GirlGenius/{{Tropes A-E}} | GirlGenius/{{Tropes F-J}} | '''Tropes K-O''' | GirlGenius/{{Tropes P-T}} | GirlGenius/{{Tropes U-Z}}
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!!!''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' provides examples of the following tropes:

* 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.
* KillItWithFire
** Sleipnir's pipes... guess [[IncrediblyLamePun you can't start a fire without a Spark]].
** WreathedInFlames: The Torchmen
* {{Kneecapping}}: Higgs uses this move against Zola. Unfortunately for him, she is too high on combat drugs to fall down.
* KnightTemplar: Othar. He wants to kill all sparks (ending with himself), because he thinks they are [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040922 "the cause of everything wrong in the world today."]]
* LampshadeHanging: Many.
** Using a book titled ''Using Found Objects as Weapons'' as a bludgeon is probably the best example.
* LargeAndInCharge: Jäger generals. Sergeant Nok ("Big Green Hairy Guy" gorilla-like construct). Klaus himself is a quite impressive bruiser too.
* LargeHam
** ''All'' sparks [[ChewingTheScenery chew scenery]] when in TheMadnessPlace. ''Othar Tryggvassen, [[GentlemanAdventurer GENTLEMAN ADVENTURER]]'' is like that ''all the time''.
** Jägers get in on the hamminess when there's no Spark around. And when a Spark is going nuts ''and'' there's an excited Jäger in the room, the ensuing HamToHamCombat can knock down walls.
* LaserGuidedKarma: An officer in one of the many armies that invade Mechanicsburg tells his soldiers not to take their eyes off the captured civilians, to treat them with respect, and to execute them all. Right before the [[BrownNote Doom bell]] knocks all the soldiers out.
-->'''Civilian man:''' And what about the one giving orders?\\
'''Civilian woman:''' ''(holding a [[RollingPinOfDoom rolling pin]])'' Oh, ''him'' we treat with respect.
* LeaveBehindAPistol: Gil gives Moloch von Zinzer a [[CyanidePill poison pill]] upon his departure to Castle Heterodyne, underestimating the degree of von Zinzer's ActionSurvivor skills and GenreSavvy.
* LeaveTheTwoLovebirdsAlone: With a somewhat unexpected pair of lovebirds in [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100906 this strip]].
* {{Leitmotif}} / ThemeMusicPowerup: Agatha discovers that if she hums a certain series of notes, she can improve her focus while working on various projects. This tune pops up throughout the series, in various forms. Unknown if anyone has actually tabulated and played her song in real life, though.
* LeonineContract
* LetsGetDangerous: The Unstoppable Airman Higgs is, [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment in fact,]] [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin unstoppable.]]
* LetThemDieHappy: These [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100929 plants]] are trying to do this.
* LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain: Gilgamesh orders that his NiceHat should be hidden in a safe place -- [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20120116 and never spoken about again.]]
-->'''[=DuPree=]:''' I heard there was a ''hat!''\\
'''Gil:''' You're ''delusional''.
* LickedByTheDog: The wasp weasels seem to ''really'' like Tarvek, [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20120613 much to his chagrin]].
* LightningBruiser: [[spoiler:Airman Higgs]]
* LightningCanDoAnything: The writers love this trope.
* LightningReveal: The Baron's ''real'' forces are [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20121019 revealed]].
* LikeAnOldMarriedCouple: Von Zinzer comments on it about Violetta and Tarvek bickering. "[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080926 Are you sure you're not married?]]" To which Violetta responds by almost puking.
* LingerieScene: The creators admit the work contains "lots of running around in Victorian underwear". Most of the time, Agatha is the offender. [[AuthorAppeal Not that surprising]], when one of the creators is a big fan of such underthings, and the other is her husband.
* LiteralGenie: A mild case in the form of [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080822 Castle Heterodyne.]]
* LiteraryAgentHypothesis: The entire comic is postulated as a course on the life of Agatha Heterodyne, as taught by the Professors Foglio at Transylvania Polygnostic University ("Know enough to be afraid.") They stick mostly to the truth -- though this very admittance means that it's possible that, in the "real" universe where this story takes place, not every woman has large breasts.\\\
That is, the first print collection, "Agatha Heterodyne & The Beetleburg Clank", and the original printed comics, are presented as an unauthorized but accurate record published by TPU, Phil Foglio having witnessed Agatha's "Battle Circus" himself; later, he is indeed in town when the Battle Circus episode occurs. However, Phil Foglio is also shown telling the tale as fiction in the street right on page one. (An alternative tryout sketch released online seems to have Agatha herself telling the story to her grandchildren.) Maybe that's after he was accidentally sent back in time or something. But also, in the "radio play" episodes of the webcomic, Studio Foglio are repeatedly shown escaping as they perform the last seconds of the episode just as the real and angry Agatha Heterodyne and her friends are about to catch them and stop the show.
