#i'm not used to posting long rambles like this

[cephalofrog]

been playing rain world and thinking about saint again recently

full rain world spoilers below

I hate the "saint is the triple affirmative" interpretation. hate even more how it appears to have become the accepted truth in the fandom

first off, my dislike for this interpretation is not logical. it isn't something I can be convinced out of using canon evidence, because my reason for not interpreting the story this way is not evidence-based, it's because I don't find it to be a satisfying conclusion to the entire story of rain world.

but here's some rambling about logical reasons why it doesn't make sense anyway

if saint was created as the triple affirmative by sliver, that makes them extremely old - they came into existence LONG before spearmaster's campaign even started. if they came into existence with the purpose of ascending iterators, they sure took a long time to ascend any iterators - like okay, travel time and whatever, but you'd think they'd get at least one or two more before all the iterator comms break down entirely post-spearmaster. SM and hunter managed to get from SRS and NSH to the pebbs/moon area pretty quickly.

they also have fur, which seems to be an adaptation for the cold judging by the lizards in the campaign, despite the world not being cold at the point at which they were created. this could be easily explained by sliver just being very forward-thinking, but...

if sliver created saint, their entire triple affirmative thing comes across as incredibly thoughtless, which imo contrasts with sliver being forward-thinking enough to make saint immune to cold. like they finally created the magical rat that will ascend them all but didn't even think to send out a message beforehand like "hey guys I'm trying something new if I send out the triple affirmative and die right after this it worked and you should be visited by a flying green dude with an ascension beam at some point in the future"

there's also the thing of... wait so how does this whole iterator ascension work again? cause saint's timeline loops. after they ascend, they end up back in sky islands, with the iterators back where they were. this could be explained by "later playthrough loops aren't canon and pebbs and moon are ascended if you got em" but there's literally a specific gameplay mechanic - carrying stuff in your stomach between campaigns - meant to make it clear that the campaign is a loop.

anyway. the real reason I hate the theory isn't related to any of this - it's that it absolutely destroys pebbles and moon's story, thematically speaking.

sliver of straw's triple affirmative/death is a random event that could mean basically anything. the futility pebbles felt around trying to solve the great problem caused him to assign meaning to sliver's death that wasn't necessarily there - they found the solution, and it was self-destruction. that's what they were trying to tell everyone. it wasn't a random event, the triple affirmative was real. one of the bugs in the maze found the way out, and he's going to prove it to everyone by following them and escaping.

and that's what leads to the events of the main story. this random event - this horrible tragedy, the death of someone who seemed to mean so much to so many people - was assigned meaning by someone desperate to prove that his entire existence, and the existences of everyone around him, are not futile. the ancients created the iterators without knowing whether the answer to the great problem could ever be found, and this is the result of that.

a nihilistic, hopeless person, abandoned by his creators to work forever on an unsolvable problem, assigns meaning to a random tragedy, and tunnel visions on what he has to believe is what he's been looking for - because it is an unimaginable understatement to say that the alternative would be worse than death. and then, in his self-destructive desperation, he kills his sibling* and dooms himself to the slowest, most painful death imaginable. this is the legacy of the ancients' dead society, the result of all of their stupid ideals and obsession with karmic perfection. (*as far as he knows)

but saint being the triple affirmative undermines all of that. not only does it make sliver's death less of a tragedy and more of a noble sacrifice - like yeah, sure, they were loved, but solving the great problem was far more important - but it also makes pebbles look less desperate and more just kinda stupid. like you thought that the solution was self-destruction? nah, it's a magical flying rat. in this version of the story, pebbles wasn't striving for something that didn't exist, he was just not smart enough to figure out the real solution.

even outside of canon evidence, that sucks. it causes pebbles' story to go from being about how you should value the people around you over the impossible striving that life always seems to expect from you or you're gonna end up hurting them and yourself to how you should just be smarter to find the right solution to all of your problems.

anyway as for my own interpretation of saint, I think that the campaign is just a representation of what it's like to be an echo. reliving the moments that led up to your failed ascension over and over, reaching maximum karma and gaining superpowers because you're just that karmically pure - you are a saint, after all - and then letting your ego consume you at the crucial moment of ascension, over and over again, cycling into infinity. (I don't think they actually had superpowers prior to ascending, I just think that they kinda thought of themselves so highly that they thought they should have those powers.) then contrast this with the world as the age of the iterators and the rain finally ends, and you have an unchanging echo reliving the same few cycles over and over contrasted with a world that is, at last, changing and moving on.

yeah it doesn't make sense with the joint iterator dialogue in rubicon (at least, the final line doesn't make sense). I don't care. it's what makes me happy as an interpretation. you can pry my morally dubious hypocritical ego-driven saint from my cold dead hands

[sihtricfedaraaahvicius]

Shooting a Movie part 3

Note: I'm afraid this will not be just a 3 part series...

follow up to part 1 & part 2.

Warnings: 18+!! smut with a hint of angst.

pairing: Modern!Sihtric x you (f)

summary: you met Sihtric again after several long months.

wordcount: 3,8k

Masterlist

Sihtric had been on your mind ever since you had first met a few months ago and, after making that movie together, which had been another hit, your feelings had only grown stronger for him. You always thought Sihtric was stunning, but he had completely won your heart when he checked in with you after filming, making sure you were good and that you were happy with the results that day. You desperately tried to ignore the butterflies you felt every time you thought of him and just brushed it off as a crush, not knowing that Sihtric was absolutely head over heels for you as well. But as you both were too nervous to act on your feelings, your lives just went on separately.

There had been no real contact with Sihtric ever since the day you shot that movie, with the exception of an occasional like on social media posts and subscribing to each other on OnlyFans. Sihtric had been very active on his OnlyFans ever since making the movie with you, as he had turned down offer after offer because he just couldn't get back into the groove of being intimate with someone that wasn't you. Of course Sihtric never admitted to that to anyone, and you both just quietly admired and supported each other by keeping up with the shared content.

