#spotted: feferi

[neostellarjpg]

please draw more tavris sprite or even a feferi x nepeta 🙏 ur art is so gorgeous

[maretriarch]

looking at my drawings like wow i really do ONLY draw women... cool! peak performance all wheat no chaff

[missbehavior0u0]

See the thing about Eridan and Feferi is they are a bit like sharks and dolphins. One of them is a lovely little smiley creature that makes chittering noises and does tricks and is overall very anthropomorphizable, and the other is a big nasty biting thing that you wouldn’t want in your entourage. Meanwhile Feferi is a nice young lady with sentiments about social justice that appeal to Homestuck’s exclusively (as far as I know) non-Alternian audience and very adorable mannerisms, and the other one is Eridan.

But then expert scientists start taking a closer look at the two species and start to spot some discrepancies with the general idea of what they should be. It turns out dolphins do all kinds of nasty things (ie: premarital sex, stockbroking, pyromania) and sharks are actually big softies who wouldn’t hurt a fly when you aren’t dressed up as a seal or making sensationalist blockbuster movies about them.

Similarly, upon closer inspection you realize that maybe Feferi isn’t really all that nice or even necessarily respectful towards lowbloods (re: conversations with sollux, VrIska, Jade) and that Eridan, despite having adopted his worldview because it puts him in a socially acceptable position of power, might not buy into those ideas and isn’t quite so awful or as much of a lost cause as first impressions might have him seem (re: conversations with Karkat, Gamzee regarding Sollux, requests for faulty doomsday devices, etc).

So naturally you as the reader get very excited about all these developments and start wondering oh boy oh boy, where will the story push these characterizations next, given that it’s already managed to tell us so much with so little? Who will remain true to their ideology, and whose will crumble? And then Eridan goes and does that. Sad! Oh well, there’s other tools of a genocidal regime to unpack. Sometimes the shark really is just a big nasty biting thing, and there’s nothing sinister lurking beneath the dolphin’s adorable trick.

But you, understandably, are a little pissed off by all this. You were eager to see all the secret nice and nasty bits of these characters come to fruition, and as the reader you’ve been denied your delectable prize. Plus, it seems not everyone has caught on to how things could have gone. So in your analysis you push things a bit, maybe to bring them justice or to make things clearer. Dolphins are actually murderous rapists who delight in stealing candy from small children, while your average shark is on par with Mother Teresa. Feferi’s plans for societal rehabilitation were tantamount to genocide. Eridan Did Nothing Wrong. And so on.

However, it’s important to settle on a few things at the end of the day. Bits of nuance are usually intended to make characters more similar rather than push them further apart. It might be more helpful to see what those similarities are pointing to and analyze them on that basis. Eridan and Feferi are both troubled little soldiers of a fascist state positioned very close to its head. Similarly, when all’s said and done, sharks and dolphins are both large marine predators with very sharp teeth who humans would benefit from not getting close to.

[relaxxattack]

Can you elaborate on what you meant with that ashen post? What do quadrant misunderstandings have to do with Eridan

oh my god, absolutely.

first of all, the fandom seemed to take eridan at his word when he said moirallegiance was a lesser romance akin to a friendzone; that's its own problem.

but in relation to blackrom: the toxic, horrible behavior that eridan displays in his flirting is often taken by fans to prove that kismesissitude is an inherently abusive, unnatural quadrant that the empire forces young trolls into. but this is incorrect.

as stated by multiple characters in-text AND by andrew hussie later: this behavior is not pitch at all. it's ashen flirting.

feferi calls out how transparent this bullshit is instantly. terezi, too, gets caught up in this when eridan decides to drag her into it, but she is also not having his shit. both of them read him for how fake he is. and that's not even going into how completely uninterested sollux was in this “rivalry”.

hussie, in the commentary, also states that eridan's obviously outrageous behavior is basically textbook for an ashen solicitation.

i feel that it's also worth mentioning that when eridan had a real kismesis, his relationship with her was amiable, and they even supported each other as teammates and allies in their campaigns. the second she gets bored of him, eridan starts pretending their relationship is volatile and going to “become murderous” to get kanaya to auspistize for him… sound familiar? 

and now here is what eridan looks like when he's actually pitch flirting. notice how despite his obvious assholery, eridan also tries to treat her with weird respect and pay her compliments? there's a noticeable difference between how eridan treats someone he actually has a pitch thing for and how he treats sollux.

with sollux, eridan is intentionally going way over the line, to goad people into stopping him. i discussed this before in reference to vriska/kanaya/tavros, but trolls actually obviously don't want their relationships to become unpleasant. they have an entire quadrant dedicated to intervening if they think a relationship isn't healthy. and the relationship going extremely toxic is attributed to a failure of auspisticism, not a natural facet of pitch romance.

this is what eridan's treatment of sollux is. it's unhealthy, by troll standards. which is saying something! it says that trolls have standards for blackrom; standards that make them think trolls like vriska, gamzee and eridan are going too far. 

so that's what my funny little image was trying to encapsulate. that fandom has such a blind spot when it comes to ashen relationships that it makes them misinterpret pitch romance as well. they forget that it's literally proven in-comic that trolls don't accept shit tons of toxicity as normal in their romance. (of course it gets a little more complicated when caste dynamics are introduced, but in the end other trolls still wish to auspistize in cases like terezi/gamzee.) 

ashen romance has a purpose, and people straight up refusing to acknowledge one of the four romances in the four romance system throws their perspective of the entire thing off balance.

