2019/07/01 - Room Service

Soerix · Post by **Soerix** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 10:34 am

This is getting VERY interesting.

Also, Truck and Karishad are adorable hosts.

shadowlucario50 · Post by **shadowlucario50** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 10:36 am

Everyone's focused on Steward's appearance on the last panel, but here I am, thinking...

It's adorable how Truck put a "mint" on Marion's pillow. Talk about good room service!~

dr_eirik · Post by **dr_eirik** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 10:38 am

CyberDragon wrote: Steward isn't a psychopath, so it probably wasn't random for the lulz. He knows the coin works, so he wouldn't need to test it. He's not a grand ambitious mastermind, so he's not trying to transform everyone. If he turned Marion, his motive would be personal. So how does he know Marion and why would he do this to a highschooler?

My theory is Steward used to be Marion's father, but he became estranged (possibly due to his job or his thievery and dishonesty) and split. The court gave custody of Marion to his mother (rightfully so). Steward has wanted his son back, and discovered he could get what he wanted using the coin.

I would disagree here. If this theory turns out to be correct, then Steward either is or has become a psychopath. Assuming some family connection, how does he think this reunion would go? "Gee, long-lost-Dad, I'm so glad that you turned me into a female squirrel so we could be together!"

For this to have been Steward with the coin (in the ballroom), he'd have had to snuck in and used it. That parts not all that strange. The problem is that he would have then left Marion to fate to find him. That makes no sense if Steward did this with intention. His plan would have been foiled about six different ways if people had either listened to Marion or if the duo of K-9's that he came across had included Fox, Mungo or Fido.

zoogi1 · Post by **zoogi1** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 10:45 am

fenrirblack wrote:I mean he's (Steward) spent the last year listening to Pete and Dragon talk crazy so who knows how much he's learned. He already knew about magic and the temples and probably the Game so........

A year? Craig and Draig were only introduced at the end of temple crashers 2. It only feels like it's been a week or two since then, in panel time. So, Steward's only been a badger for a litle while. Or did I miss a time skip?

fenrirblack · Post by **fenrirblack** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 10:56 am

zoogi1 wrote:
fenrirblack wrote:I mean he's (Steward) spent the last year listening to Pete and Dragon talk crazy so who knows how much he's learned. He already knew about magic and the temples and probably the Game so........
A year? Craig and Draig were only introduced at the end of temple crashers 2. It only feels like it's been a week or two since then, in panel time. So, Steward's only been a badger for a litle while. Or did I miss a time skip?

We’ve had Halloween then Winter and now it’s June. Time has passed in comic time.

Champion Wallace wrote:Wow, there's a lot of theorizing about what sinister plot Steward has come up with for Marion. Steward is in the same situation as Marion: trapped in a feral body. What's to say they won't work together as partners with equal share in the matter? Steward did not perceive himself to be evil as a human, and being reduced to boarding with Jessica served him up some humble pie (and he wouldn't have needed to help the raccoons "steel" it).
fenrirblack wrote:I've waited so long for this moment. So many theories have led to this moment. So many people said it wouldn't happen so many times.
I can only speak for myself, but I never wrote Marion wasn't going to meet Steward, but that that Marion wasn't guaranteed to meet Steward. This isn't the type of literature where something has to end some way or there are “only two ways this could be”. This was always a possibility, but the point is it wasn't the only possibility. Just because you happened to be correct about the outcome doesn't make you correct saying no other outcomes were possible.

I never said that no other outcomes were possible just unlikely (if I did, oh well). The point is not to come up with every possibility imaginable but to come up with the most likely based on plot progression and the most ideal story. As the arc progresses and we learn more about the story progression it becomes more obvious therefore limits the possibilities. As soon as Falstaff and Truck were introduced Steward was all but certain. True it could have varied but then chances were so slim that considering them seemed pointless. I decided that instead of spending energy on the least likely possibilities to simply focus on the most likely option. I have been wrong so many times that I understand that there are multiple possibilities which is why I give a range of options.

Post by **CyberDragon** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 11:02 am

dr_eirik wrote:I would disagree here. If this theory turns out to be correct, then Steward either is or has become a psychopath. Assuming some family connection, how does he think this reunion would go? "Gee, long-lost-Dad, I'm so glad that you turned me into a female squirrel so we could be together!"

