Girl Genius

Oh, by the way, my prediction for the next strip or two is that they'll decide to use the poison Gil gave Moloch way back when on Tarvek.

After that, they'll jump to one of the other viewpoints.

Yes. When you consider what the dingbots did to Master Payne's circus, and the possibilities of Castle Heterodyne ... well, who knows where it could go.

As far as The Other being interested in any male that moves, I point out that we do NOT know that Lucrezia represented The Other when she married Bill. In fact, I suspect now that the attack on Castle Heterodyne came from within Lucrezia's lab, not unlike the invasion in the Dragon from Mars story. But that leaves open this question: why are the geisterdamen, who claim to be an ancient line, tuned to the Mongfish/Agatha voice?

Greybeard:

<<Yes. When you consider what the dingbots did to Master Payne's circus, and the possibilities of Castle Heterodyne ... well, who knows where it could go.>>

Yep. If nothing else I suspect it's going to lead to the Castle getting fixed a WHOLE LOT faster.

<<As far as The Other being interested in any male that moves, I point out that we do NOT know that Lucrezia represented The Other when she married Bill. In fact, I suspect now that the attack on Castle Heterodyne came from within Lucrezia's lab, not unlike the invasion in the Dragon from Mars story. But that leaves open this question: why are the geisterdamen, who claim to be an ancient line, tuned to the Mongfish/Agatha voice? >>

Timing makes it almost certain that Lucrezia was Othering at the time of Bill. The Other remembers Klaus. Quite vividly as I recall, up to and including shipping him to Parts Unknown (aka Skifander), which means the Other was operating in Lucrezia at the time of the proposal, much less the wedding.

edited 17th Aug '09 1:38:58 PM by Hippogrif

Just to be clear: I really don't know where they intend Gil and Tarvek to end up in regards to Agatha. I just think there's plenty of support now to believe they plan to explore that question pretty thoroughly, including the two-for-the-price-of-one option. It looks like more than just fan service if less than any massive amount of action. This being a low action comic in that sense.

Given how rarely we even manage to get Agatha kissed I am not expecting XX Xenophile work in GG in the foreseeable future.

Sigh...at least we get handsome hunks with bare chests and precariously fastened togas....

Heh, Gil had recovered Agatha's first Dingbot Prime and set it loose to fixing the castle. It's certainly not going to stop just because it finished what Gil demanded of it. And then there is the new Dingbot Prime and crew that Agatha herself has set to work. I submit that the scene refered to already represents a firing of that Checkhov's Machine Gun. There will be more. While the dingbots can't do structural repairs, fixing broken connections is certainly within their abilities.

edited 17th Aug '09 5:05:28 PM by LarryD

Larry D.:

Oh, thank goodness. I'm not the only one who came up with two Dingbot Primes, one with Gil (and later set free, free, free!!!!), and the other with Agatha.

I am still hoping that it's not an accidental detail. The idea of more than one Master Builder Dingbot pleases me. Or maybe Dingbot Prime did manage to make it back to Agatha and they just forgot to give us an establishing illo... (she said, retconning madly)

There are definatly two of them, now. Agatha winds up her new Dingbot Prime just before she sets it to work. This is after the page we've been discussing, which means that's, um, first Dingbot Prime which Gil wound up here. Note that he explicitly says he picked it up in Strumhalten.

Yeah. That was how I was counting it, but I kept wondering if I'd missed something.

So does this lead to Dingbot Love? Lord knows they already make little baby dingbots....

That's the scene we're wondering about, Larry D. While it may be one Chekhov's Gun going off, it's another one laying on the table in front of the fireplace: What does that mechanism Dingbot's repairing do, and why is there a sign on the wiring panel that says "Do N Rem"?

Obviously, that sign says "Do Not Remove" and it's most likely referring to the thing that Dingbot Prime is working on. It's not something that broke over time — that's been deliberately wired in. By who and why?

edited 17th Aug '09 7:47:28 PM by Madrugada

Considering what previously went on on that page, I'm assuming that first Dingbot Prime has just finished repairing the connection that the castle spoke of, probably by replacing the broken component (labeled "do not remove") with a dingbot of its construction.

To the mention of the castle being open to more than just two husbands: how 'bout this one?

I imagine the castle wants Gil for breeding purposes, while the others are to just become part of the harem.

Speaking of the various editions of Dingbot Prime, notice the extra functionality in her latest model.

But, as I asked, where is Tiktoffen? And where are his loyalties? Does he harbor some notion of killing the castle? He never wanted to before, but it has now taken notice of him. Or is he somehow loyal to Zola? Or just keeping an eye on her in her present, er, giftwrapped condition? Just because someone wore Hristo on his/her/their wrist before doesn't mean that he lacks ambition of his own. He is a spark, you know, and if there was any doubt, his demeanor while facing the Happy Fun Ball of Death should remove any doubt. (No wonder one of the Heterodynes was named Caligula.)

edited 17th Aug '09 10:45:50 PM by GreybeardFan

I think he's probably just behind them — like he is here. Or, she simply sent him off to continue fixing things. My guess is that he's staying close, but out of her way.

