Here’s a prime example of the problem with the Homestuck fandom as it currently is. I speak here as someone who is entrenched so deeply in Homestuck I doubt I’ll ever be able to not call myself a fan, so trust me, I understand that there are people who don’t go around making fools of themselves in the fandom. The issue with the Homestuck fandom as a whole is that there is such a large part of the fanbase that is composed of kids who range from thirteen years old to sixteen. I have nothing against kids of that age group—hell, I was one three years ago—but a lot of them still have a very long way to go when it comes to maturity.
The thing is, most of the characters in Homestuck are assholes in one way or another. At the very least, most of them behave like assholes at one time or another. As a Homestuck, I can say that in the comic itself they are mostly very loveable assholes who tend to redeem themselves at least enough so you can shrug and not be all that bothered by their behaviors. But to someone who is younger and has yet to mature enough to understand that the following train of thought is utter dreck, i.e., people who are thirteen to sixteen years old, if you’re cosplaying someone who kind of acts like an asshole, it must be totally okay to run around acting like a total asshole because of course you’re just acting in character. And sure, wanting to be in character isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But it’s all about how far you take it.
To the younger Homestucks who somehow miraculously manage to see this post, because I won’t even begin to pretend I have all that many followers to distribute this to any kind of larger audience, it’s incredibly important that you not take the canon behaviors of characters you’re cosplaying as an excuse to act in a way that is rude, offensive, or otherwise asinine, especially at cons. Be considerate of your fellow con-goers, clean up after yourselves, and if you accidentally smear body paint on someone, apologize profusely. (Better yet, seal your body paint properly. Youtube is one hell of a site.)
Again. Repeat after me. Cosplaying as an asshole is NOT an excuse to act like one. If you can remember that, you’ll have a much more positive experience in your Homestuck cosplay anywhere you go, whether it’s at a con or not. And so will everyone else.
