#s151

[thewertsearch]

You have been completely hornswoggled. This whole thing was a setup from the start. A trap deployed by a cunning mastermind. All of the clues are adding up. The blood. The note. The flagrant displays of tricksterism and japery. The identity of the puppetmaster behind all of this is now painfully obvious to you.

Glad you've caught on. Now let's-

Spidertroll.

The fuck?

I understand why you'd be tunnel-visioning on Vriska here - but come on, girl. Gamzee's literally waving a puppet in your face. You're actively deflecting the damn thing, so who do you think is holding it?

Why is the normally astute Terezi so blind to Gamzee's presence - and, more broadly, the telltale signs of his influence? She's clearly capable of perceiving the signs themselves - the blood, the note, the japes - but for some reason, she can't connect them to the obvious culprit.

This feels like an unnatural lapse in Terezi's judgement, which makes me wonder if Gamzee's using his as-yet-unrevealed Aspect power on her. Maybe he's amplifying Terezi's 'rage' against Vriska, to the point where she's psychologically incapable of focusing on anything else.

That said, I'm not sure if this interpretation of his powers is compatible with Karkat's description of the Black King fight. Gamzee clearly dealt an enormous amount of damage to the King, rather than inflicting some sort of Rage debuff...

...but at the same time, John's recently expressed his Breath powers in multiple different ways. If his Title ability can be this flexible, then who knows what the Bard of Rage is truly capable of.

[thewertsearch]

Two years, and almost four thousand pages. The devil works hard, but Hussie works harder.

Huh. I did hear that Homestuck is around 8000 pages long, so I think we've actually reached the halfway point of the comic.

...damn. I know the liveblog's been running for a couple of years now, but I'm still surprised about how much ground we've covered. Here's to another 3700 pages! 🎉

Looks like it's Terezi's turn to go non-canonical. I wonder if she's been the 'reader' of Homestuck this whole time?

You have no idea what the hell this thing is, or why you would need another disc.

Wait, no, this is still the canonical Terezi. She's stumbled upon an extracanonical artifact, similar to Jade's Fourth Wall, but she doesn't understand what it actually is.

Be careful, girl! You don't know what you're fucking with!

Alright, this is actually pretty fun.

It seems that this 'Homestuck Disc' is what allows us, the reader, to control the comic's characters. When it's removed, the characters are fully in control of their actions, and Terezi can - temporarily - choose her own destiny.

[thewertsearch]

I hope Gamzee himself doesn't get his hands on that disc. Unlike Terezi, he might actually know what it is.

Predictably, you scratch the surface of the disc. What were you expecting? It's almost like you don't even know what a CD is. With the disc damaged, who knows what sort of effects it will have on the data.

This whole thing is a metaphor for the comic's imminent reboot.

Homestuck is about to be 'Scratched' - an event which will result in an altered version of the comic, with different data. Once the disc has been scratched, we'll be ready to 'run' it again - but this time, that young man's bedroom might look a little different.

It should be perfectly safe from any similar kinds of damage while secured in your SCRATCH AND SNIFF modus.

Alright, that one got me.

You got your PYRALSPITE PLUSH! Pyralspite was your scalemate sidekick during your campaigns. He was the model of loyalty, friendship, and righteous retribution. More than could be said for another partner in justice.

That's a very familiar uniform. I'm increasingly sure that Terezi is aware of her ancestor - and I'm starting to wonder just how many trolls are dancing to the tune of the past.

There is no doubt about it anymore. She is clearly baiting you into confrontation.

So that's Gamzee's game. He knows that Vriska and Terezi are too dangerous to fight directly, so he's taking advantage of the Scourge Sister rivalry to pit them against each other.

That's... extremely crafty, actually. For a guy who's been stoned his entire life, Gamzee's got a serious talent for scheming.

[thewertsearch]

It is a message from Vriska summoning you to do battle. It is written in Gamzee's rich jelly-smelling blood, but it is her handwriting for sure. Her quirk is present, leaving the matter unde88a8le.

At this point, if there's not some sort of perceptual distortion at play, I'd consider it an insult to Terezi. She's not supposed to be able to fall for shit like this.

But why the hell does she want you to bring this stupid puppet along? She's so weird.

