Cursed coin ~ transformation theories

[D-Rock]

His fursona has nine tails.

[Gameb18oy]

In case y'all didn't know, Diss already made a cameo appearance. Alongside Sleet, I believe. That comic of Rick as a Furret appearing was a guest comic, can't quite count that.

I can’t believe Diss has been dead this whole time and no one noticed!

[fenrirblack]

That depends if it is even legal to have an exotic pet in Babylon Gardens which is what I assume a squirrel falls under. Stranger danger had an alligator that he was gonna feed Fox, Max and Grape to so obviously he was not caring about what was legal at that point.

That is an interesting question considering this happened. Anyone else wish that A. that tiger became a standard character and B. that it actually got a real name?

Exotic pets was always something I wish could be examined more in the HPU. Especially tigers. I'm hoping that down the line that the coin will start creating more interesting animals that could open up an entirely new dynamic in the comic's world. So far the coin has not been kind with the animals.

I have a feeling that if the coin does start creating more therianthropes that Keene or someone is going to start to find housing options for them. Like a boarding house somewhere in the neighborhood.

[Amazee Dayzee]

I was about to say that I thought his name was Shardul but that was the name of the tiger in the zoo Peanut saw while there.

Maybe he is a younger brother or cousin?

[Gameb18oy]

That depends if it is even legal to have an exotic pet in Babylon Gardens which is what I assume a squirrel falls under. Stranger danger had an alligator that he was gonna feed Fox, Max and Grape to so obviously he was not caring about what was legal at that point.

That is an interesting question considering this happened. Anyone else wish that A. that tiger became a standard character and B. that it actually got a real name?

Exotic pets was always something I wish could be examined more in the HPU. Especially tigers. I'm hoping that down the line that the coin will start creating more interesting animals that could open up an entirely new dynamic in the comic's world. So far the coin has not been kind with the animals.

I have a feeling that if the coin does start creating more therianthropes that Keene or someone is going to start to find housing options for them. Like a boarding house somewhere in the neighborhood.

Shardul already was shown. Personally, if we get a few more humans that have to relocate to the zoo, I hope the characters trapped in there get more appearances (even the kangaroos). I have a personal bias for wanting Gambit and Tarmac appearing more, but it be nice if Silverbolt the Fox got another appearance, or that snake memorable due to being the only reptile we’ve seen that’s intelligent at this point.

[NHWestoN]

Time to return to the zoo.

[Amazee Dayzee]

It HASA been a few years since we last seen it so it might be nice to check in.

[fenrirblack]

The zoo would make a good spin off comic. If Housepets is about the animals in the Neighborhood what would it be called if there was a comic about zoo animals?

[NHWestoN]

"Petzou!" Of course, some of our punster folks would respond with "Geshundheidt!"

[Gameb18oy]

The zoo would make a good spin off comic. If Housepets is about the animals in the Neighborhood what would it be called if there was a comic about zoo animals?

I think rick has enough other comics to work on. I’m quite a big fan of the comic where Karishad lookalikes apparently are on uneasy terms with a village of raccoons (And also they are even more naked in that comic) and would prefer Rick not have more work that makes it hard to get to without forcing himself through a slog of more work

[fenrirblack]

The zoo would make a good spin off comic. If Housepets is about the animals in the Neighborhood what would it be called if there was a comic about zoo animals?

I think rick has enough other comics to work on. I’m quite a big fan of the comic where Karishad lookalikes apparently are on uneasy terms with a village of raccoons (And also they are even more naked in that comic) and would prefer Rick not have more work that makes it hard to get to without forcing himself through a slog of more work

Maybe he can do it once Housepets is finished.

[Buster]

webcomics rarely finish though, and the ones that do frequently had an 'end goal' spelled out early on. it's far more frequent to see webcomics with either 'soap opera pacing', where the entire thing is on contiguous seemingly unresolvable arc, or a never-ending string of arcs and sagas that always leave more hooks for future events, than they resolve from past ones (which if not well maintained sometimes lead to Kudzu Plots). i suspect housepets is the latter.

[Amazee Dayzee]

I am hoping that it never ends and that like a soap opera it runs for YEARS! You can tell I love my continuing drama. XD

[Nathan Kerbonaut]

I hope Housepets isn't a drain of creativity and time for Rick's other projects. Nothing ends well when a creator feels obliged to make something, and Rick must be a lot busier now than he was during the comic's early years.

