April 28th, 2017
28 Apr 2017 · page 696 of 1306
Cast: Alexa King, Edie Shaw, Gladys Shaw, Harriet Barber, Jack O'Malley, Rosie Bell
Comments (80)
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Only half-joking here: can we get a patreon milestone for "somehow actually defictionalize that episode of Mysterycast"? I wanna hear more about the Mystery of the Shaw Sisters.
I was sat there drawing it and wishing that existed!
See, Kate? I'm not the only one who wants more of them.
Timelines are SO inconvenient. ...
Sounds like we've got a special release for Patreon here...
First we would have to run a Kickstarter to put extra hours into the day
Oh, now that's a great idea! I'd certainly contribute: think about the cool reward tiers!
After thinking about this forever I ended up coming up with this theory that the Shaws got away because Sam showed up on time traveler business and ran into them, and they ended up coming with him to the future to join whatever agency he was working with.
This is just so much beautiful closure ;^;
Man, what a good payoff to these characters. I hope Nora gets a chance to see this later.
In case anyone else felt the urge to check, here's the relevant page: [http://www.widdershinscomic...](http://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/march-7th-2014/ "http://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/march-7th-2014/")
Yep she's there :D
That's so subtle! Wow!!
Happy dances! I called it! Woot!
Points AAAAAAH! SO GOOD!
Still more closure, double Yay!
(and the extra-image below is great too)
"Honestly, I don't know how he was even there, the place was only built in 1770..."
When confronted with such anomalies it is best if one consults with a true expert.
The 10th Doctor - "A big ball of wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff"
And now that everything has been clarified...I am awestruck at how many loose ends were tied up in just 5 panels. BRAVO!!!
Eh, I think it's more to do with all references to the individual code-named "Samuel" being classified as Super Duper Double Dog Over-The-Top Secret Times Infinity
The security clearance is kind of beside the point. You can't look up things that haven't happened yet.
It's The Future™. You can absolutely look things up that haven't happened yet, thanks to the wonders of quantum computing. You can also get previous-day delivery for your Amazon orders, download schematics so the 3D-printer you haven't got yet can 3D-print itself, and download albums that don't exist from parallel universes where your favorite bands never split up.
I bought a 3D-printer and even paid for previous-day delivery, but it is on back-order.
. . . More S Club 7 albums? I can't tell if I'm crying with joy or fear.
Yep.....VERY concise. And also shows she's been thinking about what she wanted to convey for a while.
Awesome future-phone.
Wait... if she's holding her phone, what's she using to record this?
Her Amazon Doodlebug (personalized drone)? Perfect for selfies, getting video records of events, and of course dungeon exploration.
She's using a camera to record the video; you can see her move it slightly with an audible "thnk" in the last page she appeared: [http://www.widdershinscomic...](http://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/april-18th-2017/ "http://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/april-18th-2017/"), which means it isn't her phone she's using. This isn't a quick selfie video; it's a video message to a friend she'll never see again, so there's some preparation involved.
Yeah, I saw that. Holding the camera that way is why I thought she was taking a selfie in the first place. I would never accuse someone of taking a selfie without probable cause. Especially not a clever person like Alexa.
that bonus panel <3
I feel bad that Nora probably won't get to see the video herself, it would have meant a lot to her. At least Harry will be sure to tell her exactly what was in it.
Some closeups of the first two panels, for those interested-
[http://www.widdershinscomic...](http://www.widdershinscomic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/6fb51b9de88ad7cbce15146dea6926d1.png "http://www.widdershinscomic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/6fb51b9de88ad7cbce15146dea6926d1.png")
Priceless!
So, Kate, did Ethan twig to Alexa's real identity when he saw her talking to Philippe? I mean, the circle of top-flight restaurants in London isn't all that big, and I would assume that Ethan had been to he's been to the patisserie...
I can't figure out if I would have expected him to be less or more angry with her if he had connected those dots when he met her in the time-travel hotel. Maybe that partly explains how super snippy he was?
Nah, I think that Ethan is just an insufferable jerk.
Mal may have no idea what Alexa's on about, but the rest of us love it! Thanks, Kate! (This makes me extra-glad I just re-read Piece of Cake the other day...)
I think Mal is also reacting to the idea of a man having a husband...
he barely noticed that, it is practically the least confusing thing she's said, from his perspective
Romantic relationships not being his thing I'm not surprised that that didn't register as important to him.
I think people are forgetting that we all grew up with Doctor Who, so time travel is part of our cultural heritage. Even if we don't believe it is possible (and I'm about 95% sure it's not) we're familiar enough with the concept that evidence of it would not generate the kind of total bafflement for us that it has for Mal.
Ohh... that brings up a curious point, though: Mal (and Harry) is rightfully confused, as anyone would be if time travel wasn't a thing in their culture (or sub-culture), but Sid (and... Ben, I think? Maybe? To some degree? I kinda forget with that) seemed to take it as in-stride as any modern person. Is it a known thing with the wizardly-taught, or is it theoretical, or is it just Sid being Sid?
I dunnow, I get the feeling Mal is pretty swiftly going to file time-travel under "magical shenanigans BS" and try very hard not to care.
"Who the hell ARE these people, why does everyone dress weird, and why am I watching this?!"
Got it in one?
I think he's just confused because this strange woman is babbling about all these people he and Harry have never heard of as if they know what she's talking about. After all, the two of them aren't the intended audience for this message.
This whole page is a wonderful treat. :')
Thank you, Ms. Ashwin.
