History Characters / Flipside

* KickTheSonOfABitch: On both ends of this. Nobody cried for Voulger after what he did to Maytag, and nobody cried for Derrick after what he tried to do to Bern.

* MissingMom: Abandoned May as a child. Claims it was her idea of how to raise her by letting her loose on the world. When Polly calls her a bad mother, she agrees.

---> "Hmph... Don't thank me for obeying the rules... That is what a person '''ought''' to do. If you really wish to thank me... simply '''''remember my words.'''''"

* AwesomenessByAnalysis: She is ''always'' aware of her surroundings and adversaries. This lets her exploit weaknesses in the heat of battle without batting much of an eye, and also making her very difficult to deceive, both in and out of fights. Her duel with Bloody Mary, seen from her internal monologue perspective, could put Sherlock to shame.

* SonOfAWhore: Well, daughter anyway.

* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: Crest refutes Maytag's assertion that she is a monster in Chapter 61, stating that he was a coward that couldn't accept her as she truly was. He asserts that she's not the monster she thinks she is, and tells her that he has to let go of his idealized image of her and accept her as she is.

* EyeScream: Combined with DeliberateInjuryGambit. [[spoiler: She gouges out her own eyes to get past "phase three" of the Dark Cell.]]
* FeelNoPain: How she was able to "resist" pain.

* IAmAMonster: [[spoiler:She says this outright in Chapter 61 to Crest. As she goes on to explain, she didn't really learn how to like people until she met a boy who happened to light a "spark" in her, which led her to conclude that people are interesting in answer to the question of "do I like people?". She attributes the entirety of her survival in the Dark Cell Arc to be a result of her "monstrous" personality.]]

* ManicPixieDreamGirl: She really enjoys playing this role, most prominently for Regina and Crest. [[spoiler:This is largely a front -- beneath Maytag's excitable, clever cheerfulness and occasional quiet shyness, Veranda is a lot colder and more clinical than she lets on, and she is more than capable of flipping a switch and being exactly as cold-blooded as she pleases.]]

* MoralSociopathy: [[spoiler:Maytag more or less subscribes to this as a way of living--her conversation with Crest in Chapter 61 goes into a discussion of how she uses her "monstrous" personality in the service of being a "good" monster. She emphasizes that she actively works against the most manipulative and uncaring parts of herself in ordinary life, reserving her cold ruthlessness for people and situations where she feels she absolutely needs to be cold and calculating.]]

* CharacterDevelopment: Crest starts off as a young man with a chip on his shoulder from a relationship that went sour. Despite his shy and generally kind disposition in less stressful situatioons, he's more than a little selfish--he only really wanted to become a swordsman to become popular and impress girls, as he admits later on in the comic, and sets his sights on Maytag as a romantic partner despite every indication that she's not breaking up with Bernadette any time soon. His extended time away from Maytag and Bernadette (as well as several traumatic events) forces him to mature significantly, and by the time he meets Maytag again, he actively acknowledges his failure to be a good friend to her and is firmly dedicated to becoming a better person.

* BrokenBird: Her entire character is a downplayed version of this; despite her [[TraumaCongaLine traumatic past]], she's so much of a BlitheSpirit as to nearly be TheUnfettered but there are hints of a darker side underneath. It turns out that by and large, her childhood was extremely isolating, [[spoiler:as her cold and analytical personality left her with few friends. She took up "Maytag" as a way to try and get around this, and while it works, she's been putting the mask of "cheerful, flighty jester" and "shy girl" over her colder personality for so long that she sometimes has an identity crisis over how much of herself is authentic versus inauthentic.]]

* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: Subverted. Up to ''Chapter 30: Blackbird'', her often absurd self-confidence was directly tied to her jester outfit. In that chapter, it's revealed that [[spoiler:she has always been self-confident and the two personalities are simply part of her performance]].

* OrphansOrdeal: Her parents died when she was very young, and most of her fellow orphans were horribly cruel to her because she couldn't show emotion.

* EmotionlessGirl: [[spoiler:Her "true nature" is something close to this, as she is a highly analytical and detached person beneath her flightier "jester" and her shyer "non-jester" facades. By her own admission, she's aware of how her real personality bothers people, and has a fear of being disliked that she only tries to get past as she becomes more committed to Bernadette.]]

