July 14th, 2014
15 Jul 2014 · page 389 of 1306
Over the years, Wolfe has developed a pretty good sense for when Mal is about to start a fight he'll get his nose broken in.
Cast: Benjamin Thackerey, Dominik Voss, Heinrich Wolfe, Jack O'Malley
Comments (41)
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Oh my god. Whether he intends it or not, Wolfe is the absolute best at trolling Envy.
I can't tell if Wolfe actually can figure out something is strange and they need to leave to talk about it away from Voss or he just simply is that kind hearted. It would be a really challenge to make him feel Envy.
Almost certainly kind hearted. Wolfe has always been this innocent and this is how we expect him to behave anyway. And from the story view, this gives Voss a reason to keep after Wolfe. He won't be happy until Wolfe envies him. [He won't be happy then either, but he won't know that until later, maybe a lot later.]
He reminds of Commander Carrot from Discworld: someone who is almost impossibly optimistic and empathetic that somehow makes it work for him.
Carrot is... sneakier than Wolfe. And you don't see it coming until it stabs you in the back.
Nah, he wouldn't stab you in the back. He'd stab you so hard in the front it would go THROUGH a stone column behind you. And then he'd pull the sword out of it.
Yes. This. This articulates precisely my reaction. Thank you.
Voss looks just a little worried or disappointed that Wolfe is leaving in such a hurry. Hah.
That's not the look of him being disappointed because Wolfe left in a hurry. That's the look of realizing Wolfe is genuinely honest in his congratulating Voss, without a single bit of held back venom. And its going to drive Voss insane.
Not that there was much sanity left anyway
I'm looking forward to seeing just what Mal is seeing when he looks at Voss. And I love that Voss is trying so hard to make Wolfe jealous -- "You can't miss it, because it's very big and expensive." And Wolfe's like "Oh my old best friend is doing so well good job mate"
Poor Voss, he'll never have what Wolfe has.
The quote that comes to mind is "you can't cheat an honest man".
In this case, Voss can't make Wolfe envious because Wolfe just naturally wants the best for everyone. I wonder if Voss will realize this or dismiss it as impossible.
And just as Nora's spirit of Courage was used to fight Gluttony, I wonder if Wolfe's spirit of Benevolence will be the downfall of Envy.
The way I see it, Voss is going to lose enough basic skills (Envy only said he'd keep anything he stole - I doubt he stole the ability to walk, eat, speak German, dress himself, etc) that the "competition" is going to collapse for lack of a leader (and maybe hire Mal as someone who can see spirits).
I mean, most of their gear seems more for show than anything. They called it "powder three" but it could just be flour, the cloaks and masks seem pretty unnecessary (and if necessary, nothing special anyway), the circle is standard - the only thing that might be odd for the tech-level is the sprayer, which again could be replaced by throwing a bag of flour. They only found the buggerup because Mal was reacting to it.
The circle is standard but putting it on a movable carpet is apparently a new idea in Widdershins. The goon carrying it had a backpack full of them, presumably different ones for different situations. They are obviously a useful tool for speeding up the job, but they are also a crutch; if you don't know how to draw the circle when you are caught without the rug (and inevitably that will happen, or it will be destroyed somehow), you're sunk.
Didn't Sidney do it back in the first chapter? Pretty sure he had it on the rug the final time he summoned Greed.
You're right, but I don't understand where he got the rug from. He'd just been dueling, and he didn't have it on him when he went in. Did Harry bring it with her? I didn't see her carrying it.
It's on Gren, then Harry passes it to Sid.
I wonder if there's a loss of potency from using a circle that isn't freshly drawn, or re-using the same one several times without redrawing it? The one in the lighthouse in Chapter 6 had been there a long time, so it doesn't seem like the former is problem (but maybe the material used makes a difference).
[headcanon]I imagine Powder Three is flour, but Powder Two is a mobility-limiting hindrance and Powder One is a highly-potent toxic substance. They're designed to make it easier to capture, in descending order of magnitude. The masks would protect them from it.[/headcanon]
Also, he can only steal talents he doesn't have. So he can't steal the ability to walk, etc.
I like what's in your head!
Hm. Could be. I was thinking more along the lines of "all they have is flour but they call it Powder Three to imply that they've got more fancy stuff."
And I think he probably could, if he wanted to impersonate someone - people don't all walk exactly the same way. It certainly isn't something he would do normally, which is my point - he didn't steal it, so Envy's guarantee that he keeps it doesn't apply.
Powder Four would be like Powder Three but not flammable like flour is. Maybe water mist? One of the most harmless substances known to man.
Honestly Voss, it'd be best to just steal all of his skills and have done with it. You're not going to get him to feel Envy for you.
That's really clever of you, Kate: half-blinding Mal with power do he's even less likely to spot anything. AUTHOR CREATIVITY AT ITS FINEST
My favorite part of this page, without a doubt, is the air going completely out of Voss's balloon as Wolfe completely and utterly fails to be anything less than happy for him and his fabulous successes in life. I would honestly be REALLY intrigued if Voss ended up learning a lesson from this and actually somehow manages to stop being a complete jerk by the end of the arc. Seems highly unlikely, but stranger things have happened! In the meantime, go sit in your fancy estate and stew over what went wrong, Voss.
Awww, Voss is so sad that Wolfe feels absolutely no envy towards him! I actually kind of pity Voss a bit now. Only a bit, though, because he still is a jerk.
Oh, and Mal's face in panel 3... <3
Come on, Mr Thackeray, where's your business sense? Even if you weren't needed to catch the malform, you should still charge a call out fee, plus the bill for cleaning Mr O'Malley's coat, thank you very much!
You're overestimating him :P
Hmm, I can see Voss stealing Wolfe's honesty, and subsequently going mad with guilt and trying to backtrack out of his deal with Envy, which won't go down well...
Actually that would be interesting, seeing what Wolfe is like without his main honest trait.
:'< why doesn't he haaaaate meeeee???
Everyone's already said it, but I love Wolfe's character. I wonder if this is going to cause a problem with Envy. We already know that Envy has an objective and plan that doesn't involve Wolfe's group at all. Yet from the palpable disappointment in Voss's manner shows he's likely not done obsessing over this. This could easily lead to more conflict between Voss and Envy.
We can but hope... ^^
Well, that went smoothly. Voss will have to try harder to get Wolfe all gelly, and I do mean a lot.
If Voss tries to take Wolfe's cheerful disposition and kindness, which allows him to simply be happy for someone who's doing well instead of envying them, he'll completely defeat himself. ^^
No fear; Voss is incapable of comprehending that such things are worth having.
I have this nagging feeling that Envy is gonna get Voss to steal Mal's 'sight', cuz he didn't look too pleased that he could be exposed. And the way I can see that going is either A) Mal's quite happy to not have to see spirits and malforms and the like ever again and has to reevaluate his life or B) Stealing his ability to see them involves Mal having NO sight at all, and leaving our Wolfe for the first time actually very angry at our poncy little Voss.
A makes me a little sad and B makes me very excited :D
But as always, we are at the mercy of the powerful writer. Damn it.
DUDE THAT SECOND ONE WOULD BE SO COOL
Wouldn't it?! :D
I love Wolfe so damn much. :) Just had to say that.
dat pout tho
the paper mat with the summons circle is a pretty good idea, by the way