Madgirl Five

Girl Genius blog also crafterfive and animorphsingerman

[leletha-jann]

Thanks to this post I am now actively thinking about the Machine for Picking Up Girls (I am always thinking about the Machine for Picking Up Girls), so now we must have

Girl Genius Characters React to Being Picked Up By the Machine for Picking Up Girls:

Agatha: it's a big clank, are you kidding? She's delighted. She has 12 suggestions for Spontaneously Improving it that she's going to try out right now, and then she's going to conduct a controlled trial of its upgraded ability to Pick Up Girls. For the rest of this post, assume that Agatha is operating the Machine.

Zeetha: spontaneously invents the Fastball Special. Is removed from the experiment pool until the next time we need someone to do that, which will probably be, y'know, tomorrow or something. Stuff happens.

Violetta: tolerates it once for Agatha's sake. Is unfindable for the rest of the trial.

Bang: if she sees that clank again she'll murder it and Gil.

Colette: she'll take five of them, but Gil will never hear the end of it. Spontaneous Improvements are made.

Seffie: not sure why she's tolerating it. [Colette is operating the Machine, is why.] You can put her down now.

Sleipnir: "Hey Agatha, I can see your house from up here!"

Larana: already best friends with Zoing.

Trelawney: thinks it's hilarious. Comparing notes with Zeetha about the Fastball Special ideas.

Neena: can she have one for her mom's next party, and also can she take it on expeditions. Also spontaneously best friends with Zoing.

Albia: we didn't try this.

Francisca Monahan: talked about rats until the experimenters went away. File under "unsuccessful", and possibly under "god-queen influence used".

Prrrriti M'reau: absolutely not. Experiment cancelled on account of Angry Cat Glare.

Zola: I think we should do this in canon, actually.

Lucrezia: I don't think we should do this in any context, actually.

Mamma Gkika: has a VERY scandalous story about picking up girls. Experiment paused while everyone recovers. Or encodes the notes they were taking during the story. Whichever.

Hexalina Snaug: this sort of thing happens to minions. Resigned. That really could have been more traumatizing though. Would they like suggestions?

Otilia: puts the Machine and Gil in time-out. [Zoing is innocent, obviously.]

Tinka, Moxana, Orotine, and possibly Prende: all mysteriously missing from the subject pool, and nobody knows where Tarvek went either.

Lilith Clay: tolerates this with dignity, but only because it's Agatha doing it.

Maxinia Clay: the Machine is NOT ALLOWED to pick up the baby unless the baby SPECIFICALLY wants to be picked up. [The baby absolutely wants to be picked up. It is very gentle with her. She is less gentle with it. Experiment paused for repairs and Spontaneous Improvements.]

Zulenna: NO.

Jenka: we forgot to warn Füst. Repairs.

Lumi von Mekkhan: says "Wheeeeeee!" a lot. Spontaneous Improvements.

Captain Oana Grosu: is definitely going to tell some pirates she knows about this. Are there spares of this machine by the way.

Captain Jeanne the Europan of Piratical Descent: has SO MANY QUESTIONS.

Pix: can you do that again but on cue this time.

Zantabraxus: NO. [but would like to see the Fastball Special again]

Professoressa Kaja: this is how the story knows about the Machine for Picking Up Girls. Oops.

[greenygal]

These are all sublime, but one amendment: Tarvek would like to be unfindable, but Violetta has the same training and she’s not having it. If she has to do it, he has to do it. If Tarvek protests that he doesn’t meet the requirements, Gil and Trelawney will both remind him of the precedent for his being a princess. Close enough!

[madgirlfive]

Yes, we need to test the Machine for Picking Up Girls on the boys. For science, you know!

[madgirlfive]

Krosp can safely conduct electricity?

(May 29, 2009)

[madgirlfive]

I never noticed them up there! That’s how they knew to come disappear Gil!

[williamansley]

Floppy Friday, Volume 3, Issue 9: Sample Pages 1

Issue 9 of the Girl Genius comic book includes the first appearance of the Europa Wulfenbach map, on pages 24 and 25.

Note that the partial portrait of Baron Klaus Wulfenbach that appears on the right side of the version of this map sold as a poster is not present here.