* LittleNo
** Type 1 from [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070101 Wooster to Bangladesh]].
** A mix of type 1 and 3 from [[spoiler:[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20101020 Higgs to Zola]]]].
** LittleNo meets ThisIsGonnaSuck meets OhCrap when [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20110218 Castle Heterodyne decides to put out a fire.]]
* LivingBattery: Agatha drinks water from the Dyne and is super-charged as a temporary power source.
* LivingCrashpad: Jägers are ''[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20060512 polite]]'' about this.
* LivingLabyrinth: Castle Heterodyne
* LivingLegend: Quite a few.
** Othar Tryggvassen, ''[[GentlemanAdventurer GENTLEMAN ADVENTURER]]'', very well known and generally viewed as a hero. Except by the main protagonists.
** Klaus Wulfenbach is fine with having a reputation as a terribly villainous evil emperor if it keeps the peace.
** The Heterodyne Boys had a wonderfully heroic reputation, beloved in no small degree because their family very much did ''not''.
** Agatha, Gil, and Tarvek are all rapidly building themselves reputation, what with being stuck in the middle of the most epic story since the Heterodyne Boys defeated the Other.
* LivingMotionDetector: The clank in [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080908 this]] comic.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: There really are a lot of regular characters in this comic, to the point where it can get difficult to keep track of everyone.
* LongHairedPrettyBoy: Maxim, the beautiful male ''Jägermonster.'' See the [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20081121 Cinderella]] breather episode, where Maxim is supposed to be one of the "ugly" stepsisters, but it doesn't quite turn out as planned.
* LookBehindYou: [[ActionSurvivor Von Zinzer]]: "Uh... [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100118 hey, check it out]]." -- though in this case not only does the target look, but there's actually something to see.
* LoopholeAbuse: Not a weapon. That's a ''[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080606 chair]]''!
* LosingYourHead: [[spoiler:Tinka]] Also [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100818 here]], with [[spoiler:Castle Heterodyne]] in the body of a mechanical Muse. Also an example of ArcWords.
* LoveBubbles: Bubbles ''[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20110817 and]]'' roses.
* LoveTriangle
** Agatha, Gil, and Tarvek. The existence of the triangle has now been openly stated, and Agatha's subjects are taking bets over who's going to win (Or if she'll choose [[MarryThemAll both]]). There was also a low-grade one involving Lars, but [[spoiler: DeathOfTheHypotenuse made sure that only Gil and Tarvek remained to vie for her affection]].
** Possible Minion LoveTriangle in Moloch, Violetta, and Snaug. Although, Violetta [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend denies romantic interest]] in Moloch, and [[AllLoveIsUnrequited he's smitten]] by Sanaa Wilhelm. [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100616 Suuuure]] she isn't interested... which turns the one centered on Moloch into a low-grade LoveDodecahedron. [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20120730 Confirmed by Moloch himself]]:
-->'''Moloch:''' So, Sanaa? Yeah, she's smart and tough and I like being around her -- but since I feel the same way about ''you'', [Snaug,] I ''obviously'' don't know ''anything'' about romance. Stupid, huh?
** Backstory one with Lucretia, Klaus and Bill; Lucrezia dealt with the hypotenuse in a way that seems to have backfired.
* LoyalPhlebotinum: Practically everything that the Heterodynes made.
* LudicrousGibs: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070905 The reason Othar doesn't turn his enemies inside out anymore.]]
* MadArtist: The tailor clank in the "Revenge of the Weasel Queen" fillers.
* MadeOfIron
** Airman Third Class Axel Higgs
** ''Othar Tryggvassen, [[GentlemanAdventurer GENTLEMAN ADVENTURER]]''
** Old Man Death took multiple Jägerpunches to the face and was still able to outfight the Jäger who provided them.
* MadScientist: "Sparks", whose erratic genius has literally reshaped the world. Practically half the cast are mad scientists of one sort or another, though the ones that come closest to the classic villain type are probably Prince Wilhelm Aaronev and the late Lucrezia Mongfish.
** There's even a mad ''social'' scientist, who complains that the mad "hard" scientists [[HardOnSoftScience get all of the funding and attention]].
-->"I told the baron, give me a thousand orphans, a hedge maze and enough cheese and I can--"
** Agatha awakening to her mad science is what starts and drives the entire story forward, and raises the question [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EomvxZF6Tto ...or will her newfound mad science DESTROY THEM ALL!]]
* MadScientistLaboratory: Several, most notably those belonging to Baron Wulfenbach and Prince Aaronev. And all of the ones in Castle Heterodyne.
* MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter
** Lucrezia Mongfish is officially referred to as "The Villain's Beautiful Daughter" in the stories told about Agatha's parents. Agatha herself is arguably one, and she's already run into at least two Mad Scientist's ''Handsome Sons''.
** Dr. Mongfish had at least two other daughters besides Lucrezia; Serpentina (Theo's mother), and Demonica ([[spoiler:Zola's mom]]).
