#theopholous dumedd

[elzerei-likes-girl-genius]

Thinking about Gil hiding his Spark on Castle Wulfenbach

[akallabeth-joie]

Girl Genius Pre-Canon Timeline

I just binge-read through the archives again, and decided to finally sort though all the time cues we get for the 20-odd years before the story starts. Years are based on the date on Klaus Barry Heterodyne's memorial, in conjunction with Agatha's age, and a lot of "it's been X years" remarks made during flashbacks. I'm only using information from the webcomic, since I don't have the novels on hand.

Late 1869- mid 1870: Lucrezia Mongfish accepts Bill Heterodyne's proposal; disappearance of Klaus Wulfenbach

?1870?: Birth of Gilgamesh Wulfenbach*

?1871?: Birth of Tarvek Sturmvoraus*

1872: Birth of Bill and Lucrezia's eldest child, Klaus Barry Heterodyne (2 years 3 months after Klaus Wulfenbach's disappearance)

Before 1873: Birth of Theopholous DuMedd, son of Serpentina Mongfish. His aunt Lucrezia attended his christening, which therefore must have taken place sometime before her disappearance.

1873 (or January 1874): The Other attacks Castle Heterodyne, killing Klaus Barry (age 407 days / 13 months) and 63 castle staff including Carson Von Mekkan's son (and possibly also Dr. Mongfish**). Disappearance of Lucrezia. Bill and Barry Heterodyne leave Mechanicsburg to fight the Other. Beginning of continent-wide warfare and chaos.

1874: Birth of Agatha Heterodyne (<9 months after attack on Castle Heterodyne, probably at least 4- 5 months after, since Lucrezia was apparently not showing at the time of her disappearance).

c.1874-1875: “A few years” after the destruction of Castle Heterodyne (per Carson), and “about 18 years” before the main story starts (per the authors in the now-defunct list of all characters appearing in the story), Bill & Barry Heterodyne disappear.

c.1875-77: Attacks from the Other stop shortly after the Heterodyne Boys disappear. Klaus Wulfenbach returns to Europa, builds the airship Castle Wulfenbach and ends the wars, making an empire in the process. At some point, he starts a school for the children of rulers and powerful sparks.

1877/8: TPU expedition to Castle Heterodyne, which lasts 6 months; during that time, Klaus Wulfenbach takes over Mechanicsburg

1878: Klaus Wulfenbach begins imprisoning troublesome sparks in Castle Heterodyne

?1878?: Gilgamesh Wulfenbach breaks through as a spark at age 8. Tarvek is sent home from Castle Wulfenbach at some point before this.

??At some point before 1879 (and probably after 1875) Barry returns with Agatha; they are constantly moving, and Barry keeps their identities a secret, even from his old friends.

1879: Agatha, age 5, begins to break through as a spark.

1881: Barry Heterodyne disappears again, leaving Agatha in the care of Adam & Lilith Clay in Beetleburg.

1889: Tarvek takes Tinka from Master Payne's circus and reverse-engineers her to make a clank body for his mortally-wounded sister Anevka.

1892: The Story Begins... (spring/summer 1892)

1894-5: The Story Resumes (deep winter, after a 2.5 year time-skip).

*I think the novelization mentions Gil being 22 when the story starts (which is the age listed on the fan wiki, no source cited), but it's been years since I read it, so here I'm sticking to the information in the comic itself. This is a rough estimate, since we don't have a ton to go on: we know that Gil was born during his father's exile and accompanied him back to Europa, which puts his birth year at no earlier than 1870 and no later than 1875. Gil is finished with college by time the story starts, suggesting that he is older than Agatha (who is 18 and still a student at that point), but he also appears to have returned to Castle Wulfenbach relatively recently (having run into none of his old friends, who also haven't noticed that a certain empty laboratory is now his flight lab). Around age 8, Gil was friends with Tarvek, which suggests they are probably of a similar age. If taken literally, Tarvek's remark about being ~3 years old when his father was collaborating with the Other (c.1874 and before) puts his birth year around 1871. Like Gil, Tarvek has finished college before the story starts, and was apparently back in Sturmhalten at least three years before the story.

**The lengthy but defunct character list has Dr. Mongfish dying in an attack on Castle Heterodyne. We only know of one such attack, though it's possible this refers to a separate, earlier event. However, his grandson Theo Dumedd's (fictional) story of the Heterodynes' disappearance puts Dr. Mongfish as alive up to that point--and while many parts of the timeline don't fit this fictional story, I think it's weak evidence that Dr. Mongfish didn't die or disappear conspicuously earlier.

[camthewizard]

I don’t remember what happened to Theo and Sleipnir. Are they okay? They might still be frozen.

[randomly-random-jen]

Uncalled For Actions (14/?)

A Girl Genius fanfic

When Gilgamesh Holzfäller is fourteen, he’s taken on as an apprentice to Baron Wulfenbach as part of a program to produce the next generation of leaders in the Empire–a group that will hopefully get along (although most see this as wishful thinking on the Baron’s part). He’s learned a lot over the months of shadowing the Baron, but nothing has prepared him for his most challenging assignment: confronting the skeletons in his closet.  

[Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Part 15 ]

Part 14

"Not taking the bait, huh?" he continued, eyes sparkling with amusement. "Aren't you just a dedicated little thing? I wonder how dedicated, though." He stood, rifling in his coat while his companions--probably the same idiots from yesterday--snickered at his side.

