2014/09/10 - Consultation Prize

[valerio]

oh dear

[Bucky-Roo]

Mmmmm. I'm now sorta worried that Rick's going to completely drop the whole supernatural angle. Which would really suck. Cerberus, Great Kitsune, Dragon and Pete....They're all fascinating characters and really helped set this comic apart from a lot of other ones. Hell it was the 'Great Game' that initially pulled me into the story.
Sure, the slice of life stuff is fun, but having a nice overarching plot like this one has always been amazing and the lead up to the start of the game by Dragon and Pete had become such a central part to the story that it's quick resolution and the shuffling off of Pete and Dragon feel rushed.
As I described earlier it feels like whiplash. One moment Pete's hitting rock bottom, his pain and despair overwhelming even Cerberus seemed sympathetic and Dragon realizing she was a horrible person.....To suddenly it's like all of that stuff hadn't happened. Pete and Dragon are shoved into the background and seem fine and consigned to their loss whereas before they were freaking out and suddenly their being bundled up out of screen and the scene shifts back to King/Joel and Kitsune talking about his boon. Mood whiplash. >.<

This reminds me about something at the end of the Ravenor by Dan Abnett.
Closure is overrated.

As much as I'm enjoying the cosmic games, I'm totally fine ending it for now. From all the drama, I think it'll be nice taking a break from it. Anyway, all this might come back in future arcs But for now, I just can't wait to see what happens next

[WhoElseButQuagmire]

Mmmmm. I'm now sorta worried that Rick's going to completely drop the whole supernatural angle. Which would really suck. Cerberus, Great Kitsune, Dragon and Pete....They're all fascinating characters and really helped set this comic apart from a lot of other ones. Hell it was the 'Great Game' that initially pulled me into the story.
Sure, the slice of life stuff is fun, but having a nice overarching plot like this one has always been amazing and the lead up to the start of the game by Dragon and Pete had become such a central part to the story that it's quick resolution and the shuffling off of Pete and Dragon feel rushed.
As I described earlier it feels like whiplash. One moment Pete's hitting rock bottom, his pain and despair overwhelming even Cerberus seemed sympathetic and Dragon realizing she was a horrible person.....To suddenly it's like all of that stuff hadn't happened. Pete and Dragon are shoved into the background and seem fine and consigned to their loss whereas before they were freaking out and suddenly their being bundled up out of screen and the scene shifts back to King/Joel and Kitsune talking about his boon. Mood whiplash. >.<

This reminds me about something at the end of the Ravenor by Dan Abnett.
Closure is overrated.

As much as I'm enjoying the cosmic games, I'm totally fine ending it for now. From all the drama, I think it'll be nice taking a break from it. Anyway, all this might come back in future arcs But for now, I just can't wait to see what happens next

Well we could revive the Cerb goes out on a date with Fox idea

[dtlux1]

I like this idea, I like it a lot.

Rick's final revenge: "I don't get the story as I wanted it, YOU don't get the characters as you wanted them!"

Oh no. I could see Rick doing that.

"King stays a Joel after Bailey is turned human, then gets arrested because he is still wanted for escaping. Bailey is now left as a human with no one to turn to and has nothing to do. Fox now has to go through life without King, making his best friend Bino. Then they all live with bad lives forever. THE END!"

THEN JOEL COULD NEVER SAVE MARTIN FROM THE GHOSTS OF... Oops, wrong story...

But really, that isn't how it will end. We all know that.

Welp, that didn't really work out... I guess that is why you don't put them behind spoilers.

Well we could revive the Cerb goes out on a date with Fox idea

That was an idea at a time? Great, now you are going to have me thinking about that, and laughing at the idea a lot. Then also thinking about it more.

[Argent]

Let's see, what loose ends do we have:

Tarot's elevator.
The pastel angel buttons.
Keene's lump of mana.
The giant feather.
The golden kitsune statue.
King's fate watch.
The lantern that signals Cerberus.
The gadget that stings a bit.
Pete's temple.

Have I missed anything?

