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So I decided to rewatch one of the old flash animations from Homestuck today. Thanks, youtube Music algorithm for suggesting that activity. I guess.
I remember being so hype about Homestuck back in the day, circa 2011-2012. Any time Hussie updated it was like an Unannounced Random Christmas. My then-boyfriend now-husband and I would freak the fuck out and go read or watch them with ravenous fervor. Like, to use the terms of nowadays for back then, we were positively *pogging* out our goddamned *gourds*.
Anyways, rewatched the one I remember being the most hype and it was fine I guess. And my first instinct was "oh I guess it wasn't that good, I was a teenager after all."
But no. I think Homestuck was good for its time. I think everything that comes out and is received as good at the time was genuinely good. This isn't about Homestuck really. It's about how media can never be appreciated and viewed in a vacuum.
We talk a lot about media aging poorly. But I think it can also be, er.... born poorly. Born in the wrong era, maybe. Whatever that means. Or the right era! Maybe when Moby Dick first released we really did want a little bit o' Whale Anatomy with our fictional narratives. (I'm pretty sure I've actually heard this is true. To a modern day human, we know what a whale is. But to a person of that time, maybe just reading about this massive, mystical creature that lives in the ocean IS riveting.)
Whereas, to give credit where I don't think it's due, something like Twilight? Yeah it's weird, and I thought it sucked at the time, and I still do think it's poorly crafted... but if it came out in this day and age I think we'd just be happy Stephanie Meyers actually wrote the goddamn thing. We might still have strong critiques of... all of it... but we'd have weathered the waves of low effort self publishing for years and in the new onslaught of AI generated "books" I think we'd agree as a species to cut our losses.
Also I heard that the next books she wrote were actually decent. Good for her, I say, to keep on going in a world that hates you. And to improve! That takes some gumption.
This isn't about Homestuck, Moby Dick, or Twilight. This is my blog so it's about me. I'm just really curious how my books will weather time. Not in the sense that I hope some book god reviewer king picks up You Can't Sniff the Internet in 20 years and it has some big popping off. No. That would be cool, but really I'm just... curious. I want to know what the future holds. In 2033, will the fact that I use they/them pronouns for all characters until shown otherwise be novel? I really hope not. I hope in 2045 that a vaguely nonbinary/questioning/disaffected with gender main character is boring, old news. Like what are you rambling about gramps? You wrote a gay book in the 20s? That's nice, I'm a hip cool 15 year old born in 2030 doing kickflips on my hoverboard and downloading new genders every 5 seconds (with free malware).
What I do NOT hope is that, in 2050, we're not looking back at my era of writing and queeritude as the good times. Hell no. No dark ages thanks. Go forth into new, better media my children.
I'm working on a new book. When did this become my author blog? Beats me. Maybe I'll write about it some day. Or never. YOLO.
Email (normal): JaimieLBlack@outlook.com
Email (author stuff): author@rosalindwulf.com
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