There was a swish of metal on metal that made all of the hairs on Violetta's arms stand up and then a dagger landed ten centimeters from her left pinky. She didn't flinch--just glared at the knife. More feet entered her field of view while interest grew in the confrontation. She was sure some people were taking bets, and she didn't like her odds at the moment.

Another knife landed with a thunk between her hands, setting off additional rounds of betting. She never hated anyone more than she hated Martellus at this moment--him and his stupid games and always trying to make Violetta look bad.

What is his problem? She very nearly gave in to the urge to blurt the question but bit her tongue instead to keep quiet.

A moment, later, a third knife dropped past her face, wedging in the ground between her thumb and forefinger on her right hand, getting the tiniest twitch in her fingers. Sweat coated her skin and dripped into her eyes, forcing her to blink to clear them. She wet her chapped lips, tasting the salt then swallowed hard.

Martellus disappeared behind her where a knife skimmed her leg, landing near her knee. Another settled near her left boot while a third suddenly appeared next to her wrist--this time drawing a trickle of blood.

"Oops," Martellus said, "did that hurt?"

Violetta called on every training exercise she normally despised to keep still and control her breathing. She wasn't too worried about Martellus right now--he wouldn't do anything to seriously injure her with all of these witnesses, but he would enjoy humiliating her which just fueled her need to show him a fool.

"Damn, I'm out of knives," Martellus called. "Anyone got a spare or three." He laughed at his own lame joke as the other kids clamored to appease his request.

Violetta focused on her reflection in the large dagger directly ahead of her and prepared for the next knife to drop, but Martellus decided to change things up. The knife he dangled before her was more of a small sword. He pressed the flat side to her forehead--the steel feeling cool to her clammy skin then slowly he slid it up then over the top of her head and across her back.

He settled it between her shoulder blades, hilt resting against her tailbone and the tip scraping her collar.

Martellus pressed his mouth to her ear--his breath hot and heavy. "You should really learn to mind your own business, Violetta."

The implied threat froze her insides, setting off panic alarms in her head.

“Let's see how still you can be," he said loud enough the crowd could hear. "That point is sitting a millimeter from your brain stem--the smallest tremor could move it which would be very, very bad for you, little dumpling."

Violetta's arms ached as she fought to keep still and the knife was heavy enough to throw her balance off--nevermind all of the blood that had been pooling in her head the last half hour. Worse than the physical pain was the edge of panic wedging into her subconscious. She had no idea how she was going to get out of this short of Martellus showing mercy which was a hell of a long shot.

Her only option was to hope she could hold out long enough that he just got bored because she knew no one was going to take her side over Martellus--not even her own brothers who were somewhere in the cavern already doing nothing.

If Tarvek were here...

But he wasn't, and she had told him she didn't need him to protect her. She almost laughed at the irony and redoubled her efforts because she didn't want Tarvek finding out about this and proving him right. It would go right to his already-fat head.

Martellus squatted down in front of her again and tapped her nose. "How you doing, Violetta? Ready to admit defeat--you just have to say the words."

Not a chance in hell, she thought but kept her jaw clamped tight. Somewhere to her right, a boy shouted then a scuffle broke out, forcing the crowd to shift away from them. Violetta watched a boot come precariously close to stepping on her fingers. She still refused to move.

"Sounds like the natives are getting restless; you could get trampled. Just say the words and you're free to go. 'Martellus, you are so much better than me in every way, and I bow to your superiority.' Of course, you'll have to actually bow, too--it's only right."

Violetta rolled her eyes--he was so full of himself, and she bowed to no one except maybe Tarvek, but she worked for him, and there would need to be circumstances.

Someone suddenly bumped her side, causing the knife to slide down her back, the point now pricking her skin. A trickle of something slid over her neck, but she couldn't tell if it was sweat or blood.

"Uh-oh," Martellus said with a laugh that made her want to punch him.

Of course, most things he said and did made her want to punch him.

"What is the meaning of this," a voice boomed, echoing around the chamber.

The other students scrambled back to their stations, giving Violetta her first clear view of things. Several kids had stayed in their positions like Violetta, but most had given up and were now trying to decide if it was worth the effort to fake it.

Next to her, Misha lifted himself back onto his hands, but Viktor just stood at attention behind her. Martellus hopped to his feet, snatching the daggers from around her as he turned to the front of the room.

Herr Delmeck strolled purposefully through the chaotic lines. "Martellus von Blitzengaard, why am I not surprised? I was under the impression you graduated from my class already, but perhaps you've realized the sad conclusion that you don't know as much as you think you do."

"I've missed you, too, sir," Martellus answered smoothly.

"Then perhaps you'd care to join us."

Martellus started to walk away, the knives nowhere to be seen. "I'd love to, Herr Delmeck, but I'm needed at the summit."

"That wasn't a request, von Blitzengaard--in formation now."

Several kids snickered as Martellus cringed then slowly turned to take up the ready position next to Violetta.

Delmeck studied them a moment before returning to the head of the room. "Maybe you can help us in our lesson today."

"Which is?" asked Martellus sounding more bored than anything.

"We're having a discussion on the merits of routine versus spontaneity in the field. Half of the class believes in following routines because it's as it always has been while the other half responds to sudden changes because that's what was demanded. What are your opinions?"

Martellus thought it over a moment. "Routines, training, dedication-" he side-eyed Violetta "-are good starting points in any engagement. It's what you know and can keep you safe by reacting without thinking but being able to change based on circumstances is how you win because real life is nothing like training--it's unpredictable.

