Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!

[Rockphed]

Considering Humungulous was an out of control destroyer before starting to work with the Corbetites it's rather appropriate for him to have a second home among Mechanicsburg.

I feel like Agatha learned from watching both the Corbetites and Klaus that giving monsters a job makes them much easier to contain.

[Shining Wrath]

I feel like Agatha learned from watching both the Corbetites and Klaus that giving monsters a job makes them much easier to contain.

The Monster's Guild may have been helpful in this regard as well. In Mechanicsburg, monsters sell trinkets in shops and so on. They are citizens of the community.

Recall Franz's send-off ritual with the von Mekkens; he's not just a big dumb monster that guards treasure, he's under the protection of the entire city and the Heterodyne family.

There's a fair amount of evidence that one of the best ways to fight real-world terrorism is to give young men jobs and wives. It directs all that energy into socially acceptable paths. Monsters are people, too!

[sihnfahl]

There's a fair amount of evidence that one of the best ways to fight real-world terrorism is to give young men jobs and wives.

That depends ... but that's a RL discussion I want to avoid.

It looks like the good prof expected Grand FLAME! and got a Bic lighter.

[BRC]

It looks like the good prof expected Grand FLAME! and got a Bic lighter.

The Iram Solus amplifies flame.

Even assuming that it works on a flamethrower instead of specficailyl Dragonfire, best case scenario for the good professor is that she has a super-flamethrower.

Against a town that has stood for centuries against armies led by all sorts of sparks, and which had almost certainly been warned "hey, a crazy lady with a super-flamethrower is going to try to burn down the town"

Probably got halfway through her rant before getting bonked on the head by a jaeger.

[Thomas Cardew]

Nah, she was at least an OK ranter. I'm pretty sure they'd at least wait to hear out the rant for entertainment's sake. It's not EVERY day the show comes to town on its own. Just every other week.

[Rockphed]

Nah, she was at least an OK ranter. I'm pretty sure they'd at least wait to hear out the rant for entertainment's sake. It's not EVERY day the show comes to town on its own. Just every other week.

Mechanicsburg appreciates a good rant. They'll still kill you afterwards, but they will hold fire until the rant finishes. A really good rant might even get them to let you get off the first shot.

[Shining Wrath]

It's all because your mama don't dance and your daddy doesn't rant and roll.

[Rockphed]

Question: Did Hydroargyros have the Iram Solis before the first time he attacked Mechanicsburg?

[Shining Wrath]

Question: Did Hydroargyros have the Iram Solis before the first time he attacked Mechanicsburg?

It wasn't shown in the flashback, and it seems there is a courtesy rule between dragons, as Franz didn't incinerate Hydroargyros with his (presumably full power) flame. Or maybe dragons are simply immune to each other's breath weapon, and the Iram Solis would only have been brought out once the dragon battle had been resolved.

Sudden thought: Franz is smarter than I gave him credit for. He suspected Hautwyrm would attack Mechanicsburg, and she did; now, presumably, the Iram Solis is the property of the Heterodynes. They may let Franz keep it, or it may be in the Castle, displayed as a trophy in the Hall of Really Stupid Attacks on Mechanicsburg. Point being, by letting Hautwyrm "escape" with the tool, he finessed Brother Marcus' claim on it without causing any strife.

Will the Corbetites show up and ask for it? Maybe; not his problem.

[Rockphed]

Sudden thought: Franz is smarter than I gave him credit for. He suspected Hautwyrm would attack Mechanicsburg, and she did; now, presumably, the Iram Solis is the property of the Heterodynes. They may let Franz keep it, or it may be in the Castle, displayed as a trophy in the Hall of Really Stupid Attacks on Mechanicsburg. Point being, by letting Hautwyrm "escape" with the tool, he finessed Brother Marcus' claim on it without causing any strife.

Will the Corbetites show up and ask for it? Maybe; not his problem.

