Girl Genius XXVIII: Dancink! Ve is here for de dancink!

[Traab]

Not just fully operational. Upgraded with the help of the most whacked-out sparks Wulfenbach could stuff in there.

Who happily went along with Der Kestle's suggestions for upgrades because SCIENCE!

Well that and the desire to avoid smooshing. Or burning. Or filleting. Or etc.

[Divayth Fyr]

I'm referring to the page here.

They seem a bit ... taken aback that the Castle responded.

Ah, that bit... Well, for the last several years it probably didn't due to being broken, and earlier than that it also probably didn't, since at the point the Heterodyne already ordered it to rest. So, having the Castle reply was unexpected. And potentially could bring terrible consequences. So the reactions are justified.

[wingnutx]

Are the two groups fighting each other?

[TeChameleon]

Yup. Looks like der Kestle is on the side of maximum 'fun'.

[theangelJean]

Are the two groups fighting each other?

Position of the limbs makes it look more to me like "colliding" and "tripping". They look literally at cross-purposes.

[Rogar Demonblud]

It just struck me Der Kessel is rather like Albia, in that both have been around long enough to need something new for amusement, and they're likely to reward somebody with significant amusement value.

How they choose to go about that is leagues apart, of course.

[Agi Hammerthief]

How they choose to go about that is leagues apart, of course.

Albia might actually have a sense of humor while the castle only has morbid_fun.exe installed

[Shining Wrath]

"Whose side are you on?"

Ah, yes, the Professora is from out of town.

[sihnfahl]

Position of the limbs makes it look more to me like "colliding" and "tripping". They look literally at cross-purposes.

Group 1 goes ->
Group 2 goes <-

Instant 50 car pileup.

[BRC]

So in earlier pages, it seemed like the group was Enthralled, but here they seem perfectly lucid, and the castle mentions a Prize.

Everything we've seen says Mechanisburg genuinely loves their Heterodynes. So the idea of Mechanisburgers willingly harming the Heterodyne seems off, implying that the whole "Chased by mobs" thing is just pagentry.

On the other hand, the threat is real enough that they must Distract the Jaegers and turn off the Castle.

Unless that's part of the point? This ritual is a form of Vote by Potential Assassination. The Heterodyne is tired and probably intoxicated from a night of revelry, they're cut off from the Jaegers and the Castle, they willingly accept the Crown, and then armed townsfolk pursue them through the streets.

If the Heterodyne gets Caught? Maybe they get thrown in the river or forced to wear a silly hat or something, most years.

But, if the Heterodyne has been a tyrant to the townsfolk? If they are unpopular, if they are hated. Well, who knows what could happen.

And the Heterodyne themselves wouldn't know the Mob's intentions, not until it was too late.



Maybe this is Mechanisburg's way of keeping the Heterodynes accountable. Once a year, the Heterodyne throws themselves upon the mercy of the town.

Hated Heterodynes don't survive the Solstice.

[Divayth Fyr]

Maybe this is Mechanisburg's way of keeping the Heterodynes accountable. Once a year, the Heterodyne throws themselves upon the mercy of the town.

Hated Heterodynes don't survive the Solstice.

I very much doubt this would be the case. The Castle may be turned off for the Solstice, but it would return online and a dead Heterodyne would be a great reason to make the townsfolk suffer (even more). Plus why would a tyrant Heterodyne agree to don the crown in the first place?

[Thomas Cardew]

I agree. My supsicion is this more a "Prove I'm the biggest monster". The Jeagers aren't morons. There's no way 'distracting' them would work more than once. I think this is more, the Hetrodyne reboots the Castle because it needs it, the Jaegers get a night off to party, and none of that matters. Because I'm the Heterodyne and I'm still the biggest nastiest thing around. I don't need the Castle, the Jaegers, or any of the other Monsters. You want to take a swing, do it, I'm walking home. Alone. But it's all in good fun so I'll cover 90% of your body in burns.

[BRC]

I very much doubt this would be the case. The Castle may be turned off for the Solstice, but it would return online and a dead Heterodyne would be a great reason to make the townsfolk suffer (even more). Plus why would a tyrant Heterodyne agree to don the crown in the first place?

