2019/07/26 - Squirrel Season

Post by **D-Rock** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 12:03 am

[2019/07/26 - Squirrel Season]
Title Text: i've invented a marvelous device called the egress-o-tron

Plenty of errors. Leave it up to y'all to decide if it's comedic or tragic.

Gbr23 · Post by **Gbr23** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 12:05 am

And with the magic words, Marion is now gone

LunarFox · Post by **LunarFox** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 12:05 am

Aw, nuts... Kari lives down there...

dr_eirik · Post by **dr_eirik** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 12:09 am

So, it's either a hidey hole or an escape tunnel. Hopefully, there are some answers down there, too.

fenrirblack · Post by **fenrirblack** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 12:10 am

You know I was all for seeing the “basement” but back when I said that I didn’t mean I wanted Marion to hide in the basement while literally the only people who can help him are right outside. Somehow Jess’s treehouse has turned into 10 Cloverfield Lane.

Marion’s luck it probably would be a complex system of tunnels instead of something a little more quaint like a teen bunker complete with tv, games, and bean bag chairs.

Come on Marion, do you really think that they”ll hunt you done because you broke into a home? I think we’re beginning to solve that mystery why Marion was the one chosen to be turned into a squirrel. Oh, honey.

Welsh Halfwit · Post by **Welsh Halfwit** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 12:12 am

I see Falstaff remembers being tranquillised.

Jess is calm but it will not help,
letting Marion escape his chance.
She doesn’t know that, by doing this,
she’s continuing the day’s dance.
The path to freedom is quite clear,
the tunnel goes we know not where.
When he built this little road
be thankful Karishad chose to share.
Run, Marion, run, little one,
away from all those who love you.
Let none of them know your thoughts
and don’t tell what you’re going through.

IceKitsune · Post by **IceKitsune** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 12:12 am

I guess we could always go with plan run away and hide. That's not going to backfire at all in any way.

dr_eirik · Post by **dr_eirik** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 12:21 am

It is a little weird that he doesn't seem to consider they might be looking for him because of the text. Though I guess that's understandable. He's sleep deprived and terrified. He also doesn't seem to want to tell Jess or the raccoons his real backstory.

Saturn381 · Post by **Saturn381** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 12:27 am

There’s plenty of stuff from Karishad down there that’ll keep you occupied Marion.

fenrirblack · Post by **fenrirblack** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 12:30 am

Okay, things are taking a bad turn.

Theories
Is Steward A Villain: YES.

Steward's Goal: Revenge or Regaining his Old Life

Did He Change Marion: No

Does He Know Marion’s True Identity: Maybe. Marion was not subtle during his shouting fit.

Who Changed Marion: Dino-Demon or another new supernatural character that has not been introduced.

Will Marion Return Home: Yes. Soon if Lois has anything to say about it.

The Marion Part
Marion is going to "escape" through the basement or at least hide in the basement and miss Fox and Fido's impromptu visit. To keep him company Steward will join him.
A. The basement is a series of tunnels that Marion will use to escape, furthering his chances of receiving actual help. Steward convinces Marion that now that he is a wanted criminal that his best option to seek out the Milton's help so they can use their influence to prove his innocence or keep him out of "animal jail."
B. Marion hides in tunnel while Fox and Fido enter the house and look for him only to not find him and leave.
C. Fox and Fido stumble on the basement and hoist Marion out by his tail letting this entire saga be one giant slap in the face.

Marion's tantrum has convinced Steward that Marion is like him and will now use Marion to his advantage by getting him to join the ECP and get back into the Milton's good graces:
A. He lost his job and his life and the Miltons are the best chance at regaining some type of normalcy like being rehired or finding a new job.
B. Steward wants to get back in the Milton's good graces so he can get something from them like a method of returning too human.

Steward is going to discover that Marion was once human and gets the idea in his head to use the coin to turn other humans into animals (again the coin DOES have to be used eventually) so they will follow the same logic of Marion and see the ECP as their best chance at retaining normalcy.