** Othar Tryggvassen ([[GentlemanAdventurer GENTLEMAN]] [[TvTropesWikiDrinkingGame ADVENTURER!]]) [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal actually asks Agatha]] if she's one of these.
** And most offspring of mad scientists are mad scientists themselves.
* {{Magitek}}: "Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science!"
* MagneticHero: Any and all Sparks; their manic vision pulls normal people into their service.
* MakeMyIndexLive: This mythos is a major part of the premise.
* MalevolentArchitecture: Castle Heterodyne. It was designed by an AxCrazy [[MadScientist Spark]], and it [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070725 shows]].
-->'''Zola:''' Avoid any floorstone marked in ''white.'' It is a trap that will kill you. Do not stand under any part of the ceiling marked in ''white.'' It is a trap that will kill you. ''Duck'' under any opening taller than ''one meter.'' It is a trap that will kill you. Do not touch ''any'' metal surface. It is a trap that will kill you.\\\
'''Zola:''' This place is dangerous, twisted, and worst of all— [...] It likes to think it has a ''sense of humor''.
* MaliciousSlander
* MamaBear: Von Pinn, ''[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040903 and how]].'' She's actually [[spoiler:the Muse of protection, downloaded into a construct body.]] The "bear" part gets much more [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20101210 literal]] later on.
* TheManTheyCouldntHang: Well, The Jägers They Couldn't Hang, but otherwise Da Boyz. [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050513 Definitely Da Boyz.]]
* MarriageToAGod: The original Heterodyne was supposedly married to a local battle goddess.
* MarryThemAll: This is how the Castle thinks the love triangle should be solved. This may have been a Heterodyne pattern. "The ''Master's'' bedroom ''only'' sleeps ''six''."
* MasterApprenticeChain: Gilgamesh is taught by Klaus himself (among others), and we know some of the people who taught the baron himself.
-->'''[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20110204 Dr. Sun]]:''' He does his teachers ''proud''.
* MauveShirt: Sergeant Scorp of the Baron's Vespiary Squad. Also an unquestionably CoolOldGuy, right down to the superb facial hair.
* MaximumFunChamber: Castle Heterodyne contains several; in fact, most of the castle counts.
* McNinja
** Smoke Knights, followers of the Way of Smoke, serving the heir of Storm King.
** Baron Wulfenbach's "stealth fighters", [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20120620 a rival school]].
* MeaningfulName
** {{Word of God}} has it that Theopholous [=DuMedd=] was originally "doomed" to be [[AnyoneCanDie killed off]] in volume 3, but the Foglios so enjoyed him that he stuck around.
** Most likely Sleipnir O'Hara wasn't supposed to be kept around either. Agatha needed a roommate to introduce her to the world of the Baron's flying castle, so the Foglios gave her someone to "sleep near".
** The town of Mechanicsburg is integrated with the mechanical Castle Heterodyne.
** Bangladesh [=DuPree=]. ''Bang duPrey''. Or ''Du-praved''.
** Heterodyne: The principle of periodic functions upon which theremins and radio modulation rely. Possibly related to the ThemeMusicPowerUp.
** Portentius Reichenbach's [[IncrediblyLamePun Portentous]] Operatic Masterpiece: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080204 The Storm King]].
** ''Othar Tryggvassen, [[GentlemanAdventurer GENTLEMAN ADVENTURER]]''. His surname roughly means "Safe Waters" in the North Countries where he's said to be from.
* MechanicalEvolution: Inverted; Agatha tends to compulsively construct little Clanks termed "dingbots". These dingbots can then go on to construct more dingbots, but dingbots are only so bright, so each successive generation gets less and less advanced, and less bright, and by the third or fourth generation the dingbots produced are nonfunctional.
* TheMedic
** Mamma Gkika
** Although we haven't seen this happen yet, the Heterodynes to the Jägers.
** Dr. Sun ''is'' a doctor. As well as a Spark.
** We also have [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20110124 this]] exchange:
-->'''Gil:''' Let me take a look at that.\\
'''Tarvek:''' ... Already doing it.\\
'''Gil:''' Hey! I '''am''' a doctor, you know.\\
'''Tarvek:''' '''pft'''. And '''who isn't'''?
* MegaNeko: Castle Heterodyne has a lot of giant cat clanks living in it. One of them becomes [[spoiler: Otilia's]] new body, at least for the time being.
* MeleeATrois: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100716 Tarvek vs. Zola vs. Lucrezia!Agatha.]]
* {{Melodrama}}tic: '''EVERY. SINGLE. SPARK.''' ''Can'' get this way. The only Spark we've not seen like this -- yet -- is Klaus.
* MementoMacGuffin: Agatha's locket.
* MentalTimeTravel: Othar, in his Twitter.
* MentorOccupationalHazard: Dr. Tarsus Beetle, who kept Agatha at the university because he knew the truth about her, dies in the first story arc.
* MexicanStandoff: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20030108 Subverted between Klaus and Dr. Beetle]].