[fenrirblack]

I like to think making new characters like Marion is a way to not only keep the story going but a way to revitalize interest in the comic. If something does start feeling like more work then fun then you should find a way to create something new and that excites you. Like Pokémon. To keep the franchise going they keep coming out with more of them. Not only that but new lands to explore with new dynamics. That’s what I do to create interest in my work. World building.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Though to be honest, with Pokemon I'm not really a big fan of the Mega-Evolution concept myself because my mind goes STRAIGHT to Digimon with that.

[Gameb18oy]

I like to think making new characters like Marion is a way to not only keep the story going but a way to revitalize interest in the comic. If something does start feeling like more work then fun then you should find a way to create something new and that excites you. Like Pokémon. To keep the franchise going they keep coming out with more of them. Not only that but new lands to explore with new dynamics. That’s what I do to create interest in my work. World building.

... I’d be more inclined to agree with you if they finally would just replace ash already. As much fun as trying to figure out how old he should be is, I’d enjoy following another kid with a Pikachu for their starter

[Amazee Dayzee]

Didn't they make a spinoff anime where they followed side characters or characters from the game? (I remember the male G/S/C protagonist who had Cyndaquil and the female one having Totodile but that is about it.)

[fenrirblack]

Didn't they make a spinoff anime where they followed side characters or characters from the game? (I remember the male G/S/C protagonist who had Cyndaquil and the female one having Totodile but that is about it.)

Pokémon Chronicles. I was a collection of one-offs following side characters including the guy from G/S/C who had three episodes at the beginning.

[Gameb18oy]

Didn't they make a spinoff anime where they followed side characters or characters from the game? (I remember the male G/S/C protagonist who had Cyndaquil and the female one having Totodile but that is about it.)

Pokémon Chronicles. I was a collection of one-offs following side characters including the guy from G/S/C who had three episodes at the beginning.

And it was quickly abandoned, kinda proving my point. I think it also was the last time we saw Tracy in the anime

[NHWestoN]

Currency curiosity - what determines the kind of animal the "victim" becomes? Was there something about Mr. Steward that destined him to be a badger or was the choice random?

[fenrirblack]

Currency curiosity - what determines the kind of animal the "victim" becomes? Was there something about Mr. Steward that destined him to be a badger or was the choice random?

I'm still sticking with the concept that Rick has a list of animals that he hasn't used yet. Badger made sense if he planned for Steward to become involved with the cult from the moment the coin appeared. He would be the right size and type of feral that would belong in the forest with the other ferals. Thomas being a camel made sense from the perspective of humor considering he was with Sophia not the mention the thing with the scrolls. In other words, I think it's a combination of whatever animal fits the plot at the moment and whatever animals haven't fully been utilized before aka Marion's squirrel form.

[D-Rock]

Perhaps Pete wanted the change to seem Karmic to Joel, and it helped that only dogs and cats were allowed in that duel. Thomas, no clue, only hint is that Sophia was there. Not a clue for Steward. Maybe it was a bit of Rick wanting to use a neat design.

[Silly Zealot]

Maybe Steward hired the help of the mouse rebellion army to put cursed coins on unsuspecting people's beds. Like the tooth mouse, but no teeth involved and the currency recieved is tainted with evil.

Or maybe the dolphins finally launched their plan to bring their downfall of humanity. That's been foreshadowed for a while so it might be what's happening now, right?

[Gameb18oy]

Currency curiosity - what determines the kind of animal the "victim" becomes? Was there something about Mr. Steward that destined him to be a badger or was the choice random?

I'm still sticking with the concept that Rick has a list of animals that he hasn't used yet. Badger made sense if he planned for Steward to become involved with the cult from the moment the coin appeared. He would be the right size and type of feral that would belong in the forest with the other ferals. Thomas being a camel made sense from the perspective of humor considering he was with Sophia not the mention the thing with the scrolls. In other words, I think it's a combination of whatever animal fits the plot at the moment and whatever animals haven't fully been utilized before aka Marion's squirrel form.

Otter representation is still possible!

