History Webcomic / HesHarmlessISwear

''He's Harmless I Swear!'' is an English-language webcomic by Basil the Bear. It can be read on Website/{{Webtoons}}. The story is currently in progress, and is being updated every Friday at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

%%* WhoWearsShortShorts: Tammy wears short shorts! [[UnlimitedWardrobe Sometimes]].

* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: It's revealed later in later chapters that Olivia's father is abusive and controlling, constantly threatening to take away custody of her son, Dillan, and even forced Olivia [[spoiler: to sabotage her relationship with Tomoya]]. This ''in no way'' excuses her actions,the pain she put Tomoya through, or the fact that she neglects her son often and even tried to use him to manipulate Tomoya. Olivia herself even admits that her father was only "40% responsible" for her actions, and that she actually enjoyed abusing Tomoya because she like the feeling of control it gave her.

* RedIsViolent: Red is the color [[{{Yandere}} Tomoya]] is associated with the most, due to his red hair and warning-sign eyes. He also has a hidden murderous side [[spoiler:due to his [[SplitPersonality Split Personality]], Sam, a protective alter born to cope with his childhood abuse.]], although he's only violent when necessary.

* YourCheatingHeart: Olivia cheated on Tomoya with multiple other men, and used fake lovey-dovey-ness to get back on his good side. It eventually stops working.

* ClingyJealousGirl: Olivia, when she was in a relationship with Tomoya, brutally attacks him for things such as talking to other women, even if those women are his coworkers or boss. This is despite her [[DoubleStandard dating]] [[YourCheatingHeart other men]] herself.

''He's Harmless I Swear!'' is an English-language webcomic by Basil the Bear. It can be read on Website/{{Webtoon}}. The story is currently in progress, and is being updated every Friday at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

* BreakTheCutie: Poor Tomoya. Not only was he abused at home by his father, which led to him developing a [[SplitPersonality split personality]], he then entered a relationship with [[ClingyJealousGirl Olivia]], which turned out to be abusive as well. As a result, he has no clue what a proper and non-toxic relationship feels like by the time he moves on to [[NiceGirl Tammy]]. He even gives Tammy full permission to go through all of his calls and social media just because she gave the impression that she thought he was going back to Olivia.

* GirlishPigtails: Tammy sprouts Afro-puffs at one point. Tomoya compliments her on them as well.

* PreciousPuppy: Nala. Tomoya has to take extra good care of her, especially since, due to Olivia's abuse, she lost a leg. Unfortunately, she's just as traumatized by her as Tomoya is.
* PsychoPink: Olivia. Beneath the sweet and loving facade is an abusive monster who batters Tomoya for daring to talk to other girls, even if nothing romantic is going on between them.

* ShoutOut: Nala is named after the character from ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing The Lion King]].''

* BathtubScene: Tomoya gets one.

* MrFanservice: Tomoya, he even gets a [[BathtubScene Bathtub Scene!]]
* MsFanservice: Tammy, to a lesser extent.
* NiceGirl: Tammy, the perfect change of pace for Tomoya after his breakup with the [[DomesticAbuse abusive]] and [[ClingyJealousGirl jealous]] Olivia.

* RedEyesTakeWarning: Tomoya when he goes {{Yandere}}-mode [[spoiler:as Sam]] is this. Although it's likely not in-universe.

* UnlimitedWardrobe: Tammy.

* WhoWearsShortShorts: Tammy wears short shorts! [[UnlimitedWardrobe Sometimes]].

* BathtubScene: Tomoya [[MrFanservice fortunately]] gets one. Cue the fangirl(and boy!) squeals!

* MalignedMixedMarriage: Averted. The webcomic centers on a romance between an African-American woman and a Japanese-American man. However, there's never any stigma as a result of their relationship on the basis of race. Instead, while their families each express dissaproval of the relationship at first, it is due to other reasons: Tomoya's family is afraid that Tammy may be [[DomesticAbuse just as abusive to him as Olivia was]], and Teddy is worried that Tomoya could actually become abusive to Tammy, since an abuse victim is very likely to [[ViciousCycle become an abuser themselves]]. But race is never brought up as a factor, especially since Tomoya's family seems to have warmed up to Tammy.

