Cover of issue five of the Girl Genius comic book. Story by Phil & Kaja Foglio; Pencils by Phil Foglio with colors by Mark McNabb. Lettering & Book Design by Kaja Foglio. From this point on, the Girl Genius tagline (Adventure, Romance, Mad Science) replaces the volume and issue information on the cover of the comic books, but I'll add this information for each remaining issue.
This issue of the Girl Genius comic book was printed in November 2001 and includes pages 31 to 65 of volume 2 of the graphic novel series. (In this issue of the comic book, the pages are numbered 112 to 146; apparently, they are numbered continuously from the first page of the first comic book. I forgot to mention this last time, but the pages of the previous comic book, issue 4, are unpaginated.) Steam Engine Time™ is an (apparently short-lived) imprint of Studio Foglio.
Back cover: Tiny submersibles to go with the tiny dirigibles! Wahoo!
US$3.95
Additional content before the comic: Our story thus far. Additional content after the comic: TPU Quote Collection #1, Professor M. Anners Answers your Etiquette Questions, The Girl Genius Secret Cypher Society
Sample page: Transylvania Polygnostic University Library, Quote Collection: Specimen #1
After seeing the mention of Riccardo introducing "my piece" in this page about his bedroom, I tracked the source back to see what that entailed. Turns out, the next spread shows off the score for Broken Spirit (折れた志, translated above as "Broken Will" by the lovely Too Many Penguins!), the solo piano arrangement of Riccardo's character theme, with some shenanigans for good measure.
(( Thought I'd put together a little something to give some reference points to new folk around here! There's a full transcription below the readmore; now get out there, be respectful, and have some fun. Cheers! ))
Slide 1:
RP TIPS CRASH COURSE!
Hello all! Given the recent spike of fresh activity around here, I wanted to give a few pointers & help make sure that everybody's on the same page.
Slide 2:
First and foremost:
A concrete distinction between Mun (the person writing) and Muse (the character being written) is very important!
Your audience and writing partners are gonna wanna know whether a response is in character or not--if it isn't very clear, things can get a little confusing to read.
For example, I keep in-universe HRTech content contained within its own blog separate from my main--this helps keep things organized as well! And when I want to break the fourth wall, I refer to myself as the crew.
Slide 3:
When writing with Strangers:
Always ask permission!
It's common practice to plan things behind the scenes with your friends--I do it all the time! But when it comes to other people you might be interacting with, you're going to want to make sure they're on the same page too.
As a general rule of thumb: if you want to involve someone else's character in a plot point or scene of your own, that character's writer needs to be a part of the planning process!
Slide 4:
When writing with Strangers:
Having an askblog gives a writer the ability to easily choose what they want to respond to--no one's obligated to respond to anything after all, whether it meshes with their plans, or maybe they just don't feel like it. Who knows! It's just for fun at the end of the day.
While an in-character response doesn't necessarily count as permission from the writer to involve them in other narratives, you can always make an offer out-of-character; or send more asks!
Slide 5:
Give and Take:
If you spot a blog doing something you think is cool or interesting, you can help them out by sending an ask about it! Don't worry, it doesn't need to be plot-driven, or even in character--you can ask what's going on, give a suggestion to a character, or even just prompt them for their favorite foods.
It's encouraging and exciting for writers; it shows them that people are interested in the stories they want to tell! When everybody is engaging with each other, everything becomes a lot more fun.
Slide 6:
Ask etiquette:
Stuff you'll want to avoid:
-Sending unsolicited sensitive content; stuff like NSFW, gore, invasive questions, personal details, and venting should be avoided at all costs--an rp blog is not the place!
-Spamming; don't send messages to somebody over and over again, especially if they aren't responding to the first one!
-Introducing unrelated or sudden plot elements; collaboration is fun, but works best with planning--you wouldn't want to overshadow someone's story with yours on their own blog!
Slide 7:
TLDR;
>Label in-character content for clarity
>Invite every relevant party to planning stages
>Engage with others and they'll do the same
>Keep troubling content out of shared creative spaces
Yeah, no shit. You tune the newscaster out as you wrap your sweater tighter around yourself and stare out of the cabin’s large bay windows. Nora had brought you out here to work on honing your abilities, but with the way the snow was coming down outside, it didn’t look like you were going to get much done today.
“Guess we’re stuck in here,” you sigh, admittedly only a little disappointed.
Nora comes up behind you and lets out a snort. “You’re stuck in here. I can go whenever I like.”
