January 23rd, 2018
23 Jan 2018 · page 766 of 1306
Just a week left on this pin kickstarter of mine!
Cast: Benjamin Thackerey, Heinrich Wolfe, Lei Feng, Sidney Malik, Thomas Macavity, Verity Cunningham
Comments (63)
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So far, when they got bored we've seen them take in a surprise magic show and pet a dog. ;)
I suppose they could try patting Ben or Verity on the head; their hair looks very fluffy. :D
They'll demand that bunnies be made.
"There's a Purple Hippo of Happiness?! Where?! Wherewherewherewhere!"
"I saw where a hippo was not, and said, no. This will not do."
Seeing Sid again seems to have knocked Lei's thinking out of its rut.
She used to be all pride, but now she's admitting she was wrong before...
C'monnn, Heel-Face Turn!
I'm imagining she'll do something to help them take down Macavity, who she doesn't seem to be a fan of anyway, and possibly greed, but then run off with the cash while the others aren't looking anyway.
I suspect that weakening Greed will be easier if they can prevent Lei from running off with the cash.
It is possible that the regrets expressed here are more sincere than those expressed at the jail. Given her history as a manipulator I would hate having to rely on her sincerity though. Especially since she has admitted that her decisions were stupid but has not actually said that her decisions were wrong. She might have used the word bad because she believes what she did was wrong, or she might have used the word bad because she thinks Sid will be more likely to cooperate if he believes that she understands that what she did was wrong, or she might have used the word bad to mean her decisions were not as effective as she wanted them to be and it is just a coincidence that it can be interpreted as an admission of guilt.
Or "bad" as in "upon reflection, this is going to explode in my face and get me in more trouble than I can get out of". :/
Note that while the less savvy minion is standing watch, monocle minion is gathering up the cash.
I wonder whether the minions might finally be getting the feeling that their boss is no longer worth serving.
Long shot, I know, but still... A proper crime is quick; get in, take valuables, get out. Don't muck about with something that takes too much time -- like McCavity and the ruddy vault. Common sense or greed, gentlemen?
I suspect that with this group greed wins every time, even when the spirit of Greed is not loose and in the same building as they are.
But where is the spirit of Greed???
Asleep on top of the gold in the vault?
I actually like this idea, since it would mean Sid's first and last encounters with Greed involve him freeing Greed from a cave like area and that would be a nice bookend.
I want to make a "Your Princess is in Another Castle" reference, because it would be interesting if that was the case, but then I keep imagining Greed wearing a Princess Peach dress and I have to go have a giggle.
Better the Magpie steals the rope...
That might work, although Macavity still has a gun...
Ben, Vee and Wolfe free, they could knock out thugs (Vee and Wolfe), and Ben could summon some helping spirit... Alas, though, he's not as creative with summoning as with other emergency decisions, as we know :)
The rope's not shiny though....
Well, Pride has been defeated, so Lei should be feeling a bit shaken and regretful, if the Envy arc is any indication. Perhaps Greed really is only Macavity's problem, and she is along only for the jail break/venture capital.
Thug 1: So, what's gonna 'appen when we get bored?
Thug 2: Dunno. Di'n't the boss tell you?
Thug 1: I thought 'e must've told you.
Thug 2: I don't even get bored. If there's nuffing 'appenin' my brain just switches off.
Thug 1: Same 'ere. The boss gets bored, though. There's nothing criminal goin' on, 'e starts climbin' the walls. Fink that's why 'e became a master criminal in the first place. slaps neck Bleedin' mosquitoes. No wait- falls unconscious
Thug 2: In 'ere? slaps neck Nah, that felt more like an 'orsefly. falls unconscious
Vee: Ha! cuts ropes
Sid: stares at vault door, glances nervously at Macavity O-okay... just stay calm, okay, let's try another way around this... (whisper) little magpie friend, if you you can help me, now would be a good time... just give him everything in there, quick as you can!
Macavity: is suddenly buried under huge pile of cash and bullion ... nnnnn ... this... is less pleasant than... when I daydreamed about it. ... I think I have Krugerrands up my nose... and a gold bar up my- wheeze
Vee: steps around pile Good work, Lancelot! Lei, keep your hands where I can see them. Now, any suggestions on dealing with Greed?
>:=)>
Given how things went at the cave in chapter one, I really would not trust Macavity to refrain from hurting you or your friends just because you give him what he wants. He is not even saying bad things will not happen if you cooperate (only Lei said that), just that bad things will happen to them if they do not cooperate. So right now Macavity can kill them after they have cooperated and are no longer useful without breaking his word (not that I think Macavity would hesitate to break his word).
I mean, you have a point
Sid still smiling nervously, rather than looking startled or dismayed, as he protests that he doesn't know how to open the vault is so perfectly characteristic.
