2019/01/04 - Trickster/Father Figure

[Zesortinge]

Where did Kix come from?

[Argent]

time to focus on the amazing trick kitsune is playing and not on the fact there are fur farms!

Is that actually creepier than this?



I agree that it *feels* creepier, but that may be anthropomorphic prejudice.

[NHWestoN]

Just some of the moral ambiguities Rick occasionally likes to play with … been a while since those questions have arisen in the strip. With Kix, the line between pet and commodity apparently blurred to the point of physical endangerment. Maybe, like Grape, she too is a "rescue"...…….

[Jacy]

I don't think Kix escaped from a fur farm, why would someone have a pet and then want to kill and skin it? I think it's an euphemism for her owner dying.

Wonder how it was decided that Kix would be the demi-gods mother? If she was selected beforehand to have these kits or if she was just a pregnant vixen that was selected at random.

Wonder how long Kix has lived in the area of Babylon Gardens? If she has just been unseen before or if Kitsune got her moved there.

Also, Kix is just so darn pretty

[Argent]

I don't think Kix escaped from a fur farm, why would someone have a pet and then want to kill and skin it?

Even if they were keeping her as a pet, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't want to hang around a fur farm.

Or maybe they just released her into the wild when they bought it.

It doesn't sound like they were really close to their pet fox, anyway.

[Adoring Fan]

Wow... a fur farm...
That's pretty dark when taken in context here.

[Rorick]

So here's a question I have about the whole Craig/Draig thing. Exactly how long do foxes in the HP universe live? At the end of the game, GK says that Dragon and Pete will be mortal for at least 60 years. I know that it's been said before that animals, at least anthro ones, live about twice as long in the HP universe as they do in ours. Going by that, foxes in our world live up to around 15 years of age in captivity, so HP foxes should live to be around 30 years old. The problem with that is that in Trial in Heaven, Pete says the penalty for losing is one lifetime in a mortal body. So are are they limited to one 60 year lifetime, did Pete misinterpret the penalty clause and assume that it was only one, or did I miss something in the past and certain animals are even longer lived?

[Douglas Collier]

Where did Kix come from?

General Mills

[GameCobra]

You know, fur farms probably make great barber shops for pets in this universe if done right. x3

[fenrirblack]

“See, I’m not all trickstery” He just straight up lied to all their faces. He’s tricking Kix by “raising” her kits when in actuality he keeping an eye on them and making sure they don’t do anything problematic or illegal. At this point I wouldn’t put it past Pete to kill all the ferals in their sleep and blame it on the fact he’s a Fox. Not to mention there is “Shifty-eye” Mr. Steward lurking off screen so I wouldn’t put it past them to team up for some kind of villainous plot to destroy Babylon Gardens.

You know Kix will find out about all this. It might take years but I find it hard to believe that she won’t eventually find out the truth about a Kitsune and the Kits. Remember she’s still the real victim. She’s just being used to punish Dragon and Pete and now Kitsune is “pretending” to help her “raise” them. Fur farms are the least of her problems.

Kitsune is still so precious in that fourth panel.

[Douglas Collier]

I see Kitsune’s fur is water repellent. It’s floofy even after being submerged. =3

[Cesco]

You're such an adorable scoundrel, Great Kitsune! Nice to see that fascinating vixen again. She and her two ex-demigod cubs are enjoying the spa, and it's good that they can, Bailey. I would expect to see also Jessica somewhere inside it. Interesting past of Kix, and good for you, Great Kitsune, but, what about her mate, indeed? Great Kitsune is somehow the cubs' father (or better, daddy ) because he's "responsible" of their transforming as such... He's always like that, Craig/ex-Pete, we can't do nothing.

[Gameb18oy]

“See, I’m not all trickstery” He just straight up lied to all their faces. He’s tricking Kix by “raising” her kits when in actuality he keeping an eye on them and making sure they don’t do anything problematic or illegal. At this point I wouldn’t put it past Pete to kill all the ferals in their sleep and blame it on the fact he’s a Fox. Not to mention there is “Shifty-eye” Mr. Steward lurking off screen so I wouldn’t put it past them to team up for some kind of villainous plot to destroy Babylon Gardens.