[Amazee Dayzee]

If you just stay patient then I'm sure that there will be an otter character sooner or later.

[Gameb18oy]

If you just stay patient then I'm sure that there will be an otter character sooner or later.

There are technically two already, but I’m fully aware unless you’re a Roo, being in the zoo means Rick will likely ignore you, so if Rick doesn’t want to do stuff with the zoo animals, I got to hope he places any new otters out with the other wild animals.

[fenrirblack]

Or maybe the dolphins finally launched their plan to bring their downfall of humanity. That's been foreshadowed for a while so it might be what's happening now, right?

I miss that joke so much! Man, that was funny. It makes you wonder if all dolphins are like that or only the one's we see. What if it is the same dolphin that kept popping up that wants to destroy humanity?

[Amazee Dayzee]

If it was more than just that one, I'm pretty sure that the world in HP! would have been overtaken already.

[Gameb18oy]

If it was more than just that one, I'm pretty sure that the world in HP! would have been overtaken already.

It’s more than one, remember inspite of the telepathy, the dolphins are the inverse of what they are in our world, outright stated by the pets to be one of the dumb species

[fenrirblack]

If it was more than just that one, I'm pretty sure that the world in HP! would have been overtaken already.

It’s more than one, remember inspite of the telepathy, the dolphins are the inverse of what they are in our world, outright stated by the pets to be one of the dumb species

That's because they were hiding their true intelligence from the world although the thing with the fish might contradict that point.



I really do miss the zoo. We had some awesome jokes back then. I like how the comic is now more story oriented but I do miss moments like these when it was just funny. All it took was Peanut's expression and I'm dying on the floor.

[Silly Zealot]

They also talked about their plan in front of Zachary, but then the feeder with bucket of fish came along and their priorities changed.

I do wonder if the chimpanzees and their monolith had anything to do with this....

[Gameb18oy]

They also talked about their plan in front of Zachary, but then the feeder with bucket of fish came along and their priorities changed.

I do wonder if the chimpanzees and their monolith had anything to do with this....

I wonder if Rick ever regrets all the random stuff he put in the black and white days? I also wonder if Rick’s usual trouble with human designs would transfer over to primates due to similar profiles of the face and stuff

Got to agree with Fen as well. While I definitely like a lot of elements that only appeared later on in the comic, there is a fun charm to the early experimental days of its life, and the first time we went to the zoo compared to the wolves trip there kinda highlights how different Rick’s writing become over time. I have no hatred for the wolves zoo trip, but anyone else feel that’s one of the weaker arcs the comic had, partially due to it being interrupted by that lady overreacting to the polite wolf talking to her? And I say weaker in the sense it’s good, but I don’t find myself going back to it much, see also (I bet I’ll be burned at the stake for ranking these poorly), the Bino becoming a wolf arc, the Sasha Canine Cibble arc, surprisingly the water gun war arc for examples. I don’t hate seeing individual strips of them, but there’s a lot of meh strips in each of those arcs

[fenrirblack]

Got to agree with Fen as well. While I definitely like a lot of elements that only appeared later on in the comic, there is a fun charm to the early experimental days of its life, and the first time we went to the zoo compared to the wolves trip there kinda highlights how different Rick’s writing become over time. I have no hatred for the wolves zoo trip, but anyone else feel that’s one of the weaker arcs the comic had, partially due to it being interrupted by that lady overreacting to the polite wolf talking to her? And I say weaker in the sense it’s good, but I don’t find myself going back to it much, see also (I bet I’ll be burned at the stake for ranking these poorly), the Bino becoming a wolf arc, the Sasha Canine Cibble arc, surprisingly the water gun war arc for examples. I don’t hate seeing individual strips of them, but there’s a lot of meh strips in each of those arcs

I’ll agree with you on Bino’s arc(s). It’s not so much him personally as much the story wasn’t great in either. But the water balloon war is still top notch (we’ve been over this before), Rock’s commercial was good because it was short and had some Great moments. But importantly it shows Rock before he became a (there is no good way of saying it) and was more relatable. I miss Rock and Duke together, they an Odd Couple chemistry that worked in a weird way like sweet and sour.

Omg I just had the best idea. What if Duke was the first pet Marion met? Duke became the hero or at least created a King/Fox type bromance with Marion. There is something there.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Oh wow I think that would be a pretty nice idea.