* SassyBlackWoman: Averted. Tammy is Black and although she is can be a little bit sassy and hot-tempered at times, especially when ticked off or talked down to, for the most part she is warm and reasonable, and is never cast in a stereotypical or racist light. This was intended by the author, who said that she wanted to show that Black women are multifaceted creatures who are more than just sass.

* [[AbusiveParents Abusive Parents]]: Tomoya's dad was abusive to his mom, as well as him and Soya.

* [[BathtubScene Bathtub Scene]]: Tomoya [[MrFanservice fortunately]] gets one. Cue the fangirl(and boy!) squeals!

* [[BewareTheNiceOnes Beware the Nice Ones]]: [[ShrinkingViolet Tomoya]] might be sweet and shy, not to mention [[BreakTheCutie traumatized]] due to the [[DomesticAbuse abuse]] he suffered at the hands of [[ClingyJealousGirl Olivia]], but he has a dark and murderous side that comes out when he, [[MoralityChain Tammy]], or [[PreciousPuppy Nala]] is in danger. He even carries a taser around, precisely for this purpose.

* [[BigBrotherInstinct Big Brother Instinct]]: Inverted, Soya is a little girl, but she is extremely protective of Tomoya because she believes that Tammy will abuse him the same way Olivia did. It's exactly why she doesn't like her...at least, at first.

* [[BigBrotherWorship Big Brother Worship]]: Soya very greatly admires Tomoya. It's exactly why she's heartbroken at the fact that he never comes to her violin recitals, all because of his [[ClingyJealousGirl possessive girlfriend, Olivia]].

* [[BreakTheCutie Break The Cutie]]: Poor Tomoya. Not only was he abused at home by his father, which led to him developing a [[SplitPersonality split personality]], he then entered a relationship with [[ClingyJealousGirl Olivia]], which turned out to be abusive as well. As a result, he has no clue what a proper and non-toxic relationship feels like by the time he moves on to [[NiceGirl Tammy]]. He even gives Tammy full permission to go through all of his calls and social media just because she gave the impression that she thought he was going back to Olivia.

* [[ClingyJealousGirl Clingy Jealous Girl]]: Olivia, when she was in a relationship with Tomoya, brutally attacks him for things such as talking to other women, even if those women are his coworkers or boss. This is despite her [[DoubleStandard dating]] [[YourCheatingHeart other men]] herself.

* [[CoolBigSis Cool Big Sis]]: Although not a biological one, Tammy is slowly becoming this to Soya. Her mom even describes her as a "mature young lady".

* [[CurlyHairIsUgly Curly Hair is Ugly]]: Tammy is Black and her parents demand that she straighten her hair every time she meets up with them for a business dinner, which she is clearly upset about. Tomoya at least thinks [[AvertedTrope her naturally kinky hair is cute!]]

* [[TheCutie The Cutie]]: Tomoya, despite being a fully grown adult. He's still an adorable guy who's been through so much abuse in his life that you just want to give him a hug. Tammy also, to a lesser extent.

* [[DomesticAbuse Domestic Abuse]]: Tomoya's dad abused both the kids and his own wife. Later on, Olivia does this to Tomoya as well.

* [[DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale Double Standard: Abuse, Female on Male]]: Hard aversion. Tomoya at first thinks that Tammy will laugh at the fact that a man like him was abused by a tiny woman like Olivia. Tammy angrily responds that it is not laughable in the slightest, that male domestic abuse victims are actually quite common, and that society should take them more seriously. Tomoya feels comforted after that, and the story takes Tammy's side as well.

