The reveal
Finally we know who it is.
Meet Clementine Lebeau. Polar bear hybrid and fur dye model. And her personal assistant Zeke McIntyre. He’s a dalmatian.
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I know her! Well, I didn’t know her name, but I know that fur! Can’t remember off the top of my head if she’s been in-comic or it was just on your tumblr, but I DO know her.
Larissa is going to get her own ass kicked if she tries to sabotage Due Draghi while they’re getting a celebrity endorsement. Cleo might be rich, but Clementine is famous; that has a whole different level of pull.
Most Webcomics have some message from the creator underneath them. This one has “Meet Clementine Lebeau. Polar bear hybrid and fur dye model. And her personal assistant Zeke McIntyre. He’s a dalmatian” under it. Cant remember her being mentioned/appearing in-comic, but not 100% sure she hasn’t been. I’d go back through & check, but unfortunately real world problems demand solving…
Daniel, could you maybe tell Screwball to pay attention to the WHOLE comment he’s replying to? Me expressing my excitement at recognizing Clementine is NOT a sign of me being ignorant to Robin’s commentary, and I specifically acknowledged her celebrity status.
What the hell?! That’s not my comment! Why did you use my name?! What’s going on!?
…Guess I’m in trouble.
Okay, I’m very frustrated by my discovery BUT this has been resolved and it’s not a databreaking thing so it’s not a vulnerability of the site or comments provider.
Full explanation: Suomynona is apparently my co-tenant. She had not brought this up prior to today. For reasons she still won’t elaborate on (though I have my suspicions), she’s been using my mobile phone to post comments here on Twin Dragons while she’s at home. I hadn’t noticed, because I stopped using my phone to comment after an incident that was referenced a few pages ago. My phone has this stupid autocomplete function that fills out quick login forms like your comments username. She misclicked (mistapped?) during the autocomplete and ended up filling in my information for her response to Screwball’s comment.
Robin, your page title could not have been more appropriate.
Daniel, sorry if the lecture to Screwball kind of gets undermined.
Daniel here. Eh, it’s OK. He’s still learning. Not the brightest bulb in the pack, but can be taught. Gets a bit excited at times, doesn’t always look before he leaps, etc…
Sorry if he offended. Least this isn’t 1 of his bad slipups, rather minor compared to some things he’s done…
Does Cleo have a rival in the “hybrid world “?
On one hand, polar bears are well-insulated, so I imagine Clementine’s fur is good at containing her body heat. On the other hand, bright colours mean she’s not ABSORBING as much heat as, say, a brown bear hybrid.
Also, are Cleo and Clementine -friends-, properly, or do they just know each other through work? I doubt Miss #ItsAllAboutMe was involved with Cleo’s business life, so it makes sense that Cleo could, in fact, have other friends outside of school. Making legitimate friendship among business partners is a bit frowned upon, but I feel like young businesspeople should be given a pass because no one that age should be denied friendship.
Also also… Clementine is very cute. There, I said it. {blushes and hides}
Daniel here. The thermal problem here is the same reason Humanity feels most comfortable in temperature ranges below their central body temperature, we need to vent heat or we start getting too hot. It’s how our bodies are designed. However, if you start retaining too much heat due to weather, too many layers (from clothing or fur in this case), then Heat Exhaustion/stroke & HypERthermia become a problem (HypOthermia is cOld, HypERthermia you keep getting hottER)…
I’m pretty sure the drinks vending machine will have cold drinks including water, give her a few on the house and she might loose some grumpy energy…
Also, there may be some human physiology elements involved in the hybridization. Polar bears are usually quite burly, having a thicker layer of fat as a survival trait. Clementine here is quite slender, but still roasting. It’s possible that the adaptations of her hybrid phenotype also include slightly elevated levels of thyroid hormone.
Thyroid hormone levels is like the body’s throttle setting…the more thyroid hormone, the greater the metabolic rate, and the more the balance is tipped towards burning fuel rather than storing fuel.
Now it’s not so high that she’ll appear anorexic, the levels are normal for her. But I wouldn’t be surprised if she eats a larger than normal portion of Marco’s food to make up the calorie deficit.
I wouldn’t be surprised if other arctic-type hybrids have similar thermal issues. They may or may not need a cooling vest (active cooling vests exist mostly for people with cystic fibrosis, so the device is available). I also wouldn’t be surprised if hybrids with fur still do sweat somewhat.
If she is a polar bear, she will want to stay out of the direct sunlight. Her fur is not white, it is transparent, while her skin is black. Very good at absorbing heat from the sun.
I did not know that about polar bears. Good to know. That said, Robin has talked about Clementine before in the comments section (though not by name), saying that she is a fur dye model specifically because her -white- fur was a perfect canvas, so I think it’s safe to say that the hybridization is not 100% true to the genuine animal.
