2019/05/06 - Spoiler Alert

[Silly Zealot]

I just figured something: maybe Marion slept with one sock put on and that's why his legs have different colours. Hehehehe.
Awww, poor guy!

As someone who never read/heard of the book 'Metamorphosis', the last panel goes over my head a bit.

Same for me, but I looked up the ending... Not really a good thing for the character to do, I worry they're gonna start panicking soon after finding out what happens to the MC in that book. In that case, I'm seriously hoping that they run into King SOON so they can get a better perspective of how to cope with their new situation.

I looked it up too and oof! That would be one downer ending for this arc (Though I almost looked up the wrong Metamorphosis as there's also a 1990 horror movie of the same name).

It's my birthday, and Rick has gifted me with a punchline based on some of the required reading I had this school year. Good thing he chose Kafka and not The Things They Carried, I don't want to see Peanut go to Nam.

As someone who has read the story, I really, really, really recommend it! Short, interesting, tragic, sad, but not depressing.

My favourite character by far is the old cleaning lady the family hires to clean the protagonist's room after he's transformed. She's a "seen-it-all" "nothing-phases-her" kinda woman who doesn't back off when the buggified protagonist tries to give her a spook. Wham! Broom-whack to the giant bug! Haha! I love her. Kinda insensitive, though, I'll admit.

Oh, also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PUMKIN6!

[Cesco]

If this transforming is similar to the past ones happened to Joel, Steward, and Thomas, probably they all been not retroactive. Surely, also this time there are demigods' stuff, there aren't neither witches nor mutagens. Actually, there are precedents, it's just you who don't know them, Marion... Ah, it's Kafka's story "The Metamorphosis": but, it's better be a squirrel than a giant insect, right? Well, I don't think that the finish that story would help you, in your case...

[NHWestoN]

It's my birthday, and Rick has gifted me with a punchline based on some of the required reading I had this school year. Good thing he chose Kafka and not The Things They Carried, I don't want to see Peanut go to Nam.

Happy Birthday, Pumkin6! I'll extend wishes over on the Birthday thread, too!

[fenrirblack]

This is actually the first time he’s admitted out loud he’s a squirrel. He could even bring himself to say it before.

Something that still bothers me is how he doesn’t know how the book ends if they finished studying it in class. Wouldn’t they have talked about the ending while in class. It’s been a while since I was in high school but I’m pretty sure that your supposed to discuss the entire thing.

Judging from his conversation with his mother’s answering machine, I’m am more worried that his fate might not be much better than Gregor Samsa’s. “Please don’t kill me,” doesn’t inspire too much confidence in his mother acceptance that her son is now a squirrel.

[Gameb18oy]

This is actually the first time he’s admitted out loud he’s a squirrel. He could even bring himself to say it before.

Something that still bothers me is how he doesn’t know how the book ends if they finished studying it in class. Wouldn’t they have talked about the ending while in class. It’s been a while since I was in high school but I’m pretty sure that your supposed to discuss the entire thing.

Judging from his conversation with his mother’s answering machine, I’m am more worried that his fate might not be much better than Gregor Samsa’s. “Please don’t kill me,” doesn’t inspire too much confidence in his mother acceptance that her son is now a squirrel.

While I don’t think some analysis of that one line is without warrant, as usual I worry you’re taking things one step too far again Fen. So far, each of the strips this arc, excusing the first, has seemed to be setting up what kind of character Marion is. There’s a lot of stuff establishing he’s intelligent enough at least for his age, but I think that one statement is meant to just show Marion has a tendency to cause trouble, turning into a squirrel might not be the worst thing he’s ever done (considering some of the things the Housepets have done, as odd as it is to consider, it’s not impossible). I think the book thing is just to establish that while intelligent, he’s still a pretty typical teenager, not fully paying attention to things around him/ignoring it until the end at which point he consults cliffnotes, because unless it’s shelock holmes, or another of the classics that retains most of their appeal over time, who really wants to waste time with a dusty old book that even some of your teachers might admit is pretty dull but there’s a lesson plan already made based around it

[Silly Zealot]

I think the "please, don't kill me" comes from...well...people who see a rodent inside their house tend to react negatively.
Remember when Sabrina asked Fido to take care of Spo so that she wouldn't have to eat him?

