does the idea that the machinations of orange fingers only distract from Jake’s actions in the background contradict the possibility that Dirk has been controlling Caliborn all along (which you may know from these drawings that have been going around again recently)?

or does it merely warrant a re-examination of the Equius/Vriska dynamic… despite Equius’ higher status, Hussie “suggests there isn’t that big a divide” between the blue castes, to the point that they “probably cluster together somewhat in a kind of snobby symbiosis” (Book 4, p. 192), hinting that the relationship between the two should be interpreted more bilaterally than Equius just being the robot puppetmaster behind the scenes… perhaps that means Equius’ supposed immunity to Vriska’s manipulations is out - or maybe the trick is just that Vriska finds non-psychic ways to mess him around (commentary from the same book, p. 188: “Another funny thing about [Vriska supposedly building a doomsday device for Eridan] is the fact that getting help from one of her "pals nearby” (Equius) probably just means she made him do almost all of the work and is taking full credit for it").

more obviously, though, a re-examination of the Dirk introduction in question might be to our advantage. that Dirk “possess[es] the extreme dexterity to operate your FALSE FRIENDS UNSEEN” merely means, on the surface, that he’s so fast he can move his puppets without being seen: but the choice of capitalisation makes “FALSE FRIENDS UNSEEN” emerge as if it’s a noun of its own - Dirk possesses the capability to manipulate characters we don’t even see, which describes the marauding older Jake perfectly.

so I suppose it’s less that Jake uses Hussie’s meta bullshit as a cover like I thought at first, and more that the two are collaborating? (or both using each other as cover, if the Vriska/Equius example is indicative.) which makes perfect sense on a purely practical level; Hussie needed Noir’s 4th wall to perform his “science experiment”, so it’s only logical that he would have employed Jake’s help to steal it in the first place