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  • Gambit Pileup: The first public performance by "Zii and the Troublemakers" is set up to be an epic pile-up, partly due to various characters' gambits, although in the end, there are fewer collisions than there might have been:
    • Zii and Yuki mostly just want the gig to be a success. However, the other band playing, "Pretty Boyz with Electric Toyz", happen to be led by their old rival, Angel (on a guest appearance from Sticky Dilly Buns), and Zii isn't going to back down from any confrontation there. (Angel used to work with them, but the relationship broke down when Zii had sex with Jerzy, who was Angel's boyfriend, at least in Angel's eyes, at that time.) An informal Battle of the Bands ensues.
    • DiDi regards the gig as an opportunity to seduce Gary. However, she thinks of giving that idea up for various reasons, then gets distracted.
    • Sonya is in the band, but has brought Peggy along to seduce Gary — but in disguise, as she also wants to preserve the fiction that she and Peggy are in a relationship, so as to make Zii jealous as part of a long-term seduction scheme. Peggy gets diverted when she mistakes Matt for Gary.
    • Amber, visiting from Sticky Dilly Buns, regards the gig as an opportunity to seduce Gary. Initially she hopes that Dillon will be absent, clearing the way for this; later, Zii just points out to her that Dillon really should be over his own crush on Gary by now. She keeps a fairly low profile, but actually does end up with Gary.
    • Angel wants to crush Zii, and has summoned an old friend and former lover, Jerzy, to provide moral support. This leads to problems, but more in the Sticky Dilly Buns plot strands.
    • Dillon, guesting in that Sticky Dilly Buns crossover, is there (disguised as a woman) to see what his boyfriend Jerzy is up to with Angel, but is also prone to being distracted by his crush on Gary, whatever anyone may hope. In the end, his goofy ideas and poor impulse control lead to a crash and burn almost entirely by themselves.
    • Ruby, also visiting from Sticky Dilly Buns, doesn't initially want to be there, but Dillon brings her (disguised as a man) to provide him with some kind of cover. She does enjoy playing detectives and watching Dillon being embarrassed; she's less happy about various embarrassments and uncomfortable realisations she herself suffers.
    • Matt brings Kiley to meet his friends. Largely thanks to some slightly peculiar anonymized conversations, neither realizes that Yuki (who they both know) is in the band, that Kiley has already met Zii and DiDi briefly, and most importantly that Gary is the subject of both their sets of peculiar obsessions, which they've been helping each other work through. They end up apart for most of the evening, and go off with DiDi and Peggy respectively for various reasons, so there are few big revelations.
    • Erik is now managing Pretty Boyz with Electric Toyz; his feelings for Zii since their traumatic break-up are somewhat undetermined, but he's evidently not yet fully over her. He mostly remains in the background.
    • Gary was planning a guys' night out with Jung, and is largely oblivious to others' intentions. He enjoys the evening from start to end, one moment of minor embarrassment aside.
    • Jung is there to deliver the band's stage costumes, hang out with Gary, and be snarky. He may not realize how good the opportunity is for the last, but his costumes work fine.
  • Geeky Turn-On:
    • Zii gets a job in the comic book shop because, among other reasons, comics fans tend to think that they have a chance with indie girls like her.
    • When Zii and DiDi come home dressed in Super Mario Bros.-style costumes (for complicated reasons), Gary instantly admits that this resembles one of his dreams. (See strip #190, August 14, 2009, NSFW.)
    • It's not exactly a turn-on, but when Gary gives Yuki a bouquet of faux flowers he made out of drumsticks and Mario mushrooms, she warms to him considerably and even starts showing genuine if platonic affection for him...except in her erotic dreams, where he's morphed into a combination of himself and Zii.
    • In fact, the mutual interest between Gary and Yuki seems to be powered at least as much by their geeky turn-ons as by their respective physical attractions (although neither is exactly ugly). At their first meeting, Gary sees Yuki as like a fantasy girl out of the anime he loves, and then discovers that she's a wannabe manga writer with family connections in the industry. For her part, Yuki initially sees Gary purely as a potential professional partner, but she's pleased that he likes her father's non-porn work, and she subsequently falls for him partly because he puts up with her so well (him being a desperate and compliant nerd).
  • Gender Flip:
    • Dream sequences will frequently feature one, and it's usually Gary.
    • Bonus strips in the print editions of Volumes 4 and 10 flip everyone who appears.
    • Zii discovers a yaoi comic which seems to illustrate her gay male fantasies ... about herself. Even she is a little disconcerted by this.
  • Generic Cuteness: Giz seems to have difficulty drawing a really unattractive character, unless it's a total grotesque like Eulice. To certain extent, this is perhaps the point of the comic; it's an amiable Sex Comedy with a significant fanservice element. There are just a couple of borderline-case aversions:
    • Jung, the comics-store-manager geek, could be considered pleasant enough (if noticeably well fed), and his nameless nerd customers are just gawky adolescents.
    • Yvan would probably be regarded as quite passable, in a chunky, Perma-Stubble'd sort of way, in the real world — but in this setting, it's almost understandable when Zii gasps in shock at the sight of him. Admittedly, his use of Anticipatory Breath Spray doesn't look good, and he is also socially clumsy.
  • George Jetson Job Security: When gym owner Gilbert discovers his employee Roxie tussling with DiDi, he sacks her on the spot, until DiDi intervenes. Probably Justified in this case, in that Roxie is fighting physically with a customer, and is also a recent hire who might not yet have job protection — but the scene is written as a fairly classic instance of the trope in action.
  • Get A Hold Of Yourself Man:
    • Kiley does this to Yuki to stop her from tearing up every magazine with naked men in the store where she works. She even says this exact line. Well, y'know, except for the "man" part.
    • Performed by DiDi on Zii when she considers sex (and then a threesome) as a way of apologizing for breaking Gary's rare toy.
  • Gilligan Cut:
    • Strip #363 (NSFW): Gary decides to follow Dillon's advice and think of Amber as a person instead of a sex object, wondering if he would like that she jerked off to a poster of him, but promptly dismisses the idea, thinking: "As if a girl would ever come, while looking at a picture of me". Cut to Sonya holding a picture of Gary while Zii gives her cunnilingus.
    • DiDi talking about Kiley:
      DiDi: I love her, and she loves me. No other girl will come between us!
      [cut to Kiley in bed with Sonya and Yuki]
      Kiley: [thinking] HOW DID I END UP BETWEEN TWO GIRLS?!!
  • Girl on Girl Is Hot is invoked in-setting from time to time:
    • Zii lands her job in the comics shop by exploiting the effect ruthlessly.
