MOOP!

Okay the YouTube algo has brought unto me Homestuck Music, and...fuck. I think it might be time to give it a reread.

This is a terrible idea. It's seven thousand pages long. It's an incomprehensible nightmare mess. The last time I tried this, I had to keep a specific file running just to try and keep track of all the important links to the Lore. I would probably do this round with the wiki open in the next tab over.

Oh, and have I mentioned I want to get back into Tumblr?

So we'll see. On the one hand, there are probably better works out there, and less messy fandoms, and Hussie is just kinda...awful? Pretty sure we've settled on Hussie being sorta awful. (in the here and now, they might be the most shameful part of the fandom, and that's saying a _lot_. Okay fine, and fucking up hotels with grey paint, yeah fine.)

But...
...like...
...man.

Homestuck is probably the most serious I've ever been into a fandom. I've done three different cosplays for it! Do you know how many cosplays I've done total ever? Like...four? five? Yeah, we're talking majority, not just plurality. I've gone to meetups, and hung out with other fans, and read tons and tons of fan theories and reblogged fanart and just...been a part of it all.

I mean, for fuck's sakes, I still carry around a wee little Scalemate plushie handmade for me by my Kismesis, and if you don't know what those capitalized words mean, that's fine, that's normal, but this is in my brain and is _never going to go away_.

(sidebar: I am pretty sure that Scalemate plushie is how I originally met Tuesday. Like...probably we would've met eventually in passing at Pinewoods or whatever, but without the fact that we'd been casual internet friends for So Damn Long after meeting at a NEFFA after her going like "hey cool scalemate"...yeahhh. So yep. This is what this fandom has done for me, I'm not gonna not be at least a little grateful to it.)

Did I ever tell y'all about the worksheet I made way-back-when for my adult-student class where it was all word problems and I used exclusively troll names for it? I have _no idea_ if I can even dig that up again, but it's exactly on the line of "oh cringe" and "this fucking rules, I'm great". No shame, yanno? And that's really it right there, that I'm willing to give this a reread because I'm not ashamed of being a 'stuck.

I mean...I am because we all very deeply are, it's part of the whole thing I think, that we get into this because we have a very specific humiliation fetish. D-> L3t M3 T3ll You 4bout Hom3stuck says the trash. (What, I should be embarrassed for combining three quirks into one? Fight me, that's the two I've cosplayed and the one I always wanted to, I know what I'm about son.)

But the shame is part of the acting, the fandom, and it's not actually really true. In college I got _really_ into this giant fucking story. I wasn't alone being into it. I watched it break fucking Newgrounds and cheered because of how gorram cool it was! I hung out with a whooooole lot of children, and then we sent them away and spent time together in a bar with just the 21+s and all of that was Very Good Actually.

So yeah. It's time to revisit. And I don't know exactly what this means in the grander scheme of my brain --maybe I just want to retreat to things being less complicated? Except that's hardly true, since I got into it _just_ before the first gigapause pre-Cascade, like, right in the middle of Shoosh-Pap. And that would've been the summer after graduating college, sleeping on Ezri and Genni's couch, not technically having a job or anything lined up, only owning a bed because I had friends willing to give me their old futon mattress. (It took another full year to get a frame, and another year after that to actually buy a real bed!).

Life was *not* less complicated then. It probably wasn't less stressful. Hilariously I just took a break to dig up my words from when I thought Cascade aired and see if I wrote about it. I didn't! But in the same batch of time I wrote some words about gender + SCD and _holy shit_ my life has not changed at all in the last twelve years, has it?

(that's a lie. It has, in multitudes of ways, mostly lovely.)

Anyways.

I've hit 750words of rambling, and it's time for me to wrap things up, without getting too overwhelmed by nostalgia-binging on my 21 year old self. Maybe this will be my end-of-school present to myself or something. Finish my Really Important Work Thing, get to read seven thousand pages of comics thrown together by a madman using Microsoft Paint? Seems like a fair trade to me.

Goodnight loves. <>

~Sor
MOOP!

(edited to update a pronoun)

Today I read an interview of Andrew Hussie (performed by Brian O'Malley, no less!) that has reawoken my desire to share my favourite fandom with all the rest of you. So!

Let me tell you about Homestuck.

Homestuck is loosely referred to as a (web)comic, but it is better thought of as what media can accomplish when you have all the power of the internet to work with. It is a story told mostly in single panel images (some still, some animated) with an associated caption or blurb or chatlog, but some of the story is told in flash cartoons. Some of it is told in playable video games. Some of it is told in images drawn by an assortment of talented artists. Some of it comes across in the fifteen albums of music designed to enhance and support the story.