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

So, basically he's already doing his way of martyrdom for the trolls by orphaner duties, he's very used to it, and there's nothing else that's manipulative to make him useful instead of dangerous for them. And the logics won't do because he operates on built in logic that trapped him. Emotional trickery will work, but he's generally unaffected by approval for his usefulness, so only therapy(TM) and being genuinely caring to him is the hard but direct way to ensure longterm cooperation?

tbh just be nice to him, be his friend, lmfao

by the time he's on the meteor

- gamzee has successfully cockblocked eridan and karkat's friendship so hard that karkat spends the whole time worrying about where gamzee went and got used to ignoring eridan to let him do his own thing, he didnt visit eridans planet even one time & thus proved with actions that he doesn't care about eridan

- kanaya is fully just making fun of him to his face, literally just his Actual Bully

- equius gatekept nepeta from associating with him too much + the fact that he asked her out scared her off, despite being her server player it's shown that she immediately joined up with equius and then the two barely ever talked to him or visited his planet

- feferi SAYS she's still eridan's friend (and he believes it because hes just that desperate) but doesn't defend him at all when sollux tells him he should've killed him. and we know sollux means it and it's not just flirting bc sollux literally says "not interested" to blackrom in that same convo

- rose also bullied him & outright approves of kanaya bullying him because neither of them are mature enough to just block and move on

- he acts genuinely nice to jade, gives her his gun out of genuine goodwill, and even lets her use him as a sounding board for her concerns about her grandson, and she calls his family heirloom a "legendary piece of shit" and yells at him bc he didnt say things in a polite enough way (contrast how nicely she talks to tavros despite tavros trying to leverage killing her grandpa into dating her)

- vriska treats him as an awkward ex she barely talks to, terezi wants nothing to do with him and agrees with him when he calls himself "fuckin pathetic", he was never close with the other lowbloods in the first place (aradia holds the highblood "snobs" in low regard and tavros probably lumps eridan in with vriska and doesn't hang out with him)

like. literally who was on his side. literally was there even a single person who bothered reaching out a friendship hand to him. were his emotions *wrong* when they told him nobody gave a shit about him anymore?

theres an old memo fairly early on in hivebent where eridan, fresh off a breakup with feferi, tries to go to past karkat for emotional support. the memo is closed by future karkat, post-murderstuck, who calls the memo "particularly nauseating" in hindsight. most obviously, he's referring to his part christening the tavros/vriska situationship, which ended with tavros and vriska both dead, but while he IS pretty devastated by ALL his friends' deaths, he never cared particularly about vriska or tavros (tavros literally messages karkat first after his spine gets broken and karkat goes "shut up go away dumbass"), so it'd be odd for this specific convo to be nauseating in hindsight just because of tavros and vriska - why not a convo with feferi and sollux, who also died? or equius and nepeta? he cares about them a roughly equal amount.

but he's always had a soft spot for specifically eridan, which we even see in this convo, as he offers - very gently - to work eridan through his emotional issues in private. in fact, it's implied that before sgrub started, they were CONSTANTLY messaging and "bro-ing out" like that, to the point feferi feels a need to comment on it.

but the thing is, we know he never follows through with this offer, because we also see eridan pestering present/future karkat for help - and it doesn't happen, because karkat is too upset about sollux's death, and because gamzee cockblocks him by making up an excuse for why he can't let eridan offer comfort to karkat. and then after that, he fully refused to hang out with eridan on lowaa bc eridan refuses to leave and lowaa is dangerous, despite telling eridan he'll make time to visit & eridan constantly asking him to do so

karkat also takes eridan's betrayal BY FAR the most personally; he already knew vriska was a murderous backstabbing freak & doesn't seem surprised to find out she killed tavros or was killed in turn; his reaction to gamzee snapping is mostly fear, but he also yells at past!gamzee to go away because present!gamzee's murder spree has "nothing to do with him", but when past!eridan comes on, karkat screams at him, calls him a backstabber, asks "how could you", etc.

hussie in the book commentary leaves the question of why this specific convo made karkat feel nauseous open for speculation, so here's my hat in the ring - it's because eridan was karkat's closest friend prior to sgrub, but he took it for granted, and this memo marks the first in a long string of failures on karkat's part to actually bother ACTING like a friend to him. eridan has a bar so low you could trip over it, and karkat still failed to meet it. this memo was the first of many broken promises to someone he genuinely cared about.

if he had visited lowaa even one time, and bothered having even one feelings jam sesh with his bro, maybe eridan wouldn't have reached the end of his tether.

like yeah eridan is fucking annoying, and he says some politically horrific things, but 1) he was literally a 13 year old child, 2) his actions clearly indicated he didn't believe most of his bs, and 3) multiple characters express after his death that it's a shame he died, a signal to the audience that he was intended to be, if not sympathetic, then at least tragic. was being annoying really so much of a sin that a child needed to be bullied and die friendless?

thats what eridan serves as a commentary on. the way casual callousness - apathy - can snowball into massive, terrible tragedies. people just didn't care about eridan, a dangerous element in their midst, who didn't make any secret about being dangerous, and this is the end result of that.

what would've happened if people cared sooner?

[mcacomulada]

The trolls as insects (i might draw them later)

Aradia Megido - Maroon Ghost Moth (Elhamma australasiae)

Moths have been repeatedly portrayed as a sign of death. Also, their fluffiness matches the one of Aradia's hair XD. When I read this one's name it was inevitable (ghost???, maroon??, literally her oh my gooood).

Tavros Nitram - Question Mark Butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis)

Mostly based off of the Summoner and Rufioh having wings, I didn't want to make it a monarch butterfly because Tavros is in no way royalty.

Sollux Captor - Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

Pretty self explanatory, Sollux always had a connection (and obsession) with bees. They also sting, which is kind of a metaphor for the psionics.

Karkat Vantas - Seven Spot Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata)

Ladybirds are always seen as special, even though this instance is not a mutation per se, it's special and red. Also, ladybirds are commonplace pests (which is kind of what Karkat is to HIC).

Nepeta Leijon - Pale Green Assassin Bug (Zelus luridus)

I looked up some good bug hunters and I got assassin bugs, nepeta is the mightiest of huntresses, so it fits.

Kanaya Maryam - Green Headed Ant (Rhytidoponera metallica)

I was doubting wether to make Kanaya an ant or a silk moth, but ultimately, moths are a better representation of Aradia, and ants mimic jade-blood's function in troll society better. A part from being green, this species of ant apparently has a nice bite, which is representative of Kanaya's fierceness.

Terezi Pyrope - Ebony Jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata)

I am aware that the dragonfly pictured is male, just ignore that lol, headcanon the trolls as hermaphroditic (i will post about their biological cycle hehe). Dragonflies are said to be insect's best predators, Terezi is also a vicious and precise hunter, if not of other trolls literally, of outcomes and possibilities (she is intelligent, and a Seer of Mind).

