AsherCrane wrote: ↑Sun May 09, 2021 9:57 am
No, no, I'm actually curious now, keep going.
now ya'll know who to blame for these oncoming walls of text.
Okay so meat's left mostly intact. Biggest change is bringing the war from candy over to meat. UltDirk's manipulation escalates conflicts between parties, going from tension to altercations to all out war. It fits ultdirk's plans as a form of distraction for his escape, and fits his preference for grittier, Meatier stories. Wouldn't take much (Dirk manipulation or not) for a peace talk or armistice to break down, further cementing the troll and human factions against each other. Neither side is a monolith, with trolls and humans fighting for and against their respective sides. The humans, led by Jade, have greater resources and technology whereas the trolls, led by Karkat, have greater tactics, flexible strategies, and are generally stronger individual fighters.
Karkat is finally in a position of leadership, and he's Good at it. He has a complete understanding of the soldiers he leads and uses their strengths and weaknesses to their greatest effect, turning a diverse group of ragtag tacticians, specialists, and warriors, into a powerful front. It's everything he dreamed of as a teen, and uses everything he learned over his adventure, and it's Horrible. He's finally actualizing what he felt he was always Meant For and it's miserable. He can't help but thrill at every victory and genuinely enjoy the people he works and fights alongside, and take pride in what he's accomplished, and he hates himself for it. He feels guilty for feeling good, seeing everything that it's cost, but unable to do anything but keep fighting. There's too much at stake, to many lives, to just give up or stop, just because it's making him Feel Bad.
Dave fights alongside Karkat, but his time powers are reduced to only working for combat, so he's helpless to do anything to change the key events which lead to war. His powers make him a dominating force on the battlefield, but that just makes him feel worse. He has all this power to fight and kill these soldiers who can't even get a scratch on him, and no power to save them. People who lived on the planet he worked so hard to create, he had worked so hard to give them happiness and now he was killing them like ants. UltDirk buried those concerns, instead having him focus on his combat abilities and techniques (Dirk thinks fighting is cool, and sees this influence as an extension of Bro/his training, to make Dave cool and badass). UD had also been pushing Dave and Karkat together throughout the story and while they did both wanted to be together, it felt wrong to pursue it with their growing responsibilities and the raising stakes of the conflict (ironically by trying to get them together, all dirk did was push them further apart). UltDirk leaves about halfway through, and devoid of his influence Dave is crushed by the weight of his positions, and just, drops off the map. He wanders from the battlefield, alone, to grapple with his trauma, eventually winding up in the Obama cave, and gets to turn into a robot, in case that was important for later.
Jade is similarly a major asset to Karkat's forces, and losing her to Cherub Possession is a major blow. Possessed Jade similarly battles with the prince (letting a few seconds of introspection for the characters he's been controlling) until he completes his plans and just Takes off for space. AltCalliope sees this as victory, with The Prince no longer interfering, the events of this planet can continue "naturally" ; she isn't particularly invested in Peace, just that whatever happens happens. Jade, on the other hand, has had to watch her friends be pit against each other, destroy everything they worked so hard to accomplish, knowing now who or what was responsible but being unable to do anything to help. Jade is Pissed. She Soul-Grabs AltC demanding she help fix this, and take UltDirk Down. AltC argues this would only make things worse; if Dirk isn't around, then his actions no longer matter to the story, they aren't relevant, they aren't True, hunting him down would make him Matter again, and give him power (Living well is the best revenge and all that). There was a problem but now it's gone. Jade figuratively rips her a new one. She criticizes AltC's hypocrisy, her willingness to interfere as it suits her mood yet belief that she's being "objective". Jade is emotional and furious but, to AltC's irritation, she's also Right.
Kanaya is preoccupied with tending to her ailing wife, trying desperately to find some sort of answer or cure to her mysterious fragility. She scours through books and resources of medicine and magic. Karkat asks for her help in the resistance, but she turns him away. She knows she's putting off something important, she knows that the mother grub, and trollkind could be at stake, but she can't bring herself to leave Rose's side (in no small part due to ult dirk's desire to keep rose ready for when he needs her, and keep kanaya out of the way).
Terezi returns to Earth on the brink of war, her friends turned against each other and acting like their worst selves. She runs into Roxy who's been struggling with everything going on herself. Immune to Dirk's snooping and manipulation, she's been trying to bridge the two factions, reconcile the differences, get So Close to an understanding, only to have it crumble beneath her (I like an extension of her powers being that we don't see the narrative from her point of view, so we'll have seen her in the periphery or interacting in all these other stories, but this is the first time she gets to actually express herself). It seems so obvious to her that there are peaceful solutions, that its what everyone really wants, but for some reason they keep refusing, doubling down, escalating. Terezi agrees that it's weird. When she's alone, however, UltDirk tries manipulating her into believing that it makes sense, that this conflict was inevitable, that they'll start killing each other for ideology, revenge, and survival, just like when they were on the meteor. That there's nothing for her here on this planet, nothing left of the friends she knew, no hope or future. Terezi mysteriously disappears from the story.
After grabbing Rose to put into a robot, Dirks' plans are complete. He aims to find a new planet to start a new story with a better writer (him) in charge. Even without his influence, EarthC remains at war. In his absence we characters open to more introspection, but in too deep to stop anything now. Until a series of unlikely events and decisions lead the key players to convene in the same location. Jane, Karkat, Jake, Roxy, anyone else I'm forgetting, all find themselves together away from the battlefield, and come upon a message left for them by Terezi. It reveals that after dirk had attempted to manipulate her she had realized what had been happening and took action. She set up the series of events which would lead them together in this place, instead of forcing people to do what she wanted, she led them with the decisions she believed they would make (Contrasting with UltDirk by having people do what he Thinks They Should by instead working with what she knows about them as individuals). The message explains everything she knew about Dirks' machinations and all the evidence she had to support it. She knew that she wouldn't be able to reach them while he was still around, so she had to leave this whole scenario behind for after he left (with Terezi herself stowing away on board!). Everyone there has plenty of reason to want to kill each other, but the realization of what's happened leaves them more collectively pissed at Dirk to bother with the war. Jade busts in like "HEY GUYS YOU'LL NEVER BELIEVE WHAT DIRK DID" and they're like no we just found out and she's like oh okay.
A hasty ceasefire is drafted, both factions using the desperately time to regroup and resupply. It's peace, but only in that it's an Absence of War. Tensions remain. The truth of the war, of UltDirk's interference and manipulation, is held a top secret. The heads of each side reconvene to discuss the terms of their treaties, but their real intention is how they plan to pursue UltDirk. They decide who stays (to preserve the balance of power and prevent their own faction from re-instigating combat) and who boards a ship in pursuit of Dirk (To personally punch his shitty anime glasses trough his skull), choosing among themselves and several of their most trusted (oc) operatives. They're able to follow his trail, but he does have a several month long head start, so wherever he's going, he'll have time to do whatever it is he's planning without interference for some time.
rocket takes of pshooo end of meat
(There's a bunch of holes and left over characters but this is just like, the big plot ideas that come to mind.)
(Also sorry it's sorted by character and not chronologically just, twist your brain into a pretzel until it fits ok)
MEANWHILE IN CANDY