Girl Genius II

[Occasional Sage]

This sort of "tough but fair" approach is what makes him LN instead of LE - a LE person would have just incapacitated Agatha instead of trying to reason with her.

You're forgetting that trying to reason with her wasn't for her sake, or even for her family's memory. Klaus saw a potential use for Agatha, as a way to bring more of Europe under his control. See his rant about how even a mindless Heterodyne body would be useful to him. The subtext is, obviously, that an intact Heterodyne was what he really wanted for his schemes. That's not LN, that's LE.

Also, has anybody noticed the guys on the catwalk who look just like Othar?

[memnarch]

sneaky gate

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Ooo, what an interesting machine! Bet that we get to see who threw the boot either end of monday or on wednesday.

[Oracle_Hunter]

You're forgetting that trying to reason with her wasn't for her sake, or even for her family's memory. Klaus saw a potential use for Agatha, as a way to bring more of Europe under his control. See his rant about how even a mindless Heterodyne body would be useful to him. The subtext is, obviously, that an intact Heterodyne was what he really wanted for his schemes. That's not LN, that's LE.

Also, has anybody noticed the guys on the catwalk who look just like Othar?

But then why didn't he just drug her and chain her up? He doesn't want to hurt Agatha, but he worries about the chaos that could result were an untried Heterodyne heir were let loose in Europe. A mindless body could still serve his uses (were the original dead), but he does not prefer the mindless one.

A good way to work this out is to ask yourself: what does Klaus want?

A LE Klaus would care about preserving his power above all else, mainly through the maintenance of his tyranny.

A LN Klaus cares about the preservation of Order over Chaos above all else. If he must be ruthless, then so be it, but he does not prefer ruthlessness over kindness, or vice versa. The means are unimportant; Order must be maintained.

Which sounds most like Klaus Wulfenbach?

EDIT:
SNEAKY GATE

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That's no Devil Dog... that's a Hellcat!

Also: that had better be Theo; he'd seem like the kind of guy to throw a shoe

[VariaVespasa]

I only said there are arguments.

Will that be the 5 minute arguements, or the full half-hour?

[chionophile]

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Does anyone else get a "Dude, don't taunt the god-killing abomination" vibe from this one? I approve.

[slayerx]

Man, i wonder how big the normal non-fun sized devil dogs are

SNEAKY GATE

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That's no Devil Dog... that's a Hellcat!

Also: that had better be Theo; he'd seem like the kind of guy to throw a shoe

So we can confirm it's not gil because Gil would be throwing lightning =p

[memnarch]

Didn't his zappy stick quit working though?

[Oracle_Hunter]

Didn't his zappy stick quit working though?

The Primary beams, perhaps, but Gil seems to think the Secondaries are OK. And man, those Secondaries are plenty hot.

Also: what day is Talk Like a Lensman Day?

[datalaughing]

There is no indication that the smaller blast was a "secondary" system. He says, "What? No - my atmospheric concentrators are -" That last "-" indicates that he was cut off mid-sentence. He could have been trying to say that his atmospheric concentrators are the only thing protecting Mechanicsburg or his father from falling to an invasion of huge clanks. He could have been trying to say "My atmospheric concentrators are very important." or "Super cool" or "are all on fire."
In fact, the one thing that we can be almost certain that he was not trying to say is, "No, my lightning stick is not broken, my atmospheric concentrators are." Because then his statement would have been complete, and it would have ended with a "." instead of a "-"

[FoE]

Oooh. Devil dogs. Me want one.

Talk Like a Lensman Day? Huh? (Talk Like a Pirate Day is Sept. 19.)

[TigerHunter]

He could have been trying to say "My atmospheric concentrators are very important." or "Super cool" or "are all on fire."

For some reason, the idea of Gil using the term "super cool" cracks me up. Or maybe it's just in this context.

[Gez]

There is no indication that the smaller blast was a "secondary" system. He says, "What? No - my atmospheric concentrators are -" That last "-" indicates that he was cut off mid-sentence.

It was an answer to "your zappy stick is broken" and he said "what? no!"

When he used it on the fake nurse, the lightning did not come from the sky, but from the stick itself. The big lightning from the sky is what used those melty devices on the city walls.

[Oracle_Hunter]

Talk Like a Lensman Day? Huh? (Talk Like a Pirate Day is Sept. 19.)