For this to have been Steward with the coin (in the ballroom), he'd have had to snuck in and used it. That parts not all that strange. The problem is that he would have then left Marion to fate to find him. That makes no sense if Steward did this with intention. His plan would have been foiled about six different ways if people had either listened to Marion or if the duo of K-9's that he came across had included Fox, Mungo or Fido.

Who would believe Marion? As far as Steward knows, only he, Thomas, and Keene know anything about magic. He doesn't know about Fox or Fido or King or Sabrina. If he had grabbed Marion back at the house, Marion would know what he did and would never accept him or tolerate Steward again. As long as he keeps his involvement in Marion's transformation a secret, he can take advantage of being the only family Marion has right now, as well as being the only one (that he knows of) in the same position as Marion.

All he has to do, is keep one secret.

zoogi1 · Post by **zoogi1** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 11:10 am

Do we actually know Steward's name? I thought "Steward" was just a title turned nickname, like someone who goes by "Doc".

dr_eirik · Post by **dr_eirik** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 11:13 am

zoogi1 wrote:Do we actually know Steward's name? I thought "Steward" was just a title turned nickname, like calling someone Doc.

The ferrets specifically requested him as their steward because of his name.

zoogi1 · Post by **zoogi1** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 11:15 am

dr_eirik wrote:
zoogi1 wrote:Do we actually know Steward's name? I thought "Steward" was just a title turned nickname, like calling someone Doc.

The ferrets specifically requested him as their steward because of his name.

oh. you're right: https://www.housepetscomic.com/comic/20 ... mpetition/

Welsh Halfwit · Post by **Welsh Halfwit** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 11:20 am

fenrirblack wrote:
zoogi1 wrote:
fenrirblack wrote:I mean he's (Steward) spent the last year listening to Pete and Dragon talk crazy so who knows how much he's learned. He already knew about magic and the temples and probably the Game so........
A year? Craig and Draig were only introduced at the end of temple crashers 2. It only feels like it's been a week or two since then, in panel time. So, Steward's only been a badger for a litle while. Or did I miss a time skip?
We’ve had Halloween then Winter and now it’s June. Time has passed in comic time.

And yet Craig and Draig haven't aged much.

CunningFox · Post by **CunningFox** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 11:23 am

It took me longer than it should have to get the mint joke.

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 12:35 pm

Looks like Karishad DOES want to eat Marion then. It makes me wonder if there are any other sqrls that he wants to eat. I didn't even know foxes at sqrls anyway.

I now wanna see Karishad and Diss in a fight to the death.

dr_eirik · Post by **dr_eirik** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 12:56 pm

CyberDragon wrote:
Who would believe Marion? As far as Steward knows, only he, Thomas, and Keene know anything about magic. He doesn't know about Fox or Fido or King or Sabrina. If he had grabbed Marion back at the house, Marion would know what he did and would never accept him or tolerate Steward again. As long as he keeps his involvement in Marion's transformation a secret, he can take advantage of being the only family Marion has right now, as well as being the only one (that he knows of) in the same position as Marion.

All he has to do, is keep one secret.

Thing is, this is still the actions of a psychopath. Assuming that the culprit is Steward, and even if his plan is to lead him to a way to turn himself and Marion back at the end, he still upended the life of an innocent bystander for his plans. Even if Marion is turned back, his high school graduation and possibly start of college are, at the least, disrupted. At worst, if Marion is stuck, then all his plans are shot to heck. Given this universe, it's possible that he could still carry on with his life in some fashion, but it won't be the same.

It's still a wait and see, and likely will be for some time, no matter what Steward says in the next page.

Ash Greytree · Post by **Ash Greytree** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 1:11 pm

dr_eirik wrote:There could be the option where his status comes down to a choice. Change back and something bad happens, stay a squirrel and you save people/pets/ferals from a worse fate.

There is also the chance that Kitsune can't change him back. We don't know all the rules he works under, so he may well sympathize but be unable to help.

