Weeababy Trash

This comic has been so important to me, it’s brought me so far in life honestly… 

Before 2012 I was the asshole who bashed Homestuck and its fans just because it was cool to, but having literally no idea what it was. This was during my final year of high school and I was a grade A piece of garbage all through high school. I was a bully, I hung out with Neo nazis, I was an ableist, misogynistic little shit. I was also, unfortunately, very influential in my friend group, so of course no one spoke against me. In fact, everyone in friend group also ripped on this webcomic.

The summer of that year though, I went to a general cosplay meet up and made the “mistake” of asking someone what the bucket thing was all about. This Homestuck was someone I was already friends with prior so I decided to give her the time of day to explain. After that, I went to school and just… I discovered that I knew too much. I decided to try reading Homestuck because honestly I had never considered it before and I decided that it was kind of douchey not to even for me… And failed, I literally skimmed so much I thought John was two different people. So, I decided the comic was dumb and confusing and definitely not for me. 

I started seeing my really elitist cosplayer friends getting into it (which is I thing I had because that’s the kind of asshole I was too, not that I’m totally free of that kind of thinking now either but… Y’know… I’m better) though; so, confused, I wanted to try again but I just couldn’t bring myself to bother, it was so long and tedious to me. I tactfully brought it up at school the next day and was referred to the YouTube series, Lets Read Homestuck which was still relatively early in its production still. I started watching it up until I was up to date with the channel and then moved over to the actual comic around act 5… and my life spiraled out of control from there.

I decided I liked Karkat to start. Of course I did, he was about as offensive as me. Homestuck brought me into the tumblr community though. Now, I honestly hate the mindset tumblr has for a lot of things now, but damn it was a good start for high school me. Seeing so many people around my age joined together AGAINST all these ideals that I used to enforce was so effective on me. I changed drastically within a month or something, suddenly surrounded by this very PC content and no longer by all the offensive, rude cis men I was hanging around before. I felt awful for all the things I’d done and said in the past, things I’d been really proud of. It’s embarrassing really to think about now, but this comic changed me so much for the better.

(I just have to say, that pogo ride was the most uncomfortable thing I have ever laid my ass upon. Would not recommend.)

I went to my first con in Homestuck cosplay that same summer. (I’d been attending cons since 2009.) I have eczema on my face so at that time I was terrified of trying face paints because breakouts on my face are absolutely hell when they’re bad. Assembling everything wasn’t hard though because the fandom has always been so accepting and ready to help new members. 

I went to the Van!stuck picnic which was basically a Sunday con tradition and it was such an incredible experience! I had never been a part of something so big and accepting. I met a lot of people that day who I kept as really good friends even until now.

I spent a lot of time on Omegle in the Homestuck tag and that was so fun. I stayed up EVERY NIGHT on that thing.(This is how I got really REALLY good at putting in and taking out contact lenses.) It was my favourite thing to get to improv as the characters and to roleplay with other people, which gave me the confidence to go into paneling.  

 In the start of the next year I auditioned for my very first panel. I auditioned for Kankri, because I was good at talking about nothing for very extended periods of time and I always have been, and Caliborn, because of course I did… He came very naturally to me considering the person I just recently was in high school… Like, that me… I was Caliborn.

I was cast as Kankri since they already had their resident Caliborn and I had gone of on some five minute long lecture during, like, the rules or something. I painted now for the first time, and discovered that, if anything, Ben Nye actually makes my skin smoother.

(”Around here, we don’t wear clothes.”)

During my time on Omegle I’d also started cosplaying Dave… Because it was easy and if I tucked my Alois wig behind my headphones it looked good enough for a web cam.

When I first started reading Homestuck, I thought Dave was a really overrated character. I wasn’t much a fan of him just because of the fandoms unwarranted obsession with him (or so I thought at the time.) I didn’t dislike any of the characters because I thought they were really well written and extremely diverse but I couldn’t see the huge appeal to Strider that everyone else did.

I started getting more and more into Dave Strider the more I role played as him. 

Before Homestuck, I wasn’t as into making my own costumes but since they either couldn’t be purchased at the time or were fan designs I had to start. I’d already been sewing clothing years before I just was more interested in making casual clothing before. I started sewing cosplays though… And getting my hair cut for Dave because I kept ordering the wrong wig.

(We found my heart shaped birth mark because I’m actually a care bear.)

It was also at this con that I was reacquainted with @grey-bow-baby who literally had always gone out of their way to greet every new memeber of Van!Stuck because there was not anyone they didn’t know. It was so nice to just be welcomed immediately into a group when I’d just changed into a shitty Karkat at the end of the day at my first con ever cosplaying Homestuck and still being welcomed into a group to hang out and stuff. We started dating later on (I got really good at dodging shades… Or conditioned to.) and that was the first relationship I’d had since high school. Also, the first person I’d actually liked that much since really early in high school.

