Girl Genius XXI: Cancel the Jugglers

[eschmenk]

I am wondering if MsoP will regard Agatha with the same benign opinion now that she is responsible for the safety and well-being of Paris. However well intentioned, Agatha did awken Andy and the chaos that ensued. Likewise, she highjacked various Parisian systems via Kestlebot and Loco-motive. Undeniably, where Heterodyne goes, trouble follows.

I could see Agatha, to her chagrin, being informed by MsoP that the time limit on her stay was still in force, possibly increased for her help against Andy.

If Prende gets a chance to report, she would no doubt put the blame on Madwa for the Storm King escaping. More importantly, Castlebot just saved Colette in order to keep her as an ally. I expect that to work. Less importantly, from a meta point of view, the fact that the attempt to frame Agatha for killing Simon failed would make it seem odd if Colette and Paris didn't remain friendly with Agatha. It would make the attempt to frame Agatha seem pointless.

I'm not sure that Agatha would still want to stay. She was looking for Professor Zardeliv, but Madwa ran off with him to who knows where. I don't have any idea what her Plan B would be. And who knows how much will change in the meantime.

BTW, will we ever find out what Aldin and Larana were after? I certainly hope there was something.

She's a spark, she's already in Seine by default.

[keybounce]

3rd vote for in-seine

[Ellen]

Grandma just went up a few levels of amoral scary.

If I read this right, Grandma knows Zola is the Other (or the Other-ish) and that she has most of Paris "primed"--I'm reading that as wasped--and ready to control, and her reaction is to "help" Zola, which I think means recruit her into a subordinate position.

Unless this is her lead-up to stabbing Zola in the back (or attempting to).

Either way, Grandma is a scary woman/monster/typical representative of Tarvek's family.

[petersohn]

Girl Genius XXII: In-Seine by Default get my vote.

I like it too. +1.

[factotum]

If I read this right, Grandma knows Zola is the Other (or the Other-ish) and that she has most of Paris "primed"

She might not know she's the Other (or Other-lite, maybe)--we only know that she knows Zola was involved in the failed attempt to take Paris. Don't actually know what Granny's long-term objective is, here--it doesn't seem that saving Zola is going to help Tweedle in any way, but that entire family seem to delight in backstabbing each other anyway.

[petersohn]

Is Grandma allied with The Other, or is she "just" in for the Storm King conspiracy? If so, which Storm King does she try to get to throne? Only Martellus, or does Tarvek go too?

[Aidan305]

I think that Grandma is playing a totally different game to everyone else on the field. We have no idea what are end goals are, only some of the moves she's making.

I like her.

[eschmenk]

What was Colette's "Uh oh." about? It's not just that she overdid it, is it?

Grandma seems to think that the more schemes and schemers operating simultaneously, the better. I guess they make her parties memorable.

[Rockphed]

What was Colette's "Uh oh." about? It's not just that she overdid it, is it?

Grandma seems to think that the more schemes and schemers operating simultaneously, the better. I guess they make her parties memorable.

Collete didn't say "Uh oh." That was Zola. See how you cannot see her well-formed backside through the flames consuming her dress.

[eschmenk]

Collete didn't say "Uh oh." That was Zola. See how you cannot see her well-formed backside through the flames consuming her dress.

You're right. That makes a lot more sense. I had thought that Colette just formed a new dress around herself, but that's Zola's dress and blonde hair. They are apparently both very back-lit. The bottom of Zola's dress would normally be yellow.

If I read this right, Grandma knows Zola is the Other (or the Other-ish) and that she has most of Paris "primed"--I'm reading that as wasped--and ready to control, and her reaction is to "help" Zola, which I think means recruit her into a subordinate position.

I don't think so. Violetta said that Grandma was opposed to anyone who cooperated with the Other. I don't think she would help Zola if she knew Zola had a connection with Lucrezia. I think that she just meant that Zola, as Queen of the Dawn, has a huge number of fans. I agree that Grandma is being incredibly amoral, though, and I'm surprised that Grandma didn't think that the attack by the Geisters and revenants was staged, though. I don't really know what Grandma is thinking. Maybe it's even some sort of trap for Zola.

[Shining Wrath]

"In-Seine by default" is clever, even if it's not a comic quote. Accepted.

We believe Grandma hates The Other (although that could be a pose ... where Grandma's concerned, I take nothing for certain).
We believe Grandma knows exactly who Zola is, and who she's working for.
I take "I've got you now, girl ..." to mean "Your life is in my hands, and you will obey me, or I will draw Colette's attention to you and you'll be crushed like a bug MWAHAHAHA". Therefore, assuming Grandma hates The Other, she's about to turn Zola into a double agent, presumably with some sort of hook that will last outside Paris.