Remember that the family isn't usually so small. If the Heterodyne dies, there will be a new Heterodyne.

Alternatively, part of it is that a heterodyne has to be REALLY bad for the townsfolk to decide it's better to kill them and face the consequences than to go another year under their rule.
As for why, well....

I agree. My supsicion is this more a "Prove I'm the biggest monster". The Jeagers aren't morons. There's no way 'distracting' them would work more than once. I think this is more, the Hetrodyne reboots the Castle because it needs it, the Jaegers get a night off to party, and none of that matters. Because I'm the Heterodyne and I'm still the biggest nastiest thing around. I don't need the Castle, the Jaegers, or any of the other Monsters. You want to take a swing, do it, I'm walking home. Alone. But it's all in good fun so I'll cover 90% of your body in burns.

I think that's part of it? But I don't like that as a full explanation by itself. Tradition aside, The Heterodyne is probably confident in their ability to survive the night, regardless of how warranted that ability is.

The Implication seems to be that the tradition is more about CHASING the Heterodyne through the town than the Heterodyne FIGHTING their way through. That doesn't quite match up with a ritual of macho posturing.


Although, the whole thing about "Taking on the Town's Guilt" probably means I'm wrong? The point is more about the Heterodyne spending one night living out the Mad Scientist's Nightmare to make up for the Town enabling the Heterodyne being a terrible person the rest of the year?

Maybe, even if it is all Play-Acting and the Heterodyne is in no real danger from the Mob, they have to shut off the castle anyway, because it doesn't mean anything if they can ask the Castle for help?


Or, heck, maybe the whole thing is just the Heterodyne equivalent of a Fire Drill. "So, assuming Mechanisburg has fallen, the Jaegers are gone, the Castle is shut off, and you are being pursued through the streets, What Do You Do To Ensure You Survive. Bonus! These same skills apply if you've conquered some OTHER town, only to misplace your army".

[Zazu Yen]

How this traditionally played out probably depended a lot on the temperament and mood of the Heterodyne that took the crown. That the Brothers turned the tradition into a tourist event seems to imply that it wasn't all fun and games. It wouldn't surprise to me to learn that the tradition started when a group of townsfolk literally attacked a drunk, unpopular, Heterodyne trying to make their way home after a particularly destructive party. Then it became a "You want to take a swing at me? Try it!" kind of tradition witch eventually evolved into a less deadly "Catch Me If You Can!" challenge. And I'm sure there were plenty of Heterodynes that used this as an opportunity to try out new (mostly non lethal) devices AND a way to test the mettle of the townsfolk and perhaps spot potential new talent.

[Shining Wrath]

I think the attitude of Mechanicsburgians is "The Heterodynes are monsters, but they are OUR monsters". And in a Europa filled with constant war, living in a city that not only has never been taken but likely never will (so long as Der Kessel has electricity available) is a real plus.

I have not seen any mention of one Heterodyne assassinating another to take the throne. It would seem in character, but, no mention that I recall. So ...
If there's a spare Heterodyne or two, and a mob kills the ruling one, the one that takes the throne may NOT be gentle.

Ergo, I doubt that any Heterodyne has ever been killed in the Solstice.

But ... how often is the ruling Heterodyne out of town, rampaging across Europa? Probably pretty often. The ritual that is performed with fill-ins may be more dangerous.

[Rogar Demonblud]

I'm pretty sure we have no idea what's really going on, because the Foglios have a track record of bamboozling us but good.

[Kantaki]

But ... how often is the ruling Heterodyne out of town, rampaging across Europa? Probably pretty often. The ritual that is performed with fill-ins may be more dangerous.

Considering it's traditional I wouldn't be surprised if the Heterodyne was home for it most times.
[Edit] The Castle said this is it's first Solstice, so it seems the Heterodyne did usually take part in the ritual, at least in the time since the Castle extended into Mechanicsburg.[/Edit]

Dangerous for potential stand-ins?
If they rope some random stranger into it definitely.
For the Professora?
Well, she is married to a local, so I would file it under "more dangerous than for the real deal, but possibly not imminently fatal".
Especially with the Castle helping her.
It doesn't want it's entertainment to end just yet after all.
At the very least she'll make it to the end of the ritual.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Honestly, she probably needs the help just because she has no idea of the layout of the town.