[Gameb18oy]

I think the "please, don't kill me" comes from...well...people who see a rodent inside their house tend to react negatively.
Remember when Sabrina asked Fido to take care of Spo so that she wouldn't have to eat him?

Still sad Fido left him behind during the fanservice arc. Fido felt especially naked without the character that contributes to most of his entertaining appearances. Controversial opinion? Yeah maybe, but Fido is sadly a character I think would be abandoned later on if he wasn’t connected to a lot of other characters. I mean if he wasn’t dating a cat or happened to be the only pet with a pet of his own (and that pet has an ego much much bigger than his body), would Rick have much he could really do with Fido?

[fenrirblack]

This is actually the first time he’s admitted out loud he’s a squirrel. He could even bring himself to say it before.

Something that still bothers me is how he doesn’t know how the book ends if they finished studying it in class. Wouldn’t they have talked about the ending while in class. It’s been a while since I was in high school but I’m pretty sure that your supposed to discuss the entire thing.

Judging from his conversation with his mother’s answering machine, I’m am more worried that his fate might not be much better than Gregor Samsa’s. “Please don’t kill me,” doesn’t inspire too much confidence in his mother acceptance that her son is now a squirrel.

While I don’t think some analysis of that one line is without warrant, as usual I worry you’re taking things one step too far again Fen. So far, each of the strips this arc, excusing the first, has seemed to be setting up what kind of character Marion is. There’s a lot of stuff establishing he’s intelligent enough at least for his age, but I think that one statement is meant to just show Marion has a tendency to cause trouble, turning into a squirrel might not be the worst thing he’s ever done (considering some of the things the Housepets have done, as odd as it is to consider, it’s not impossible). I

I see where you're coming from. In my head my wording did not seem that dark, but now that's its been pointed out to me I see the problem. I was thinking in more in terms of when Gregor is/was going to be rejected and ejected by his parents, not being killed by them. I'm having flashbacks of King's relationship to his parents. Parents can be very fickle when it comes to their children. Plus considering how Metamorphosis ends and how he can't stay in the house forever, it is reasonable to assume that whatever relationship he has with his mother is about to get rough. I know I'm reading too much into the Metamorphosis thing but no matter how you look at this situation, he is going to explaining to do when his mother gets home. We may not know much about her yet, but if you've ever watched Fruits Basket then you'll get why I'm concerned. *cough* Momiji

I think the "please, don't kill me" comes from...well...people who see a rodent inside their house tend to react negatively.
Remember when Sabrina asked Fido to take care of Spo so that she wouldn't have to eat him?

Still sad Fido left him behind during the fanservice arc. Fido felt especially naked without the character that contributes to most of his entertaining appearances. Controversial opinion? Yeah maybe, but Fido is sadly a character I think would be abandoned later on if he wasn’t connected to a lot of other characters. I mean if he wasn’t dating a cat or happened to be the only pet with a pet of his own (and that pet has an ego much much bigger than his body), would Rick have much he could really do with Fido?

If Sabrina was not in the picture maybe Fido and the rest of the K-9's could have had a bigger role doing police stuff. Kevin and Ralph are similar. What do they offer besides dating Sasha or being a sergeant, respectively?

[Gameb18oy]

It is interesting to think about. Maybe it would showcase some complexity if the fan request to have Max join as the first F-line member causes problems for people, as while Fox is the only member shown to have any serious issues with cats, they all seemed to find the Sabrina Fido thing weird, even Ralph it’s not 100% certain he supports it, all we know for sure is he thinks he should have trusted his teammates with the info. It’s unlikely as Rick often likes to keep up the status quo in his comics, but it be appreciated change and would help us see if the divide between cats and dogs is still as present as it seemed to be in the black and white days of the comics

[JamesWolf]

is that the cockroach story? thats the cockroach story isnt it. he is not going to like how that one ends.

i do like how hes trying think his way threw this. i would probably do the same, while also being disappointed i didnt get to choose what i became.

[Gameb18oy]

is that the cockroach story? thats the cockroach story isnt it. he is not going to like how that one ends.

i do like how hes trying think his way threw this. i would probably do the same, while also being disappointed i didnt get to choose what i became.

