What the Hell is Homestuck?

Today marks the fifth year since the ending of Homestuck. People don't really talk about it anymore, which is really weird because it sort of changed the world I guess. So I'm here to remind you about it, because that's what this channel is for.
Even if you've never read Homestuck, you've probably heard about it. Likewise, you've probably had more than a few questions.
Here are a few answers.
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I guess have a Patreon now. / zhawkwood

[@mariamatedei]

"you could say i was stuck... at ho-" [gets shot]

[@remixgameyt1172]

sans pun moment

[@Faunadoodlez]

@@remixgameyt1172megalovaninanananannsnsndjwi

[@SarahZ]

I can't believe the Jumanji comparison never occurred to me

[@fishy658]

Your video brought back my Homestuck phase and I am very conflicted on that!

[@armageddongirl612]

wait THAT IS THE REAL SARAH Z OMG

[@khiarastales2091]

Thank goodness I'm not the only one who genuinely appreciated Homestuck's first acts. Sure it might be tedious, but as someone who enjoyed both simulation and story-driven games, the quirky vibes on HS Act 1-3 just made me intrigued.

[@ravethedayaway4065]

The first acts just make me want to play SBURB so badly.

[@Hawkwood]

I'll never get over the fact that SBURB is only fictional. It's like my dream game.

[@ravethedayaway4065]

@@Hawkwood you might try The Genisis Project. I learned about it recently, but am away from home and I've not yet had the opportunity to try it. It looks like a decent short burst simulation of the SBURB experience.

[@AlphaPizzadog]

@@Hawkwood dang i wish i could end the world too /j

[@haymyellow1880]

vriska is a metaphor for the high church of england

[@scekthies4587]

so nice to see small channels in the recommended. KZbin algorithm did good today

[@millatalonhand9242]

What the hell is Homestuck? Dude. That is the best fucking question. Anyone ever asked.

[@JacintoPlanta]

Man, I got into the Homestuck fandom in 2013, pretty late into its run, but it was probably one of the most important parts of my teenage years. I still love Homestuck to this day, I work in multiple Homestuck related projects, including an unofficial Spanish translation. It really means a lot to me, and I'm glad to see I'm not alone. You put a lot of work into this video and it shows! It has really interesting points, and the ending hits hard. You said it yourself: "It fucking mattered".

[@Hawkwood]

Thanks for the comment! I'm glad you liked the video, it took a bit longer than I expected it to.

[@JacintoPlanta]

@@Hawkwood still you managed to get it out for 413! nice!

[@thedoctorcrow420]

Good luck with the translation

[@morpheusfishborne]

This is probably my favorite Homestuck video essay. It's just so rare for them to have original points to make and conclusions to draw, or anything more than just a summary and some basic commentary I've already considered. But this video has new ideas and connections in spades. You made me think about Homestuck in a way I haven't before, which is something that I haven't gotten to do in... years, it feels like. This was just phenomenal.

[@Hawkwood]

Thanks so much! I'm glad I could add something the conversation.

[@hannahc715]

Excellent analysis, As a recent fan, I really got influenced by veterans in the fandom who only really enjoyed acts 5 and 6, but honestly, acts 1 to 4 are all very crucial in developing the beta kids as characters and its sad to see people not appreciate them

[@garrulousgeologist3545]

Wow. I can't believe this only has 149 views. A contextual look at hs is so difficult to approach, there are some amazing lines in this video. Big respect man, I'd consume any new hs material you put out!

[@Hawkwood]

Thanks! I'm glad the video made sense haha.

[@equintrevain3946]

I cannot say enough to anyone starting homestuck... Don't skip the first acts. Don't breeze through them. Read them, and let them guide you through the rest.

[@websitesus2924]

I loved your analysis of Homestuck in its spirit. It's quite a tough job to do. I really hope you summarize homestuck!

[@sodasipper8761]

Excellent analysis. I am 20 and recently read homestuck back to back for the first time. I read the first few pages when I was 12 or 13 in 2014, and I didn't appreciate it at all and dropped in a little ways into act 5. However after much more experience and many more years of being terminally online the first 5 acts are honestly my favorite part of homestuck. I deeply related to all the themes of internet friendship and was disappointed the second part was not more of the same. I am slightly too young to be a millennial but I do agree the context of homestuck as a story of internet friendship and isolation from the real world really resonated with me, and you put my feelings into words perfectly

[@Akanisen049]

Those last few lines... they hit hard. This was amazingly done!

