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[cationicflood]

The Alphas as Noble Gases -- But Not How You Think

Those of you who remember being in the Homestuck fandom back in 2012 to 2013 will no doubt remember the old Tumblr post that went around claiming the four post-scratch kids were like the noble gases due to their supposed inability to form bonds with each other. All too often I’ve seen this ancient piece of fanon used to support the idea that the alpha kids are not as close a group of friends as the beta kids are, and that somehow this makes them less likeable or worth paying attention to as the Acts 1-5 faves the original Homestuck fans knew and loved.

However, I have a proposition for any still listening out here, one that could turn the concept of “alpha kids as noble gases” on its head. What if I told you that the initial premise was false, but the conclusion was true? Leaving aside the individual identifications of each kid with a particular gas, let us concern ourselves with the four as a group.

The year is 1894, and a pair of chemists, themselves of noble extraction (one a baron by birth, the other made a knight), isolated a previously unknown gas from the atmosphere, naming it “argon” for its peculiar laziness to do anything chemically worthwhile. Mendeleyev, the Master of All the Elements, the Mage of Space who set each element into row and column, finding argon to have no place anywhere in the periodic table, disputed the identification of argon as a new element, on the grounds that it bore resemblance to no element then known and thus could not sit in any family column on the table.

Then things got hairier. In 1895, helium -- a gas previously only detected indirectly on the Sun -- was isolated on earth by one of the same two chemists. Helium definitely bore the distinctive spectroscopic lines of a unique and new element, but like argon it was absurdly unreactive and it too could find no place on the table. One anomaly was bad enough for Mendeleyev’s system, but two?

Fast forward to 1898 and then things really started to get interesting. The same chemist who had a hand in isolating argon and helium discovered three more gases in the span of four months, by capturing the gases that boiled off from liquid air, one by one. The three were promptly given names -- krypton, neon, xenon -- and all three of these elements exhibited the same lack of reactivity that the previous two gases had been found to have. What looked like a single anomaly had now turned into an entire new family of five!

Faced with the overwhelming evidence in favor, Mendeleyev took the only logical course of action, and inserted an entire new column into the periodic table for the five new elements -- “Now we can see that helium, neon, argon, krypton, and xenon are as closely united as any other group.” Thus the noble gases received their entry into the table.

What does this mean for the alpha kids, then? Well for starters it blasts the fanon of them being a fairly unfriendly bunch right out of the water because if one looks closely, the alphas are more like noble gases because like what Mendeleyev found back in the day, they are horribly out of place anywhere except with each other.

Like trying to fit a noble gas into previously-existing groups on the table, any alpha kid cut off from the others is like a fish out of water. Witness for example just how out of his depth Jake was during and after the endgame-planning conference, with none of the other alpha kids to back him up. How Dirk took some time to warm up to Dave, alone with him on that LOTAK rooftop. Or, taken to its logical extreme, just take a look at the beta guardians -- the alternate grown-up versions of the alpha kids, nearly totally disconnected from each other, and absolutely fucking dysfunctional as a result.

Far from being incapable of bonding with each other, this I find is a more satisfying rationale for relating the alpha kids to the noble gases -- to say nothing of the fact that the idea that their friendship is tenuous-to-nonexistent is a gigantic steaming pile of horseshit that should never have been considered in the first place. From sending each other presents to trying to give relationship advice, keeping secrets and getting into trouble with each other, heck even going as far in one case as taking a sword through the heart for them, how dare anyone say they cannot form bonds!

TLDR the alpha kids deserve to have the strength of their mutual friendships celebrated and upheld rather than being denigrated for a supposed inability to bond that just doesn’t hold up to scrutiny

[cationicflood]

Steven Universe, I Swear The Homestuck Is Strong This Episode.

I know, I know, those of us with a foot in both fandoms are flipping out over Nephrite's facet number being 413. But I assure you, the Homestuck goes deeper still, as it often does.

Firstly. Nephrite is in fact a form of Jade, as attested to by the green coloration of her gem. (Unsure whether the color is a close match to Jade Harley or more Sburb Beta logo green.) But more importantly, have you fucking seen White Diamond? The towering height, the radiant aura, the unsettling otherworldliness -- she'd make for perfect Denizen material I swear. The spiky hair, the monochrome color palette, the cape of white stars on black field -- Space, Space, and more Space aspect aesthetic.