No question drives a furry madder than “if you could turn into an anthromorphic animal, with no choice on which one you’d become, would you do it?”

[Nobody]

I know that last panel is just a punchline to a literary-minded joke, but all I can think is, "What high school makes you read Kafka? And why could I not go there?"

[Stormrun]

I know that last panel is just a punchline to a literary-minded joke, but all I can think is, "What high school makes you read Kafka? And why could I not go there?"

Mine did for Senior Year Philosophy class! I think we were supposed to write an essay on what it meant as a metaphor or something?

[fenrirblack]

Let me tell you a story if you think Metamorphosis is bad. The Coal Issue of the Fairy Tale Review (in all its wisdom) has a story called "The Woman who ate Foxes." It's a fairly short story even for an anthology but the entire plot is how this hideous woman ate foxes to prolong her life and the doctor who treated her. Long story short, the doctor man becomes obsessed with her and starts eating foxes as well until he changes into a fox. And she eats him.

[Argent]

I know that last panel is just a punchline to a literary-minded joke, but all I can think is, "What high school makes you read Kafka? And why could I not go there?"

Mine did. Also Anthony Burgess. Guess what novel that was.

[NHWestoN]

So did mine. But it was newer then.

[Argent]

So did mine. But it was newer then.

This was in the early '70s, so it wasn't that old.

[SeanWolf]

So did mine. But it was newer then.

This was in the early '70s, so it wasn't that old.

I never had to read the book in my school hence why I never heard of it.

[fenrirblack]

There is something to note about the similarities between The Metamorphosis and the HPU as a whole. In the book you have a child that is no longer human and therefore treated less so even though he is still mentally capable inside. This is similar to how humans are described as treating their pets in the HPU, intelligent creatures that are seen as "less than" human. Aside from a select few, they cannot have jobs and due to their biology cannot assist around the house therefore their presence can be seen as wasteful if the owner chooses to go with that perspective. Then when they can no longer care for said pet, they are removed from the home despite having being treated as a child. Certain events cause the owners/parents to see them as more of a burden. Something similar can be said about the borders in the book. Think of this situation the same way owners would treat their own children compared to the pets. To put it into better context, two people have a pet, then they give birth to a child and suddenly it is the pet that is ignored and becomes secondary to the human child. This creates a conflict of interest that leads to the aforementioned resentment. An example within the comic would be Joel's relationship with his family and pets. We don't know all the details of what happened (which is still a problem) but I'm going to make a grand theory and say that Joel's father was struggling career wise and his mother was not doing much better in other words financial trouble and took it out on the pets. This causes them to lose all respect for their owners and escape. The difference is that Joel's pets kidnapped him while Gregor just died.

It is also funny the similarities between Gregor and Marion as a whole. Just from what we know so far there is a lot to be said. First you have the helplessness that comes from a different body. Gregor couldn't walk normally or function the same as his human form and Marion is so small that he can't even pull his backpack. We haven't gotten to the food part yet but you know that his diet is going to change somewhat (if nothing else it adds insult to injury). Most importantly is the notion that (as far as we know) Marion's transformation is the same as Gregor's in that it was random and not the work of karmic intervention or external forces. Like Gregor, Marion strives to return to a sense of normalcy like going to school just as Gregor sought to return to his job.

(And yes, I still haven't read the book but looked it up on SparkNotes )

[CunningFox]

Marion reading the end of the story.

[NHWestoN]

Monty must be seeing the market today - Dow Down 473 points.

As Goofy might put it ... "Yaaaaaaa Hoo-Hoooooooey!" Wonder how Milton Enterprises faired?

[Champion Wallace]

“No precedent.” Yeah, I laughed way too loudly at that.

Dude, not the most flattering drivers license photo.

So he didn’t read all of the book the class was studying? Yea, that checks out.

And now we know why he was the one who was changed. Tsk tsk, this is why you always do your homework.

I don't think there's such a thing as a good drivers license photo. If not doing homework was the cause for his transformation, he should be far from the only one.

As someone who never read/heard of the book 'Metamorphosis', the last panel goes over my head a bit.

Basically, a guy wakes up as a bug and tries to go about his life. He can't change back, by the way.

Acording to Wikipedia, there's that plus (almost) everyone sees him as an abomination, he's unable to support his family in his new form and is a burden to them until he dies.