You mainly posted risky photos on your page, which earned you enough money to pay your rent and eat decent food every day while you figured out what to do next. Sihtric used his OnlyFans as a way to interact with his fans and followers, doing free live streams in which he'd just answer fan questions, and he kept the explicit photos and videos of himself exclusively for those who had a paid subscription, which included you. Sihtric made a lot of money that way and quickly decided he would stick to making his own content for now, until he would get over you and be able to get back into making movies again.

You enjoyed Sihtric's live streams, as he was always his relaxed and funny self while he answered the questions or just rambled about his day while effortlessly showing off his good looks. Sihtric saw you always tuned in but he never mentioned it, the same way you never brought up the fact he always liked your photos and videos, while neither of you ever had the courage to write to each other.

It was only months later that Sihtric commented first on a selfie you posted late one night. You had dropped a sexy hotel mirror selfie, sitting kneeled down in front of the mirror while wearing only Sihtric's flannel and a cute thong, and the caption simply said: sad hours. Sihtric saw the photo almost as soon as you had posted it, and his heart was beating out of his chest when he saw you wearing his flannel. He had been aching in silence for you for months and jerked off to your sexy photos almost daily, and to know that he somehow had to be on your mind too because you wore his clothes simply drove him insane. Without being able to think straight, he immediately liked your photo and left a comment during the sudden adrenaline rush.

Sihtric.Kjartansson.Official commented: Sad hours? Come over for a hug and I'll make you feel as good as you look, babygirl xx

You stared at his comment and your heart skipped a beat as your jaw dropped, and you blushed heavily before you found the courage to reply to him.

SweetAngelXO replied: I wish! miss you, handsome xx

Your hands were shaking after you had pressed reply, thinking that would be it and that you should just try to forget him again. But only seconds later you received another notification.

Sihtric.Kjartansson.Official replied: you know where I live, darling xx

Your heart dropped a little at his invitation, and you bit back a sudden overwhelming sadness as you responded.

SweetAngelXO replied: I do, but I'm not in town baby boy :( xx

To your last reply Sihtric responded with the broken heart emoji, and you felt the exact same. You were out of town because you had done some photoshoots for several porn magazines, and you didn't even think about the fact that Sihtric would see the post you made until he commented. 

You simply missed him, which felt weird because you still barely knew him in a way, but wearing his shirt when you were all alone late at night in a big hotel room gave you some comfort. Even after washing his flannel you could still smell hints of his lingering scent, and you always closed your eyes to imagine his arms were wrapped around you whenever you felt down and out. His comments had warmed your heart as much as it had broken you that night, because you wished you could've been with him, but you also knew that once you were back in town you would be too shy to visit him.

After you had returned back home, it went exactly as you had thought. Communication between you and Sihtric had died down again, and the only interaction you had was through likes and popping into his livestreams. His fans started to notice the silent interactions between you two and they had seen the comment exchange under your post too, and soon during every livestream Sihtric was asked when he would invite you for a stream. He had invited other colleagues before, all pretty ladies, and you had felt your stomach turn each time you tuned in and saw a pretty girl by his side. You knew nothing would happen during those free streams, but the thought of what he might have done with those girls once those streams ended kept you up at night, because you had no idea that Sihtric wasn't interested in anyone but you and therefore you never had anything to feel sick about.

You also saw the fan questions of you being invited, but you never responded to it. Sihtric would love to have you over for a stream, just to chat and answer questions with you, because he was desperate to be around you again. He could've texted you personally, but he was too shy and had his manager reach out to see if you were interested. Naturally you were, and soon a date was picked for you to meet him at his apartment again. There hadn't been any requests with the invitation, you only knew you would get paid for it and you had dressed up sexy yet cute, which was your signature look. You wore a cute short skirt with laces tied at the sides, and a tight fitting white top that showed off your figure. And even though your legs would most likely not be shown on the stream, you had put on black fishnet tights and black latex platform boots to finish the look.

This time you were not that nervous to get out of your car, as there was no shady group of people hanging out near Sihtric's apartment building, and so you went up to his floor on your own. Your hands trembled when you knocked at his door, and you already felt a blush settle on your cheeks before he had even answered. Your heart stopped for a moment once he appeared shirtless and barefoot, wearing only some grey sweatpants which hung low on his hips. His eyes were circled with a thick line of black eyeliner while he wore his earring, from which the same small cross pendant dangled as always, and around his neck he wore a simple silver necklace. He knew how to look seductive while barely even trying, and you struggled to not show your nerves when you gazed up into his eyes.

'Look at you,' Sihtric smiled and immediately wrapped his arms around you, 'absolutely stunning.'

'Says you,' you said as you melted his embrace.

You had longed to be with him again for months and wished you could simply kiss his lips, but this was not a private meeting and you were there to do a job. Sihtric knew it too, that this time was different than the last time you had been over at his place, and luckily he was good at hiding his own nerves once he had led you inside and to the room from which he always streamed. The darkened room was overall well lit with cosy and warm lights. He had a red velvet couch, on which he and his guests always sat while streaming, and the background was just a neutral dark grey wall so there were no distractions.

'So how have you been, sweetheart?' he asked as he prepared to go live.

'Good,' you half lied, 'been doing alot of photoshoots lately.'

'Oh, yeah?' Sihtric murmured while he checked if everything was ready, 'how have you been liking that? The shots looked great from what I've seen,' he smiled sweetly as he sat next to you on the comfortable couch.

'It's been really great,' you lied, not wanting to alarm Sihtric that those photo sessions had been anything but great.

Sure, the photos did look great. But at every shoot so far you had just been barked around by the photographers and made to show more skin than you had initially agreed upon. Sihtric had warned you about the darker side of the industry, but everything had gone so well for you that you never thought you'd experience these incidents.

'I'll be leaving again in two days to another city for a shoot,' you said.

'Are you bringing my flannel again?' Sihtric asked with a shy smile.

'Probably,' you smiled genuinely, 'I suppose it makes me feel a little less lonely.'