[Gameb18oy]

While I don’t fall into the spheres theory like you Fen, there is something to be said about the Marion getting a Fox equivalent partner. Rick seems to like dual character dynamics, while King and Fox is a strong one, we also have Peanut and Grape, Dragon and Pete, Tiger and Marvin, Keys and Fiddler, Spo and Fido and all the romantic relationships are their own categories. He seems to really like making characters exist as pairs, heck that might explain why the Roos and the otters (despite my complaints on how frequent they are) being the only zoo animals that appeared more than in the black and white days, Rick had setup some pair dynamics to work with there already. He might be doing that with Olive and Craig in the future as well, because I think we all want those one-offs we saw awknowledged in later arcs. Peanut having artist block and those two having a puppy love (heh) relationship would be nice to see more of... oh man I got off topic. Anyway, my point is, we all know whoever Rick pairs Marion with is likely gonna stick with him at least for a bit, hence why it’s a fun question, it’s gonna create a new dynamic and possibly expand the depth of one of the characters

[fenrirblack]

While I don’t fall into the spheres theory like you Fen, there is something to be said about the Marion getting a Fox equivalent partner. Rick seems to like dual character dynamics, while King and Fox is a strong one, we also have Peanut and Grape, Dragon and Pete, Tiger and Marvin, Keys and Fiddler, Spo and Fido and all the romantic relationships are their own categories. He seems to really like making characters exist as pairs, heck that might explain why the Roos and the otters (despite my complaints on how frequent they are) being the only zoo animals that appeared more than in the black and white days, Rick had setup some pair dynamics to work with there already. He might be doing that with Olive and Craig in the future as well, because I think we all want those one-offs we saw awknowledged in later arcs. Peanut having artist block and those two having a puppy love (heh) relationship would be nice to see more of... oh man I got off topic. Anyway, my point is, we all know whoever Rick pairs Marion with is likely gonna stick with him at least for a bit, hence why it’s a fun question, it’s gonna create a new dynamic and possibly expand the depth of one of the characters

As much as I like the idea of Marion teaming up with one of the pets, he already has a partner. “L” is still out there and even if we don’t know the extent of her role yet, it could deter any new partner ship Marion could forge with the pets.

[NHWestoN]

Or maybe the dolphins finally launched their plan to bring their downfall of humanity. That's been foreshadowed for a while so it might be what's happening now, right?

I miss that joke so much! Man, that was funny. It makes you wonder if all dolphins are like that or only the one's we see. What if it is the same dolphin that kept popping up that wants to destroy humanity?

The dolphin bit reminds me of an old Larson cartoon where a scientist is grousing to his colleagues that there is absolutely no evidence of dolphins possessing the power of speech while a dolphin is haapily talking away … in Spanish.

[Gameb18oy]

While I don’t fall into the spheres theory like you Fen, there is something to be said about the Marion getting a Fox equivalent partner. Rick seems to like dual character dynamics, while King and Fox is a strong one, we also have Peanut and Grape, Dragon and Pete, Tiger and Marvin, Keys and Fiddler, Spo and Fido and all the romantic relationships are their own categories. He seems to really like making characters exist as pairs, heck that might explain why the Roos and the otters (despite my complaints on how frequent they are) being the only zoo animals that appeared more than in the black and white days, Rick had setup some pair dynamics to work with there already. He might be doing that with Olive and Craig in the future as well, because I think we all want those one-offs we saw awknowledged in later arcs. Peanut having artist block and those two having a puppy love (heh) relationship would be nice to see more of... oh man I got off topic. Anyway, my point is, we all know whoever Rick pairs Marion with is likely gonna stick with him at least for a bit, hence why it’s a fun question, it’s gonna create a new dynamic and possibly expand the depth of one of the characters

As much as I like the idea of Marion teaming up with one of the pets, he already has a partner. “L” is still out there and even if we don’t know the extent of her role yet, it could deter any new partner ship Marion could forge with the pets.

Ugh!!! The L thing could be nothing Fen, he wasn’t even looking at the bead he was holding. Heck, it could be Lester gave it to him as a gift from the nerd trio just as likely as some girl.

[fenrirblack]

You’re going to have to trust me. I watched the stream.