History GirlGenius / TropesKToO

* KickTheSonOfABitch:
** It's basic background for the setting that [[ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder Sparks]] are hated, shunned and often violently attacked in places where they don't rule. Given that their [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity "gift"]] endows them with both an obliviousness to contemplating the negative possibilities of an experiment instead of just doing it ForScience and a case of MoralMyopia that leads to them regarding all other humans as [[HumanResources nothing but fodder for and/or components in experiments]], it's hard to feel too upset about the fact many normals want to get rid of them... until you consider that the self-controlled ones that avoid making offensive[=/=]destructive things are the ones most vulnerable to the lynch mobs.
** Princess Anevka violently killing her father would, under normal circumstances, be horrifying... but considering he killed her first, along with dozens, if not hundreds (or ''more'') other young girls simply to bring back a madwoman he had a crush on, to say nothing of whatever else he did with his spare time, the guy had it coming.
** After [[spoiler:caging a copy of The Other within herself]], nearly killing [[spoiler:Zeetha]], escaping Violetta and Higgs, and beating down [[spoiler:Tarvek]], [[spoiler:Zola]] makes the mistake of hitting Agatha with a potentially lethal wound to the chest. Cue an UnstoppableRage-fueled NoHoldsBarredBeatdown by [[spoiler:Tarvek]]. Nearly every poster in the comic's fan communities hoped he'd kill [[spoiler:her]], and the groans of frustration were so loud they practically echoed through the Internet when Gil interfered.

* OneTrueThreesome: Phil and Kaja Foglio, thanks to their unabashed BleachedUnderpants history, may be deliberately dangling this in front of the audience. Lampshaded and teased [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090311 in the strip itself]].[[invoked]]
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20120718 The Odds are now only 5-1 on it]], at least in the Mechanicsburg betting pool.
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20130329 Recent developments]] imply higher odds.
** Once Gil gets Tarvek [[spoiler:out of the time bubble]], he not only happily hugs him, they also talk quite friendly with each other despite their rivalry, Agatha as well is concerned for both whenever characters mention one of them. So the odds may be higher again.
** When Agatha, Gil, and Tarvek attend a ball in London, Gil: (i) genuinely worries about Tarvek when Tarvek doesn't dance with Agatha; (ii) seeks love advice about Agatha from the Muse of Geometry but ends up discussing his relationship with Tarvek instead; and (iii) admits that he trusts Tarvek and looks forward to seeing whatever he’s been scheming lately. At this point the Foglios are going full "Will they or won't they?"

** The Baron's ''Pax Transylvania'' basically amounts to 'Don't Make Me Come Over There'. As long as rulers turn over any of the Other's technology discovered in their territory, pay taxes, permit the transportation of goods and passengers, hold to some basic humanitarian laws insisted on by the Empire, and above all keep the peace and don't attack each other, they're free to rule their lands as they wish. ''However,'' less scrupulous and Sparky rulers get away with treating their subjects appallingly, since they're not attacking neighbouring countries and thus not breaking the peace. The novelizations reveal that since Klaus in turn couldn't send in his own forces to deal with them, as that would be breaking his side of the bargain, he took to using an unwitting Othar Trygvassen, directing him towards eliminating Sparks that Klaus couldn't touch himself.

** The Baron's ''Pax Transylvania'' basically amounts to 'Don't Make Me Come Over There'; as long as rulers keep the peace and don't attack each other, turn over any of the Other's technology discovered in their territory, pay taxes, permit the transportation of goods and passengers, and hold to some basic humanitarian laws insisted on by the Empire, they're free to rule their lands as they wish. ''However,'' less scrupulous and Sparky rulers get away with treating their subjects appallingly, since they're not attacking neighbouring countries and thus not breaking the peace. Since Klaus in turn can't send in his own forces to deal with them, as that would be breaking his side of the bargain, the novelizations reveal that he took to using an unwitting Othar Trygvassen, directing him towards eliminating Sparks that Klaus couldn't touch himself.