You're right. That'd fit with another theory I came up with a bit back: Steward or someone else is messing with magic(k) they don't understand which eventually led to Marion getting transformed. Magic(k) mishap spirals out into a slow-moving crisis where other humans (including Lois) get transformed into animals and solution has to be come up with before even more humans fall victim. Steward helps out either out of remorse for having caused the problem in the first place or not wanting other humans to suffer the same fate as him. Problem gets solved, but Marion can't change back due to complications; maybe a time limit that expired after which the transformation became permanent while others who transformed later can still get it reversed.

In the near term, I feel like the next strip is going to be Steward introducing himself, not knowing who Marion is, and doing the "If you need help, here's my card" thing. Marion leaves the option as a last resort since Steward gives off an ambulance-chaser vibe with his introduction and he may not want to deal with someone like that. A strip or two of plot-thickening after that, and Part 2 ends. MLaaTS Part 3 (or whatever it's titled) picks up with Marion having breakfast and revolves around him going about his day interacting with the rest of the treehouse denizens, wandering the the neighborhood in search of answers, encountering a few of the pets, getting more acclimated to his new size and squirreliness, and hanging out with Falstaff & Truck at night again. And then maybe he seeks out Steward after getting frustrated with no leads.

Cesco · Post by **Cesco** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 1:46 pm

Yeah! Steward lives there, and he can let him know that he was an human transformed into an animal... But in his case, the reason was because of a cursed gold coin from that temple, while about Marion it's still unknown, with even the gender switching, too...

Anyway, Steward's experience is surely precious and could help Marion.

But maybe, is better do that after having taken a nap.

Uhm, dunno what can do leave mint leaves, and I've no idea of the movies reference. A marinade? What? Only from Karishad.

trekkie · Post by **trekkie** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 2:18 pm

Sir Chestnut wrote:I'm kind of wondering if Steward might be a red herring and thinking maybe Joey or a member of his team brought something back from that pile they said they'd come back for. Although Joey probably didn't since he thought the money would just disappear.
How this would relate to Marion I have no idea, but we do know barely anything about Lester or Dallas.

I might be remembering incorrectly but I don’t think that Dallas had pockets in his Star Trek uniform. Lester, I don’t know. Truck is so sweet, leaving mints on Marion ‘s pillow. So, Steward finally makes his appearance, it’s hard to believe that he would be a red herring but we’ll all just have to wait and see.

dr_eirik · Post by **dr_eirik** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 2:27 pm

trekkie wrote:
Sir Chestnut wrote:I'm kind of wondering if Steward might be a red herring and thinking maybe Joey or a member of his team brought something back from that pile they said they'd come back for. Although Joey probably didn't since he thought the money would just disappear.
How this would relate to Marion I have no idea, but we do know barely anything about Lester or Dallas.

I might be remembering incorrectly but I don’t think that Dallas had pockets in his Star Trek uniform. Lester, I don’t know. Truck is so sweet, leaving mints on Marion ‘s pillow. So, Steward finally makes his appearance, it’s hard to believe that he would be a red herring but we’ll all just have to wait and see.

Lester might have grabbed something at the time, he thought there would be dungeon shopkeepers to pay. The others didn't seem to bother or couldn't carry any. And since everyone of that group thought that it was all an elaborate holodeck, they wouldn't have thought twice about having something from there later.

Might be interesting to learn that Lester or Dallas is one of Marions pets, but it seems unlikely since they didn't appear the entire day he was still home.

angelmar741 · Post by **angelmar741** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 3:18 pm

Love that mint joke!

NHWestoN · Post by **NHWestoN** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 4:35 pm

angelmar741 wrote:Love that mint joke!

Clearly, we have underestimated the quality and sophistication of the establishments raided by Falstaff and Truck.

Frank · Post by **Frank** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 4:57 pm

Soerix wrote:Truck and Karishad are adorable hosts.

you do know "marinade" is probably from that book he was reading, right?

dr_eirik wrote:
CyberDragon wrote: My theory is Steward used to be Marion's father
Assuming some family connection, how does he think this reunion would go?

