#s56

[thewertsearch]

EB: well to be honest, i never really believed any of your guys's doom and gloom nonsense. EB: not because i think you are lying… EB: i just feel like there must still be a way to win! AG: That's the spirit, John! AG: That is a winner's attitude, and there is always hope for someone who has that.

I guess John's optimism looks a lot like confidence to Vriska. John hasn't really seen the bigger picture, so his optimism comes from ignorance - but I still think he's got the right idea. You need to be optimistic if you're going to challenge the Alpha Timeline.

This is the attitude she was trying to 'train' into Tavros - and the fact that she sees it in John bodes poorly for him. If Vriska is taking an interest in you, there's going to be trouble ahead.

EB: also, there is always hope for someone who has good friends to count on! AG: Pff. AG: Laaaaaaaame.

Sure, Vriska. And I take it you created your universe alone?

That is IT. EVERYBODY OUT. You are DEAD SERIOUS.

It's funny, but this is also a genuine milestone for John. It's RPG tradition that once you get to a certain level, weaker enemies will flee without a fight.

It's not often that we gain insight from a page's command.

Vriska is confused. It's not just that she's getting to grips with the concept of a human - it's also that John, specifically, represents everything she's not. Their worldviews are so different that I think she's struggling to comprehend what she's seeing - and I think that's going to interfere with her manipulation attempts.

EB: it wasn't even that long ago, but it already seems like forever since i was on earth! EB: it was a pretty nice place, i bet you would have liked it. AG: It seems a little too sunny for my liking.

Scared you'll go blind?

EB: well, what about you? do you miss your planet, and your parents and such? AG: The life I left 8ehind wasn't so hot, to 8e honest.

John doesn't even know what a lusus is. Spidermom would be a lot to take in, on top of everything else - but I'm surprised Vriska is even able to recognize that she's had a hard life. Like I said, she usually acts like the challenges she faced were beneficial.

Maybe it's easier to broach the topic to a human. Her antics have alienated most of her troll pals, and they'd just think she was making excuses - but John is a blank slate. If she tells him about Spidermom without telling him about the murders, she'll get sympathy that she'd never get from a troll.

EB: oh. that's too bad. AG: Why don't we not talk a8out that!

But not quite yet. This is Vriska, after all - she has too many irons in the fire to talk about her silly feelings!!!!!!!! >::::(

[s56]

City of Cologne in the Future by aerroscape

[ravens-cove]

[1-yolcu]

İnsan dostlarıyla konuşmaya daldığı bir zamanda kendini yoklamalı ve sormalı: - Neden bahsediyoruz, bunların dünyaya veya ahirete bir yararı var mı ? O zaman firene basmalı. Hafifçe toslamak ve neşeli havayı dağıtmak pahasına. Ve sözü bilerek, isteyerek yararlı bir mecraya akıtmalı. Bir ayet, bir hadis, bir İbâdet hatırlanmalı ve başkalarına da hatırlatmalı. Ta ki zaman öldürmek yerine zamanı diriltmek, onu en olumlu biçimde kullanmak bir alışkanlık haline gelsin. | Cahit Zarifoğlu

[thewertsearch]

EB: we are supposed to create a universe? AG: Yeah! You didn't realize that yet?

Well, that's one way to drop the big reveal.

John doesn't tend to get worked up about this sort of thing - he didn't really react to the Veil reveal, either. But who knows what's going on in the privacy of his mind?

EB: why are we supposed to do that? AG: What a stupid question! It is the point of the game. It's what happens when you win, and winning is the only point of anything.

This is a pretty deep question, actually.

So far, the comic has only supplied one reason why a Player would want to create a universe, and it's the reason Vriska gives here: the kids should do it because it's Sburb's objective.

You could also argue that perpetuating the existence of the multiverse is a noble goal in itself - and, on a more practical level, the Players will need somewhere to live after winning the game, since sessions don't seem to last long after it's over.

There are also, however, several reasons why you might not want to go through with it. The true motivations of Skaia and the Horrorterrors are unclear, and things might not be what they seem. Do we really want to be doing Skaia's dirty work? This is the entity which destroyed our world, after all - its moral framework, if it has one at all, is alien, and potentially at odds with ours.

Even if Skaia's only 'motivation' is to perpetuate existence, there are still serious ethical implications. Universes created by Sburb presumably spawn sessions themselves, so your creation won't necessarily be a happy place. Every civilization arising in it will be doomed to a meteor apocalypse, as Skaia burns it as fuel for your world's offspring.

The kids are finally starting to learn the truth - and if they're able to salvage their session, they'll have a ...complicated decision to make.

AG: Anyway, you should 8e glad it's the point. And you should 8e glad your predecessors were not such a sad sack group of players like you guys. AG: Otherwise your universe would not exist, seeing as we cre8ted it 8y 8eing incredi8le in every way. EB: you did? [...] EB: i don't know what to think about that.

Neither do I.

[thewertsearch]

AG: [..] What was so important that you wanted to go 8ack to sleep again for? EB: my dad was there. [...] AG: Oh, you mean the adult male human who lived in your hive? [...] AG: Haha, I was wondering a8out that. I was like, what the hell is this guy doing in this kid's hive? Where is his lusus? Is he an orphan contending with some sort of meddlesome grownup squatter????????

Vriska was saddled with the worst lusus imaginable - or at least, the worst lusus that wasn't an abomination from the depths of space. Her worldview is built around the belief that her shitty life has made her strong.

How will she feel, I wonder, about a world where where you don't have to fight your way through the Brooding Caverns to earn your right to exist? How will Vriska feel, deep down, about a parent?

EB: the funny thing is, he is not even really my dad. EB: i mean, i was adopted by him, although we are not actually unrelated, i think. EB: he is the son of my grandmother, who isn't really my grandmother… EB: nanna is sort of like my biological mother [...] EB: so i guess, if anything, that makes my dad… EB: my half brother???

I did wonder if Dad was adopted - he really doesn't look like the other Harley-Egberts - but apparently not. I guess he takes after his own father.

The Telescopic Sassacrusher has found a new wielder, I see.

AG: [...] Continuing on this path and 8ringing Jade into the game I think you will agree is very important! AG: And not just 8ecause she is your friend and you would 8e kind of upset if she died. AG: Again. EB: yes, i think i would be.

I might be wrong, but I'm sensing a bit of an edge to John's words here. He did just watch his sister die, after all. Plus, he was just ripped away from his father - by the very same troll who's being so blasé about his family, although he isn't yet aware of that.

Everyone has a breaking point. How many more trolls can fuck John over before he snaps?

AG: Only when all players have entered with a prototyped kernel does the 8attlefield assume its final form. AG: That form prepares Skaia to grow the new universe you will cre8te.

Your kernels will influence the nature of your universe - presumably the same way they influence everything else.

The trolls filled their kernels with animals, and each of those animals showed up on Earth, either as real creatures or pervasive myths. The kids' kernels included a clown, so I'm suddenly very relieved that their session appears to be a dud.

And all Players need to contribute a kernel to the Battlefield. If they don't, their universe won't represent the collective effort of every Player, and it will be, in a sense, 'incomplete'.

That's my take, anyway. It makes sense, though - Sburb created every Player for this purpose, so they can only create a universe when every Player's purpose is fulfilled.

[s56]

Earth College 2048 by aerroscape

[ravens-cove]