[@develrandomdankmemes7586]

wow this is a great video. i especially agree with everything you say about homestuck's earlier pages; i always feel sad when people fail to give them the credit they truly deserve. really well done!

[@Hawkwood]

Thanks!

[@xprofitx9284]

Honestly a really incredible video. i never got to experience what you were talking about with the original online chat clients because im a zoomer. But i remember the pesterchum client someone made in the community that i was on all day and i think i get exactly what your talking about. Its really special that the homestuck community was able to give ppl that kind of experience and replicate the early days of the internet in that way. You definitely got a sub from me great job!

[@Hawkwood]

That community was insanely creative.

[@mynameusedtobelong]

A friend of mine showed me "the baby is you" and i droped in this video to try understand what just happend.

[@killedthekat2537]

A genuinely excellent breakdown, I think my one gripe is that you didn't bring up jailbreak through problem sleuth as context. The weird mix of style and subject matter in early homestuck is a fair bit easier to understand with the knowledge that hussie was building on top of a pre-established text adventure parody formula.

[@Hawkwood]

True. He goes into that a bit in the footnotes of the printed version, which is helpful to add additional context (the "What Pumpkin" gag, for instance). I never read through the earlier works though, so I didn't feel like I could do them justice in the video.

[@edwardsinger7644]

Take notes y'all, this is quality content creation here, deserves waaaay more views. Those brief cuts are flecks of gold. Great job explaining why Homestuck is so hard to explain, and the fact that you did it in 20 minutes blows my mind. Comparisons to Gulliver's Travels and AIM are so spot on. And that like/comment insertion was honestly the cleanest one I've seen/heard. I hate it when users with a hundred thousand subscribers take like thirty seconds to be like "because it helps the channel blah blah smd". KZbin needs to recognize experts like this.

[@Hawkwood]

Haha thanks! I appreciate all the kind words

[@InkSans_FandomSoda]

Homestuck is so many things, and I myself have said that it’s many different things. “Homestuck is being abjectly horrified and incredibly interested at the same time.” “Homestuck is having a logical explanation for nonsense.” “Homestuck is about chaotic camaraderie.” “Homestuck is about breaking stuff for the soul reason of fixing it.” “Homestuck is about being a kid and how no one understands.” But now I stand here and realize that every one of those phrases and so many more are true at the same time. Homestuck is about the weird contradictions of life. Homestuck is about messing up and by some miracle staying alive. Homestuck is about when the people you should trust most are out to get you. Homestuck is about when your friends mean more than your family. Homestuck is about being weird and loving yourself for it or not caring. Homestuck is about MODERN CHILDHOOD. Homestuck is about the life of the modern youth. Homestuck is quite literally how, to phrase it the way many characters have before, “Being a kid is hard. Being a kid is hard and no one understands.” But most of all, Homestuck isn’t just about modern childhood, it’s about not having to let go of that inner child. At the end of the story, the characters mature but they never drop what makes them happy or weird. They’re just them. This video gave me this epiphany, and thanks for helping me appreciate early Homestuck more.

[@Hawkwood]

:D

[@UCfaerieixi]

This is the best explanation of homestuck I’ve ever watched!! Thanks for making this!

[@creditroll176]

hey, absolute banger of a video. i loved this

[@ramothyreal]

Amazing video omg, this makes me want to reread it immediately

[@dj_stalin4572]

You deserve more subs, man. This was great!

[@Hawkwood]

Thanks!

[@sparks4303]

An excellent video! The format and flow was great and reminded me of just how much I enjoyed the first acts. Your voice is very soothing and your analysis was superb. Your jokes landed well and this video is definitely being added to my rewatch playlist. KZbin recommendations did a good job today!

[@Hawkwood]

Thanks for the awesome comment! I appreciate it!

[@utopian1645]

phenomenal video!! the editing (the entire thing really) encapsulated that fun and quick feeling the first few chapters were known for, the abrupt yet entertaining gags! a very enjoyable and informative watch :] keep up the good work 👍

[@Hawkwood]

Thanks for the thoughtful comment!

