#s148

[thewertsearch]

TG: when does someone actually step up TG: jacks got shit to pay for […] GC: W3 4R3 BOTH PR3S3NTLY CONC3RN3D W1TH JUST1C3 TG: yeah i guess […] TG: maybe i am supposed to be a hero and rise to the occasion because there seems to be this little persistent voice in my head nagging me about it TG: insisting someones gotta pay

Oh my god, it's the Aimless fucking Renegade!

Welcome back, king. 💛🖤💛

TG: im pretty sure i dont even have an exile TG: ive never heard any voices or anything TG: anyway you dont need a voice in your head to tell you this shit is TG: just like TG: so completely illegal

TG: someone has to make him pay TG: cant let him just go unpunished TG: if i can figure out how to reach the god tier maybe i can be the one to throw him into the slammer […] TG: slammer means jail GC: 1 KNOW WH4T TH3 SL4MM3R M34NS!!!

TG: you call it the slammer when youre extra angry at crimes

I’m dying. I’m actually dying.

AR is killing me to death, and I haven't even found my Quest Bed yet.

TG: what am i even saying here TG: shit GC: 1M ST1LL NOT SUR3 GC: YOUR3 T4LK1NG 4BOUT THROW1NG J4CK 1N TH3 SL4MM3R 4ND R4MBL1NG 4BOUT JUST1C3 4ND T3LL1NG M3 TO G3T P3NS 4ND SUCH GC: NOT TH4T 1 4M COMPL41N1NG

Oh, he is speaking her language.

This is basically flirting to her, and I'm poised to update the shipping chart as we speak.

TG: ok forget the slammer stuff that was stupid TG: it is about justice though TG: and since no one else seems to give a shit about that it apparently falls in my jurisdiction now TG: not just going after jack TG: but all the mutinous agents responsible for crimes […] GC: NO1RS CRON13S 4R3 3XPLO1T4BL3 GC: 4R3 YOU S4Y1NG YOU H4V3 4 PL4N TH4T 1NVOLV3S T4RG3T1NG TH3M?

I love that Terezi's taking it somewhat seriously, too. Honestly, manipulating Jack's crew isn't a bad idea, given that he's still listening to DD. He might be the best attack vector we have.

[thewertsearch]

GC: YOU MUST ST4ND T4LL, ONLY 4 TRU3 H3RO COULD PULL OFF SUCH 4N 4CROB4T1C FUCK1NG P1ROU3TT3 OFF OF TH4T H4NDL3 >:] TG: that is basically what i just did isnt it […] TG: thats what im doing here im making a point of makin every little thing take place what was once mentioned in passing no matter how seemingly trivial or pointless TG: thats how all the best adventures get strung together TG: you havent heard me bleat like a goat for ironically humorous purposes yet have you

Wow. It's been so many hot minutes since that joke, I'd completely forgotten about it. Well, Aradia’s back in the game, so maybe she’ll be involved, when it finally comes full circle.

TG: it might be kind of hard to tell on account of me chilling face down on the pavement and also because downplaying feelings is the chief rule of cool but im pretty pissed about this TG: which is weird GC: 1TS W31RD TO F33L M4D? […] TG: no its not weird to be mad its just weird it feels like im the only one who is TG: and the only one even contemplating taking jack on

Huh. Like brother, like sister, I guess.

Will we be getting the Strider/Lalonde tag team of the century, then? Because if he can give Rose some time duplicates, their Horrorterror powers might stack.

TG: […] isnt that what heroes should be doing TG: working to take down the bad guy without a whole lot of this fuckin grandiloquence and these huge sweeping plans that got nothin to do with fighting him

We're learning a lot about the Stralonde psyche today, aren't we? Seems that when these blondes get emotionally compromised, they get antsy. They need to act, and damn the consequences. Who cares if it goes against Skaia's plan?

TG: johns too nice to get mad

Are you sure?

TG: rose spends all her time calculating TG: too focused on machiavellian ploys of sabotage to try anything drastic

Are you sure?

TG: jade is […] TG: probably more a liability if she got it in her head to take him down TG: if anything id bet she just needs protection

Are you sure?

[thewertsearch]

GC: Y3S YOU 4R3! […] GC: 1 4M TH3 H3RO OF M1ND GC: YOU 4R3 TH3 H3RO OF T1M3 GC: TH4T 1S WHO W3 W3R3 CR34T3D TO B3

Yeah, but Dave probably sees that as a cruel joke, if anything. He's probably pissed-off at the fact that Sburb is pretending he's a hero, even though he's not 'measuring up' to the real players.

TG: fine its a title we inherit as phlegm babies or whatever but what have i done to earn it

Come on, man. It's been, like, a day!

Also: I'd point out that your altself was instrumental in saving the entire session, but I highly doubt you're able to internalize Davesprite's achievements as your own.

Sometimes, when you're a Time Player, it's another you that gets to be the hero - but if you were in his situation, you'd have done the exact same thing as Future Dave. Technically, you already did!

You win some, you lose some.

This all feels very symbolic of what Dave's currently going through. To wield this sword is to inhabit Bro's role - or, at least, that's how it probably looks to Dave - and that's not something he feels capable of doing. He can't pull this sword from the stone, simply because he doesn't consider himself worthy.

And I think this is a sign that he doesn't have the energy to keep up his façade - so, for now, the glasses come off. Maybe he and Terezi can finally engage in some Real Talk.

