2018/07/23 - Cave Of Wonders

[D-Rock]

[2018/07/23 - Cave Of Wonders]
Title Text: this is the cougar pit, huh, I figured there'd be more leftover bones down here
*burp*

Ah, dinner first. I sense a new ship! "Dale!"

[Saturn381]

You do know there’s a 99% chance and you’re going to be the dinner l, right Other Daryl?

[fenrirblack]

And now we know. So instead of rolling Other Daryl away she just promised him food. Interesting.

Oh, has anyone seen S8E11 of “How I met your mother”? It was literally the first thing I thought of. “...It’s driven you crazy enough to throw them a pit in your basement like in The Silence of the Lambs.”

I feel like we should be concerned now.

[Gbr23]

Oh you’re not weak Other Daryl! I mean... you are, but your love for food is strong!

[Champion Wallace]

Not that there was ever much doubt given the nature of Housepets!, but it's nice to have confirmation Gale is keeping the wolfs alive and unharmed. As a wild animal, where did Gale get the rope?

[Welsh Halfwit]

Daryl hat comes to with the other
trapped forlornly in a pit.
She didn’t have enough rope for his brother
so she bribed him a little bit.
She knew his weakest points, you see?
She knew he loves his food
So she promised junk snacks and grocery
and got him in compliant mood.
The hat’s going to be mad, I think,
not at himself but at his larger twin.
In the arguments will start to slink;
especially if other Wolves drop in.

Not that there was ever much doubt given the nature of Housepets!, but it's nice to have confirmation Gale is keeping the wolfs alive and unharmed. As a wild animal, where did Gale get the rope?

One day she met some hikers. Then they didn't need their survival gear any more...

[NHWestoN]

A complex repertoire of devious strategies, eh? Let's see what Gale devises to ensnare the others......

[fenrirblack]

As a wild animal, where did Gale get the rope?

How do we know it’s rope?

Oh, has anyone seen S8E11 of “How I met your mother”? It was literally the first thing I thought of. “...It’s driven you crazy enough to throw them a pit in your basement like in The Silence of the Lambs.”

And fun fact, the creepy character in this episode was also named Daryl.

[Tappy Too]

Gah! The Daryls are so precious it hurts sometimes-

Also, how did Gale so effortlessly overpower them? (Or rather just Daryl) Is he so much of a coward that he just passed out the second after he finished screaming? Or are these wolves' muscles just for show?

[Welsh Halfwit]

Also, how did Gale so effortlessly overpower them? (Or rather just Daryl) Is he so much of a coward that he just passed out the second after he finished screaming? Or are these wolves' muscles just for show?

1 She's not wild, she's furious. 2 Yes. 3 In his case. Would you attack a Wolf with muscles that could stun a Horse?

[KJOokami]

I was actually wondering in the last strip whether Gale was gonna go the "tie them up to save for later" route or if she'd be a more tangible threat, but I guess this makes more sense for the comic.

Poor other Daryl. He just wants some food. XD

[Macsen]

So why aren’t you untying everyone, Judas?

[Twilight]

Ah, dinner first. I sense a new ship! "Dale!"

She really is quite the cougar if that's true.

[Ralph]

So why aren’t you untying everyone, Judas?

I think that's also part of the bargain with Gale.

[GameCobra]

Not a big fan of Survivor, but I suddenly got this funny idea that everyone in that pit would be getting camera recordings about what they are thinking the other wolves and Gale are doing and forcing the wolves to play games and vote people out of the pit.

That being said ~ poor other Daryl doesn't know just how bad dinner is going to be...

[fenrirblack]

Daryl: “Hurry up and untie me. We have to get out of here and warn the others.”
Other Daryl: “I can’t do that.”
Daryl: “Why not?”
Other Daryl: “She said if I untie you then I don’t get dessert.”

[Welsh Halfwit]

Daryl: “Hurry up and untie me. We have to get out of here and warn the others.”
Other Daryl: “I can’t do that.”
Daryl: “Why not?”
Other Daryl: “She said if I untie you then I don’t get dessert.”

No, no. If he unties him he IS dessert!