* MidairRepair
** Gilgamesh and Agatha while testing Gil's flying, or rather ''falling'', machine. Of course because they're sparks, it starts to become midair redesigning the device before Zoing points out to Agatha that they are still falling.
** Tarvek is forced to do the same thing... while tied up to a Spark fighting with a mad Jäger on board. He finally makes the machine fly ''inches'' from the ground.
* MilkyWhiteEyes: Geisterdamen and possibly other geistercreatures.
* MiniMecha: Agatha's Dingbots, particularly Dingbot Prime.
* MinionMaracas: Agatha demonstrates the [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090311 proper technique]].
* MinionShipping
** There's been strong fan support for Violetta×von Zinzer, minions in denial and retainer/NOT-minion of Tarvek and Agatha, respectively. Shipping a [[DeadpanSnarker snarky]] {{McNinja}} who hates her job with a world-weary ex-soldier just ''works''.
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100616 Lately]], canon [[ShipTease seems to agree]]. But then, he [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20091109 jumped]] to Fräulein Snaug (repeating the Agatha×Gilgamesh×Zola case).
*** Oh boy, now he's on Sanaa, with Fräulein Snaug suggesting MurderIsTheBestSolution.
*** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20120730 And here]], he makes it worse, by outright telling Snaug that while he's apparently in love with Sanaa, he feels the same about Snaug too.
** Also, [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100915 Zeetha and Higgs]]. [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20101018 Totally]] [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20130320 canon.]]
** When Sparks do it, [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100906 others begin to inconspicuously look for blast doors]].
** Another one that [[UnholyMatrimony makes a lot of sense]]: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20120224 DuPree and Vole.]]
* MissionControlIsOffItsMeds: Castle Heterodyne acts as this to the prisoners repairing it, due to its fractured personality.
* MissionImpossibleCableDrop: Gil does this [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20120227 here]].
* MistakenForGay: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100324 Othar, unless it's just good-natured teasing between siblings]]. Or not mistaken, since his objection to Sanaa's statement isn't Gil's gender, it's that he's "a foul villain". BiTheWay at the most, though, since he was [[http://twitter.com/Othar/status/967741669 married]] to a [[http://twitter.com/Othar/status/1097578474 Geisterdame]] for a while in the [[CharacterBlog Twitter]]. Of course, he's also [[UnreliableNarrator borderline delusional]], so good luck trusting anything he says.
* MobileMaze: Castle Heterodyne. "We're doomed! The door we came through -- [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090304 it never led HERE before!"]]
* ModestyBedsheet
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080407 Gil]], while lying on the bed injured and naked.
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100816 Von Pinn]], in a similar situation.
* MomentKiller
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090511 Merlot]], in the page that is aptly titled [[AlmostKiss Smoochus Interruptus]].
** The Jäger generals [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20110318 assume]] that Gil and Agatha won't enjoy making out with her mother watching, [[spoiler:and that will be enough motivation to quickly remove the copy of the Other's mind from Agatha]].
* MonochromaticEyes: The geisterdamen have all-white eyes.
* MonsterClown: Whatever [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20110209 this thing]] originally was made for, among other things, probably.
* MoodWhiplash
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070117 The calming pie]] is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. (Warning: spoilery. And the pies may contain nutmeg.)
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20110207 Say-...]]
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20120718 Agatha gets whiplash herself.]]
* MookHorrorShow: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20041103 The flashback of Zeetha wiping out a whole pirate ship]] sure looks like this in a couple panels.
* MoralMyopia: A lot of people other than Klaus and the heroes fall into this. Such as Merlot, who blames Agatha for the fact that he killed a few dozen people and got punished for it.
* MoreHeroThanThou: Tarvek and Gil [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20091111 have a brief exchange]] about who gets to be this.
* MoreThanMeetsTheEye: A few different characters.
** Agatha kicks the story off with this.
** Tarvek also qualifies.
** [[spoiler:Airman Higgs]] seems to be the new, most prominent example.
** Also, Da Boyz and [[spoiler:Zola]] use ObfuscatingStupidity.
** Gil (especially in his Paris days), Agatha's "parents", Wooster, Von Pinn, Dr. Sun, Dolokov, the Circus, Sanaa... it's probably easier to list which characters AREN'T more than they appear.
* MoreThanMindControl: Sparks can be almost irresistibly charismatic when they put their minds to it.
* MotivationalKiss: Gil gets one [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20110817 here]] (continued to the next page).
* MotorMouth
** Movit #11 causes this, increasing with dosage.
** Coffee does this to Agatha. Increasing dosage was deftly averted.
** Prince Aaronev's sedative must have contained a truth serum; Agatha blabs for almost three full pages of unrestrained and meandering truth before she passes out. So much for "Lady Olga".
* MrFanservice: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080407 Gil]], [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080924 Tarvek]], Klaus, and more.