[@rufusbrown8637]

A recap of the story would be incredible, just leaving my nice comment and like!! I loved the whole vide so much, I have to agree, that "feeling" of homestuck is so nostalgic and warm and strange. I also love that you put emphasis on the firs acts. I think they are my favorite for the exact same reasons, yes it's a lot of text and the story moves slowly, and it's so confusing!! But what an experience! And what a feeling it provides! And I'm sure I missed SO MANY references, but there's still so many aspects I know, understood, and loved! Thank you for the incredible video!

[@Hawkwood]

Thank you for the incredible comment! I'm glad you liked the video

[@SuperSoldierS117]

4, 13. There are 4 13 year-olds. How have I never noticed that before. Did Hivebound start on 12, 6?

[@Hawkwood]

Karkat's birthday is the 12th bilunar perigee of the 6th dark season's equinox. Lol

[@mylesjaynelson4952]

FINALLY. Someone who did an explanation in a way that isn't absolutely impossible to consume. You are wonderful. Thank you so much. I would eat up a Homestuck summary from you.

[@timefluidscribbler]

wanna listen to more of your rhetoric on this beautiful mess, best summary I’ve heard and the delivery killed me

[@Hawkwood]

Haha thanks!

[@ezarky]

Great video! Definitely gonna sub, I hope you make more hs content

[@galiamayer1134]

Thought this would had more views. it should! good video, man!

[@danielossaconcha7400]

This was really insightful, you just gained a subscriber!

[@chelsearadford973]

So glad that so many people in the comments* are appreciating the first chapters. Some of my favorite moments are before the Trolls appear. *Edited because I definitely meant to say comments the entire time.

[@aladinbg93]

Nice video, i didn't thought of Homestuck in this way !

[@thumbsup8985]

It took the exact way you phrased it for me to realize. 4 13 year olds. 413... God damn you hussy 👍

[@mr.wolrdwide9600]

Thank you for this video!!!! It was useful 🤔🤔 i’ve always been curious abt homestuck but dont think i have the mental strenght to actually go and read it, so this was helpful

[@jakeb.6487]

Okay but this is beautiful.

[@valentine4104]

you have EARNED this new subscriber this video is fantastic

[@accidentalchild6257]

The first few acts have always been my favourites, I just really enjoyed the format. I think I liked problem sleuth as much as I did because they shared this very similar kind of style. It's fun, semi-interactive, and it's not too wordy.

[@edwardsinger7644]

Facts. I didn't become a fan until 2012 or so, but imo Problem Sleuth fits the format of a user-dictated story so much better, as it a) never seemed to get too big for its britches (Sepulchritude notwithstanding), and b) doesn't really have dialogue. I wonder what Midnight Crew and PS2 would have been like?

[@annieb1915]

Awesome video! I was so surprised to see you don’t have much more subs than I would have expected from a video this good. I’ll be supporting you!!!

[@Hawkwood]

Thanks! It means a lot.

[@reesepufferson5619]

I was born in 02 and never really got into homestuck, it was always a sort of,,, weird thing that was just around, only have I just recently decided to read all of it, unspoiled and I'll be honest, I think the end of this video would have been an amazing thing to watch before starting because without the context the first while was pretty boring.

[@revolutionarymagic3459]

That was an amazing video. Really opened my eyes to the early parts.

[@Hawkwood]

Success!

[@labyrinthinees]

8:13 it’s been 2 years and i may be the only one who wants this at this point but i would absolutely love it if you did a full recap of homestuck video!! i’ve been trying to get my friends into it and i feel that videos like this one and a recap would be helpful in that process

[@tofutofu2332]

this was a really good homestuck video. i really enjoyed the way you talked about it. you're very funny, and i like the way u talk!

[@Hawkwood]

Thanks! This is a really nice comment and I appreciate it.

[@bagelmelon]

I just learned what homestuck is and now I want to have a recap of the whole thing

[@mccray4072]

PLEAWESE PLEASE ANOTHER HOMEST UCK VIDEO!@!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@EclipseSystem]

wow. that was... powerful. dude, great fuckin video! putting Homestuck into its deserved context just made everything make a little more sense.

[@Hawkwood]

Thanks!

