CHAPTER 10. 1 WOND3R WH4T TH3Y T4ST3 L1K3

[Kidpen]

https://homestuck2.com/story/263
Nothing happened. Cool art and animals though!

[SteperOfTheLongEarth]

H3Y: GO R34D
https://homestuck2.com/story/263


I'll post my thoughts a bit later

[calamityCons]

Merged these topics together because they were the same.

[overThinker]

i think it's pretty difficult to believe that rose isn't aware of dirk's mind control. she's the seer of fucking light dude

[thorondraco]

i think it's pretty difficult to believe that rose isn't aware of dirk's mind control. she's the seer of fucking light dude

SEers of light see paths to victory and success rather than inward things... Dirk is also manipulating what she is able to see and find.

A seer of light could detect a void player messing wit hthem.

[foreverFlummoxed]

i think it's pretty difficult to believe that rose isn't aware of dirk's mind control. she's the seer of fucking light dude

Seer of Mind was stated as "sees consequences and outcomes of decisions" while Seer of Light was more akin to " seeing fortune and the best possible path forward in impossible situations" making Rose's abilities essential to the success of HS 1 but since HS² is being orchestrated by different in-universe "authors" (Dirk, alt-Calliope, and the third one(?)) Terezi's Seer powers, if used properly, would probably be the most essential abilities in HS² since authorial decisions are still decisions. just a thought.

[PilotBlackSmith]

ugh okay I guess

[thorondraco]

i think it's pretty difficult to believe that rose isn't aware of dirk's mind control. she's the seer of fucking light dude

Seer of Mind was stated as "sees consequences and outcomes of decisions" while Seer of Light was more akin to " seeing fortune and the best possible path forward in impossible situations" making Rose's abilities essential to the success of HS 1 but since HS² is being orchestrated by different in-universe "authors" (Dirk, alt-Calliope, and the third one(?)) Terezi's Seer powers, if used properly, would probably be the most essential abilities in HS² since authorial decisions are still decisions. just a thought.

That is very true. Seer of light sees the authors story intent, seer of mind can figure out the decisions of the author.

[overThinker]

Terezi's Seer powers, if used properly, would probably be the most essential abilities in HS² since authorial decisions are still decisions. just a thought.

very fair and i see your point. i've always just interpreted the light aspect as "finite reality," "clarity," and "divine truth," which all seem like they would manifest as the concept of the narrative in hs^2. if rose therefore "sees the narrative," she would probably then be aware of dirk's control of her and everything else, but the aspects don't have clear definitions and that's pretty much just conjecture so idk

[calamityCons]

It is very possible that Rose is completely aware of what is happening and has no ability to stop it, while Dirk refuses to loosen control of the situation for even a millisecond due to his own bullshit ego.

[overThinker]

true. she's also in a robot, after all. i could see her programming eventually being a narrative contrivance to explain her uncharacteristic naivety

[SteperOfTheLongEarth]

Well, I shouldn't look this in depth again at an update! FUCK! ok, long post go!
Spoilers ahoy!
Goes by page number:

>263-264
Dim shot of Detritus slowly coming into focus.
A cool transition from the last chapter when yiffy was knocked out and Terezi is coming BACK into consciousnesses


>265-266
Terezi sums up all of Homestuck^2 pretty well as well as the yiffy debacle (and also herself. NO! TEREZI ;_; )


>267
Just a cool shot. Though really, wtf happens when she sleeps now? I know just "normal" dreams, but this is Homestuck where the whole conceit is that they ARE fictional characters, so nothing is ever just one thing. Therefore: i want to know what she was dreaming? In anime? Of Yiffy? Of the Candy Timeline? That June?? What?


>268
Terezi talking to herself...I assue she is pretending to talk to June. That or she has a Brain Ghost June in her head and seeing as she is a seer of mind I wouldn't rule it out. She also refears to herself as "WE" if she still has John in the card than that is still technically true...

