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1[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/skinhorse1_big.jpg]]
2
3''[[http://skin-horse.com Skin Horse]]'' is a {{webcomic}} written and drawn by Shaenon K. Garrity (of ''{{Webcomic/Narbonic}}'' fame) and co-written by Jeffrey Channing Wells. It was launched in December 2007, and on [[http://comicsbyshaenon.free-forums.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=236 November 5, 2008]] became syndicated on [[http://www.gocomics.com/skinhorse GoComics]]. The comic updated daily, with regular strips posted Monday through Saturday and posts of material related to the comic on Sundays, and ended on June 26, 2022.
4
5Within the comic, Project Skin Horse (named after a character in ''Literature/TheVelveteenRabbit'') is the name of a government department devoted to helping the U.S.'s non- and part-human citizens.
6
7----
8!!Provides examples of:
9[[foldercontrol]]
10
11[[folder:A - E]]
12* AcronymAndAbbreviationOverload: Godot, or G.O.D.O.T., is an AI meant to backronymise project titles for the US government. However, it became exhausted by its work and eventually went mad when it had an impossible problem.
13* ActionPrologue: "Come Swing From my Branches", and "Looking Glass Land".
14* AdmiringTheAbomination: When Sweetheart [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/it-was-supposed/ describes]] the Necropolis to her teammates and Officially Not a MadScientist Virginia Lee:
15-->'''Sweetheart:''' Over the decades, various zombie plagues have spread there, producing its current population of over one million undead. It's an empire of flesh-eating horrors. Any questions?\
16'''Dr Lee:''' Are all the pathogens biological or has nanotech been introduced? What happens when plagues interact? Have new strains evolved?\
17'''Sweetheart:''' Do that thing again where you convince us you're not mad.
18* AffablyEvil: {{Subverted|Trope}}. Sweetheart's MadScientist creator, Captain Bram seems to come off this way, as his evil plan revolves around adorable puppies. However, Sweetheart's comments about her time with Bram frequently allude to things that by any reasonable measure would come off as animal cruelty, hinting that she's painting Bram in an undeservedly bright light.
19* AlienAnimals: [[spoiler: Bee swarms, including Gavotte and Pavane. They came to earth to monitor the emergence of intelligent life.]]
20* AliensInCardiff: A major transgenics convention is held in Cleveland, while [[AncientTradition the Notaries Public]] are housed in Idaho.
21* AlmightyJanitor: (WARNING! Massive spoiler!) It turns out [[spoiler: Mr. Green/Dr. Ao/Goldbug, the mysterious guy running the conspiracy, is actually Ira, Skin Horse's supposedly mind-fried security guard]]. Beyond that, Nick was given to Skin Horse for two reasons - [[spoiler: one was to make Dr. Lee happy, and the other was [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/2018-08-16-story-you-may/ so that he could be loaded up with the agency's files]], which combined with his command-phrase made it easy to abscond with them once the New War was underway]].
22* AlphaAndBetaWolves: Buddy is the alpha of Sweetheart's UpliftedAnimal Spitz dog pack, but this turns out to be an elected position. Rather than being the toughest dog in the pack, he's the one everyone likes.
23* AmbiguousSyntax: [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/weekend-give/ K.T. runs up to Unity]] shouting "Zombie attack!" By which she means that she, a zombie, is being attacked by zombies and wants Unity, also a zombie, to attack them.
24-->'''Unity:''' Wait, what do I do?\
25'''K.T.:''' Zombie-attack. With a hyphen.\
26'''Unity:''' Awright! Punctuation!
27* AmusementParkOfDoom: The Little House of Wonders. It was abandoned years ago, and the "It's A Small World" parody ride now has toxic waste instead of water, is dotted with asbestos warning signs, and the [[InstantAIJustAddWater self-aware animatronics]] are all cynical and depressed. However, to the naturally cynical and depressed Sweetheart, this comes as a relief compared to the wall-to-wall saccharine she was expecting.
28* AnalProbing: {{Inverted|Trope}}. Unity [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/dress-blues/ once probed an alien]], as it resembled [[Franchise/TheMuppets Kermit]] and she was hoping to meet Brian Henson.
29* AnalogyBackfire: Project Skin Horse, which helps sapient non-humans function in society, is named for the mentor figure in ''Literature/TheVelveteenRabbit''. Artie points out that that book ends really badly for most of the non-human characters other than the protagonist.
30* AncientConspiracy: The Notaries Public ([[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-760/ not Notary Publics]]) have been around since Cicero.
31* AndZoidberg:
32** "That's why we need you for this crisis! You've dealt with humans!" [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/something-funny/ "And Americans!"]]
33** And later, "[[http://skin-horse.com/comic/if-you-yank/ A motley crew of mutants, freaks, and Canadians.]]"
34* AngstWhatAngst: Invoked in-universe by Sweetheart [to Unity]: "Do you '''ever''' angst?" Since Unity is programmed to be a weapon, she may simply not be capable of it--it'd get in the way of her ability to kill things.
35* AppendageAssimilation: Anything attached to Unity becomes a part of her; it's hinted that her blood is the "real" Unity and that it's some sort of colony creature. When a town becomes transfused with her blood to cure them of lycanthropy, they all start acting like her. It has now been stated [[http://skin-horse.com/2011/todays-comic-795/ explicitly.]]
36* ApothecaryAlligator: The storyline "Ghosts I Have Been", which is both OfficialFanSubmittedContent and ADayInTheLimelight for Remy the voodoo mortician, opens with him picking up his groceries, including a dead alligator. It's later possessed by the Nonhuman Intelligence of the Week.
37* ArbitrarySkepticism: Pops up now and again, but best exemplified by [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/particularly-charming/ the Chesapeake Bay Monster]] deriding the thought of TheJerseyDevil being real.
38** Sweetheart has a major problem with this, as she "just can't believe in anything [she] can't bite."
39* Area51: "I Can Fly" is set there, although it's only referred to as such in one strip, and from then on it's Groom Lake. It also happens to be Nick's origin point.
40* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Mr. Green's final argument against nonhumans:
41-->Then there are your coworkers, who just get on my nerves.
42* ArtificialHuman: Inverted with Nick, who is completely human, rather than an AI as the team first assumed, despite being stuck in a mechanical body. Played straight with Unity... [[TheUndead Kinda]].
43* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-373/ Gavotte politely explains to some nice young ladies why she can order them around.]]
44-->'''Gavotte:''' It is on the authority ''that I am a large and angry swarm of bees''.
45* AttractiveZombie: While Unity is not conventionally among the comic's "main hotties", she does look good for being a bunch of stitched-together body parts, and she's caught the eye of a fair number of men, women and abominations of science. Even Tip's made his move on her once. (Only to find out that Unity's interpretation of "let's get physical" differed from his.) Admittedly, Unity's not a regular kind of zombie; she's actually a bucket-worth of black goo controlling a dead body, and habitually replaces any parts that get damaged or go bad.
46* AuthorAppeal: [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/the-pay-is/ "Let me have this, and later I'll draw Sweetheart in cute little goggles."]] A promise [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/really-annoyed/ later granted]], of course.
47* BabiesEverAfter: The final storyline reveals that, due to TimeDilation resulting from most of the cast [[spoiler:traveling around on a FlyingSaucer which was apparently moving at relativistic speeds]], [[spoiler:Nick and Dr. Lee]] have multiple kids and one on the way, and [[spoiler:Marcie and Chris]] also have one child, as do [[spoiler:Tip and Tigerlily]].
48* BadBoss: Anasigma command staff in general. Any infraction, including improper footwear, is a quick route to "extirpation", which is generally interpreted as "messy death" by the staff.
49* BaitAndSwitch: The Abbess of the Notaries tells Unity about a [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-769/ prophecy]]. According to her, their Chosen One will be "composed of part many, yet one, a being of great potential, but consumed by barely-suppressed hunger and violence":
50-->'''Abbess:''' So obviously a civil servant.\
51'''Unity:''' Plus I'm an omnivorous construct zombie.\
52'''Abbess:''' Whatever.
53* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/and-came-2/ Here]] (note: spoiler in strip).
54-->'''Tip''': I forgot the universe runs on "evil genie" rules.
55* BeingHumanSucks: Nicks adopts this view after seeing Dr. Lee change clothes inside him...not to mention the satellite connection, weapons, and the fact that he can fly.
56* BerserkButton: Niue, a macaw woman, does not appreciate hats or beards. She goes from being attracted to Tip to hating him the instant he puts on a hat, and is permanently soured on him from then on.
57* BeyondTheImpossible: A Whimsy mechanical - Baron Mistycorn - [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/unity-elbowed/ managed to poop himself]] despite not even ''having'' a butthole after Nick's wail of anguish.
58** At the end of the arc, Mistycorn manages to [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/move_along/ leave a "gift" on Whimsy's desk when quitting]].
59--->'''Nick''': No, I mean, how was that biologically possible?\
60'''Baron Mistycorn''': PowerOfLove, brah. QED.
61* BigApplesauce: Subverted in a big way. The team is based in Washington D.C., but so far their adventures have taken them to New Jersey, Nevada, Alaska, Louisiana, Ohio, Idaho, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Illinois, California, Michigan, and Maine. They're a Federal agency, so they have to serve all 50 states (plus territories).
62* BigDamnHeroes: Or as Nick says, [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-544/ Big Tang Heroes]].
63%%* BlahBlahBlah:Here.
64* BlandNameProduct:
65** The 'Hot Goblin Brotherhood' is the in-universe version of the Literature/BlackDaggerBrotherhood. Complete with silent h's.
66** Whimsycorp is a thinly disguised Disney ([[ExpyCoexistence although Disney also exists]]) with one of their mascots being the [[WesternAnimation/DisneyFairies Mender Fairy]] (Mender = Tinker).
67* BlastingItOutOfTheirHands: Nick, now able to [[spoiler:remotely command his re-armed V-22 Osprey]], [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/advise-us/ blasts an Anasigma agent's gun]] with a Gatling gun burst.
68* BombDisposal: A suitably tense situation -- and a big WireDilemma joke -- after Moustachio, the team's steam-powered robot receptionist, gets literally overwound and digs out an antique nuke which they happen to have in a cupboard.
69* BookEnds: The [[https://skin-horse.com/comic/12302007/ prologue]] is the Skin Horse's line from ''Literature/TheVelveteenRabbit'' about how a toy can become real. The [[https://skin-horse.com/comic/2022-06-26/ epilogue]] is a line from another book about LivingToys, ''Literature/AmysEyes'', saying that if you never become "real" that's all right too.
70* BotheringByTheBook: Invoked when they were fighting for custody of Nick against the military, pointing out that it doesn't matter if Nick ''actually'' identifies as a helicopter, [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/at-the-conclusion/ but just that doing so works in their favor because "it's written down somewhere"]]. When the military tries to stop them, [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/dismissed-from/ Tip points out that doing so could be used to bring up felony charges and threaten their pensions]].
71-->'''Dr. Lee''': So logic bows to paperwork.\
72'''Tip''': Of course! [[ObstructiveBureaucrat We're the government]]!
73* BrainBleach: [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-736/ Nick plans to have some installed.]]
74* BrainFood:
75** Binging on brains temporarily makes Unity super-smart, but other zombies tend to become dumb and lethargic after eating too many brains.
76** The St. Charlie train features a Brain-o-Mat which keeps its zombie population adequately fed. [[spoiler:Bad things happen when it's sabotaged.]]
77* BreadEggsMilkSquick: [[http://skin-horse.com/2013/control-before/ This Comic.]]
