How come Vriska and Aranea can "Lucky Br8" the Judgement Clock?
The Judgement Clock has always been something very… Debatable. Whether it’s the physical thing that decides Just/Heroic or if it’s just a representation, whether Vriska and Jade’s outcomes were manipulated at all or not…
In my personal opinion? A “Lucky 8r8k” with the Judgement Clock is just. That. The issue with Jade’s Death is the Greyness of the situation, she’s possessed, corrupted, evil, if we go by the things she’s doing and saying, she’s Evil and deserves a Just Death- But if we look at the fact she’s being mind controlled, then things get fuzzy, because she doesn’t deserve to die, actually! BUT if allowed to continue, a being could corrupt a God Tier, and have a potentially immortal weapon that cannot die because their Death would never be Just or Heroic. In a case like this, the God Tier Judgement doesn’t know exactly what to do. Did it decide that Jade deserved to die in the end and Aranea was like “How lucky of me! :::;)”, or did she actively sway the Judgement, making the Judgement decide that, hey, yeah she can’t be allowed to continue?
Ask any number of people, and they will give you different answers to this question, whether Jade deserved to Die or Not, whether Vriska’s Death was truly Just or Not. This kind of ambiguity is what makes you, as a reader, think about what it TRULY means to die a ‘Just’ or a ‘Heroic’ Death. Just or Heroic… In whose eyes? How partial is Paradox Space to noble causes? What is truly Evil? What is truly Good? Aranea’s means are awful, but her objective is actually extremely noble and good for Paradox Space. In Aranea’s eyes, she’s the Heroine. In the Kids’ eyes, she’s a Villain. In Condy’s eyes, she’s a goddamn fucking nuisance. Paradox Space seems to suggest it leans towards inherent goodness- Respect for others’s agency and life, respect for people’s choice and well being. Fighting someone who disregards this and protecting others that need help makes you a Hero, disregarding others intentionally and knowingly makes you a Villain. And if you’re being corrupted? Well, you’re acting evil, so Paradox Space sure could be bribed…