Re-uploaded with extra dry explanatory addition ~10:30 am
I thought maybe the single strip was plenty, but apparently NOBODY remembers ANYTHING from their creative metaphysics class
Once again, I am never going to understand humans. Now stop bothering me
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YES!!!
That was hilarious, thank you very much, Rick!
easily agreed
XD They represent Im thirsty now shut up! wow I love this comic…
no they rep. that I’M thirsty so u shut up
Well geez, ain’t this complicated o.O
oh peeshaw if u have an intelect of the biological quantum thery it simple XP
Was Pete being sarcastic when he called her “Baby” or does that mean…?
You know what, I don’t want to know.
This is just too much. And King has to come to terms with the fact that spiritual creatures play a universal take on D&D, and there is a big rulebook that can’t be broken or else dire consequences will occur (Da Rules, anyone?).
I think King will be made to think he’s hallucinating, so King and Tarot can resume their game.
How did this comment end up here?! It’s supposed to be on the root!
Next scene: Peanut and Grape are picking up King and dusting him off while Fido’s yelling at the ferrets to watch where they aim their fireworks.
How did they set the lake on fire?
Maaaaaaagiiiiec pooooweeeers
Got a good deal on fireworks from Thomas Milton.
Was that a Precocious reference?
it would be funny if it all ended in joel having a dream or was it.
No. That would royally suck, and Rick might find himself with a fan-riot on his hands. And not just because of the loss of King. Personally, I rather hate those endings, and I’m sure that many people here will agree with me.
I’d rather have it be a dream than for Tarot to be a weakly godlike entity. Unless Rick decides to go all Accelerando on us.
Rules prevent power overwhelming?
Nah, it just seems a bit Manichean to me.
Hey, I’ll bite if that’s the way Rick does it. No verbal complaints. I just find dream sequences overused. Sorta like the “Bang on the head causes amnesia” thing.
I completely agree with you; thats way overdone!
well overdone has more stages
lol
at first, it’s funny, then it becomes, o noes .. not that again… then it’s more like… what the hell …. then it becomes sad … then it’s so overdone, that it become so said it’s funny again …
Oh darnit I just read the alt-text.
Looks like we ALL just lost-
On a cosmic level.
Joel needs to be reminded that The Game ended already.
Hard to lose a game you don’t play. ^.^
I’ve never really understood why people would put themselves through so much stress over something so stupid.
Are u Grape?
Even if you claim you don’t play, everybody plays it. It just means you don’t put yourself through the stress of recognizing you lost.
Mind you, I just do it for fun. Yes, it’s nigh impossible to win, but it’s fun watching those who actually stress over it.
Ferrets play a different game.
When you’re going around angsting over having lost, ferrets steal your socks and hide them under the couch.
Yeah, well, there’s no rules saying you can’t cheat at the game, and no rules saying you need to feel bad for cheating at the game.
So I beat that sucker a long time ago.
How do you know King isn’t very good at the “whole dog thing?” There are potato chips on the table and he’s not begging for any.
OK, that makes it totally worth it.
Pete: “No, that’s not a real shark, and this isn’t a real waterski, it’s just a metaphor.”
King: “But jumping the shark is a metaphor.”
Pete: “I told you to shut up.”
Want some cheese with that whine ferret? Just roll with it, it’s still funny.
Plus uber-cute Mini-King.
Is there no pleasing you?
No, I am undeflectable, impeterbubba, um… imperterb… ooh… shinies!
I’m pleased.
I was pleased the first time, wierded out but hey what’s the matter with doing that every now and then. Comedy comes from the unexpected…
Actually, I’m perturbed. Even if I can’t spell it without looking it up. This looks like the beginning of the end, just like Tarot predicted.
Yeah that almost ruined it for me… almost, me being a d&d player i can understand the need to keep the date. you know rick pulls that up a lot I bet that he’s into it as well… just a thought
Cheer up, Rick. When people start talking about jumping the shark, it just means you get an excuse to show them up later.
And SERIOUSLY, people? You practically BULLIED the creator into showing you Friday’s comic, and then this is how you receive it?!
This isn’t Friday’s comic.
It was supposed to be
Aye. Did you think Rick made it on the spot? Take a look, both comics are clearly designed to hold their own as separate strips.
Yes, Rick made it up on the spot: “I guess I am going to have to post an explanation comic early lest everyone jump on my back at once Should be here around noon, Friday’s comic will still be on time.”
http://www.housepetscomic.com/2010/07/07/okay-you-guys/
Key words “post it early.” So he had one in stock. That means, if it was the next one, it would have been intended for Friday. The strip originally intended for next Monday will now appear on Friday, and so forth.
You don’t seriously think he wrote and drew a special comic in that short a time?
What I’m looking at here is, the part where he says “Friday’s comic will still be on time.”
I think Rick did indeed make up a new comic. I didn’t see the old one, but I know I certainly wouldn’t know what “jump the shark” means (I’m still at the stage where all science topics are combined in one class. It’s Grade 11 here when you can start taking classes like “Biology” and “Physics” separately, and I’m in Grade 10 now).
I’m completely certain that he didn’t. I think “Friday’s comic will still be on time” just means that he’s still going to post the next comic on Friday, even though he’s posting the strip he had intended for Friday now.
It’s still ridiculous to expect that he made up a completely new comic in a few hours just to clarify. It seems likely that the second strip would have appeared at some point in the future. If what you’re suggesting is the case, then Rick was originally intending to skip the explanation entirely.
Yes, I seriously think he created this strip to explain a point he hadn’t originally been going to address. No, it’s not ridiculous to think he could do a strip in a few hours.
Then we’ll just agree to disagree. Not about the amount of time in which Rick can make a comic, but whether he just bumped up the comic line.
We’ll likely find out on Friday.
Actually, from what I’ve heard, the only difference between the two strips was the bottom row of panels. So maybe he just added those in and rewrote a few panels? That would make more sense than creating a whole new comic.