Sihtric's smile fell and quickly made place for a look of serious concern, but before he could ask you more, an alarm on his phone rang which was his sign to start the stream.

Sihtric would never announce beforehand if he had someone joining his free streams, he had enough viewers of his own that he never needed to promote anything and he liked to surprise people. That way he had also surprised you at times when a pretty lady was suddenly by his side when you tuned in. But today you were the pretty lady by his side, and the chat went absolutely crazy once the livestream began and saw you two together again, months after your last movie was released.

More and more people tuned in fast, and soon you had about a million viewers already and you both hadn't even said a word apart from an excited 'hello'. The questions came in with such a speed that you could barely read any, but the one question that kept coming back was the one on everyone's mind: are you two dating?

'We're not dating,' you answered first, 'are we?' you chuckled and looked at Sihtric.

'We're not,' Sihtric agreed, 'you think I would hide that from you guys?' he asked the viewers, 'I mean, look at her, I'd show her off.'

'We're really not dating,' you reassured everyone and wrapped your arms around his neck without thinking, 'but he's an angel,' you kissed his cheek and pressed your face gently against his, 'and I'd take every chance to work with him again.'

Sihtric clearly blushed at your sudden affection, which made the comments go even wilder with saying how good you two would look together and how you'd be a couple goal. You and Sihtric both laughed it off and thanked everyone for the kind words, but you both also didn't attempt to move away from each other anymore. Sihtric had snuck his arm around your waist while yours were still around his neck, and you continued to try and answer as many questions as you could. And then you noticed a user who asked if you'd make another movie with Masema.

'Maybe,' you answered, 'who knows what the future holds. That movie did really well, and I know Masema is interested in making another one.'

When someone asked who was better, Masema or Sihtric, you could only laugh for a moment while Sihtric was secretly very curious to your response.

'You can't compare those two,' you said sincerely, 'they are both absolutely fantastic in their own way, but they have very different personalities. Also the way they work is very different, but I enjoyed my time with both of them.'

Sihtric was more or less satisfied with that answer, and a few minutes later you both noticed that Masema had tuned into the live stream, but you both feigned to not be aware of it. You were a little excited about the fact that Masema had caught wind of the stream, as fans probably bombarded him with messages about your answer, but Sihtric felt like Masema was competition. So Sihtric pulled you a little closer to him and you leaned into him comfortably, which eased his mind a little. And you both realised quickly that the closer you sat, more and more people started to make donations, which was just easy money for you both, and you simultaneously agreed to use that opportunity without having to say a word.

Sihtric pulled you in his lap and leaned his chin on your shoulder, giving the viewers what they wanted but also because he knew Masema was still watching. Meanwhile, you had seen all of Sihtric's livestreams and you knew this was not something he had done with any of his other co-stars, so you were a little puzzled. You enjoyed it though, despite not being entirely sure what this meant, but you didn't question it as the tips kept coming in and started to turn into quite a nice amount of money. And above all, you had been craving for his touch and were more than happy to be close to him.

Out of view for everyone else, Sihtric slowly trailed his hands up your fishnet covered thighs, to which you felt light headed and allowed yourself to fall back against his chest with a soft and satisfied smile. You loved his touch, because no one had ever touched you with the same tenderness as he did, and you looked up at him with a cheeky smile.

'Hm?' Sihtric hummed softly as he looked at you with a cheeky smile of his own.

'Keep going,' you murmured quietly so that it wouldn't reach the microphone on his desk.

'You do remember we're streaming live, right?' Sihtric whispered with a chuckle.

'I don't care,' you breathed and took his hands to shove them under your skirt, 'I want your fingers inside me,' you purred, just loud enough so you knew your viewers would understand what was going on.

And the viewers immediately understood this stream would not be like any other they had seen before, where it would just be two good looking people chatting and answering questions, and the money tips came in rapidly as the stream became more arousing to everyone watching.

'Are you absolutely sure?' Sihtric double checked quietly.

'Yes,' you reassured him, 'I don't want to get naked or anything like that, but I would greatly appreciate it if you'd just fuck me with your fingers right now.'

You didn't have to tell Sihtric again, for he wasted no time to pull you further up in his lap. He hooked his hands under your knees and brought them up to your chest, the camera angle keeping your private parts just out of view but giving everyone a good enough image to work with as they saw your tights and high latex boots. Sihtric gave you a sly smile and then snuck one arm under your knees, keeping your legs in place while he teasingly moved his other hand down your body.

You relaxed at his warm touch but gasped suddenly when you felt, and heard, how he ripped your fishnets with one firm tug to gain better access. You then laughed that cheeky laugh of yours, which drove Sihtric wild and apparently the viewers too, as there was a nonstop sound of tips coming in. And each tip was more insane than the previous one, and you both knew you were making an insane amount of money by not even showing anything explicit on screen.

But this wasn't about the money anymore. You were both consumed by lust and had longed for each other all this time, and the fact that over a million people were to witness a snippet of that lust didn't bother either of you. You closed your eyes and let your head rest back on Sihtric's shoulder as you felt his fingertips lightly trace your panties, sending pleasant shivers down your spine with each tickling sensation while he teased your sensitive parts.

Sihtric gently slid your panties to the side while he kissed your neck painstakingly soft and slow, and he hummed with a sly smile once his fingers touched your dripping wet entrance.

'You missed me, hm?' Sihtric murmured, his lips grazing your ear whenever he spoke.

You smiled as you felt his hard cock pressing up against your exposed buttocks, and you wiggled faintly in his lap to which he locked your legs with his arm even tighter.

'Seems like you missed me too,' you chuckled.

'I did,' he breathed in your ear, 'I really fucking did.'

You bit back a moan when you felt he slid two fingers inside you, tensing up immediately to the pleasant feeling while he held your knees with a tight grip. You had both not been very talkative when you were intimate at this apartment last time, but you both knew you had to keep your viewers engaged, and if they loved one thing, it was some dirty talk.