“On the other hand, following orders just because someone yells them could get you killed--you have to learn to trust your instincts.”

"Very good, Herr von Blitzengaard," Delmeck said with a nod.

"What?" Viktor shouted, his voice cracking in his apparent anger.

"Wait," said Misha, now sitting, "you mean there's no right answer. It didn't even matter if we followed the routine or did the flip?"

Delmeck stopped in front of Misha. "Ah, but you did neither, Herr Dohvoshki--you are dead."

"What was even the point?" asked Viktor.

"The point was to make you think. Training can take you only so far; you must learn to react to sudden changes, and as Martellus said, trust your instincts."

"Well, my instincts told me to be confused," Misha muttered.

"Yes, and that's why you are dead--your instincts need to be worth listening to before you act on them."

This got laughs from the other kids.

"Your instincts told you to follow my commands," he said to Violetta," because you trust me."

"Yes, sir," she whispered, ashamed of the way her voice quivered with exhaustion.

"And you stayed in this position because?"

Violetta swallowed hard, hoping her voice less croaky this time. "Because you didn't dismiss us yet."

Delmeck didn't respond right away, just strolled off.

"Such a suck up," Martellus said under his breath. "You learn that from Tarvek or does it come naturally?"

Violetta growled as her patience wore dangerously thin, but before she could give in to the urge to react, Delmeck returned to the front of the cavern.

"Class," he shouted, "at attention."

Despite her aching muscles, Violetta shot upright, back straight, arms at her side. Martellus and the others did the same without hesitation either.

"Violetta, Carmine, Delia, Warner, and Sanjay," Herr Delmeck called, "the five of you remained at your commanded positions even after I left and von Blitzengaard commandeered my class. I commend your dedication and your instinct to obey your trainer. You are al free to go."

Violetta let out a sigh of relief, her shoulders relaxing.

"The rest of you obviously need more lessons."

Not waiting to see what lessons the trainer had n mind, Violetta darted for the exit, snatching one of Martellus' daggers still in the floor near her foot. She bypassed the Smoke Knight dorms and didn't stop until she was on the other side of the castle.

Again, her instinct was to find Tarvek to tell him what happened so maybe Delmeck was wrong about her. She ignored the urge, instead, creeping through passages until she found her way to Tarvek's empty lab.

Chemistry wasn't her strong suit, but Tarvek had tutored her extensively for her last exam. That with the textbooks and equipment here she could try to analyze her potions to figure out what went wrong with her interrogation.

She laid her vials on a table then gathered her supplies using the lists Tarvek had her memorize for the tests then she stood there staring at the mess.

"I can do this," she said out loud but didn't feel much convinced. Before she could dwell further on her sure-to-be-failure, she forced herself to set up the burners and prepare samples like Tarvek showed her.

"I can do this," she repeated with more force. “I don't need Tarvek to hold my hand through everything." She still didn't sound too convincing but the longer she messed with the equipment, the more confident she felt

While the first test did its thing, Violetta finally allowed herself to relax, tossing her cloak onto a chair and stretching her sore shoulders. When her fingers brushed over a raised spot at the base of her skull, she vowed to make Martellus pay, and for that, she might have to ask Tarvek for help.

* * *

The afternoon meeting got off to a slow start. Gil skirted through the door just as the guards closed it, but the Baron and Prince weren't at the table. He took his seat beside Tarvek but neither acknowledged the other.

A servant arrived to fill the ink wells and deposit extra stacks of parchment then disappeared without a sound. Gil nearly asked the boy if he could get a snack--a piece of bread would do--but managed to hold his tongue. Minutes passed with nothing happening which gave Gil too much time to think about everything that had happened the last two days and wonder at what catastrophes lay ahead. 

He opened the folder in front of him and found his schedule for the week. Today's meeting was to end at six in the evening. According to the clock on the wall, it was half-past two--three and a half hours to go then no doubt countless more hours finishing his translations Tarvek had so kindly volunteered him for. Supper was to be served at seven in the guest dining hall or private quarters.

The next morning, smaller workshops were scheduled on various topics, but it looked like the Baron would be having private meetings. Gil didn't know what that meant for him--maybe more translating. More workshops and more meetings filled the afternoon with Thursday being more of the same.

Friday was another day of long meetings in the summit room with presentations by various apprentices. He groaned when he saw his own name penciled in at three--he had no idea what to do his presentation about. His father hadn't given him a choice when he made Gil an apprentice, but he'd thought it would be at least more exciting than school.

He was wrong.

With a sigh, he slipped the schedule behind his other papers and tapped the folder with his pen. Why weren't they starting yet?

Having nothing to do was almost worse than having too much except he had things he could be doing like translating or eating or sleeping off the growing headache. His other fingers joined the rhythmless beat of his pen while his grumbling stomach offered a counterpoint.

Tarvek suddenly grabbed both his hands, crushing all of his fingers together then signaled with his other hand to a guard. "Do you have any idea what the delay is?" he asked the older man.

"Apparently several apprentices are missing--they're attempting to track them down."

"Who's missing?" Gil asked, struggling to free himself from Tarvek's grasp.

"I do not know, sir."

"Thank you, sergeant," Tarvek told him, waiting until he returned to his station before releasing Gil.

Gil swiped half-heartedly with his pen, but Tarvek easily deflected.

"Any idea who's not here?" he asked.