I suspect that if the Corbetites ask for it Agatha will let them have it for a suitable price. Not too high so they feel taken advantage of, but not so low that they don't respect the offer. Agatha will defend what is hers and her retainers with fire and fury, but trophies of idiots attacking the town are dime a dozen.

[BRC]

Nah, she was at least an OK ranter. I'm pretty sure they'd at least wait to hear out the rant for entertainment's sake. It's not EVERY day the show comes to town on its own. Just every other week.

Maybe? Her Rant of choice seems pretty basic, her thesis is, what, "All Monsters must be destroyed"? That's pretty low-tier as rants go, and won't play well in Mechanisburg.

Sure, she might mix things up, throw in a "My Name will go down in history as the Greatest Monster Hunter Ever!" or go on about the new and exciting fashions she will create using the hides and bones of various famous Mechanisburg Monsters, which the Jaegers would certainly appreciate. Honestly, the best thing she could do is pull out a classic "Show Them All" and start going on about various academic rivals who dared to doubt her, and how once she's wiped this monstrosity of a town off the map she will burn each of them on a pyre made of their own insipid writings.

But from what we've seen of Professor Hautwyrm, letting her finish her rant would be more a matter of pity and courtesy than anything else.

[theangelJean]

Sudden thought: Franz is smarter than I gave him credit for. He suspected Hautwyrm would attack Mechanicsburg, and she did; now, presumably, the Iram Solis is the property of the Heterodynes. They may let Franz keep it, or it may be in the Castle, displayed as a trophy in the Hall of Really Stupid Attacks on Mechanicsburg. Point being, by letting Hautwyrm "escape" with the tool, he finessed Brother Marcus' claim on it without causing any strife.

Will the Corbetites show up and ask for it? Maybe; not his problem.

Did Franz actually want it in the first place? To him it was a tool, one he usually didn't need. He didn't actually hear about it until Hautwyrm called it for herself, did he?

I seem to recall the initial discussion between Brother Marcus and Vipsania being at least a little hush-hush. Then they told Franz the Corbettites were there to take anything dangerous - and he (grudgingly) agreed, because he was after books, and gold. When Hautwyrm brought it up, he said she would have to talk with Brother Marcus (and they were under duress by then, no actual agreement was struck). So I thought the main contention for the Iram Solis was between the Corbettites and Professor Hautwyrm.

Edit: If I'm right, in today's comic we might see the Iram Solis being handed over to the Corbettites. We have a happy ending for Franz, Vipsania and Lumi onscreen so far - Humungulous and Brother Marcus are friends, I suspect they'll get more than just an Easter egg.

[Divayth Fyr]

Edit: If I'm right, in today's comic we might see the Iram Solis being handed over to the Corbettites. We have a happy ending for Franz, Vipsania and Lumi onscreen so far - Humungulous and Brother Marcus are friends, I suspect they'll get more than just an Easter egg.

Well, the Sneaky Gate is up

Spoiler

Show

and even if it happens, won't be today.

[theangelJean]

Well, the Sneaky Gate is up

Spoiler

Show

and even if it happens, won't be today.

Comic is up now.

Spoiler: Today's comic

Show

Chekhov's treasure: the present Vipsania brought for Franz in the beginning.

[Shining Wrath]

Wait - am I to understand that Othar has been trapped inside a small clank? That does seem like an Agatha solution to a psychotic murderer that she is natheless fond of - trap him in one of her mini clanks and give him to Franz.

Or is it just a souvenir trinket that says "It is time for adventure!" like a Heterodyne trinket might say "It's a great day - for SCIENCE!"?

[Willie the Duck]

Wait - am I to understand that Othar has been trapped inside a small clank? That does seem like an Agatha solution to a psychotic murderer that she is natheless fond of - trap him in one of her mini clanks and give him to Franz.

Or is it just a souvenir trinket that says "It is time for adventure!" like a Heterodyne trinket might say "It's a great day - for SCIENCE!"?

See theangelJean's comment:

Comic is up now.