You know Kix will find out about all this. It might take years but I find it hard to believe that she won’t eventually find out the truth about a Kitsune and the Kits. Remember she’s still the real victim. She’s just being used to punish Dragon and Pete and now Kitsune is “pretending” to help her “raise” them. Fur farms are the least of her problems.

Kitsune is still so precious in that fourth panel.

He never said anything about not having ulterior motives, heck Kix didn’t say she didn’t know why. Plus he knows those two best, in some ways it be seen as irresponsible to leave them to a random person when he clearly knows what those two are like and thus what trouble they might cause even without their godlike powers.

That being said, you are right Kix is likely to find out eventually, she seems clever enough even if she is falling a bit for Custom Ink’s cult preachings. I predict Kitsune probably is gonna develop some real feelings for her down the line if he hasn’t already as that seems inevitable in a story like this. It’s a slim chance but maybe he’ll go mortal like Breel is so he can actually grow old with her. He seems the least attached to his godlike powers, plus Kari is pure proof that he’d likely be able to work mostly the same if he gave them up.

And on your two darker points, assuming the fur farm is the same as in our world... might be an even bigger one now that she has kits who have fur of their own. And Pete/Craig turning into a killer seems both a touch too dark for this world and a little out of keeping with what we’ve seen of the few foxes that have appeared. Plus Pete may have been a brat and a bully, but even he has a heart, the trial arc showed he got emotional when one of his past avatars died, so killing someone may be a little more than he could stomach

[GameCobra]

“See, I’m not all trickstery” He just straight up lied to all their faces. He’s tricking Kix by “raising” her kits when in actuality he keeping an eye on them and making sure they don’t do anything problematic or illegal. At this point I wouldn’t put it past Pete to kill all the ferals in their sleep and blame it on the fact he’s a Fox. Not to mention there is “Shifty-eye” Mr. Steward lurking off screen so I wouldn’t put it past them to team up for some kind of villainous plot to destroy Babylon Gardens.

You know Kix will find out about all this. It might take years but I find it hard to believe that she won’t eventually find out the truth about a Kitsune and the Kits. Remember she’s still the real victim. She’s just being used to punish Dragon and Pete and now Kitsune is “pretending” to help her “raise” them. Fur farms are the least of her problems.

Kitsune is still so precious in that fourth panel.

What if ~ and i'm just saying ~ What if it's possible she knows exactly what's going on with Kitsune? What if Kitsune secretly had people he knew and were actually this dedicated to the game? What if she doesn't care as long as he knows how to take care of the kids? What if he's really their daddy, but in a mortal sense and not in the god sense?

[Silly Zealot]

[2019/01/04 - Trickster/Father Figure]
Title Text: will also accept "daddy dearest"Also, apparently fur farms really are a thing in this world.

The disturbing implications of that fact did not hit me until you pointed it out. Oh, boy.

Isn’t Kitsune the best? Helping raise kits that are not his and that he’s not related AT ALL.

Not the hero we needed, but definitely the one Craig deserved.

yeah foxes are considered trickster in folklore, I think so are raccoons

Coyotes are too.

Here's something I found online. Kitsune - They are described as "tricksters" with no care for the concept of right or wrong.
This is very wrong.

To add an extra cocktail fact to this thread, "kitsune" literally just means "fox" in Japanese.

The moral of the story is: if an animal steals cattle/chickens, people will take revenge by spinning tales about them being evil tricksters forever.

[Gameb18oy]

“See, I’m not all trickstery” He just straight up lied to all their faces. He’s tricking Kix by “raising” her kits when in actuality he keeping an eye on them and making sure they don’t do anything problematic or illegal. At this point I wouldn’t put it past Pete to kill all the ferals in their sleep and blame it on the fact he’s a Fox. Not to mention there is “Shifty-eye” Mr. Steward lurking off screen so I wouldn’t put it past them to team up for some kind of villainous plot to destroy Babylon Gardens.

