Girl Genius/Characters: Difference between revisions
→Martellus von Blitzengaard
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** [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20200513 The old lady in this comic] is Night Mistress Madwa Korel, perhaps the single deadliest Smoke Knight alive and a renegade who's spent over a decade surviving a death mark put out on her by ''the entire Order of Smoke Knights''. And ''she's'' giving Violetta a professional compliment... when Violetta's on the enemy team, no less. At this point Miss "I'm not a very good Smoke Knight" is clearly talking just from an inferiority complex.
** In an earlier arc, [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20160603 Violetta blasted the MacGuffin out of Madwa's hand] while two other Smoke Knights, who Violetta had just described as 'better than her', were entirely unable to get a shot off. ''Definitely'' an inferiority complex.
**It's 2022 and Madwa Korel and Violetta have finally met again. [https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20211222 And only one of them left that meeting alive]. Violetta is now officially the most badass Smoke Knight the readers have ever seen.
* [[Fiery Redhead]]
* [[Grappling Hook Pistol]]
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{{quote|'''Smoke Knight''': Your Grace, with all ''respect'', von Blitzengard is ''good'' at this sort of thing. Better than ''any of us''. It's one of the reasons he was able to make ''his'' claim to the title ''stick''. }}
** To underline the above, Tarvek survived a childhood marked by most of his extended family trying to kill him by frantically playing [[Xanatos Speed Chess]] and abusing [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]. Martellus survived it by simply ''butchering every assassin they sent''. The 'Fortress of Storms' sequence in particular (where the above quote is from) is noteworthy; Martellus gets teleported into an isolated mountain redoubt full of Smoke Knights and relatives who all want him dead, and three days later all the survivors are bending the knee to him because he's still been ''winning''. The guy might be a clumsy planner sometimes and he still can't beat absolute top-tier opponents like Gilgamesh, but he's a legitimately grade-A killing machine.
* [[No Social Skills]]: Played with. Martellus is ''very'' good at oratory, pageantry, military leadership, and being charismatic in general... but he is absolutely the worst person in the entire chronicle at romance. ''Klaus'' is a master of suave compared to this guy. And [[Cannot Talk to Women]] would be an
{{quote|'''Agatha:''' (with barely-contained hostility) ''Fine.'' I don't trust you, but I'll believe you.
'''Martellus:''' Hah! You see, Seffie? Our children will be ''magnificent!''
'''Seffie:''' ARRRRGGGH! ''This'' is why ''YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO TALK TO MY FRIENDS!''}}
* [[Not So Different]]: Not that he's aware of it, but there's [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20140411 a scene] when he's wondering whether Euphrosynia Heterodyne had any genuine affection for the Storm King, and his wistful expression is '''very''' much like the one Tarvek shows at sentimental moments.
* [[Villainous Valor]]: Say whatever else you can about him, the man is no coward. He's led his men from the front in every battle, charged small armies single-handed, gone toe-to-toe with the
{{quote|'''Oggie:''' Hyu is a real pain in de neck, but hyu gots de schtuff to be a king. No qvestion.}}
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Did not have time for return yet, but she's clearly set up for this. At very least as the most obvious candidate for an important position, because someone will have to run the weasel menagerie after she and her charges will be "unfrozen" and healed properly.
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* [[The Beast Master (trope)|The Beast Master]]: The Vespiary's weasel handler.
* [[Berserker Tears]]: Of course she ''is'' distraught - they've hurt her weasels.
* [[The Hunter]]: Mostly took care of the weasels, but she ''is'' a dedicated and trained Vesper.
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* [[Hoist By Her Own Petard]]: Despite being madly in love with Gilgamesh Seffie has managed to keep him utterly unaware of the fact via her considerable talents as an actress, and has managed to seamlessly disguise her dogged pursuit of him over the years as merely being pragmatic power politics. (Which to be fair it actually would be). She does this due to having been raised in a [[Deadly Decadent Court]] where exposing one's true feelings and vulnerabilities was, to put it mildly, strongly discouraged and because she's already aware Gilgamesh's heart belongs to Agatha so she apparently believes she can only hope to hook him via his intellect. The irony is of course that Seffie simply ''admitting she actually likes Gilgamesh for himself'' and not just because he's the Wulfenbach heir would almost certainly work far better than anything else she's tried, because that's how Agatha hooked Gilgamesh in the first place.
* [[In-Series Nickname]]: Virtually ''everyone'' calls her "Seffie", even on formal occasions. Only total strangers ever use her real name 'Xersephnia', and sometimes not even then.
