2019/12/25 - We Don't Need No Stinking Badger

[Welsh Halfwit]

I'll just pop this up here and move it if needed.

A can full of soda for Spo and Squeak
should be enough to see out the week
as we recall that Orange is the thing
that did strange things to Keene and to King.
If things go well then Spo may get lucky
(although that thought does get rather mucky).
When Squeak enjoys herself she's sweet
and now she's even thinking of Spo's feet...
'T'is the season for one and for all,
the short just as much as the tall.
Let's join the guys drinking soda like beer
and, unlike them, have clear heads for New Year!

[dr_eirik]

Something that occurred to me a while ago but I hand't posted yet: I've seen some folks wonder about the large time skip and not seeing about how Marion and Lois come to accept their TFs; perhaps it's because they've been getting that therapy King mentioned?

That's not unlikely. Though at one point, Pete mentioned to King that there was a bit of psychological change associate with that curse. Since the coins were cursed by him, it's reasonable to assume that they were conditioned to accept the change. It's hard to say if either or both would jump at being human again, especially Lois who seems to really have accepted things. I think Marion might only because he feels inadequate because of his size.

[Argent]

On the other side of the scale, a crime can definitely be too large to atone for.

Darth Vader got a redemption arc. After that, I don't think there's any real limit.

Also, Keene is perhaps the most powerful ferret in the world. Why does it seem that him getting others to donate to the ECP would be possible, or even government grants. All he'd really need is a couple politicians in the right place and he can protect the family fortune. Or he's going to liquidate the estate and plow it all into the ECP.

All it would take would be a few more verifiable human-animal transformations and the human government will basically take it out of his hands.

My problem with Steward's "plan" is that Rick doesn't seem to have a feel for the resources of truly rich people and large business organizations. I doubt the whole ECP up to this point is costing more than low six figures a year. Typical rich people toys like private jets and big yachts have operating costs in the millions. The mansion probably costs seven figures a year to keep running. Hundreds of animals in the ECP would show up on the Milton Foundation's bottom line as "incidental public relations".

[Nobody]

So, you say there's nothing wrong with the pace and it was all in our heads? Okay, you've established your argument. So, support your case. Take a few points out of my original post and say why you don't think those moments were important.

As far as the pacing goes, I'm pretty sure you made an argument as to why every one of the moments you mentioned could be considered necessary to the story, so not sure what else I'd really need to add (and I did make my supporting point anyway, I just didn't address it moment by moment). And I've already made my case as to why the gender change was a compelling narrative choice for me. And the fillers are (as you mentioned) necessary to give Rick a break every so often.

So, I've spent some time thinking about it and I've come to a conclusion. I think you're right, the problem isn't the pacing at all. Not at all. At least not directly. To get to this point, I had to go all the way back to basic.
Let's bring it to Freytag.
The basic story structure laid out by Freytag is as follows: exposition (introduction of the characters and scenario), rising action (seeking to resolve the situation), climax (the turning point that changes direction of the narrrative), falling action (moving towards conclusion), denouement (showing the consequences of the story).
Okay, so, let's break it down.

Exposition
Marion wakes up and finds out he's a squirrel. This establishes the scenario, but cleverly, this isn't actually the conflict, as we'll later learn. He starts to explore the new world as a squirrel and find out what's going on and how it effects his life.

Rising Action
Lois doesn't believe Marion, and he then gets kicked out of his house by his own mother, forcing him to start looking elsewhere for a fix. The conflict is established, Marion can't rely on the people he knew, so he has to find new people to help him out. Marion flails about for a bit trying to find someone to help, but nobody is helpful. He falls into despair, thinking everything is over; trying to tell himself that everything will be alright only reminds him of everything he's lost.

Climax
But then he meets Truck and Falstaff and he gets brought into Jessica's home. There he meets people willing to help, but they don't believe him. Lois starts looking for Marion because she cares. That his mother doesn't start looking for him right away tells us something about his mother, but for the moment, that's not important. Lois tracks Marion down to Jessica's place, but because a miscommunication, Marion thinks the police are there to arrest him, so he flees. Thanks to some quick thinking on Lois's part, she's able to find him. That's the climax.

