2019/02/06 - My Name Is Mud

Post by **D-Rock** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 1:04 am

[2019/02/06 - My Name Is Mud]
Title Text: you're locked in now, so attend to my needs

Yep, typical cat that Maxwell is.

Saturn381 · Post by **Saturn381** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 1:04 am

I really feel bad for Maxi.

fenrirblack · Post by **fenrirblack** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 1:06 am

Are you kidding me?! The one time I knew what was going was going to happen next but didn’t say it because I was tired of being wrong and it turns out I was right. Rick followed normal plot progression and did the obvious thing and I was so sure he wouldn’t. Why?

Champion Wallace · Post by **Champion Wallace** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 1:18 am

Hey, this is a Looney Tunes reference I got. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufupa4z4Ob0
I don't understand why the possibility of the coyote coming back would be a reason to stay. If anything, shouldn't that be a reason for Rufus to sling Maxwell over his shoulder and get a move on?

Post by **D-Rock** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 1:25 am

fenrirblack wrote:Are you kidding me?! The one time I knew what was going was going to happen next but didn’t say it because I was tired of being wrong and it turns out I was right. Rick followed normal plot progression and did the obvious thing and I was so sure he wouldn’t. Why?

'Cuz he felt like it, maybe.

NHWestoN · Post by **NHWestoN** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 1:26 am

Good ol'Rufus! Bet he's been looking a while.

Welsh Halfwit · Post by **Welsh Halfwit** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 1:37 am

"And Mud spelled backwards is Dum"

Rating life a minor failure
as he waits upon his death,
every moment, mini Maxwell
expects to draw his last breath.
Without hope and without food
his options are pretty bleak
until that time when a light
shines upon the one gone meek.
The scared little one begs,
never to be left alone again
and Rufus obliges but…
how did he get in the pound then?

fenrirblack · Post by **fenrirblack** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 1:39 am

I want to point out how despite everything up to this point including my own doubts, Rufus is finally stepping up and acting like Max’s father. Not like in a Jiraiya way like I originally figured but an actual dad. Max is a scared kid who thinks there is a monster out to get him (he’s not wrong) and Rufus is actually comforting him. I mean the thing about ahpids kinda ruined the moment but still. If Max doesn’t lay his head on Rufus’s lap while Rufus sings him to sleep, I’ll be crushed.

D-Rock wrote:
fenrirblack wrote:Are you kidding me?! The one time I knew what was going was going to happen next but didn’t say it because I was tired of being wrong and it turns out I was right. Rick followed normal plot progression and did the obvious thing and I was so sure he wouldn’t. Why?
'Cuz he felt like it, maybe.

I know right. One day I’ll figure him out.

Welsh Halfwit · Post by **Welsh Halfwit** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 1:51 am

fenrirblack wrote:I looked up what Ahpids are but I still don’t get what the joke is referring too.

It's not really a joke. He's been eating the smallest of bugs. Because he can't move. He's beginning to starve.

TOPCATDIGIANIMEFAN · Post by **TOPCATDIGIANIMEFAN** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 1:58 am

Well This Should Be Interesting"

Valareos · Post by **Valareos** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:06 am

Given the fact we leading up to why Rufus kissed Max...

Just.. don't look too closely at that last panel without speech bubbles...

Gbr23 · Post by **Gbr23** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:19 am

Like... you gotta love how Rufus is like “sure, we can stay here”. I want so say great parenting... so I’ll say it, great parenting

TeflonCougar · Post by **TeflonCougar** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 6:54 am

Speaking of coyotes coming back, it would appear mine have done so. I was putting out the garbage and the pack let go with a chorus of yip-howls. They were close, most likely in the field beside the house. If I'd brought my flashlight I could have seen them.

Luck for me though, I wasn't chased into a pit.

GameCobra · Post by **GameCobra** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 7:03 am

I sense a dorky romantic idea from Maxwell with that "life rating" x3 Though it's equally as sad he's giving up the ghost as they say this early in life

Had a feeling Rufus would rescue him, but wasn't expecting him to stay in the canvas with him unless the Coyote did something to him. Then again, would suck if the coyote decided to interfere while bringing Max back to the barn. Getting a bath is going to be fun.

Nathan Kerbonaut · Post by **Nathan Kerbonaut** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 8:28 am

Don't give up yet, Max! Cute Rufus is here to save you from your sorrow

I sense the earliest emissions of romantic energy from that last panel...

