Housepets!

I think we all knew this was going to be the answer.

Well, shocker. Kitsune said no.

I would be more annoyed if A, we all literally didn't see this coming and B, if Kitsune doesn't have a smug little plan for Marion and Lois.

Not surprisingly, he is not going to help directly. It remains to be seen if hes going to at least point them in a direction.

And what came first: Kitsune or the legend? Was he some ill-defined force until the legend gave him a form? We may never know.

Does this mean we can confirm it was by curse or... That Kitsune is just letting them think it was because they didn't ask what it was? Both work... King really should have been there as he is the only one who knows how to deal with Kitsune (which is why he is gone now, that is how you deal with him!).

("No can do for you") OR CAN I? And (“So the meaning of life is we're just some kinda thought mine for the gods” "Oh heavens no") OR IS IT?
If he didn't want to solve their problem, then why did he ask what he could do for them? I wonder what Great Kitsune would be if he wasn't a kitsune.

Everyone saw this coming. Though I hope he can at least send them in the right direction or else they have nothing to go on. Also, I think the most interesting way to end this whole saga would be to have them be able to switch between forms somehow keeping the best of both worlds. It would give them something over beinging two more King's at least.

I hope Lois at least drops some logic on him about how this isn't exactly the same thing as he's describing. They're not asking for Heaven on Earth, they're asking for normal. What happened to them clearly is not of Earth and therefore needs to be remedied before it disrupts the delicate balance of life itself.

I remember the extra comic posting the alt text jokes about. That did a great job clarifying when people thought the whole comic was going "St. Elsewhere" for a second. But then the U&U game, Kitsune, King living with the Wolves and a whole bunch of cool stuff came out of that arc so it was all good, set the stage for a lot of later craziness.

Xane wrote:Except the curse isn't a normal part of human life, which is why I still don't like the celestial bullies.

(Even if Kitsune is adorable.)

Except Magic(k) is a thing in this world that's apparently available to mortals, so it's not impossible that a Celestial had nothing to do with their predicament. With all the assumptions that have been made, we STILL dont know what started all this. About the only guess I think that can be ruled out is that Kitsune did it. I suspect he'd have just said so.

Champion Wallace wrote:If he didn't want to solve their problem, then why did he ask what he could do for them?

What's the fun in just giving the answers to the questions you know they're going to ask? Much better to let them get around to everything organically! Then you can even play with expectations if you're so inclined

It’s like a recursive kind of thing

... Kitsune, I just developed a crush on what might be your true form, please don't give this lackluster of an answer on why you're not going to help the former humans. Pete at least had motivation for being unreasonable jerk to King.
I kinda feel either he's hiding something, or being unhelpful is going to have consequences for the fox down the line

From reading Percy Jackson there is a level of logic about how the Gods influence mortals and the mortals in turn influence Gods. The gods have their divine forms then appear to mortals and said mortals twist them into understandable appearances then that collective opinion affects how the gods appear from then on. They influence each other. Kitsune could have looked like well a kitsune then the japanese culture took the concept and applied it to the modern idea of a kitsune which in turn affected what Kitsune himself appears as.

So Kitsune just raised more questions like always.

Gameb18oy wrote:... Kitsune, I just developed a crush on what might be your true form, please don't give this lackluster of an answer on why you're not going to help the former humans. Pete at least had motivation for being unreasonable jerk to King.
I kinda feel either he's hiding something, or being unhelpful is going to have consequences for the fox down the line

I doubt it because this is who he is. The best example of how he works is in the temple. First of all, arguably, he could have fixed that on his own. But when the fate of the world was in the balance and the Forgotten was coming through, he didnt fix it but spurred Res into doing it. Maybe he couldn't do it himself, but he also didnt just tell him what to do.

Besides, if he wasn't going to do SOMETHING in the arc, I think he'd just not appear. Hes just not going to make them human again.

dr_eirik wrote:

Besides, if he wasn't going to do SOMETHING in the arc, I think he'd just not appear. He's just not going to make them human again.

Not unless they do something for him anyway. Gods have a history of influencing events and guiding but it is up to the mortals to actively make the decisions on they're own whether they be the right ones or wrong ones. This is their quest and now they have to figure it out so to earn the God's reward which is different from receiving just because one asks. It's like Heaven itself. You can't just go there, you have to earn your place. Could Kitsune have been more helpful with his phrasing, yes but it is Kitsune and he likes to melt brains with illogical nonsense.

For those curious about the title text, The Truth, The Whole Truth got the latter four panels added 10 hours after it went up because people were complaining the strip meant the HP world wasn't real in a sense.

