optimisticDuelist’s Homestuck Analysis Masterpost! 

This is a compilation of all of my written work on Homestuck, thus far.
This is quickly turning into an ongoing project as I think of more I want to say about the comic and universe,  and I wanted to have this stuff easily accessible on my blog for those who may be interested, so this is here to essentially serve as an archive link in my Analysis tag page. 

On top of working on new pieces concerning subjects as varied as Spades Slick, Davekat, Vriska and (Vriska), character analysis of characters oft-considered ‘overlooked’, such as Jane, Jade, and Jake, the Retcon, and more–I’m also working on adapting these into video format! More on that soon. 

For now, the essays:

Apotheosis & Creation Myth: A longform exploratory piece on Homestucks’ themes of metaphysics, Gnosticism, spiritual enlightenment and morality as a creation myth, and how these themes are reflected in the ending sequence of Act 7. 

My views have grown and adapted somewhat since I wrote it, but I’m still pretty proud of this one! I stand by pretty much all the broad points I argued Homestuck was prioritizing, though I am looking forward to the chance to revise the details when I adapt it into video form.  

A Defense of Dirk Strider: A four-part essay series questioning the commonly understood fandom narrative surrounding the events of Act 6, and providing a reading of Dirk Strider that I feel is more in line with what’s depicted in canon. I was expecting a lot of backlash for this one, but surprisingly I’ve yet to even encounter disagreement, at least that I’ve seen. 

Each essay tackles a different popular misconception of Dirks’ character and puts different parts of the story under a microscope. They also sort of double as a defense of Dirkjake as a ship, and the Alphas as a group dynamic worth considering and celebrating as a whole, since I feel both suffer from how fandom typically considers Dirk and Jake in particular.  

The essays are:

• Horsin’ Around–Dirk as Physical Abuser.
• The Deep Blue of Weird Plot Shit–Dirk as Romantic Predator.
• Pulling the Strings — Dirk as Manipulative Puppetmaster.
• Tin cans don’t have feelings — Dirk as Unfeeling Robot.

HYPE ABOUT HIVESWAP: An examination of Hiveswaps’ trailer, mainly noting it’s attention to detail with regards to Grandpa, the Alpha kids, and potentially even Calliope and Cherub lore, and comparing it’s approach to Grandpa’s character with that of early Homestuck, to determine how well it connects to the comic. (Spoilers: Very well.)

Includes some character analysis for Grandpa and raises new questions about the Guardians in general, but really I’m just incredibly excited and wanted to celebrate what looks like downright masterful environmental storytelling–something that should excite anyone interested in Hiveswap for its potential storytelling value. 

Fans of Dark Souls and Undertale’s secret and clever lore nods should be quite excited for Hiveswap, if its trailer is any indication of the game as a whole. 

That’s all for now, though you can expect to see more from me pretty much as soon as I’m able to get it to you, because writing about Homestuck is basically my favorite thing to do. 

As ever, I regard everything I write as the opening of a conversation, rather than a definitive statement. If you have thoughts or questions on anything I’ve written that you’d like to share, feel free to send me an ask! I probably won’t engage through reblogs, however. I just kind of hate the format and find it inefficient and inelegant for archival purposes.