    • In strip #173, July 7, 2009 (NSFW), two clothed girls hugging distract a crowd of men from a naked stripper, although the crowd's reaction may come more from Cuteness Proximity than from Distracted by the Sexy. (The stripper manages to regain the crowd's attention in the following strip by exploiting The Sexy.)
    • Zii is reminded that Gary is likely to be highly susceptible to the effect.
    • When Kiley complains to Matt that she has to have sex with a woman, he responds: "As you should. That's hot."
    • Damien (rather crassly) invokes the trope in strip #1319 (July 6, 2017, borderline NSFW). Perhaps fortunately for him, Tess is intent on flirting with him, and just tries to exploit the effect.
    • When Sonya gets her revenge for, as she sees it, being dumped by Zii by making a move on Zii's new lover DiDi, Zii is torn between anger and being turned on by the scene.
  • Giving Up the Ghost: The comic shows its manga influences by borrowing this motif in strip #202, where Yuki almost kills Gary, #915 (August 2, 2014, NSFW), when Kiley is almost suffocated, and the April 18, 2017 strip (NSFW), in which Gary almost expires from an excess of sex with DiDi.
  • The Glomp:
  • Good Adultery, Bad Adultery: Both types can be identified, although the comic generally has a relaxed attitude to sex and to open relationships. (On the other hand, it has few married characters.) The general assumption seems to be that cheating (in marriage or other committed relationships) is bad, but if the wronged partner subsequently cheats themselves, that's forgiveable revenge. So Angele, who had been putting up with a cheating husband for years, is in effect rescued by Zii, whereas Nathan's adultery is just part of his general obnoxiousness. On the other hand, Sonya letting herself be seduced by Zii, despite being in a relationship, is treated as just something that happens, and Amber and Dillon aren't judged much if at all for sleeping with Nathan, even though they know that he's married.
  • Good Angel, Bad Angel: A standard comics trope that shows up here from time to time.
  • A Good Name for a Rock Band: A minor example is hastily adopted after Zii has suddenly realised that her new band needs a name.
  • Go Through Me: Zii tries this when running interference for Gary and his apparent new girlfriend Kiley. DiDi merely sets her aside (strip #554, January 26, 2012, NSFW).
  • Gratuitous French: The series is set in Montreal, the largest city of French Canada, though DiDi seems to be the only major character afflicted with the condition. At least one one-shot character also manifests the trope, though. In addition, the comic's title may count; see Bilingual Bonus.
  • Gratuitous Japanese: Yuki, being Japanese, uses Japanese idioms several times.
  • Groin Attack: Yuki does this a lot.
  • Group Hug: Subverted in this strip. In the first panel, the depressed Zii is hugging Sonya for comfort, which Sonya is happy to provide, but she's less happy when two more people glomp themselves to the dogpile. Note her expressions across the four panels.
  • The Grunting Orgasm: Male responses in the comic's numerous sex scenes vary, but some occasionally make some noise. Notably, Gary's first time involves a very audible "virginnnnGhhggnnn", to Kiley's bemusement. (Strip #539, December 15, 2011, NSFW.)
  • Guy on Guy Is Hot: Not only do we get Dillon and Matt as an early homosexual couple and more than enough random male homosexual couples making out to decorative effect, we also get Zii proving obsessed with yaoi. DiDi doesn't exactly seem to mind yaoi either.
  • Halloween Episode: A very minor example, but the strip's date is what it is.
  • Hand-or-Object Underwear:
    • Gary first tries to use a pillow, then, when DiDi takes it away from him (in her sleep), Lita (which, according to Zii is a really bad idea), then finally, when Zii startles him and he drops Lita, his hands.
    • Matt mentions the end of a funny story about Gary where he ends up using a jar of pickles this way.
  • Hand Signals: Many of the characters are prone to use these, albeit often as much as signs to the readers of their reactions to events as attempts to communicate with each other. Many of the specific signs they use come from anime or manga; these act as a cultural Bilingual Bonus to readers familiar with that material.
  • Handsome Lech: Many of the cast fall into this category in their weaker moments — including, a little unusually, some of the women. Matt is the most egregious example, combining model-grade looks with a very poor sense of responsibility, but Zii can be almost as bad (though usually marginally more ethical, when she remembers), while Senna is vain and arrogant about it.
  • Hands-On Approach: Adopted by Gary when teaching Sandra about video games.
  • Happy Place: Yuki has one. When first seen, it contains three Ziis, all dressed as Sailor Moon; she goes there when stressed from trying to give oral sex to Gary.
  • Headdesk:
  • Heroic Blue Screen of Death: "Heroic" is a debatable adjective for any character in this comic, but the writers seem to like using this effect for comedy, although the blue screen effect rarely lasts very long.
  • Hero of Another Story: Dillon and Sandra have gone off to their own titles (Sticky Dilly Buns and Sandra on the Rocks respectively), but both still make occasional appearances in this comic. Hence, when they do, they can be regarded as Heroes of Other Comics here.
  • Hired for Their Looks:
    • Zii gets her job at the comics shop largely as “counter candy” (though she’s considered for the post thanks to a Gary asking a favor from Jung).
    • DiDi doesn’t want to believe that she’s being considered for a major professional wrestling position because of her looks and specifically her bust size, despite two other characters more or less telling her that this is obviously the case. Then she encounters one of the existing employees, and maybe can’t duck the issue any longer.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: Matt strong-arms Kiley and Gary into an orgy in an attempt to humiliate Gary. When Kiley finds out, she dumps him right away.
  • Hollywood Provincialism: Appears in one of the standard forms when Isabelle acts seductively toward Zii, and Zii says that she hopes that Isabelle is over 18. The age of consent in Canada is 16. This is a little odd, in that the comic normally does a good job of averting the trope, maintaining a subtle but distinctive Canadian flavor; it might be excused, though, in that even if the legal age of consent is 16, doing it with someone who's still a minor in every other respect is kinda creepy if you aren't very close in age (and as Zii is likely in her mid-20s, no, they aren't).
  • Hollywood Psych:
    • Yuki's "delusions" follow Hollywood logic. She's entirely sane (if abrasive) all of the time except for one very specific trigger, whereupon she becomes completely psychotic and violent, then snaps back to normal as if nothing has happened. It's the usual Hollywood combination of schizophrenia with dissociative identity disorder (and possibly post-traumatic stress disorder), while Flanderizing psychosis (meaning out-of-touch with reality) into rampaging violence — all frequently Played for Laughs, although the idea that Yuki is tragically nuts does sometimes arise.
    • The way that various mostly-sane characters hallucinate Gary's face onto other people, often during sex, is something probably not much found in the annals of realistic psychiatry, either.