NHWestoN · Post by **NHWestoN** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 8:51 am

To paraphrase an early line from Sasha-meets-King, "It'll be just like a slumber party except there's no blankets, or food (except aphids), and someone's trying to kill us!"

Gameb18oy · Post by **Gameb18oy** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 10:58 am

Anyone else feel like Rufus looks kinda like a dog from our world in the last panel?

Argent · Post by **Argent** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 11:19 am

TeflonCougar wrote:Luck for me though, I wasn't chased into a pit.

That's because you're the top predator.

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 11:51 am

Now seeing one of my old now deceased black cats smacking and eating a large cricket 13 years ago in front of my sister's bedroom door makes sense since I see that Max has been eating bugs.

Gameb18oy · Post by **Gameb18oy** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 11:53 am

... so I know narratively why this didn’t happen, but I wonder if it occurred to Max that he could still crawl even with his broken ankle.

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 11:56 am

Because he assumed, as an orphan of the world that since his ankle was broken he couldn't move.

Gameb18oy · Post by **Gameb18oy** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 12:46 pm

Disconnected thought that I’m hoping someone will get what I’m suggesting with. Badgers and Coyotes are known to hunt cooperatively with each other... I’m curious if Rick knows about that

fenrirblack · Post by **fenrirblack** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 1:22 pm

Gameb18oy wrote:Disconnected thought that I’m hoping someone will get what I’m suggesting with. Badgers and Coyotes are known to hunt cooperatively with each other... I’m curious if Rick knows about that

It’s hard not too but like you said...

Gameb18oy wrote: I’m hoping it’s not a new character, and considering Rick is refusing to truly name Coyote Sam and Crow, I think they aren’t meant to appear after this arc... and considering they’ll be old, it will be easier to dismiss having them come back, unlike stuff like the zoo and the lack of named cats in the comic. Also, I’m really eager for Rufus to become Max’s dog daddy already (or dog father as I’m sure most of you will want to call him) and I wish they were already interacting more.

At least they are finally interacting with one another in a father/son way which I find adorable. On a different note, we see that Max’s resolve is also a two.

NHWestoN · Post by **NHWestoN** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 1:24 pm

Well, chums, the arc is young … who knows where Rick's gonna take us (and the characters).

Cesco · Post by **Cesco** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 2:12 pm

And it's night time, being still inside that pit.

You have some optimism if you give life two out of five stars, Max, that's good.

It's great that Rufus came to the rescue.

Aww, Max is still scared, but is evident that the coyote isn't anymore around there... You better move, Max, because probably Rufus has no food with him. He will help you to walk and will heal your ankle (but take also a bath

).

NHWestoN · Post by **NHWestoN** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:24 pm

… and, nothing momentous, but … really nice shading work on the nighttime colorations, Rick! Very bete noire, there....

RacingCheetahz · Post by **RacingCheetahz** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 6:19 pm

I thought the title was a Primus reference, but other posts are telling me otherwise.

Post by **D-Rock** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 6:29 pm

Nathan Kerbonaut wrote:Don't give up yet, Max! Cute Rufus is here to save you from your sorrow

I sense the earliest emissions of romantic energy from that last panel...

Valareos wrote:Given the fact we leading up to why Rufus kissed Max...

Just.. don't look too closely at that last panel without speech bubbles...

Max is a kitten here, y'all.

fenrirblack · Post by **fenrirblack** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 9:09 pm

Well we now have a pretty good guess as to where Max's catnip addiction came from. Childhood trauma. In this chapter alone, he has been a hobo going door to door for help after being abandoned by his parent(s), gotten chased by a murderous coyote & crow duo twice, belled by mice, and fallen into a pit where he broke his ankle was was forced to eat bugs for sustenance. This doesn't even include later on where he gets thrown into the pound, kidnapped by a psychopath who tried to feed him to an alligator, and forced to live with Bino.

D-Rock wrote:
Nathan Kerbonaut wrote:Don't give up yet, Max! Cute Rufus is here to save you from your sorrow

I sense the earliest emissions of romantic energy from that last panel...
Valareos wrote:Given the fact we leading up to why Rufus kissed Max...

Just.. don't look too closely at that last panel without speech bubbles...
Max is a kitten here, y'all.

yeah seriously eww.