Falling Action
Marion has to persuade Lois to believe him and he does. King is called in to help. This seems brief, but falling action is usually the shortest part of the story, going all the way back to Shakespeare.

Do you see the problem yet? If not, I will go on.

Denouement
With the main conflict resolved, Marion meets up with King, King persuades Keene to help Marion. Keene gives Marion what he needs to sort of get back into his human life. We see a few instances of how this changes his life, but it seems like things are going to be okay.

See it yet?

This is where the problem is. It feels like it's a pacing issue because the denoument drags on for a long time, but that's only because the last two thirds of the story are its own story. The established conflict is resolved by the end of part 3 and the story is concluded by the middle of part 4, but then it introduces another conflict, which becomes the focus of the rest of the arc. We aren't reading one story, we're reading two. The second story is really well paced on its own, but it feels like the pacing is wrong because it was introduced as being part of the first story and at a time when the audience is expecting resolution to come.

So, what should have been done instead? Simple: make it two separate stories. End My Life As A Teenage Squirrel with Marrion finishing his finals. To complete the audience satisfaction, end on a short scene of Steward flipping the coin. Introduce Trinket (so the audience doesn't later feel like there was an attempt at misdirection that doesn't exist) and make it clear that Steward's going to be watching how this goes as set up for the next part.

Then have a short break with someone else to clearly separate the first story from the second one.

Then start the next story with re-establishing that Marion is still having squirrel troubles. I think the best way would be to have it start with his mom. Have her being unreasonably critical and dismissive, leading Marion to think that the only way he can really get things back on track is to become human again. He has his breakdown here, not because he fell in the toilet, but because his mother doesn't love him. Then the story proceeds exactly as written.

This solves all the problems the story has. Except the superfluous TG element. Yes, I am going to stick by that as a flaw, it distracts from the main conflict of the story, creates needless confusion over the coin, leading the audience to expect someone other than who it very obviously was, and makes the audience think there's a mystery that doesn't exist. It's a superficial flaw and the story does easily overcome it, but it is a flaw.

That said, reading it as two separate stories, you realize that the structural problem is really very minor and entirely centers around managing the audience's awareness of the conflicts. It's a very minor structural problem and it doesn't hurt the story's overall impact. So, we get an 8/10 instead of a 9/10. It's still a superbly told, emotionally impactful and extremely satisfying story. Like Spider-Man 2, it has some minor problems, but they are vastly outweighed by its strong points, and the more people reread the story, the less those flaws are going to matter.

And now I know why I felt the way I did as I was reading this story and all is right with the world.

Imma go eat a donut.

My problem with Steward's "plan" is that Rick doesn't seem to have a feel for the resources of truly rich people and large business organizations. I doubt the whole ECP up to this point is costing more than low six figures a year. Typical rich people toys like private jets and big yachts have operating costs in the millions. The mansion probably costs seven figures a year to keep running. Hundreds of animals in the ECP would show up on the Milton Foundation's bottom line as "incidental public relations".

Okay, gonna come clean, my family OWNS a major corporation. Rick actually has a better grasp of this than you think. People pulling in millions from operating costs for their own personal use is what ultimately crushes the uber wealthy in the real world. The actual scale is longer than this - it usually takes a couple generations - but we can't tell this story over a couple of generations because who has the time to read that? So, in the interest of getting to the important points, time has to be compressed. This is the point where the needs of the story must supersede reality a little bit.
Also, yes the government getting involved MIGHT ease the problem a bit, but then government incompetence is the only thing you can rely on as a constant in this world. That and death. And sometimes taxes, if you can't afford a good accountant. But here's the thing: is Keene going to LET the government get involved? Remember, Keene is the guy who wants to fix everything himself. The point of the arc might not be Keene running out of money, but Keene needing to learn that it's okay to let other people help him.