Is it just me, or does that picture look like the boy from here: https://www.housepetscomic.com/comic/20 ... sociation/ ?

That is the big question that keeps popping up but it’s most likely not for several reasons from hair color, grade, age, skin tone, etc.

Considering he’s got two paths he can really go down when he finally realizes the answers are not in his room, meet with the miltons (the dogs, the wolves, or the ferrets), get some support and possibly find out he’s not the only former human, but sadly also find out aside from maybe Kitsune, there’s no way to turn him back (and honestly, I have a feeling a demigod can’t directly change stuff made by another demigod, just so Rick can address the limits he needs to setup if Kitsune is gonna appear semi regularly now.) the other possibility is he encounters a wild animal and gets led to the opener of way cult, while no one is really malicious there, I don’t think meeting Steward is a good thing to happen to Marion

What about Draig's temple back in Egypt?

There is something to note about the similarities between The Metamorphosis and the HPU as a whole. In the book you have a child that is no longer human and therefore treated less so even though he is still mentally capable inside. This is similar to how humans are described as treating their pets in the HPU, intelligent creatures that are seen as "less than" human. Aside from a select few, they cannot have jobs and due to their biology cannot assist around the house therefore their presence can be seen as wasteful if the owner chooses to go with that perspective. Then when they can no longer care for said pet, they are removed from the home despite having being treated as a child. Certain events cause the owners/parents to see them as more of a burden. Something similar can be said about the borders in the book. Think of this situation the same way owners would treat their own children compared to the pets. To put it into better context, two people have a pet, then they give birth to a child and suddenly it is the pet that is ignored and becomes secondary to the human child. This creates a conflict of interest that leads to the aforementioned resentment. An example within the comic would be Joel's relationship with his family and pets. We don't know all the details of what happened (which is still a problem) but I'm going to make a grand theory and say that Joel's father was struggling career wise and his mother was not doing much better in other words financial trouble and took it out on the pets. This causes them to lose all respect for their owners and escape. The difference is that Joel's pets kidnapped him while Gregor just died.

It is also funny the similarities between Gregor and Marion as a whole. Just from what we know so far there is a lot to be said. First you have the helplessness that comes from a different body. Gregor couldn't walk normally or function the same as his human form and Marion is so small that he can't even pull his backpack. We haven't gotten to the food part yet but you know that his diet is going to change somewhat (if nothing else it adds insult to injury). Most importantly is the notion that (as far as we know) Marion's transformation is the same as Gregor's in that it was random and not the work of karmic intervention or external forces. Like Gregor, Marion strives to return to a sense of normalcy like going to school just as Gregor sought to return to his job.

(And yes, I still haven't read the book but looked it up on SparkNotes )

I think that level of analysis is finding stuff where nothing's there.

[Gameb18oy]

Funny thing about metamorphosis, it couldn’t be written in our day and age as another webcomic stated long ago “on the Internet, nobody knows that you’re a cat”
Gregor be kinda an idiot if he didn’t use the Internet to his advantage. It be hard, but assuming he could find companionship through an animal or something, he could get most of his other needs filled through deliveries and stuff

[Argent]

Peter Steiner, The New Yorker, 1993.

I'd like to see a Matamorphosis fanfic where Gregor Samsa starts a subreddit as /u/JustAnotherBug and discovers a whole online community of giant insects.

[fenrirblack]

Funny thing about metamorphosis, it couldn’t be written in our day and age as another webcomic stated long ago “on the Internet, nobody knows that you’re a cat”
Gregor be kinda an idiot if he didn’t use the Internet to his advantage. It be hard, but assuming he could find companionship through an animal or something, he could get most of his other needs filled through deliveries and stuff

Due to his transformation he still couldn't use a mouse or keyboard so the internet would still be unhelpful unless his family did it for him. That still doesn't help the issue of the fact that his family did not want him there and he had no money.

[Amazee Dayzee]

With his family treating him like that, no WONDER he committed suicide at the end.