It may also serve her purposes to have Paris rise up against Colette so that she can only hold power with Martellus' help. The number of ways Grandma could wield a weapon like Zola is ... large.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

But Zola is NOT the Other. She's yet another Sturmvoraus plot, initially intended to take over the Heterodyne faction, and when that went pear-shaped, lucked into trapping the Other inside her specially trained brain and thus became Granny's plot to infiltrate the Other's faction. Granny seems to have been behind this plot, like she seems to be behind all of them, maybe because she considers that multiple competing plots have a better chance than a single one, maybe because the only way to not get eaten by a hydra is to sit behing its many necks and do your best to steer it.

Grey Wolf

[eschmenk]

The number of ways Grandma could wield a weapon like Zola is ... large.

Good point and I think I should have paid more attention to Hellen saying, "...which I think means recruit her into a subordinate position." Yes, it would make sense for Grandma to do that. I don't know if Grandma knows about Zola being allied with Lucrezia, but if she does, at a minimum she would want Zola to switch away from her.

[Shining Wrath]

But Zola is NOT the Other. She's yet another Sturmvoraus plot, initially intended to take over the Heterodyne faction, and when that went pear-shaped, lucked into trapping the Other inside her specially trained brain and thus became Granny's plot to infiltrate the Other's faction. Granny seems to have been behind this plot, like she seems to be behind all of them, maybe because she considers that multiple competing plots have a better chance than a single one, maybe because the only way to not get eaten by a hydra is to sit behing its many necks and do your best to steer it.

Grey Wolf

Zola accepted having The Other in her brain as an alternative to death, IIRC. And I think Zola is a tool who is aware she's a tool, and wants to break free. If Grandma can get her out of Paris alive, that's a definite plus from Zola's viewpoint (), and if Grandma can get The Other out of her head, that's even better. Now, what's Grandma's price going to be? Well, if this was a D&D game, I'd put Grandma down as some sort of malign fey, a Verdant Lord or Hag or some such. It's not so much her own power as all the people she's manipulated into serving her over the years. Zola is a tool with ambitions of greatness, but I think in a 3-sided battle of wits between Grandma Sturmvoraus, The Other, and Zola, Zola finishes 3rd.

[The Glyphstone]

But Zola is NOT the Other. She's yet another Sturmvoraus plot, initially intended to take over the Heterodyne faction, and when that went pear-shaped, lucked into trapping the Other inside her specially trained brain and thus became Granny's plot to infiltrate the Other's faction. Granny seems to have been behind this plot, like she seems to be behind all of them, maybe because she considers that multiple competing plots have a better chance than a single one, maybe because the only way to not get eaten by a hydra is to sit behing its many necks and do your best to steer it.

Grey Wolf

Just As Planned?

[keybounce]

Girl Genius XXII: I've got you now!

[Rogar Demonblud]

So much for my fond hope that the Paris arc's wrap up would include Zola's funeral.

I can see the meeting between Collette and Agatha going something like "You have added more time to your credit." and "That's nice, but I'm going to save it for my next trip. Hope your coronation goes better than mine did."

[eschmenk]

Maybe among other things, Grandma will demand information from Zola and we will get some exposition?

and if Grandma can get The Other out of her head, that's even better.

Having Lucrezia in her head was useful for fooling Clank Lucrezia. I think Zola might think that having Lucrezia there gives her more options, so she might prefer things as they are.

but I think in a 3-sided battle of wits between Grandma Sturmvoraus, The Other, and Zola, Zola finishes 3rd.

IDK. I think Zola started out in a weaker position than the other two, but she's done very well considering that.

[Manga Shoggoth]

I don't know if Grandma knows about Zola being allied with Lucrezia, but if she does, at a minimum she would want Zola to switch away from her.

There is no alliance. Judging from what happened during their "meeting" in Castle Hetrodyne it looks like there was a long-standing plan to trap a copy of Lucrezia that Zola was in a position to trigger. Although Zola offered an alliance she had no intention of following it through - nether did Lucrezia, for that matter, making it an interesting little backstabber's gavotte.

Zola still looks to be in control (at least, the reactions thus far are very Zola), so noting happene off-screen for Lucrezia to get control.

"In-Seine by default" is clever, even if it's not a comic quote. Accepted.

It's a very comic quote - I first saw it from Spike Milligan's McGoonagle books, and if that isn't comic, what is?

(Oh yes, one vote for Girl Genius XXII: In-Seine by Default)

[Lethologica]

Girl Genius XXII: I've got you now!

Remove the emphasis and the context and suddenly I'm thinking of Star Wars (albeit the phrasing isn't identical).

[eschmenk]

There is no alliance. Judging from what happened during their "meeting" in Castle Hetrodyne it looks like there was a long-standing plan to trap a copy of Lucrezia that Zola was in a position to trigger. Although Zola offered an alliance she had no intention of following it through - nether did Lucrezia, for that matter, making it an interesting little backstabber's gavotte.

Zola still looks to be in control (at least, the reactions thus far are very Zola), so noting happene off-screen for Lucrezia to get control.

