Girl Genius

The secret door is weird but it was, I think, above average head level in a hard-to-climb wall, fairly small, and got opened from the other side... so possibly it was just really well disguised and/or can't be opened from within the oubliette. Although I'm still not sure why the Sturmvorauses would want one, unless whoever commissioned it (or whoever commissioned the door, anyway) thought they might eventually get chucked in there and need rescuing. *pause* OK, considering the family....

And you have a point there, Maxim seems to be the one with the most background on the Sturmvorauses and... is... lounging in the oubliette and complimenting its design.

edited 13th Apr '13 10:34:29 AM by PK

So, if a direct confrontation between Agatha and Klaus is coming up, then I expect it to be epic. After all, Klaus chasing Agatha has been the plot driver since volume 1, and in-universe, the reason why Agatha had to leave her home and go running to Mechanicsburg to begin with. Both have goals that they believe can only achieve by overcoming the other person (Klaus wants to stop Lu, Agatha wants to live a more or less normal life). Plus, they have a competing interest in Gil. So this should end up becoming the culmination of a lot of conflicts, both internal and inter-personal.

Or not, I'm wrong way more often than I'm right.

I think that if we had a resolution between Agatha and Klaus at this point in the story, it would mean the tale is far more nearly told than being at just the halfway point. There may be an epic conflict coming up but each will escape the other so the arc can continue and the story go on.

Nooo. I have to disagree Ol' Bear, there's still much to be done to make people safe from the Other, enough to drive even a longer tale than we've seen so far.

I agree. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Klaus is about to die.

This is a Sturmvoraus oubliette. Like a Vetinary prison (built with the hinges and locks on the inside) it will have a cleverly thought out escape option. Putting the tunnel above shoulder height pretty much ensures people who you wish to have *remain* in the oubliette don't figure out the option most of the time. It's amazing how slow people are to look for exits where exits ought not be. And in the meantime you've got a way to clean out the oubliette once a prisoner has ceased residing in it while still occupying it. An oubliette you can't clean out isn't sanitary, and you know just from looking at that overbuilt sewer system that the Sturmvoraus family cares about good sanitation.

Well, somebody was neglecting their job, then. There was a pile of previous visitors still there.

Good staff is so hard to find these days. (grin)

The horse elevates Tweedle above the others.

Agatha has left her staff behind and quite deliberately chosen to remain on the same level as the townsfolk cheering her on.

No arms. No armor.

That is how many will remember her from the coffee shop.

The true heir to Bill and Barry.

It is a powerfully symbolic act and Tweedle hasn't the wit to see it.

Agreed. "I'm a Mechanicsburger and your Heterodyne: I get my hands dirty looking after the place" vs "I rule over you from on high and look clean, but make you pick up the mess my horse makes".

Oh, I think he sees it. And I think this is the alternate image he was trying to corner her into in both this and the second-page-back. The triumphant hero with the bride he has won...and often stolen. If Agatha had suckered for *his* chosen triumphal image, she'd be war loot. If he gets down, he's accepted her terms at her bidding on her turf. He knows it, which is why he resists.

edited 13th Apr '13 3:07:38 PM by Hippogrif

Ah, that is a good explanation for his attachment to his horse.

Yes. He's not a complete and total idiot.

Hmm, I think it's more than that. His expression when she suggested that he get off and walk wasnt calculating, it was nervous.

Also, and epic confrontation between Agatha and Klaus doesnt imply the end of the story, just a transition to another story arc.

I have no objection to there being more reasons to cling to the horse. I still rather like the idea of it being a Sparky horse so he can abduct her if necessary...and escape if necessary. And...going by Tarvek's reactions, it may not be safe to be The Storm King in Mechanicsberg. Unless they decide they like you and you save Jorgi and are good to Weasels and help the Lady.

And, no: a confrontation and even partial resolution between Agatha and Klaus does not end the story. It does change it...

I can see so many ways to go with this crux. And I can see a Klaus torn in two directions: He's the Other Other's captive, and so is Gil. But Agatha's still the Other, too...somewhat.

Do you stick with the devil you know, or the devil you don't know? Who do you trust, and how do you trust them?

edited 13th Apr '13 3:34:14 PM by Hippogrif

I cannot see the image you linked, although I think I can guess the theme. That makes a lot of sense.

@De Marquis: I agree that it should be epic, although the conflicts have grown steadily more complicated. (For one thing, at the moment, Klaus really should be aware that defeating Agatha won't actually help with the Lucrezia issue, but the way he found out by its nature prevents him from being free to act on that information.) Edit: And yes, there should be a change resulting from it. New story arc makes sense.

@Ol Bear: The Foglios have hinted that there's a stopping point or "jumping on point" coming up somewhere, which seems to imply that something needs to be resolved — although it may just be Agatha being solidly entrenched in Mechanicsburg (as a base to visit the various other promised locations, of course). I don't think resolving things with Klaus would wrap up the plot, although reconciling with him somehow would probably require a commensurately awful setup for the conflict carrying through the end of the story. I'm... pretty sure Lu could provide that, though.

@Lightningnettle: Definitely.

@Geoduck: I hope you're wrong. It is a possibility, but there's also potentially a lot left to do with him.

edited 13th Apr '13 3:34:29 PM by PK

I couldn't see it either, guess you have to be on facebook.

Maybe that's another reason he's clinging to his script so hard — if he was called in to save Agatha Mechanicsburg might give him a pass on being the Storm King. If Agatha makes it clear she never wanted him there and considers him a problem...

edited 13th Apr '13 3:35:19 PM by khil

Try looking here. Cover of book: Russian Hero on Flying Horse with His Bride/Tsaritsa.

On Klaus, Agatha, and Lunevka: I... really don't think it's plausible for Klaus to choose to trust a known, full-fledged Lucrezia-the-Other who's already positioning herself to take advantage of everything he's done so far at all. She turns nearly every strength he's built up into a liability. It might be difficult for him to trust Agatha and potentially impossible for him to act on it, but this is a situation where it would take a whole lot to be worse than the devil he knows.

Ah, thanks.

With the Russian fairytale tropes, it occurred to me the Jägers are probably the animal companions. Dangerous creatures found in need of help, by both Agatha and Tarvek. Although Vole breaks the pattern by being harnessed rather than helped by Gil.

edited 13th Apr '13 3:52:53 PM by khil

Krosp. Jaegers. Weasels. They've got plenty of "Animal Companions," but Krosp is most obviously "The Classic Russian Fairy Tale Animal Companion."

Krosp is Puss in Boots minus the boots, it's even lampshaded *g*

"Puss" appears in many incarnations, and he's in Russia, too. I will leave googling for images "as an exercise for the reader."

I don't care about images, but it would be nice if you gave me the title of the fairytale so I can see how close it is.

I'm rather fond of the version where the cat is a princess, but that's Norwegian...