[madgirlfive]

(Nov 2, 2018)

They’re just so cute, I’m dying.

[madgirlfive]

First spotted June 11, 2014

[farragoofnotes]

What was Tarvek's plan during the ball in England? Initially he's being nice to Gil and Observing TM who's going to dance with Agatha, then he gets distracted by a muse, but then he literally never dances with her. What's up?

[madgirlfive]

Follow up question: What was Tarvek’s plan during any point of the story?

[madgirlfive]

Gil casually holding the entire triumvirate <3

[elzerei-likes-girl-genius]

Othar Tryggvassen, Gentleman Adventurer, And The Doomed Timeline

[elf-kid2]

Suitors of Agatha Heterodyne

I don't have time to go into it right this second-- but At Some Point, I think it'll be worthwhile to discuss which Gilgamesh Wulfenbach and Tarvek Sturmvorous are loved by both Agatha, and the fandom...

While Hadrian Rakethorn and Martellus Von Blitzengaard are ignored, or hated, respectively.

Honorable mention to the late Lars. He wasn't a Spark, but he was a good guy, an excellent Actor/Leading Man, and a sweetheart. He died a hero, and he died too young.

Anyway, here's Gil.

And here's Gil, taking off his shirt. For reference.

Over here, we have Hadrian Rakethorn introducing himself. As you can see, he is only technically wearing a shirt.

To be honest, it's easier to find pictures of Rakethorn *without* a shirt, than *with* one.

Here he is, though! Handsome chap, eh?

Anyway, here's Tarvek, in an outfit that deserves to be seen from multiple angles!

For the sake of fairness, here he is without his shirt.

And here we have our first proper look at Martellus Vos Blitzengaard...

And here's Tweedle with his shirt undone.

I'm sure there's some very serious and intellectual discussions to be had about how they compare and contrast, and about Narrative Foils, and the various pro's, cons, similarities, and differences between these fine gentlemen...

But for now, a simple visual comparison will have to do.

[elf-kid2]

Okay, listen. All of these guys (except Lars, RIP) have both political and personal motivations. Agatha's hand in marriage comes with access to a strong fortress, a powerful army, and-- according to pop-culture//The Prophecy-- it legitimizes a guy's claim to the Right to Rule an Empire over Europa.

So, let's mention the political, but focus on the personal, here.

Gil has a strong case, and IF she was going to choose ONE of them, a strong argument could be made for him being the "endgame ship." Gil and Agatha have the shared experience of "being possessed by their own parent," they've been through a lot together, and it was VERY impressive when he called down the lightning to defend her town from an army of war-clanks.

(Side Note: the Storm King Conspiracy, as described by Zola, had her get established as Official Heterodyne first, then 1-2 years later, the Heir to the Storm King is "discovered." He saves Mechanicsburg from an army of war-clanks, the Storm King Heir and Zola Heterodyne fall in love at first sight, and they do a soft takeover of the Empire within 5 years-- POSSIBLY with some slaver-wasp mond-co trol to smooth the way.)

Also, Gil and Agatha both have a sense of modesty-- they tend to get embarrassed if wardrobe malfunctions or unexpected circumstances cause them to find themselves in their underwear (or in Gil's case, naked) in front of others. --Though both Gil and Agatha can get caught up in the moment of Science and/or Adventure, and forget about a lack of clothes until somebody points it out again.

Contrast that with Hadrian Rakethorn, who looses his shirts in artfully engineered scenarios designed to give him the opportunity to show off the goods, as it were.

I think the reason Dr Rakethorn barely registers as a contender for Agatha's hand, despite his food looks and generally helpful attitude, is the lack of vulnerability.

Gil and Tarvek have both been sick, injured, and in emotional distress in front of Agatha. Gil has put his foot in his mouth more than once, and l Tarvek has stated his political motivations and scheming tendencies out loud.

Gil and Tarvek risked both bodily harm and the alienation of their political allies, by aiding her in claiming and restoring Castle Heterodyne. Agatha knows how they all act when they're angry, distressed, sleep-deprived, hangry, and/or have invadeds at the gates.