You know Kix will find out about all this. It might take years but I find it hard to believe that she won’t eventually find out the truth about a Kitsune and the Kits. Remember she’s still the real victim. She’s just being used to punish Dragon and Pete and now Kitsune is “pretending” to help her “raise” them. Fur farms are the least of her problems.

Kitsune is still so precious in that fourth panel.

What if ~ and i'm just saying ~ What if it's possible she knows exactly what's going on with Kitsune? What if Kitsune secretly had people he knew and were actually this dedicated to the game? What if she doesn't care as long as he knows how to take care of the kids? What if he's really their daddy, but in a mortal sense and not in the god sense?

It is fun to consider how much Kix knows, especially as she can’t have all the details considering how she reacted to one of her Kits bringing up the real reason the temple was destroyed. It’s not unlikely she at least has a bit of info though, Kitsune could have revealed what he is in full, told her some of the details on what her kits were gonna be like, though definitely leaving out one of them was the original owner of the temple, and boom, not only is she not totally in the dark, you can also still have some fun with using the “liar revealed” trope in your story as he still kept some big secrets from her

[Amazee Dayzee]

Despite what Kix knows, I don't ship her with Kitsune at all and being a father figure could mean a couple of different things like an uncle who steps in if your father isn't around.

What is WITH me and not shipping characters lately? I blame it on the fact that I am boyfriend-less.

[fenrirblack]

“See, I’m not all trickstery” He just straight up lied to all their faces. He’s tricking Kix by “raising” her kits when in actuality he keeping an eye on them and making sure they don’t do anything problematic or illegal. At this point I wouldn’t put it past Pete to kill all the ferals in their sleep and blame it on the fact he’s a Fox. Not to mention there is “Shifty-eye” Mr. Steward lurking off screen so I wouldn’t put it past them to team up for some kind of villainous plot to destroy Babylon Gardens.

You know Kix will find out about all this. It might take years but I find it hard to believe that she won’t eventually find out the truth about a Kitsune and the Kits. Remember she’s still the real victim. She’s just being used to punish Dragon and Pete and now Kitsune is “pretending” to help her “raise” them. Fur farms are the least of her problems.

Kitsune is still so precious in that fourth panel.

What if ~ and i'm just saying ~ What if it's possible she knows exactly what's going on with Kitsune? What if Kitsune secretly had people he knew and were actually this dedicated to the game? What if she doesn't care as long as he knows how to take care of the kids? What if he's really their daddy, but in a mortal sense and not in the god sense?

It is fun to consider how much Kix knows, especially as she can’t have all the details considering how she reacted to one of her Kits bringing up the real reason the temple was destroyed. It’s not unlikely she at least has a bit of info though, Kitsune could have revealed what he is in full, told her some of the details on what her kits were gonna be like, though definitely leaving out one of them was the original owner of the temple, and boom, not only is she not totally in the dark, you can also still have some fun with using the “liar revealed” trope in your story as he still kept some big secrets from her

They have a very strange relationship no matter how you look at it. Even if she knows some of what's going on (which I doubt) I just don't feel like Kitsune is one to develop any real emotional attachment to a mortal. He's more the type who likes everyone but doesn't actually love anyone. The mortal concept of love just seems like it wouldn't apply to him. It's fun to think about and write about Kitsune falling in love with a mortal but he doesn't seem like the type.

He never said anything about not having ulterior motives, heck Kix didn’t say she didn’t know why. Plus he knows those two best, in some ways it be seen as irresponsible to leave them to a random person when he clearly knows what those two are like and thus what trouble they might cause even without their godlike powers.

That being said, you are right Kix is likely to find out eventually, she seems clever enough even if she is falling a bit for Custom Ink’s cult preachings. I predict Kitsune probably is gonna develop some real feelings for her down the line if he hasn’t already as that seems inevitable in a story like this. It’s a slim chance but maybe he’ll go mortal like Breel is so he can actually grow old with her. He seems the least attached to his godlike powers, plus Kari is pure proof that he’d likely be able to work mostly the same if he gave them up.