'So fucking wet for me, aren't you?' Sihtric said with his smooth and low voice, which earned you another few huge money tips.

You could only hum and smile in response, his thick fingers feeling so good inside you that you felt yourself getting dumbed down with each thrust inside you. And it didn't take long before you couldn't keep your moans and gasps quiet anymore, and you made the most pathetic noises while you kicked your feet in pleasure as your tongue hung out between your parted and smiling lips.

'You like that?' Sihtric chuckled in your ear, 'you little slut. Such a pretty mess for me.'

Your moans quickly matched the rhythm of his pumping fingers, and you cursed under your breath when he sped up his pace, wanting to push you over the edge.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck,' you whined, 'please… please, I'm going to cum.'

'Yeah?' Sihtric laughed darkly, 'you're going to cum for me? Already?'

Sihtric only went harder on you, as he loved hearing your sopping pussy while he finger fucked you almost aggressively but still with the utmost care. His cock was painfully hard, but he knew he couldn't fuck you during that livestream, so he'd just tend to himself later. For now his only goal was to make you cum on his fingers as hard as he could. And it didn't take long before you came with a loud moan, your legs trembling heavily as he fingered you through your intense climax.

'That's it,' Sihtric cooed in your ear, 'good girl. Such a fucking good girl for me.'

He then pulled his fingers out and let go of your weakened knees, only to grab your face and to have you clean up his fingers with your tongue, before he kissed you deeply in front of every single viewer. The whole ordeal only made the demand for you and Sihtric to be together, or at least create more footage together, even higher.

And once the stream had ended you immediately dropped down to your knees and pulled his hard and twitching cock out of his sweatpants, so you could thank him for the pleasure by eagerly sucking him off until he came with a heavy grunt and watched you swallow his cum.

'So, what's next for you?' you asked after Sihtric had walked you to your car again.

'I'm not sure,' Sihtric said, 'well, the first thing I'll do is make sure that the money we made today reaches you,' he chuckled, 'but other than that I don't have a solid plan yet. I gotta check my schedule actually to see what's going on. What about you? You had another photoshoot, right?'

'Yeah,' you nodded with fake excitement, 'I'll leave in two days for a shoot.'

'I see,' Sihtric said as he looked at you, trying to read your emotions, but you kept them well hidden until you suddenly fell in his arms.

'I wish you could go with me,' you sniffled softly, 'with you I just feel so safe. I mean these… these photographers, all they do is yell at me and -'

'Yell at you?' Sihtric interrupted, his voice a little harder than usual and he pulled away to look at you, 'what do you mean they yell at you?'

You shrugged as you fought your tears, 'They just yell. They shout how I should pose and keep shouting that I have to take off more clothes, even if that was not discussed before-'

'What?' Sihtric half yelled, then lowered his voice again, 'who? Who did that to you? Who have you worked with?'

'It doesn't matter-'

'It does!' Sihtric almost snarled, but he never intimidated you, 'it matters because it's not okay. Under no circumstance is it okay to yell at someone when you work with them, and it is definitely not okay to demand someone to take their clothes off when that was not agreed on beforehand. Sweetheart,' he groaned, 'this may be the porn industry, but you still need to give your consent before you do any of those things.'

'I know,' you mumbled sadly and looked down at your feet.

'I fucking knew this would happen,' Sihtric huffed and pulled you in his arms again, holding you tightly pressed against his chest when he suddenly remembered what you said moments ago, 'do you really want me there with you? On your trip?'

'I do,' you sniffled, 'but I know you have responsibilities and can't just pack up and leave to go with me.'

'Well, just, let me see what I can do, okay?' Sihtric said and took your face, 'I'll have to check my schedule before I can make any promises. But if I can join you, then I will. I'll text you tonight about it, okay?'

You nodded and wiped your tears before they could fall down, and you pressed a firm kiss to his cheek before you got in your car and went home, leaving Sihtric once again behind with an uneasy feeling

And hours later, when you were reluctantly packing your bags for the trip, your phone buzzed as you received a text.

Sihtric: I cleared my schedule for the week xx

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if you want to be added to/deleted from the taglist, message me 🖤

[hacked-by-jake]

So, I wanted to point something out just quickly..

Since yesterday I talked several times with some wonderful people on discord. (💚) Probably some of you know which people I mean. Anyway. That's not the point.

I sadly saw a couple of very, veeery rude posts here. Some behaved really very hateful. We never had something like this bad before here.

And I wasn't sure if I should mention it or not.

And now, I got a very lovely anon ask. Then, I had another short conversation with one of the wonderful discord people and now I decided I want to quickly say something about it. Before it gets worse.

Your anger is okay. Your disappointment is okay. Your hate is not. Constructive criticism! That's okay.

If you see someone here, being rude. If you get asks from people being rude and nothing else. Please don't react. I know this can be sooo hard. But do not react. Don't answer hate asks. Don't comment on hate. Your intentions might be pure and kind. But you simply can't talk with some people. They don't want to talk. They want to force you to accept their opinion and throw your own away. And we should not give those people space to share this. No one of us deserves it.

I said before, I love this fandom deeply. With all my heart. And I don't want rude people here. They do not belong here.

Even if you only want to be kind and that's why you answer in any way.. I sadly saw some people in the last days..

Anyway. I'm rambling. Long story short:

Let's take care of this fandom! Let's make sure together it stays as wonderful and lovely as it always was. With nothing but wonderful content and love for each other. For everyone in the fandom.

If you see a rude person, block them. Doesn't matter if their post is rude or just a comment or anything. Don't let these people get close. Block them and keep being part of something so wonderful that doesn't accept hate. If no one reacts, they can post whatever they want. But we should not answer that. In any way.

Maybe you saw the rude ask I got yesterday. I answered it. But a couple of minutes later, I regret it. And I should not have answered.

Don't make the same mistake. Block user with hateful posts. Block hateful asks (you can block anons), don't react to comments.

Don't do that to yourself, no one deserves it. And if no one sees the posts anymore, maybe they won't post more. But by blocking we don't have to care about this. And we should not have to care about it.