Oh, I was talking about the bottom strip that he added – I had figured based on the evidence that was the next comic he had planned to release tomorrow.
“Jumping the shark” Is quite exactly how I feel right now, did this comic really need to turn into Marvel Super Heroes?
You people -do- realize that this is only in relation to the King story arc, right? Once this arc’s over, and I for one am enjoying the heck out of it, things will be back to some semblance of normalcy. Tarot will either be gone or acting in-character for her avatar, and the comic will continue. The end. It’s not like the comic is suddenly going to be all about THE EPIC ADVENTURES OF PETE VERSUS TAROT. At some point we’ll go back to Grape and Peanut, and some regular ol’ wacky hijinks will ensue.
Or King knocked himself cross-eyed on the stairs trying to escape and this is not 100% cohesive reality due to that. Or I could be wrong?
I’m not really sure what the arguement is all about since I missed the original update.
According to Rick, the original comic lacked the bottom few panels:
http://www.housepetscomic.com/2010/07/07/the-truth-the-whole-truth/comment-page-1/#comment-33929
You people HAD to ask for it…
I Think this series might have just jumped the shark.
Please, there is no shark. Just like there is no spoon.
Sometimes the shark is just a shark.
So where’s the spoon fit into this talk about sharks jumping!?
The owl and the pussycat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat.
They took lots of honey and plenty of money
All wrapped in a five pound note.
…
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon
Kinda looks like a red herring to me. *squints*
As far as shark jumping lets face it, the very premise of this strip has always been a shark jump. That is what makes it such a wonderful comic, it is different from reality without going so far off that the world is too strange for the reader to comprehend. (Present strip excluded but I am a sucker for metaphysics so I love it)
Especially the last panel, which is a spit, take line.
Can we play, too?
Shall, We, Play, A Game? *_*
I AM PROGRAMMED TO PLAY GAMES!!!
What games shall we play? *_*
THE GAME
Global Thermonuclear War
Isn’t that just Mutually Assured Destruction? In that case, the only winning move is not to play. Therefore, I win!
Wouldn’t you prefer a nice game of chess?
@Argent
No, let’s play, “Throw the H-bomb with a Cobalt Casing”.
But what about the A-bomb sitting alone in the corner?
I was think of MW2, Halo, or Gears but I like your idea better!!
@ argent
i doesnt like that movie :l it boring T_T
I got it lets all go to ricks house and play D&D… or U&U im flexable!
@sonic – Most movies are boring. Or embarrassing.
tu che (orwutever that french word is ;/)
Captain N FTW!
LOVE the last panel.
“What do the cans of soda represent?”
“They represent I’m thirsty so shut up”
big lulz
The Ultimate Question on which the fate of the universe rests…Coke or Pepsi?
Mountain dew.
Red Bull.
7Up, nuff said *does a rapper pose*
Crab Juice
No its Mango Juice. Ah, Mango Juice *gets hit by falling tree*
(a cookie to whoever can guess where that is from)
I like pickle juice with a side of fried worms.
Hawaiian Punch!
And nummy mouse candy!
http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/19a69bc9-1608-4efb-8d32-c2462ff8de32.jpg
Ahhh, Mango Fruit
Cream Soda.
So no one remembers where that is from Its from Tiny Toon Adventures *eats cookie himself* You all disappoint me.
Did you even look at my comment!
I forgot about that part of it until I looked up the clip on Youtube its been like forever since I’ve seen the show. *give Rick a Extra large Cookie*
pore rick all forgoten ; )
Jolt Cola
YAY! I was right!
also… YAY! Surprise double update!!!
There was a comic that was replaced with another comic. It does not count as two comics.
Also, I did not see the first comic. Can anyone tell me what was different from this one?
Yes it does
The first comic was exactly like this only without the bottom set of panels
Sorry to go off the subject here, but wow you sure are making a lot of comments. On a good day, we usually get only 2-3 out of you.
(Hush, you! This is a good thing! If you say stuff like that he’ll stop!)
And this is why Rick Griffin is my favorite webcomic…artist…writer…guy. Also, I just lost The Game.
NUU!!!
i was winning, too…
No one wins you only FAIL!!!
The next person who makes another annoying “THE GAME” line is getting a Colt Singel Action Army shoved up their nose!
uh! that sounds painful
you lost the game
Wow,Um…
Okay?
I think I understand..
Did he just call Tarot Baby??!
BABY COME BACK
ANY KIND OF FOOL COULD SEE
THERE WAS SOMETHING . . . IN EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU!
BABY COME BACK
YOU CAN BLAME IT ALL ON ME
I WAS WRONG . . . AND I JUST CAN’T–
okay I’m kidding. No he’s calling her that as a pejorative.
She’s not “Pete’s Dragon”?
No. Pete’s Dragon is green and rather poorly animated. And he makes his living by lighting lighthouses and thwarting singing villains.
…well, she’s green and she isn’t animated at all… as for singing villains, after this comic, just about anything goes, I guess…
PS: You came dangerously close to rolling us there, Rick.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
NOOOOO! I refuse to click it! I won’t let you do it to me!
*clicks*
AWWWWW!!!!
Thats the third time this month…really…
Darn You Rick Astley!!!
THIS MAKES MY BRIAN HURT!!!!
I think I’ll cry for help just about now… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfRfPon9vmU
*Rimshot*
Okay,Good!
I was like-
WHAT!!!!
Lol..
Thanks for the explanation.
i liked my idea ” BOW CHIKA WOW WOW” ; )
I could just guess here but when tarot called him a jerk earlier in the series it would make me wounder if they had dated at one time…
He’s basically calling her spoiled, not young. It’s like when somebody is throwing a fit somebody might refer to them as a “big baby”, or at least that’s what I think.
So, getting back to obsessive over-analysis:
This means Peanut is Galatea and Tarot is Pygmalion? And Pete is Henry Higgins?