If Echidna ever had a humanoid form, it would be her. The fact that corrupted gems seem to be her creation even lends her the Mother of Monsters epithet that Echidna bore in canon.

[cationicflood]

I should’ve changed my icon last 28 May. Luckily nobody has yet found the pattern in the changes, so I’ll let it slide.

[cationicflood]

The Cationic Manifesto: What is the Point of this Blog?

Forgive the awkward wording of this post. It gets hard to put my thoughts into words sometimes and I need to get this off my chest.

I made this blog a month and twelve days ago, in the closing hours of 4/13 -- the ninth anniversary of the beginning of Homestuck, the second anniversary of its end. If I’ll be honest, I was never into any work of media quite like I was into Homestuck -- it was the first and so far the only work that’s grown onto me this deeply. It is to me one of those things I take immense pleasure in beholding and fondly regarding, a great Infinity Engine of interwoven threads of plot and interlocking character arcs, mounted upon this glorious framework of worldbuilding, stacked layer upon layer in this grand array: seven Acts, four Parts, two Sides, one story, and I wish I could meet many others who shared the same sentiments.

And yet I look around and what I see makes my heart ache. The Homestuck fandom, as it stands now, is a house divided among itself, side against side, opinion against opinion, stan against anti if I can dare to use these words. And we are so small now! We are a fraction of the size we once were at our greatest, when we accidentally broke the Internet, when we made our presence known loud and proud. Now? Many have left and will deny they were ever among us. Of those who remain, many belittle Homestuck either out of cynicism or out of habit.

I will not mince words about it. There is, as far as I am aware, a lingering sense of negativity where Homestuck is concerned, a sea of “anions” if I will be so bold as to borrow the term for negatively charged atoms/molecules in chemistry. And quite frankly it breaks my heart -- not that people dislike Homestuck (which really is inevitable, it’s not for everyone), but that those who do like it (or claim it at least) are inordinately prone to acting like they don’t.

Is it overt? Not necessarily, except perhaps in certain corners. Among folks who speak of Hussie being a hack, a bad writer, a problematic person, a sellout to VIZ Media. Among posts complaining about this arc or that character, or objecting to this or that ship. Among those who can find nothing better to say about Hiveswap than belittling every development in its development, protesting the idea of LPers making Youtube videos of it, and even going so far as to pirate the game out of spite to its creators.

Is it covert? Oh definitely. Self-deprecation has been part and parcel of this community since I first found may way to Homestuck almost six years ago. I am definitely a minority when it comes to this opinion but honestly? The endless stream of “Homestuck is trash”, “this ride will never end”, and similar negativist memes and jokes never really sat well with me. Why do we belittle what we claim to like, and by extension belittle ourselves for liking it?

Can we not see it? Since perhaps the Gigapause, or even earlier, we have been falling apart, devouring ourselves in neverending criticism, this verbal hatred of Homestuck, and now of Hiveswap as well. It'd grown louder, louder with the passage of time, people falling away and migrating to other fandoms out of disgust for what they once loved, and then Act 7 came. And the fandom shattered almost irretrievably.

I weep for it. It hurts because now we who remain are few in number, and many of this remnant seem to want nothing more to do with Homestuck, to let it shrivel up and die. How many of us who remain will give it a second chance? How many are willing to give Hiveswap a chance again and again each time its development is held back? It hurts. It hurts and I wish somebody, anybody, would understand.

But I will have none of it, I refuse to plunge into this great sea of anions. I stand with @revolutionaryduelist, with @wakraya, with @ilikehomestuckproject, and any and all who still see any good in Homestuck, in Hiveswap. Any of the old-timers who can look with fondness on it, warts and all, even after all this time. Any and all who were late in arriving, and found something beautiful in this great webcomic even after the end. Here I stand, and I can do no other.

So this blog is christened cationicflood, a much condensed version of my mission statement. Positive ions, to counterbalance the negative. So long as this blog remains active, I will continue to post what I love, be it infrequently or regularly. I will pour out what I love about Homestuck, sometimes why I love it. I will theorize, analyse, even if it reaches a little. Especially in the face of those who say Homestuck is meaningless, that it was just one great big shitpost. Even if I alone should pour cations into the sea, if it inspires even just one person to reconsider, to give it another chance, to fall in love with Homestuck and Hiveswap all over again? It would be enough.