[fenrirblack]

There is something to note about the similarities between The Metamorphosis and the HPU as a whole. In the book you have a child that is no longer human and therefore treated less so even though he is still mentally capable inside. This is similar to how humans are described as treating their pets in the HPU, intelligent creatures that are seen as "less than" human. Aside from a select few, they cannot have jobs and due to their biology cannot assist around the house therefore their presence can be seen as wasteful if the owner chooses to go with that perspective. Then when they can no longer care for said pet, they are removed from the home despite having being treated as a child. Certain events cause the owners/parents to see them as more of a burden. Something similar can be said about the borders in the book. Think of this situation the same way owners would treat their own children compared to the pets. To put it into better context, two people have a pet, then they give birth to a child and suddenly it is the pet that is ignored and becomes secondary to the human child. This creates a conflict of interest that leads to the aforementioned resentment. An example within the comic would be Joel's relationship with his family and pets. We don't know all the details of what happened (which is still a problem) but I'm going to make a grand theory and say that Joel's father was struggling career wise and his mother was not doing much better in other words financial trouble and took it out on the pets. This causes them to lose all respect for their owners and escape. The difference is that Joel's pets kidnapped him while Gregor just died.

It is also funny the similarities between Gregor and Marion as a whole. Just from what we know so far there is a lot to be said. First you have the helplessness that comes from a different body. Gregor couldn't walk normally or function the same as his human form and Marion is so small that he can't even pull his backpack. We haven't gotten to the food part yet but you know that his diet is going to change somewhat (if nothing else it adds insult to injury). Most importantly is the notion that (as far as we know) Marion's transformation is the same as Gregor's in that it was random and not the work of karmic intervention or external forces. Like Gregor, Marion strives to return to a sense of normalcy like going to school just as Gregor sought to return to his job.

(And yes, I still haven't read the book but looked it up on SparkNotes )

I think that level of analysis is finding stuff where nothing's there.

This is a taste of what I have to do for class so hopefully it’ll explain a lot about why I do some things the way I do.

1) Readers will attempt to determine, as best they can, what the story is trying to do (what it is attempting to establish and convey thematically). This will require, at times, the ability to surmise from partial success. What the story seems to be trying to do is not always what it succeeds in doing. The reader must be able to make a reasonable estimation of what the story is trying to do, and he or she must be able to (to the greatest degree possible) substantiate that estimation from the text. Once what-the-story-is-trying-to-do is established, deciding what is particularly effective, and what is not particularly effective, becomes less difficult.


2) Readers will attempt to determine how the story does what it does (if it does it)—how the text of the work establishes and conveys the story therein. Readers must be able, therefore, to explicate (make explicit what is implicit, in a reasonable manner: explain what is). They must consider the literal (explicit) and the figurative (implicit) aspects of the work, as well as devices such as character development, plot, point of view, setting, etc.


3) Readers will attempt to determine why the story doesn’t do what it is attempting to do (if it doesn’t)—what specifically damages, contradicts, or prevents the story from being established and conveyed.

(This is an actual list sent from my new professor.)

[Gameb18oy]

There is something to note about the similarities between The Metamorphosis and the HPU as a whole. In the book you have a child that is no longer human and therefore treated less so even though he is still mentally capable inside. This is similar to how humans are described as treating their pets in the HPU, intelligent creatures that are seen as "less than" human. Aside from a select few, they cannot have jobs and due to their biology cannot assist around the house therefore their presence can be seen as wasteful if the owner chooses to go with that perspective. Then when they can no longer care for said pet, they are removed from the home despite having being treated as a child. Certain events cause the owners/parents to see them as more of a burden. Something similar can be said about the borders in the book. Think of this situation the same way owners would treat their own children compared to the pets. To put it into better context, two people have a pet, then they give birth to a child and suddenly it is the pet that is ignored and becomes secondary to the human child. This creates a conflict of interest that leads to the aforementioned resentment. An example within the comic would be Joel's relationship with his family and pets. We don't know all the details of what happened (which is still a problem) but I'm going to make a grand theory and say that Joel's father was struggling career wise and his mother was not doing much better in other words financial trouble and took it out on the pets. This causes them to lose all respect for their owners and escape. The difference is that Joel's pets kidnapped him while Gregor just died.

