July 28th, 2023
28 Jul 2023 · page 1177 of 1306
Manchester Megacon this weekend, y'all
Cast: Baron Bertrand Barber, Elaine Barber, Frederick Barber, Gren, Harriet Barber, Henry Barber, Isabelle Holt, Sidney Malik
Comments (37)
Events
ThoughtBubble
14 Nov 2026 – 15 Nov 2026
Harrogate Convention Centre
Manchester Megacon
31 Jul 2027 – 1 Aug 2027
Manchester Central
just noticed Harry grabbing Sid's hand there! cute :) even under the stressful circumstances
That's not a holding hands kind of handhold. That's a don't-say-anything-I'll-do-the-talking-here handgrab.
The fact that she doesn't have to look before grabbing Sid's hand is a dead giveaway, though. Given at where Elaine's eyes are focused, she's picking up on that, too.
Yes, Sid's trying to shake hands and Harry is stopping it.
I think she's actually grabbing his hand and pulling him closer - notice his shock as well (wait, I am being acknowledged?). Her mother is asking "partner?" ("Do you mean..." - plus the way she is staring at them holding hands) and Harry is grabbing his hand, pulling him closer, essentially saying, yeah, that's exactly what I mean and don't you dare say anything else (also notice the look on her face "you got any objection to that - no. You don't!").
that is also how I was reading the panel
Sure, don't get hit by the window on your way out.
Also, it's almost August, which means it's the 5th Widdershins Fanworks Month aka Buggeruptober! Hopefully the images have managed to embed, or you can find the prompt list and explanation of the rules here on tumblr
You can read all of the fics from past Buggeruptobers in this collection on Ao3 here
Crud. Her mom really is involved in all of this.
Which is why Harry should not be conducting the investigation. But perhaps this all part of the twins’ Evil Plan.
Seeing the interaction between these two, I'm not sure there is an effective conflict of interest here, except possibly Harry's desire to get revenge on her parents. I mean, I think she's professional enough to not get distracted with her desire for hurting the ones who hurt her when they should've been her protectors.
If the main goal here was to bring the perpetrators to justice, then yes this would be a big conflict of interest. Regardless of how professional Harry is, nigh any court would see how they interact and think that Harry's judgement could have been skewed towards convicting her parents.
But the goal here is to return the crown without making a scene. Nobody's going to jail for this, because the queen doesn't want to admit to anybody she doesn't have to that the crime happened. So there's no trial for the perpetrators, they get to go free - at least, so long as there aren't other crimes they can be charged with that wouldn't bring up the crown business.
If the people who messed with the crown were clever, there aren't going to be any of those other crimes.
...
Right. This will end with Harry arresting her parents for something. I'm not sure what yet, but they'll do or have done something by the end.
What are the odds on them actually being directly involved in this "mucky little business" of Harry's?
I'll place my guess around 99.9%.
Specifically, I think one of them hid the crown, rather than stealing it. If one is wanting the disruptive effects of not having the crown without having the risk of being caught with it, it seems like the best strategy, if they have a good hiding place near where it's normally kept.
Edit: To be clear, I'm not putting my specific theory at 99.9% odds. The 99.9% thing is that they are involved. I am less confident about my specific theory enough that I'm not able to really put odds on that.
I suspect Baron Betrand "A theft? How Low!" Barber.
Why? ...He's been too nice! And Harry's mom is too mean to have done it! That'll stand up in court, right??
‘Partner’ is a good word at this point as it covers all the bases, while being suitably ambiguous.
Hope you make vast quantities of money in Manchester, Kate.
Yes. Sell many books! Hand out many business cards!
You tell 'em, Harry!
Well, if it all comes out in the end, I'm sure Mum's social-climbing bonnet will be just tickled to learn who the client of this muckly little business was!
I'm hoping this "mucky little business" will damage her reputation and knock her down a peg or two. 😜
Will somebody please send for Heinrich Wolfe?
Were that woman to suck a lemon, the fruit would make a face. Interesting- Father has heard mutterings but 'Mommy Dearest' shuts down the conversation... methinks thou protest too loudly...
She's not too busy to talk to her parents. Dad might know something.
Ha! Her mother really doesn't like being put in her place.
And yet she does her best to make sure that people need to do so.
Alright. Time to see what clues the magpie managed to acquire from them.
woah, weirdly intense energy to bring to the comment section here
Elaine is going to have to stop to have her hat re-flowered with all the petals she's shaken loose during this conversation
I was going to say the same thing!
This is another instance of Elaine noticing an aspect of her daughter's life from which she was excluded (first the haircut, now her possible relationship with this unknown man), feeling hurt (4th panel) and immediately reacting with harsh criticism and renewed aggression.
Another way to say it is, just like my parents, she responds to having been excluded from her daughter's life with behavior that could otherwise get her excluded from her daughter's life. It could be the same behavior as did it, but I don't know enough to say that.
The Baron's reaction signals a guilty conscience, methinks!
Gotta love panel four. Harry's expression, Sid's grin splitting his beard like a flash of lightning and, of course, the hand grab.
Sturdy windows!
Christ, no wonder most of the girls turned out various flavors of dysfunctional.
Also noting that Sid has much the same confused expression as Harry's father...
Oh glory, Harry, you make me feel so SEEN! (or maybe that I see YOU!