2019/10/18 - Helping The Helpless

[D-Rock]

[2019/10/18 - Helping The Helpless]
Title Text: that's my opinion, worth what you paid for it: a coconut to the face and a bite on the ear

Granted, this does seem like a completely different circumstance.

[dr_eirik]

So Thomas isn't cracked, just depressed and barely hanging on. Hes also about as helpful as I'd have thought he'd be.

[Saturn381]

So Domas can't help Marion to turn back into a human, or he can't him turning back into a boy?

[Gbr23]

Can’t relate byyyyyyyyye

[fenrirblack]

Super helpful.

Anyway, how is Marion supposed to help him out? I mean, Thomas knows how he was changed and how to change back only scroll was lost so he's stuck. Sucks to be him. Marion is in a completely different set of circumstances.

The alt-text is correct. You get what you pay for. I know Marion doesn't know Thomas but that fact that Thomas played along for this long is impressive. But then again, it's not like he has much else to do.

How long will it take before Marion is reduced to banging his head on a rock?

[Welsh Halfwit]

Thanks for brightening my day
and helping me see my flaws;
the problems faced today?
Not my problem but yours.
What do you think I’ll know
about your strange situation?
How do I know that you didn’t
just want to join Squirrel nation?
Go away and leave me be now
and don’t throw any more nuts;
coz the other strange truth is
I hate your mini Squirrel guts.

[Champion Wallace]

Isn't the only hint Thomas could give his is about the cursed treasure? Poncho already told him that. I suppose there's the scrolls. Would magic to turn a ex-human back to a human work even if the cause was something else? At this point I think Marion's best chance is someone reverse engineering that scroll.

[fenrirblack]

Let me look into my crystal ball and see how the remainder of this conversation is going to go:

Scene: Marion climbs on top of Thomas's head
Thomas: Look kid, I can't help you. What more do you want from me?
Marion: You have to know something. I heard that you were cursed by treasure or something. How did that work?
Thomas: I touched the treasure and became a camel. Then a giant gryphon appeared and told me that the counter curse was in a scroll.
Marion: Wait, there's a counter curse?
Thomas: Was a counter curse. The scrolls were all lost when the temple collapsed. The only thing left from that temple was a single coin I managed to get lodged in my mouth. I gave it to my partner who turned into a badger when he touched it.
Marion: Hold up. Badger? Did he have glasses on?
Thomas: Yeah, how did you know?
Marion: I think I met him when I was lost in the woods.
Thomas: Well, if that was him, I'm glad to know he's not doing any better than me.
Marion: Where is the coin?
Thomas: Steward, the badger, must still have it. After he changed, I was carted off here.
Marion: Do you think the coin could have a hint to why I was changed?
Thomas: I don't know kid. I told you everything. Will you get off my head?

[leinglo]

Thomas might be a camel now, but his status as a greedy jerk is firmly unchanged. If Marion wants anything from Thomas, Marion's going to have to offer something that would actually be of value to him.

[LunarFox]

Thomas might be a camel now, but his status as a greedy jerk is firmly unchanged. If Marion wants anything from Thomas, Marion's going to have to offer something that would actually be of value to him.

And what might that be?
--

No, he's not okay,
That comes as no surprise,
He's had a crazy kind of day,
He just needs to close his eyes.

Thomas, please come back here,
I hope that you don't run,
I hope we'll get some answers,
Oh wouldn't that be fun?

Where's Lois still off to?
Has it really been that long?
Then again, her attention
To Poncho is like a siren song.

I wonder how loud Marion's scream is,
Thomas, quit being a pain,
Marion's worn and tired,
He shouldn't have to pick your brain.

All in all, are we getting somewhere?
Surely, I think we are,
As for helping the helpless,
Neither one gets the gold star.

[leinglo]

Thomas might be a camel now, but his status as a greedy jerk is firmly unchanged. If Marion wants anything from Thomas, Marion's going to have to offer something that would actually be of value to him.

And what might that be?

Marion would need to find some kind of legitimate lead on returning to his human state to get Thomas' attention, and if Marion can do that, he probably wouldn't need Thomas' assistance anyway. This whole visit is likely just another dead end.

[Nobody]

Nope. Nothing suspicious about this behavior at all.

[NHWestoN]

Cold decor - cold heart, eh? IKEA was right.

[VeryAngryDeer]

Thomas might be a camel now, but his status as a greedy jerk is firmly unchanged. If Marion wants anything from Thomas, Marion's going to have to offer something that would actually be of value to him.

And what might that be?

Marion would need to find some kind of legitimate lead on returning to his human state to get Thomas' attention, and if Marion can do that, he probably wouldn't need Thomas' assistance anyway. This whole visit is likely just another dead end.

Or he could bring Thomas some coffee.

He's used the stick, maybe its time to try the carrot.

[GameCobra]

I doubt Thomas knows something other than the magic scrolls, but he's clearly going to be pegging on Marion to get a cure at this point.

Marion will literally never get a camel off of his back. And he's a squirrel.

[Frank]

Title Text: that's my opinion, worth what you paid for it: a coconut to the face and a bite on the ear

Not to mention zoo admission, watching your girlfriend "cheat" on you, and having to travel by backpack

[SeanWolf]

Sheesh, Marion can't catch a break, can he?

[Argent]

I'm just another little boy having a dream

[Startrekfan47]

Has anyone listed Thomas under Must Have Caffine on TVTropes yet?

[trekkie]

Sheesh, Marion can't catch a break, can he?

No, he can’t. Hopefully this isn’t the last we’ll see of Thomas.

