Girl Genius XXV: It needs work! BUT THE CONCEPT IS SOUND!

[HandofShadows]

My guess for Zeetha vs Bang is that Bang finds out that "her" pirates broke one of the few codes she has. Like slavery. And realizes that "her" pirates had turned against her and so Zeetha more or less did Bang a favor by killing them all. Yeah, I know it seems odd that Bang has any rules, but there are a few things that even she finds abhorrent such as when Gil was mind controlled.

[Squire Doodad]

My guess for Zeetha vs Bang is that Bang finds out that "her" pirates broke one of the few codes she has. Like slavery. And realizes that "her" pirates had turned against her and so Zeetha more or less did Bang a favor by killing them all. Yeah, I know it seems odd that Bang has any rules, but there are a few things that even she finds abhorrent such as when Gil was mind controlled.

It's relatively clear that Bang didn't know about what her pirates were doing when she wasn't there, she just knows someone blew up her fortress.

[SZbNAhL]

My guess for Zeetha vs Bang is that Bang finds out that "her" pirates broke one of the few codes she has. Like slavery. And realizes that "her" pirates had turned against her and so Zeetha more or less did Bang a favor by killing them all. Yeah, I know it seems odd that Bang has any rules, but there are a few things that even she finds abhorrent such as when Gil was mind controlled.

We know she's anti-mindcontrol, that doesn't make her anti-slavery. Then again, it's entirely possible that she had some kind of rule against attacking the British or something (they do have a massive scary navy, after all).

[geoduck]

We know she's anti-mindcontrol, that doesn't make her anti-slavery. Then again, it's entirely possible that she had some kind of rule against attacking the British or something (they do have a massive scary navy, after all).

She evidently kept Tarvek as, yes, a slave for a while, a situation he only escaped from by faking a plunge to his death. So at least when she does it, she doesn't have a a problem with it...

[HandofShadows]

She evidently kept Tarvek as, yes, a slave for a while, a situation he only escaped from by faking a plunge to his death. So at least when she does it, she doesn't have a a problem with it...

Naw, Tarvek was a royal hostage who see liked to torment. I was just using slaves as an example. I could be something else such as making a deal with the Polar Lords or attacking a British Ship. My point is that even Bang has a few rules.

[Scarlet Knight]

She evidently kept Tarvek as, yes, a slave for a while, a situation he only escaped from by faking a plunge to his death. So at least when she does it, she doesn't have a a problem with it...

Please . They were playing.

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comi...1#.XR88qOhKiUk

[HandofShadows]

Please . They were playing.

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comi...1#.XR88qOhKiUk

What's great is that Jeanne Hawkins Captain of the Mopey Tortiose had him doing the same thing.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Well, Gil's cured. Those last panels are proof.

Also, still brothers from other mothers.

[Squire Doodad]

Well, Gil's cured. Those last panels are proof.

Turns out its a huge conspiracy and Tarvek's lying and he just put Lucrezia in Gil and was working for her all along



AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[tomaO2]

Pretty sure the ACTUAL conspiracy is that Gil was wasped, and the only thing keeping him from total capitulation was his dad's implant. Otherwise, what the heck even happened with that spark enslaving wasp?HE managed to protect Dupree but got captured before he could protect himself, so what the heck happened there? It's like that whole storyline was dropped, it HAS to be showing up again at some point.

Edit: Or am I remembering wrong? I thought there was another slaver wasp that could control sparks? I know the father is under the control of one so was this his alternative method to get his son under his control?

[DeTess]

Pretty sure the ACTUAL conspiracy is that Gil was wasped, and the only thing keeping him from total capitulation was his dad's implant. Otherwise, what the heck even happened with that spark enslaving wasp?HE managed to protect Dupree but got captured before he could protect himself, so what the heck happened there? It's like that whole storyline was dropped, it HAS to be showing up again at some point.

Do we even know for certain that he's wasped? We've seen Klaus get wasped on-screen, and he then later claimed that Gil got wasped as well by using a wasp-eater that, for some odd reason, did not react to the baron who we know is wasped.

[tomaO2]

Um, I thought there was a second spark wasp? I can't remember anymore. It's been such a long time. I'm just really hoping for some development in this area now that he's been freed.

EDIT: Looking over it, I think the key bit was that he was unable to drink the anti-slaver potion in time before being captured. Given that it's been two years later, he may have been wasped during that time frame. Certainly, the personality implant that got stuck in him was put in after Klaus was frozen in time, so he was clearly messed with.

[factotum]

Do we even know for certain that he's wasped? We've seen Klaus get wasped on-screen, and he then later claimed that Gil got wasped as well by using a wasp-eater that, for some odd reason, did not react to the baron who we know is wasped.

That's significant, I think--the wasp-eater either doesn't respond to Spark-infesting wasps, or that particular one had been modified by Klaus to ignore him and go doolally over Gil regardless of his wasped condition. There's no evidence whatsoever that Gil has been wasped other than that one panel.