* IAmAMonster: [[spoiler:She says this outright in Chapter 61 to Crest. As she goes on to explain, she didn't really learn how to like people until she met someone who happened to light a "spark" in her, which led her to conclude that people are interesting and that she wanted to be liked. She attributes the entirety of her survival in the Dark Cell Arc to be a result of her "monstrous" personality.]]
--> '''Maytag:''' "I'm '''''too''''' good at handling my emotions. It's '''''not normal.''''' So much so, that I have to be careful that I don't inadvertently manipulate people around me all the time. I'm capable of all kinds of things, Crest. I could be capable of doing anything...even the worst things...if I wanted to. The only reason I decided not to do bad things...is because I decided to '''''like''''' people. '''''That's''''' the thing that kept my dark side at bay.

* SociopathicHero: [[spoiler:She gives herself this title in a roundabout way in Chapter 61--she calls her own personality "monstrous" and states that she has chosen to be a "good monster", but repeatedly states that she has no compunctions hurting people without regret if she needs to do so, which her own actions on-panel have backed up more than once.]]

Be aware: the comic's nature is {{NSFW}}, so click the links to it at your own risk. '''Spoilers from the first couple of chapters are unmarked.'''

* EmotionlessGirl: [[spoiler:Her "true nature" is something close to this, as she is a highly analytical and detached person beneath her flightier "jester" and her shyer "non-jester" facades. By her own admission, she's aware of how her real personality bothers people, and has a fear of being disliked that she only really begins to be honest about and try to get past as she becomes more committed to Bernadette.]]

* ManicPixieDreamGirl: She really enjoys playing this role, most prominently for Regina and Crest. [[spoiler:This is largely a front -- beneath Maytag's excitable, clever cheerfulness and occasional quiet shyness, Veranda is a lot colder and more clinical than she lets on.]]

A LadyOfWar and Maytag's long-time companion and girlfriend. She is a master of the Split Rose DualWielding technique, which focuses entirely on parrying and counterattacking your opponent.

* AwesomenessByAnalysis: She is ''always'' aware of her surroundings and adversaries, not only allowing her to exploit any weakness even if none seemed to exist, but also making her very difficult to deceive both in and out of fights. Her duel with Bloody Mary, seen from her internal monologue perspective, could put Sherlock to shame.

A young skilled rogue, and the son of a famous knight. In an effort to raise enough money to pay for an operation to restore his mother's eyesight, he falls into the dangerous world of underground gambling. When he is caught using sleight of hand at a high stakes poker game, his life as he knew it would change...

* EmpoweredBadassNormal: After being given a magical sword capable of healing any wound, and curing most illnesses.

* TheFirstCutIsTheDeepest: He had a girlfriend prior to meeting Maytag. She cheated on him, and he did not take Maytag offering to cheat on Bern with him very well.
* GoodIsNotDumb: Despite having no formal education (which isn't rare in the world setting), he's an observant, thoughtful, and analytical young man when he puts his mind to it. He's been a card shark, giving Maytag a run for her money, literally. He's outsmarted Suspiria (who's pretty sharp herself, as a Level 3+ sorceress) multiple times. He's even capable of a debate with the likes of Phalanx hunters.
* HeartbrokenBadass: [[spoiler: After Suspiria's FaceHeelTurn, followed by her [[TakenForGranite turning into stone]], he's left despondent and dejected at her loss.]]

* TookALevelInBadass: When he gets [[DemotedToExtra un-demoted]], he roughs up the gang from the first chapter for practice.
* WishfulProjection: Crest, as part of an extended heart-to-heart with Maytag, eventually admits to her that he built up an unrealistic expectation of who she really was based on her performances on stage, and that he spent a lot of time wishing she'd have lived up to that image. His expression and previous words make it clear that he knows how shitty this is.

* IJustWantToBeYou: The fact that Regina, when she reappears outside of Book 0, has also chosen a jester motif for her clothing says a ''lot'' about how highly she holds Maytag in esteem. [[spoiler:She abandons this after Suspiria's death, choosing to go with a modest dark dress and a rose hairband to signify both her change in attitude and growing into her own person. However, she has succeeded in one particular aspect: she's managed to finally emulate Maytag's boundless confidence, but in the form of a graceful, unbothered calm rather than Maytag's unrepressed teasing and sexually liberated behavior.]]

* ReluctantFanserviceGirl: In book 0. [[spoiler: Which causes her to fail her rank up test.]]

Crest's mother.

* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents
* IWantGrandkids
* EyesAlwaysShut: She's blind, but keeps it up even after she gets better.