Then who’s Eliza Dulittle?
King, of course!
No no no, can’t you all see this entire set up is little more than a complex metaphor meant to set up for a really simple punchline?
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, and sometimes a metaphor is just a metaphor.
So there’s going to be a simple punchline having to do with a metaphor of a cigar!?
Because the higher, the fewer.
Heeey…. Babylon Gardens? As in, the gardens from Babylon 5?
Heh.. I’m in Season 3 of my first time ever watching the series.
http://dancetothemusicoftime.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/3.jpg?w=450&h=300
Sheldon does not approve.
…I don’t get it
Its the name of the place they live in.
This pleases me. xD Thank you.
God, I love this comic…
….. Something is wrong here and no one else notices it…. There are rules…. and not a single one of them says to not show mortals the truth of the game? They like… revealed everything to him! it HAS to be fake!….. Also, to play Normal DnD, someone has to be the “Dungeon Master” So which one is it? and if it IS truly a game, why was Pete sealed up in the first place? I think it’s all a trick……. That or King becomes the new player in the group o.o
Actually I don’t think it matters if they show king or not… whose going to believe him?
Heh, I suggested King would join the game in the now-missing comment thread. Where’s the thread gone, anyway?
There could be other players.
Pete: “Cthulhu had to run out for a while. Call of supernature, he says.”
Tarot: “Nice fella, but can’t hold his crab juice.”
I think Tarot is the Dungeon Master who only has 1 person who wants to play, and Pete is a power gaming jerk who bends the rules whenever he can.
Assuming that the rules for U&U parallel D&D in the need for a dungeon master, and assuming that what we’re seeing is accurate, then yes, I’d put my money on Pete being a forum-reading, Char-op contributing Munchkin player.
Why would anyone care if some of the mortals know? It’s just another minor complication in a game with an incredible number of complications anyway.
Now, if the mortals can just hold a vote, and kick out the greater spiritual entites, that’s another matter – but there are an infinite number of other universes to play in, and what fun is a game with no stakes at all?
I still love this. <3 People who don't can go make their own web comics.
Ooh, I like the updated version.
Oh wow, this is a first. Definitely a pleasant surprise to see an extra strip, though the fact that Rick did this because of all the negative comments… JUST LEAVE RICK ALOOONE!
So if what Pete says is true, it is possible to see things that are beyond understanding by seeing representations of them when we do see them. Definitely a lot better than seeing some otherworldly power and having your head explode from its pure awesomeness.
Also… crab juice? Seriously? Now the idea of the “nectar of the gods” doesn’t sound so appealing anymore. XD
Crab Juice is a Simpsons reference.
Don’t let Rick drive your car in New York.
I’m just here for the ride, I will get off if it does get too crazy.
I was just playing with ideas in that line in case you didn’t catch it.
Who’s picking on Rick? *holds baseball bat*
Rick saves the day once again from doomsday!!! ^^
Negative comments? I guess I missed them.
Yup a few hours ago!!
Among other things it seems obvious to me these were meant to be seperate strips. I would’ve found them funnier seperate but I respect Rick for the actions he took.
ROFL! Oh, you just took this simple little comic to new heights, Rick. Great stuff.
ALL OF YOU IZ BAYBIZ!
WHAT SICK MEN SENDS BABIES TO FIGHT ME!?!
WAGGGGH! WAAAAAAAAGH! AHAHAHAHAHAH!
okay message recieved
awesome, purely awesome.
I TOLD YOU that it was intergalactic soda and cosmic bowl of chips!
I got it without the extra stuff. But I guess not everyone would.
Everything Tarot’s done or said still means something completely different now whether they’re literally playing D&D or metaphorically playing it.
Hey, I thought it made perfect sense too, in fact it was funnier to me with out the explanation of the metaphors. XD
I got it as well but I guess this is good so the people who get it don’t have to keep explaining to to the ones who don’t
I don’t think ‘getting it’ or not is the real problem. In the original version of the strip, the implication is that Tarot and Pete created the universe and by extension the cast aren’t “real”, i.e. Peanut and Grape are essentially figments of the players’ imaginations.
IMHO it’s not easy to get readers to bond with story characters, yet Rick has managed to do this. I can easily see the idea of the Housepets universe being just a game annoying a lot of people, since it can completely break any emotional attachment they had developed for these characters – “The whole thing was just a dream” is also a good way to annoy people, and for similar reasons.
Now, in the expanded version, it is pointed out that they have simply hijacked an existing universe for their own amusement, which in effect resolves the ambiguity and would be considerably more palatable to people who have developed a bond with the cast members,
I only had enough of an attention span to read a few of those sentences, but the few I read made sense.
Thank you Tapewolf, that is exactly how I felt.
I think I came off as insulting and I really didn’t mean too and I’m sorry for that. I agree I can see where people would be annoyed by the fact that there favorite characters might be nothing more then playthings in a game I understand that. Maybe its because I also read OoTS and Goblins (because both of those really are just D&D games) but that personally doesn’t bother me (don’t get me wrong I never believed it was true and am glad it isn’t) then again that’s just me.
Precisely what my nitpick with the original comic was. Irregardless of whether it was a metaphor or not, the implication that they may have created the entire world of Housepets! was a very real fear. Well-delivered, Tapewolf.
81 comments?
Housepets, I am disappoint.
The comments were reset when he updated at 10:30
There were hundreds before the explanatory thing is added.
Im pretty sure he meant “baby” as in calling her A baby, for whining about/having to have a particular edition.
and wait, they are in major conflict with pete a villain, or is this some pointless game and they are not trying to destroy one another.
and you cant blame him for thinking he was part of a game of chess. dont forget his name and collar
(As if I didnt JUST realize this)
And then he wakes up… ;3
Meh. That’s the boring answer.
Not if Pete is the one who wakes up.