Some points to ponder:

http://wakraya.tumblr.com/post/165614867965/jacksepticeye-plays-hiveswap-and-praises-its-art

http://wakraya.tumblr.com/post/172553352310/why-do-we-even-want-a-corporate-push-to-force

[cationicflood]

Have I mentioned how much I love these essays? OD is one of the reasons I was inspired to make this blog (more on that in my to-be-released manifesto) and I just, gah.

Davekat is wonderful, Karkat was not actually shafted, this essay is a glorious and inspiring read and I implore all of you to read it. Please. If it inspires even one person to be less cynical about Homestuck, about Davekat, that would be enough.

==>OD: Engage Davekat Meta

CG: ABOUT GODDAMN BLOODY TIME, ISN’T IT? TG: bro we’re like fuckin inscrutable by design, cut the dude some slack

Really excited to share this with you guys, I think it’s likely my best writing yet. Here we cover Dave and Karkat’s arcs, incorporating themes and beats from Hephaestus, Abraxas, Final Fantasy’s Cloud and Tidus, Naruto’s Sakura, Tsunderes in general, and the most important concept of all: Nakama.

Lemme know what you think! But also, I have a favor to ask.

Keep reading

[cationicflood]

Num83r5 1n H0m357uck: Wh47′5 7h3 81g D34l? (Part 1)

First off, if you can read the title of this post without too much difficulty, I take my metaphorical hat off to you. Now then, to business.

Numbers are as much a part of Homestuck as SBAHJ memes, repeated callbacks, and weird plot or time shenanigans. The four arc numbers of Homestuck -- 413, 612, 1025, and 111 (or any repeating string of 1s) -- show up again and again and again in the narrative, oftentimes for no apparent reason. Now of course we all know the reason for the existence of these arc numbers is to represent important dates in the comic’s history (the beginning of Homestuck, the beginning of Hivebent, the date of Cascade, and the beginning of Act 6), but I won’t be talking about these formidable digits today. In this series of essays I will discuss smaller matters, the smaller numbers sprinkled throughout the comic, and the meanings that might be lurking behind (or read into) them.

Special mention of course is given to Mituna, whose typing quirk is so overloaded with numbers (many of which are already associated with other characters) it seems to be a representation of his damaged state post-accident, the notorious difficulty in reading the garbled text (even when not misspelled) signifying that this is a troll whose speech is difficult to parse. It’s not too hard to believe that the Helmsman may have spoken, if he could speak, in like manner during his service aboard the Battleship Condescension, right up to the moment of the Vast Glub.

10

Let us begin, not with 0 (which shall come after this), but with 10. This is a number that doesn’t really have any meaning when we look at the text of the comic, but has numerous meanings that can be read into it. This is how two is written in binary (beenary as Sollux would call it) and thus unofficially the symbolic representation of computer code, but reading it as decimal ten will also give us new associated meanings for its component digits:

Notice how the Time symbol is a gear with 10 teeth? Aside from it looking very clean without being too cluttered (which 12 would have been) or too simple (which 8 would have been), 10 can be associated with Time’s dual nature: the 1 signifying linearity -- time marching onwards to the end -- and the 0 signifying cyclicality -- the way things keep happening, the stable time loops we see so many of in Homestuck.

0Zero by its very nature represents the aspect of Void, as it is the digit that represents the concept of nothingness, a placeholder to stand wherever no numerical value can be found. There is one canonical piece of evidence to support this association, in Aradia’s introduction page, where her typing quirk is described as a “pr0n0unced h0ll0wness t0 [her] w0rds”. As mentioned before, zero can also represent cyclical time, which is oddly appropriate for Aradia in manners I’m not quite sure of just yet.

(If you really want to unnerve yourself and overthink these things, feel free to picture Equius’ 100 quirk as juxtaposing Aradia (Time -- 10) and himself (Void -- 0). You’re welcome.)

