You have to wonder where Sweetheart’s hangups came from. (Aside from, you know, general culture.) She doesn’t seem to be actively religious, and while her creator was rather breeding-focused, he doesn’t seem to have minded Muffin…
Having just googled opossum gestation (because somebody has to) apparently it’s about a fortnight (the shortest of any North American mammal). Although each litter comprises 16-20 babies, which I’d consider to be at least six families.
Also, it would be remiss (or at least “not pedantic”, which is almost as bad) of me not to point out that Sweetheart is wrong; they’re marsupials.
(Side note: for years, while being aware opossums were the only marsupial native to North America, I’ve assumed that – as marsupials – they were basically the same as Australian opossums, unlike Tasmanian tigers, marsupial mice and so on. Turns out nope!)
I’ve known published books refer to rabbits as rodents, which is simply inexcusable. And as for such “rodents” as moles, shrews and hedgehogs- they’re Insectivores, people! No, wait, Insectivora isn’t a thing anymore, sorry, it’s …. Erinaceidae and Soricidae? only Soricidae might not be a real thing either apparently. OK. As you were.
“The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to plug up the drain!”- Montgomery Scott
The idea that possums in the USA seem scary to some is odd… all I’ve ever seen ’em do is play dead, usually in front of a truck…
The one time I’ve come face to face with an opossum, it was quite literally face-to-face. It was in my mother’s fig tree, at my head level, within arm reach when I spotted it. It didn’t play dead, but it did freeze, staring at me. I could almost hear it thinking, “This fig leaf is big enough that you don’t see me.. Really, you don’t see me. Don’t see me, okay?” — but there was already eye contact between us.
Fortunately it stayed frozen long enough for me to go inside, retrieve my camera from the other end of the house, and return to take it’s picture. Which I then printed out and left on the kitchen table with a none to my mother about having identified the thief who’d been taking figs just as they were about to ripen.
My siblings thought it was ugly when they saw the photo (Mom taped it to the kitchen wall), but Mom thought it was cute even though it was taking figs she wanted to eat. I kinda saw both sides of that, maybe leaning a wee bit toward Mom’s position.
I hate it when people say rabbits are rodents (or draw them with paw pads, that’s a huge pet peeve of mine). What’s worse is I’ve seen people describe ferrets as rodents. They’re freaking carnivores, fangs and all. They’re raised to *hunt* rodents.
Loooong way from Australian possums. I’ve heard rumours that we got the wrong ones, that America should have the cute fluffy one, and Australia was supposed to get the vicious terrifying bitey one.
Me, I’m happy keeping it as-is. We’ve gotta have something to balance out the scary, kill-you-on-sight wildlife, right?
The Virgnia opossum is actually pretty tame. They’ll screech and grit their teeth at you if they think you’re a threat, especially a mother guarding her young, but they don’t scratch and it’s basically impossible to get one to bite you without sticking your hand in its mouth.
There they are, three of them in big denial.
They will fight, and it will be infantile.
Did you think that they’d act out differently?
It’s all the same, with their witty repartee.
So they’ll go it alone, ‘cause they don’t see eye to eye.
There ain’t no good plan, there ain’t no bad plan,
There’s only just those three and they just disagree.
Ooh ooh ooh, oh, oh oh.
We see HT, wants to wreck the machine, what about them?
Tip just wants to play the queen.
Sweetheart thinks two girls will right the wrong.
Gender bend, and that’s the end of this damn song.
So they’ll go it alone, ‘cause they don’t see eye to eye.
There ain’t no good rhymes, there ain’t no bad rhymes,
There’s only just those three and they just disagree.
Ooh ooh ooh, oh, oh oh.
—from “We Just Disagree,” Dave Mason (Jim Krueger).
Is it, though? Sure, H.T. is the evil-mastermind type. But he’s never really had to deal with Tip for long before, or with Unity at all–and even Sweetheart has learned a thing or two since Cleveland. It could be that the combined powers of Team Skin Horse have got H.T. so wrong-footed that he’s had to put his evil plotting on hold for a bit so he can just sort of watch what happens and figure out what the hell to make of these people. (Besides lunch, of course.)
Maybe we’ll see a confrontation someday between the always devious and evil H.T. and the always evil and devious Mr. Green. Whoever won, it’d be an improvement. Unless they decided to team up . . . never mind.
Given that they’re leaders of opposite sides, that seems unlikely. I guess they could if they each thought it would hurt the other’s side, but that kind of thing is hard to pull off, because one of them would have to lose and top-tier villains are supposed to remain undefeated until the heroes do it.
As bad as Tip’s and Sweetheart’s ideas are, H.T.’s might possibly be worse. Whatever energy the possum’s machine has collected, dismantling it might cause it all to release all at once. At best, another explosion. At worst, it will summon the “mothership” (which I still say will be coming from either fair Carcosa or the Plateau of Leng).
Priorities
Sweetheart is so far in the closet she’s having tea with Mr. Tumnus, isn’t she?
She’s a bad girl!
I LOVE that turn of phrase.
If she was any further in, she’d be exiting into Narnia.
Well, that puts those books in a different light.
Does it really?
You have to wonder where Sweetheart’s hangups came from. (Aside from, you know, general culture.) She doesn’t seem to be actively religious, and while her creator was rather breeding-focused, he doesn’t seem to have minded Muffin…
I think it’s just self-loathing. She hates herself so she hates what she is, and being Sweetheart takes it to a ridiculous extreme.
Hoorah for collaborative planning and common goals!