We got a name for those funky trees: AMBULATORS
And they seem to be really REALLY closely linked to June like nobodies business. Made up of "TUB3LIKE GROWTHS THROUGH WH1CH 41R M4Y TR4V3L" like June being conceived like an empty vessel and going whatever direction the wind/plot takes her. The get around and walk due to the wind...so their not ALIVE but they do move....that is so disturbing in the context of June BLEAH!

"TH1S PROC3SS, WH1L3 M4J3ST1C, C4N H4V3 DR4ST1C 3FF3CTS ON TH3 PL4NTS SURROUND1NGS" more June. Even if it's cool to see June get about and do amazing stuff, she can affect everyone else in very drastic ways. I'm looking at you retcon.


>269 (nice)
Hehe, look it terezi! she so smal-what the FUCK ARE THOSE???!? Those aren't native inheritance!! Ok, Rose did some Alchemy and made some monstrosity out of...what looks like,
1)Head and Mouth - Liv Tyler 2nd form...AKA the bunny SHE grew up with...also The bunny on the FIRST loop around time AKA Roses gift to June for his 13th b-day...
2) Eyes - Vodca Mutini but colored Red. Reminds me of the "Robo" color skeme
3) Body - Looks like a Troll Grub but I could be wrong...
4) Legs - Share the lalonde: pink-purple pattern that was on roxy's scarf that she stole form Beta-Rose...the legs themselves I'm not sure on...

"CONST4NT SH1FT1NG OF TH3 SO1L CR34T3S L4RG3 CR3V4SS3S 4ND R4V1N3S 4LMOST 1NST4NTLY, R3D1R3CT1NG W4T3RCOURS3S 4ND 4LT3R1NG TH3 L4NDSC4P3 OV3R 4ND OV3R W1TH 34CH STR1D3"
Symbolizing the story itself? How that with every new concept or idea, the previous interpretation of Homestuck is changed/altered with every new thing. It also can never fully be answered because every new idea adds more questions than it does answers. A quest in futility. If this planted had a map, you could never keep up with all the shifting terrain. Again, a lot like homestuck.

"1T S33MS UND1STR3SS3D BY TH3 D4NG3ROUS S1TU4T1ON 1N WH1CH 1T F1NDS 1TS3LF"
Maybe they are just, bottling up and pretending things are AOK! Thanks Terezi! Everything is juuuuusussttttt fiiiiiinnnneeeee~ god this sucks

"Calls this place home"
*sigh* if only. Much like everyone else in this story, while they were created to live here, it isn't the best fit...Can they really call any place home? [the more I look for stuff in this update the more depressed I get about June and Terezi **SIGH**]

"1 WOND3R WH4T TH3Y T4ST3 L1K3 >:O"
Rose flavored. You should have a good idea what that tastes like now huh terezi? >;]


>270
...a cotton candy....Charles dutton creature??? I don't...what?
The body also reminds me of those FLARP things that Tavros used to make that Not pokemon thing that one time. Imagine one of those coming out of Charles Duttons face.

(Terezi! You are adorable in this pic how??)


>271
Hmm! ~I wonder who could have made THIS one~dirk. it was dirk.

It's a robot horse thing with a unicorn horn. Also: grass 4 dayz


>272
Does anyone remember that one Fan adventure where terezi was fighting dinosaurs? I do. Terezi had to take down a t-rex i think? And CD was there to be was to awesome for CD and took out a pterodactyl that had grabbed her? Also lost an arm. And then there was a weird Intermission with the devil on stage at a theater and Terezi was there in the audience and began shooting at him with a fucking gun?? Yeah that was weird.

It looks like a combo between a scale mate, some cherub thing, and that prokgrist hollow for the body.

Not much else to say but tiny batman terezi. i think redglare made a similar pose once?


>273
DRAGON! Or close enough. Terezi likes it.
1) Body - made out of one of those futa-span things that were like, grub videogames that Sollux had with slime blood i thing.
2) Wings - probably just using Terezi's as a templete
3) Face - ...idk...smuppet?


>274
That is a rose creation but I'm going to imitate Terezi and just keep walking and ignore it.


>275
And that one is Dirk's.

I thought that the narrator might have been Rose but the first line makes me think Dirk. I can't tell

"The whole landscape is fighting her."
The whole of Homestuck IS in fact, fighting against Terezi. Damn.

