July 24th, 2020
24 Jul 2020 · page 1006 of 1306
Bye for now...
Cast: Arpana Sherpa, Harriet Barber, Jack O'Malley, Nyree
Comments (71)
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dun dun DUUUUNNN
that is exactly what i heard too. The sound witch got us both throug the internet! IEEEEEE!
:)
Well, if that isn't ominous...
Nyree can tell Arpana's hiding something (that's some hard-ass "I'm suspicious of you" body language right there), which means that O'Malley can definitely tell something's up.
And now Nyree's in Widdershins without a toothbrush. The plot has gone from a delicious chowder to bread dough, on the thick-a-ness scale.
O'Malley can't see the spirits of other Witches, just like he can't see his own.
I'm very curious as to who that outline door belongs to.
My bet is Florrie's husband :P
Probably the witch of the theoretical 4th anchor that Eliza is sure exists :P
Actually that's the broom cupboard.
Reads as more worried concern than anything else to me. Like she's a little weirded out that Arpana's gadget was able to do that.
(Also, I keep almost calling her Aparna, the name of one of my cousins.)
I read that more as her being very disturbed and maybe feeling kind of violated that someone else was able to open her door, when it's basically a part of her. I could see that being kind of an intimate thing for a Witch, with how closely it seems linked to them.
Hmm indeed Arpana. Sounds like 4th door shenanigans for a future chapter.
Meanwhile, back with Harrys #2 and #3.
Harry #4 is Gren. Gren has set up shop in the absence of Harrys #1-3, but she mostly specializes in hunting missing bags of delicious ham.
So was it only supposed to open Arpana's door? Was Harry supposed to end up in Tibet?
I guess Arpana wanted Harry to show up at her anchor, where she could keep an eye on Harry, and not at the anchor of a witch who wasn't expecting her.
I suppose she didn't know about Harry (or just someone going with the Witch of Widdershins) at all.
I don't think it was her music box.
I'm pretty sure Arpana is the one who left the music box. [Just a few pages ago](https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/june-30th-2020 "https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/june-30th-2020") she said she perceives spirits through sound, and Mal deduced that she left the music box in response.
I think the suggestion is that the music box did not open the doors, not that Arpana did not make the music box.
Ah, okay, that makes more sense. Thanks for clarifying.
From her emphasis/phrasing it definitely sounds like she was expecting one door to open, but not the others. Which is good, because 2 minutes' respite wouldn't have helped them much if Harry couldn't leave.
When they said "all the doors" opened, she could have been expressing surprise at the possibility of the missing door opening, not that she managed to open other people's doors.
No. Because, if so, she would have been equally surprised to see Harry come through Nyree's door. The music box was supposed to open Nyree's door only, not her own. Discord among witches?
… unless she assumed Nyree had been involved. Not so much discord as lack of coordination? (And since Nyree was off her island since, they couldn't compare notes until now.)
Aprana's surprised that the music box opened Nyree's door.
I got the impression that the music box wasn't supposed to open any doors, it was just there to stop time for the 2-minute respite.
I don't think the other witches could have known that A) the City witch is illiterate (and therefore needed someone there to read the instructions) and B) the Deadlies needed a Barber present for their shenanigans to work.
I think Mal (or maybe Harry!) needing Harry to leave the Anchor is what opened the doors. (After all, Harry has witch blood through her grandma Izzy!)
A biscuit? Is that a patronising comment, or does Arpana realise that Nyree will need to make friends with the purple hippo of happiness?
I just assumed that she cooks biscuits
Given that the first thing she did was give Mal a biscuit, I suspect Arpana is just a chronic baker and feeder of biscuits.
Think I've been reading too much Granny Weatherwax and seeing snark when it isn't there.
If Harry and Mal tell Ben and Eliza about the fourth door, she's going to say it leads to the Fourth Anchor.
As for Arpana, maybe she just really wants to get home? Or she's going to end up being a villain of a later book.
To be honest, I do not see Arpana becoming a villain.
What I get is that the music box should not have been able to open more than Arpana's door, but it did. Which leaves Arpana surprised at what happened, concerned about the implications, worried that something more serious is going on, and unwilling to talk about things while there is so much of the situation that she does not understand.
She also seems suspicious of the fourth door, like she has never noticed it before.
Fair enough. I agree that she looks more surprised that it happened than irritated that Nyree knows it happened.
Arpana: Hmm... why didn't this place end up flooded?
But seriously though, this now has quite a few questions come to mind like:Is this why the Americans want Jack, because he opened the door?
And why did it do it? Was it because of Jack?
If that's the case, is it an Anchor thing? Could it be Jack's actually meant for the anchor in America, and the London anchor was trying to send him there?
Hmm, given Eliza's theory of opposites I'm also rather wondering why the place isn't flooded, given that the opposite of Chomolungma is some distance east of Easter Island, in the waters well off the coast of Chile (courtesy of the antipodes map).