I expect he thought the coin would turn him into a male badger. The fact that it didn't is probably part of Pete's trolling when he cursed it

Sir Chestnut · Post by **Sir Chestnut** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 5:08 pm

dr_eirik wrote:
trekkie wrote:
Sir Chestnut wrote:I'm kind of wondering if Steward might be a red herring and thinking maybe Joey or a member of his team brought something back from that pile they said they'd come back for. Although Joey probably didn't since he thought the money would just disappear.
How this would relate to Marion I have no idea, but we do know barely anything about Lester or Dallas.

I might be remembering incorrectly but I don’t think that Dallas had pockets in his Star Trek uniform. Lester, I don’t know. Truck is so sweet, leaving mints on Marion ‘s pillow. So, Steward finally makes his appearance, it’s hard to believe that he would be a red herring but we’ll all just have to wait and see.
Lester might have grabbed something at the time, he thought there would be dungeon shopkeepers to pay. The others didn't seem to bother or couldn't carry any. And since everyone of that group thought that it was all an elaborate holodeck, they wouldn't have thought twice about having something from there later.

Might be interesting to learn that Lester or Dallas is one of Marions pets, but it seems unlikely since they didn't appear the entire day he was still home.

Also, last time we saw Lester during Solo Run and The Only Winning Move he was playing a game with Kitsune, so he could still be involved somehow. Maybe there was more ramifications to their game than we thought.

dr_eirik · Post by **dr_eirik** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 5:56 pm

Frank wrote:
dr_eirik wrote:
CyberDragon wrote: My theory is Steward used to be Marion's father
Assuming some family connection, how does he think this reunion would go?
I expect he thought the coin would turn him into a male badger. The fact that it didn't is probably part of Pete's trolling when he cursed it

Except Steward would have known the coin has some level of randomness to its transformation. Thomas showed up as a camel, after all. He might never have considered gender, but species he should have expected a roll of the dice.

Unless he's going to pin this transformation on the ferrets. I rather wonder if they have film of his transformation. Keene did tell him that he had all his plans on camera, including Keene admitting he knew the treasure was cursed. I don't think he expected Steward to be transformed, but it happened. Maybe this is going to trace back to them...

fenrirblack · Post by **fenrirblack** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 6:30 pm

Steward: "Hello, Marion."
Marion: "How do you know my name?"
Steward: "I heard you tell it to Jessica a little while ago."
Marion: "Oh. Is there something I can help you with because I've had a really long day."
Steward: "I can understand that. I'll leave you alone but first I want to ask you about what you said before about changing into another species."
Marion: "That? It's dumb don't worry about it. You wouldn't believe me anyway."
Steward: "That is where you are wrong."
Steward pulls out the coin.
Steward: "You see this little trinket is why I am here right now. My name is Herman Steward and I used to work for the Milton's as their steward. I was once human like I suspect you were."
Marion: "Are you serious? What happened to you?"
Steward: "It's a long story but one touch of this coin changed me into a badger. I lost everything and was forced to move into his place."
Marion: "I don't know how I was changed. I just woke up this morning looking like this. My mom kicked me out because she couldn't recognize me. I was chased up a tree by dogs. I had to steal a pie, sort of."
Steward: "I'm sorry to hear that. That's why I'm here. I think we can help each other out. I have a plan to get back what was taken from me but to pull it off I am going to need your help.
Marion: "Will it help me change back?"
Steward: "Possibly. You see my former employers have a treasure of magic relics and information. With your help we can persuade them to assist us in undoing our curses. So what d you say? Will you help me?"
Marion: "Okay. First thing tomorrow, I'll help you."

dr_eirik wrote:Except Steward would have known the coin has some level of randomness to its transformation. Thomas showed up as a camel, after all. He might never have considered gender, but species he should have expected a roll of the dice.

Unless he's going to pin this transformation on the ferrets. I rather wonder if they have film of his transformation. Keene did tell him that he had all his plans on camera, including Keene admitting he knew the treasure was cursed. I don't think he expected Steward to be transformed, but it happened. Maybe this is going to trace back to them...

This also is still my best guess as far as Steward's plans go.