[Cesco]

Great Kitsune is being pure magnificence now. He's best in expressions! End of the game, at last. The powers loss of Tarot and Sabrina shouldn't be problematic, and think of this, now you two are a bit more free (you can stay with Peanut all the time and moments you want, Tarot)... Epic way to introduce the "consolation" prize for Pete and Spirit Dragon. Be a mortal isn't that bad, you'll learn lot of things, and hopefully you won't remember anything of your previous life as demigods. What an honour for Joel. Please Great Kitsune, let the final sur-prize be something good. Overall, you said to like the people of this universe. If you want to make Joel happy, like feel in Heaven, let him turn as our lovely corgi till the rest of his days, he knows what will do, then...
Great Kitsude didn't drink anything till now. Right, Sabrina, order another milkshake, one more won't be a problem after the gallons ordered by the other Daryl. The Keene's "gold mine" credit card will pay the final bill.

I'm sure Karishad is Kitsune's mortal world disguise, since they are both mischievous with a joker behaviour. Plus Kitsune likes the HP universe so much so why wouldn't he constantly go down when he's there, not to mention Karishad has the unexplained ability to even fool the gods...

I like to think of that too, but maybe that attitude is just in the nature of foxes. They play with mind tricks.

[Shadowstar23]

Last panel. Big, fluffy Kitsune. Must Hug. Well at least Spira is looking on the Brightside of things. Like the way Sabrina looks in the first panel. As for the presents, the best one is underneath the table.

[WireWolf]

I like to think of that too, but maybe that attitude is just in the nature of foxes. They play with mind tricks.

Fox's have been quintessential tricksters in a lot of human storytelling and mythology. Reynard the Fox being a really good European example.

Let's see, what loose ends do we have:

Tarot's elevator.
The pastel angel buttons.
Keene's lump of mana.
The giant feather.
The golden kitsune statue.
King's fate watch.
The lantern that signals Cerberus.
The gadget that stings a bit.
Pete's temple.

Have I missed anything?

The Opener of Ways Cult.

As much as I'm enjoying the cosmic games, I'm totally fine ending it for now. From all the drama, I think it'll be nice taking a break from it. Anyway, all this might come back in future arcs But for now, I just can't wait to see what happens next

A break is one thing. Rick's broken up 'The Game' with normal stuff plenty of times before now. Always going from silly slice of life fun and then sliding things back into the overarching plot. (I always loved the pacing.)
I'm just sorta worried that we won't see any of the gods or there associated hijinks now that the game being for all intents and purposes over.
Today's current page is what has me nervous.
We go from lots of Drama and stuff from both Pete and Dragon.....Then today they only get two lines and one panel with them in the background before being hauled off panel by Cerberus.

I'd have liked Kitsune getting a few panels with the pair explaining why he did what he did. Or just have some sort of interaction with them.

I guess in the end, I'm just worried that ALL of this character buildup for Pete and Dragon is now going to be wasted. We've spent years following Pete and Dragon and parsing out their personalities, foibles, sin's, pain and flaws.
Now there's a chance they get mind-wiped and no longer be Pete and Dragon. The characters for all intents and purposes retired for the foreseeable future and now that the games finished there's no reason for any of the other god's to stick around. Kitsune and Cereberus will also be MIA for the foreseeable future.

This could me just be worrying though. I'm the kind of person who hates endings.

[Saturn381]

You know I just thought of something. If Pete and Dragon are going to be turned into mortals, what will their parents think of this?

Or maybe one package allows him the powers of a demigod....

"Could be something good, could be a clunk, could be a check for $25,000 ! Go get it!" ( An Internet to the GameShow geek who can name the reference. )

What is 'Lets make a Deal' Alex?

(And another game show reference)

Close, but no cigar..more obscure than that...think Chuck Barris ....

You...are...amazing!!!

[dtlux1]

We've spent years following Pete and Dragon and parsing out their personalities, foibles, sin's, pain and flaws.

How I wish that was true for me. I have spent 1 month following them. It is kind of good to have though. All these people saying 'I HAVE WAITED YEARS FOR THIS!' and I say 'I HAVE WAITED DAYS FOR THIS!' I guess there are some good parts of coming in late. Mainly, a lot of stuff is already wrapped up that others have waited forever for.

I do hope that it isn't all over though.

HERE IS A CRAZY THEORY FOR YOU ALL!