[TOPCATDIGIANIMEFAN]

WAIT do Cougers Eat Wolves?"

[Welsh Halfwit]

WAIT do Cougers Eat Wolves?"

After sufficient seasoning.

[Sleet]

You'd think there'd be more older men in there.

[Cesco]

Oh, both Daryls got caught. At that question, I was expecting to hear an answer where he said to have eat the ropes. Anyway, that's obvious, Gale used a different tactic to catch the Other Daryl. Especially because surely nobody can be able to pull also him up from a tree! Yeah, fat Daryl, you're too weak, both physically and mentally... Has been enough a dinner promise to trick you. Be her dinner... For the cougar won't be a win, at the end.

[fenrirblack]

WAIT do Cougers Eat Wolves?"

Actually wolves tend to kill cougars more than the opposite.

A cougar's diet consists of and also include elk, moose, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, caribou, coyotes, black bear, porcupine, beaver and small rodents. A cougar may kill a wolf if said wolf is seen as a threat or encroaches on the cougar's territory.

To be honest, think about Other Daryl for a second. If Gale tried to eat him her heart would probably explode from all the salt, sugar, cholesterol, preservatives, and artificial products in his body. Eating butter would be healthier.

[NHWestoN]

"Other"Daryl's predicament is not a result of inertia. While not commonly known, the facts are that club are are extremely adept at tying intricate and unravelable knots. Conversely, few people are aware that wolves find knots especially befuddling and intractable.

[IceKitsune]

He is just so easily taken in by food, isn't he? Also the fact that they are still alive and she doesn't seem to want to eat them makes me even more sure this is part of some plan

[fenrirblack]

Let's think about this from a criminal psychology standpoint.

Gale targeted the Daryls because they were seen as the weakest of the party. Specifically Other Daryl who would put up the least fight. She grabbed Daryl and immediately rendered him unconscious thereby limiting the threat that he could cause her or even calling for help. Most likely used him as leverage to "persuade" Other Daryl into coroporating but when that did not work she promised him food. Or promised him food after he was already contained and thereby keeping him in line do to the limited supplies of rope considering she is a wild animal. Now the next step would be to target the second weakest members of the pack. While the others are gone on their little hunt they have left the camp unguarded. Since we don't know where Miles is. This is one possibility, she would go after King, Jack, and Bailey who are most likely at the camp. The problem becomes of what to do with them. Too many people in the pit, even tied, will pose a problem if they manage to escape. Since she apparently has no means of covering the pit with a door. The best solution would be to simply use the Daryls as a bargaining chip to force Miles to leave the forest. Or at least kidnap more wolves as to limit the pack's strength and provide more incentive for Miles. If she chose this route she would need to keep the wolves separate from one another. Two in the pit. Another two somewhere else either in the cave or hidden in the forest. She does not want to harm them as much as wants them gone. Killing the Daryls would unleash the wrath of the pack which would put not only her life in danger but Pueblo. As a mother she would place his safely above anything else.

Now considering what the next strip tell us, this story can go in a number of ways. Either Gale continues her kidnapping spree, which would be both reckless and foolhardy, or simply engage directly with Miles and force him to leave the forest. The latter would not be good plot wise simply because Miles leaves, Gale wins, the end. She could kidnap say two more people thereby limiting the pack strength without giving the captive wolves enough numbers to escape. Then there is still the "hint" that Poncho and Gale are possibly ending up together. If that is the case, then the fact that we saw Poncho and North Star means that they would likely be targeted next. Gale interacts with Poncho and create a relationship between them. It's safe to assume that either Jack or Poncho will be targeted next or at least have a greater role in this chapter since they seem to be purposely centered in several of the chapters so far.

So taking into the purpose of the camping trip the best option would be for Miles to lead a rescue mission thereby convincing the wolves that they either are still capable of living in the wild or that their human-ish lives have proved to be useful. Or the opposite where they learn that they are incapable of living in the wild and thereby learn that life with humans is the better option. The former is most likely. They learn they can hack it but decide that the wild is still dangerous and even though they can survive the wild they choose the simple life of human civilization.