Hah, funny you should say, I drew him looking shocked/scared at first, then thought 'Oh haha wait this is Sid though' and changed it.
I also love how Wolfe looks very anxious about his current predicament while Ben and Vee are wearing identical looks of "I am so done with this".
Wolfe looks anxious... perhaps because he's viewing Macavity's gun being waved at him. Meanwhile I am amused by the look of evil happiness upon Macavity's face while waving it.
You do all realize that the magpie is going to steal greed right?
Two pages ago: Sid, go wait outside, you're actively harming our operation!
Now: Sid, you're our only hope to save this!
(Although Wolfe's still conscious so maybe this is going better!)
I love how this group keeps walking straight into trouble every time, despite trying to be more prepared next time. It's a) hilarious and b) kind of realistic given how ad hoc this group and plan are.
Thankfully, their abilities to work together and come up with plans on the fly are getting better and better with each encounter
Wouldn't now be a great time for the Shaw sisters to appear? I'm sure that they have a number of fast-acting aerosols which could help.
And I'm also sure that they would not mind taking a small percentage of the...left-overs. Why, they might even share with Lei!
I love this idea, especially since my headcanon is that the Shaw sisters got picked up by Sam during another time travel run and that's what happened to them, although I have to worry they'd be influenced by Greed.
And now I find myself wondering which of the Piece of Cake crew would fall to which sin.
Seriously, Lei. "A little money for a fresh start?" You tried to execute a plan which would kill many, many people. Money for a fresh start isn't in the cards, I think.
Although I guess that if Voss could get off, then so could Lei. After all, he set up a similar (indeed, almost identical) plan of his own.
Her original plan was to do it all bloodlessly! Then Harry happened. [https://www.widdershinscomi...](https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/april-10th-2013/ "https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/april-10th-2013/")
The conspirators in Lois McMasters Bujold book Komarr thought they could pull off a bloodless revolution, too. Theirs also came pretty close to having mass casualties.
I didn't say it was a good plan :)
Of course. There are no hats.
(No good ones, at least.)
Oh I would not like to see the chaos that would happen if Jagers got mixed up with one of the Deadlies.
This is something I like a lot with Bujold's villains: most of them, especially in the latter Vorkosigan books, are ordinary people (for a fuzzy value of "ordinary"), neither specifically evil or crazy, but who took a bad decision at some point. Out of ignorance, misguided patriotism, out of spite, despair, greed or hope...
Their initial bad decision is often understandable and may even be forgivable. But of course, since they compound this choice by taking more bad and even worse decisions, resulting in situations snowballing out of proportion of their initial objective... We pity them more than we loathe them, but mercy is no longer an option.
It's both very tragic and very human.
Up to some point, both Voss and Lei could be similarly described. Although they show more self-interested malice. And they are less tragic, more fun to watch, so maybe we will feel merciful :-)
There's a book series I read recently (Russell's Attic by
SL Huang) where in the most recent book the main character was basically a full on villain but it's from her point of view so we got to see all the motivations, mistakes, overlooks, etc that lead to her thinking it a was a good idea. Probably the best portrayal of someone making a mistake that I've ever read.
To be fair, "Voss' plan" wasn't his own, he wasn't happy about it and even tried (very belatedly, certainly) to stop it.
I really doubt it would have helped him in the court, though. Especially if Envy's plan had been successful.
Voss was ordered to set a similar plan in motion by Envy, while Lei was well into her plan before pride showed up.
Granted he went along with it without any objection until pretty late in the plan, at which point his objections were pretty limp. The only really useful things he did in chapter 5 was give a minor distraction or two to Envy and tell them where Envy's anchor was. I personally would not have let him off at the end of chapter 5 for such minor assistance. He did a lot better in this chapter, so I can see letting him go now, although Nicola may not agree with me.
On the other hand, given how close Lei's plot came to killing the crown princess she is lucky they have not already executed her. And so far I have not seen anything to suggest an interest in reforming other than some empty words. So I am not currently in favor of letting her off. Even if she does well enough to convince me she should be let go, letting her go does NOT mean I wold be OK with her making off with piles of stolen cash.
However, remember we only saw Lei's true colors when she was in the Anchor...which was feeding off the pride she imbuded in her constructs....and that was affecting almost everyone in the Anchor: [https://www.widdershinscomi...](https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/april-22nd-2013/ "https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/april-22nd-2013/")
We pretty much saw Lei at her worst. We have never seen her at her best, nor did we witness her growing corruption caused by her feelings of self-worth and position in a society fueled by magic. With Voss, we were witness to him succumbing to Envy and his growing realization of the mistake he made. Lei's character arc could not provide that opportunity for readers.
