Von Pinn
From Girl Genius
| Von Pinn | |
 | |
| Name | Von Pinn |
| Age | unknown; perh. approx. 19 or 20[1] |
| Occupation | erstwhile Nanny and Teacher aboard the Castle Wulfenbach; currently none known |
| Residence | Castle Wulfenbach |
| First Appearance | Strangling Agatha - Volume II, page 30 |
| Death | |
| Parents | Creator: Lucrezia Mongfish |
| Relatives | |
| Children | |
| Marital Status | Single; much pursued by the Wulfenbach Jägers[2] |
- "I am Von Pinn. I am in charge here. You are Agatha Clay. I have not heard good things about you. I take the safety of these children very seriously."[3]
Von Pinn is a (moreso formerly) mysterious, terrifying construct in Wulfenbach service, though (as it happens) not of his creation, but who bears a more than merely imagined resemblance to Lucrezia Mongfish. For her original official[4] and practically spoiler-free description, please see Secret Blueprints: Von Pinn. If you are caught up through Volume VII or can't be bothered with it, read on for current observations.
Contents |
[edit] Aboard Castle Wulfenbach
Von Pinn's job aboard Castle Wulfenbach, at the time of Agatha's arrival there, is to protect the hostage-students from any harm that may befall them, as well as to keep them in line. Her sharp claws, immense resilience, and homicidally bad temper help with both responsibilities. Unfortunately for her, they[5] are also apparently an irresistible attractant to Jägermonsters,[6] and she's had to maim several for getting too familiar. Rumors about her origin (among the students) have ranged from the plausible to the ridiculous, with the most popular apparently holding her to be a revivified Lucrezia Mongfish.[7]
[edit] Origin in Castle Heterodyne
In fact, she was one of Lucrezia's creations, originally meant to nursemaid her son. When her charge was killed in the attack on Castle Heterodyne, Von Pinn apparently went violently insane and had to be restrained by the surviving Castle staff. She was released into the Baron's service when his sphere of influence overtook Mechanicsburg, around the same time as he finalized his agreement with the Jägers.[8]
[edit] History to Present
To all objective imaginings she served faithfully for years ("Klaus always did know the right monster for the right job"), until the chaos surrounding Agatha's departure. Her negative reaction to the girl herself is (presumed) rather incidental; more significant is her violent subduing of Punch and Judy, her inability to move against Zulenna Luzhakna's rearguard action, and her ballistic reaction to Bangladesh DuPree's subsequent taking over the challenge and her casual stabbing of the young woman. Klaus had to use D-gas to keep from losing one or both of them.
Before it came to this, however, she served as early foreshadowing of the Mongfish command voice — when Agatha shouted at her in anger, "put me down, you wretched construct!" Von Pinn did so instantly, apparently to her own consternation. This does not by any means mean that she likes her hereditary mistress, or for that matter the original one; the Mongfish sigil on her watch appears to have been defaced by sharp claws; her attitude towards Agatha after discovering that she is Lucrezia's daughter is not clear, beyond a repeated statement that Agatha is "MINE!"[9]
Her fate is in question, since she has not been seen since the fight with Bang and since her charges have all escaped or been sent away.[10]
[edit] Questions and Theories
- Was it just Klaus Barry's death that sent Von Pinn round the bend, or was there other contributing factors? What could she tell us about that night?
- Was she even really crazy at all, or did she witness something those around her considered impossible?
- I.e., if her prime directive was the protection of Klaus Barry, is she now so filled with antipathy for the personality currently known as Lucrezia that it spills over onto the Holy Child as well?
- What's with the monocle?
- Where is she now, and in what condition?
[edit] References
- ↑ Agatha is nominally 18 years old, and Agatha was born no earlier than 407 days after Klaus Barry, with whom Lucrezia was presumably pregnant when she constructed Von Pinn.
- ↑ at least until they were all stationed as far from Castle Wulfenbach as politically possible
- ↑ An introduction...
- ↑ now out-of-print, censored, and unmentionably worse; presented here "lest they perish entirely".
- ↑ surely
notin combination with her other physical assets - ↑ "...like a pudding-bag full of knives!"
- ↑ A piece of speculation Klaus evidently found amusing, for reasons that perhaps became obvious later. Hint: how do you suppose Klaus feels about Lu these days?
- ↑ All according to Carson von Mekkhan's history lesson.
- ↑ Seen here and here — while that can be taken many ways, note that it isn't necessarily a threat, and note additionally that her immediate reaction is to tell Klaus the girl is hers — which could be taken as claiming the right to kill her, but could conversely be taken as saying that she won't let Klaus kill her.
- ↑ Or at least enough of them to cause serious woe in the one left behind.