[@dudeofthecentury1]

rlly well done. algorithm blessed me w this

[@exorset30]

i was only 2 years old when homestuck was first created, so i evidently missed out on a LOT of context as to what it was as i grew up with the internet. after looking into it, though, it seems like an incredibly interesting creative medium, so now i'm prepping to read it over the summer break. this video definitely solidified that plan! :) [also, anytime i hear gen Y or X talking about chat clients, you wouldn't believe how envious i get! closest i've ever gotten to using one was a chat room in an obscure online windowsXP-esque emulator... but i pussied out]

[@exorset30]

coming back a year later, finished the comic, absolutely loved it. i get some insatiable FOMO from the OSTs, but god it was worth the read

[@Hawkwood]

Welcome back! I'm glad you found a cool new thing to like. That's awesome

[@keplers452b]

Wow. Did not think you could accurately tell me what it was in 19 minutes, but you did it. Great video.

[@Hawkwood]

Thanks!

[@trashturnip7418]

insanely good video!

[@Hawkwood]

Glad you liked it!

[@quixoticaxolotl2060]

awesome video!

[@Kaiasky]

This is what hooked me so hard about Homestuck, and what keeps me hooked--it felt like somebody was finally writing about me, in a way that other books or movies that were coming out at the time just didn't understand. (being a kid and growing up. it's hard, and it certainly feels like nobody understands, at least in the moment.) Like, I remember at around the time HS was coming out, other things I would read were so focused on like "internet culture" as "LOL ROFL LEET SMS SP33K" and like, no. the internet was being friends with a somebody who would not drop the RP of being a 200 ft tall interdimensional owl emperor. but still somebody who you could talk to about your day. And idk, in Homestuck's later acts, it stops being so uncommon to see the characters in person together. And by the time I was getting to high school and college I was starting to find friends in real life, drifting away from my old online spaces. But idk, I carry those experiences and the experience of reading homestuck with me, they were so important to who I am. I don't think my love for these characters is ever going to go away, even if I don't think about them as much going forward. It's always nice when 4/13 rolls around and I get to think about HS again. (Kinda makes you wonder what the magnum opus of extremely-online gen-z youth culture is going to be! I tend to roll my eyes at how the internet has turned into the same 7 websites, but I'm sure the kids growing up now are finding new and messed up ways to make friends and enemies online, just like we did.)

[@Hawkwood]

I love it when a piece of media really connects with people like that. It's awesome that HS, such a trashy joke story, could reflect the way we felt so vividly. It's probably the only story I've ever found that really GETS internet culture. (Or at least, what it used to be). I'm also excited to see what Gen-Z internet stories will look like! Maybe something inspired by Minecraft and Roblox? Maybe less about existing in an online space and more about building your own...

[@YourRyeBread]

I only got into it about 4 months ago and still dont know a whole lot (havent read/played/watched it yet) but hey I love it so far

[@JustCallMeEmily]

I was 5 when Homestuck began, and I was one of the last people in my family to actually have a childhood outside of the internet. Didn't experience online chat forums or online friends until I was around 13. Which, ironically is around when I got into Homestuck. 2017 was wild man.. unless for some reason I REALLY don't remember my life. Even Roblox friends didn't really feel real. The only reason I use something like Discord is because of my real life friends, who unfortunately, aren't my friends anymore. Anyways, my point I'm trying to make is, I very much did not know the context before now. And if I didn't go through life the way I did, I probably would have never figured out the context. I was just some silly goofy kid who really enjoyed a silly goofy webcomic about 4 kids and a game. And now I'm in so deep that I've watched 2+ hour videos about it.

[@Hawkwood]

That's what I'm here for! But it's also valid to just like it out of context. It's a silly and weird comic, after all.

[@armageddongirl612]

amazing

[@mafoso]

i ve never been so confused in my entire life

[@scrabblehandforaname]

...man, that was a video. [applauds]

[@Hawkwood]

Thanks!

[@scrabblehandforaname]

@@Hawkwood, especially coming off of one that just made me feel like "oh goodness, why did I get into this in the first place?", this was a nice way to answer that.

[@haymyellow1880]

damn i didnt think this would become a hard-hitting accurate analysis of early 2000s internet culture but goddamn if it didnt

[@timgal5868]

I came here for answers. Now I just have more questions.

[@visionsofjanuary798]

Huh, I never thought of it as being a millennial thing, but you're right. As an elder millennial (born in 1982), the internet didn't become really prevalent until I was in high school. But like you, my first online username was definitely on AIM, and I definitely know what you mean about the different notification sounds it made. But as you said Andrew Hussie was born at the end of Gen X, you could also say that the series takes some inspiration from Gen X, especially with the fact that all of the kids are essentially latchkey kids, with the parents always being away.