* MuggingTheMonster: In Mechanicsburg, [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20120413 one surviving hostile Spark]] [[TooDumbToLive seems to think that]] [[BadassBystander Axel Higgs]] and [[ActionGirl Zeetha, daughter of Chump]] will make good ''innocent hostages.'' Keep in mind that this is the guy who absolutely ''destroyed'' a [[PsychoSerum Moveit #11]]-enhanced Zola earlier, while Zeetha wiped out a pirate fleet and fortress by herself.
* MummiesAtTheDinnerTable: Anevka, to a degree.
* MundaneMadeAwesome: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070625 Volume Seven, Page 52]]. That must be good coffee.
* MushroomSamba: The Circus pumps out a hallucinogenic gas during their escape from Sturmhaven, shout "The Heterodynes are back!" and we get this little [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070129 gem.]]
* MustHaveCaffeine: Vanamonde von Mekkhan spends all his time in a coffee shop in Mechanicsburg, and certainly does enjoy his coffee. During the first attack on Mechanicsburg, there's a caffeine dispensing assistant [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20110530 at his side]]. He has even written a textbook on coffee preparation (under a pseudonym): ''[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070528 Bean There, Done That]]''.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Basically the FatalFlaw of every Spark in the world. Entering "TheMadnessPlace" grants them incredibly powerful focus, but it makes them entirely oblivious to the potentially disastrous results of their creations.
** Specifically, Aaronev Sturmvoraus and his dying daughter, though certainly said by others in this world.
* MyInstinctsAreShowing: Krosp I, Emperor of All Cats is the current Trope Illustrator.
* MythArc: One of the best webcomic examples. The foreshadowing starts with the [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20021111 fourth strip]] of the first chapter, with hints about the phenomenon scattered over many, many volumes -- and a full explanation has still not been given.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Practically half the cast.
** Klaus and Gilgamesh Wulfenbach;
** Lucrezia and her sisters Serpentina and Demonica;
** Master Payne;
** Von Pinn;
** Possibly subverted with Moloch.
** Also basically ''all'' of the Heterodynes (prior to Bill and Barry) have these.
** If these things are any indication, ''all'' strong Spark families tend to be this way.
** The Queen of England is only mentioned in hushed tones, even though the only British member of the cast is Wooster. It's implied that she exercises mind control over the entirety of the English Isles.
* NarrativeProfanityFilter: After a blow to the foot, [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20091009 Agatha cuts loose]] with a string of SymbolSwearing, followed by a small asterisk. The accompanying caption:
-->"* Oooh, what naughty little devices, to turn upon your creator! Oh! Indeed, my foot is in such excruciating pain! I shall construct a device that will give you ''such a whack,'' see if I don't!"
* NecessarilyEvil: Any Spark who wants to be a good guy sometimes has to turn into a raging madboy just to keep the million separate interests from coming apart. Klaus, Gilgamesh, and Agatha have all found this out.
* NeckLift
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20030127 Merlot finds out this way]] that Baron Wulfenbach despises traitors.
** Von Pinn [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20030718 introduces herself]] to Agatha by giving her a personal demonstration of this trope.
** Mamma Gkika [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20110518 also explains through this method]] (with "slammed-into-a-wall" bonus) to [[spoiler:Oublenmach]] why it's a bad idea to wake her up too early in the morning.
** Vole reminds [[spoiler:Tarvek and Gil]] that you should never, ''ever'' take a Jäger lightly, by catching the ''two of them'' in a strangling neck lift -- [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20110729 one in each arm]].
* {{Necromantic}}
* NeverBringAKnifeToAGunFight
** Zola vs. Agatha:
-->'''Zola:''' Bringing a knife to a gun fight doesn't seem very smart, now does it?\\
'''Agatha:''' Well, I suppose it isn't that much worse than bringing a gun to a clank fight.
** And [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20110713 later]], "It's harder to break things with a knife."
* NeverFoundTheBody
** A plot point has significant individuals from the past killed by a machine made from "farm machinery and pork products", which turns them into a string of sausages. Hard to confirm that.
** Not to mention, ''Othar Tryggvassen, [[GentlemanAdventurer GENTLEMAN ADVENTURER]]''; he's been tossed out of two airships on-screen, within the same chapter. Gil doesn't even consider the possibility that he died, having seen him come back from the same or worse so many times.
** Gil is also GenreSavvy enough to find it suspicious [[spoiler: his father's]] body [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20120120 is never found.]] [[spoiler: Between what the readers were told before and Boris's comments that the Baron ordered his son to be immediately named head of the empire should he be suspected dead, it's indeed almost certain his death is a ruse.]]
* NiceHat
** Only a man whose bowler has granted fantasy adventurers super-powers could create a culture like the Jägers, [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070209 whose attitude to this trope is close to a religion]]. [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080514 Case in point.]] A worthy hat must be claimed in battle against a mighty foe who [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100521 happens to have the same size head as you]]. Demonstration with [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100614 Maxim's hat, replaced]]. And it is a ''dem'' nice hat ([[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100614 better than the former, at least]]).