Tarvek glanced around the room--people were milling about, obviously curious of the delay and bored. "No."

"There's only like fifty of us and aren't you related to half of these people?"

Tarvek sighed like the teachers often did with the younger students on Castle Wulfenbach. "There are actually fifty-six including you and me, and I may be related to many of them, but I'm not their keepers."

Gil frowned at his folder. "Wait, there's fifty-five apprentices for the Fifty Families? Do you people even know how to count?"

"It's complicated," Tarvek said with another sigh.

"Family always is," Gil muttered then quickly added, "or so I've heard." A couple minutes passed before Gil found himself tapping again. "But weren't some of them sick?" he asked suddenly, remembering that detail from yesterday morning. "That would narrow the field."

"Holzfäller, let it go--I have no idea who isn't here."

"I'm bored," Gil protested, "work with me here."

Tarvek pinched the bridge of his nose. "How are you even here? Of all the people, why did the Baron choose you when you can't even sit still?" He grabbed Gil's tapping fingers again and squeezed. "I can't figure out his angle. Seventy-five percent of politics is tedium, and the rest is schmoozing and you can't handle either. All of your fumbling around just looks bad on him and the Empire, so why you?

“My only conclusions are he picked your name from a hat and is unfortunately stuck with you or he's completely lost his mind."

Gil tugged his hands free, glaring. "I'm sitting right here."

"I know, and it's totally baffling. You should quit."

"What?"

Tarvek continued to watch the room, avoiding Gil's gaze. "I'm not trying to be rude, but you're not cut out for this life--being a ruler is-"

Gil crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not here to be a ruler."

"Then why are you here?" Tarvek asked, finally looking at Gil.

Because I'm going to lead this Empire some day. He didn't say it out loud, though, and before he could formulate an acceptable answer, the door behind them opened and their fathers took their seats, bringing the meeting to order.

The afternoon progressed with little time to dwell on Tarvek's veiled insults or the fact that he sort of agreed with the weasel--Gil wasn't sure he was made to be a leader. It's a thought that haunted him at every meeting he was dragged to.

Finally, four hours later, recess was called for the evening and Gil was dismissed. He didn't wait around to be hauled back to the library to translate but had no idea where else to go so he followed the other delegates back to the guest quarters where they were preparing the dining hall for supper.

"Hey, Holzfäller," someone called, running up behind Gil. "You going to the party, right?"

"Party?" Gil frowned, racking his brain for a memory of a party listed on his itinerary.

"Yeah, a bunch of us are getting together tonight--strictly invite only."

A momentary thrill shot through Gil at the thought of being included--how often had he wished for that as a kid? "Sure," he answered without really thinking, "I'm in."

The kid clapped his shoulder then headed for his next invite just as a little sense cleared Gil's head. "Hey," he called after him, hesitating slightly until a name popped into his head, "Erik, is Sturmvoraus a part of this?"

"Prince Stick-Up-His-Butt-" Erik said with a laugh, "hell, no." Then he winked. "But his sister is."

"Okay," Gil said not sure if he felt relieved or disappointed, and the fact that he couldn't decide worried him almost as much as the sudden flare of anger over Erik's insult of Tarvek.

Why do I care what the other kids think of him? Plus, they're right--he's a stick in the mud. No one wants him around. Except a tiny part of him kind of did, and he hated it. He shook his head, veering towards his room to change--after all Anevka would be there. The thought made him smile as he snagged a buttered roll from a wheeled cart outside the dining room.

Maybe the day could be salvaged after all.

* * *

Gil waited for Barkley to go on his midnight walk before slipping out of their suite and following the barely legible directions scribbled on a scrap of paper he'd found after his shower. His heart raced as he snuck around the castle, reminding him of all the adventures he had as a kid--funny how Tarvek had been there for those, but now that they were in his house, he was nowhere to be found.

Which was for the best Gil reminded himself because Tarvek would probably ruin the fun somehow.

Taking a left, Gil found himself in a large sitting room with an entire wall of windows looking out onto a dark patio. According to the directions, he needed to cross the patio to a mirror sitting room. At least he thought that's what it said--he was worried about the literacy of whoever wrote the note.

He'd made it three steps into the room before someone grabbed his arm, yanking him to the floor behind a sofa, a hand slapped over his mouth as someone else shushed him just as a guard stomped through the room.

"That was close," said a girl--Celeste he remembered from a meeting last month.

"There's still two more," said the girl that shushed him.

Gil pulled away from the hand over his mouth to get a better look at the familiar voice. "Zulenna? What are you doing here? You're not an apprentice."

Zulenna scoffed. "I should think not, but my father and brother are here so the Baron allowed a pass to visit our families. Theo is here, too," she said, nodding past Gil.

Gil squinted over his shoulder just making out the glowing white eyes and teeth of his friend in the darkness.

"Hey, Gil," Teho whispered.

"Aren't you kind of young to be going to parties?"

Theo crossed his arms over his chest, eyes narrowing. "I'm twelve... and a half."

Gil snorted. You sound just like Seffie."

"Who?"

"Nevermind."

"Shh," Celeste hissed, ducking further behind the sofa and squishing Zulenna into Gil who fell against Theo. Another guard entered the room, looked around then exited onto the patio.

"What are we doing?" Gil whispered.

Celeste peeked over the back of the sofa. "We need to get across there, but the guards are changing shifts."

"They're very unpredictable--Uncle Aaronev says it keeps people on their toes."

