April 24th, 2018
24 Apr 2018 · page 789 of 1306
Right there.
Cast: Harriet Barber, Jack O'Malley
Comments (152)
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Ouch, Lust is going for the throat!
Going for people’s deepest desires is cheating!
It is kind of in Lust's job title to be fair.
I don't think it's her throat he's after.
All is fair in love and war, and this is kind of both.
So unable to effect the witch, lust brought along people he could effect. But are they all there or is it just there souls? Either way Mal said no wizards allowed in there and I'm worried what will happen to them.
Seems more likely that this isn't Sid, but Lust (as in, the spirit) in disguise.
Yeah, looks like he brought part of the others' souls with him, that's why they get hurt in the previous page i suppose.
thoughtfully There is no Sid in tags. But does it mean anything?
just to clarify, because i have messed this up previously- this time that is not a mistake.
Yeah, he doesn't sound like Sid.
This seems more like Lust's idea of what Harry wants than what she actually wants. Like, I'm pretty sure that if this was her fantasy she wouldn't be wearing a dress. I wonder if that will help her break out of it?
> This seems more like Lust's idea of what Harry wants than what she actually wants.
Yeah, but Lust had a very good notion about Wolfe's "tastes" in this field and exploited them. Shouldn't Lust be interested in Barbers' family, for obvious reasons? It's not so hard to get Harry's preferences in her choice of clothes, after all.
People sometimes have fantasies that are at odds with their real selves. Sometimes a thing seems nice in fantasy, but just comes off awkward and weird if you try to act on it in reality.
Well, it is Lust rather than love. Making an illusion of a person you would be- or already are- attracted to probably is much easier for it than making an illusion of a situation you would be happy in... especially if that situation involves people you know very well. The closest it can get might be to create a Standard Romantic Situation™, regardless of it would make sense for the people involved.
I think (s)he got lucky with Wolfe
Not exactly, I think it's that Wolfe's a bit more straightforward in this department, an easier target if you will. While Harry... well, we've seen through the story how shy and reluctant of letting in romantic involvement she's been. Which is why the debate on this page has been so fascinating.
Only fair that Mal gets to peek into Harry's mind after what happened with sloth...ah, kidding, this is bad.
I don't really know what is going on though. Like, in the first two panels Mal still seems to be in the "witchspace" and not in Harry's dream. And is this even Harry's dream, or Sid's? And if this is Harry's dream, why did she disappear when Mal didn't during his? Deep questions?????
The thing is, that's not exactly the witch space as we've been seeing it - everything's gone solid pink instead of the white floor and swirly brown walls. I think Lux might have cut Mal and Harry off from each other somehow.
Oh, that's an idea! I thought I was good at noticing details until I met the Widdershins comment section.
I don't think Mal is peaking into Harry's mind, I think Harry (and maybe Sid) are experiencing and are trapped in this vision, Mal is just in the witchspace with Luxuria by himself.
Good Heavens! Ms Harry’s a girl!
grasps You don't say!
Heh. I assume you meant to write "gasps", but what you actually wrote suggests you didn't merely exhale with shock but actually physically grabbed Sturzkampf and shook him as hard as his comment shook your reality (except of course it didn't shake your reality because you're being sarcastic).
Except now I'm imagining Heylir grabbing Sturzkampf by the collar, and this is a great image, so thank you for that.
Seconded, especially since I tend to picture people as their avatars.
Oh man. Ben grabbing Captain Vole...
People pick me up and shake me quite often. Can't think why.
Perhaps to make change fall out of your pockets...
What? You didn't say anything about turning you upside down before shaking you...
Oh, sorry.
I always assumed that Jagermonsters simply did that to each other for fun?
*gasps
Yeah, it is what I meant. :) But if I correct my mistake now then a chain of hilarious comments below will lose their context, and it would be shame. ;)
Didn't even see those, hah.
Either the fourth wall has developed a serious case of pink eye, or those cherry blossoms have gotten absolutely everywhere.
Those cherry blossoms have really gotten everywhere! Terribly untidy...
Now I imagine Mr Thackerey under this tree. :/ With his broom.
With a rake. Ugh, lawn maintenance.
The word "rake" sounds ominous with Lux being around. :)
Lol!
So cunning of him. A worthy enemy. And Mal might have gotten too confident :D
Ohhhboy.
