Girl Genius

Close. But the Jagers didn't join the Baron because he was buddies with the Heterodynes at one point in time; they did it because it was in their best interests. They needed his protection (or at least for him not to kill them), and he needed some good, strong supersoldiers. If you remember when the wild Jagers explained their story, serving the Baron has nothing to do with serving the Heterodynes; indeed, they had to have some of their number leave on a futile quest to find an heir in order to be able to say they didn't abandon their oaths.

And personally, I get the feeling that Vole now cannot survive this arc. He's kicked the dog well enough that he can't be ignored, he's not important enough to become a recurring villain like Dupree or Von Pinn, and from a practical standpoint, the other four Jagers will try to kill him as a matter of pride, even if it becomes counterproductive to their goals. And they're certainly not gonna die here.

And Vole is getting his blue ass kicked.

I don't know if the character can be redeemed now.

Yeah, even if Gil decides to spare Vole's life, I doubt papa Wulfenbach will look kindly on Vole's threat to bring Gil back in pieces.

brickman wrote:

Oh unless someone does something rash, he'll survive for a little while longer. As of a few days ago (in the setting of course, not irl), he's become a very handy wild card for the Baron to keep up his sleeve. That fake Heterodyne broad has powerful backers and the sort of cunning plan that could cause all sorts of trouble. And the Baron is (quite understandably) convinced that Agatha is either possessed by Lucrezia or is Lucrezia herself in disguise. It wouldn't be in his best interests to let Vole get killed off just yet, because you never know when a crazed Jagermonster with a psychotic hatred of the entire Heterodyne family might come in handy.

When he finally does die it'll probably be because the Baron sends him out on a mission go kick ass and take names, not because of any spur of the moment stupidity.

You said it yourself: "unless someone does something rash." I'd give him even odds for surviving this scene. Gil's in madboy-mode, he just threatened to kill Gil, and on top of that there's still four other Jagers standing who want to see him dead.

The curse of being a Spark... if you're not insane, they think there's something wrong with you.

brickman wrote:

I dunno, a bit of effort's been put into making Vole a very distinctive jagermonster, possibly the most unique and complicated jager we've seen to date (although definitely nowhere near being the smartest). And more importantly, a bit of effort has been put into establishing that he's a potential threat to Agatha and that his plans are the complete opposite of the "wild" jagers' plans. He' a Chekhov's Gun with legs, and he probably won't get thrown away until he's done something important.

I'd like to know what the burr in his saddle is. He doesn't know the first thing about Agatha when he meets her in the coffee shop, and he wants to kill her. She could be evil, good, crazy, sane, or anything, and he doesn't even want to find out.

stm177 wrote:

He does know the first thing: She's a Heterodyne. That's a pretty important thing; so far it's been enough of an important thing for the Baron to hunt her down, the storm-king family to try to resurrect Lucrezia with her (and effectively start a revolution and then destructive pandemonium in their town), and create the opportunity for this mysterious fake to try a gambit at power, among other things. And if he's had a strong enough break with the heterodynes that he no longer obeys their rule (when he was BUILT WITH A LOYALTY IMPERATIVE) and is intentionally breaking his kind's own rules (living in Mechanicsburg), I'd say it's not unreasonable that it's bad enough he'd kill her on sight. Plus his current boss, Wulfenbach, certainly has a problem with her.

(linky)

And I say it again: Tangent128 wrote:

Sad thing is, they're all right. He just let his unstoppable rage that should've ended with Vole begging for mercy completely fizzle out for a moment of self doubt, of all things. Sparks are not supposed to let that happen, and he most definitely has proved they're not all wrong in thinking he's weak-willed by spark standards. Good thing nobody's watching.

brickman wrote:

I kind of disagree with you there... It isn't weakness, I don't think, to be sane and self controlled, or to pull yourself back from a fit of rage. Is it way, way out of the ordinary for a spark, absolutely, but it isn't necessarily weakness. Whether it is or it isn't will depend on how he uses it, I think. If he acts calm and in control of both himself and the situation, than it is not weakness, however, if he spends a lot of time wallowing in self doubt when he ought to be doing something else than it probably is...

Let me put it this way: Had he kept that up long enough, and kept winning (as he clearly would have), pretty soon he'd have Vole bullied into submission and ready to do what he says. Instead, now Vole's mots certainly not gonna be scared of him, perhaps is even about to beat the crap out of Gil in turn, and is certainly not about to obey Gil. Fights are not the time for indecision.

Well, he did smash Vole into the ground pretty hard there; Vole might not even be conscious right now. Also, I viewed that more as a "now my father's behavior makes a little more sense!" reaction than indecision per se.

We'll see tomorrow.

(linky)

Seven Popes? Seven Popes?

Apparently, I read FAR too much into those last two panels. I admit to being wrong.

And yeah, seven popes. Oh, that crazy Foglio and his crazy world-building.

Meta4 wrote:

"(linky)

Seven Popes? Seven Popes?

Clearly, the Catholic Church has learned the value of decentralization. Or it has an Antipope infestation. Or people are calling Orthodox patriarchs popes for some bizarre reason.

Maybe there's a Protestant pope or two.

Or maybe the Western Schism got worse.

Gil is absolutely fantastic. I stand by that.

I'm not sure whether the mention of those popes/the monograph is important, a witty one-liner, or both. It does serve as a nice reminder that they're technically the bad guys, though. Most of the details on Wulfenbach-rule I remember seemed to focus on painting it in a good light, like that line about Castle Wulfenbach either taking on soldiers or letting them go with two weeks/months pay. Then again, I haven't read through the archives recently, either.

Well, crap. This wiki just got me hooked on another webcomic. That's 16 now! I still need to archive binge from the beginning.

Zyxzy wrote:

I can just see a bunch of anti-popes. Imagine some bishop turns out to be sparky and insane — he'd declare himself a pope in a split second, and have a clank army of mecha-priests to back it up.

WMG's about the factions of the seven popes:

1. The Roman Catholic Pope 2. The French Catholic Pope (A political, rather than theological, divide. The Great Schism was never resolved.) 3. The Spanish Catholic Pope (Controls most of South America. His agents are masters of surprise.) 4. The Iron Pope (The leader of the Church of the Divine Spark, the only Catholic branch that ordains madboys, clanks, and constructs as clergy. Teaches the heterodox view that Jesus was a Spark.) 5. The Lutheran Pope (An unbroken chain of succession from His Unholiness, Martin Luther.) 6. The Anglican Pope (Responsible for the tech/magic that's prolonging Queen Albia's life. Few followers outside Britain.) 7. The Jewish Pope (don't ask)

Are (3 of) the Jagers so eager to help Gil because of his display of intimidation, or because they view him as a future Heterodyne?

Meta4 wrote:

That Spanish Catholic Pope is gonna have to go, or at least not have much influence outside of Spain. Apparently the Atlantic is impassable or ridiculously dangerous or something these days, and the Americas have become lost continents that people make up all kinds of silly stories about.