PETE AND DRAGON SWITCH PLACES WITH BAILEY AND KING FOR THEIR MORTAL LIVES! BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN!

Too bad it won't

[WireWolf]

We've spent years following Pete and Dragon and parsing out their personalities, foibles, sin's, pain and flaws.

How I wish that was true for me. I have spent 1 month following them. It is kind of good to have though. All these people saying 'I HAVE WAITED YEARS FOR THIS!' and I say 'I HAVE WAITED DAYS FOR THIS!' I guess there are some good parts of coming in late. Mainly, a lot of stuff is already wrapped up that others have waited forever for.

I do hope that it isn't all over though.

HERE IS A CRAZY THEORY FOR YOU ALL!

PETE AND DRAGON SWITCH PLACES WITH BAILEY AND KING FOR THEIR MORTAL LIVES! BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN!

Too bad it won't

I've been following Housepets for....Maybe a year and a half. Maybe two years. ^.^;
Mostly lurked on the Forums here and hashed out most of the plot points with friends who also follow it.

Personally I'm the sort of person who doesn't go, "I've waited years for this!" because as I said before. Closure is overrated and I hate endings. :p

Anyway. I have no idea how it'll work out for Dragon and Pete. That's what has me so worried. This can either end in tears or even more interest.
Personally I'm still hoping they get stuffed into a Canine/Cat body and get dumped in the Babylon Gardens, retain their memories and merely have the memories relating to the length of their durance removed and let things develop from there.

It'd be fascinating seeing how they interact with their Ex-Avatars as Mortals. :p

[dtlux1]

QUOTES!

YES! I would love to see them dumped in the gardens with the other pets. That would be a great plot point and would make the story far more interesting. I guess it depends on what is in those boxes.

I also am not the kind of person to say stuff like, "I HAVE WAITED FOR YEARS FOR THIS!" Why be happy that a great story is coming to an end? (Only thing I did anything like that with was Fox found out about King being Joel, and that was days).

And I remember a time 3 months ago when I had never heard of a webcomic. It is even hard to remember 1 month ago when I didn't read Housepets, and even thought it was kind of dumb when I did see it. In a year, I wonder where we will be in the story. Hope it isn't anywhere near the end, still so many plot points to rap up before the ending.

Can't wait to see what happens next, and I do hope that they get put into the gardens as pets. It will be kind of like what Pete did to King, and I can see Kitsune as one to be ironic and do to Pete as Pete did to King.

PS: I am still bad at names. I hate how I still can't remember some of the names.

[Argent]

Also, disappointed that Kitsune didn't pull the Wake Up schtick on Pete & Dragon.

[dtlux1]

Also, disappointed that Kitsune didn't pull the Wake Up schtick on Pete & Dragon.

I FORGOT ABOUT THAT! The wake up thing. We still have a chance to do that. They haven't got to their mortal lives yet. He could tell them to wake up, and then they wake up as mortals. That is after King/Joel gets his prize though. I HAVE TO WAIT 2 DAY TO KNOW WHAT IT IS! (Why am I complaining about me, when I know that everyone else here feels the same?)

[WireWolf]

YES! I would love to see them dumped in the gardens with the other pets. That would be a great plot point and would make the story far more interesting. I guess it depends on what is in those boxes.

I also am not the kind of person to say stuff like, "I HAVE WAITED FOR YEARS FOR THIS!" Why be happy that a great story is coming to an end?

And I remember a time 3 months ago when I had never heard of a webcomic. It is even hard to remember 1 month ago when I didn't read Housepets, and even thought it was kind of dumb when I did see it. In a year, I wonder where we will be in the story. Hope it isn't anywhere near the end, still so many plot points to rap up before the ending.

Can't wait to see what happens next, and I do hope that they get put into the gardens as pets. It will be kind of like what Pete did to King, and I can see Kitsune as one to be ironic and do to Pete as Pete did to King.

PS: I am still bad at names. I hate how I still can't remember some of the names.

We'll find out. Kitsune has something up his sleeves (Well he HAD sleeves at least.) This could be just as much a test of character for King/Joel as it was for Pete and Dragon.

Also, disappointed that Kitsune didn't pull the Wake Up schtick on Pete & Dragon.

