Girl Genius XV: The Weasel, the Spark, and the Wardrobe

[wingnutx]

I ws talking with my dad, and got to wondering: what would happen if DuPree and Belkar were to meet?

They would spawn a race of perfect sociopaths.

[Traab]

Sooooo, now we are back to heading towards mechanicsburg? Heh, this is going to be an odd theme. Realize she has to go to town, struggle to get there, get there, marginally fix things, be forced to leave, repeat.

[HandofShadows]

Sooooo, now we are back to heading towards mechanicsburg? Heh, this is going to be an odd theme. Realize she has to go to town, struggle to get there, get there, marginally fix things, be forced to leave, repeat.

If she gets ther I think she will find that she can't do anything to help.

[HandofShadows]

The top row of buttons doesn't match, exactly. But the insignia could be covering it up. Cuffs match, though. The slightly angular bit at the shoulders might as well.

Hmmmm.

Collor does not match at all though. Sorry.

[stsasser]

Hmmmm....

Time Window tunic.

Newly donned tunic.

Hmmmm....

The top row of buttons doesn't match, exactly. But the insignia could be covering it up. Cuffs match, though. The slightly angular bit at the shoulders might as well.

Hmmmm.

Is that geisterdam looking at Gil and calling him 'mistress'?

[Mando Knight]

Is that geisterdam looking at Gil and calling him 'mistress'?

No, she's calling Agatha "mistress," as Gil teasingly calls her such a little earlier/two weeks later.

[eee]

It is. It's wintertime, they need to find warm coats.

Yeah, I see what you did there.

Not bad...

Sooooo, now we are back to heading towards mechanicsburg? Heh, this is going to be an odd theme. Realize she has to go to town, struggle to get there, get there, marginally fix things, be forced to leave, repeat.

They're STARTING towards Mechanicsburg. I doubt they're going to get there anytime soon. If we're right about what Klaus' gizmo does, she'll be unable to enter town or affect anything inside for 2.5 more years. In the meantime there are plenty of other things for Agatha to have to deal with: Gil, 'Anevka', Tweedle, her uncle, her father, finding out what turned Lu into the Other... Naturally Mechanicsburg is first in her thoughts right now, but if that's unattainable, she'll probably turn her energies towards other things. Indeed, she may HAVE to. Keep in mind without der Kestle and Mechanicsburg, the Jagers, and Gil's support and all the military and political power those things give her, Agatha is an INCREDIBLY tempting target right now for any power player or Spark. All she's got going for her are her brains, her skills, and Krosp and Violetta and that nobody except the folks in the Refuge of Storms knows she's about. She may not even be able to hide in plain sight as she could with the Circus because her face is too well known. She's on the run; this is just the start of it. And she may have to stay on the run for a long time...

[petersohn]

So begins another 2 years long plot of getting out of this place...

[The Glyphstone]

Trapped in a fortress, afflicted with a mysterious illness with the potential to kill her, surrounded by danger with only a small group of allies....

Nope, never seen this plotline before.

[NEO|Phyte]

Collor does not match at all though. Sorry.

To be fair, it's been a good long while of art progression between those two strips. I'm not calling it conclusive, but the overall appearance is certainly a close enough match that we may be getting close to those windows (though first they have to reunite with Moloch)

[Traab]

Trapped in a fortress, afflicted with a mysterious illness with the potential to kill her, surrounded by danger with only a small group of allies....

Nope, never seen this plotline before.

Hush you, its totally different. SHE is the sick one, her allies arent fighting each other half the time, and the fortress so far hasnt talked. See? Brand new storyline. Oh, and she got a good nights rest before the start this time. /nod

[petersohn]

Not to mention, she's got different clothes again. And she's got a different dangerous lunatic trying to use her for his own purpose.

But seriously, in this comic which spark is not a dangerous lunatic?

[Lochar]

But seriously, in this comic which spark is not a dangerous lunatic?

The pie maker?

[Qwertystop]

The pie maker?

That was only one of his projects. There's probably other pies that do... other things.

[petersohn]

Well, yeah. Most sparks are dangerous lunatics, but some minor sparks who are lunatics but not dangerous, and there is Klaus who is dangerous but not a lunatic. Finally, let's not forget dangerous lunatics who are not sparks, such as DuPree.

[Qwertystop]

Well, yeah. Most sparks are dangerous lunatics, but some minor sparks who are lunatics but not dangerous, and there is Klaus who is dangerous but not a lunatic. Finally, let's not forget dangerous lunatics who are not sparks, such as DuPree.

So in conclusion...

Sparks are normal people, but more exaggerated?


