Housepets!

I suffer = Y’all suffer

Seems like Steward is up to something.

Breathe it in everyone, that is some serious villain aura right there. Props for Steward for really going there.

If Steward didn't know Marion was a former human before, he does now. Marion was not even subtle at all. They're going to have a nice little heart to heart come morning.

The COIN, it's back. Of course this does not prove that it was involved but Steward definitely wants to show it off. SUSPICIOUS and definitely EVIL!

I'm just going to say this now: oh, of course....Steward, what the heck are you up to? And why are you quoting Kitsune?

Actually, that gives me a thought: Kitsune said the same thing to King, and King ended up as a dog as retribution for his actions as a human. Could this be the same sort of thing?

On another note-

Part 3, then? What's next for our bad-ger?

Side note: that is one very, very, very unhappy squirrel.

Steward, if you wanted us to take you at face value, you shouldn't have walked into the light shining on your glasses like that

"...but, if you try sometime you find/ you get what you need..." Hmmm...

Jess didn’t know he was listening
on the other side of the missing door,
and, when he voices his opinion,
several sets of jaws hit the floor.
He finally lets come of his anger out
and gets short shrift back from Steward;
maybe the bitter Brock has a point
and the wild brings its own reward?
There’s nothing holding you back now,
a new life is beginning to have begun
and, if you grasp it with both handpaws?
Well, then, you just might have fun.

Thanks for another poem, Welsh! Great as always! Have you ever thought about publishing some?

And Marion falls to the floor sort of like Max did in Scaredy Cats sort of like King did that Christmas. This looks like at situation where Marion is going to run away in the middle of the night. Steward doesn't wear any clothes (sans glasses) since his transformation. He doesn't have any pockets which raises the question: where was Steward keeping the coin seeing as it wasn't in either hand last strip when he was gesturing?

LunarFox wrote:King ended up as a dog as retribution for his actions as a human.

Wrong. He ended up a dog because of the stat bonuses he would have as Pete's avatar.

Is Steward A Villain: YES.

Steward's Goal: Revenge or Regaining his Old Life

Did He Change Marion: No

Does He Know Marion’s True Identity: Maybe. (He's doesn't want to scare Marion off or risk exposure since no one knows about his past)

Who Changed Marion: Dino-Demon or another new supernatural character that has not been introduced.

Will Marion Return Home: Yes. Soon.

Theories
As a fellow therian, Steward is going to convince Marion to talk to the Miltons'. Marion sees this as his best option to return to his human life so he joins Steward. With the ECP the Miltons' can not only help him graduate but even help him get into college or find a job. At the very least they can explain the situation to his parents. (At this point I don't think Marion knows anything or very little about the ECP or what the Milton ferrets actually are capable of.

Steward is going to question Marion in the morning and once Steward discovers Marion was changed and wants to use Marion for his own devious purposes:
A. Steward wants to convince Marion to join the ECP to get back in the Milton's good graces. He lost his job and his life and the Miltons are the best chance at regaining some type of normalcy. Technically he could still do lawyer stuff as a badger IF the Milton's rehire him.
B. Steward wants to get back in the Milton's good graces so he can get something from them like a method of returning to human. They don't trust him so if he comes bearing gifts like more animals for the ECP then maybe they'll turn the other cheek to the fact that he tried to rob them.

Steward is going to discover that Marion was once human and gets the idea in his head to use the coin to turn other humans into animals (again the coin DOES have to be used eventually) so they will follow the same logic of the Milton's and the ECP are their best chance at retaining normalcy.

Champion Wallace wrote:And Marion falls to the floor sort of like Max did in Scaredy Cats sort of like King did that Christmas. This looks like at situation where Marion is going to run away in the middle of the night. Steward doesn't wear any clothes (sans glasses) since his transformation. He doesn't have any pockets which raises the question: where was Steward keeping the coin seeing as it wasn't in either hand last strip when he was gesturing?