Vriska Serket - Peacock Tarantula (Poecilotheria metallica)

Also pretty self explanatory, it's a blue spider, therefore Vriska Serket. Spiders in general are already a good representation of how she is percieved (with fear lol). Yea, simple explanation.

Equius Zahhak - "Pure Blue" Giant Flower Beetle (Mecynorhina torquata)

The strongest of bugs are beetles (among some types of ants, who are better described as proportionally strongest). This particular one is also pretty big and strong, and coincidentally presents this type of coloration.

Gamzee Makara - Purple-Winged Grasshopper (Titanacris albipes)

Originally was going to be a praying mantis, but the orchid mantis was just too perfect for Feferi. Locusts also have ties to religion and mythology, which was my main focus for finding Gamzee's insect (they have been, fittingly, a symbol of destruction for eons).

Eridan Ampora - Canopy Mosquito (Sabethes cyaneus)

Tbh, I based most of this decision off of the fact that Eridan is annoying (I don't hate him, it's just his personality, unfortunately). Also, mosquitos breed in water (at least that's what my parents always told me) which matches the aquatic theme.

Feferi Peixes - Orchid Mantis (Hymenopus coronatus)

Feferi is the troll I had the most trouble with. Originally I tried keeping up with the aquatic theme and had found Ranatra linearis, a stickbug that looks like a mantis and hunts little fish. I discarded the option because even though it was aquatic, the connections with Feferi kind of ended there.

I then tried to search for a bug that had "empress" in the name, and had chosen Megapomponia imperatoria, a giant as fuck cicada. It didn't convince me either though.

I chose the orchid mantis because, mantises are cutthroat, good hunters and pink as fuck. If that's not a description of the tyrian blood caste I don't know what is.

I wanted to make one of these drawing comparisons to different species of ants. There exist some cool af ants out there, I might do it.

[nosydetective]

Some designs for a fantasy Prospit/Derse Homestuck AU for a roleplay server I ran! The idea was that classes were guilds (so Karkat was a literal Knight, for example) and aspects were churches. Terezi's design was created by my friend Ziggy, otherwise, the designs are mine, including the symbols of the churches and the guilds' crests.

Most of the backstories were also crafted by the other players, and I'm just summarizing them.

In this universe, the Condesce has taken over Derse by killing King Broderick, installing herself as the new Empress. Meanwhile, Prospit has recently lost its king at the hands of Snowman, who sits on the throne aided by the court.

The trolls:

Aradia is a Maid working at a strange green mansion outside of Derse. Years ago, she died. Through mysterious circumstances, she was brought back, but was bound to a master, like her sister before her. She doesn't feel much these days.

Equius is the Heir of a disgraced family of executioners. His ancestor slighted the Court of Broderick and was sent into exile, from which he never returned. Now, he's torn between his family's name and a kitty rogue he feels unexplicably close to.

Nepeta is a Rogue who steals to feed stray cats. Rogues follow the Robin Hood code, unlike Thieves, and they're much more tight-knit.

Feferi ran away from the palace to delay her destiny of fighting for the throne. She feeds an ancient being in the sky, but she doesn't procure the sacrifices.

Eridan is the prince of a small island. He's practically unimportant, politically speaking, but he's betrothed to Meenah (much to their mutual disgust) and helps Feferi with her "duties".

Sollux is the Court Mage of Derse, in charge of redirecting psionic power that comes directly from his brother to the kingdom.

Meanwhile, Gamzee is a happy little circus clown! And there's nothing more about his family that could possibly be haunting him.

Kanaya is a Sylph, one of the supernatural beings in charge of keeping the Mothergrub alive. Being the protector of troll life, Sylphs are respected and feared by the general population.

Karkat is part of the Knights of Prospit. He keeps his blood color hidden, aided by his friend Kanaya, from whom he got his attachment to the Church of Space.

Tavros is in the Page Academy... well, he has been for a while now. He's twice as old as most of the other pages, but he hasn't passed his trials yet. Nor does he particularly care to do so.

Terezi is a Seer, a role for which one is chosen extremely young, and then put through intense studies to prepare. She was blinded when she was a teenager, which also allowed her entry into the Order of the Blind Prophets.

Vriska is a descendant of the last pirate queen, for which a conclave decides on... whenever they feel like it. Or whenever someone manages to get all the captains in the same spot. She, too, aims for that title one day. Just as soon as she has a ship...

[thewertsearch]

Anonymous asked: Well, welcome to what's known as Murderstuck! Enjoy your stay, and complimentary Faygo of 12 delicious flavors can be found in the fridge! Anonymous asked: Welcome to the murderstuck arc! @elkian asked: Allow me to be probably the 300th person to welcome you to Murderstuck lol… it's so interesting seeing your theories, because you get REALLY CLOSE sometimes, it's just that these kids don't do things logically [...] Your prediction for 'blood' re: the Trolls was spot-on. Never seen Murderstuck predicted that early. @sanctferum asked: "What a flash, is all I’ll say. This feels like the beginning of a new chapter, with Aradia revived as one of the most powerful Players, and Vriska choosing to do something she’s probably been contemplating for months." Oh, it's a new chapter alright. A chapter called Horrorstuck (or Murderstuck depending on who you ask). Haaaaaaave fun!! [...] @mimescantscream asked: I'm so giddy for you to enter this section of Homestuck. It is so good. :o] Anonymous asked: welcome to karkat vantas's terrible horrible no good very bad day Anonymous asked: this part of the comic is commonly referred to as murderstuck. what do you think of these developments from a narrative point? they've always kind of felt like a wild swing to me. not per se unexpected, but a bit odd

Time for Homestuck to become a slasher movie!

These murders certainly didn't feel out of left field. The comic has been stretching the tension out for a while now, as the clock runs down on a meteor full of violent, stressed-out aliens. I didn't predict an Eridan double homicide, but I sure expected something to pop off.