The Lois Part
Lois meets Ralph and Kevin who explain the the conversation they had with Marion earlier.
A. Lois is curious about what the squirrel said and decides to investigate the possibility of therianthropy in Babylon Gardens
B. Fox shows up and leads Lois to King and possibly Kitsune. They then explain to Lois about the secret magic happenings in the neighborhood and possibly the threat of a new evil magic being lurking in there mitts.

Lois tracks down Marion and Steward. Steward sees this as an opportunity to blackmail Marion with the coin but threatening him to do what he says and join the ECP/any other task he needs or he'll use it on Lois and whoever else he has too.
Lois tracks down Marion and Steward and the coin is "accidentally" used on Lois who becomes *insert animal here*

John-056 · Post by **John-056** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 12:35 am

dr_eirik wrote:It is a little weird that he doesn't seem to consider they might be looking for him because of the text. Though I guess that's understandable. He's sleep deprived and terrified. He also doesn't seem to want to tell Jess or the raccoons his real backstory.

He did try to tell them.

They showed him how much they believed him.

That is, they basically told him he was insane.

https://www.housepetscomic.com/comic/20 ... s-ago-huh/

NHWestoN · Post by **NHWestoN** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 12:41 am

Welcome to "Wonderland", Alice ... I mean, Marion.

fenrirblack · Post by **fenrirblack** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 1:09 am

Jess does bring up a good point about "bothersome animals" because what qualifies as bothersome? Truck bought ice cream and no one cared. Knowing Falstaff he probably ticked off the wrong person when trying to get that medicine which Truck managed to do. The only other times animals got "arrested" were Cory who sprayed the perfume lady and Fluffy who tried to eat Max, Fox, and Grape. So when you think about it that fact that Marion thinks that the police would be after him means that Julia would have called them to inform them about him being in the house which either says a lot about her or a lot about Marion again thinking that the police would waste time and resources hunting down a random squirrel.

Also I love how instead of lying to them when Fox and Fido arrived, Jess went into lockdown mode. Now the windows are blocked so Marion can't even peek out and see maybe they're aren't going to arrest him and Lois might be with them even though we aren't completely sure. Fingers crossed that she is although if Marion just runs then her being there would be pointless.

Also at no point has he thought about calling someone using Jess's cellphone. I'm sure he saw it when he came in behind Falstaff. If he voice hasn't changed then he could call for help like actually call Lois and tell her in more detail where he is and what happened to him. Even if she still doesn't believe him beg her to come to the treehouse. Or call his mom who is probably worried about where he is because he must realize that he's been gone all day and that they have no idea where he is. I mean there are options.

Ash Greytree · Post by **Ash Greytree** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 1:10 am

He managed to connect the dots to them possibly wanting to question him regarding the “break-in”, at least. I guess in his current stressed out state, as well as with the information he has on hand, it would make sense that he couldn’t deduce that they’re looking for him as a missing person’s witness to his own missing-ness.

Okay, so the word “egress” means “the action of going out of or leaving a place”. This means the basement could be a hiding spot for him to get out of this situation, or it could have a tunnel in it through which he’ll be escaping. My guess is the latter.

Wherever the tunnel ends up popping up at (if it is indeed a tunnel), I hope it’s somewhere close to a place that he can get some serious help and rest. However, given his luck up to this point, he’s probably going to get out of the tunnel, get scared by a predator conveniently hanging out near it, run off and get his bracelet-necklace torn away during the pursuit, climb a tree and have an emotional and mental breakdown before passing out from exhaustion. Maybe he can get dragged off by some kind fellow rodent soul to Squirreltopia while he’s out cold....

But for real though, everything seems to be coming to a head with the K-9’s looking for him. With this being the third part, Rick might cut Marion some “Third Time’s The Charm” slack and have wherever he ends up at the end of this arc be a truly safe spot where he can get things sorted out after taking a well deserved 14-hour ~~cat~~squirrelnap.