* [[EvilRedhead Evil Redhead]]: "Evil" is a stretch, but Tomoya has red hair, and is capable of turning violent when confronted with a threat, or when Tammy or Nala are. Tammy senses that there's something off about him but she doesn't know what. [[spoiler:What's actually wrong is that he has a [[SplitPersonality Split Personality]] named Sam, who happens to be a {{Yandere}}.]]

* [[EyeScream Eye Scream]]: Poor Tomoya has a scar crossing his right eye because of Olivia.

* [[TheFashionista The Fashionista]]: Tammy sure does like to dress in style!

* [[GirlishPigtails Girlish Pigtails]]: Tammy sprouts Afro-puffs at one point. Tomoya compliments her on them as well.

* [[HarmfulToMinors Harmful to Minors]]: Tomoya and Soya were abused by their father from an early age. And then Soya becomes jaded as Tomoya moves on to Olivia, who abuses him.

* [[ImportantHaircut Important Haircut]]: Right before meeting Tammy's parents, Tomoya cuts his hair, saying that he can't hide behind it any longer.

* [[LadyInRed Lady in Red]]: Tammy wears a simple, sleek, and elegant red dress when taking Tomoya to visit her parents.

* [[LightFeminineAndDarkFeminine Light Feminine and Dark Feminine]]: Tammy is sweet, kind, friendly, and helps Tomoya out with his trauma as a result of his abuse. Olivia, on the other hand, is brash, rude, violent, and the one who gave Tomoya that trauma in the first place.

* [[LoveAtFirstSight Love At First Sight]]: Tammy fell in love with Tomoya the moment she saw him.

* [[MalignedMixedMarriage Maligned Mixed Marriage]]: Averted. The webcomic centers on a romance between an African-American woman and a Japanese-American man. However, there's never any stigma as a result of their relationship on the basis of race. Instead, while their families each express dissaproval of the relationship at first, it is due to other reasons: Tomoya's family is afraid that Tammy may be [[DomesticAbuse just as abusive to him as Olivia was]], and Teddy is worried that Tomoya could actually become abusive to Tammy, since an abuse victim is very likely to [[ViciousCycle become an abuser themselves]]. But race is never brought up as a factor, especially since Tomoya's family seems to have warmed up to Tammy.

* [[MrFanservice Mr. Fanservice]]: Tomoya, he even gets a [[BathtubScene Bathtub Scene!]]

* [[MsFanservice Ms. Fanservice]]: Tammy, to a lesser extent.

* [[NiceGirl Nice Girl]]: Tammy, the perfect change of pace for Tomoya after his breakup with the [[DomesticAbuse abusive]] and [[ClingyJealousGirl jealous]] Olivia.

* [[PinkMeansFeminine Pink Means Feminine]]: This seems to be Olivia's main color. Her type of femininity revolves around [[DecoyDamsel playing the damsel]] so as to [[WoundedGazelleGambit lay the police off her trail]], and she takes pride in the fact that, due to her being a [[WomenAreDelicate woman]], she can [[DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale get "away" with abuse]].

* [[PreciousPuppy Precious Puppy]]: Nala. Tomoya has to take extra good care of her, especially since, due to Olivia's abuse, she lost a leg. Unfortunately, she's just as traumatized by her as Tomoya is.

* [[PsychoPink Psycho Pink]]: Olivia. Beneath the sweet and loving facade is an abusive monster who batters Tomoya for daring to talk to other girls, even if nothing romantic is going on between them.

* [[RedEyesTakeWarning Red Eyes, Take Warning]]: Tomoya when he goes {{Yandere}}-mode [[spoiler:as Sam]] is this. Although it's likely not in-universe.

* [[RedIsViolent Red is Violent]]: Red is the color [[{{Yandere}} Tomoya]] is associated with the most, due to his red hair and warning-sign eyes. He also has a hidden murderous side [[spoiler:due to his [[SplitPersonality Split Personality]], Sam, a protective alter born to cope with his childhood abuse.]], although he's only violent when necessary.