Murderstuck also serves an important narrative purpose. The trolls have been directionless for a while now, with only Karkat and Kanaya really committed to helping the kids. Vriska, Terezi and Tavros have at least been doing something, but Equius, Nepeta, Feferi, Eridan, Sollux and Gamzee have barely existed for the entire sub-Act.

Homestuck has a lot of characters, and some were bound to end up on the bench. A crisis like this will get everyone off the bench and back into the fray. This, in turn, makes the Veil more dynamic, and sets the stage for interesting character moments - moments which won't happen if everyone is just napping in their rooms, or whatever the B-team have been doing post-Hivebent. Fuck that - it's time for shit to go down.

[exactly10meowingkittens]

I need to see all your troll designs so badly!!!! I mean already in love with your feferi design I want to see what you’ve come up with for the others!!!

Here are my designs!! Some have been designed by my past drawing and some had go be thought on the spot!! There is reasons for certain choices,,, so ill explain them:

because everyone's horns are the same colour as there blood karkats horns have been crudley painted on grey to match his shirt,,, for whateva!! Sollux has bee related things because I thought it would be silly for him to be a "fake queen bee"... ,kanayas sign is not on her suit it is on her sleeve!! As it would be covered by her big collar!! Tavroses hair was dyed to represent a brown ljke bull,,,, also he has a bull ring,, however i didn't know how to show thay in the redesign!! Also kanaya and vriska have extra limbs,,, vriskas is to represent spider legs and kanayas grub limbs,,, aradia is on a ouja board because I thought it would be cool of she got around like that!!!! A good chunk are based on there lusus minus some!! Like eridan is based a tiny bit on his lusus which is why he has a seahorse tail whereas karkat isn't really so he stayed the same!!! The explanation is done!!!

[topfsecret]

Seapunkification: A Bloodswap AU's Beta Trolls

Happy 413, esteemed Homestucks! The troll lineup for this bloodswap AU of mine is two years in the making... and it's finally done! ✨

alternate version + artist's notes + backstory under the cut~

Alternate Versions

As usual, the alternate version shows Karkat without his violetblood disguise.

.

Artist's Notes + Backstory

(warning: backstory contains spoilers!)

.

Feferi Megido (she/her)

Feferi Megido, the Catacomb Cuddler, looooves ghosts! She thinks that they deserve better than to be stuck haunting the mortal world, and so takes it upon herself to let the ghosts into her body and help them finish their unfinished business. She enjoys hanging out in places with a lot of death, and when she meets the Heiress, she travels to even more! (And maybe finds some love during it!)

Feferi is also the President of Cronusitis, a.k.a. the Bandlead Troubadour (Cronus Vantas) Fan Club, archiving the works of her favorite crooner. (That's why she wears 1950s-style clothes!) She'd do anything to get even the slightest scraps of Troubadour material, even travel to places full of death and danger (this is also how her ghost communion psionic powers and possession hobbies come in handy, she can be a medium that interviews dead Cronus-fans... though she wishes she could find the ghost of Cronus Vantas himself).

When Eridan Vantas told her that the Troubadour and the revolutionary Signless were one and the same, she decided to make it her goal to undo Imperial propaganda that separated those two figures and reveal the truth. At least to her fan club... but every big change starts with a small step!

.

Vriska Nitram (she/her)

Vriska Nitram was supposed to be under Imperial watch for being the descendant of the rebellious Corsaire (formerly Summoner, a.k.a. Aranea Nitram), but the Beguiler Dualscar/First and Grandest Orphaner (Kankri Ampora) had a soft spot for the Corsaire. Thus, by the grace of the Beguiler, she was spared the awful surveillance of most descendants of seditious trolls. She doesn't know this, though.

Also I made her taller. Sorry to all the short Vriska truthers 😔

Vriska is drawn with practical and casual clothes. This is just what she wears during VLARP-ing (Virtual Live Action Role Play) with Nepeta, Sollux, and Tavros (it was called "hyperrealistic TTRPG" in that old post :p), which she did after she stopped FLARP-ing.

Since Seapunkification is rather cyberpunk-y, with Makara Tech as the megacorp and the violetbloods as the Senatormentors that rule the Empire, VLARP-ing is seen as a more high-class, tasteful alternative for highbloods than FLARP-ing. After all, highblood lives are "more precious", unlike lowbloods who are so high in numbers they're "expendable" and so can just FLARP and die.

.

Kanaya Captor (she/her)

Kanaya basically wears Cyberclown attire without actually being cyber or clown, simply because she's Equius' assistant/errand girl/probably moirail.

She is weak in telekinesis and electricity, but extremely skilled at it from a lot of practice. Her psionic strength lies in precognition, which gives her a disability in form of constant hallucinations of visions of the past, present, and future.

.

Eridan Vantas (he/him)

Despite being the descendant of the Signless and the last surviving limeblood, Eridan is free-ish from Imperial watch, because the Signless Revolution's spies are protecting him. Moreover, his own limeblood illusion psionics is unwittingly shielding him and the people he cares about (Terezi and Kanaya) from Imperial surveillance.

While Kanaya is weak-but-skilled in physical psionics, Eridan's got no skill to wield his. In terms of raw power, he beats everyone else, but he isn't allowed to train himself by the Signless Revolution after accidentally burning someone to death in his wrigglerhood. That's why Kanaya has taken it upon herself to train him.

The Signless Revolution gives Eridan the task to fulfill the Fateseer's prophecy that the Signless' descendant will unite every troll across the hemospectrum. This task is to recruit at least one troll from every caste before he is exiled from the home planet in adulthood.

.

Terezi Leijon (ey/em/eir/eirs/emself)

Terezi is an assassin, who fashions emself as someone who reaps the souls of the damned (a.k.a. people who are against the Signless Revolution's values). That's easier said than done, however, since eir clients mostly want the opposite of what ey wants.

Oh well. In the meantime, ey trains with Eridan and Kanaya in preparation for the glorious revolution.

.

Sollux Maryam (he/him)

As the descendant of the Architex, Sollux is under Imperial watch. So he decides to escape the brooding caverns and constantly moves around, attending online school under a pseudonym, living off empty hives and selling the stuff in said hives. But this is not sustainable. And puberty makes him dysphoric. So he has to come out of hiding and find enough money to transition socially and medically. He also doesn't feel like he can live in isolation forever.

