Girl Genius XXIX: A giant corkboard of continuity madness

[Agi Hammerthief]

send the cat out [...]

That one is funny.

[Shining Wrath]

That one is funny.

Setting aside that Martellus has literally bet his life on the willingness of a cat to come when called, this is a talking cat, and one that seems to acknowledge him.

[Manga Shoggoth]

Also, for a new thread title suggestion from this strip (even though it is early)

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The Mutual Carnage, Shanty and Rum Society

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Duly noted.

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The last we saw of Tweedle was him trying to talk Seffie into staying with Albia. We didn't see how that turned out, but I reckon his plan is to tag along with Gil and Tarvek, with the possibility of offing one or both at the appropriate time.

After all, as rivals to his power they need to be dealt with urgently, while he can work on getting Agatha at any time (and may believe that will be easier once they are out of the picture). The thing against it is his stated "I would give up all my power if it meant taking out The Other". He may actually be going in with a genuine aim of helping.

It also occurs to me that as one of Vapnoople's students, he may actually know what is at the heart of the Cursed Waters that the Deepdwellers fear. And would prefer not to be there.

[PraetorDragoon]

Awww, the Fighting girls tea and cake society is going through a schism.

They need to bury the hatchet and found the Fighting Girls Tea, Cake, Rum, Shanty & Mutual Carnage Society.

[Traab]

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Duly noted.

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The last we saw of Tweedle was him trying to talk Seffie into staying with Albia. We didn't see how that turned out, but I reckon his plan is to tag along with Gil and Tarvek, with the possibility of offing one or both at the appropriate time.

After all, as rivals to his power they need to be dealt with urgently, while he can work on getting Agatha at any time (and may believe that will be easier once they are out of the picture). The thing against it is his stated "I would give up all my power if it meant taking out The Other". He may actually be going in with a genuine aim of helping.

It also occurs to me that as one of Vapnoople's students, he may actually know what is at the heart of the Cursed Waters that the Deepdwellers fear. And would prefer not to be there.

Its entirely possible he is acting as a king should. "His" kingdom is under attack, and as king he needs to lead an army to protect it. He takes such things very seriously. Its honestly a redeeming quality of his. Remember when he was fighting the zombie storm king and personally put down every member of his guard who got turned? He is a smug manipulative jack*&%$ but he isnt playing when he calls himself king. Its not all sitting on his throne demanding all the plebes bow before him. Its a sacred duty that he intends to fulfill properly.

[slayerx]

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Duly noted.

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The last we saw of Tweedle was him trying to talk Seffie into staying with Albia. We didn't see how that turned out, but I reckon his plan is to tag along with Gil and Tarvek, with the possibility of offing one or both at the appropriate time.

After all, as rivals to his power they need to be dealt with urgently, while he can work on getting Agatha at any time (and may believe that will be easier once they are out of the picture). The thing against it is his stated "I would give up all my power if it meant taking out The Other". He may actually be going in with a genuine aim of helping.

It also occurs to me that as one of Vapnoople's students, he may actually know what is at the heart of the Cursed Waters that the Deepdwellers fear. And would prefer not to be there.

I think if Martellus wanted to go with Gil and Tarvek he would have said he was doing so. He very specifically made it seem like he was going with Agatha and hid the fact that he did not need her anymore; Heck even seffie doesn't seem to know he's not going with Agatha.

I think the important detail here is that while Agatha knows Matrellus has left England, Gil and Tarvek do not. Martellus will be free to do whatever he wants in Europe without Gil or Tarvek being able to counter him. For instance while Gil and the polar lords fight, Martellus could prepare an army to take on the victor. He could also just be working to unite Europa under his rule while Gil is too busy protecting eruopa to do anything about it. Its possible He hasn't actually left England and could be doing something there, which would be even more impressive than simply sneaking out unnoticed. We know that one of Martellus's main concerns is securing his legitamcy

Frankly I don't give Martellus credit to being a good king. He knows how to fight, he does have some noble standards(like with how he treats his men) and he can lead people, but it Seems he's more interested in the title than doing anything actually good with it

[Kantaki]

They need to bury the hatchet and found the Fighting Girls Tea, Cake, Rum, Shanty & Mutual Carnage Society.

Preferably in Tweedle's skull.

Frankly I don't give Martellus credit to being a good king. He knows how to fight, he does have some noble standards(like with how he treats his men) and he can lead people, but it Seems he's more interested in the title than doing anything actually good with it

Who said anything about doing good?
Being a good king has nothing to do with that.
Martellus has many qualities that make for a good king.
Or a terrific villain, depending where you stand.
He just wouldn't be a Good King.

[Mechalich]

Who said anything about doing good?
Being a good king has nothing to do with that.
Martellus has many qualities that make for a good king.
Or a terrific villain, depending where you stand.
He just wouldn't be a Good King.