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20121010 Franz]] takes after the Jägers, in this [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20121130 aspect]]
* NiceJobBreakingItHero
** Agatha activates her own "Lion" device to prevent the Castle A.I. from stopping her from intentionally dying. This permanently destroys the A.I. and lots of other systems. All over the city. Subverted because she found a part of the Castle A.I.. After hooking the A.I. back into the castle, it thanks her for the EMP blast since it destroyed the rogue programs, making it easier to control those parts of the castle. She still has to fix everything, though.
** Lampshaded by Violetta [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20110214 on this page]] when she discovers that [[spoiler:Gil and Tarvek have somehow missed the poison that was on the hairpin that Zola jabbed Agatha with]].
** Dr Sun takes down the Baron's escape clank -- ''by himself'' -- and enforces Klaus's bed rest in order to stop him killing himself from the strain. Awesome -- [[spoiler:''until'' we learn that, in keeping Klaus in the hospital, Sun's unwittingly exposed him to Anevka!Lucrezia, which is more or less what Klaus feared. Oops.]]
* NoblewomansLaugh
** Zeetha [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20081205 in the second panel]].
** Lucrezia [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100219 in the first panel]].
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown
** Holy crap. ''[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20110117 Tarvek?!]]''
** Also, Higgs to Zola.
* NoodleImplements
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20030829 "Thank goodness you had all those clockwork ducks, Klaus".]]
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050523 One wonders what part a tea cozy has to play...]]
** Used to hilarious effect in [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080206 "The Storm King" Opera synopsis.]] The roller-skating giraffe pretty much speaks for itself.
** Why does one need a hammer [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090731 to cure Verictus Panteliax's Chromatic Death]]? Unfortunately, we never find out, since Tarvek has some other kind of disease (which is much worse, by the way).
* NoodleIncident
** Apparently, the Baron [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080526 has used the Med Clank]] before. After what happened ''last time'', he promised to put it away.
** "The Socket Wench of Prague" is all about this. Agatha played the leading lady and even she didn't know what was going on.
** The novelizations have a lot of these, usually referring to some strange thing that some Spark had built or what said Spark attempted to do with said strange invention.
** Regarding [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050523 Agatha's first Fortune-Telling]], all we know is that it involved a tea cozy, only one spoon, and lasted 43 hours.
* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: Othar. Being thrown out of an airship and surviving is among the ''least'' of his feats. From the radio play:
-->'''Othar:''' ''Ha!'' It'll take ''more'' than [[DistressedDude being tied to a]] [[StuffBlowingUp lit keg of explosives]] [[HollywoodAcid and tossed into a pit of acid]] filled with [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke mutant]], [[RequiredSecondaryPowers acid-resistant]] [[SharkPool flying pirahnas]] armed with [[KillItWithFire flame-throwers]] [[SwordAndGun and]] [[AnAxeToGrind battle axes]] while [[PoisonousPerson venomous]], [[MechaMook mechanical]], [[MacrossMissileMassacre missile-launching]] [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Morris dancers]] armed with [[FreezeRay liquid nitrogen harpoon guns are overhead]]; [[HorseOfADifferentColor riding]] [[BigCreepyCrawlies giant]], [[EverythingsWorseWithBees rabid killer bees]] [[DeathRay with side-mounted death rays]] to kill '''[[LargeHam Othar Tryggvassen!]]'''\\
'''[[JerkassWoobie Fer]][[MsFanservice reti]][[HalfHumanHybrid na]]:''' Whoops! Silly me, I forgot to turn the [[ShockAndAwe lightning generators]] on!\\
'''Othar:''' [[ThisIsGonnaSuck Er... not a whole lot more, I'll admit.]]
* TheNoseKnows: Jägermonsters; Krosp; the Revenant-detecting weasels
* NotAGame
** The Castle warns Agatha that claiming to be the Heterodyne is [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080704 not]] [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080707 a]] [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080709 game!]]
** Gil declares to her that he is playing no game.
* NotDistractedByTheSexy: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090925 Spark mode Agatha]] is not interested in nudity.
* NotHelpingYourCase: Tarvek denies having any part in the plan to usurp the Wulfenbachs by installing a fake Heterodyne -- ''his'' plan was orders of magnitude better!
* NothingButSkulls: The floor of the chapel in Castle Heterodyne is covered by the skulls of those who claimed to be a new Heterodyne master -- and failed. The Castle even left a nice empty spot for Agatha's skull...
* NothingIsScarier: "But I see nothing!" [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050706 "Don't say that like it's a good thing!"]]
* NotInTheFace: Played with.
-->'''Castle Heterodyne:''' No! Not in the facing!
* NotSoDifferent
** Jägermonsters and Lackya don't get along well. They're both bruisers who don't function well without a person to follow.
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20110422 Tarvek and Gil]], just like Agatha [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080929 told]] [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090724 them]].
** Tarvek and Violetta; despite the family power structure having set them up so that he's the brains and she's his (deftly-applied) muscle, it transpires that Tarvek [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20110425 can pull smoke knight moves even on Violetta]], and Violetta [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20110907 has a talent for intrigue and projecting how power dynamics could be brought to play out]] that can outdo Tarvek's own.
