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gaudiorSo, it occurs to me that for the past year or so, I have read primarily Homestuck fanfic. Now, I normally read a fair bit of fanfic, but that seems excessive to me. But in thinking about it, I've realized: Homestuck, and by extension Homestuck fanfic, is exactly what I want to read, more than anything else I can find.
Let Me Tell You About Homestuck
Homestuck is a webcomic by Andrew Hussie. It is very popular. Many people are stymied by its length, which is fair, as it is very long, and the first parts of it are not very good (unless you really enjoy programming jokes). However! Hussie was kind enough to recap the first year of the comic, which gets you up to the point where the trolls are introduced, which most people agree is where it starts getting really good. You may want to go directly from the recap to this page, where Hussie stops being meta and gets back to the plot. There will be more meta later, but hopefully by that point, you will be absorbed enough to enjoy the trolling in the spirit it is probably intended.
Why Homestuck Is All I'm Reading Lately
1. It has a 1:1 ratio of female-presenting to male-presenting characters, with the exception of characters who are holdovers from his previous comic, Problem Sleuth. And with the huge cast, that means there are some damn awesome female characters.
2. It has canonically queer characters. Plural. Arguably, lots.
3. A majority of the cast are hermaphroditic, and doing gender only because they feel like it. This is something I like very much in my porn.
4. It has wide variations in tone, both in canon and therefore moreso in the fic. You can get anything from graphic psychological-and-body horror to fluffy romance to elaborately plotted and world-built novels to cracked-out-comedy, which means that no matter what mood you're in, there is Homestuck fic to suit you.
5. It has both a world with an oppressive caste system which the characters are fighting and characters who are canonically Social Justice Warriors in the worst sense. Which means that it is actually often about social justice and activism-- about the stuff I care about deeply-- but also that it doesn't get preachy about it.
6. All the fanfic is, according to Hussie, canon. Cuz alternate universes and timelines.
7. Its portrayal of characters with disabilities of all sorts is one of the widest-ranging I've seen in fiction; the fandom has expanded this to play with all sorts of genders, gender identities, races, body types, sexual orientations, and whatever else you might find interesting.
8. It has enough of a mix of traumatic situations and genuinely caring people that it overflows with hurt-comfort fic. I love hurt-comfort fic. And also healing fic-- people gradually getting better, over time, with all the work and effort that involves.
And the thing is, I just can't think of another work of fiction that has all of those attributes. I would be very, very happy if people were to name me some in the comments? But in the meantime, I will happily keep reading Homestuck.
Next entry: some fic recs!
--R
Let Me Tell You About Homestuck
Homestuck is a webcomic by Andrew Hussie. It is very popular. Many people are stymied by its length, which is fair, as it is very long, and the first parts of it are not very good (unless you really enjoy programming jokes). However! Hussie was kind enough to recap the first year of the comic, which gets you up to the point where the trolls are introduced, which most people agree is where it starts getting really good. You may want to go directly from the recap to this page, where Hussie stops being meta and gets back to the plot. There will be more meta later, but hopefully by that point, you will be absorbed enough to enjoy the trolling in the spirit it is probably intended.
Why Homestuck Is All I'm Reading Lately
1. It has a 1:1 ratio of female-presenting to male-presenting characters, with the exception of characters who are holdovers from his previous comic, Problem Sleuth. And with the huge cast, that means there are some damn awesome female characters.
2. It has canonically queer characters. Plural. Arguably, lots.
3. A majority of the cast are hermaphroditic, and doing gender only because they feel like it. This is something I like very much in my porn.
4. It has wide variations in tone, both in canon and therefore moreso in the fic. You can get anything from graphic psychological-and-body horror to fluffy romance to elaborately plotted and world-built novels to cracked-out-comedy, which means that no matter what mood you're in, there is Homestuck fic to suit you.
5. It has both a world with an oppressive caste system which the characters are fighting and characters who are canonically Social Justice Warriors in the worst sense. Which means that it is actually often about social justice and activism-- about the stuff I care about deeply-- but also that it doesn't get preachy about it.
6. All the fanfic is, according to Hussie, canon. Cuz alternate universes and timelines.
7. Its portrayal of characters with disabilities of all sorts is one of the widest-ranging I've seen in fiction; the fandom has expanded this to play with all sorts of genders, gender identities, races, body types, sexual orientations, and whatever else you might find interesting.
8. It has enough of a mix of traumatic situations and genuinely caring people that it overflows with hurt-comfort fic. I love hurt-comfort fic. And also healing fic-- people gradually getting better, over time, with all the work and effort that involves.
And the thing is, I just can't think of another work of fiction that has all of those attributes. I would be very, very happy if people were to name me some in the comments? But in the meantime, I will happily keep reading Homestuck.
Next entry: some fic recs!
--R