And on your two darker points, assuming the fur farm is the same as in our world... might be an even bigger one now that she has kits who have fur of their own. And Pete/Craig turning into a killer seems both a touch too dark for this world and a little out of keeping with what we’ve seen of the few foxes that have appeared. Plus Pete may have been a brat and a bully, but even he has a heart, the trial arc showed he got emotional when one of his past avatars died, so killing someone may be a little more than he could stomach

My experience with gods and immortals tells me at most he will hang around with her while she grows old but he's not giving up his mortality for her. That's even if he does develop real romantic feelings for her which as I said I also doubt. Gods have a history of loving and leaving so if it wasn't for Pete and Dragon they most likely would have never met.
Pete is a problematic character. Going off on your point about his avatar, we don't actually know if he was crying because he had a real attachment to his avatar or because he might have lost the game at the time. He could have been crying for a number of different reasons. Although I too doubt he would turn into a serial killer, I do want to point out that he is mortal and ,like King, could develop a different mindset due to his body. Mortal brain, mortal upbringing, immortal memories could be a cocktail for destruction. Maybe not killing everyone in his path like a horror movie cliche but still something bad none the less.

One final note, I do hope that we get some backstory to why Kix and Kitsune are together. Not that it is unexpected or anything (we've discussed Kitsune's responsibility to Pete and Dragon before) but I am curious to Kitsune's true motives and reasoning to go so far as to literally be "raising them" instead of watching them through a crystal ball or something. Despite how funny the situation is, it is a bit extreme for him to literally be a "father figure" for his old gaming mates.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Maybe this is his way of fulfilling his secret fantasy of having children of his own. XD

[Gameb18oy]

Oh Craig and Draig are both gonna be a little different from their immortal selves, having a different form and a different name often leads to a different character. Take Joel and King for example, same person, but nobody thinks of them as the same character.

And yeah, I think Rick knows how quickly we ship, and with them having a definite relationship, even if the details of it are fuzzy, he’s probably got something planned, heck, might even have most of it explained next Monday. Also, I don’t think it matters to Kitsune how Draig and Craig feel about their new relationship, it’s their punishment after all for losing the game. As long as Kix is up for it, he can be a “daddy” in more ways than one. As the fox himself said

[NHWestoN]

"Mortalization" has go to have an impact on your psyche; besides all that loss of power and capabilities, there's that "beetle stew" diet... Isn't "no pop tarts" punishment enough, Kitsune??

[fenrirblack]

I wonder if Kitsune could be doing this as as part of his twisted humor or out of the goodness of his heart. It’s one of those perspective things. One way to view this situation is Kitsune is messing with them for punishment or because he’s seriously messed up inside but he doesn’t like the type to be that screwed up to have some weird dominating power trip on his friends. Or he could be helping them adjust. One day ten or so years from now they’ll be “grown” and moving out so they need him as a guide and caretaker to adjust to mortality so they can eventually take care of themselves.

[Titanium Dragon]

I wonder if Kitsune could be doing this as as part of his twisted humor or out of the goodness of his heart. It’s one of those perspective things. One way to view this situation is Kitsune is messing with them for punishment or because he’s seriously messed up inside but he doesn’t like the type to be that screwed up to have some weird dominating power trip on his friends. Or he could be helping them adjust. One day ten or so years from now they’ll be “grown” and moving out so they need him as a guide and caretaker to adjust to mortality so they can eventually take care of themselves.

Kitsune is not a good person. He claims to like mortals, but they're toys to him, not real people, and certainly not equals.

[Gameb18oy]

I wonder if Kitsune could be doing this as as part of his twisted humor or out of the goodness of his heart. It’s one of those perspective things. One way to view this situation is Kitsune is messing with them for punishment or because he’s seriously messed up inside but he doesn’t like the type to be that screwed up to have some weird dominating power trip on his friends. Or he could be helping them adjust. One day ten or so years from now they’ll be “grown” and moving out so they need him as a guide and caretaker to adjust to mortality so they can eventually take care of themselves.

Kitsune is not a good person. He claims to like mortals, but they're toys to him, not real people, and certainly not equals.

... okay we thought you were being serious the first time, but did you seriously copy and paste your last complaint?

