I remember the summer of 2011. I
approached you with curiosity, and while your off-kilter humor was foreign in
my inexperience, I was soon captured by your wit. You were strange, funny, and
took hold of my imagination, Homestuck. I stayed up in the wee hours of the
night, completely entranced with the stories you had to tell. You opened the
gates to a fanbase that spanned infinitely, blooming with creativity. I would
write with you, draw with you, laugh and cry with you, and millions more would
share the same experience. I was intoxicated in this overdose of paradise.
I remember Cascade, all those
anxious months in wait for the climactic flash movie, then almost missing the
bus while watching it and giddily awaiting the next development. The kids and
trolls meeting up! New characters! New challenges! You spoiled me, Homestuck,
building up to that one point. But afterwards, as it is natural after a climax,
you would wind down in a less-than-graceful way. The new focus on romance and
soap-opera-like character relations was unexpected, compared to the vast plot
that defined the world’s existence in itself, which comes to mind when others
think of you. A year after Cascade, and I look at the tricksters, the alpha
trolls, the new and convoluted shipping, and it pains me. It pains me to know
that the world is losing what was once a wonderful story. Having to please over
two million people is an impossible feat, but over time it came to me that that
you’re not being true to the spirit your story once was.
Do
you remember the summer of 2011? Already two years into your tale then, and rapidly
acquiring a huge following. Your future was as bright as the green sun. But as
all great empires have their golden ages of peace and prosperity, internal
corruption will inevitably rot them away from the inside out. I don’t think I
could ever forget you, Homestuck. I discovered a whole new way to share my
stories, and I made lasting friendships from you as well. Even if the spark is
lost, even if the new updates are just not the same, I am still so proud of the
world-wide creative explosion you have fostered.
