midnightchemist

The following is a response to a post by kshandra (here:http://girlgeniuscomic.livejournal.com/175834.html?thread=7993050).
I felt it best to respond to it in my own journal than post it on girlgeniuscomics.  

Thank you for your indulgence. 



Let's be accurate here, I am not suspended from the girlgenius_lab forum.  I am banned for life.  I was in a very bad place at the time, and I did use foul launguage that was very rude and uncalled for.  While I understand and accept that, it still should be understood that I will NEVER be allowed to come back - "good behavior" non-withstanding.  I wasn't sent to "jail" with the chance of returning as a productive member; I was exiled to the wilderness to "die" for my crimes against the stasis quo and the "approved" train of thought.  I have accepted my fate, and I have moved on. 

Originally, I was suspended from adding new posts pertaining to updated pages of the comic.  This was because of a spoiler faux pas on my part - a completely fair and justifiable reason to suspend my privliges.  I was informed that if there were no other instances of "bad behavior", my posting privliges would be restored.  So, I was good - I didn't set new posts on new pages, and I kept any disagreements with other members "low-key" - in other words, I didn't point out obvious failings logic and facts in order to "make nice" and not draw attention to myself. After nearly a year of suspention, I realized that I had been fooled. My suspention would never be lifted because certain members of the forum (who had the admins' ear) had gotten what they wanted - a gagged MidnightChemist - one that could never debate their ideas, and therefore would allow their personal theories to go unchallenged.  I attempted to appeal to the admins of girlgenius_lab to no avail - they didn't want to be fair, they wanted me silenced.

Frustrated with this situation, tried to make the best of things, but on August 4, 2011 events in my personal life brought things to an ugly head.  While much of what I wrote I still feel is vaild, the tone and foul words used were not.  I am still very much ashamed that it happened, but unfortuately I cannot take it back.  Soon after, I was removed as an active member of the forum.  That ban continues to this day, and as far as I know, will continue unending.

Please understand - I am not trying to play the victim here - I merely wish to tell my side of events.  I also wish to state I do not blame the Foglios or Ms. Bentley for my "banned for life" stasis from girlgenius_lab.  They had, and still have, no control of decisions made there.  As unforturate as things were, and still are, with the whole situation, they were due to the internal politics of the girlgenius_lab forum.  I hope the Foglios and Ms. Bentley will be more open and fair, whatever they decide concerning their forum.

Dear Kaja,

 I first want to say I'm sorry for the words I wrote recently. Using the F-word against you, Phil, and the fans on the forums was uncalled for, and I regret writing them. I was (and still am) angry and frustrated by events in my personal life. However, I am also frustrated by the course of the story in Girl Genius. Pacing is really only one issue I have. My biggest beef is the development of Gil's character. 

 To be frank, I really like Gil, but I don't think either you or Phil do. When asked by fans who are your favorite characters, you often site Tarvek... and it shows. So far, Tarvek has not suffered any repercussions of his actions (and I doubt he will), and you always make him look good regardless of what he is doing to the point Agatha is completely blind to him. Gil, on the other hand, is always made to look either foolish, bad, or just downright evil in front of Agatha. Based on what I read in the first novel concerning the visions of "future Gil" and recent pages, I've come to the conclusion (and something I have feared would happen) you are gearing up for Gil to become Klaus, v. 2.0. Personally, I don't want to watch that as it will be the most painful thing to watch. This doesn't mean that I think characters should not develop, but they shouldn't go from being likeable characters to unlikable characters when it is not needed. If you want a character that was once a hero, then fell, only to find redemption, you already have Klaus. Why do you need Gil to go though the same thing (assuming he actually finds redemption, and not in a contrived way), especially when it will betray the trust you have built up in, well, at least some of your fans? Or perhaps just me, as most on the forum are overjoyed by the fact that Gil was evil after all and is finally showing his true colors. After all, Tarvek is the real hero!

 I guess I just have to face the fact that I've been fooled. At first, I thought you were going for the "will they, won't they" trope with Agatha and Gil, with the last minute hook up. However, I think it is clear now they you have no intention of pairing them together, and never had. You wanted to subvert conventions, and I think you have done it. To me, I feel like I have been punched in the gut, and all I hear is everyone's laughter around me, especially yours. 

