January 30th, 2018
30 Jan 2018 · page 768 of 1306
Last chance to nab these pins!
Cast: Lei Feng, Sidney Malik
Comments (83)
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Birb friend won't even say hi? :C
It spotted the door to a lot of shinies.
Shinies trump social niceties to magpies.
Not so, actually. Strange shinies of unknown provenance make magpies ultra-cautious rather than turning them into collectors. Could it be a trap? A surprise razor in the grass? Something dangerous to swallow?
Known shinies like wire that can be used (say, for structural reinforcement of nests) or safe things like forgotten kitty toys they've seen being used for play (they're for the kiddies, honest!), however... ;)
right. that's why the scholar is jealous of the one with natural talent. Cause he can do stuff like that without all the fancy degrees.
Mozart vs. Saglieri, anyone?
thats a real good example actually.
And who is Saglieri here, pray say?!
You don't mean Ben, I hope?
( Let's put aside the fact that Saglieri having poisoned Mozart is just like magpies stealing shinies - it's a myth. Let's work with it like with a symbol.)
Indeed: Salieri is very much a counterfactual common belief. We'll always believe that Salieri was this low-skill hack. He wasn't -- but he's the equivalent of the magpie for the purpose of this discussion. :)
Mozart vs Salieri is a good canonical example of the frustrated hard-working scholar envying the undisciplined natural talent, like Sid vs Ben. I don't think anyone's suggesting Ben's envy would lead him in the same direction!
Thank you. ^_^
To be jealous and to be "Saglieri" - these are two completely different things. IMAO!
We all are jealous sometimes, and sometimes even jealous very much. But we mostly overcome this ignoble feeling without making evil things to the object of our envy.
Do you mean Salieri?
I'm sorry, but I really don't think Mozart and Salieri is a very good example of talent versus training. Both were highly trained from a young age. And, although Mozart was of course a genius and a child prodigy, there's no evidence that Salieri was really ever jealous of Mozart.
More than that, although Salieri was not Mozart by any means, Salieri still had a great deal of native talent. Mozart had the advantage of training under John Christian Bach and was therefore a writer in the Classical Style, not the late Baroque style. That made his music different and memorable.
(OT, but to blow up another enduring myth: Mozart was far from poor when he died. He had royal patronage, and his patron compensated him very handsomely. Also, the payments for his operas were significant: they were, after all, immensely popular successes.)
Wasn't she more angry about magic in general overshadowing her mechanical genius? That the whole field was too flash and flare and oversold compared to her useful everywhere but unappreciated passion? Or are you talking about Ben's jealousy? (Or just in general)
was talking in general but also was alluding to ben being jealous of sid. He managed a successful summoning of a spirit he had no idea the name or nature of. Ben is too technical and by the book to have pulled that off, at least from what we have seen of him.
I think Ben could pull it off, but his back would need to be to the wall. He struggles not just with a less instinctive link to the spirit world than Sid - wizard v. sorcerer? - but also his damaged self-esteem.
When the pressure is on, Ben can come up with brilliant solutions.
Sometimes a nice little dose of panic is what it takes to cut through all the over-analysis...
I agree. We've seen more than once that Ben does his best creative thinking in a crisis - getting the Purple Hippo to put out the fuse, having Mal use Wolfe's calm to bind Wrath, etc.
Actually, I think the jealousy was on Ben's part. He has the degree; he is the scholar. But he's jealous of Sid.
yep
Of course it's a magpie!!! Totally fits!
😄💞💎💖
Well Mal already identified it as one.
Aw, poop. I had forgotten that.
Ah, well; thanks to my faulty memory, the reveal delighted me (much like it did Sidney in panel 4) "hee!" 😍
I had the same faulty memory, heh.
Magpie: "Yeah, sure, hey, 'bye, TREASURE SIGHTED!"
I guess this means an end to Sid's amusing and sometimes useful "little problem".
Theoretically, he could go back to school.
They might even let him back in, given how he helped to exorcize Pride from the premises.
Considering the fact that asking if he was considering going back to the university was one of the questions here [https://www.widdershinscomi...](https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/character-q-and-a-2-march-2017/ "https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/character-q-and-a-2-march-2017/") that prompted him to complain to Harry that the internet was being very mean to him coupled with his admission here [https://www.widdershinscomi...](https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/july-14th-2017/ "https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/july-14th-2017/") that he was not doing well at school anyway because he has never been good at studying, I seriously doubt that he would want to go back even if they would take him back.
Sounds Like Sid is more a Kinesthetic Learner... He learns Best by Doing. I Don't suppose Wizards have apprentices do they? Maybe Ben can help him up his Wizardly Game. (Oh Lord the Poor Bum. XD)
This sounds like it has the potential to be amusing.
Ben working with Sid would be a very powerful combination! Ben has the working knowledge, and Sid has the natural talent.
At least Ben's frustrating experiences trying to teach Mal magic have given him some experience in that kind of thing - although teaching Sid would probably be frustrating in a whole different way!