  • Homage: When Kiley is attempting to investigate the nature of DiDi's emotional problem by the (yes, very questionable) method of making love to her, she needs to become very romantic. Her imagination promptly draws on Don Juan DeMarco — a movie about a psychiatrist who becomes emotionally involved when treating someone with romantically-based psychological problems. Her imagination generates some appropriate (and cute) imagery, too.
  • Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Well, Porn Star with a Heart of Gold, in fact. Early on, Gary imagines Amber (known professionally as Amber-Amber) as matching this trope to the stereotyped letter. When she becomes an on-screen character, it turns out to be more or less true, although Amber has her self-serving flaws, and is much more pragmatic about certain matters than Gary's dream version.
  • Hope Spot:
    • For a long time, every time it seems like Gary might get laid, Status Quo Is God comes into play, preventing him enjoying even the thought of a possibility of sex, if he even makes it that far. (Whenever DiDi or Zii guilt-trip themselves into the idea of giving themselves to him, one talks the other out of it; Amber wants to repay him with a threesome — but with Dillon; Yuki and Sonya fight a tug-of-war over him, etc.). He finally succeeds when Kiley of all people pounces him after he consoles her over her failure to help Yuki.
    • Further to that last, though — Gary and Kiley seem made for each other, helping each other with their insecurities and problems. It seems they have overcome their woobie tendencies with each other, only to discover that Yuki never left the country, and so Kiley ends things for her patient's benefit.
    • Also, for much of the comic's run, every time it seems like DiDi will finally get an orgasm, something prevents it, like guys just being unable to satisfy her, her first time with Matt being interrupted by Zii, or Yuki kicking Matt in her psychotic rage. Her first attempt to get Gary to use the Swirly-Go-Round on her is interrupted because there are other people in the house, while her next chance with Matt ends up in lots of pain for him over some "salad oil" that wasn't. Then, when she and Matt are actually in coitus, she ruins the mood with a Wrong-Name Outburst, which also makes Matt hallucinate that he is in bed with a female Gary. But then, as with Gary, the problem goes away ... or rather, changes its nature.
  • Hospital Hottie:
    • Thanks to a combination of Generic Cuteness and the need to set up a gag, this trope is demonstrated by a male nurse.
    • Peggy's good looks are generally treated as unrelated to her job as a nurse. However, in a 2015 PDF bonus story associated with a Kickstarter project, meeting her on duty at the hospital causes Gary to dream about her more or less falling out of her scrubs.
    • Another bonus story has Peggy initially objecting to the trope, but then finding it amusing to get Gary dressed up in a "sexy nurse" outfit.
  • Hot Librarian: The effect is demonstrated magnificently by the evil version of Sandra, with a healthy added dose of sex appeal. Unfortunately, this strip is about Senna being an Unreliable Narrator.
  • Hypocritical Humor:
    • Jung chastises Zii for reading Yaoi when she's supposed to be working. She points out that he eats when he's supposed to be working.
    • After Amber storms out after wildly accusing a groggy DiDi of maltreating Gary, Yuki gives us this gem:
      Yuki: Zii, you need to stop hanging around crazy people.
  • I Ate WHAT?!: A similar reaction to this is sparked when Zii asks Yuki if she washed the spatula she had used to spank DiDi before using it to make crepes.
  • I Banged Your Mom: Zii makes this a valid claim as revenge on an internet troll who has this as his sig.
  • I Call Him "Mister Happy": In strip #760 (Jul 02 2013, not exactly NSFW, but let's not take chances), Kiley, Yuki, and Matt all refer to Matt's penis as "Mr. Pokey." No, we're not going to give you more context.
  • Idealized Sex: A lot of characters in this comic have a lot of good sex, some of which may tip over into idealization...
    • For example, in strip #780 (Aug 20 2013, NSFW), Gary manages an allegedly earth-shaking performance with Senna despite being very drunk, on an aircraft seat, and potentially distracted by Senna's anatomy. However, it's possible that Senna is piling on the flattery there, and also conceivable that Gary's previous Speed Sex problem has been mitigated by the booze.
    • The trope is also discussed when Zii explains to Gary why porn is not a good source of information as to what women do and don't like.
    • The idea is also exploited and averted for (slightly cruel) laughs after Yuki and Gary first have full intercourse. Yuki, who was in a partial fugue state at the time, convinces herself that is was passionate "Lovemaking to make the gods weep!" Actually, she was psychotically violent, and almost throttled Gary.
  • Idiot Ball: Keeps passing from one character to the next. Semi-serious fan theory has some of the cast being somewhere on the autistic spectrum, but even the more socially adept ones can turn stupid when the plot demands it. Sometimes, the idiocy tips over into sheer insanity, as for example when Senna interprets Gary's enthusiastic explanations of geek culture to Sandra as him attempting to sabotage Sandra's career as a favor to her.
  • Idiot Hair: Seen, in subtle forms, on Gary and Zii, here and elsewhere. However, in this comic, serious single-strand effects are mostly used to represent surprise rather than stupidity or weirdness, as here.
  • I Don't Want to Ruin Our Friendship: Specifically invoked by DiDi the first time that she decides that she's bisexual, in order to reassure Zii that their friendship will remain secure. Zii finds this very frustrating.
  • If It's You, It's Okay:
    • DiDi, whose sex appeal verges on the supernatural, seems to induce this in women. Early on, the straight Sandra seeks to have an affair with her (though that ends badly). Then Sonya, whose only previous lesbian interest has been in Zii (itself seeming to be a possible example of the trope, and probably making Zii her Closet Key), is drawn magnetically to her breasts. Then Peggy offers her Pity Sex, but admits to being quite happy to do so; while Peggy's interest in lesbian sex is normally limited, it gets a lot stronger with DiDi in prospect. Later, when Kiley gives her an example of a hypothetical romantic proposition, DiDi is overwhelmed and proposes sex; Kiley accepts, though she hadn't shown any interest in women before.
    • Conversely and ironically, DiDi herself, while sometimes unsure of her own sexuality, mostly pursues men. However, following that incident with Kiley, she decides that she's found the love of her life — and hence that she is now a lesbian.
    • Sonya generally insists that she's Not A Lesbian, with an exception for Zii. However, it's obvious to anyone who knows what the words mean that she's a functional bisexual (with Zii as her Closet Key). How she adjusts her self-image when she starts having full-scale sexual relationships with other women remains to be seen (though given that the first other woman in question turns out to be her arch-enemy Yuki, there's plenty of scope for weird denial).
    • Back when Angel and Zii were friends, Zii believed that Angel was strictly into women, and she tends to be clear on stuff like that — but then it turned out that Angel was (and still is) obsessed with Jerzy. (Strip #862, March 13, 2014, NSFW.) Ironically, Jerzy says at that point that they were never a couple and their one night together was a mistake (though things get a little bit complicated in that respect in Sticky Dilly Buns).