 Is Girl Genius just a story? Of course it is, but it is also a form of escape (better than drugs or alcohol). My life has been filled frustration and disappointment, both in my career and in my personal life. I am facing continuing failing health, to the point I think I will have a much shorter life than I would have liked; and I have no husband or children, and I'll likely never will. I'm not expecting anyone to solve my problems for me, but for a long while, reading Girl Genius helped me deal with a lot of pain and depression in my life. It was the pick me up that brightened a tough day (or week... or month). I actually looked forward to page updates. Within the past year, however, I have received new pages with dread than joy. It is not a good thing when one of the few things in life that made you happy now just brings anger, frustration, and emotional pain.

 This is not to say that other writers have not disappointed me as well. You and Phil are not the first, and I doubt you will be the last. However, I had high hopes you would be different. I guess I was wrong to put so much faith in you. I will just have to add Girl Genius on the pile of my dashed hopes. It will have a lot of company there.

 Sincerely,

 Midnightchemist

You had questions, the Foglios had answers!

Sorry for the delay of all of this, but after I returned from the World Steam Expo, life became busier than normal. I have a lot to talk about - not just the questions you wanted answered. However, lets make that the first thing.

Headnoises asked about guest characters based on people they know. Other than Master Payne and the Countess (who are based on their children's god parents) and the obvious avatars for Phil and Kaja, the answer is no.

Geekhyena asked: What happened to Tarvek's mom? Did she die when Tarvek was a kid? Did Aaronev put her in the summoning engine? The answer to all these questions is.... a big secret. Try as I might, I couldn't get the Foglios to give me a clue as to what the answers might be. I even asked if Phil would draw a picture of Tarvek's Mom. He hemmed and hawed about this, and then finally said that if someone really wanted a picture of Tarvek's Mom, they would likely just get a nice pic of Agatha (not that they were suggesting that Agatha IS Tarvek's mother). Throughout the conversation we had on this subject, they were trying to suggest that the identity of Tarvek's mother is not really important to the story. However, if that is the case, why is it all a big secret?

Geekhyena also asked about other female Jaegers. At this point, that is unknown, even to the Foglios. More may turn up as the story progresses, if there is a need or want for them in the plot... or not. Theo and Sleipnir eloped, and as for her arranged marriage, the Foglios don't consider it a huge plot point. As for Higgs, his identity, his age, his relationship to the Jaegers, the Heterodynes and anything else about him - the Foglios are not saying. We will learn everything about Higgs sometime between now and the end of the story. In other words, "soon".

Murgatroy666 asked: Since the Professors started publishing the comic, have they made any significant changes to either the plot or the characters? (For example, it's widely believed that Theo originally was intended to be "doomed" ... If so, at what point did they change their minds?) Have they had any brainstorms about neat things to add that weren't in their original plans? Have they had any "Oops!" moments when they've had to revise the plot because they realized something wouldn't work? The short answer to these questions is yes. For the longer, more complete answer, you have to understand that the Foglios have been working on the premise of Girl Genius for seven to eight years prior to the first comic being published. So, a lot of ideas were bounced around for a long time and the story went though a lot of changes. For example, the original setting for the story was in the near future, however, based on Phil's drawings of airships and Kaja's love of things in the Victorian Age, they changed it to what is now considered "Steampunk" - although Kaja would consider it more of a "gas-lamp fantasy" (a term she coined) as there are no punks in Girl Genius. Also, considering Theo's stay of doom, many more of the students were supposed to die when Castle Wulfenbach was under attack by the Hive Engine - Sleipnir was one mentioned, and Klaus and Othar were at one time doing to die during this time as well. As to when they changed their minds considering the fates of the characters or the overall plot, that is really hard to say. All in all, it is just a part of the natural evolution of storytelling. The important thing to remember is that the Foglios have an overall plan for the story and certain milestones they know they need to reach along the way. The details of the story lie in how to get the plot and the characters from one milestone to another. This gives the story a framework to work with, while still allowing for creative freedom. 

Kaja did mention one "oops" moment, and it concerns Dr. Sun's granddaughter. Apparently, in the novel, she was given one name, and then later she was given another name because they forgot they had already named the character (I haven't had time to check this, but I think one of the names was Ming). Instead of fixing this in later editions of the novel, they decided to make one character two - so, Dr. Sun now has identical twin granddaughters. 

To what extent is Othar's Twitter narrative canon? Did he "really" meet Tarvek in an alternate future in which Europa had been devastated? The answer Phil gave is, "Sure, why not?". In other words, yes.