Whose to say he won't? All he did was have Cerberus bundle the pair away. He could meet them later to handle it.

[Argent]

Also, disappointed that Kitsune didn't pull the Wake Up schtick on Pete & Dragon.

Whose to say he won't? All he did was have Cerberus bundle the pair away. He could meet them later to handle it.

If it's offstage it doesn't count. This looks like their final exit, it feels like their final exit, it smells like their final exit (and a griffin in a panic-sweat is something you don't want to smell). Unless Rick gives us an epilogue, that's it.

[InDaZone1219]

Come ooooooooooooonnnnnnnn...nnnnnnnnnnn FRIDAY!!!

[dtlux1]

Also, disappointed that Kitsune didn't pull the Wake Up schtick on Pete & Dragon.

Whose to say he won't? All he did was have Cerberus bundle the pair away. He could meet them later to handle it.

If it's offstage it doesn't count. This looks like their final exit, it feels like their final exit, it smells like their final exit (and a griffin in a panic-sweat is something you don't want to smell). Unless Rick gives us an epilogue, that's it.

We could see them after the prize is chosen. Then we may also get to see them as mortals. They are too good of characters to leave there and do nothing else with.

ON ANOTHER SUBJECT!

I have been with a comic for a month, and it already seems so long ago that I was in Black and White. I was browsing tags for Joey, and I couldn't believe what I saw here. I even had a hard time reconizing that it was fox here. AND THIS WAS BOTH THEIR FIRST TIME IN THE COMIC! Wow, hard to believe something from a month ago seems so long ago. And hard to believe that Housepets has went through so many style changes. Most important was from Black and White to Colour (not color, out American spelling is not as cool).

[PRDX4]

Now that I think of it, isn't it dumb how they're both losing?! How do both players lose a game if there's only two players!?

[dtlux1]

Now that I think of it, isn't it dumb how they're both losing?! How do both players lose a game if there's only two players!?

I am having a Go Kart race with my friend. Both of out Karts crash, and no one crosses the finish line. It is a draw.

This is similar, except the go karts are the avatars in the game (I just lost The Game). They quit, so both players could no longer play the game, so they both lost the game.

[PRDX4]

Now that I think of it, isn't it dumb how they're both losing?! How do both players lose a game if there's only two players!?

I am having a Go Kart race with my friend. Both of out Karts crash, and no one crosses the finish line. It is a draw.

This is similar, except the go karts are the avatars in the game (I just lost The Game). They quit, so both players could no longer play the game, so they both lost the game.

Except for the fact that "draw" does not mean "both lose". It just means that neither wins. I'd have been just fine if Rick left it at just "They learn their lessons, we get some back-story from Pete due to his outburst, and they lead normal demi-god lives. While Rick could still do that, I think the current outcome is much less desirable. I mean, despite the whole "draw is not equal to lose" thing, Pete and Dragon are going to be mortals for the rest of the entire Housepets! cast's lives! Not only that, but they can't even learn from the experience, because they'll forget!

[Douglas Collier]

Now that I think of it, isn't it dumb how they're both losing?! How do both players lose a game if there's only two players!?

I am having a Go Kart race with my friend. Both of out Karts crash, and no one crosses the finish line. It is a draw.

This is similar, except the go karts are the avatars in the game (I just lost The Game). They quit, so both players could no longer play the game, so they both lost the game.

Except for the fact that "draw" does not mean "both lose". It just means that neither wins. I'd have been just fine if Rick left it at just "They learn their lessons, we get some back-story from Pete due to his outburst, and they lead normal demi-god lives. While Rick could still do that, I think the current outcome is much less desirable. I mean, despite the whole "draw is not equal to lose" thing, Pete and Dragon are going to be mortals for the rest of the entire Housepets! cast's lives! Not only that, but they can't even learn from the experience, because they'll forget!

Unless you count King/Joel as an enemy player.

[Dissension]

Also, the not-remembering comes during their mortal period, not after.

[WireWolf]

Also, the not-remembering comes during their mortal period, not after.

Then it's not Pete and Dragon.
This goes back to the fact that who we are is completely predicated on our memories and experiences. Without those we're not who we are.

[dtlux1]

Unless you count King/Joel as an enemy player.

