November 9th, 2018
9 Nov 2018 · page 849 of 1306
Woe is he.
Cast: Dr Esther Flack, Vincent Knott, Will Sharpe
Comments (91)
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Ok, so....apparently he DID just theorize and write about doing this, not ACTUALLY do it. Or at least that's what he claims. Giving him the death penalty for that seems ....excessive. Well, unless there's something more going on here. I mean, I suppose they could have pinned the recent Deadly shenanigans on him or there might have been a death that he's allegedly responsible for, but ...just writing a paper?
I think someone sees a way to use his work for something nefarious and wants to keep everything as quiet as possible, which is why first his essay and now he are being made to disappear. Especially considering how vague the charges are and how little information is being let out about what appears to be a relatively rare sentencing.
Yeah, and now why do I suspect "Oh-it-is-such-a-tragedy" Dr. Flack...
Mm. It's possible she stole the essay and lined him up for 'crimes against magic' which may turn out not actually to be based on the essay content.
Or, she tried to patch herself up a bit after being tempted to try it (despite being aware of the risks)... Promptly turning herself into Exhibit B at his trial.
She may be seen as a victim of those untested circles. Even if she did it to herself. shrugs Maybe.
The question in my mind now is, why was it necessary for her to show up at the jail? What did she want there? The "oh, boo-hoo!" act when she came bursting out from Will Sharpe's cell was intended for the guard... she clearly did not expect to see anyone else, and she avoided answering any questions that might help a "lawyer" get Will a reprieve.
Perhaps Will will say something in the next page or so to let Vincent realize she was checking out whether the idiot could be a useful idiot or not.
If Vincent figures her for a villain who has framed one of her students, that could push him into arranging an escape. Which he can do, if he wants to -- he has some knockout drops that could put the guard to sleep, and... he knows that if Will can stay on the lam for a month until after the election, there's a good chance the anti-death-penalty candidate will win the mayoral race.
I dunno, he might have actually reprogrammed her at some point. I mean, just because it was untested as of when he made his presentation in class....
But he says, "Next thing I know I was being arrested..." Doesn't sound like he had time to test anything.
I realize he's an unreliable narrator, but that crestfallen moment when he realizes he's NOT being talked about in the newspapers has convinced me that he's pretty much what-you-see-is-what-you-get. What he tells you is what he thinks happened. Though he has probably misinterpreted the details, he lacks the subtlety to lie. It's not likely he'd be wrong about the very short time frame.
The problem is that the expression "next thing I know" has (in my experience) been used to denote a surprisingly large range of times, ranging from the very literal "And at that very moment, the police burst into the lecture hall." to the somewhat more figurative "It happened surprisingly quickly, but not necessarily instantly".
Still, you probably have a point there. I'm not sure. I guess it just occurred to me that the sheer theatricality of her emotion might indicate that she's had certain traits magically augmented. Or she might just be a rather melodramatic person naturally. :le shrug:
Could be. Though I'm still thinking it's not her actual nature at all, neither real nor augmented. She might just have pulled out all the stops on a phony cover act. Going that much over-the-top is a useful tactic. It takes people aback, so they don't even think to argue with you.
Or, conversely, maybe he's being used as a sacrificial lamb to hide the vile Dr. Flack's actual research. She exploited his self-centered idiocy to get him to take credit for something he didn't really do...
Somehow I doubt we're getting a reliable narrator here! This guy clearly can't see any universe in which he is not the greatest living human. I'm sure there are bits he is leaving out.
I love the fifth panel, btw. :) Almost as that panel where Mal left the train "very noble an' dignified". :))
And it is nice to see (in the fourth panel) there is something that can discourage him.
Yeah, personally, I'd want to see his case file, find out what he was charged with, how the trial went, and everything. Either he's leaving out how he accidentally caused a suicide or something (which is possible), the laws relating to magical crimes have very steep punishments (which, given that Li wasn't on Mr. Knott's docket, seems unlikely), or something really hinky is going on here.
I'll go with the "hinky" solution.
Maybe, Dr. Flack (or someone else) practiced Will's "phenomenal idea" to make him charged and condemned to death. Used it for influencing the judge, for example.
Do remember, at this time in actual history, the death penalty was used for petty theft. Widdershins is definitely "history with extra sprinkles" but this could be a case of brutal realism.