1

If zero signifies the concept of nothing, one represents the concept of something. Every cardinal number that follows has its origins in 1, associating it strongly with God in the Abrahamic tradition and with the Monad in the Gnostic traditions. One is the Nitrams’ number, coming in between Aradia’s 0 and Sollux’s 2, and the noticeable lack of a 1 in Tavros’ typing quirk seems to hint at his lack of self-value and confidence, in contrast to its presence in the quirk of the more self-confident Rufioh Nitram.

As one of the digits in 10 and for reasons which will be brought up in a later essay, 1 can also represent linear time, and as the identity element of multiplication (any number multiplied by 1 remains the same), 1 may also represent Heart, the Aspect of a person’s soul and identity. One thus is also the number unofficially associated with the Striders, whether Dave (1 as Time, and as Godhead), Dirk (1 as Heart), or even Davepetasprite^2 (both). Feel free to make “we are number one” jokes at your discretion.

Next part: 2, 3, and 4

[cationicflood]

Apparently I have just now learned that the background music used for the Skylla route of Hiveswap Friendsim Volume 3 is Dapper Dueling, also known as one of Jake English’s themes previously.

Now I am imagining that Jake and Skylla would get along pretty well. I smell potential for fic and art material right here, here is a dynamic that might be worth exploring further in the boundless expanses of fanwork!

[cationicflood]

I am also going to reblog this art because nobody said I was forbidden from doing so. This art rocks my socks!!

What kind of king doesn’t have a fancy party Look™ for when he’s reasoning with rival kingdoms (and secretly wishing for their destruction)? I’m so fucking mad, though, ‘cause I drew him in the exact same pose in his other outfit post…

• Patreon • Shop • Ko-fi • Art Tag •

[cationicflood]

Have I ever mentioned that I am a sucker for medieval AUs as well as great art? I implore ye all to commission this fellow at the first opportunity!

Busy, busy, busy with fantasystuck kingdoms and grand Champion Kings that basically fist fought their big brothers at eighteen in order to take the throne.

• Patreon • Shop • Ko-fi • Art Tag •

[cationicflood]

After that surprising digression into Steven Universe territory, we now return to our regular Homestuck-ing.

Mostly I’m sad that the SU theorypost I wrote has the most notes of any original post I created. Perhaps this is testament to how far into obscurity Homestuck has fallen, and granted there was a recent Stevenbomb so there was more hype than usual, but still. I am saddened. Then again I really haven’t done much Homestuck blogging so that’s all on me -- time to get down to business!

May we Homestucks yet rise anew like a phoenix from our ashes.

[cationicflood]

White Diamond may be doomed and so might the other Diamonds.

Fortunately for all you Steven Universe watchers out there, I intend to give no spoilers away concerning any of the Diamonds, so kindly reserve your outrage for other things.

So far, from what I am aware, there has not been a single speaking appearance or even a full appearance (silhouettes and flashbacks do not count) of White Diamond, which after five seasons of SU is probably a great big honking anomaly. For comparison, ATLA revealed Fire Lord Ozai’s face by its third season, and Homestuck revealed the full appearance of Lord English about a year or so after his first mention in-comic. So what gives?

While I do not pretend to claim truth to my guesses, I do enjoy making harebrained hypotheses so please bear with me on this one.

What if White Diamond is dying?

Now I know all of you are going to object with great strenuousness that Gems are ageless and therefore cannot die of natural causes. However, if we assume that their actual gemstones are indeed composed of precisely the same substances which they are made of in reality, then those of you who have some knowledge of chemistry will know that the one gemstone that rules over all does in fact have a shelf life.

Diamonds are pure carbon, composed entirely of carbon atoms arranged in a colossal repeating array such that each atom is bound to four others, creating a network of unparalleled rigidity. It is this that makes diamond the hardest of all natural gemstones, and it is also a structure that does not stand the test of time.

It turns out, in geological timespans lasting millions of years, diamond slowly reverts to a much more familiar form of carbon, one in which the atoms are arranged in stacked sheets of connected hexagons -- graphite. The technical term for such an occurrence is a “phase transition”, as one crystal structure slowly transmutes itself into another. Since the reaction is favored by thermodynamics (graphite is more stable) but disfavored by kinetics (the rate of transition is agonizingly slow), diamond is said to be a metastable allotrope of carbon: stable in the short term, but not in the long run.

