2019/12/13 - Pressing Buttons

[Dissension]

[ Presssing Buttons ]

Title Text: that's not an elevator button you know

Is that what some people might call "A Clue?" What constitutes a clue, anyway? Is this source credible? Why trust a trickster?

[dr_eirik]

Ok... I'm even more confused. At least the boop is cute.

[D-Rock]

Will someone take the wheel here?!

[Gbr23]

Welp... so far this visit has proven to be useless.

Well they know they were deliberately cursed... which already kinda knew

[Champion Wallace]

A boop! It's about time; Marion deserved it with how adorable he is as a squirrel.

Well they know they were deliberately cursed... which already kinda knew

Depends on if they make the connection to what Keene said. For us the audience, this is important because it eliminates sorcery and narrows the who down to Steward or someone else with a coin.

[Sir Chestnut]

Ok, sounds like a coin is involved.

BTW am I the only that thinks the boop is a reference to the ending of Dogma?

[LunarFox]

So it was the coin, wasn't it...? I feel like Steward's the obvious answer, but I know Rick, so I don't know...
Kitsune's quoting Matthew 23:17, for anybody wondering.

Kitsune says it was the gold,
That at least had been foretold.
What we've yet to discover, though,
Is who left them with this row to hoe.

I feel like the badger's just a red herring,
And they're both just grin-and-bearing,
Trust the fox's answers, though you doubt,
He'll trick, not lie, so don't you pout.

Kitsune quotes from the scripture,
Though he won't tell them, we get the picture,
It was a coin that did both of them in,
So who comes out of this with the win?

That's a question for another day,
'Cause for right now, the truth's still gray.

[Welsh Halfwit]

Don’t beg, oh so boopable one,
Kitsune never approves it;
he’s used to dealing with great jerks
like Dragon and her brother, the twit.
He wants you to find it yourself
so you can feel accomplishment;
so, even if you can’t go back,
you just might feel a bit content.
Kit here quotes from Matthew
as he tries to show them the truth
forgetting, of course that they both
still have the impatience of youth.

[Nobody]

Ok... I'm even more confused.

Okay, had to dig up the context of the quote to get it. It's deliberately misleading because without the full context of the quote, the structure of the answer appears to suggest the opposite. Here is the full quote (Mathew 23: 16-20):
"16 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it."
So, what he's saying is the cause of the curse is the gold, not the temple itself. Anything that was in the temple contains vestiges of its power.

[fenrirblack]

The temple made the gold scared and Pete was the one who cursed the gold for Henry Milton. The power of the temple comes from the followers and the forest ferals worship the temple. So its really Custom Ink and the cult behind all of this? That doesn't make any sense. Clearly Kitsune is telling us that the temple is still connected to all of this. Be it the coins or something else.

Kitsune is the king of invading personal space.

[Char89Charizard]

Ok... I'm even more confused.

Okay, had to dig up the context of the quote to get it. It's deliberately misleading because without the full context of the quote, the structure of the answer appears to suggest the opposite. Here is the full quote:
"17. You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred? 18. And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath."
So, what he's saying is the cause of the curse is the gold, not the temple.

It's true. Steward got turned into a badger after Thomas gave him the cursed coin, in case you all forgotten.

[Dissension]

Kitsune is the king of invading personal space.

He's already everywhere anyway.

[andwhyisit]

The bird in the distance after Lois transformed was probably Trinket.

[fenrirblack]

Ok... I'm even more confused.

Okay, had to dig up the context of the quote to get it. It's deliberately misleading because without the full context of the quote, the structure of the answer appears to suggest the opposite. Here is the full quote (Mathew 23: 16-20):
"16 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it."
So, what he's saying is the cause of the curse is the gold, not the temple itself. Anything that was in the temple contains vestiges of its power.

If what you're saying is accurate then if someone took something out of the temple it would have a power unto itself. Not to mention there was a lot more than just coins in that room. Keene may not have been willing to take anything out but someone else might have. Actually he did take a lot out. So anyone of those things could have magic powers.