78* BreakTheScientist: Luckily for Dr. Lee, [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-790/ the Notaries Public]] have a couch just for scientists.
79* BriarPatching: Tip attempts to apologize to Doctor Lee for using her as a pawn in a game of one-upsmanship with Artie. [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/and-then-id/ She is, of course, terribly put out]] by having to spend her day having two attractive men ply her with favours.
80* BrickJoke: The lion from the first story [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-598/ meets back up with Skin Horse]] in UsefulNotes/{{Cleveland}}. Unity's strategies for fighting historical figures make a reappearance as well, years after their first mention.
81* CalculatorSpelling: Numen [[https://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-322/ communicates in calculator speak]], such as by saying "14" for "hi".
82* {{Callback}}: Done [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/he-was-at/ in this strip]] to [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/clean-classic/ Tip's first field mission]] ten years earlier.
83%%* TheCasanova: Tip is charming and attractive, and the sheer degree and instantaneousness of his success with women would be mind-blowing even if he wasn't usually wearing a dress and make-up.
84%%** Just as a f'rinstance, this comic.
85%%** Or this one.
86%%** In fact, Tip's power apparently transcends [[spoiler:species]]. Just see this and this
87%%** It simultaneously transcends [[spoiler:species]] and [[spoiler:gender]] in this strip. [[spoiler:Muffin is a male, and apparently gay, dog.]]
88%%** Still more [[spoiler: cross-species]] Tip-lust here. [[EvenTheGuysWantHim Even Swarms of Bees Want Him!]]
89%%** It seems to even transcend sexuality.
90%%** [[spoiler: Artie]] seems to have [[EvenTheGuysWantHim turned the tables]] on Tip in If I Ran the Zoo, though.
91%%** Keeps on delivering with ''[[spoiler: sapient corporations]]'', [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/the-outside-world/ here]].
92* CastFullOfGay. Of the core members of Skin Horse, almost everyone with a sexuality (Tip, Unity, and Sweetheart) is suspected or has experimented. (Moustachio is a robot and, being a swarm of bees, Gavotte is autosexual.)
93* CatGirl: With a little help from Remy, Unity gives herself [[http://skin-horse.com/2013/eventually/ bobcat ears]] in order to resemble a favorite TV character. Sweetheart is not amused.
94* CatsAreMean:
95** The various comments and questions [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-611/ Sweetheart has for a helpful tiger]] are met with "I'm a cat" as an explanation.
96** Cinnamon is cat who's a friend of Artie, but doesn't understand why they should be helping other non-humans when "few of them even ''own'' can-openers", and refers to Artie's gerbil form as "tasty mode".
97* CaughtWithYourPantsDown: Tip [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-306/ references it]] when Sweetheart expresses shock that she ''didn't'' catch him in this, calling it "in ''flagrante colloquio''" instead.
98* ChainedHeat: Mentioned by name [[http://skin-horse.com/comics/04292010/ here]], but it doesn't really play out that way.
99* ChainedToABed: In the "Dead Dogs" arc, the friendly werewolf sheriff in Alaska chains Tip to a bed so he won't get hurt when the town transforms into man-eating monsters during the night. Tip is a CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass, though, and very experienced with kinky chicks, [[BreakingTheBonds so this doesn't slow him down much]].
100-->'''Tip:''' Honestly. Like I've never been handcuffed to a bed before.
101* ChainOfDeals: Tip and the basement creatures, going from the silverfish to the centipedes to the death robots to the huggy-snakes to the mushrooms to sentient ooze to cybernetic fish to ''[[SerialEscalation giant disembodied zombie heads]]'' to a giant rat who expounds on TheChainOfHarm to sentient crystals to... the silverfish again. Unfortunately, his interference upsets the equilibrium they had already established [[GoneHorriblyRight and causes disaster]]. Gavotte chides Tip later for meddling in affairs he didn't understand.
102* ChainedHeat: [[http://skin-horse.com/2010/todays-comic-234/ Immediately identified as such.]]
103* ChairReveal: Done by [[spoiler:Dr. Ao, revealing himself to be Mr. Green]]. It's admittedly not much of a revelation at that point, but [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/2015-05-14/ he has a revelation chair and he's going to use it]].
104* ChangingClothesIsAFreeAction: Tip's clothes suddenly change [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/the-office-protocol/ between]] [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/to-incorporate/ strips]]. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d by Tigerlily Jones.
105-->'''Tigerlily''': Hold a tic. Weren't you in a different outfit?\
106'''Tip''': A '''plaid''' outfit. [[AgentPeacock I'm incapable of clashing with my surroundings]].
107* ChekhovsArmoury: The creators have made no secret of the fact that their work has parallels to ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz''. The extent of those parallels was summarized in [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/2018-08-12/ this Sunday strip]], with references going back '''over ten years'''. (Warning: huge spoilers for one of the comic's central mysteries!)
108* ChekhovsGun: Nick, in the swamp, with a freaking ''buzzsaw''. Yippee kay o, melonfarmers!
109* ChessWithDeath: {{Parodied|Trope}}. Tigerlily [[http://skin-horse.com/2011/todays-comic-837/ claims]] that she got the plans for her ultimate weapon by beating the devil at Jenga
110* ChewBubblegum: Moustachio provides a typically {{antiquated|Linguistics}} take:
111-->'''Hullcrusher:''' What exactly ''is'' your function?\
112'''Moustachio:''' I breach hulls & collect pop-corn tins, and I am all out of pop-corn.
113* ChickenJoke: After [[spoiler:Skin Horse is disbanded]], [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/ow-said Tip's new job]] is covertly injecting chickens with radiographic trackers, leading him to muse on the topic.
114-->Who ''cares'' why they cross the road?
115* ClarkesThirdLaw: {{Parodied|Trope}}: Dr. Lee believes that any sufficiently ''[[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-813/ stupid]]'' technology is indistinguishable from magic.
116* ClosetKey: Tip goes from straight to bisexual after he sleeps with [[spoiler: Artie]].
117* CloseupOnHead: This strip consists mostly of headshots, to conceal the fact that [[spoiler:Tip and Sweetheart are prisoners of the crystal entity]] until the final panel.
118* ClusterBleepBomb:
119-->'''Nick''': What the '''mosaic-tiled poorhouse floor''' do you think you're '''flipping gingerly, panther'''? Like I don't get enough '''opal circles''', some '''secret Mayan astronaut''' has to '''eat the magic fudge'''? '''Sahara'''!\
120'''Jonah''': What the hell? \
121'''Nick''': Easy for you to say, '''gorilla-watcher'''. Easy for you.
122* ClusterFBomb: Nick, before the censorship software kicked in. Which also paradoxically counts as a PrecisionFStrike for the authors, as there had been no profanity in the strip before Nick's introduction, and little if any since. Indeed, Chris' swearing is censored in the same way as Nick's. Possibly justified, given how much time the D of I crew spends hanging out with him.
123* CoincidentalBroadcast: {{Parodied|Trope}}. [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-575/ Tip calls Sweetheart and Unity]] and dramatically tells them to turn on the news, but they get the wrong news channel. In [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-576/ the following strip]] Sweetheart says they're running out of channels, and Tip complains that it works in the movies.
124* CompleteTheQuoteTitle: Most of the story arcs are children's {{Literary Allusion Title}}s, and ''usually'' the reference is right there in the title ("I Can Fly" introduces Nick the helicopter; "Big Bad Wolves" is about werewolves). The two exceptions so far are "Yes, Virginia", which is about Dr. Lee joining the team's Secret Santa ("... there really is a Santa Claus") and "Sure as You're Born", from the Creator/ShelSilverstein poem "The Unicorn", which is about [[spoiler:Anasigma spreading [[WeirdnessCensor reality blindness]] to almost the entire world population.]]
125* ContinuityCreep: {{Invoked|Trope}}. ''Skin Horse'' was pretty continuity heavy from the start, but nonetheless took the time to {{lampshade|Hanging}} it (the "simple" beginnings they refer to, in addition to not being that simple, are actually only the first ''week'' of strips):
126-->'''Shaenon:''' Remember when this was a simple strip about transvestites psychoanalysing lions?\
127'''Jeff:''' I go where the muse takes me.
128* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: The Chimeric Anti-Defamation League [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/a-group-of/ tell Sweetheart that because of her rampage]], the next [[TheScrappy Scrappy-Doo will be on her head]].
129* CoolOldLady: The Abbess is surprisingly funky.
130* CoolTrain: St. Charlie's, a huge city built into a subway train under Boston which houses {{Mad Scientist}}s and zombies.
131* CorporateConspiracy: In contrast to the protagonists' {{Benevolent|Conspiracy}} GovernmentConspiracy (social services for non-humans), Anasigma is a corporation that's produced a number of Project Skin Horse's clients (and employees) and is plotting to [[spoiler:eliminate {{Mad Scientist}}s and their creations]].
132* CrackOhMyBack: {{Implied|Trope}} during a conversation between Tip and Marcie:
133-->'''Tip:''' It turns out Unity doesn't understand invitations to "get physical".\
134'''Marcie:''' Oog.\
135'''Tip:''' It could've gone worse. Most of my joints snapped right back into place.
136* CrapsackWorld: A BadFuture version [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/said-sweetheart-9/ has Sweetheart name-drop the trope]].
137* CreepyBasement: The basement of the team's original facility is dingy, dimly lit, poorly maintained, and home to multiple colonies of sentient non-humans, including silverfish, centipedes, and living crystals.
138* CrystalPrison: In the "Borrowers" arc, Tip finds the maintenance staff trapped inside the living crystal entities in the CreepyBasement. He gets captured too, but since the crystals are sensitive to noise, they release him when he threatens to start singing Music/{{Madonna}}.
139* CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon: Unity gets a dose [[http://skin-horse.com/2011/todays-comic-764/ (of sorts)]]:
140-->'''Unity:''' So who's the old bat?\
141'''[[ItMakesSenseInContext Notary Public]]:''' Speak with respect! This is the High Abbess. Try anything and she'll hand you your butt. She will then certify in triplicate that you legally took possession of your own butt. Your demise shall have a ''scrupulous'' paper trail!
142%%* CuteCrittersActChildlike: The sapient (but childish) cute talking cobras.
143* CutenessProximity:
144** When Tip, Jonah and Nera [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/of-late/ encounter]] {{the Jersey Devil}}s:
145--->'''Tip:''' Careful! The Devils are wild animals! Not only do they have horns and teeth, according to lore they can addle the mind.\
146'''Jonah:''' [''holding one the way you're not supposed to hold cats''] Who's a Jersey Devil? You are! Booguma, booguma, booguma!\
147'''Nera:''' The legends are true!
148** Prior to this, a week-long guest comic [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/2014-08-06/ had a cute mouse invoke this]] to try making demands of the government. Ultimately subverted, though, [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/2014-08-08/ as it turned out to be]] a HiveMind employing psionics to mind-control them into wanting to help.
149* CuttingTheKnot: When making their way through a VR Whimsyworld, Nick, Baron Mistycorn and [[spoiler:Lovelace]] find themselves having to play a GameOfNim. The Baron uses their recently acquired ability to duplicate objects to...create a whole bunch of guns and point them at the puzzle setter, whose response is "Nice. Very Gordian."
150* ADayInTheLimelight: The arcs "Choose" and "Grillo Parlante" are about Jonah and Nera, two hapless investigators of the weird. The first has them stumble into something that involves Skin Horse, the second features none of the regular team, and is about them investigating what happens once Skin Horse is closed down.