Now, ponder this. White Diamond’s gemstone is on her forehead, and therefore not easily concealed -- any changes in it would show quite plain as day. The Diamond Authority is revered as “flawless” by the Homeworld Gems. If White Diamond, arguably the most flawless of the four if such a comparison can even be attempted, is ancient enough to be suffering from phase transition, wouldn’t the other Diamonds conspire to keep this fact, and therefore her, hidden from the general public?

[cationicflood]

A reblog for the night crew -- day crew? Augh, time in the Philippines is flipped turn-ways from time in America, this is a bother to me.

Some Thoughts on Homestuck as Gnosticism

(Inspiration due to @revolutionaryduelist ‘s posts on Gnosticism in Homestuck. Give his stuff – especially this – a read I promise it’s got some good takes! The content of this post is basically summed up from a discussion I had on Discord.)

Let me take you back in time. Centuries back, even, to the earliest days of Christianity. What in the sam hill has this got to do with Homestuck? Stick around and you might find out the origin of a term cherished and despised by every fandom in existence.

Keep reading

[cationicflood]

Some Thoughts on Homestuck as Gnosticism

(Inspiration due to @revolutionaryduelist ‘s posts on Gnosticism in Homestuck. Give his stuff -- especially this -- a read I promise it’s got some good takes! The content of this post is basically summed up from a discussion I had on Discord.)

Let me take you back in time. Centuries back, even, to the earliest days of Christianity. What in the sam hill has this got to do with Homestuck? Stick around and you might find out the origin of a term cherished and despised by every fandom in existence.

Let us begin with the origin of the Gnostics. The term is an umbrella one, encompassing various schools of thought with differing cosmogonies that can trace their origins to an eclectic fusion of philosophies, esotericism, and different religious traditions (chiefly Christianity, its historical rival). Some of the beliefs commonly associated with Gnosticism include the inherent evil of matter, the distinction between the (evil) creator of the physical world and the (not-evil) pure spiritual being who is the true source of everything actually worth giving a shit about, secret knowledge (gnosis, hence the name) available only to a chosen few, and a particular dislike for earthly authority (because again, matter is evil and therefore so is any earthly power).

This stood in sharp contrast with early Christianity (for reasons which I will not go into but suffice to say the two never really saw eye to eye), which had a particular insistence on double-checking new developments with the teachings handed down to them by the Apostles and their successors. For the first couple of centuries or so, early Christianity and Gnosticism grew side by side, and with that growth came tensions and conflict -- especially considering the two groups shared terminology and were hard to distinguish in the early stages.

Just as the philosophers before them, and the Christians beside them, the Gnostics wrote, and they wrote a lot. The biggest known cache of Gnostic writings is the Nag Hammadi Library discovered in 1945: thirteen papyrus codices containing an astonishing fifty-two (4x13 for you Homestuck fans, wink) Gnostic treatises. With titles bearing the names of various Apostles, and frequent mentions of Jesus and his doings in several of them, the Gnostic writings caused a fair bit of consternation for the emerging Church, which found itself in the midst of more writings than they knew what to do with, not all of which agreed with each other.

By the middle of the AD 100s, the situation was in need of clarification. There was now a need to sift through the massive influx of books, like one would do in a mailroom, and determine which ones were authoritative and which ones were not. It was rather like measuring them with a rod, the rod here signifying the standard of whether a given writing was authoritative or not. It was slow going, what with the long distances between Christian communities and the occasional outbreak of persecutions, but slowly, gradually, the canon of the New Testament was developed (alongside that of the Old, which I could write about if I were concerned with not boring you to death with more ancient Church History), being fixed into its final form in the mid- to late- AD 300s. This then is where we get our word “canon”, the Greek word for the measuring rod, the yardstick of official-ness, whether for Scripture... or for fandom.

Look now, I have written far too much about the origin of the term “canon”. No doubt some of you are impatiently asking what this has to do with Homestuck and any Gnosticism that may linger in its narrative. The answer, if you subscribe to the “Gnostic Homestuck” view, is a lot.