IceKitsune wrote:Also, I think the most interesting way to end this whole saga would be to have them be able to switch between forms somehow keeping the best of both worlds. It would give them something over beinging two more King's at least.

King already did that, actually.

fenrirblack wrote:I hope Lois at least drops some logic on him about how this isn't exactly the same thing as he's describing. They're not asking for Heaven on Earth, they're asking for normal. What happened to them clearly is not of Earth and therefore needs to be remedied before it disrupts the delicate balance of life itself.

Kitsune isn't saying wanting the curse removed is asking for Heaven on Earth. He's saying he won't fix it because he's afraid of the slippery slope where that would make them more brazen with future requests until it escalates to asking for Heaven on Earth

Champion Wallace wrote:

fenrirblack wrote:I hope Lois at least drops some logic on him about how this isn't exactly the same thing as he's describing. They're not asking for Heaven on Earth, they're asking for normal. What happened to them clearly is not of Earth and therefore needs to be remedied before it disrupts the delicate balance of life itself.

Kitsune isn't saying wanting the curse removed is asking for Heaven on Earth. He's saying he won't fix it because he's afraid of the slippery slope where that would make them more brazen with future requests until it escalates to asking for Heaven on Earth

It's called "pick and choose" and "just say no." Setting boundaries that are more reasonable. Kitsune is basically saying that this problem is so petty that it will condition them to believing that he can whisk them into a heaven on earth when in fact they just want their old bodies back. There is no guarantee that they're come back just because they got a splinter or something. he's just using flawed logic as an excuse to not help. He was at least more forward with Res back at the Temple.

Don’t give him ideas, young Squirrel,
he gets enough all on his own;
a real infinity of growth
and yet there’s none that he has shown.
Marion’s taken the lead back
as Lois is still too rapt;
the star of the story up front
is something that’s really more apt.
Come on Kit, give the kid a bone
or just a clue that might help
or you’ll have to watch for Lois
with claws that’ll make you yelp...

Why don't these gods ask whoever created the Earth for cool ideas instead of waiting for us bozos to invent storytelling?

Xane wrote:Except the curse isn't a normal part of human life, which is why I still don't like the celestial bullies.

(Even if Kitsune is adorable.)

Yes, but curing them would take away their struggle and their capacity to solve problems themselves and.....

siiiiigh

Look, if he cures them, it'll be super boring for us, okay? Kitsune is letting them suffer so that we may keep having fun watching.
So go to him and tell him thank you. <3 <3

Champion Wallace wrote:If he didn't want to solve their problem, then why did he ask what he could do for them? I wonder what Great Kitsune would be if he wasn't a kitsune.

A butt.

Huh. This strip actually makes me kind of angry. Originally, I didn't think Kitsune had anything to do with the transformations because suddenly springing something like that on someone without any kind of explanation or appearance seemed too malicious for him, but now I'm not so sure. I know Rick's writing well enough to realize Kitsune has a reason to do things this way, but whether he changed them or not, this strip makes it clear he knew about this the whole time and refuses to help, and he clearly finds the idea of these kids having their lives shattered by circumstances that shouldn't even exist to be entertaining. I wasn't a big Kitsune fan to begin with but with this I can honestly say I don't like him.

Mr. Whisper wrote:Huh. This strip actually makes me kind of angry. Originally, I didn't think Kitsune had anything to do with the transformations because suddenly springing something like that on someone without any kind of explanation or appearance seemed too malicious for him, but now I'm not so sure. I know Rick's writing well enough to realize Kitsune has a reason to do things this way, but whether he changed them or not, this strip makes it clear he knew about this the whole time and refuses to help, and he clearly finds the idea of these kids having their lives shattered by circumstances that shouldn't even exist to be entertaining. I wasn't a big Kitsune fan to begin with but with this I can honestly say I don't like him.

He's a lean, mean, snarky machine.

Mr. Whisper wrote:Huh. This strip actually makes me kind of angry. Originally, I didn't think Kitsune had anything to do with the transformations because suddenly springing something like that on someone without any kind of explanation or appearance seemed too malicious for him, but now I'm not so sure. I know Rick's writing well enough to realize Kitsune has a reason to do things this way, but whether he changed them or not, this strip makes it clear he knew about this the whole time and refuses to help, and he clearly finds the idea of these kids having their lives shattered by circumstances that shouldn't even exist to be entertaining. I wasn't a big Kitsune fan to begin with but with this I can honestly say I don't like him.