Although it didn’t end up working out, I can confidently say those were some really, really good months for me. I’m glad we’re still on such good terms and I’m glad I still got that experience, I learned a lot about myself during that time.

I met a looooot of great people in just my first year of being a part of Van!Stuck who I am still friends with to this day.

(I had a chain mail coif and my hair was grooooosssss, but also very malleable.)

I went to cons in America with friends I met on Omegle and made new friends there too. I got to stay with @thattallsummonerguy and @deepseaprince and I had a really awesome time. Even though I’m not a fan of the management of Sakura con it still has a special place for me because of this experience I got. I used to run into Matt all the time on Omegle!Stuck and we’d talk a bunch on Skype, and so many nights I would finish by staying up until 6 or 7am with Jesse on Omegle just talking about random shit. (Even though he never watched the entire pokemon series with me.)

In the next year I met @imcrabs in the summer. He was told that he had to make friends at the con or his sister would not fold the laundry anymore. Obviously he had to oblige.

His sister was also in the panel with me. I saw him on the first day of con as a very small and very angry Karkat but I didn’t want to approach him because I was cosplaying John and just… I don’t know, that was why I couldn’t talk to him. I was also extremely hyper that day, don’t know what was going on… Maybe it was the trickster vibes but I only wanted to run.

We met on the second day of the con though when his sister introduced us along with some friends who I’d already met met before at prom!Stuck. I don’t think he has very good memories of that apartment there, but shit I remember doing some fun stuff there. Like buying peanut butter, being horrified Kieran didn’t like peanut butter and then having Kieran take my peanut butter and eat it all because he’d been getting organic peanut butter instead of Kraft. 

This was also the year I started paneling as Dave and Dante Basco came to watch our panel. (He thinks I’m funny and has my signature.) the first thing I did after he came in and sat down was choke on Apple Juice. And that is a panoramic picture of an entire panel watching me choking on aj. I don’t even like apple juice! I’m pretty sure I choked because I’m just never expecting apple juice to taste as bad as it does.

I was so nervous about sitting beside @hulklinging (who was Karkat) in the panel because I wanted to whisper lame jokes to her the entire time, so I was really determined to befriend her before the panel. She and Jack had a table and I just fucking hung around it all day on Friday trying desperately to befriend Mama Van!Stuck. It worked, and I told her some TERRIBLE puns.

That panel I also properly met a lot of people like @saltscreamcalibrat, @criedwolves, @anime-twin and some others (whose tumblrs idfk) who I’m still friends with even now, even if I’m god awful at talking to people. I’m so glad I got into paneling because I don’t think I’d have gotten to spend the same kind of quality time in ridiculous skype calls with everyone and those were honestly a pretty good time, from rehearsal calls to auditions.

(Photo by anime-twin)

Kieran / the new addition to my Karkat harem and I started cosplaying with each other immediately. This was what drew me in because he actually got his costumes done for our groups and we were always planning new ones and it was so stimulating and exciting and I loved it and I still do!

I did a lot of great panels and made great friends through them. I basically became The Dave of Van!Stuck and Kieran was already literally Karkat Vantas without even trying. I wasn’t Dave in that way though, not to start out… In order to panel as Dave Strider, being a character I had virtually nothing in common with, I had to work on it really hard. It was like method acting, I had to be come this lame, rapper, white boy. I spent years paneling as Dave and he’s become a part of my personality. I can confidently say that he’s made me a much better person as well. Dave is such a good person! He is not a douchebag, he is such a great guy! He is jokingly an asshole but no! He’s fucking great! I’ll fucking fight you. I’ll fight anyone.

As Van!Stuck started dying down a little, Kieran and I started hosting panels. We did some canon panels and we did some species swap AU panels. We’re not sure if we’ll be hosting more in the future, but now that I’ve stepped back and said I don’t plan to do them anymore…. I’m kind of missing them.

(”Laundry, “F-R-I-D-G-E”, Laundry”)

I am so, so lucky to have been a part of Homestuck in its prime and to have gotten all the great experiences and friends I did.

(Getting ready for prom(stuck))

There were promstucks and just… God, Van!stuck was so full of life and energy and everything was so exciting! It was so easy to be drawn into this fandom and this comic! 

It is such an AMAZING comic. Sure, throw shade at the fandom if you want, I can agree they’ve done stuff to deserve it; they can be obnoxious and unruly and downright rude… But do keep in mind that they were part of what built the incredible experience of Homestuck. This fanbase that was so HUGE and CREATIVE. It had it’s bad spots but there was so much GOOD! 

I made so many friends.

So many memories.

So many memes

I have a fiancé because of Homestuck.

Above all though, don’t you ever say Homestuck is a bad comic. It is masterfully written. It is GENIOUS. I recommend it 1000x over to anyone. There are so many important messages and topics just… I love Homestuck so, so much and I’m really looking forward to the epilogue and to Hive swap. Yeah… Happy belated 4/13

Thanks for playing.