2019/10/25 - Presto Chango

[Vertigo Fox]

I don't think Dino Demon could be the only one behind it, since we still don't know anything of his powers or motivations that would be essentially the same as dumping a new character onto us just to serve as the villain. Rick's style is to build up characters gradually and let us see some of their lives and motivations before they become major players, and it's getting pretty late in the story to drop that on us for the demon without some kind of massive exposition dump.

I could see him as a bit player working under some other bad guy, and possibly twisting their wishes just a little so that we get a glimpse of what his goals might be before he becomes a main villain. That is assuming he's meant to be a villain at all, considering another big theme of the comic is people not being exactly who you think they are, and how they're often better than they seem.

[fenrirblack]

I don't think Dino Demon could be the only one behind it, since we still don't know anything of his powers or motivations that would be essentially the same as dumping a new character onto us just to serve as the villain. Rick's style is to build up characters gradually and let us see some of their lives and motivations before they become major players, and it's getting pretty late in the story to drop that on us for the demon without some kind of massive exposition dump.

I could see him as a bit player working under some other bad guy, and possibly twisting their wishes just a little so that we get a glimpse of what his goals might be before he becomes a main villain. That is assuming he's meant to be a villain at all, considering another big theme of the comic is people not being exactly who you think they are, and how they're often better than they seem.

Honestly I don't think its the Dino-Demon either but he's the only suspect we have beside Steward. I'm leaning towards unknown character with unknown motivations despite what others think.
Okay, so let me understand something. It can't be a new character, it can't be the Dino-Demon because that's "wrong" and not Rick's style. It can't be Steward for established reasons. For the exact same reasons it can't a new character it can't be random magic surges because nothing of the sort has been established previously (not to mention the mana was all used up) and randomly changing for no good reason is the worse thing that could happen. The only established forces that have the power to change humans into animals are the Denizens of Heaven and the coins.
For arguments sake let's say it was Steward. He randomly broke into Marion's home after watching him play Overwatch until 3 a.m. and touched him with the coin. Then pretended not to know who he was at the treehouse. Then followed him for the last few days like a creeper studying him and learning his weaknesses. Then when Marion talks to Thomas and runs up to Lois and tags her with the coin in front of Poncho and possibly cameras. Or he has a partner which there is no evidence to prove.

[max7345]

Well...at least she'll have an easier time believing Marion now.

[Vertigo Fox]

Honestly I don't think its the Dino-Demon either but he's the only suspect we have beside Steward. I'm leaning towards unknown character with unknown motivations despite what others think.
Okay, so let me understand something. It can't be a new character, it can't be the Dino-Demon because that's "wrong" and not Rick's style. It can't be Steward for established reasons. For the exact same reasons it can't a new character it can't be random magic surges because nothing of the sort has been established previously (not to mention the mana was all used up) and randomly changing for no good reason is the worse thing that could happen. The only established forces that have the power to change humans into animals are the Denizens of Heaven and the coins.

Demon could theoretically do all that, I just don't think Rick would have him acting alone. I could certainly see him acting with Steward but this being set up as a mystery story, the first person you're led to suspect is probably not the real culprit. The Miltons -- known for having the occasional odd scheme or odd goal, and only a loose understanding of right and wrong -- might be better suspects, even though their motivations are probably not malevolent. Also can't completely remove Pete the Griffin or Dragon from possibly being involved somehow, even though they're stuck on Earth with no powers of their own they still are around and they do know who they are. If there are more sources of power lying around that we haven't seen, they are the most likely people to know where those are, and they potentially have a demon to work with as well... and again, of everyone we know they are most likely to know exactly how that would work.

For arguments sake let's say it was Steward. He randomly broke into Marion's home after watching him play Overwatch until 3 a.m. and touched him with the coin. Then pretended not to know who he was at the treehouse. Then followed him for the last few days like a creeper studying him and learning his weaknesses. Then when Marion talks to Thomas and runs up to Lois and tags her with the coin in front of Poncho and possibly cameras. Or he has a partner which there is no evidence to prove.