* [[RedOniBlueOni Red Oni, Blue Oni]]: Tomoya is the Red to Tammy's Blue. He may seem sweet on the outside, and for the most part, [[TheCutie he is!]] But he's also a {{Yandere}} who will do anything to protect Tammy and will even kill for her. Tammy, meanwhile, is more cool and levelheaded, helps Tomoya out with his issues with a soothing touch, and even says she'll [[MoralityChain reign him in before he kills anyone]] when he's feeling particularly murderous.

* [[SanitySlippage Sanity Slippage]]: [[BreakTheCutie Tomoya]] undergoes this multiple times throughout the webcomic. [[spoiler:Most of the time, it's actually Sam.]]

* [[SassyBlackWoman Sassy Black Woman]]: Averted. Tammy is Black and although she is can be a little bit sassy and hot-tempered at times, especially when ticked off or talked down to, for the most part she is warm and reasonable, and is never cast in a stereotypical or racist light. This was intended by the author, who said that she wanted to show that Black women are multifaceted creatures who are more than just sass.

* [[ScarsAreForever Scars Are Forever]]: Olivia gave Tomoya a scar [[EyeScream on his right eye]] during one particularly [[DomesticAbuse abusive]] fit. It's still there to this day.

* [[ShowWithinAShow Show Within a Show]]: "D Adventures", which Tomoya, Ichirou, and Olivia liked when they were little kids. [[spoiler:It's where Tomoya got [[SplitPersonality the name Sam]] from.]]

* [[ShoutOut Shout-Out]]: Nala is named after the character from ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing The Lion King]].''

* [[ShrinkingViolet Shrinking Violet]]: Tomoya, and [[DomesticAbuse can you]] [[EyeScream blame]] [[BreakTheCutie him?]]

* [[SplitPersonality Split Personality]]: It turns out that [[spoiler:Tomoya has one named Sam. Named after [[ShowWithinAShow a child's cartoon character]], he serves to protect Tomoya and all that he loves. Deconstructed since this turns out to be the result of [[HarmfulToMinors childhood trauma]] and [[DomesticAbuse domestic abuse]]. Due to accusations that the writer could be [[TheMentallyDisturbed demonizing DID by portraying Sam as a murderer]], Basil is careful to show him in as accurate a light as possible. The only reason he kills his father is [[SympatheticMurderer to save his family from his abuse]]. Tammy even lampshades this by saying that he's not the stereotypical depiction of Multiple Personality Disorder, because he actually has a purpose: to protect his host and the people he loves.]]

* [[UnlimitedWardrobe Unlimited Wardrobe]]: Tammy.

* [[ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend Violently Protective Girlfriend]]: Tammy makes it no secret that she will pop [[ClingyJealousGirl Olivia]] in the kisser if she comes for Tomoya again.

* [[WolfWhistle Wolf Whistle]]: While walking through the dark city streets during her date with Tomoya, Tammy is subjected to one of these by a male stranger. Tomoya finds it disrespectful, but Tammy says it's ''[[UsefulNotes/VictimBlaming just what's bound to happen when you're a pretty lady in New York]]''. Tomoya then expresses displeasure that women have to go through that.

* [[WhoWearsShortShorts Who Wears Short Shorts?]]: Tammy wears short shorts! [[UnlimitedWardrobe Sometimes]].

* {{Yandere}}: Tomoya is a unique depiction of this. He doesn't ACTUALLY [[MurderTheHypotenuse Murder the Hypotenuse]], but he does have a hidden dark and murderous side that comes out when Tammy is threatened. He even says he'd [[AxCrazy kill for Tammy if she just said the word!]] [[spoiler:This is because of his [[SplitPersonality Split Personality]], Sam, who he created to protect him from abuse.]] What makes him unique from other examples(aside from being [[AlwaysFemale male]], that is) is that he doesn't actually abuse Tammy, he is fully accepting if Tammy wants to break up with him, even saying he won't force her or beg her to stay because he doesn't want to chain her to him out of fear nor pity, and he understands if Tammy were to want to break up with him. [[spoiler:He even admits to Tammy that the existence of Sam could be a dealbreaker. It's exactly why he didn't tell her about it, because they like her.]]