[Silly Zealot]

Maybe this is his way of fulfilling his secret fantasy of having children of his own. XD

"I always dreamed Pete and Drago being my children."

"What?!"

"What?"

[NHWestoN]

Dumb question #862 … do Celestials breed?

[fenrirblack]

Dumb question #862 … do Celestials breed?

That’s up for Rick to decide. Historically Gods have been known to reproduce as well as other celestial beings. Whether or not that is something Rick wants to do is questionable. But I would say yes because of the fact that, I’m sure there are other people who know more about this than me, if I remember correctly the gods are supposed to use the Game as training for fighting demons so theoretically they would have some kind of parent figure somewhere in heaven. Their ability to breed with mortals is still unknown since we have no confirmation.

[NHWestoN]

Well, most ancient religions include stories of divine beings siring children with mortals, usually with unhappy consequences. In Rick's world - as you've noted, Fen - I know of no examples of cross-cosmic relations of Celestials (or Infernals) with mortal beings. But it is Rick's world, so …………………………………………

[Amazee Dayzee]

Since Kitsune said that he ships everybody, I doubt he would tie himself down with just one partner as I took that to mean he also ships himself with EVERYONE also.

[SeanWolf]

This whole arc leads me to this question I had (and it's been bugging me for a while): Since Pete and Dragon are now Fox kits for ?60? mortal years (Was it 60 or a Lifetime), what will happen once those years are up? Will the game begin again or will Pete do something rash and stupid? I know King is forever a dog now (Thank you Wiki's about the past arcs) but...I dunno I'm still iffy when it comes to the trio of Kitsune, Pete, and Dragon when they are around King and Bailey.

[Obbl]

Kitsune is not a good person. He claims to like mortals, but they're toys to him, not real people, and certainly not equals.

Titanium Dragon, please do not bring this up again. You've made your point and refused to engage with anyone else's points on the matter. Now please drop it.

This whole arc leads me to this question I had (and it's been bugging me for a while): Since Pete and Dragon are now Fox kits for ?60? mortal years (Was it 60 or a Lifetime), what will happen once those years are up? Will the game begin again or will Pete do something rash and stupid? I know King is forever a dog now (Thank you Wiki's about the past arcs) but...I dunno I'm still iffy when it comes to the trio of Kitsune, Pete, and Dragon when they are around King and Bailey.

Okay, imagine you and your friends are playing a board/table-top game and a bet has been made where the loser has to do XYZ as punishment. What happens after the punishment is over? Whatever you and your friends want to do. Want to play the game again? Sure! Want to do something else? Sure!
So after their mortal life is over, they go back to the celestial realm and do whatever they want

[D-Rock]

Dumb question #862 … do Celestials breed?

Pete and Dragon are explicitly siblings, so that would imply parents. Or maybe we're going with the "came to be" and they got adopted. Their appearance doesn't seem to have a say in potential partners, again looking at Pete and Dragon's relation, and the fact that Pete dated Cerberus (she would have started as an Infernal by my guess since her promotion was after she had already broken up with Pete). If they do breed, it's an incredibly slow process from mortal standpoints.

My guess, ultimately.

[fenrirblack]

If Kitsune did have an actual kid, what would they be like? As someone who has thought about this I'm curious about what other peoples ideas are. No offense to Kitsune but he would be like the worse father, I mean maybe not evil black smoke hallucinations bad, but still. He honestly doesn't strike me as someone who has the maturity or the attention span to raise a child. If he did, gods know what that poor kid would turn out to be like.

Okay, something else I'm curious about is what is up with this spa? I've asked about it before but it is seriously an animal only spa because it seems that no human is curious to why this random building is in the middle of the street or why every pet in the neighborhood is flocking to it. Bailey asks "when did wild animals get in here" like there is some rule that says they can't. I mean it's not like there's a body guard or lock on the door. Anyone could just come in. It's not like Keene cares.