Martellus has a fairly ideal set of qualities to serve as a conqueror. He's got exactly the right combination of charisma, ego, ruthlessness, and drive to try and relentlessly pound Europa into a united state. He'd be the perfect person to unite the continent and then immediately die, leaving a more capable heir in place to take over the actual duties of ruling.

Now, the question of whether or not uniting Europa, and especially uniting it by the sword, is a worthwhile goal is complex, but it would appear that there is no other choice. If our heroes don't do it, the Other will. Martellus is an important character because he's the only member of the main cast who actually wants to be in charge. Agatha and Gil want to spend the rest of their lives in the lab, while Tarvek is motivated primarily by trying to insure the safety of the people he personally cares about. Even Klaus hated running an Empire.

I can imagine an idealized victory scenario where Martellus becomes the Storm King and unites Europa only to immediately appoint Tarvek Prime Minister and then ride off on a giant Fenris-wolf construct to 'hunt the Other across time itself!'

[Traab]

Martellus has a fairly ideal set of qualities to serve as a conqueror. He's got exactly the right combination of charisma, ego, ruthlessness, and drive to try and relentlessly pound Europa into a united state. He'd be the perfect person to unite the continent and then immediately die, leaving a more capable heir in place to take over the actual duties of ruling.

Now, the question of whether or not uniting Europa, and especially uniting it by the sword, is a worthwhile goal is complex, but it would appear that there is no other choice. If our heroes don't do it, the Other will. Martellus is an important character because he's the only member of the main cast who actually wants to be in charge. Agatha and Gil want to spend the rest of their lives in the lab, while Tarvek is motivated primarily by trying to insure the safety of the people he personally cares about. Even Klaus hated running an Empire.

I can imagine an idealized victory scenario where Martellus becomes the Storm King and unites Europa only to immediately appoint Tarvek Prime Minister and then ride off on a giant Fenris-wolf construct to 'hunt the Other across time itself!'

See, I dont think of him that way. He strikes me as the type of person who is good at being king, not a "good and kind" king. He knows how to play the political game. he gathered allies, he took control of his family after they thought him dead in the time travel thing, he made deals and recognizes the political reality of the area. He also has the honor to do his duty, he doesnt treat it as a game but as serious business. He also hasnt shown much interest in the panoply of being king unless it serves a purpose in establishing himself such as at paris. He clearly inspires loyalty in his followers and also reciprocates as we saw with the zombie incident. not only were his men eager to fight and die for him, he took responsibility for what happened and put them down so they would no longer be abominations against nature and memorialized them as he struck them down. He is a snake who will do whatever it takes to establish his control, but he also can be relied on to follow through with the important things because he knows if he casually backstabs people then nobody will willingly follow him. He knows how to be king, and he is doing exactly that.

[wingnutx]

Also, for a new thread title suggestion from this strip (even though it is early)

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The Mutual Carnage, Shanty and Rum Society

I like this one.

[Wayson]

I like this one.

It's got my vote as well.

[Manga Shoggoth]

I like this one.

It's got my vote as well.

At the moment I just record the choices, and we open voting towards the end of the thread.

Of course, I can start counting votes now as well if people feel that is appropriate - but as I recall the last time it was discussed the general aye was towards voting at the end.

EDIT: I don't put it past Martellus to be a good ruler when he is in power - a good ruler need not be a nice person (and in many cases being a nice person might be an active impediment to being a good ruler). The vast majority of Europa won't deal with him directly, so provided his policies make the continent prosper (or, pragmatically, become less worse) that's how he will be seen.

"Good ruler" is, of course, a historical perspective - the Baron's rule was looked on as a Golden Age less than two years after he lost power.

[Mechalich]

EDIT: I don't put it past Martellus to be a good ruler when he is in power - a good ruler need not be a nice person (and in many cases being a nice person might be an active impediment to being a good ruler). The vast majority of Europa won't deal with him directly, so provided his policies make the continent prosper (or, pragmatically, become less worse) that's how he will be seen.

The issue I see with Martellus as a ruler in peacetime is that he gets bored easily and tends to be impulsive. I really can't see him caring much about policy at all. Now, with the right subordinates that wouldn't necessarily matter - a ruler who hunts all day, shows up for the important symbolic events, and otherwise lets his ministers run things can be scarily effective so long as the personal hobbies don't get too costly (and Martellus' interests appear to be fairly lowbrow, so he's covered in that area). King Martellus with, say, Krosp as Prime Minister could be an epic tandem.

[Shining Wrath]

Martellus as ruler?
Pros: Charismatic, ruthless, a powerful Spark, wants the job, knows how to inspire loyalty.
Cons: Self-centered, murderous, sometimes profoundly stupid (he just bet his life on a cat coming when called, every time), not likely to be trusted by anyone who observes him for long and is not taken in by the charisma.
Both pro and con: Manipulative. He can get people to do what he wants, but they are likely to not get what they expect from the deal.