"The creature is too strange for her to get a full picture of it like this. The problem with using smells to navigate the world is that the unfamiliar can be difficult to parse. Every whiff over her shoulder gives her another blurry glimpse of what this beast is."
I feel this is a metaphor for something but IDK what.

"Rose shared her books with Terezi when she was on the ship, and her favorite by far was the compendium of the zoologically dubious."
Rose and Terezi read tentacle stuff together! YEAHS! This makes me happy.

>276 (Last page and longest.)

Oh no! Terezi's cool new suit! :(

Tentacles, tentacle everywhere.

OH! The creature HAS the tenticalls.....OH...

" gastric sack."
...what is a-?!...you know what, I don't want to know.

"A cold flame that instantly burns itself out, and all of a sudden she is just deeply, impossibly, indescribably tired. Down to her bones."
Just let her rest DIRK!! She's so tired of everyone's BULLSHIT!!!@@@ GAHH! Poor baby! :((

"Honestly, she really has no right to feel this... this fatigue."
No right?? She can feel however the fuck she wants to!

"This crushing embrace of endless struggle. Terezi Pyrope has not had an easy life by anyone’s standards, but so much of her thirteen or so sweeps has just been standing still. Waiting. Huddling blind and half dead in her recuperacoon, the sopor burning the hideous mess that the sun has left her eyes, alight with a hatred so layered and intense that she couldn’t make sense of it. It was horrifying--that pain or fury--but also, admittedly, very boring. Then there were the sweeps on the meteor, the endless, gelatinous stretches of time in the chaos of the outer ring, searching for... Vriska, ostensibly, but also maybe just for a chance to dry up. To disappear. Go extinct."
*sad concern for Terezi noises*

"But sometimes it feels like none of them are going to get out of this, alive or dead."
I...r u projecting dirk or...fuck...Terezi... ;_;

"> STOP."
Oh those are back. That's cool. Thanks Rose.

"She more gets the impression that they are being said, hanging in the air around her like sound effects in a comic book."
Hehe, nice callback to homestuck proper. Of course she could "see" those

"but it is absolutely unable to disobey The Word"
Well that isn't ominus at all! OK two things:
1) Does this make all there creations act like NPC's like the caprations? Because you can order those guys around no problem like how she is doing.
2) The Word --- just...That is so...did you have to put it so biblical Dirk? And or Rose? As in "The Word was God" like...word of God? God in terms of Narrative? Fuck, that is a loaded phrase...at least we have something now to call that particular construct?

"TH1S SUCKS"
Thank you Terezi. We all feel that.

"TEREZI: 4M 1 1N F4CT CURR3NTLY B31NG H3LD 1N YOUR V3RY T3NT4CL3S >:000
ROSE: I am devastated to report that those are really more vines than tentacles, and even worse, they aren’t mine."
This is everything that I ever wanted. That one tweet about Rose mad that Kanaya does not have a tenticaldick is somewhat canon. Also: Rose want to wrap Terezi in tenticals and Terezi wants her too....that's canon....dubious or not.....I love that.

"I am holding the creature with the terminal l we have at our disposal in the lab,"
terminal 1? is there more than one than?

"but as I’m sure you can recall from your brief tenure as Dave’s patron, those commands can be overruled."
Is she calling back to that one time when Dave was being just spouting off AR bullshit because Dave has no filter? Because if it is....Terezi X AR might still be in the cards folks!!! (Aimless Renigade AR, not the Dirk AR)

"ROSE: Your tentacle dreams will be forced to remain the stuff of fantasy, for now."
Damn.

"TEREZI: WH4T DO YOU M34N 'P4TRON'?
ROSE: The human you took it upon yourself to troll. The one of us you chose to enact your revenge on.
TEREZI: ...1 N3V3R R34LLY THOUGHT OF 1T L1K3 TH4T"
Shit, was the "patron troll" phrase only used by AH? They might have never referred to themselves as that in canon.