151* DeadlyEuphemism: "Extirpation." Underlings at [[EvilCorporation Anasigma]] are frequently threatened with it...unfortunately, [[RunningGag none of them]] [[DeconstructedTrope know what it means]], and those doing the threatening [[ClassifiedInformation aren't authorized to explain]] (which is convenient, because none of them seem to know either). [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed that extirpation involves putting someone's consciousness into a LotusEaterMachine that simulates a walnut farm and then separating their brain from their body when Dr. Lee narrowly escapes the second part.]]
152-->'''Number Fifteen:''' [[NoodleImplements Okay, okay, it involves walnuts. Don't ask me again.]]
153* DeathIsCheap: Pretty much everyone who died in the Railway Children arc gets revivified, a fringe benefit of being in a city full of mad scientists. Elsewhere averted, aside from Jonah with his "reset button".
154* DeathTrap: Anasigma uses a lot of deathtrap technology to defend their bases, even at severe risk to their staff, presumably because they employ far too many {{mad scientist}}s as designers. [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/of-a-respite/ One such offers a justification of sorts]], but, well, he's mad.
155* DelusionsOfDoghood: {{Inverted|Trope}} by Phil the Mynah, an UpliftedAnimal who thinks he's human.
156* DependingOnTheWriter: Nick's wrongswears. Shaenon works out exactly what he's saying and makes sure the replacements fit the cadence enough to be recognisable. Jeff just writes funny words.
157* DescriptionCut:
158** Sweetheart invokes the trope (and TV Tropes) [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/a-desk-at/ the 2014-10-11 by name]], which does also illustrate it.
159** [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/from-the-2/ Tip says]] that other humans might still be unaffected by the suddenly-nationwide WeirdnessCensor "but they'd have to be ''exceptional''". Cut to Jonah Yu in his TinfoilHat, and with a jar stuck on each hand because "I, uh, had trouble with some mayonnaise."
160%%* DidYouGetANewHaircut: A particularly egregious example, because Moustachio doesn't even have hair.
161* DidntThinkThisThrough: A fun metafictional example: When Joshua and and Nera dock a flying car with Nick mid-flight, the scene cuts to Shaenon staring at her drawing board. It looks like it's going to be another gag about the ridiculous things Jeff expects her to draw, until Jeff reminds her that ''she'' wrote this scene.
162* DistaffCounterpart: InvokedTrope, Violet Bee appears to be a female Tip, but [[spoiler: [[http://skin-horse.com/2012/you-like/ this is just an act]]]].
163* DisneyCreaturesOfTheFarce: [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/maintaining-perfectly/ Nick is a "Whimsy Princess".]] [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/color-coordinated/ It doesn't go as planned.]]
164* DistractedByTheSexy: Nick, when trying to dissuade Dr. Lee from [[spoiler: fighting the superhero Red Knight]], [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/he-had-been/ gets his train of thought utterly derailed]] upon Dr. Lee holding up the tiny butt-covers she'd have to wear.
165* DivineDate: Played with and deconstructed. While Artie isn't quite a deity, he is a hyperintelligent posthuman, and as such, it's been suggested, he cannot ''love'' someone of only human intelligence because love requires the other person be on his level. He can, however, have a lot of fun with humans in the process. It should be noted, though, that this idea was put forth by Sweetheart ''to'' the team psychologist, Tip. Sweetheart could simply be dead wrong.
166* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything:
167** Unity's tendency to binge-eat brains to get smarter is treated as alcoholism, complete with her hurting her loved ones (she gets very insightful and points out their flaws, shortcomings, and mental hangups) and them preferring her "normal" dumb self.
168** Tip re-meets the Cypress [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/happy-new-years/ on the heels of an ally saying he can't just romance every problem away]]. The Cypress' new form looks very... reminiscent of something.
169* DontCelebrateJustYet: [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-940/ Lampshaded.]] Nera and Jonah are fleeing the Anasigma base when they reach an exit. Their celebration is instantly cut off, though, as a mutant venomous axolotl drops down from the ceiling in front of the door, his mouth smoking. The corridor lights then go out and are replaced by emergency lighting, a klaxon sounds, and the energy cannons over the door begin charging.
170* DressesTheSame: {{Parodied}} in a guest strip where multiple temporal duplicates of Tip are created by a malfunctioning time machine and are horrified that they're wearing the same dress.
171* DrillSergeantNasty: {{Parodied}} when Tip is undergoing "princess training". His trainer, Mary, has the usual screaming insults, except she calls him "manly-boy" and tells him he's just not girly enough.
172* EnlightenmentSuperpowers: Oracle, a sentient Speak'n'Spell, gained powers from having an "enlightenment module" installed. These powers include transcendental levitation and astral teleportation.
173* EscortMission:
174** "My Brother Sam is Dead".
175** [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/she-helped-people/ "Did I just pick a fight with a woman who says 'escort mission'?"]]
176* EvenNerdsHaveStandards: Baron [[{{Unicorn}} Mistycorn]] loses respect for video game partner Nick when the latter trains to be a princess.
177* EvenTheGuysWantHim:
178** Tip suddenly finds himself going out for drinks with Artie, whose human form is indeed ''very'' attractive.
179** For the inverse, Unity appears to have a crush on Tigerlily Jones.
180* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Nick's infatuation with Dr. Lee is so obvious that [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/up-and-up/ even Moustachio]] can see it, and his empathy is "two springs and a Vial of Mercury."
181* EverythingTryingToKillYou: The Anasigma facility, pretty much. NoOSHACompliance doesn't ''begin'' to describe the dangers there, and that's not counting the trigger-happiness of the higher-ups. Jonah Yu finds that whenever he dies, he comes back to life at a point he'd previously 'saved' at. This results in a cavalier attitude in regards to the numerous, incredibly silly, contrived, and pointless deaths he subsequently experiences.
182-->This place has way too many ways to die.
183* EvilCounterpart: The Skin Horse team has counterparts working for Anasigma and consequently against them. Of course, there's a pretty fine line between their moralities...
184* EvilLaugh:
185** Dr. Lee tries to pull this off.
186** Tigerlily does it better.
187* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Apparently only Projects (like Skin Horse and Pixiedust) get mysterious names. Departments follow a simpler scheme. They have been shown to include:
188** Department of Jetpack Suppression: [[IWantMyJetpack Stupid Department of Jetpack Suppression...]]
189** Department of Irradiation: They irradiate whatever the home office sends them. Not like...with any end in mind. They just point radiation at it until HQ says "when" {{for the lulz}}.
190** Federal Office of Giant Leaking Containers: Seen here during the "Borrowers" arc.
191** Department of Precambrian Defense: Currently unstuck in time.
192* ExplainingTheSoap: Sweetheart explains her soaps to Tip [[http://skin-horse.com/comics/09152011/ without being asked]].
193* ExpospeakGag: In his new job, Chris of the Department of Irradiation asks a client if she wants the "sample" to be subjected to radiant energy to evoke the Maillard reaction, or EM emissions to induce dielectric heat. [[spoiler:He's working is a sandwich shop and is asking "Toasted or microwaved?"]]
194* ExtranormalInstitute: Skin Horse itself, and it shares the building with several others (see above).
195* ExtraStrengthMasquerade:
196** A sentient swamp unleashes a zombie horde on Louisiana, werewolves take over an Alaskan town, and transgenic animal-human hybrids have a mass convention in Cleveland, yet the public at large, ''somehow,'' is still unaware of the rampant paranormal happenings.
197** With the confirmation that the strip is set in the Narbonibrane, WeirdnessCensor rules are now in effect. In the filename side story, Sweetheart notes to Tip after he's hired that, "...about twenty percent of humans psychologically block things they consider impossible; they can't hear me. If you were one of them, you'd be useless for this job, not to mention annoying as a coworker."
198[[/folder]]
199
200[[folder:F - J]]
201* TheFaceless: Nera's mom in "Grillo Parlante". Coupled with how genre-savvy and completely terrifying she is, this has encouraged a lot of speculation that she might be someone we'd recognise.
202* FacelessMooks: [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/his-existence/ Mocked]], when Sweetheart asks if they're ''sure'' [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality they're the good guys]], and Unity counters by pointing out the helmets worn by Anasigma's security team.
203* FailedASpotCheck: All-around, but best exemplified [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-757/ here]].
204-->'''Unity''': ...I've gotta be the only humanoid being around for ''miles''!\
205'''Hooded Figure 1''': Oh go on, [[RightBehindMe tap her on the shoulder]].\
206'''Hooded Figure 2''': I wanna see how long we can keep going.\
207'''Unity''': [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Noisy birds, though.]]
208* FailsafeFailure: Sweetheart takes refuge from an Alaskan snowstorm inside Nick. After cranking up her courage with a bottle of schnapps, Sweetheart is ready to go out and save the mission, only to be stopped by Nick. Due to the fail-safe [[spoiler:big orange safety lever]], that doesn't stop Sweetheart for long.
209* FakeRabies: Sweetheart [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/crown-had/ tries brushing her teeth]] for a meeting. HilarityEnsues.
210* FakingAmnesia: Played for laughs: When Animal Control shows up to capture Sweetheart, Unity panics and feigns amnesia. She's apparently done this before.
211* {{Fanservice}}:
212** The "All The Lovely Ladies" arc requires Tip and Konstantin to mud-wrestle topless for some reason. Don't ask, just get a jetpack and a camera and head down to the river.
213** Immediately after the resolution of the "Once And Future" arc, Unity (in Dr Lee's body) and Tigerlily Jones [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-867/ kiss]] (which is rather sweet). [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-869/ The next strip]] not only breaks the Fourth Wall to lampshade the FanService but also [[CallBack calls back]] to "All The Lovely Ladies".
214** Shaenon throws in some fanservicey side art from time to time, including a multi-panel pic of several female characters (and Tip) in swimsuits. During one InUniverse sequence [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/what-to-do/ of Tip, Artie, and Dr. Lee in a hot tub]], Jeff asks the same question Sweetheart did, only for Shaenon to tell him to just keep googling pictures of shirtless men.
215* FantasticRacism:
216** The Transgenic Convention is full of intelligent mutant animals and hybrids, many of whom have utter contempt for Tip (such as some surly squirrels, and a part-Macaw woman whose inexplicable BerserkButton is people who wear hats).
217** Apparently Baron Mysticorn [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/the-office-3/ dislikes wind-up robots]].
218* FantasticRecruitmentDrive: AG-I, the superhuman agency, tries to do this. Apparently, it goes better with kids with laser vision than with teen precogs who always see the "right" course of action, and who tell you in no uncertain terms they really aren't interested.
219* FantasticReligiousWeirdness: Among the many examples of odd religious material, Nick installed a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mezuzah mezuzah]] on his cabin doorway.
220* FantasticalSocialServices:
221** ''Skin Horse'' itself is an underfunded, black-ops (sort of) federal agency providing government assistance for the roughly 30,000 nonhuman sapients who inhabit the United States, most of whom are products of mad science. [[spoiler:A conspiracy group called Anasigma has heavily compromised Skin Horse's mission, [[RealitySubtext using them as unwitting surveillance of everyone they intend to erase via]] WeirdnessCensor.]]
222** One arc also features the ancient, monastic order of Notaries Public, who carry out paperwork filing as a sacred ritual. Unity's induction involves learning the importance of bureaucracy by transfusing the black goo that acts as her brain into a series of animals that live in the wilderness nearby... all of whom have their own independent regulatory structures.
223* FastballSpecial: Invoked by name [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/the-front-desk-3/ with a zombie head]].