For arguments sake, even though I don't think it was Steward, if this was his cause and he really wanted it to happen, I think he's the sort of person who'd actually do those things. Especially if Marion and Lois *are* somehow special.

Hah, just realized when Lois says her head feels all fuzzy she's literally feeling her face. It's a literal metaphor.

[Nobody]

A lot of stuff

Boy, these long strings of quotes within quotes is getting cumbersome to read.

Um . . . I'm coming down now, I can feel it. I hope I can maintain coherence as I try to continue here . . .

It's also difficult to read tone in written form, so I'm not sure if the irritation I'm picking up in your post is because you're irritated, or because I'm worried that you are and therefore read it that way regardless of intent. Anyway, to be clear, there's no personal attack implied by any of this, in case that was ever assumed. Basically, I'm amusing myself, while also giving myself a bit of mental exercise.

In any case, I think the fundamental point of contention in this is down to a difference in what we're judging as important to the story. I think we're both on the same page that there really isn't enough clearly presented textual evidence to claim that either of us is right, so to keep this from being a case of us mistakenly moving forward with the idea that we're trying to prove that we know what's going to happen, let's formally accept "Neither of us know what's going to happen, that's not the point" as an inherent assumption of the premise of the argument. The point is really why we think our respective interpretations is the better choice.

To establish a bit of groundwork - because I got all gung-ho and leaped into this without properly establishing context - let's confirm what the value of our respective arguments are. What is the foundation upon which we are making judgements.
As I see it, you're arguing the . . . There should be a term for this and I should know it. You're arguing the moment to moment logic of the scene. Your prime reason why Steward can't be involved here is because it doesn't make logical sense. A badger would have been seen, so it would be clear he did it. You think the bird dropping the coin would cause the loss of said coin and Steward would not be able to use it anymore. You think that it's illogical for Steward to have snuck into Marion's room at night, or . . . you get what I'm aiming at, right? If I understand your points, you're arguing from a perspective of moment to moment logic based on what we've been shown. No judgement is being made about the validity of this approach, I am simply confirming that I understand the perspective you're arguing from.

I, on the other hand, am arguing from a metanarrative structuralist perspective. To me, the moment to moment logic is not important, what matters is that the pieces of the story fit properly together to enhance the arc's theme.
Personal speculation: Steward was likely not at the zoo. Further personal speculation: I don't think Steward personally transformed Marion either. As established, I don't have textual evidence to back either of these up, I just don't think it quite fits with some minor details of the scenes in particular. I'll try and remember to get back to that in a moment.
However, from my perspective, it also doesn't matter whether or not my personal speculations there are right or wrong. The story could come out and later and show Steward Solid-Snaking it through the zoo and into Marion's room ("they'll never see me under this cardboard box!"). Or the story could later reveal some previously unrevealed minion Steward has drafted to do his dirty work pulling it off. Maybe Steward sanded off bits of dust off the coin and had said previously unmentioned minions sprinkle it over Marion while he slept to test just how much of the coin needs to be touched for the magic to work, hence why he thought it was "interesting" that Marion was the squirrel (there, I remembered). Or maybe the coin was absconded with by the bird while everybody was choking back the smoke of transformation. I could go on and on with all kinds of explanations for how it happened.
They are not important. To me, all that matters from the perspective of my argument is that Steward is behind it because that is most narratively and thematically appropriate. Point the first: the theme of this arc is about loss. Point the second, Steward has lost everything and wants it back. Ergo, Steward is thematically appropriate as the villain of the arc because his goals connect to the theme in a way that is established and understood by the audience. The way I see it, the how and why of Steward's actions are minor technical details. It's alright if the moment-to-moment logic is a little bit iffy, so long as the plot points work towards the theme - within the nebulous and subjective realm we call "suspension of disbelief," of course.

