Girl Genius XXVI: Madness is the best possible response

[PhantomFox]

When Albia was unsummoned

[The Glyphstone]

I'm getting flashbacks of the castle arc...

[sihnfahl]

I'm getting flashbacks of the castle arc...

This 'Agatha! Ooops NotAgatha!" is getting old.

"Weren't you watching her?"
"I thought you were!"

Play comedic riff, everyone deadpans the camera.

[Rogar Demonblud]

And people used to call me anti-fun for wanting Lucrezia out of Agatha immediately. At this point, I'm willing to consider Agatha getting killed to put an end to this overplayed joke.

[Narkis]

I can tolerate it for a bit more, but only because I'm convinced it's the last we see of Lucrezia-in-Agatha.

If she stays past this arc though, we riot.

[Hamsandlich]

Is it just me or is Lucrezia not the brightest bulb in the room when it comes to common sense? Even by Spark standards.

[Willie the Duck]

Is it just me or is Lucrezia not the brightest bulb in the room when it comes to common sense? Even by Spark standards.

Jaegers seem to have very plot-dependent power levels. A sword through the chest would have been enough to down many-to-most (like most super-tough characters in GG, their superpower is never having that happen, despite everyone having treated perception as a dump stat). What really annoys me is Oggie having apparently taken a level of 'plot convenient situational stupidity.'

[Narkis]

To be fair, he conveniently just got doped by Martelus, the master of biology. I can totally buy shrugging off such a wound.

[Traab]

Is it just me or is Lucrezia not the brightest bulb in the room when it comes to common sense? Even by Spark standards.

Yeah, this would have been the perfect time to make an escape. At the very least dragging out the attempt to extract her further. Instead she tries to stab the toughest monster in the room like she intends to stab her way to the bottom of the pile then walk out the door.

[Rogar Demonblud]

I don't think she's trying to escape. She's trying to rescue Clank-Lucrezia. Honestly, if that's some kind of hard-coded "Always Help Me Survive and Escape" command, it should have been spelled out a couple years ago.

[Radar]

I don't think she's trying to escape. She's trying to rescue Clank-Lucrezia. Honestly, if that's some kind of hard-coded "Always Help Me Survive and Escape" command, it should have been spelled out a couple years ago.

It does not have to be hard-coded. It is simply reasonable that you help yourselves. After all, if you do not take care of your own problems, who will?

Two Lucrezia's cooperating have higher chances of running away than a single one.

[Ailurus]

And people used to call me anti-fun for wanting Lucrezia out of Agatha immediately. At this point, I'm willing to consider Agatha getting killed to put an end to this overplayed joke.

I'm almost at that point myself now. And they have demonstrated they can correctly work a Si Vales Valeo (or however it is spelled)...

[Hamsandlich]

It does not have to be hard-coded. It is simply reasonable that you help yourselves. After all, if you do not take care of your own problems, who will?

Two Lucrezia's cooperating have higher chances of running away than a single one.

Lucrezia is also a self-absorbed narcissist, of course she thinks that she has the appropriate level of skill to save herself twice at the same time.

[Agi Hammerthief]

Jaegers seem to have very plot-dependent power levels. A sword through the chest would have been enough to down many-to-most (like most super-tough characters in GG, their superpower is never having that happen, despite everyone having treated perception as a dump stat). What really annoys me is Oggie having apparently taken a level of 'plot convenient situational stupidity.'

Zeetha got stabbed through the chest too and got away with it.

[geoduck]

This 'Agatha! Ooops NotAgatha!" is getting old.

"Weren't you watching her?"
"I thought you were!"

Play comedic riff, everyone deadpans the camera.

Three times now, they've left her unguarded.

And where did Violetta disappear to while all this is happening?

[Vinyadan]

And people used to call me anti-fun for wanting Lucrezia out of Agatha immediately. At this point, I'm willing to consider Agatha getting killed to put an end to this overplayed joke.

I think it would be good, but for different reasons. Agatha rules over a lot of characters, and I think that it would be better if her people could be freed from just following her along. They're just too many, sometimes with duplicates, which means that they can solve almost any problem, and they slow down action. In smaller groups, however, they could be more interesting.

It's also that I see Agatha as somewhat directionless. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the arches she had after she escaped Martellus's tower were all about fights between monsters and factions that didn't really have to do with her. This is the first fight that is about her, and she's not even herself!

Sure, it's never going to happen, and would hit the comic's premise, but it's an interesting exercise of thought.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Everything since the time skip is at core Agatha goes some place and destroys the power structure by accident. Whether that's by unleashing Martellus on the Keep of Storms, leveling a Corbetite fortress or fomenting revolution under and within Paris, where she goes the Ins are removed and someone new is running things.

Technically, I guess the Incorruptible Library's leadership getting hollowed out had nothing to do with her. But the point stands.