Here comes Tavros Serket with a golden ticket to gender validation.

Like Nepeta, he is under the employ of the ceruleanblood. He learns how to GM and uses VLARP-ing to find people that Nepeta can blackmail. He pursues Aradia Peixes - the Heiress - in a relationship of ambiguous quadrants to extort her, but unfortunately, Aradia knows that jadebloods are "not supposed to" have bifurcated horns... this is a distinctive trait too, like that one rebel called The Architex (a.k.a. Mituna Maryam). She used this information against him, but Sollux will definitely retaliate. (That's why his horns are cut off in this image, as this is Sollux post-"The Maryam Makeover".)

Also I decided to give Sollux short braids. Because Sollux with long hair (like in the VLARP art from 2023) is probably best saved for his adult self. *vibrates excitedly about the hypothetical Seapunkification friendsim*

Also Sollux hacks his own government files to legalize his and Nepeta's transition. Trans icon.

.

Nepeta Pyrope (they/them)

Nepeta Pyrope's more of a sheltered kid than Nepeta Leijon, so they wear cute and impractical clothes. The tail is decorative. They wear a lot of purple because of Equius, their moirail and benefactor. They only became Equius' "meowrail" to extort him and get closer to the Makara Tech fortune and secrets to bring the megacorp down and avenge their ancestor, but he doesn't know that yet.

Nepeta is under Imperial watch for being the descendant of Meulin Pyrope, the Neophyte Orphaner (the first and only teal-blooded Orphaner ever). The Neophyte was hated by the Empress for colluding with Kankri Ampora in turning the Empire into a violetblood hegemony - later, they got executed by Horuss Makara for their crimes. So, Nepeta tries their best to seem like a law-abiding citizen. (Somewhat. They decide to join Tavros Serket's criminal empire to get money for transitioning.)

They also avoid the Orphaner Corps at all costs - only violetbloods can be Orphaners now, sure, but they also don't want to work there in an administrative capacity, either.

Sollux and Nepeta are both ~ HACKERMAN ~, but he's more about having fun and Nepeta is more of the data analysis stalker who blackmails people for secrets, favors, and money by knowing their "weak spots" (friends and quadrants and other associates).

When not studying Imperial law, trying to avenge their ancestor, or committing organized crime, Nepeta is an avid roleplayer and fanfiction reader. Their favorite author is one VioletProse, a seadweller with a penchant of writing complicated love dodecahedrons and quadrant-mixing, complete with schedules and charts. They wish to meet VioletProse someday and talk about writing.

.

Tavros Serket (she/her)

Tavros pays for Nepeta and Sollux's transitions in exchange for a large cut of their profits. As Sollux and Nepeta undergo bodily changes and become happier and more euphoric, Tavros finds herself feeling Some Sort of Emotion.

Vriska, who is also a trans girl, decides that she'll hatch Tavros's egg, no matter how ready the cerulean may or may not be. She'll teach her the ropes! It'll be great!

.

Gamzee Zahhak (he/him)

Gamzee, as the descendant of the Salvation (Kurloz Zahhak) - the original inventor of the clown religion - is constantly under Imperial surveillance. He's basically a ward of the Cyberclown Church, living with Equius as a long-suffering fellow churchgoer.

He takes up engineering so he can go to the academy of Makara Tech and away from Equius' "friendship", enlisting the help of one Vriska Nitram (thus the bronze-colored tools in his hands).

.

Equius Makara (he/him)

Seapunkification presents to you our Short Equius Agenda.

Equius is basically ordered by his ancestor to proselytize people, including and especially Gamzee.

His ancestor, the Mirthful Messiah/the High Prieste% (Horuss Makara), stole and bastardized the Salvation's religion. The Salvation and his adherents dressed as clowns with tearful face paint, which mourned the Signless' death, using a clown persona as an homage to the Signless' pre-rebellion performer image. His adherents were supporters of the Signless and/or limebloods who were trying to escape the purge.

The Mirthful Messiah (with the help of the Beguiler and the Summoner) destroyed the Salvation's original clown church and turned it into a cyberclown church where adherents replace body parts with cybernetics in an act of mirthful creation. All the clown stuff is kept as a mockery of the rebellion.

Equius is intensely jealous of this violet-blooded fanfiction author that his meowrail constantly gushes about.

On the other hand, he longs to meet the descendant of the Beguiler and idealizes him, since Kankri and Horuss were besties when the former was still mortal...

.

Karkat Ampora (he/him, she/her)

Oh, Karkat Ampostor, they can never make me hate you.

Like Nepeta, he is a fandom-goer. He isn't a roleplayer, but he writes meta and fanfic. Under his pen name "VioletProse", Karkat is somewhat of a BNF in the fandom of "The Concupiscent Auspistice", a series of doorstopping corny semi-seditious quadrant-fucking romance novels.

I'm always drawing Karkat in a beskap, fake horns, and face paint/makeup now, at least when he's taking his disguise seriously. And since I'm already dressing him with an Indonesian attire, I think he can have a keris (dagger) as the Hallowed Sword he inherited from his ascended ancestor (who is wearing clothes inspired by Central Javanese wedding attire). The wavy shape of a keris is like his sign too!

Karkat's pants is an inner swimsuit like Aradia's (see below), except he uses adaptive, stretchy protective "shoes/socks" for his toes because like hell he's showing those red ones. The golden part is actually a knee brace with some modifications! He also wears gloves with finger splints, which are also gold. His classmates definitely notice that Karkat suddenly has a taste for makeup, jewelry, and fine clothes instead of just T-shirts like before his mutation.

Karkat's belt has nothing to do with a beskap-style attire, it's moreso a "pirate" aesthetic (he and Aradia wear belts with each other's caste colors~)

Also, if the Hallowed Sword is a keris, I would make his cane a lightsaber. Sorry, I make the rules here. Seapunkification is pretty cyberpunk, at least in my head. I'll work on it more! (I kinda wish that this AU was more worldbuilding- and- xeno- than character-driven sometimes xD)

.

