History Webcomic / TryingHuman

* GenerationXerox: [=EBE1=] and Phillis in the forties, Hue and Rose present-day.

* HerrDoktor: The German Vernon Glasner, who used to be in the Nazi party (willingly) and remains a MadScientist.

* AllLoveIsUnrequited: 6 has a thing for 8, who has a thing for Roger, who may or may not still have a thing for Rose. Also, Glasner and Phillis.

** Rose's Hair is shown in flashbacks to be blonde, not red. This change is [[spoiler: revealed to be due to her Nordic half. Like the Grey's their race is dying, albeit much slower, so they edited their DNA so that their hair will grow out red if and when they're fertile. Rose's hair has been red since she turned 13, presumably when she had her first period, and has remained such ever since.]]

* AssholeVictim: Some pretty nasty stuff happens to Walter in the flashbacks [[spoiler: such as getting [[http://www.tryinghuman.com/comic/chapter-16--524 pimp-slapped by EBE1]] and [[http://www.tryinghuman.com/comic/chapter-18--631 injected with... green stuff by Dr Glasner]] ]] -- but honestly, what with the way he behaves sometimes, you can't deny he has it coming.

* CreepyCute: Hue, and most noticeably, the Reptoids as a whole. They are human-eating lizard aliens, but have CuteLittleFangs and amusing dialogue that makes it hard to think they're creepy at all. Even Magnus manages a few humorous lines, usually targeted at [[PluckyComicRelief Quazky]].

* EnergeticAndSoftSpokenDuo: Guinea is a chatty, quippy guy with a lot of panache who [[TheMacCoy wears his heart on his sleeve]] and can't quite hide his anger when evil occurs. Pig is an EmotionlessGirl who can only communicate telepathically and with no emotional inflection. They fight, well, injustice.

* BadassAndChildDuo: Sort of how [[PunnyName Guinea and Pig]] started, although she's a grownup (if small) from the beginning and every inch as capable as her companion. But they [[WalkingTheEarth walk the Earth]], fighting the good fight together.

* AlienBlood: TheGreys have blue blood. And purple intestines.

* GreatOffscreenWar: Is why the Nordics are so rare and reclusive now.

* HerrDoktor: The German Vernon Glasner.

* HiddenEyes: The Majestic 12, except 6 and new 12 (Roger). Then again, when Roger is acting evil, shadows or his own hair hide his eyes, and when 8 is being friendly or vulnerable, her eyes peek out from behind her BlindingBangs. Generally, the hiddenness of the eyes seems to symbolise TheMenInBlack impersonality.

* HandshakeRefusal: Seems to be a Reptoid thing -- Longus declines a handshake with Roger, Quazky with Don. In Quazky's case, one could argue with not understanding human customs, but Longus has lived on earth among humans for a long time and seems seriously offput by the idea to shake Roger's hand.

* PsychicDreamsForEveryone: [[spoiler: 8 dreams of the events from the prologue, with herself and Travis in place of Phyllis and her baby.]] There's also the self-called "Mothman" who gives Rose some cryptic hints about the future (part of which already happened), then says he needs to sleep and get some more visions.

** Not justified in case of Nordics, who simply have long, flowing hair.

** In her childhood picture (and one dream sequence), Rose is blonde... [[spoiler: This is because she's half Nordic. The race as a whole edited their DNA so any newly grown hair is red while fertile, and once this period ends, new hair becomes blonde again, leaving patches of red years later. Being half human, Rose has been able to have kids since she was 13 so her hair continuously grows as red and will likely revert to blonde when she hits menopause.]]

* HiddenEyes: The Majestic 12, except 6 and new 12 (Roger).

* HidingBehindTheLanguageBarrier: Abigail wrote her {{diary}} in English to keep Glasner from reading it. He learned later and read it after her death.

** Exemplified with [=EBE1=]. He gets PISSED.

* AlienBlood: TheGreys have blue blood.

* BlindingBangs: 8, and all of the Majestic 12 (save Roger and 6) have, in one way or another, HiddenEyes. Guinea, while he was with them, wore SinisterShades. His present-day glasses are the same shape, but clear.

*** And maybe Quazky and Gracelis too.
*** 8 and 6 seem to be quite close emotionally. He's rather sweet towards her (buying her that picture frame was adorable).

* BlindingBangs: 8, and all of the Majestic 12 (save Roger and 6) have, in one way or another, HiddenEyes.

* CrypticConversation: Phillis appears to Rose ever again in visions and dreams; unfortunately, what she says mostly doesn't make much sense to Rose.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: The Reptoids, especially in the earlier comics

* [[EmotionlessGirl Emotionless Aliens]]: The Greys have emotions, but they're very different from human ones, and Hue is considered defective because he acts like a human. However, if anything the other aliens are sometimes more emotional and expressive than the actual human characters.

* HalfHumanHybrid: It's heavily implied that 6 is in fact half-alien, though he [[http://www.tryinghuman.com/comic/chapter-10--301 vehemently denies being "half"-anything]].

* HumanityEnsues: [[spoiler:[=EBE1=] causes Rose's mind to screen image him as a human. [[ForcefulKiss He then kisses her.]]]]

%%* PetTheDog: Longus' relationship with Don, a young gay boy. %%Doesn't qualify for this trope; Longus was never established as a negative character in the first place.

* PunnyName: Guinea and Pig [[spoiler: escaped Area51 when Glasner wanted to use them for a particularly vile experiment -- we don't know the details yet]].