* [[Lovable Alpha Bitch]]: Despite being an incredibly wealthy princess and one of the chief political manipulators of an extended family positively ''infamous'' for backstabbing and manipulation, essentially everyone in the narrative still likes Seffie. Her infamously cold-hearted and manipulative grandmother holds Seffie as her "prize pupil". Her ruthless brute of a brother positively dotes on her. Even her ''opponents'', such as Gilgamesh, still like her (if not as much as she'd wish in Gil's case). Even Agatha, who is her chief romantic rival and who detests her brother to the point of barely being able to avoid punching him whenever she sees him, still genuinely likes Seffie.
** Seffie's ability to be liked has even crossed the fourth wall. Several discussion threads in various forums have contained multiple comments along the lines of 'I like Seffie and want her to win - even when I ''shouldn't!!'''.
* [[Master Actress]]: She makes Zola look like a clumsy amateur trying too hard.
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** Grandmother also got that close to {{spoiler|Zola}} in the first place by pulling a ninja swap, as she'd standing arm-in-arm with Tarvek until suddenly noticing that Tarvek had vanished and Grandmother had her by the arm instead. Given that {{spoiler|Zola}} is herself a high-end Smoke Knight and that sort of off-panel substitution maneuver is Violetta's signature move, its strongly implied that Grandmother is a ''very'' high-end Smoke Knight.
* [[No Name Given]]: Until old Voltaire met her, she was mentioned only as "Grandmother" or by title. Given that most of the clan seems to be trained as Smoke Knights, it's likely to also be an allusion to [[The Hashshashin|"the Grandfather" of Assassins]].
* [[Properly Paranoid]]: The quote at the start of this character section is Mr. Obsidian's response to Grandmother ''stabbing him in the
{{quote|'''Grandmother:''' Oh, spare me the outrage. Disguises are easy, and anyone can learn a code phrase.}}
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=== Dimitri Vapnoople / Dr. Dim ===
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* [[The Beast Master (trope)|The Beast Master]]: Used to be "[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20181116 the greatest monster wielder of the century]".
* [[Chekhov's Gunman]]: He's just an unsettling evidence of Klaus's unsavoury experiments. Then we find out what sort of things he was making before plush bears (or even Krosp). And that Martellus used to be his apprentice. That he managed to ''really upset'' Albia, too (and survive). And that he was dealing with [[Cosmic Horror|otherworldly]] monsters…
* [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]]: We are introduced to the pitiful post-lobotomy version of the guy. Vapnoople used to be quite tough and aggressive, even for a Spark.
** Eventually Dr. Vapnoople is cured by the intervention of an extradimensional entity. He then goes on to fight and resoundingly defeat a
* [[Evil Mentor]]: Wants to be one to Agatha. After all, he and Agatha's grandfather were fraternity buddies! Even when Agatha ''fights'' him he just praises her on her combat ability and says it's good that she can take care of herself.
* [[Evilutionary Biologist]]: He does not exactly have ill will toward the people he doesn't see as rivals, but made monsters because humanity as the uncontested apex predator tend to go decadent. Of course, his idea of optimal evolutionary pressure is so crazy even his creations can see it.
=== Queen Albia ===
Her Undying Majesty. The Sunken Queen (for the [[Fish People|Deepdwellers]]). Queen Albia of England.
Marital status unknown. May have some prince consort, or at least had recently, seeing how there are multiple Royal Princesses (in habit of being kidnapped).
She has some cephalopod subjects, and evidently had peaceful relations with [[Our Mermaids Are Different|Deepdwellers]] and [[Kraken and Leviathan|Great Cetaceans]]… until outside malicious interference. At the start of the comic, strained relations after a war.
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* [[Brain Uploading]]: Just for memory archive, because human brain's storage capacity is not up to ''that'' age, no matter what.
* [[Expy]]: Whimsical, brightly-colored God-queen who loves practical jokes and is simultaneously worshipped yet seen as mostly harmless by her subjects, who is actually a terrifyingly ancient and wise being who maintains this facade because she doesn't want to frighten the mortals around her? Are we talking about Albia of England or [[My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|Princess Celestia]]?
** Ever since the [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20200501 candy hair incident], some fans have been calling her "Trollbia". As in 'Trollestia'.
* [[God-Emperor]]: One of the last
** Albia and those trying to "ascend" like her consider this ''sufficiently godlike'' state the next stage beyond Spark, even calling the process of attaining it the "''second'' breakthrough".
* [[Hidden Depths]]: We've already known that Albia was powerful, whimsical, charismatic, and even serious when it came time to really throw down, but during the grand ball sequence Albia suddenly started being ''devious'' as well... to the point that she had three of the most devious members of the most devious family in Europa (the Valois, of course) all hopelessly split up, distracted, and chasing shiny diversions instead of spotting the intrigue in progress in ''five minutes''.
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* [[Mad Scientist]]: Used to be one, but moved to the next stage. Still can play the role nicely when she wants to.