[VeryAngryDeer]

On the other side of the scale, a crime can definitely be too large to atone for.

Darth Vader got a redemption arc. After that, I don't think there's any real limit.

You can write a redemption arc for a character, that doesn't mean it'll be accepted by the reader. Darth Vader personally murdered a bunch of kids. Committed an act of genocide. Condoned and was a part of a military that destroyed entire planets to get back at a few rebels. That's not forgiven just because he threw the Emperor down a reactor shaft. I've seen multiple YouTube animation videos mocking this situation.

Unless Steward's redemption is very carefully handled, undoes the damage he's caused, and compensates for the suffering he's put people through, I don't want it to happen, because it wouldn't work for me.

My problem with Steward's "plan" is that Rick doesn't seem to have a feel for the resources of truly rich people and large business organizations. I doubt the whole ECP up to this point is costing more than low six figures a year. Typical rich people toys like private jets and big yachts have operating costs in the millions. The mansion probably costs seven figures a year to keep running. Hundreds of animals in the ECP would show up on the Milton Foundation's bottom line as "incidental public relations".

True, just look at how Jeff Bezos can afford to liquidate one billion dollars in Amazon stocks every year just to fund Blue Origin, which currently only produces a tourism rocket that hasn't carried any passengers, and a rocket engine for rockets that haven't even been built yet. Its definitely not generating profit, but Bezos can afford to just keep throwing money at it.

Keene's problem is that he was apparently "pulling millions directly from operating funds", which is money his corporations need to function. He was throttling the goose instead of waiting for it to lay golden eggs.

[Argent]

Keene's problem is that he was apparently "pulling millions directly from operating funds", which is money his corporations need to function. He was throttling the goose instead of waiting for it to lay golden eggs.

But it still doesn't make sense that the ECP was the problem. Theme Park World, sure, that probably cost hundreds of millions of dollars. One house and upkeep for a dozen wolves, and a second site in construction? No.

[VeryAngryDeer]

Keene's problem is that he was apparently "pulling millions directly from operating funds", which is money his corporations need to function. He was throttling the goose instead of waiting for it to lay golden eggs.

But it still doesn't make sense that the ECP was the problem. Theme Park World, sure, that probably cost hundreds of millions of dollars. One house and upkeep for a dozen wolves, and a second site in construction? No.

You're probably right. Thing is, Steward doesn't mention the ECP in the scene at the beginning of TC2. Its Keene who brings it up (indirectly, talking about his rights.)

Either the "millions from operating funds" covers all the ferrets' expenses, or the ECP is just a small part of Keene's activism.

[Legotron123]

This whole arc felt like an anime that needs to wait for the manga it’s based on to put out some more chapters to adapt, so it just adds a bunch of subplots that go nowhere. Stuff like like Marion going to school or the visit to Kitsune added nothing to the plot that couldn’t have been done in a quarter of the time.

[Welsh Halfwit]

Meh, that's life. Fiction finishes plots, life doesn't.

The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense.

Tom Clancy

[Argent]

Keene's problem is that he was apparently "pulling millions directly from operating funds", which is money his corporations need to function. He was throttling the goose instead of waiting for it to lay golden eggs.

But it still doesn't make sense that the ECP was the problem. Theme Park World, sure, that probably cost hundreds of millions of dollars (*). One house and upkeep for a dozen wolves, and a second site in construction? No.

You're probably right. Thing is, Steward doesn't mention the ECP in the scene at the beginning of TC2.

No, but he's now claiming that the ECP will bankrupt Keene. Either he's completely forgotten how to accountant or he's lying to give Trinket time to get the coin.

(*) Google says a small regional theme park can cost up to half a billion, and a major one 2-4 billion.

[dr_eirik]

No, but he's now claiming that the ECP will bankrupt Keene. Either he's completely forgotten how to accountant or he's lying to give Trinket time to get the coin.