Not that I want to sound ungrateful that Rick made an extra comic to explain what is going on, but it was more the sudden curveball of turning the comic into a “supernatural beings battling it out by playing a game with the universe” thing than them literally playing D&D or whatever the game is regardless, it would like like if the Spiderman comics suddenly tossed away all the heroics and action to make a comic series about Peter Parker permanently losing his powers and becoming an accountant. This comic was something different than all the other fate of the world/superhero webcomics…. now its becoming another one, and casting a bunch of supporting characters into main roles and downplaying the main characters people already liked.
This
is
Louisiana.
Nooooooooooooo!
THE GAME!
Honestly, I don’t care what you guys say. It’s much more positive and self-affirming if you win whenever somebody mentions the game. Heaven knows I need an ego-boost.
oh no rick is experimenting with stuff in his own comic
clearly everything hes ever done in the past has failed so we should assume this will too
Was that sarcasm? I only ask because I suck at it, so I wouldn’t know.
My comment was a jet of sarcasm so intense that inhaling its vapors would instantly clear your sinuses.
Or cause brain damage from sarcasm monoxide poisoning.
Com’on, play nice you guys.
Aaaaand my mind is shattered now :dizzy:
Okay-okay! Sheesh man no need to get all lecturing on us. XP
I think most of us got the idea of methaphore but we couldn’t know of the creation of the world if ya didn’ make it clear ya know.
BTW still what’s with Tarot then? Is she real or just the dragons “real world” form? :O
Okay I gotta say with this lil extension the strip is much better… I mean in the way of being canon so don’ worry we still love your works sir(I won’t call someones name till he/she says I can. XD).
My face looks diferent now, ut still I’ll post how it looked till this afternoon. XD
http://data.tymoon.eu/tymooncute.png
Well, again, this makes sense still, and-AHA! I KNEW you wern’t human/mortal! This just goes one step closer to proving my theory that everyone who makes a great webcomic isn’t human/mortal!
Oi! Who’s he calling human?
Tiny King is tiiiiiiny!
Pete is now awesome as the dragon spirit, but he keeps being kewl.
Especially with a soda.
(I still want to ride him!)
Every one I’m calling it right now the GM is either Sabrina or Sasha. I’m going with Sasha because it would explain why Pete said she was protected.
And If I’m right (which I really think I am) then that means that Sasha already knows that King is Joel
Actually, it’s Daisy.
That would be the ultimate sign of it being a dream. xD
Also the ultimate use of the line, “Hi, I’m Daisy!”
My money is on Fatty. “Yes Joel I set you up so you’d end up completely screwed over by a gryphon and turned into a dog. It was all part of my evil PETA-related plan!”
SETA is gonna get on Pete’s back.
Spirits for the Ethical Treatment of Anthropomorphs
Or else Pete’s part of SETA and kidnapped Joel to save him.
That’s a very creative acronym that was funny at the same time.
Good one, Argent!
Wait a minute! Doesn’t that mean that all of the OTHER characters are part of this “game” too!? I’m starting to think that Peanut will play an ever larger role than King in the future – he IS the main character after all.
yes, everything living is part of “the game”
Yes. That’s the problem.
I think it was funny and worth reading without the second strip. Though I still like it either way. I still think this will end up with King waking up to Fox shaking him back to conciousness. Too much orange soda.
i kind question your theory of king being unconciousness. he never meet tarot or grape. he don’t know tarot was a spirit dragon and he never known about the game called U&U.
NOTHING MATTERS ANYMORE!!
Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
..caught in a landside,
or escape from reality…
Open your eyes…
The Red pill or the Blue pill?
…Look up to the skies and see…
I’m just a poor boy, I need no sympathy.
Because I’m easy come, easy go
Little high, little low
-whispers- I see dead people…
Love that movie. :3
*Hugs Phonti*
@Phonti
XD
Yeah, it helps that some of them are indeed, dead.
Who doesn’t love Sixth Sense? :3 Best. Movie. Ever. (Apart from maybe The Others. Oh and Pan’s Labyrinth. And Paranormal Activity. And Toy Story. And-)
Any where the wind blows, doesn’t really matter to meeee…
Those Shyamalan shippers have stilled the Rhapsody.
Suddenly I heard a tapping as if someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
Also, I love the new panels because they give us a bunch of close-ups of Pete. That’s pretty awesome.
If we complain we get extended strips? :3 THIS IS MAH TROLLFACE D:<
Hah, not likely. The change wasn’t for the people who thought the D&D thing was stupid, it was more for the people who were worried this meant the Housepets world wasn’t technically “real” (panel 3)
Hey, as long as Peanut and Grape are real, I’m a-okay.
we all are Pax
Read that as “we are all Pax” and wondered “why a Hyperion reference?”
I still like the comic, but its kind of a bummer to have Tarot explained. I liked her better when she was just a mystical dog xD
Now hold on, just because there is AN explanation of ONE of her power manifestations doesn’t mean you know everything about it and/or its purpose.
So, did Tarot exist before Spirit Dragon started playing?
Actually probably, Tarot talks to “the spirits” plural not “the dragon spirit” singlular. It’s possibly the dragon is just one of several spirits that use Tarot as their “avatar” to the HP universe. She’s probably more than just a “dog costume.”
Like King, there are hints Tarot has free will (she does things the spirits hate as hinted in the Pridelands arc when Maxwell asked if she could just forsee to after she read some books instead of reading them and she implied she either can [or even has] but the spirits don’t like it), if she isn’t entirely “the spirits” then they likely can’t control her fully just as Pete can’t control King fully. It’s possible regular Tarot is her when her eyes are their normal yellow where as she becomes the Dragon Spirit’s avatar when her eyes become green.
This is all theory, for a couple hundred million in taxpayer dollars I’d be willing to research it further.
well of course with any pet you cant control them fully.