LunarFox wrote:King ended up as a dog as retribution for his actions as a human.

Wrong. He ended up a dog because of the stat bonuses he would have as Pete's avatar.

Ah, okay. That makes more sense now... gotcha!

Oh jeez Steward, have some pity on the boy. It's your own fault you ended up like this, but Marion's just a kid.

Steward is a villain and Facebook admitted it, "look, I have a badguy with glasses I need to do the shine thing"

I mean, was there ever any doubt of that?

What will you sacrifice?
What are you willing to destroy?
So, Steward what do want?
What are you hiding behind those shifty eyes?

D-Rock wrote:I mean, was there ever any doubt of that?

Felt like it. There seemed to be a lot of resistance and arguing if I remember correctly. Some people might not have been completely sure, but it was always obvious. It was obvious from the end of year 10.

Could also be because of two reasons;

People love coming up with what-ifs.
We know that Rick tends to be back and forth with whether a story will follow standard tropes or not depending on what he feels like it.

Xane wrote:Definitely a BADger.

Saturn381 wrote:Seems like Steward is up to something.

Given his current height, I'd say he is more of a getting down to bussiness guy.

D-Rock wrote:People love coming up with what-ifs.

Speaking of what ifs:
I dunno if this fan theory has any real ground to stand on, but:
Steward: "The ferrets never told you what happened to your father."
Marion: "They told me enough, they told me he skipped town!"
Steward: "No, Marion, *I* am your father!"
Kazoo version of the Imperial March plays in the backround.
Marion: ".....NOOOOOO! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"
Steward: "Honestly, son, we both got turned into animals, I can think of five impossible things that've happened to me before breakfast."

Well that's ominous.

I think you're right, Zealot.

D-Rock wrote:I mean, was there ever any doubt of that?

That he's a bad guy? Not really. But he's not Evil. He's quite capable of doing bad things for a positive end that will benefit others in his eyes as well as himself.

I don't think he's evil, just malicious....

I think we can all agree that Steward's plans, whatever they might be, most likely do not have Marion's best interests in mind.

fenrirblack wrote:Theories
As a fellow therian, Steward is going to convince Marion to talk to the Miltons'. Marion sees this as his best option to return to his human life so he joins Steward. With the ECP the Miltons' can not only help him graduate but even help him get into college or find a job. At the very least they can explain the situation to his parents. (At this point I don't think Marion knows anything or very little about the ECP or what the Milton ferrets actually are capable of.

Marion doesn't look like he's in the mood to talk to Steward about the ECP, let alone be convinced by it. Even if it turns out participating in the ECP is in Marion's best interests, I don't think he want's to hear about it right now.

D-Rock wrote:I mean, was there ever any doubt of that?

To quote Cerberus, "but of course!"

Champion Wallace wrote:

fenrirblack wrote:Theories
As a fellow therian, Steward is going to convince Marion to talk to the Miltons'. Marion sees this as his best option to return to his human life so he joins Steward. With the ECP the Miltons' can not only help him graduate but even help him get into college or find a job. At the very least they can explain the situation to his parents. (At this point I don't think Marion knows anything or very little about the ECP or what the Milton ferrets actually are capable of.

Marion doesn't look like he's in the mood to talk to Steward about the ECP, let alone be convinced by it. Even if it turns out participating in the ECP is in Marion's best interests, I don't think he want's to hear about it right now.

Come morning, Marion is going to have cooled down and try to leave Jess’s house, probably against Jess’s advice, and Steward will be there waiting in the wings for the perfect moment to swoop in for the kill.
If we want to play the what if’s (I am the king of What if’s) then I can see this going two ways. One being we get straight to it and Steward and Marion have a heart to heart then and there. Or Steward let’s Marion see what the world is like for a feral animal beyond what he’s already experienced. A kind of “see how far you get without me” type deal. The problem with this is that he already has seen the world and two he runs the risk of meeting someone who can help him like Tarot and/or King. So to move the story along I figure that we’re get to the point whether or not Marion is “up for it.” Hopefully it won’t come down to something cheesy like Marion gets rescued by Steward from a life threatening situation to earn his trust.