Of course, she's a cousin, Gil thought. "Guess we know where Tarvek gets his sneakiness from," he muttered.

"We need a distraction," Theo said excitedly, eyes sparkling as he started snatching things from around the room. “I could totally make a misdirection gun from this and this-"

Gil slapped his hand over Theo's mouth as his voice pitched up an octave. "Calm down, Sparky," he said.

Theo mumbled something into his hand so Gil slowly pulled it away. "I just want to help."

"I know, but the solution doesn't always have to be so complicated. Watch and learn." Gil picked up a small solid glass orb from a dish on the side table then tossed it over the sofa towards the open patio door.

The four of them peeked over the sofa as the orb smacked the door frame, bounced across the room and into a large wall clock, setting it off then ricocheted off of a bookshelf into a lamp that wobbled precariously but didn't fall, and finally crashed into the patio door, spreading spiderweb cracks across the glass.

The guards, attracted by the noise, came running just as the large pane shattered.

"Oops," Gil mumbled.

"I'm watching, Gil," Theo said, "and learning so much."

"Stuff it, both of you," Celeste hissed then shoved them towards the patio where a window sat slightly ajar.

They crawled behind the guards' backs as they argued and discussed the broken door then one-by-one left out the window and scurried through the potted plants and mostly leafless trees. Back inside the castle, Celeste guided them out of the sitting room.

"This way."

"How do you know?" Gil asked. "Do you have a map or something?" He twisted his written instructions sideways and upside-down but they still made little sense.

Celeste grabbed the paper, crumpling it. "I memorized it, simpleton. Now let's go before the next guard rotation comes through here." She marched off, leaving Gil blinking after her.

"I like her," Zulenna said, hurrying after Celeste.

Gil sighed and followed.

"I'm still learning so much," Theo said with a grin.

"Oh, shut up."

"Both of you shut up," Celeste said without slowing. "How the guard hasn't caught the two of you with as much noise as you make is beyond me--no grace at all." The last part was said to Zulenna who nodded.

"You have no idea. On Castle Wulfenbach, I've been trying to get them to implement much-needed poise and etiquette lessons, but they don't listen."

"Not everyone can be as brilliant-" Gil said catching up to the girls.

"Or perfect," added Theo.

"-As you, Zulenna. You should definitely keep pressing the issue."

"Really?"

Gil nodded vigorously, Theo mimicking the move. "Oh yes--the Baron always wants to know how things are running on the ship, and who better to tell him about the school's shortcomings than the brightest student."

His father would kill him if he ever found out Gil's part in this, but he couldn't help himself--Zulenna was such an obnoxious brat, she deserved the Baron's personal attention.

"This way," Celeste commanded at the next intersection, turning right.

"What happened to being quiet," Gil asked.

"This part of the castle isn't used in the winter," she stated confidently.

No sooner were the words out of her mouth when a guard shouted, "You kids, halt!"

Celeste froze, color draining from her face. Zulenna looked between her friend and Gil with wide, frightened eyes that made him wonder if she ever stepped out of line and got caught. Well, Gil wasn't waiting to find out.

"Scatter," he yelled, grabbing Theo's arm and darting down the hall, taking a left not knowing where he was going but anywhere away from the guards was good with him--he was in enough trouble with the Prince already.

The two boys made it halfway down the hall when two guards appeared at the other end. Gil shot through an open door, Theo on his heels. The room appeared to be some kind of storage for the castle servants--filled with cleaning and maintenance supplies and no exit.

Great. Gil's eyes darted around, looking for any way out, anything to keep them from being caught.

"Now what?" asked Theo.

Heavy booted feet stomped down the hall as Gil's gaze landed on some barrels just inside the door. He used all his strength to swing a barrel around, tipping it on its side as he did.

"Now you get ready to run."

[ Part 15 ]

[mechanicsburglibrary]

[image id

A scene from Girl Genius. Theopholous Dumedd enters a lab saying, “Excuse me, Doctor, mimmoth exterminators...”

Gil, with his back to the door and Theo, pulls a face and says, “Wow. Does that ever take me back.”

Theo, now recognizing him, exclaims, “Wha - ? Gil?!!”

Gil says, “You’re in trouble. You need a place to hide. Probably from my father.”

end id]

Link - Mimmoth Catchers

Link - Stories from Paris

Additional data point regarding the friendship between Gil, Theo, and Sleipnir.

Gil is intimately familiar with Theo’s style of prank. His reunion with Theo is tense for two panels, in which they immediately reveal that each thought that the other was avoiding/ignoring the other. (Note: Theo refers to “our” letters, not “my” letters - more than one of the students is sending them. Safe to assume Sleipnir involved?) The instant Gil realizes there’s been a misunderstanding, his attitude towards Theo and the other students takes a 180 turn, and he enthusiastically helps them hide from post-prank pursuit.

Later the same day, he visits the student dorm and regales them with stories of his adventures in Paris.

(Thoughts: Gil’s attitude towards Theo and the other students changes immediately upon learning they tried to write to him, in complete contrast with his attitude towards Tarvek. There’s a difference in scope between the two misunderstandings - Theo and the other students’ only betrayal was not keeping in touch, not caring enough, while Tarvek’s betrayal was “pretending” to be Gil’s friend and using him to get information for the Sturmvoraus family about the Baron (passive v. active offense). The charges against Theo were easier to clear than the ones against Tarvek, and Tarvek didn’t immediately start trying to clear his name. They also had sour interactions in Paris between their falling out and the present timeline, and their present relationship is complicated by immediately realizing they’re rivals for Agatha’s attention.