On the other hand, nothing is really established clearly with dino-demon. You prefer the dino-demon because you can make him work better in the moment-to-moment logic by hand-waving all the little logical inconsistencies like "How did Poncho not see who transformed Lois?" Again, no judgement there. Some people might call it bad writing to just say "A demon did it!" but from the perspective I'm arguing from, the hand-wave is no less valid a way to explain it than anything I proposed. It's a minor detail that I would be just as willing to accept as any of my own proposed possibilities. However, what makes me not consider this acceptable is the lack of thematic connection. The demon doesn't have any established goals to connect him to the theme of the arc.
You say that the demon could be developed to have motivation. This is true, it could be. However, that would require the story to halt itself so that the demon could be given this development, which breaks narrative flow in the immediate moment of whenever that happens and would be forcing the audience to shift brain-gears to factor in this new motivation. In essence, structurally this would be back-stepping into exposition when the story has already gone past rising action and is moving towards climax (see Freytag's Pyramid: https://blogs-images.forbes.com/davidst ... yramid.jpg). That's what I mean by "it breaks narrative flow." It would force the audience to build new investment in a character's motivations when we're at the point where it should be done establishing audience investment and be moving the story forward. It's not impossible to do, and it may still be what the story does.
But it's narratively inefficient, because Steward is already thematically connected and we are already invested in his motivations as a character. The work's already been done, so him being the villain flows better structurally and will have a stronger impact in the pay-off. The dino-demon being the villain as a twist would be . . . Well, think about this:
Imagine if towards the end of Toy Story 1, Buzz suddenly revealed that he knew he was a toy all along, but he'd been previously bought by someone who then returned him and he was hiding from the heartbreak behind self-delusion. That would be thematically consistent with Toy Story's plot, but it's a new twist that the audience has to digest, that recontextualizes the rest of the plot in many complicated ways, and ultimately is not neccessary to the plot because the story works more efficiently without it, resulting in a better emotional impact when the film reaches its denouement.
This is why I don't think the dino-demon is a villain in this. Or, to be precise, it's why I think the dino-demon SHOULDN'T be the villain. As I said, I don't actually have enough textual evidence to make any claims as to what actually is going on in the story.

You may be right in thinking the Steward being the sole villain behind it strains the internal logic of the this chapter, but my counterargument is that this doesn't matter compared to the thematic weight that Steward has in the story. It's not that the demon couldn't be involved, but that him being involved is narratively inefficient and would deaden the impact for the audience when the arc's structure is viewed as a whole. From my studies in literature, I have come to the conclusion that the structure and thematic cohesion of the whole always trumps the logic of the moment, provided it fits within the audience's suspension of disbelief. Even if Rick were to provide only a half-decent explanation for how Steward did it, I argue that it still would be more emotionally impactful than a really solid logical explanation for how and why the demon did it. The narrative dead-weight the demon would bring to the story because of the time that would have to be spent developing him is disruptive to the structure.

Keep in mind, this doesn't necessarily mean that the dino-demon twist would make the arc a bad story. If this were a movie, constrained to a movie's time limit, it certainly would because you'd never be able to fit all of that in without screwing up the pacing, but this is a webcomic. The story can go on as long as it needs to (or even longer), which would allow the story to take it's time and construct things in a way that would minimize the disruption of narrative flow, but there's the rub. it's minimizing the disruption. It's a less efficient and therefore less effective way to tell the story.

This is different from King's arc, where it was told in bite-sized chunks across several years with many breaks in it to indulge in other characters and their arcs. That set the tone and pace of King's story as different. It primed the audience to engage with the story in a different way and allowed for a wilder, less Freytagy structure overall. But you'll notice that in being written that way, Rick basically had to make each individual story focusing on King into it's own self-contained and properly structured story to maintain audience engagement with the character. On the other hand, Marion's story is being told all at once. Each "To Be Continued" comes with the expectation now that the next story will be the direct continuation (the series of one-offs that will doubtless follow next week don't count because they are their own thing and have no context for anything other than the page they're on; and personally I think they're the wrong choice to make as well, given how they're forcing the audience to break from the story before it's been resolved, but that's neither here nor there). That means that the structure of the stories put together becomes much, much more essential to making Marion's story arc work. We are primed to absorb it all at once, so we are absorbing each chapter as a part of a single story instead of as a bunch of self-contained stories that lead into each other.