Aradia Peixes (she/her, they/them)

Aradia has always been drawn with a kimono-style top that is folded incorrectly (as in, the way a corpse's clothes - not a living person's - are folded). At first, her skirt is longer and more layered, but I like the stingray look with the wide top and narrowing tail... and it's more fitting to Aradia's adventurous character to have practical clothes that let her run around and have fights.

I don't know how to work her arm-fins, so I ignored it for now xD I also removed her makeup because I don't think she'd wear it. But I added a bun, to make her look more princess-like. Her arm tattoos are horrorterror vibes, one is the deep ocean with eyes, and the other is the tentacles.

Now, her inner clothes! I decided she can wear stirrup pants-style diving-suit material, since it's athletic and also lets her swim (and is very princessy/ballerina-y, which has a classy feel). The open toes is actually because in Seapunkification seadwellers will have webbed feet and hands underwater.

The whip is two-sided, one side is a grappling hook and the other would be like, laser-style. It works underwater of course, Karkat's does too. Yes. I'm pushing it. >;D

[kabutoden]

Sorry if youve answered this before, but how do you chose the bugs to assign to each character ? Also they are all really cool and fun :3

Hi, I’ve explained this before but I’ll do it again! Last time I explained it was less specific to the character and more to the caste, so this’ll be a little different. I use the metaphors and associations of the insect to pick their species as well as their diet. I’m calling the species a troll mimics their ‘morph’.

Aradia: Fly. Associated with death. Detritivore. Tavros: Craneflies. Frailty, timidness, clumsiness. Thinking longhorn beetle might be a funnier pun though, so I might change it. Herbivore. Sollux: Bees. Construction, intelligence, connections to groupthink/hiveminds/psi. Herbivore. Nepeta: Caterpillar. It’s a pun. Herbivore. Karkat: Isopod. Highly social insect. Durable shell representing defensiveness/personal barriers, but also serving literal aspect of ‘thick skin.’ Detritivore. Kanaya: Hornet. Dangerous but caring parents, association with femininity. Omnivore. Terezi: Dragonfly. Good eyesight’s associated with clarity, though large eyes would also be easier to blind. Good at flying. Dragon pun. Carnivore. Vriska: Spider. Manipulative, association with femininity. Carnivore. Equius: Beetle. Strong. Omnivore. Gamzee: Praying mantis. Associations with religion due to unique praying pose. Carnivore. Eridan: Anolomacaris. Extinct skilled distance hunter. Carnivore. Feferi: Trilobite. Large curved spines, trident tongue, ‘ruler of precambrian seas.’ Detritvore.

All insects before Jade are herbivores or detritivores, and all insects jade and after are middle to highblood can hunt. This was to set up an intentionally antagonistic relationship between lowbloods and highbloods. It’s also a new way to play with themes in my personal work which are all about animal dynamics.

I mostly did the human kids as bugs as a joke, because they’re not aliens at all so its funny!! But I had a ton of fun with them so here we go again. I chose them off colors and gimmicks.

John: Spitbug. They’re bright green and gooey boys. Like ectoplasm. Rose: Rosy maple moth. Name association—also bright pink and yellow against their will. Rose wishes she was a cool goth all-black moth. Moths are associated with ‘seeking light.’ Dave: Assassin beetle/wheel bug. Have a gear shaped bump on back, large black eyes, efficient predators, some red coloration. Fits in with his expectations and pressures. Jade: Wooly aphid. They’re white, fuzzy, with rainbow wings. That’s so her.

Jane: Candy-striped leafhopper. Bright cyan with red highlights, food-themed name.Roxy: Pink-spotted cattleheart. Gorgeous pink and black coloring. Butterflies are nectar-drinkers, associated with celebration and inebriation. Kinda clumsy too. Dirk: Tiger beetle. They can move in bursts of motion faster than they can see. That’s flash stepping. Orange and black. Jake: Diving beetle. Dark green with orange highlights, explorers who go where other beetles cannot.

[rainbowspinch]

This is for the two people (@mxs-space and @impishthing I love you both thank you for encouraging me sending confetti to your mailbox as we speak) that wanted my Beforan Ancestor lore I’m sticking it all under the cut. Long ass post guys watch out

Also this stuff is incomplete lmao just so we all know. ANYWAY

All decided names so far;

Karkat: The Nexus, Nexus Knight Vanitas

Aradia: The Elegist

Tavros: The Pagewright, The Emergent

Sollux: The Conductor

Nepeta: The Mighty Huntress

Kanaya: The Sunkissed Palliative

Terezi: TBD

Vriska: Conqueror Chelicerae Mindfang

Equius: The Neighcent

Gamzee: Jongleur

Eridan: The March Huntress, March

Feferi: Her Radiant Marina

Rough timeline SO FAR

Aradia Megido - The Elegist

Elegist - the author of a mournful poem lamenting the dead

The Elegist is something of a bad omen, recorded to subtly appear only when a tragedy is coming. Manifesting quietly into your peripheral vision as whatever’s about to happen to you takes root in your history forever. While there are rumours, all modern appearances or accounts of her came to a halt, as if she disappeared as mysteriously as she initially came. There’s no record of anyone catching a conversation to her, nothing accessible to the public eye at least, but the stories say if you can’t see her, you’ll hear the whispers of her familiars ringing in your ears.

-

A very, very long time ago, long before Her Radiant Marina claimed the throne, there was a musician. She claimed the songs she wrote were shared to her by the voices of the dead. A recluse of sorts, but not by any means unfriendly. Despite her unusual disposition, she was regarded as kind and easy to get along with if you could overlook the weirder aspects of her. As a young adult, something transpired between herself and the current empress, and she disappeared. Angry and upset, our dear sweet musician took on a new calling. She swore to the empress that her face would be the last thing this planet ever sees. Billions of sweeps later, her tale and her warning is long forgotten.

Other notes:

-possibly made deals with spirits she shouldn’t have in order to live as long as she has.

Tavros Nitram - The Pagewright, The Emergent

Emergent - in the process of coming into being or becoming prominent.