224* FauxAffablyEvil: Many of the bad guys are disarmingly cheery.
225* FauxtivationalPoster: During the "Mixed-Up Files" arc, the Institute weaponizes these against Sweetheart when she's undercover in one of their facilities. They house her in a room with a motivational poster that has a glaring punctuation error, knowing she'll obsess about it. They then replace the poster with a new copy that has a different punctuation error to stress her even more, and then replace that with a poster that has multiple errors.
226* FeatherBoaConstrictor: In [[https://skin-horse.com/comic/and-sleep/ this]] strip, the trope is invoked by name -- slightly misleadingly in that these "feather boa constrictors" are actual feather boas which have been converted into snake-like robotic weapons, rather than being actual snakes.
227* FeelingOppressedByTheirExistence: [[spoiler:This is ultimately [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/the-bees-3/ revealed]] to be Mr. Green's motivation.]]
228-->[[spoiler:'''Mr. Green''': [[TheWorldIsJustAwesome Look at it down there. It's so beautiful]]. For the life of me, I can't understand why your ilk wanted to ruin it.]]\
229[[spoiler:'''Tip''': '''You've''' got the secret army and brainwashing and sapiocide! How'd '''''we''''' ruin it?]]\
230[[spoiler:'''Mr. Green''': By being weird.]]
231* FelonyMisdemeanor:
232** Among the birdfolk crowd, [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-604/ wearing a hat]] is a ''major'' [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-605/ faux pas]].
233** Sweetheart's idea of a "rampage" is [[PokeThePoodle spilling coffee next to a "no littering" sign]]. The Chimeric Anti-Defamation League hears about it [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/name-along-to/ and tries to revoke her membership]]. You know things are bad when ''Unity'' [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/their-work-very/ is the voice of sanity]] -- her reaction is, "Who called you, and how could they tell it was a rampage?"
234* FlashbackFail: "Keep your cell phone on at all times, and that's an order!" somehow becomes "Turn on your cell phone, la la, I'm a fuzzy puppy and want scritches."
235* FlatJoy: Nick consoles himself being [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/mind-that/ unable to help Dr. Lee]] with being able to play ''{{VideoGame/Minecraft}}'' - "Whee."
236* {{Foreshadowing}}: Following the reveal of Mr. Green's true identity, a Sunday strip showed that this had been foreshadowed ''[[http://skin-horse.com/comic/2018-08-12/ since the beginning of the strip]]''. [[spoiler:Specifically, Ira had, at various points given Unity pins, Sweetheart booze, Nick a plush heart, and - just before the reveal - Tip a balloon, revealing that, in ''Skin Horse''[='s=] massive ''Land of Oz'' shout-out, he was the wizard]].
237* FreudianCouch: Chris, after the dissolution of the Department of Irradiation, [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/that-whole/ criticizes Tip for having the perfect couch for it]] while ''not'' being a therapist.
238* FreudianSlip: Unity's reaction to hearing that a virtual reality accident might turn Sweetheart's brains into (metaphorical) pudding.
239-->'''Unity''': That sounds delicious. I mean delicious. I mean tragic.
240* FreudianTrio: Sweetheart is the superego, UNITY is the id, and Tip is the ego.
241* FunWithAcronyms:
242** U.N.I.T.Y = Upgradable Necrotic Independent .... [[http://skin-horse.com/2010/todays-comic-299/ "We do not talk about my acronym!]] (Unity herself has decided it stands for [[spoiler: Unity's Nice, I Tell You]].
243** G.O.D.O.T., the Genetic Organism Designed Only for Thought. G.O.D.O.T. was used by the military to create acronyms, and then to create ''backronyms'' until it went mad because it was given a project title it couldn't backronymise. [[spoiler: [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/city-on-foggy/ Project U.N.I.T.Y.]]]]
244* FurryConfusion: Artie, a sapient gerbil, scolds a sapient snake for trying to eat a sapient rat.
245--> '''Artie:''' Did you not '''see''' his little hat?
246* FurryReminder: Niue, a minor character, appears more or less human but is in fact a transgenic creation and part macaw. She generally also acts quite human, until she sees a hat, which drives her into a rage. Apparently it's a bird thing; one fan theory related it to the number of their ancestors who were killed to supply feathers for fashion hats, but apparently, it's just that her brain can't handle the change in someone's appearance when they don or remove a hat.
247* GadgeteerGenius:
248** Dr. Virginia Lee's main claim to fame is that she is able to reproduce some of the products of MadScience in the context of 'sane' science. This does not, however, imply that ''she'' is sane, it just means that she's not breaking the laws of physics in doing so and her work is reproducible. The researchers at the Institute for The Sane Study of Mad Science have this as their aim as well, but unlike Dr. Lee, no one is buying it when they claim to be sane themselves.
249** Sergio Mendoza, originally from the ''Webcomic/{{Narbonic}}'' spin-off ''Li'l Mell'', becomes one. Certainly, he's a RenaissanceMan in a trailer park, comes up with incredible inventions including a device which can travel across universes built out of [=IKEA=] parts[[note]]The device, not the universes[[/note]], and probably is the only person capable of keeping up with [[InsufferableGenius Artie]], but he's not and seemingly never ''will be'' Mad.
250* GameOfNim: This is one of the OnlySmartPeopleMayPass puzzles in the Whimsyworld VR. A crow in Future World has [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/canine-supervisor/ twenty spheres]] and challenges you to take the last one. Baron Mistycorn [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/under-the/ comes up with a solution]]; they uses their recently acquired ability to duplicate objects to ... create a whole bunch of guns and point them at the puzzle setter, whose response is "Nice. Very [[CuttingTheKnot Gordian]]."
251* GargleBlaster: Unity suggests [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/are-taken/ converting 50 gallons of toxic chemicals into these]].
252-->'''Zombie Emperor Norton''': [[AteTheSpoon It dissolved]] my [[UmbrellaDrink small umbrella]].
253* GasLeakCoverup:
254** Unity is assigned to come up with a cover story for a sewer-dwelling creature eating people and comes up with "[[http://skin-horse.com/comic/in-the-outbox/ weather balloons fighting swamp gas]]".
255** For a while, Nick's CharacterBlog had the tagline "They said I was a weather balloon".
256* GeekyTurnOn:
257** Nick's reaction to Dr. Lee and Unity discussing [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/sweetheart-wasnt/ the Hulk]].
258** Much later, Dr. Lee [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/the-truth/ has this reaction]] to Nick's BadassBoast.
259* {{Gendercide}}: The team discovers a parallel world where, years prior, a HatePlague turned women's lusts on their heads so they'd kill men (mostly). Few men survived to the current day.
260* GeniusLoci: Several targets of interest are these. One is a sapient swamp. Another is [[spoiler:the Whimsy Corporation itself. Its mad scientist designer's ultimate creation was a sentient machine that used people as its components; a hive mind whose individuals don't even know they're a hive mind.]]
261* GenreBlindness: The comic has a fairly large cast with plenty of GenreSavvy characters, and when a side character [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/skin-horse/ tempts fate in the most obvious way possible]]:
262-->'''Phillips:''' My declaring how safe I am is ''perfectly safe.''\
263'''Unity:''' Ooh, let's hang around and see how he--\
264'''Sweetheart:''' Just keep moving.
265* GentleGiant: In the "Unsinkable" storyline, [[spoiler:Rhodey the Sea Serpent seems to be in a battle with the setting's superhero team, but it's only defending itself, and it turns out AG-I waited until the nationwide WeirdnessCensor kicked in before attacking it because otherwise the nearby town would have been ''horrified'' that someone was trying to take out their beloved town mascot.]]
266* GilliganCut:
267** A {{flashback}} has Violet Bee of [[GovernmentConspiracy Anasigma]] visiting reclusive and bearded inventor [[CrossOver Sergio Mendoza]], and telling him they are interested in his inventions. He's horrified by this and sets off to Anasigma with the intention of shutting down the one they've actually built. Cut to present day, and he's [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-888/ clean-shaven in an Anasigma office]].
268** Far earlier, in the "I Can Fly" arc, Dr. Lee realized Tip was bullshitting her:
269--->'''Dr. Lee:''' You think you can distract me, doctor? Go ahead and try. Hit me with your best shot. [''cut to them both in bed'']
270* GirlfriendInCanada: When Nick discovers that Aimee, the girl he's been talking to, "doesn't exactly ''exist''", Baron Mistycorn finds this hilarious. Nick retorts that Phoebe, the Canadian model who's into unicorns, doesn't exist either.
271* GirlOnGirlIsHot: Nick [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/disconcertingly-human/ doesn't want to hear about Dr. Lee's date]], assuming it's with Sergio... until Dr. Lee blurts out that she's not on a date with a ''man''.
272* GloveSnap: Remy gets an ideal glove snap after dramatically opening his collection of scalpels.
273* GonkyFemme: Hitty may look like a hammer-wielding wrecking ball on treads and communicates solely through HulkSpeak, but she is a lady and you will remember that. She's quite receptive to charm and honeyed words, as Moustachio learned.
274* GoodAngelBadAngel: Because it's set in the Narbonicverse, "personality sprites" definitely exist.
275** The first to actually appear represents Tigerlily's "inner fabulousness]]".
276** 1950s-themed mad scientist Imogene has the standard pair, though unfortunately, [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/to-perk/ her devil can come up with arguments that her angel doesn't even try to refute.]]
277* GovernmentConspiracy: Deconstructed. The whole comic is about how terrible real governments would be at this.
278** First, we have Project Skin Horse, a top-secret government black-ops ''welfare service''. They're dedicated to getting government aid for nonhuman sapients, typically those created by mad science. The primary reason they remain a secret despite incompetency all around is that normal people have a massive WeirdnessCensor about things like talking dogs and zombies.
279** Second is Anasigma, Dr. Lee's organization. They're far more competent than Skin Horse, but also bizarrely and unnecessarily creepy. They have protocols for vaporizing agents' underwear drawers, [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-1020/ are obsessed with well-shined shoes]] to the point of killing their own agents for shining their shoes wrong, have a base full of literally thousands of death traps, and are trying to eliminate or exploit all non-human sapients. In the end, it turns out that the secret behind their success was [[spoiler:a portal that let them view alternate universes, letting them predict the future with a high degree of accuracy]].
280--->'''Tip:''' What ''is'' Anasigma?\
281'''Dr. Lee:''' I wish I knew. When I started to work there, I thought it was a biotech firm. But biotech research is just one piece of a very big pie. Weapons development, mercenary services, espionage... I think we're the shadow government.\
282'''Tip:''' No, ''we're'' the shadow government.\
283'''Dr. Lee:''' I mean the shadow government that actually gets things done.\
284'''Tip:''' Oh. Those guys.
285* GratuitousDiscoSequence: In the "Purple Waves" arc, one of the trials to enter Tigerlily's lair is [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/of-skin-horses/ the Disco Dance Challenge]].
286* GratuitousRussian:
287** [[http://skin-horse.com/2008/spread-through/ From Konstantin, the assassin of Boris Yelzin, who now works for the traffic police.]]
288** Konstantin's colleague sings the Russian folk song "Степь да степь кругом" ("step' da step' krugom", which translates roughly to "steppe all around". English translation available [[http://www.barynya.com/russian_lyrics.stm here]], scroll down to the lyrics of the song or use Ctrl+F.) and speaks a few rather decent Russian sentences.
