History Webcomic / WhatHappensNext

* ALighterShadeOfBlack: Gage is... morally ambiguous at best, but despite frequently manipulating and guilt-tripping Milo, he is nowhere on the level of horrible as Griffin was.

* DrowningMySorrows: Five years after Haylie's death, Claire is shown stealing vodka and putting it in her Slurpees.

* GoryDiscretionShot: Griffin's murder of Haylie is never shown. Instead, we see Haylie's sister react to the sound of their argument, and then Claire walking outside and staring at a pool of blood. In Milo's flashback, he only saw the body after the murder.

* WithFriendsLikeThese: Claire is a really nasty friend to Aaron.

* GoodAdulteryBadAdultery: When Gage tries to cheat on Griffin with Milo (and Milo rejects them), they defend themself by claiming to be the "good adultery" part of this trope, saying that Milo is misunderstanding the situation due to his lack of relationship experience.

* TheBabyOfTheBunch: Claire, who is thirteen at the time of her appearance in ''Victim Impact Statement''.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Milo has this reaction after aiding in covering up Haylie's murder, feeling rightly horrified by his own (and Griffin's) actions, and still feels paralyzing shame over what he did eight years after words. Griffin, on the other hand, doesn't appear to feel the same guilt.

* Revenge Myopia: Claire's speech about Haylie's Law makes it clear that she considers Milo to be an equal and willing participant in Haylie's murder, even though it was shown in court that Milo didn't kill Haylie and was an accomplice after the fact, not before. She also deliberately deadnames Milo and Griffin both, even though she knew Griffin as Griffin when he was dating Haylie, and Milo had changed his name several years ago.

* GoryDiscretionShot: Griffin's murder of Haylie is never shown. Instead, we see Haylie's sister react to the sound of their argument, and then Claire walking outside and staring at a pool of blood.

WHN features an EnsembleCast, and delves into themes such as internet culture (particularly among young, queer
people), victimization, and true crime.

[[caption-width-right:276:Milo]]

WHN features an EnsembleCast, and delves into themes such as internet culture (particularly among young, queer people), victimization, and true crime.

-->''“And it’s gonna get easier and easier, and more and more convenient, and more and more pleasurable, [[{{Escapism}} to be alone with images on a screen]], given to us by people who do not love us but want our money. Which is all right. In low doses, right? [[AntiEscapismAesop But if that’s the basic main staple of your diet, you’re gonna die. In a meaningful way, you’re going to die.]]''”

-->''“And it’s gonna get easier and easier, and more and more convenient, and more and more pleasurable, [[{{Escapism}} to be alone with images on a screen]], given to us by people who do not love us but want our money. Which is all right. In low doses, right? [[AntiEscapismAesop But if that’s the basic main staple of your diet, you’re gonna die. in a meaningful way, you’re going to die.]]''”

* ShoutOut: A ''huge'' number, mainly because the majority of the main characters are terminally online:

** Griffin liked Music/PanicAtTheDisco, Music/MyChemicalRomance and Music/IDontKnowHowButTheyFoundMe.
** Haylie loved Music/Mitski and cosplayed as a Vocaloid character.
** Savannah liked ''VideoGame/Undertale''.
** Claire likes ''VideoGame/Portal'', and is shown introducing Aaron to the concept of FridgeHorror.

* NotSoDifferentRemark: In an argument with Milo, Gage claims that Griffin and Milo are more alike than the two think. Milo is understandably upset at this.

* NWordPrivileges: Discussed. Milo tells Gage not to say the "g-slur" for Romani people when the two are discussing a My Little Pony that contains it.

''What Happens Next'' is a webcomic series by @maximumgraves that originated in 2021, revolving around the murder of 16-year-old Haylie Gorski, which took place eight years before most of the comic is set. The storyline follows Milo Holliday (who was an accomplice to the murder as a young teen), who struggles to face the guilt he feels from his involvement in the crime.

WHN features an EnsembleCast, and delves into themes such as internet culture (particularly among young, queer people), victimisation and true crime.

* ArtStyleDissonance: Tying into the comic's themes of trying to mask horrible acts with soft aesthetics, the art-style for this PsychologicalThriller about murder and trauma is round, pastel, and bouncy, like doodles out of a teenager's fanart blog.

* BothSidesHaveAPoint: When Milo and Vikki have their argument. Vikki points out that Milo never apologised or took responsibility for what he did; he constantly makes excuses and paints himself as the victim; whether he wants to admit it or not, he got off comparatively lightly in court and had a lot of privilege, mainly from coming from a rich family; and, y'know, he ''sawed his dead friend's arms off.'' Milo rebuts that he didn't kill Haylie or know about the murder beforehand; he was fifteen and made a stupid decision because his friend asked him to; attacking him won't bring Haylie back or fix anything; and people use his actions against him like a club whenever they don't want to admit that he has a point or is being treated badly.

* WouldntHurtAChild: Averted. Griffin, the most morally reprehensible character in the comic, doesn't only murder his girlfriend (who is a year older than him), but also [[spoiler: 11-year-old Savannah Plunkett.]]