"TEREZI: NOW TH4T 1 TH1NK 4BOUT 1T 1 GU3SS W3 D1D SORT OF PL4Y F4VOR1T3S"
Hmm, an author/authority playing favorites with a group of characters hmmm! (I am so sorry Jade)

"TEREZI: D4V3 4ND 1 H4D 4 LOT 1N COMMON B4CK TH3N, OR 4T L34ST 1T F3LT L1K3 W3 D1D
ROSE: As I have come to understand it, for a while at least, we were all being steered in the right direction by a debatably benevolent force.
ROSE: One imposed on us by the game itself, even if we had yet to enter it."
Is she-! Is she talking about AH??????? This is AH right? AH as the narative force?? In the book commentary, Hussie mentioned something about how Terezi and Karkat were "pushed" together to be more romantic...And.......shit! What does it mean tho???

"ROSE: I suppose that is a fair assessment. Although we were not our own creators. It was John who—
DIRK: I hate to break up the recap episode,"
Not talking about June won't make her go away Dirk!!

I had a thought during dinner when I took a break writing this: Dirk hates June because Dirk sees here as a God figgure. She litteraly MADE all 8 of them! Including Dirk! In his mind, she is somewhat responsible for his own creation. With Dirk having such a huge god-coplex, having June around handly proves Dirk wrong just by walking around! (or having her name mentioned) Helps that June is the protagonsist of Homestuck, so by killing June, he also killed the way June could just, shift the narrative to something else. The last thing Dirk needs is a narative that can change with the wims/winds of June Egbert.

"DIRK: I have administrative privileges."
*sigh*

"ROSE: Don’t let it get to you. My father has a habit of appearing in places he’s not wanted."
Burn

"TEREZI: TH4T TH1NG WH3R3 YOU G3T P3OPL3 WHO 4R3 NOT M3 TO DO WH4T3V3R 1T 1S YOU W4NT TH3M TO
TEREZI: M1ND CONTROL"
Thank you Terezi. "Mind" control...she is the seer of mind. She can SEE what you are doing dirk...

"TEREZI: BUT DO3S TH4T 4CTU4LLY M4TT3R 1F 1T JUST H4S TH3 S4M3 R3SULTS TH4T M1ND CONTROL WOULD H4V3?"
This gives me big "luck doesn't actually matter" vibes.

"The ambient STOP that has been hanging in the air releases. Terezi lets out a shuddering breath. She doesn’t THINK she’d been holding it the whole time, but then again, she hadn’t really been paying attention."
?????????? Dirk, what are you doing? What's with the STOP and THINK there? are they important? Are you telling Terezi to stop and think? Is that Dirk? what is that??

"NOOKBR34TH"
Nice Troll ET refrence. Hehe, dirk got it from [REDACTED] Jake. sorry, that was mean to jake.

"TEREZI: 1 MEAN TH3 M3N4G3R13 FROM H3LL"
He did something...

"TEREZI: DONT YOU LOV3 4LL OF YOUR 3XP3R1M3NTS 3QU4LLY
DIRK: No."
Jake Dirk
Being Terrible Parents

"DIRK: I mean she is just making incredibly nonsensical decisions and refusing to back down, even when I up the ante to preposterous levels."
Jade and Yiffy?????

"DIRK: Despite her initial resistance, Rose has gone completely feral.
TEREZI: YOU M34N TH4T SH3 1S H4V1NG FUN
DIRK: Yes."
Jade and Rose are meant to be guys.

"TEREZI: YOU 3XP3CT3D H3R TO B3 TH3 ON3 TO HOLD YOU B4CK, 1NST34D OF TH3 OTH3R W4Y 4ROUND
DIRK: No, that's not it.
TEREZI: YES, 1 TH1NK 1T 1S 1T
DIRK: No."
Didn't Terezi and Scratch argue like this at some point?? Also hi Equius! How does it feel to be part of Ultimate Dick? *Dirk

Expecting Rose to hold you back was an impossible hope Dirk. You read Homestuck! I know you read the books as established in the prologue! You know Rose will go off the rails (ala grimdark) when things go bananas! She is NOT Roxy!! If you wanted Roxy, you should have asked Roxy. He probably would have come with you too if you just fucking ASKED! geez dirk...i know you pretend all your friends hate you now but GOD you are sooo STUPID!