Yeah, but in that case shouldn't Li and Vee and Mal and Wolfe and Voss all be dead now?
Can't try people you can't catch for crimes you can't prove! As far as the constabulary knows, everyone in town went whackadoodle all day, and it's probably in everyone's best interest not to ask difficult questions.
Mal would have been something uncomfortable if he hadn't gotten a deal. And Li was imprisoned but I do not know if she was going to be executed. Ditto Macavity. (I wasn't paying a lot of attention, unfortunately.)
Given that Li tried to blow up the magical anchor, summoned one of the deadly sins, and almost assassinated royalty, and she ended up with a jail sentence....I kinda fail to see how this guy could get executed for anything he's admitted to doing so far.
Tripped over an old law or two dating back to the days of John Dee, probably.
Also, "the theory and practice of permanent therapeutic possession" isn't a trend anybody would want to encourage in a world where you know for sure you have the Deadlies. :P
It still puzzles me that Vee (supposedly) didn't suffer any consequences for her helping Lei, though. Verity didn't really know what Lei was going to do, yes, but she did steal gunpowder and knocked out the guards there and near the Anchor.
Well to be fair, Nicola's first meeting with Mal was discussing that they should just hang him and be done with it.
I believe it was later confirmed by the author that they don't execute actually people for vagrancy and bar fights.
I’m starting to think Will’s ego is even bigger than Vee’s, and that’s saying something!
Now, Vincent, it's clearly a case for a conspiracy theorist, don't you think so?
You know, now that you mention it, it did seem rather odd that those fellows from that Prussian owl fanciers' club would be so interested in my research. At least, I think it was an owl fanciers' club, judging by the insignia.
"With the words and circles included" changes things. Imagine showing up to your chemistry class and handing everyone, like, a formula for nerve gas they could make at home.
"With the UNTESTED Words and Circles included," untested being the operative term. As far as we know those circles wouldn't let you get possessed by as much as a cold, let alone a spirit.
True...but then again untested could mean that the results could be so much worse than possession as well. Untested works both ways.
And they could mean that those circles would be as likely to get you possessed by a Deadly as by a "calm when seeing tall buildings".
in the example given of fear of heights... i could see the results not being simply "calmer when up high" and proceeding to "compelled to jump off high buildings"
Or "bragging when you're about to get hanged"?
That'll probably be part of his defense. But he was building off this accepted, well-known practice, so it couldn't have been totally baseless.
To continue the analogy: it is probably still illegal to publish a formula for nerve gas even if you make some typos.
Hmm. I can't speak to UK law, but, no, it isn't illegal to publish a formula for poisonous gas here in the US. In fact, The Anarchist's Cookbook contains several such, as well as formulas for ricin and a number of other terrible toxins.
If you're interested, I'm sure you can get a copy from your local library. I'm not willing to do the search from this machine, but I'd be stunned if my county library didn't have at least several copies available...and, of course, the Cookbook is readily available on-line. (Remember that whole "Anarchist" part, after all.)
oooh, yeah my english teacher told me about that book! The writer was eventually arrested, but only because he, you know, actually used the recipes. The police actually had a really hard time finding him though, because he published anonymously and they didn't realize that he was actually self-published (and they had already interviewed the publisher) until years later. It was really interesting to here my teacher talk about it!
I've heard that the current editions of the Anarchist Cookbook include a number of deliberate errors so that would-be terrorists following its instructions will blow themselves up while building a bomb and be unable to carry out their planned attack.
Yeah, it's not a perfect analogy.
On the other hand, this is almost two centuries ago and they still do hangings.
Reading over this, I realize I need to add a clear caveat. Remember the part about "terrible" toxins? The Weather Underground were terrorists, pure and simple. There's nothing amusing, cute, or funny about the Cookbook: it's a monstrous work.
The fact that you can get it at the library doesn't mean you should get it at the library. You can, because it's protected speech. You shouldn't. Don't.
What defense? He's being executed in the morning.
Well, unless it was a red herring to mention that Vincent keeps getting people exonerated instead of executing them, he's gonna try some legal maneuver.
