Girl Genius XXIV: Ask Vit a Bit More Terror

[Fyraltari]

Rule N°1 of being part of a conspiracy: Do not announce your resignation. Just leave. Steal a vehicule if you have to, but do not let your formers co-conspirators you are bailing on them. This is just asking for a knife to the throat.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Or one in the back.

[Shining Wrath]

Or one in the back.

This being Girl Genius, it's asking for a Slaver Wasp to the throat, or a death ray to the face, or ... well, review the many deaths of Professor Beausoliel.

[Calemyr]

My theory: Violetta lost this one, but isn't quite dead. When Gil decides to go after Tarvek and Agatha, he will find her struggling to survive with only self-applied first aid. Being the better medic of the trio, he'll be able to patch her up. This will delay his heroic arrival when the fan gets smelly, but also double it. She will then take her rematch with Miss Handsy quite seriously indeed.

[wingnutx]

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.

Spoiler

Show

Perhaps that's actually Violetta disguised as Steelgarter. Probably not, but maybe.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Spoiler

Show

Perhaps that's actually Violetta disguised as Steelgarter. Probably not, but maybe.

How would Violetta know where Steelgater's contact is to be found?

[Shining Wrath]

How would Violetta know where Steelgater's contact is to be found?

Where's Steelgarter's corpse? Is Vi wearing it? That's pretty dark.

[Shining Wrath]

OK, I need art critics. Is it possible that the highly suspicious looking waiter from June 11th is Mr. Eyeball from this strip? He's got facial scarring ....

[tyckspoon]

OK, I need art critics. Is it possible that the highly suspicious looking waiter from June 11th is Mr. Eyeball from this strip? He's got facial scarring ....

Possible? Sure, and it would make some sense from a conservation of detail perspective - Steelgarter is talking to Zeetha about Skifander, said waiter appears to be paying an unusual amount of attention to that conversation, Steelgarter is going to talk to somebody else about her attempts to loot something relevant from Zeetha. Can it be confirmed? Not from what's shown so far, I think - the scarring that is visible through the peephole doesn't match what's visible on that waiter in that page, as best as I can tell. The horizontal slashes we can see in the latest page don't look like they're in the same spot as the waiter's scar, and there's no vertical line joining them.

.. what's currently visible of the eyeball person looks more like it might a mask or mouth-covering structure to me.

[geoduck]

I don't know if he's also Mr. Eyeball, but I stand by my theory that the waiter is the member of Bang's pirate gang who can be seen examining Zeetha's hair in the flashback on the previous page

[wingnutx]

How would Violetta know where Steelgater's contact is to be found?

Interrogate her? Like I said, probably not.

More importantly, how many boobs does Steelgarter have?

[Rockphed]

Interrogate her? Like I said, probably not.

More importantly, how many boobs does Steelgarter have?

I suspect she has 1 pair of mammary glands and 4 pectorals.

Edit: Looking more closely at the eye, I think I see an eyebrow above it in the last panel. What if we aren't looking at a face covered by a metal mask, but at an almost purple skin color? The rest of the face shape has me thinking gorilla, but that is probably crazy talk.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Crazy talk? There are Sparks around!

[Rockphed]

New comic already?

Spoiler

Show

I think I need to change my guess for our mystery eyeball. That skin still looks greyish-purple, but I think it is shaped for a fish or cetacean, not a great ape. Didn't Albia say something about cetacean citizens?

[Celestia]

Interrogate her? Like I said, probably not.

More importantly, how many boobs does Steelgarter have?

Looks like one pair of boobs.

[Shining Wrath]

"The Great Work". These people have a cause - probably reestablishing the mirror network of the Queens or something similar. We know from Violetta's deduction that what Steelgarter is up to is not good for Skifander, though.

If any of the pirates escaped Zeetha's rampage, they would have some sort of clue where Skifander lies.

I am definitely coming around to the "Mr. Eyeball is Tobber Homlomium" theory. Mask looks like it covers the nose area.

Also, Steelgarter works at the museum - which ties her in with Gil and Trelawny.

[eee]

Eyeball is just letting Steelgarter walk off? Conspirators aren't what they used to be. Although this shows Eyeball isn't Madwa, or Steelgarter wouldn't be worried about healing, being too busy decomposing.

And my speculation that Eyeball had a way out proves to be wrong; which raises the question, why did Steelgarter stop to talk to him/her instead of just getting out? Strange relationships, here.

[factotum]

And my speculation that Eyeball had a way out proves to be wrong; which raises the question, why did Steelgarter stop to talk to him/her instead of just getting out? Strange relationships, here.