[HandofShadows]

I'm pretty sure we have no idea what's really going on, because the Foglios have a track record of bamboozling us but good.

Yeah, this sounds right. There is something, probably a LOT of somethings we have not seen.

[DavidSh]

Now, this reminds me of the Orkney Ba' game I've read about, where the Uppies and the Doonies try to advance a ball through the streets of Kirkwall to their respective goals. But that would require competing mobs.

[Divayth Fyr]

Remember that the family isn't usually so small. If the Heterodyne dies, there will be a new Heterodyne.

It still is killing a Heterodyne. The Castle will want blood - I believe the novels have it kill the mother of Bill and Barry for murdering her husband, and at that point he had two Heterodynes available to take the seat. The Jaegers also won't be happy. And if such a thing happened even once, I'm sure the Generals would try to have someone following the Heterodyne just in case...

[Rogar Demonblud]

Saturnus' wife/widow was not a Heterodyne, just someone the Heterodyne deemed to be suitable breeding stock. Why would the Kessel care about her?

[Zazu Yen]

It still is killing a Heterodyne. The Castle will want blood - I believe the novels have it kill the mother of Bill and Barry for murdering her husband, and at that point he had two Heterodynes available to take the seat. The Jaegers also won't be happy. And if such a thing happened even once, I'm sure the Generals would try to have someone following the Heterodyne just in case...

Indeed, if a Heterodyne was ever actually killed by this ritual once the Castle and Jaegers were created they would not just let it happen again without taking precautions. But that might be some of what we're not seeing, those mobs might be swarming with hidden Jaegers.

I'd be very interested to see Agatha perform this ritual. Either she'd lead them all on a merry chase, toying with them like a good natured cat, then give them all presents...

OR she'd refuse to run and stare them all down, then go to the madness place and have them all building a death ray to carve chunks out of the moon by morning.

[Manga Shoggoth]

I'm pretty sure we have no idea what's really going on, because the Foglios have a track record of bamboozling us but good.

Indeed - not quite knowing what is round the corner has kept me on this comic for what, 20-odd graphic novels?. I'm really enjoying this little short.

[Shining Wrath]

The castle did say "prize to the group that catches you". Catch implies grabbing and keeping, not ripping limb from limb or murdering. "Implies", of course, is not something I'd feel comfortable betting my life on, but aside from the plot armor and being married to a Jager's grandson, it appears that the townsfolk compete to catch the Heterodyne stand-in, and then a ritual is performed.

The ritual can't be too important to the safety of the town. I doubt the Professora is going to be preventing Ultimate Evil from breaking through the walls of reality or anything of that nature. It may be more humiliating than dangerous.

[Traab]

I dunno, we still had that one image of whichever heterodyne it was with a black eye after the night was past. Seems like there might be a brawl of some sort if they get caught. But yeah, at this point there are so many things that could be involved in this that im about dont trying to guess. i will wait for the denouement. (I love that word, rarely get to use it)

[Divayth Fyr]

The castle did say "prize to the group that catches you". Catch implies grabbing and keeping, not ripping limb from limb or murdering. "Implies", of course, is not something I'd feel comfortable betting my life on, but aside from the plot armor and being married to a Jager's grandson, it appears that the townsfolk compete to catch the Heterodyne stand-in, and then a ritual is performed.

While I agree, I have to note that aside from it being only an implication, I wouldn't trust the Castle to tell the whole truth. Even moreso since it doesn't know what will happen ;)

Saturnus' wife/widow was not a Heterodyne, just someone the Heterodyne deemed to be suitable breeding stock. Why would the Kessel care about her?

At that point the Castle only cared about punishing her for the killing of a Heterodyne - which is exactly the same scenario the townsfolk would be if a Heterodyne died in the Saturnalia. Someone would die for that. Knowing the Castle, probably more than one someone, and likely in a painful manner.