* HeteronormativeCrusader: He looks down on Bern for being a lesbian once he finds out about it, and pressures her into keeping it secret so that she can still join the Knights of Lashoar. He eases up on this stance after [[spoiler:she chooses to defy his advice and admits it directly to the Knights herself]], stating that he understands that she did what she felt she had to do, and no longer expresses any disgust towards her for it.
* LoopholeAbuse: A positive example. It would be a crime for Crest or his mother to go get her magically inflicted blindness fixed by seeing a magical healer. This isn't an issue if he's paying the bill for it.

* BodyHorror: [[spoiler:After the Thin Man experimented on her, complete with BlackEyesOfEvil. However, it turns out the Thin Man didn't do any of that. He only unlocked her potential to break through the next barrier and become a Level 4 sorceress. She's now a Level '''6''' sorceress (possibly Level 7) and has RealityWarper powers tied to her emotions, meaning she looks the way she does because she assumed the Thin Man did something bad to her.]]

* YourMindMakesItReal: [[spoiler:The Thin Man's experiments on her actually [[http://flipside.keenspot.com/comic.php?i=3531 only unlocked her potential]], allowing her to [[http://flipside.keenspot.com/comic.php?i=3537 become a Level 6 sorceress]], possibly on the way to Level 7. [[http://flipside.keenspot.com/comic.php?i=3543 She just assumed he did something bad to her like he did with Bloody Mary, so she unconsciously caused the physical changes as well changing the world around her]].]]

[[folder:Kindred (Kin)]]

* HeroicSacrifice: Died protecting Suspira.

* KilledOffForReal: Falls to Mary's claws, and Suspira's too drained to extract the venom.

* SacrificialLion

* ButtMonkey

* GagPenis: If Regina's reaction to seeing him nude is any indication.
* LovableSexManiac
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: As perverted as he is, he was shocked, outraged, and horrified when Moss's uncle [[spoiler: drugged his food, took control of his body, and tried to make him have sex with Bernadette when she was also under the effect of a powerful magical aphrodisiac without her knowledge or consent.]]

A resident of Eschelon, a friend of Glyph's, and one of his cohosts on the Showgram.

!!Polly "Blackbird"

Be aware: the comic's nature is {{NSFW}}, so click the links to it at your own risk.

* ReallyGetsAround: She deconstructs this trope; she starts out the series an unabashed hedonist but gets less and less willing to take sexual risks as the consequences of her actions threaten her relationship with [[spoiler: Bernadette]].

* HonorBeforeReason: She [[RefusalOfTheCall refuses to become a Knight of Lashoar]] because [[spoiler:she can't compromise her honor to hide her sexuality from them, despite knowing that they'll reject her if they find out]].

* RefusalOfTheCall: [[spoiler:She chooses to come out of the closet rather than join the Knights]].

* ShipTease: First with Maytag, then with Suspiria. He gets neither of them -- Maytag is already committed to Bernadette and [[spoiler:Suspiria slowly succumbs to SanitySlippage after Kin's death and getting abducted by The Thin Man, eventually cracking. He winds up with Regina instead]],

* LovableSexManiac: He loves painting females in nude, erotic poses. Suspira fully supports him in this endeavor, even occasionally hiring prostitutes for it. They were both thrilled when Maytag allowed him to paint her, for free.

[[folder: What Lies Beyond the Dark Cell ('''unmarked spoilers''')]]

* ApologeticAttacker: At first. When her HorrorHunger took over, she apologized to her victims. After a while, she was DrivenToMadness.

* EmotionBomb: The "Fear Demon" conjured by Bloody Mary, from her vomit.

* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: When captured by the Conclave, she was cursed with "Morioh Mortis", which summons a flesh eating bacteria. [[spoiler:Somehow, she survived. And now has two clones.]] Before that, Suspira [[spoiler: hit her with a meteor. All it did was inconvenience her a bit as she dug out from underneath it.]]
* ThePowerOfFriendship: Maytag manages to find Mary's humanity [[spoiler: after letting her eat her arm]].

* TheAdjectivalMan: Though his real name is [[spoiler:Lehm]].
* TheAllegedBoss: His organization lets him ''think'' he's in charge. He's not. If any of his psycho supporters get it into their heads to "play" with the people he "recruits" (ie kidnaps and cons), they will, the moment he turns his back. He willingly turns a blind eye to it, as long as his "goals" are met.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: While he ''claims'' that all his test subjects were experimented on, willingly, and he gives people the choice to refuse participation, one has to remember that nearly all of them were kidnapped, he tried to outright con Maytag when she arrived, and he adamantly refuses to release any of his test subjects, if they adamantly decline to participate. What's worse is that he's well aware that he's surrounded by a PsychoSupporter group, and he sees nothing wrong with letting his "guests" be violated by certain members of said group if they're not useful to his agenda, whatever agenda that is.

