TWWR Round up 09/02/2024– We’re Not Mucking Around Here

Happy Labor Day to those celebrating in the United States. I do have a day off from work. Though my weekend almost derailed this blog post entirely. (Feel free to skip this and move straight to the comic round up if you’d like.)

Yesterday was a somewhat stressful Sunday. Star, my dog, had a bad case of diarrhea. So bad in fact that when I woke up, she went in several places on the floor before I could get changed in order to walk her. After the mess was cleaned up with some help from my husband, I took her for a walk. The poor thing still had the squirts.

Before the pet store closed, I returned the bag of food I’d just purchased a week ago and swapped it with a different flavor. The food we had was likely too rich for her stomach. While we were gone, Star went again, this time in her kennel cage. After cleaning her and the cage, she’d have to run outside to poop liquid about five more times. Our last walk was a half-hour to midnight, and I took her out with a battery powered lantern, as not all the streetlights work in our neighborhood. After one last squirt, she seemed satisfied and kicked dirt. After that, she returned to her kennel, and was finally able to rest. A while later, I let her out of the cage and Star napped. Feeling relieved the dog was finally feeling better, I went about the remainder of my night.

Around 1AM I noticed the time and date were wrong on my PC. Confused, I restarted the PC. The system didn’t power back on. My first thought was a dead power supply, but the numerous LED lights on my motherboard and graphics card were still on. If there was no power going to the system then everything would be off. I tried a number of things including:

• Unplugging all the USB devices
• Unseating the graphics card
• Pulling two out of my four sticks of RAM
• Blowing dust and dog fur out of the system (Star likes to rest against the intake and exhaust fans)
• Leaving all but one stick of RAM in the system

With the case open and a single stick of RAM, I tried to power the PC on again. This time it came on, but the time was still wrong. At this point it was nearly 3AM and Windows read midnight. So I figured the CMOS battery might be the culprit. I never had one go bad on a system, but I knew that the date suddenly being wrong is sometimes a sign of a dying battery. I searched the motherboard for the battery location. Turns out it was behind my graphics card, but I was so stressed out the first time I pulled it, that I didn’t notice the battery.

After some swearing and struggling to lift out the graphics card (by this point I was tired because the card is quite heavy), the battery was in sight. I needed a CR2032 and thankfully we had two spare batteries. I swapped the old battery for the new, plugged the graphics card back in, and turned on the system. At the Windows login screen the time and date were finally correct. After double-checking wires and returning the three sticks of RAM to the motherboard, I closed up the PC. The time was correct and everything seemed to be working fine. Ultimately, I had to resync the time once through Windows, but the system seems to be in order now.

I thought the CMOS battery just kept the time and date, but a lot can go wrong when it starts to die or is actually dead. Thinking about it, my first warning sign was back in late July when my system blue screened for no reason. I thought it was a bad Windows update. It would blue screen twice more in August (ironically once while working on an article for this blog). Also, my sound drivers would randomly stop working, and my mouse refused to highlight text without fighting me. Upon changing the CMOS battery, my mouse is working correctly again. In hindsight, I probably should have tried the battery first as this system is about five years old, and the batteries can last anywhere from two to ten years.

Lesson learned: if your computer starts to act weird for seemingly no reason, check your CMOS battery.

Africa | Page(s): 385 | Patreon

Mosi asks Africa how much longer is that going to follow her around. By that he means Mondo, and she asks him as much. The young male leopard replies “yes,” and reiterates he doesn’t want to harm the serval, as he refuses to be like Chui or Bes. However, his instinct is shaky around him, and Mosi can barely control his anger. The sight of Mondo causes him to see Sabra. She was responsible for Binti’s death and him being mauled by the lions. As Mosi continues on about what Mondo doesn’t deserve, Africa cuts her son off with the simple words “He is innocent. He’s an innocent cub. Just like you.”

Here’s the badly needed clarification. Mosi’s instincts aren’t just a male’s instincts to kill young that aren’t his own. I always found it odd that he’d feel this drive toward his mother. It turns out his instincts to kill are actually his resentment toward Binti’s death and his own disfigurement because of Sabra’s machinations. Mosi’s resentment bubbled up into anger, and unable to take that anger out on Sabra, her son Mondo is the next best target. It also didn’t help that he saw Africa taking care of Mondo when he was small kit.

Would it help assuage Mosi’s anger knowing that Africa took revenge on Sabra? Would Mosi rethink his anger if his mother revealed that the revenge was fleeting, and Sabra’s desire for revenge was taken out on him and his sister, despite them having nothing to do with Africa’s actions? Perpetuating that cycle only brings more heartbreak and misery.

Of course, Mosi doesn’t know this as they haven’t talked about it yet. However, Africa’s “he’s innocent” remark does cut through her son’s monologue. The black background is brilliant as it symbolically switches off his anger and interrupts his dark thoughts. The light returns as she notes that Mondo is innocent, just like him. This alludes to him having done nothing wrong and being undeserving of Sabra’s evil plans, just like Mondo is undeserving of his anger. Now, will Mosi come to understand his mother’s reasoning? I can only hope so.

To Catch a Star | Page(s): 547, 548, 549, 550 | Patreon

Lupi explains the sun gives life and gives souls. The moon takes souls back when wolves and other creatures die. Because the moon is no longer around, souls don’t leave the dead and they become Lost. In a mix of surprise and horror, the blue Nova ask if the death of the moon is why everyone becomes Lost. Lupi clarifies that to fix the world, the moon has to return. Trouble smiles nervously and informs the sun that the moon’s spot is close to their current location.