Contrast this with Dr Rakethorn.

Rakethorn is unquestionably handsome, dashing, and conpetent-- that's why Queen Albia assigned him to Agatha.

Rakethorn risks nothing, personally or politically, by following the orders of his benevolent God-Queen and trying to seduce-- and possibly marry-- a beautiful, charming, politically advantageous Spark like Agatha Heterodyne. He presents to her lavish food, his own washboard abbs, and his skill as a fellow scientist and adventurer.

He does not present her with anything that Agatha could not easily find elsewhere. The Jaegermonsters don't really trust him. She doesn't know him well enough to know how he acts when he loses his temper, or is genuinely stressed out.

Agatha knows bait when she sees it. Rakethorn is nice to look at, but not worth staying in England for.

And now it's time to talk about Tweedle.

Martellus Von Blitzengaard, who is good with animals. Who loves his werewolf Knights of the Hunt as brothers-in-arms. Claimant to the Throne of the Storm King, with the backing of multiple Popes, a strong section of Nobility, and an army.

We've seen him sick, injured, and vulnerable, it's true. He's put his foot in his mouth many times, like Gil. He is openly self-serving in his political agenda, like Tarvek. He has a temper, like all the main cast. He looks after his own.

We all hate him, though.

We hate him for his very visceral attempt to force Agatha to marry him, and to make Agatha physically, medically dependent on him.

We hate him for manipulating public perceptions, in much the same way Zola did.

We know that he sees Agatha as a political pawn first, and as a beautiful, intelligent woman who would make a good Queen "once she's brought to heel" second.

Is there something specific that makes Gil's often-shirtless heroism seem genuine, while Rakethorn comes across as shallow and superficial?

What makes Tweedle's sins unforgivable, when Gil and Tarvek have plenty of sins of their own to tally?

What EXACTLY is the secret sauce, I wonder?

[madgirlfive]

“I mean, I am a madman. But that’s not why!”

[madgirlfive]

YES!

I’m excited, I don’t want Castle Wulfenbach to blow up.

[williamansley]

The fourth day of Halloeterodeen: A comic website wallpaper from near Halloween 2016. (In case anyone has been wondering what the heck "Halloeterodeen" is, it's my clumsy attempt to create a portmanteau word—in the world of Girl Genius, a more appropriate term might be "unholy hybrid"—of Halloween and Heterodyne.)

This drawing is apparently inspired by the Charles Addams cartoon "Self-carve Pumpkin" that graced the cover of the New Yorker magazine's October 30, 1989, issue.

[leletha-jann]

I still don't think I want to drink whatever the boys are mixing up back there. Not because I think they're out to do harm to party-goers, but because I suspect they have a very loose idea of what qualifies as "harm" and what's "oh but science though".

If we're lucky, that stuff is Theo's 200 Proof Sugar Doom.

If we're mildly unlucky, it'll melt the bowl before they offer it to anyone. (we didn't need that carpet anyway)

If we're mostly unlucky, it's made of hedgehogs.

If we're really unlucky, they have no idea what's in it or what it's going to do because they were having too much fun bickering about it.

...I think we should let Moloch von Zinzer drink it.

[big-ass-magnet]

I want to point out thay they are both apparently vampires but with VERY different and extremely in character ideas of what that should look like.

[giltarvek-hours]

Yeah! (Also I think maybe Agatha is too, she just went with the fun monster bat motif thing. I am especially fond of the silly little tail bell.)

Anyway I'm sure that I'm just reading too far into it and the symbolism in the boys' outfits is just me being silly but

Along with the cute fun little details like Gil's ridiculous (I absolutely love them) little springy bat antenna headband there are also some things that seem awfully familiar.

Now, like you said they've clearly each gone for a very different interpretation of "vampire" with Tarvek in a more campy Theatre vampire outfit while Gil is sporting something that strikes me as more classic gothic Literary vampire.

[Further elaborate yapping under the cut.]

But, the way Gil in particular is dressed also –to me– harkens back to the particularly deranged iteration of Timeskip Gil we get pretty much immediately upon re-introduction. You know, the timespan where the life is pretty much drained out of him and he hasn't seen the sun in like 912 days? But it also –I think even more tellingly– very much resembles the way we've seen Klaus dress for being The Baron. Which uhh suggests some mental associations there.