This essay, by @revolutionaryduelist, lays out a pretty forceful argument for the resolution of Homestuck’s narrative being deliberately laid upon our, the readers’ shoulders, and that being presented as a good thing. It is, if you will bear with me, a rejection of the very concept of the closed canon, one that opens the door to myriad further developments, boundless possibilities. The sky’s the limit! There may even be authorial evidence for this reading of Homestuck: Hussie has in fact established a sort of sliding scale of of canonicity for his other projects: Hiveswap Friendsim (semi-canon) > his Paradox Space comics (possibly canon) > Paradox Space comics not by him (not canon), paralleling Eusebius’ classification of scriptures as universally received > disputed > spurious.

In a sense, this is exactly true to Homestuck’s Gnostic influence. The Gnostic texts themselves are now termed “apocrypha”, a word which is usually used as a synonym for “extracanonical”, i.e. outside the canon. What better way for Homestuck to wrap up than to invite us to transcend its canon? I end with a quote from @arrghus: “Canon is over, now begins the apocrypha.“ Did not Act 7 use an Overture -- a piece meant to be played at the beginning of a production -- as its soundtrack?

Something to think about.

[cationicflood]

Today, the 25th of April, is the feast of St. Mark.

(art credit to Theophilia on deviantArt)

Some of you are doubtless asking what this has to do at all with Homestuck, but suffice to say there are some parallels to the patron saint of Venice if one looks just a little bit..

It might be interesting to note, first and foremost, that the symbol most often associated with St. Mark is the lion. All the Evangelists have a living creature as their symbol, the lion being attributed to Mark because his account opens with the preaching of John the Baptist, the “voice crying out in the wilderness”. If any man roared like a lion, it would have been him.

Immediately for any Homestuck reader the mention of lions will likely bring to mind the sign Leo, and the associated trolls who bear the sign in question. Among the three, one in particular stands out as Homestuck’s closest analogue to St. Mark: the Disciple.

(seen above: the Dolorosa, the Disciple, the Signless, the Ψiioniic)

Lion imagery is of course much more obvious with her than with St. Mark, who according to some traditions was the young man caught in the Garden of Gethsemane almost naked, and who then ran off leaving his last bit of clothing behind. For starters her hair is already an obvious dead ringer for a lion’s mane, and her later fate is given as “transcribing all of his scripture from memory on the walls in the blood of slain creatures, and lived the rest of her days in monastic savagery.”. But it’s the tome she’s carrying that really cements the parallel between ancestor and saint, because the Disciple, according to Doc Scratch, “listened to every vision he retold, every lesson he preached, and faithfully recorded his scripture.” It does sound a bit like what an evangelist would do now wouldn’t it?

Happy St. Mark’s Day!

[cationicflood]

Why have I not signal-boosted this yet? Go! Go forth all ye Homestuck and Hiveswap content creators! Sign up, let those creative juices flow, let there once again be a profusion of fanfiction and fanart as there was in the days of old! Why shall we delay or be ashamed? If it has not yet begun, the Renaissance of Homestuck and Hiveswap begins *now*!

HIVESWAP BIG BANG FAQ, SCHEDULE + SIGN UPS info for mobile users. If you have any additional questions, comments or concerns the ask box is always open!

FAQ

What’s a Big Bang?

A Big Bang is a fandom challenge where writers and artists collaborate to create fanworks over a set period of time. You do not have to be at any specific skill level to join!

Where do I reach you?

Email me at hiveswapbigbang@gmail.com or reach me through ask! I’m here to help. There are no silly, dumb or bad questions.

What can I make?

Writers:

Tier one (Birdgeoning talent): 2,000 words

Tier two (Step up): 5,000 words

Tier three (Over? But we just started!): 10,000 words

Tier four (Hope springs eternal): 15,000 words

Tier five (Accidental astronaut): 25,000 words

~ All works must be able to stand on their own! Sequels and such are fine as long as they’re comprehensible without having to read up on previous works.

~ In the spirit of adventure and fairness all summaries will be anonymous, which is why works that have been posted elsewhere are not eligible for this event!

~ Exceptions to this rule can be made if you’ve written something that’s largely unfinished and unposted. If you feel like your work falls in this category contact me and we’ll work something out!

~ You can, however, post about what you’re writing! Snippets, teasers and such are wonderful. Don’t spoil your work or point to what summary is yours to make sure you can stay reasonably anonymous during claims. The reveal is part of the fun!

’I’m writing fic about [x] and [y]! I love this ship’ and ’I’m doing an essay and it’s turning out great’ is fine!