Also, this takes place after Pride has been desummoned. When we last saw her, Pride, along with the other Deadlies, was still at large affecting everyone in the city. So the brief glimpse we got of her at the begging of Curtain Call is still a portrayal in which she's probably being affected, and she had something to gain (her freedom).
But here...the situation is different. She's actually in a position of power: McCavity has the drop on everyone, and she's got nothing to gain by pretending to be openly concerned about Sidney. If she was considering double-crossing everyone, she wouldn't tip her hand by betraying her thoughts like that. Especially in that last panel, where she's obviously distracted and considering something while McCavity is ordering Sid around.
We probably have never seen the real Lei. That's the real tension.
Actually, I think that Lei's actions were what summoned Pride. She's got a lot of excess pride floating around in her head, you know...
As I recall Lei, Harry, and Vee were all exhibiting a fair amount of pride right before the giant mutant peacock showed up. Of course none of them would have been there without Lei's cunning plan.
"We have never seen her at her best, nor did we witness her growing corruption... we probably have never seen the real Lei." But I think we have? Is that not what Sid's flashback showed us? A beautiful, talented, outgoing, interesting, entertaining young lady, whom Sid quickly fell for. But she already had quite a bit of pride, as evidenced by her fight with Tim. I think her true colors were already showing, even then. Later, she imbued the automatons with her pride because it was her "strongest emotion", and as JWLM rightly mentioned, it was this strong pride, combined with Vee's and Harry's as well, that summoned the spirit Pride in the Anchor. Pride, as in the summoned spirit, wasn't around to affect anyone before that.
Here, of course, Pride has already been desummoned, and they need to deal with Greed. But I don't see Lei's admitting that she made "bad decisions" as her letting go of her own, personal pride necessarily. And look how Sid, emotion-savvy fellow that he is, is actually appealing to her pride here with "You're better than this."
By true colors, I'm talking more about Lei's true nature. And the corruption I'm talking about was how her own emotions began affecting that...not an outside influence like the Anchor heightening the behavior in the room.
That fight with Tim wasn't about selfish pride...it was about Lei being sensitive about her life's work. That's what I meant by "her feelings of self-worth and position in a society fueled by magic." Tim's unintentional insult touches a raw spot with her ("anyone can make machines"...really, Tim? The kind of machines Lei makes?), and the pride then wasn't about her, it was about her work. Tim was trying to pay her a compliment...that she was unique in that she could do both, but he still managed to belittle what is her life's work. Work she's excellent at, but gets no recognition or even acknowledgement for.
And that was the beginning of her slide. Pride is part of her nature, and her corruption--when her pride began to take over her nature to the point of taking huge risks--we didn't witness. The next time we saw her not play acting she was in the Anchor, when the corruption was complete. That flashback was Sid's memory of who Lei was. Not who Lei is now.
I see your point about how her corruption began. I do believe, however, that we have quite different interpretations about the nature of the Anchor itself.
Lei’s original plan to blow up the anchor wouldn’t have killed anyone, just disrupted the magic in the area. The giant bomb-covered peacock wandering the streets was something of an accident...
Well, Verity's words there: [https://www.widdershinscomi...](https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/april-4th-2013/ "https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/april-4th-2013/") sound like this blowing up might be dangerous.
Good point. I’d forgotten about that bit.
Lei was also was blinded to the risk to what she was doing: [https://www.widdershinscomi...](https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/april-15th-2013/ "https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/april-15th-2013/")
Pride can do that. "Everything's under control!"....until it isn't.
With a wrap like that Ben isn't really tied at all. If the other two squeeze slightly closer he should be able to slip out - just need to distract the henching chappies.
I was thinking along the same lines - Ben is small enough that he just might be able to wriggle down and slip out of the ropes, where Wolfe's shoulders or Vee's bust would get stuck. He should probably take his glasses off first, though.
Even if they were all the same size the outer two have rope in contact (adding friction) for a significant part of their circumference whilst the middle one only contacts a ahort section of the binding and so experiences only limited resistance. It would help if they synchronise their breathing but Ben is probably able to get free without that and then of course the rope is slack for the others.
Indeed! But it would be hard to do that with minions watching. They need a distraction.
I anticipate loud noises from upstairs real soon now...
Same, Ben. Same.
Isn't Harry going to lose her smoking pipe at the end?
She didn't like that one anyway, after being touched by greed. [https://www.widdershinscomi...](https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/march-6th-2016/ "https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/march-6th-2016/")
I doubt that this is the end planned by our Noble Creator, but I can just see MacAvity standing in front of the door, near the latch when Sid pulls out the hinge pins. The door swings, pivoting on the latch and crushes him. The opening reveals Greed seated upon a small chair with small boxes in rows behind him.
"And you wouldn't like us when we are bored."
They all turn into giant green greed monsters and start rampaging around
What do you want to bet that greed inside the vault and he doesn't want to share.......