June 1st, 2018
1 Jun 2018 · page 799 of 1306
Breathe in.
Cast: Harriet Barber, Jack O'Malley, Mr Luxuria, Sidney Malik, Verity Cunningham
Comments (46)
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Yes! I've been waiting for the two minutes respite! Here we go!
It's the thing! From before! The thing!
Chekhov's Respite!
I love the fact that as we shift the focus from Mal to Harry the perspective of the cages shifts from showing mostly Wolfe and Ben to Verity and Sidney. Also enjoy Mal's expressions and body language in this strip, and the way he seems fearful for Harry in the fifth panel.
I hadn't noticed the focus shift, but that's a nice touch.
Yes it's the perfect time YES
I have a feeling Luxuria isn't distracted at all :[ in the next panel he's going to do the thing where just as he finishes his sentence he spins around and scares the crap out of them and ensnares them with his lustacles, and the 'respite' box will drop to the floor. Then I'm betting mal is the one who eventually breaks free (or doesn't get caught in the first place because ace ("you have no power over me, David Bowie!")) and opens it at the last possible instant. In any case, Lux is not going down this easily. Wonder what the respite box is imbued with...calm? Focus? Maybe it's nostalgia or something, and we're getting a flashback.
I love the term "lustacles". ))
Hummm, I think you're right, this won't be used so soon. Luxuria could use the four imprisonned spirits to make the sins come back, couldn't he?
He could? How so? I'm afraid the particulars of how magic works in this universe have been going over my head :p
I don't know! I just felt, storywise, it would be interesting if Mal and Harry had to deal with possessed friends, but it was just an idea, i'm probably wrong ;)
That would be interesting...
Maybe. But this situation already feels like a possible turning point. Lux has four hostages that negate Mal's personal immunity to his power, and he is on the verge of breaking all Mal's bindings on the other sins. Except for underestimating Harry he has had things pretty much all his own way, and it looks like he is about to win.
Rather than introducing further complications to make the situation even worse, this feels to me like the perfect time for the Two Minutes Respite. Remember that the box was a gift from the other witches, who are definitely on Mal's side here, and apparently knew in advance something of what he was going to be up against. If that respite gives Mal two minutes during which his friends are NOT being threatened... well, with an incentive like that, who knows what resources he can discover within himself?
He is a witch. He is not yet an experienced witch. Emergencies like these are, I imagine, how a witch gets to be experienced.
It's just my story sense is telling me there's going to be a bit more conflict, another twist or two. It's typically only after the villain seems all-powerful, and everything seems truly lost, that they are defeated. Most stories of the sci-fi/fantasy saving-the-world sort go this way if you think about it. So I think Lux is probably going to complete his ritual.
If they do get to use the respite box in the next page, with no further complications, it will probably only be to retreat and regroup. But in order to do that, they have to retrieve group B's spirits, perhaps with one of the other witches' help.
Actually I'd like to elaborate my prediction: Lux is on to Harry, in the next page he stops her using the respitebox as I described above, he completes the ritual, then Mal uses the respitebox, but they only get to use it to escape with the spirits - possibly to one of the other anchors just for an epic change of scenery before the final showdown.
It looked like he was winning handily a few pages ago. Honestly maybe another story would introduce more complications instead of letting the box happen. I feel like this one wouldn't though.
I too have a sense that there will be more conflict. For one thing, Harry still hasn't accomplished the big deed that will make her name echo down the generations. So far she's played a significant part, but so have the other four. While having the presence of mind to pass Mal the box is useful, it's not the sort of thing I'd expect to make her into a legendary hero.
So I don't believe two minutes respite is going to be the complete answer to everything. Wrap it up, end of story? Nope. And I don't think there will be a change of scene to a different anchor.
I do think Mal gets to use the box here, and it's going to work. He's going to level up again. He will be able to do something effective to cramp Lux's style, and it will be a characteristic Mal-thing... but Lux is the Big Boss. He will have a counter to it! (No idea what, but he's a wily bastard, and Kate is smarter than me.) And THEN we get the final confrontation.