’[x] is my fic’ and ’[x] is my summary, it’s about [y]’ is not. If in doubt reach out! I’m here to help.

Artists:

Tier one (Let the rumpus commence): One artwork

Tier two (May I have this dance?): One artwork or two smaller ones

Tier three (It’s a living): Two artworks

Tier four (Don’t encourage him): Three artworks

Tier five (Sequence breaker): Five artworks

~ Digital and traditional art are both welcome! Please make sure to scan traditional pieces or take high quality images. Blurry phone pics are cool for cryptids, not for us.

~ Complex backgrounds and full colour are not required. Grayscale and b&w are fine!

~ Post as many previews and teasers as you’d like but hold back on posting your finished piece(s).

Other:

~ Including but not limited to: gif makers, musicians (making remixes, songs or playlists), animators, podfic and audio wizards, video editing folks and cosplayers!

~ If you sign up in this category please email me/send me an ask with what you’d like to do and we’ll get you sorted! I don’t bite, promise.

How do claims work?

There will be more information on this as the date approaches but here’s a short rundown:

- Writers turn in their summaries and they’re posted anonymously

- Summaries are looked over by artists

- Artists send in their top picks to claim a work

- Every work is (hopefully) claimed

- Additional claims open once every work has been partnered with an artist

- Claims close and everyone gets paired up

What if I already have a partner?

That’s fine! Sign up and write your partner’s name on the form and cross off on if you’d like to be included in art claims or not.

Can I write more than one work?

Absolutely! If you feel like you have the time and energy you’re welcome to make as many works as you want. There is no upper limit as long as you’re still able to meet the deadlines.

I signed up for one tier but I want to downgrade/upgrade to another!

No worries! Let me know on the check ins and I’ll write it down. If you’ve been partnered with an artist please make sure to tell them too! Communication is key. In events like these it’s important to keep in touch!

Can I claim more than one writer?

Yes! Keep in mind what you’ll be able to do and make sure you can turn things in on time!

I’m 18+ and I don’t want to be paired with minors/want to make content with a higher rating

Alright! Go to @hiveswapbbnsfw and sign up there instead.

What is a pinch hitter?

Pinch hitters are people who step in when someone drops out/goes MIA and make magic happen. They often work with tight deadlines or step in last minute. They’re a godsend for any stressed out mod or lonesome participant.

Pinch hitter sign ups will be open during the entire event! If you sign up you will be put on a list and contacted as needed. There’s no obligation to pinch hit and you can drop out any time!

I have another question!

Don’t panic! Shoot me an ask or an email and I’ll get to you as soon as I can. You can also check the #Answered tag to see if someone else asked the same question.

SCHEDULE

04/16 (April 16th): Sign ups open

06/12 (June 12th): Sign ups close (except for pinch hitters)

07/12 (July 12th): Writer summaries due + Check in #1

07/20 (July 20th): Summaries posted for artists to look at

07/28 (July 28th): Art claims begin

08/05 (August 5th): Art claims end + Everyone is contacted and paired up.

09/20 (September 20th): Check in #3

10/20 (October 20th): Check in #4

11/10 (November 10th): Final drafts due (at least 80% done if not given an extension)

11/11 (November 11th): Posting details sent out + Final check in

11/15 (November 15th): Posting begins

Sign up here!

[cationicflood]

Harry Potter and Organic Chemistry

Harry Potter and the Secret History

[cationicflood]

Signal boost the absolute heck out of this post-haste! This project is deserving of great success and a fitting jewel to regard fondly.

Artists of the Homestuck community! All ye who are classpect-knowledgeable! I implore you all to answer the call and at *least* give this fanzine a fighting chance.

HOMESTUCK ZINE: A CALL FOR ARTISTS

Happy somewhat belated 4/13, everyone! We’re super pleased to be able to finally announce the launch of ASPECT, the first 100% officially backed and endorsed Homestuck Zine!

The zine will celebrate the 12 aspects of Homestuck and the various characters that possess them, as well as their accompanying powers, abilities or themes. Each aspect will have 2 available slots, and the final, completed product will have 24 artists (2 per aspect). The final zine will be available for purchase in both digital and physical versions upon release.

Applications for ASPECT will be open for 2 WEEKS, so be sure to apply soon!

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And from us, Happy 4/16!