(*) Google says a small regional theme park can cost up to half a billion, and a major one 2-4 billion.

Its very hard to feel out Stewards plan, how much is based on logic and knowledge and how much is Steward having gone slightly bonkers over the last couple years.

I think that it also underestimates how much Keene seems to have matured since Steward was transformed. While he's still prone to wild extravagance, he seems to have a concept of dialing down his actions, likely with Breels influence.

He also ends up apparently having a plan to deal with the influx of newly transformed.

The other possibility: Steward might be relying on others having Marions reaction and blame Keene. Then follows inevitable lawsuits. If there are enough victims, then that could bankrupting the estate.

[Nobody]

No, but he's now claiming that the ECP will bankrupt Keene. Either he's completely forgotten how to accountant or he's lying to give Trinket time to get the coin.

(*) Google says a small regional theme park can cost up to half a billion, and a major one 2-4 billion.

Its very hard to feel out Stewards plan, how much is based on logic and knowledge and how much is Steward having gone slightly bonkers over the last couple years.

I think that it also underestimates how much Keene seems to have matured since Steward was transformed. While he's still prone to wild extravagance, he seems to have a concept of dialing down his actions, likely with Breels influence.

He also ends up apparently having a plan to deal with the influx of newly transformed.

The other possibility: Steward might be relying on others having Marions reaction and blame Keene. Then follows inevitable lawsuits. If there are enough victims, then that could bankrupting the estate.

I think Steward going slightly mad does play into it quite a bit. The fight was over the money. Steward not only wants to take what he sees as the thing Keene most loves, but also wants to prove he was right to vindicate himself. He did have access to Milton's financial records, so he has some pretty good insight into what they've got, but even if things have changed since then and Keene's grown up some since then, that's something Steward had no way of knowing. He might also be blind to it because of his anger.
Seeking revenge isn't something rational people do. So if Steward is seeking revenge, it's pretty clear that he isn't being rational, and his plan wouldn't be either.

[Flexico]

I'm torn between furry glee for Marion and Lois being an adorable couple, and strong dislike for involuntary, permanent transformation. :\

[D-Rock]

Mostly same, really. Though I think we can look at their relationship and predicament as a "forged by fire" type thing.

[Flexico]

I like how ya think~

[VeryAngryDeer]

I'm torn between furry glee for Marion and Lois being an adorable couple, and strong dislike for involuntary, permanent transformation. :\

Same. The latter is probably why I'm so vehement that Steward crossed the moral event horizon.

[Nobody]

I'm torn between furry glee for Marion and Lois being an adorable couple, and strong dislike for involuntary, permanent transformation. :\

Same. The latter is probably why I'm so vehement that Steward crossed the moral event horizon.

I think you're blowing it a bit out of proportion. He's disrupted their lives quite a bit, but they are still ALIVE. Heck, they're not even really crippled or anything. Marion is the most handicapped by all of this, but they've got workarounds going. This is a real horrible thing to do to people to be sure, but it's hardly moral event horizon level, especially since animals are already a lot more like people in this universe already.

[Ash Greytree]

There are definitely pangs of bittersweetness to the way that Marion & Lois are stuck like this, discussing the potential permanence of it all, and Marion saying he only misses being human sometimes now, finding joy in his new form... it carries those usual gut-punch-y feelings that come with fiction that deals with involuntary transformations. Even a few days later when I think about it I get those feelings. But Marion & Lois are in a much better position than others in different shows and comics who’ve suffered their same fate.

On another subject, earlier today I was thinking about how Mungo was tending to Fox after Steward slashed his face. This had me thinking that maybe in the near future we’ll be getting more of that duo’s relationship and it potentially flourishing into something more significant. A small flashback mini-arc of Mungo helping Fox recover and get back into working on the force would be sweet.

[VeryAngryDeer]

I'm torn between furry glee for Marion and Lois being an adorable couple, and strong dislike for involuntary, permanent transformation. :\

Same. The latter is probably why I'm so vehement that Steward crossed the moral event horizon.