You spin around to face her, folding your arms across your chest. “You’d really just leave me here? In a snow storm?”
“Yes.”
“What?” you cry, placing a hand over your heart in feigned hurt and shock.
Nora shrugs, not quite picking up on your sarcasm. “I don’t think it would help with your training,” she says, then mutters, “Sameer should really have worked on teleporting more with you.”
You flinch. You were never sure about how to feel about Nora’s constant criticisms of your former associate. “I think he did the best he could.”
“Well, his ‘best’ could’ve been a lot better,” she says. Ending the discussion, she drops down onto the couch and flips away from the news station. “Do you want to watch a movie? I think Mike Flanagan has something new out. His stuff is usually pretty good...”
“No, thanks,” you say automatically. Though you generally enjoyed spending time with Nora - she’d been around a long time and knew more about the world than you’d thought was possible for one person to know - you had to admit that her obsession with horror movies was not one of her more winning qualities. It’s all she ever wanted to watch.
Looking back out the window, your gaze drifts down the cabin’s snow-covered deck. A lightbulb goes off in your head. “Do you wanna get in the hot tub?”
Nora pauses her channel surfing and turns to you. “I thought we were ‘stuck in here’.”
“The hot tub doesn’t count. It’s on the deck.”
“Do you even have a swimsuit?”
You wink. “No.”
A barely audible noise erupts from Nora’s throat and an expression of almost-amusement passes across her face before she recovers, staring at you mildly. “You’re not getting in the hot tub without a swimsuit.”
“Fine,” you say, sticking your tongue out at her. You actually did have a swimsuit. “You’re coming too, though, right?”
Nora raises an eyebrow. “I’m guessing you won’t stop bothering me until I say ‘yes’?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then, yes.”
Clapping your hands together in excitement, you sing, “Great! Let me just...”
Quickly pulling on a jacket and a pair of boots, you step outside and, raising your hood to shield your face against the falling snow, you hurry over to the hot tub. With some effort, you lift the cover and set it aside.
You’re instantly relieved when you discover that the tub is already filled and heated, and though you didn’t know who Nora was borrowing the cabin from, you’re sure you would kiss them if you ever met them.
Returning inside, you turn off the TV, drag Nora off the couch, and shove her into her room, insisting that she not take too long to get changed. When she re-emerges (an annoying amount of time later) in a pink, high-waisted bikini, you’re waiting for her by the door in your own swimsuit holding a bottle of wine and two glasses.
Nora eyes the wine and glasses warily. “Hot tubs and alcohol seem like a bad combination.”
You roll your eyes. “They would be if we were human. I think the two of us can handle it.”
“You’re more human than you think,” Nora says, shaking her head. Still, she doesn’t argue any further. She passes you, taking one of the glasses from your hand, and slips outside. You happily follow.
Once you’re both submerged in the warm, bubbling water of the tub, you fill each of your glasses and propose a toast. “To new beginnings.”
To your surprise, Nora doesn’t protest. She clinks her glass against yours and repeats, “To new beginnings.”
You both drink.
In no less than half an hour, you surmise that Nora was right - you stifle a yawn as your eyelids begin to droop.
“Alright,” Nora says as soon as she sees. “I think it’s time to go inside.”
You reluctantly agree and, using your last bit of energy, you scurry behind Nora out of the tub and into the cabin. Nora wastes no time in drying the both of you off before starting a fire in the hearth.
You wait until it’s lit, then collapse on the rug in front of it, snuggly wrapped in a blanket, and allow your eyes to close fully.
“I’m gonna go get us something to eat,” you hear Nora say.
“Mmm,” is all you manage in response as you drift off to sleep.
Sometime later, you slowly return to consciousness when the tangy aroma of what you guess to be miso soup hits your nostrils. You clumsily sit up and look around.
Nora is crouched down in front of you holding a bowl in each hand. She holds one out to you. “I got this at a little place outside of Tokyo.”
Your stomach growling, you appreciatively take the bowl and scoot back so that you’re resting against the edge of the couch. Nora situations herself beside you and you both dig in.
After a few spoonfuls, Nora reaches for the remote and turns the TV back on. You’re about to let out a groan when she hands the device to you.
“You mean you’re going to let me control the TV?” you gasp.
“Don’t get used to it,” Nora warns, returning nonchalantly to her soup.
Smiling, you flip through the channels until you land on a movie you like. You wait for Nora to make a comment about it, but she doesn’t.
