Daily reminder that Dirk Strider spent 16 years of his life isolated in an apartment building with no other living creatures to interact with, only remaining sane through delving through the archives of the dead internet and talking to his three friends through a glitch in Paradox Space.

Daily reminder that Dirk Strider made a physical representation of his brain at 13 years old just to have someone to talk to, only to have the sentient AI he created echo back his worst fears for three years, driving him deeper into his isolation.

Daily reminder that Dirk Strider still managed to be one of the most human of the kids, fighting for his best friends and feeling guilty for years that he couldn’t give Roxy a relationship with the only human being left alive because he couldn’t betray himself and deny his lack of attraction to women, even if it would doom their species.

Daily reminder that Dirk Strider broke up with Jake English because of a mutual lack of understanding in how to communicate - the two dealt with their isolation in opposite ways and he couldn’t bear feeling like a drain on his best friend, no matter how much he loved him.

Daily reminder that Dirk Strider has to live with the knowledge that his brother was abused for years by some iteration of him, and he can never truly make right on that because the actions were not his own.

Daily reminder that Dirk Strider is one of the most deeply broken Homestuck characters and to treat him as a one-dimensional villain/bully is to do a disservice to his incredibly poignant writing. There is so much to be said about a character that is shown to be cruel and abusive in one circumstance ACTIVELY CHOOSING to fight whatever part of him is predisposed to be that way, and sacrificing himself not one but twice for the greater good.

End the Dirk Strider hate. He deserves more.