March 2nd, 2020
3 Mar 2020 · page 969 of 1306
Complicated.
Cast: Jack O'Malley, Purple Hippo of Happiness
Comments (49)
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Oh, Mal. Leaving for other people’s protection? That’s the sort of protagonist-syndrome that gets the other protagonists all frazzled.
But surely he'll have to come back to sort it all out. Possibly wearing a big coat.
What I'm getting from this is Mal has gone on a road trip with a magic toddler that asks 'why' too much
Makes me wonder how he would handle human toddlers
Not. Not is how he would handle human toddlers.
(That does make me wonder how human toddlers look to him...a mishmash of blurred, chaotic and undefined emotions I suppose)
a lot like wizards, which might explain a few things
"You're a wizard, Harry"
"No." Raises shotgun
Ah, I perceive that you, too, have worked in University administration.
Why are wizards not allowed into Space-Between, for example! It doesn't want kids there (and doesn't see the difference). :lol:
A toddler crossed with a puppy.
Well now I'm just curious if any of those things would actually hurt a spirit. I mean I know they can touch and be touched by physical things but what happens if they get hurt?
I think if they can't (be hurt) it's still a bad idea to let a train hitting a malform... like, then the train can be? Also "don't fall down big cliff" might imply "it will be hard to climb back".
The part about berries looks more like Mal just "antropomorphises" the buggerup... though if it enjoys eating biscuits, it can be disgusted with bitter berries?
And if PHoH accidentally disrupts the existing enchantment on the mainline, replacing it with its own special form of delight, the trains may suddenly not care if they reach Widdershins or London on time - worse, passengers might even end up in Birmingham!
(I keed, I keed. I hear that Birmingham New Street station is nowadays much improved since I last had to change there regularly, and may no longer be twinned with the terminus in Dis.)
I prefer to see if as Mal being concerned that if the PHoH gets bounced away by and oncoming train, then he'd have to go walk and find him (them?) before they get up to more mischiefhappiness wherever they land.
(Imagine an enthusiastic 'Wheeee!' sounding off into the distance here.)
"With great power comes great responsibility. And who wants that?" Sam Starfall
[http://freefall.purrsia.com...](http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1800/fc01733.htm "http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1800/fc01733.htm")
Hyu iz quoting goot schtuff dere, General, sir
Danke. But hy iz only a lowly Colonel.
...do Jaegers even have any ranks other than "General" and "not-General"?
(I mean, they don't even seem to have Jayne Cobb's "chain of command".)
Nein, ve dun heff no ranks, but ve plays pretend over at de Jägerkin board.
[https://modojiesen.proboard...](https://modojiesen.proboards.com/ "https://modojiesen.proboards.com/")
Mal: I'm gonna leave Widdershins so my friends don't get into trouble. They'll be fine on their own.
Ben & Wolfe: ...
Ben: I'm Harry Barber now and rude Americans are forcing me to hunt my friends for unknown reasons. Also a detective with weird theories and a very hot filing system is helping me by pretending to be french.
Wolfe: I am also Harry Barber now, but also an accountant, and I'll be accompanying this wizard and his parents to a graduation ceremony that will not involve him.
Wolfe: Also, his parents will spend the entire ceremony talking about the virtues of adoption and how important it is that those poor orphans should be raised by sensible-minded folk with supportive in-laws.
Perfect.
But, but I really want an excuse to run away and ignore all of my problems!
(laughs and applauds)
Perfect summation!
So instead of an angel or demon on his shoulder, he's got the purple hippo of happiness as if conscience.
"More like guidelines."
Being Mal's conscience is normally Wolfe's job, but the PHoH seems to be a good substitute when Wolfe isn't around.
Huh. He was already getting ready to leave before Pemberton even talked to him? That's what Hippy's dialogue seems to imply.
I imagine the whole experience with Lust in the anchor messed with him a bit and he needed some time away. Having this other guy come along and become yet another threat to his friends, probably was just the nail in the coffin.
I love the hearts on the hippo's feet!
Yeah, when are we getting PHoH plushies? 😇
I said something similar last page, but I love Papa O'Malley
So, not only does one have to strive to achieve the Purple Hippo of Happiness in life, but then you have to keep paying attention to ensure that the Purple Hippo of Happiness doesn't wander off a cliff?
I always suspected as much. 😏
(though in Mal's case, not only did Happiness find him, but it actively follows him around and pesters him. And the Hippo too, of course. 😇)
O'Malley should go back to Widdershins just to have the chance to find out what Ben did. Then he can tease him about it mercilessly for years. Seems worth it to me.
... "Benji".
An Unhappy Hippo of Happiness.
Mal looks so small and alone in that last panel, even though we know the Purple Hippo is still right there. 😢
Given what Mal has had to warn PHP about, I'm deathly afraid that PHP may have a cartoon perchant for not noticing anything dangerous.
Fortunately he keeps his spots numbered for just such an emergency
Not so happy right now, the purple hippo of happiness.
Gotta say, I'm a bit surprised he can be that far from an anchor. Is it because it's close to O'Malley ?
I got the impression that malforms can show up anywhere that a wizard messes up a summoning. O'Malley's power seems to be the ability to see them and everyone's spirit/emotional state, and to sometimes hear the malforms (hearing them might fade as he gets further away from the Anchor).
Just want to mention how much I LOVE this page of Mal?? It's been so long since we've seen him, and this is just... so /him/. The spirit vision and the sad talk with the happy hippo and the /isolation/ in the last panel...... I love it, it's amazing.
Okay, I come back to not one, but two pages of my favourite character and his overly-enthusiastic companion, and not only that, he's smiling(???!?) in one of the panels?? This is already a far better week than the last one, hah.
The O'Malley is growing a conscience for the first time in his life.
It's kinda painful and REALLY inconvenient.
Honestly that little thing is probably the best thing to happen to him in a long time. Having something to talk to, that you don't mind being honest with, does wonders for the psyche.
Wait wait wait... *WHAT?* Mal's missing, Harry's missing, shady Americans, a monster, Sydney's parents, and now we're learning that it was some other mysterious threat that scared Mal away?
Unless... does Mal have history with Sydney's parents? Good lord, this crisis could be even worse than I thought.
Just noticed that friend Hippo hasn't got a place in the cast, not even among the friends. Makes him sad down to his lovely heart-shaped foo paw pads!
Dude they are falling apart
Just catching up here, but...
The Purple Hippo of Happiness is SO SWEET!!
and those p a w s !
It just occurred to me that my girl kitty does that exact same looking-at-me-upside-down pose. 💖