"TEREZI: 1 TH1NK TH4T YOU PROJ3CT TOO MUCH ON TO ROS3
DIRK: Okay, diving right in. Picture me rolling up my sleeves.
TEREZI: 1 H4V3 N3V3R S33N YOU W3AR SL33VES
DIRK: And you never will."
1) You do project too much on Rose dirk. You also do so for Dave, don't think that Davkat was because u just wanted ur bro to get shaked up with a friend. I know you REALLY did it for some carmic justice between u and jake!
2) OK, score one for dirk. He beat her to the blind joke. I would call that tasteless but Terezi would have done it if he hadn't.

"TEREZI: YOU 3XP3CT H3R TO B3 B3TT3R TH4N YOU
TEREZI: YOU W4NT H3R TO PR3V3NT 4LL OF YOUR WORST T3ND3NC13S. TH3 W4Y 1 US3D TO W1TH VR1SK4 WH3N W3 W3R3 MO1R41LS
DIRK: Rose and I aren’t moirails. I know it might look similar from your perspective, but human familial bonds—"
Equius<> :nepball:Nepeta=Dirk<>Rose?? Hmmm....Vriska prevent Terzi's worst tendecies huh. Hmm...what are Terezi bad tendicies...over think stuff I guess. Also think the worst about herself...Vrisrezi real is what im saying.

"TEREZI: 1 DONT UND3RST4ND WHY 4NYBODY DO3S 1T
TEREZI: WHY WOULD YOU W4NT TO B3 STUCK W1TH SOM3ON3 JUST B3C4US3 TH3Y COM3 FROM TH3 S4M3 SLURRY TH4T YOU DO
DIRK: I don’t know."
Dirk: I am the logical one.
Dirk: ...Unless it's family...
Dirk: Shit. I'm not an emotionless robot. FUCK!

"TEREZI: 4ND 1 H4VE SP3NT W4Y MOR3 T1M3 W1TH TH3 TWO OF YOU TH4N 4LMOST 4NYON3 ELSE, WH1CH 1S 1NCR3D1BLY D3PR3SS1NG TO TH1NK 4BOUT"
wow, that is depressing.


"TEREZI: UGH NO M4TT3R WH4T, YOU 4LW4YS CHOOS3 TH3 MOST BOR1NG OPT1ON, D1RK STR1D3R"
Seriously, I really expected you to be more collective and have a plan dirk. I can't believe I keep getting tricked into thinking that you are atually smart.

"TEREZI: NO, 1M S4Y1NG TH4T 1 TH1NK YOU 4R3 4 COW4RD"
Preach.


"TEREZI: L1K3 4 CR33PY W31RDO"
Terezi: Y34H MR V4N1LL4 M1LKSH4K3S 1M T4LK1NG 4BOUT YOU

"DIRK: The two of you have sure been spending enough time with each other.
TEREZI: H3H3H3H3H"
Fuck yeah.

DIRK: Unless you think I’m still projecting my "image" of what I think Rose "should" do, and she actually won’t give a shit.

"DIRK: We’re gonna have to, I’m thinkin’. I’m not sure how Rose is going to react to scrapping all of her precious little boys and girls, though.
DIRK: Unless you think I’m still projecting my "image" of what I think Rose "should" do, and she actually won’t give a shit.
TEREZI: NO, 1 TH1NK SH3 W1LL B3 CONFL1CT3D
TEREZI: UNL3SS YOU M1ND-CONTROL H3R NOT TO B3
DIRK: Not mind control.
TEREZI: WH4T3VER!"
Yeah Dirk. I'm SUUUUUuuuuurrrrreeee that Rose will not have any issues with any "scapping" any boys and girls that she created. You know, like sons and daughters to her. Very similar to the situation that she grew up in with having a mother that she didn't understand. I'm sure that won't matter at all NOOOOoooooooooooo~/s

This has lead me to the conclusion that Dirk Strider is not an evil mastermind at all. He is just a fucking idiot!