Lust, you just fucked up.
You do not mess with Harriet Barber, and you certainly don't confront her with her feelings for our favorite wizardly goofball.
Eh, the feelings, she can deal with. A dress, however, that was a fatal error...
Loose hair that can get anywhere and get caught up in anything. The horror!
Harry in a dress is kind creepy LOL I mean, she looks good, but I think she would hate it deeply o.o
Yeah, I get the feeling that putting her in a dress in this illusion is what will break the spell.
Honestly? I think what will snap her out of it is Lust doesn't understand what makes Sid tick and Harry does. He is just a pale imitation and can't hold a candle to true love, he can only emulate it.
It would go well with Greed's words "Use it" (about "complexity" of humans), yeah!
Oh goodness, I thought Greed was talking about the pipe it was bound to all this time. That makes so much more sense, thanks for pointing that out.
Could be that, too. She loves her tobacco, and her suits, and having her hair up. What's more, Sid appreciates them as part of her. Being in a dress and getting all soppy romantic isn't Harry--and it isn't Sid.
>She loves her tobacco, and her suits, and having her hair up. What's more, Sid appreciates them as part of her.
I was thinking the same thing. If we get to see Sid’s romantic fantasies at any point here, I’m willing to bet that his dream-Harry will look just the way she does in real life, trousers, pipe, and all.
Suddenly Visualizes Harry Barber looking like Ash from the Evil Dead Series 8I
though seriously I kind of want to see Sid and Harry's romantic Fantasies of each other. Just for the glorious ludicrousness of it all
I too would like to see their fantasies. Just as long as we cut away before any clothes start coming off. That's more intrusive and personal than I care to get. :)
Despite the nature of our villain here, I can promise you a No Creepy Stuff guarantee :)
And some of us thank you profusely
now I'm trying to picture Sid attempting to being romantic and all I can picture is him at whoever's (probably Harry's) doorstep looking like he just got dragged through the mud into a river by several dogs and holding a bouquet of wilting flowers while trying desperately to apologize for showing up four hours late for their date. Point is, I can't picture Sid being suave to save his life.
edit: except, of course, by accident. He's the type of guy who would do something really sweet or romantic in the spur of the moment or not even realize he did it in the first place. or at least that's the vibe I get from him.
I'd say he's more charming than suave. Which actually works better in the long run regarding romantic intentions with Harry, I'd say. Suave would probably turn her off as being too calculated, but Sid's honesty and openness appeal to her.
Especially given that there is something clearly off with Sid here. He's a tad too assertive, too suave, and the last line he says there strongly suggests it's either not him, or Lust is putting words in his mouth.
Or it is Lust itself.
yeah
"Exactly where you want to be"
"I don't want to be in a dress!"
I don't know. If there's no imminent threat and she wanted to look nice for a specific someone--and none of her family were around to see it--I can see Harry wearing a dress. Maybe.
Yeah, guilty pleasures are too true a thing. :P
I feel like me and Harry are pretty similar in that I feel actual physical discomfort when I wear a dress. I remember even for special occasions when my mother would force me to wear a dress, I'd much rather have gone in a snappy tuxedo. If she's anything like me, I don't think she'd want to feel uncomfortable in order to make someone else think she looks good.
Yes, but it would be tweed. Something like this maybe, good for walking about the moors in:
I mean come on, that dress in he comic doesn't even have pockets to stow her pipe and tobacco in!
When I first saw this, I thought it was a flash back of Sid a Lea because I just couldn't picture Harry in a dress, but then I looked at the nose and realized that it had to be Harry.
It's very similar to the dress we saw Nora in during Find the Lady: [https://www.widdershinscomi...](https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/april-17th-2015/ "https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/april-17th-2015/")
Kate, you are a very sneaky person.
I can't help but wonder if that's part of it though. Like, she's happy with herself overall but wishes she was a little better at this whole expressing her feelings thing because it (and Sid) are important to her now where before romance was something that happened to other people. And since the people important to her who are good at it are Nora, Izzy, and Florie, and because of the things she's been told by society ( think of the "find a gentleman instead of dessing like one" lecture she was talking about earlier) her picture of that type of person would be more girly.
Not that I'm saying she or Sid wants her to change, just that her subconscious may be putting these things together and that's what Lust is picking up on.