Yes. I'm convinced Sidney never even wanted to study real magic. He's said himself he prefers stage illusions. I'm convinced he only ever went to University because his parents were pressuring him into it. But if it were up to him, he'd never go back.
Oh, he says as much during the first chapter. In Vanishing Act, he actually says "real magic, not wizardry".
No, Sid did not want to be a wizard. His parents pushed him into it.
On the contrary: saving the institution by the application of novel methods in a magical emergency is worth at least an honorary doctorate for both Sid and Ben.
I am sure that Sid will gladly accept an honorary degree of any level that will let him:
a) honestly tell his parents that he has a degree and
b) avoid having to do any more studying
I hope that at the very least they will allow Sid to upgrade his provisional magic license to a full one!
Licentia docendi -is- the original doctorate.
And Sid has originated a thesis and given a practical demonstration ON THIS PAGE.
Hmm. Practical demonstration, yes. Novelty? Yes! (The mechanism of completing the summoning is clearly independent research.) Posited a thesis? Well, sort of.
The problem is the artifact disseminating his work. The Magpie does not, in itself, suffice.
#SeenTooManyDissertationDefenses
I'm sure that if he needs it and if he asks nicely Kate will draw him a copy of this page to use in support - then it can become an earned doctorate.
If his committee is feeling generous about the quality of the dissertation, then yes. Given the quality of the underlying work, I suspect that Sid's committee would be feeling very generous.
Fortunately for me, my committee was feeling generous the day I defended...
Well, not exactly. The original doctors were priests, but, as you say, they were priests functioning in their capacity as teachers of 'doctrine'. They were, quite literally, indoctrinating medieval youth.
Licentia decendi ("freedom to teach") is a more recent creation.
ETA: The word 'doctor' is taken directly from the nominate of 'docere', to teach. 'Doctrine' is that which is taught. They're all pretty much the same word.
JWLM -- taking the internet too seriously since 1989.
Yay Latin!
"Tell them what's behind door number three, Invidia!"
Avarita. I believe greed was avarita.
Ech! You're right. My bad.
Sid has such a child-like appreciation of wonderful things.
Now MacAvity rushes in, followed by Greed. The magpie rushes out...and the door slams shut.
That sounds good but... we have to weaken Greed, remember? It's not going to work if you leave him with a food source.
(Taking jokes seriously since 1995.)
That may be, but I really do love the idea of Greed just nomming on Macavity
Omnomnomnom... :-D
Bad idea. Greed would just end up getting a cavity, Mac.
groooaaannnnnnnnn
What was that we told you about carrying puns like that in your utility belt??
- One more like that and I'm calling the Commissioner on you!
Is the mixture of Macavity and Greed called MacGravity? If so, I can see how he might fall for that trick.
I must admit, that argument holds weight.
:D That expression in panel 4. "Hee!"
It's so great. What an exciting, amazing moment for him! Let me tell you, when I first looked at this update, the big grin on Sid's face was mirrored by one on my own. <3
Happy birthday, Kate!
BIRD FRIEND.
But we still haven't found out what the magpie is.
And: Happy Birthday to Kate!
Some "relative" of Greed, maybe? A little brother/sister. :)
Or, maybe, some "servant" of Greed that an year ago intentionally got the Mark of Thieves for Sidney to free Greed as the result. But I don't want to think so, I like the magpie almost as Sid does. :)
Happy birthday Kate, how come you're coming with a present to us? I love Sid and his enthusiasm so much... Thanks for all your work, I'm so happy it exists and makes each gray day shiny.
I have a feeling that no one's going to like what they see in there.
Is the Magpie happy here? Or will Jack need to dispel it once he gets back? Also, will we ever find out what kind of spirit it is?
I love the tongue sticking out of the side of Sid's mouth as he concentrates in panel 1. Just as Ben isn't a totally mechanical magical bore, so Sid isn't totally brilliant but lazy.
That's really a very pretty strip.
HEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee !
MAGPIE FRIEND! <3 <3 <3 So glad to see this piece of the story come full circle.
Happy birthday and many happy returns!
And thanks for your art!
please let the magpie stay with sid I like him and I feel like sid likes him as well
Aaaaand the vault is completely empty, as the magpie has already moved everything inside to somewhere else...
Why does this all feel... Really, REALLY bad...?
European magpie? :o
Next panel: Greed says "Hello little thief-king" to Sid.
The trailing black blobby tail makes me wonder if it was shaped by a drawing Sid made as a child, somehow.
Also, I wonder what the offering is. Or is that just for the major ones?
"Also, I wonder what the offering is. Or is that just for the major ones?"
I mean, they're literally right in front of a bank vault full of all kinds of shinies... I imgine the spirit has something to work with.
It's a bird!
It's a plane!
It's --! oh, it IS a bird!
Well, of COURSE it's a magpie!
Magenpie!
because of course it is a magpie! how sweet :)