Given that there really isn’t much on Fiddler and Keys, they’ll be first:
1) Fiddler and Keys first appear here, providing music - via fiddle and a portable electronic keyboard - for the Yarn Ball.
2) They've got a miniature keyboard and fiddle for tags respectively.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2008/12/ ... he-ritz-2/
3) Fiddler appears at the bookstore waiting for the Pridelands release. Presumably he or she is a fan.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/03/ ... cat-again/
4) Keys appears to talk with Fox. He or She appears to be tolerably well informed about Henry Milton, his construction of Babylon Gardens, and the fact that the ferrets have been left far, far, too much money.
Inference: While Keys is, of course, simply providing some exposition here, it's likely that the character simply pays more attention to the human news than most of the pets do.
Note: Fox evidently moved in some time after Babylon Gardens was underway, although possibly still rather early.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/07/ ... ngs-first/
5) Fiddler and Keys appear to be out to eat together. It's probably a date, if a somewhat troubled one considering that the "You're suffocating me" line pops up after an inquiry as to what Keys is having - and that doesn't seem to fit in with two friends having a night out.
Note: Their collars don't match. This is a very slight argument against them belonging to the same owner, but not much of one.
Note: I personally get the impression that Fiddler is female and Keys is male, but there really aren't that many clues.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/08/ ... kill-cafe/
6) From the cast page: "A cat duo who play the insturments they’re named after. This is likely due to an aggressive push by their owners to have musical cats".
Inference: When the author says that something is "likely", it picks up a certain weight - barring something being hidden for plot reasons. It’s possible (along with a thousand other unlikely scenarios) that Fiddler and Keys are, in fact, the representatives of the Seelie Court, present in Babylon Gardens to keep an eye on the Ancient Temple, and Rick is simply concealing that fact so it can be a surprise later. It doesn’t seem at all likely.
Possible Backstory for Fiddler and Keys:
Uhm... Well, there’s nothing much to explain...
They’re cats, their owners wanted to have musical cats, and pushed them to learn to play. Keys is (possibly) male and takes an interest in the history of the neighborhood and what the humans are up to. Fiddler is (possibly) female and is a fan of the Pridelands series. They sometimes go out on dates*, but seem to have trouble with their relationship outside of music.
- *If they both belong to the same family, some of the readers may have objections to them dating based on their status as semi-siblings. This seems unlikely to apply in the housepets universe however, since most animal breeders through history have owned both the animals in question.
We do have a bit more on the Raccoons, since they’ve been major characters in at least one arc - even if it was a relatively short one.
1) The raccoons - despite speaking excellent English - aren't actually very familiar with human culture; they know that there's supposed to be food in the pantry, but don't understand cans or know about can openers.
2) The raccoons are used to raiding human trash for food.
3) The raccoons are used to looking for cat (and presumably dog) food.
Inference: Given the search for cat food, and by the fact that dog kibble shows up at Fido's welcome-home party, I’d presume that dry cat and dog food are commonly kept around as basic supplies - even though the pets eat a lot of other things - in about the same way that most people have a jar of peanut butter around the house.
Sub-inference: The dry cat and dog food are probably pretty good, given that the pets can tell the researchers (and their “parentsâ€) which ones they like better and why.
Inference: Judging by the Raccoons knocking things over despite their attempt to be silent, and by Grape's turning on the light, neither the housepets raccoons nor the housepets cats have very good night vision. The usual rule of visual storytelling - “the audience has to be able to see what’s going on†- applies.
Inference: The raccoons are afraid of humans and their pets.
Note: The raccoons look - at least to me - scrawny and underfed next to Grape.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2008/08/11/dont-shoot/
4) The raccoons are, again apparently frightened of Grape - despite outnumbering her two to one. They do look more equivalent in this strip than in the last one however.
5) One of the raccoons attempts to intimidate Grape, who apparently doesn’t find the performance very convincing.
Inference: The other raccoon probably doesn’t think that intimidation attempts are going to work. His or her expression might indicate that as well, but that’s quite subjective.
Note: Real raccoons are, on the average, substantially larger and heavier than real housecats. The heaviest recorded wild raccoon weighed better than sixty pounds, although the vast majority are under thirty. Raccoons are also noted for undoing fastenings and opening a variety of locks, turning doorknobs, breaking into birdfeeders, unscrewing wingnuts, popping open snap-buckles, and similar feats, as well as remembering the solutions to problems up to at least three years later. I almost hate to think of what fully sapient raccoons, with thumbs, would get up to.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2008/08/13/stick-em-up/
8) Grape is pretty sure the raccoons will be back thanks to her owners poor security measures.
Inference: Given that the raccoons were hunting for food, evidently they’re often going hungry. That might account for the “scrawny and underfed†impression.
Inference: Both of the raccoons left in good enough shape to come back - unless Grape is simply talking about raccoons or wildlife as a general group.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2008/08/15/a-minor-flaw/
9) A raccoon is very pleased to get what is apparently a Christmas present from Daisy.
