#Ough. How do I even tag this without being annoying...

[meoware]

Hi! I'm a plural Homestuck fan. It's possible you're also a plural Homestuck fan. Isn't that a crazy coincidence? It's also entirely possible you're just as curious about the experiences of other plural Homestuck fans in the community as I am. Enter: the Plural Homestuck Fans Census!

If you could take just a few minutes of your time to fill out this anonymous form (or, whether you're plural or not, to reblog or share the link to spread it), there are some results I'm very curious to see that would ideally be collected from the largest sample possible.

Thank you in advance for your time and efforts. o7

[il3x]

actually, never mind, I'm gonna post the uriel rambling now. uh. tw for mentions of child abuse.

uriel clements my favourite little guy of all time ever. i rewatched the beach episode today and OUGH. tiny little freak who was made in a lab to be annoying and has been treated So Badly all of the time by everyone. he's like if jean-paul was fourteen and LARPed as a CEO. i want to give him a hug.

like it's inherently very fucking funny to imagine this little eidetic memory motherfucker following you around popping his head up around rocks and suchlike like a jack-in-the-box but the beach episode is a comedic take on the characters' authentic personalities. their traits are exaggerated for comedy. beach episode is distilled characterisation! this is the same stealth-factor that made him come off as creepy in canon. and with the later implications that uriel was physically abused this becomes also very fucking sad. guy who melts into the background when you look at him because it's not safe for him to stand out. guy who decides to express "I like you" by [stalks you] and "I want an ice cream" by [stares at you], in light of Isaac's fucking attitude (spoilers but he Really Does Not Care what his kids want), becomes guy who doesn't express anything he wants because he has learnt that no one cares. my god. and on the 'shitawful social skills' and 'very good at quickly becoming unobtrusive' front, i mean. there's Also the fact that he is used as a tape recorder by his dad. more notably he is used as a bug. little guy who is constantly inserted into situations where his very presence and purpose are Infuriating to Everyone because he is Fucking Spying On Them so he's just accustomed to everyone hating him. made in a lab to be annoying (;-;).

just. idk. i think there's something particularly insidious about casting your child in a role (tool of corporate espionage) that will inevitably draw hostility and make everyone view him as "that little bugger" and an obstacle to be eliminated. i think that's a devastatingly effective manner to make sure no one recognises him for what he is: a kid in an abusive situation. they're so busy pre-emptively countering Uriel the Spy that no one thinks "hold up, that's a 14 year old and this family dynamic is FUCKED". it's vaguely similar to how heartbreaker from worm uses his kids as tools of violence, though that's much more extreme.

and now thinkigm about how eve in canon was the one to go "hold up, that's a 14 year old in need of medical assistance" and reach out to him. and. OUGH... eve... ;-; <3 i love you eve i would also follow you around for 3 hours <3

and this already shows! thinking about how beach episode uriel tagged along after eve so much and eventually gave her his number because 'she seemed friendly' and thinking about distilled characterisation and thinking about how uriel Still pissed eve off So Much but she humoured him the way an average adult would an average child, because she's a nice person, and FUCK. little guy for whom being treated like a kid instead of a corporate weapon is so revolutionarily kind that he is Never Ever Gonna Let This Person Go because they're clearly one in a million. I'll have to rewatch the main canon, but I do wonder whether any of Uriel's fascination with Eve was just liking for someone who showed him kindness in accordance with nurse bot procedures. This could tie in to the "no one cares what he wants" thing; guy who digs up blackmail on you to force you into being nice to him and/or help him out of a shit situation because it doesn't even cross his mind that you'd do so without being forced. [Cough.] Kenzie Martin energy. I so badly want to make them go panopticon vs panopticon.

I think beach episode exposes a very real loneliness in Uriel. And a very real desire to be helpful. Which now has me wondering how much of that was biologically hard-coded into him to make him more obedient...

anyways. yeag. fascinating little guy. [sobbing]

[withacapitalp]

Hidden Gem Friday

Hey guys! It's time for our second Hidden Gem Friday. If you don't already know the drill, here's how it works. You guys send me fics you like that have less than 2k hits on ao3 or less than 200 notes here on Tumblr, and I read them and put them out as reccs on Fridays. I also like to add in my own reccs, because there's some stuff I've read that just really needs more engagement. I really like doing this, but I have a few asks. If you read these fics, please leave a comment! Comments are the lifeblood of keeping authors invested in writing for a lot of us, and it makes us feel super happy to know people enjoyed the fics. Secondly, if you comment, let the author know where you got it from! I always love to hear I was added to a recc list. Okay Reccs under read more as always. If you want to see the others look at the tag #Hidden Gem Friday

Still So Much To Learn by BonitaBreezy recced by me. @bonitabreezy on here! 4k words (Complete)- Steddie

Summary:

Steve Harrington knows he’s stupid. Everyone has made that very clear to him. But sometimes it hurts to hear, especially from the people you love.