Uuuuhhhmmm...Steward...if you try to play "Oh life isn't fair, kiddo" card to gather sympathy...no. Just no.
There is a difference between a guy, who try to trick his employee and a random student, who get pulled into something he doesn't have any connection with.

Seriously at this moment I don't have any sympathy for him.

Someone needs to give Marion a hug. Ink or Kix, the only known mothers of the house, should hopefully be able to calm him down enough that he could at least sleep.

Alright, going to call it here: Stewart knows what happened to Marion, but it wasn't him or the coin. He just doesn't care.
He's going to take advantage of the situation instead and get Marion to join in on his ECP plan.

It's also possible that this experience with Marion taught Stewart to be more assertive at this point with his plan and is probably going to use the coin more actively.

(paws for emphasis)

Man oh man, Steward's gotten pretty good at dealing with those humongous badger claws. Flipping that coin like a pro b-movie villain.

Champion Wallace wrote:Wrong. He ended up a dog because of the stat bonuses he would have as Pete's avatar.

That's why he got turned into a dog. He ended up as a dog because he went native and fell in love with another dog.

Welsh Halfwit wrote:He's quite capable of doing bad things for a positive end that will benefit others in his eyes as well as himself.

Yeh yeh, I'm sure Gendo said the same thing.

You know what distresses me the most about today's strip?
That's right!
The "to be continued" sign at the end of the page!

We are about to move onto a different story and won't see these characters for AT LEAST a few weeks!

Aaaaah, the suspense! The dramatic tension!

Argent wrote:(paws for emphasis)

Man oh man, Steward's gotten pretty good at dealing with those humongous badger claws. Flipping that coin like a pro b-movie villain.

I've noticed his claws changing size ever since his transformation onwards. But that's probably because of artistic licensce MAGICAL SIZE-CHANGING CLAAAAAAWS *epic guitar riff*

Argent wrote:[/size]

Champion Wallace wrote:Wrong. He ended up a dog because of the stat bonuses he would have as Pete's avatar.

That's why he got turned into a dog. He ended up as a dog because he went native and fell in love with another dog.

Boy! When you put it like THAT!

Dang...kind of want to give Marion a hug now...

As for Badger...I think the reason why he said that is maybe he's referencing his own experiences?

Argent wrote:

Welsh Halfwit wrote:He's quite capable of doing bad things for a positive end that will benefit others in his eyes as well as himself.

Yeh yeh, I'm sure Gendo said the same thing.

Who?

Welsh Halfwit wrote:

Argent wrote:

Welsh Halfwit wrote:He's quite capable of doing bad things for a positive end that will benefit others in his eyes as well as himself.

Yeh yeh, I'm sure Gendo said the same thing.

Who?

Gendo Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion.

SeanWolf wrote:

Welsh Halfwit wrote: Who?

Gendo Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Or as SFdebris calls him, Evil Abe Lincoln Clone.

Also, I was browsing the Housepets reddit the other day, and came across some guy saying people who want Marian to turn back to a human should be patient, because the King/Joel arc lasted several years. I don’t really agree with that because A. We knew right from the start how Joel was turned into King, we weren’t left wondering who would do such a thing for all that time, and B. We all knew that King’s life was better as a dog, and that the only thing he had waiting for him if he became human again was jail. That’s not the case with Marian. He has family, a girlfriend, a bunch of people who are going to be going nuts looking for him while he’s stuck like this, and he can’t really do anything to convince them of what happened without just looking like some crazy squirrel. He does not deserve what’s happening to him right not, and I’m hoping we make at least some progress towards getting him the help he needs soon.