Anyway, that's what I'm saying. And boy, am I using a lot of words to say it. And I'm crashing off my meds haaaaaaard now, so I'm not even sure if those words make as much sense as I think they do.

I'm not sure if there's much point in continuing the debate. I don't like the term "Agree to disagree," because I think it reinforces the mistaken notion that the purpose of a discussion is to get the other person to agree with you, which I don't believe it is. To me, debate is more about using a dissenting voice to help refine and organize your thoughts and thereby sharpen your thinking skills, as well as get a different perspective on the situation that might better increase your understanding. I might be rambling a bit now. In any case, your last post seems to imply that you've said all you need to say to make your point. And I guess I understand what you're saying and at least understand the logic behind it. Maybe. I'm very tired. But this was certainly very enjoyable for me and I hope I didn't . . . man, all the ways I can think to say it sound really condescending right now . . . I hope I'm not coming across like I'm making it personal, or like my intent is to try and outsmart you with my relentless and frankly absurd verbosity. I get really intense when a discussion excites me and I've been told on occasion that I give that impression. I don't know.

One thing I do know, though . . . Boy, I sure do want to see a visual representation of Keene as Bird-Ferret, Defender of the Universe, now. That is a silly image.

Edit: and because i took approximately four hours to type all this, you've already posted something that shows I was misunderstanding your argument, rending a good chunk what I said moot. I should really learn to make use of the soul of wit more often.

[Hagus]

Here's one of my takes on this. I skimmed and tried to make sure nobody else already said this so sorry if I'm repeating someone

The wolves are partially responsible. Not intentionally. My theory is that the wolves got cursed (by Dino Demon or someone else) to carry the transformation curse unknowingly. Since they have numbers, and are all across town, it can spread easier. So, in order for this to work, we have to assume a few things.
1. Marion touched a wolf shortly before going to sleep, whether it be a fist bump and then going inside or what.
2. The transformation takes at least 10 minutes, because Lois had pet Poncho, but didn't transform for a while.
3. Dino Demon (or an unknown) is involved.
If this is true, then Keene will no doubt discover this and most likely will send the wolves all over town. At school, it probably will be chaos. I know it doesn't make much sense but considering Poncho was the only other person around, and Steward didn't do it, I think it was caused by touching Poncho, or another wolf.
Thanks for reading and stuff ok byeeeee.

[Amazee Dayzee]

If it is the wolves and they figure it out and that Keene is using them to spread the curse, I would run if I was Keene.

[fenrirblack]

Honestly I don't think its the Dino-Demon either but he's the only suspect we have beside Steward. I'm leaning towards unknown character with unknown motivations despite what others think.
Okay, so let me understand something. It can't be a new character, it can't be the Dino-Demon because that's "wrong" and not Rick's style. It can't be Steward for established reasons. For the exact same reasons it can't a new character it can't be random magic surges because nothing of the sort has been established previously (not to mention the mana was all used up) and randomly changing for no good reason is the worse thing that could happen. The only established forces that have the power to change humans into animals are the Denizens of Heaven and the coins.

Demon could theoretically do all that, I just don't think Rick would have him acting alone. I could certainly see him acting with Steward but this being set up as a mystery story, the first person you're led to suspect is probably not the real culprit. The Miltons -- known for having the occasional odd scheme or odd goal, and only a loose understanding of right and wrong -- might be better suspects, even though their motivations are probably not malevolent. Also can't completely remove Pete the Griffin or Dragon from possibly being involved somehow, even though they're stuck on Earth with no powers of their own they still are around and they do know who they are. If there are more sources of power lying around that we haven't seen, they are the most likely people to know where those are, and they potentially have a demon to work with as well... and again, of everyone we know they are most likely to know exactly how that would work.