Are Skiff and Geisterspeak the same language? If so, did they bother to compile a dictionary, as fans have attempted to do? The answer to both of these questions is no. Kaja did mention that she knows what the ghost ladies are saying and what is being said in Skiff when it is spoken, but there is no direct translation. So everyone that is trying to compile a dictionary, stop. You are just wasting your time.

Is it significant that the Assistant has not been named in the narrative? No.

When are we going to learn Higgs' backstory? (Other than "Real Soon Now" ...) See the above answers concerning Higgs. He is just one of those characters that is just going to remain a mystery for the time being.

Without giving anything away, can they tell us what parts of the GG universe our characters won't visit in the course of the story? (E.g., the Americas, Britain, India, Mars ...) We will not be seeing the Americas. However, we will be seeing Paris and Britain for sure. More about that in another post...

Vanamonde is a cool name. Do the Professors know of any other Vanamondes than the ones in Girl Genius and The City and the Stars? Good catch! That novel is exactly were they got the name from.

Beth Leonard asked: How are the Agatha H. book sales going? And what ever happened to Phil's blog where he promised to tell us what was going on with the publishing world and why they made the changes to the book that they did? Book sales are doing very, very well. As for the blog, he has been too busy to work on it. However, to answer your question as to why they made the changes they did, the Foglios did say that the novels allowed for more elaboration about the characters and the world. They also offered the one example to changing Agatha's roommate aboard the Castle Wulfenbach form Sleipnir to Zulenna stating the change fit better from a narrative standpoint. As a side note, they also added that Zulenna will be back. Can't keep a good princess down, now can you?

As for more info on the novels, the soft cover for the first book will be out in August. The second novel will likely be out either November or December. More info on that in another post as well...

SFF Corgi asked: Ask about the Girl Genius RPG from Steve Jackson Games. We haven't had an update for a long time. Kaja feels very badly about this, but the Girl Genius RPG was put on the back burner a long time ago, and it doesn't look like it will get off it anytime soon. This is really a disappointment for the Foglios because they stated that now would be a good time to release it, but they don't have anything even close to being publish-worthy. Kaja did mention that she spoke to Steve Jackson lately, and he is not happy about the situation. As for the fate of the RPG? That is up in the air right now. It is something they would like to finish, but they don't know when they will find the time to do so.

That is all for the questions you asked. Stay tuned, however, because I will be back with even more info on Girl Genius I gathered from the World Steam Expo. See you next time!

If you haven’t read my last post on the Novelization of Girl Genius, I recommend doing so, as I will be referring to the summery I wrote there.

 Overall, my impression of the novel was very positive.  It was great to revisit the story in this way.  In many ways, it was like hearing it for the first time, regardless how both the situations and the characters have become so familiar over the years.  I’m really looking forward to picking up my copy next Spring.

 The best part of this, however, has to be the prologue.  Finally some new information about The Other and the Heterodyne Boys – especially the later considering that almost all information we have about them up to this point has been either inaccurate stories or mere hearsay.  It was cool to see them work together, in particular the fact that when they Heterodyne, they do so in harmony (something I forgot to mention in my last post).

 The most interesting information, I believe, is what we learn about The Other.  It is not much information, but I believe it is important.  One thing I found interesting is the way The Other attacks - it strikes reminiscent of how the Bugs attacked Earth’s cities in Heinlein’s Starship Troopers.  Also, the text seemed to suggest that the attacks were “other-worldly” in origin, like from Mars, but I have to wonder if this is just a distraction.  After all, how hard would it be for a powerful Spark to rocket boulders and hive engines to a high altitude and, with a precisely calculated degrading orbit, have them land on target to decimate entire towns?  At least, that is one possibility.

 It is also important to point out the difference of the attack described in the prologue to the attack on Castle Heterodyne that Carson described to Agatha.  While Castle Heterodyne was nearly completely destroyed, the town of Mechnicsburg was unharmed.  While this may have become more obvious in the comic recently, I see this as more evidence that the attack on the Castle was not an attack at all, but a lab experiment that went very, very wrong.  Thus, Lucrezia had to destroy her notes and servants, and escape, being then forced to put her ultimate plan for conquest into action before everything was ready (like perfecting the Revenants).