But Arpana isn't surprised that the fourth door isn't open, she's surprised that more than one door opened.
My guess is that the door outlines appear once a Witch is born (or arrives) near an anchor, and only fully manifest as doors the first time they enter the chamber.
That would make sense. Nyree said to Harry that they'd been waiting for Mal "since the city door came back".
Maybe the fourth door is in some sort of subterranean cavern? Dunno, but excited to find out about this whole Fourth Door mystery.
The nearest land is in the 'Unfortunate Islands' - look 'em up.
They are unfortunate in that there is no permanent fresh water supply there - so at best they could (in the 1830's) only be occupied for about half of each year; tough for the local witch.)
Kate has on several occasions reminded us that she can move or create geography as needed. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the was a "Great Plot-necessary Reef" around the (putative) fourth anchor.
I wonder if it is because Harriet was there. The music box was suppose to give aid to The Witch of London's Anchor, but with two people there maybe spell opened both doors (one for each person)
That, or for a more worrying thought: What if whoever (or whatever) is behind the 4th Anchor's door was trying to use the music box to open its door?
Ooh, I didn't realize witches can't actually open each other's doors. Guess we can cross "Arpana and/or Nyree popping into Widdershins for a surprise visit" off the list of future events!
thoughtfully Of course we've never gotten to know how Arpana got to know New Witch would need two minutes of respite (and her opened door), yeah?
Maybe she did know all of what would happen in Curtain Call beforehand?
I think she probably knew the sins were being released in Widdershins, and maybe knew about the binding or Lust being free for many years. And I'm curious if she encountered Voss again on his way back out, once Envy was with him.
I suspect she didn't know everything that would happen, but had a hunch what might help. And probably had some sort of backup plan if Jack had failed, at least to protect the other anchors. But who knows until we learn more :)
I was surprised to learn that all 3 doors opened, most of the angles we saw back in Chapter 7 only showed the Island and Mountain ones. From the one panel we saw of the Widdershins door during the 2 minutes, it's not clear that it was open (though it certainly could be cracked partway like the others).
[https://www.widdershinscomi...](https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/june-19th-2018 "https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/june-19th-2018")
Not that going through Door #1 would've helped Harry and Jack, mind you, but still interesting if it was an option.
We have a new STORY ARC!
Given that Widdershins is the westernmost of the three (at least, as maps are traditionally done), does that make Mal the Surly Witch of the West?
I think the American anchor is further west than Widdershins... as maps are traditionally done.
On the other hand Britain is usually considered part of the "West" in the it-is-or-it-isn't sense, so you're sort of right.
But does the Fourth (and presumably South American) Anchor have a Witch at the moment?
Since the door is just an outline, I think it doesn't have a witch. Even as unartistic as Mal is, his door still looks like a door and is his favorite color. If the 4th anchor had a witch, the outline would at least have a handle.
The 4th anchor is probably somewhere so isolated it's completely uninhabited right now.
See above
It just occurred to me: That's how Arpana knew how to choose blue dye for Mal's scarf – the colour of his door! :)
I've said this elsewhere, but I think, given the antipodes, that it's Easter Island/Rapa Nui. It's pretty close to perfect.
I apparently was grossly mistaken as to where Easter Island is. My bad.
Gotta leave a mystery for the sequel .
Hmm, need to take another look at that chapter
[https://www.widdershinscomi...](https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/september-23rd-2016 "https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/september-23rd-2016")
So, to recap:
1. The music box wasn't supposed to open all the doors. Apparently, just Arpana's.
2. Arpana is extremely worried that it did so. And Nyree is worried, too, to the point she's appears to be actually suspicious of Arpana.
3. Arpana probably has dealt with whatever is behind the mysterious non-door to imbue the music box. That door was the only one that didn't open, and then Arpana says "...I will look into it", quickly gets everybody else out of there, and then thoughtfully looks at the non-door, none too thrilled.
4. Back during Curtain Call, I thought the non-door meant something was wrong with the Anchor behind it; now I'm thinking that's how the doors appear when they're "locked". Nyree's and Arpana's doors are unlocked, so they take shape.
5. The pause Aprana has before saying she would look into it should give everyone pause.
It's been somewhat foreshadowed (and wildly speculated) that the fourth door leads to a fourth anchor that is somewhere in the Americas. Now, we also have an American trade company with a warehouse in Widdershins ([Pryce Co. Goods & Imports](https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/january-3rd-2020 "https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/january-3rd-2020")) whose boss (Pemberton Pryce) is very interested in Mal. Pryce's business would benefit a lot from setting up trade-routes through witch-space instead of having to sail across the oceans. If only the witches would let him!
There were also some questions as to why Arpana allowed Voss to get near her anchor a few years earlier when she must've known that he was likely to summon something bad - or where she was when Voss left the anchor with his newly summoned spirit of Envy. Voss bringing Envy to Widdershins was one step towards the whole Deadlies-Incident in Chapter 7.