Post by **Obbl** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 1:40 am

I think he's pretty aware of why the police are here, but how is this situation supposed to play out? They take him in for questioning, but if he tells the truth, they think he's lying (cause Marion doesn't know that the police would have any reason to take his story seriously). Then what do they do with him? He either looks crazy (in which case relocation is probably likely) or like he's covering something up (in which case he may be detained, which doesn't help him a whole lot). Or he could try to lie, but that's not likely to go over well.
We know that these K9s are the best bet for him, but Marion thinks he's gotta be careful around law enforcement cause he's connected to a kidnapping and doesn't know what they think "connected" means.

Champion Wallace · Post by **Champion Wallace** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 3:03 am

I like how Marion was about to say "broke into my house" but caught himself. It doesn't help that he goes on to ask the suspicious question of if something's normal for ferals. Jessica cleared up some of the confusion from last strip, but not well enough. The "for questioning regarding" parties a lot to change the meaning of a sentence that starts out "Marion is wanted by the police".

fenrirblack wrote:(again the coin DOES have to be used eventually)

Again, that doesn't support your claim.

HundKatzeMaus · Post by **HundKatzeMaus** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 6:08 am

You know first I was wondering why Jess from all people was reacting like that torwards the K9s and even locking everything down. Then I realised that is her character flaw, she tends to make small things bigger than they are, like when she got this house in the first place, talked about she couldn't take it cause her friends don't have such a luxury and had to be pointed out "You could share it with others"

I think this here is a similiar case.

I just hope Zach shows up and talks some sense to them or at least that this is just a basement and not an entry for some tunnels.

Argent · Post by **Argent** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 6:18 am

There could be anything down there! An old buried temple! Anything!

This way to the egress

Post by **SeanWolf** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 6:39 am

So we're finally going to see what's in the basement! Dibs on it being Karishand's private stash of Pun Books!

Nathan Kerbonaut · Post by **Nathan Kerbonaut** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 7:06 am

The tragedy continues... How much longer can this go on?! Poor Marion

NHWestoN · Post by **NHWestoN** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 8:17 am

First rule in all horror movies, Marion - DON'T GO IN THE BASEMENT!

Douglas Collier · Post by **Douglas Collier** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 9:16 am

The egress-o-tron - for when you want to avoid your problems but in so doing end up creating new problems for yourself.

Sir Chestnut · Post by **Sir Chestnut** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 10:17 am

I'm hoping to see some sort of Dungeon Adventure coming up. Jessica knows better than to leave Marion alone with Karishad, so I'd think she'd make Truck and Falstaff accompany him.

I wonder if Zach will wake up, wonder what's going on, and unwillingly get tossed into the mix somehow too.

dr_eirik · Post by **dr_eirik** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 10:21 am

I was thinking last night how remarkable that it is that we've been following Marion for months now, there have been only two filler strips since this started back at the end of April, and we actually don't know anything about what's really going on.

I think we all expected to get little clues here and there, and perhaps there will be some that will become obvious when we finally get a reveal, but Rick has really managed to keep Marion, and certainly by extension all of us, off-balance for this entire arc. He's managed to play with our expectations and keep things going. I'm beginning to think that we're going to get a massive reveal at some point. We are perhaps 1/3 to 1/2 way through this arc and Marion is still reacting. He's had no chance to even rest, much less look for answers.

At this point, it's like trying to read tea leaves to see where this story is going. Every major change of scene we've all thought that "This is it!" and we were all going to get answers. So far, it's never happened. I am hoping that the basement, or perhaps the speculated escape tunnel, leads to an answer. Karishad certainly lives down there, and who knows what he's stashed. I keep expecting Kitsune to pop in at some point. Does he know what's happening, or is he hanging just off panel to see how Marion is handling this before stepping in and keeping him from a heart attack? It would be amusing if Marion drops though the hole and straight into a dream sequence of Kitsunes design.

Ash Greytree · Post by **Ash Greytree** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 1:21 pm

dr_eirik wrote:I was thinking last night how remarkable that it is that we've been following Marion for months now, there have been only two filler strips since this started back at the end of April, and we actually don't know anything about what's really going on.