[thewertsearch]

TG: a guy can be sad and make jokes at the same time GC: YOU 4R3 S4D, BUT NOT BROK3N UP 4BOUT 1T? GC: 1 DONT UND3RST4ND

Come on, Terezi - you're a savvy girl. I'm sure you're capable of understanding that it's possible to mourn someone who mistreated or abused you. People are complicated!

I guess it is a little different for trolls, since their guardians are (largely) non-sentient animals - but I'm sure that there were still trolls in Vriska-adjacent situations who felt the same way Dave does.

GC: […] YOU M4Y B3 4M4Z3D TO L34RN 1 4M NOT TOT4LLY 1N TH3 MOOD FOR YOUR DUMB SM4RT4SSY HORNSWOGGL3RY! GC: 1 H4V3 LOTS OF MY OWN PROBL3MS H3R3, 4ND TH3Y 4R3 B1G, B1G PROBL3MS

Well, you say that, but you're still taking the time to check in on Dave's emotional state. Methinks you really do care a little more than you used to.

Anyway - what are Terezi's big problems? Because that depends heavily on where we are in the timeline. For all we know, she's calling from before Murderstuck started, or long after it ended.

GC: SO WHY DONT YOU JUST T3LL M3 WH4T YOU 4R3 TH1NK1NG FOR ONC3? TG: its pretty simple TG: im just thinkin about how im gonna take this sword

There's really only one solution, and you know it - although I don't think Bro's sword will actually be that useful. It's not like it's alchemized, or anything.

Maybe Dave thinks he needs to take up his brother's mantle, or something. That definitely feels like something he'd try and pressure himself into.

TG: pulling swords out of things isnt how i roll TG: im not john remember GC: 1 4M NOT FOLLOW1NG TG: im not a hero TG: my bro was TG: john is TG: im not

And if that’s not the thesis of Dave’s entire psyche.

This kid's been made to feel small for his entire life, and that's not something you can shake in a day. Or three days, for that matter.

[thewertsearch]

I guess everyone is reacting to their parents' deaths in this arc. Dave's relationship with Bro has always been a little... complicated, so this should be a very interesting conversation.

TG: oh my fucking god […] TG: we just got done talking and agreed it would be awesome if you didnt bother me for a while […] GC: OH GC: TH4TS R1GHT GC: 1 FORGOT! TG: it was five seconds ago

Girl, get your damn timelines in order!

GC: D1D YOU LOV3 H1M D4V3? TG: no

I believe you.

There's something about the Strider brothers which I noticed a while ago, but haven't had the opportunity to talk about. This is the perfect moment to discuss it, though, because it explains a lot about why Dave is the way he is.

So - let's talk about the Strife fights.

When John first attacked his father with a hammer, I decided to roll with the assumption that this fight was symbolic, rather than literal. John loves his dad, and it can be safely assumed that he doesn't want to kill the guy.

Instead, this scene serves as a stand in for the familial strife between father and son. John finds his father's parenting style to be mildly frustrating, and their interactions sometimes feel like a fight to him.

Likewise, Rose (probably) isn’t actually going for Mom with those needles. Instead, their fight represents Mom’s 'ironic' negligence, and the gifts that Rose refuses to believe are from the heart. The Lalonde relationship is clearly more fraught than the Egbert one, but I don't think Rose actually wants to skewer Ms Lalonde.

Jade doesn't really fight her Grandpa, but their Strife clearly demonstrated how deeply in-denial she is - not about his death, but about the fact that her life isn't normal. She's desperately trying to have the same childhood that John and Rose are describing, but she can't, because she doesn't have a parent to bicker with.

Now, I'm sure you've guessed where I'm going with this. What, exactly, did Dave's Strife scenes represent?

Well...

...first of all, it's worth noting that Dave is the only Player to explicitly describe the events of his Strife to a third party. We've never heard John reminiscing about bludgeoning Dad, but Dave's constantly complaining about getting beaten up by puppets.

And - rather more worryingly - Dave is the only Player to retain his Strife injuries, even after this ostensibly 'metaphorical' fight is over.

In fact, one of those Strife injuries still marks him to this day.

The point I am obviously dancing around is that I don't think Dave's Strife was a metaphor at all. Unlike his friends, there's no pretense to these fights. They're literal. Dave's brother routinely attacked him.

Odds are, this was Bro's way of 'preparing' Dave for the game he surely knew was coming - but you don't need me to tell you that he took it way too far. The guy might have been Dave's assigned Guardian, but he really shouldn't have been raising anyone.

[1-yolcu]

Yükümüz ağır, Sorumluluk duygumuz ise zayıf. | Cahit Zarifoğlu

[bloggers-secretfiles]

Story #148: I once had this tumblr friend whom I thought I could lean on afterwards. She was only starting her tumblr journey when she met me and it was okay. We often bond, do ridiculous stuff and talk over the phone. Then one day, she just faded away. At first I thought she was only being friendly but then I observed that she wants to be close with every ‘famous’ bloggers. Though I am not one of them, really. Somehow, I felt used and yes she left me like that. Then she got along with this group of girls who only want to have a tumblr partner, mate, fling, kalandian or whatsoever. Irritating because she became just like them — non-stop drama over bullshits about guys who don’t like them back, desperate chasing for someone who don’t really love them, shipping every blogger to one of them. Seems like they can’t last a day or a life without having someone to flirt with or post a drama about. Ugh. How I wish fame, bitchiness and flirtyness did not eaten you up. And now, I cannot trust anymore because as I’ve known your group of friends, na-uh. Ain’t trustworthy. Plastic. Backstabbing bitches. But anyway, I sort of miss you and that’s all. Okay? Okay.