So what if Arpana and Pryce have met before and what if they are working together? Maybe she knew what Voss would do in Widdershins and made arrangements for her own benefit? What if the music box was meant to open the fourth (possibly American) door for Pryce?
Admittedly: This doesn't quite all add up - why would Voss and Envy factor into this kind of plan? So that, by a long and unlikely chain of events, Luxuria would show up in Witch-Space so Mal can use Arpana's Music box on it? Why would she give this door-opening music box to Mal and not just try it herself?
Again I'm speculating :D I'm prepared to be wrong about it all. It sure is fun though!
I think when I did the bullet through the globe thing, it came out near enough Easter Island/Rapa Nui that I think it's that.
Too far west, me thinks.
Well, the other Axis isn't perfect either. And it works with the Rapa Nui history of the time. If I got the timing right.
What I still would like to know is: what perceptions are Arpana and Nyree lacking, thanks to being witches?
Mal sees spirits as colors... but for everything else, he's utterly color-blind. And Arpana and Nyree must know that's the consequences for every witch that perceives spirits with sight, or they wouldn't be feeling sorry for Mal as soon as it's mentioned. Which really leads one to think that their versions of witch-sensing have deprived them of other perceptions... but what, exactly?
Arpana hears people's spirits as music, so my guess is that she's very tone-deaf, unable to perceive differences in pitch, and unable to appreciate any earthly instrument or any form of music beyond its basic rhythm.
Nyree can smell and taste spirits... But! She can definitely cook, for which good senses of smell and taste are basically prerequisite. And moreover, she was able to associate Harry's spirit with charcoal and licorice, which means she's smelled licorice and charcoal often enough to identify them and recognize associations with their respective scents, whereas poor Mal didn't even know what the colors blue and green were until very recently. So, what everyday aspect of smelling or tasting sensation for us is usually lost to Nyree?
I was curious about Nyree as well. I feel we haven't seen enough of Arpana to get a feeling for how she hears things (and clearly she can hear, since she's been shown closing her eyes or looking away from the person she's speaking to), but yeah, Nyree was shown being able to cook. If she has a "muted" sense of taste/smell, maybe her cooking is good but ends up with very strong flavors to make up for a lack of "normal" taste buds?
If we continue this "every witch senses spirits differently" pattern, I'm wondering if our Mystery Witch can feel spirits through touch?
The three witches we've met so far can sense people's spirits from a distance. So if Mystery Witch can sense spirits through touch, perhaps she can feel sensations on her skin like cool water for someone meditating calmly, sandpaper or prickly burrs for anger, or smooth silk for happiness, and all while at a distance from the other person.
...Which could actually solve the mystery of who exactly Mystery Witch is: she's Eccentrica Gallumbits! After all,
“Some people say her erogenous zones start some four miles from her actual body. Me, I disagree, I say five.”
—Ford Prefect
[https://hitchhikers.fandom....](https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Eccentrica_Gallumbits "https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Eccentrica_Gallumbits")
Perhaps instead of Nyree having a muted sense of taste/smell for physical substances, she's lacking one or two of the standard five taste receptors in human taste buds: sweetness, sourness, saltiness, bitterness, and savoriness (also known umami). If that's the case but the only missing taste receptor is sweetness, then Nyree could still be a great cook, especially with the foodstuffs we saw in her whare on the island. Just don't ask her for dessert after dinner.
Just because Mal's... shall we call it a 'Price'? For his witch powers is related to how his powers manifested does not mean that all Prices will do the same. Even for the same manifestation. It was questioned in the last page f Arpana can't walk, seeing how she didn't get up to send the rest off or even when they left and loked at the doors, I believe it might be true. Perhaps this is her Price.
Maybe it's not.
Keep in mind that sight has an advantage (or disadvantage) compared to our other four senses. You can close your eyes and stop seeing. You spend half your life not seeing cause your sleeping. You can also look away from stuff and at other stuff.
Not so with sound and smell. You don't want to preceive something? Well its at the risk of stopping ALL input off that sense. And its not as simple or effective as closing your eyelids.
You can't stop touch. Its not possible. Unless you paralyze your your skin. And that means not being able to interact with the world. That's fing TERRIFYING.
They might also have been thinking of the nasty headaches that come with it. I think those are harder for Mal to deal with than the colorblindness.
My assumption is that only Sight Witches lack anything, and that's the reason they feel bad for O'Malley.
I'm wondering if it's just coincidence that Mal is a witch who sees spirits and is colorblind otherwise.
Except when Mal's sight was transferred to Ben, the colourblindness followed – Mal could see colours after losing the sight.
...there is a fourth door. Foreshadowing (mentions in this arc and the previous) strongly suggests we are heading towards a discovery of the fourth anchor arc. Makes you wonder who its witch will be.
Probably nobody we've met yet.