March 17th, 2017
17 Mar 2017 · page 686 of 1306
I'm taking next week off to avoid burnout! Sorry/not-sorry to cliffhanger you :) There'll be some character Q&As up next week! Thanks for sticking with me!
Cast: Harriet Barber, Jack O'Malley
Comments (59)
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They're inside the Anchor, but it goes boop rather than BOOM? Hmm....
Maybe the anchor is like the eye of the storm?
or one of the doors leads to a techwitch and thus has a signal
Maybe only the witch can use technology near the anchor? We have no idea who the witch is in other time peroids
Maybe the reason technology doesn't work near the anchor is because of whatever Mal's about to do :p
Ooh, maybe. We only know it doesn't work in the future, right?
No, it wasn't working in 1834 either (referenced in the hotel arc, where they used the phone exploding to open the door), which was before all of this is going on.
Also key point, the phone was broken when it was given to him. The power supply exploded, and the screen was heavily damaged. So whatever is going on, is something magical in nature?
Possibly related to the secret agent baker, going back to figure out who the phone belonged to. The (techno?)witch from that era needed to know who to call. :)
It was a fuel-air explosion ignited by a spark from the 'phone - presumably malfunctioning as electricity hits a strong magical field OUTSIDE the anchor. Here INSIDE we seem to have no direct interaction and a magical battery recharge. We wait to see whether there is a signal - is the Anchor outside of time or, more usefully, in every time? Does a 4g mast work close enough to the Anchor to be useful? Can we get next week's lottery numbers?
Cheerio,
Yeah, i knew about the flour explosion, I was just using explode as short hand for what happened. :P
I seriously doubt the phone was in working order, after being in the center of the explosion, and the destructive effect from being in town.
It's likely working now (at least without exploding), due to them being in a magic circle. I doubt they were at any of the other times they pressed the buttons to use it.
Check this comic, 5th panel, right side.
[http://www.widdershinscomic...](http://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/march-14th-2014/ "http://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/march-14th-2014/")
There is a generator powering all the equipment in the kitchen of the hotel, and it is inside a magic circle. Likely in order to let it work without exploding.
As to how it is working now, in it's current state. I think I am going to go with Techno-Witch from the future, calling back in time to help out.
That's fairlry far into the future- when they have hoverboards and similar technology. Even current tech could power all that stuff from batteries and presumably future techno-magicians could come up with some protection.
What looks like early 21st century electric cabling may be channeling magical 'fluence (or summat) - it certainly isn't needed for electrical power.
Even the things that look like screens probably aren't - and they're not placed for viewing. The things that look like lights are not - no point in lighting a space centuries after everything has happened - so that's all timey-wimey recording gear that perhaps our grandchildren might understand - we can't: it hasn't been invented yet.
Cheerio,
Sparks flew from the phone and the flour blew up: [http://www.widdershinscomic...](http://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/january-6th-2014/ "http://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/january-6th-2014/") (Google “flour explosion” for more). Maybe the magic sparks didn't damage it and all it has is cracked glass and a low battery.
Go boom ? It might not be a Samsung ...
The first makers of phones to coin the phrase "fire in the hole" as a ringtone ...
[http://www.widdershinscomic...](http://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/july-5th-2013/ "http://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/july-5th-2013/") (first three pages, but the whole chapter is SO worth reading)
That phone... it contains pictures of the train taken by Alexa, at her Mom's request. The story makes a point of establishing this fact. (next page after your link.) At the time, I just thought it was part of introducing Alexa, and the phone. Now, I'm wondering if it is also going to turn out to be a plot point for here.
The train itself was very old by Alexa's time and wouldn't look so strange to Mal, but, maybe other items in the field of view...?
A powerful artefact indeed. O'Malley has only had it for a few seconds and already he is talking like a 21st century teenager, using 'like' for no apparent reason in the middle of every sentence. :-)
I was about to post something to this effect, but it turns out that "like" has been used as filler in discourse since at least the 19th century.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Like "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Like")
Interesting! But I have now read the word 'like' so much that it no longer makes sense. I have, like, like fatigue.
I like this comment. Like, a lot! I mean, like, what's not to like? Like, you know?