I was speaking somewhat imprecisely because things are complicated. Zola apparently fooled clank-Lucrezia into thinking that Zola was effectively another copy of Lucrezia. Basically, it is more or less an alliance between Zola and Lucrezia; it's just that clank-Lucrezia thinks she is cooperating with a copy of herself rather than Zola. Since the Geisters and revenants seemed to be helping Zola, I assume the same situation still exists. Zola didn't reveal to anyone in Paris that she had been pretending to be controlled by a copy of Lucrezia. Assuming Grandma noticed the Geisters and revenants helping Zola, and Zola killing the one so it couldn't be captured, Grandma would likely suspect that Zola had an alliance with Lucrezia. That would be something Grandma would probably try to disrupt.

[Manga Shoggoth]

I was speaking somewhat imprecisely because things are complicated. Zola apparently fooled clank-Lucrezia into thinking that Zola was effectively another copy of Lucrezia. Basically, it is more or less an alliance between Zola and Lucrezia; it's just that clank-Lucrezia thinks she is cooperating with a copy of herself rather than Zola. Since the Geisters and revenants seemed to be helping Zola, I assume the same situation still exists. Zola didn't reveal to anyone in Paris that she had been pretending to be controlled by a copy of Lucrezia. Assuming Grandma noticed the Geisters and revenants helping Zola, and Zola killing the one so it couldn't be captured, Grandma would likely suspect that Zola had an alliance with Lucrezia. That would be something Grandma would probably try to disrupt.

Fair 'nough. Three copies of Lucrezia should be enough to confuse anything...

(Let's see, a copy in Agatha, one in a clank, and one caught in Zola. Any I've forgotten?)

[geoduck]

There is evidence that points both ways, but we have no firm idea of who is currently in charge inside of Zola's head, and we won't unless we hear some sort of internal dialogue; any "facts" either personality offers out loud are less than useless. I'd personally guess that, yes, it's Zola, but that's just a guess.

And again, there's no positive proof that Grandma was (or was not) directly involved in the whole "Zola as false Heterodyne" plot. The only fact we have is that she knew about it after it failed and issued a decree that there would be no similar efforts. Tarvek at least gave the impression it was all his father's idea.

[eschmenk]

Tarvek at least gave the impression it was all his father's idea.

I don't think he did. I don't know if Aaronev even knew about the Storm King plot. Aaronev would probably have been very much opposed to it if he did know about it because he was very loyal to Lucrezia and Lucrezia's schemes were incompatible with the Storm King scheme. Granted, Tarvek was involved in at least three different incompatible schemes, but according to what Tarvek said, Aaronev only worked very hard on attempting to bring Lucrezia back.

What made you think that Tarvek indicated the Storm King plot was Aaronev's idea?

Fair 'nough. Three copies of Lucrezia should be enough to confuse anything...

(Let's see, a copy in Agatha, one in a clank, and one caught in Zola. Any I've forgotten?)

Does this count?

There could be even more that we don't know about, like if they used the summoning engine back in Sturmhalten some more.

[geoduck]

I don't think he did. I don't know if Aaronev even knew about the Storm King plot. Aaronev would probably have been very much opposed to it if he did know about it because he was very loyal to Lucrezia and Lucrezia's schemes were incompatible with the Storm King scheme. Granted, Tarvek was involved in at least three different incompatible schemes, but according to what Tarvek said, Aaronev only worked very hard on attempting to bring Lucrezia back.

What made you think that Tarvek indicated the Storm King plot was Aaronev's idea?

"Yes, there was a plot to install a false Heterodyne. My father and his men have been working on it for a long time."

[eschmenk]

"Yes, there was a plot to install a false Heterodyne. My father and his men have been working on it for a long time."

Ah! OK. So he wasn't as loyal to Lucrezia as I thought he was. Weren't any of them working on only one plot at a time?

[keybounce]

Girl Genus XXII: Plenty of Plots Per Plotter

[Lethologica]

Girl Genus XXII: Plenty of Plots Per Plotter

Girl Genius' PPP is surprisingly mediocre among webcomics, but that's because it's going for volume plotting. Any reader will surely agree that its Plots Per 36 is unmatched, and of course it scores extremely well on the important PPXPP (Plots Plus Explosions Per Plot) metric.

[keybounce]

So Plenty of Plots times Plenty of Plotters times Plenty of Explosons Per Plot ...

PP x PP x PE/P =
PP x P x E? Plenty of plots, plotters, and explosions?

... needs a better acronym or backcronym (expansion); all alliteration abandoned.

[Ellen]

"Yes, there was a plot to install a false Heterodyne. My father and his men have been working on it for a long time."

To be fair, Tarvek may be a bit more honest than the average member of his family, but that doesn't mean he was being honest in this case--or that his summary isn't leaving out important information or that Tarvek couldn't be mistaken or just misled (what with his dad being such a pillar of honesty himself).

Meanwhile, sounds like those who thought Colette might be a touch difficult to deal with now she's ascended might have been right.