Every year, April 13th reminds us just how much this webcomic - and the amazing fan art, cosplay, and community - has done for us. The HashtagProfessionals have come a long way since our first grey days, but Homestuck was what brought us together. What started as a group cosplay project evolved first into a cosplay troupe; we all wanted the end product to be the best it could be, so it only seemed right that we work together and learn from each other. We found our niches, figured out where each of us shined the brightest or problem-solved the best. Weekend costume work meetings turned into gatherings of friends - and if they became a tad less productive, we were glad to trade a bit of progress for the camaraderie. We were proud of the cosplays we put together. We still are. But, just maybe, the journey really was the greater reward.
We’ve moved on from horns and grey paint; in the years since we debuted our Ancestors group, we’ve cosplayed characters from comics and games, from movies and anime, and even a few original designs. The skills we picked up and built upon, the same ones we put to work that first year as well as some new ones, have allowed us to build creations that we are proud to make and glad to wear; for some of us, those skills have even served as a greater inspiration, guiding us down paths toward new career options. We have grown as individuals in the last five years, but we have also grown together. That little cosplay troupe, formalized half as a joke, has become a family, an inexpressibly valuable social net and constant source of love and encouragement. We’ve got so much ahead of us, so many chances and surprises and struggles, but it’s easy to see that we’ll get through it because we have each other. And as we move forward it will be easy, as it has been in the past, to sometimes forget how it all started. But, not today.
So, here’s to the community, to the tutorials and their creators, to the folks who tested out horn-making methods and wrote grey body paint reviews. Here’s to mentors and acquaintances, to friends and found family, to hobbies and skills and career paths that have opened to us or are still just over the horizon. Here’s to Homestuck.
Happy 10th anniversary, everyone.
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