Although I like the implication of this post, because it means Vincent's character arc in this chapter is actually just "nervous about executing people, pretends to be Will's lawyer, spends 15 minutes talking to him, immediately gets over his qualms."
Does anyone else think Sharpe looks like he's played by Matt Smith? That suit he's wearing in panel 5 got me thinking about Doctor Who, indirectly leading to the realization I've seen his face somewhere before.
Shit, now I'm gonna be up all night trying to figure out who everybody else who's ever appeared in this comic looked like they were being played by (not that I wasn't going to be up all night anyway).
I can see that, and seeing him as Philip in The Crown he can play the air of pomposity needed to pull it off too! I could see Jodie Whittaker, the new Doctor, being a good fit as Harry, but maybe that's just because I can only think of Doctors right now!
If we're casting, Nicola Walker would be great as Harry. She has the force of personality and can do both intelligence and strong-but-contained emotion well. (Not a Doctor but a splendid companion in the audio series!)
The facepalm in panel 5 sums the situation up quite nicely.
The expression on his classmates face is pretty spot-on commentary as well.
Not to mention the "he did that, seriously"?" grimace...
I got one objection to the conspiracy theory: why steal the gifted idiot's paper, and not the gifted idiot himself? He's clearly fairly easy to manipulated. -- Unless they're counting on Knotty coming up with a good excuse not to hang the gifted idiot, which would then presumably land the gifted idiot in prison for later extraction.
>Unless they're counting on Knotty coming up with a good excuse not to hang the gifted idiot
Except that whoever is behind this would have had no way to know that Vincent and not Mr. Knott senior would be the one pulling the lever, or that Vincent always tries to get his "clients" off.
Point taken.
Vincent is apparently 3 for 3 in getting his clients reduced sentences and people talk. I totally agree that it would be a stupid plan to intentionally get Sharpe sentenced with execution on the off chance his executioner might try to avoid executing him, but it's certainly possible that other people know about Vincent's flirtations with the law.
"Why steal the gifted idiot's paper, and not the gifted idiot himself?"
Well, maybe because of that "idiot" part, especially the inflated ego. So far, Sharpe doesn't seem like someone you could count on to keep his mouth shut no matter how much you tried to intimidate him.
People who can't keep their mouths shut is why God created isolated, converted manors on windswept moors, far away from population centers in case something goes pear-shaped. :)
Looking closer into the fifth panel. Hey, we have seen this girl at the left before! Here: [https://www.widdershinscomi...](https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/march-27th-2018/ "https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/march-27th-2018/") and here: [https://www.widdershinscomi...](https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/july-14th-2017/ "https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/july-14th-2017/")
Oh yeah, I noticed her right away. I could swear we've seen Facepalm Boy before, too, but the one I kept thinking of has redder hair than this fellow, so I'm not sure.
If the image of Facepalm Boy can be trusted, then the rest of the class clearly knows that his dissertation was illegal and can't believe anyone would openly speak about it.
Oh, cool!
It's a complete mystery why anybody would want to file an amateurishly produced, illustrated DIY handbook for possession (which has enough basis in the theoretically possible to be either attempted, tweaked or go horribly, horribly right in ways the author couldn't be bothered to foresee) in the shredder and try the idiot who wrote it for reckless endangerment and crimes against spiritual integrity.
Yeah.
Total mystery. <_<
My problem isn't that he's being tried. I could totally understand expelling him or whatever.
My problem is that he's been tried, found guilty, and sentenced to death, which will be occurring in 12ish hours. It feels excessive as a penalty.
Just expelling him might be risky, because he could easily continue his research on his own and cause even more trouble. What we need is a middle ground, like sending him to prison for a year or two.
Or he could seek revenge on those fools at the academy. You know, the ones who called him mad? He might show them all.
Nope. His memory would still be dangerously fine after that brief a time period. Give him ten to fifteen in which to forget the particulars, while research marches on in the meantime and leaves him behind.
That "essay", however: shredded and burned. Or, better yet -- published, but only in a heavily edited and annotated condition... as an illustrated lesson in a series devoted to cataloguing academic epic failures, specifically in the middle of the rather large section on "how not to last-minute your assignment, dumbass".
Sure, the process is too speedy and reeks of the [Star Chamber](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Chamber "https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Chamber"), but... if they're following procedure that's rarely been used since the C15th or C16th... Well...