  • Ignore the Fanservice: It's not something at which this cast are very competent, but...
    • Zii has a spectacularly hard time doing so when supposedly advising Sonya what to wear for a date with Gary — not surprisingly, as Sonya is actually taking the opportunity to try and seduce Zii.
    • Also — "Hello? Naked girl upside down on a pole here!" (7th July 2009, NSFW). Sandra and DiDi get men in a strip club to ignore the fanservice.
  • I'll Be in My Bunk: Strip #319 (June 25, 2010, possibly marginally NSFW) provides the trope illustration (at least, the last two panels do).
  • Imaginary Love Triangle: One develops and dissipates within a few seconds.
  • Imagine Spot: Single-panel fantasy scenes, quite reliably delineated by a thought bubble, are used fairly frequently throughout this comic for comedy effect. For example, DiDi imagines herself as a superheroine after her first orgasm, Kiley imagines herself with a Hook Hand after getting her hand accidentally crushed, and Gary imagines both Senna (with Sandra Voodoo Doll) and Tracy (with James, who realizes that they're being imagined and says Hi) while talking about his recent and possible relationships. Many of these spots invoke manga-style art and sometimes specific manga, anime, or video game characters, especially when it's appropriate for the imagining character to think that way.
  • I'm a Man; I Can't Help It: Funnily enough, the male characters don't generally bother much with this excuse, at least on screen; Gary is just too passive and confused to make coherent excuses for his occasional, largely accidental, philandering, and Matt just knows that he's a bastard. Anyway, the female characters are just as openly controlled by their hormones. However, Zii does point out to Yuki that Gary may tend this way, which may be why Yuki isn't too surprised to find a couple of naked women in Gary's wardrobe later that evening.
  • The Immodest Orgasm: Very few of the cast are exactly quiet at moments of climax, and sexual activity usually seems to be audible through closed doors.
    • The Swirly-Go-Round technique amplifies this, enabling Gary to induce the effect in Amber, and later in Kiley. And Yuki. And Sonya. And others.
      Yuki: TIRAMISUUUUUUUUU!!!
    • Jane demonstrates the trope while delivering a Lampshade Hanging in-joke:
      Jane: You know everyone's bi in Montreaaaalll!!!
    • For a variant, Didi's first orgasm, given to her by Kiley, is only moderately loud, but is intense enough for her to crush Kiley's hand.
  • Implausible Deniability:
    • Gary suffers badly in an early meeting with Yuki:
      Gary: YOUR DAD IS TAKERU "TENTACLE KING" OYAMA?! THE PREMIER TENTACLE HENTAI ARTIST OF THE DOUJIN WORLD?! [catches Yuki's look] I... I mean... I have no idea who that is.
    • In strip #317 (June 21, 2010), when Zii nibbles Gary's earlobe:
      Zii: D'you just cream your—
      Gary: No, but on an unrelated topic, I need to go shower right away.
  • Incompatible Orientation: Clear cases, slightly foggier ones, and aversions, are all present:
    • Gary and Dillon were never meant to be, despite Dillon's hopes. Dillon admits this early on, but can't stop hoping — or refrain from pushing his luck with Gary.
    • DiDi initially thinks she is entirely straight, to the frustration of bisexual Zii. Then she decides that she might be gay or more likely bi, but Just Friends Zii. Then she decides she is definitely straight. Then she gets experimental again, but is too terrified by Zii's ensuing declaration of passion to follow through there, especially once they had both sober up. But anyway, in all cases, the result is a frustrated Zii.
    • Yuki and Gary seem for a while like another case in point, despite Zii's belief that Yuki is bisexual. However, Yuki starts having erotic dreams about a Gender Bent rendition of Gary, and sets out to resolve the issues that keep her away from men. This leads in due course to a not-fully-consummated relationship, but that ends unhappily. Still, with Yuki again seeking therapy, that story may well not be over yet.
    • After Amber experiences Dillon's version of the Swirly-Go-Round technique, she keeps angling for repeats for a while, despite Dillon's tendency to scream in terror at the request.
    • Dillon had an experimental and totally unsuccessful threesome with two very willing girls back in his schooldays. His tendency to attract women despite his lack of interest in them is a problem that recurs in his own comic.
  • Inconvenient Attraction crops up at least a couple of times, both involving Sonya:
    • She and Yuki, who like to think of themselves as arch-enemies, unfortunately find that they also share an irresistible sexual attraction. It's very annoying for both of them...
    • Simultaneously, Sonya has what she at least thinks is her more romantic attachment to Zii. Their eventual bad break-up leaves Sonya violently angry with Zii, to the point of seeking revenge, but she also finds it impossible to forget the attraction. The problem is solved when Sonya encounters Bianca. The fact is, what Sonya really loves is excitement, and while she associates Zii with the excitement of their early encounters, Bianca's lifestyle actually involves repeated physical danger, which really turns Sonya on.
  • Inelegant Blubbering: Most of the characters in this comic are more sentimental than they maybe want to admit, and can be provoked into dramatic crying at times (perhaps because of manga influences on the writing and art). For example, Matt demonstrates this tendency over Kiley, Adrien responds to a couple of traumas by weeping, though quietly and not forcefully enough to count as Ocular Gushers, and Kiley can get this emotional too despite her determination to act as a cool-headed therapist.
  • Informed Poverty: Well, at least informed income mediocrity among many of the cast. For example, the lead trio share what looks like a nice apartment, rarely worry where the next month's rent is coming from, and seem to have adequate free time. See the notes on "Friends" Rent Control above.
  • In Harm's Way: The comic is a comedy soap opera, with a fair number of break-ups and screaming arguments, and occasionally physical violence (usually when Yuki runs amok). But it has become clear that some of the characters like things that way, and some even get happy endings on that basis.
    • Zii, while developing a serious relationship with Erik, keeps being tempted by her "irresistible poison" Sonya and by sex goddess DiDi.
    • Sonya emerges from her original life as a naive waitress to become a competitive thrill seeker who not only chases the exciting Zii but deliberately provokes Yuki from time to time, breaks up with Gary because she finds him too inexperienced, and seems to regard DiDi as interesting competition. At the end of the comic's run, she runs off to Europe with professional spy Bianca. She's last seen in the middle of a fight scene with dynamite being thrown around, and clearly loving every moment of it.
      Bianca: Anyone who shared my life... would share the danger.
      Sonya: [whispers] Some people like danger.
      Bianca: I'm talking guns-in-the-face, tied-to-a-bomb danger. Nobody enjoys that kind of—
      Sonya: [blushing and smitten] Try me.