As much as I hate to admit it there is a possibility that Rick could take an alternate route when it comes to the cause of these transformations that doesn't involve a new character or even an antagonistic approach. Considering it is Housepets and "silly" is more often chosen over "sensible" then we could have many possible means for their transformations not unlike a tear in the fabric of the universe, Keene accidentally cursing the entire town, or contrary to what I said earlier, the temple remains is unleashing magic radiation that is slowly beginning to affect the the humans. I could easily see Kitsune saying "Oh, this is happening because of the events during the Temple Crashers 2 arc. Now deal with it." or "You've unleashed Hell on Earth. Now you have to go to Egypt and use the other mana pool to stop it before its too late." It would help if there was good writing unless there was good foreshadowing or something led up to it which so far their hasn't.

Of course the problem with this way of thinking is the timing of Lois's transformation specifically. It was very convenient to be not planned by someone. She just happen to be in a zoo while Marion was talking to Thomas about the sources of curse and the causes of them. Chaos theory could be the cause or superstition like they invited it by tempting the Fates or something along those lines. Karma because she manipulated Poncho. But all this is very weak. There is a remedy for this manner of thinking which would be to establish lore later on that says "When humans do certain things they risk transforming because magical whatever excuse there is."

Lets say there is a magical energy spreading throughout the town and its getting bigger and more powerful and effecting people more frequently as time passes. Rick could take this and spin a beautiful tapestry of storytelling but the fabric (trope) he's using is common.

[VeryAngryDeer]

If we're going the murder mystery route, maybe it was Bronson trying to get Marion out of the way so that he could become Lois' boyfriend. The guy can't take a hint, called Marion an "inhuman abomination", and Lois probably has good reason for hating him. It doesn't even have to be a means of murder, just a means of removing Marion as a romantic rival (since being a squirrel of the opposite sex makes continuing a relationship rather difficult.) He also didn't seem very surprised that Marion was a squirrel or that said squirrel could recall interactions with Bronson where no squirrel was present. Sure, he says he'd heard the rumour, but he still seems to have had a massive under-reaction. The type of reaction that someone who already knew for a fact that Marion had been transformed would have.

As for why Lois was transformed too, either its a gambit so Bronson can swoop in and save the damsell in distress from confinement at the zoo (Presumably he'd see such heroic action as enough to win Lois' heart, and presumably he'd have the means of reversing the change so he doesn't have to date what he considers an inhuman abomination), or it was an unintended side-effect of whatever magic he used to transform Marion.


If this were a conventional infection, now is about the time we'd be calling the CDC to get the infected under quarantine. But how do you convince the CDC about a contagious magical transformation when patient zero could barely convince his own girlfriend of who he was?

[NHWestoN]

If it is the wolves and they figure it out and that Keene is using them to spread the curse, I would run if I was Keene.

Well, if it is the wolves, putting them in positions of authority like teachers and security is an excellent contagion strategy!

[Zesortinge]

Honestly I don't think its the Dino-Demon either but he's the only suspect we have beside Steward. I'm leaning towards unknown character with unknown motivations despite what others think.
Okay, so let me understand something. It can't be a new character, it can't be the Dino-Demon because that's "wrong" and not Rick's style. It can't be Steward for established reasons. For the exact same reasons it can't a new character it can't be random magic surges because nothing of the sort has been established previously (not to mention the mana was all used up) and randomly changing for no good reason is the worse thing that could happen. The only established forces that have the power to change humans into animals are the Denizens of Heaven and the coins.

Demon could theoretically do all that, I just don't think Rick would have him acting alone. I could certainly see him acting with Steward but this being set up as a mystery story, the first person you're led to suspect is probably not the real culprit. The Miltons -- known for having the occasional odd scheme or odd goal, and only a loose understanding of right and wrong -- might be better suspects, even though their motivations are probably not malevolent. Also can't completely remove Pete the Griffin or Dragon from possibly being involved somehow, even though they're stuck on Earth with no powers of their own they still are around and they do know who they are. If there are more sources of power lying around that we haven't seen, they are the most likely people to know where those are, and they potentially have a demon to work with as well... and again, of everyone we know they are most likely to know exactly how that would work.