289* GreatOffscreenWar: The Old War. Tip has no idea what it was and finds it very hard to get details from the nonhuman community, either because [[http://skin-horse.com/2011/todays-comic-526/ a crisis is going on]], or because [[http://skin-horse.com/2012/reminding-himself/ they don't actually know anything]]. We eventually get the details in "Mixed-Up Files", starting [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/2015-05-06/ here]]. It turns out to be a desperate shadow war in the 19th century between human and nonhuman, provoked by [[spoiler:Moustachio's attack on the Great Exhibition]].
290* GreenEyedEpiphany: When Marcie starts 'dating' Tip, Chris (who is begrudgingly forced to admit that he understands Marcie's attraction to Tip [[StupidSexyFlanders a little too well]]) wins in the end when his jealousy forces him to make a move for Marcie...which ''may'' have been Tip's [[ThePlan intention all along]]. For the record, Tip's reaction to being dumped is essentially "K. Can we still have sex?"
291* GrievousHarmWithABody: Tip, [[OverTheShoulderCarry carrying Nick over his shoulder]] and needing a weapon, [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/covered-in/ uses Nick as that weapon.]]
292* GroundhogPeggySue: More weirdness at Anasigma. In the "Choose" arc, after accidentally falling into an alternate-universe viewing portal, Jonah gains what appears to be a variant on a SavePoint--whenever he dies, he 'resets' to the point where he originally snapped out of the portal-induced daze. [[spoiler:This is heavily implied to be based on the ExpendableAlternateUniverse principle instead of a time loop; by the time they finally escape Anisigma he's "reset" either 27 times (Nera's count) or ''40'' (Jonah's).]] What makes this a Peggy Sue instead of a normal GroundhogDayLoop is [[spoiler:the ending makes it unclear whether this will happen again after he's lived a long, full life]].
293* GunshipRescue: In the "Dead Dogs" arc courtesy of Nick, interrupting Sweetheart's RousingSpeech.
294* GuyOnGuyIsHot: The fight between Tip and Konstantin, the Russian security guard, brought ''every'' woman that works at Annex One (and one that doesn't) out to spectate--including a Kinsey-7 lesbian who was disinterested until she heard Tip was involved.
295* HangoverSensitivity: [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/charity-is-it/ "Could you stop blinking? It's really loud."]]
296* HardOnSoftScience: Dr. Lee thinks very little of the "soft sciences", including psychology. Tip is forced to show her the error of her ways by using psychology to effortlessly seduce her.
297* TheHatMakesTheMan: An avian-humanoid thinks hats turn their wearers evil, and flips out when Tip puts one on.
298* {{Headdesk}}: Sweetheart is driven to this when the city of [[TheBigEasy New Orleans]] thwarts her every single attempt to get information on their case.
299* HeadHat: After Unity ran into a cute little fox, fans collectively decided that it would look cute with a little hat on. Shaenon warned them that they'd be sorry to have said it...[[spoiler:and in the next strip, said fox ''became'' a cute little hat for Unity. Ouch.]]
300* HealingShiv: The intelligent cobra children are on so much allergy medication, it's infused their venom glands, giving them healing ''fangs''.
301* HillbillyHorrors: Parodied in an encounter with man-[[StewedAlive stewing]], inbred, shotgun-toting, hick-accented... flowers. They're even cannibals, lampshading that maybe they shouldn't be tossing some of their cousins (carrots) into the pot.
302* HisNameReallyIsBarkeep: When "[[FairCop Foxy Cop]]" from ''Webcomic/{{Narbonic}}'' cameos, she [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/2014-07-08/ has a nameplate]] reading "Lt Foxicopp".
303* HistoricalDomainCharacter: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_A._Norton Emperor Joshua Norton]] appears as a zombie.
304* HitlerAteSugar: "[[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-687/ Y'know who else liked last-panel gags like that?]]"
305* HiveMind: Gavotte is a sentient hive of bees. The Cypress is an entire sentient swamp. And then there's Whimsy-Corp.
306* HollywoodVoodoo: The "Come Swing From My Branches" arc introduces Remy, a New Orleans Voodoo priest who insists that the doll thing is actually hoodoo and zombies are victims of TTX poisoning...while talking to Unity. Eventually, he decides that he can do the whole "respect the dead" thing by being gentlemanly to the cute zombie girl.
307-->'''Remy:''' I was ''supposed'' to donate these body parts to ''science''...\
308'''Unity:''' I'm science!
309* HowManyFingers: Played with when Sweetheart asks Leo (who is recovering from a tranquilizer dart). Leo answers "None" (which is correct, since Sweetheart is a dog and has no fingers).
310* HunterOfHisOwnKind: [[spoiler:The Dane]], greatest and most [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast feared]]/revered of all Mads, proves to be out to kill all Mads on account of their being dangerous to the world. The fact [[spoiler:he ''is'', himself, a Mad [[{{Hypocrite}} does not bother]] [[ThirdPersonPerson The Dane]].]]
311* {{Hypocrite}}: Goldbug insists that the world is more morally complex than Nick thinks, and then immediately reveals that he sees it as a BlackAndWhiteMorality scenario where humans are good and nonhumans are evil, no exceptions.
312* IAmNotShazam: [[http://skin-horse.com/2008/to-that-sole/ When]] Nick asks Tip to name one other trustworthy crossdresser, he comes up with "Metroid!" [[invoked]]
313* ICallHimMisterHappy:
314** Tip's tackle is called [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-304/ The Light of Culture and Reason]]. It was named by a girl with an imperialism thing, apparently.
315** In a later strip, Unity is told to find [[MrAltDisney Dr. Colloid's]] daughter in "the Most Delightful Place on Earth". [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/never-mind/ Her search doesn't take long.]]
316* ICallItVera:
317** "I'd like you to meet Alice. Alice is a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Official_Police#Commando .38 Colt Commando service revolver]]. A classic."
318** The Abbess of Notaries Public has a sword called "[[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-846/ Sensual Overdrive]]". Even Tigerlily Jones admits [[AwesomeMcCoolname that's a damn fine sword name]].
319** Unity owns [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/was-true/ a flamethrower]] named "Gentle Persuasion."
320* IHaveNothingToSayToThat:
321** [[http://skin-horse.com/2008/sure-about-the-name/ Dr. Lee doesn't think Tip is an idiot]], as such, but she certainly wasn't expecting his pithy assessment of the situation.
322** [[http://skin-horse.com/2012/todays-comic-905/ Dr. Lee walks into it again]], this time with a BeatPanel as it's over the phone.
323* ILoveYouBecauseICantControlYou: Tip and Tigerlily Jones, the only woman thus far to be completely immune to his "superpower".
324* IWantMyJetPack: The [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/light-inside/ Department of Jetpack Suppression]].
325* IdTellYouButThenIdHaveToKillYou: Combined with TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou. Shaenon and Jeff [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/said-the-man-in/ warn the readers]] that if they reported what Tip and Ginny were ''actually'' talking about, they'd have to kill us. Through the screen.
326* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: All the chapter titles are, like "Skin Horse" itself, references to classic children's literature or fairy tales:
327** Cowardly Lion: ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz''
328** The Borrowers: ''Literature/TheBorrowers''
329** Wild Things: ''Literature/WhereTheWildThingsAre''
330** I Can Fly: ''Literature/PeterPan''
331** Dead Dogs: ''Literature/NoMoreDeadDogs''
332** Big Bad Wolves: "Literature/LittleRedRidingHood"
333** Tin Soldier: "Literature/TheSteadfastTinSoldier"
334** Brave Little Toasters: ''WesternAnimation/TheBraveLittleToaster'' (yes, there's a book)
335** And All the Lovely Ladies: ''Literature/TheStoryOfFerdinand''
336** Come Swing From My Branches: ''Literature/TheGivingTree''
337** If I Ran the Zoo: ''[[Creator/DrSeuss If I Ran The Zoo]]''
338** Once And Future: ''Literature/TheOnceAndFutureKing''
339** Choose: The ''Literature/ChooseYourOwnAdventure'' series
340** A Wrinkle in Time: ''Literature/AWrinkleInTime''
341** Railway Children: ''Literature/TheRailwayChildren''
342** My House Is Me: ''[[Creator/DanielPinkwater The Big Orange Splot]]''
343** My Brother Sam Is Dead: ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Brother_Sam_Is_Dead My Brother Sam is Dead]]''
344** The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day: ''Film/AlexanderAndTheTerribleHorribleNoGoodVeryBadDay''
345** Grillo Parlante: ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfPinocchio'' (Italian for Talking Cricket)
346** Mixed-Up Files: ''Literature/FromTheMixedUpFilesOfMrsBasilEFrankweiler''
347** Looking Glass Land: ''[[Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There]]''
348** Can't Catch Me: ''Literature/TheGingerbreadMan''
349** What Big Teeth: "Literature/LittleRedRidingHood" again
350** Purple Waves: ''Literature/TheWestingGame''
351** Yes, Virginia: "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus" (originally titled "Playing Pilgrims", which is ''Literature/LittleWomen'')
352** Fun for Some: ''Literature/{{Jumanji}}''
353** Ghosts I Have Been: ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ghost_Belonged_to_Me Ghosts I Have Been]]'' (originally titled "Be the Jeff 2017", which would have been the OddNameOut, being simply a reference to the guest writer)
354** Sure as You're Born: "[[Creator/ShelSilverstein The Unicorn]]"
355** Unsinkable: ''Literature/CyrusTheUnsinkableSeaSerpent'' by Bill Peet
356** The Hundred Dresses: ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hundred_Dresses The Hundred Dresses]]''
357** Angry with the Sky: ''Literature/BartholomewAndTheOobleck''
358** Figgs and Phantoms: ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figgs_%26_Phantoms Figgs & Phantoms]]''
359** The Iron Man: ''[[Creator/TedHughes The Iron Man]]''
360** Green Noah: ''Literature/TheGreenKnoweChronicles''
361** Swiftly I Glide: ''Literature/FantasticMrFox''
362** A Life in the Woods: ''Literature/{{Bambi}}''
363** The Dreadful Future: ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Peck_(writer)#Works The Dreadful Future of Blossom Culp]]''
364** Muddled Duddled Fuddled Wuddled Fox: ''[[Creator/DrSeuss Fox In Socks]]''
365** The Lee of the Stone: ''Literature/MrsFrisbyAndTheRatsOfNIMH''
366** Off to the Fair: ''Literature/CharlottesWeb''
367** Space-Bat-Angel-Dragon: ''[[Creator/TedHughes The Iron Man]]'' again
368** Phantomwise: ''[[Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland Through The Looking Glass And What Alice Found There]]'' again (the poem at the end).
369* ImAHumanitarian: On the team alone. Unity at least has claimed to eat people, particularly [[BrainFood brains]], while Sweetheart ate her creator...granted, he was already dead and the pack was starving from an inability to open doors.
370* InadvertentEntranceCue: Played with by Sweetheart: "Something *silly* this way comes." It may be worth noting that Sweetheart does not have thumbs.
371* IncrediblyLamePun:
372** Leo's predictable interpretation of the slang "cat's paw" [[HitlerAteSugar gets a harsh verbal reaction]] [[http://skin-horse.com/2011/todays-comic-687/ from Sweetheart]].
373** Where did Ms. Gavotte the sentient bee swarm and Oracle the transcendentally enlightened Speak & Spell meet? [[http://skin-horse.com/2010/todays-comic-291/ Guess.]]
374** So Unity's fox-skin hat leaves because it's [[spoiler:actually a zombie]]. So where did it go? [[http://skin-horse.com/2011/todays-comic-506/ On ahead, of course.]]