Completely separate from the story, I really like this method of storytelling --the internet is changing the way we view media, and I cannot wait to see what happens next. The web still has limits, but they're much fewer, and Hussie is seeing what he can do to blow past as many as he can.

The story of Homestuck is initially very simple: Four (human) kids, who are online friends, accidentally start playing a video game that destroys the world. It...grows from there, substantially. More kids are introduced, 12 trolls from another universe who were playing the same game. These two groups find themselves linked and having to work together to defeat a common enemy, despite culture shock and other ridiculosity. Then it turns out that those 16 were just the beta session, and they have to join 16 alpha players (4 human kids, 12 troll kids) to defeat an even *bigger* bad. Lots and lots of characters die. Also frogs are really important for some reason.

Sorry, does all that sound a little clinical to you? Fine, let me slip into my HELLA FANGIRL MODE for a second, because it is not that hard to do that with Homestuck.

So ohmygod, Homestuck is totally fucking rad for bunches of reasons, here are some of them.

The trolls have this ridiculously useful four-quadrant relationship system (including a form of friendship called moirailegance which is basically me/Ria or Sherlock/Jawn or DubDub/Lacey and is my favourite kind of ship ever).

The story is a good time-travel story, with lots of parallel dimensions and multiple selves, and getting into arguments by accidentally chatting with people in the wrong order. I cannot express how much I love time-travel stories, especially ones that are more absurd than logical (so Back to the Future over Primer).

Speaking of chatting with people, much of the characterbuilding and plot and stuff come across in chatlogs, and that's actually a really awesome thing to read, because these people are very silly and fun and loud and get into arguments and faff at each other and talk about movies and otherwise behave in a manner that is real. Also in a manner that encourages shipping.

The whole thing is a giant videogame pastische, basically made out of old adventure game tropes, and there's lots of clever and interesting things about the worldbuilding that are quite fun, like the Strife Specibuses, which is the kinds of weapons you can use, or Sylladexes, which are inventory. Sometime when I get talented, I will make myself a Sylladex purse.

The fandom is SO ENTHUSIASTIC ALL THE TIME, and so intense, and there's so much fanart, and cosplay, and plush toys, and props, and food, and fic, and headcanons, and forget just being about the characters as presented, there's also SO MANY alternate universes, and different versions (like this truly beautiful Steampunk AU) and everyone is really chill about cosplayers doing any different variation.

THE COSPLAYERS/FANS ARE AWESOME PEOPLE! Okay, so heaps of them are very young (like, high school young), but in general, they are enthusiastic and friendly and enjoy taking lots of photographs and goofing off with each other and bringing copious amounts of Faygo to meetups and sharing it around. And at Dragon*Con there was a 21+ meetup hosted in a bar, and everyone agreed that we do considerable tipping and we could drink and swear and talk about kink and _god bless adult fans_ .

And and and and and!

So that's quite enough of that. But you see, Homestuck is a media property that contains the ability to reduce me to a giggling twelve year old otaku more than a year after I entered the fandom (which is rare), and I find this genuinely awesome. It's a complete brick to read (somewhere along the lines of 5k pages and well over an hour of flash cartoons), but the story is complex, and well paced, and has enough pre-planning that there really are things foreshadowed a year in advance. Hussie writes it as a serial, but he's always seemed very mindful of the fact that much (most?) of his audience will approach it as an archive as a whole.

So why should you read Homestuck? Because it's a new form of storytelling, and you should at least try that because the full potential of the internet is neat. Because the world-building is thorough enough to come across as a comprehensive universe, yet paced well enough that you never feel inundated with information. Because the characters are about as compelling as any I've read. Because the art is JUST BEAUTIFUL, and if you don't believe me, go watch the video associated with the Kickstarter page to see a bunch of examples.

And because mostly I just heard this amazing headcanon about Equius and Nepeta, and I really want someone to squee with.

~Sor
MOOP!

A/N: I wrote this ages ago, near the end of January, but haven't gotten around to posting it until now. I have not bothered to time correct it, which is why it is talking about Ohayocon happening in the future. It's still worth reading.

There is a short video on YouTube that manages, in sixteen seconds, to encapsulate an important lesson the vast vocal majority of the internet missed entirely. You should go watch it, but if you haven't the time, I've recreated the entire thing word for word here:

It's okay to not like things
It's okay
But don't be a dick about it
It's okay to not like things
Don't be a dick about the things you don't like.