That's a good observation. In fact, I don't know whether Florrie's all that good at romance - we never see her with her husband, and I read Kate as having implied she married for money. Nora and Izzy, though? They are both very good at romance, and you're right, this is Izzy's hair and Nora's dress.
Ah, but she's good at flirting, and seems to enjoy it, which is close enough in this case. Not to mention how quick she was quick to try and match-make the first time she saw Harry and Sidney in the same room together, and how good she seems to at the "getting along with people in general" thing.
"good at flirting... which is close enough in this case" -- close enough for Lux, you mean?
I mean in that she's open about, and good at expressing, her interest.
In short, she's the anti-Sid
And that smile on "Sid's" face is taken directly from MacCavity.
Harry: Hang on... why am I wearing a dress? Where's my pipe? Why's my hair loose like this? Why's this mature-looking tree so small? Why's everything tinged pink? Why aren't you flustered by this barrage of questions? Who are you, where are we, and what have you done with Sid - and me?
>:=)>
Shh! "It's called suspension of disbelief, do try not to shatter it!" (c)
"Suspension of disbelief" =/= "Hanged belief by the neck until dead."
Heh! I genuinely think the dress was an actual mistake on Lust's part. Whilst it's possible that Harry does want this scenario, she also doesn't want it. It's contrary to her stubborn nature; she's been critcised for her lack of feminine attire in the past and thus finding herself in this situation is like her admitting defeat. She likely refuses to even acknowledge these desires in herself, she's so used to denying them when they're voiced by others.
She also has issues with being emotionally expressive and showing vulnerability. In some ways it puts me in mind of a scene in Darken, Kate Ashwin's previous work. A character that goes into a dreamscape appears armoured, because that's how he's most comfortable. By taking Harry out of her masculine clothes and putting her in a dress, Lust has robbed her of her armour. Again, maybe Harry on some level does want this, but at the same time there's undeniably a part of her that doesn't.
I'm sure this also ties in with Lust and how the spirit can't fully understand humans and their complexities. The idea that humans can have wants that pull them in opposite directions is likely baffling to Lust. I could probably come out with a lot more premature character analysis based on just this one scene. However, I think I've already shown that I spend way too much time reading and thinking about webcomics.
Disqus marked this as spam for some reason, sorry! I've approved it now. I guess it hates well-thought out comments?
Too much talk of Lust maybe?
on one hand : OH MY
on the other hand : UH OH.
Not sure if it is just me, but I am seeing a strong resemblance between Harry and Izzy here that I do not remember noticing before.
I was thinking she looked a lot like Nora. [Seriously, look at Nora on this page.](https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/may-15th-2015/ "https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/may-15th-2015/")
I really like the look in Harry's eyes in the last panel, but I'm not sure what it is.
Pretty sure it's bewilderment/suspicion
Can't understand.
We all have agreed Lust doesn't know about Harry at the in-between space with Mal.
Then - how?! How she,s became the first victim of it?
Maybe when Mal pulled Lux through, it saw/sensed who else was there and immediately slapped its influence on her. That could even be why this vision isn't really what Harry would want - it was a spur-of-the-moment job.
Lux was hanging outside the anchor before during and after they left mal and harry there. I think he made an educated guess as to who was left behind by watching who went in and who left.
I expect that in fact everybody but O'Malley was simultaneously overwhelmed at the same moment. Ben et al. are in there as souls, and Harry is physically there as well, and they're all in deep pink. We're just being shown Harry first for narrative reasons of some kind.
The fact that Luxuria's opening salvo was a very effective strike against Harry indicates that not only was it aware they had done something about having Izzy's bloodline present but also that it figured out exactly how they solved that problem before it got there.
From the color of Harry's speech it looks like she is pretty deeply under Luxuria's influence right now. That is worrisome because I believe that everyone else who has fallen that deeply under a deadly sin's influence in this chapter has needed external assistance to break free and it looks like Harry may have difficulty perceiving anything that is not part of Luxuria's vision.
Is it just me, or drawing in the "pink panels" is a bit different, more like the manner Lux's "true form" is "sketched" in?
Yes, and it also corresponds to the art style of Gran Isabel's ancestor's story of summoning Lux (starts here: https://www.widdershinscomi... "https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/september-25th-2015/)"), I love it!
