Simply have to agree with Sami Hannes. the windsock is a truly iconic bit of costuming and the only reason anyone would say it's not a "standout design" today is that it's been so long that we just think of the god tier costumes as normal now... but if you think of Homestuck and John Egbert, you think of that crazy tracksuit and hood! It may not hold a candle in terms of sheer cultural reach, but just in terms of design philosophy I think the Heir of Breath easily stands on the shoulders of the true icons of cartooning like Superman and Spider-Man.

Maybe it is right to say Homestuck is lacking in terms of "fashion", but as far as sheer design is concerned Homestuck has an enviable track record. How many of us COULDN'T pull out a pencil and immediately start scribbling at least somewhat accurate renditions of the twelve trolls? They're not fashionable because fashion was never the aim, but they're stark and recognisable designs. You'd certainly never be at risk of confusing two of the trolls for each other.

Hard disagree with Sami about the codpiece though haha. It communicates so clearly the kind of character Gamzee is supposed to be at that point! I get the arguments people make about how lame or nonsensical a lot of the class+aspect combos look, but to me that doesn't matter because the classes and aspects were not actually designed for anyone's OCs, they were designed for the specific characters that wear them in Homestuck, and they serve that purpose PERFECTLY. The mixture of flowing cape and toothed cowl with casual sweatpants and sneakers are easily just as iconic to Dave as the windsock is to John, and maybe it could be argued that the Seer of Light's colours are a little odd or hard to look at, but who can deny the sleek effectiveness of a Rose's hood and sandals ?! Don't even get me started on the whimsy and magic of Jade's stripey stockings and magic red slippers!

There's a certain potency in simplicity that I think a lot of people forget about in our modern day. The reason I mention Superman and Spider-Man and their bright primary colours is that the parts of their designs that sometimes look silly to us today and which artists often seek to change in their modern reinterpretations were usually very deliberately crafted to be easy to draw over and over again while still going POP on the page and when posed in action! And I feel that Homestuck's best designs really hit a lot of those same achievements.

Which isn't to say I think hs2 has forgotten or lost sight of that; rather, it's a different story which is making really strong moves with the aim of distinguishing itself not just narratively but visually from its predecessor. I don't think I would have ever wanted to see Rosebot or Dirk's ultimate ninja scrubs in the original Homestuck, but I see them in Beyond Canon and I can immediately jive with what the artists were aiming to do. To me it's reallt