In the words of old papa Kratos:

Mr. Whisper wrote:Huh. This strip actually makes me kind of angry. Originally, I didn't think Kitsune had anything to do with the transformations because suddenly springing something like that on someone without any kind of explanation or appearance seemed too malicious for him, but now I'm not so sure. I know Rick's writing well enough to realize Kitsune has a reason to do things this way, but whether he changed them or not, this strip makes it clear he knew about this the whole time and refuses to help, and he clearly finds the idea of these kids having their lives shattered by circumstances that shouldn't even exist to be entertaining. I wasn't a big Kitsune fan to begin with but with this I can honestly say I don't like him.

Are you one of the ones who wants Superman to cure Cancer and the Common Cold? If Aliens or Superbeings actually start acting as the cure all for everything, where does it stop? Where does that leave Earthly invention when, instead of having to solve the problem ourselves, working out ways, means and scientific principles, we just as a genie to do it for us? Kitsune's keeping it fair by keeping himself out of it.

Just wish he wasn't such a rear end about it at times.

Welsh Halfwit wrote:Where does that leave Earthly invention when, instead of having to solve the problem ourselves, working out ways, means and scientific principles, we just as a genie to do it for us? Kitsune's keeping it fair by keeping himself out of it.

To be fair, I wouldn't say it's unreasonable to ask a genie to solve a problem if it was a genie that very likely caused it in the first place. Celestials clearly don't have any problem injecting magic into the world and interfering with (and potentially ruining) the lives of mortals for their own petty amusements. When they act like they can't also step in to clean up a magical mess that they, or one of their own kind, caused, that isn't fair, that's hypocrisy.

Plot-generating hypocrisy, but hypocrisy all the same.

leinglo wrote:

Welsh Halfwit wrote:Where does that leave Earthly invention when, instead of having to solve the problem ourselves, working out ways, means and scientific principles, we just as a genie to do it for us? Kitsune's keeping it fair by keeping himself out of it.

To be fair, I wouldn't say it's unreasonable to ask a genie to solve a problem if it was a genie that very likely caused it in the first place. Celestials clearly don't have any problem injecting magic into the world and interfering with (and potentially ruining) the lives of mortals for their own petty amusements. When they act like they can't also step in to clean up a magical mess that they, or one of their own kind, caused, that isn't fair, that's hypocrisy.

Plot-generating hypocrisy, but hypocrisy all the same.

Exactly

If Great Kitsune suggested ordering pizza, his golden pedestal would read WHAT ABOUT TAKE-OUT INSTEAD?*

* OR WOULD IT?

Off to see the Wizard ... but the Wizard's off.

Wrong question, squirrely. You ask "who set us up the fluff". That way Kitsune can send you on an amusing quest.

dr_eirik wrote:Except Magic(k) is a thing in this world that's apparently available to mortals, so it's not impossible that a Celestial had nothing to do with their predicament.

At least not directly. He just left those cursed coins around the place.

As for the futility of making heaven on Earth, don't forget there is a literal heaven which is actually perfect and not empty and meaningless.

Welsh Halfwit wrote:Are you one of the ones who wants Superman to cure Cancer and the Common Cold?

No, that's Harry Potter's job. Figure out the source of magic, break the genetic locks that keep muggles from doing magic, with billions of new wizards with the scientific method little problems like mortality and space flight fall before them, and the new superhuman race sets about colonizing the galaxy.

Just consider, it was Henry who left the coins to Pete and demanded that they not be touched by humans. We dig anything in the right way, we can blame whomever we want. We still don't know who or what to direct that blame to.

Champion Wallace wrote:For those curious about the title text, The Truth, The Whole Truth got the latter four panels added 10 hours after it went up because people were complaining the strip meant the HP world wasn't real in a sense.

IceKitsune wrote:Also, I think the most interesting way to end this whole saga would be to have them be able to switch between forms somehow keeping the best of both worlds. It would give them something over beinging two more King's at least.

King already did that, actually.

I don't think that's quite the same thing. King getting to switch between human and animal wasn't a benefit to him. By that time he was happy being a dog and getting turned into a human was a hindrance for him. Not only that, but he needed to be touching his Fate in order to stay a dog. If he lost the watch, he'd be stuck as a human. That's not the most convenient way of doing it.

By comparison, Marion and Lois are not happy being animals, because they were happy as humans. Giving them the ability to switch would take away the "I don't want this" issue by giving them control over it - if they wanted, they could stay human for the rest of their lives. If its an option to temporarily turn yourself into a squirrel or a bobcat, they might find that they can use it to have fun, or do things they otherwise couldn't, or (most important to the audience) lets them interact with the cast where they would otherwise have no reason to.