As strange as it is, we know very little about Steward from back when worked for the Miltons. To be honest, even his role in stealing the Milton's money or interrupting the ECP was never delved into (I think that Rick threw the latter in knowing that Steward would become a villain down the line) so his overall goals and ambitions are vague. Say what you want about Steward's future role but he was a wallflower until the Temple Crashers and then suddenly poof bad guy. I really doubt a year in the woods will change him or make him a better person. He was already a bad guy so there is no reason for him not to be one now.
To be honest, if Steward is going to be the villain, he's going to be an odd villain. Thomas was a fool but he had a clear goal and reason for what he did. Steward's goals and reasons are unknown beyond he got greedy but nothing deeper was ever explored. I'm going to stick with my original idea of revenge against the Miltons' simply because they did screw him over with the coin and him losing his job (although the job thing was more him).

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 9:49 pm

I might not be remembering correctly but I always thought that Steward aligned himself with Thomas because Thomas offered to pay him more when he got his hands on the Milton's money.

fenrirblack · Post by **fenrirblack** » Mon Jul 01, 2019 9:56 pm

Amazee Dayzee wrote:I might not be remembering correctly but I always thought that Steward aligned himself with Thomas because Thomas offered to pay him more when he got his hands on the Milton's money.

It was never explained what the deal was beyond they were going to "share" the temples treasure. All we know is that Thomas stole the map years ago then teamed up with Steward at some point (again we never saw) then Steward started blocking Keene's financial withdraws for the ECP which upset him enough to plan an elaborate escapade into the temple so that Thomas could get inside and claim the gold. All the other details were left out. Honestly we never even discovered what was illegal about the entire thing except maybe embezzlement and that technically it was stealing since the treasure was the Milton's property and Steward was an accessory to grand larceny. But I wonder how well that would hold up in court since the temple was destroyed and the treasure lost and the fact that it was a magic temple and cursed treasure.

So the more I think about it I'm going to say he was embezzling the Milton's money and needed part of the treasure to make an escape to avoid being arrested if Keene ever found out what he was doing.

bjchan95 · Post by **bjchan95** » Tue Jul 02, 2019 12:14 am

I can't remember the last time there was this much speculation over the comic, it's kinda exhilarating

Champion Wallace · Post by **Champion Wallace** » Tue Jul 02, 2019 12:57 am

CyberDragon wrote:I... don't remember. Do you have the comic where it says that?

Edit: dang, you're right. Maybe after he went missing, Marion's mom switched back to her maiden name? I'm not sure now.

Or she never changed it. Not everyone takes on the last name of their husband.

SeanWolf wrote:
CyberDragon wrote:I... don't remember. Do you have the comic where it says that?

Edit: dang, you're right. Maybe after he went missing, Marion's mom switched back to her maiden name? I'm not sure now.
Same time, how do we know Herman Steward is Marion's dad and Husband to Marion's Mom? I went back and read and didn't see anything that could hint towards that.

All there is going for that theory is it's possible and it would be cool if it were true. That's enough for some people.

NHWestoN wrote:Well, we know that silhouette ain't Truck, Karishad, or Trinket. Furthermore, if it is Badger, he's either really good at eavesdropping or has some foreknowledge of his shared dilemma with Marion.

He has a name, gosh darn it. What's so hard about typing out "Steward"? Besides, we know Steward is the shadowy figure because his name is in the tags.

NHWestoN wrote:Marion's raccoon encounter in the tree house may have been less coincidental than it appears (does Mrs. Magillicuddy have blue nail cod some sinister occult purpose?)

Mrs. McGillicuddy couldn't have been doing this just because of Marion. Falstaff and Truck have been steeling her pies for some time now, long enough for Jessica to catch on from the sidelines.

shadowlucario50 wrote:Everyone's focused on Steward's appearance on the last panel, but here I am, thinking...