Also, do we know if Sparks can make physics-warping things that can be copied by non-sparks? We know that such things can be made and used, but not whether copies can be made without the Spark.

I was thinking Smoke Knight training might be something of the sort.

[lord_khaine]

Trapped in a fortress, afflicted with a mysterious illness with the potential to kill her, surrounded by danger with only a small group of allies....

Nope, never seen this plotline before.

No, where should we have seen this before?

Have you been eating your own popcorn again Glyph ?

[Porthos]

No, where should we have seen this before?

Have you been eating your own popcorn again Glyph ?

This storyline is what he is referring to.

Agatha herself became sick later on.

[lord_khaine]

Remember the storyline, just dont think it resemble the current one.

Just to start with, Agatha isnt in a rush against time to cure the affliction before she dies, she has just gotten addicted to weasels.

[Traab]

This storyline is what he is referring to.

Agatha herself became sick later on.

Bah that was self inflicted. It doesnt count.

[Porthos]

Bah that was self inflicted. It doesnt count.

Well, there are actual differences here if we don't want to be snarky. Agatha was in a Life or Death situation with the clock running quickly. Here it's more akin to the wasp situation where someone is trying to use biological means to control someone else.

It's actually a logical consequence of slaver tech. This might have been one of the early attempts at biological control (some of which was mentioned previously). Or its a tech that diverged from an early branch of the research tree, as it were.

Either way, Agatha was knocked out for three days in a hostile place. Something should have happened to her to put her at a disadvantage. That it was something that Agatha was able to get something of a quick temp fix speaks well to the long term implications.

Also being in a tight, confined space with few allies might.... tighten up the narrative a bit. One of my big problems with the story once it left the Castle was it just meandered all over the place. Having a bit of structure might give the story some much needed focus.

Saying that, we will of course flip to whatever is happening with Gil any strip now.

[hajo]

we will of course flip to whatever is happening with Gil any strip now.

Also, Higgs and Zeetha

[factotum]

Also, do we know if Sparks can make physics-warping things that can be copied by non-sparks? We know that such things can be made and used, but not whether copies can be made without the Spark.

We've seen examples of non-Sparks working on Spark tech before--Moloch with the Castle's power system, for example, or Silas Merlot back at the University in Beetleburg. Some of it, therefore, is at least comprehensible to normal mortals. Of course, stuff like van Rijn's designs--which are largely incomprehensible even to other Sparks--wouldn't fit into this category!

[Neoriceisgood]

I wonder if I should just take a long break from reading this. The plot's felt way too slow and confusing for me for a long time now.

[Traab]

Also, Higgs and Zeetha

I fully expect one of the three to show up for a daring rescue, possibly all of them. Gil will use his contacts and knowledge to learn of this, higgs and zeetha will have gone with him because he is the only person they can trust to be after agatha because he LIKES her, not because he wants to kill her. Things like that. Too be fair, I expect most of the dragged out parts to involve various flashbacks of what everyone not trapped in mechanicsburg has been doing all this time.

[eee]

I wonder if I should just take a long break from reading this. The plot's felt way too slow and confusing for me for a long time now.

If you're not getting pleasure from the three strips a week pace, a break would probably be a good idea.

However, to those thinking we're about to see a repeat of the sickness arc and the time in the Castle, keep in mind these ARE the Foglios. They throw curve balls that blow readers out of their socks. Anything is possible right now, including that this is the start of a whirlwind tour of the rest of the world, even the Americas and Skifander, before Agatha manages to get back to Mechanicsburg...

[petersohn]

I'm not saying that it will be a repetition of the sickness arc, but I have a feeling that by the end of it, we'll grow sick of it the same way as that arc (or the siege of Mechanicsburg, for that matter).

[GaeasSon]

I fully expect one of the three to show up for a daring rescue, possibly all of them...

I don't think anyone except those in the mountain retreat have any cause to believe anything but that Agatha shared the fate of Mechanicsburg, whatever it appears or whatever they believe it to be.

[Traab]

I don't think anyone except those in the mountain retreat have any cause to believe anything but that Agatha shared the fate of Mechanicsburg, whatever it appears or whatever they believe it to be.

But considering the plethora of spies, informants, double agents, and espionage related sparky inventions, it wouldnt surprise me in the least that news of her presence in the mountains has already leaked out.

[eee]

Wow. Violetta obviously has no trouble speaking sense to power. Or madness. She clearly hasn't forgotten what she learned from dealing with Tarvek, and isn't going to let fealty OR affection stop her. She's even more impressive than I thought!

Why is there a werewolf in the Refuge of Storms? And was it going after them, or the Smoke Knight? Is the werewolf wearing GLASSES????

The weasel seems dumbfounded...