375** Dr. Lee, [[spoiler:during her extirpation, manages to find the "bugs" [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/always-worth/ in the VR program]].]]
376* InformedAttribute: Many readers don't find Cunningham the pig nearly the RidiculouslyCuteCritter he's supposed to be.
377* InsistentTerminology: The people of the "Department of Irradiation"--they're not "mad scientists" (in-universe a DSM-IV disorder), but just "irresponsible".
378* InstantlyProvenWrong: As Sweetheart [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/so-few-military/ defends Unity to a bear]], Unity "[[LampshadeHanging humorously undercut[s]]]" her argument.
379* InterserviceRivalry: Pops up in the "I Can Fly" arc. General Sal thinks of Skin Horse as civilians with a grudge against the military. When Tip points out he's ex-Army, she expresses disbelief (since he's a WholesomeCrossdresser) and he replies "Well, I wouldn't expect ''Air Force'' to understand."
380* IResembleThatRemark: When Smart!Unity is trying to talk down GODOT, [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/he-played/ it denies having any mental instability]].
381-->'''GODOT''': I DO NOT HAVE MENTAL PROBLEMS. I MERELY WISH TO WIPE OUT A TRAIN-CITY BECAUSE I AM BAD AT ACRONYMS.
382* IronicEchoCut: All the time! This is pure AuthorAppeal.
383** Shows up concerning things [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/when-you-are-so/ you really don't want to know]].
384** [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/only-first-graders This strip]]: "You know what we need? '''Tech support'''." [''cut to zombies eating the tech support guy''] "You know what we need? '''Marinade'''."
385* ItAmusedMe: Sweetheart theorizes this as the reason that [[spoiler:Gavotte engineered events to get the department closed]].
386* ItHasBeenAnHonor:
387** Tip [[http://skin-horse.com/2009/captain/ tries to do this]] after being bitten and infected by a werewolf; Sweetheart just tells him to stop being melodramatic.
388** Later, [[http://skin-horse.com/2013/as-it-turned/ a cute robot unicorn says it]] to a BrainInAJar teleoperating a female robot body. This ''might'' be classed as {{parody}}.
389* InvisibleSubtleDifference: A bomb is set to explode and can only be disabled by [[RedWireBlueWire cutting the correct wire]]...unfortunately the wires are carnelian, magenta, and burgundy. [[spoiler:Chris]] can tell the difference [[spoiler:because he had been trying on lipstick earlier that day]].
390* JiveTurkey:
391** Tigerlily Jones and all of her creations.
392** Shelby, one of the maintenance crew at Annex One, [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/believe-he/ is also fluent]].
393* JustBetweenYouAndMe: Tip activates this reflex [[http://skin-horse.com/2012/with-the/ by deliberately not asking what the plan is]].
394[[/folder]]
395
396[[folder:K - O]]
397* KillerRabbit: Sweetheart and her packmates. Or at least that was the plan... The mad scientist who created her could also apply. Aside from this whole "take over the world with sentient sled dogs" thing, he was the nicest, most politely Canadian guy you could ever meet.
398* TheLadette: Unity. And now Nick as well... [[http://skin-horse.com/2013/just-her-and/ Sort of.]]
399* LadyKillerInLove: Tip loses his mojo when he falls for Tigerlilly Jones. Later, Artie crushes hard on Sergio.
400* LamePunReaction: When Unity is protesting to her colleagues that they're berating her for something that is her disembodied hand's fault, she says "[[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-494/ Talk to the hand!]]" They're both horrified, and she apologises.
401* LampshadedDoubleEntendre: When the other sapient creations are having [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/wind-up-the/ nightmares of their creators]] saying "I'm coming for you", [[spoiler:Sweetheart asks if Nick has had nightmares about it... before realizing she should rephrase.]]
402-->'''Dr. Lee''': ''[smirking]'' [[CallingYourOrgasms It never is.]]
403* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: In an impressive bit of Meta-fiction that leads back to Website/ThisVeryWiki, there is a scene where Sweetheart is reading the IronicEchoCut page, only to be interrupted with an IronicEchoCut.
404* LetsGetDangerous: Tip swinging into ass-kicking mode.
405* LiteralMetaphor:
406** [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-650/ One comic]] does it with a metaphor that doesn't even exist.
407--->'''Sweetheart:''' [[LampshadeHanging It's so hard to tell when Unity is euphemizing.]]\
408'''Tip:''' [[NoodleIncident Like when she]] [[AccidentalInnuendo throttled that bishop]]?
409** Tigerlily Jones talks about how Tip is "always '''covered''' in hot chicks." [[DescriptionCut In the next panel]], Tip ''is'' covered in hot chicks, but [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/now-stop/ they're literal baby chickens]] fresh from the incubator.
410* LiteralTransformativeExperience: Parodying ''Literature/TheOnceAndFutureKing'', Unity's trip to be licensed by the [[AncientConspiracy Ancient Order of Notaries Public]] leads to her nanotech sludge being injected into a variety of Montanan wildlife to fulfil a prophecy. Despite Victoria's complaints about how silly it is, this does turn out to be effective training for her, as [[FantasticalSocialServices every single species turns out to have its own complicated bureaucracy Unity learns to navigate]].
411* LiteraryAllusionTitle: Skin Horse refers to a character in ''Literature/TheVelveteenRabbit''. As noted above, all the chapter titles are literary allusions as well.
412* LogicBomb: Gavotte [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/to-be-for/ hits Sweetheart with a couple]], outright ''telling'' the pup her [[HiddenAgendaHero Secret Agenda]], but then insists that her ''public'' must remain secret.
413-->'''Sweetheart''': [-[[INeedAFreakingDrink drag me to coffee]]. now-]
414%%
415%% Commenting this out due to the link being missing.
416%%* LostInTransmission: This guest strip.
417%%
418* LotusEaterMachine: Until the illusion was forcibly shattered by the mysterious "Goldbug," Nick thought he was living in his apartment, testing simulations for military hardware, rather than actually ''being'' military hardware.
419* LoveEpiphany: Dr. Lee [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/a-fancy-drink/ has one accidentally]] when Tip talks about knowing what it means to be in love.
420* MadScientist:
421** Genuine mad scientists are usually kept under lock and key whenever possible; the majority of the scientists-who-tamper-in-God's-domain that have been featured (like Dr. Lee, or the Irradiators) are "irresponsible" or just plain evil rather than clinically insane. Also, the numerous and often defective results of mad science have repeatedly been encountered.
422** Apparently there's a government work-release program for mad scientists, which is how the team calls in Dr. Jones.
423** St. Charlie is a city of 1 million populated entirely by mad scientists and their creations.
424* MagicalProfanityFilter: Nick, a {{Hikikomori}} turned helicopter, also has a profanity filter between his [[BrainInAJar brain tank]] and the chopper's speakers. It's also adaptive -- he can swear in foreign languages or use terms that specific groups find offensive (in fact, the filter itself can do the latter via unfortunate choices of replacement words), but if he ''keeps'' doing so then it figures it out and starts censoring them.
425* ManIFeelLikeAWoman: Apparently averted. [[spoiler:Despite Nick's perversion, he does not seem particularly intrigued by his "Violet" chassis. That may have something to do with a lack of nipples.]]
426* MarshmallowDream: Unity describes [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-768/ an inverted one]].
427* TheMasquerade: [[spoiler:Anasigma ''invented'' The Masquerade by brainwashing humanity into total supernatural blindness.]]
428* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Remy might have channeled the spirit of the dead groom of the swamp, or he might have faked it in a moment of desperation.
429%%
430%% Commenting this out due to the link being missing.
431%%* MediumAwareness: Seen on this page.
432%%
433* MeetMyGoodFriendsLeftyAndRighty: Konstantin: "[[http://skin-horse.com/2010/todays-comic-185/ My biceps have clever names.]] [[http://skin-horse.com/2010/todays-comic-357/ Are you wishing to hear?]]"
434* TheMenInBlack: Subverted/deconstructed with a vengeance. Yes, they work for the government, and yes, they are tangentially involved in maintaining TheMasquerade, but ''Skin Horse'' functions more as "Black Ops Social Services". Instead of neuralizers, black suits, and evil motives, ''Skin Horse'' makes do with a wind-up receptionist, a cross-dressing psychologist, and under-funded placement programs. There are other forces at work with more sinister motives, however, and their results often provide the project with even more work to do. But played completely straight by the sinister agents of Anasigma, right down to their perfectly-shined black shoes.
435* MexicanStandoff: Tip has one with his Anasigma counterpart. Neither man can bear to shoot, because it would "mar perfect beauty."
436* MoodWhiplash:
437** The Alaskan Werewolves are downright ''terrifying'', and the comic gets the goriest it's ever gotten when they show up. It also has a BittersweetEnding for that arc.
438** GODOT's [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/probably-all/ suddenly shutting down]] is sad... until [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/been-decided/ Unity decides to]] [[ExtremeOmnivore chow down on the remnants]].
439** "The Little House" has the [[VideoWills Video Will]] of Mr. Whimsy, [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/in-her-way/ calmly greeting his daughter]] posthumously... before pulling out a machine-gun to deal with the TorchesAndPitchforks mob that had formed outside his "lair".
440* MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong: Front Desk Guard Konstantin is mostly made out of this trope with assorted other Russian stereotypes as garnishes.
441* MrAltDisney: PosthumousCharacter Dr. Collodi seems to be turning out to be one of these.
442* MudWrestling: [[MrFanservice Tip and Konstantin]] attract quite a large audience of ladies who want to watch them wrestle. Tip defuses the fight with his much-vaunted diplomacy, then the ladies are the ones who wind up doing the actual mud-fighting. Nick curses himself for not being present.
443* MundaneMadeAwesome: Everything related to the Notary Public, which is basically a religious order, complete with sacred relics, is treated with religious reverence and awe. Special mention to the Abbess, who treats her past as a member of [[Music/GeorgeClinton Parliament-Funkadelic]] the way more conventional abbesses would treat a past as a witch.
444%%
445%% Commenting this out due to the link being missing.
446%%* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: On this page]].
447--> '''Pack Member 1''': That's why we need you for this crisis! You've dealt with humans!\
448'''Pack Member 2''': And Americans!
449%%
450* {{Nanomachines}}: Unity was revealed to not be the Frankensteinian mishmash of teenagers she appears to be, but rather a nanobot horde suspended in whatever passes for her blood. This explains why she can attach different parts and still have them function; she can even be removed and put in other things (like a goat). However, the body we've become familiar with ''does'' have enhancements that prevent it from rejecting her (which is not an amenity the goat had).
451* NewAge: Mostly appears in Sweetdaddy Jupiter Velvet's middle name, but also in her references to being from Planet Lovetron.
452* NoIndoorVoice: The Mike, as befits a living microphone.
453* NoMatterHowMuchIBeg: Tip says this before [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/deep-breath-well/ quarantining himself]]... only to realize there's no bathroom. Currently provides the Trope Image.
454* NonSequiturEnvironment: Tip has developed this into a superpower, as the writers decided to turn the smash cuts that marked his successful seductions into an in-universe effect. Basically, if he needs to get into or out of somewhere, he just has to get an unattached woman to agree to a date; the next panel will show the two of them elsewhere, hopefully where they need to be.
455* NoodleImplements: Whatever "[[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness extirpation]]" is in Anasigma involves monkeys, walnuts, and potentially shea butter. (Eventually becomes [[ResolvedNoodleIncident Resolved Noodle Implements]] in "Figgs and Phantoms".)
