#chamomile rose water and other unlikely intoxicants

[callmearcturus]

someone asked me if I knew what the Eye of the Duck for any of my fics was.

Eye of the Duck is a movie analysis podcast that's really tremendous, and revolves around this concept borrowed from David Lynch. Basically, when you look at a duck, you can look at its bill and it's feathers but if you want to understand it, you have to look into its eye. In the context of analysis, the podcast posits that the Eye of the Duck is the one scene of a movie that encapsulates everything that film is, the core of its thesis.

Okay so what the fuck are my Eyes of the Duck?

so we don't kill the ones we love: jesus this is so fucking hard i gotta come back to it

you can only take what you can carry to the edge of the sea: in "The Sixth Pentacle of Mars", the climax of Dirk's adventure is when he enters the volcano to save the island, and its explicitly something only he can do as a noble. The ailment that has haunted him his entire life and made him a pariah of society is the key to saving the first place that's ever been home to him. He is, for te entirety of the story, associated almost exclusively with water, and he tacitly becomes the water that douses the fire, the water of life.

The Eurydice Suite, 2.0: Karkat and Roxy in the neon courtyard of the labyrinthian dream. The way Karkat has spent the entire story keeping his emotions in check and just losing his cool for a moment is balanced by Roxy putting her panic and grief away to do what Karkat needs her to do. They're my faves, if it wasn't obvious.

Chamomile, rose water, and other unlikely intoxicants: Jake finding Dirk after the sacrifice. It is the death of Jake's former self and the rebirth of him into a vengeful man who has put away his childish things to affect destiny itself. Chamomile is about many deaths.

gushing gold: I HAVE NO IDEA, I KEEP THINKING ABOUT IT AND NOTHING COMES TO MIND.

out here the good girls die: that moment when Rose tacitly offers Karkat sex in return for him finding her brother and instead Karkat embraces her and gives her a chance to cry. As much as that story is a romance between Karkat and Dave, it's also a different kind of romance between Karkat and Rose, and in many ways Rose's trust is harder won.

ready to start the conquest of spaces: idk this one feels obvious to me, but it's Vriska's one and only scene in the story. I'm a Leftist that is tired of the specific twitter-poisoning of my comrades, and the revenant AU is very much about that. While the Alternia of the revenant AU is better than canon, its problems are still present, and its a reflection of the idea "Okay but when The Revolution happens, who will take care of the worst person you know?"

all the world is earth and water: The Bread Scene. I thought it might be the scene where Karkat explains to Dave that all the things in his care are whole and kept, that that's his right, but really: its about the Bread. That's what the whole story is about.

a steady hand, a delicate man: ODD CHOICE I AM SURE but the moment Martin observes Jon giving Daisy the apology bouquet after he failed to safeword out of the scene.

dustsceawung: The held reveal of Martin's white hair, how the Weaver took the color of his hair from him and how it acts as an instantly, unshakeable marker that he is fae-touched. The story is very much about the things people refuse to say, from the moment Martin carefully doesn't introduce himself to Gerry all the way to the end.

SWDKTOWL: okay I cannot escape it any longer. What the fuck is the Eye of the Duck of KTOWL? I am torn between two options. First, the Act Two Finale and the specific way Karkat handles the confrontation with Aranea. Karkat's entire purpose in the story is that he refuses to play by the same rules as everyone else, and when he's facing Aranea, his trust in Kanaya is what saves his life. IF NOT THAT then... It is the conversation Jake and Karkat have before Karkat is knocked out in the penultimate chapter. That is the Eye of the Duck. I think.

THAT'S ALL I GOT. And i'm probably wrong on a lot of these BUT great question.

[daedalusdavinci]

Dirkjake Fic Recs

i will be the first to admit im picky about my dirkjake, largely because i will not fucking stand for any fic where i feel like jake isnt given his just dues. jake is too fascinating and great of a character to just be that guy dirk liked. so here are my four absolute favorite dirkjake fics that i still stand by with my whole chest

The Four Kings, the God Thief, and the Black Diamond Pirates

by @oxfordroulette

Dirk and Vriska have it good. They raid ships, pillage merchant vessels, constantly poison each other, possess a lucrative pact with the Wind King, sing a lot of dope fuckin’ sea shanties, and captain a loveable crew of pirate scum. They’re ready to kick back, take it easy, and become the vile and revered scourge of the diamond trading line. Then they find someone in the water.