[Champion Wallace]

The temple made the gold scared and Pete was the one who cursed the gold for Henry Milton. The power of the temple comes from the followers and the forest ferals worship the temple. So its really Custom Ink and the cult behind all of this? That doesn't make any sense. Clearly Kitsune is telling us that the temple is still connected to all of this. Be it the coins or something else.

Irrespective of the source material, I think Great Kitsune is trying to say the opposite, that the temple is no longer connected to all of this but the cursed coin doesn't need the temple to function now that it's been imbued.

Kitsune is the king of invading personal space.

Especially King's personal space.

[Sir Chestnut]

Karishad has been seen playing with a coin on multiple occasions.

[Nobody]

Ok... I'm even more confused.

Okay, had to dig up the context of the quote to get it. It's deliberately misleading because without the full context of the quote, the structure of the answer appears to suggest the opposite. Here is the full quote (Mathew 23: 16-20):
"16 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it."
So, what he's saying is the cause of the curse is the gold, not the temple itself. Anything that was in the temple contains vestiges of its power.

If what you're saying is accurate then if someone took something out of the temple it would have a power unto itself. Not to mention there was a lot more than just coins in that room. Keene may not have been willing to take anything out but someone else might have. Actually he did take a lot out. So anyone of those things could have magic powers.

Certainly the scroll did. Or at least the words on the scroll.

Karishad has been seen playing with a coin on multiple occasions.

Can you provide a link? Or at least an arc that this was in to help me find what you're referencing? Because I can't find any references to Karishad with a coin. I've found lots of them with Cory flipping a coin though.

OH! Cory and Trinket teaming up with Steward in the biggest long-con the skunk has ever been involved in.

[Welsh Halfwit]

Wasn't that a piece of Mana Karishad had?

[fenrirblack]

Certainly the scroll did. Or at least the words on the scroll.

Here's a theory. Sticking with Lana here, she reads one of the scrolls and POOF Marion wakes up a squirrel. It wasn't intentional or devious, it just happened without anyone realizing it. Marion tells King who tells Keene who tells Lana who is like Whoopsie but got an idea. An awful idea. The ferret got a wonderful, awful idea. Use the scroll or whatever to keep transforming people into animals. Maybe figure out how to work it so it targets someone specifically. Lois is talking Thomas, can't have that, pull out scroll and cast it. Keep using it to get people to join the ECP. The ferals don't want to but the humans were all for it.

[Ash Greytree]

Trying to parse what he's saying... He could be telling them to either look for the gold, or go to the ruins of the temple where they could find clues. Both of those would likely lead them to Steward. But what throws me off is how Kitsune says "It's not gonna help with what you really need~". Kitsune could just mean that simply telling them that it's Steward would deprive them of a necessary journey of self-discovery as they try to track down the culprit. Of course there's also a much less likely meaning behind it that could be "What you really need is your fuzzy self, right here. Boop!" He could be telling Marion and Lois in his own way that they shouldn't sweat their new animal forms because, by the end of it, they'll come to find that they actually like their animal forms and will want to keep them.

A lot of what Kitsune's been saying these last few pages sounds like "Being human is overrated and not the only thing that matters; Embrace this fuzziness for however long it lasts!" and I think that would be a pretty neat theme to go with for Lois & Marion's story.

[Nobody]

Trying to parse what he's saying... He could be telling them to either look for the gold, or go to the ruins of the temple where they could find clues. Both of those would likely lead them to Steward. But what throws me off is how Kitsune says "It's not gonna help with what you really need~". Kitsune could just mean that simply telling them that it's Steward would deprive them of a necessary journey of self-discovery as they try to track down the culprit. Of course there's also a much less likely meaning behind it that could be "What you really need is your fuzzy self, right here. Boop!" He could be telling Marion and Lois in his own way that they shouldn't sweat their new animal forms because, by the end of it, they'll come to find that they actually like their animal forms and will want to keep them.

