Girl Genius XXII: Paris Needs Pants

[Onyavar]

I don't think that this super-sparkiness is a whole different level (like normal and super sajajin), it's probably as graded as sparkiness itself. We know that Luheia was a super spark, there were speculations that the original Other had been, too. I have no idea where Klaus has been before he returned - do super sparks need to be female, and/or know the secret of immortality? If not, any really strong spark can be counted as super spark, thus including the Master, Klaus, van Rijn, the Storm King, Faustus...

Also, it's possible that there is a reason that Infinity-peekers needed the mirrors. What if they get addicted to the substance that enables them, e.g. Dyne water? In that case, Albia cant move around because she needs regular Infinity highs, fresh from her source.
As a scientific genius, she could tame that addiction to the point where she controls it instead of overdosing.

Also, who else has that kind of longevity with hardly ever aging? Right, the Jägers, who drank a special concoction of Dyne water.

It's definitely been said that female Sparks tend to 'disappear', and implied this was due to the activities of the Knights of Jove and the Other trying to find a new host.

The former statement was before the circus arc afair, but when was the latter implication? I always thought witch hunts and rural discrimination were the reason. We have seen many female sparks (Paris, Circus, Castle W.) in " civilized" areas, although probably still tragically less than male ones (didn't do a headcount).

Okay, old man valois did these experiments in that chamber, but that cant be the sole reason for the Lack of female Sparks .

[Rogar Demonblud]

Old man Valois? Do you mean Aaronev Sturmvoraus, Tarvek's father?

Anyway, the lowdown was revealed somewhere in the Sturmhalten arc. Lucrezia in Agatha even scolded them for having the machine put together wrong.

[Rockphed]

What female Sparks are we aware of at the moment? Agatha, Lucy, Sleipnir, Albia, Collette, and a few of the ladies from Payne's circus come to mind. There are a lot of extremely capable women in the series that do not appear to be Sparks, ranging from Zeetha and Violetta to Lanara and Bang, however...

I'm pretty sure Sleipnir is not a spark.

[SZbNAhL]

I'm pretty sure Sleipnir is not a spark.

I'm sure we saw her enter the madness place somewhere in Castle Heterodyne, but I can't seem to find the page. I did find reference to her father being the ruler of "Little Ireland", and therefore presumably sparky, but we've seen non-sparky children of sparks before.

Edit: Found it. Turns out she wasn't in the madness place after all. Just ignore this entire post.

[tonberrian]

Wiki says she's not a spark, which is probably elaborated in the novel (I haven't read any tho).

[Ellen]

So, is "garden" metaphorical, referring to England or something, or is Agatha in danger of being turned into a plant?

[Douglas]

So, is "garden" metaphorical, referring to England or something, or is Agatha in danger of being turned into a plant?

Either way, I get the feeling Albia doesn't intend to let her leave.

[Grif]

Ah yes, the Hotel California vibes just keeps getting stronger.

[The Glyphstone]

There's the sinister Albia we were waiting for.

[Rogar Demonblud]

So, is "garden" metaphorical, referring to England or something, or is Agatha in danger of being turned into a plant?

"Garden" is also a set piece or tableau. It sounds like Agatha's going to become part of the furniture. Or maybe statuary.

Albia, make peace with your deity. Screwing with the Heterodyne does not end well.

[gooddragon1]

Dun dun dunnn...

[Kantaki]

And paranoia confirmed.

I guess this means when Agatha's presence brings down this ruler she'll do it on purpose.

[PraetorDragoon]

And paranoia confirmed.

I guess this means when Agatha's presence brings down this ruler she'll do it on purpose.

You mean purposefully accidential?

And to the surprise of nobody Albia has a sinister side. How surprising.

[guttering flame]

How long until the page's coloured?

[Traab]

Sounds like she is going for the soft sell at least. Find reasons to make them all want to stay. Romance, science, whatever works. Though I have to wonder how fast that will change when agatha either gets what she needs or notices the trap closing in.

[HandofShadows]

How long until the page's coloured?

Up now for me.

She looks even more sinister in color. Also I had a bad thought. What if the Knight of Jove aren't the only reason female sparks vanish? Notice that while the Brits talk about Princesses they have yet to mention a Prince? And she did she just compared men (I think Gil and Tarvek) to weeds? I have a feeling that before this is all over the whole crew is going to be working together and Wooster's worst fears (and more) will manifest.

[eee]

This actually is much better than I feared. I feared we'd get a time-stop scene between Albia and Madwa in which the latter revealed she'd used the Lantern to circumvent all of the Queen's security and Wasp her, and Her Undying Majesty was now the slave of the Other. And Agatha, Gil, and Tarvek were just being strung along until they could all be gathered in one place and snuffed with no chance of escape. After which everyone in England would be Wasped as well, and the Other would have won. Compared to THAT, sinister Albia is something of a relief...

Either way, I get the feeling Albia doesn't intend to let her leave.

Trelawney's comment to Gil and Tarvek that she might not go back with them might foreshadow this. She might know her Queen well enough to know she wouldn't willingly let Agatha go...

[Onyavar]

I'm pretty sure Sleipnir is not a spark.