[Divayth Fyr]

Um, I thought there was a second spark wasp? I can't remember anymore. It's been such a long time. I'm just really hoping for some development in this area now that he's been freed.

It has been a long time, but I could swear there was only one spark-enslaving wasp, that got used up on Klaus. And the whole thing about Gil being infected was put in motion by wasped Baron as an excuse to lock him up. It even mentioned he was wasped all the way back when he was in Paris, which seems... unlikely.

[PraetorDragoon]

As far as I know the spark wasp was one of a kind and used on the Baron.

If Gil was wasped I would assume that would have been shown or told before. The Foglios are usually pretty good at that thing.

[Traab]

Im pretty sure the idea that gil was wasped was setup by the baron as an excuse to download his overlay into gil before he ran off and froze himself in time. Basically, "I cant be trusted to run the empire since im wasped, gil is too young to take full control, this way I can remove myself from the picture while also freezing our current headache in place while making sure my empire doesnt crumble in the meantime."

[Stabbey]

Gil being wasped is almost certainly an excuse. Boris did think there was something off about that story, he asked Selinkov if someone in a spark fugue state could refuse a command from the Other.

That's significant, I think--the wasp-eater either doesn't respond to Spark-infesting wasps, or that particular one had been modified by Klaus to ignore him and go doolally over Gil regardless of his wasped condition. There's no evidence whatsoever that Gil has been wasped other than that one panel.

It must have been a modified wasp eater. The spark-infesting kind is detectable.

[Rodin]

I was re-reading that section this week, and the key line is at the beginning where the Baron says "No matter what happens, I will do everything in my power to help you".

At the time, that sounded like a line talking about how Gil had been wasped. Now it sounds entirely different - the Baron knows that he has been Wasped, and that the Other has spies throughout the fleet. So, he makes up a story - Gil was wasped years ago, ergo he doesn't need to be wasped now. Never mind that the spark controlling wasps didn't exist back then - the servants of the Other on the ship don't know that, and the Baron is enough of an authority to make the story stick. He then lies about Dupree being poisoned to keep her safe - if it became known that she is immune to being wasped, she would have been killed. The Baron pretends the cure is a fake to protect it.

He dances right up to the edge of what he is able to do while still being wasped, then puts a "clean" copy of himself in Gil and gets himself trapped in a time stop to remove the wasped version.

[HandofShadows]

Im pretty sure the idea that gil was wasped was setup by the baron as an excuse to download his overlay into gil before he ran off and froze himself in time. Basically, "I cant be trusted to run the empire since im wasped, gil is too young to take full control, this way I can remove myself from the picture while also freezing our current headache in place while making sure my empire doesnt crumble in the meantime."

I'm sure this is the case. The Baron also had to think of a way to follow the orders he had been given but still subvert them. Not an easy thing to do but he still managed.

On a different note, I am wondering if Bang is behind Agatha's disappearance. If Bang just wanted a fight she would have done it already. But if she wants to stage the fight using Agatha to lure Zeetha to someplace that would the thing to do it. (Someone else did come up with this idea before). The Professors have stated that there would be a trip to Africa, and I think there is a good chance that Bang's old pirate base was along the north cost of Africa. That area has a VERY long history of piracy. No reason to think that this wouldn't be the case in the GG universe. Dragging everyone to her old pirate base for the showdown does sound like something Bang might do.

Of course I am probably totally wrong.

[geoduck]

I'm sure this is the case. The Baron also had to think of a way to follow the orders he had been given but still subvert them. Not an easy thing to do but he still managed.

On a different note, I am wondering if Bang is behind Agatha's disappearance. If Bang just wanted a fight she would have done it already. But if she wants to stage the fight using Agatha to lure Zeetha to someplace that would the thing to do it. (Someone else did come up with this idea before). The Professors have stated that there would be a trip to Africa, and I think there is a good chance that Bang's old pirate base was along the north cost of Africa. That area has a VERY long history of piracy. No reason to think that this wouldn't be the case in the GG universe. Dragging everyone to her old pirate base for the showdown does sound like something Bang might do.

Of course I am probably totally wrong.

There's every indication that Bang's base was in Europa somewhere; that's where Zeetha ended up wandering after destroying it. And Agatha and Co. are going to Africa after she reunites with the Circus and she learns from Embi that there is a functioning Mirror (or something/someone helpful) in his homeland, which allows her to reach Skifander.
I'll bet its Seffie who snatched Agatha. Or the "Mr Eyeball" guy who talked to Lady Steelgarter through a peephole.

[Vinyadan]

Did the Baron discover the secret of Permadeath? Last panel: http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comi...9#.XSNXcY_OOUl

[Agi Hammerthief]

how did Agathas Wasp Eater react to Gil?
or haven’t they been in the same panel yet?