    • Matt really lives for danger, and is a Thrill Seeker in his sex life (see the characters page), but not enough, initially, for him to want sex with Yuki. Once he gets over that fear, though, the excitement proves irresistible, and they end the comic's run as a couple, with Yuki endangering Matt's genitals on a regular basis.
  • Inherently Funny Word: "Begonias" according to Dave Zero1
  • Innocent Fanservice Girl / Shameless Fanservice Girl: In the sense of “Little Or No Nudity Taboo”, is something of a prevalent trope in the setting. A couple of specific instances:
    • DiDi enjoys the sun on her skin, goes in for a lot of sweaty work-outs in skimpy garb, and sleeps (and indeed lounges round the house) in minimal babydoll nighties and thongs if she's not simply naked. She also assumes that everyone else Sleeps in the Nude.note  Given her figure, the results are often dramatic. She isn't entirely unaware of her effects on other people — nobody could be that stupid — and she knows that nudity taboos exist, but she can be terribly forgetful sometimes. However, as time goes on, her exploitation of her own fanservice potential begins to look less and less innocent. After she has modelled naked for Gary at Yuki's request, Yuki asks her to be naked around Gary all the time, and she acts innocent while agreeing, saying that she'll do it if it will help his art, although clearly she is hoping to seduce him.
    • Matt and Senna don't bother putting any clothes on when Sandra walks in on them having sex, although they do for Gary (in order to keep him from lapsing into a coma). Much later, in strip #815 (November 12, 2013, NSFW), Senna casually strips naked (with astonishing speed) rather than have Gary see her in unfashionable underwear. However, calling Matt or Senna “innocent” is an extreme stretch. They’re both just too confident (and vain) to care about nudity.
  • Innocent Innuendo: "Dillon! What have you done to my giant-size man-thing?! It's... It's all STICKY!!!" Yes, this sentence can have an innocent meaning. See here, and the following strips. It's the name of a real comic book.
  • Insane Troll Logic: Several characters demonstrate this at times. Yuki is especially prone, particularly when she's upset. She sometimes recognizes when she's being unreasonable, though it doesn't always stick:
    Yuki: He kissed another girl! How can he possibly do that when he doesn't even know that I might possibly be considering liking him?! Oh, right... All that stuff I just said...
  • Insult Backfire: Sonya dishes out high praise to Zii with what should be a stinging insult in the tail, but Zii is currently far enough down that she really, really needs the compliment, and the insult ("stubborn unattainable bitch!") is one that she can live with.
  • Intercontinuity Crossover: A minor example; according to one guest strip, DiDi is BFF with Cecania from Sore Thumbs.
  • Interplay of Sex and Violence:
    • The trope is kind of accidentally invoked when Yuki and Sonya's Slap-Slap-Kiss turns out to have been a particularly extreme case.
      Sonya: Oh you're into kinkier stuff than your goodie-goodie facade lets on. I had never been "fisted" before.
      Yuki: Oh, that! Actually, I punched you in the vagina and my hand got caught. Sorry 'bout that, I guess.
    • Later, toward the end of the comic’s run, Yuki (who does have some self-control issues) gets into a relationship with Matt (an adrenaline junky with masochistic tendencies), despite (or because of) Yuki’s tendency to turn violent during sex with men. It starts out essentially pragmatic, but they eventually recognize that it’s become downright romantic.
  • Interrupted Intimacy: Matt being interrupted during sex is a Running Gag. It also happens to Yuki and Sonya, and Erik and Jim walk in on the four-way sex scene in the apartment.
  • Intimate Psychotherapy: Kiley and Matt meet while both undergoing therapy from the same professional (for problems that have more in common than they realise), begin comparing notes constructively, and rather rapidly end up in bed together. They refer to this as "therapy", and do seem to get a lot of help from it.
  • Intoxication Ensues: When Senna notices that Gary is nervous about flying for the first time, she offers to get him a drink. He tries to tell her that he doesn't want anything alcoholic; she doesn't listen. She fetches him a Blue Curacao-based frozen cocktail, and tries to tell him that it isn't, as he thinks, a Slush Puppy; he doesn't listen. Things rapidly go downhill from there. A long way downhill. A very long way.
  • Ironic Echo: Between this page and the next:
    Angel: By contrast, with Yuki and Sonya by my side, I'm ready to found a musical empire. I'll be like the genderfluid… I don't know… Julius Caesar.
    [The next page, with Sonya having announced she's quitting the band and Yuki eager to rejoin Zii's band]
    Angel: I'm surrounded by traitors!!! Traitors everywhere!!! I'm like the genderfluid Julius Caesar!!!
  • Ironic Echo Cut:
    • DiDi decides that it's up to her to deflower Gary because "Every Man should know the intimate touch of a woman". Cut to Gary being pinned down by a nun-chuck twirling Yuki screaming "Die pervert!!!"
    • In this strip, DiDi declares her love for Kiley, followed by a cut to Kiley waking up in bed with Sonya and Yuki:
      DiDi: No other girl will come between us!
      Kiley: HOW DID I END UP BETWEEN TWO GIRLS?!!
  • Irony: Sandra's dialogue in these strips, among other occurrences in this comedy comic.
  • Is That Cute Kid Yours?: Sort of inverted when Sandra mistakes the adult (if petite) Zii for DiDi's daughter.
  • I Think You Broke Him: See strip #82, November 28, 2008. NSFW; well, the breaking trigger is the offer of a threesome.
  • It's Not You, It's Me: This strip hints at an unusual variant of the trope (involving therapeutic ethics), and then lampshades the hint.
  • It's the Best Whatever, Ever!:
    • Jung was prepared to give the play in which Dillon features a horrible review, but after all the entertainment from Sandra's fight with Dillon over Matt, he pronounces it the "Best. Play. Ever."
    • When Amber describes to Zii how wonderful she felt when Gary used the Swirly-Go-Round on her, she says it was the "Best. Orgasm. Ever." Zii gets angry because she feels Gary has been holding out on her.
    • Gary thinks Yuki is the "Best girlfriend ever" when she tells DiDi that she must stay naked around him all the time.
  • I've Heard of That — What Is It?: Punchline of the July 6 2010 strip.
  • Jizzed in My Pants:
    • Gary responds when Zii nibbles his earlobe (strip #317, June 21, 2010).
    • According to a flashback, someone called Dave apparently suffered similarly due to DiDi's charms (strip #125, March 16, 2009, NSFW).
    • Yuki shows Gary what she can do to Zii by targeting her "super secret cream-your-panties happy fun spot" — Zii's big toe. Yuki makes Zii collapse almost instantly by sucking on that. Zii swoons — and Gary gets a nosebleed.
