2019/10/16 - Office Space

Post by **D-Rock** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 12:03 am

[2019/10/16 - Office Space]
Title Text: [sobs in camel]

I see that he's holding onto his humanity very well. Including the sassy secretary.

Saturn381 · Post by **Saturn381** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 12:03 am

I think that pretty much answers Marion's question.

Nobody · Post by **Nobody** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 12:04 am

I am reminded of StrongBad crying over the remains of his destroyed computer while pretending to answer emails.

dr_eirik · Post by **dr_eirik** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 12:05 am

Seems Sophia is learning English. And Thomas is perhaps a bit damaged, though I think hes just trying to hold onto things.

IceKitsune · Post by **IceKitsune** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 12:05 am

Well he clearly adapted well.

fenrirblack · Post by **fenrirblack** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 12:07 am

So Sofia's location has been revealed. And her English is coming along quite well after a year.

SO we're "Babe" now. Ooh I hope the Zoo doesn't have a HR Department.

Thomas is handling this quite well. Nothing like delusional thinking to really show he's adapting well to his new lifestyle.

"We are Camel" Sofia knows how to hit him where it hurts.

Gbr23 · Post by **Gbr23** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 12:08 am

You see Marion, you'll lose your sanity with each passing day

LunarFox · Post by **LunarFox** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 12:10 am

Aww, babe, the camel's found love, isn't that just plain adorable?
Marion can't have coffee anyways,
The effects, we know, are all horrible.
He wouldn't stop for days.
Thomas, please quit stalling,
We have better things to do,
Like find some answers, don't you think,
So please give them a clue.
Where's your stash of treasure hid?
Deep underneath the ground?
We'll step into his office,
Thomas, they're all really wound.
I hope you'll give some answers,
That surely would be nice,
So, if you'll answer questions,
They'll pay you any price.
What happens next, only Rick does know,
But to our goal I hope we go.

So what next, everybody? Predictions?

Champion Wallace · Post by **Champion Wallace** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 12:11 am

Has Thomas gone crazy?
Check.
Do people need to come to the forum for a translation whenever Sofia speaks?
Not any more.

Marion does not need any caffine (though it's not clear if he reacts like that to regular coffee (that might not have been coffee and we don't know if he drank any)).

Edit: fixed a typo.

Ryusuta · Post by **Ryusuta** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 12:13 am

How do camels take sugar with their coffee - one hump or two?

bjchan95 · Post by **bjchan95** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 12:14 am

I am reminded of StrongBad crying over the remains of his destroyed computer while pretending to answer emails.

I CAN'T EVEN RELATE. I CAN'T RELATE. dear strongbad, how'd ya type with boxing gloves on....

Also glad to see Sofia has learned to speak English

Elwood Blutarsky · Post by **Elwood Blutarsky** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 12:17 am

fenrirblack wrote:SO we're "Babe" now. Ooh I hope the Zoo doesn't have a HR Department.

Wouldn't it be AR for them?

Thomas is probably fine. Sofia shrugs it off and he has the keeper's good graces since he is both willing to work weekends and puts cover sheets on his TPS reports...why a zoo needs TPS reports is the better question.

NHWestoN · Post by **NHWestoN** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 12:22 am

They get Berlitz courses at the zoo?

... and love what you've done with the office, Thomas. Nothing says prestige like metamorphic desk!

dr_eirik · Post by **dr_eirik** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 12:25 am

NHWestoN wrote:They get Berlitz courses at the zoo?

... and love what you've done with the office, Thomas. Nothing says prestige like metamorphic desk!

Too bad he didnt have taped walls like Les Nesman.

Les Nesman. WKRP?

Geez I'm old....

Ash Greytree · Post by **Ash Greytree** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 12:26 am

Loving how Marion is drawn with his eyes as plain dots in this strip. With his pose and expression in the fourth panel especially, it gives it this feeling that Marion’s thinking “I can’t believe I’m dealing with this right now.”

Welsh Halfwit · Post by **Welsh Halfwit** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 12:29 am

This could be your worst fears,
the transformed end in ruts.
It doesn’t end up good, kid;
it's the wrong kind of nuts.
There’s little sane left here,
clinging on to the past;
at least Sophia’s with him
but how long will that last?
Relationships are hard,
and often will become bad,
but you may not notice
when you’re completely mad.