* LegallyDead: Since resurrection/reanimation is fairly common in Europa, it plays havoc with various royal or noble titles, as succession obviously depends on the previous occupant of the role dying. Thus the ruling houses of the continent -- the Fifty Families -- decreed that any member of a lineage who dies and is resurrected is automatically removed from the line of succession. Or, as Gil puts it, "With [them], once you're dead, you're ''dead.'' Even if someone zaps you back later." This doesn't stop certain blue-bloods getting resurrected on the sly and hoping no one finds out, but Baron Wulfenbach ''always'' does and is able to hold it over them. (Ironically, in the story it's an open secret that the Baron himself is a construct, and the backstory implies he's the result of all three sons of the Wulfenbach family dying in a lab accident, getting stitched back together, and reanimated. All of which should automatically disqualify ''him'' from ruling as well -- but he chooses not to play by the Fifty Families' game, and no one dares to call him on it.)

* LatexPerfection: Despite being a very scaly fish monster with a large crest Trogulus is able to wear a mask of his human mentor Professor Homlomium that [[https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20181123 fools even those who had been working with Homlomium for years.]]

-->'''[=DuPree=]:''' I mean, if they ever write this down, they ain't gonna be calling it "'''Boy''' Genius".

-->'''Agatha:''' Well, Mister Wooster, it seems like you've been trying to get me to England for ''years.'' Very well, let's be off.

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: After Agatha fools Gilgamesh once again, [=DuPree=] [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20140407 points out]] that he should have seen it coming.

** The Baron's ''Pax Transylvania'' basically amounts to 'Don't Make Me Come Over There'; as long as rulers keep the peace and don't attack each other, turn over any of the Other's technology discovered in their territory, pax taxes and permit the transportation of goods and passengers, and hold to some basic humanitarian laws insisted on by the Empire, they're free to rule their lands as they wish. ''However,'' less scrupulous and Sparky rulers get away with treating their subjects appallingly, since they're not attacking neighbouring countries and thus not breaking the peace. Since Klaus in turn can't send in his own forces to deal with them, as that would be breaking his side of the bargain, the novelizations reveal that he took to using an unwitting Othar Trygvassen, directing him towards eliminating Sparks that Klaus couldn't touch himself.

* LogicalWeakness: The Spark provides those who possess it with varying levels of genius -- and that's all. Unlike those with access to good resources and a proper education, Sparks born into poor families with few opportunities are rarely able to harness their intelligence properly ''or'' protect themselves.

* LogicalWeakness: The Spark provides those who possess it with varying levels of genius -- and that's all. Unlike those with access to a proper education, Sparks born into poor families with few opportunities are rarely able to harness their intelligence properly ''or'' protect themselves.

* NotBad: [[https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100226 Zeetha has this reaction]] to [[Main/McNinja Violetta]] replacing a hostage [[Main/ImpossibleTheft held by an antagonist]] with [[Main/ReplacedWithReplica a dummy]].

** When the castle decides to put out the fire in one of it's room by using the water from it's cisterne, the cast that is standing right underneath it is more than likely thinking this and ThisIsGonnaSuck.

* TheMadnessPlace: The trope namer, for good reason. All Sparks can be pretty crazy when they're in a "Spark-induced fugue state," as one character puts it delicately. They vary in their ability to control it, some being manically sociopathic and some retaining their ability to reason (to some degree). The most dangerous Sparks are by far the ''latter'' kind, since they can bend their madness to practical goals. It's not for no reason that Klaus, Gil, Agatha, and Tarvek, are among the most potent sparks in the setting.

** Othar Tryggvassen ([[GentlemanAdventurer GENTLEMAN]] [[DrinkingGame/TVTropes ADVENTURER!]]) [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal actually asks Agatha]] if she's one of these.

** Sleipnir's pipes... guess [[IncrediblyLamePun you can't start a fire without a Spark]].

** Portentius Reichenbach's [[IncrediblyLamePun Portentous]] Operatic Masterpiece: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080204 The Storm King]].

* LivingStructureMonster: Heterodyne Castle is alive, and is one giant death trap for anyone who is not The Heterodyne. The ''proven and acknowledged'' Heterodyne to be exact, since even Agatha has a few troubles with it until she can prove her heritage. And before Agatha arrives to repair it, convict work crews are sent in to attempt repairs, or die trying. Usually the latter.

* MascotsLoveSugar: Agatha's wasp eater tries to eat a waffle cone [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20151102 whole while in Paris]] and was seen eating chocolate truffles and other sweets in the dining car on the train to Paris.