I’m guessing you have your askbox disabled, because I can’t find a link to it on your blog, but anyways.
While it’s from a different angle, you have managed to capture in words what disappoints me about Homestuck’s ending in a way that I could not. I’d just like to say - Thank you for that, seriously. It’s something of a relief to be able to say, “Look, I’m not wording this properly, here’s how someone else put it,” when attempting to discuss with friends why I don’t like Act 7. That’s not to mention that it’s a relief to know I’m not the only one who’s still unsatisfied with the ending, of course.
So, uh, yeah. Kinda a weird post to make I guess, but yeah. Thanks.
Thanks so much for saying this. I really appreciate it.
I don’t mean to disparage the work other people have done analyzing Homestuck’s ending in a more positive light. A lot of them have had amazing and awesome things to say and I love all the discussion this ending brings out in people.
But I dislike the thought that negativity, dissatisfaction, and generally thinking the ending is hot wet garbage makes me a less intelligent reader than others, that I just “missed something” that others caught. No, I caught it. I just think it sucked and I fuckin’ hate it. If others can find meaning in the end and be satisfied with that, by all means!! You embrace that shit hard and don’t let it go.
Me? I will always be a character writer. I will always seek out well written, well told character stories. The fact that Homestuck sold itself to me on that premise and then bait and switched me for something I Did Not Want isn’t something I have any desire to admire. And when you spend at least half of your narrative real estate on exploring characters and their relationships, an ending without an exploration of characters and their relationships can never be a truly satisfactory or even a fair one. Homestuck could have had a meta ending that still honoured the work it had put into its characters, and it didn’t.
I’m old. I’m busy. And I’ve got a whole shelf of books I haven’t read, shows I haven’t watched, and games I haven‘t played. Homestuck is long as balls, and I would have skipped out on the whole thing if I had have known that it was more interested in making a statement ABOUT stories and character arcs than telling stories and character arcs. After spending 7 years serenading me with the very things it threw out at the last second.
Wow, I rambled again, I’m a salty fuck.
In any case, asks aren’t off on purpose! I’ll turn my askbox on and please, feel free to ask me anything, followers :)