It's adorable how Truck put a "mint" on Marion's pillow. Talk about good room service!~

I second that Truck is adorable.

fenrirblack wrote:
Champion Wallace wrote:
fenrirblack wrote:I've waited so long for this moment. So many theories have led to this moment. So many people said it wouldn't happen so many times.
I can only speak for myself, but I never wrote Marion wasn't going to meet Steward, but that that Marion wasn't guaranteed to meet Steward. This isn't the type of literature where something has to end some way or there are “only two ways this could be”. This was always a possibility, but the point is it wasn't the only possibility. Just because you happened to be correct about the outcome doesn't make you correct saying no other outcomes were possible.
I never said that no other outcomes were possible just unlikely (if I did, oh well). The point is not to come up with every possibility imaginable but to come up with the most likely based on plot progression and the most ideal story. As the arc progresses and we learn more about the story progression it becomes more obvious therefore limits the possibilities. As soon as Falstaff and Truck were introduced Steward was all but certain. True it could have varied but then chances were so slim that considering them seemed pointless. I decided that instead of spending energy on the least likely possibilities to simply focus on the most likely option. I have been wrong so many times that I understand that there are multiple possibilities which is why I give a range of options.

(Some people may disagree about your second sentence, but regardless) I'm not asking you to believe every theory that comes up, just that you shouldn't dismiss everyone else ideas by saying yours is "fated" or "certain" or the like. Remember, even if something is more likely than any other individual option, it does not automatically follow that it's over 50% likely.

Welsh Halfwit wrote:
fenrirblack wrote:
zoogi1 wrote:A year? Craig and Draig were only introduced at the end of temple crashers 2. It only feels like it's been a week or two since then, in panel time. So, Steward's only been a badger for a litle while. Or did I miss a time skip?
We’ve had Halloween then Winter and now it’s June. Time has passed in comic time.

And yet Craig and Draig haven't aged much.

Don't you know by now? Time passes but the characters only age if and when Rick Griffin wants them to.

dr_eirik wrote:Except Steward would have known the coin has some level of randomness to its transformation. Thomas showed up as a camel, after all. He might never have considered gender, but species he should have expected a roll of the dice.

From what we say, there's no guarantee the coin that changed Thomas was the same as the one he smuggled out to give to Steward. In your favor though however is Steward didn't know that and it's not the safest assumption that it wasn't the same coin.

fenrirblack wrote:
dr_eirik wrote:Except Steward would have known the coin has some level of randomness to its transformation. Thomas showed up as a camel, after all. He might never have considered gender, but species he should have expected a roll of the dice.

Unless he's going to pin this transformation on the ferrets. I rather wonder if they have film of his transformation. Keene did tell him that he had all his plans on camera, including Keene admitting he knew the treasure was cursed. I don't think he expected Steward to be transformed, but it happened. Maybe this is going to trace back to them...
This also is still my best guess as far as Steward's plans go.

As strange as it is, we know very little about Steward from back when worked for the Miltons. To be honest, even his role in stealing the Milton's money or interrupting the ECP was never delved into (I think that Rick threw the latter in knowing that Steward would become a villain down the line) so his overall goals and ambitions are vague. Say what you want about Steward's future role but he was a wallflower until the Temple Crashers and then suddenly poof bad guy. I really doubt a year in the woods will change him or make him a better person. He was already a bad guy so there is no reason for him not to be one now.
To be honest, if Steward is going to be the villain, he's going to be an odd villain. Thomas was a fool but he had a clear goal and reason for what he did. Steward's goals and reasons are unknown beyond he got greedy but nothing deeper was ever explored. I'm going to stick with my original idea of revenge against the Miltons' simply because they did screw him over with the coin and him losing his job (although the job thing was more him).

I'm unsure about your main point. Do you think Steward is a villain or not? You say he is a bad guy, but then you give evidence why his stint with Thomas was a one-time thing and he has no motivation for being a villain now.

Nobody · Post by **Nobody** » Tue Jul 02, 2019 1:06 am

OrWasIt.EXE wrote: Honestly the most I know about Evangelion though are some of its memes. I barely know what's going on in the thing itself.

Don't worry about it. I watched the show from start to finish and saw both movies and I still barely know what was going on in it.

Llor Drei · Post by **Llor Drei** » Tue Jul 02, 2019 2:48 am

I personally believe the Great Kitsune has started a new game session. The suspect thing is that Karishad's eyes are normal colored, not glowing green, indicating his possession by the Great Kitsune. And I believe I know who is, or should be, one of the players, based on events, but I'll keep my theories on this to myself, unless given permission, so as not to spoil things. Again, this is just my theory, on what I have seen so far.