* [[YourCheatingHeart Your Cheating Heart]]: Olivia cheated on Tomoya with multiple other men, and used fake lovey-dovey-ness to get back on his good side. It eventually stops working.

He's Harmless I Swear! is an English-language Webcomic by Basil the Bear. It can be read on Webtoons. The story is currently in progress, and is being updated every Friday at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

The story stars a young woman named Thomasina "Tammy" Walker, who harbors a crush on her adorable next door neighbor, Tomoya Akamine. Her dream of being his girlfriend comes true when Tomoya's sweet but shy little dog, Nala, brings them together. However, Tomoya turns out to be hiding a past that he clearly doesn't want to share immediately. But as their relationship grows, Tammy can't help but notice a side to Tomoya that is a little...odd, to say the least.

* [[ShowWithinAShow Show Within a Show]]: "D Adventures", which Tomoya, Ichirou, and Olivia liked when they were little kids. [[spoiler:It's where Tomoya got [[SplitPersonality the name Sam]] from.)

* [[ShowWithinAShow Show Within a Show]]: "D Adventures", which Tomoya, Ichirou, and Olivia liked when they were little kids. [[spoiler:It's where Tomoya got [[SplitPersonality: the name Sam]] from.)

* [[BathtubScene Bathtub Scene]]: Tomoya fortunately gets one. Cue the fangirl(and boy!) squeals!

* [[BewareTheNiceOnes Beware the Nice Ones]]: Tomoya might be sweet and shy, not to mention traumatized due to the abuse he suffered at the hands of Olivia, but he has a dark and murderous side that comes out when he, Tammy, or Nala is in danger. He even carries a taser around, precisely for this purpose.

* [[BigBrotherWorship Big Brother Worship]]: Soya very greatly admires Tomoya. It's exactly why she's heartbroken at the fact that he never comes to her violin recitals, all because of his possessive girlfriend, Olivia.

* [[BreakTheCutie Break The Cutie]]: Poor Tomoya. Not only was he abused at home by his father, which led to him developing a split personality, he then entered a relationship with Olivia, which turned out to be abusive as well. As a result, he has no clue what a proper and non-toxic relationship feels like by the time he moves on to Tammy. He even gives Tammy full permission to go through all of his calls and social media just because she gave the impression that she thought he was going back to Olivia.

* [[CurlyHairIsUgly Curly Hair is Ugly]]: Tammy is Black and her parents demand that she straighten her hair every time she meets up with them for a business dinner, which she is clearly upset about. Tomoya at least thinks her naturally kinky hair is cute!

* [[TheCutie The Cutie]]: Tomoya, despite being a full adult. He's still an adorable guy who's been through so much abuse in his life that you just want to give him a hug. Tammy also, to a lesser extent.

* [[EvilRedhead Evil Redhead]]: "Evil" is a stretch, but Tomoya has red hair, and is capable of turning violent when confronted with a threat, or when Tammy or Nala are. Tammy senses that there's something off about him but she doesn't know what. [[spoiler:What's actually wrong is that he has a split personality named Sam, who happens to be a Yandere.]]

* [[MalignedMixedMarriage Maligned Mixed Marriage]]: Averted. The webcomic centers on a romance between an African-American woman and a Japanese-American man. However, there's never any stigma as a result of their relationship on the basis of race. Instead, while their families each express dissaproval of the relationship at first, it is due to other reasons: Tomoya's family is afraid that Tammy may be just as abusive to him as Olivia was, and Teddy is worried that Tomoya could actually become abusive to Tammy, since an abuse victim is very likely to become an abuser themselves. But race is never brought up as a factor, especially since Tomoya's family seems to have warmed up to Tammy.

* [[MrFanservice Mr. Fanservice]]: Tomoya, he even gets a Bathtub Scene!