I think you're blowing it a bit out of proportion. He's disrupted their lives quite a bit, but they are still ALIVE. Heck, they're not even really crippled or anything. Marion is the most handicapped by all of this, but they've got workarounds going. This is a real horrible thing to do to people to be sure, but it's hardly moral event horizon level, especially since animals are already a lot more like people in this universe already.

I don't think I am.

There are crimes in the real world that leave a person alive and apparently uninjured, for which we consider the perpetrator as or in some cases more evil than murderers. I'm not saying that what is shown in the comic is the equivalent of rape, but it comes uncomfortably close. Its still a non-consensual violation of the human right to bodily integrity.

And there's no workaround for loss of life expectancy. How long will Marion live now? 20 years? 15? Animal life expectancy is a lot different in Housepets than it is in the real world, but its still substantially lower than he would have had otherwise. As I've said before, this is only made not incredibly tragic by the fact that there's definitely an afterlife in this situation, so death doesn't matter as much and anything bad that happens in life can be fixed afterwards.

Yes, animals are sapient in this setting, which makes them a lot like humans. They still have very few legal protections. Even leaving that aside, it doesn't matter that they're a lot like humans. That's not the problem. The problem is the fact that it was done involuntarily and permenantly.

Or maybe it is just me that finds the implications of weaponised transformation curses to be absolutely terrifying?


I'd put it in a similar camp as love potions. The implications of their existence are terrifying, but somehow they keep making their way into comic-relief plots about the wacky hijinks of people hooking up with people they normally wouldn't. The only time I've seen this subverted is in Harry Potter with Voldemort's dad, but that just makes the earlier scenes where "good guys" use it all the weirder.

[Argent]

I'd put it in a similar camp as love potions. The implications of their existence are terrifying, but somehow they keep making their way into comic-relief plots about the wacky hijinks of people hooking up with people they normally wouldn't. The only time I've seen this subverted is in Harry Potter with Voldemort's dad, but that just makes the earlier scenes where "good guys" use it all the weirder.

Harry Potter Fridge Horror is an ever-renewing well. Ministry Obliviators. Casual obliviation and memory-charming of muggles, like muggles are some kind of clever pets with no rights (kind of like the animals in HousePets!). The classification of whole intelligent species as beasts (again with no rights)...

[Bill in OK]

Don'tcha just want to give Marion a big hug? And Lois too, of course.

[Amazee Dayzee]

I am hoping that in a few months time when we see them again they won't have drifted apart from each other due to being different species because that wold really suck. :/

[Flexico]

I am hoping that in a few months time when we see them again they won't have drifted apart from each other due to being different species because that wold really suck. :/

From what we've seen so far of their relationship, I seriously doubt that will happen! ^_^

[Amazee Dayzee]

It is what I am hoping for but I am also a bit of a pessimist so I'm worried that it COULD happen.

[VeryAngryDeer]

I am hoping that in a few months time when we see them again they won't have drifted apart from each other due to being different species because that wold really suck. :/

From what we've seen so far of their relationship, I seriously doubt that will happen! ^_^

Especially since they're (for now) in the unique position of being the only two people their age that this has happened to. Sure, an animal of their species may be more physically attractive, but they won't have been through what Marion and Lois have, and they won't understand them.

I've no idea what Marion and Lois are doing in the bedroom, and given the comic's self-imposed PG rating, we're probably not going to be told. I would not be surprised to learn that the relationship was entirely romantic with no sexual element at this point. They both retained their genders, so I'd expect they retained their sexual orientation too, in which case not only are they the wrong species, they're the wrong sex for each other too.

So what I think is keeping them together is that they love each other very much, and they know each other better than anyone else in the world can.

[CunningFox]

Perhaps Joey and Squeak will give them advice on dealing with an inter-size relationship. Though I'm not sure Marion will agree with Squeak about the advantages of having a larger SO.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Do Joey and Squeak actually have a legit relationship though when it comes to dating? Everybody else I get the feeling just sees it as some sort of a joke.