Inference: This raccoon may be pleased to get some friendly attention from anyone, and winter is probably a hungry time for him or her, just as it is for real raccoons.
Inference: It's possible that the raccoons (or this raccoon) are friends of Daisies, or she might just be giving gifts at random.
Note: Only one raccoon appears here. Hopefully it's just that the other one is not around at the moment or didn’t fit into the single panel.
Note: It's vaguely possibly that the bag is not a gift at all, or not for the raccoons, or it could even be some sort of booby-trap - but given the tone, and what little we have on Daisy, that sort of thing doesn't seem very likely.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2008/12/ ... s-edition/
10) Our "Masked Bandit" is still burglarizing houses in search of trash.
Inference: Raccoons aren't good at organizing long-term projects either, or they could probably set up a deal to sort the garbage for recycling and get plenty of food. Personally, I’d hope that the Ferrets offer to hire the raccoons for such tasks; they’d be far cheaper than regular workers.
Note: Anti-rabies efforts often include the distribution of oral vaccines to wildlife through baits. While this is designed to reduce the occurrence of rabies in the wild to reduce its danger to humans, similar programs and public-health measures may offer substantial benefits to ferals who learn the local human language and cooperate to some extent with humans.
11) Our raccoon seems to be even more frightened of humans and their pets - including Zachary - than it was before.
Note: Trembling (judging by the motion lines) with fear over being confronted with a depressed rabbit is kind of sad - and we're still seeing only one raccoon. This might indicate that something unpleasant has happened to the other one.
Note: Captive raccoons can live for up to twenty years (or even longer in the Housepets universe if the increased lifespans for pets apply to them as well) while the average lifespan for wild raccoons is under three.
12) Our raccoon is willing to serve as a tour guide to the feral world in exchange for some food from the trash. Evidently he or she is pretty hungry.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/11/ ... reciation/
13) The raccoon is actually a pretty good tour guide - introducing Zachary to various forest creatures and showing him the "mysterious ancient temple".
14) According to the raccoon’s speech about the ancient temple "Legend says it contains the power to equalize all beings and instigate a new golden age but it's been sealed for thousands of years and nobody can decipher the inscription and solve it's mystical lock".
Note: To toss in with the other theories on the nature of the Ancient Temple and how a simple "open" button could go undiscovered for so long (over in the section on Pete), I'll add a one more random possibility - "the raccoon is, in classic tour-guide fashion, exaggerating the spiel a great deal in an attempt to make an exotic or unexpected item even more interesting and exciting".
15) The other ferals do seem enthused about seeing it open. The "All hail the opener of ways!" bit is suggestive.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/11/ ... done-that/
16) Our raccoon is excited enough to try stop Grape and Peanut from entering the ancient temple - but immediately gives in when Grape threatens him or her.
17) The ferals don't seem to approve of "subjugation to the humans".
(Wild) Speculation: We've been informed that the talking animals are natural to the housepets world. Perhaps the humans aren't, and that's how they wound up in charge; they arrived with major edges already in place.
18) Peanut seems a bit confused to be confronted by a raccoon; evidently this isn't normal raccoon behavior.
Inference: Judging by the "please don't hurt me", the threatening raccoon back in the raccoon arc may simply have been too excited to think about the possible consequences of confronting Grape and Peanut - or didn’t see any alternative.
Note: We haven’t seen a raccoon again since this strip. Fortunately for said raccoon, he or she is too large to share the fate of Karl-Lenin Faust.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/11/ ... hall-pass/
Possible backstory for the Raccoons:
Once again, there isn’t much to explain: the raccoons are simply wild raccoons, born in the area. The fact that humans have been building on it, instead of leaving it as a wooded estate, doesn’t make it any less their home.
It does mean that there’s less food available from the land, making for hungry raccoons.
Fortunately, humans throw away huge amounts of food.
Unfortunately, humans tend to see raccoons as messy, meddlesome, potential disease-carriers, and don’t want to let them have that food. Thus the raccoon-proof garbage cans and the tendency for the cats and dogs to chase the raccoons away. It’s even worse when the humans get involved actively; then the traps, poisons, and guns come out. Swiping food from the humans has turned out to be pretty dangerous in the long run (and may account for why we’re now seeing only one raccoon instead of the original pair).
Still, raccoons are more than clever enough to be looking for a better way to survive.
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Replies
For Dissension:
Well, corrections, notes, and alternative theories are always welcome! I have been intending to add pictures with later rounds of updates - and as I get a little more familiar with bulletin board code.
For ndigit:
On Marvin, Oh yes, I'd assume that he gets out some - but I'd guess that he'd get out a lot more if it wasn't for Tiger.
There are some additional theories about the "Mysterious Ancient Temple" under Pete's entry - but I suspect that Rick, as a gamer, has has a pretty good idea of how magic works in the housepets universe. I wouldn't bet on buttons implying technology though.