[Mandy]

Yeah Dirk. I'm SUUUUUuuuuurrrrreeee that Rose will not have any issues with any "scapping" any boys and girls that she created. You know, like sons and daughters to her. Very similar to the situation that she grew up in with having a mother that she didn't understand. I'm sure that won't matter at all NOOOOoooooooooooo~/s

I could see this, if any of their creations are intelligent. But I don't think we've seen any sign of that. If this update's anything to go by, so far all they've done is fuck with the local ecosystem by introducing various nightmares into the food chain, presumably to get a feel for the equipment? I'm not sure some mutant squiddle creatures would be like kids to her.

But yeah, Dirk is not good at this. Looking back, I'm wondering if it's because there's no real pressing issue here. Dirk seems pretty good at manipulating people into taking the last option left to them in a crisis, and setting it up so that last option is exactly what he wants it to be. Maybe not so good at handling a more open-ended and less immediate situation.

[SteperOfTheLongEarth]

Yeah Dirk. I'm SUUUUUuuuuurrrrreeee that Rose will not have any issues with any "scapping" any boys and girls that she created. You know, like sons and daughters to her. Very similar to the situation that she grew up in with having a mother that she didn't understand. I'm sure that won't matter at all NOOOOoooooooooooo~/s

I could see this, if any of their creations are intelligent. But I don't think we've seen any sign of that. If this update's anything to go by, so far all they've done is fuck with the local ecosystem by introducing various nightmares into the food chain, presumably to get a feel for the equipment? I'm not sure some mutant squiddle creatures would be like kids to her.

But yeah, Dirk is not good at this. Looking back, I'm wondering if it's because there's no real pressing issue here. Dirk seems pretty good at manipulating people into taking the last option left to them in a crisis, and setting it up so that last option is exactly what he wants it to be. Maybe not so good at handling a more open-ended and less immediate situation.

I don't think it has anything to do with intelligence. Rose LOVES weird creatures/being a mad scientist like this stuff. Hell, bringing her dead cat back to life was her original motivation for even STARTING sburb in the first place. I think she will be a bit more protective of her experiments than dirk is.

As for the food chain...is there one? I get the feeling there isn't many creators apart from the trees and those are plant like. I guess that would mess stuff up tho so nvm. Yeah, that would fuck with stuff.

Dirk is supposed to be the pressing issue. He's trying to take on the role of the bad guy and try to drive conflict to keep the story going. But, he's kinda being weak sauce at it? Sure he did kidnap Rose, forced Terezi to come with them, and did SOMETHING to June (either reducing her relevance or...) And you are totally right, he can manipulate people with ease when there is high stress and emotions running wild. But for a long con like this he's no Scratch.

I remember him saying once about being able to go from Point A to Point Z without worrying what happens in between. The problem with that kind of mindset is that he can't DO that with what he is trying to do here. He needs for Rose (and Terezi?) to play a very specific function and that is a multi-step very involved processes. And as with his relationship with Jake showed, he can do a grand scheme that requires lots of action in a short amount of time no sweat. Anything that takes time and talking about feelings, or LONG TERM strategy combined with short term he is terrible at.

I'm thinking about how much the Alpha's were falling apart under Jane's leadership with Dirk trying to be the "shadow leader." While it was really Roxy that kept them floating. That's another reason why he picked up two seers, trying to get to "see" a way forward while mostly flying blind.

[thorondraco]

Yeah Dirk. I'm SUUUUUuuuuurrrrreeee that Rose will not have any issues with any "scapping" any boys and girls that she created. You know, like sons and daughters to her. Very similar to the situation that she grew up in with having a mother that she didn't understand. I'm sure that won't matter at all NOOOOoooooooooooo~/s

I could see this, if any of their creations are intelligent. But I don't think we've seen any sign of that. If this update's anything to go by, so far all they've done is fuck with the local ecosystem by introducing various nightmares into the food chain, presumably to get a feel for the equipment? I'm not sure some mutant squiddle creatures would be like kids to her.