 One last thing I would like to point out might be significant, or it might not.   Let me explain:  you’ll notice in the prologue it was stated that it had been three years since the attack on Castle Heterodyne and Lucrezia’s “kidnapping”.  However, the events in the prologue are supposed to be 18 years prior to the beginning of the first chapter.  This raises some problems.  Either Agatha is older than she thinks she is, or Bill Heterodyne is not her father (or it could be something involving the time windows, which is my default theory whenever something doesn’t make sense).  All of this may not be an issue because I received an e-mail from someone who was able to read a first draft of the story in which it was three months, not three years, since The Other’s first attack on Castle Heterodyne.  This would make more sense.  This may just be a case of waiting for the book next Spring in order to find out what makes it into the final draft.

 Finally, I would like to close this post responding in more detail to some comments made to my last post.  Some were obviously upset by the novelization of Girl Genius because this appears to put the once promised Girl Genius GURPS Sourcebook not just on the back burner, but completely off the stove.  For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, the GURPS sourcebook was a project that Kaja was working on in coordination with Steve Jackson Games.  This was before Girl Genius became a web comic, and fans only had the yahoo group.  Kaja would make a post once and a while on how the sourcebook was coming and how it would be out “soon”.  As months passed, we heard less and less about it to the point it was never mentioned again.  By that time, the fandom was up in arms about the conversion from traditional, single issue comics to the web comic, so over time the sourcebook was never spoken of again. 

 What the sourcebook might have been, from how it was billed, was something akin to a Girl Genius Encyclopedia – information on the people, places, history, and technology of this fantastic world.  That being the case, I can understand the disappointment that some feel at this point, but I think this all needs to be put in proper perspective.  Some of these points I have made before in my replies, but they bear repeating, as well as expanding on.

 First, I think the main reason that the sourcebook was not published was because, by its promised nature, would have been very spoilerish.  It is possible to believe that if it truly was going to be a type of encyclopedia, then in order to be truly comprehensive, it would have to include information that the Foglios would not want revealed just yet.  Another possibility is that, in some ways, the World of Girl Genius continues to evolve.  While the Foglios have an idea of the beginning, middle, and end of this story, the details that connect these are under their creative flow and change.  Therefore, it would be unwise to commit to print something that might need to change for the sake of plot development.  In any case, it appears it was a doomed project from the start.

 Second, it is important to also point out that the Foglios were not alone in this project.  Steve Jackson Games had their stake in this as well, since they were to be the ones to publish the sourcebook.  Thus, they could have been the ones to pull the plug on the sourcebook if they thought the Foglios were taking to long in writing it, or perhaps there was no indication that a Girl Genius Sourcebook would even sell.  Remember, the sourcebook was proposed around 8 years ago when Girl Genius was still building a fan base, and streampunk was nowhere near as popular as it is now.

 Third, while I enjoy comics and RPGs, even I have to admit they are a niche market.   Novels, on the other hand, if marketed right, can appeal to a wide array of different people – not just those with a like of steampunk or science fiction, in this case.  Plus, novels don’t have the sigma that comics have of being for geeks and nerds.  With the success of novel series like Harry Potter, and, yes, even Twilight, reading novels has become cool.  So, the move that the Foglios have made to novelize their story is a sound one, especially when you consider the rise in popularity of steampunk in the mainstream.   I think a series of Girl Genius novels could be the next “Harry Potter”, but I would like to save the discussion of the future of Girl Genius for another post.

At the World Steam Expo this year, both Phil and Kaja Foglio read from the novelization of the Girl Genius comics they are currently writing.  For those that don’t know, the Foglios are releasing a trilogy of novels retelling the story we are familiar with from the comics.  The first of these is scheduled to be released next Spring, and should retell the Girl Genius story through volume three of the comic.  The next two books, according to Kaja, will cover the story up to and including volume ten.  No word as to when books two and three will be released or if the rest of the comic after volume ten will be novelized (I assume this will be dependant on sales and writing schedules).  As of now, the first of the trilogy is in its second draft, and will likely go though a third before publication.

The reason for this novelization is that the Foglios wanted to fill-in details and clarify points that didn’t, for one reason or another, make it into the comic.  Of course, it might also help bring in people who wouldn’t normally buy or read comics to get hooked on the Girl Genius story.