* NotThatKindOfDoctor: Actually, most Sparks ''are''. The only reason Agatha isn't is because [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20110124 they wouldn't let her take the tests]].
* TheNudifier: The Wacky Weave Destabiliser. (Un)Fortunately Zeetha wears special underwear.
* NumberOneDime: Hats, to the Jägers.
* OccamsRazor: Invoked as Agatha and crew were [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20120827 wondering why the Baron was invading instead of his old plan of flattening the city.]]
-->'''General Zog:''' Occam's Razor!\\
'''Agatha:''' Yes, you're right of course--\\
'''General Zog:''' [[SubvertedTrope Hit vas forged by Old Occam Heterodyne!]]\\
'''Agatha:''' Ah... What?\\
'''General Zog:''' Seriously--who ''vouldn't'' vant it? Hoo--[[AbsurdlySharpBlade dot ting ken cut through anyting]]!
* ObfuscatingStupidity: A ''lot'' of people.
** Most especially Zola.
-->'''Tarvek:''' What? No! That was that ''idiot'' from the Island of th... ''([[BeatPanel makes a face]])'' She ''is'' good.
** Some of the Jägerkin are considerably smarter than they appear.
** The circus pretends to be simple performers when in truth they're [[spoiler:mostly Sparks]].
** Astonishingly enough, Tarvek [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20091125 seems to be in this category]]. Considering that he's an InsufferableGenius with ChronicBackstabbingDisorder who's spent an inordinately long time on the Face side of the HeelFaceRevolvingDoor, it's shocking that it took this long.
** Agatha began the comic with an item that forced her to Obfuscate Stupidity. [[spoiler:It's a locket given to her by her Uncle Barry to suppress her Spark, so that The Heterodyne Boys' numerous enemies wouldn't try to kill/manipulate/etc. her.]]
** Gil appears to have spent most of his life doing this. As a child he hid his Spark, and in Paris he pretended to be a much worse student than he really was. It was only after returning from school that he was finally able to stop doing it and fully be himself.
** Although we haven't seen the details yet, [[spoiler:the apparent BadassBystander Higgs has been spotted chatting with Castle Heterodyne about Heterodynes from centuries ago, and it sure sounds like first-hand accounts.]]
** Wooster apparently tried this, or at least Obfuscating Normal, on Gil, to infiltrate Castle Wulfenbach. Gil was onto him, but played along until he could make more use of Wooster as a [[spoiler:British secret agent.]]
* OddlyVisibleEyebrows
* OddShapedPanel
* OfCorsetsSexy: Usually on Agatha.
* OffModel: After [[spoiler:Martellus]] is shown to have replaced his left hand with a mechanical prosthetic, the next page shows him opening a bottle with both hands clearly visible, both flesh and blood.
* OffhandBackhand: Used by both Wulfenbachs, Wooster, and [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100301 Zeetha]]. And then [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20120716 Tarvek on Othar.]]
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20120312 Offhand backfoot]]
* OffingTheOffspring: What [[spoiler:Lucrezia]] purportedly did to her own son, and [[spoiler:now plans for her daughter.]]
* OhCrap
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080305 "This must be how my father feels -- ALL THE TIME!"]]
** Klaus, [[spoiler:[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061206 realizing Lucrezia has enslaved him]]]] and [[spoiler:[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061225 when Agatha activates the Battle Circus]].]]
** In a subverted BigDamnHeroes [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100315 moment]]:
-->"Who in blazes is ''that''?"\\
"Why, ''I'' am OTHAR TRYGGVASSEN, '''Gentleman Adventurer'''!"\\
"Uh oh."
** Amusingly invoked [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100602 here.]]
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20110713 And here]]
** ''Everyone'' is thinking it [[spoiler:[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20120404 as The Baron puts a Wasp Weasel in Gil's face and watches it shriek. Even you and Gil.]]]]
** Maxim as he realizes that, since he has [[DefeatingTheUndefeatable Old Man Death]]'s [[NiceHat hat]], every Jäger around is going to fight him for it.
** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20130426 Mamma Gkika]] when she sees that the previously unstoppable falling object heading toward the cathedral contains Baron Wulfenbach himself -- or the fact that he seems to be carrying a bomb. Probably both. Most of those who saw the contraption for the first time have a small Oh Crap moment when they realize that the castle's defenses weren't stopping it.
* OhMyGods: [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090520 Here]], in the second panel.
* OhNoNotAgain: When Agatha's trying to snap Gil out of a stupor:
-->'''Agatha:''' ''Hey, Gil!'' All of Paris is about to go up in flames, and Zola has her head caught in a ''bucket! Up and at 'em, Hero Boy!''\\
'''Gil:''' Hm? A bucket? ''Again?'' Okay, I'm comin'.\\
'''Agatha:''' ''(shooting a sideways glance at Zola)'' Yeeeess. I ''suspected'' as much.