Post by **Obbl** » Tue Jul 02, 2019 6:56 am

My dude, feel free to speulate away. I can already name a good number of people who are likely to show up here with some very good reasons to disagree with your analysis

dr_eirik · Post by **dr_eirik** » Tue Jul 02, 2019 10:47 am

fenrirblack wrote:
Amazee Dayzee wrote:I might not be remembering correctly but I always thought that Steward aligned himself with Thomas because Thomas offered to pay him more when he got his hands on the Milton's money.
It was never explained what the deal was beyond they were going to "share" the temples treasure. All we know is that Thomas stole the map years ago then teamed up with Steward at some point (again we never saw) then Steward started blocking Keene's financial withdraws for the ECP which upset him enough to plan an elaborate escapade into the temple so that Thomas could get inside and claim the gold. All the other details were left out. Honestly we never even discovered what was illegal about the entire thing except maybe embezzlement and that technically it was stealing since the treasure was the Milton's property and Steward was an accessory to grand larceny. But I wonder how well that would hold up in court since the temple was destroyed and the treasure lost and the fact that it was a magic temple and cursed treasure.

So the more I think about it I'm going to say he was embezzling the Milton's money and needed part of the treasure to make an escape to avoid being arrested if Keene ever found out what he was doing.

I always assumed it was flat out greed. He saw an opportunity to make a fortune and took it. I suppose it might make sense if the ferrets mistreated him, but other than being exasperating I don't recall even Keene being even unintentionally cruel.

He may have had motivations that we don't know yet. I had the sense that he simply didn't like Keenes agenda and worked to foil it from behind the scenes, but that's not from any specific thing I recall seeing. It's hard to say how far back Rick has been plotting and scheming against us.

fenrirblack · Post by **fenrirblack** » Tue Jul 02, 2019 10:53 am

Champion Wallace wrote:
fenrirblack wrote:
dr_eirik wrote:Except Steward would have known the coin has some level of randomness to its transformation. Thomas showed up as a camel, after all. He might never have considered gender, but species he should have expected a roll of the dice.

Unless he's going to pin this transformation on the ferrets. I rather wonder if they have film of his transformation. Keene did tell him that he had all his plans on camera, including Keene admitting he knew the treasure was cursed. I don't think he expected Steward to be transformed, but it happened. Maybe this is going to trace back to them...
This also is still my best guess as far as Steward's plans go.

As strange as it is, we know very little about Steward from back when worked for the Miltons. To be honest, even his role in stealing the Milton's money or interrupting the ECP was never delved into (I think that Rick threw the latter in knowing that Steward would become a villain down the line) so his overall goals and ambitions are vague. Say what you want about Steward's future role but he was a wallflower until the Temple Crashers and then suddenly poof bad guy. I really doubt a year in the woods will change him or make him a better person. He was already a bad guy so there is no reason for him not to be one now.
To be honest, if Steward is going to be the villain, he's going to be an odd villain. Thomas was a fool but he had a clear goal and reason for what he did. Steward's goals and reasons are unknown beyond he got greedy but nothing deeper was ever explored. I'm going to stick with my original idea of revenge against the Miltons' simply because they did screw him over with the coin and him losing his job (although the job thing was more him).
I'm unsure about your main point. Do you think Steward is a villain or not? You say he is a bad guy, but then you give evidence why his stint with Thomas was a one-time thing and he has no motivation for being a villain now.

The point was that there wasn't a lot of lead up. I mean it was an obvious move that Steward would be working to steal and sabotage Keene's plans behind the scenes (like saying the butler did it) and there were subtle clues. I think Steward is the villain, I've said that repeatedly but I also am saying that the scheme with Thomas was sudden which isn't unusual. We didn't dive into exactly what Steward was doing behind the scenes. We didn't get the scooby-doo type reveal where Velma goes over the villains plans. His motivation could be revenge or even greed. Why not both?

Argent · Post by **Argent** » Tue Jul 02, 2019 12:04 pm

CyberDragon wrote:My guess from the moment I heard Marion's last name was Ward has been that Steward was his father.

[...]

First is Marion's last name is too close to Steward's last name to be coincidence.