[Argent]

Do Joey and Squeak actually have a legit relationship though when it comes to dating?

Squeak's into paws.

[OdedZeituni98]

Do Joey and Squeak actually have a legit relationship though when it comes to dating?

Squeak's into paws.

just like me

[Amazee Dayzee]

But other than the fact that Squeak likes to get squished is there anything else or is that just it?

[Obbl]

If you wanted to be pessimistic you could assume not, or if you wanted to be not pessimistic you could assume there is

[Amazee Dayzee]

Only problem is I don't know what to assume. XD

[Obbl]

Always assume good if you have little to no reason to assume bad

[Amazee Dayzee]

That is actually a very good position to get and keep for everything.

[Champion Wallace]

It figures that Fox is the one to get his eye clawed given his history in the comic, though normally he takes emotional damage, not physical damage.

As for Devo, I'm sure Lois could correct him. Grabbing him by the scruff with claws out would probably take care of that real quick.

We only got a snapshot of Devo's bad behavior. I'm sure someone nearby had stern words for him posthaste.

I noticed that Lois' eyelashes are a lot more prominent now. She must be using mascara or something.

Makes sense, if you've had all your biological sex characteristics removed but you still need to signal your gender, that's a pretty good way to do it.

On the same note, I noticed a while back that Marion's chin-fur looks rather scraggly and beard-like, similar to Grape's when she was pretending to be Sabrina's boyfriend. Probably a way for him to look more masculine.

His chin fur does look masculine, but it's always been like that, even at the start before he knew he had female parts.

More likely, given how crooked he turned out to be, Steward had been siphoning off money and cooking the books to make it look like the nascent ECP was responsible.

If all the financial problems with the ECP were Stewards doing, then he would know it's sustainable and adding more applicants wouldn't bust it.

Why does Devo look like a quadruped?

His hands are inside the foliage so he has plausibly deniable paws.

I started reading well after this arc started, and thus haven't been around for any conversation; is there any indication or theory as to why there's been genderbending as well as species tf with these last couple tfs, or has the curse cast on those coins always had the chance of this happening, but just hadn't manifested until Marion/Lois?

There's no indication yet, just theories. I perscribe to the one that new sex is random, just like species, with Marion and Lois being less fortunate than Thomas and Steward (well, it was a lateral move to Lois).

Speaking of Devo, what pet does Marion have? I'm pretty sure every Babylon households has at least one.

It's not clear if that's a requirement. The evidence is Simon reciting his dad saying the neighborhood is "built for middle-class families with pets". That could be taken as they only sell to pet owners or there are accommodations for pet owners.

Keene has flippantly trashed his life without ever once showing any appreciation for the actual hard work he was doing. The BUTLER gets more respect from Keene, and Keene once told the butler to stick his (Keene's) butt in the corner so he could do his business.

A nitpick, but that was Simon who asked for his butt put in the corner.

Here's a pretty good question: Where are Lois and Marion living now? Clearly, they are already well-adjusted to the human world, being former humans themselves. They don't necessarily have to be in the program, especially if they are on good terms at least with Lois's parents.

Living a human life isn't only about being adjusted to the human world. Those two still need the ECP to bribe convince employers/colleges they are still human enough. Housing is just one part of the Equal Chance Program.

Here's a pretty good question: Where are Lois and Marion living now? Clearly, they are already well-adjusted to the human world, being former humans themselves. They don't necessarily have to be in the program, especially if they are on good terms at least with Lois's parents.

There are a couple possibilities there. The final panels makes it seem like they are living together, unless Lois is just walking Marion home. I tend to think they have their own place together. Marion's joke about chewing off her face while she slept implied that. In my mind, they are either in some college living situation (dorm, off campus apartment) or the ECP boarding house King mentioned.

Aside from the adorableness of Lois walking her boyfriend home, there is also the issue that even if he lives down the street, Marion can't really walk himself home through the snow on his squirrel legs.