Leave criticism, that's okay. But otherwise, be kind. Don't make a fool out of yourself for hating people in a place like that. In a places that's meant to spread positivity.

Stay safe, and don't let them pull you down. This is our fandom, not theirs. 💚

[searedtroutpeacharugula]

To quote the most wise and noble scholars of our age, "well, THAT just happened!"

I don't think any of us could have possibly expected this, but Homestuck^2, the (much-maligned) Homestuck sequel, is back.

And to top that off, it's looking good.

James Roach, who composed many of the tracks for Homestuck's more recent projects and was generally one of the few well-known people still openly associated with the IP in any official capacity, has formed the Homestuck Independent Creative Union, or HICU, with Andrew Hussie's blessing. Dedicated to finally completing the long-abandoned HS^2 project (now rebranded as simply Homestuck: Beyond Canon) as well as working on even more Homestuck projects in the future(!!!), HICU would appear to be the greatest hope that Homestuck has for the future.

Now, I'm going to preface this by saying two things. First: I have only been involved in the Homestuck fandom since the beginning of this year, and I only finished the original comic last month. I am by no means a long-time fandom member, nor do I have the same experiences with the fandom that many other people have had. Second: I have not read/played the Homestuck Epilogues, Homestuck^2, or any meaningful amount of Hiveswap Friendsim or Pesterquest. While I am familiar with a couple concepts from post-canon Homestuck, I am unfamiliar with any of the works in their entirety.

That being said, I still want to discuss my opinion on the sudden return of post-canon, and what I think the future of Homestuck may be. My time as a Homestuck may have so far been relatively brief, but the comic has made an incredible impact on my life. HS holds a special place in my heart, and even if I'm not the most well-educated fan I still want to put my opinion out there.

I am, to put it in simple terms, cautiously optimistic about the return of Homestuck^2. To my knowledge, HS^2 has so far been a complete and total trainwreck. Now, I'm not personally in a place to judge the work: after all, I haven't read the damn thing. But if what I've heard is true, then HS^2 seems almost irredeemably bad. There's a chance, however, that the HICU will be able to turn this around. By taking the writing in a new direction, proving to the fandom that they know what they're doing, and trying their best to fix this, they might just be able to make this work.

James Roach and the rest of the HICU seem genuinely very passionate about Homestuck. It's clear that they love this universe and only want the best for it; and I think that's the most important thing.

If there's one thing that has defined the Homestuck fandom for the past few years, it's been cynicism. You'd be hard-pressed to find a single fan who thought Homestuck had any sort of future ahead of it outside of Hiveswap; post-canon was practically dead, Andrew Hussie had long since moved on to greener, clown-filled pastures, and a large, faceless corporation with seemingly no interest in the IP had become the publisher. Suffice to say, it wasn't a good time to be a Homestuck fan.

But now, with the formation of the HICU, there's something the Homestuck fandom hasn't seen in a long, long time: hope. There is a chance, however slim, that Homestuck will be getting new, well-written, well-characterized content. Homestuck has a future, it has a chance at redemption!

I just hope that James Roach and the rest of the HICU don't fuck this up. Maybe, just maybe, if we're fucking lucky, Homestuck can leave this years-long slump.

Alright, I'm done rambling. I've got a lot of stuff to read: after all, I don't want to miss the return of Homestuck, no matter how it turns out!

[peridots-pixiwolf]

[Start ID. A redraw of the official icons of the ten named slugcats from Rain World, arranged in two rows: Survivor, Monk, Hunter, Nightcat, and Gourmand in the first, Artificer, Rivulet, Spearmaster, Saint and Enot/Inv in the second. Each is drawn in roughly the same pose as in the original art and fitted with speculative interpretations of their biology, and the second image is a “dead” version of this. For example, all ten have slug-like rhinophores in place of ears, cuttlefish-like colorful eyes with strangely-shaped pupils, cephalopod-like beak "teeth", expressive barbels or oral tentacles at the corners of mouths, spiny radulas, and the frilly mantle fringes of sea slugs, though otherwise their faces are squishy, simple and mammalian-shaped.

Cream-colored Survivor and yellow Monk both share triangular, bicolored spots matching their eyes (which are tan and brown, and two shades of blue, respectively), small, bumpy fringes, and relatively neutral looks on their faces. Defensive-looking Hunter is mostly a dull orange-pink, though their blobby fringe is a more violent red and their back is purple and marred with lumps. Nightcat is navy blue and flecked with dots of yellow and teal, their rolled rhinophores are a lighter blue, and their shading fractures into stars in some places. Gourmand is almost uniformly tan, their wide, very ruffly white mantle fringe bordered by a spray of white spots, and their beak sticks out from either corner of their smile. Primarily red Artificer, snarling, has yellow markings of multiple sorts, a prominent yellow dewlap and their characteristic dark scar taking out a chunk of its face. Rivulet is a darker blue than usual, with long barbels, red gills and rings, countershading, and a cheerful expression, sticking out their radula. Spearmaster is purple with orange accents, eyes and spots, a large fringe and spines down their back. Saint’s green caryophyllidia are marked by small, yellow diamonds, and their long, thin radula extends far below them. Enot is decorated with mottled red stripes, blue patches, yellow stars, and an uneven and almost cartoonish imitation of blush, though generally the same deep blue as Nightcat, a passive or almost slightly smug look on their face and their rolled rhinophores out to either side.

In the second image, nine of the slugcats’ eyes are crossed out, indicating that these are death icons. They look fairly the same, with mostly expression differences. Survivor is caught in the beginning of a threat display, a karma flower sprouts from Monk’s side, Hunter is burdened with overgrowing, purple and blue rot, Nightcat’s rhinophores are pinned back, and Gourmand looks mildly disheartened. For the final row, Artificer bites its radula between small plumes of smoke, Rivulet drops their expression, Spearmaster looks very startled, Saint looks almost entirely the same besides half-open eyes and their markings greater in number, and Enot grins confusedly. End ID]

If you'll excuse the unusually lengthy ID: the arena meme introduced by @pansear-doodles at long last after a nearly year-long wip status (or, rather, finished a month ago today to honor my own first time playing it!)