Spoiler: Today's comic

Show

Chekhov's treasure: the present Vipsania brought for Franz in the beginning.

[Rodin]

I thought Othar was actually in the chronometer as well, but I think it's just weirdly worded? For anybody else I'd say it's a bad turn of phrase referring to how Othar is missing and all that's left of him is the chronometer. But with all the time traveling stuff from Othar's Twitter account, I'm far more inclined to believe that Othar did wind up trapped inside a clock.

On the against side, I'd also be surprised if the Foglios revealed Othar's fate in a filler side story. The people we've seen in the side stories (other than Agatha herself) have generally been fairly minor characters who can safely be revealed to have survived.

[Rockphed]

WMG theory: Hydroargyros is somehow trapped in the clock.

[Shining Wrath]

So Vipsania believed the chronometer to have once been the property of Othar.
But Franz says that it is Othar, or at least, his voice.
Maybe this is Franz channeling Humongulous and reminding Vipsania of the fragility of flesh, that you too can die and be remembered only as a trinket.
Or that's all that's left of Othar - he is inside the chronometer, and his gears are wearing out.

[Grim Portent]

The 'running off to who knows where,' remark makes me think Othar vanished inexplicably at some point, presumably lost in time during an adventure, a reflection of the timeline of Twitter Othar.

The chronometer is presumably his watch and one of few surviving things he left behind, and as we know Othar loved his theatric heroism hence the watch only saying it's time for adventure.

[theangelJean]

I thought Othar was actually in the chronometer as well, but I think it's just weirdly worded? For anybody else I'd say it's a bad turn of phrase referring to how Othar is missing and all that's left of him is the chronometer. But with all the time traveling stuff from Othar's Twitter account, I'm far more inclined to believe that Othar did wind up trapped inside a clock.

On the against side, I'd also be surprised if the Foglios revealed Othar's fate in a filler side story. The people we've seen in the side stories (other than Agatha herself) have generally been fairly minor characters who can safely be revealed to have survived.

We've already seen Othar adventuring with Agatha in a story presumably set after the main story. If that's canon, then we can guess that Othar survives the main story. (I am not sure if it is, but if it isn't, then is this current story canon?)

[geoduck]

We've already seen Othar adventuring with Agatha in a story presumably set after the main story. If that's canon, then we can guess that Othar survives the main story. (I am not sure if it is, but if it isn't, then is this current story canon?)

All of those early side stories are depicted as radio plays being (re-)told by the Professors, and so any "facts" in them should be taken with at least a grain of salt.

[DavidSh]

Now, while Franz does have years more of sabbatical time left, and could head out again on adventure, I think this is a good point to end the story.

[Rodin]

Now, while Franz does have years more of sabbatical time left, and could head out again on adventure, I think this is a good point to end the story.

It sounds like they're going for a "the adventure continues!" ending.

Franz Scortchmaw will return!

In: Franz Scortchmaw and the the Lightless Temple: The Search for Othar!

[Shining Wrath]

Ah, the classic "poke the device until it suddenly works" trope.

I think we now know where Vipsania is going, and maybe Lumi will go with her.

I love the princess with the lizard god sock puppets, and there's lots of fun stuff in the map (Hills of Angst?).

[Grim Portent]

I do believe those puppets are the Winslow. Feels like it's been a while since he was referenced.

[Shining Wrath]

I do believe those puppets are the Winslow. Feels like it's been a while since he was referenced.

I think you're right, which means Serpent God = Winslow.

[Rockphed]

I think you're right, which means Serpent God = Winslow.

Lizard God. Which makes sense since the Winslow is the fuzzy lizard of love or some such.

[MPHJack7]

I think this is a good point to end the story.

I fully agree with you there, but the question is: do the Foglios think so too?

[Shining Wrath]

Lizard God. Which makes sense since the Winslow is the fuzzy lizard of love or some such.

Yeah, I got it right the first time.

Lizard God of Love seems like what Othar is experiencing there.