2019/06/21 - Delivery Pie

Post by **D-Rock** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:05 am

[2019/06/21 - Delivery Pie]
Title Text: it's like replanting seed for the spring crops "we don't do that either"

"Also, we brought a squirrel. No, she's not for eating."

fenrirblack · Post by **fenrirblack** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:06 am

Marion, don't go in there. It's a cookbook...I mean a trap...I mean a plot device! A COOKBOOK!

Seriously, what teenager watches HGTV? Did everyone watch that episode? Was it like on prime time or something?

Gbr23 · Post by **Gbr23** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:06 am

BOOM! You've been lawyered Jess!

IceKitsune · Post by **IceKitsune** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:07 am

Ok now this arc is going to start getting interesting. I see some answers incoming soon, at least for the readers anyway.

dr_eirik · Post by **dr_eirik** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:08 am

I love the running gag. I'm sure Mungo made the exact same comment when he first saw the place.

Also, as usual, Jessica has Falstaffs number. Though that's hardly a surprise since that's been clear for years.

Post by **D-Rock** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:11 am

fenrirblack wrote:
Seriously, what teenager watches HGTV? Did everyone watch that episode? Was it like on prime time or something?

That does seem like a Milton thing to do.

Though honestly, I've been seeing some of those home renovation shows, they can be pretty interesting.

Saturn381 · Post by **Saturn381** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:12 am

Going off topic, but I think my theory regarding the badger (I forgot his name) might turn out to be true.

fenrirblack · Post by **fenrirblack** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:16 am

D-Rock wrote:
fenrirblack wrote:
Seriously, what teenager watches HGTV? Did everyone watch that episode? Was it like on prime time or something?
That does seem like a Milton thing to do.

Though honestly, I've been seeing some of those home renovation shows, they can be pretty interesting.

I guess it must have been the novelty of a bunch of ferals and semi-feral animals renovating a tree/building a treehouse drawing in some viewers.

leinglo · Post by **leinglo** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:17 am

fenrirblack wrote:Seriously, what teenager watches HGTV? Did everyone watch that episode? Was it like on prime time or something?

The simple fact that the local billionaire ferrets were building a new house for a feral possum was probably interesting enough to have everyone in Babylon Gardens watching that episode, even if they don't normally watch the channel.

NHWestoN · Post by **NHWestoN** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:17 am

Gotta hand it to Falstaff. His logic is relentless. Nice to see you again, Jess.

Thought it was Trinket who likes "shinnies"?

leinglo · Post by **leinglo** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:24 am

Just noticed something. Even if that phone was a gift from the Miltons or Zach, where does Jess get the money for a phone plan?

fenrirblack · Post by **fenrirblack** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:26 am

leinglo wrote:Just noticed something. Even if that phone was a gift from the Miltons or Zach, where does Jess get the money for a phone plan?

I going to make a wild guess and assume that Zack gives her prepaid phone cards or something along those lines.

Nobody · Post by **Nobody** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:27 am

Is Marion missing the necklace?

Welsh Halfwit · Post by **Welsh Halfwit** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:29 am

Jess showing she can do the beautiful smiles there.

What a wonderful smile from Jess
as she shows she knows the score;
looking up from her texting to Zach,
not knowing there’s one more than before.
She lets Fals believe what he wants,
knowing he’ll never admit to the truth;
he needs to let people help him to win;
he’s not as fast as he was in his youth.
Soon she’ll find out about her guest
and decide whether she’ll allow ‘her’ in;
but she’s never turned them away before,
her heart is bigger than her grin.

HundKatzeMaus · Post by **HundKatzeMaus** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:35 am

Oh the first panel was a very nice throwback

fenrirblack · Post by **fenrirblack** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:36 am

Nobody wrote:Is Marion missing the necklace?

Oh SNAP. It is gone. Did he take it off or lose it in the woods?

Ash Greytree · Post by **Ash Greytree** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:39 am

Was just about to post about that. Error on Rick's part?

anhedral · Post by **anhedral** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:43 am

Nice to see you again, Jess. Long time no see.

I dunno, but she seems more 'grounded' here than in some of her previous appearances. Less prone to extreme reaction? Settled life seems to be suiting her juuuust fine. And yes, that smile in panel 3 is just the BEST.

Frank · Post by **Frank** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:43 am

She. Has. A. Phone!

Saturn381 wrote:Going off topic, but I think my theory regarding the badger (I forgot his name) might turn out to be true.

Steward, the court-appointed steward. Yes they're aware of the pun and requested it specifically.

fenrirblack · Post by **fenrirblack** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:47 am

Ash Greytree wrote:Was just about to post about that. Error on Rick's part?