[Gez]

(he just bet his life on a cat coming when called, every time)

I have a cat who comes when called, every time.

To be fair, she's kind of an exception, none of my other cats have ever done that.

[slayerx]

(he just bet his life on a cat coming when called, every time)

I'm just wondering how long it will take until he finds out that he needs the cat more than the cat needs him... and he made the cat smart enough to figure that out for herself

[PoeticallyPsyco]

If Martellus has any sense at all, he's hard-coded a "come when called" imperative into her, probably a "maximum safe distance" limit, and maybe a timer just in case. There's no reason not to do that if you're already messing around with the brain. Honestly, it makes more sense that making her sentient was an afterthought, done because he was already messing around with the brain for those safety measures.

[InvisibleBison]

If Martellus has any sense at all

Given that he was in the madness place when he was working on the cat, that's a pretty big if.

[runeghost]

"Martellus insider" Norville looks both disheveled and hungry. Hopefully he won't be giving us a shaggy dog story.

[PraetorDragoon]

If Martellus has any sense at all

If he had any sense he wouldn't have used a cat as base.

[Agi Hammerthief]

If he had any sense he wouldn't have used a cat as base.

Since she doesn’t recognize Krosp as emperor anymore
maybe „Storm‘King‘“ Martellus managed to construct his first and only ever subject.

[Traab]

Well that was quick. At least gil and tarvek know he is in the wind and liable to turn up at the worst moment.

[Shining Wrath]

Heading for a family fortress? I wonder how many of those there are, and what influence Tarvek might have with at least one person in each of them. Someone to let him know there's been a Martellus sighting. And now we find out if Grandma has picked a side yet, and exactly what her plans for Zola might be.

Possible plot twist: Grandma wants Tarvek to marry Zola and set up the Storm King - "Heterodyne" fairy tale for the rubes. Tarvek will have none of that, so Grandma will switch to the Martellus / Zola pairing.

Agree that Norville looks sufficiently disreputable to be a spy.

[Manga Shoggoth]

...The blond lady looks especially annoyed.

OK. That's it. I'm doing it....

I hereby nominate "But it's Ladies Night!" as a thread title. I only wish I could insert the image as well.

The thing is, we don't yet know where Martellus is. It is even possible (but highly unlikley as they are too far away) that he has been snatched by Team Madwa.

[Scarlet Knight]

...The blond lady looks especially annoyed...

Of course! She was about to earn serious doubloons! Girl's gotta' eat!

[Shining Wrath]

...The blond lady looks especially annoyed.

OK. That's it. I'm doing it....

I hereby nominate "But it's Ladies Night!" as a thread title. I only wish I could insert the image as well.

The thing is, we don't yet know where Martellus is. It is even possible (but highly unlikley as they are too far away) that he has been snatched by Team Madwa.

But every night is Lady's Night with Agatha around!

Martellus is unlikely to be kidnapped by anyone. He's one hell of a fighter, probably has built-in antidotes or immunities against the usual poisons and the unusual ones, and grew up in a family where letting your guard down was fatal. Plus it would be insufficient "operatic", to use Bang's description, to be kidnapped without a scene.

The exception would be if Albia decided to add him to her collection, as she (A) has immense power and (B) has the resources of a nation at her disposal. Arguing against that is the diplomatic incident that would ensue if she were ever caught, and the fact that we don't have any known motivation besides "Hey. Powerful spark, kinda cute, let's keep him in the garden".

[PraetorDragoon]

Since she doesn’t recognize Krosp as emperor anymore
maybe „Storm‘King‘“ Martellus managed to construct his first and only ever subject.

By subject you mean Martellus himself? Between cat and human, we know who is really in charge.

[Shining Wrath]

By subject you mean Martellus himself? Between cat and human, we know who is really in charge.

The question as to which feline would be more arrogant - the one constructed by Tweedle, or the one constructed by Vapnoodle, I think it would be Krosp. Tweedle is full of himself, but Vapnoodle is full-on psychotic.

[PraetorDragoon]

The question as to which feline would be more arrogant - the one constructed by Tweedle, or the one constructed by Vapnoodle, I think it would be Krosp. Tweedle is full of himself, but Vapnoodle is full-on psychotic.

Tweedle of course.

I agree its Krosp. He considers him the Emperor of all Cats after all.

[Manga Shoggoth]

I'm not so sure. We know next to nothing about the Empress, but she has been arrogant and self-centered from the start, but at the moment has no actual utility except as a portable Agatha and possibly later a Krosp trap.

On the other hand, Krosp started out hiding in fear for his life, and has had to spend a great deal of time dealing with people. Krosp may be arrogant, but he does have something to be arrogant about, even if he and his skills are mostly played for laughs.