Girl Genius XXIV: Ask Vit a Bit More Terror

[Rogar Demonblud]

Well, it was dedicated to a 'local battle goddess', so this could be more Ancient Queen Tech that's laying about unnoticed.

[SZbNAhL]

Calling it now: everything's ancient queen tech. Even the spark.

[Manga Shoggoth]

Calling it now: everything's ancient queen tech. Even the spark.

Well, it's a little short of a direct quote from the lass herself, but "The mirrors were old even before the rise of the Queens. Albia has never directly said so, of course, but I believe their workings were a mystery, even to one such as She.

[SZbNAhL]

Well, it's a little short of a direct quote from the lass herself, but "The mirrors were old even before the rise of the Queens. Albia has never directly said so, of course, but I believe their workings were a mystery, even to one such as She.

Created by time-travelling Queens. But seriously, yes, I had forgotten that line.

[Onyavar]

Um, I always assumed that Zeetha had simply filed her teeth.

She wouldn't be the first warrior to do just that and I think it fits her culture.

[Manga Shoggoth]

Created by time-travelling Queens. But seriously, yes, I had forgotten that line.

Well, let's at least consider the possibility since we have the Muse of Time floating around somewhere. Have we seen anyone else actually time-travelling besides:

• The appearances of Agatha, Gil, Von Zinzer and the Muse.
• The trip through the mirror (which could have been due to the time stop firing at the same time).

We know that people have been researching it:

• A Hetrodyne researching time and apparently summoning the Dreen.
• Professor Tobber also researching time
• Uncle Tick-tock researching (possibly)
• Prende's Lantern (possibly a result of Van Ryjin)

[Traab]

Um, I always assumed that Zeetha had simply filed her teeth.

She wouldn't be the first warrior to do just that and I think it fits her culture.

Dont the characters often get sharp teeth during certain scenes or emotions? Its like an anime sweatdrop or something. Only displaying hunger, anger, fierceness etc.

[SZbNAhL]

Well, let's at least consider the possibility since we have the Muse of Time floating around somewhere. Have we seen anyone else actually time-travelling besides:

• The appearances of Agatha, Gil, Von Zinzer and the Muse.
• The trip through the mirror (which could have been due to the time stop firing at the same time).

Don't forget Tarvek's Tenuously Truthful Twitter-Tale Time Travel Twist (or the questionably-canonical time travel seen in Othar's Twitter, for people who prefer clarity over aliteration).

[factotum]

Um, I always assumed that Zeetha had simply filed her teeth.

She wouldn't be the first warrior to do just that and I think it fits her culture.

That doesn't really work with the way they're usually portrayed, though--she appears to have entirely regular flat teeth, just with really large incisors. If she filed her teeth then they would all appear triangular with her mouth open, which doesn't seem to be the case as far as I can see.

[eee]

Well, let's at least consider the possibility since we have the Muse of Time floating around somewhere. Have we seen anyone else actually time-travelling besides:

• The appearances of Agatha, Gil, Von Zinzer and the Muse.
• The trip through the mirror (which could have been due to the time stop firing at the same time).

We know that people have been researching it:

• A Hetrodyne researching time and apparently summoning the Dreen.
• Professor Tobber also researching time
• Uncle Tick-tock researching (possibly)
• Prende's Lantern (possibly a result of Van Ryjin)

The Muse of Time herself is/was/will be doing something that MIGHT be time travel. Van Rijn indicated she would appear at different times non-sequentially: She wouldn't remember conversations they'd had, or would refer to conversations they'd have in the future. Now, that same effect would happen if you were using a time window to talk with a person at different times; but the Muse apparently was there, physically. Or it might be that she's something like a Dreen, and her view and knowledge of time is not the same as ours.

[Onyavar]

Dont the characters often get sharp teeth during certain scenes or emotions? Its like an anime sweatdrop or something. Only displaying hunger, anger, fierceness etc.

Yes, for example Gil's madness place someone linked above, trying to argue that Gil and Zeetha had the same dental condition. (and all the monsters are also very toothy when angry, of course)
But, as others have mentioned, Zeetha always has these teeth.

That doesn't really work with the way they're usually portrayed, though--she appears to have entirely regular flat teeth, just with really large incisors. If she filed her teeth then they would all appear triangular with her mouth open, which doesn't seem to be the case as far as I can see.

Okay, I suppose it doesn't make sense to file all your teeth flat so that your sharpened incisors get the proper attention.

But unexplained as Zeetha's teeth are, I still refuse to believe that "Zeetha (and all Skifandrians?) must be (similar to) Jäger because of their dentalwork".
"Things are the same or related because they look vaguely alike" is NOT scientific thinking. A smaragd isn't green because it does photosynthesis and even the reddest ruby never circulated in a blood stream. If im proven wrong about zeetha here, I hope the Foglios are proving me wrong with science.

[Rockphed]

But unexplained as Zeetha's teeth are, I still refuse to believe that "Zeetha (and all Skifandrians?) must be (similar to) Jäger because of their dentalwork".