[Gameb18oy]

If Kitsune did have an actual kid, what would they be like? As someone who has thought about this I'm curious about what other peoples ideas are. No offense to Kitsune but he would be like the worse father, I mean maybe not evil black smoke hallucinations bad, but still. He honestly doesn't strike me as someone who has the maturity or the attention span to raise a child. If he did, gods know what that poor kid would turn out to be like.

Okay, something else I'm curious about is what is up with this spa? I've asked about it before but it is seriously an animal only spa because it seems that no human is curious to why this random building is in the middle of the street or why every pet in the neighborhood is flocking to it. Bailey asks "when did wild animals get in here" like there is some rule that says they can't. I mean it's not like there's a body guard or lock on the door. Anyone could just come in. It's not like Keene cares.

On the first question... if Kitsune has followed the example of Zeus, there’s a good chance Kari could be one of his kids, would actually explain a lot, especially the stuff that was handwaved at before like how Kari kept into the temple, you think GK is above giving his kid special privileges?

And on the spa, stuff, I’m gonna assume Bailey might be more confused on how the wild animals heard about it, as Jessica and Zac are currently the only couple who haven’t been seen yet and they likely will appear before the spa goes away. As for the human part... well the owners might be watching the weather channel a bit more closely is my best guess, though as a secondary explanation, taking into account why they usually aren’t around, Rick probably just didn't want to have to draw them and he’ll give a throwaway line to cover up why they weren’t present if he feels knowing is necessary

[anhedral]

time to focus on the amazing trick kitsune is playing and not on the fact there are fur farms!

Is that actually creepier than this?



I agree that it *feels* creepier, but that may be anthropomorphic prejudice.

THANK YOU! That strip from 'Down at the Farm' is easily the most disturbing one from the early days of the comic. It's also one of the examples I show folk when I want to get across just how unsettling the HP! world can be at times. In this instance, of course, 'unsettling' can also be interpreted as 'top-quality'.

[SeanWolf]

This whole arc leads me to this question I had (and it's been bugging me for a while): Since Pete and Dragon are now Fox kits for ?60? mortal years (Was it 60 or a Lifetime), what will happen once those years are up? Will the game begin again or will Pete do something rash and stupid? I know King is forever a dog now (Thank you Wiki's about the past arcs) but...I dunno I'm still iffy when it comes to the trio of Kitsune, Pete, and Dragon when they are around King and Bailey.

Okay, imagine you and your friends are playing a board/table-top game and a bet has been made where the loser has to do XYZ as punishment. What happens after the punishment is over? Whatever you and your friends want to do. Want to play the game again? Sure! Want to do something else? Sure!
So after their mortal life is over, they go back to the celestial realm and do whatever they want [/quote]

Oh. Well, all I hope is that nothing happens to either King, Bailey, or the pups (other then the occasional grey hair from the pups craziness hehe) whenever Pete and Dragon go back to being themselves.

[Dissension]

To reiterate, the whole point of the sub-game between Pete and Spirit Dragon was to ascertain who would control their group. They've both seemingly been disqualified and their lifetime sentence would presumably preclude either of them interfering with their former servants and minions, since the incarnated U&U Crew are significantly younger than King; Bailey; Sabrina; Tarot; and their companions.

[SeanWolf]

To reiterate, the whole point of the sub-game between Pete and Spirit Dragon was to ascertain who would control their group. They've both seemingly been disqualified and their lifetime sentence would presumably preclude either of them interfering with their former servants and minions, since the incarnated U&U Crew are significantly younger than King; Bailey; Sabrina; Tarot; and their companions.

Oooooh. So in other words, King and the rest of the crew are fine for good (Minus whatever Karishad does hehe) and my fears were just me being stupid?

[NHWestoN]

No stupid questions, Sean ... I found the discussion you set off quite interesting. And, in Rick's world, a rule is a rule until it's not....

Oh, and D-Rock, thanks for your equally intriguing thoughts on my Question 862....

[Buster]

I mean, in the Housepets universe, good chance it works more like one of those places you can donate your hair to so people can have wigs after cancer treatment and stuff like that.

*snickering* uh, yeah, no. you missed grape's rant in the early chapters didn't you? the HPU is one of those "if you want it to seem ideal don't look too closely" settings.