If polar bears were good at absorbing sunlight, then they would appear dark. The more light that is absorbed, the less is reflected towards nearby eyes or cameras. They appear white because they reflect most of the incoming light, absorbing very little. (They absorb a little bit more blue light, which gives them a slightly yellowish tint.)
They are yellowish-white because their hairs, which have no pigment, are actually hollow, a channel guide for infrared radiation. (Not All Light Is In The Visible Spectrum)
Their SKIN is black. Their FUR is dense enough to appear white as it scatters the wavelengths that are higher than infrared.
They look really dark when you look at them with a thermal camera.
Air convection and ability to evaporate are more important than color. Traditional desert wear in the middle east can be just as well black as white. With fur, the density and layers are important. Yes, color plays a role but mostly in scenarios like vacuum or with very large objects. If her fur follows polar bear-like characteristics, it would insulate in wet conditions and thus she is melting because her fur prevents her from getting rid of heat through sweat.
Fur dye modeling with a blank canvas like a polar bear is a brilliant character trait, and I’m impressed by the level of thought that shows
Ah!!!! Puppy!!! *squeals at how cute Zeke is!*
It sounds like someone has been hanging around the Free Fall robots too long.
I think we have a ‘fluencer;
of the particularly rich type.
I’m judging that on her friend here
and her ability to gripe.
Polars don’t like the heat, it seems,
although her friend is quite relaxed.
Getting her to promote the bus
will leave all the others pole-axed.
She has all that Kaya’s needed;
millions of followers here.
But first she’ll need a cold drink;
might I suggest some Ginger Beer?
Looks like there are already some celebrity hybrids. Cleo is technically one as well, and there’s a good chance the twins and Jin could each earn that distinction on their own. But that’s my take on it. But going by Kaya’s reaction, and use of the name, Clementine is a more publicly known celebrity.
Clementine and Zeke both appear to be dog hybrids, different breeds though, so I’m going to venture a guess that hybrids of the more domestic variants of animals are usually pretty common.
Also, I get the impression that Zeke is into the more vintage stuff, I think it’s the hat that has me saying that.
What !!! Have you read below the picture , for what Robin says ? “””Meet Clementine Lebeau. Polar bear hybrid and fur dye model. And her personal assistant Zeke McIntyre. He’s a dalmatian.”””
POLAR BEAR , not dog ^_^”
Yep, CLEMENTINE is the ice bear, ZEKE is the doggo. He looks a bit effeminate in that get up. The hat must make it a bit difficult for him to hear since it covers his doggy ears.
Sorry, I missed the part about her being a polar bear. In my defense, there are some dog breeds that have a bear-like look to them, I no it’s not much of an excuse but that’s how it was for me this time around.
Bears are just dogs that traded pack hunting for a solitary apex strategy.
It’s an easily made mistake. I sometimes forget about the mouseover “title” or the comment below the comic, and only later remember to read them. In this case I wouldn’t have known from the pictures that Clementine is a polar bear hybrid. We’ve been told that the degree of hybridization varies, so since her fur isn’t visible I thought at first that she was fully human except for a dog-like black nose.
I wondered if she would ever show up in the comic. I remember seeing some pics of her before. One where she was on a beach in winter with poor Zeke freezing his tail off. And one where she was the cover model on a magazine cover. Maybe she’ll be the one to dance around in a swimsuit to draw business to the food truck?
Ha! I doubt Mr. Romero will agree to that, as she’s a minor the same age as his Dragon babies, plus it may distract his sous chef/son. Kai may look younger than 14, but he’s still a teen (even if he’s going through puberty slowly and he probably sounds exactly like Aang from Avatar the Last Airbender) and seeing a pretty girl dancing in a swimsuit will definitely challenge his will power as he tries to combat infatuation/arousal.
But(t) we do get a close up of Cleo’s butt in this week’s issue. So win-win?
Sorry, I forgot to type this in my previous post.
Well , secret weapon is revealed ……… I’m sure to have seen her somewhere in the comic ; now , i have a long work to find the strip ^_^”
The questions is : how she’ll success to counter Larissa ? With the possibility her presence doesn’t stop the angry girl ………
A Polar Bear hybrid might have little trouble eating fish heads. Even pickled ones…
No ideas if Clementine enjoys fish heads (pickled or not) , but i bet she won’t enjoy rotten ones ^_^”
Haha, Zeke’s expression at the end is great. I like how the two things we know about Clementine (fur dye model, not a fan of hot weather) make complete sense for a polar bear.
(Small art mistake, I think – Kaya’s left hand in panel three is colored like Cleo. Maybe she’s a chameleon hybrid!)