I doubt it. It's time to unleash a ton of new theories.

If it is lost, Now he is going to have to go find it which will most likely lead to an explanation about why he had it and why it is so important which will most likely lead to his spilling the beans about who and what he is. Then *insert character here* will follow him out into the darkness of the night and they will have a "chat."

OR he did take it off himself to hide the fact that he has been around humans but that's doesn't make sense because why would he need to hide it since he didn't even know where they were going and it's not a big deal.

OR it was a mistake but I like my first idea better because it adds to the drama.

Champion Wallace · Post by **Champion Wallace** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 1:09 am

NHWestoN wrote:Gotta hand it to Falstaff. His logic is relentless. Nice to see you again, Jess.

Thought it was Trinket who likes "shinnies"?

I think her obsession with collecting shines was just a farce to get Zach to take off his collar. Even if it wan't, it's not like you can have a monopoly on liking shinnies.

Nobody wrote:Is Marion missing the necklace?

Indeed he is. I suspect he is going use it to try and prove he used to be human, only to discover he lost it. Either that or he'll go crazy looking for it and everyone around him won't understand why it's so important to him.

Frank wrote:She. Has. A. Phone!

Yes she does.

Frank wrote:
Saturn381 wrote:Going off topic, but I think my theory regarding the badger (I forgot his name) might turn out to be true.
Steward, the court-appointed steward. Yes they're aware of the pun and requested it specifically.

Herman Steward, to be exact. Everyone forgets his first name.

Post by **SeanWolf** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 7:30 am

leinglo wrote:Just noticed something. Even if that phone was a gift from the Miltons or Zach, where does Jess get the money for a phone plan?

Maybe Zach helps pay for it?

NHWestoN · Post by **NHWestoN** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 7:57 am

SeanWolf wrote:
leinglo wrote:Just noticed something. Even if that phone was a gift from the Miltons or Zach, where does Jess get the money for a phone plan?
Maybe Zach helps pay for it?

Or Karishad winkled a phone plan into the tree make-over deal... He's a resourceful lad with an eye for details.

Argent · Post by **Argent** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 8:23 am

dr_eirik wrote:Also, as usual, Jessica has Falstaffs number.

It doesn't do Jess any good to have Falstaff's number, he doesn't have a phone.

dr_eirik · Post by **dr_eirik** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 10:40 am

The comic posted upthread is interesting. I didn't recall king interacting at all with Zach or Jessica that far back. The four at that table would be almost a therapy group for Marion. King for obvious reasons. Bailey is the supportive type, Zach knows about at least some of the magic going ons and Jessica is relentlessly practical.

The missing necklace is interesting, too. If it's an art mistake, then we will see that next week. I doubt that he stashed it. First of all, why? The raccoons already saw it. Hes also still right behind Truck. I'd think there would be a gap. If he lost it, then he may freak thinking that it was somehow the only way to prove his real identity. That last bit is irrational, but I could see a freakout stemming from that.

If he did lose it, who wants to take bets on if it will show up in the stash of a certain crow...

Post by **SeanWolf** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 10:52 am

Reading the last panel...if she ran out of pans...she could just go to the store and buy some more *Shrugs*

You know, the more I look at Falstaff and Truck, it seems to me Truck is the more sensible one of the two (kind of like Laurel and Hardy where Stan Laurel was the sensible one at times).

Ash Greytree · Post by **Ash Greytree** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 11:03 am

Some stuff I typed out on my phone last night in bed as I was getting sleepy:

-Marion may not even meet Steward right now. He might head straight to bed after eating and negotiating for a room/bunk in the treehouse. Steward could be off doing something else that's either completely innocuous or related to the plot.

-Potential twist that could be pulled on the audience for comedic effect: Steward and Marion meet. They lock eyes. Panels in the strip make it seem tense and dramatic. But then Steward greets Marion politely as if Steward doesn't know about Marion, because he actually hasn't seen him before.

-Still keeping my theory close by that there's more than one coin now.

-(One of the more interesting ideas I came up with last night) Steward may not be using the coin at all; he could be trying to get the countercurse working. If this is the situation, he could be rewriting what he can from memory of the parchment, and trying to activate it over and over again at night. This is having effects on the people of Babylon Gardens, namely backfiring and turning them into animals.

-Steward actually isn't an antagonist, nor is he the intentional/accidental cause of any recent transformations at all. He's a red herring who will maybe commiserate with Marion a bit if he finds out he's human, and gets a small (keyword small) shot at redemption by maybe doing a good deed in the arc. Nothing to get him turned back to human, but rather to redeem him in the eyes of readers.