And given his relatively passionate arguments against killing it before, I don't see a reason that he'd change his attitude toward it now. I think that he's smart enough to realize that when he switched allegiance to Agatha within Der Kessel's hearing, that he's now safer than he's ever been before — unless he tries to doublecross her. Before, Der Kessel would have tried to kill him simply for being in the wrong place, but Agatha has made it quite clear that her minions are not to be harmed except on her direct orders. Granted, he's still in danger from the rogue parts of the castle, but they all are.

edited 17th Aug '09 11:02:17 PM by Madrugada

I don't know where Ticktoffen is, and I don't think I've got enough clues to venture a guess yet. I don't think he's loyal to Zola. My own guess would be that he's either one of the Baron's spies or one of the Council's. Could just as easily be playing his own game. Since he's the one to keep track of brownie points for the prisoners he's in a great position to assemble the in-Castle team he wants.

But right now he could simply be out of the line of sight.

I'm waiting for Gil and Agatha to get part way into killing Tarvek and reviving him, only to have Othar bomb in...and the plot jump track to Klaus or Zeetha and company, or who knows what. We're due for a plot jump right about now.

I sympathize, but I don't expect to learn much about Ticktoffen beyond whether he's still around or missing for the time being. I do sympathize.

The Castle appears to be cheerfully willing to accept any decent studs it can corral for Her Lady Heterodyne. (evil grin) I keep wondering if that "Seraglio of the Iron Sheik" book of Gil's is going to turn into ironic foreshadowing of his own fate or just an amusing red herring. It would be such fine poetic justice if his favorite drool material turned around and bit him. Either way the current thematic material leaves me amused at his little literary vices.

Wasn't it explicitly stated that Tinktoffen was the Baron's inside man in the castle? I think that was part of Agatha's briefing while she was getting changed right before she was brought inside. Regardless, I think Tinktoffen really just has a talent for recognizing which side can help him most and always playing for that team for exactly as long as it's profitable—and I think Agatha's team is looking far more profitable than any other for the forseeable future. What with the "amnesty" and "not being killed by the castle ten times over" things. Heck, if he makes himself useful enough he might even wind up continuing to serve her with a decent salary once everything settles, but if all he does is live to see the streets outside those gates again, he'll have come out very much ahead.

Whereas before, being the Baron's man got him the position of handing out jobs rather than doing them and being the one who all the reports flow to, which kept him alive for who knows how long, and when Zola's team asked him to help their cause he jumped on that since if successful they'd definitely grant him freedom and a good sum of money and if it went South he probably covered his tracks so that he could deny involvement. Soon as Agatha demonstrated she was winning, it's time to turn sides again.

Yep, you're right. Tiktoffen's believed to be the Baron's. Second frame from last. So if he's loyal he may be finding a way to get word out where Gil is and who he's with: one fake Heterodyne, one real Heterodyne, one Sturmvorous (sick), one Smoke Knight, and Moloch. And a Castle that's well on the way to recovery.

Klaus will not be a Happy, Happy Baron.

edited 18th Aug '09 1:09:08 AM by Hippogrif

It's also possible that, instead of repairing, the dingbots will actually make things worse. They do have a tendency to scavenge parts to make more of themselves. That panel always suggested to me that it was removing something vital ("Do Not Remove") in order to make the little dingbot we see it working on.

EDIT: Also, where is Wilhelm?

edited 18th Aug '09 9:53:48 AM by ccoa

I don't know. But I think that Moloch has pretty much forgotten about her. I think he was just starved for companionship. After all, he did lose his brother.

Yeah I'm pretty sure the dingbot was scavaging stuff it wasn't supposed to to make the dingbaby in that frame; "Do Not Remove" is the joke.

I'm basing a large part of my prediction as much on the castle's speech bubble in the final frame as in the "do not remove" sign: When Kaja puts a statement like "As long as nothing else goes wrong with my mechanisms." like that on that kind of image, it's usually foreshadowing. Rather like any of Tagan's Toughs asking "How bad could it be?" in Schlock Mercenary.

Exactly. Plus the castle expressed misgivings about the other dingbot prime, and Agatha responded "it's just one little clank." Those together are really, really asking for trouble. I think the little dingbots may break something plot important.

edited 18th Aug '09 12:49:35 PM by ccoa

CCOA:

<<Exactly. Plus the castle expressed misgivings about the other dingbot prime, and Agatha responded "it's just one little clank." Those together are really, really asking for trouble. I think the little dingbots may break something plot important. >>

Arg. Now I am, like, totally conflicted. IMHO, dingbots are generally benign, and doing serious damage to the castle seems majorly unlikely, especially as Gil managed to make it really, really clear that "Fixing The Castle" = "Helping Agatha." Dingbat G-Prime is going to be working to Help Agatha. Unless it failed to believe Gil and only fixed what it did to escape, which honestly seems a bit complex for a critter that does simple emotions and sophisticated mecha and not much more.

But I agree that I don't like the sign on the machinery, the foreshadowing, or the structure...and that "Aether" thing on the door of the cabinet...I am pretty lost, but I could swear that somewhere there's been mention of an Aether something or other in relationship to something else...time travel, or SOMETHING. Help...

The big problem is that the dingbots could fix things that aren't really broken. Gil told G-Prime that fixing things would help Agatha. Beyond the specific instructions he gave it for opening the door, he didn't tell it what to fix. The dingbots aren't Sparks — they're mechanic clanks, and the Castle is the work of generations of the Sparkiest Sparks who ever Sparked. What are the odds that at least once, over all those generations, a Heterodyne changed something and left it in a condition that makes it look broken? Going by the fact that I have electrical wiring in my house that no longer goes anywhere because the house circuits were rerouted sometime in the past, I'd say, "High".

edited 18th Aug '09 6:15:04 PM by Madrugada