* AndThenWhat: Presuming he's telling the truth about his intent to pay his debts to the people he experimented on, and turn himself in to the authorities, he's still leaving the world a considerably ''worse'' place than when he came into it. His "burning passion for the truth" has led him to build a very large and very well-funded organization of kidnappers, rapists, thieves, murderers, and various types of madmen, all of whom have committed atrocity either under his orders or for fun, if not both. None of them are going to be eager to hand over their ill-gotten gains, or let themselves be taken into custody. In fact, the organization has enough funds and personnel to be its own country, and when the Thin Man turns himself in, it could well start a war.
* BelievingTheirOwnLies: Taking full advantage of the LaserGuidedAmnesia to which he subjects his "candidates," he has fervently ''not'' paid any of them the money he promised for their "consent" to his organization's experiments. He has rationalized that "showing up after having been missing for days with bits of their memory missing" ''would be made worse'' if they showed up with bags of money too. Like a compulsive gambler with a massive debt, he "promises" that "once the truth gets out," he'll not only pay what he owes, but turn himself in. Maytag is right to believe that he's lying to himself.
* BigBad: At least so far.
* ConsummateLiar: For a man "with a burning passion for truth," he is very quick to lie to anyone and everyone the moment it's convenient. In fact, his first words to Maytag were a bald=faced lie. The reason he usually gets away with it is that he makes himself believe his lies are true.

* FauxAffablyEvil: While he cheerfully greets his captives in a [[http://flipside.keenspot.com/comic.php?i=1799 room full of stuffed toys]], maintains a polite and humble demeanor, and tries to paint himself as a humble AntiVillain devoted to exposing "the truth", with the results of his experiments being largely accidental in pursuit of that goal, the events of the story give the lie to that image. He is perfectly fine with kidnapping test subjects or deliberately approaching those that have no other options, engineers his experiments so that he doesn't have to immediately give people what he promised to pay them (because he's wiped their memories, so they don't even know what happened to them or what they're owed), and relies heavily on dubious consent for many of his experiments, including a proven instance where the person he experimented on ''did not actually give her permission to be experimented on'' (Suspiria).

* LaserGuidedKarma: After a long history of kidnapping people and conning them into letting themselves be experimented on, Maytag decides to have Eye help her give him a taste of his own medicine, by tying him up, robbing his organization blind, and maybe kidnapping him. To further highlight how this is the right decision, she finds out that The Thin Man takes advantage of altering people's memories to specifically get out of paying them what he promised.

* PrinciplesZealot: He thinks that his "burning passion for truth" not only makes him immune to deception (in his words, "you can't lie to one whose burning passion is the truth") but ''morally'' absolves him of his actions, and the consequences. Even in reality, history is littered with ''many'' people who had the same mindset, and have been tricked into commiting atrocity, because their deceivers [[BelievingTheirOwnLies only told them what they wanted to hear.]]
* SunkCostFallacy: While he claims he doesn't need any more experiments "now," he is insistent that he ''must'' complete his work, or else the people who've been killed either in his experiments, or as a result of what his experiments have done, will have died in vain. If he can't get Maytag to fully cooperate in helping him open "Dark Cell," he may just have to start "experimenting" again. Maytag, being well aware of this, claims it's the only reason she's still in the Thin Man's [=HQ=].

* MasterOfIllusion

* TooKinkyToTorture: She has learned to accept pain rather than fight it, allowing her to be virtually impervious to torture and even mutilation. One scene has her smiling gently as [[spoiler:her arm is being eaten, much to the dismay of the person doing the eating]]. It becomes much more jarring in "the dark cell" saga as she cheers when [[spoiler: she gets to phase two and is subjected to illusions that deliver physical pain, much the dismay of "The Thin Man" and his underlings.]]

* WistfulProjection: Crest, as part of an extended heart-to-heart with Maytag, eventually admits to her that he built up an unrealistic expectation of who she really was based on her performances on stage, and that he spent a lot of time wishing she'd have lived up to that image. His expression and previous words make it clear that he knows how shitty this is.

* CallingTheOldManOut: He tells Orransong exactly why he quit the Knights -- it turns out that it's because Orransong got into an argument with his mother about using sorcery to restore her vision, and Crest overheard them arguing about it.