Hey, I just now get that witch had blue eyes, too!
Oh, that's true, interesting.
You're right, the shading on Harry and Sid is heavier.
Combined with the colors, it does a good job of lending a surreal dream-like quality touch
You're losing your touch, Luxuria. Harry would probably be happy to hang out under a tree with Sid, but she certainly wouldn't want to do it wearing a dress, and she probably wouldn't care for the soppy dialogue either. She prefers her romance more down-to-earth.
I see "Sid"'s words rather as an attempt to convince: "You are happy here, forget and don't think about anything else".
Yes, I think that’s what “Sid” meant it to be. The wording just struck me as something that Harry might find a little too sappy.
Not to mention arrogant and presumptuous, which is not Sid.
I do believe the whole point is that this reflects what is perhaps Harry's deepest desire, whether or not she admits as much to herself even. She is a multifaceted being, and this side of her is (apparently) very much there despite the fact that she mostly rejects it consciously.
Don't think so. I think this is what Lux assumes Harry really wants. Not Complex people, which is what Harry and Sid really are...
Uh, he pronounced the initial H. Things must be truly dire.
I took it was "Sid" who asked (the second) "Harry?"
You and your noticing details that make the comic read as intended.... :mumble grumble:
If you're talking about the pink speech bubble, that looks like it's supposed to be from fake-Sid, not from O'Malley.
who else is kind of excitede to see more of romantic sid and harry i mean its not real but still
Less excited, more worried how far this goes before Harry (or someone else) puts an end to it. It'd be sad if Lux stole their first real romantic encounter.
I'm guessing however it goes Harry won't want to talk about it afterwards.
Mmmm really worried. Not excited.
I'm surprised so many people are caught up on the dress, there might be situations where someone is willing to wear one even if they don;t normally.
I suspect they (and me as well) too vividly remember this scene: [https://www.widdershinscomi...](https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/december-12th-2011/ "https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/december-12th-2011/") :))
I think what we're seeing here is that there is a side to Harriet, one that she herself perhaps mostly denies, that would like to let her guard down and be feminine and just open up to the man for whom she cares. And part of that relaxing and opening up might involve wearing feminine clothing and letting her hair down, especially if she thinks Sid would be pleased by that.
I imagine that Harriet is so tough all the time as 95% her true personality and 5% because she feels she has something to prove to the world and society. She doesn't want to be boxed-in to stereotypes of a "woman's place" and wants to prove that she personally, and potentially women in general, can be just as accomplished as her famous grandfather was.
But that doesn't have to mean she isn't deep down interested in letting go once in a while in the private company of her dearest loved ones.
Yeah, but the caption says "Harry vs Formal Wear, round one, FIGHT".
I think its less the dress and more the style/requirements of formal wear, this is a much simpler dress which can be comfy.
I just looking at this from personal experience, I hate dresses, shorts and anything that shows leg for the most part, because of how uncomfortable. However if I want to hang out here come the sundress and sweat-shorts cause they are comfy.
Uh-oh.
"Got it"? Got what, O'Malley?
Of all things, I was NOT expecting Harry to fall into a Lux-induced vision here. Which leaves O'Malley to deal with... what, exactly? : /
Well, last page even O'Malley was overwhelmed by pinkness. Here, the whole space is still hot pink, but HE is not. So I surmise what he "got" was that he was able to reassert enough control to wrangle the pink-aura off of himself, but only himself.
The tips of his fingers are pink...Or perhaps they are his normal colour...
I think he meant he "got Lust here". (And I can't help thinking about one joke: "I caught a bear! - Get it here! - It won't go! - Come here yourself, then! - It don't let me go!" :/)
Exactly. I wasn't asking what he meant. : P
Oh my. Harriet Barber's secret desires. And I know it's really her, and not really Sid, because she is tagged whereas Sid is not (aside from all the internal indicators).
Oooooh, Harryyy~! :D
But seriously, Harry's adorable. ^_^
And looks like O'Malley really is immune to Lust.
Does Lust seriously think he'll be able to fool Harry for very long? If so, he should really become Pride. If his plan only involves distracting her "for just long enough," then it might work.
Ah, I really love the shift of art- style in the last few panels! We have seen characters influenced by the sins before, and their outline and speech- bubbles have changed colours- this feels like an even more extreme version of that. And also, the sort of sketchy, textured shadows and highlights are beautiful!