* [[NiceGirl Nice Girl]]: Tammy, the perfect change of pace for Tomoya after his breakup with the abusive and jealous Olivia.

* [[PinkMeansFeminine Pink Means Feminine]]: This seems to be Olivia's main color. Her type of femininity revolves around playing the damsel so as to lay the police off her trail, and she takes pride in the fact that, due to her being a woman, she can get "away" with abuse.

* [[RedEyesTakeWarning Red Eyes, Take Warning]]: Tomoya when he goes Yandere-mode [[spoiler:as Sam]] is this. Although it's likely not in-universe.

* [[RedIsViolent Red is Violent]]: Red is the color Tomoya is associated with the most, due to his red hair and warning-sign eyes. He also has a hidden murderous side [[spoiler:due to his Split Personality, Sam, a protective alter born to cope with his childhood abuse.]], although he's only violent when necessary.

* [[RedOniBlueOni Red Oni, Blue Oni]]: Tomoya is the Red to Tammy's Blue. He may seem sweet on the outside, and for the most part, he is! But he's a Yandere who will do anything to protect Tammy and will even kill for her. Tammy, meanwhile, is more cool and levelheaded, helps Tomoya out with his issues with a soothing touch, and even says she'll reign him in before he kills anyone when he's feeling particularly murderous.

* [[SanitySlippage Sanity Slippage]]: Tomoya undergoes this multiple times throughout the webcomic. [[spoiler:Most of the time, it's actually Sam.]]

* [[SassyBlackWoman Sassy Black Woman]]: Averted. Tammy is Black and although she can be a little bit sassy at times, especially when ticked off or talked down to, for the most part she is warm and reasonable, and is never cast in a stereotypical or racist light. This was intended by the author, who said that she wanted to show that Black women are multifaceted creatures who are more than just sass.

* [[ScarsAreForever Scars Are Forever]]: Olivia gave Tomoya a scar on his right eye during one particularly abusive fit. It's still there to this day.

* [[ShoutOut Shout-Out]]: Nala is named after the character from "The Lion King".

* [[ShrinkingViolet Shrinking Violet]]: Tomoya, and can you blame him?

* [[SplitPersonality Split Personality]]: It turns out that [[spoiler:Tomoya has one named Sam. Named after a child's cartoon character, he serves to protect Tomoya and all that he loves. Deconstructed since this turns out to be the result of childhood trauma and domestic abuse. Due to accusations that the writer could be demonizing DID by portraying Sam as a murderer, Basil is careful to show him in as accurate a light as possible. The only reason he kills his father is to save his family from his abuse. Tammy even lampshades this by saying that he's not the stereotypical depiction of Multiple Personality Disorder, because he actually has a purpose: to protect his host and the people he loves.]]

* [[ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend Violently Protective Girlfriend]]: Tammy makes it no secret that she will pop Olivia in the kisser if she comes for Tomoya again.

* [[WhoWearsShortShorts Who Wears Short Shorts?]]: Tammy wears short shorts! Sometimes.

* {{Yandere}}: Tomoya is a unique depiction of this. He doesn't ACTUALLY murder the hypotenuse, but he does have a hidden dark and murderous side that comes out when Tammy is threatened. He even says he'd kill for Tammy if she just said the word! [[spoiler:This is because of his Split Personality, Sam, who he created to protect him from abuse.]] What makes him unique from other examples(aside from being male, that is) is that he doesn't actually abuse Tammy, he is fully accepting if Tammy wants to break up with him, even saying he won't force her or beg her to stay because he doesn't want to chain her to him out of fear nor pity, and he understands if Tammy were to want to break up with him. [[spoiler:He even admits to Tammy that the existence of Sam could be a dealbreaker. It's exactly why he didn't tell her about it, because they like her.]]

[[caption-width-right:350: Tammy and Tomoya]]

This work contains examples of:

He's Harmless I Swear! is an English-language Webcomic by Basil the Bear. It can be read on Webtoons.

This work contains examples of: