April 25th, 2017
25 Apr 2017 · page 695 of 1306
Sid... stop talking....
Cast: Benjamin Thackerey, Heinrich Wolfe, Sidney Malik, The Butler, Verity Cunningham
Comments (57)
Events
ThoughtBubble
14 Nov 2026 – 15 Nov 2026
Harrogate Convention Centre
Manchester Megacon
31 Jul 2027 – 1 Aug 2027
Manchester Central
It's precious how Sid seems to genuinely feel bad about making her feel jealous instead of angry that she's taking it out on him.
Sid is genuinely good people. ^_^
Which in all likelihood makes her even angrier than if he (rightfully, imo) called her out. But I guess that wouldn't be Sid, as much as the extra backbone would suit him.
Wow, Sid....!
Points for insight, my good man, but your diplomacy needs work. XD
Annnd now...... it's gorilla time! More fun than a barrel of monkeys..... ^^;
I dunno if he gets points for turning in the assignment this late, honestly :P
You can at least get one credit for filling your name in properly. ;)
Nonesuch, are you a chemfizzer or is that a common figure of speech?
I have no idea what a "chemfizzer" is, but "more fun than a barrel of monkeys" is an accepted figure of speech.
The phrase "more fun than a barrel full of monkeys" is pretty common and traces back to the 1840's (although it was originally a cage of monkeys rather than a barrel).
OTOH I've never heard of a chemfizzer before and was unable to find it on Google, Miriam Webster, or Wikipedia.
that's...interesting. concerning?
it was a long shot. a prof I had (in the "chem/phys" track) said weird stuff like that and I thought she made it all up.
Boy, you're lucky you said that during gorilla time and not during orang-utan time.
Sid and Ben both are priceless, each in his own way. :) I don't think I remember another occasion when Benjamin yells to shut up at anybody. Even with "please". :)
I choose to believe panel 4 is everyone reacting in shock to that, rather than to Gula. They've all been threatened by bruisers before, but something like that from Ben is unprecedented.
(Unless we're both forgetting, anyway.)
I think you're right. Ben yells at Mal frequently, but that's different from taking charge of a situation like this.
I think you both need to re-read "No Rest for the Wicked". Taking charge of situation is definitely not new for Ben. I think they're reacting to the loud noise in what has up to now been more or less a stealth situation. I'd have recommended the hand-over-the-mouths technique here, but poor guy, he's a little short for that.
He also does so during Green Eyed Monster when they have to desummon Wrath.
And Ben's taking charge now was quite expectable from the previous page, where he tried to interrupt and "get others back to the plan" politely. It didn't work, he changed the method.
Still, the way he chose for that seems somewhat amusing to me. If nothing else, because he shouted in process of silencing others and in a "stealth situation".
Yes, you're right - scratch my previous comment. I suppose the reason this felt different is that this time he's taking charge of a group that includes his, shall we say, forceful older cousin...
Verity ain't no slouch, but neither is Ben. : )
Expecting/hoping that our dude the Butler helps them with their terrible plan to deal with Gluttony. He doesn't seem to enjoy Gluttony ordering him around or keeping him from eating food, and if he brought it out Gluttony might not be suspicious. It would be a lovely twist if it happened, but he's probably only going to help them after bringing them to Gluttony and really hitting the "Screw this" point.
Or he won't help at all and will continue to be a pawn/hired brawn. Never know with this comic!
Remember, it used to be his hotel. Then Gluttony turned him into a butler and now....? A whipping-boy.
Wait, was it? I thought we saw the owner who actually did the summoning getting released back at the end of the Baking arc...
The Hotel Gula has had a number of owners over the years. The butler is from Harry's grandparents' generation. The owner from the summoning is Harry's time, though I don't know if Mr. Cartwright wants to stick around after that experience. We haven't seen the owner during Alexa's time.
Mr. Cartwright probably only managed to get control over the Gula because Mr. Gula/the Gorilla got sucked into Gluttony's time-trap, which it managed to open thanks to Mr. Cartwright's faulty/hacked summons.
I love this theory as a fan of both paradoxes and schadenfraude. Seriously, how exasperating must that be for Gula?
"So he was able to steal my hotel...because Gluttony kidnapped me...which it was able to do because he stole my hotel..."
I expect him to help too, if not immediately than after literally just one more humiliation.
So...in the last panel I am looking at the Butler's straining vest, and all I can think of is Monty Python...
"And finally, monsieur, a wafer-thin mint."
"No. F@ck off -- I'm full."
Gorilla "just give me the damn thing"
Quick! Distract him with a glass of pickled eggs!
HISSSSSS! -backs away-
I actually tried pickled eggs, once. My friends thought I was insane, but they're actually quite good.
"Annnnnnnd roll for initiative, everybody."
I think they're all flat-footed on this one. :P
"I meant 'gorilla' in a flattering way: you clearly work out." ;P
Isn't it a bit unprogressive to call people 'gorillas'? It is very disrespectful to gorillas.
Indeed. The proper term is Ape! At this rate we'll be calling dogs foxes and canaries raptors!
Just don't mention the 'm' word...
Moose?
Nonesuch mentioned it once, but I think they got away with it.
It's the word you shouldn't say around Terry Pratchett's Librarian. ;)
I'd go with 'primate' myself. ^_^
What, he's an Anglican Archbishop? :-)
It might explain a lot.
Yep, Sid hit a nerve there.
Ben, if the "gorilla" heard anyone, it was likely you screaming at your cousin and Sid.
Well, he's not wrong...
Come ooooon, squeaky falsetto voice...
I love how Ben reacts when Sid calls Verity out on her jealousy. I get the impression that he's seen what happens when someone does that before. :D
It's even better when you have his reaction side by side with Wolfe's. Wolfe's expression screams "oh crap" while Ben is just exasperated.
It's interesting: Wrath and Envy are desummoned, but namely these both emotions are present here and are causing trouble in this case.
Well, it is "a type of warfare in which there is allowed no rest or furlough", as Seneca says. :) It is very satisfying to be able to hit Envy with a sandbag, no doubt, but it doesn't mean that (feeling of) envy can't win over you inside your soul.
I think I want to say that this plot arc about the Deadly Sins (and, more generally, the entire concept of magic run on human emotions) are very appealing to me. :) And to thank Kate for that, of course.
Eek! And Ben's, like, a third of the gorilla's size...
I like how even Wolfe is stunned at Sid's suicidal lack of tact in the second panel.
Sick 'em Wolfe.
Unfortunate trombone noises
Now I suddenly recall how annoyed was Verity at Wolfe's talk with Sidney about his feelings to Harry: [http://www.widdershinscomic...](http://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/november-4th-2016/ "http://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/november-4th-2016/")
Besides the given there reason of her reaction, maybe, she did hear what they were gossiping about and didn't approve the subject.
It took Sid this long to figure it out?