With the exception of the misandrist vocabulary, this right here is maybe the biggest thing fandom --and I mean every single one of them needs to learn, right now. It's okay to not like things as long as you don't act like a jerk about it. So simple. So obvious. And yet...

---

Recently Ria (my former-future roommate, close friend, and moirail) asked me if I could write a few words on the subject of fandom shaming. The above lesson is the first thing that sprung to mind -the fact that not everybody is going to be into every fandom (or every character or pairing or plot or episode or whatever).

And that's *okay!* People who are into something shouldn't make the people who aren't feel bad. People who aren't into something shouldn't make the people who are feel bad. Because, and I know this is a very complicated idea to wrap your head around, different people enjoy different things. Making ANYONE feel bad about what they do or don't enjoy is just a shitty thing to do.

The specific thing that brought this up was Ria's encountering two different posts on two different social networks in the span of two days, saying pretty much the same thing: "Ugh, I can't believe those terrible immature Homestuck fans are going to have a big presence at Ohayocon, they're ruining our con!"

Now, Ohayocon is something Ria's been looking forward to for a while, in part because she's going to hang out with a bunch of her fellow Homestuck fans who will coo over her brand new Aradia cosplay (which is gonna be so great you guys, she's been working super hard on it and it looks good.) She's also going to indulge in a bunch of geekery and fandom and cosplay that has nothing to do with Homestuck at all, but because of these nasty comments, she's feeling a little shaken --something about spending the entire con sitting in the corner and glowering. This is a terrible plan.

So here we go: Homestuck is big right now. It has lots of fans, and many of these fans are young, or new to fandom, or both. It's one of the current *big things* in the fandom/anime circles. Not everyone likes it...and that's cool, okay? You don't have to like Homestuck. At all. But kvetching about how the people who do like it have ruined everything doesn't make you cool or edgy. It doesn't make the Homestuck fans stop liking Homestuck. It just makes the fans feel hurt, and it makes you sound like an asshole.

(As an aside, anyone who complaining about the enthusiasm of Homestuck fans makes me exceptionally angry, because complaining about the enthusiasm of *any* fans --especially in relation to creating fanworks, or cosplays, or alternate universes, or art, or stories, or...- is awful. Enthusiasm in fandom is the BEST PART of fandom! All artists should dream of their creations being so thoroughly embraced and modified and built upon and remixed and reacted to and loved. Enthusiasm is passion is the reason we do what we do --and scolding people for being enthusiastic about "the wrong things" makes you a creativity-draining Vampire¹.)

And really, that right there is the golden rule "didn't we learn this in grade school" summation of the problem: When you are a dick about the things you don't like, you hurt the people who DO like those things. Hurting people is pretty universally considered to be "wrong". That's sort of the basis of all human justice, really, don't hurt other people without a really good reason. Them not liking the same things you do, or liking things you don't? Not a good reason, so sorry, you're a jackass.

Now, am I saying you should never legitimately criticize a fandom or character or story? No, of course not. For some people, that's the fun, everything from calling out privilege and explaining why something is hurtful, to MST3King just how plain *bad* the writing is. But here's the thing: You can do all that without saying that the people who DO enjoy the material are bad or wrong people. You don't have to shame the fans to criticize a fandom, and it's perfectly possible to not like things without being a jerk about it. That's okay too.

Too, I am not against criticizing fan behaviour, especially when it becomes dangerous. "I hate Twilight fans who sexually harass Robert Patterson" is a very different statement from "I hate Twilight fans.". "I hate Hetailia fans who think seig heiling is appropriate at an outdoor photoshoot" is a legitimate criticism of a legitimate problem. "I hate Hetalia fans." just makes you sound like a bitter asshole who will shun anyone that doesn't enjoy the exact same entertainments you do.

And as for "I hate Homestuck fans with no sense of personal space, who think it's appropriate to violently tackle-hug or glomp cosplayers they've never met" ....well, I hate them too. That shit is toxic, and needs to stop right now. But if you're using "I hate Homestuck fans" to mean the same thing, you are punishing and shaming a huge number of people for the sins of a few.

Not all fans are assholes. That's true of basically EVERY fandom out there. You can enjoy something passionately, enthusiastically, LOUDLY, without being a jerk about it. Catching those worthwhile, mature, fans in the crossfire of your "all those fans suck" just makes a lot of good people feel bad.

Be the joy you want to see in the world, okay? Stop making people feel bad for liking things. (and don't make them feel bad for NOT liking things either, okay²?)