Let's look at classic tropes. One the wolves end up corrupting say Pueblo with video games and they become friends with the wolves. Miles lead the charge for rescue only to find that they are perfectly safe and happy. The other would be that the Daryls are put in life threatening danger, not from being eaten, but by some kind of natural phenomena. Gale learns that the wolves are not returning the wild permanently and "Oops" your family is about to die. Let's go rescue them. Done. They part ways and the entire thing was one big misunderstanding not unlike their trip to the zoo.

[Ralph]

.... They part ways and the entire thing was one big misunderstanding not unlike their trip to the zoo.

How about Gale joining the ECP?

[Bandit1990]

If the ECP is moving to stage 2, would they be still be taking new members?

[fenrirblack]

.... They part ways and the entire thing was one big misunderstanding not unlike their trip to the zoo.

How about Gale joining the ECP?

If the ECP is moving to stage 2, would they be still be taking new members?

If they really wanted to make progress then they would want to expand the animals included in the ECP to include a wide variety. Feral cougars joining would be a nice feather in their cap. It would prove the system works. The entire point was to ensure animal equality so theoretically that would include ferals or at least any feral that would volunteer to become part of civilization. it's like going to another country on a visa then becoming a citizen.

Hey my idea for a apartment building for feral animals is sounding pretty good right now.

[NHWestoN]

...like Jessica's tree house?

[fenrirblack]

...like Jessica's tree house?

Something about that has always bothered me. We never learn just how many rooms there are and judging from the pictures I would say not many. Plus it’s already filled to the brink. Zach, Jess, Kix, Dragon & Pete, Kari, Ink & Tum, and Steward. Plus Fals & Truck if they’ll still there. I mean where do they all sleep? It was not designed to be a boarding house.
I also wonder about the wolf house too but that is a discussion for another time.

Something like the treehouse could work. Like a mini Babylon Gardens in the woods made entirely of similar treehouses for feral animals. I like that idea better. What’s a name of a famous fictional forest?

[Champion Wallace]

Something like the treehouse could work. Like a mini Babylon Gardens in the woods made entirely of similar treehouses for feral animals. I like that idea better. What’s a name of a famous fictional forest?

Except that kinda defeats the point of the ECP, right? The idea was that animals should be treated as people and people need to be shown that that's possible. Grouping all the participants in the woods would make it harder for humans and animals to get acclimated to each other. Are you perhaps thinking this would be temporary housing where new candidates stay just long enough to learn basic human stuff like handshake instead of but-sniff and how a toilet works before they move deeper into the city?

[fenrirblack]

Something like the treehouse could work. Like a mini Babylon Gardens in the woods made entirely of similar treehouses for feral animals. I like that idea better. What’s a name of a famous fictional forest?

Except that kinda defeats the point of the ECP, right? The idea was that animals should be treated as people and people need to be shown that that's possible. Grouping all the participants in the woods would make it harder for humans and animals to get acclimated to each other. Are you perhaps thinking this would be temporary housing where new candidates stay just long enough to learn basic human stuff like handshake instead of but-sniff and how a toilet works before they move deeper into the city?

It’s really just brainstorming. Something like this would take several different ideas and tests to find the optimum solution. Using it as a steppingstone would make sense. You would have to take into account different species’ needs, personality, size, and habitats. Plus the treehouses would just be living arrangements. The animals would still interact with humans as they do things like go shopping, work, go to the park, and I don’t know go to Starbucks. Whatever else humans do on a regular basis.

[WhoBrokeMy4thWall]

Whatever else humans do on a regular basis.

[fenrirblack]

“He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.“
-Friedrich Nietzsche

[NHWestoN]

Well, when last we left Jessica and Karishad, they were looking down into the depths of the basement........

[fenrirblack]

Well, when last we left Jessica and Karishad, they were looking down into the depths of the basement........

Knowing Karishad it probably leads to some hidden underground civilization of mole people who worship something like the Mythical squirrel god. Or better yet a giant Python. The Grue.

Hang on I'm on a roll. Then Zach has to go down there and fight whatever God and once again prove why the animals worship him. "The Opener of Ways has slayed the monster! All hail the Opener of Ways"

Zach is all like, "No I did it to save Jessica. Stop it!"