I’d like to believe something like that, but she could just be role-playing that stuff and archly referring to herself an Pete hating it when causality gets messed up.
in other words, she was using “locate object” when she couldn’t find the remote XD jk, jk
You are missing out on a prime point of metaphysics; just because you have an answer it doesn’t mean that it is the only answer. In metaphysics 1+1=2 and 1+1=FISH can both be the correct.
Isn’t that just Relativism in action? I mean sure, Relatively speaking 1+1 can Equal FISH or 2 depending on the person, but When you really think about it that’s just plain silly to think that 1+1 can = anything but FISH.
Thanks for the extra comic Rick. Now everything is right with the universe.
…except for the spelling of “fish” which is actually gh-o-ti. xD
So you’re saying FISH is a prime number?
No, of course it isn’t. You can divide it evenly by zero.
I can divide it evenly with a fish-knife.
I’d rather divide Pi… Everybody likes pi no matter what universe.
Oh wow: NASA just released a photo of the spirit dragon!
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-225
Tarot better hide the board before NASA finds that too!
I have to agree with Pete on this one. You just can’t play a good game of D&D (or in this case U&U) without something to drink. Also, I love little KING!
I WUV pocket-sized King!! Wanna one!
Ya know, he would make a pretty good action figure. That’s what we need! Housepets action figures!
*Pictures John Moschitta Jr attempting to some up this comic and its characters…and doing it in about 45 seconds flat*
I find this comment section not only useful to express one’s feeling toward these comics but it also provides great feedback to the author. Rick wouldn’t have gone through great lengths to edit this comic without the constructive criticism of HP! fans.
What I’m trying to say is Rick did this because he cares about us.
Thanks! XD
Presumably there is some higher purpose to the cosmic game than entertainment, and someone will mention that shortly. Then we can go back to the entertaining speculation and general comedy.
Otherwise… Pete’s treatment of Joel/King was amusing as long as it could be excused. It could be if it was really vital to the world for some reason, or if Pete didn’t know any better, or if Pete was unable to act against his nature as a trickster-entity, or some such (and no, “teaching” won’t really do; it requires consent, and Pete is not a part of the so-called social contract and its implied acceptance of conditions in exchange for benefits). If Pete’s kidnapping and demeaning of a sophont is just for his amusement, it would put Pete – and the Spirit Dragon if she was aware of it and didn’t intervene (and possibly the entire cosmic order which allows a game involving such manipulations of unconsenting sophonts to go past first edition) on exactly the same ethical level as anyone else who abuses the helpless – whether that’s animal, child, or elder abuse. And no, you can’t regain your ethical standing by doing something nice to “make up for it later”. It doesn’t work.
Yeh, that and Tarot’s flirting with Peanut, they don’t look so good now. They’re like Peanut (as Spot) powergaming.
Tarot (as Saso) is still awesome.
Actually, they remind me of the scenes in The Books of Magic where Timothy Hunter destroys his animated (and presumably self-aware) toys because he’s tired of them. Timothy redeems himself by destroying the Other at the cost of his soul, what will Tarot do?
(Odd error message, hopefully this won’t appear repeatedly):
Ah well, perhaps they’ll become the first serious set of on-screen villains instead. So far the strip has had Bino (incompetent), Fatty (clearly insane, but probably the closest thing to a serious villain so far), the ungrateful relatives (greed, burglary, and a reference to foreclosing on orphanages – but thievery is pretty feeble for villainy), Karl-Lenin-Faust (a stereotypical socialist revolutionary, albeit with a point; having your race regarded as food would be upsetting), Grape (the only one so far to kill – and eat – another character on-screen, but somewhat excused by the food chain), Joel/King (horribly easy to drag around, but not particularly bad), Bill (some readily-overcome prejudice against ferals), and Joel’s Pets (gone feral, and appearing only in one brief flashback anyway). I’d find it hard to classify most of those as serious menaces.
Of course, if Pete and the Spirit Dragon are villains, I’d expect them to be defeated by some entirely random bit of activity – after which Pete’s offscreen voice says something like:
“Bother! When a mortal does THAT the rules say that you have to re-enter the timestream with a new avatar at least two hundred and forty years down the line. OK, that will be Babylon Five, I’ll take the Shadows and you can have the Vorlons…”
GAH! Rick got me with the alt-text
epic plot twist though.
*facepalm*
Looking at the game map I see that Gardens was added as an after thought to the name Babylon Gardens, I wonder if that means that the map was used in B.C. and their game is what happened to Babylon itself.
wow you remove my comment because i criticized the strip? this is just sad, all i said was i dont like the way this is going.
It wasnt your comment; when Rich added the strip additiion the entire thread was restarted.
hahaha oh sorry
YAY! I rolled a 6!
*start WWIII*
wha..? I never understood this game…
hey! i rolled a 7!
*a cure for all dieases, no wars, and no hunger*
well that help the world
Dang, a 2.
*gigantic asteroid obliterates all life on earth*
._.
COOL! a 10
*life begins a new*
yeah
I got a 55.
*The die doesn’t go up that high, dumb-*
Yeah, somebody pass the 3553 page rules book, please?
I got 42. Now, what’s the question?
Your making yourself work to hard with this one, Rick!
Now, everything that happens in the comic is going to have to be explained by a D&D rule, and if you mess ANYTHING up, they’ll be all over you on it!
Might want to start buying some rule books…
Did I ever tell you about the time I killed a Paladin using a Magic Mouth spell?
And the time I used my level 7 Nuke to obliterate all life within 100 miles?
Oh, anyone could do that!
RULES AS WRITTEN!!! RULES AS WRITTEN!
You can fit a lot of blasphemy into 25 words.
Hmm…. If the dragon is just using Tarot, and that Tarot isn’t real, does that mean Peanut is just being used? o.o Or is Tarot real, with the dragon using her as a playing piece while Pete plays as himself? Oooo, or is Pete going to make King his Avatar now?! o.o So many questions, soo many possibilities, why can’t the next comic page come out already?! xD
PS. I still like the idea of King becoming a third player, or with Sasha being a player o.o
I just realized something…
Peanut is in love with an AVATAR!!!