It is also funny the similarities between Gregor and Marion as a whole. Just from what we know so far there is a lot to be said. First you have the helplessness that comes from a different body. Gregor couldn't walk normally or function the same as his human form and Marion is so small that he can't even pull his backpack. We haven't gotten to the food part yet but you know that his diet is going to change somewhat (if nothing else it adds insult to injury). Most importantly is the notion that (as far as we know) Marion's transformation is the same as Gregor's in that it was random and not the work of karmic intervention or external forces. Like Gregor, Marion strives to return to a sense of normalcy like going to school just as Gregor sought to return to his job.

(And yes, I still haven't read the book but looked it up on SparkNotes )

I think that level of analysis is finding stuff where nothing's there.

This is a taste of what I have to do for class so hopefully it’ll explain a lot about why I do some things the way I do.

1) Readers will attempt to determine, as best they can, what the story is trying to do (what it is attempting to establish and convey thematically). This will require, at times, the ability to surmise from partial success. What the story seems to be trying to do is not always what it succeeds in doing. The reader must be able to make a reasonable estimation of what the story is trying to do, and he or she must be able to (to the greatest degree possible) substantiate that estimation from the text. Once what-the-story-is-trying-to-do is established, deciding what is particularly effective, and what is not particularly effective, becomes less difficult.


2) Readers will attempt to determine how the story does what it does (if it does it)—how the text of the work establishes and conveys the story therein. Readers must be able, therefore, to explicate (make explicit what is implicit, in a reasonable manner: explain what is). They must consider the literal (explicit) and the figurative (implicit) aspects of the work, as well as devices such as character development, plot, point of view, setting, etc.


3) Readers will attempt to determine why the story doesn’t do what it is attempting to do (if it doesn’t)—what specifically damages, contradicts, or prevents the story from being established and conveyed.

(This is an actual list sent from my new professor.)

Isn’t one of the biggest jokes about literature jokes out there is that professors/teachers look into details way closer than the author ever intended, like if Shakespeare said a door was red, what that color symbolizes even if it could just be that he felt he needed an adjective to keep it from seeming too plain as he was writing it?

Also on the earlier response to me... I get what you’re saying on the mouse, but the keyboard still seems plausible to me. There are people who lost their hands that can use a keyboard from what I’ve been told. And with facechat, he might encounter the bug enthusiasts of the world, and while they’d find him bizarre, I know those guys love those things and would be especially fascinated if he didn’t die as quickly as the regular bugs. Heck, you could write an entirely different story on how the scientific world would react to him... and we’d all hope Gregor wouldn’t assume comics show how it would go down, as they only have one time they know they’ll have a test subject to work with

[Argent]

Isn’t one of the biggest jokes about literature jokes out there is that professors/teachers look into details way closer than the author ever intended, like if Shakespeare said a door was red, what that color symbolizes even if it could just be that he felt he needed an adjective to keep it from seeming too plain as he was writing it?

Asimov complained about this, and it was a joke in Back to School with Rodney Dangerfield where they actually had Kurt Vonnegut cameo as the author of a ghostwritten paper on Kurt Vonnegut that gets a failing mark.

A bug would have no problem using a keyboard and trackpad.

[Gameb18oy]

Isn’t one of the biggest jokes about literature jokes out there is that professors/teachers look into details way closer than the author ever intended, like if Shakespeare said a door was red, what that color symbolizes even if it could just be that he felt he needed an adjective to keep it from seeming too plain as he was writing it?

Asimov complained about this, and it was a joke in Back to School with Rodney Dangerfield where they actually had Kurt Vonnegut cameo as the author of a ghostwritten paper on Kurt Vonnegut that gets a failing mark.

A bug would have no problem using a keyboard and trackpad.

Exactly... and with how good fursuits have gotten and there being just enough bug furries out there, Gregor could just act like he made a really convincing lifelike suit, and then he could also involve himself in somethings with other people... he could still talk after all right?

[fenrirblack]

No he couldn’t talk. I don’t think he could stand up straight.

[Gameb18oy]

No he couldn’t talk. I don’t think he could stand up straight.

Wasn’t there a pic of him in suit or something, or that just an artistic rendition? Regardless, how did he communicate?

[fenrirblack]

One of the problems was that he couldn’t communicate with his family like at all. This created part of the disconnect between them.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Ther ebeing no way to communicate with loved ones usually ends up driving them all away if they can't understand what you are going through.