[HandofShadows]

Everything since the time skip is at core Agatha goes some place and destroys the power structure by accident. Whether that's by unleashing Martellus on the Keep of Storms, leveling a Corbetite fortress or fomenting revolution under and within Paris, where she goes the Ins are removed and someone new is running things.

Technically, I guess the Incorruptible Library's leadership getting hollowed out had nothing to do with her. But the point stands.

Tweedle didn't take over the Keep of Storms as Grandma is still very much in control there. The Corbetite fortress is still standing and only took some damage and it was Agatha's actions that saved the place. What happened in Paris would have happened anyway if Agatha hadn't showed up, just later. The Head Librarian was killed because of his attempt to kidnap Tarvek and had nothing to do with Agatha. The rest of the Library's leadership is still intact.

[Traab]

Tweedle didn't take over the Keep of Storms as Grandma is still very much in control there. The Corbetite fortress is still standing and only took some damage and it was Agatha's actions that saved the place. What happened in Paris would have happened anyway if Agatha hadn't showed up, just later. The Head Librarian was killed because of his attempt to kidnap Tarvek and had nothing to do with Agatha. The rest of the Library's leadership is still intact.

tweedle re-established himself as the storm king by a slaughter spree after popping out of the portal with agatha, upending whatever the current power structure was. She wasnt directly responsible for the corbittes but again, freaking tweedle somehow managed to talk them into violating their neutrality and acknowledging him as storm king. The library I grant you. And yes, it would have happened later in paris, but the reality is, agatha going to paris triggered events that saw the master dead and a new ruler take over. Not too mention one of the underground kingdoms got deposed due to her presence. She may not be directly the cause of a lot of it, but everywhere she goes, every faction she gets involved with sees its power structures destabalized. Also, Vin, yes she does have her own story, its just that her story is one that should be of quiet research and tracking down specific subject matter experts while all around her things are crumbling and she and her team get swept up in events.

[Fyraltari]

And where did Violetta disappear to while all this is happening?

I think ClankLu’s banshee scream knocked her out?

[factotum]

tweedle re-established himself as the storm king by a slaughter spree after popping out of the portal with agatha, upending whatever the current power structure was.

The simple question I have to that: are you saying that Tweedle would *not* have done exactly the same thing if he'd popped out of that portal and Agatha were not present? Because if he would have done the same thing, Agatha's presence is immaterial.

[Scarlet Knight]

You know what would be awful? Removing Lucrezia produces TWO twin Agathas, one good and one Lucrezia minded.

[geoduck]

I think ClankLu’s banshee scream knocked her out?

Looking at the relevant page again, it doesn't appear the scream even knocked Zeetha out, just distracted her long enough that the clank could punch her unconscious. And we certainly don't see Violetta being affected. But yeah, it's an explanation for her not being in on the action.

[HandofShadows]

I think ClankLu’s banshee scream knocked her out?

Lu seem to indicate that others were affected on this page.

[Traab]

The simple question I have to that: are you saying that Tweedle would *not* have done exactly the same thing if he'd popped out of that portal and Agatha were not present? Because if he would have done the same thing, Agatha's presence is immaterial.

Im saying that agatha seems to be around for, if not the catalyst for, the total upheaval of every power structure she comes into contact with. Heck, going back as far as bettleburg we see the town taken over and its leader killed with her being there, also sturmholten or whatever the name of tarveks hometown is, her presence caused it to turn into an exposed revenant nest along with all its other issues which added further chaos to the whole mechanicsburg debacle. Its not always her fault, but it always happens wherever she goes. Even now we are seeing albia seem weakened in some fashion, similar to the master of paris, her reputation has lasted this long and now its possible she cant manage to maintain it. Not agathas fault, but again, its happening while she is present.

[Evil DM Mark3]

Today's last panel has to be the most Orky thing ever said by a non-Ork.

[DavidSh]

Not agathas fault, but again, its happening while she is present.

These sorts of things are also happening where Agatha isn't present, we just aren't made so aware of it.

[NobleCuriosity]

Wait, would stopping up their ears really work? It seems a little bit too easy of a countermeasure. In fact, if you made some sort of speaker/headset configuration, you might be able to have them keep communicating with each other as well.

[Radar]

Wait, would stopping up their ears really work? It seems a little bit too easy of a countermeasure. In fact, if you made some sort of speaker/headset configuration, you might be able to have them keep communicating with each other as well.

Lucrezia's mind control is voice-activated. Yet another proof that it is a fancy but impractical technology.

It might seem easy, but it is pretty much the only situation, when people are aware of being wasped and at the same time not directly controled. Most of the time this is not an option and deafening everyone whatsoever preemptively might not be a vialbe large-scale solution.

[gbs5009]

Lucrezia's mind control is voice-activated. Yet another proof that it is a fancy but impractical technology.

It might seem easy, but it is pretty much the only situation, when people are aware of being wasped and at the same time not directly controled. Most of the time this is not an option and deafening everyone whatsoever preemptively might not be a vialbe large-scale solution.

It might also turn out Lucretia knows British spec ops sign language.