[@alex.g7317]

8:51 OMG that is the painting (titled ‘Graham’) from Minecraft!!

[@mellon9449]

5:03 had me dying, great vid bro

[@Hawkwood]

Thanks!

[@SirRevster]

Saw homestuck pop up everywhere again, to be honest it sounds and looks interesting as hell

[@mafoso]

this video literally give me headaches

[@Anonymouthful]

Its one of the greatest phenomenans of early 2000s internet that turned for the worse halfway trough, its author clearly not giving even less of a fuck about it than when he started it as it turned to pure agony to read.

[@timgorg1919]

Soooo... And what is now the thing with Toby Fox, Megalovania and that baby musical which ended in Pokémon? I searched for it and ended up in Homestuck and the baby musical

[@Hawkwood]

There's a Polygon article that explains it pretty well. "The Baby is You" was a joke song Toby made for the Homestuck forums back before he was involved with it directly. Later, he did music for a Pokemon game that sounds...suspiciously like the joke song. The Polygon article is called "Undertale creator Toby Fox’s Pokémon Sword and Shield song sounds like a Homestuck fan tune"

[@beetlman]

спасибо тебе друг это лучшиее видео по этой теме и мне было нужно это

[@whentheskittlesfightback]

i read homestuck because i saw people talking about april 13th and i wanted another holiday too

[@Hawkwood]

That's beautiful

[@__-wc5zn]

I loved the second half i homestuck as much as the first half tbh. Even the ending. Everything surrounding homestuck is exausting though.

[@mordaxpraetorian1110]

Well said

[@DrBreyn]

Actually very good video wow, did not expect that. Well scripted, well put, good rethoric, personal experience. Thank you KZbin recommendation

[@Hawkwood]

Thanks! I'm glad you liked it

[@TheOnlyPedroGameplays]

Homestuck is an experience.

[@Faunadoodlez]

So that’s why my mom says I’m an old soul just for knowing a few tiny millennial things even though I’m a gen z/alpha ITS MAKING MORE SENSE OR uh something I might be overestimating something idk

[@philobama6437]

Could someone tell me how I would experience homestuck? I’m very interested in it.

[@Hawkwood]

www.homestuck.com/story

[@sk33b07]

I searched *"WHAT THE FUCK EVEN IS HOMESTUCK"*

[@officersoulknight6321]

homestuck is not a comic it is an incident

[@St0nek]

I was hoping for a video i can send my friend to get him into homestuck, not a deconstruction of my childhood

[@Claire25252]

i dont know anything about this thank god this video exists

[@Hawkwood]

You're welcome and I'm sorry! :D

[@Claire25252]

@@Hawkwood it's a lot to process to be sure haha

[@danifart420]

homestuck is... homestuck is... what is it?

[@felineboat2799]

I see king killer in the back

[@Hawkwood]

You're the first person to ever comment on my bookshelf, thanks! Here's hoping the third Kingkiller Chronticle book comes out...ever.

[@felineboat2799]

@@Hawkwood yeah lol I’m surprised it hasn’t come out yet. I’ve got the first 2. Great series so far

[@eriquano9474]

im so confused what

[@nosville22]

Ah, fuck me now I (a 21 y-o) have to read it, don't I?

[@Hawkwood]

Good luck!

[@officersoulknight6321]

You know how there are the 7 wonders of the world? We’re progressively gaining wonders of the internet. So far we’ve got Homestuck and R/Place, can anyone name more?

[@thesmallbug1439]

Let me tell you about homestuck….

[@fishy658]

!!!

[@professor_nutbutter]

Ew why is it getting popular again

[@tiredideabox]

I don't know. I'm just playing along.

[@DylanZeee]

all of this anime shit kinda cringe ngl

[@LtSprinkulz]

Thanks for summing this up as I'm someone who could never get into it. I really never gravitate toward this style of media, and as someone who is allergic to cringe and crazy fandoms I could never bring myself to look to deep into it on principle (same reason I never played Undertale,) but I can appreciate it as a piece of art (Like I do Undertale. lol.) I can see now why people love it, even if I myself will probably never be a part of it.