Now for something I came up with today: Marion missing his necklace is either because it got caught on a (very, very low-hanging) branch, or maybe his new squirrel instincts kicked in and he buried it somewhere to get back later for reasons that we don't know yet. It could turn into a plot item for a missing persons' hunt. I can see it now:

[Lois is with the K-9's, who are searching the woods for Marion. Kevin and Ralph are there, and Kevin has human Marion's scent.]
Kevin: Wait, I think I found something!.
[He holds up the bracelet-necklace.]
Lois: That's one of the friendship bracelets we made a while back. [She holds up her hand to show a matching one.]
Kevin: [Sniffs it That's funny. It also smells like squirrel.
Lois: [Under her breath, remembering the texts she got.] Please let this is all be part of your senior prank, Marion...
Kevin: Wait, Sarge, that squirrel I chased the other day had on the same thing. Didn't she say she wanted to know about transformations?
Lois: Uh...
Ralph: You know there's probably no such thing. We just dealt with ancient treasure and the mystic guardian ghost of a jaguar. That squirrel who was asking us about it seemed like she was two pecans short of a pie, if you ask me.
Lois: I'm sorry, what? Magic is real? And "she"?
[Ralph and Kevin have forgotten that Lois is there at this point]
Kevin: And funny enough, we talked to her real close to the address of the missing person report. Real coincidence, huh?
Lois: [Pointing toward an off-panel direction.] Ok, yeah, I'm just... I'm just gonna head over to that clearing, lie down, and yell at the sky while I have a meltdown. Come find me when you're done talking, alright?

Edit: I got Mungo and Kevin switched around in my head

fenrirblack · Post by **fenrirblack** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 11:46 am

Ash Greytree wrote:Some stuff I typed out on my phone last night in bed as I was getting sleepy:

-Marion may not even meet Steward right now. He might head straight to bed after eating and negotiating for a room/bunk in the treehouse. Steward could be off doing something else that's either completely innocuous or related to the plot.

-Potential twist that could be pulled on the audience for comedic effect: Steward and Marion meet. They lock eyes. Panels in the strip make it seem tense and dramatic. But then Steward greets Marion politely as if Steward doesn't know about Marion, because he actually hasn't seen him before.

I could totally see that for the sole reason of Rick wanting to mess with the fans minds. I can see Steward watching Marion from the balcony looking suspiciously at him but without making a move just yet. The missing necklace is going to make things harder for anyone to recognize Marion is not a normal squirrel unless he blurts it out. Hopefully he will as soon as Jess asks, "Who are you and why are you in my house?"

Ash Greytree wrote:-(One of the more interesting ideas I came up with last night) Steward may not be using the coin at all; he could be trying to get the countercurse working. If this is the situation, he could be rewriting what he can from memory of the parchment, and trying to activate it over and over again at night. This is having effects on the people of Babylon Gardens, namely backfiring and turning them into animals.

That would be funny plot. Sitting in a dark room with candles lit in a circle and wearing a dark robe chanting into the darkness. But Steward never saw the parchment.

Ash Greytree wrote:-Steward actually isn't an antagonist, nor is he the intentional/accidental cause of any recent transformations at all. He's a red herring who will maybe commiserate with Marion a bit if he finds out he's human, and gets a small (keyword small) shot at redemption by maybe doing a good deed in the arc. Nothing to get him turned back to human, but rather to redeem him in the eyes of readers.

The thought had crossed my mind more than once. I try to ignore it because of the way Year 10 ended heavily implies that Steward was up to something. Not to mention that this is Steward and he is no saint or was and living with a bunch of ferals for over a year in the body of a badger is not going to change him. If he's not going to be important for the plot I think he should be negative influence for Marion to counter what I will assume will be the positive ones whenever he meets the other pets (devil on the shoulder so to speak). There is still one huge factor to consider and that is Steward has the coin and if it was not responsible for Marion's change that means it will be responsible for changing someone down the line. I don't think he's going to use it on whoever asks nicely to be changed into an animal.