On Saturday, Phil started the first of the two readings with the prologue.  The scene opens 18 years prior to volume one of the comic.  It has been three years since the destruction of Castle Heterodyne, the death of Klaus Barry (Bill’s son) and the disappearance of Lucrezia (Bill’s wife).  The Heterodyne Boys, Bill and Barry, are watching the night sky outside the town of a Spark whose name I can’t remember.  The scene is told from Barry’s point of view – a third person omniscient view (which is how the whole story is written, with perspective changing as scenes change).  Barry comments on Bill’s deteriorating mental state as they prepare equipment to observe an attack by The Other on the unaware town (but not completely, the Boys did try to warn the ruling Spark that an attack was eminent, but he chased them away with flying weasels or something… I don’t remember).  At this point, 32 of the Fifty Families that ruled Europe had been wiped-out completely from The Other’s attacks, and it looked as if another would be joining them in oblivion.  Barry also comments about The Other, the Hive Engines, the Warrior Bugs, the Slave Wasps, and finally, the Revenants – summing up the basic information most fans of Girl Genius would know about The Other and her tech.

The attack begins as Bill sees two new stars in the heavens.  These points of light (revealed to be large spheres) quickly descend until a parachute deploys to slow their fall.  If I remember correctly, these turn out to be hive engines and warrior bugs come out of them to eat the parachutes (Barry comments that would explain why no evidence of parachutes were ever found because they were destroyed by the Bugs).  Then, they watch as the Spark’s castle is completely destroyed by a boulder falling from the sky.  Soon after, eight more boulders descend upon the town in a geometric pattern, causing more destruction.   Barry comments at this point that this explains why no chemical residue was ever found at the site of an attack by The Other – it was the shear impact of the boulders falling from high above that caused the devastation observed.  The prologue ends with Bill checking the equipment once again and stating that he knew where the attacks were coming from and where The Other must be.

The rest of Phil’s reading basically retells the story starting from volume one with some embellishments.  It opens with Agatha dreaming about the mechanics of the universe and just as it is about to make sense, the whole thing shuts down on her.  She wakes up, and tries, with limited success, to remember the dream as she works on a project that has been baffling her.  As her third alarm clock rings, she hurriedly dresses and heads off to school, skipping breakfast.  The chapter proceeds with Agatha encountering and commenting on the Jaeger, seen here:  http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20021108 .  There is a funny scene between this Jaeger and one of the Tyrant’s (as Dr. Beetle is referred to) clanks, where the Jaeger struggles to read a note about wanting to buy, not steal, a piece of ham.  The clank responds, “This horse is dead.  Please remove it”, before walking away.  Agatha comments that Dr. Beetle’s clanks were once the finest defensive machines in their day, but sadly her master has not kept up with their maintenance.  Finally, we have the electrical disturbance and the “hole in the sky” opens.  Phil’s reading ends with the line, “… Like THAT?!”

On Sunday, Kaja began were Phil left off, with Agatha’s fear of the vision causing her to run down the alley to have a date with fate.  The perspective changes as we are introduced to Moloch von Zinzer and his bother Omar.  The text expounds on the swill that Moloch is drinking, the various libations that he has quaffed before, and how he would like to partake of the foodstuffs sold on the streets Beetleburg, especially the bread, but can’t due to the fact Omar spent the last of their money on the swill.  The rest of the scene proceeds as it did in the comic, with some commentary on the danger Agatha is now in (not just from being mugged, but implying that Agatha fears she might be sexually accosted – but this is played for laughs as it is described with Judy’s attempts to explain “the birds and the weasels” to Agatha.  It is actually funnier than I just described) and with more description of Dr. Beetle’s bell jars as punishment for criminals.  Then, as Agatha leaves the alley, she encounters another Jaeger, who offers her something to drink, but runs off when she hears the town clock (Mister Tock) chime the 7^th hour.  The Jaeger that aided Agatha states to another Jaeger that he didn’t know who the girl was, but she sure did smell “goot”.

After this, most of Kaja’s reading followed the comic very closely.  The only thing that was different was that Agatha was carrying her “proto-Dingbot Prime” with her (that was what she was working on in the beginning of the chapter).  Also, when Merlot comes into Dr. Beatle’s lab and mentions that the Baron Klaus Wulfenbach is here, the text gives us some back story on him – his association with the Heterodyne Boys, his romance with Lucrezia (which was apparently widely known, which would mean Bill must have known… unless Bill was completely clueless), how he then “lost” Lu to Bill, and how he mysteriously disappeared just before the wedding only to return four years later. 