Design notes and shout-outs under cut! :]

The following people are some of those who’ve inspired my designs most since I started this eight months ago (or just inspired me to get a little weirder with slugcat biology), among many others for sure, and I thank them for it–but this is simply to bring attention to artists I find cool, and in no way an obligation to interact or anything :]

> @saturncoyote , @carpsoup , @charseraph , @gallusgalluss , @bitsbug , @dopscratch , and @0hmanit (and a special mention to dddeerbo and hunterlonglegs, who’ve since deactivated)!

Survivor: Surprisingly the hardest to pin down the colors for, since nothing with its sibling's palette seemed to match up right (I did have to add in a little blue somewhere for Monk, the beginning of making it clear how much I’m simply going based off of vibes for the colors of scug innards). I consider them, Monk and Gourmand to be part of the same gene pool of slugcats, and even possibly the same colony even if the latter isn't really related, so took a bit of Gourmand's coloring and fit them in with their inspiration: Goniobranchus verrieri. They serve as a bit of an introduction to my ideas of scug traits (i find it really fun how many people have thought to add so many silly sluglike fixtures of biology completely independent of me, buuut here I’m mostly talking about species variation), and like in-game they’re pretty average! They, Monk and Hunter have a couple scars sourced from a piece of Joar's concept art that I'm failing to find, those across the bridge of the nose, under the eyes, and across the rhinophores, respectively, and my Survivor interpretation features many on the back of the neck, as a result of survived lizard bites.

Monk: Their coloring is primarily based off the fact that I associate them with blue fruits, honestly, a bit because I was compelled to establish a familiarity with Rivulet, and lastly inspired by the spots of Goniobranchus kuniei (and geminus, less important to me as one of my characters is a kuniei instead, but more fitting). Between the yellow + blue and the circular marking in the center of their face, they’re meant to bear a little resemblance to an iterator that shares similarities with the characterization I’ve given them, and similar coding of her sibling can be seen on Survivor’s markings around the eyes. As both a “default” slugcat and one whose campaign I haven’t played, though, I can’t say I have much more to point out about em.

Hunter: The whole rot thing made for a really fun time drawing them, and while the color change on their back is a result of this, it’s also an excuse to relate them to Babakina festiva, arguably my favorite sea slug (mostly for sentimental purposes). And to Spearmaster, a fellow messenger slugcat, and it serves as a gradient between Hunter’s pink and the “traditional” color of Rot seen in the DLLs. Aside from their affliction, they’d actually be the plainest in terms of design, as they don’t have any patterns or quirks of body type, just the red + purple and strange lumps + possible malnutrition. I can’t remember if NSH had created them in particular or just...caught + released or something, but it probably wouldn’t be strange for a lab-grown slugcat to be simple like that.

Gourmand: Like the two above, they’re rather plain in terms of coloring and adaptation, and like the two above, I find that fun. I decided it would be nice to avert the “all slugcats being of the same body type, and Gourmand’s out of place as the exception” thing by just...adding more fat to all of them, really. I did want to emphasize their sheer bulk even so, both fat and muscular (not like I couldn’t have still gone further with it, of course, but slugcat anatomy can be a little obfuscating sometimes, and they were intended to look rather plush considering personal size headcanons and therefore the lack of proper gravity), and the thick and flounced mantle looked like a good addition, as per their sea slug Glossodoris hikuerensis. Unlike Survivor and Monk, I didn’t attempt to hold their resemblance to any particular other character (which means a little less to balance out the “default gene pool” thing), so those are all the design notes I have for em.

Artificer: The second slugcat I’ve ever played, or finished the campaign of, my favorite for at least a long time, and the first thing I did was give them yellow accents, the shape of which have troubled me slightly (not quite like the spots or stripes of the others). They’re both a little more appealing and more explosive-looking to me, and considering how early on I played Arti, actually present in some of my older art. It does give them a little resemblance to Saint (completely intentional, two slugcats with strange relations to karma), as well as the fact that its radula is green for familiarity with one of its children (at some point it was going to have all-green markings, even!). I’m generous with their scars, partly because it was fun to overemphasize the one on their face and partly because it does seem like a reckless slugcat, on top of the dangers of its explosive abilities–I’ll probably just keep adding more forever. Mostly-red sea slugs aren’t too common, but Hexabranchus sanguineus works for sure. The ridged, yellow dewlap can expand for combustion purposes, or something along those lines. Arti’s where I began experimenting with a lot of the mildly-offkilter features seen in my interpretation of slugcats, as they’ve once again been a favorite from the start.

Rivulet: I've obviously given other slugcats spots, deeply enjoy the bubbly-soda markings of other peoples' slugcats, and thought seal riv would be cute. Despite not too closely resembling it, they've been government-assigned Hypselodoris bennetti, for color reasons and for a couple sentimental ones. Originally, the colors of every scug were meant to match up with the custom colors I gave them at the beginning of their campaigns, (though Arti, Gourm and Spearmy are the only three who actually apply here, since I've only played through half the slugcats: I gave arti the yellow as mentioned above, gourm brown eyes and spearmy light pink spears, furthered by the outskirts pearl accompanying me and that palette all the way to moon. Tolerance training for eternity in hell cause I already knew about the maroon pearl quest). I initially gave them the colors of the bi flag for fun... but with the limited palette of this image, I was left without pink for a while and decided to see how they'd look in red. I then realized how they now wonderfully matched Moon, and besides, red's a sort of camouflage in deep water! As a side-note, the difference between their eyes and those of others always bothered me a little for anatomical purposes, and the cephalopod eyes were probably influenced by this!