Pagewright - ‘Page’ being from his class, ‘wright’ coming from ‘playwright’, a reference to his nature as a storyteller, and to the Summoner’s story being turned into a work of fiction.

The Pagewright was an avid traveller. He was a friend of the people, travelling from town to town, city to city, taking up tasks for others as he went. These tasks would often decide the direction of his journey, basing his trip on a parcel he was asked to deliver, or a recipe that was suggested to him only found in a certain place. His direction changes as flippantly as the wind, always treading from place to place on a whim. He developed a popular reputation as a nomad of sorts, and a lover of animals. His old logs of his travels far and wild are occasionally used as reference points for zoological study on now extinct forms of lusii, due to his mission to befriend literally any creature he came across. Despite his long travels, the truth was that the Pagewright had a home and a matesprite, both of which he always returned to. The gaps in his ventures were filled with love and home made cheer.

Modernly, the Pagewright is known for his stories. The traveller had a known soft spot for fiction of a fantastical kind, and would share and trade stories with many of the people from the towns he visited. After circulating and being retold for years and years, many of these indulgent fictional stories became the crutch for modern day fairy tales. His most famous story, however, was one he claimed was rooted in truth. He told the story of the day he lost his legs, and almost his life. The Pagewright, with an expression lost in thought, claimed he looked into the piercing eyes of Death herself. Despite the bizarre nature of the story, it developed into the interpretation of the Grim Reaper that many people know today.

Other notes:

-his matesprit is The Neighcent, the same gentleman responsible for crafting his legs.

-underneath his clothing he also wears a thin brace of sorts. His posture is insanely out of whack from spine damage and carrying his stupid god damn horns around

Karkat Vantas - Nexus Knight Vanitas, The Nexus

Nexus - a connection or series of connections linking two or more things.

Knight - Comes from his class.

Vanitas - Art term, the concept of human life and happiness as fleeting, short-lived.

The Nexus was a peacekeeper. When Her Radiant Marina was settling into her role as a ruler, he stood nobly by her side as both a personal guard and a dear friend. He stuck to her side, making sure she attended all her meetings and did all her Empress-ly duties, all that important royal junk. More importantly, The Nexus was a friend to the people. While his dialogue could often be less than professional, he was loved for his kindness and affection underneath. It wasn’t uncommon for him to resolve disputes between others, keep younger people occupied, or lend a hand wherever he was needed. The Nexus was incredibly popular with his people, and he loved them more than he ever could have imagined.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. As Marina got older, she began to bring in the new culling laws. For the better, she said. To take care of them, she said. Like in many other cases, the people made into playtoys or coddled pets by these laws were angry, and began to push back. Then came the division, then the violence. While Marina scrambled to repair the damage from a distance, The Nexus tried to speak to her subjects face to face. Gathering small groups of her people together to speak to, condemning the senseless violence and encouraging them to come together. But the more he talked, the more he realised that they were right. In truth, would these laws not affect him too? In the end, is he not a traitor to himself to stand by her? Even now, while he tried to put her kingdom back together, she hid up in her palace, whilst he drew further and further from her. The Nexus was furious. Hand in hand with his people, he pushed back. He tried to negotiate with her, talk to her as one friend to another, but she wouldn’t budge. She insisted she knew best. The followers grew weary, the warmongerers grew impatient. It was one life for the freedom of hundreds more, they said. They used him as a symbol of their own. For the more peaceful, a symbol of mourning and revolt. For the others, a symbol of sacrifice and example. A gruesome display of rebellion. It was then that Marina stepped out into the light to make a move. She strapped the laws tight, herded the people in. And as history moved forward, her peace returned by force, she wiped the entire incident from the books, The Nexus and his sacrifice included.

Other notes:

-the symbol they ended up using to represent him was the symbol of infinity. ♾️

Eridan Ampora - The March Huntress

March - March is considered one of the best months to fish in, March Eridan

Huntress - Referencing their post scratch work hunting for Feferi’s lusus.

The March Huntress was,,,, a character. In the beginning, she was running fishing expeditions and dabbling in science on the side. It’s not really known when, exactly, she became so infatuated with the concept of magic, only when she started letting it seep into everything she did. It didn’t take long for her to abandon her fishing exports and scientific studies in favour of uncovering this magic she was so, so very sure existed. Tragically she was regarded as a nutcase and, frankly, a bit of a tool for being arrogant and dramatic about her claims. From studying, to actively seeking out magical items for herself, her fascination only grew with each step she took towards some true discovery. Slowly, her friends grew lost on her. She withdrew, disappearing from the public eye, being seen less and less until she was lost altogether. Lost in her work, lost in her spiralling out of isolation. A very long time later, however, she kind of just… popped into the public eye again. So long, that most of her reputation was now going unknown, save for those with longer life spans who lived to see her step into the light of day again.

Modernly, still living even in present day, she goes solely as March. A business owner, with a less than professional attitude but probably making more than enough money to give a shit. Running several small establishments that she often checks in on and helps out with, she remains highly regarded with her staff and regular customers. Despite her olden grievances, her fascination with magic isn’t lost. Many of her supposed ‘magical items’ are still kept tucked in her sylladex, these items she treasures greatly. Unfortunately these items are definitely cursed, and March is also definitely cursed as a result. It’s unbelievable how cursed she probably is. Held close to her heart is an ‘amulet’, a beautiful stone planchette rimmed in gold, hung on a rope chain. Always in her mind she hears the whispers. Always in her mind she hears them talking. And yet, till the day the world ended, she could not bring herself to let it go.

Other notes:

-March’s entire story was completely bullshitted on the spot because Cronus gave me so little to work with. It started with a ‘she owns a hot girl car wash’ joke and expanded from there

-It’s not actually a hot girl car wash though. Just a normal car wash. Cronus brings cars there to get them cleaned while she rambles to him about how magic is real and she can prove it. Then they go out to a field and she blows up his car

Feferi Peixes - Her Radiant Marina

Radiant - Reference to her jewellery and brighter colours, glistening

Marina - a specially designed harbour with moorings for pleasure yachts and small boats, ‘marine’

 Haven’t written out a full thing for her that I’m happy with yet, but HRM is our empress.