Kaja managed to read up to the point the Jaeger comes in and states, “Nobody move!” before time was called (each reading was only about 30 minutes long).

So… That was it.  Not much, but it was enough to encourage me to buy the novel next Spring. 

Next time, I will give some of my thoughts concerning the readings and how it pertains to the story.

After that, I hope to tell you about the Q & A panel, and then about the radio theater.  Hopefully by then, I will have pictures to share, and I will tell you more about the Expo as a whole.

If you have any questions, ask away!

Is Slepinir a spark?

The answer I got from Phil is a definite NO.  He did add that Slepinir likes hanging around Sparks.  This fits with what I remember Kaja writing once that Slepinir was a "fan of science". 

I hope this brings that argument to a rest, once and for all.

How old some of the characters are, like Gil and Zeetha?

The answer I got for both Gil and Zeetha is that they are both around 21 to 22 years old.  So, if the theory about them being siblings are true, then they must be twins.  Faternal, of course.

Who does Phil consider a source of inspiration for his style?

The person Phil mentioned as most inspiring of his style is someone named Dr. Tezzuka (even Phil was not certain of the spelling).  I'm not an artist, so I don't know anything about this guys work.  If anyone wishes to give us some more information, it would be greatly appreciated.

What was Bill and Barry's mother's name?

As I suspected, neither of them ever thought to give her a name, as it never came up.  After all, they never even gave the Heterodyne Boys' Father a name.  However, when I mentioned to Phil that I always thought that Agatha would be named after her grandmother, especially considering the profound influence she had on both Bill and Barry growing up, and it seemed only natural that Barry would give his niece the same name, he didn't say anything, but his non-verbal reaction indicated to me that he was thinking it might be a good idea.

So have I influenced Girl Genius canon?  I have no idea.  Maybe we will find out someday.

Would Phil draw a map of Agatha's world (the whole world, not just Europe)?

When I asked Kaja about this, her first reaction was "what a great idea!"  However, she also clarified that while they would love to do something like that, it is a matter of having the time to do so.  Right now, they are too busy with too many things, such as the color version of volume one and the novelization of Girl Genius (I have more info on that), to consider another project.  Also to clarify, it was Cheyenne that drew the map of Europe, so he would be the one to draw a map of the Girl Genius World.... if they ever get around to doing it.

A backstory on the Amazing Higgs?

I was told we would find this out soon.  How soon is 'soon'?  I'm hoping within the weeks of getting back to the main storyline.  However, it could mean before the end of volume ten.  Your guess is a good as mine.

If Girl Genius were ever translated into other media (cartoon show, mini series,live action movie(s) how would you want it done and by whom?

Kaja expounded on her love of anime, and stated that, ideally, she would like Studio Bones to handle a movie/series of Girl Genius.  She also stated that she would love to see video games made as well.

How did you come up with/what inspired the jaegers?

When I asked about this, Kaja pointed out this page to me:

http:// www.girlgenius.com/comic.php?date=20021108

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20021209

The Jaeger was not originally part of this page.  Phil added him to help fill the page better.  From this, the Jaegers - their history, their alliance to the Wulfenbachs, their link to the Heterodynes, and all the Jaegers that we would see in the comic - all evolved from that first jaeger-like being.

Will we see Gil's mom sometime during the course of the story?

The answer is a definite YES!  However, given the way the Foglios write, I'm not sure even they know when or how this will come up, but it is one of the milestones they want to hit along the way.

How old were your kids when you introduced them to the story elements, and how corrupted did they become?

[I was recently embarrassed by my almost-three year old talking about jaeger monsters in public places.]

Kaja told me that introducing her children to Girl Genius just came naturally.  After all, both Phil and Kaja work at home, so their kids knew about from day one.

Hey Phil, are you still stealing plates from the hotel and drawing on them? (He used to do this way-back-when, then put the artisticly defaced plate in the auction).

NO!  Any more questions?

I want to know more about Carson Mekkan's family, especially Vanamonde. Is his mom a meaningful character? Was he the only child of Carson's son who was killed? Is he dating anyone?

As of now, all of this is an unknown, simply because it is not important to the story.  If it should become important... well, who knows?


Well, that is it for the questions.  I have more information I gathered from the Expo.  So, stay tuned.