When I told my daughters I was going to read Homestuck, they both gave me this look and asked “Why?” Being used to my unusual reading habits, they just shrugged and moved on. When my oldest daughter told her friends I was reading Homestuck, they gave her that same look and asked “Why?” Apparently Homestuck is a mostly parent-free zone. But I’m not letting that slow me down as I move into the next act.
Act Two: Thank you Nannasprite-Exposition-Thingy…
When last we left John, a meteor was hurdling straight for his house. Through a stroke of luck, John’s quick thinking, or a miracle (or maybe just a little of all them), John’s house is teleported out of danger and into another dimension called The Medium. After experimenting with the game some more, Rose and John prototype the kernelsprite with the ashes of John’s Nanna and she explains some of what is going on, where they are, and what they must do. In the meantime, on Earth, the fire is coming closer to Rose’s house, and another of John’s friends, Dave, is dragged into the chaos.
The action ramps up in the second act, and more characters are introduced. We get to see more of Rose’s house and the passive-aggressive battle mother and daughter are having. It’s a never ending battle of one-upsmanship between the two. We also meet Dave. He is one of John’s Pesterchum friends. We saw a few of his chat sessions with John in act one, and now we get to see what he was doing while John and Rose was starting up Sburb, and after. Dave likes to think he’s cool, trying to be a DJ and come up with raps about his friends. He really looks up to his older brother Bro, and is in a competition with him for who can be the most ironic, though I don’t think it means what they think it means.
The story is in this act is very “wibbily-wobbily, timey-whimey,” as the 10th Doctor would say. The story is constantly jumping back and forth in time, with the Pesterchum logs being the only way to tell where in the story you are. Another character is also introduced, thanks to the time jumping, the Wayward Vagabond, also known as the Mayor. He is from the far future and is somehow able to influence John at the beginning of the story, though we don’t actually formally meet him until near the end. This act is also much more interactive, as there are mini flash game-like pages that allow the reader to help John fight an imp and Rose fend off her mother.
It wasn’t as apparent in the first act, but Homestuck would get an older teen rating with all the expletives used in this act. They aren’t used gratuitously, usually in the heat of battle, though I think Dave likes to “spice” up his raps with them as well. There was a lot of humor in this act. The imps that are attacking John look funny in their jester hats. And seeing the different objects that Rose grabs to drop on them to help John, such as a piano and a safe, made for some good laughs. John’s experimenting with the punch cards and the designix creates a pogo hammer for some hilarious bouncing attacks. I also laughed when the Wayward Vagabond pressed the Tab key on his keyboard to be rewarded with Tab soda.
Act Two ends on another cliffhanger. John has to go up against a giant imp. Rose is in her cat’s mausoleum with the fire right at the door, and Dave is in a death match with Bro on the roof while meteors rain down on the city around them. And the Wayward Vagabond goes on an unexpected trip. This act did explain a lot. Rose’s game FAQ of Sburb helped to explain the devices introduced in the first act as well as summarize some of Nannaquin’s explanations. The kids now have a quest as well, to solve The Ultimate Riddle.
While some answers have been provided, this act brings up a lot more questions. According to my daughters, it’s going to be a while longer before a lot of these questions will be answered. But I’m in it for the long haul now. I have to know what happens to the kids, who the new kid that was teased for a moment is, and where is the Wayward Vagabond going? I was able to read through this act in almost one night, while I was reinstalling Windows 7. If you don’t have a couple of hours like I did, Act Two just came out in print and debuted this at this spring’s TCAF. You can find a copy here.
Images © Andrew Hussie
About Lori Henderson
Yay, another installment! I was waiting for you to continue this, Mrs. Henderson, as you can tell by me showing up here on the very day you published it. I’m glad you’re enjoying the story so far and it only gets more intriguing and addicting from here on in.
One comment about the article: In the first paragraph, you used the name Amy, when I assume you meant Rose, as there isn’t any Homestuck character named Amy.
Thanks for continuing to read it! I’m really looking forward to the next act as my kids continue to tease me about what’s coming up.
Thanks for that catch too. I must have had Doctor Who on the mind when I started writing. There’s no other reason I can think of that would have made me write that name.
Yeah, Act 3 is definitely where it starts revving up even more.
And there’s still one instance of the name Amy in the first paragraph, where you have “Amy’s house”. You might want to fix that too.
And i’m sad that Doctor Who is now on a mid season hiatus. It feels like the episodes we saw came and went so quickly and now I want more.
Definitely Doctor Who on the brain. Probably because of the “wibbley, wabbily” line. Thanks again!
Yeah, we usually get 7 episodes before a break, and this time we only got 5. But at least we only have to wait a couple of months before the Christmas Special. A booster shot before the series comes back in 2013.
I liked reading this! A lot of parents definitely should shy from reading this. It’s pretty geared to a lot of teenage inside jokes. In fact, I’ve had to look up a few of the parodies myself! But good luck with your reading, hope you get through it soon, it gets really amped later!
Most definitely an Older Teen Comic as of act six with a couple events I shall not mention. I find the quote amusing as it is used as a sound sample in the track Arisen Anew in one of the albums made by the music team.
@Rika: I have to disagree with your there. I think I would be good for more parents to read Homestuck if their kids are into it. It’s a great way to start a conversation with your otherwise non-talkative teenage kids. I know my kids love to explain things to me that I don’t understand. They get to show off their know of things, and we get to bond over something we both share.
@Alanna I learned about the quote used in the music after I wrote this. I need to raid my daughters’ music collection so I can listen to some of the soundtracks. I rather enjoy a lot of the music used in some of the flash animations.
It’s spelled “kernelsprite”, and WV’s name is WAYWARD Vagabond, not Wandering Vagabond.
Thanks, I totally missed that. I kept thinking it was Wandering in my head.
@Ms. Henderson: There’s an easy way to get to the soundtracks: the URL of homestuck.bandcamp.com.
Yes, I do mention that in my Act 3 review (coming very soon). But for me, it’s a lot easier to just borrow my kid’s copies.
i’m laughing so hard
homestuck is a good comic for kids??
are you SURE?
wait until everyone starts dying and being murdered.
have you ignored the swearing completely?
Not at all, which is why I said it was best for Older Teen, or 16+ and up. “Kids” is a relative term, and we use it rather broadly on this site. Anyone under 20 is a kid to me, and I don’t think you would deny an older teen form reading this. They are mature enough to decide if the swearing and/or violence is appropriate for them.