I didn’t even see the Aradiabots at first. They literally look like bugs next to the Horrorterror King - who I’m not even going to bother scaling. He looks big enough to be visible from Prospit.
FAA: m0bilizing 0urselves in such numbers w0uld be required t0 neutralize the kings psychic attacks
FAA: it w0uld take 0ur c0mbined c0ncentrati0n t0 dampen the abilities he inherited fr0m glbg0lyb
I’m interested in how, exactly, Gl’bgolyb was prototyped. She wouldn’t fit in Feferi’s house, so she’d have had to deliberately reach in and poke the kernel with a tentacle, or something.
Did she want to be prototyped? We still have no idea what the Horrorterrors want - or even if what they want is comprehensible.
FAA: with0ut the cumulative eff0rt 0f 0ur d00med reserves
FAA: with0ut the heightened mental and physical endurance 0f 0ur r0b0tic vessels
FAA: with0ut the untimely demise we all shared bef0re this began
FAA: vict0ry w0uld n0t be p0ssible
Heightened physical endurance was a given, but it sounds like Aradia’s robotic body also got a psionics buff. No wonder she got the drop on Vriska.
I’m not sure how telekinesis could dampen the King’s psionics, though. Maybe, instead, it was her necromancy that kept her party members alive.
They’re all assembled - even Gamzee, who probably doesn’t know what’s happening. I bet he’s just wondering why that thing in the crown looks a bit like his goatdad.
I’m not going to talk about the frog. Yet.
FAA: i d0nt kn0w if it was just bad luck
FAA: 0r an extensi0n 0f the curse Karkat insists he br0ught 0n us
Even our most informed Player is stumped by Karkat’s virus.
I think its influence on the session is meant to be ambiguous - and even if it is real, Karkat isn’t to blame for the session’s difficulty. Sgrub was always going to find some way to challenge the trolls, and the virus was just one of its many possible vectors of influence...
FAA: that lead t0 the incidental and unf0rtuit0us pr0t0typing 0f Feferi's p0werful lusus
FAA: with0ut which the battle w0uld have p0sed little challenge
...that, plus the Horrorterror Underlings.
I’m starting to wonder if it’s even possible to hack, exploit, or speedrun Sburb. It’ll foresee anything you try to do, and throw it back in your face before you’ve even conceived of it.
I’d obviously still try to break it, though. This is me we’re talking about.
FAA: i think
FAA: it was m0re likely just an0ther inevitability
FAA: a pr0duct 0f c0llusi0n between the disparate f0rces at play
FAA: a bargain struck between what Skaia kn0ws already and what the g0ds demand up fr0nt
FAA: t0gether they 0rchestrate trials sufficient t0 ensure
FAA: that in 0verc0ming them we w0uld be pr0ven w0rthy
Skaia and the Gods - I assume she means the Horrorterrors - are colluding. They’re working together, to test your worthiness for the Ultimate Reward.
This implies that Skaia is conscious - but that’s not much of a surprise. This game is full of conscious beings - Consorts, Carapacians, and the like - and Skaia is essentially a god of creativity. Of course it would be conscious.
It also seems to confirm that the Horrorterrors are not, in fact, a real part of the game. Skaia wouldn’t have to collude and bargain with them if they were game constructs.
Speaking of which, that line about their bargain is incredibly loaded - but I’m struggling to interpret it. It sounds like Skaia knows some of what’s going to happen in the future, but not all of it - and the Horrorterrors desire this knowledge. Indeed, they demand it. Maybe the bargain, as presented by Skaia, is something like this:
“Preserve the sessions, advise the Players, and help me orchestrate challenges to prove their worth. In return, I will grant you some of my clairvoyance, which may be whispered to the dreamers of Derse.”
That’s pretty much a shot in the dark, though. I don’t know anything about this bargain, and I’m just guessing. It’s all very vague, and I guess it will remain so...