A lot of what Kitsune's been saying these last few pages sounds like "Being human is overrated and not the only thing that matters; Embrace this fuzziness for however long it lasts!" and I think that would be a pretty neat theme to go with for Lois & Marion's story.

I don't know if they'll necessarily want to keep their animal forms, but the journey of self-discovery could certainly teach them a few things that will be good for their life as a whole. Also, this experience is giving them something that few people in the world can honestly say they get to have: AN ADVENCHA!!!

Also, Kitsune is implying that he's a friend of Jesus. If he's not just talking out his . . . er . . . tails, then this raises so many questions.

[Sir Chestnut]

Can you provide a link? Or at least an arc that this was in to help me find what you're referencing? Because I can't find any references to Karishad with a coin. I've found lots of them with Cory flipping a coin though.

OH! Cory and Trinket teaming up with Steward in the biggest long-con the skunk has ever been involved in.

During the 5000bc arc, although I think he had it on one other occasion.


I've been wondering if Cory and Trinket swiped it from him right before they got the credit card. Seems like Trinket might be implying something.

[Welsh Halfwit]

That's a piece of Mana, Chestnut.

[tych]

okay forgive me for being the stupid one but what is the quote Kitsune used from?

[NHWestoN]

okay forgive me for being the stupid one but what is the quote Kitsune used from?

Matthew 23:16-19. GK has friends in high places - is he sending our friends on a quest to low places where not one stone remains on top of another? Back to Karishad's basement or the Hermit's backdoor?

Tune in Moonday!

[RacingCheetahz]

So I'm guessing Lois has some Christian Fanatics in her family somewhere, potentially herself at some point in the past which she now regrets, as she says she had gotten Mental Whiplash from the bible quote.

[Ash Greytree]

So I'm guessing Lois has some Christian Fanatics in her family somewhere, potentially herself at some point in the past which she now regrets, as she says she had gotten Mental Whiplash from the bible quote.

That's a good point. Maybe this is what leads to Lois & Marion living in the new ECP boarding house: Her family won't accept her for what she's turned into, and Marion decides to move in alongside her in solidarity.

[VeryAngryDeer]

So I'm guessing Lois has some Christian Fanatics in her family somewhere, potentially herself at some point in the past which she now regrets, as she says she had gotten Mental Whiplash from the bible quote.

Or its just really weird that a kitsune is quoting an Abrrahamic text. The Celestials in Housepets are a weird mix of religions, but from the human perspective, we tend to assume that only one of them can be true (or at best that some religions areclose enough for both to be true in part.) GK's invoking some cognitive dissonance.

[Silly Zealot]

So, what he's saying is the cause of the curse is the gold, not the temple itself. Anything that was in the temple contains vestiges of its power.

Honestly, I interpreted it quite differently.

This is what I gather from the last panel.

1) The energy from the temple may or may not have been let lose onto the world after its destruction and letting people use it to cast spells and curses.
2) Kitsune somehow managed to be friends with Pete and Jesus at the same time. Guy really gets around, apparently.
3) Lois sees the entire Whiplash movie in her head whenever someone quotes religious texts, for some reason.

So yes: magic is loose around the neighbourhood, Kitsune has connections everywhere, and Lois can't attend Sunday school without seeing mental images of a guy who simply wanted to learn to play the drums get verbally abused by his teacher.

[Argent]

What I said, the gold is still there, what was it, 11 billion dollars worth of cursed gold. It was cursed in and of itself, not part of the general temple shenanigans, because it needed a permanent curse to satisfy Henry Milton's requirements.

This is going to be harder to dispose of than nuclear waste.

Kitsune is the king of invading personal space.

He's already everywhere anyway.

He sees you in the litter-box!

[Welsh Halfwit]

What I said, the gold is still there, what was it, 11 billion dollars worth of cursed gold. It was cursed in and of itself, not part of the general temple shenanigans, because it needed a permanent curse to satisfy Henry Milton's requirements.

This is going to be harder to dispose of than nuclear waste.

Kitsune is the king of invading personal space.

He's already everywhere anyway.