My Thoughts:

Ough you guysssss. Okay so I watched this being written, and I got it in bits and pieces slowly over the course of four(? maybe five) hours. It was so fucking intenseeeeeeee. This fic is really well written, and it deals with one of my favorite headcanons, and I really like that it didn't pull the usual route of 'Eddie is the only one who never calls him stupid'. I love that sm but like this is so much more realistic? These kinds of miscommunications happen allllllll the time, and we do things and say things we don't mean, and I just yeah everyone should read this one!!!!!

Go At Your Own Pace by Cardigains recced by @andrea-csenge 17k words (Complete)- Gen El focused

Summary:

“Write down three things,” Hopper says, ducking his head to catch her eye. “Three things you want to make happen this year, and we’ll do everything in our power to help you. How about that?” or New place, new school, not new but new-together parents—after last year, El is more than happy to let the world pass her by from the safety inside of their home, but her friends and family have different ideas. How they work to prove to El she is not alone and can succeed at anything she sets her mind to.

My Thoughts

This one is really really good. It's canon to season four ending, and I didn't even have time to doubt, because this El is so good. This is an El who is past the traumatic events, but still impacted by them. She feels older but still El? I love it. All of the characters are super realistic, amazing jopper, WONDERTWINS, it's all jsut really well written, and it floooooows god does this flow. It is awesome

uh-oh, love comes to town by 96 tears recced by @daysarestranger 13k words (Complete)- Steddie w side of Robin/Vickie

Summary:

It’s not like Steve thought Eddie would stay single forever, but he figured he’d have a girlfriend by the time Eddie got a boyfriend. So, when Vickie and Robin set Eddie up on a blind date with Vickie’s cousin, Steve figures he feels weird about it because he’s the only one without a date.But an annoying little voice starts telling him maybe there’s more to it than that. He just has to figure out what it is.

My Thoughts:

This one is so fricken sweet!! I love the way Vickie is characterized in this one, we don't see her a lot (except for people saying her and Robin didn't work) but this person took the time to think about it. There's also a good dollop of QPR stobin which I always love, and a badass little granny for Steve, but the main thing here is the awesome Steddie! It's really well written, you an see them doing this complicated little dance around each other and the ending is so so sweet. It's also really funny I laughed at least three times

down on the timeline by annabeeus recced by @silverysnake 6k words (Complete)- Steddie with Ronance and a little Jargyle

Summary:

In a slightly altered universe where the Demogorgon never became more than a D&D character - The Party are semi-famous Youtubers. Steve, one-half of movie commentary channel BLOCKBUSTERS, and Eddie, the leader of D&D channel THE HELLFIRE SOCIETY, can't help but start falling for each other after meeting through a mutual friend.

My thoughts:

I always wanna try to be honest with my thoughts here- I did not think I was going to like this story. The way it was formatted isn't something I'm used to and it threw me off, but I stuck with it and I'm glad I did! It's really funny, and I love the little references thrown in everywhere. You know when you can feel an author probably worked harder on something then they initially planned, and the result is fucking awesome? Yeah that's this fic. It's super cute, it's told in this really unique kind of outsider perspective, and I so so enjoyed it.

i wish i knew how (your eyes are like starlight now) by MacksDramaticShenanigans aka @stevethehairington this one is also a me recc bc it's my list! I can do as I please haha. 10k words (Complete)- Steddie

Summary:

“Mistletoe!” Robin cheers, and Steve’s heart stutters so hard in his chest that he thinks it might crack his ribcage and drop right out the bottom of his stomach. His eyes fly up, and, sure enough, there hangs one of the many sprigs hung all around the apartment. Small and inconspicuous, but unmistakable. That ridiculous little plant has no idea that it’s just turned Steve’s entire world on its axis. Across from him, Eddie’s eyes are trained up too, big and round and wide where they stick on the mistletoe. His lips are parted in surprise, and Steve can’t help but stare and think am I going to kiss those now? When Eddie finally tears his gaze from the plant and lets it flicker down to Steve, a pretty pink dusting blooms across the bridge of his nose and spreads into the apples of his cheeks when he finds Steve already looking back. Steve spares the mistletoe one last quick peek before he takes a deep breath and steels himself. This is it. He sticks his hands on his hips, aiming for casual, and asks, “What do you say, Munson?” Or, Steve makes a promise, Robin likes to meddle, and the spirit of Christmas strikes (out) again. And again. And again. (Until it doesn’t.)

My Thoughts:

Okay I'm going to be frank I may be biased bc I betad this fic, except I'm not because it's so goddman spectacular. I'll start with how funny it is. I reread it today to have it fresh in my mind, and it's hilarious. Secondly the reveal and the moment where Steve thinks Eddie doesn't want him is so quietly heartbreaking, but perfectly written. Characterization is awesome, I watched every iteration of this as it grew and grew into something absolutely magnificent, and I'm so lucky to have gotten to beta for it!!