Thats gonna be heartbreaking for all the shippers…
I been saying that all morning.
I don’t think that that will be a problem.
Tarot may be SD’s Avatar, but she still exists to some degree. Just imagine all of the characters of the U&U as game pieces. When it comes to role playing games the universe is still the same it’s just that each “player” plays as a single (sometimes multiple) “piece”. Tarot just so happens to be her piece. Everyone else would be considered as NPC’s (Non-Player Characters)
However, Pete’s Avatar was also himself so… (@.@)
Dang. Poor shippers…
Wait,Wha ………Okay.
*throws hands up off keyboard*
Having never played D&D,
I iz beyond confused.
…Does this mean the Pridelands adventure they had earlier was a game inside a game?
I think you are getting the jist of it.
Yep, like The Adventures of Spot are a comic inside a comic!
This explains how Tarot was able to get up to speed in role-playing so quickly.
Now I want a really cool “King” key chain!! o.o
They’re talking about this in the forum, under the “anthology” subthread.
I see this in a different light than a lot of the comments I’m reading.
First, I believe that Tarot is still Tarot – a psychic dog. We know that whenever her eyes turn green, spirits are controlling her. The dragon says “She’s my avatar” – that’s not the same as saying “I am Tarot”! When the spirit-dragon is finished talking with Pete in the physical world, Tarot will be returned to normal and once again have the personality/individuality of Tarot (so I understand).
Also, I agree with what Tapewolf said above
Second, Pete and the dragon aren’t playing a game. Whatever they’re doing is being metaphorically represented as such by King, but other than that, we merely have a spirit-dragon saying that Pete broke the rules, assumedly at something that happened recently since the spirit-dragon would have been aware of the situation.
So, she’s like Pham Nuwen? Well, that’s one way Rick could go that would make her less creepy, but Ravna found out where that lead, and I hope Peanut catches on quicker.
I like that idea about Tarot, it makes a lot more sense than Tarot being the dragon’s physical world form. Rather Tarot exists, but is used by the dragon as a channel to communicate/interact with the physical world. Is that what you meant?
So its just like the avatars in the movie Gamer? Except that means that tarot is not controlling her actions…depending on how long the spirit dragon has been controlling her, this could mean that tarot may not actually have feelings for him!!!
THE COMIC IS RUINED!!!!!
jk…jk…
Well I don’t think that the Spirit Dragon is in control all the time, just when it suits her needs at the time.
Actually… In the context of the game, Tarot has feelings for Peanut. I’ve had characters fall in love – and it’s no less valid, within that context, than any NPC romances. I get the impression that the Spirit Dragon is playing the game partly to have some of these mortal experiences, so despite it not being ‘real’ per se to her, the avatars are just as real as the rest of the denizens of Babylon Gardens.
Yes, Corpy, that’s the idea. Also note that we know when it’s Tarot in control and when it’s the spirit-dragon (or any other spirit) – her eyes are green, as they are now. Thus, we know for sure that everything that Tarot has done so far is Tarot doing it, not any other spirit.
In response to Sparro, I disagree with saying that there is any game at all. You could say that in real life, we’re all playing at a game, but not really. These creatures (Pete + dragon) aren’t playing a game, they’re just playing at “life” with laws – just like we have. Only difference is that theirs are considerably more complex.
Furthermore, there are no NPCs! Peanut, Grape, and the rest of them are still “real” (in the HP universe), and are no less real then the dragon or Pete. Just because Pete and the dragon are spiritual beings doesn’t mean that the other character’s we’ve come to know don’t exist.
If we’re viewing the activities of Pete and SD as a game, then from that perspective, anyone who isn’t under the direct control of those two (or any other potential cosmic beings) are by definition NPCs. Doesn’t mean they don’t have lives, especially since they chose a living, breathing world as their playing space.
“…you know what happens to mortals who get involved with gods!”
“B*****ed, is it?”
“Every time.”
But what they don’t know is that while King is in a reality being played with by a griffin, Pete and Tarot are in a reality being written by a guy named Griffin.
Wouldn’t it be funny to discover that Rick is a character in a story being written by a minor character in the Pridelands series?
Did anyone else notice that one of the dice is a tesseract?
Rick mentioned that in the Lost Comments.
augh. Now I’m trying to figure out how many faces a tesseract has.
8 volumes and 24 faces. But cast on a hypertable one volume would be “up”, so it’s an 8-sided hyperdie. The dual of a tesseract is called an orthoplex and has 16 volumes and 32 faces, making it a 16-sided hyperdie. There’s also a hyperpyramid with 5 volumes and 15 faces making a 5-sided hyperdie, and 24, 120 (!), and 600 (!!!) sided hyperdies that don’t have common names.
Because Shut Up
No offense, but this is really effed up. Why do lots of comics end up being dramatic or metaphysical, even for the sake of comedy? o_O
because the “norm” is both cliche and boring sometimes.
Tell that to the slice-of-life genre.
I think he just did.
And unsurprisingly the slice-of-life genre is usually dull and repetitive.
that
It is also the author treating his readers as inteligent peopla and giving them something to think about. Think of it as the old time movie serials from the 40’s.
It doesn’t really make me think though. Oh well.
This is a comic wherein furry animals walk upright, speak English, play Nintendo and eat ice cream, yet still run around naked, eat from bowls, wear collars and potty outdoors. Why would anyone assume it’s going to stay mundane?
(suddenly realizes he just described himself.)
bravo, you just not only described yourself.
popcorn.gif
Yes, yes, it is quite safe to start planting those epileptic trees.
