Homestuck: Beyond Canon / YMMV

Arc Fatigue:
- A common criticism of the comic is that as of the end of the comic's first year, no worthwhile progress on the plot had occurred besides Dirk setting up his evil scheme. Compare this to regular Homestuck, where Jack: Ascend was what occurred at the end of Homestuck's first year. Not helped by the fact that the frequency of updates is determined by how many Patreon subscribers there are, with the comic going back to only one regular update per month after the number dropped below 2000, and the fact that two months after this, another hiatus was announced (the previous hiatus was in June and July 2020).
- Similarly, a lot of people feel this way about the Meat timeline's events concerning Dave, Roxy, Karkat, Kanaya and Jade/Calliope. Many of the scenes take their sweet-ass time discussing Dave and Karkat's relationship or referencing memes, despite their urgent mission to stop Dirk and rescue Rose.
Contested Sequel: While it’s gotten off better than the Epilogues, it still hasn’t earned the favor of the fandom at large. That Hussie isn’t the one writing it is the big one (acting as a creative director instead), leading into people complaining that the writers are more focused on trying to wax philosophical about narrative and/or make their own fanfiction into canon than actually telling a good story. While some of the writing team are enthusiastic to get to work on the story once again, some have taken a more antagonistic tone when engaging readers' reactions on social media. While it's often justifiable given the volatile reactions of the fanbase, some of the writers have gotten off on the wrong foot by antagonizing the more vocal elements of the fandom in less than graceful ways, or going out of their way to act defensively regarding controversial design and writing decisions, such as forgoing flash animations for written prose on the basis of budget and time limitations, which doesn't come off well given how Homestuck is now Patreon-funded.
Designated Hero:
- Speak nothing of Chapter 8, where Vriska attacks a group of innocent reporters and launches a cannon strike in a populated neighborhood. This is treated as a badass heroic moment.
- Rose and Kanaya threaten to snap Tavros Crocker's neck if Jane doesn't comply with their demands. Although it should be noted that the commentary mentions it was a bluff.
Designated Monkey: John. His friends frequently treat him like crap, as seen in the scene where Jade gets on John's case for not knowing she had a daughter despite hiding said daughter away from the world and pretending she didn't exist for years. She blows up at him because he's shocked about the information he's just received.
Designated Villain: The reporters who Vriska assaults in Chapter 8. They're literally just doing their jobs, and the worst thing they do is call Vriska a terrorist.
Fanon Discontinuity: While the nature of Post-Canon means that the comic can be taken or left with the rest of Homestuck at one's discretion, a good majority of the fandom treats it as non-canon, mostly due to the controversies it has caused.
Fan Nickname: A number of fans have taken to calling Yiffy "Ruby" instead, for multiple reasons. To reflect her red text. Because it's a mix of her mothers' names, with Rose being a shade of red, Jade being a precious stone, and Ruby being a red precious stone. Because it was her placeholder name before Hussie named her "Yiffy". But mostly, it's out of not wanting to call her "Yiffy".
Growing the Beard: the updates after the hiatus and the Homestuck Creative Union have been far more warmly received. Helps that most of the vitriol for the webcomic has died out and the new team is far more open to the public, regularly posting artist and writer's commentary on their patreon.
Heartwarming Moments: Chapter 12 has some really good Davekat feels.
KARKAT: HANGING OUT WITH YOU ON THIS LONG TRIP TO WHO THE SHITTING FUCK KNOWS WHERE IS QUITE LITERALLY THE HAPPIEST I HAVE EVER BEEN IN MY ENTIRE MEAGER EXISTENCE.
Memetic Mutation: When Yiffany's design was first revealed, many fans joked that her outfit resembled that of Doug Walker's.
Narm:
- The scene where John stands and watches his house slowly burn down was derided online for it being a glaring usage of Forgot About His Powers, in addition to the fact that it was just a reconstructed version of his old house, and not the original! The comic tries to address this in later chapters with numerous characters calling John out on this and him explaining the confused emotional turmoil he was experiencing at the time. To some fans however, this came off as the authors trying to cover their tracks after they realized the way that scene was received online.
- Jade is trying to attempt suicide because she doesn't want to live with Alt!Calliope inhabiting her body. So she tries to kill herself... by inducing an allergic reaction with a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Adding onto this, her last words before Alt!Callie gains control again is "bet", a remarkably casual and out of place thing to state.
Overshadowed by Controversy: Ever since its inception, Homestuck^2 has been marred by controversy, beginning with it taking place following the highly-contested epilogue. Things only got more contested from there, from the lack of communication between the authors and fans, to the contentious writing decisions and handling of representation, to the writers' questionable reactions to criticism, most notably exemplified when What Pumpkin threatened to sue Sarah Z over her video on Homestuck, despite the team acknowledging they hadn't even watched it. The fact that many fans still had a bad taste in their mouths over the Schedule Slips and lack of communication regarding Hiveswap did no favors for the comic's controversial reputation.
Romantic Plot Tumor: The relationship between Meat Dave and Meat Karkat comes off this way to more than a few people. The Meat Timeline characters are stranded on a ship filled with Skaia tech, designed to interact with the plot of the story in meaningful ways. Yet, most of the scenes with the Meat Timeline characters have mostly been dedicated to talking about Dave and Karkat's relationship. May also tie into Arc Fatigue.
Tear Jerker: The conversations between the spaceship crew on their way to rescue Rose range from funny to really sad, such as Kanaya's and Dave's with the former admitting that the rage she felt at the end of The Homestuck Epilogues has now been replaced with a deep sadness and loneliness, and Dave admitting that he misses John.
KANAYA: How Are Your Feelings
DAVE: oh those
DAVE: yeah theyre pretty good
DAVE: not much to say on that front
DAVE: except sometimes your best friend disappears and your other best friend goes into a ghost coma and your third best friend fucks off to space with your dad
DAVE: the dude youve spent the last 7 years convincing yourself isnt an egomaniacal anime villain
DAVE: and who isnt actually lying in wait to completely decimate your life and your emotions and shit
DAVE: anyway i forgot what my point was but yeah im fine
Unexpected Character: Everyone expected a Problem Sleuth reference at some point, maybe in a joke or two. What was far less expected was the Patreon exclusive updates not only taking place in the world of Problem Sleuth, but involving the titular character directly in the plot.
Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Many people were unhappy by Jade and Rose having an affair behind Kanaya's back, and many more were not pleased that the narrative does not treat it negatively whatsoever. Many people also note that the only reason Rose and Jade had their affair was because Jade wanted a child... but the instant that Jade got her wish, they shipped Yiffy off to a boarding school and hid her away from the world.

YMMV / Homestuck: Beyond Canon

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