I wonder what Steward's real plan is here- if Keene is super rich, room and board for several hundred (or even thousand) humans-turned-animals isn't going to make a dent in his fortune (assuming he's got it invested to earn passive income).

Don't forget tuitions and any legal hurdles.

Hooray I'm contributing to the mess

Are all arc conclusion threads this divisive? This is like my second page discussion thread period, so as far as I know they're all like this. Small sample sizes!

Be glad you weren't around for part of The Trial in Heaven . But no, this happens to be on the divisive side of the spectrum.

On another subject, earlier today I was thinking about how Mungo was tending to Fox after Steward slashed his face. This had me thinking that maybe in the near future we’ll be getting more of that duo’s relationship and it potentially flourishing into something more significant. A small flashback mini-arc of Mungo helping Fox recover and get back into working on the force would be sweet.

Their friendship might develop, but I don't see that going anywhere romantic.

Don'tcha just want to give Marion a big hug? And Lois too, of course.

Obviously.

Do Joey and Squeak actually have a legit relationship though when it comes to dating? Everybody else I get the feeling just sees it as some sort of a joke.

It being legit and others thinking it's a joke isn't mutually exclusive. People be like that sometimes. They enjoy each others company and even went to a movie together. They are a real couple.

[Argent]

More likely, given how crooked he turned out to be, Steward had been siphoning off money and cooking the books to make it look like the nascent ECP was responsible.

If all the financial problems with the ECP were Stewards doing, then he would know it's sustainable and adding more applicants wouldn't bust it.

The question is, which is the bigger plot hole? Steward has literally lost it, or the biggest drag on the Milton foundation was a house and half a dozen minimum-wage wolves instead of a quarter-billion-and-up theme park?

[dr_eirik]

On another subject, earlier today I was thinking about how Mungo was tending to Fox after Steward slashed his face. This had me thinking that maybe in the near future we’ll be getting more of that duo’s relationship and it potentially flourishing into something more significant. A small flashback mini-arc of Mungo helping Fox recover and get back into working on the force would be sweet.

Their friendship might develop, but I don't see that going anywhere romantic.

I think that they have already got a close friendship once they reconciled at the end of K9PD. The time we see them together in the hot springs cements that. Fox was introspective enough to realize he was in the wrong and had potentially destroyed his relationship, both personal and professional, with Mungo.

Thing is, I've never been all that clear about how close they were before they were partnered up. I've had the impression that they were friendly-in-the-hall co-workers, and it was only after the Christmas party at the end of K9PD they became friends.

Mungo tending to Fox in the immediate aftermath of him being slashed makes perfect sense, too. They weren't alone, Fido was taking off after Steward, and we don't see anyone else qualified. Mungo surely has basic first aid skills and wasn't needed elsewhere. Also, I'm not sure that Mungo would have been the best one to catch the badger in that moment since he, very accidentally, might have made badger pate.

More likely, given how crooked he turned out to be, Steward had been siphoning off money and cooking the books to make it look like the nascent ECP was responsible.

If all the financial problems with the ECP were Stewards doing, then he would know it's sustainable and adding more applicants wouldn't bust it.

The question is, which is the bigger plot hole? Steward has literally lost it, or the biggest drag on the Milton foundation was a house and half a dozen minimum-wage wolves instead of a quarter-billion-and-up theme park?

To be fair, the theme park might still be open and operating at a profit. Just because we don't see it doesn't mean the ferrets handed it off to someone else to manage.

I've commented before how we actually know very little of whats going on despite six months of comics in this arc. One of the big ones is, really, what is Stewards actual plan other than "Destroy Keene" and "Anyone else that I need to destroy". There feels like far more going on, which I'm sure will be revealed eventually. I'm not expecting the next arc to open in Stewards secret forest layer surrounded by hench-critters.

[Amazee Dayzee]

It probably won't be like that but you do have to admit it would be so cool if it did. xD