  • Just Friends:
    • Zii sticks Gary firmly into this category very early on, basically because he's such a hopeless geek. Her attitude towards him is mostly sisterly at best, patronising at worst; she finds the idea of sleeping with him ridiculous. Gary accepts this; while both his confidence with women and his awareness of Zii's attractiveness grow through the course of the story, he identifies her as a cool friend who is prepared to help him (and as unattainable, if only because she has made that clear). However, there are very broad hints of a growing mutual attraction between them (and Zii is certainly intellectually curious about Gary's peculiar sexual talents); the problem is that this can’t overcome their shared established assumptions. In the end, they remain friends, each with other partners on a more or less exclusive basis; their attraction is left as a bit of a dangling plot thread.
    • Even when she thinks she may be bisexual, DiDi sees Zii as too good a friend to risk a sexual relationship with her (except when she gets very drunk and desperate). Zii's opinion on the matter is different.
    • Matt and Kiley hit the trope at a very odd angle. They quickly enter a strong Friends with Benefits relationship, which they both refer to as a process of mutual therapy. Kiley wants to think of herself as a cool, objective therapist, and Matt doesn't see himself as a one-woman man. However, it then becomes clear to readers that they are becoming a couple, with strong hints of real mutual affection. Matt and Kiley, however, develop a bad case of shared Selective Obliviousness.
      Matt: Don't worry, Kiley. We are just in mutual therapy, like you said. We're not a couple.
      Kiley: K.
      Matt: By the way, we're low on bread and milk.
      Kiley: And bottles of laundry detergent. Let's stop by the market to pick up a couple.
  • Karma Houdini is a label sometimes thrown around by outraged readers of the comic, as most of the characters seem to get away with comedic stuff that veers into the morally questionable. (Zii starts out as a self-indulgent trickster, Matt is an unfaithful bastard, Yuki is psychotically violent...) However, things do tend to get more complicated for them eventually. The comic illustrates why the definition of Karma Houdini generally requires that the work be finished before the trope is attached to any characters, though it's clear that "Karma" just doesn't work simply or reliably in this setting.
  • Kayfabe: Roxie and Brandy are both bemused to discover that DiDi is unaware of the idea, and takes wrestling completely seriously.
  • Keep It Foreign: In the French translation of the comic, DiDi's Gratuitous French is turned into Gratuitous English.
  • Key Under the Doormat: A trope used just once, when Sonya wants to get into the apartment with a view to seducing Gary; she knows that the residents keep a spare key hidden under a window ledge. (Strip #675, November 22, 2012, NSFW.)
  • Kinky Spanking:
    • Zii is inevitably Too Kinky to Torture; see strip #188, August 10, 2009 (NSFW).
    • "Extra Credit" — an incident that perhaps started out more as Comedic Spanking, although it's not clear that DiDi ever actually intended to chastise the bound Yuki, who she thought was a burglar.
    • Yuki hogties DiDi with NES controller cords and tells her she'll only be released when she admits that Gary is Yuki's boyfriend; she doesn't, so Yuki spanks her. That may be more Comedic Spanking, but then DiDi seems to be getting into it, until Zii comes in. (Strip #612, June 12, 2012, onwards — NSFW).
    • Tracy ropes Gary into assisting with one of her Webcam performances, which is all about spanking. After the show ends, she complains that he got carried away, apparently spanking her harder than he should have.
  • Kissing Under the Influence: Typically turned up to 11 in this comic, as characters rarely stop at a kiss.
    • It's not their first time together, but Sonya finally gets Zii back into bed (well, on the floor to begin with) when they're both very blitzed (in strip #737, May 4 2013, NSFW).
    • The trope also appears, with possible overtones of dubious consent, when Gary (finally) gets to have sex with Senna while he's very drunk (strip #780, August 20 2013, NSFW).
  • Knuckle Cracking: When Dillon asks Zii out of the blue if she wants to make out with him (in strip #159, June 03, 2009), she stands up, wordlessly hands her guitar to Gary, does the neck variant of this, and jumps him.
  • Laser-Guided Karma is actually rather rare in this comic, given the amount of karma-baiting engaged in by many of the cast, but there are occasional instances...
    • After sending Sandra on a series of difficult and pointless errands, and generally treating her badly, Senna gets hers when a rich, famous, and handsome photographer decides that he wants Sandra to model for him instead. Karma, looking reliable for once in this comic, then drives the point home when the photographer puts Senna in a female dog costume.
    • Karma of a sort finally catches up with Matt in the course of his Will They or Won't They? arc with Kiley, when she breaks up with him over his treatment of Gary. The guidance system has taken over a thousand strips to kick in, mind you...
  • Last Girl Wins: Present, at least to a working approximation, when Gary ends up with Peggy. He may have one or two passing encounters with other women after he first meets Peggy, but she's pretty well the last who looks like a serious contender for his heart.
  • Last-Minute Hookup: The last few comics feature Gary and Peggy becoming an Official Couple. Many other couples aren't cemented that much earlier either, such as Zii/DiDi, Matt/Yuki, and Jane/Vance.
  • Last-Second Word Swap: Happens twice here.
  • Late to the Punchline: Gary takes a while actually to see Zii as a girl, rather than as a friend (strip #237, December 11, 2009, NSFW).
  • Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Zii makes a reference to how much time she's spent as Gary's roommate. To express the frustrations she's caused him, he responds with a time frame that matches up with the amount of years the comic had run at the time.
    Zii: It's only been a month since I moved in!
    Gary: Really? Feels like two years.
  • Left Hanging: While unresolved Plot Threads aren't a major problem with this comic, the creators do occasionally set ideas running that evidently just don't work out. For example, at one point, Takeru acts as mentor to Gary, while apparently expecting Gary to marry Yuki, and dangling the prospect of a job in his studio in front of Gary's nose. Then he just disappears from the story, presumably returning to Japan. Some such characters do occasionally return after long gaps, but it's not guaranteed.
  • Leg Cling: Having a "big announcement" to make to the trio (actually just that he has some free play tickets to give out), Dillon's joking sense of the dramatic kicks in; he carefully sets up a leg cling tableau, with Zii on one of his legs and DiDi on the other. Typically, although Zii just looks confused by this, DiDi throws herself into the act with enthusiasm.
  • Lesbian Jock: Three out of the five female professional wrestlers introduced so far qualify (Roxie, Brandy, and Lynn). Of the other two, Maura is straight (she fangirled hard over Lynn, which could be mistaken for attraction, but she wasn't willing to go all the way — though she may have twinges of bicuriosity), and Tess is unconfirmed (she's only shown attraction to men so far, but this is a Giz comic so one can never be sure). Also, new trainee DiDi currently identifies as lesbian, although her record is functionally bisexual.