Spearmaster: Inspired as much as possible by @notyourfunnyman ’s wonderful spearmy: designed in a way that helps it fit in with scavengers, at least between the long sensory tentacles, big ruff, back spines and slightly thin/distended anatomy, a form of defensive mimicry. I always had annulate rhinophores in mind, for a little diversity sure, but mostly because the shape reminds me of radio antennae and communication towers (seems fitting for the comms array and being a messenger slugcat)! I started searching for a real-life slug to give them just by looking up their rhinophore shape...and was met immediately and coincidentally with annulate-topped nudibranchs that fit them more perfectly than I could've imagined: Flabellina and surrounding clades, I think Paraflabellina ischitana works very nicely. The orange was completely unplanned, but there wasn’t a place for light pink among the other slugcats’ palettes, and importantly it likens them to both Hunter and Seven Red Suns a little more.

Saint: I am very much a non-furred slugcat enjoyer, with respect to those who aren’t, so figuring out the only visibly furred slugcat was an interesting challenge. I’ve decided that they likely have other, milder adaptations for help in the cold, mainly just more efficient fat storage, and what looks vaguely like fur is instead a bunch of tubercles (called caryophillia, for the second reminder out of three). Their inspiration doesn’t have these, however, Miamira sinuata’s numerous yellow and blue spots (not to mention...whatever’s going on with that shape) and general effect of being the only really green nudibranch I could find were probably perfect for a strange green echo. Not pictured, but their beak-teeth are tiny and flat to make a surface for grinding soft food against with the lack of a functioning radula, which is tipped with a specialized spiny “grapple-hook” for better traction/grip (not to mention the numerous little teeth running down the whole thing).

(Best part of hiding this under a readmore means edits will be seen by all reblogs, I'm mostly sure, because I completely forgot to mention! The spots on their forehead are simple eyes. Their camera eyes appear closed in-game, I like to believe their complex eyesight is rather poor anyways or otherwise reason that they aren't seeing out of those, and while this was far from her REASON for attunement with the world, it does help compensate for mainly viewing it through a canvas of simple light and dark. This, and the fact that their swapped-out "fur" is not only to commit to a lack of hairs but contributes to sensory input!)

Nightcat/Enot: I guess you could say I found the “these two are technically the same person” compelling. (E.g. similar colors, both very strange and enigmatic, and Enot/Inv/Sofanthiel’s remark during the dating sim about getting removed from Arena Mode.) I doubt they’re the only two slugcats in their body, considering humans with DID tend to have more than a few (and I find it very funny that a slugcat bearing resemblance to Nightcat appears in Gourmand’s ending. They’re allowed in the colony and Enot isn’t </3), and I have to credit @faelingdraws ’s art for being what convinced me on it! Their design inspirations come down to trying to balance a few different ideas: making the patterns and palettes of both look oddly similar (special mention to the stars, since those are fun to draw), basing them off of Felimare sechurana and juliae respectively, using blocks of color with the same placement as in Enot’s official art, and specifically making Enot look...biologically reasonable and imperfect, whilst also clearly trying to imitate human displays of emotion (what with...the eyes and blush on that one piece of official art).

Lastly, here’s just a lineup with notes on body shape and size. Most of the nicknames (existing to give a little more space, that’s all) are obvious, and while I can’t remember why I shortened Nightcat to Nox, it is in honor of my friend by the same nickname :]

[nero-neptune]

idk how much stock i put into those "gen z is more conservative than past generations" think-pieces from a few years back. but it's very possible for a person: to believe that climate change is a problem, to support (or be part of) the LGBT community, to believe in universal healthcare and social services, to support religious tolerance, to fight for expanded housing and labor rights, etc etc etc, and still, like, unabashedly hate women on a level you wouldn't believe existed

[little-pup-pip]

could you make a moodboard that smells like cloves, and old books?

i feel like that’s a really weird way to ask that but also the only way i can explain it? Masc, please!

Please and thank you!

Definitely!!

[humming-fly]

ayy big thanks to whoever anonymously gave me crabs! the lads sure are Swarming

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

on my quest to find more books to read this year, there's been something kind of heartwarming to see that of the books on hold at my local library, or on the weekly bestseller's list at my local bookstores, there's always at least one book up there that's about Palestine. It's at least nice to see that some people in my area want to learn about the historical context of what's happening now, and learn far more than what a few posts on their feed can tell them. It makes me hope that public perception will continue to change for the better - and that the kind of support I've seen in my area won't die down immediately after a ceasefire is called

[girlboyburger]

Its-using animals club!

Alas i feel your pain, especially when someone's go-to response is "isn't using it/its dehumanizing?"

right. like. it doesn't matter if you think it's dehumanizing. it's what i want to be called, and like my name, you'll call me by it / its or we will not be having further conversation.

to me, personally, that's like. kind of a huge part of the appeal? full respect to those living in the "it can be a moment, it can be the mountains or the sunset" because, me too! but also a massive appeal to it / its is i can easily sum my gender up as some kinda boygirlthing. it/its he/she. like an animal you don't know the gender of.

[softceleste]

The fact I honestly thought I'd pull off playing College Craze and being normal about it, and then less than a week later I've already played it multiple times, made a duel MC au, a Pinterest board, and recreated some of the PopMe pages, is genuinely not lost on me.

[running-in-the-dark]

it's been a month since we moved into the new apartment -

I'm so stressed. everything is stressful. we're still not done building the kitchen but it's getting there (slowly). mostly we just need to wait until we get a couple parts that weren't in stock when we ordered the rest. I'm hoping it'll be done by next weekend.

some of it is very frustrating with my brain specifically. I'm so bothered by all the tiny little things that no one else would even notice - like, some of the handles on the drawers are very slightly crooked (as in, less than a millimeter higher on one side) - but for me it's so obvious that it's impossible to ignore. my husband didn't even know what I meant when I pointed it out to him. there's also been a few slightly bigger issues, but we've solved them now (I think).

my eye has been twitching for like three to four weeks. not all the time obviously, but every few minutes. it's very, very annoying.

we still have no new info about when we'll have internet finally. it could take a while still.

on Monday a guy has to replace something in the electric roller shutters in one room - but we don't know which one yet. so either I'll have to let him into my room (awful, uncomfortable, will have to tidy up tomorrow so he could even get to the window), or I'll have to get both our cats into their carrier if it's the one in my husband's room (awful, difficult, one of them doesn't like that so he'll be scared and I'll feel bad).

also on Monday the electrician will install our stove (if he has time). then we're getting two ikea deliveries. and I've got an appointment with my (new) GP because I need a prescription, and I'm very (verrry) nervous about it.