456-->'''Dr. Lee''': Would someone ''please'' tell me what that is?\
457'''Anasigma Employee''': It is both intolerable and endless.\
458'''Dr. Lee''': So extirpation is like trying to find out what extirpation is.\
459'''Anasigma Employee''': But with walnuts!
460* NoodleIncident:
461** "The worst [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/whole-problem-there/ perversion of science]] ''I've'' seen was with a sonic probe and a '''really''' surprised lemur."
462** [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-949/ What did Jonah do]] to ThatPoorCat?
463* NoOffButton: {{Subverted}}. Unity is an undead bio-weapon that can animate a corpse into a super-strong, nigh-unkillable engine of destruction (and if it ''is'' killed, she can just get a new one), with a gleefully violent childlike personality. She has an attention span measured in milliseconds, and enjoys fighting people who try to give her orders. When the team runs into her creator, it's discovered that the verbal code "Blueberry Waffles" shuts down her aggression patterns. Not permanently, but enough to interrupt whatever violence she was perpetuating at the moment.
464-->'''Sweetheart:''' UNITY HAS AN OFF SWITCH!?\
465'''Dr. Lee:''' You ''work'' with her and you don't know she has an off switch?
466* NoOSHACompliance: Anasigma seems to take pride in defying OSHA with deliberate danger at every turn.
467* NotAGame: Goldbug insists that the world isn't like the "stupid games" that Nick plays... then goes on a Bond Villain rant.
468* NotaryNonsense: For the Notaries Public, paperwork is a [[SeriousBusiness sacred ritual]], as they're an ancient ObstructiveBureaucrat monastic order. Unity's induction to the order involves transfusing her brain into various wild animals to learn the wisdom of bird and beast, all of which turn out to have their own bureaucracies. (This is an alternate certification path, though. Non-prophesied notaries just submit an application and pass a gauntlet of deadly trials.)
469--> ''Speak with respect! This is the High Abbess. Try anything and she'll hand you your butt. She will then certify in triplicate that you legally took possession of your own butt. Your demise shall have a ''scrupulous'' paper trail!''
470* NoTranshumanismAllowed: A large part of the New War is that Goldbug is worried that humanity's creations might one day replace them.
471* NuclearMutant: After activating the irradiator, thinking it's a test in order to get some paperwork signed by the Department of Temporal Anomolies, Kay gets turned into a dragon.
472* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Skin Horse as a whole averts this, with only Sweetheart caring about the appropriate forms. But then there's the Notaries Public, a hooded order of bureaucrats crossed with {{warrior monk))s; they're not always obstructive, but when they want to be, they can obstructively kick butt.
473* OccamsRazor: Inverted [[http://skin-horse.com/2012/job-per-se/ BIG TIME]].
474-->'''Unity:''' Either I'm insane or someone is tweaking my pattern-recognition centers with neural waves... City like this, money's on the complicated answer.
475* OddlySmallOrganization: Justified due to budget issues.
476* OffhandBackhand: Emperor Norton [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/downstairs-but/ dispatches a seagull]] this way.
477-->'''Unity''': That was so boss it needs a corner office.
478* OhCrap: [[http://skin-horse.com/2012/todays-comic-940/ Jonah really spoke too soon.]]
479* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Tip's actual first name is Dennis, but nobody uses it.
480* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/one-of-many/ Tip wears men's clothing.]]
481* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: They're Canadian. And downright ''terrifying''.
482* OurZombiesAreDifferent:
483** Unity's really more akin to a classic FrankensteinsMonster than a zombie in the same sense the word is usually used, but "zombie" is probably easier to fit in a sentence.
484** A sentient swamp creates a zombie horde of its own in Louisiana. These are mostly just puppets, though, filled with plant matter that the swamp can control.
485[[/folder]]
486
487[[folder:P - T]]
488* ParanoiaFuel: InUniverse, Sweetheart [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/i-want-to-3/ opens up the files she'd requested]], but the page just reads "I CAN SEE YOU DOG".
489* PassThePopcorn: [[http://skin-horse.com/2012/todays-comic-859/ Those Notary Monks are enjoying the show.]]
490* {{Pastiche}}: Mostly seen in the bonus wallpapers...
491-->'''[[http://skin-horse.com/comic/2015-08-30/ Shaenon:]]''' Sometimes I spend a lot of time coming up with clever art styles and visual references for the Skin Horse wallpapers, and sometimes I say, "Forget it, [[Creator/AlphonseMucha Mucha]] pastiches always look good."
492* PeripheryHatedom: In-universe example, Nick [[http://skin-horse.com/2013/new-friends/ claims]] the reason he has a huge amount of [[BlandNameProduct Whimsy]] [[Franchise/DisneyPrincess Princess]] movies on his computer is "because I hate it a '''lot'''." [[GuiltyPleasures It's possible he's lying, though.]]
493* PersonalityBloodTypes: The blood types are included where applicable in the cast page, although some of the characters don't have blood in any conventional sense. The three who have normal human blood types follow the trope though.
494* PersonOfMassDestruction: Unity, according to [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/at-the-office/ this]] strip.
495* PistolPose: [[http://skin-horse.com/comics/04012012/ On a collection cover.]] Comes close to SeanConneryIsAboutToShootYou.
496* PistolWhip: After [[spoiler:Ira's attempts to coerce Dr. Lee into having sex with him fail]], he pulls a gun on her. She takes the gun from him, whacks him on the head with it several times, and leaves.
497* PlaceWorseThanDeath:
498** For the animatronics at [[BlandNameProduct Whimsey World]], being told they might get dumped in a hazmat disposal doesn't sound so bad, but mention their being sent to Euro-Whimsy, and it must be stopped.
499** Apparently there's something about UsefulNotes/{{Cleveland}} that makes it this for everyone... except transgenics.
500* PokeThePoodle:
501** Sweetheart's "rampage" is tipping over a cup of coffee. She goes on an extended one in New Orleans that's ''all'' this variety.
502** Moustachio's attempts at maintaining the Machines Union strike.
503--->Have some undesirable popcorn!
504* PoliceCodeForEverything: They have a "code mauve" and a "code plaid."
505* PokemonSpeak: A number of the non-human sapients:
506** The Killbots in New Jersey have "Destroy" for #2.
507** Bubbles, the office water cooler, has "Service is my only joy." [[spoiler:Upon gaining a body, she became an IntelligibleUnintelligible, and eventually added "Not" to her vocabulary.]]
508* PretenderDiss: The Abbess of the Notaries Public calls Tigerlily Jones a [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-839/ "child of the '80s who has never known true funk"]].
509* PrincessClassic: What Whimsy hopes to find. [[spoiler:Tip almost passes until he reaches the '[[ContractualPurity purity]]' part of the test. The eligible princess turns out to be ''Nick''.]]
510* TheProfessorIsCryingAgain: Fortunately, the ancient, mystic order of notaries has a special couch for scientists.
511* PullingThemselvesTogether: Unity can repair herself so long as she's got one working arm and her head is intact (and as long as she has a needle and thread, of course).
512* PuppyDogEyes:
513** The Whimsy bunch uses them on, [[{{Irony}} of all characters]], Sweetheart.
514** Dr. Lee pulls the look off when she wants to [[ItMakesSenseInContext hug a resistant cobra]]. [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/pleased-to/ Even Hitty is unnerved]] by it.
515%%* ARareSentence: According to [[http://skin-horse.com/2008/a-little-ceramic/ this]] early strip, "Three cheers for the government!" is one.
516* RealDreamsAreWeirder: [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-768/ Unity responds]] to the Abbess's description of her prophetic dream with an inverted MarshmallowDream.
517* ReinventingTheTelephone: The {{Mad Scientist}}s of St Charlie [[spoiler:apparently]] send directions to Anasigma and Skin Horse firstly by writing a message on the Moon, and then by somehow sending an additional message to Sergio's watch and Unity's grilled cheese sandwich. (It later turns out [[spoiler:the messages were sent by GODOT messing with the pattern receptors in their brains, and the scientists themselves sent an encrypted puzzle letter.]])
518-->'''Tip''': Somebody should tell them we own cellphones.
519* RestrainingBolt:
520** Nick isn't able to vocally swear, but he can curse in his written blog. He also has an override phase that can remove his free will.
521** Unity has an override code as well. The phrase "blueberry waffles" suspends her aggressive nature as well as giving her a headache.
522* {{Retirony}}: Invoked, along with OneLastJob for good measure, by Dr. Lee [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/for-him/ when Nick mentions he could only function]] if she was in danger.
523* TheReveal:
524** On two occasions, characters have revealed important information and then commented that it would have been much more dramatic had their intended audience been paying any attention.
525** One that caught ''everyone'' off-guard was learning the identity of Mr. Green--[[spoiler:he was actually Ira, the ScatterbrainedSenior security guard]].
526* ReversePsychology: Tip's second approach to trying to talk to GODOT - [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/classroom-syllabi/ simply sit and read the paper and wait for GODOT to pipe up]]. [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/with-the/ It's so effective]] that GODOT starts in on the EvilGloating.
527* RidiculouslyCuteCritter:
528** Practically anything in "The Little House" (basically "It's a Small World"), but [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/looking-at/ the ones in the Star Chamber]] [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/you-from/ take the cake]].
529** The talking cobras from the basement. "Hug us!"
530* RousseauWasRight: The [[spoiler:Kansas A-Sig team that Tip let himself get locked up for [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/had-nayed/ joined up with Skin Horse]] at the start of the next arc, though they were [[MinionWithAnFInEvil already very pleasant to start with]]]].
531* RunningGag: Small creatures biting Sweetheart's nose, prompting her to frantically try and get them off.
532%%* SapientSteed: Nick.
533* ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder:
534** Mad Genius really is a mental disorder in this universe. It's a pity that the institute in charge of taking care of mad scientists is, itself, totally out of its tree and actually makes the problem worse.
535** According to the people from the "Department of Irradiation", "mad genius" is a disease according to the DSM-IV, and they object to being called that way.
536* SelfDestructMechanism: Anasigma seems to employ a lot of {{mad scientist}}s for special design jobs. [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/of-a-respite/ This strip]] shows where that philosophy leads.
537* SeriousBusiness:
538** Nothing makes GODOT murderously angry like an unsolvable acronym.
539** [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-760/ We heard an erroneous pluralization.]]
540* TheSeventies: Personified in the form of Tigerlilly Jones and her robot, Sweetdaddy Jupiter Velvet.
541* SexyDiscretionShot: [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-285/ The water cooler]] gets one. "Service is my only joy" indeed.
542* ShadowGovernment: The main characters work for an underfunded FantasticalSocialServices agency that provides assistance for non-human sapient beings as part of the "official" shadow government. They share a building with the Department of Irradiation, Department of Cryonics, and Department of Jetpack Suppression. However, they later discover that the Anasigma corporation [[spoiler:whose CEO was acting as their building security guard]] is pulling their strings, basically the shadow government for the shadow government.
543* ShapeshiftingSound: When Tip is turned into a werewolf his transformations make a [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-29/ SKLORPH]] sound.
544* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: Tip, regarding Dr. Lee, though she's certainly the closest he's come to a meaningful relationship prior to Tigerlily.
545* ShoehornedAcronym: The military AI [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-1039/ GODOT]] was programmed to create backronyms, turning words into project titles. It's implied to have been responsible for the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriot_Act U.S.A. P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act]] as well. [[spoiler:It went insane trying to come up with a backronym for U.N.I.T.Y., Skin Horse's resident zombie SuperSoldier.]]