That's what Alexa said. Although she was talking about cakes: [http://www.widdershinscomic...](http://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/december-11th-2013/ "http://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/december-11th-2013/")
I would be careful. I don't know what the roaming charges would be for a location like that would be, but they could well be phenomenal, if not astronomical. And the data roaming charges could well be beyond the dreams of avarice...
Avaritia: I am summoned!
Harry: (intones) Phasmia permissum de loco isto...
Avaritia: ignores her chortle Do you have any idea how much it is costing to use that?? It's daylight robbery! The best kind, indeed! Better still, it's perfectly legal!
Mal: 'Ere... ye c'n move this about under th' glass like there's a scroll or summ'ing inside. And what's that little thumbnail-size thing mean? prod-click Can't make out the pi'cher, and it's got four X's on- !!! Oh... my... gawd...
Luxuria: I am summoned!
Harry: hrrrm One at a time, please...
>:=)>
Is there a spirit of distraction?
Yes, but it's busy with something else right now. ;)
Demonic Duck!
Where?!
It's OK. It's on Ms King's contract.
Pendantic: IIRC, Mal is canonically asexual. As long as he doesn't show the pix to Harry, everything's OK.
But you didn't press every button here.
Magical witch powers can turn on dead cell phones?
He's a witch! Of course the arcane device works
Witches have induction fields!
Ok, we modify the standard advice when dealing with recalcitrant technology:
If you can't operate it you may call on EITHER a seven year old child OR an illiterate Williamsian witch.
OK?
Apparently. And they can keep a Samsung galaxy from exploding.
Very strong magic INDEED!
So the Place Between is receptive to both magic AND technology? Now that's some interesting information....! I'm sure our heroes can use this to their advantage somehow.
boop
Wait! What about that "crk" by the mystery door that Harriet "hrm"ed about?
Was that just the wind, or sumptin'?
Do you think it's related to the phone turning on? o_O
"Who you gonna call?"
Mal is about to learn about Angry Birds. Widdershins is doomed.
"Exposition sequence: Activated."
He just pushed the button "On" :D
Perhaps the gizmo can't provide the connection, but it surely can make a photo :)
Remind me again. The broken cellphone is the item infused with gluttony yes?
yup
Huh, not sure if it would matter one way or another, But i wonder if this place is technically outside of time?
Here's hoping it isn't a Galaxy Note 7.
If it can explode by accident, it can explode on purpose.
Oh. My god. It looks like Mal just accidentally took a selfie. can't stop smiling
Clearly the way to defeat Gluttony is to use the mystic device to collect picture of delicious food and then lure it into a trap. All along people thought it was daft to take pictures of your meals, but in truth it was simply an homage to this great act.
I love how the swirly pattern of the tobacco smoke matches the swirly pattern on the walls. And I always love the swirly pattern of Harry's hair. (I love swirly patterns in general and there's lots of them in this update!) I also love how the deep red of Harry's hair and the deep blue of Mal's scarf provide nice complementary touches of color to this otherwise dark and somber color scheme.
Hashtag: Appreciate art.
I just hope that, if either of the other witches turn up in this space while Mal and Harry are there, that neither of them feel the way I do about breathing secondhand tobacco smoke.
ChekhovAlexa's Phone. We've been waiting for its reintroduction for a while. Actually a bit over 3 years (wow).
"Chekhov’s slightly-out-of-date Samsung."
[http://www.widdershinscomic...](http://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/march-1st-2016/ "http://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/march-1st-2016/")
Curses! Pesky trope-savvy authors, who would've known?
I bet it'll turn out to be a samsung and catch fire and they'll think its a weapon.
Which button did he press? The witch button, of course.
boop.
Well, this is likely to be an experience.
Oh man... if anyone would be able to turn that on, I guess it would have to be the person who least wants to deal with strange things. At least it won't have an aura, I guess! :D
O'course, if the phone survives intact through to the 'present day', then all of 'Samsung''s thousands of patents in that thing, plus the the thousands of others that they licence (From Apple and many, many others) suddenly have 'prior art' and are invalid. Or may be - time travel is twisty like that. ;)
Taps the ONLY power button.