Here's my (safe) prediction... however this unfolds, it's going to be satisfying!
Edited to add: Okay, I'll go out on a limb with a less-safe prediction: What Mal does with the two minutes is rescue his friends. Seems to me that's got to be his highest priority. It doesn't win the game, but it does leave him free to fight.
It's an Omega 13!
"'Your fate will be whispered by mothers in dark places to frighten their young,' said Hastur, and then felt that the language of Hell wasn't up to the job. 'You're going to get taken to the bloody cleaners, pal,' he added."
- Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, Good Omens
Hey, look! The three doors from earlier (the ones belonging to the other two witches and the Mystery Door) are visible among the swirls in the first panel. Lux is facing them, but either it hasn't noticed them or considers them negligible. I suspect it's shortly going to learn its mistake...
Oh yeah, their outlines are visible. I do hope they are going to be used!
"Being short sometimes has its benefits."
Yeah, your friends can use you for lumbar support. That looks comfy.
We’ve been wondering how Harry would react to seeing Sid’s disembodied spirit. This seems entirely characteristic of her - one quiet, grim “Hrm”, then setting about doing what needs to be done.
I'm not sure she can see the cages? It reads to me like she's just outside the circle, and when the "camera" is on her side, we don't see the cages.
EDIT: Wait, going back to the previous entry, we DO see the cages through the circle wall. I guess we don't in this one because of the camera angles.
Panel 4 looked to me like she was looking up at the cages, especially since Sid’s cage is in the foreground.
I thought that was her hand poking through.
You mean the bit visible over Mal’s shoulder? That’s her head - you can see her hair if you look closely.
So you can!
I feel that this comment may have accidentally been placed on the wrong discussion.
i too am a little confused by it, though admittedly i haven't seen blue velvet yet.
The sudden, lingering shot on the seemingly innocuous yet apparently significant box. Watch Mulholland Drive and it'll make perfect sense just raise further questions.
That was actually somewhat uncomfortable. They really ought to warn people. Stupid joke anyway.
I'll take your word for it XD
@KateDrawsComics:disqus - FYI, I just noticed that this page is listed under Guest Comics and Sketches instead of Curtain Call.
ah whoops, thanks!
Is there any significance to the colors of the soul's backgrounds? It's cool that Ben and Sid have auras outside themselves (they're wizards, after all), while Vee and Wolfe don't. Ben's aura is vaguely touched with Wrath and Sid's is completely swamped by Sloth, both of which are entirely appropriate. I'm trying to figure out if that's intentional or not. (If so, I'd kind of expect Wolfe to glow Lust-red and Vee, pride pink, and they don't.)
I feel like there has to be a significance to the colors, considering how significant color has been throughout the entire comic. Maybe Sid is so sloth!blue because the effects of this have drained him while Ben is experiencing anger and frustration at their situation?
The dangers of monologuing strike again... xD
I do so wish there was going to be a character question set after this chapter. I would ask Harry how accurate the rumors were that Lust had accurately captured the image of the wedding dress she'd wear when she married Sid.
there will be questions yeah!
Hmm... Harry is kneeling just outside the edge of the circle. I wonder what the significance of that is? It's not to stay hidden, cause the walls of the circle are transparent, and that's why she needs to hide behind Mal anyway. Why are the walls of the circle transparent, have we ever seen that before?
sids spirit looks like me when im tiered
"Being short sometimes has its benefits."
Only makes me think of....
"Ha! Now who is making fun of the stature of Gort?!"
[https://darkencomic.com/dar...](https://darkencomic.com/darken/february-9th-2007/ "https://darkencomic.com/darken/february-9th-2007/")
Oh, poor Mal! He looks so morose in the first couple panels. And Heaven help me, when I saw that orange exclamation point above his head I immediately heard the "alert" sound from the Metal Gear games. (Sorry, Ms. Ashwin--I can't help being a nerd. It's far too late to revert to normality now.)
Respite...!
IM FINALLY CAUGHT UP AAAA
Ah. Too bad.
Join the rest of us now...
"Is it up yet?"
{F5}
"Is it up yet?"
{F5}
.....
NUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!