HundKatzeMaus · Post by **HundKatzeMaus** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 1:12 am

Yeah...Thomas takes it like a champ

Silly Zealot · Post by **Silly Zealot** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 1:27 am

"We are camel."

"No, we are Groot."

"No, this is Patrick."

dr_eirik wrote:Seems Sophia is learning English. And Thomas is perhaps a bit damaged, though I think hes just trying to hold onto things.

I am surprised he hadn't talked it much earlier. She understood Thomas well enough in the temple. Maybe she doesn't like people making fun of her accent.

Champion Wallace · Post by **Champion Wallace** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 2:15 am

Let's take a moment to appreciate Thomas physically said the word "beep". Twice.

fenrirblack wrote:SO we're "Babe" now. Ooh I hope the Zoo doesn't have a HR Department.

She's "babe" now, but remember where they were before.

Silly Zealot wrote:
dr_eirik wrote:Seems Sophia is learning English. And Thomas is perhaps a bit damaged, though I think hes just trying to hold onto things.
I am surprised he hadn't talked it much earlier. She understood Thomas well enough in the temple. Maybe she doesn't like people making fun of her accent.

I certainly imagined Sofia in a different voice this strip then previously.

Padgriffin · Post by **Padgriffin** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 2:52 am

Marion’s just standing there, thinking “wut”. How many days has he been a squirrel in-universe?

Ruska · Post by **Ruska** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 4:00 am

Yay Sofia! I can’t explain why, but she’s become one of my favorite side characters.

VeryAngryDeer · Post by **VeryAngryDeer** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 4:38 am

This strip seems pretty sad, really.

Thomas may well be lucid and sane, but it really emphasises that he's been thinking about all the things he can't do, even mundane things like having an office and calling for coffee. Like Marion, he's trying to maintain some of his old life, but unlike Marion, he has to settle for pretending rather than actually doing.

Vertigo Fox · Post by **Vertigo Fox** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 6:57 am

Eeh, he's damaged goods. But then, I think he was all along.
It's difficult to have that much money and power and still hold onto a sense of realistic proportion. Even moreso if you were born into it.

He doesn't seem to care so much about not being human, but he's completely unwilling to deal with the idea that he's no longer important, even if on some level he knows how ridiculous that is.

Frank · Post by **Frank** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 7:29 am

Don't camels eat coffee as a treat?

Yes, eat. Coffee is probably the only fruit we grow where we throw out the pulp and keep the pips.

Post by **SeanWolf** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 7:37 am

Thomas' "office" sorta reminds me of a Flintstones office in a weird way.

dr_eirik · Post by **dr_eirik** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 7:45 am

Padgriffin wrote:Marion’s just standing there, thinking “wut”. How many days has he been a squirrel in-universe?

It's a little undefined, but less that a week. Could be as little as three days.

I can imagine in the 4th panel hes thinking "Maybe this wasn't a good idea..."

trekkie · Post by **trekkie** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 7:49 am

SeanWolf wrote:Thomas' "office" sorta reminds me of a Flintstones office in a weird way.

Yeah, i can see that too. Thomas's situation is funny and sad at the same time. Poor Marion looks completely stunned. Hope Thomas doesn't delay Marion and Lois too much.

NHWestoN · Post by **NHWestoN** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 7:50 am

dr_eirik wrote:
Padgriffin wrote:Marion’s just standing there, thinking “wut”. How many days has he been a squirrel in-universe?
It's a little undefined, but less that a week. Could be as little as three days.

I can imagine in the 4th panel hes thinking "Maybe this wasn't a good idea..."

"But I don't want to go among mad people," said Alice. "Oh, you can't help that, " said the Cheshire Cat.,"They're all mad here."

Argent · Post by **Argent** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 8:10 am

Yeh, uh, nice stapler...

GameCobra · Post by **GameCobra** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 10:36 am

Probably not the kind of optimistic person, huh, Marion? =P

dr_eirik · Post by **dr_eirik** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 11:42 am

I wonder if Lois is going to regret taking Marion to see Thomas. By the last panel, Marion has to be thinking that this is some version of his future. Granted, Thomas was already a bit cracked even before this happened to him, and King is a better example of how he could come out the other side, if not better, then at least normal.