That's where this sentence could maybe be challenged.
Yet, Sharpey boy is undeniably guilty of breaking ethical standards, the guidelines of common sense and the rule of law way, way too flippantly (and flagrantly). sighs
"if they're following procedure that's rarely been used since the C15th or C16th... Well..."
Which was probably revised after the entire Luxuria thing. Using red ink. With various parts heavily underlined. Yeah, this kid's probably lucky that nobody actually knows how to draw and quarter somebody at this point.
Oh, I love this genuine dumbass
I'm the facepalming dude in the bottom middle panel.
Why do I not believe a single solitary word of what you say, mate?
Wait so he's being HANGED for this? No one was even hurt! WTF?
It seems so fitting somehow that Will is wearing a bright purple suit in panel 5. No fade-into-the-background colors for him!
Purple like some peacock is. :)
Okay, so I was completely wrong on the last page: it turns out his upbeat mood until now is entirely his own. He really is just that goofily out of touch with reality!
I'm now with those who are turning a very suspicious eye on Dr. Flack. I can't wait to see how Vincent deals with this dilemma!
The poor man needs an ambassador, a guide and a map to get back to reality. Even I could see how this was disaster in the making and I'm an Erisian!
Funny thing, I reread the beginning of "Curtain Call" and my eyes fell on Kate's comment in one discussion, "You can't (shouldn't) imbue a person". :)
Not that he isn't responsible for whatever someone did with his stolen research paper, but it's not on the level deserving an execution.
More importantly, it doesn't sound like there has been a trial where they convict him for the crimes done with that research, since he doesn't even know about whatever horrible thing it was (presumably) done.
Or this is the thing where someone really likes the research and is disappearing him so they can have it all to themselves.
... I thought we sealed Pride last chapter?
And this, my friends, is a wizard with a high Int, low Wis build.
Total munchkin min-max. Maxed out CHA, minned out CON, DEX and STR.
But the player is role-playing him really well, actually. It's always great to see a munchkin character played the way they'd really act in character.
I'll bet he puts tomatoes in fruit salad
Yes, and it is the best fruit salad and famous throughout the land! I'm sure it was mentioned in all the newspapers.
I've only just now realised the word play of the chapter's name, and now I feel stupidfor not realising it sooner. Hangman's knot, as in the knot the hangman has to tie to make a noose, but also knot as in the Gordian knot, the Hangman's conundrum. Well done ma'am, well done.
ooohh, I see where this is going! I'm gonna keep my theories to myself for now, though.
Okay, so clearly some evidence has gone missing, so shouldn't that have raised some objections at court? His essay was presented to an entire classroom of students, so there's any number of suspects, including the teacher. Plus, all he did was present theory, not cast any actual spells. So, what crime has actually been committed here?
Re: "Plus, all he did was present theory, not cast any actual spells."
He said the circles were untested as of his class; they could very well have been tested through casting them in class.....
Am I the only one who kinda digs how Vincent goes from being all shocked and amazed ("What was in that essay!?") at everything to full on legal nerd mode with "Yeah, yeah, whatever, something about newspapers... What case was that precedent established in?"
You're right! I think something about the work being untested gave him an idea that he's now chasing down.
The appeal would hinge on him probably writing it all in one night and not having the time to actually do anything illegal. The university could easily turn this around to save face- just slap the paper down and make William give a lecture on ethics and the dangers of untested research, as well as education on magical law.
Crimes against common sense weren’t on the books.
And this is where Vincent realised that you just can't help some people - and we the reader's realise that this is going to be a really short chapter, to make up for the last one being such a monster. 😏😇
Right, so I think I've sussed this out.
It was Flack's research, and paper, that she pawned off on Sharpe with the promise of making him more confident. I bet he was a generically nerdy TA before.
She did this because she knew it was illegal, a death sentence was likely, and she could make a lot of money if she survived.
Okay, probably doesn't deserve death. But let that be a lesson to you. If you "invent" a potentially dangerously unsafe medical procedure, it's probably not good practice to introduce it to the public in a university lecture hall.
This also explains why he didn't consider the dangers of his technique, he basically invented this method while cramming for an essay he put off.
So, basically he is a slacker procrastinator with a flair for showmanship.