Girl Genius XXXI: Let’s look at it from farther away!

[Agi Hammerthief]

Is this still above the island?
Looks a bit „other dimension“.

[f00bar]

yeah, i already wondered whether this is where Vapnoople pops up again...

[Shining Wrath]

The plot armor is thick about that airship, but still, that's a whole lotta monsters.
Vapnoople definitely possible. I doubt the Princess battle did this.
One can see why even a leviathan would be concerned.

Aside from dimensional hijinks, is it possible that the entire party is hallucinating? And remember that Zeetha was hallucinating while traveling to Europa from Skifander? Those monsters look even weirder than the corrupted minions / fish folk.

[InvisibleBison]

Aside from dimensional hijinks, is it possible that the entire party is hallucinating? And remember that Zeetha was hallucinating while traveling to Europa from Skifander? Those monsters look even weirder than the corrupted minions / fish folk.

It's possible, sure, but why would they be hallucinating? Zeetha's hallucinations were caused by her illness, not by being in an airship.

[Shining Wrath]

It's possible, sure, but why would they be hallucinating? Zeetha's hallucinations were caused by her illness, not by being in an airship.

Why? Something about the border of Skifander? It's a defense against invasion, it doesn't always work? Mumble mumble wave hands vaguely....

Most likely this is just Phil having fun with weird art. But possibly those things look so weird because they aren't real.

[eee]

There were monsters galore under the island. Kestle and Train ran into them in their explorations. With Lu destroying the island, naturally they're popping up.

[Radar]

There were monsters galore under the island. Kestle and Train ran into them in their explorations. With Lu destroying the island, naturally they're popping up.

I think that's it and on top of that copious amounts of eldritch energies are being spread around by the fighting princesses, the dyne-like water might also be flooding everything since the island itself is crumbling and I think that kind of contaminant spillage might also make the mutations progressively worse.

Still, I would not be surprised if that experimental engine Agatha put together was making the airship travel in not just our regular Cartesian coordinates.

edit: basically, we are going for this kind of situation in terms of the difference from a local "normal" situation.

[Shining Wrath]

The monsters Castle and Train encountered didn't look like these creatures. They look like bog-standard deep sea dwellers, not even corrupted.

But the Princess battle combined with effluvia might have done terrible things to the poor monsters.

[theangelJean]

I wonder if Agatha's modified engine is actually doing weird things with time, and they're moving into a dimension with monsters, rather than monsters appearing where they were?

Edit: they do look like they're just noticing the ship, rather than converging on the area. I am starting to think that it's the ship that has arrived where they are, rather than the other way around.

[geoduck]

I wonder if Agatha's modified engine is actually doing weird things with time, and they're moving into a dimension with monsters, rather than monsters appearing where they were?

Edit: they do look like they're just noticing the ship, rather than converging on the area. I am starting to think that it's the ship that has arrived where they are, rather than the other way around.

Maybe the ship is contributing, but it's going to be Vapnoople who is the main cause.

[Fyraltari]

I wonder if Agatha's modified engine is actually doing weird things with time, and they're moving into a dimension with monsters, rather than monsters appearing where they were?

Edit: they do look like they're just noticing the ship, rather than converging on the area. I am starting to think that it's the ship that has arrived where they are, rather than the other way around.

Monahan and Lucrezia can see the monsters too and they aren't on the ship.

[Radar]

I think it is not about the engine and more about the nature of The Flame. Basically, the energy has to be drawn from somewhere. Considering that Snackleford has achieved a similar state to Queenhood by directly tapping into energy from other dimension, maybe Flames are basically natural or manufactured cracks in reality letting other-dimensional energies into the world. With the island getting destroyed whatever system held things stable was probably crushed to bits and the realities get mixed up as a result.

[Pax1138]

Whatever's happening, at least we have confirmation that the characters are as confused as we are.

[Kantaki]

Oh No? I hope you didn't drop the princess.
The Queen might be somewhat unamused.
Also, she's cool.

[theangelJean]

Oh No? I hope you didn't drop the princess.
The Queen might be somewhat unamused.
Also, she's cool.

There's a dot in kind of the right place below the airship in the second-last panel...

Hello, Neenacrezia?

[Shining Wrath]

Vapnoople returning from other dimension, now with added insanity, is a definite possibility.

[Radar]

Vapnoople returning from other dimension, now with added insanity, is a definite possibility.

As in more insanity than before? That being said, why would he appear here out of all the places?

[Shining Wrath]

As in more insanity than before? That being said, why would he appear here out of all the places?

Because the Princess battle has opened a dimensional portal to wherever he got sent during the Stackpole battle.

[Grim Portent]

Or because he's chasing Agatha and Krosp for 'betraying' him. He has genuine reasons to be trying to shadow them in whatever dimension he wound up in, and is likely scheming to get revenge.

[Mobius Twist]

Vapnoople is likely, but maybe the Leviathans can now approach the area, the party having messed about with the toxins that were leaking into the surrounding water. We may see why they are considered as scary as they are.

[Shining Wrath]

"Song Keeper" meaning one of the ancient leviathans has been corrupted? We're talking "end of civilization" level threat, then. If that guy can deliver a thousand monsters, each 10x the size of an airship, to Londonium or Marseille or Athens, who or what will stop them?

[Fyraltari]

How deep is the water in these parts?

"Song Keeper" meaning one of the ancient leviathans has been corrupted? We're talking "end of civilization" level threat, then. If that guy can deliver a thousand monsters, each 10x the size of an airship, to Londonium or Marseille or Athens, who or what will stop them?

I mean, it looks like it's dying.

[Shining Wrath]

How deep is the water in these parts?


I mean, it looks like it's dying.

Is corruption fatal? I see it as looking like all the other corrupted things we've seen, including Monahan's minions, and I think those survived for a while behind the door with the sign on it.

Water depth has not been established; we don't know if this island rises from the depths, like Hawaii, or is part of a shallow archipelago, like the UK.

[Fyraltari]

Is corruption fatal? I see it as looking like all the other corrupted things we've seen, including Monahan's minions, and I think those survived for a while behind the door with the sign on it.

I mean, it looks like death warmed over.

Water depth has not been established; we don't know if this island rises from the depths, like Hawaii, or is part of a shallow archipelago, like the UK.

Oh, yeah, I forgot they're no longer in the British Isles.

[eee]

Oh.

I didn't expect HER.

[Shining Wrath]

I mean, it looks like death warmed over.


Oh, yeah, I forgot they're no longer in the British Isles.

The corrupted are possessed of great ickyness, but so are D&D oozes, and they live for a long time.

[sihnfahl]

I didn't expect HER.

NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition corrupted leviathan filled with corrupted fishmen.

[PraetorDragoon]

That is a big fish.

[Shining Wrath]

That is a big fish.

You shoulda seen the one that got away; this one is the one they're getting away from.

[theangelJean]

Water depth has not been established; we don't know if this island rises from the depths, like Hawaii, or is part of a shallow archipelago, like the UK.

Maybe the island was the Song Keeper?

Also, I wasn't expecting Adrian Rakethorne to be the one to recognise it, but I guess someone had to. Did we see a Song Keeper on panel in the comic before, or did we only ever meet Leviathans?