Wait, what?! Lol, your right! It seems Dragons can change the shade of their skin. Either that or it’s a coloring error.
I think it’s actually correct, and it’s just the bright lighting and small surface area of her fingers that make it look ‘wrong’. 🙂
Fun polar bear facts: polar bears have black skin, and their fur is not white, but transparent.
Yes, but has anyone told THEM that?
None the less, polar bear fur scatters and reflects most of the incoming light, which is pretty much the definition of “white”.
I think they mean single hairs, examined with optics.
Ah, celebrity endorsement! Cleo’s pulling out everything she can to get a leg up on the competition! Let’s hope she really likes Marco’s cuisine!
Italian cuisine is usually spicy, right? It’ll be perfect for Clementine on a hot day. Spice is designed to make you sweat so as to reduce your body heat.
I always find it funny that some plants evolved to produce capsaicin as a way to avoid being eaten, only for human brains essentially learned to like it over time because of the nutritional value. Peppermint oil was supposed to do the same thing and we make candy out of it.
And even though humans sort of subvert the plants’ defense, that’s not bad for the plants but a huge stroke of luck, as we spread them over the world and help them against competing plants.
Of course polar bears can’t sweat, but she likely isn’t THAT much hybridized …
The supposedly Italian dishes I’ve eaten have never been particularly spicy. And the human body’s temperature regulation usually works fine without spices.
Some regions of Italy are known for their spicy foods. Others really aren’t. It’s my impression that more of Italy isn’t known for its spicy foods, but I don’t really know, I’m an American. Most Italian restaurants I’ve been to here in the US have marinara (not spicy) as their primary sauce, Alfredo (not spicy) as their secondary sauce, and might have arrabbiata (spicy) sauce or might not. Certainly, there are places that mix it up. Alfredo sauce tends to be used in Cajun Italian fusion, but I think that’s mostly because Alfredo sauce is very good at cutting the spice, so you can have the spicy dish without suffering as much.
There are other Italian sauces, but I’m not really familiar with them. I’ve had a few at restaurants that had them, but I haven’t had enough experience to learn what was what before learning that I’m not able to handle dairy well, and many of them have dairy in them (as does Alfredo sauce).
Wait…. being a polar bear what if Clementine likes sea food and orders a fish dish? Another possible way Larissa’s plan might be foiled, especially if Clementine beats her to the food truck and get’s her stuff out on social media first! With the influence she no doubt has Larissa’s post may just get buried in a deluge of positive press. This is also notwithstanding whatever it is Nate is planning to do to foil Larissa.
True, it’s not like she can order the fried Walrus Parmesan or the Harp Seal Calzones. I don’t think the fish market sells the meat needed for those and Mr. Romero couldn’t afford it… Fish is the next best thing for a polar bear Hybrid.
As for Larissa, yeah, this will definitely be a monkey wrench in her plan, even if Liz didn’t warn Nate. She would never have expected Cleo to get the help of a local Hybrid celebrity/model for endorsement. I hope Nate’s plan involves informing the rest of Team Due Draghi and the authorities about Larissa’s plot.
Instead of Monkey D. Luffy, we got Bepo the Polar bear mink… Or at least his little sister… This is the first time Clementine has been in the main comics and her first impression is a grumpy one, ice bears are like that when they overheat or when they don’t get enough caffeine after waking up. Still, this hasn’t affected Kaya’s view of her (fair warning to ms. Clementine and young Zeke, Kaya may be about to unleash a high pitched, excited squee, so they should cover their ears). How did Cleo meet Clementine? Are they friends? Relatives? Acquaintances?
I empathize with young LeBeau regarding heat, I give off a lot of body heat (especially when I’m active) so it often feels like if I get any warmer, I’ll spontaneously combust (sweating does very little to help me with this). A stop at the gelato truck should help the citrus named celebrity with the heat and put a smile on her pretty little snout, Zeke’s adorable little muzzle as well!
Clementine could also take a leaf out of another polar bear’s book regarding keeping cool in the heat and stuff cold drink inside her pants… or shorts… or whatever she’s wearing under her dress…
You can get accessories that carry cold packs. Some are sold to wear under fur suits, some for people that work in hot places. You put them in a freezer to chill. I think that firemen might use them.
You can also get liquid cooled garments. They have a pump and a supply of liquid with them.
That sounds nice… And also a bit expensive… Stuffing cold drinks into your pants is a cheaper alternative, albeit it will annoy your friends who wish to actually drink them rather than have the stored close to where the sun don’t shine (and I don’t mean that place in Nebraska).
*ducks under cover*
Oh, sorry, automatic response to webcomic polar bears for some reason.
But I’m sure Clementines not an over caffeinated maniac.