I miss watching TV. I miss tumblr and YouTube and messaging my friends whenever I want and sending them photos all the time. I miss order and structure and (some level of) routine. I miss using real cutlery (we still haven't found ours lol).

when I was finally starting to get used to the noises in this place, the family above us moved in with their baby that cries all the time very very loudly and most of the time right above my room. so now everything is different again and I'm not adjusting well and once again I can't sleep.

but, I've listened to 14 audiobooks since we moved! that's been nice. it was the same way when we moved the last time (just over a year ago..). my favourite by far was The Thursday Murder Club. I've got the other ones in the series but I'm trying not to listen to them too quickly, so I'm gonna listen to three other books first (one is done already, so I should get there on Monday or Tuesday hopefully).

[familyofpaladins]

I HAD A REVELATION

okay so I was thinking about gender. My gender. And my feelings about being a cis girl over time.

When I was little I used to wear all kinds of dresses and wore nail polish and even occasionally makeup (but like. Sloppily as a 7 year old would lol) and how overtime I stopped wearing nail polish and stopped wearing dresses and despised make up. I dont really remeber why I stopped with nail polish. Maybe because it flaked off too easily or maybe I was sick of the few colors we had idk. I know I gradually stopped wearing dresses and night gowns because I was sick of being told I couldnt "put my legs up [up against the wall or just straight up in the air] or that I had to sit a certain way while wearing one. So I wore more and more pants.

I think about how i used to stand in the toys aisles while my mom did grocery shopping and look at "The Boys" section and think how much cooler it was than the girls section.

And I think about how my music teacher told us one day we'd hit puberty and we'd grow and us girls would be like "[in a high pitched voice] OH MY GOSH I LOVE BOYS AND DID YOU HEAR ABOUT SO AND SO" and I looked over at my classmates and friends to see if they were also terrified of becoming annoying teenage boy-obsessed girls.

And i think about how when I was at my friend's house and we were building "tree forts" in the woods i would wish I had a penis for the convenience of being able to just go pee behind a tree, because squatting near the ground was Not Fun and I hated walking all the way back to the house. And I think about how I hated that I'd have to wear a bra once my boobs started to come in

Now you might be thinking. Friend I think you want[ed] to be a boy. But the thing is, i dont.

I may have hated being restricted in dresses but I dont actually hate them. I've gotten a couple dresses in the last 10 years (for prom and graduation and a [not my] wedding) and how I actually did like how I looked in them and enjoyed wearing them for that time.

I think about how I was jealous of the boys selection of toys, but also how I had a ton of barbies that I massively enjoyed and how if I'd been a boy I probably wouldnt have been able to enjoy them (thanks to pressure from society) as well as a bunch of other "girly" items and shows and movies. I think about how I'm actually Asexual and that I wasnt scared of becoming "a young woman", I just didnt understand the obsession with sex/romance/boyfriend&girlfriend stuff.

And while having a penis is more convenient for peeing I also remeber thinking that it would suck to get kicked in the balls and/or that trope of falling on soemthign between your legs that happens in so many movies (not that it feels any better with a vagina honestly). And that if I had been born a boy I'd most likely have to deal with all the toxic masculinity forced on me, and I'm glad I dont have to deal with that.

And while me and my boobs dont always get along, I remember that after getting my first cute bra, I thought. Oh well maybe this isnt so bad. And I mostly wear sports bras now because I do wish they were smaller and I HATE that so many bras (EVEN THE SPORTS BRAS) are already padded into cup shapes, and while I don't mind Having Boobs, i Do Not want to show them off. And sometimes i think that maybe i wouldn't mind chopping them off, but then i think how my figure/outline/silhouette would look with out them, and that seems worse.

And i think about the times I've accidentally been called "Sir" from tired fast food employees when wearing gender nonspecific clothing and felt happy about it. But not "oh it feels right to be called sir/he/him" , but more of "hehe I fooled you! You thought this was a dress but its pants!"

And really this is all to say. I was born a girl and grew up that way so it's what I'm used to. If I'd been born with a dick then I guess I'd be a guy. If you magically stuck me in a male body right now, would I feel like a Guy or feel like a girl in a guys body? I honestly dont know. So am I non binary? Maybe that that doesnt quite feel right either.

Being a girl is what I've grown up as and into, and it's what I'm used to and going by anything else is… odd. Maybe itd be better and maybe it wouldnt. It's like an old blanket. You've had it forever and maybe its frayed and patched maybe a little too small and it's not what people expect you to have for a blanket, and maybe you could do with a new one. But nothing feels right with out it. No other blanket feels the same. It's what you're used to and its familar. It's a comfort blanket.

And that's why being a [cis] girl is my comfort gender.

[wereh0gz]

Coral cave act 1&2 mix playing in the bg

[yana125]

Help! I'm writing a fic for a fandom I like but only know about the certain series and game I'm writing about as a casual 'I know this and that because I watched scenes and read the wiki but have never seen all of the episodes/never played with the game' and I've written nine pages of very thought provoking dialogue in the past two days so far that probably wouldn't slide well with the fandom because it contradicts many things in the established canon but I don't care because the cycle of nature doesn't have a good and evil side, Carl, the cycle of nature just cycles, don't blame nature when the people are the ones who use it for good or bad because they were never taught HOW to properly use it and how to deal with emotions in a HEALTHY way, and I abso-fucking-lutely LOVE writing this!!!!!! (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

[dbphantom]

I can only dream of seeing a fraction of the discourse that happens on OP tumblr