He sees you in the litter-box!

He noes when yore awayke...
((Sorry about Leslie singing...))

[VeryAngryDeer]

This is going to be harder to dispose of than nuclear waste.

The hard part would be ensuring none of the treasure gets stolen during cleanup operations.

Since the curse only affects humans, animals could safely be used to handle the treasure. Imagine how simple disposing of nuclear waste would be if there were sapient beings available who were immune to radiation.

[Welsh Halfwit]

Imagine how simple disposing of nuclear waste would be if there were sapient beings available who were immune to radiation.

Would they be servants or overlords? Immunity is a powerful weapon, y'know?

[TheOne]

As a sort of Bible scholar, allow me to weigh in on this.

Kitsune quoted this:
Matthew 23:17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?

The answer isn't obvious at first glance. The temple is greater; however, even the temple itself has no power without God. It was God's presence within the Hebrew temple that made the Hebrew temple a holy place. So, without God, the temple is nothing, and by extension, the gold is nothing.

By extension, in the comic, the demigod of the temple, Pete, is gone. If Bible principle was followed, Pete's absence would nullify the "specialness," so to speak, of the temple and the gold. However, this comic doesn't follow Bible principles. That means it's possible that even without Pete's presence, there may be some after-image of him still around, or something. Perhaps that after-image is still powering up the gold, or perhaps the curse (on the gold) is still somehow valid, despite Pete being gone.

Regardless, Kitsune is still a prankster, so I wouldn't put much weight in his words.

[VeryAngryDeer]

Imagine how simple disposing of nuclear waste would be if there were sapient beings available who were immune to radiation.

Would they be servants or overlords? Immunity is a powerful weapon, y'know?

Immunity to radiation? They'd be the overlords in a Fallout-style post-WW3 apocalyptic wasteland.

In a normal situation though... they'd probably just have hiring priority at nuclear facilities and hospital X-ray departments, and as high-altitude jet pilots. Maybe they'd be used as assassins by carrying around highly radioactive materials near targets. But radiation wasn't important for much of human history, so I don't think it would affect much.

We might still be making glow-in-the-dark watches, I guess.

[Silly Zealot]

So I'm guessing Lois has some Christian Fanatics in her family somewhere, potentially herself at some point in the past which she now regrets, as she says she had gotten Mental Whiplash from the bible quote.

I don't know, some people are just never introduced to religion until after their childhood and by then they've grown skeptical.


ALTERNATIVELY
Lois is secretly Fidel Castro's long lost daughter, who will one day return to Cuba to rule over her rightful heritage.

Maybe this is what leads to Lois & Marion living in the new ECP boarding house: Her family won't accept her for what she's turned into, and Marion decides to move in alongside her in solidarity.

We are not going to persecute the mutants!
What do you think this is? Judge Dredd?

This is going to be harder to dispose of than nuclear waste.

We can just get one of those guys that cause magic artifacts to not work by just being near them, maybe.

[Argent]

This is going to be harder to dispose of than nuclear waste.

The hard part would be ensuring none of the treasure gets stolen during cleanup operations.

Indeed, how do you ensure the animals you hire are loyal and unimaginative but capable of following directions well enough to keep the site secure? Think of all the factions that will want to get their hands on the gold if they found out about it, from the church of the Opener to the likes of Cory and Trinket...

[SeanWolf]

I find it interesting that Kitsune quotes the Book Of Matthew here as I think this is the first time the Bible itself is mentioned (or at least referenced to) in the comic. Also, the boop of Marion's nose was cute...though I'm pretty sure we're still owed one of Kitsunes

[Startrekfan47]

Why doesn't GK just refer to that "mission Impossible" episode when the IMForce thought Hitler's gold was in a cemetery tomb and it turned out (Spoiler Alert) the tomb WAS the gold?


I'm still holding to GK's "Don't tug the tails unless you like curses" as the key, curses referring to the curse they already have.FWIW.

[FireworkFox]

Wait... does this mean Kitsune is friends with Jesus Christ?