* OldMaster: Dr. Sun, quite capable of singlehandedly disassembling any number of clanks -- and who ''taught'' Klaus and Gil quite a lot about martial arts.
* OminousFloatingCastle (Type 3): ''Castle Wulfenbach'' certainly qualifies.
* OminousPipeOrgan: At one point a flipped-out Agatha directs a small army of clanks (including TransformingMecha and [[{{Literature/Discworld}} Luggage]]) with a [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061229 high-falutin]] [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070117 calliope.]] Doubles as a visual CrowningMusicOfAwesome. And perhaps a literal version of AutobotsRockOut.
* OmnicidalManiac: While all Heterodynes were maniacs, some weren't picky about who to kill, as evidenced by [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20111130 this exchange]]:
-->"Two minutes and she hasn't killed''''' anyone'''''!"\\
"A''''' new record'''''!"
* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: Though Sparks do specialize, it appears that most of the really strong ones can stitch a living being out of spare body parts as easily as they can build a mechanical [=AI=]... or design an electric death ray or a giant airship. Only minor Sparks appear to be ''restricted'' to a discipline, as opposed to simply being ''best'' at one
* 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 lower odds.
* OnlyAFleshWound:
-->'''Gil:''' Seven broken ribs. Severe fracture, right leg. Fractured clavicle. Some crush injuries, but the kidneys appear unharmed. First and second degree burns on upper back and lower legs, third degree on the lower back. Four broken fingers, three broken toes, sprained and bruised muscles throughout -- major and minor lacerations, and a concussion.\\
'''Klaus:''' I've had worse.
* OnlySaneMan
** Von Zinzer. Good news is, he has a ''lot'' of experience dealing with Sparks, which also gives him lots of GenreSavvy, though he's also somewhat fatalistic -- he's resigned to the fact that having to work for Sparks means he could be blown up, eaten, ripped apart or otherwise brutally killed at any time. No wonder he can be so [[DeadpanSnarker snarky]]. Given the large number of Sparks and Spark minions he has recently been hanging around with, he is sometimes ''literally'' the only person in the room who is not crazy.
** Krosp has also been this at times. Just not when the [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070917 string is going to escape]].
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness
** Bangladesh [=DuPree=] not choosing at once the "let's blow everything up" option gets her second-in-command worried. [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061108 She was just fooling around, however.]]
** On a much more serious note, later on when Agatha is trying to power up the Castle, [[spoiler:Gilgamesh's behaviour is ''extremely'' off, and even Franz notices it despite having never met him. Turns out that he's been brainwashed by Klaus.]]
* OrphansPlotTrinket: Agatha's locket.
* OurHeroIsDead: And buried, complete with digging up the body and ''cloning a replica'' to make sure it's really her. [[spoiler:The corpse was doctored to make it look like Agatha, but the cloning gave the deception away, as the cloned body was not hers.]]
* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Dame Aedith is a vampire hunter, despite the fact that no vampires have been seen. Although there was this little gem...
-->'''Wooster:''' Um... we're not going to meet some ancient undead Heterodyne vampire or something, are we?\\
'''Carson:''' Oh, and wouldn't ''that'' be the perfect capper to my day.\\
'''Wooster:''' Um, actually, that wasn't a "Ho ho, don't be silly old chap."\\
'''Carson:''' I ain't being paid to ''lie'' to you, Brit.
* OutGambitted: The Knights Of Jove swept in to rescue Agatha for their own nefarious purposes, at which point Klaus revealed virtually his entire army had been waiting in hiding for them to show up. And they weren't even the real reason he did it.
* OutOfFocus: Lots of characters have done this.
** Most notably, Gil dropped out of the story early in Volume 4, reappeared briefly at the end of Volume 5, and finally reentered the story for real in Volume 7.
** Lots of other characters from the first arc disappeared after it was over and have either not returned or only showed up again in the third arc. The end of the second arc also sent a large number of supporting characters offstage. It also happens within arcs: Klaus has done this more than once. Given the webcomic format, the size of the cast, and the demands of the story, it's inevitable that it will keep happening.
** This gets a non-canon lampshade [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050912 in this picture]].
-->'''Gil:''' AAARGH! I haven't had any lines in '''months'''! Am I even still a '''main character'''?!
* OutscareTheEnemy: Veilchen [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20060505 does something like this]].
* OverlyLongName
** "I am Zola Anya Talinka Venia Zeblinkya Malfeazium."
** In the "Cinderella" omake, Cinderella's full name is really Literature/SleepingBeauty [[Literature/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs Snow White]] {{Literature/Rapunzel}} [[Literature/LandOfOz Ozma]] [[Literature/SnowWhiteAndRoseRed Rose Red]] [[Literature/LittleRedRidingHood Riding Hood]] {{Literature/Rumpelstiltskin}}. (No, [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20081124 really]]. [[LampshadeHanging Just don't ask]].)
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