Trouble tentatively leads the way, then stops. A large group of Supernova led by Scorch are at the moon wolf’s spot, and are surrounding a small blue puppy. Annoyed, Lupi tells their Dusky companion to stay. They walk into the crowd of cultists and those who’ve noticed the sun are surprised to see them.

So continuing from last week it is made clear that the loss of the moon is why everyone becomes a zombie when they die. The world will never work as intended without the moon doing their duties. It amazes me how the Nova that were responsible for blowing up the moon didn’t consider this. Short-sighted doesn’t even begin to describe their actions. As for Lupi, thankfully they don’t have far to travel as Trouble is a knowledgeable guy.

Unfortunately, the Supernova have beaten them in getting to the moon wolf first. What surprises me here is that the moon is a puppy. I was fully expecting them to be an adult, much like Lupi was when they were killed over and over again by Backlash’s old pack. I’m hoping this difference is explained, even if it’s an off-handed comment by a character. Still, the fact that the cultists are ready to harm a child is kind of disturbing. It does fit into the fact that while Takedown was a villain, Scorch is the final boss (unless there’s a twist).

I’m guessing Lupi is going to use their influence and divine powers in order to force the Supernova to back down. Ultimately, they are a god in these wolves’ eyes. Even so, I fear Scorch would be more than willing to kill Lupi in order to reset them, and bend them to his will. This iteration of the sun wolf won’t let that happen to them, but it’s going to be a struggle against the very large cult leader.

The Order of the Black Dog | Issue 28, Page 17 | Patreon

Fully suited up, Julia stares down the Black Idol. As she does so, she remembers the time it killed people when they were trapped on the moon, and she gets angry. She then remembers being locked in a research facility after mutating back into her Black Idol form. She snaps at the flood of memories and tears the wires off her helmet. Getting out of the Shankar Amplifier device, she clutches her head.

So far it looks like my theory of Julia having flashbacks about this creature were correct. What I wasn’t expecting was for her to have a breakdown before the test even got started. She’s been through a lot, so the breakdown is understandable at least. I’m hoping she gets it together and fights back against the Black Idol. If not, the observing researchers will likely swap her out for another candidate. If that happens, I’m betting that next person will be Melissa.

Lost Scent | Page(s): 57 | Patreon

The leader of the gang of dogs tells Motte and Tulpi to make their choice. As Tulpi grips Motte’s leg, the larger dog settles on just giving the gang their stuff. As she’s been on both sides of a mugging. The Akita complains they didn’t even have their traveling bags for long. The Borzoi tosses her bag at the leader, who also wants Tulpi’s bag. The smaller dog finally gives up her bag after some coaxing from her traveling companion. One of the gang dogs complains that the girls have nothing but a blanket and matches on them. As the lead dog puts on Tulpi’s bag, he remarks it’s better than nothing and there’s still one more thing to take from the girls.

Looks like there won’t be a rescue for Motte and Tulpi. They just handed over their stuff without a fight. As long as the gang just wants their items and not violence for the sake of violence, this is probably the smarter choice. I’m sure Motte could have taken out a few of them, but the odds weren’t in her favor. Sadly, the ordeal isn’t over yet as the dogs have their eye on taking PIG as well. Will Tulpi give him up without a fight? Will he do something unexpected, especially given his quick growth spurts?

Golden Shrike | Page(s): 280| Patreon

Runi asks her shrike if it misses home, then muses that her bird seems content away from home. As the doe eats berries from a bush she ponders her own contentment. Is that contentment okay, though? As she continues her train of thought, her shrike shrieks into her ear, startling Runi. She falls into the mud puddle and screams at her bird not to scare her like that. As the bird takes to the sky, she angrily asks what’s gotten into it.

Doe Prince has been using minimal shading in Golden Shrike for a number of chapters now. Sometimes I miss the old shading, other times I admire the colored line art. This time, I can’t help but admire how good the wet textures on Runi’s fur look. The last panel of her in the mud is just so pretty between the lighting and textures. The story of GS has been fun to read, but damn, this is one of the best-looking comics I’ve read in a long time.

As for Runi’s shrike suddenly yelling in her ear, I was a bit confused about what it was doing. At first, I thought it might be trying to distract her from her own negative thoughts. Looking back at the pages and reading comments on ComicFury, I’m wondering if the bird was trying to warn the doe of approaching danger. As Runi is completely occupied with her own thoughts, there’s what could be a shadowy figure next to the tree behind her in the first panel. Just before her bird screams, it first looks back, it’s head facing in the opposite direction of Runi’s head. Finally, in the last panel as the silver shrike takes to the sky, it seems to be looking past the deer and at the spot she was just standing. In the spot seems to be a pair of legs. It’s hard to tell of they’re that of a predator or another deer.

This entire scene since Runi left the boys to be alone has been ominous. The rain, mist, and mud work to create an atmosphere that’s unsettling and filled with a sense of danger. Sure, it could be a fake out, but her shrike’s actions and the final panel of this page suggests the pair weren’t alone with Runi’s thoughts. I guess we’re going to have to find out next week if there’s approaching stranger danger, or this is just someone passing through.

Home | Page(s): 872| Patreon

There’s no update today as the 4th of this month falls outside my update schedule for this week. Expect my thoughts on page 872 next Monday. If you need some writing to hold you over, check out Saltysplayt00ns thoughts on how Home’s bonus porn pages are no longer being posted to Patreon. Instead, they’re slowly going up on Fur Affinity. Related to that Gleefultogo wrote a post based on a comment from FA about the porn pages.

On hiatus:

In The Lion’s Den: The Scarlet Uprising | Page(s): | Patreon