Anxious about the Epilogues

I feel like if you have the capacity to analyze the character arcs on a deeper, more philosophical level than your average layman, you'd be able to derive a fair bit of value and honestly even enjoyment from the epilogues! Yes it is messy and if you have characters you're attached to it WILL probably hurt at several points, but I think the epilogues have a LOT to say about when its time to let a character go, what happens if we demand more and more from a story in perpetuity? What happens to people in a world where relevance, in the cosmic sense, can only be perpetuated by dialing your base traits up to 11? is that a world worth living in? What happens when these traumatized, messy characters finally have time to sit around and try and move on from it? can you move on from it when by definition your trauma is what has sustained life as you know it?

The epilogues and HS^2 Beyond canon can hurt and can suck, they can feel cruel, but it's kind of to be expected! people themselves are messy and hard to be around sometimes and that's no different in these stories! As narrative works that explore the concept of self, characterization, and what it means to grow up? That shit is FANTASTIC work, all around, and a fascinating deconstruction of what happens to a story on the fringes of canonicity,

it's ALWAYS worth reading into them and forming your own opinions instead of worrying about what other people have told you about the epilogues. but I think this could be especially fun as a social activity! there's a lot in that story to unpack, and I think having a reading buddy to unpack it with can only enhance the experience.

I think if you're worried about someone falling out of love with homestuck after its ending, introducing them to its ongoing sequels and the growing fandom around them is one of your best bets for keeping the fire alive, so to speak. nothing ventured, nothing gained, after all!

I would say, an initial response depends largely on who you and your friend "like" amongst the cast of characters. The Epilogues by no means let anybody off "easy", but there's definitely characters who get away from the narrative relatively unscathed and untarnished by their depiction at the end of Homestuck.

I assume you've already consumed all the content there is WRT to the Snapchat ending; the content presented there does not line up with the tone of the Epilogues largely.

Be prepared for a shift to a lot more adult themes.

At the end of the day, do not feel pressured to consume it if you worry about it altering your perception of something you previously enjoyed. If your friend is already feeling down about the conclusion of the comic, perhaps give it some time before you guys tackle the content presented in the Epilogues; some space to breathe and extrapolate your own feelings first.

I had a lot of the same worries when I went into the epilogues, primarily that it would somehow "ruin" my love of homestuck after I initially finished the comic. They ended up being one of my favorite pieces of fiction I have ever read but they aren't for everyone I suppose. Based on what you said I think the epilogues would suit you pretty well but I also think its worth going into them under the idea the impression that while they are definately more homestuck it also takes a very different tone and approach.

Now what I can say for certain is that the reactionary attitude epilogue haters have towards them often leads to them making them sound FAR FAR worse then they actually are. Even if you don't like the plot points in the epilogues it has some of the best prose in the series and really helps to evaluate characters in the original comic under a new light, emphasizing character details that were already there but often overlooked.

man im so sad this booboo epilowes r so mean,,! take has gotten so popular and prevented ppl from reading them at all, the epilogues humanize these characters in suuuch a loving and profound way than ppl give it credit for, it asks hard questions and gets hard answers and its good! its good that it challenges the reader to face the more unpleasant and humane side of these characters! it is also REALLY FUNNY ive reread it recently with a friend and i was often having laughing fits and made the experience way more enjoyable than when i read it alone years ago.

| I suppose what I’m asking is, is it worth reading together?

absoLUTELY, i think you need to let go of the preconceptions you have and if youre worried about it being hard to digest i suggest this read order: meat (until you get The Signal to switch) > candy > finish meat

i can almost guarantee you the epilogues are not as bad as what you've heard. a lot of bad faith criticism towards the epilogues relies on describing plot points out of context as facetiously as possible. i can do the same to the original homestuck too, look:

"in homestuck, there is a plot point in which a guy designs a robot body that caters to his fetish for a girl he's sexually attracted to, makes her participate in his fetish in the conversation prior to her transferring to said body (this is treated as a joke), and when she discovers that a feature of this body is coercing her into being attracted to him she reacts by beating him up, but kissing him at the last moment anyway"

all that is said in that sentence is technically true, all of it does happen between equius and aradia, but it phrases everything in the worst way possible and ignores the larger context of this plot point. if i said this to a person who never read homestuck, they would probably have a very bad impression of the story just based on that. my point being that people who tell others that the epilogues are bad by way of describing plot points like this are probably not doing so maliciously, but are still heavily misrepresenting the actual text.

the epilogues are very introspective on the characters and the original homestuck, as well as the nature of stories and characters. it's a piece of work that wants you to think about it, wants you to reflect on the original homestuck too! reading them with another person and discussing as you go, thinking about it and swapping perspectives is probably one of the best way to experience them, even if you end up not liking them i think you'll definitely come out of the experience with new insight on the characters, and having someone gain new insight on the original text is a great way to get someone back into the work.

it is definitely worth trying it out and forming your own opinions on the epilogues, even if you end up not liking it! although i agree with what one of the previous repliers said about maybe taking a small break before you begin the epilogues if you guys are already feeling down about the ending of the comic.

I'd say they're worth a shot at the very least. But if your friend is seriously feeling down about the ending then I wouldn't rush into it, as you could definitely come out feeling even worse, considering how polarizing the Epilogues are.

I won't delve into specifics but I'd also like to add that the Epilogues aren't really the "conclusion" to Homestuck you might be looking for, it's its own beast entirely. It has way more adult themes and explicit topics explored, and just generally has a different "feel" to Homestuck that I can't adequately describe.