[Rogar Demonblud]

No, they haven't. The weasel has only been with Agatha since the timeskip. And the only time Agatha and Gil have been in the same place since then was at the Corbettite Monastery after the Battle of the Rails with the Beast, and the weasel would've been stashed to keep it away from Tweedle.

[sihnfahl]

No, they haven't. The weasel has only been with Agatha since the timeskip. And the only time Agatha and Gil have been in the same place since then was at the Corbettite Monastery after the Battle of the Rails with the Beast, and the weasel would've been stashed to keep it away from Tweedle.

Yeah, he's right there at Gil's feet.

Grinning like a madthing.

[tyckspoon]

Did the Baron discover the secret of Permadeath? Last panel: http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comi...9#.XSNXcY_OOUl

I think something like Schlock Mercenary's Lazarus death scale is in play here, probably related to amount of brain injury/time since death. Get to somebody shortly after death and take measures to preserve their brain, you can bring them back pretty reliably. Significant physical trauma to the brain or too much time spent as a corpse.. well, you can probably reinvigorate a body, but the person in it is likely to be significantly changed or lost completely, like being a shambler Revenant. Brain completely destroyed and you're basically just making a construct with the corpse as raw materials. I think Maxim was implying he thought Lars's body was already past the point for reliable reanimation/recovery of personality, so even if the body was bought back to life Lars would not be.

(That was also relatively early on in the story - the Foglio's idea of how resurrection in the GG universe works may have changed since then.)

[Rodin]

I think something like Schlock Mercenary's Lazarus death scale is in play here, probably related to amount of brain injury/time since death. Get to somebody shortly after death and take measures to preserve their brain, you can bring them back pretty reliably. Significant physical trauma to the brain or too much time spent as a corpse.. well, you can probably reinvigorate a body, but the person in it is likely to be significantly changed or lost completely, like being a shambler Revenant. Brain completely destroyed and you're basically just making a construct with the corpse as raw materials. I think Maxim was implying he thought Lars's body was already past the point for reliable reanimation/recovery of personality, so even if the body was bought back to life Lars would not be.

(That was also relatively early on in the story - the Foglio's idea of how resurrection in the GG universe works may have changed since then.)

I'm betting Dr. Sun or someone like him would have been able to save Lars. The trouble at the time was that they didn't have access to any reliable hospital facility and wouldn't have that access for the forseeable future. The closest would probably have been the hospital in Mechanicsburg, which would have been rather difficult to access without broadcasting "The Heterodyne Girl is Here!" to the world.

[Durkoala]

There's every indication that Bang's base was in Europa somewhere; that's where Zeetha ended up wandering after destroying it. And Agatha and Co. are going to Africa after she reunites with the Circus and she learns from Embi that there is a functioning Mirror (or something/someone helpful) in his homeland, which allows her to reach Skifander.
I'll bet its Seffie who snatched Agatha. Or the "Mr Eyeball" guy who talked to Lady Steelgarter through a peephole.

I thought 'Mr Eyeball' was Snackleford, based on thinking the eyebrows looked similar, but looking back through the comic, they don't seem that similar at all. Wall-eye making a move would be a good way to up the tension and bring the various plot threads in England back.

[Rogar Demonblud]

We've already resolved most of the England specific plot threads. Main one open right now is will anyone realize that Albia's 'improvement' in the Lucrezia removal plan is turning Agatha into a permanent resident of The Garden. The one with Steelgarter and Moonbark will likely get resolved later, after they chase or are chased by the heroic party on the way to Skiffander.

The Bang and Seffie threads aren't England specific.

[geoduck]

We've already resolved most of the England specific plot threads. Main one open right now is will anyone realize that Albia's 'improvement' in the Lucrezia removal plan is turning Agatha into a permanent resident of The Garden. The one with Steelgarter and Moonbark will likely get resolved later, after they chase or are chased by the heroic party on the way to Skiffander.

The Bang and Seffie threads aren't England specific.

There's also the fact that England is sinking into the ocean; Agatha's likely to discover the cause of that before this is all over. (Wouldn't be surprised if that's tied in with Mr. Eyeball somehow.) And as I said above, she's pretty much gotta reunite with Master Payne's Circus at some point. Plus there's whoever it is who is now roaming around the country in possession of Prende's Lantern. (I'd bet Madwa the Smoke Knight despite her supposed death.)

[Rogar Demonblud]

Agatha has neither need nor reason to care about England sinking. She wants to save Mechanicsburg. England is a distraction from that. She doesn't need the circus, or even Embi. Just a rumor about a mirror in Africa, assuming the crew doesn't go there in pursuit of, say, Steelgarter and Moonbark because they kidnapped Zeetha. And I'm certain Madwa is dead, because otherwise we'd have been subjected to another thirty pages of Smoke Knight antics.