As much as I hate to admit it there is a possibility that Rick could take an alternate route when it comes to the cause of these transformations that doesn't involve a new character or even an antagonistic approach. Considering it is Housepets and "silly" is more often chosen over "sensible" then we could have many possible means for their transformations not unlike a tear in the fabric of the universe, Keene accidentally cursing the entire town, or contrary to what I said earlier, the temple remains is unleashing magic radiation that is slowly beginning to affect the the humans. I could easily see Kitsune saying "Oh, this is happening because of the events during the Temple Crashers 2 arc. Now deal with it." or "You've unleashed Hell on Earth. Now you have to go to Egypt and use the other mana pool to stop it before its too late." It would help if there was good writing unless there was good foreshadowing or something led up to it which so far their hasn't.

Of course the problem with this way of thinking is the timing of Lois's transformation specifically. It was very convenient to be not planned by someone. She just happen to be in a zoo while Marion was talking to Thomas about the sources of curse and the causes of them. Chaos theory could be the cause or superstition like they invited it by tempting the Fates or something along those lines. Karma because she manipulated Poncho. But all this is very weak. There is a remedy for this manner of thinking which would be to establish lore later on that says "When humans do certain things they risk transforming because magical whatever excuse there is."

Lets say there is a magical energy spreading throughout the town and its getting bigger and more powerful and effecting people more frequently as time passes. Rick could take this and spin a beautiful tapestry of storytelling but the fabric (trope) he's using is common.

It could feasibly be the temple theory. Res was still able to transform after the temple was destroyed. She did touch the mana pool though.

It would also make sense for Craig and Draig to find out about the coin because there are now two people that have been transformed, if one of them didn't already know.

[Padgriffin]

Okay, what the hay just happened.

[dr_eirik]

Okay, what the hay just happened.

Not much, Marion was just finishing up an unproductive discussion with an obstinate and crazy camel.

Oh, and his girlfriend is apparently now a part of the Lynx family.

[Welsh Halfwit]

Okay, what the hay just happened.

Not much, Marion was just finishing up an unproductive discussion with an obstinate and crazy camel.

Oh, and his girlfriend is apparently now a part of the Lynx family.

Yes, but is she the Missing one?

[NHWestoN]

Okay, what the hay just happened.

Not much, Marion was just finishing up an unproductive discussion with an obstinate and crazy camel.

Oh, and his girlfriend is apparently now a part of the Lynx family.

Yes, but is she the Missing one?

Didn't she just get Found?

[Argent]

Oi, I already made the missing lynx reference a page back.

(There's also that random bird flying off in the background, which could mean Trinket dropped a coin recently onto Lois if we go back to the coin theory)

I think you have just come up with the most viable new theory yet. This kind of confusing setup for a con is exactly what we'd expect from them.

[VeryAngryDeer]

If a bird dropped a coin, where did the coin go?

[Argent]

Does it need to be a whole coin?

[NHWestoN]

Guess a half-dollar would do it....

[VeryAngryDeer]

Does it need to be a whole coin?

Point is, it would leave physical evidence.

[Frank]

Does it need to be a whole coin?

Point is, it would leave physical evidence.

ooo metal shavings! I like this idea

[Sir Chestnut]

If a bird dropped a coin, where did the coin go?

I don't think they'd have to drop it. Could have just flew by and smacked her in the head with it.

BTW, anyone else wondering if Lois is a fan of Pridelands? lol

[VeryAngryDeer]

If a bird dropped a coin, where did the coin go?

I don't think they'd have to drop it. Could have just flew by and smacked her in the head with it.

If it was a whole coin... well, a 1kg bar of gold fits in a human hand. If Lois was hit in the head with a full coin, she'd probably have been knocked unconscious.

A smaller piece could hit her without her getting badly injured, but would also be harder to touch her with (especially in a high-speed flyby.)