Steelgarter didn't seem to know that the dome had been locked down, judging from her comments here, although quite how she missed that is anyone's guess.

[Grif]

Wild shot in the dark now: The equations ol' Tobber has been working on will reveal the Mirror's mechanism, and Agatha and co. is going to escape their gilded cage into the museum via exit stage mirror.

[SZbNAhL]

I don't know if he's also Mr. Eyeball, but I stand by my theory that the waiter is the member of Bang's pirate gang who can be seen examining Zeetha's hair in the flashback on the previous page

The capilically-inclined pirate's scar runs all the way from where his hairline would be if he weren't bald to his cheek; the waiter just has a scar under his eye, and also has hair.

[PraetorDragoon]

Those are famous last words Steelgarter.

[Rogar Demonblud]

More like infamous, amirite?

[gbs5009]

The capilically-inclined pirate's scar runs all the way from where his hairline would be if he weren't bald to his cheek; the waiter just has a scar under his eye, and also has hair.

Hrm... you're right about the scar, but the hair wouldn't be too hard to fake (or maybe he just shaved back in his pirate days). The suspicious waiter also has the same pointy ears, and gold hoop earrings.

I'm inclined towards the "forcibly retired pirate" theory.

[geoduck]

The capilically-inclined pirate's scar runs all the way from where his hairline would be if he weren't bald to his cheek; the waiter just has a scar under his eye, and also has hair.

We're getting good looks at two different eyes in the two pictures. The full-length scar is on his right, the under-eye scar is on his left. If you look carefully at the flashback, it appears you can just see the smaller scar around on the side of his head. Plus, the Foglios do sometimes tend to be a bit sloppy with these artistic details. I still say it's the same guy.

[eee]

I'm curious as to how Lady Steelgarter thinks this is going to play out. Even if she's hid or destroyed Violetta's body - or thinks she has - one of Lady Heterodyne's retainers is gone, with evidence of a massive fight. That's not going to be casually dismissed, by either Agatha OR Albia. Lady S. may not realize just how many resources Agatha can bring to bear on finding out what happened - Jagers, Zeetha, detection, Mad Science! - but she should know what her Queen can do. And might, to placate a visiting head of state. Maybe Steelgarter IS stupid. Or too badly hurt to care about consequences right now. Which would mean, she is very short-sighted, indeed...

[Shining Wrath]

I'm curious as to how Lady Steelgarter thinks this is going to play out. Even if she's hid or destroyed Violetta's body - or thinks she has - one of Lady Heterodyne's retainers is gone, with evidence of a massive fight. That's not going to be casually dismissed, by either Agatha OR Albia. Lady S. may not realize just how many resources Agatha can bring to bear on finding out what happened - Jagers, Zeetha, detection, Mad Science! - but she should know what her Queen can do. And might, to placate a visiting head of state. Maybe Steelgarter IS stupid. Or too badly hurt to care about consequences right now. Which would mean, she is very short-sighted, indeed...

Oggie can probably track her by scent of blood. In the shape she's in, she probably can't fight Oggie or Zeetha, let alone both.

Question: if you're Zeetha, do you run to Agatha, or solve this solo?

Or go get Higgs?

[SZbNAhL]

We're getting good looks at two different eyes in the two pictures. The full-length scar is on his right, the under-eye scar is on his left. If you look carefully at the flashback, it appears you can just see the smaller scar around on the side of his head. Plus, the Foglios do sometimes tend to be a bit sloppy with these artistic details. I still say it's the same guy.

Seems strange that they'd forget about the massive scar that dominated his face (which is clearly not present on the forehead of waiter-pirate) when he'd last been seen in only the previous page, but I suppose it's possible. What's less possible is that this guy (who must have been on the same ship as Zeetha) somehow managed to survive her rampage.

[Calemyr]

Or go get Higgs?

Apropos of nothing, it is worth noting that the only Skifander artifact of Zeetha's in England is her head charm, which in the hands of some low ranked servant at the moment. That's gotta be a lucky break for Steelgarder, don't you think? Just the kind of artifact she's looking for, without having to fight a warrior princess, apocalypse level Spark, or surprisingly competent smoke knight.

I think she'll have her prize and be out in short order.

[halfeye]

Apropos of nothing, it is worth noting that the only Skifander artifact of Zeetha's in England is her head charm

Not her swords? or clothes?

[Rogar Demonblud]

The clothes wore out long ago. Or got destroyed, which is the more likely option given the setting (even before you get to Gil and his clothing disintegrator).