Sweetheart has a point; for rodents, that’s not an unreasonable timeline.
A family per day keeps the gaiety away.
Perhaps in a week, they’ll be able to vote.
Having just googled opossum gestation (because somebody has to) apparently it’s about a fortnight (the shortest of any North American mammal). Although each litter comprises 16-20 babies, which I’d consider to be at least six families.
Also, it would be remiss (or at least “not pedantic”, which is almost as bad) of me not to point out that Sweetheart is wrong; they’re marsupials.
(Side note: for years, while being aware opossums were the only marsupial native to North America, I’ve assumed that – as marsupials – they were basically the same as Australian opossums, unlike Tasmanian tigers, marsupial mice and so on. Turns out nope!)
I’ve known published books refer to rabbits as rodents, which is simply inexcusable. And as for such “rodents” as moles, shrews and hedgehogs- they’re Insectivores, people! No, wait, Insectivora isn’t a thing anymore, sorry, it’s …. Erinaceidae and Soricidae? only Soricidae might not be a real thing either apparently. OK. As you were.
“The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to plug up the drain!”- Montgomery Scott
The idea that possums in the USA seem scary to some is odd… all I’ve ever seen ’em do is play dead, usually in front of a truck…
They are known to snarl and hiss while baring their teeth first, and if that doesn’t work, then they play dead.
The one time I’ve come face to face with an opossum, it was quite literally face-to-face. It was in my mother’s fig tree, at my head level, within arm reach when I spotted it. It didn’t play dead, but it did freeze, staring at me. I could almost hear it thinking, “This fig leaf is big enough that you don’t see me.. Really, you don’t see me. Don’t see me, okay?” — but there was already eye contact between us.
Fortunately it stayed frozen long enough for me to go inside, retrieve my camera from the other end of the house, and return to take it’s picture. Which I then printed out and left on the kitchen table with a none to my mother about having identified the thief who’d been taking figs just as they were about to ripen.
My siblings thought it was ugly when they saw the photo (Mom taped it to the kitchen wall), but Mom thought it was cute even though it was taking figs she wanted to eat. I kinda saw both sides of that, maybe leaning a wee bit toward Mom’s position.
I hate it when people say rabbits are rodents (or draw them with paw pads, that’s a huge pet peeve of mine). What’s worse is I’ve seen people describe ferrets as rodents. They’re freaking carnivores, fangs and all. They’re raised to *hunt* rodents.
Loooong way from Australian possums. I’ve heard rumours that we got the wrong ones, that America should have the cute fluffy one, and Australia was supposed to get the vicious terrifying bitey one.
Me, I’m happy keeping it as-is. We’ve gotta have something to balance out the scary, kill-you-on-sight wildlife, right?
The Virgnia opossum is actually pretty tame. They’ll screech and grit their teeth at you if they think you’re a threat, especially a mother guarding her young, but they don’t scratch and it’s basically impossible to get one to bite you without sticking your hand in its mouth.
They’re marsupials though, not rodents.
There they are, three of them in big denial.
They will fight, and it will be infantile.
Did you think that they’d act out differently?
It’s all the same, with their witty repartee.
So they’ll go it alone, ‘cause they don’t see eye to eye.
There ain’t no good plan, there ain’t no bad plan,
There’s only just those three and they just disagree.
Ooh ooh ooh, oh, oh oh.
We see HT, wants to wreck the machine, what about them?
Tip just wants to play the queen.
Sweetheart thinks two girls will right the wrong.
Gender bend, and that’s the end of this damn song.
So they’ll go it alone, ‘cause they don’t see eye to eye.
There ain’t no good rhymes, there ain’t no bad rhymes,
There’s only just those three and they just disagree.
Ooh ooh ooh, oh, oh oh.
—from “We Just Disagree,” Dave Mason (Jim Krueger).
Splodey danger machine sounds like it might be a Robinism.
When did H.T. become the most reasonable one?
It is, as usual, just a ploy.
Is it, though? Sure, H.T. is the evil-mastermind type. But he’s never really had to deal with Tip for long before, or with Unity at all–and even Sweetheart has learned a thing or two since Cleveland. It could be that the combined powers of Team Skin Horse have got H.T. so wrong-footed that he’s had to put his evil plotting on hold for a bit so he can just sort of watch what happens and figure out what the hell to make of these people. (Besides lunch, of course.)
That H.T. is playing the reasonable one started a few strips ago, and as a ploy, it’s making me very nervous for the cast members.
Maybe we’ll see a confrontation someday between the always devious and evil H.T. and the always evil and devious Mr. Green. Whoever won, it’d be an improvement. Unless they decided to team up . . . never mind.
Given that they’re leaders of opposite sides, that seems unlikely. I guess they could if they each thought it would hurt the other’s side, but that kind of thing is hard to pull off, because one of them would have to lose and top-tier villains are supposed to remain undefeated until the heroes do it.
As bad as Tip’s and Sweetheart’s ideas are, H.T.’s might possibly be worse. Whatever energy the possum’s machine has collected, dismantling it might cause it all to release all at once. At best, another explosion. At worst, it will summon the “mothership” (which I still say will be coming from either fair Carcosa or the Plateau of Leng).
You’re just disappointed nobody suggested blowing it up.
Admittedly cool, but not my first concern. As far as I am willing to admit.
For Tip, every crisis is an occasion for a new wardrobe.
They’re marsupials, Sweetheart.
Well, he did say “or something”. But the gestation period for opossums is 12-14 days, so no, they couldn’t even raise one family by next week.