I don’t usually share my theories on where a comic is going, but here goes …
1. King/Joel could not be dreaming this. I don’t think he has the necessary imagination.
2. I don’t think Rick is telling us everything here. There must be more to Tarot and Pete than super-beings playing a friendly game. They may be feeding King this story to throw him off whatever is really happening.
Also, here are my possible responses to metaphysical beings condescendingly telling me I can’t comprehend something:
1. I don’t think it’s my inability to understand as much as it’s your inability to explain..
2. You actually feel the need to PROVE your superiority? That must mean it’s not very obvious. Did you just plug my brain into a holo-deck or something for this?
3. THB-B-B-B-B-B-B!
yu know, i got a QUESTION. did u make that avie?
It’s from a request drawing of my character: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4022093/
Dude you guys. Drama over a webcomic? Let the creator create! I personally think he’s doing a great job in providing the lulz and the story. Carry on, Rick!
what does King represent?
A tiny dog?
Great imagination you have corpy.
King represents the reader, obviously. He’s the avatar of the fourth wall.
Lies, King represent change!
Tarot: … no, Death represents change, and the Tower represents death.
King: Who came up with these crazy rules?
Tarot: I did.
King: I love crazy rules! *sweatdrop*
C’mon guys, Rick has never let us down (at least not me), so just trust him and wait to see what happens next.
Poor King, he is in the middle of much more trouble than he (and we) thought. Let’s just hope nothing (else) happens to him.
I wonder what will happen with peanut when he discovers that he was dating a giant green spirit dragon. But if he didn’t mind Tarot as weird as he was back then, I doubt he would even care (he would probably find it very cool, actually).
She flew with him on a broomstick on Holloween. I don’t think anything about her will make him like her less.
Now that Pete mentions it, I’m thirsty too. Oooh, he’s very good at this game.
But now I wanna know what rules Pete is breaking. Also, I want Pete to give me an orange soda, in his size. I need one to go along with this giant bag of popcorn I made so i can read the comic.
He’s not *breaking* the rules he’s *abusing* them. There’s a big difference. Breaking the rules would mean that Pete is ignoring them completely or deliberately defying them. Abusing the rules means that Pete is still *following* the rules but is using loopholes or unclear areas to abuse them (sort of like a person that tries to develop a ‘Locate City Bomb’ or Munchkins).
Game Lawyer.
I think that just like Pete said that the dices represent “chance and fate”, King’s freewill would also work that way within the “game”. There is not really any actual rule or game, but it’s all metaphorical: Even though Pete said that King could not go to the party he went. Going to the party was King’s choice, like in a “dice roll” on D&D and Pete can’t interfere with that. So… For me, Pete going to the party to take King back is abusing the rules, both Pete and “Tarot” can only do things indirectly, like when she said to Peanut that they should not set Pete free and stuff.
But that is just my opinion…
I KNEW IT!!
Only a game so stupidly confusing could serve as the Cosmic Game!
None of this is actually true.
YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!
Well, they say that once both the answer and the question to the universe are known, the universe will disappear and a more confusing one will take its place.
They also say this has already happened…
I did not see this coming. Hilarious.
I STILL wana be the car!
I call dibs on the dog!
I’ve got the boot.
Why? So I can demonstrate my mastery of Tae Kwon Leep.
“Boot to the head” *thump*
ok… so apparently this is a game… and king whas part of it and… pete broke a rule in the game then.
that soda can represents the best thing in the world lol
This is getting very… VERY interesting.
Pete’s giant six pack of soda pop can fill up an entire swimming pool! Even better add ice cream to the mix!! 0.0
cannonballllllllllllllllll!
*splashs*
I want to play Universe and Unrealities with them!
D&D? Really?
Only a D&D player would try to make that lame game something grandiose.
its only lame to those with no imagination or creative depth
Yes, and what fine clothes the Emperor has…
Have you ever played D&D once? Or do you base it off of the pop culture jokes where the entire game is just an eccentric narcissistic experience?
To be fair, a bunch of the groups I’ve played in have degenerated to exactly that… Doesn’t stop it from being fun, though.
True, it really depends on who you play it with and having a good DM. The possibilities are endless… and in endlessness, there’s a whole stinking heap of utter crap. D:
Well there are multiple things that make a good game and it varies from person to person. Some people actually like the “Dungeon of the week” experience. Me I prefer an ongoing game with a whole world design where the characters aren’t the only people in the whole universe who can save the day, they just were in the right place at the right time with the right magic sword.
I can just imagine God walking past them, muttering something about “Those darned kids and their silly board games.”
Satan would just jump on their table, scream “NEEEEEEERDS” and then run off giggling.
as cool as that sounds it would realy push the PG this comic has
No, assuming that God/Satan wouldn’t throw bawdy banter back and forth or have an overly-lovely lady around, it wouldn’t. The appearance of a religious figure has no bearing on a comic’s rating.
Plus, it would introduce Rick’s faith to those readers who couldn’t guess from his earlier comments.
That doesn’t mean the comic gets taken over by it until every reference is to God, it’s just to let readers know he’s a Christian.
I’d like to see what Jay “JShifter” Kayton from H.A.L.O. would do with a game like that.
Why is it that when humans are faced with something beyond comprehension their minds create a metaphor to help them fathom it? This always makes some of the most fantastic places in the multiverse pretty dull. I mean who wants to go to the Q continuum and see a roadside diner? Snoresville. And what about the poor guy who just died and is about to ascend and is trying to figure out what sort of bizarre place he’s in, only to find out that it really IS a roadside diner? Now that’s got to be frustrating.
Well, it’s either that, or go insane. Haven’t you ever played Call of Cthulu? Mortal minds aren’t meant to meddle in god-stuff. Do that, and you lose SAN. And that can be very ugly sometimes.
If your talking bout Dark Corners of the earth, than that game was created by Cthulu himself, no ones mind can handel such amount of bad programming and glitches
What about Spawn of Fashan?
I have 23 active and dormant personalities including a mummy, a teddy bear and an apple tree. It’s been a long time since I had SAN.