My reading of that exchange is that Jaegers remind Zeetha of how Skifandrians think and act. This makes a significant amount of sense, since both are largely militarized societies that place value on honor and combat prowess. I suspect that Zeetha can take most Jaegers one-on-one, but the Jaegers are also significantly more durable. I think that line was mostly to show that Zeetha is on top of things. Also, it gives her a chance to poke fun at Maxim and Oggie being horribly unsneaky.

[HandofShadows]

I don't know about Jaegers being a huge amount more durable than Zeetha. Remember she took a sword through the her chest and survived. A normal person would have been dead instantly. She not be as upgraded as much the Jaegers (or Gil), but she is not too far behind them. The question is if the toughness is natural, sparky or something else.

[PraetorDragoon]

And to think that all this time I thought that the sharp teeth were just an artist's quirk.

[geoduck]

I agree with everyone that Zeetha was talking about mental attitude, not physical appearance.

And I suspect that her surviving getting skewered was more artistic license on the Foglios' part than her being enhanced somehow, but I'll be happy to be proved wrong eventually.

[Mando Knight]

And to think that all this time I thought that the sharp teeth were just an artist's quirk.

Phil's style exaggerates teeth when characters are excited, but the characters also have some level of consistency of overall sharpness--most regular people have a "realistic" amount of jaggedness to their teeth when Phil's exaggerating them, while Zeetha consistently has pronounced canines, the Jaegers (and other monstrosities) have shark-like sawblade-teeth, and so on.

[Rockphed]

New Comic

Spoiler: My Response

Show

Nooooooo! I liked Violetta!

[Ellen]

Spoiler

Show

This may just be denial, but I'm not buying Violetta dead. Steelgarter left ample evidence behind about what had happened and is badly injured with a need to get out fast. I don't see that she gained anything by hiding Violetta's body, but doing it cost her time and energy when she doesn't have either to spare.

So, it's perfectly logical that Violetta's all right, isn't it? Isn't it!!?? (bites nails and worries)

[Celestia]

Spoiler

Show

This may just be denial, but I'm not buying Violetta dead. Steelgarter left ample evidence behind about what had happened and is badly injured with a need to get out fast. I don't see that she gained anything by hiding Violetta's body, but doing it cost her time and energy when she doesn't have either to spare.

So, it's perfectly logical that Violetta's all right, isn't it? Isn't it!!?? (bites nails and worries)

Spoiler

Show

Maybe not "hide," more "disposed of." And I, too, doubt that she's truly dead. I mean, how many main characters have actually died so far? Klaus even survived a building falling on him.

Of course, having said that, this would be the perfect time to pull a bait and switch by not pulling a bait and switch and actually having her die for real. Though, an off-screen death to a minor character we just met would be rather lame, so probably not.

[dps]

Spoiler

Show

I mean, how many main characters have actually died so far?

Depends on what you mean by "main".

[Grif]

Spoiler

Show

I sincerely doubt Violetta's dead dead, and even dead dead can be raised back to undead, but this strip otherwise does a good job at raising the tension.

[Rinvak]

Spoiler

Show

I have a feeling she's still alive. Partly because I'm sure she can handle stuff like this, also because I'm not just going to take someone's word that they killed a smoke knight. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if she figured faking it would be a good way to find out what all Steelgarter is up to.

[Kantaki]

Meh. I wouldn't count anyone out without seeing their dead body burnt to Ashes and cast into the wind.
And even then I wouldn't bet on it.

Besides, monsters always pop up again after some clown thinks they killed them.

[geoduck]

Spoiler

Show

I would be very surprised and impressed if the Foglios really did kill Violetta off. And I'm betting that Mr. Eyeball there might not be so casually accepting about Lady Steelgarter's plan to bug out.

[Rogar Demonblud]

It looks like whoever is on the other side of that door is wearing some kind of face mask. Maybe the 'dead' scientist isn't really dead?

Oh, and put me in the Violetta Ain't Going Down To Some Fifth Stringer column/

[DeTess]

Spoiler

Show

Until I see a body, I doubt Violetta is down. Based on the very fact that they didn't show us a body in the comic in which they announced her death, I think she's still very much alive.

[Douglas]

Yeah, I'm thinking the odds of Violetta actually being dead are somewhere around 0.001%. My guess is she faked her death and followed this lady to get more intel.

[factotum]

I agree with Douglas and Rinvak--as soon as we heard her say she's killed Violetta, but there's no body back where Zeetha and Oggie are, I suspected Violetta is springing a trap to track down what's going on.

[Mando Knight]

On top of all this...

Spoiler

Show

We didn't even see the fight. Chances of a major supporting character getting offed off-panel by a literally-who in a work by authors who rarely kill anyone properly even when they're on panel are slim to none--and even if Violetta is dead, unless her braincase was fricasseed Agatha and Tarvek will probably be able to revive her anyway.

[Drascin]

I agree with Douglas and Rinvak--as soon as we heard her say she's killed Violetta, but there's no body back where Zeetha and Oggie are, I suspected Violetta is springing a trap to track down what's going on.

It might not be a trap, it might just be that Violetta was forced to play dead or die for real, and used her Smoke Knight magic to mkae it appear like she was fully dead. But yeah, I don't believe for a minute that they're going to kill Violetta permanently offscreen.