I could also argue that because Gil & Tarvek had a closer relationship than Gil & Theo, losing Tarvek hurt more, so forgiving Tarvek is harder.)

[camelliamiddlemist]

i’ll be posting these drawings now, cause i’ll be busy by valentine’s day 

(this is part 1 btw)

first couple  Theopholous DuMedd and  Sleipnir O’Hara

next couple  is   Axel Higgs and  Zeetha, Daughter of Chump

then next is Xerxsephnia von Blitzengaard and  Colette Voltaire

next is  Larana Chroma and  Jiminez Hoffmann 

if there are any couples that i forgot, please just comment which one i forgot

[overlord-off-record]

Okay, so I’ve been encouraged to write a little series of ficlets involving poison-based misadventures in Paris. And I am weak, so I’m doing it. 1/?

---

Gil blundered into Unstable Chemistry class half asleep, as was his custom. Tarvek glared from his seat at the lab bench. Carousing at all hours again, no doubt. Not everyone had that luxury. Some people had to squeeze a few hours of sleep in between coursework and political machinations, not to mention dealing with the unsightly string of disasters that always seemed to crop up wherever Gil passed by.

Gil squinted blearily around the classroom, and, finding nearly every other seat occupied, he slumped over and threw his books in a careless heap beside Tarvek's.

"There's a perfectly good seat right behind you," Tarvek hissed through his teeth. Gil only arched one eyebrow at him. He was right, of course. No one wanted to work with Weismann. No one in the entire school had less of a gift for chemistry, yet here he stayed, ruthlessly soldiering onward, contaminating every sample he touched. Tarvek shot another sidelong glare at Gil.

Professor Otten liked to start each class with analysis of an unknown. Today, flasks of a clear liquid sat in neat rows on the counters. As soon as Otten signaled for the students to begin, Tarvek slid out of his seat and retrieved one for himself and his sleepy lab partner.

"I'd almost think you enjoy working with me," Tarvek said, and Gil shrugged.

"Of my options, you were the most competent."

Tarvek wanted that to be a compliment. He scowled. "Am I supposed to be flattered that I meet the minimum standards of the smartest layabout in school?"

"Layabout," Gil scoffed. He gave the contents of the flask an idle swirl. "I'm an extremely busy person."

"Busy swilling absinthe and raising havoc!"

"I have nothing to do with the havoc!"

"Sure." Tarvek rolled his eyes. "It just follows you around like a stray kitten."

Professor Otten cleared his throat. Tarvek busied himself with setting up a burner and a ring stand. Gil unstoppered the flask and gave its contents a sniff. Then he touched the underside of the stopper to the tip of his tongue.

"What the hell is the matter with you?!" Tarvek yelped, disrupting their neighbors.

Ignoring him, Gil wrote in his notes: Substance smells/tastes like methn methanol.

"THAT'S POISON, YOU IDIOT!"

"Sturmvoraus," Professor Otten said, turning a stern glare on the both of them, "is there a problem?"

Tarvek squared his shoulders and lifted his chin. "Holzfäller licked the unknown," he said as flatly as he could manage.

"Is this true?"

Gil shrugged and slumped back in his seat. He pushed his notes forward, as though his analysis excused poor lab safety. Professor Otten squinted at the page for only a moment before his scowl deepened. Reaching across, he took Tarvek's notes, and he wrote "+5" in the margin.

Tarvek stared. "Professor?"

"For not tolerating lax safety standards. You," he said to Gil, "had best stay after class to help organize the electroplating equipment."

"I have another class," Gil objected.

"Then you'll have to work quickly." Professor Otten inclined his head toward the sample in the flask. "Twice today. Lecture begins in fifteen minutes. Your sensory data, such as it is, is not sufficient to identify the unknown."

Gil's face twisted in a brief flash of irritation, but he managed not to say that he knew that. Tarvek felt a twinge of pride for his lab partner's unexpected self control. Otten moved on down the row to scowl at someone else. Gil skipped any pretense of remorse and got right to work, forcing Tarvek to scramble to keep up with him. As much as it vexed him—and it vexed him more than he had words to describe—he had to admit that the two of them worked well together. Within minutes, they had separated the substance into formaldehyde and formic acid. Gil tossed a smug smirk at Tarvek.

"How do you even know what methyl alcohol tastes like?"

Gil shrugged.

"You're an idiot," Tarvek said. "You're going to die a messy death brought on by your own belligerent recklessness." And he would probably have to see it. Tarvek ached inside, and he turned his attention to his own notes.

"Wouldn't that make you happy?" Gil sneered at him.

No, absolutely not. Inwardly, Tarvek recoiled in horror at the idea. And that Gil thought so… Well, Gil hadn't managed to hurt him so deeply in a long time. "Not if I have to clean up after you!" Tarvek snapped, and he congratulated himself on sounding annoyed rather than anguished.

"Well, I'll have to make sure I die far away from you."

Frustration nudged the fear and the pain aside. "That won't happen if you insist on tasting things in the lab!"

Gil gave him an unnecessarily thoughtful stare. "Fine," he said.

"Fine?" Tarvek repeated, finally arriving at absolutely flummoxed. "That's it? Just, fine?" He hated how Gil could make him feel this way, and with so little apparent effort.

