to Kill Him? GC: pretty much. GC: i got decent at ignoring it, with all my slimes and whatnot... GC: sometimes it was hard to tell if it was him psychically wailing "kill me" down there or if it was just me thinking it, ha ha. AG: That sounds Fucking misera8le. GC: girl, you don't know the half of it... lmfao...

Well that certainly explains what the conversation with The Narwhal was about, and those dreams that annoyed Ly'lac so much. Just them urging the nearby Doom player to off them, though however much knowledge of future events The Narwhal had, or communicated to Ly'lac down there who may or may not have been fully listening, we can't quite say. Ly'lac might be the most prophecy-abjuring Nymph we could possibly meet.

GC: what's funny is it turns out that guy was actually famous? GC: this whole time i thought the narwhal was some ancient loud annoying granny but it turns out he was never even a granny at all... GC: he was like. GC: a male grandma... GC: i know it sounds crazy lol.

This alien stumbling understanding of the concept is so cutely written.

GC: but i'm burying the lede here because what i found out is...! GC: the narwhal...! is...!! the uninymph...!!! GC: i mean was. GC: ha ha ha wait i just remembered my maroon hg told me this a while back but we all largely ignore what she says so...

You didn't even put it together???? Ly'lac, you have like... made an art form of ignoring really important shit that even you'd specifically find relevant. No wonder you're our John Egbert stand-in!

AG: ... wow. AG: Who???????? GC: right, you're not big on non-vriska history lol.

That is a very true statement about Vrissy even without the dimensional gap excuse.

GC: so basically there was this prophecy foretold about a nymph with a horn whos death was supposed to bring misfortune to everyone around him and also end the whole world right. so the council of high prophets had people looking all over and under every ocean for this uninymph but nobody could ever find them and then like out of nowhere some satyrs came and told the council where he was and they were like he'd been living with them at some satyr monk school or whatever them shits are called and when they got there they say he was basically just straight up full on satyr like hooves tail hair the whole shebang and then they hauled his ass back no pun intended locked him up and kept him pumped full of ink to keep him alive forever i guess and he did NOT like that shit so we all honor his noble sacrifice and i think that's pretty much it... GC: and then i killed him.

Well hot damn. So maybe the Uninymph's utter mistreatment at the hands of Nymphkind and the rest of the world was mainly a matter of postponing apocalyptic prophecy, and the anti-trans bigotry was just a side-bonus. That at least slightly recontextualizes things... and speaks volumes about the lengths Nymphkind has been willing to go IN GENERAL in terms of blatant personal injustice for the sake of prophecy and the "greater good", which is a sad mirror to how Rosebot has adapted to the role Dirk manipulated her into until she took to it so eagerly. (Interesting that from the Beyond Canon team's original concepts for The Narwhal according to the Commentary, they switched tracks and instead of their blood-ink being used as fuel, the pipes were pumping blood-ink INTO The Narwhal to keep them from dying. Pretty brutal-- and also a reminder that when we read very old concept descriptions for characters that the writers and artists reveal in Commentary, it isn't necessarily true to what's been decided by the time it hits Canon.)

GC: AA could explain it better than me... GC: ha ha maybe i should ask for her interpretation of the legend rn... brb. AG: NO! Wow, No. AG: That's nice 8ut No, we have a Lot of work to get to if we're gonna get you out of here in One Piece and I don't think there's a lot of Time to W8ste 8la88ering a8out some old guy whose Head you Violently Exploded.

Quit capitalizing One Piece, we already had a Page of Breath in Homestuck 1.