But yeah, Dirk is not good at this. Looking back, I'm wondering if it's because there's no real pressing issue here. Dirk seems pretty good at manipulating people into taking the last option left to them in a crisis, and setting it up so that last option is exactly what he wants it to be. Maybe not so good at handling a more open-ended and less immediate situation.

I don't think it has anything to do with intelligence. Rose LOVES weird creatures/being a mad scientist like this stuff. Hell, bringing her dead cat back to life was her original motivation for even STARTING sburb in the first place. I think she will be a bit more protective of her experiments than dirk is.

As for the food chain...is there one? I get the feeling there isn't many creators apart from the trees and those are plant like. I guess that would mess stuff up tho so nvm. Yeah, that would fuck with stuff.

Dirk is supposed to be the pressing issue. He's trying to take on the role of the bad guy and try to drive conflict to keep the story going. But, he's kinda being weak sauce at it? Sure he did kidnap Rose, forced Terezi to come with them, and did SOMETHING to June (either reducing her relevance or...) And you are totally right, he can manipulate people with ease when there is high stress and emotions running wild. But for a long con like this he's no Scratch.

I remember him saying once about being able to go from Point A to Point Z without worrying what happens in between. The problem with that kind of mindset is that he can't DO that with what he is trying to do here. He needs for Rose (and Terezi?) to play a very specific function and that is a multi-step very involved processes. And as with his relationship with Jake showed, he can do a grand scheme that requires lots of action in a short amount of time no sweat. Anything that takes time and talking about feelings, or LONG TERM strategy combined with short term he is terrible at.

I'm thinking about how much the Alpha's were falling apart under Jane's leadership with Dirk trying to be the "shadow leader." While it was really Roxy that kept them floating. That's another reason why he picked up two seers, trying to get to "see" a way forward while mostly flying blind.

He flounders more when things aren't happening in a bullet point fashion. but i would say he is more than capable of doing a long con now, cause he has the power to change the outcomes if he so chose to.
He flounders before because being controlling was much harder when you can't puppet people. Now he can, he can control the outcomes. The problem here is that he is choosing to not puppet rose about and let her work freely. He wants this to be a TRUE competition. He is letting her make the choices now and they have a LOT of time. But he is more than capable of fucking with her head if it comes down to it and Will do so without hesitation.

In a sense right now he is trying to restrain his own bad impulses for rose's sake because he doesn't want all of this to be built upon his own ego and instabilities. We have seen the depths of cruelty he is capable of, and right now he is trying his best to remain chill and not resort to such things. They are supposed to be his compatriots, not his slaves. Doesn't mean he won't resort to it if need be.

[Generalrabogolfo]

i just liked when Terezi is interrupted twice by dirk when shes about to mention someone (john) to change the subject. is dirk trying to not think about something (its john)



(its fucking john)

[luigi]

June

John*

[thorondraco]

i just liked when Terezi is interrupted twice by dirk when shes about to mention someone (john) to change the subject. is dirk trying to not think about something (its john)



(its fucking john)

what exact quotes. i think i am overlooking them.

[SteperOfTheLongEarth]

i just liked when Terezi is interrupted twice by dirk when shes about to mention someone (john) to change the subject. is dirk trying to not think about something (its john)



(its fucking john)

what exact quotes. i think i am overlooking them.

ROSE: I suppose that is a fair assessment. Although we were not our own creators. It was John who—

DIRK: I hate to break up the recap episode,...

That was the one I noticed. I would like to know the other one.

TEREZI: L3TS ST4RT W1TH—

Maybe this one??

[thorondraco]

i just liked when Terezi is interrupted twice by dirk when shes about to mention someone (john) to change the subject. is dirk trying to not think about something (its john)



(its fucking john)

what exact quotes. i think i am overlooking them.

ROSE: I suppose that is a fair assessment. Although we were not our own creators. It was John who—

DIRK: I hate to break up the recap episode,...

That was the one I noticed. I would like to know the other one.

TEREZI: L3TS ST4RT W1TH—

Maybe this one??

Ooooh missed those. Yea he definitely is.

Either he is trying to prevent or delay john or he feels that its not gonna work? Or knows?