this has to be one of the greatest dirkjake fics ever written. oxfordRoulette excels so brilliantly at writing homestuck characters as theyre meant to be: assholes. horrible, horrible, terrible assholes. they pull no punches writing the pirates in this story to be just the most irredeemable pieces of shit and thats what makes it so goddamn good. their dialogue is hilarious, the relationship between dirk and vriska is EVERYTHING to me, and the gods are written so fucking brilliantly its impossible not to love them (predictably, i am particularly in love w dave, but theyre genuinely all so good). plus, its ILLUSTRATED, and their art is just fantastic

Wondrous Adventures of Harley, English, and Strider

by spectralPhobia

Jake English has a pretty straightforward life: he is an amateur writer who travels around the world with his twin sister Jade Harley and their dog Becquerel, thinking this is the best a life could be. Meeting Dirk Strider is only the beginning of the journey of changing his worldview, as well as an epic quest of saving the world, when spirits from an ancient legend come to life. A story about adventures, magic, conspiracy, sacrifices, smart people and clever plans, people who make mistakes, and many instances of great love. Set in a sort of steampunk world (no computer technologies, airships are a predominant way of travelling).

this is ANOTHER one of the greatest dirkjake fics ever written, but its also just one of the best homestuck fics ever written. if you liked my godstuck fics, you should DEFINITELY read this bc it inspired me a lot. the things they do w classpects are so fucking creative and while it is dirkjake its just as much a fic about jade and jake. its brilliantly fucking done, and i recommend it to absolutely everyone and anyone

A House Built

by sunflowerwonder

The Prospitian hero who seduced a foreign prince into sending his country resources. Certainly one for the history books.

medievalstuck. this one, as well as @callmearcturus's followup fic, A Spark, A Flame, A Fire, is definitely worth a read. jake is so often shafted in dirkjake fics, its a rare treasure when you find him written with quite so much care as he is in these fics. both authors have fascinating things to say about who jake is and how he communicates with people, and when it comes to arcs fic, i just LOVE how dave and rose are written, augh. theyre so fucking precious. im also a big big fan of roxy and jakes friendship! i still think about roxys little petnames for jake all the time. the derse vs prospit worldbuilding also just lives in the back of my head rent free at all times. if you liked my fic, Tactical Retreat, you should definitely read these bc god knows they totally influenced my worldbuilding

chamomile, rose water, and other unlikely intoxicants

by @callmearcturus

"I do swear by Skaia's guiding light to eschew ambition and direction to serve in the holy retinue. I will lay my head in the safety of the bower and pay penance in thought and deed. For the King of All Winters and the Undying Prince, I will provide succor and balm, and yield my being to ease the burden he carries for us all."  An off-the-cuff jamfic for the Strilondes discord that spun rapidly out of control. In which Dirk plays the role of resigned god-prince of Skaia, locked in a twisted version of the Year King fable. His life is a sorry routine until one year, he receives a very bold, strange offering from the heir to House Harley, Jake. A story about cycles, and how to break them, and the patterns left in the scattered pieces afterward.

sort of a medieval, fairytale style fic. i just love the way jake is written in this one, hes so fucking charming. the story itself and the plot is really compelling, and the worldbuilding is great! arc also just has a writing style that just sort of... flows, you know? its fucking beautiful honestly i wanted to write like that so bad

[dariadraws]

so a real throwback for this blog, but i was cleaning up my art folder and found this little relic of my homestuck days tucked away in a forgotten subfolder. @callmearcturus i know youre working on other things these days but Chamomile, rose water, and other unlikely intoxicants was deeply influential to me back in the day, and i still reread it from time to time, so i figured that since this was basically finished, i might as well set it free into the world.

[twizzlerstriders]

[merupuri]

Day Two: AU Galore for @jake-english-week

[lizardabidopsis]

melting snow

hold tight ‘til spring. inspired by the fic “chamomile, rose water, and other unlikely intoxicants” by @callmearcturus

21 songs, 1 hour 20 minutes

Lonely | Sons Of The East || Old Pine | Ben Howard || All My Might | hunter & wolfe || Cassius, - | Fleet Foxes || Call Me In The Afternoon | Half Moon Run || Paint | The Paper Kites || Cherry Wine | Hozier || My Boy Builds Coffins | Florence + The Machine || Heartbeats | José González || Warm Foothills | alt-J || Stars and Satellites | Dan Griffin || This Year | Bowerbirds || Hello My Old Heart | The Oh Hellos || Troubles Will Be Gone | The Tallest Man On Earth || Come Back To Us | Release The Sunbird || Into My Arms | Eliza Rickman || - Naiads, Cassadies | Fleet Foxes || Broken Crown | Mumford & Sons || Empire | Of Monsters and Men || To Build A Home | The Cinematic Orchestra || First Day Of My Life | Bright Eyes

enjoy this? want to hear more? check out my spotify

[crankybeetle]

Within your heart lies a single golden arrow.