[Amazee Dayzee]

It does look like she was knocked off-balance but it would have to be something that at the height the bird is wouldn't cause serious damage. If the bird is even involved.

[NHWestoN]

It does look like she was knocked off-balance but it would have to be something that at the height the bird is wouldn't cause serious damage. If the bird is even involved.

That might be the impact of the transformation. Steward got whumped when he changed. On the other hand, Thomas didn't seem to get rocked when he turned camel.

Bird droppings ... mebbee. Are some immune to the spell?

[fenrirblack]

Since the bird theory is so popular let's at least look at it from a realistic approach. Anything is possible within the realm of possibility. As much as I hate to admit it. Adding random background animals is not something he does often. He consciously added that silhouette so why?
Let's play this scenario out. Steward hires Trinket to spy on Marion. Actually lets add a new character to serve as Steward's partner like a hawk or a raven or something cool and lets call them Cameron. Cameron Crow. After Marion leaves in the middle of the night Steward uses Cameron to spy on him. Cameron reports to Steward that Marion is now in the ECP and was human as well as his relationship to Lois. Steward gives Cameron the coin and has him use it on Lois. He hops on the ground and simply touches Lois with coin inconspicuously before carrying it off during the confusion.
Now I see Steward standing on a dark balcony in the middle of the night and he holds his arm out for his pet bird to land on and report to him while his cloak flutters in the breeze.

[Ash Greytree]

Doesn’t the coin have be in the human’s hand(s) to take effect, though? I recall that being a stipulation of the curse. Just being able to touch a human with it and transform them seems too easy.

[Champion Wallace]

Lois is very blue for a wild cat. Instead of reading into that for species, I'm now going to chalk that up to being an example of Technicolor Wildlife like how Grape naturally has lilac fur.

I'm going to throw a guess into the ring and say that Lois did NOT gender-swap for several reasons...E. I think it would only happen to Marion as a "special case" and not something that would happen every time because why would it need too?...

It wouldn't need to happen every time, jut 50%. That's not to say you other points aren't valid; even if it's a coin flip in universe, pun intended, Rick Griffin ultimately chooses whatever outcome is better for the narrative.

And so far, even Marion's gender-swap has served ZERO narrative purpose. We got a few gags but that's it. For the most part it's been ignored by the cast except for a few cases. It hasn't effected Marion's school day or his conversations with the other animals after Jess.

It might have contributed to breaking Marion down mentally. It also contributes to Nobody's proposed theme of loss. If it was completely neutral, might as well to make the dice at least seem fair.

I got a new theory: What if the curse isn't the coin itself, but rather linked the removal of said coin? What if the curse was that if any piece of the treasure is removed from Pete's temple, various humans will start turning into animals until said treasure is returned, then all those who changed into an animal after the coin was removed would return to their human state. Why else, if I recall correctly, was Karishad mad that Joey(?) broke one of the rules?

That was the very first idea the characters cam up with. It didn't work.

Do we know if the coin affects non-human animals the same as it affects human animals?

We do know that it does not effect non humans at all given that touching it did nothing to dogs, camels, and the verbal conditions were specific to humans.

I actually have an interesting theory on what is going on. This Universe is NOT happy with everything that is happening. (Pete turning people into animals, the whole cosmic game, Tarot taking Peanut and the gang back in time) Even for a Universe of talking animals, that's kind of stretching things thin. The Universe is trying to repair itself, by returning things to normal. Now tell me, what happens when the old normal (humans and animals living their lives together relatively peacefully) is replaced by the "new" normal? (humans being turned into animals) It's going to default to whatever is now normal. All this stuff that is happening that shouldn't be possible is starting to blur reality...

I can't speak about Tarot & Co.'s time travel, but a large part about The Trial in Heaven was establishing that yes, the universe is ok with Pete turning people into animals and the whole cosmic game.

Res was still able to transform after the temple was destroyed. She did touch the mana pool though.

Res is a he.

If a bird dropped a coin, where did the coin go?