Legotron123 wrote:We all knew that King’s life was better as a dog, and that the only thing he had waiting for him if he became human again was jail. That’s not the case with Marian. He has family, a girlfriend, a bunch of people who are going to be going nuts looking for him while he’s stuck like this, and he can’t really do anything to convince them of what happened without just looking like some crazy squirrel. He does not deserve what’s happening to him right not, and I’m hoping we make at least some progress towards getting him the help he needs soon.

Ah! And here lies the greatest moral conundrum of this story arc:
Marion, as far as we know, did nothing to deserve his pain, and he has a mother, a girlfriend, and probably many others who would miss him dearly, or suffer along with him even if they found out what happened. Marion deserves to go back with his family and friends, to go to college and to be succesful and happy.

BUT!

If he goes back to being a human...........................................................we won't get to see him as a cute animal cast member anymore!

Not everyone here is willing to make such a sacrifice for the sake of Marion.
Points at you. Yes, you!
Are YOU willing?!

Silly Zealot wrote: BUT!

If he goes back to being a human...........................................................we won't get to see him as a cute animal cast member anymore!

Not everyone here is willing to make such a sacrifice for the sake of Marion.
Points at you. Yes, you!
Are YOU willing?!

Yes. I know you’re joking, but I’d rather he be happy.

I wonder if anyone will address that outburst.

Legotron123 wrote:

Silly Zealot wrote: BUT!

If he goes back to being a human...........................................................we won't get to see him as a cute animal cast member anymore!

Not everyone here is willing to make such a sacrifice for the sake of Marion.
Points at you. Yes, you!
Are YOU willing?!

Yes. I know you’re joking, but I’d rather he be happy.

Marion's happiness is more important, but not everything has a happy ending.

Legotron123 wrote:

SeanWolf wrote:

Welsh Halfwit wrote: Who?

Gendo Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Or as SFdebris calls him, Evil Abe Lincoln Clone.

Also, I was browsing the Housepets reddit the other day, and came across some guy saying people who want Marian to turn back to a human should be patient, because the King/Joel arc lasted several years. I don’t really agree with that because A. We knew right from the start how Joel was turned into King, we weren’t left wondering who would do such a thing for all that time, and B. We all knew that King’s life was better as a dog, and that the only thing he had waiting for him if he became human again was jail. That’s not the case with Marian. He has family, a girlfriend, a bunch of people who are going to be going nuts looking for him while he’s stuck like this, and he can’t really do anything to convince them of what happened without just looking like some crazy squirrel. He does not deserve what’s happening to him right not, and I’m hoping we make at least some progress towards getting him the help he needs soon.

Back when the King arc started there were also more alternating and shorter arcs than today, there really weren't as many long running arcs until probably the Heaven's Not Enough arc. So I'd assume this will wrap up a bit quicker than the King arc.

In 2009 there were 15 arcs, compared to last years 7. And a lot of those are technically sub-arcs as well.
https://housepetscomic.fandom.com/wiki/Story_Arcs

Silly Zealot wrote:Not everyone here is willing to make such a sacrifice for the sake of Marion.
Points at you. Yes, you!
Are YOU willing?!

"Your Furry needs YOU!"

Am I the only one who wants to give Steward the benefit of the doubt? Not flat out trust him, his past transgressions have burned that bridge. However it's been a long time and we haven't seen him since in depth. For all we know he could actually have good ideas at heart.

Or not. Point is that he's been gone and we don't know if he's changed or not.

Tiyos1017 wrote:Am I the only one who wants to give Steward the benefit of the doubt? Not flat out trust him, his past transgressions have burned that bridge. However it's been a long time and we haven't seen him since in depth. For all we know he could actually have good ideas at heart.

Or not. Point is that he's been gone and we don't know if he's changed or not.

I'm with you there. While a leopard can't change its spots, it has been a long time since we seen Steward so, who knows? Maybe he had a awakening and actually wants to help (I'm suspecting that the coin is a major red herring).