The family names "ward" and "steward" are derived from words that both derive from a word meaning "guard", but by the time they were professions they were already separate words: Steward was the head of staff of a castle, and the proxy for the castle's owner when absent, and Ward was a city or gate guard.

zoogi1 · Post by **zoogi1** » Tue Jul 02, 2019 1:11 pm

Llor Drei wrote:I personally believe the Great Kitsune has started a new game session. The suspect thing is that Karishad's eyes are normal colored, not glowing green, indicating his possession by the Great Kitsune. And I believe I know who is, or should be, one of the players, based on events, but I'll keep my theories on this to myself, unless given permission, so as not to spoil things. Again, this is just my theory, on what I have seen so far.

Karishad possessed? is that a thing that's happened? I don't recall him ever being something besides a regular fox with a lot of energy, mostly a comic relief character

Post by **D-Rock** » Tue Jul 02, 2019 1:17 pm

Assuming Kitsune is controlling anybody, their eyes would glow red. But more importantly, Karishad is his own entity that not even Pete could understand. Everything would be his own accord.

dr_eirik · Post by **dr_eirik** » Tue Jul 02, 2019 1:20 pm

zoogi1 wrote:
Llor Drei wrote:I personally believe the Great Kitsune has started a new game session. The suspect thing is that Karishad's eyes are normal colored, not glowing green, indicating his possession by the Great Kitsune. And I believe I know who is, or should be, one of the players, based on events, but I'll keep my theories on this to myself, unless given permission, so as not to spoil things. Again, this is just my theory, on what I have seen so far.
Karishad possessed? is that a thing that's happened? I don't recall him ever being something besides a regular fox with a lot of energy, mostly a comic relief character

I don't think he's ever been possessed either. He's just an extreme wildcard. Even Pete couldn't figure out how he was getting into the temple all the time. He is mostly comic relief, but he also does occasionally play a role in the plot. Recall that he was the one that stopped Dallas from getting to the Mana pool in temple crashers.

I doubt that this is a new game, if just because these games take millennia to run and it seems odd that Kitsune would run another with the same reality. What's going on is likely connected to the game, if just tangentially, but I doubt is a whole new one.

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Tue Jul 02, 2019 1:50 pm

I have at certain points given my opinion that Kari is actually a Celestial and nobody knows about it, but it never picked up any traction.

Llor Drei · Post by **Llor Drei** » Tue Jul 02, 2019 3:49 pm

Since his inception, Karishad has had glowing green eyes, the same as Tarot's whenever Dragon possessed her. Also, in the temple, he not only became furious at the tagging on the walls, but also explained all the mystical rituals that would be needed to clean them, something Kitsune would know, not Karishad, about the mystical temple that was a part of the game that he was running for Pete and the Dragon. So, when you see Karishad with normal eyes, you know he must not be being possesed at the moment, and as he's Kitsune's normal avatar, Kitsune must be doing something important to not be using him, as he has since the beginning... Hence, a new game.

And I believe one of the players would almost have to be the Norse squirrel messenger God, Ratatoskr, who chose Marion as a game piece, but didn't read the character sheet closely enough... ergo, Marion must be a female squirrel.

NHWestoN · Post by **NHWestoN** » Tue Jul 02, 2019 4:10 pm

D-Rock wrote:Assuming Kitsune is controlling anybody, their eyes would glow red. But more importantly, Karishad is his own entity that not even Pete could understand. Everything would be his own accord.

"....Except for that Fox. I don't know how he gets in here."

Post by **CyberDragon** » Tue Jul 02, 2019 4:42 pm

Argent wrote:The family names "ward" and "steward" are derived from words that both derive from a word meaning "guard", but by the time they were professions they were already separate words: Steward was the head of staff of a castle, and the proxy for the castle's owner when absent, and Ward was a city or gate guard.

I'm thinking of meta clues. "Why is this detail left in?" And "Why would rick make that choice?" The connections I'm drawing are what I feel makes sense from an author's perspective, not necessarily an in-universe one. From the meta perspective, making their last names close to each other even if the names are different in meaning seemed to be there to draw a connection between the two.

But hey, that's JUST A THEORY! A COMIC THEORY! Thanks for reading!