I don't think they'd have to drop it. Could have just flew by and smacked her in the head with it.

If it was a whole coin... well, a 1kg bar of gold fits in a human hand. If Lois was hit in the head with a full coin, she'd probably have been knocked unconscious.

A smaller piece could hit her without her getting badly injured, but would also be harder to touch her with (especially in a high-speed flyby.)

Her head is feeling fuzzy.

Doesn’t the coin have be in the human’s hand(s) to take effect, though? I recall that being a stipulation of the curse. Just being able to touch a human with it and transform them seems too easy.

That's what not quite Pete said, though it's a little nebulous because Thomas was wearing gloves and we haven't seen a human touch a coin with part of their body other than Steward's hands.

[Amazee Dayzee]

For now, I am just gonna go with the fact that if it is somehow on a somebody's person that it would transform them until we find out more about the transformations and the reasons why they occurred in 2 weeks.

[Kanexan]

Wait, which character is the Dino Demon? Is that Eudont, or someone else who I've forgotten?

[D-Rock]

It's a little black demon that helped Keene escape Eudoant.

[Kanexan]

Oh, that guy! Y'know, that would make so much more sense that he'd be behind it, instead of the Great Kitsune or the like.
Speaking of which, I wonder if Kitsune will get involved in the current goings-on? We know he's "in the area", so to speak, and I'd imagine something like this would at least pique his trickster-god curiosity.

[Mr. Whisper]

Lord Eudoant was not happy when his first spell only got him a squirrel. It took ages to recharge enough magic(k) to try again.

[Fish Preferred]

Or, y'know, the cosmic game had an objective that was to be fulfilled regardless of its outcome, and certain adjustments had to be made to accomplish that objective in a non-destructive manner.

[Jixstun]

It's good that Marion is saavy enough to not fall for Thomas' manipulations, but I can quite easily see her taking this turn of events to to mean that he's on the something & the Ferrets are likely responsible. I hope not though.

Will Lois end up in a enclosure, even briefly? I would hope that Poncho will back her & Marion up with Zoo security to avoid that, but if Marion doesn't trust the Milton Ferrets anymore she might not trust him, so I predict that the next time we see Lois she will either:

A) Be angry because she's in an enclosure.

B) Be angry because she narrowly avoided being put into an enclosure.

C) Be angry because she's just gotten out of an enclosure.

[Dissension]

Or, y'know, the cosmic game had an objective that was to be fulfilled regardless of its outcome, and certain adjustments had to be made to accomplish that objective in a non-destructive manner.

The side-game in the Housepets! dimension was a contest to ascertain which of the dorky teenagers meeting in somebody's parents' basement would lead their gaming group; the larger point of Universes & Unrealities and similar games is to prepare young folks for the responsibilities they'll bear when mature, like facing down demons and reigning over reality. I wouldn't expect there to be a tie to current events, but I guess one never knows...

[Rikunda]

I kinda like whatever it going on. It is sad they switch genders though, but does look great as a male!

[CunningFox]

While I don't think they're likely to meet anytime soon, does anyone else think Lois would get on well with Grape? They seem to have pretty similar no-nonsense personalities.

[GameCobra]

While I don't think they're likely to meet anytime soon, does anyone else think Lois would get on well with Grape? They seem to have pretty similar no-nonsense personalities.

Marion and Lois are human version of Grape and Maxwell turned to animals confirmed.

I'm just trying to keep it simple and figure out if this transformation thing is random or planned. At this point, it looks like it's entirely planned, but this doesn't mean Rick could pull off a coincidental random target. I just ponder how Marion woke up as a squirrel as opposed to how Lois just transformed at random at a park.

Now the theory that Marion and Lois isn't the only target as the story progresses is a good theory. It could possibly be a movement going on and Marion and Lois were just the first and most important targets.

[SeanWolf]

I just thought of this: The announcement said 'out of their cage'...what are the odds that either tomorrow's strip or Wednesday's will have the zoo putting Lois into a cage and not believing that she was a human?