Sollux Captor - The Conductor

Conductor - the materials or substances which allow electricity to flow through them, a train crew member responsible for operational and safety duties, a person who collects fares and sells tickets on a bus.

My guy created public transport and we’re so proud of him

Other notes:

-he is almost entirely based on that One line of dialogue from pesterquest about being jazzed about public transport.

-he just fucking loves public transport

Alright that’s all gang thanks

[davekat-sucks]

There are really people who think Eridan was always gonna be terrible because even with his friends he was still shit. Even though if he made those friends EARLIER it would've seriously dampened how much his lusus and violet peers could influence him. Karkat and Gamzee were pretty much the only ones who genuinely cared about him (Feferi) without trying to make it a self-beneficial quadrant situation (Vriska, Kanaya)

Or maybe it's just because I have a terrible habit of shipping vanporas. That could also be it. Either way, Eridan wasn't simply going to be "shit because he was always gonna be shit", everyone in the group had very specific circumstances that, had they gone slightly different, things would've worked out better for them. And for Eridan, it could've been as simple as him ignoring his lusus' orders for one night as a pupa and going to visit that big castle on the other side of the beach. He probably still would've hated most other trolls because the land trolls pollute the ocean and all of the violets are Fef groupies trying to compete with him for his spot in her quads, not to mention Fef herself for trying to convince him that a maddening outerdimensional infant godling is completely harmless, but at least he'd have a better enough opinion of his friends to not kill them all.

Violetbloods and fuschiabloods are supposedly rare on Alternia. With the incestuous slurry in mind, it can be assume that the Mother Grub laying an egg that would hatch into a sea dweller is a rare genetic. At worst with Eridan's traits is that he is emotionally awkward. Dude wants to play up the front and role of the rich highblood most would expect. But being seen as vulnerable for a moment scares him when he was told that society expects authority and superiority over others. For Cronus, it is him losing his faith in something he believed in and Kankri just enabling his bad behavior. Kankri lets Cronus' humansona identity be a shield to any criticism despite ironically that it is people like Cronus that are part of first class privilege, would be someone that Kankri (that represents insane SJWs of Tumblr) should hate.

[cryptid-cafe-bah]

Welcome to the Cryptid Cafe! May I take your order?

Hi I'm Vincent, you can also call me Grimm, Cryptid or Hunter.

This is my new Build A Headmate blog!

Request Status: Open!

Please specify what kind of pack you want and for sub/starter systems how many headmates.

Inbox Check

Disclaimers

Most sources will probably need to be researched cuz I have the attention span of a goldfish but I'll do my best regardless.

Also if I'm uncomfortable with an ask it will be deleted and not fulfilled.

Template under the cut

Identity pack - Bigfoot Cookie

Names:

Pronouns:

Titles:

Emojis:

Inner world pack - Lizard Man Latte

Front room:

Meeting room:

Hangout spot:

Alter rooms:

Level 1 headmate - Loch Ness Tea

Names:

Age:

Pronouns:

Gender:

Orientation:

Titles:

Species:

Source:

Level 2 Headmate - Mothman Muffin

All level 1 +

Typing quirk:

Faceclaim:

Emojis:

Likes:

Dislikes:

Aesthetic:

Sub/starter system level 1 - Jackalope Cocoa

Collective name:

Collective pronouns:

Level 1 pack for each headmate (up to 7)

Sub/starter system level 2 - Chupacabra Croissant

Collective name:

Collective pronouns:

System name ideas:

Inner world pack

Level 2 pack for each headmate (up to 5)

[animoogus]

actually, re: this post [x]

Please share your thoughts bc like. How bloody was it. Who even cleaned it. How often is it used. Do the humans even know it was a death bed.

[vikkirosko]

Hi! Can I request another part of male Condesce and Purple Blood Reader who is his matespirit but was secretly with Signless and his group?

After her meeting with MSPA reader and his troll friends, she walk along the beach near her hive and find grub male Feferi.

Knowing that this grub is the direct descendant of Condesce, she is aware that if Condesce sees him, he will kill him on the spot, not waiting for him to grow into adulthood. So, she takes the little grub in her hive and hide him just in time before Condesce come in her hive.

The two have tea together, Condesce telling the story of how he had fun fighting and killing this heir, while reader is listening, panicking internally of what will happened if Condesce find the little grub. Thanks!

♓️ Male!Condesce ♥️ fem purpleblood!Reader headcanons The Young Heir 🐙

You would never show it, but dealing with young trolls has tired you. That's why you decided to take a walk on the beach near your hive. The sound of the water calmed you and your thoughts took you far away from your home planet until something caught your eye. This something was fuchsia color. When you got closer, you saw that it was grub. You couldn't believe that the heir to a huge empire was just left alone on the beach, but you understood that you couldn't leave it like that

You took grub to your hive, intending to take care of it while you were on Alternia. You knew perfectly well that this kid was a descendant of your matesprite and that if he saw him, he would kill him without the slightest hesitation. He always killed the heirs, and such a kid would definitely not be able to defeat him. That's why you had to hide him, in the hope that this baby would not die. You hid grub in your room, making him an improvised cradle there, and just in time, because someone knocked on your door

It was Condesce. The fact that he came to you meant that he had finished his business, but it also meant that you were on very thin ice. You couldn't let Condesce find out that you hid the heir at your place. You were not afraid of your own well-being, even if he had killed you, you would not have resisted, ready for death for many years, but you did not want him to kill the young heir. You were hoping grub wouldn't make any noise and Condesce wouldn't find it

You made him tea and listened to how he fought with the heir and how he had fun getting rid of him. While he was telling you, you could feel the cold in your insides. You were scared. You weren't so scared when Condesce found out that you were helping the rebels, but now you had a real panic inside. You've been waiting for the moment when Condesce leaves your hive and you can exhale with relief

When he left, you hurried to grub. He was sleeping peacefully and you felt calm. You didn't know how to be and how you could take care of him, so you had to find him lusus. Someone who will not allow Condesce to harm the baby and who will take care of him when you fly away. You had about another week and you should have spent that time usefully