#olucrezia

[leletha-jann]

It's very much not the point of this page and I really should have realized it earlier...

but one thing you can truly say is consistent throughout all of Girl Genius:

...absolutely NO ONE is immune to "no pants for you".

[leletha-jann]

OK. This is funny.

Lucrezia, you absolute muggins. You are holding the derivatively-built multi-generation down-the-line descendant of something Agatha knocked together in her sleep just to keep her hands moving and have something to look at while she worked.

"So advanced!"

She really isn't a Spark, is she? Has she realized yet how very much she isn't?

Madame Olga, friend and colleague of circus Sparks, would be ashamed of her on these grounds alone.

Lucrezia this, the Other that...

...on the other hand, maybe we're going to crumple this woman up like scrap paper and bounce her off the wall until we get bored.

(I can hope.)

EDIT: Of course, it's also quite likely that I have been lulled into a sense of security/familiarity regarding the dingbots, and they really are as sophisticated and dangerous as Olucrezia here is implying.

And in that case, I cannot wait to see a swarm of dingbots kick this infection of Lucreziae's whole ass.

[leletha-jann]

This:

is a fully bananapants set of orders.

does not forbid Klaus from doing anything else along the way, up to and including "where were we with that engine overload again?"

does not give him a time limit within which to return

if he does return, does not forbid him from bringing dangerous items (or people) with him

if he does return, does not give clear instructions on the condition of the cake and wine (could be obviously nasty, could be poisoned, could have explosives in them)

does not forbid Klaus from going absolutely anywhere, from "off the airship" to "moon's haunted", on his sidequest for wine and cake

previously told him not to do anything clever, which is blanket permission to do something amazingly stupid

if Klaus moves quickly he can be out of hearing range of any further orders (I don't think Castle Wulfenbach has a PA system)

"off you go" is the most recent order and arguably supersedes all of the others; she has dismissed him

...at this point Lucrezia will do better telling a genie to make her a sandwich, and I will serve Lucrezia-the-ham-on-rye to the time dragon with relish.

(or maybe mustard.)

[leletha-jann]

They'd be inspirational, if they weren't the absolute worst.

(Do NOT take this as advice. Do NOT do this. And if I can think of several situations in which I would have this phrase running through my head now...well, I'm petty. You can do better.)

[leletha-jann]

OK, let's put this to a vote:

Who's going to get to ambush Lucrezia mid-gloat FIRST?

Klaus

Bohrlaikha

Violetta

Krosp

Extradimensional Dr. Vapnoople

Cap'n Dal Maghiar

Castlebot and the mini-Train

Othar

Trelawney

Prrriti M'reau

Shocking betrayal by another Lucrezia

Someone else even more unexpected (share?)

Voting ended onJul 1

[leletha-jann]

Oooh! My theories, they are challenged!

That is fugue state font.

That's the first time she's used it, I believe, even under previous stress and pain!

What were we saying about this Lucrezia not being a Spark? Oops.

...you know what, I don't WANT to be in the middle of a mid-breakthrough Lucrezia tantrum. I really do not.

Bring the chaos, cuties and allies. Bring it fast and keep her distracted, or we're going to have yet another problem.

[leletha-jann]

"A CHARACTER has reappeared" stopwatch: The Body Formerly Known as Olga (!!!!!)

Last previous appearance: February 22, 2006

Newest appearance: June 11, 2025

Elapsed time: 19 years, 4 months, 9 days since we saw the body formerly known as Olga!

We have a new stopwatch champion!

...and many, many, many new problems. Just infinitely many.

Heck.

Zeetha, I'm so sorry. Your friend deserved better and so do you.

[leletha-jann]

Is Olucrezia a Spark? I don't think she is.

How do I know? The font.

She's had plenty of opportunity to slide into fugue state font...and hasn't.

[For the record: I love the way Girl Genius uses font and speech bubble effects to show tone of voice and the Spark in particular. I know speech bubbles are not the most fun thing in the world to place...but wow are they fun to look at. Everyone say "thank you, Professoressa" for doing such good speech bubbles and font.]

This woman is angry, and strong emotions - excitement, anger, fear, desire, impatience, pain - usually cue Sparks into fugue. In fact, Sparks have to have quite a bit of deliberate control to not do this. Lucrezia is very aware of that, and not exactly a model of emotional control herself:

But at no point have Olucrezia's speech patterns shifted, no matter what she's experiencing. This is all regular font (with angry/agitated speech bubbles).

Compare Agatha in this sort of temper. Fugue state font crackling all over the place:

If she could go into fugue...wouldn't she have by now? But she hasn't. And our Professoressa does not make mistakes like that with the lovely, lovely conceit of a tone of voice you can see.

I don't think Olucrezia is a Spark! I think she's stuck outside the madness place with the rest of us regular mortals. It doesn't make her not dangerous, of course, but it might limit her a bit.

...boy, that can't be in Lucrezia's plans. I hope the realization ruins her whole damn day.