Sleipnir pretends it rather well, but I couldn't find her with a mad bubble, either. It seems as if she's just excited about all things adventurous and scientifical. Until now, I thought she has broken through already. I don't exactly know her current whereabouts - is she's still in Mechanicsburg, or have we seen her and Theo in Paris?

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Sleipnir pretends it rather well, but I couldn't find her with a mad bubble, either. It seems as if she's just excited about all things adventurous and scientifical.

Getting excited about sparky stuff is not an indication of sparkiness - remember, the entire town of Mechanisburg evolved that particular characteristic. Yes, sparks do also get excited, but it is not just them.

GW

[Rogar Demonblud]

I don't exactly know her current whereabouts - is she's still in Mechanicsburg, or have we seen her and Theo in Paris?

Last shown location was in Mechanicsburg shortly before Klaus dropped in.

Edit: Heh, if the bubble lasts long enough Agatha will be the older cousin.

[Calemyr]

Hmmmm... That's less encouraging...

That said, I wouldn't dismiss her as a villain just yet. The Foglios don't do simple morality. Remember that the most unambiguously "good" guys that have been active in the strip are a tyranical despot and a lunatic hell-bent on genocide.

Judging from the story so far, I don't think she's talking about turning Agatha into a garden gnome. It's quite possible that she uses the term "garden" as "a venue for fostering directed and purposeful growth". Namely taking this "diamond in the rough" that she's gushing about and turning it into something special. Likely with selfish motivations, certainly, but those could range from using her as an organic super-computer, a source of Dyne-like Infinity juice, an asset to her nation, or simply a fellow goddess after ages without a peer.

Whatever happens here, however, Agatha cannot be allowed to have safe harbor for long. Whether pursuing a new lead, escaping the queen, or fleeing the rubble of another kingdom to fall apart around her, Agatha will need to be pushed back out onto the road after a book or two. So her being a unilaterally sweet old monarch wasn't exactly ever in the cards.

[SZbNAhL]

TThe most unambiguously "good" guys that have been active in the strip are a tyrannical despot and a lunatic hell-bent on genocide.

What about (in no particular order) the Heterodyne Boys, Punch and Judy, the Brothers Hoffman, Zeetha, Theo, Master Payne, most of the Corbetites, Colette and Master of Paris Senior?

[petersohn]

Hey guys, it's page 49.

Girl Genius XXIII: A Lovely Addition to our Garden

[Calemyr]

What about (in no particular order) the Heterodyne Boys, Punch and Judy, the Brothers Hoffman, Zeetha, Theo, Master Payne, most of the Corbetites, Colette and Master of Paris Senior?

The main point of contention here, I imagine, is a caveat I should have mentioned. To my mind, loyalty to one's own side is not "good". Most everything the Knights of Jove do is rooted in loyalty to their side. Klaus isn't in the game for himself, he's in it because too many people will suffer if he doesn't act. Othar isn't adventuring because it buries him in praise and affectionate villainesses and fangirls, he's doing it because he absolutely, genuinely feels that all Sparks are destructive and no true peace can be obtained while any Spark (himself included) yet lives. Both give their lives to the fire for ideals larger than them and theirs.

Most everyone you mention here acts out of primarily selfish interests, either in service to themselves (such as Jim Hoffman) or their friends (like Zeetha) or out of loyalty to their side (such as Aldin Hoffman). The Masters of Paris are motivated by love of their city, while Klaus extends his responsibility to everyone not otherwise under the care of a sensible ruler.

The Heterodyne Boys are would be something of an exception if it weren't for two details. First, they aren't "active", and in fact are entirely why I included that word in the description to begin with. More importantly, however, we don't know them. We've got their reputation and glowing second hand reports, yes, but we've got that for Othar and we still see he's a far more complicated character than a paladin in a sweater. We've also seen a few suggestions that there was more going on with the brothers than publicly known. We simply don't know enough about them to use them as exemplars of anything, really.

But that's mostly just grasping at straws and needless self-justification that fails to address the point of the original statement. The point is that the Foglios don't do simple, and it is premature to assume Albia is a villain.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Hey guys, it's page 49.

Girl Genius XXIII: A Lovely Addition to our Garden

My vote is still with

Girl Genius 23: The lack of screaming, ranting, and egregious violence is duly noted

[Manga Shoggoth]

Hey guys, it's page 49.

Girl Genius XXIII: A Lovely Addition to our Garden

My vote is still with

Girl Genius 23: The lack of screaming, ranting, and egregious violence is duly noted

I can't choose! I MUST HAVE THEM BOTH!!!!

I sigh, and vote for Girl Genius 23: The lack of screaming, ranting, and egregious violence is duly noted, but preferably with Roman Numerals.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

I can't choose! I MUST HAVE THEM BOTH!!!!

I sigh, and vote for Girl Genius 23: The lack of screaming, ranting, and egregious violence is duly noted, but preferably with Roman Numerals.

It doesn't fit with roman numerals - it'd be two characters too long. Sorry.

GW

[Rogar Demonblud]

Besides, we're getting to the point that the roman numerals are longer than most words.

[Lethologica]

I'm still for the, ah, shortened title:
Girl Genius XXIII: Screaming, Ranting, and Egregious Violence

[Xianthe]

It doesn't fit with roman numerals - it'd be two characters too long. Sorry.

GW

Replace the "and" with an "&" maybe?