History Webcomic / WhatHappensNext

* GoodIsNotSoft: ''What Happens Next'' depicts the real-life issue of bad people using soft aesthetics, "traumacore" and victim complexes in order to portray themselves as the survivor instead of the perpetrator. Milo often incorporates childish themes and pastels into his clothing and Tumblr blog, and desperately wants to be seen as innocent and blameless. Vikki, on the other hand, is mostly a good person, although she presents herself as more alternative and is sometimes harsh with her wording.

* BrickJoke: After Claire and Vikki's video in "Dog Names", the former bets that Milo would act like a regular drama queen and vent about it on his blog (with Vikki's name barely censored in two asterisks). Come "Someone Else", and Milo indeed vents about his latest argument with Vikki on his blog after she misgenders him in a fit of anger. Vikki almost amusedly states that she owes Claire fifteen dollars.

* AbusiveParents: Milo's father misgenders him, treats him terribly, blames him for not knowing things he was never taught, decides with his grandmother to evict him from said grandmother's house without Milo having anywhere else to go, and tells Milo that he can move back home, but his parents will be even worse to him as an incitement for him to find somewhere else to go.

''[[https://whathappensnext.webcomic.ws/comics/1#content-start What Happens Next]]'' is a PsychologicalHorror 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.

** Vikki has a photo of Comic/LenoreTheCuteLittleDeadGirl as her Discord icon.

** Gage's blog introduces us to his character by showing his About, which says that he doesn't condone real-life murders despite being a True Crime fan--juxtaposed with a gruesome photo from the Black Dahlia murder case tagged under "aesthetic".

** {{Hypocrite}}: speaking out of two mouths is practically an acquired skill in this comic:

** Haylie loved Music/{{Mitski}}, played "Game Shows Touch Our Lives" by Music/TheMountainGoats at an open mic night, cosplayed as [[Music/{{Vocaloid}} GUMI]] from the "Matryoshka" video, and ''Literature/PaperTowns'' was one of her favourite books.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Discussed. Milo says that he knows he's done bad things, but that it feels like a lot of people are cruel to him not because of the murder, but because they just like to harass trans and/or autistic people and his crimes provide an easy justification for what they wanted to do anyway. The excerpts from the hateful message boards show he's not wrong.

* 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.]]

* PyrrhicVictory: Claire gets Haylie's Law passed, but it doesn't magically make Haylie's death meaningful and it doesn't fix Claire's life. Instead, her friendship with Aaron is crumbling as they finally admit just how bad the effects of the law are, and Aaron's desperate appeal to Audrey might have sown some seeds there too...

** Claire likes ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'', has a poster of Rei from Anime/{{NeonGenesisEvangelion}} in her room,cosplayed as Kiki from Anime/KikisDeliveryService, is shown introducing Aaron to the concept of FridgeHorror, and plays ''VideoGame/{{Halo}}'' with him.

''[[https://whathappensnext.webcomic.ws/comics/1#content-start 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.

* ThereAreNoTherapists: Played with. Milo has a therapist, but said therapist is court-appointed. As a result, Milo by definition cannot be honest with her, because admitting how he really feels would get him sent back to the mental hospital, which he doesn't want.

** Milo loves WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic and ''Film/DearEvanHansen''.

** Claire likes ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'', cosplayed as Kiki from Anime/KikisDeliveryService, is shown introducing Aaron to the concept of FridgeHorror, and plays ''VideoGame/{{Halo}}'' with him.

* BeneathTheMask: At first, Claire and Audrey seem to be in a happy, healthy relationship. Under the surface, Claire drinks, lashes out and is slowly sliding to the conservative side of politics, and either hasn't realised or doesn't care that the law she's trying to get passed will make things worse for people like Audrey and her family. Meanwhile, Audrey clings to Claire because their relationship got Audrey away from her abusive father and because she's romanticising her first real relationship, while in the process just accepting Claire's drinking and toxicity without a fight.

* DysfunctionJunction: There's hardly a character in the series that doesn't have ''some'' major trauma that's haunting them.

* PosthumousCharacter: Haylie is dead by the time most of the series take place, and we only see her (alive) in ''Victim Impact Statement'', which takes place eight years before the rest of the comic.
* PyrrhicVictory: Claire gets Haylie's Law passed, but it doesn't magically make Haylie's death meaningful and it doesn't fix her life. Instead, her friendship with Aaron is crumbling as they finally admit just how bad the effects of the law are, and Aaron's desperate appeal to Audrey might have sown some seeds there too...

* WithFriendsLikeThese: Claire is a really nasty friend to Aaron, and that's without her realising that Aaron seems to be either non-binary or a trans woman.