Zachary might indeed be the "chosen one", although that leaves open the question of "why send dreams to Grape?". For another quick theory, perhaps it's the classic "impossible fate" gag: "No creature of civilization, nor of the wilds, may open the way!". Ergo, Pete guesses that cats - since they may live with humans, but spend a lot of time in the wilds - may fit the terms, and so tries to manipulate Grape (the closest receptive cat). In actuality, of course, it turns out that Zachary - who has spent all his time with human civilization, but is considering rejecting it, and now stands upon the threshold of the wilds, belonging to neither - is a much better fit.
Still too many possibilities. I'll have to put that one in with the rest of the "pending more information" pile.
For Frank:
Ah; "says politically incorrect things" versus "is inherently politically incorrect". I just didn't see what you meant since I tend to take “politically incorrect†to mean “things that are factually accurate but which are considered socially inexpedient to stateâ€. After all, if they were simply wrong, they’d simply be incorrect.
Zach is stated to have grown up in a pet shop on the cast page, so I'd assume that he;'s familiar with switches, buttons, and so on. (Hm. I could just see a "Pet Shop" that's theoretically owned by some elderly or disinterested human being run by the occupants more-or-less as a co-op adoption agency/temporary agency). It's just that - having watched the ongoing battle of raccoons versus birdfeeders and "raccoon-proof" garbage cans - I would still guess that there's something more to it than "push the button".
I wouldn't suggest looking to movies as sources for mechanics (personally, I'd suggest "The Ancient Engineers" by L. Sprague de Camp for a good survey of historical engineering, although it is a bit dated in spots, or spending some time over at The Archimedes Project: http://archimedes2.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/ ... roject.htm - although I'd point out that, over a few centuries, ropes unravel and break, metals corrode, bend, and bind, wood decays, lubricants evaporate and decay, dust, sand, the detritus left by living organisms, and other impediments accumulate, and pits - needed to let weights descend - tend to fill. Offhand, I can't recall an ancient mechanism much more complex than a deadfall or hand quern actually being found in working order.
And that “thing†is indeed a typo: I'll be fixing that now. Thanks for the proofreading, and I'm glad you find this interesting!
For Rocketstar Raccoon
Miles might well have associated with a park ranger - however, wolves range quite widely. This is the basic cause of conflicts with ranchers and such; if the wolves remained quietly in parks, the local ranchers would not care. In the Housepets universe, where wolves can intelligently avoid conflicts with humans, there’s good reason to expect them to be considerably more widely distributed than in reality. Thus the nature of that hypothetical association was unspecified.
Now, the hierarchal pack structure models are mostly based on observations of wolf behavior in captivity, and hence under unnatural conditions. However, the observation that most wild packs support only a single breeding pair (a secondary pair sometimes breeds in exceptionally good years) appears to be reasonably accurate, and that is the fundamental basis of assigning dominant status to particular individuals. In areas where food is abundant, life is easy, and territory is available, wolves will tend to split up into individual pairs and raise their own families. Where larger packs are required for effective hunting or holding a hunting territory, you tend to get “nuclear family†groups first (where the parents maintain dominance until the pups disperse as they reach sexual maturity).
As stress increases, and larger packs become necessary, dominance behavior becomes exaggerated. In evolutionary terms, this can be expected because the group now includes competition from less-closely related genetic combinations. Dominance behaviors also become more significant when the pack leader/breeding pair position opens and the remaining wolves in the pack attempt to claim it (individuals that did not attempt to exploit such opportunities will pass on their genes less often, and so such tendencies are selected against). The Alpha -> Omega model is indeed an oversimplification, and generally only applicable in cases where packs involve more than a nuclear family - however, we know this to be the case; Mile’s pack contains at least two of his brothers, yet only he and his mate seem to have produced pups.
As for the extent of Rick’s examination of his world, we do know that the first strip went up a year and a half ago, and that he’s been thinking about it since 2006 (per the “About†page). We also know that he’s provided thoughtful answers on the question threads, the he has a penchant for planning events well in advance (such as Grape’s revelation that she was female), and that he’s writing the strip (which, for most authors, means having motivations and backstory in mind for pretty much all the major characters). We also know that he’s a gamer - and gamers usually give a good deal of attention to their world backgrounds as a matter of course.
Personally, I’d also have to say he’s a very good storyteller - which usually means thinking a lot of things through, whether consciously or not. Personally I’d expect that even casual thought about the strip over a multi-year period would go into considerably more detail than I throw together in couple of spare hours. There are three major possibilities: (1) That Rick hasn’t given much thought to anything except making an entertaining strip. (2) That Rick has considered his world and characters throughly, if only subconsciously, in order to make his strips hang together. And (3) That Rick has given his world a good deal of thought - either intentionally or while thinking about strips and answering questions - over the past four years. Personally, I’d say that the evidence suggests some variant of (2) or (3).
In any case, for the purposes of this thread, it doesn't matter: the analysis here is simply recreational anyway.
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