Ash Greytree wrote:Now for something I came up with today: Marion missing his necklace is either because it got caught on a (very, very low-hanging) branch, or maybe his new squirrel instincts kicked in and he buried it somewhere to get back later for reasons that we don't know yet. It could turn into a plot item for a missing persons' hunt. I can see it now:

[Lois is with the K-9's, who are searching the woods for Marion. Mungo and Ralph are there, and Mungo has human Marion's scent.]
Mungo: Wait, I think I found something!.
[He holds up the bracelet-necklace.]
Lois: That's one of the friendship bracelets we made a while back. [She holds up her hand to show a matching one.]
Mungo: [Sniffs it That's funny. It also smells like squirrel.
Lois: [Under her breath, remembering the ] Please let this is all be part of your senior prank, Marion...
Mungo: Wait, Sarge, that squirrel I chased the other day had on the same thing. Didn't she say she wanted to know about transformations?
Lois: Uh...
Ralph: You know there's probably no such thing. We just dealt with ancient treasure and the mystic guardian ghost of a jaguar. That squirrel who was asking us about it seemed like she was two pecans short of a pie, if you ask me.
Lois: I'm sorry, what? Magic is real? And "she"?
[Ralph and Mungo have forgotten that Lois is there at this point]
Mungo: And funny enough, we talked to her real close to the address of the missing person report. Real coincidence, huh?
Lois: [Pointing toward an off-panel direction.] Ok, yeah, I'm just... I'm just gonna head over to that clearing, lie down, and yell at the sky while I have a meltdown. Come find me when you're done talking, alright?

Well someone needs to have a meltdown.

Ash Greytree · Post by **Ash Greytree** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:41 pm

fenrirblack wrote:
Ash Greytree wrote:-(One of the more interesting ideas I came up with last night) Steward may not be using the coin at all; he could be trying to get the countercurse working. If this is the situation, he could be rewriting what he can from memory of the parchment, and trying to activate it over and over again at night. This is having effects on the people of Babylon Gardens, namely backfiring and turning them into animals.
That would be funny plot. Sitting in a dark room with candles lit in a circle and wearing a dark robe chanting into the darkness. But Steward never saw the parchment.

Ah dang, you're right. I got Thomas and Steward confused with one another. Still, the parchment was there in the temple, right next to all the coins. Maybe he recovered scraps of it alongside the coins, and in the midst of some research to try and get back to being human again (I bet part of the basement is now a dedicated study for Steward), attempted to reconstruct what it said, and a backfire led to Marion's squirrelification? It could lead to an interesting angle where Steward finds out about Marion's humanity, and his reaction isn't sinister plotting to use Marion as a lackey, but rather one of remorse because he just wanted to be human and never wanted another person to suffer the same fate as him?

dr_eirik · Post by **dr_eirik** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:53 pm

Ash Greytree wrote:
fenrirblack wrote:
Ash Greytree wrote:-(One of the more interesting ideas I came up with last night) Steward may not be using the coin at all; he could be trying to get the countercurse working. If this is the situation, he could be rewriting what he can from memory of the parchment, and trying to activate it over and over again at night. This is having effects on the people of Babylon Gardens, namely backfiring and turning them into animals.
That would be funny plot. Sitting in a dark room with candles lit in a circle and wearing a dark robe chanting into the darkness. But Steward never saw the parchment.
Ah dang, you're right. I got Thomas and Steward confused with one another. Still, the parchment was there in the temple, right next to all the coins. Maybe he recovered scraps of it alongside the coins, and in the midst of some research to try and get back to being human again (I bet part of the basement is now a dedicated study for Steward), attempted to reconstruct what it said, and a backfire led to Marion's squirrelification? It could lead to an interesting angle where Steward finds out about Marion's humanity, and his reaction isn't sinister plotting to use Marion as a lackey, but rather one of remorse because he just wanted to be human and never wanted another person to suffer the same fate as him?

We all also ignore Thomas here. He is kind of an idiot, but he could be retrying to reconstruct the scrolls with or without Steward.

I still have strong doubts that this is a coin change, unless we see a reveal of an exhausted Marion picking up the coin, transforming, somehow not noticing and going to bed.

Cesco · Post by **Cesco** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 1:19 pm

It's good to see that Jessica's cool home is still up.

If you watched the show about its making on TV, Marion, probably you got to see also its owner. Now you're going to meet her.

Eheh, even Jessica knows the truth that you don't really steal cakes to that lady.

That makes sense, Falstaff, it's a favor you to do her for the next time, but that statements agrees with Jessica.

I love this cheeky possum, you don't fool her easily

shadowlucario50 · Post by **shadowlucario50** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 1:38 pm

fenrirblack wrote:I doubt it. It's time to unleash a ton of new theories.

If it is lost, Now he is going to have to go find it which will most likely lead to an explanation about why he had it and why it is so important which will most likely lead to his spilling the beans about who and what he is. Then *insert character here* will follow him out into the darkness of the night and they will have a "chat."