There's a decent chance that Gamzee's in league with Scratch. He wasn't one of the trolls from Scratch's fables, but it would be very like him to tactically omit a description of his most important pawn.

Anyway, if Gamzee's following Scratch's plan, then it makes sense that Lil Cal, Scratch's 'father', might feature in some way. I don't know how he'll feature, but I'm sure it'll be fittingly horrifying.

I suppose I'll have to get used to writing with this hand instead. I now do so in captivity, while I 8ring my awe to 8ear on the immensity of the Su8juggl8or's high jinx.

I can't tell to what degree the Subjugglator's 'high jinx' (lol) is supposed to be a joke. If Gamzee's caste can actually do magic, then maybe that's how Gamzee was hiding his presence from Terezi.

I took their gesture as plain avowal of my prosecution's futility. With a lone neophyte assigned to the task, how could I view it otherwise? […] 8ut I discovered too l8 that Redglare was their wild card all along. How is one allowed to 8e raised 8y a dragon in this era? Let alone one of such middling 8lood, the sickly hue of a gutless civil servant. […] 8y what fluke was this woman granted such a weapon, permitting her to luxuri8 in these delusions of righteousness?

It seems that in Mindfang's time, your lusus was manually assigned by the government - unlike modern trolls, who are apparently chosen by the lusus themselves. This was probably yet another way to enforce the blood hierarchy, as Mindfang's chief complaint is that Redglare's lusus was 'above her station'.

Wait, there's no link to the next page. Is this some sort of puzzle, or...

Wait, so the link is inside a simulated version of the website? Weird.

[thewertsearch]

God damn it, I told Kanaya she should have finished the job.

It seems that Gamzee's not willing to attack Terezi directly. My guess is that he's (wisely) classified her as one of his most dangerous opponents, and he's trying to get the drop on her.

Oh, I don't like this. I don't like any of this.

I don't like that Gamzee's unlocked Bro-speed, and I really don't like that Cal's still floating around. Terezi is actually in danger here.

This is a fancy looking room. It doesn't look like a place you would expect to find on this meteor, at least not in any strictly canonical capacity.

And this is even worse. Gamzee's using his oft-implied meta-awareness to gain a tactical advantage, trapping Terezi in a Trickster Code room that the trolls can't even perceive.

He's abusing a one-note joke in a Flash game to cut her off from all her allies. This is legitimately unsettling.

The door is locked! You will either need a key, or to break it down with force. You would need to achieve an especially heightened state of determination to pull that off, though.

What's he even trying to do here? He's had plenty of chances to attack her unawares, but he's just... watching her.

I almost wish he was attacking. This is the same kind of tension poor Dave lived with for his entire childhood.

[thewertsearch]

TG: i thought you were insane kinds of apeshit over the macabre stuff TG: like being all cutesy about executions and smelling cherry blood and such things contrived to get a guy feeling vaguely uncomfortable TG: was that all an act GC: NOT 4N 4CT GC: JUST FUN!

Of course it was real - but it was real because, up until now, Terezi didn't know any other way to be. Enjoying the macabre helped her be ruthless - and she needed to be ruthless, or Alternia would have eaten her alive.

TG: didnt you say youve killed people before GC: TH3R3 1S 4 B1G D1FF3R3NC3 B3TW33N M4N1PUL4T1NG P3OPL3 TO TH31R DOOM W1TH TR1CK3RY, 4ND K1LL1NG SOM3ON3 BY YOUR OWN H4ND

There's not really a moral difference - but when it's your own hand on the knife, you're forced to confront the reality of what you're doing. You can't turn away.

Vriska's fond of killing via mind control, so she's probably the same. It's quite possible that Tavros was the first person she physically killed - the first pair of eyes she actually looked into, before she stole their light.

TG: id like to help you out but i dont know what advice i should be giving […] TG: do you want me to tell you to be a better human TG: or to be a better troll

What, when you get right down to it, is the difference?

To be fair, this is a very complicated question. Ask a hundred people to define right and wrong, and you'll get a hundred different answers. There's always nuance. It always depends.

A random girl on the internet certainly can't give you a definitive answer - but she can give you her take on the current situation. I believe that the vast majority of Alternian murders are wrong, and that Terezi's new discomfort with killing is a good thing.

TG: maybe if you kill her at least we can finally stop obsessing over her

^ verbatim quote from the Homestuck forums.