You pull back, and release.

@callmearcturus there is not a single page I don’t want to draw from this fic.

[fadewalkin]

“ the undying Prince, the death of all winters, the winter King. “   bigger image view   inspired by @callmearcturus ‘s amazing fic chamomile, rose water, and other unlikely intoxicants  It’s incredibly good please go check it out! 

[imhereformysciencefriends]

So I just binged a really good fic and you should all please go read it right now immediately I swear to god and jesus you will not regret it

I’m at that post-fic state where I just... listlessly flit about, not knowing what to do or who I am

[overtrolled]

2021 HS fanfiction recs

I read a lot of Homestuck fanfiction this year, including fic I rediscovered, fic which are old favorites, and fic I read for the first time. I thought, since my previous fanfiction recommendation post got some interest, that I would provide a list of some standouts, excluding the ones mentioned in that post. Since There are so many I’ve read, I am limiting this to works that are both single and complete.

Fics which I have reread this year

California Dreaming (M) [JumpingJackFlash] Complete. Human AU set in Los Angeles. A romance between the stuffy roboticist Equius and unsuccessful actor Eridan Ampora.

the cure for anything is salt water (E) [Ghylle] Complete. A DirkJake fic, wherein Dirk is a Selkie, and Jake is the man who finds his skin.

The Fisher-Prince (M) [roachpatrol, urbanAnchorite] Complete, part of a larger series. A grimy/gritty fantasy AU which asks who Eridan Ampora is when seadwellers are at the bottom of the totem pole instead of the top?

Morning and Evening, Day and Night (T) [digimaniac33] Complete. A fic based on "Fisherman of the Inland Sea" by Ursula K. LeGuin. John and Jade are from a culture which has a four way marriage called a sedoretu, wherein each member is part of a pair, and each member is married to both members of the other pair. Dave and Rose join them in a sedoretu.

One of Our Submarines (T) [VastDerp] Complete as it's getting. Non SBURB AU. Sollux is helmsed, and discovers a community of other helmsmen messaging each other, coping with the horror of their situation. One of the big fanfics, you can see its influence in most fanon around helmsmen.

out on the new frontier (T) [orphan account] Complete. No SBURB shared universe AU. A post-SA hurt comfort thing where Dave helps out Cronus, a marginalized alien doing survival sex work on Earth

Second Best (T) [NoBrandHero] Complete. Postgame Earth. The Dave that survives the game isn't the main timeline Dave, it's Davesprite--but no one else knows just yet.

Tony Stark is not Willie Wonka... (M) [RainofLittleFishes] Complete as it's getting. A crossover with the MCU. Some of the Homestuck cast are transported to New York around the time of The Avengers. Having read exactly no MCU fanfics, I can't say for sure, but the fic has a very upbeat vibe that I associate with fandom tumblr posts from like 2013ish. I don't know, the lightheartedness was fascinating and somewhat endearing.

Within, Without (M) [reinkist] Complete. Meteorfic. A story of Dave and Karkat's developing relationship in the retcon timeline.

Young Dumb Things (T) [RainofLittleFishes] Complete. Non SBURB AU. Pitch pornstar Nepeta and robot technician Equius go pale for each other, and Karkat tries to set the two shy lovebirds together.

Fics which I have read for the first time this year:

401 (k) (M) [oncewewerezombies] Complete. No SBURB AU. A centuries-old Equius, grieving Nepeta's death, bonds with The Helmsman and plans a lovers' suicide with the one person the Condesce intends to keep alive. As you can imagine, it's a pretty heavy.

Astronomy in Reverse (T) [PunkZucchini, sicklekind] Complete. No SBURB shared universe AU. Dave and Karkat meet as penpals as teens. Now, Karkat is granted asylum on Earth, and now that he and Dave can meet in person, their mutual attraction develops into something more, while Dave weathers Bro's abuse until he, too, can flee his dangerous home.

chamomile, rose water, and other unlikely intoxicants (E) [callmearcturus] Complete. Fantasy AU. Dirk is the Year King, who is killed in sacrifice to bring the spring, but does not die. Jake is the Alchemist’s grandson, who sees the person beneath the bloody crown. But how can you love a sacrificial lamb?