I wonder if Ethan and Alexa had a talk and stayed in touch afterward.... or not. ^^;
They for certain use Future-Twitter to snipe at each other
Yes...that is SUCH a satisfying mental picture. :D
Lexi: Was that white polo neck, like, a Christmas Sweater our what?
Ethan: I don't think an entire generation that thought it looked good in denim has got anything to tell me about style.
On the same basis as her own good fortune: She knows he's the best. She knows he's looking for a job. She should hire him.
I think he took the job at the Gula, just didn't start right away.
He did not take the Gula job, he'd have rather cut off his own head then go back in there, but he did get one soon after that allowed for a better work/life balance.
That extra drawing is priceless! I'll confess, I had wondered how Alexa's investigation into Ethan went... Was it limited to eavesdropping? Did she approach him? Did she smile and wave from a distance? What I did not imagine was that trollface! XD
"Oh and one last thing. Don't tell her, but I'm actually a descendent of your sister Harriet Malik." Ideally, you'll want Ms Barber drinking something at that point, for maximum comic effect.
That would be... something to see.
Oh, my, yes.
i'unno, i see harry as probably keeping her name
and, y'know, sid taking her name
plus, if his name became 'lancelot sidney arthur oliver barber', i bet his parents would forgive everything just because they're so thrilled that his name is finally fully The Most British Ever
everyone wins
It will be a cold day in Hell before Ms Harriet calls herself 'Mrs Sidney Malik', although I imagine Ms Cunningham will use it at every opportunity. I only used it for the sake of brevity, honest.
"Don't tell her, but I'm descended from Anthony Malik, Harriet and Sidney's second child"
Insult, wave hi to Injury!
His full name is "Anthony Byron Bulwar-Lytton Wollstonecraft Malik". Sidney's parents wanted a really literary name.
I wonder, though, would Harry even want children? If anything, Alexa would be a descendant of Edmund or Nora, since both already have kids (and we know Nora eventually has a second child).
Probably Edmund given Alexa's skin colour. Still with enough time anything is possible.
19 years later huh?
Now where did I read that before..... ?
It's a tribute to your storytelling that seeing these character's development after we last left them is so satisfying. And the 'told you so' snipe is great!
Wait... how does she know when it's going to happen to Ethan? From his perspective they haven't met yet.
Except they were pulled into a temporal pocket/pocket universe so they did meet. It's not like their experiences went "Poof" when they returned to their own times. As far as her knowing when, she knows what year he came from; just keeping an eye on when the Gula is hiring a new chef is enough to narrow down the timeframe.
From his perspective, as of the time she's recording this they _haven'_t met yet, but as of his chat with his husband, they did, just very very recently from his point of view. They (Ethan and her) just haven't been apart nearly as long from his perspective as from hers~ :D
I had a similar thought with the photo of Alexa and Rosie in panel 2; Rosie is much older, but Alexa is the same age she was when they met in the timeslip. It must have been a little odd for Rosie - from her perspective it's been years, but Alexa looks exactly the way she remembers her.
💖
I think that covers it.
Hmm, since we did not actually see Sam, what are everyone's thoughts on the odds we shall see the intrepid Time Patroller in the Hotel Gula?
Ethan is going to be even angrier when he finally realizes that she had to spend 19 years and a fair amount of detective work setting up that sick burn.
It's the thought, time and effort that counts. Also, time travel. xD
Harry: "Huh. Same gender marriages are a thing in the future, then? Wonder if hearing that'll get mum off Nic's back."
Much as I would love it if Harry & Nicola's mom got off Nicola's back she sounds pretty conservative to me. I could more easily see her still unhappy 10 years after Nicola marries a woman (and not a man) then I could see her saying "Oh that's fine then" because at some undefined point in the future (which Nicola may not live to see) it will become possible for Nicola to marry a woman.
I would love to b proven wrong, but I'm not going to start celebrating (or even get my hopes up) until I hear that Nicola's mom has admitted that it's not any of her business what gender partner Nicola prefers.
Everybody knows that when a mother gets on one's case to "get married" what she's really on about is "give me grandchildren already I'm not getting any younger!" So same-sex marriage won't help there.
(I kid, I kid, this is only true 92% of the time. Some parents really do just want to see their children settled into a happy relationship without children being relevant to the equation, or so I imagine.)
I can attest to the to the grandkids point. As third of six children, our mother cycled through us on asking when we would have children.
The pressure is off some as one of our siblings finally delivered and now our mother has a tiny angry grandbaby to shower with multilingual affection.
It does seem to be a bit of a theme (the guy in that one is gay, but was pretending to not be, but it's pretty clear that his parents had already figured that out):
[http://www.somethingpositiv...](http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp08152014.shtml "http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp08152014.shtml")
Waaaait a tic... just noticed, but don't Jack O'Malley and Ethan Booth look just a /bit/ similar to one another? Maybe it's just the hair.
No, they don't :)
See their noses, they are definitely different ones.
Oh Ethan, you are going to feel so stupid for not seeing that coming....
Hahaha, nice one Alexa!
from when comes sam now ?? i still have no clue . has someone an idea ??
He seemed to be a time-travel agent trained to bake so he'd get snatched up by Hotel Gula and their agency could get an official, complete, report (maybe even a video!) on the "Gluttony Debacle. (at least, that's how I read this page: https://www.widdershinscomi... "https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/march-14th-2014)")
Man, and here I was thinking the people who pointed it out back then were being too suspicious XD