It's okay to not like things.
Just don't be a jerk about it.

<>Sor
MOOP!

PostScript: Ria, I wrote this whole thing on the back of six recipts at work. I am going to kill you for how bad my hand hurts right now.

1: Listen carefully. A vampire is any person, or thought, or feeling that stands between you and your creative self-expression.

Oh baby, you must escape, then grab it by the nape of its neck, by the trachea. Fucking break it, go on drive a stake in yeah, there's no mistaking now you're shake'n'bake'n!

Then die the vampires filling you with life, creativity, all that your art should be OUT go the vampires, die vampire die. --Die Vampire Die, [Title of Show]

"Vampire" in the sense that [Title of Show] explains it, is one of the darkest insults I can ever throw at someone. If you are keeping someone from creating, then you have failed at some of the most basic aspects of humanity.

2: ...says the person who has gotten SO MUCH shit for not having read through and enjoyed The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Just not my thing, okay?

So, the past two years, I have posted a list of "Top Songs of 20xx". Top is an extremely vague descriptor of course, but it's basically all the things that I couldn't help but listen to on repeat.

This year was the first time I was actually organized enough about the project to keep track of all the songs as they happened, and not have to scramble to remember them later. So, in roughly chronological order (yay!) I give you the Top Songs of 2011.

Mandelbrot Set by Jonathan Coulton, peaking January 11th, but being played a bit before and after then. I don't know why. It's a good song, though.

( And then I inexplicably use ALL THE WORDS, so sanity-cut )

And similar to last year, there were a couple things on YouTube that I listened to/watched way too much as well:

HE'S GOT A POSH NAME AND HE'S ON THE TELEVISION, SO IT COMES AS NO SURPRISE THAT ALL THE DIRTY GIRLS WANT BENEDIC-- okay no don't actually watch this it will earworm forever.

I'm behind on my Weird Al love, but Perform This Way was awesome.

And because "fuck you, Homestuck, that's why." I present [S] Everyone: Have Sweet Rave Party. Okay, and because seriously "Homestuck, that's why", there is also Moves Like Homestuck. They recently played "Moves Like Jagger" at Squares and I couldn't stop grinning like an idiot. It's mostly Tavros, and yes I know exactly how terrible a human being I am for that. Okay, and Eridan. And Terezi. And Nepeta doing Carameldansen. And _dammit, this is just my favourite fanwork, okay?_

HOLY FUCK.

THAT WAS A LOT OF WORDS ABOUT MUSIC.

Happy New Years, y'all. And now I am going to go make a playlist and entitle it "Top Songs of 2012" and see if anything interesting comes of it...

~Sor
MOOP!

1: Something I don't think I've ever intentionally mentioned: the filter on livejournal in which I discuss rape is called "TherapyFilter". Or more accurately, "TheRapyFilter". Hence.

2: I don't know exactly where this construct came from, but "I want to put it in my mouth" is totally my current way of saying I really like a thing. This works really well until I accidentally(intentionally) mix it up with "I want to have your babies" and say to Ria "I want to put your babies in my mouth."

Luckily, Ria is the best moirail, and thinks I am only a little entirely weird. It's okay, she keeps threatening to pee on everything I love.

So, I was cruising around on Bandcamp earlier, looking to see if they offer gift certificates. (I will probably e-mail them and ask.)

Bandcamp is a music site, allowing artists to put up their music, have people listen to, and download or buy it. It seems like a functional site, and I smile when I run into it, since it's run by people who know what they're doing, both in terms of music presentation (you can download music in ALL the formats, basically), and computer functionality.

(How do I know about it? Because Andrew Hussie uses it to sell the Homestuck albums, all of which are pretty awesome. Again, something about my wanting gift certificates so I can pick and choose and not wind up with doubles.)

At any rate, I am hanging out on Bandcamp and reading their FAQ page. I get to this one:

How do I make the shared player autostart?
Welcome home! We trust your 8 year expedition to the heart of the Amazon was a great success. SO much has happened since you left. The first Delawarean was elected Vice President of the United States, the Chronicles of Riddick defied box office expectations, and tabbed browsers became commonplace. As a result, many web enthusiasts now open tabs as they surf. Autostarting media players don't play well with this behavior, since they put you in a position of wondering whoah, where is that sound coming from and then force you to play find-the-tab-making-your-eardrums-bleed. AUTOSTART IS EVIL is a fairly common refrain nowadays, and who are we to disagree?

That answer alone makes them my new favourite website on the internet.

~Sor
MOOP!