Down by the Water (T) [spockandawe] Complete. A long, sad look at the life of the Handmaid, who keeps finding personal connections in the ancestors and keeps having to betray them to create the correct version of the timeline.

Faint (G) [TheMockingCrows] Complete. Rose Lalonde plays SBURB while coping with the chronic illnesses P.O.T.S. and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome.

The Four Kings, the God Thief, and the Black Diamond Pirates (E) [oxfordRoulette] Complete. Pirate AU longfic. The Beta kids are pirate gods, Dirk is the first mate on Vriska's pirate ship, and Jake is the mysterious cursed hottie from a faraway land whose appearance may hold the key to rescuing the vanished Jade and restoring her godly powers. (Note: this features illustrations and some interesting formatting best experienced on desktop)

Hold the Line (T) [dashery] Complete. Alpha universe Jade meets Alpha Dave Strider and Rose Lalonde. The first chapter makes you love them and the second makes you mourn.

Lee Shore (M) [JumpingJackFlash] Complete. Postgame Earth Dave/Eridan - This pairing looks like crack but I was rooting for them by the end. Very lovely and very gay.

my body feels young but my mind is very old (T) [oncewewerezombies] Complete. A short meteorfic featuring a pale interactions between Gamzee and Rose, who bond over crappy childhoods and substance abuse problems.

The Neon Bible (M) [tactfulGnostalgic] Complete. Shared universe AU. The Condesce occupies Earth, and hires Roxy Lalonde to be her Heiress Jane’s bodyguard. But soon, Roxy gets caught up in a rebel group and must juggle her loyalties between Jane and the freedom of humanity.

O+n the Care and Feeding o+f Wigglers (T) [CurlicueCal] Complete. How does a woman from a species with no nurturing instinct end up raising a giant ticklike larva? This fic has an answer.

drive it home with one headlight (E) [BlackHolesandUnicorns] (Edit: formerly this was mislabeled Virtual Reality by Rikudera. Whoops.) Complete. Dirk and Jake had a summer romance as teenagers, but their breakup had a massive effect on their following lives. Meeting again in a virtual reality world as old men, the pair finally confront each other and themselves.

What a Disaster (T) [Laurasauras] Complete. Human AU. A short humorous story where Karkat meets hot mess Vriska during court ordered community service and comes down with 'I can fix her' disease.

the wonder that's keeping the stars apart (M) [Laurasauras] Complete. An HSE/HS^2 fic centering on a revived John on the Theseus, interspersed with meditative bits of self reflection and a sadomasochistic back and forth between John and Dirk.

Some of these are extremely popular, others fairly obscure. One of these has a 100k+ word count, another is <2k. Some of these focus on romance, others on the various other aspects of the human experience. Some of these get dark and heavy, others stay light and some even get a bit schmaltzig. Enjoy!

[callmearcturus]

I just finished reading sex magic Island AU and A House Built and I am inconsolable that there aren't endless fanfics of your fanfics :') the worlds you create are SO GOOD. Thank you so much for writing. What do I even do with myself now that I've finished both series

HAHA uh lemme think. After TWYCC, I would recommend trying we float before the sea at dusk. after ASAFAF, I'm less sure what the next move is but it's probably chamomile, rose water, and other unlikely intoxicants. 8)

[lazyfanphilosopher]

chamomile, rose water, and other unlikely intoxicants by callmearcturus is literally such a comfort fic for me so here’s som lazy art i drew after re reading it for the 100th time

[peearrdee]

It’s that time of year again where I curl up in front of the radiator with tea and my favorite book (chamomile, rose water, and other unlikely intoxicants by callmearcturus)

[twizzlerstriders]

So I just got a dress for my birthday and um,,, getting some real chamomile Jake vibes off of it omg

[yuusuno]

#HS11th Day 20: Fanfic Forge

i sadly don't have any homestuck fics of my own to offer so i'll recommend my current favorite. it is a dirkjake fic called chamomile, rose water, and other unlikely intoxicants.

[nb-dstri]

@callmearcturus if you dont stop not only being so fucking talented and good at writing but also using that power to TEAR MY HEART INTO LITTLE BITS I S W E A R TO GOD