Eridan Meta

4

On to the fourth pesterlog at last.

Immediately after being turned down by Feferi, Eridan tries to talk to Karkat and appears to conduct himself decently by realizing he's been an asshole.

CA: gam i need to talk to kar wwhere is he he isnt answwerin

He seems to either know Karkat and Gamzee are hanging out together or that they're close enough friends it's likely. Between this and the comments about how much time he spends gossiping with Karkat, he seems quite aware of his friends and their feelings and relationships.

TC: He's bUsY BeInG SlApPeD MoThErFuCkIn sEnSeLeSs bY ThE GuY WhO LiKeS KnIvEs
TC: BuT I CaN ReLaY WhAt mEsSaGe yOu gOt, My bRoThEr
CA: i dont feel comfortable wwith that
CA: i havve some serious feelins and problems here and i need some advvice

Sadly, the comic still hasn't quite pinned down what moirallegiance involves. We know it definitely involves keeping people out of trouble and seems to be connected to talking about feelings, but the latter could also be an outgrowth of the fact moirails are generally close. Feferi complains he gossips with Karkat rather than her, making it something moirails do together, but doesn't act like he's cheating on her, so it's not an actual component of the moirallegiance.

Still, problems and advice really seem the province of moirallegiance, so this seems a surprisingly pale move by Eridan. But then, he's already shown he seems to like to complain about things without taking advice, so it could just be a demand for attention.

Given Karkat is the troll romance expert of the group, the most likely option is in the middle - Eridan is going to him with his problem because he thinks Karkat will give him the solution he wants, rather than advice relating to his own behavior the way a moirail presumably would. Failing that, Karkat can at least be relied on to pay attention to things if they're romance-related, as shown by his lecture of Vriska.

TC: HaHa, YeAh i fEeL YoU, hE'S PrEtTy wOrKeD Up tOo
CA: wwhy
TC: BeCaUsE OuR GoOd bRo sOlLuX JuSt kIcKeD ThE WiCkEd mOtHeRfUcKiN ShIt
CA: wwhat the fuck do you mean by that
CA: are you sayin hes dead
TC: YeAh :o(
CA: oh fuck
CA: oh god fuck noww i feel like an asshole

Things like this really lure you into a false sense of security with Eridan. Like anyone halfway decent, realizing what's happened to Sollux stopped him on a dime.

But...

TC: YeAh i'd sAy tHaT An aSsHoLe iS ThE ThInG ThAt jUsT AbOuT WhAt eVeRyBoDy fEeLs lIkE
TC: KaRkAt bLaMeS HiMsElF On iT, pOoR MoThErFuCkEr
TC: BuT I ToLd hIm tO Be cHiLl
TC: BeCaUsE ThErE Is a mIrAcLe cOmInG, i cAn fEeL It
CA: that is the wworst fuckin advvice
CA: wwhat an awwful thing a you to say
CA: MAGIC ISNT REAL STUPID STOP BELIEVVIN IN IT
TC: i'Ve gOt tO BeLiEvE At wHaT My hEaRt tElLs iN Me, EvEn iF It's a fAkE ThInG
TC: HoNk
CA: this is a lot a pointless fuckin rubbish and isnt no emotional help to him or me either for that matter
CA: put kar on

...realizing doesn't actually make him stop trying to talk to Karkat about his problems for more than a moment. Even listening to Gamzee talk about Karkat, who's upset because his friend is dead, half his complaint at the advice is that it's not useful to him personally. Rather like his first conversation with Kanaya, his ability to recognize the feelings of others doesn't seem to make him behave any differently. In that light, his realization seems like it's really more of him being a scarfed dramallama. While one could read the final line as Eridan wanting to help out Karkat because he thinks Gamzee's advice is useless, that's disproven by the next few lines:

TC: UuUuH, i cAn't rEaLlY ThInK AbOuT InTeRvEnInG, tHe bLaCk fRoWnInG MoThErFuCkEr kInDa sCaReS Me
TC: ArE YoU SuRe i cAn't hElP A bRoThEr Up iNtO HiS MoThErFuCkIn cHiLl?
CA: i dont knoww

So he had no interest in trying to be there for Karkat. Eridan was complaining to Gamzee that Gamzee's attempt to comfort their mutual friend about the death of another friend is not making him feel better about his own romantic issues so he'd prefer to bug the person currently sobbing because he thinks he got his friend killed.

CA: it probably doesnt matter
CA: my feelins seem petty and meaninless noww
CA: she had better things to wworry about than my ovverwwrought bullshit
CA: like the dead guy wwho savved her
CA: so forget it thanks anywway

He does appear to finally settle understanding there's bigger things afoot. That said, while this looks reasonable enough it's very similar in pattern to his conversation with Kanaya - he's only accepting of a decision once he's exhausted all attempts to convince the other person. Gamzee clearly isn't going to put Karkat on and Eridan has no interest in talking to Gamzee himself, so it's time to give up.

Perhaps also it's dawning on him that there's really no useful help he could get (Karkat's romcom knowledge probably can't do much to patch things up after you insult the person who died saving your crush's life) and that Karkat probably wouldn't be sympathetic or willing to help either.

TC: BrO My aDvIcE Is yOu jUsT KiCk bAcK AnD MoThErFuCkIn sNaP InTo sOmE RuDe eLiXiR AnD MaYbE GeT YoUr wIcKeD ZoNe oN
TC: ThErE I SaId mY PeAcE
CA: wwhat the FUCK are you fuckin babblin about
TC: SnAtCh aN IcEcOlD, dOg
TC: MoThErFuCkIn cHuG ThAt sHiT LiKe yOu aNd tHe bOtTlE WaS ReUnItEd lOvErS
CA: are you recommendin a bevverage to me or somethin
CA: is that wwhat this is
TC: YeAh mAn SlAm A FaYgO
CA: i dont havve a fuckin faygo you stupid fuck wwhy wwould i keep that disgusting shit on hand
TC: ArE YoU MoThErFuCkIn sUrE AbOuT ThAt?
CA: oh
CA: oh god youre right i do
CA: i totally forgot about it
TC: YoU SeE MaN
TC: MoThEr
TC: FuCkIn
TC: MiRaClEs
TC: :o)

Then Gamzee rambles about the joys of Faygo.

Eridan actually tries it, suggesting that he's unusually desperate and willing to try anything, that he's just very easily talked into things, or that trying Faygo isn't actually a big deal to him. It's a mystery that can only be answered with epic-length fanfiction.