Don’t worry; Clem’s assistant is a dalmation, not a raccoon. 😉
I wonder if his father is a fireman?
And I wonder if the firemen will become very familiar with the twins…
No, but the heat makes her plenty surly like the aforementioned Mortimer James Abraham Tiberius Nickelovich-Smythe (yes, that’s his actual, full name). Though we can’t be too sure about her caffeine intake, but given that female polar bears hibernate she may be as much of a morning person as Kaya. We’d probably have to ask her assistant/friend Zeke for specifics. Hopefully, she isn’t into paintball AND advanced mechanical engineering/mad science…
I mean, how much can we be sure that she’s actually a fur dye model and the colours aren’t just the result of an experiment gone wrong?
I mean, an experimental batch of dew caused Jinx to go green!
Well, ain’t she fancy.
Yeah, polar bears and hot weather don’t really mix.
Of course Cleo has contacts with a celebrity well-renowned enough that even the twins, who to my knowledge are in universe still RELATIVELY fresh out of their small town know of her. Of course she does. I swear there’s a running joke I’m missing where Cleo just gets more overpowered and resourceful with every new issue that arises. xD In all seriousness, love the designs of our celebrity duo Robin. Always nice to see new characters get a formal introduction to the story. You’ve set up the festival to make for quite the interesting scene, with a celebrity appearance, a food truck opening, an invisible guardian, and one jar of fish heads en route. I can hardly wait to see where all of this goes. Keep up the good work, and as always, stay awesome!
Considering the nature of that small town, I wouldn’t be surprised if the twins knew about her just because they wanted some kind of reassurance that the rest of the world DOESN’T treat hybrids like hellspawn, and so looked up famous hybrids specifically. Considering there’s no hybrid 20 years old yet, and even among children born in that time, hybrids are about 1:1000, I’m guessing “celebrity hybrid” isn’t exactly an expansive field.
I’ll accept that Clementine likes it somewhat cooler than most humans, but she doesn’t seem to be as well insulated as an actual polar bear. That slender figure can’t have much more subcutaneous fat than usual, and she doesn’t look the slightest bit fuzzy so she seems to have shorter fur than most furry hybrids.
Does she bleach away the dye after each modeling job? That could be hard on the fur in the long run. Or does she wait until all her hairs have been replaced before the next job?
The normal variation of human adaptation to cold is quite amazing. For example, Abigail Thorn starts getting overheated around 13 degrees. Um, no, that’s Celsius, so it’s not *that* cold. But it’s still fairly cold for someone as skinny as she is to start feeling overheated. On the other end of the spectrum, one of my professors regularly wore sweaters even in summer, having only about a week during the height of summer during which he didn’t feel excessively cold. Sure, that was Indiana and he was from India, but one of those days I saw him looking chill and comfy in a sweater hit over 100 Fahrenheit, and I had thought people couldn’t adapt to preferring a temperature over around 90 F / 32 C.
As such, it doesn’t necessarily require fur to feel overheated in “normal” weather (whatever that is).
That said, she’s a fur dye model, so she clearly has some fur. I just assume that it’s short enough and sufficiently maintained that it’s not too visible with its current coloration. But as a fur dye model, that coloration really isn’t guaranteed to be her natural white. (I know there are a lot of people who say polar bears’ fur isn’t actually white, but their explanations for how it isn’t white tend to not match up with reality as I perceive it. It’s kind of like the people who say that green algae is really red because if you shine a light through it, that’s the color you get. Sure, I admit that’s the color you get when you do that, but that’s not how we name the color of things.)
RL polar bear fur looks yellowish. Don’t know if that is it’s actual color, or stuff stuck on it. We can assume Clementine is clean, but cannot assume anything about it’s dye status or bleaching.
For a Polar Bear, she’s not as poofy or rotund as I thought.
It could be that she’s a runt of the litter, so to speak. Or it’s her Human half that makes her skinny/a string bean of a Polar bear Hybrid.
Coca-Cola must pay her MILLIONS.
Also, fun fact:
Polar bears are one of the few animals that will hunt and eat humans.
Ha!! Thought I was gonna say that old adage about their fur being transparent, eh?
I think Bunderburg Rum use a polar bear too, but I doubt she’s old enough for that yet. I think someone said she was 14, minimum drinking age Down Under is 18 so only 4 years to go…
She could be doing their ads. As long as she isn’t drinking the product on or off screen. And they could be shooting the ads in Thailand, or…or…..Vanuatu….
They also have blue tongues due to how they release excess body heat, the color comes from the large amount of blood in the tongue to help with panting, apparently.
Is the cast page going to be updated after this chapter?
“No, I’m actually Michiru gone incognito. The artist hasn’t painted in all of my tanuki fur markings yet.”