Which I do, I have been reading Housepets the Series, and it has gotten me to think as if King/Joel was a rival player rather than just there. He is opposing them and trying to get everyone playing to stop. He succeded, and then Pete and Dragon got a draw. But with all the reading of Housepets the Series, I have got them mixed up in my head. I can't wait for update though.

[MrBlueSky7]

Ok, I'm new here, so be gentle on me when I say that, I don't think Joel's gonna take either of GK's "Gifts" (like he said, he knew it was gonna be difficult, but this may be a little too much). From the look of it, he seems to have had it up to here with demigods and their tricks/treacherousness, so my guess is he's gonna confront GK to just let him be and make his own happy ending, no strings attached.

Also, is it me, or are Cerb and GK becoming an item? Not that anything's been implied, but seeing as how well they work together in bringing down Pete and Dragon, I wouldn't be surprised if we got a tiny hint of some shared interest between the two.

[dtlux1]

Ok, I'm new here, so be gentle on me when I say that, I don't think Joel's gonna take either of GK's "Gifts" (like he said, he knew it was gonna be difficult, but this may be a little too much). From the look of it, he seems to have had it up to here with demigods and their tricks/treacherousness, so my guess is he's gonna confront GK to just let him be and make his own happy ending, no strings attached.

Also, is it me, or are Cerb and GK becoming an item? Not that anything's been implied, but seeing as how well they work together in bringing down Pete and Dragon, I wouldn't be surprised if we got a tiny hint of some shared interest between the two.

Welcome to Housepets. I am slightly less new than you. That is a good theory. He may want his own happy ending with no strings attached. King/Joel is the kind of character that hates all these gods, so I see a BIG probability that it is likely to happen. I guess not reading in a month made me forget how much King/Joel hates these catches. I can't believe I didn't think about that. Good job, and a great theory.

[ArcWolf]

Guys, I think Joel might be King.

There's a lot of subtle hints about it.

[WireWolf]

Guys, I think Joel might be King.

There's a lot of subtle hints about it.

Really? Care to share?
If thats really the case then...Well it's extremely 'By His Bootstraps' then. >.>
muffins and cookies time travel.

[Mouko]

First time poster, long time reader here too.

I mostly made an account to point out something that I noticed... it feels like most people think GK made the details of the bet and is inflicting it on Dragon and Pete. But the thing is... they agreed to it. They made the bet, were probably the ones who decided on the details of the bet, and intended to inflict this fate on the other person. They aren't victims, they were both equally prepared to make the other person suffer the fate that they now share.

The only thing GK is doing is enforcing their bet.

[matthew Wolf]

I love what he's wearing in the third panel.... and his cocky grin

[dryideabat]

Ah, I was waiting for this. Dragon and Pete will now learn to treasure every moment in life, knowing that it is finite...

Karishad (from out of no where): "Hey, what do I win?... Can I have that wig?"
Kitsune: "... No..."

[Vipersblade]

Great Kitsune... definitely my favorite character of the series by far.. even though I still can't figure out his/her Gender.

[Douglas Collier]

He's a guy, most likely (based on his clothes, his demeanor, etc.)

[Amazee Dayzee]

Have I mentioned how much I love GK? If he wasn't a demigod, I would have a character lusting after him. I LOVE his outfit. I hope we see it again.

[herobrineharry]

This will not end well.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Well not for Pete and Dragon obviously.

[TomaTanuki]

First time poster, long time reader here too.

I mostly made an account to point out something that I noticed... it feels like most people think GK made the details of the bet and is inflicting it on Dragon and Pete. But the thing is... they agreed to it. They made the bet, were probably the ones who decided on the details of the bet, and intended to inflict this fate on the other person. They aren't victims, they were both equally prepared to make the other person suffer the fate that they now share.

The only thing GK is doing is enforcing their bet.

Speaking for myself at least I knew that the whole thing was a bet between SD and Pete. The reason it bothers me is that I never expected it to actually come to pass. Because it means an end of a character, they're both being completely removed from the story/universe unlikely to ever be seen again. Best case scenario I expected the two to learn their lesson and call off the bet. In this way, yeah they learned their lesson but it's rendered moot because they're gone. All the character development ammounts to nothing because we'll never see how the two changed from the experience.