  • Let's Wait a While: Used in very limited forms, mostly for comedy, a few times:
    • Gary takes this line with Yuki (strip #523, November 8, 2011, NSFW), less out of moral restraint than because her dangerous psychosis is clearly still active. He repeats the sentiment later (strip #688, December 22, 2012, NSFW), for similar reasons.
    • His earlier "shouldn't we go on a date first" lines to Senna were more of a defensive reaction to her very forward teasing.
    • Peggy initially falls in with Sonya's plans to make her Gary's new girlfriend, but, being less drunk (and generally saner) than Sonya, she has mild second thoughts when she gets the chance, and suggests that she maybe ought to at least get to know Gary before having sex with him. Sonya is having none of that, however.
  • Like an Old Married Couple: Weirdly, Sonya and Yuki's interactions slip towards this form — after they've broken up, because that means they've achieved a bickering equilibrium.
  • Lingerie Scene: The female characters disrobe fairly frequently, and may then turn out to be wearing more or less fancy lingerie. (Black Bra and Panties is common.) However, the comic's lingerie scenes don't always rate as especially erotic, because it has such a relaxed approach to toplessness and rear-view nudity at other times. The trope has, though, been played more straight since the creators decided to stop showing female nipples in order to get more advertisements on the website. In recent strips, women often have sex while keeping a bra or a shirt on.
  • Little Black Dress: Several of the women in the strip employ this style from time to time:
  • Long List: DiDi's list of guys she considers inviting to a play, and later her list of past sexual partners, are both epics.
  • Lousy Lovers Are Losers:
    • Played straight with Didi's montage of numerous failed attempts at finding a boyfriend who doesn't suffer Jizzed in My Pants at the sight of her naked. When meeting one of them later on, he breaks down crying "I'm a failure as a man!" on learning she never had an orgasm.
    • Zigzagged with Gary. On the one hand, he does tend to be portrayed as a Butt-Monkey, even after he loses his virginity (finishing in less than a minute). On the other hand, his being bad at sex is only a symptom of his Extreme Doormat nature: even after he learns of and uses a kissing technique to dramatic effect for cunnilingus, has pornstars literally lining up outside his door to experience The Immodest Orgasm and generally becomes a living vibrator, he's still quite shy.
  • Lovable Sex Maniac: Many of the characters verge in this in their better horny moments, but see especially Yuki in relation to Zii, during her early appearances. Shortly after her introduction, she demands that Zii make love to her atop Gary's unconscious body. Later, she nearly succeeds in seducing Zii by targeting her "happy fun spot", and finally succeeds by nibbling her earlobe; after which Zii gives in and "polishes her pearl".
  • Love Dodecahedron: You'll need an organization chart (a big one, with lots of horizontal dotted lines), especially since the comic spun off two other comics that occasionally cross over with this one. The periodic switching of partners may sometimes look more like a Dating Do-Si-Do, but few of these relationships end cleanly or completely, so the dodecahedron image is more accurate. The Crib Notes for new readers:
    • Everyone except Dillon is attracted to DiDi, one way or another. Even Eulice comments on her attractiveness — and even Dillon is impressed by her.
    • DiDi is attracted to Sandra for a while; is attracted to Gary to some extent, becoming obsessed by stories of his sexual talent for a long while, and has a one-night fling with him; has dated Erik, Matt, and apparently half the other men in Montreal; has sex with Peggy; almost has sex with Zii, twice; and proposes sex with Kiley in a moment of deranged romanticism after the latter gives her an example of a hypothetical romantic proposition. Weirdly, this leads to Kiley giving her her first conscious orgasm, despite Kiley being straight. DiDi therefore falls in love with her, and traps her in a weird relationship for a while, subsequently rebounding onto Gary for that one-night stand — then she starts an actual relationship with Zii, before Zii’s libido problems cause her to decide to accept Lynn’s advances. But that doesn’t lead to anything, so she ends up back with Zii as a final pairing. Her feelings generally are ... somewhat enigmatic, often problematic, but usually very enthusiastic.
    • Zii had a relationship with Yuki; had sex with Amber years ago and has it again in the comic’s run in a Friends with Benefits arrangement, Jerzy (months ago), and Sonya (plus Sonya's then-boyfriend Jake, in the course of the story); has a relationship with Erik; is attracted to Gary in a confused sort of way; and is so enthusiastic about an offer from DiDi it makes her gabble nervously, later failing to seduce her. She can also have her brain briefly scrambled by Isabelle's flirtations — and so has sex with Matt to get Isabelle off her mind. She then has casual sex with Sonya for a while before starting a relationship with DiDi, which despite some libido problems and a resurgent, ever-more-intense attraction to Gary, ends up as an end-of-story pairing.
    • Yuki is attracted to Zii, leading to an on-off relationship; had a relationship with Gary, and remains attracted to him and determined to get back to that; was attracted to Sonya, despite hating her, leading to an angry sexual relationship that blazed and died like a deranged comet, involving Kiley along the way and ending with a threeway with Gary; and notices DiDi as much as anyone else (and they've each chastised the other at different times, but that wasn't sexual, honest). She eventually persuaded Matt to have sex with her (with some difficulty) as training for that relationship with Gary; then, when Gary found out, he pointed out that Yuki and Matt actually seemed to be working well together. This creates a Betty and Veronica situation for Yuki, who has to choose between her long-term crush on Nice Guy Gary and her interest in the promiscuous exhibitionist Matt, who loves her for her psychotic insanity. She plumps for Matt.
    • Gary is attracted to Amber and Zii, and has given the former oral sex; loses his virginity to Kiley; has a weird relationship with Yuki; has sex and a short-lived relationship with Sonya (and is later induced to have sex with her again); has sex with Senna; hangs out with Sandra and receives a passionate goodbye kiss from her; gets into an orgiastic encounter with Amber, Chanelle, and a squad of porn stars; is passingly attracted to Isabelle; and has a threesome with Matt and Peggy (during which, he would say, he only does actual sex stuff with the latter — though a print volume bonus strip shows what Matt did to or for him, which is a whole other matter) — leading to a relatively sane Friends with Benefits relationship with Peggy that will eventually evolve into more. Although DiDi jumps him along the way. Oh, and Sonya, on a whim, engineers a threesome with him, her, and Yuki, during which he gives Yuki her first full heterosexual experience and she almost strangles him.
    • Dillon had an actual relationship with Matt, a Casting Couch relationship with Nathan, and is attracted to Gary. He also gave Amber an orgasm through oral sex, more or less accidentally (it's a long story). He now has his own comic, where he has pursued a relationship with Jerzy which went bad and showed interest in other characters.
