Girl Genius

If Brother Ulm has indeed been critically injured, and the Beast is now freshly lobotomised, then why would they need any special prosthetics for him? Just fix it up and install his head.

Crazy perhaps but appealing all the same.

Well, if that doesn't work, there's always Lady Selnikov's body...

Or they could install Chewie's brain in the lady's body. I suspect it would find that highly annoying.

Hmm... I agree with the bear. It's too easy. What if this was some sort of limiter instead and they're being tricked into removing it by the train, and removing it produces an even nastier clank? Something unexpected is going to happen.

edited 23rd Mar '15 1:22:13 PM by JerryC

"something unexpected is going to happen"

That is the one consistency in Girl Genius. Unexpected is the watchword. That's what makes getting Moxana points so much fun.

And so hard!

With the continuous "What if" packages we are getting it is a fun game to play Moxana...

But as usual the REM monitor seems to be linked on me sleeping again.

Chewy would give Agatha much needed speed and mobility. It would make it plain that she remains a force to reckoned with even when cut off from Mechanicsburg —- and hints that the monks are covertly aligned with her against Martellus.

These are very strong cards, and not to be thrown away lightly.

Not to be thrown away lightly by Agatha, to be sure, but perhaps heavily when weighed against whether she can persuade Chewie not to eat her destination, and convince the people at her destination that Chewie won't eat it. (Or against how long it would take to rebuild the magnetic generators, perhaps. She already has a few problems whose solutions are delayed by the combination of short time and technical intractability, but then, fixing Chewie would play to her strengths.)

Thrown away lightly by the Foglios, though? I'm not sure I'd bet against it. They took Mechanicsburg and Castle Heterodyne away from her, and she spent a lot longer trying to get those. (She'll probably get them back eventually, but still.) This could be a case where risks or circumstances take the Cool Thing away before even one battle on Agatha's side, instead of after, depending on what kind of tone they want to establish for the second stretch of the story. Or, as with the Castle or the Battle Circus, she could finish it up in time for one good climactic incident.

But I'm hoping it joins the party after a good argument, and what we're seeing is a set of reversals on the way to the development basically everybody saw signaled when Ulm said "The Heterodynes take care of their own!"

In plot terms, she has to get to Paris somehow, and a repaired Beast is still the best option for that.

This is a fair point. Not the only one — I was about to say that surely somebody could spare an airship — but frankly I think being offered transportation by either Gil or Martellus would strongly motivate Agatha to provide herself with her own vehicle, even if it's a massive magnetic brat.

Frankly, if something connected to this entire plot-arc doesnt end up affecting the main story somehow, I'm going to be very exasperated.

Oh, I don't think there's any question about that. At a bare minimum the Van Rijn notes and the as-yet-unexplained Key are going to be important.

But we could have gotten that without fighting the Beast.

De Marquis: "Frankly, if something connected to this entire plot-arc doesnt end up affecting the main story somehow, I'm going to be very exasperated."

It's been a year since Agatha boarded the train to Paris. http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20140303 Ten months since the time wardens began closing in on Mechanicsburg. http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20140611

Comic book time can be glacial.

But this far into the story, I think it is time to pick up the pace and stay on track, if you can forgive the pun.

Auntie Margolotta has served her purpose.

Introducing Chewy simply to destroy him makes no sense.

Leaving Konig and his bears to the tender mercies of Martellus and Klaus-in-Gil makes no sense either.

It is time for Agatha & Company to get out of Dodge.

Is it possible that Chewie's consciousness takes over Brother Ulm—or that bear?

I had the idea of sticking Chewie's brain in a different train...

...then I had the image of the brain in a toy train...

...then I had the image of the baby bat meme that goes, "Let me sleep! I am the night!"

My brain is weird.

Well no update yet so I can guess that the REM monitor is back on business. Since I'm sure as hell I'm under that surveillance that means I'll go to bed in 5 minutes so you get the comic in 30 saying tops...

New Comic. Gil finally shows up; be interesting to see who it is he's talking to. Also nice to see more of the Depot-Fortress layout.

"What's going on down there?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

Well, the easy money's on Du Pree. If it weren't for the fact that she was last seen departing, I would say "that Heterodyne girl of yours" has the dismissive pomp of a von Blitzengaard. Any takers for Higgs? ;)

edited 25th Mar '15 12:21:10 AM by mona.soyun

Seffie's my second choice, but I'm going with Bang. Which is what I think you were trying to say.

edited 25th Mar '15 12:39:38 AM by Pyrite

Yeah, probably DuPree, but definitely not Higgs; he's spent enough time actually around Agatha that he wouldn't call her that, and he's still hanging out with Vole. And another question of course is How huge of an airfleet Gil's brought with him..

edited 25th Mar '15 12:37:42 AM by Geoduck

I'm going for Seffie. I don't think I've ever heard bang "tch".

Not Higgs. Not Bohrlaikha, Seffie is supposed to deliver diplomatic missives and nobody said 'Herr Baron'. I go with Bang, despite the 'tch'.

And Gil is a little aggravated from the bubble shape, so he might arrive sparked out.

edited 25th Mar '15 5:14:13 AM by blauregen