Honestly all this does, again for me, is make GK out to be a manipulative villian who played the two of them and now gets to watch them slog through mortal lives. Yeah, they agreed do it, but if GK's plan the whole time was to teach them a lesson then he acomplished that already. Forcing them to still go though with the penalty is just spiteful and ruins what could have been an awesome story arc, especially after the last comic made it seem like the two were going to have a chance to make ammends with the cast. Pete's words in last Friday's comic hit hard now, "Why do mortals get the happy endings?" Because apparently it's better to toss aside a character we've known for years then continue with his development.

It bothers me as someone who enjoyed the story. It bothers me because, as some have speculated, it means Rick was being forced by complaining fans to completely remove something he probably really enjoyed doing. And it bothers me because it's cutting off any chance for future stories with these characters. While it means more slice-of-life stories, the comic still had those even with the cosmic events going on, it also means that that's all we'll have now. It means the comic I fell in love with has basically been cut in half, and it's heart breaking to me.

*Sighs* Sorry for the long rant. I needed to get that out of my system really badly. I still look forward to what happens next, but I just can't help but feel like this is the end of something special.

[TomaTanuki]

Don't get me wrong. I love the SoL stories and I'm glad we'll be getting back to them. Even as someone who really liked the cosmic story lines it's good to have a break every now and then and even I admit this one went on for a bit too long. But after having the supernatural elements in the story for so long just to have them completely removed, if the speculation is correct, then it would make the rest of the comic feel kinda empty. At least for me. And yeah, Pete was a jerk and I was rooting for him to get some kind of commupance for his actions. But like I said in my first post, this feels like they're being effectively killed off and that seems too extreme for me.

[D-Rock]

Just had an absolutely crazy idea, and I'm not one who has crazy ideas!

Now what if, when the crew gets back to Babylon Gardens, Mr. and Mrs. Sandwich announce they're expecting, and it turns out to be the mortal Dragon and Pete!!

And if that's the case, it would be a good thing they wouldn't remember, as Dragon crushing on Peanut would gain a new level of creepy (of course assuming that's what was meant by them not remembering, we're going to have to wait for an explanation on that).

On the converse side the huge amount of focus on King and the cosmic nerds that really took off during Dog Days Of Summer made a lot of people feel like he changed a comic that was slice-of-life with a moderate amount of supernatural events into a completely different comic where everything was focused on the cosmic game and even storylines that didn't involve them had people constantly speculating as to who might be who's avatar or minion in disguise or how this was going to help Pete or Dragon or who to ship them with and basically made Peanut and Grape minor background characters a lot of the time.

I never complained directly to Mr. Griffin because it's his comic to do what he wants with, but my personal dislike of the whole thing had much less to do with the above issues but more that I got really tired of seeing Pete bullying King over and over with barely any repercussions. In Dog Days all that happened was he couldn't keep pretending King was his avatar (King had never agreed to it, so even *if* his character had simply been a very grumpy dog rather than being transformed Pete was still skirting the rules) but he was still free to harass and threaten King, which is exactly what kept happening. I did, however, find this last storyline fun, and not because Pete lost - I kinda felt sorry for him in the end, but then, I've never felt that he was evil, just way too mean most of the time. The whole denouement has been quite fun to read but I'm glad it's over and hopefully King and Bailey will be back together without having to look over their shoulders for Pete to torment them again.

I also find forced TF incredibly creepy to the point that I couldn't stand reading It's A Wonderful Dog's Life the first time around but that's just me.

Yeah, as much of a good story arc this has gotten us, I did get tired of people constantly bringing it up. Now, I'm up for speculation, but when it was constantly discussed on a slice-of-life strip, I felt that we were missing out on the strip itself because we focused too much on another arc. It's been a great and involving ride, don't get me wrong, but it would be nice to see a conclusion. Do feel bad for Rick, though, as he probably felt forced to end it. And yeah, a lot of us felt sad seeing Pete like that. It's good to feel pity for someone that most of us disliked. One can't stay mad forever.

I'll admit, the transformation thing still seems creepy to me, because King, who is actually a human, fell in love with Bailey, a dog. Yes, King and Bailey make a cute couple, but my mind cannot ignore Joel. That may be just me, though.