OR he did take it off himself to hide the fact that he has been around humans but that's doesn't make sense because why would he need to hide it since he didn't even know where they were going and it's not a big deal.

OR it was a mistake but I like my first idea better because it adds to the drama.

I'm gonna add some silly theories to your list about Marion's necklace.

The necklace fell into the pie!
The necklace was stolen by Steward while he was running to the house off-screen! He'll then come from the shadows, twirling it on his finger, and handing out evil dialogue!
The necklace was taken by Trinket and given to Cory!
The necklace was stolen by Bruno, who gave it to Bino so he could have a present for Duchess!
The necklace fell through the fourth wall and one of the first readers of the comic has it in their possession!
The necklace fell into the Gallifrax Dimension and landed into the other Marion's backpack!

NHWestoN · Post by **NHWestoN** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 2:57 pm

… Maybe we're also gonna get a look at Karishad's basement.

Argent · Post by **Argent** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:03 pm

Marion REALLY needs to stay out of the Gallifrax dimension.

kavviyenta · Post by **kavviyenta** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:16 pm

Ash Greytree wrote: [Lois is with the K-9's, who are searching the woods for Marion. Mungo and Ralph are there, and Mungo has human Marion's scent.]
Mungo: Wait, I think I found something!.
[He holds up the bracelet-necklace.]
Lois: That's one of the friendship bracelets we made a while back. [She holds up her hand to show a matching one.]
Mungo: [Sniffs it That's funny. It also smells like squirrel.
Lois: [Under her breath, remembering the ] Please let this is all be part of your senior prank, Marion...
Mungo: Wait, Sarge, that squirrel I chased the other day had on the same thing. Didn't she say she wanted to know about transformations?
Lois: Uh...
Ralph: You know there's probably no such thing. We just dealt with ancient treasure and the mystic guardian ghost of a jaguar. That squirrel who was asking us about it seemed like she was two pecans short of a pie, if you ask me.
Lois: I'm sorry, what? Magic is real? And "she"?
[Ralph and Mungo have forgotten that Lois is there at this point]
Mungo: And funny enough, we talked to her real close to the address of the missing person report. Real coincidence, huh?
Lois: [Pointing toward an off-panel direction.] Ok, yeah, I'm just... I'm just gonna head over to that clearing, lie down, and yell at the sky while I have a meltdown. Come find me when you're done talking, alright?

You mean Kevin, right? He's the one who chased Marion and made a pun.

Ash Greytree · Post by **Ash Greytree** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:48 pm

kavviyenta wrote:
Ash Greytree wrote: [Lois is with the K-9's, who are searching the woods for Marion. Mungo and Ralph are there, and Mungo has human Marion's scent.]
Mungo: Wait, I think I found something!.
[He holds up the bracelet-necklace.]
Lois: That's one of the friendship bracelets we made a while back. [She holds up her hand to show a matching one.]
Mungo: [Sniffs it That's funny. It also smells like squirrel.
Lois: [Under her breath, remembering the ] Please let this is all be part of your senior prank, Marion...
Mungo: Wait, Sarge, that squirrel I chased the other day had on the same thing. Didn't she say she wanted to know about transformations?
Lois: Uh...
Ralph: You know there's probably no such thing. We just dealt with ancient treasure and the mystic guardian ghost of a jaguar. That squirrel who was asking us about it seemed like she was two pecans short of a pie, if you ask me.
Lois: I'm sorry, what? Magic is real? And "she"?
[Ralph and Mungo have forgotten that Lois is there at this point]
Mungo: And funny enough, we talked to her real close to the address of the missing person report. Real coincidence, huh?
Lois: [Pointing toward an off-panel direction.] Ok, yeah, I'm just... I'm just gonna head over to that clearing, lie down, and yell at the sky while I have a meltdown. Come find me when you're done talking, alright?
You mean Kevin, right? He's the one who chased Marion and made a pun.

You're right. Going to edit that. I seem to be forgetting character names and faces all over the place today.

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 6:09 pm

In that last panel, it looks like Jessica really wants to clock Falstaff over the head with a blunt object. XD

NHWestoN · Post by **NHWestoN** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 6:17 pm

Amazee Dayzee wrote:In that last panel, it looks like Jessica really wants to clock Falstaff over the head with a blunt object. XD

... would Truck be blunt enough?

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 6:18 pm

Since he seemingly has even LESS of a brain then the idiot with a pie, I don't think so.

trekkie · Post by **trekkie** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 7:27 pm

Amazee Dayzee wrote:In that last panel, it looks like Jessica really wants to clock Falstaff over the head with a blunt object. XD

Who can blame her, really ?