VeryAngryDeer wrote:
By comparison, Marion and Lois are not happy being animals, because they were happy as humans. Giving them the ability to switch would take away the "I don't want this" issue by giving them control over it - if they wanted, they could stay human for the rest of their lives. If its an option to temporarily turn yourself into a squirrel or a bobcat, they might find that they can use it to have fun, or do things they otherwise couldn't, or (most important to the audience) lets them interact with the cast where they would otherwise have no reason to.

Giving them option to choose to switch back and forth would be the end of their animal adventure. While I could see Lois experimenting with it, I think the only time Marion would slip into something more furry is if he was checking cable connections on his TV setup.

I doubt Kitsune is inclined to even give that option, either because he doesn't want to, or he can't. That's something we may not know fully ... ever.

D-Rock wrote:Just consider, it was Henry who left the coins to Pete and demanded that they not be touched by humans. We dig anything in the right way, we can blame whomever we want. We still don't know who or what to direct that blame to.

True, though it makes me wonder if Steward and Thomas were just red herrings.

"Butttttttttttttttt......." opines GK, "We make Lois a squirrel, too, and you guys can go nuts together forever? Orrrrrrr.....we turn you into a bobcat?" Oh the thinks you can think!"

Argent wrote:As for the futility of making heaven on Earth, don't forget there is a literal heaven which is actually perfect and not empty and meaningless.

Yes, I honestly wonder: don't the people who go to housepets! heaven keep coming up with ideas and stories?
Does dying rob them of their creativity or something?

Argent wrote:

Welsh Halfwit wrote:Are you one of the ones who wants Superman to cure Cancer and the Common Cold?

No, that's Harry Potter's job. Figure out the source of magic, break the genetic locks that keep muggles from doing magic, with billions of new wizards with the scientific method little problems like mortality and space flight fall before them, and the new superhuman race sets about colonizing the galaxy.

Now this, THIS is thinking outside the box!

jonas wrote:If Great Kitsune suggested ordering pizza, his golden pedestal would read WHAT ABOUT TAKE-OUT INSTEAD?*

* OR WOULD IT?

NHWestoN wrote:Off to see the Wizard ... but the Wizard's off.

dr_eirik wrote:

VeryAngryDeer wrote:
By comparison, Marion and Lois are not happy being animals, because they were happy as humans. Giving them the ability to switch would take away the "I don't want this" issue by giving them control over it - if they wanted, they could stay human for the rest of their lives. If its an option to temporarily turn yourself into a squirrel or a bobcat, they might find that they can use it to have fun, or do things they otherwise couldn't, or (most important to the audience) lets them interact with the cast where they would otherwise have no reason to.

Giving them option to choose to switch back and forth would be the end of their animal adventure. While I could see Lois experimenting with it, I think the only time Marion would slip into something more furry is if he was checking cable connections on his TV setup.

I doubt Kitsune is inclined to even give that option, either because he doesn't want to, or he can't. That's something we may not know fully ... ever.

I didn't say Kitsune should be doing this for them right now. If Marion and Lois get back to being human, it should come at the resolution of the plot, when the mystery has been solved.

The switch-back-and-forth thing is a means of keeping around some characters I've quite grown to like. If Kitsune was going to give them the ability to transform by himself, it would be as a boon for winning a game. It doesn't have to be a game that Kitsune started. Figuring out who did it to them, why, and then stopping them would work for that.

As for what Marion and Lois would do with the power... well, it depends on what happens to them. All sorts of weird things happen in this webcomic, from cosmic D&D to PETA kidnappings to water gun wars. The ability to turn into an animal might be useful if you were in personal danger.


If Kitsune can't do this for them, its not because he doesn't have the power to.

"Mister Kitsune, why is there an exclamation mark over your head? Do you have a Quest for me?"

Silly Zealot wrote:

Argent wrote:

Welsh Halfwit wrote:Are you one of the ones who wants Superman to cure Cancer and the Common Cold?

No, that's Harry Potter's job. Figure out the source of magic, break the genetic locks that keep muggles from doing magic, with billions of new wizards with the scientific method little problems like mortality and space flight fall before them, and the new superhuman race sets about colonizing the galaxy.

Now this, THIS is thinking outside the box!

I know I'd immediately start working on learning the animagus transformation. How about you?

Kitsune's first comment in the second frame is profoundly true. Stating it a different way, if life on earth were perfect, what would be the point of Heaven?

At my stage, Arge, I've set aside the quest to master Animagus transformations just to solve how to get through the paper sealant that covers my plastic medicine bottles......