GC: you're right...! GC: wow vriska i am hyped...!!! AG: You should 8e! AG: It's gonna 8e a Hell of a ride, Ly'lac, and I can't pretend I'm not a little nervous a8out it myself, 8ut you guys are in good hands! AG: We've studied this kind of thing 8asically all our lives, don't worry. AG: And I've got a little 8it of a Sneaky 8ce up my Sleeve! GC: ha ha yes! GC: vriska's classic ace up her sleeve... AG: 8ut for Simplicity's Sake, we can keep it to just the 8asics for Now. AG: For starters, check this out: -- adamantGriftress [AG] sent a file Oper8ion_Ri88it_Revolution.jpg --

What the heck did you just send Ly'lac? Some master-plan scribble about, I dunno, the entry order? (They're not showing us the file yet.) Obviously Vrissy still thinks from her parents (and corroborated for us by the presence of a Frog Temple near CT, frankly) that whatever Shurb is going to entail will involve Frogs at the same critical level of importance, but something Vrissy may NOT yet understand (depending on what older-Vriska may understand about the meta situation and pass on) is whatever Dirk Strider and Rosebot have planned for the purpose of this Session that's going to take things off the rails.

AG: Entry's gonna 8e a piece of cake! AG: And TC seems to Really know what he's doing, so you should 8e good to go in No Time. AG: ........ hey, do you think he'd Mind if I called him 8o8o like You do?

Vrissy. I know I'm fearfully extrapolating wildly from a single line but my sister in Christ are you already sweet on aliens. I know this is a Shurb session but seriously none of you have even entered yet, this isn't a speedrun.

GC: ha ha well, that's kind of our thing but i guess it could be cool for the three of us! GC: and you could call me ly'ly...! GC: yeah! GC: as soon as bo'bo wakes up it's party time! AG: Yeah!!!!!!!! AG: That's the Spirit! AG: W8, AG: W8kes Up? GC: ha yeah he's out like a light. AG: HE'S WH8?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Whoops! The Void player is out like someone flipped the Light switch off. (Del'fi, it was Del'fi who did.) (EDIT: Unimportant, but I forgot to note my amusement at Vrissy being predictably certain to type out exactly eight "?!"s here despite the time constraints.)

AG: Oh my GOD, HE IS. AG: HE'S NOT W8KING UP! AG: Ly'lac, that's SOOOOOOOO 8AD! GC: he's probably fine... GC: you wouldn't know it from all that junk he's on lol but he's actually the image of good health. AG: Oh my God. AG: We put the Game on your 8rand New Computer! AG: We're ON THE CL8CK! AG: Fuck!!!!!!!! GC: is that bad...? AG: IT'S REALLY, REALLY 8AD, LY'LAC! AG: He's supposed to 8e your Server Player! AG: Okay, FUCK, I have to Figure this Out. Talk to some People. AG: Ughhhhhhhh!

Hey, it's not that bad, as long as things are already started from TC's computer and they've deployed all the equipment it's probably kosher. Right? What steps are you even missing? Also you can pull a Dave from Homestuck 1 and just use another Shurb copy to connect to Ly'lac and do whatever's missing. Not sure what the big deal is, feels like we're missing something. Unless Rose never bothered to relay that part of their session's story to Vrissy because it was seemingly irrelevant and ridiculous, which wouldn't be surprising. I don't think this is going to mess with the Entry Order, but could it?

AG: Alright, it was gr8 to meet you, 8ut Listen Up: AG: Stay RIGHT THERE. GC: yes ma'am. AG: Seriously, DO NOT MOVE. GC: i won't ever move... AG: Okay well get READY to move, 8ut Don't move right Now. GC: i won't ever move until it's time for me to move. AG: Right.

The most obvious setup possible for unexpected Entry-related shenanigans.

AG: Shit, Okay, we can Fix This! AG: Ly'lac, again, gr8 to meet you! GC: omg really...? AG: Seriously! AG: It's all gonna 8e okay! AG: We will NOT let you die! GC: thank you! :D -- adamantGriftress [AG] ceased pestering gavageCunctation [GC] --

Literally the next panel is going to be Ly'lac belatedly realizing, seconds after the conversation ended, that her dying was actually on the table, I'll bet five bucks.

...Okay I probably already lost that bet because there's no Next Page link which means we're probably going to cut to someone else. I'll toss five bucks into a Money Hole somewhere.

And is that giant horn going to land nearby or not????