Gil shrugged, of all the nerve. Tarvek glared, and Gil dropped his chin into his hands, apparently returning to his earlier drowsing. Tarvek finished writing up his lab report.

Professor Otten opened the lecture by asking, "What have we learned so far today?" To Tarvek's surprise, Gil's hand shot upward.

"What is wrong with you?" he hissed, and of course Gil ignored him.

"That friends who dare you to taste methanol cannot be trusted," Gil said when the professor gestured toward him. Otten made a face of exaggerated suffering.

"Technically correct. Anyone else?"

"What damn fool gave you methyl alcohol?" Tarvek demanded, leaning close beside Gil, concealing his rage. Gil shrugged again, damn him, and smiled a nostalgic little smile.

"Theopholous DuMedd," he whispered back.

"Oh, did he grow up to be an idiot, too?" Or perhaps that had been a murder attempt. DuMedd was the son of a Mongfish, after all.

"Not too much of one? We were very scientific about it."

"You're lucky you're not very scientifically dead," Tarvek grumbled. "Or at least scientifically blind." Did that sound too much like he cared?

Gil smirked at him. Tarvek managed to ignore it for all of four minutes before he could endure Gil's smugness no longer.

"What?" he hissed through tightly clenched teeth.

Gil had arranged all of his pens on top of his books in size order instead of taking notes on the lecture. "You've become a bit of a mother hen, haven't you?" he said, not looking away from his pens.

Tarvek hid his strangled howl of rage in a coughing fit. There was nothing, absolutely nothing overprotective about his despair of Gil's cavalier attitude toward ingesting a toxic chemical. "You're an idiot," he insisted, a final word on the matter.

Gil made no effort to defend himself.

[tanoraqui]

so there’s a slight chance that @constancecomment and I expanded her Heist AU with a very specific subplot. that is: Theo and Sleipnir totally have a tumblr on which they recount their adventures in thievery. In detail, mostly-true detail, with fake names and locations and often what exactly they were stealing this time, but pretty true descriptions of what they do to break into places and their adventures not-quite getting caught. also, the soap opera that their lives occasionally become, particularly when everyone teams up in Movie 1.

all their followers assume it’s an elaborate ongoing story, not real in the least. there are a lot of followers. there’s a fandom. there is art and fic.

All the fake names are ridiculous pop culture references:

Theo and Sleipnir are Clyde and Bonnie, the daring, dashing thieving couple protagonists. Particularly with their somewhat forbidden romance - the Irish heiress and the Indian-American who got a doctorate in chemistry then e,braced the criminal side of his family history instead of the law-enforcement side. Trés romantiqué.

“Clyde” and “Bonnie” also have a shared Twitter account, “in-character” but really it’s just Theo and Sleipnir’s own random twitter-worthy thoughts.

Clyde and Bonnie, in the “story”, keep a blog where they recount, with false names and stuff, their adventures. It’s all very meta, except Theo and Sleipnir are honestly not making anything up or putting on any false personas.

for a long time, Bonnie and Clyde work with a sidekick, the dorky third wheel named “Harpo.” The fact that he’s the leader of the group is sort of glossed over. He’s not the main character. He’s a dork who nearly dies a lot and doesn’t know how to talk to girls.

does Zanta follow this blog in order to keep up with Gil’s adventures? You bet. She forwards some of the better heist stories to Bill and Barry as well.

Wooster also follows it, and the Twitter. But he never gets any useful information - not because he can’t tell what they’re talking about through the codenames and location shifts, but because they do only ever post after a heist is done, so it’s too late. It is, in fact, an ongoing saga of “how did you fail to stop them this time”

speaking of: the recurring antagonist is intrepid Interpol Agent Zenigata!

most of the fandom ships him with Harpo

there’s fic

there’s most of the fic, because that’s how fandom works generally

other recurring characters, before Movie One, are mostly just Harpo’s family:

his sister (who sometimes joins on heists) Xena

his parents, Hippolyta and “the Baron”, retired criminals who now rule a small, anonymous island in the center of the Baltic Sea

see, it’s just ridiculous enough that it’s believable that it’s all totally fictional?

there’s no reference being made in Klaus being called “the Baron.” There’s no reason for it other than the general vibe Klaus gives off that in another life, he was a slightly evil, iron-fisted baron.

honorary sister the unnerving Madame Ching

and then Movie One, and there’s a HUGE UPDATE, possibly told in THREE THRILLING INSTALLMENTS. with OODLES of new characters!

and new ~*romance?*~

because it turns out Xena has been working with hacker extraordinaire Isabella, who is fact Clyde’s young cousin - and a family friend of Harpo!

the naming logic on this one is Castle-->Castille-->Ferdinand-->Isabella

and their wheelman, Rincewind, in his miraculously functional clunker Luggage

and then there’s the wayward scions of the notorious crime family: Rex, Regina, and Jacqueline (Jackie)

and then the ball REALLY gets rolling!

oh boy, the shipping.

