So there was foreshadowing that Gamzee was in lil Cal but was it about Arquiussprite being there too? was lil Cal always a dear friend to Dirk because a part of him was in there? what do you think?

Arquius had been hinted at by Doc Scratch. Doc Scratch was made from Lil Cal (so part of arquius). The Doc and Lil Hal speak very similarly and are both hyperintelligent. Also on page 005527 (sorry I’m on mobile and can’t link) Doc Scratch tells Rose to think of him as her human uncle and he participates in Equius’s signature “yes, no, yes, no” thing.

There is a more drawn out theory written by Bladekindeyewear a few years ago on the same topic that I would highly recommend checking out.

As for Dirk, he arrived with Cal, they’ve literally always been together. That was the only relationship he had until he met the other kids. You’d come to value a puppet as a friend too if that was the only type of interaction you had for years.