Of course, Dr. McNinja has done fairly well, saying that Purgatory is simply a restaurant with poor service and the Thursday Next series frequently visited a roadside diner on the way to the afterlife.
It just has to be handled well (and usually for comedic effect), that’s all.
How would you actually know if you were facing something beyond comprehension?
Well it’s easy enough to know if you’re facing something beyond YOUR comprehension
But that only means that you don’t understand at the moment; to actually know that it was beyond comprehension, you’d have to understand both it and the limits of what you could comprehend – although that’s admittedly a result of reduction to a contradiction.
Those are awkward to be sure of, but always fun.
Nice to see this hasnt caved King’s mind in
Suppose the fact that its basically DnD makes it a little better to comprehend
it’s started with two friends talking, then it’s might end in the domain of the immortals’ living room
So… This is THE GAME?
*shoves a colt Singel Action Army up your nose* Go on, make my day..Punk!
Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!
*shurgs and pulls the trigger*
yeah!
“What do the cans of soda represent?” “They represent I’M THIRSTY so shutup!”
Laughing…so…hard…CAN’T…..BREATHE!!!
Here, here’s an oxygen mask from an airplane that represents BREATHE MAN, BREATHE!
Wellll, this is taking a crazy turn. I LOVE IT PLS MAKE MOAR!
I want the cosmic size cola can … SUGAR!!!
Is Diet okay? The Cosmic fridge ran out of the real stuff about 10 millenia ago.
Tangential question: Wouldn’t having a beak make it much more difficult to drink from a can of soda? I mean, yeah, so would muzzles, given how they don’t generally have human-style lips, but they are a bit more flexible than a hard beak.
Here’s another question. Every game has a goal, a mission, an ending. Something that must be done to complete it… So… What is Tarot and Pete’s ultimate ending goal?! Besides making King go crazy
ever layed D&D? theres a new goal every time. maybe this game (fr tarot anyway) her goal was to ge peanut and grape together. if you go back to the second strip shes in.
It’s only a metaphorical beak.
Pete’s “Kind of a jerk”is really shining here.
Good point. He is “kind of a jerk” xD
But “the beginning of the end” likely means nothing to Babylon Gardens, as if Pete and Tarot decide to end the game they’ll just take their proverbial balls and go home.
Or it could mean that their game is going to end. Pete broke the rules. It’s like when Peanut said “I don’t want to play anymore” and the universe they were in simply stopped existing. That’s tarot saying “If pete doesn’t start playing by the rules, I’m going to quit, this game will end, and this world will stop existing.” because just because it’s a prefab campaign doesn’t mean other players will play it the same say. Different course of action, different outcomes, ultimately a different universe even if the characters are the same. So, simply put, the world as we know it would end. the characters may end up with different relationships, different living conditions, different owners, different families, and as a result entirely different personalities.
Or they just stop playing U&U and everthings go on as it is.
But Pete and The Dragon did not create the world they are just using it so even if they stop playing the HP! universe will go on just as normal.
that’s what i’d said but you put it in a more better way
Pogiforce acknowledges this in his last sentence. What he is saying is that if the “game” ends, and Tarot and Pete disappear, then the storyline will be vastly different from the one that would have been told if they had stayed (for example, if Pete leaves, there will be no more “King” shenanigans.
Didn’t you hear Pete? They use a pre-existing universe to play in. Just because they stop playing doesn’t mean the universe will simply blink out of existence.
In the sense that avatar is usually used, we are all represented online by personalities that are derived from us but may not really be us in the direct sense. In another, take Second Life for example we directly control an avatar that to others is viewed to be the “real” you and what they really know you as. Thus, the avatar may act differently from you but still BE you. I suspect that’s what Tarot – The Spirit Dragon – is really talking about. She is Tarot, and in direct control. But others view Tarot. Metaphysics apply to the Internet, too!
King then finds a door called “the answer to all” opens it than loses his mind!
Why would 42 blow his mind?
Well you just lost a fan
That’s too bad.
who lost a fan
Every 15 minutes a new Housepets fan are born!
Aw, come on! After this arc, it should all go back to… well, I can’t really call using a ceiling fan to dump water all over the floor “normal”, but you get the idea.
Wait, that’s it! When losing fans, turn to ceiling fans!
The physics I did didn’t have a prefix and it certainly wasn’t creative. We had to follow the lab instructions to the letter or what we observed wouldn’t be what we were supposed to observe…
Wait… Where’s the dry explanation? or is the double strip it
OH LOL. XD just checked and saw the double strip.
makes much more sense now, lol
doesn’t it
This is a test. Plz ignore.
has anyone else found it obvious rick plays D&D XD. i wonder if hell tell us about his character lol. This twist i found absolutely spectacular. In my head id prefer a mind wipe of the incident and tarot and pete going back to being who they are and tarot staying as a Pomeranian. and also if this was all dreamed by joel she still exists and is psychic just not a dragon since she came before this whole thing. Staying up to read next panel. nothing else to do tonight XD
As stated before, it’s still likely Tarot is the Pomeranian and the Dragon Spirit just communicates THRU her not AS her. But we’ll wait and see.
Well yes, since it’s been mentioned directly a number ot times.
Rick, you are so evil …
(I lose)
Actually, this explains things a LOT. I am hating where this is going a HELL of a lot less, now. (I hate the idea of being pawns in a game for some higher beings with a bloody stinking passion.) And, um, I never TOOK creative metaphysics. Heck, didn’t even know they existed, and my dad TEACHES physics…
Oh, and this also kills a joke I came up with if King tries to threaten them, since breaking their lucky dice wouldn’t work if they’re not actually their dice.
Loved the arc as it was originally..found it highly hilarious actually, yet also find the tone funny in the “need to explain”/ “dumb it down a bit” for those that dont get the original idea..double props to you Rick and gotta say i love your comic!