I think we all expected to get little clues here and there, and perhaps there will be some that will become obvious when we finally get a reveal, but Rick has really managed to keep Marion, and certainly by extension all of us, off-balance for this entire arc. He's managed to play with our expectations and keep things going. I'm beginning to think that we're going to get a massive reveal at some point. We are perhaps 1/3 to 1/2 way through this arc and Marion is still reacting. He's had no chance to even rest, much less look for answers.

I think what really has me invested in the story is that Marion is depicted as a wholly sympathetic character. Unlike King, we know next to nothing about his past or why he got transformed; just that he's a human who's been squirrelified at a critical point in his life (right before graduation) and has been enduring humiliation, minor (comedic and non-serious) injury here and there, and failure to get answers for nearly a day in in-comic time. He's been rolling with the punches remarkably well up to now, but with the brief interaction he had with Steward at the end of Part 2 and his "I just want to crawl into a hole and die" reaction here, it's clear that Marion's being worn down. I particularly empathize with Marion because I've been in similar "Looking for answers but everything and everyone feels like it's trying to stop you from getting them" situations multiple times before, with one particularly frustrating one last year as I was getting the run-around with frequent miscommunications, outdated information and what-not when all I wanted to do was get my education and life back on track.

One doesn't simply introduce a new character, give people reasons to sympathize with him, and make him go through all of what we've seen (and possibly even more) without some kind of big payoff, reward, or major respite for him. The kind of nonstop tragedy/comedy of errors that Marion's enduring has to all be for a reason and lead to brighter prospects for him; I just hope that the reason and brighter prospects are somewhat proportional to all that he's suffered through so far and will potentially suffer more of in the near-term future of his arc.

dr_eirik wrote:At this point, it's like trying to read tea leaves to see where this story is going. Every major change of scene we've all thought that "This is it!" and we were all going to get answers. So far, it's never happened. I am hoping that the basement, or perhaps the speculated escape tunnel, leads to an answer. Karishad certainly lives down there, and who knows what he's stashed. I keep expecting Kitsune to pop in at some point. Does he know what's happening, or is he hanging just off panel to see how Marion is handling this before stepping in and keeping him from a heart attack? It would be amusing if Marion drops though the hole and straight into a dream sequence of Kitsunes design.

Here's hoping that turnaround of fortunes is real close. Like I said, third time (or Part of the story, in this case) could be the charm. But if Part 3 is a curveball yet again and ends on a somber note like I talked about up above, with Marion being all on his lonesome again and at the end of his rope, I'd at least like for Kitsune to pop in and give Marion some snuggly company up in a tree while he's sleeping. Maybe bring back his bracelet-necklace if he lost it, curl up around the squirrel to keep him cozy and give some assurance to him (and moreover, the readers) that better times are right around the corner: "Don't worry, little guy. Things are going to turn around for you soon." Kitsune's a trickster and doesn't like to get involved unless necessary, but I feel like if there's any time he'd have a soft spot for anybody, it'd be with Marion reaching his lowest point.

shadowlucario50 · Post by **shadowlucario50** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 1:27 pm

I felt like having Marion just talk to them would make it easy, but Obbl made me realize that I was thinking wrong. Marion could be honest and the K9 would know how to handle it since some have experience, but he doesn't know their experiences. It would be a leap of faith if they believed him and, because of his practicality, he would probably seek out someone who did know before turning himself into the police.

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 1:46 pm

Are you sure its a good idea to hide Marion in Karishad's lair Jess since it was shown several times that Karishad is now having a craving for squirrel?

Cesco · Post by **Cesco** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 1:53 pm

Ok, Marion, you could not understand what's the reason of why the police is finding you... But, try to remember of the photo sent via chat to your girlfriend... Why aren't you able to think that the police is now finding that squirrel right because your girlfriend reported your missing to the police and showed them that photo?

You're too much confused and exhausted to get this, and so think that's the K9 unit who's visiting...

This mentality to run away from the police when you well know to haven't done anything bad, must stop, though.

If what you say it's true, Jessica...

Poor Marion again, now he has to hide in that manhole. That basement is Karishad's place and now he's there? Shouldn't be the worst thing ever right now.

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 1:59 pm

I'm hoping Jessica figured out that Karishad sees Marion as lunch and has him locked up somewhere so that he can't eat Marion.