Well O'Malley, you sent Harry through your back story, now you have to sit through her delusions. Should have brought popcorn.
Anthyding can hadplen!
Harry, immediately: You’re not Sid! You’re not bumbling enough!
I'm thinking that this is Harry's romantic fantasy. We have pretty good evidence that she really does want a deeper relationship with Sid than they currently share. (coff [https://www.widdershinscomi...](https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/may-17th-2016/ "https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/may-17th-2016/") coff) Why wouldn't Lust want to exploit her unfulfilled desire for"Sid's love"? It's surely an abstract thing which she might want...
Something tells me the lace and corsetry will lose. Too itchy. xD
Also, not!Sid will not be able to do the whole "amiable, bumbling gangle" properly.
Luxuria picked up on the lust, no question. The problem is, it's just a spirit that lacks an understanding of human complexity, because it has none itself. It's certainly old, which means that it's learned how to decision-tree human interests. And that lovely little tableaux would certainly work as a romantic approximation for most young ladies who are interested in a young man.
It's a real shame that Harry will record-scratch the whole thing she looks around and doesn't see her dog. Because she'd bring him. And Sid would have happily let her.
/Smash-cut to Ben's fantasy-world, which is just him surrounded by piles of finished work, a first-class degree, and organized books. Wolfe and Mal are there but Mal is asleep and Wolfe is practicing the violin. No one is speaking.
oh no it's perfect
Mal's world would probably be very similar. He laid out on the couch, belly full and either a smoke in hand or he's on the verge of sleep. Wolfe is nearby practicing and Ben is close by reading contentedly.
YES, THIS
If we add Wolfe's fantasy, there'd probably be a redhead in there somewhere.
Yeah we've already seen Wolfe's fantasy, and she was very pretty. : P
Boot him in the teeth, Harry. You KNOW that Sid doesn't have the confidence to make any advances. And he isn't blathering like usual.
"Sid doesn't have the confidence to make any advances", you say... But think about this, who has been the one to move the relationship forward throughout the course of the story?
Florrie.
(I kid, sort of. Really neither of them has actively pursued the other, as such. Sid has just made a point of sticking by her and being himself. WE know he's been into her for a while, but he's never explicitly admitted as much to Harry. And Harry has allowed Sid to grow on her. I'd say neither of them has pursued the other romantically in any open way, but rather, as working partners they've gotten to know each other and love has bloomed organically between them.)
In my view of things, Sid did try to make some of advances, in the first or second day of their acquaintance: [https://www.widdershinscomi...](https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/december-30th-2011/ "https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/december-30th-2011/")
And Harry's reaction convinced him that it wasn't the best way.
Yes, so then there was this: [https://www.widdershinscomi...](https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/november-14th-2012-16-days-left-to-preorder-books/ "https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/november-14th-2012-16-days-left-to-preorder-books/")
I FREAKIN' KNEW IT! I knew Lux would try this Horsehockey! though I think Harry's going to be more confused than anything
I'm assuming Harry won't be allowed enough self-awareness to reject how she's dressed. It's Sid out-of-character smoothness that should let her know something's wrong.
The first problem with this is that Sid should be the one in the dress because we ALL know who wears the pants in this relationship.
Another comment said that it would be hilarious to see Sid's illusion. I was going to comment that it would be exactly the same, but reversed, but yours is closer to what I was thinking.
everyone else getting lovey dubby stuff happening
while jack is just by himself
I believe the phrase is "Too much pink energy is dangerous"?
I need to know what this relates to because it feels like a writing prompt
Power rangers, friend.
XD
DEFINITELY A WRITING PROMPT
Uh and also Oh.
Hm...looking back at the archives and found this strip:
[https://www.widdershinscomi...](https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/september-23rd-2015/ "https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/september-23rd-2015/")
The bit about 'tearing out your soul' seems ominously pertinent.
Welp. Definitely nothing shady here.
Hey, a bot posted a bunch of spam using my account last night on a bunch of webcomics, including this one. They've been deleted already, but I wanted to apologize for the inconvenience.
Hey dude, not a problem :) Sorry you were hacked, what a pain!
Thanks. I continue to be a huge fan of your work :)
This will never work. Luxuria/Lust has doomed both his plan and himself.