Bonnie/Clyde is, of course, the OTP. The writers are so obviously in love that it’s rare for people not to ship them

a fair number ship Bonnie/Clyde/Harpo OT3, but more usual was Harpo/Zenigata with background The OTP

but then! suddenly we’ve got Harpo/Rex/Isabella!

but a lot of people are very stuck on Harpigata, so Rexabella takes off on it’s own?

or of course Harpo/Rex, ignoring Isabella or putting her with Xena as sort of an afterthought, because fandom is the worst like that

at some point Theo posts something like, “just fyi guys, Rex/Harpo/Isabella is definitely what’s really going on here. like, really really definitely; they’re sort of loud actually. -Clyde”

reblog from self: “mostly arguing. not sure if they’ve actually gotten to the bedroom yet. -Bonnie”

someone reblogs it complaining about the poor inspector being thrown to the curb, and Theo, who doesn’t know when to stop engaging, reblogs back with, “Alas, it was never meant to be. The Inspector is chained to his desk. Harpo never had the key for that heart. -Clyde”

innuendos about locks and keys are ENDEMIC in this fandom. it’s a menace, and a running joke at this point.

three separate people reblog that with variations on “‘chained to his desk’? *waggle eyebrows*” Theo admits defeat.

none of the fanart ever makes people look right, but every now and then, someone will capture something just right - the glint in Bonnie’s eyes as she cracks a lock, not even realizing she’s grinning like it’s a competition. The three of them, Clyde, Bonnie and Harpo, draped over each other with cocktail glasses scattered on the table, half-asleep and content. and the new people: Rex calculating over steepled fingers, Isabella pint-sized and burning with determination. Jackie even more pint-sized, fading into a shadow. Rincewind gripping a wheel so hard it looks like he might teleport instead, by sheer force of will. There, Theo and Sleipnir print out and share with their friends.

Agatha is HORRIFIED that they have this blog, and sets it up to go through at least four more proxy IPs before anything posts, and does background checks on all their followers, on tumblr and twitter.

“Do you know Agent Wooster follows this?”

“We sorta figured, yeah.”

“Agatha, calm down. We only post after we steal things. And he hasn’t caught us yet.”

Agatha: *adds like three more levels of untraceability*

Isabella’s family (Clyde’s aunt and uncle, and uncle-by-marriage) are Mario, Luigi, and Peach btw. Bill and Barry think it’s great, Lu is Offended.

KB does not, by request, ever appear in the story, except one time and then he asked them to take it down (of course he follows the blog, though he doesn’t have a tumblr. He just checks it periodically for updates on his friends’ adventures.) It’s not that he minds, really, but it’ll be a lot harder to tell officials that he has no idea where they are if there’s an explicit record of them crashing at his apartment sometimes? which is fair.

most people believe this is all an extremely elaborate story, but there's a distinct contingent of professional thieves and con artists who follow it, fully aware that it is real but don’t necessarily know who it is, and they just really appreciate the skill described. because our heroes? they’re the best.

and there’s a further small number of fans who either pay enough attention to the right sort of real-world events or maybe just caught something once because they lived close enough and then started looking into more, who realize this is a real thing. None of those people would ever DREAM of trying to hand that information to any sort of police though, because then he stories would stop.

[zjtimekeeper]

These two dorks, running away together on mad adventures.

[randomly-random-jen]

Camp NaNo Day 24 Snippet

"I'm twelve... and a half."

Gil snorted. "You sound just like Seffie."

"Who?"

"Never mind."

"Shh," Celeste hissed, ducking further behind the sofa and squishing Zulenna into Gil who fell against Theo.

[azzandra]

[x]

I've always wondered about this line.

Actually, what I've wondered was if this meant Klaus had Lucifer Mongfish's head in a jar somewhere on Castle Wulfenbach.

I mean, it is conceivable that Theo is talking about someone on the DuMedd side of the family, or that he's joking, but this is such a specific example, especially since we know the Baron really does have the habit of reviving and putting people's heads in jars if he thinks they'll be useful to him. So maybe after that airship accident, Klaus managed to recover Mongfish's head and added him to his roster of imprisoned Sparks.

But then the question is, how did Theo find out about this? Because I doubt the Baron just told him "hey, by the way, I have your grandfather's head in a jar", which makes it possible that Theo must have found out while sneaking around Castle Wulfenbach one day. 

(This makes me wonder if Dr. Mongfish was the one who told Theo that amusing anecdote about his christening.)

[tanoraqui]

“My lady, the O’Hara girl seems to be attempting escape with the assistance of your cousin Theopholous.” 

Agatha, Lady Heterodyne, glanced up from her clockwork tinkering. “What, Theo? He dares?” Sleipnir was less of a surprise.

“Yes, my lady.” The Castle sounded excited. “Shall I crush them for their insolence, or have them brought to you so you can do it yourself?”

Agatha clicked her tongue against her teeth. “Well, he has been visiting her frequently. Let them reach the outskirts of town, at escape difficulty level three, then alert me again. I might let them go if they do well enough.”

“It doesn’t do to allow such an affront to the reputation of your stronghold,” said her stronghold, nettled.

Agatha shrugged. “Theo’s family. And I want to finish this clank. So shush.”

“He’s the wrong side of the family.”

“Yes, so he’s usually much better about toeing the line.” Agatha spoke around the screwdriver that was already back in her mouth. “So he must really like her. Difficulty level three and shush.”

[camthewizard]

Wow, I never thought that Krosp’s status as the emperor of cats would actually be relevant. He himself said that most cats were too forgetful to follow his orders, but I guess it helps having robot cats whose minds (and mouths) are like steel traps. 

...I withdraw my previous statements. 

[camthewizard]

As aggressive as the minions flirting is, the sparks take everything to the next level.

They gon bone

[camthewizard]

Theo and Snaug have watched that one Frankenstein movie one too many times.

[camthewizard]

Higgs: the master of not sounding suspicious. What’s the opposite of suspicious? That what Higgs is!