Though I'm not sure locking up Karishad would actually work.

fenrirblack · Post by **fenrirblack** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 2:19 pm

Something to think about is if Marion isn't going to interact with Fox and Fido, then why have those two show up? Of all the K-9's those two show up to find him. The only two who know about magic and transformation. That tells me this could go into a number of different directions. Some of which I've mentioned before. But if Marion does leave and Fox and Fido search the treehouse and don't find anything, they leave and talk to Lois. Lois mentions the texts and the prank which again, I don't think she's told them about if they went to Jess's house instead of Sabrina's. Lois tells them about the "prank" and then they go talk to Tarot. Technically Tarot could use her divination powers to find Marion, I think. I mean her Crystal Slab thing should be able to do something useful.
Anyway, while this is happening Steward takes Marion to the Miltons because I feel like they need to have a role at some point. I've said it before but Marion's best chance at normalcy is with the ECP whether he likes it or not. Plus it would be a good way to get the greater plot moving and dive into Steward's scheme which is still an unknown. Having the police be after him would be a good excuse to propel Marion into the Milton's grip and to an extent Steward's.
Another way this could unfold is that Fox and Fido find Marion despite the escape attempt and lead to an awkward questioning that finally bares fruit and Marion gets the help he needs. The problem with this is the entire "lets hide in the basement" thing happening right now would be pointless unless it was it was solely for comic relief.
There are several other paths I can see this taking but we are missing one giant piece of the puzzle and that is Lois. Is she outside with Fox and Fido or not?

shadowlucario50 wrote:I felt like having Marion just talk to them would make it easy, but made me realize that I was thinking wrong. Marion could be honest and the K9 would know how to handle it since some have experience, but he doesn't know their experiences. It would be a leap of faith if they believed him and, because of his practicality, he would probably seek out someone who did know before turning himself into the police.

At this point if he did end up talking to them it would be less of a leap of faith and more of a breakdown. He's already come close to flat out screaming that he used to be human that was before the police were involved. If they did take him into questioning, then here's how I would expect it to go.

Fido: We want to ask you a few questions about this morning. There is a missing teenager by the name of Marion Ward, do you know him?
Marion makes a face
Marion: Yes. What is this about?
Fox: We have pictures sent from his phone of you. When was the last time you saw him?
Marion twitches nervously.
Fido: You're not in trouble but we need to know what you know.
Marion: There is a reason I was in that house but it will sound crazy
Fox: Kid, you have no idea what crazy is. Try us.
Marion: I am Marion. I just woke up like this. I don't know why or how but I am Marion. I don't know what else to tell you.
Fox: Can you excuse us for a second?
Fox and Fido leave the room.
Fox: I think we need to call Sabrina and Tarot.

I will admit there is no good excuse or lie Marion can tell them that would convince them that he wouldn't know what happened to "Marion" aside from going along with the idea that it was a "joke" and that after the picture was taken he left the house and whatever happened to "Marion" after that is a mystery. He will sound a like lunatic by telling the truth but he's kinda stuck between the truth and an obvious lie. They have evidence that puts him at the scene of the "crime." It boils down to Fox and Fido's treatment and how they handle him. If they can convince him that they aren't going to do something to him and act friendly maybe Marion will be more willing to be honest despite how crazy it sounds. Again they are the only two who would believe him at this point besides Steward who were trying to escape from.

trekkie · Post by **trekkie** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 3:13 pm

Amazee Dayzee wrote:Are you sure its a good idea to hide Marion in Karishad's lair Jess since it was shown several times that Karishad is now having a craving for squirrel?

Jess has a rule against predation in her house, so hopefully Marion will be safe even if Kari is down there.

https://www.housepetscomic.com/comic/20 ... 6/jarhead/

Post by **D-Rock** » Sat Jul 27, 2019 12:49 am

fenrirblack wrote:Something to think about is if Marion isn't going to interact with Fox and Fido, then why have those two show up? Of all the K-9's those two show up to find him. The only two who know about magic and transformation.

Red herring?