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 10:07 pm

Now we can safely say that whatever relationship that Max and Rufus have had with each other, it definitely isn't romantic.

fenrirblack · Post by **fenrirblack** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 11:37 pm

The alt-text from that scene "It's uh, it's a long story, largely obscured by the sheer amount of catnip involved." So apparently some time in the near future Max is either going to discover catnip or wash away his Coyote anxiety with catnip. Although it would make sense if Rufus drugged Max so his ankle wouldn't hurt so much. "Medical Catnip" That's fine parenting.

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 9:54 am

Actually I have to admit that is something I could see Rufus doing. LOL

NHWestoN · Post by **NHWestoN** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 10:02 am

Rufus is clearly being paternal and protective … it's still a rather sweet depiction. Reminds me of the time (brace yourselves - old guys do this "recollection" thing a lot) I'm driving down interstate 95 with my daughter, then five years old. Over the median jump about six deer. So I'm swerving and dodging braking and this one old doe with Olympic timing jumps clear over my hood (G*d knows how she made it) but all drivers and deer survive. I'm over on the side, heart's doing the pile driver thing....

"You okay, Hon."

"I'm fine, Papa."

"That was close..."

"Uh huh … Hey, Dad, since we're okay … let's get ice cream!"

Kids and Kittens know what really matters in life, eh?"

Frank · Post by **Frank** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 10:27 am

fenrirblack wrote:Are you kidding me?! The one time I knew what was going was going to happen next but didn’t say it because I was tired of being wrong and it turns out I was right. Rick followed normal plot progression and did the obvious thing and I was so sure he wouldn’t. Why?

That's exactly why it was unexpected. A master storyteller will know when to pitch it straight, and when he needs another curve ball

holmebrian · Post by **holmebrian** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 5:43 pm

is this a reference to the song by Primus?

NHWestoN · Post by **NHWestoN** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 6:14 pm

... or "Casey at the Bat"?

fenrirblack · Post by **fenrirblack** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 6:16 pm

Frank wrote:
fenrirblack wrote:Are you kidding me?! The one time I knew what was going was going to happen next but didn’t say it because I was tired of being wrong and it turns out I was right. Rick followed normal plot progression and did the obvious thing and I was so sure he wouldn’t. Why?
That's exactly why it was unexpected. A master storyteller will know when to pitch it straight, and when he needs another curve ball

This is why I don’t play chess. You can see all the moves but you’re never sure which one an opponent will make. For instance the next scene can follow a variety of possibilities from Rufus simply consuling Max, Coyote Sam showing up, them leaving the ditch in an effort to return to the farm, and some combination of the three. Of course there are plenty more possibilities but these three are the most likely. We may even see Crow returning to Coyote Sam to alert her to Max’s whereabouts. We may even skip ahead a little and return directly to the farm but that would be dumb.
Of course my choice would be simply Rufus consuling Max in order to develop their relationship which up to this point has been minimal. Plus it seems like the most likely option given what we’ve seen so far from Max’s earlier comment on his own abandonment, Rufus’s kiss, Max’s comment on his own pitiful life, and Rufus’s intent to care for Max as seen in the last panel.

NHWestoN · Post by **NHWestoN** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 6:27 pm

Orrrrrrrrrrr .... it's Made Of Wind, piloted by the Barn Cats, thundering over the hill and charging to the rescue as Crow caws "Cliche! Cliche!" and Coyote gaps in amazement!

Pretty confident Rick WON'T pull that!

Post by **D-Rock** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 11:09 pm

NHWestoN wrote:Rufus is clearly being paternal and protective … it's still a rather sweet depiction. Reminds me of the time (brace yourselves - old guys do this "recollection" thing a lot) I'm driving down interstate 95 with my daughter, then five years old. Over the median jump about six deer. So I'm swerving and dodging braking and this one old doe with Olympic timing jumps clear over my hood (G*d knows how she made it) but all drivers and deer survive. I'm over on the side, heart's doing the pile driver thing....

"You okay, Hon."

"I'm fine, Papa."

"That was close..."

"Uh huh … Hey, Dad, since we're okay … let's get ice cream!"

Kids and Kittens know what really matters in life, eh?"

I see she has a good head on her shoulders. Must have been quite the experience.

fenrirblack · Post by **fenrirblack** » Fri Feb 08, 2019 12:03 am

The more you learn.