So we are with John exploring his fathers study. I hope he’s allowed in there. I know in my home, when I was a kid, the study was the adult only zone. Many of my friends had the same kind of thing. I assume this was more to grove the adults a bastion away from the terrors of their own children. Being older myself, child free thankfully, I can’t say I blame my parents for needing a hideaway. But much like John I’d sneak in anyway and examine all the boring mundane adult things.

Though John’s fathers stuff is a little less mundane. John finds a range of novelty pranks and magic items. This includes a can of peanuts, which unexpectedly contains actual peanuts. John recalls discovering a severe peanut allergy because of a can like this one. Oddly, I don’t remember this coming up again at any time.

He also found a new Captchalogue captchalogue card. But he isn’t able to equip it. It is a jape or does he not know how.

Moving on. There is also a piano in the study. We hear the first piece of Homestuck music, the Haunting Piano Refrain. I very much appreciate that this newer reading system actually credits the artist. If I remember correctly, the only way to get that info in the original experience was to read the forums. Even the Bandcamp didn’t credit each song, only the albums leaving me to try and guess who did what.

I’ll also point out this is the point I knew Homestuck was going huge someday. I’ve been reading webcomics for years. But having an original song built into the experience. This was crazy to me. I know others would also later follow such as Romantically Apocalyptic having some amazing atmospheric works. But the music behind Homestuck would just continue to blow my mind. I’ll gush more about that as we hear more of it.

But especially for this tune. Hold it in your mind, it will follow us and grow as this thing goes on. This little webcomic becomes something so insanely more then what we have seen. And music like this will provide the emotions we cannot get with text and images alone.

Though we are immediately smacked with comic stupidity. This as John decides to play 52 pick-up with himself while in his increasingly dumb disguise.

Deciding to check the mailbox, John again passes by his living room. This very appropriate ad playing on the TV. For the first time in this story John is outside. I’m still impressed by the lengths John will go to to avoid his dad. His dad seems like a great guy.

John exits the house to find the mailbox is empty.