Y'see, the Lensman Series was the Mother of all Space Operas ("Doc" Smith being the Father) and a major influence for New Wave Sci-Fi writers. This includes, by the way, Phil Foglio, who included some references to the series in Buck Godot.

One thing that made the Lensman Series so entertaining is that it had an evolving slang structure that permeated the books. Sayings like "have the sense of a Zabraskian fontema" were only used after the Zabraskian fontema was introduced in-story. The longer you read the the Lensman Series, the more you started to use the slang.

"Secondaries" and "Primaries" were categories of beam weapon in the later Lensman books - Secondaries being ridiculously powerful weapons already, but the Primaries were essentially single-shot x-ray lasers (xasers?) of ludicrous power. Furthermore, beam power was typically referred to as "heat" giving rise to the phrase "it doesn't have beams hot enough to light a match."

[dogmac]

Now try telling THAT dog you don't want it to sleep on your bed.

[Xel]

Nize pet! Although it does have a somewhat feline air about it. Good thing the official name focuses on the important aspects.

[Jade Falcon]

I had to catch up the last few strips ..

"Technically they´re called: fun-sized mobile agony and death dispensers."

holy crap, that line made my day

[datalaughing]

It was an answer to "your zappy stick is broken" and he said "what? no!"

What he said was, "Your zappy stick is broken? Then another attack would be a good thing."

"What? No" could easily be a response to the "another attack would be good" part. As in, "No, it's not good. My atmospheric concentrators are the only things protecting the city." Which would explain why Vole cuts him off and says, "You don't know anything." If he was saying that his stick wasn't broken the interruption would make absolutely no sense.

[Oracle_Hunter]

What he said was, "Your zappy stick is broken? Then another attack would be a good thing."

"What? No" could easily be a response to the "another attack would be good" part. As in, "No, it's not good. My atmospheric concentrators are the only things protecting the city." Which would explain why Vole cuts him off and says, "You don't know anything." If he was saying that his stick wasn't broken the interruption would make absolutely no sense.

Aside from the fact that Vole was obviously dismissing anything Gil had to say. See: Gil's Rant.

[Midnight Lurker]

The Primary beams, perhaps, but Gil seems to think the Secondaries are OK. And man, those Secondaries are plenty hot.

Also: what day is Talk Like a Lensman Day?

Holy Klono's uranium unit, Patrolman! EVERY day is Talk Like A Lensman Day in Civilization! Now engage those Bergs and clear ether!

[Maelore]

Is it just me or is the Fun Sized Mobile Agony and Death Dispenser laughing menacingly at them? Because if it is that is just too cool not only is it physically intimidating but can do its own villainous laughter for times the master isn't there to do it.

[Evil DM Mark3]

What kind of person throws shoes?

[Xel]

One who hasn't thought things through to the running part.

[Arioch]

I had to do this.

[FoE]

I had to do this.

And this court finds you not guilty for reasons of hilarity! (Also, insanity.)

[Morty]

Girl Genius strip slays? As if Dominic Deegan ones weren't crazy enough...

[Oracle_Hunter]

Girl Genius strip slays? As if Dominic Deegan ones weren't crazy enough...

Dude, Katja's been doing her own slays already

[Morty]

Dude, Katja's been doing her own slays already

Yeah, I forgot. Which doesn't stop anyone from making their own. I'd try, but I don't have enough twisted imagination for such work... unless you count this Master of Puppets strip slay for DD.

[PePe QuiCoSE]

See: Gil's Rant.

Back to the alignment discussion, i believe that most of the characters alignment in the story is actually a matter of interpretation. For example, the following strip to that one would imply (from Gil's perspective) that in the beginning Klaus actually tried to talk to people what was the best course of action (ala LG). Only after getting absolutely tired of going nowhere with that he retorted to sheer power to get order (LN). But, given the chance, he wants to work diplomatically (as referred to his offer to Lucrezia/Agatha). But, you can also think him as LE because when he think it's necessary he goes to any extreme to get what he wants (as seen with Othar in Castle Wulfenbach). Which of these actions/attitudes you think defines Klaus is how you'll perceive his alignment (which in turn depends on your understanding of the alignment system).

[FoE]

Dude, Katja's been doing her own slays already

You forgot one. It shows how Phil gets his inspiration.

[datalaughing]

I know who threw that boot!

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It was Shatner!

"My foot's cold."