* [[Odd Couple]]: Had a "beautiful, doomed affair" with… Klaus Wulfenbach of all people. Does not give her any [[Unbalanced by Rival's Kid|hang-ups about]] Gilgamesh, as far as can be seen.
* [[Royal We]]: The first ruler in the comic actually using it. Even [https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20200605 in a quiet aside with her daughter]. Of course, given what we know of attempts at "second breakthrough" by Lucrezia Mongfish and {{spoiler|Lord Snackford}} (and her own behaviour immediately after the audience), this may be "hive mind We", meaning the Queen herself and her otherworldly symbiont. Or something weirder.
* [[Shapeshifter]]: She rapidly changes her hair and attire as a way of non-verbal communication; e.g. black dress and veil upon hearing of another God-Queen's demise, then shifting into that queen's shape (presumably) as a tribute to her achievements and memory.
** [[Sizeshifter]]: Among the other things she does seemingly at will.
* [[Sufficiently Advanced Technology|Sufficiently Godlike Abilities]]: Even Agatha in "first attempt" and Lucrezia immediately upon reclaiming her "godhood" had abilities from mental enhancement to unusual relationship with spacetime continuum to telekinesis. Albia does this for millennia, and is remotely connected to artifacts that give her more perks, so…
{{quote|'''Klaus''' (personality overlay): It is ''not'' magic — and, for Heaven's sake, don't ''call'' it that in front of Albia. Everything she does is subject to the laws of nature. Hers is a science ''so advanced'' it merely ''seems'' like —}}
* [[Telepathy]]: Occasionally uses it to communicate and cancel mind control. And manipulate memories to some degrees: for one, when Albia personally recites names of the fallen as a part of memorial service, listeners ''will'' remember those… effective immediately and indefinitely.
* [[Teleportation]]: Or some equivalent. She certainly has advanced understanding of space (as seen in the Queen's Henge), and does something to vanish and appear where she wants to. So far, used it only to give some guests (Gil and Tarvek, and later Martellus and Seffie) brief panic attacks.
* [[Time Abyss]]: "Her Undying Majesty" is not just a honorific. She got too many memories to carry them all. As to the changes, she was around back when Britain was connected to the continent...
** Albia is noticeably nostalgic for her circle of "sister Queens" (''that'' fun time ended about five millennia ago). She occasionally sends explorers, but "tries not to get her hopes up", and it was above-average news that at least Skifander is still around, if not Luheia herself.
** ...and [[Lonely at the Top]]: That could be ''only'' nostalgia, but Albia was also disappointed that Luheia wasn't replaced by another Immortal God-Queen, and quite excited to discover Agatha already have tasted and survived "god mode".
* [[Took a Level in Badass]]: When she was already Sufficiently Godlike, at that. She was barely saved by Sianna's [[Heroic Sacrifice]] when the enemy came for the Queens. Now ''[https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20180718 unlike other surviving God-Queens]'' Albia sends her representatives and explorers everywhere and doesn't hide who and what she is. Which delivers an implicit yet obvious challenge: "I'm right here — go on, come at me ''now''". And when she met {{spoiler|Lucrezia ([[Grand Theft Me|sort of]])}} the next time, Albia specifically made a point that she was preparing for their eventual rematch:
{{quote|(deflects lightning) We have ''learned'', demon. You will not kill ''Us'' that easily!}}
* [[You Kill It, You Bought It]]: Albia started with spying upon and deposing the neighbour "Witch Queen" Lozz who was raiding her people. Then she walked to the mirror... The rest seem to have decided Albia is easy to deal with (she
=== Princess Neena ===
One of the British Royal Princesses. Dark skin, wavy black hair, blue eyes, rather short — much like [https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20200605 one of] Albia's current favourite shapes. [https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20200504 First appearance]: right before the great ball. Have studied in Paris, seems to specialize in ancient history. Accidentally helped to move the [[Myth Arc]] along by fussing around when Zeetha was sparring with Bang.
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* [[Love Dodecahedron]]: In the second layer. Neena [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20200506 hotly defends the notion that "Prince Tarvek is nice"], then it turns out they [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20200817 are on very good terms] back from Paris and then she tempts him with one of his obsessions to spend more time together.
* [[Not Me This Time]]: Has a reputation for making mess in museums, overblown but [https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20200817 not ''entirely'' unjustified].
* [[Tomboy Princess]]: At least, Enthusiastic Adventuring Princess. She is [https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20201113 excitable] and [https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20200504 easily bored by Court functions] (or just restless in general). We have seen her in a fancy dress on a sort-of-official event, but otherwise she prefers [https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20201111 pants-blouse-corset-jacket ensemble]. Either way, her colors are light or greenish blue and gold.
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