But it seems at least possible that Marion is going to leave the zoo more depressed that when he was in the tree.

NHWestoN · Post by **NHWestoN** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 11:46 am

Argent wrote:Yeh, uh, nice stapler...

Wait'll you see the Keurig.

dr_eirik · Post by **dr_eirik** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 12:32 pm

NHWestoN wrote:
Argent wrote:Yeh, uh, nice stapler...
Wait'll you see the Keurig.

We have no Keurig. Only salt lick.

Cesco · Post by **Cesco** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 1:36 pm

Aww, poor Thomas, he's missing his human life, his office, and most of all, his coffee...

He can still play doing that, though.

Nice that at least his camel Sofia is there with him.

She speaks English now? Eheh, Marion looks so awkward between this situation.

NHWestoN · Post by **NHWestoN** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 2:19 pm

dr_eirik wrote:
NHWestoN wrote:
Argent wrote:Yeh, uh, nice stapler...
Wait'll you see the Keurig.
We have no Keurig. Only salt lick.

We are not pod people. In fact, we are not people. Or you dis-not agree, Domas?

fenrirblack · Post by **fenrirblack** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 2:35 pm

Something important to recognize is that we have finally seen what happen to all three ex-humans (I’m assuming this is going to be the official term for HP). It’s also worth noting how different their circumstances are and more importantly between the three of them have pretty much checked all the boxes as far as “options” go aside from “pet” since King got out of that lifestyle. King is living with the Wolves as part of the ECP, we can assume he has a job, has a family, married a dog, and is happy. Steward is living in the woods as a feral animal, struggles to conform the others to his way of thinking, and is plotting revenge. Thomas is at the zoo, struggles to maintain the illusion of what he lost, and is all around miserable. So to recap, we have positive, neutral, and negative situations and even though Marion doesn’t realize it, he’s seen all three options.
I hope that seeing Thomas helps ram it through Marion’s thick skull that his situation could be much worse and unless he wants to fall into the same pit of self loathing and misery as Thomas, he’ll get over himself and actually strive to make the best out of this situation. His options are limited but he has them. I think that this is where this story will eventually lead but to get there Marion has to go on this magical misery tour and see that he has to grow up and be an adult about this or end up like Thomas and hold onto something that doesn’t exist. I mean a mature adult and not whatever Thomas is.

Welsh Halfwit · Post by **Welsh Halfwit** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 3:34 pm

fenrirblack wrote:Steward is living in the woods as a feral animal, struggles to conform the others to his way of thinking, and is plotting revenge.

Dunno if he's plotting it. Pretty sure he might not mind if it came along, though, and let's hope he never finds Karishad's stack of Golems.

dr_eirik · Post by **dr_eirik** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 4:08 pm

Welsh Halfwit wrote:
fenrirblack wrote:Steward is living in the woods as a feral animal, struggles to conform the others to his way of thinking, and is plotting revenge.
Dunno if he's plotting it. Pretty sure he might not mind if it came along, though, and let's hope he never finds Karishad's stack of Golems.

I'm still unsure of Stewards current motives. It's possible he was laying the groundwork for a revenge plot, but I still feel like there is something else going on there. I guess we shall see.

Welsh Halfwit · Post by **Welsh Halfwit** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 4:14 pm

dr_eirik wrote:
Welsh Halfwit wrote:
fenrirblack wrote:Steward is living in the woods as a feral animal, struggles to conform the others to his way of thinking, and is plotting revenge.
Dunno if he's plotting it. Pretty sure he might not mind if it came along, though, and let's hope he never finds Karishad's stack of Golems.
I'm still unsure of Stewards current motives. It's possible he was laying the groundwork for a revenge plot, but I still feel like there is something else going on there. I guess we shall see.

Well, all he's done to prove he's evil so far is try, viciously and malevolently, to purchase Ferals to sign up for something he has no access to that'll make their lives easier. If that's evil, it's the sort I want to meet.

Amazee Dayzee · Post by **Amazee Dayzee** » Wed Oct 16, 2019 4:46 pm

Uh-oh. I hope that the staff are aware of what is going on with Thomas. He seems to be teetering on the edge of a nervous breakdown. XD