    • Matt had relationships with Dillon and Sandra; had sex with minor characters Jordan and (in a bonus print-only story) Jake, and with Senna; dated DiDi; had sex and started a relationship with Kiley which crashed and burned, but possibly only after turning serious enough to have some chance of resurrection; was seduced by Peggy, due to a misunderstanding; became obsessed with proving his sexual superiority over Gary, which oddly led to a threesome with him and Peggy; had rather unsuccessful sex with Zii; had casual sex with Sonya; and agreed to have sex with Yuki for therapeutic purposes, despite the danger this involved for himself, which now seems to be leading to them settling down together.
    • Sandra had that relationship with Matt, thought she might be interested in DiDi despite being straight, went Skinny Dipping (apparently platonically) with Senna, is in a new relationship with Pierre in her own comic, became flirtatiously friendly with Gary while using him as a consultant on geek culture (and a way to wind up Senna); and occasionally gets into other flirtations, sometimes accidentally.
    • Sonya was originally in a relationship with Jake; is in love with Zii, following some sexual encounters; was attracted to Gary until she found what he was really like; had the comic's standard reaction to DiDi; wasn't averse to trying to seduce Erik, largely as a means to an end but also for fun; briefly had sex with Peggy, though that relationship has now become a platonic friendship; and got into an ... interesting relationship with Yuki (who she still allegedly hates, but never mind, they’ve become friends now), which also sometimes manages to involve Kiley. She also had sex with Matt. After her relationship with Yuki ended, she whimsically engineered a threesome with Yuki and Gary, for closure, and then she had supposedly-casual sex with Zii again for a while.
    • Amber had sex with Zii back in school; worked in porn with Chanelle; had a Casting Couch relationship with Nathan; received oral sex from Dillon once in unusual circumstances; is much taken with Gary's oral skills, and at least considered some kind of relationship there; cheerfully entered a new Friends with Benefits arrangement with Zii in the meantime; and got into an interesting scene with Gary, plus Chanelle and a squad of other porn stars. Her adventures continue in Sticky Dilly Buns, where she's entered a relationship with Ray.
    • Senna had sex with Matt, went Skinny Dipping (presumably platonically) with Sandra, subsequently chased, caught, and then lost Gary, flirted in passing with Pierre, and was last seen having sex with a nameless pilot.
    • Kiley deflowered Gary, got into a slightly peculiar relationship with Matt that ended badly, and despite being straight, ended up in a "therapeutic" relationship with DiDi that involved her giving DiDi a lot of orgasms and DiDi becoming insanely, romantically obsessed with her,note  and also provided “therapy” to Sonya and Yuki that the uninformed would have difficulty distinguishing from a lot of three-way sex.
    • Chanelle is a professional porn actress and "not picky" in her private life, gave Gary abortive oral sex, and joined a threesome (that then just grew) with him and Amber as a favor to the latter (and probably because she wasn't averse to exploring his skills), becoming very impressed by his oral talents.
    • Peggy dumped Jim to make a pass at Erik; was persuaded to go after Gary instead until he turned out to be missing; introduced DiDi to lesbian sex as an enjoyable act of sympathy; received brief but effective oral sex from Sonya, almost by accident; and accidentally seduced Matt, confusing him with Gary. She was also curious about Gary's sexual reputation, despite never having met him, which enabled Matt to draw the two of them into a masked threesome, leading in turn to a Friends with Benefits relationship between her and Gary. Then, when she was worried because that seemed to be getting too close, she decided to seduce Jane and Vince into a threesome. (And she's an Only Sane Woman.)
    • A squad of porn stars had oral sex from Gary, and then mentioned in passing that they'd also done something similar with Zii at some point in the past.
    • Isabelle has a fangirl interest in Zii, though how far she's prepared to go there seems uncertain, and flirted briefly with Gary and also with Yvan.
    • Yvan found Zii attractive and didn't mind Isabelle flirting with him. His prospects of getting more than that seem slim.
    • Roxie turns out to have some kind of thing going with Brandy, who is instantly attracted to DiDi on sight.
    • Damien is attracted to DiDi (because it’s DiDi), and is pursued by Maura and Tess. The latter gets a date with him and eventually more.
    • Maura gets a date with Gary and kind-of-flirts with Lynn despite herself.
    • Lynn is attracted to DiDi (because it’s DiDi, and because DiDi‘s physical strength might make Lynn’s wrestling skills less problematic in the relationship), but also pursues Maura in the meantime.
    • Jung was for a long time widely assumed to be asexual, but then Sticky Dilly Buns threw in a shock reveal.
    • Jane and Vince both fancy Peggy, which gives her a hook by which to drag them into a threesome — though their own (work-based) relationship looks more like a platonic life partnership.
    • Eulice and Rob are never in play.
  • Lover Tug of War: Giz makes no secret of her fondness for Archie comics, which sometimes shows up in things like use of this trope. Note that Gary's inability to resolve situations that lead to tugs of war indicates passivity rather than chivalry.
  • Love Triangle: See the notes above on Love Dodecahedron. Mapping out all the triangular interactions within that mess would take forever.
  • Loving a Shadow: Sonya takes up with Gary because she thinks that he’s a sex god, and that her sleeping with him will make Yuki wildly jealous. When Gary turns out to be a sexually inexperienced nerd, and Yuki proves too depressed to get angry, Sonya drops Gary. Which said, all that time, she’s never denied that her real obsession is with Zii, which may be another, subtler instance of loving a shadow. In fact, most of the “deeper” relationships in the comic seem to feature elements of the trope; for example, Erik loves Zii as a cool rock chick, DiDi loves Kiley thanks to a dim-witted misunderstanding of something she said, and anyone who so much as looks at DiDi has their brain addled by lust.
  • Luminescent Blush: Occasionally used in this comic as a visual sign that a characters is embarrassed. Perhaps a little unusually, the worst sufferer may be an adult male character — Gary, as for example here. This may sometimes be a Crush Blush, or rather the embarrassment may be triggered by badly-suppressed sexual desire — the cast aren't especially prone to adolescent crushes as such.
  • Lust: This has to be be distinguished from a simple liking for sex, which most of the characters in this comic display very cheerfully. Characters afflicted with lust might include DiDi with her increasingly desperate quest for an orgasm, Matt with his need for excitement, Erik with his need to prove himself, and maybe Zii with her need for independence and the thrill of the sexual chase. The lust-driven characters tend to suffer painful consequences for their desires.
  • Lust Object: DiDi is a target of lust for a lot of characters a lot of the time, but notably, Zii attempts to make the fact explicit. It's just possible that Zii is fooling herself, and that her feelings run deeper at that point, but she's probably trying to be honest while effectively describing the trope.

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