* RescueRomance: [[spoiler:8 seems to be trying to induce this with Roger, since he helped her out years ago, and says that she was the one who recommended him for the job.]]

* TelepathicSpacemen: TheGreys, very much (they've lost the use of their mouths). Reptoids, to smaller extent, and the Nordics as well.

* YouAreNumberSix: ...and Roger's not at all happy about it.

** Guinea and Pig, human and Grey respectively, have either this or a profound InterspeciesFriendship.

* MindOverMatter: TheGreys. They can also make walls temporarily intangible.

* MyCard: [[PunnyName Guinea]] (the AWOL agent formerly known as 12) and [[PunnyName Pig]] (his grey companion Pigment) have one of these. Guinea gives it to Hue [[spoiler: who can't read English]] in case he needed more of their badassery in the future.

* TheReptilians: ''Two'' species on them, one of which is actually [[UpliftedAnimal bred from]] Earth ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursTrueDinosaurs Troodon]]''. And has prehensile tongues.

* DeliberatelyMonochrome: The 1940s scenes eventually settled on appearing this way. With [[ArcSymbol red]] [[SplashOfColour details]].

** Notably, when we do see 8's eyes (which is fairly often), it's nearly always during a vulnerable moment.

* CreatorCameo: More than once. [[http://www.tryinghuman.com/comic/chapter-12--392 Here]] [[http://www.tryinghuman.com/comic/chapter-15--512 are]] [[http://www.tryinghuman.com/comic/chapter-16--556 a few]] [[http://www.tryinghuman.com/comic/chapter-19--683 examples.]]

* [[spoiler:ForcefulKiss: [=EBE1=] has a message for Phillis. Unfortunately, only Rose is around to deliver it, so...]]

* [[spoiler:[[LastOfHisKind Last of Their Kind]]:The Greys' home planet burned up in one of its two suns. [=EBE1=] was born/created shortly before it happened as a prototype form for deep space travel. The original Greys were much more expressive and colorful.]]

* CreatorCameo: More than once. [[http://www.tryinghuman.com/comic/chapter-12--392 Here are]] [[http://www.tryinghuman.com/comic/chapter-15--512 a few]] [[http://www.tryinghuman.com/comic/chapter-19--683 examples.]]

* TheTwink: Don.

* ArtEvolution: The difference between the early pages and the new pages is actually quite astounding, the artist has even begun to go back and redo the older chapters in her new style. A very impressive example can be seen [[http://tryinghuman.tumblr.com/image/31012207086 here]].

* AssholeVictim: Some pretty nasty stuff happens to Walter in the flashbacks [[spoiler: such as getting [[http://www.tryinghuman.com/comic/chapter-16--524 pimp-slapped by EBE1]] and [[http://www.tryinghuman.com/comic/chapter-18--631 injected with... green stuff by Dr Glasner]] ]] - but honestly, what with the way he behaves sometimes, you can't deny he has it coming.

** [[spoiler: It seems Rose also is one - her mother is a Nordic.]]
* HandshakeRefusal: Seems to be a Reptoid thing - Longus declines a handshake with Roger, Quazky with Don. In Quazky's case, one could argue with not understanding human customs, but Longus has lived on earth among humans for a long time and seems seriously offput by the idea to shake Roger's hand.

* OlderThanTheyLook: Besides Glasner, TheGreys don't really seem to age - Pigment first came to Earth about thirty years before the present day plot started and she looks the same. [=EBE1=] is probably older than she is and hasn't aged a day, either, since the 1940's.

* PleaseIWillDoAnything: When Dr. Glasner and the commanders of Area 51 suggest that [=EBE1=] will be euthanized due to his hostile behavior, Phillis pleads with Glasner, saying she'll do anything to stop this. Glasner repeats ominously "anything", then concedes to her wish. Whether or not her current condition is the price she had to pay is yet to be seen.

* PunnyName: Guinea and Pig [[spoiler: escaped Area51 when Glasner wanted to use them for a particularly vile experiment - we don't know the details yet]].

** Justified, as with human Tone - her chip has a glitch in it causing her long locks.

* ScarfOfAsskicking: [[PunnyName Guinea and Pig]] both sport these - he gets a classy red silk one, she has a pale yellow one [[LittleMissBadass over twice as long as she's tall]].

** Hue also fits the description. Abducting Rose in her sleep when it's not her turn to be taken, showing up at her apartment uninvited...

* TelepathicSpacemen: TheGreys, very much (they've lost the use of their mouths). Reptiloids, to smaller extent. No info on the Nordics yet.

* SmokingIsGlamorous: Gracelis, a high-class Draconian, [[PrettyInMink wears a fur coat]] and uses a cigarette holder in both human and Reptoid form.

* PsychicLink: [[spoiler: [=EBE1=] develops one with Phyllis. [[BlessedWithSuck It transmits pain]], and with it, even [[http://www.tryinghuman.com/comic/chapter-17--584 physical injuries]].]]

* InSeriesNickname: [=EBE1=] always refers to Phillis as "Philena," a contraction of her first name and her last name, "Lennox."

* LostLenore: Abigail, for Glasner.

* NunsNRosaries: Phillis is shown to be of distinctly Catholic belief; she grasps for the rosary in her pocket when she's afraid, and she prays a "Hail Mary" in the base's chapel in fluent Latin.

* InformedJudaism: Don. All we have is his own word; he mentions that he's had a Bar Mitzvah. Then again, Don is also a vegetarian, which at least spares him some of the finesses of Jewish diet laws.