[Vertigo Fox]

'course he can't. His attitude is all wrong.
I'm not saying it would be easy to have a different one, but in the end he's got to use what he's been given to look for a solution, not just stress about how long it's taking to get there or how much he wants to go back. As King found out, in order to change a situation you first have to accept its reality, and sometimes the only part of a thing you can control is how you think about it. Marion certainly isn't acting like he's any closer to reaching that realization yet.

Put another way, even if you weren't depressed like Thomas, if a squirrel came up to you and started whining about how much he used to be human and how he needs to go back and threw a coconut at you, would you want to sacrifice your time and energy to help him?

He is essentially going through a form of grief, and he's only just reached the anger stage. Until he reaches the final stage he's not really capable of helping himself in an effective way because his view of what's going on can't align with reality. The best he can do right now is follow Lois's ideas, since she's at least seeing reality in a more objective way and is the one person who actually wants to help (no coincidence, that). But he needs to be very careful he doesn't push her away.
As for Thomas, he's clearly not up for fixing anything but he might just push Marion to the next stage.

[CunningFox]

"Sofia, could you escort my client out of my office?"

[dr_eirik]

As for Thomas, he's clearly not up for fixing anything but he might just push Marion to the next stage.

I'm not sure how much Thomas even could help Marion even if he wanted.I don't think he ever really understood the magic or the lore behind the temple, and I don't get the impression he ever saw Hery Miltons notes. For that matter, Keene kept those from Steward as well.

Unless he's got another coin to throw the zoo into chaos, then his only apparent role is to point Marion back to Steward as the only other entity he knows of that's been transformed.

Though, here's a long shot idea: What if Thomas doesn't point Marion back to the badger, but rather to the possibility of scrolls in the rubble of the temple? We've assumed that everything was lost, but perhaps something remains, and Marion is the right size to go do some spelunking.

[Vertigo Fox]

Whether or not Thomas can help is moot if he's unwilling, isn't it?

[Cesco]

Eh, poor Marion... And once again poor Thomas, too... Indeed, it must suck to be a camel. It's an hard life for both. But still, explain him how you became a camel, since he explained you how he became a squirrel... Don't go away like that! Anyway, what kind of help can he give, then? I agree with the title text though.

[dr_eirik]

Whether or not Thomas can help is moot if he's unwilling, isn't it?

That's true, but I can't see Rick taking this side trip if Thomas isn't going to move the plot along, willing or unwilling.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Marion should be lucky that Thomas isn't actually one of those camels that came from the movie "Kangaroo Jack" when they were packed into the crates or he would be REALLY sorry.

[NHWestoN]

Well, Sophie witnessed the whole adventure and, if "Domas" is gonna sulk and stew, maybe she'll be moved to be more forthcoming. Thomas has likely recounted what happened with Steward to her (it's the only gloat he's got going so he likely bragged on it. ) B'sides, She's a good hearted soul.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Even if Sofia does try to help, I don't think Thomas told her the whole story so I don't think Marion will be able to use much from her.

[Startrekfan47]

Super helpful.

Anyway, how is Marion supposed to help him out?

The alt-text is correct. You get what you pay for. I know Marion doesn't know Thomas but that fact that Thomas played along for this long is impressive. But then again, it's not like he has much else to do.

How long will it take before Marion is reduced to banging his head on a rock?

Maybe Marion could get his paws on a fresh pot of camel coffee, and perhaps a Thomas' English Muffin.

[Startrekfan47]

Thomas sings I am camel,hear me moan/criminal record longer than Al Capone's/and I stand here getting hit on the head by a squirrel.

[Sleet]

Eh, poor Marion... And once again poor Thomas, too... Indeed, it must suck to be a camel. It's an hard life for both. But still, explain him how you became a camel, since he explained you how he became a squirrel... Don't go away like that! Anyway, what kind of help can he give, then? I agree with the title text though.

That's kinda something hard to just explain to people. He's not just going to confess crimes to strangers.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Would his crimes when he was a human be put on the news though? He did try to rob a lot of money from his own family even if he didn't like them and that would be something I think would be publicized. So Marion would know about that and that Thomas is a Milton so Marion already knows he is a pretty skeevy guy so why wouldn't he just confess everything? We know the answer. It's that he's a total ******.

[Gameb18oy]

Thomas might be a camel now, but his status as a greedy jerk is firmly unchanged. If Marion wants anything from Thomas, Marion's going to have to offer something that would actually be of value to him.

And what might that be?

Marion would need to find some kind of legitimate lead on returning to his human state to get Thomas' attention, and if Marion can do that, he probably wouldn't need Thomas' assistance anyway. This whole visit is likely just another dead end.

There is the as of yet unconfirmed possibility that Thomas brought more than one coin out of the temple. Be useful to Rick to either confirm or deny if that's the case... do hope there is a light detour to some of the other animals, maybe due to them swiping the coins for some purpose

[Amazee Dayzee]

Would there have been any way that it would have been possible for some animals to steal some coins from the temple? We only saw those groups make it through to the end and there wouldn't have been anybody else who could have made it that far without any of the others seeing them. Plus I think the coins were destroyed when the temple blew up so I really couldn't see a random animal going through the wreckage to find some coins for their own purpose.

[Frank]

'course he can't. His attitude is all wrong.
I'm not saying it would be easy to have a different one, but in the end he's got to use what he's been given to look for a solution, not just stress about how long it's taking to get there or how much he wants to go back.

You don't know many teenagers, do you?

[Amazee Dayzee]

I will say truthfully I'm STILL like that and I haven't been a teenager for 8 years.