Editing 1419: On the Phone

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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
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{{w|Fidgeting}} while talking on the telephone is a very common habit and may manifest as doodling or pacing. In the case of the person speaking off-panel (presumably [[Cueball]]), he paces while absent-mindedly moving random objects around the house.  
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{{incomplete|No explanation yet, just a description}}
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Megan is wandering around the house, and discovers things which have been left in strange places, or arranged in piles.
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On questioning an out-of-panel person (presumably [[Cueball]]), he responds that he tends to pick things up and fiddle with them while on the phone.
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Cueball was letting his body run on autopilot like Megan's mom did with her reading in [[872: Fairy Tales]].
  
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[[Megan]] has found several items in incorrect places around her house, including a teapot in the bathroom, a hammer in the fridge, and several stacks of household items. Cueball explains that he fidgets and move things around while on the phone. Taking this behavior to the extreme, in the fourth panel, Megan finds that he has also erected an {{w|obelisk}} in the backyard and carved prayers to "Ba'al, the Soul Eater" on it. This may be a reference to the saying "Idle hands are the devil's playthings."
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Fiddling with objects, doodling on the nearest surface, or otherwise getting distracted are fairly common habits which many people can probably relate to.
  
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The title text suggests that the "fidgeting" is just a cover story - the off-panel speaker is actually worshipping (or being possessed by) Ba'al, and is casually trying to encourage Megan to do the same.
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The final panel takes this to the extreme, where an obelisk inscribed with worrying prayers to 'Ba'al, The Soul-Eater' has been erected in the garden.
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Ba'al the Soul-Eater is also in the title-text of [[1246: Pale Blue Dot]]. Ba'al may refer to a range of supernatural beings, starting with {{w|Baal#Baal-zebub|Ba'al Zebub}} that gave rise to Belzebub (one of the {{w|Classification_of_demons#Binsfeld.27s_classification_of_demons|seven princes of hell}}).
  
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{{w|Baal_(disambiguation)|Ba'al}}, or {{w|Baal (demon)|Baal}}, refers to one of many deities and demons which go by this name. Given its title "The Soul Eater", it probably refers to {{w|Beelzebub}} (one of the {{w|Classification_of_demons#Binsfeld.27s_classification_of_demons|seven princes of hell}}). Ba'al, the Soul Eater has been mentioned in [[1246: Pale Blue Dot]] and [[1638: Backslashes]].
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==Transcript==
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[Megan is standing looking off-panel in one direction and pointing in the other.]
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: Megan: Why is there a teapot in the bathroom?
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: Off-panel voice: Sorry. When I'm on the phone I always zone out and pick stuff up and carry it around.
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[Megan is in front of an open fridge. She holds a hammer.]
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: Megan: There's a hammer in the fridge.
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: Off-panel voice: Another phone call. I was just fidgeting.
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[Megan walks through small, curious towers of household objects:
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first tower have lightbulb on one book,
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second tower have blender on three books,
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third tower have uh six books ?,
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last tower have two tennis ball on three books]
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: Megan: Did you put all our stuff in weird stacks?
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: Off-panel voice: Long call. Sorry.
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[Megan, outside, looks up at a large straight-sided object]
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: Megan: ...Why is there a giant obelisk in the backyard?
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: Off-panel voice: Phone again. My bad.
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: Megan: It's carved with prayers to "Ba'al, the Soul-Eater."
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: Off-panel voice: Haha! I'm so absentminded.
  
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==Transcript==
 
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[Megan is pointing off-panel to the left and looking off-panel to the right.]
 
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:Megan: Why is there a teapot in the bathroom?
 
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:Off-panel voice (right): Sorry. When I'm on the phone I always zone out and pick stuff up and carry it around.
 
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[Megan is in front of an open fridge, holding a hammer.]
 
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:Megan: There's a hammer in the fridge.
 
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:Off-panel voice: Another phone call. I was just fidgeting.
 
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[Megan is walking next to four stacks of household objects: the first has a lightbulb on top of a book, the second has a blender on top of three books, the third has five books (two balanced vertically) with a smaller rectangular object on top, and the fourth has two tennis balls on top of three books.]
 
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:Megan: Did you put all our stuff in weird stacks?
 
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:Off-panel voice: Long call. Sorry.
 
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[Megan, outside, looks up at a towering straight-sided object.]
 
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:Megan: ...Why is there a giant obelisk in the backyard?
 
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:Off-panel voice: Phone again. My bad.
 
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:Megan: It's carved with prayers to "Ba'al, the Soul-Eater."
 
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:Off-panel voice: Haha! I'm so absentminded.
 
  
 
==Trivia==
 
==Trivia==
 
This comic is similar to [[1765: Baby Post]], But there the daughter probably wasn't a cover story.
 
This comic is similar to [[1765: Baby Post]], But there the daughter probably wasn't a cover story.
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
{{comic discussion}}
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[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
 
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[[Category:Religion]]
 
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[[Category:Phones]]
 

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