— CO1N SW4P: Vriska survives the Flip. —
Thanks to this update, I’m pretty sure I’ve figured out not just what Terezi’s trying to correct (Vriska’s death), but just as importantly, HOW she’s going to have John fix it.
What does “you don’t need him.“ mean? Karkat, Gamzee, Dave? NAH.
The message is talking about Pyralspite, the scalemate Terezi modeled after her unhatched lusus.
A little while ago, an anon suggested that John might have Terezi take the “witness” plush to the confrontation with Vriska in Pyralspite’s place. I thought they were crazy; why would Terezi leave Pyralspite behind?! But now we know. She was given a hint to do so. (And yes, Pyralspite is a ‘he’.)
All John has to do is jump into the scene where Terezi was preparing to confront Vriska, sneak in one more hint so she knows the “him” from the earlier message is Pyralspite, and leave the witness plush somewhere she’ll notice it on the way up. Terezi names all of her scalemates; she’ll definitely remember that this is the same witness who disappeared earlier, and would take it due to its significance.
That witness plush will be prepared by John beforehand to be carrying SOMETHING that will help her save Vriska, keep her from leaving without killing her. Like a message… or even better, a helpful item.
Specifically, a SCRATCHLESS two-headed coin!
Her earlier quote, “W3 M4K3 OUR OWN LUCK”, was a hint all along. It deliberately references a quote Harvey Dent (eventually Two-Face, who was referenced regarding this coin before) said multiple times in The Dark Knight: ”I make my own luck”, a quote he associates with the two-headed coin he wins important wagers with by betting on Heads.
If Terezi replaces the coin right before she flips it — and she only showed Vriska the good side of it before she agreed — the coin will land on STAY regardless of the small amount of luck Vriska stole, and Vriska’s death will be retconned away! Instead of two undesirable binary choices, thanks to John, she’ll have found a third option.
Sure, by messing with the coin flip, we’d be messing with an unequivocal statement Doc Scratch made. But even though retconning Vriska’s death would eliminate Gamzee <3< Terezi, keep Terezi from healing the blinding Vriska gave her, and all sorts of other things… a retcon this severe was never going to be without consequences, moreso than even John and Roxy and their friends might suffer. John worried explicitly before that a living Vriska would be “dangerous”. And before the end of the story, Vriska is going to prove exactly why that fear is justified.