Meanwhile Tarvek's ensemble reminds me very very much of the kind of ostentation and excess that I associate with the Sturmvoraus family during the Sturmhalten arc. The color used is this blend between red and purple, and it all feels very House Sturmvoraus to me. The sheer quantity of buttons. Although with this one I may be grasping at straws for comparisons. But anyway Tarvek was trapped there for so very long and it was clearly very draining.

So I suppose my point is that each of them is wearing a version that depicts, in its way, memories of those miserable lifeless experiences. After all, we all fold our own personal versions of horror into that which we intend to be scary, even if only mildly.

Anyway basically I Just Think It's Neat

[gavilarkholin-deactivated116710]

I’m still not over this whole interaction, because honestly Dupree’s live-to-kill antics never get old to me. of course she stabs Tarvek out of gratitude, that’s how she shows affection

Gil’s used to it - consider the scene right before he gives her the wasp antidote - he’s working through her attacks without batting an eye, clearly something he’s done before. so of course he treats the incident like she spilled her drink at dinner, that’s the bit he and Klaus have been doing with her since day 1

BUT AGATHA - the last time she saw Tarvek get stabbed, it was in the chest, with a fast-acting, gruesome poison, and she was helpless to do anything about it. and this time we see her intimidate Bang like she’s never intimidated anyone before. every other time we’ve seen Agatha intimidate someone, it was a show of bravado or exasperation or fury, but we’ve never seen her go stone cold like this, and it is literally chilling could you imagine volume I Agatha making Bangladesh Dupree practically shit her pants?? no way in a million years she clearly loves Tarvek to have her protectiveness of him bring that out of her, holy fuck

[girl-blorbo-polls]

What’s the closest relationship to another woman/girl your girl blorbo has?

Her friend

Her girlfriend/wife/love interest

Her mother

Her sister

Her daughter

Her grandmother

Her grandchild

Her rival/frenemy

Her queerplatonic partner/non-specific partnership of equals/secret third thing

Other

Has multiple relationships with other female characters of equivalent importance

Has not interacted with another female character in the source work

Voting ended onMar 4

[madgirlfive]

Agatha and Zeetha are… secret third thing?

[leletha-jann]

What I'm reading from these pages is how absolutely impromptu this whole escape was.

Klaus is running for their lives with the total supplies of one (1) sword and one (1) baby.

If we're feeling generous, they also have one (1) baby blanket. But only one. (Skifander may be warm, but caves - sorry, Jules Verne - are not.) He doesn't have anything to carry baby Gil in (or put baby Gil on) if he needs two hands for something. If he wants to take that torch with him, he's going to have to put the sword away. He doesn't have so much as a water bottle, much less a baby bottle. No supplies, no backup, no plan, no nothing. This man looks like he's lucky he's got shoes on.

That doesn't sound like the Klaus we know now.

And that tells me that whatever happened in Skifander, there was no warning. None. Zero. Not even a rumor. Klaus didn't have time to think about this. He didn't see it coming. He didn't have time to plan for it. He didn't have time to consider other options. He didn't even have ten seconds to throw baby stuff into a bag.

He just grabbed baby Gil - maybe the only baby in reach - and he ran.

I'm convinced he didn't mean to leave Skifander. I'm coming around to the idea that he might not have left baby Zeetha behind on purpose - he just didn't have a baby sling to hand.

No wonder this man is such an absolute control maniac. Emperor of Europa in all but name, and all because back in Skifander, he got blindsided by something he wasn't prepared for.

I imagine that this is the thing driving Klaus. This fear. This moment he had nothing, and he was the only thing keeping his son alive.

I think Klaus has never left this moment. I think he exists here.

[nn-sinthe]

How much nature is Gil-I-grew-up-in-an-airship acclimated to? Gil being surprised by earthworms would feel heavily ooc but…can it happen? At all? Or would he be all "An EARTHWORM. Seen this in books!"? Never mind probably the latter. Definitely the latter.