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Sat Jul 27, 2019 1:32 am

I don't think that Rick would be that cruel. I think that Fox and Fido might eventually have something to do with Marion but it will later rather than sooner.

Buster · Post by **Buster** » Sat Jul 27, 2019 7:33 am

fenrirblack wrote:Something to think about is if Marion isn't going to interact with Fox and Fido, then why have those two show up? Of all the K-9's those two show up to find him. The only two who know about magic and transformation.

Amazee Dayzee wrote:I don't think that Rick would be that cruel. I think that Fox and Fido might eventually have something to do with Marion but it will later rather than sooner.

once again i refer to the teasing of grapenut shippers with red herrings and throw-away scenes, that went on for YEARS before we got confirmation that, yes, they are actually juggling that relationship on top of their other two. it's not just us reading too much into odd hints.

likewise kings storyline could have been satisfactorily completed in 2-3 arcs but instead it spans nearly half of the comic's run.

he seems to like dragging things out if he can get away with it.

NHWestoN · Post by **NHWestoN** » Sat Jul 27, 2019 12:17 pm

shadowlucario50 wrote:I felt like having Marion just talk to them would make it easy, but Obbl made me realize that I was thinking wrong. Marion could be honest and the K9 would know how to handle it since some have experience, but he doesn't know their experiences. It would be a leap of faith if they believed him and, because of his practicality, he would probably seek out someone who did know before turning himself into the police.

You know, a while back, one of our fans remarked on the absence of Spo. Now, he's a snarky little guy, I realize, but in this situation, he might actually be helpful. Just one component of Marion's anxieties is he's surrounded by giants; everyone towers over him. Having someone like Spo, who is more Marion's size, might be comforting and helpful. Or …… not …….

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Sat Jul 27, 2019 2:26 pm

I honestly don't think that Spo would be of any help at all here and would probably just sneer at Marion's claims and write him off as a nut job.

dr_eirik · Post by **dr_eirik** » Sat Jul 27, 2019 7:15 pm

Buster wrote: once again i refer to the teasing of grapenut shippers with red herrings and throw-away scenes, that went on for YEARS before we got confirmation that, yes, they are actually juggling that relationship on top of their other two. it's not just us reading too much into odd hints.

likewise kings storyline could have been satisfactorily completed in 2-3 arcs but instead it spans nearly half of the comic's run.

he seems to like dragging things out if he can get away with it.

I dont doubt that things can drag out, but with the King arcs, we tended to get bits of the story organically over a long period of time. It was never a mystery who transformed him, it was Pete. We eventually found out about the game and all those details little by little, with a lot of breaks. Likewise, any relationship between Grape and Peanut had bits and pieces dropped almost from the beginning.

This arc is not, so far, coming out the same. We dont know anything at all. I cant imagine we will have to wait two years to find out what is going on. I'm not saying we need everything laid out, Rick really doesn't generally just dump all the exposition like that. I just hope hes not going to wander to a new arc without telling us something. I'm not sure my brain could take that!

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Sat Jul 27, 2019 10:08 pm

I'm pretty sure within the next few months and not years we will find out something else about the arc soon.

Ash Greytree · Post by **Ash Greytree** » Sun Jul 28, 2019 2:40 am

Been thinking for a bit about how Steward found Marion’s name to be interesting. I still think that the odds of Lois’ full name being Lois Steward are reasonably high, with our badger Herman Steward (it’s tough remembering that Steward is his last name, isn’t it?) being her father. It would make for an interesting twist and serve to involve Lois more heavily in the story. A “chance” encounter between the badger and Lois could happen later in this arc, maybe as Lois gets home. He could be sitting in the living room after having found the house key where their family usually hides it outside or something, flipping the coin with his badger claws (seriously, how much did he have to practice to be able to do that with his new hands?), having waited for her to get back.

trekkie · Post by **trekkie** » Sun Jul 28, 2019 6:53 am

I like your theory. I’ve thought , ever since we learned that Marion’s last name was Ward, that having a character named Ward and a character named Steward was more than a coincidence. Having Herman Steward be related to Lois, might also be a way for Steward to transform Lois, if that is indeed what is going to happen.