546* ShippedInShackles: Tigerlily Jones in her first appearance can be seen in a straitjacket on a handcart. Since she is a dangerous mad scientist who can turn anything into a deadly robot, this is mostly justified; in this continuity, people with that condition can make death rays out of X-Box remotes.[[note]]Forget death rays -- she built a freakin' wind-up quantum wormhole generator out of ''wire coathangers.''[[/note]]
547* SimilarSquad: When Tip, Nick, Virginia and Unity infiltrate A-Sig they're mistaken for an inspection team. This is because the actual inspection team comprises a moustached Tip named James (as mentioned below, Tip is partly named after James Tiptree Jr), a thus-far-unnamed black Nick, a purple-streaked Ginny named Georgia, and a recreation of Project U.N.I.T.Y. named Trinity. A bonus strip shows James confronting a robot lion in a similar manner to Tip and Leo in the first strip.
548* SnarkyNonhumanSidekick: Totally inverted: Sweetheart is sometimes bitterly snarky, but she's supposed to be the ''leader.'' Nick might count, depending on how human you still consider him to be. Baron Mistycorn might count, applied to Nick, though they're both pretty snarky.
549* SpinOff: ''Skin Horse'' started off as a SpiritualSuccessor to ''{{Webcomic/Narbonic}}'', as a good chunk of ''Narbonic''[='s=] tone and themes are present and accounted for. Artie's appearance in his human form in the May 6, 2011 strip confirmed it to be in the ''Narbonic'' brane.
550* SpotTheImposter: Subverted. When Nick semi-accidentally creates an AI copy of himself (long story), Baron Mistycorn agonizes over which one to delete... completely missing that the clone is volunteering himself.
551* StealthPun: Dogs don't know it's not Bacon...
552* StrangelyArousing: Nick [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/just-her-and/ in Violet's body]] demanding to join a D&D campaign.
553-->'''Chris:''' Okay, you warned us about this, but I still have the world's most disturbing boner.
554* StringTheory: As [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/cabinet-your/ this strip]] points out, constructing a chart of your theories regarding the shadow government out of thumbtacks, string, and scrawled notes makes you look unhinged. There are much saner ways of doing it.
555* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial:
556** "I am a totally normal alive human federal agent." ''[Unity's arm falls off]'' "[[ImplausibleDeniability Who has a cold]]."
557** In the blog-story, Unity finds two interior decorators at Remy's house: "I should stress here that we are not kidnappers on a mission from a sinister [[GovernmentConspiracy quasi-governmental conspiracy]] or anything." She buys it.
558* TalkingAnimal: Sweetheart, Leo, and half the creatures living in the office basement.
559* TastesLikePurple: [[http://skin-horse.com/2013/it-was-fun/ "Your words were blue and smelled like bacon."]]
560* TemptingFate: [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/skin-horse/ Dr. Phillips]], who [[GenreBlind should really know]] not to go around invoking the wrath of the universe while he's in a city of mad scientists. Everyone else [[GenreSavvy realizes]] that he's a dead man walking, and not the pleasantly ''au courant'' zombie type.
561* ThatCameOutWrong:
562** Nick states that "[[http://skin-horse.com/comic/which-just-happens/ Ain't nothing like spending a cold night]] with [[BestialityIsDepraved a warm dog inside you]]" before realizing his mistake.
563** When Nick calls Unity, [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/puts-it-in/ Dr. Lee expresses regret over their conversation]] and asks Unity to apologize on her behalf.
564* ThatsWhatSheSaid:
565** Nick's follow-up to Dr. Lee saying, "I can't help thinking we've bitten off more than we can chew."
566** Dr. Lee took her gender-inverted turn when Nick said, "I'm a machine."
567** With ''Sweetheart'' [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/sweetheart-all/ when Nick says he's "awesome at keeping it up"]].
568* ThemeNaming:
569** Captain Bram gave all his talking dogs ''ridiculous'' names like "Captain's Fancy Sweetheart" or "Captain's Fancy Snugglebuddy." "Captain's Fancy" is apparently their surname. This is a case of ShownTheirWork, as the pack were originally bred as ''show dogs''; names like this are ''routine'' for show dogs (and in fact, these are ''simpler'' than many). It was only after [[spoiler:the AKC refused to recognise 'talking dogs' as a breed]] that the Captain decided [[MadScientist he would Show Them All]].
570** A-Sig agents all have two-letter MilitaryAlphabet codenames like Echo Bravo, Alfa Alfa, and Charlie Sierra. The hidden theme is that these are all references to children's authors (of books about {{Talking Animal}}s) known by two initials and their surname: Creator/EBWhite, Creator/AAMilne, and Creator/CSLewis.
571* TheyCalledMeMad: Remember how mad scientists often shout "Those fools at the institute laughed at me!"? Well, it turns out there actually ''is'' an Institute that trains people to be Jerkasses who laugh at the failings of others. Apparently, this is simply to instigate even more scientists to go mad, which they then capture.
572* ThirdPersonPerson: The Mike.
573* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch:
574** Nick would love to do this, except that with his profanity filter, it always comes out, "This is for emphasis, BRANCH!" Or "BIRCH!" Or "BANDOLEERS!" Never what he wants it to be.
575** Unity can do it, though. "I'm the ''government'', beyatch."
576* ThisIsMySide: In the blog story, Unity attempts this with Nick's cabin. Nick tries to point out that she's telling him to stay out of half of ''himself'', but she ignores him.
577* TooDumbToLive: Some citizens of St. Charlie are awfully inattentive to warnings.
578* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: When [[spoiler:Tigerlily Jones gets absorbed by the Biomass]], its attempt to [[spoiler:take over her mind]] results in a CurbStompBattle from the ''inside''.
579* TrademarkFavoriteFood: '''SAMMYCHES!!!'''
580* TriggerPhrase: The phrase "blueberry waffles" suspends Unity's aggression patterns. And causes her some pain, judging from her reaction. It turns out that all of Virginia Lee's projects have similar trigger phrases, from 'buttermilk pancakes' to 'Rice Krispies'. She gets hungry on those long projects.
581* TrueLovesKiss: Part of the Whimsy princess test.
582* TwoGamersOnACouch:
583** The lion rehomed in chapter one draws one of these, called "[=AsLAN=]". Examples can be seen in the Sundays. Later, it became subject to a ridiculous parody of CerebusSyndrome with death, tragedy, and (in a jab at ''Webcomic/CtrlAltDel'') miscarriages. That said, it still [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-599/ nets him a six-figure income]].
584** Chris and Marcie. Nick would be with them if, you know, he wasn't the game itself.
585[[/folder]]
586
587[[folder:U - Z]]
588* UmbrellaDrink:
589** [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/2015-10-18/ A Kickstarter request sketch]] has Gavotte drinking one.
590** As mentioned under GargleBlaster, the resulting concoction ''[[AteTheSpoon dissolved]]'' the one in Zombie Emperor Norton's drink.
591** After [[spoiler:learning that there are ''283'' more Anasigma strike bases in the US, [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/regarding/ Nick accidentally swallows one]]]] in his haste [[INeedAFreakingDrink to down his drink]].
592* {{Understatement}}: [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/in-grad-school/ "There were definitely some gaps in pre-mission intel."]]
593* UnlimitedWardrobe: Tip wears a new set of highly fashionable women's clothing in every arc with no repeats. [[spoiler:Until, that is, he sacrifices his ''entire'' wardrobe for one perfect outfit...and then the purpose he got that outfit for falls through.]]
594* TheUnreveal: In "Railway Children", the WhamLine that [[spoiler:Violet Bee is Goldbug]] is closely followed by the further revelation that [[spoiler:Violet Bee is a robot teleoperated by a person unknown, who is Goldbug]].
595* UnsafeHaven: Phillips is having a party at his checkpoint because [[http://skin-horse.com/2012/skin-horse/ "Nothing ever happens in this sector."]] Seven strips later, [[http://skin-horse.com/2012/like-skin-horse/ guess what?]]
596* UnsettlingGenderReveal: Subverted in the "Railway Children" arc. Violet Bee tries to invoke this trope by revealing his gender to Tip. This plan falls flat because A) Tip was never particularly attracted to Violet and B) Tip is an ExtremeOmnisexual.
597* UnsoundEffect: [[http://skin-horse.com/comics/05312012/ SCYTHE!]]
598* VerbalTic: The [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Killotron robots]], who will "destroy" everything. It is very off-putting if you don't know they don't actually mean to say it.
599-->'''Killotron-1''': Happily, we are purged of our old destructive impulses and live only to destroy. [[SincerityMode And by "destroy" I, of course, mean "serve obediently without destroying."]]\
600'''Unity''': [[DeadpanSnarker Nice save.]]
601* VerbalBackspace:
602** Sweetheart is well aware she's the OnlySaneMan of the group.
603--->'''Sweetheart''': Sorry friend. That could have gone better. Tip doesn't really have the training for field work. Or the shoes. Sometimes I wonder if being our token human has cracked him even more. When you come to, I'll see that you only deal with the other members of our t--\
604'''Unity''': Sweetheart! Praise me! I punched out these monkeys ''real good!''\
605'''Sweetheart''': With me. You will only deal with me.
606** Again when Tip's reaction to her saying "This is a job for Tip" means it becomes "This is a job for Tip, supervised by me."
607* ViewersAreGeniuses: Many little {{Genius Bonus}}es about in the strip, sometimes as punchlines, mostly as throwaway references, ranging from the well-know (eg. Milton's ''Literature/ParadiseLost''), to the fairly obscure (Creator/WinsorMcCay's ''Dream of the Rarebit Fiend'').
608* VirginPower: The final test as to whether Whimsycorp will accept someone as a Whimsy Princess is the "Purity Test", which leads to the conclusion that Tip is "very much not a princess".
609-->'''Cunningham''': In fact, I'd say he's as far from being a princess as one can be without going blind.\
610'''Tip''': This is a sex-negative framing of princesshood.\
611'''Bunny rabbit''': We were built in 1964! What do you want?
612** Naturally, this means that [[NerdsAreVirgins Nick DOES qualify]].
613* VillainousCrush: Mr. Green on Dr. Lee--[[spoiler:and [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/was-aware/ he'll kill anyone]] who finds out it's unrequited]].
614* VomitIndiscretionShot: Unity is the source of several, whenever she's transferring her fluid to another body and when said bodies can't handle her anymore and get rid of her.
615* WackyWaysideTribe: Tip deals with a whole slew of them in ''The Borrowers.''
616* WarHero: AgentPeacock captain Tip Wilkin earned his promotion by [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/and-done-another/ rescuing three members of his unit out of a burning Humvee]].
617* WerewolfThemeNaming: Julie Rome (as in Romulus, plus most likely Literature/JulieOfTheWolves) and Sergeant Willoughby (as in Joan Aiken's ''Wolves Of Willoughby Chase''). The unfortunate victim of the werewolves also has a Meaningful Name -- Private Hood.
618* WeirdnessCensor: It's revealed during "The Little House" arc that many humans have this (the filename story says 20%). Sweetheart's even able to sing Creator/GilbertAndSullivan in front of a pair who only comment on how much she barks. As of the end of "Sure as You're Born", [[spoiler:that figure has risen to ''nearly everyone in the US'' thanks to Anasigma]].
619* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Skin Horse's purpose is to fight for non-human sapients to have equal rights and protections. [[spoiler:They eventually go on to try to prevent Anasigma from completely exterminating non-human sapients.]]
620* WhamLine:
621** [[spoiler:[[http://skin-horse.com/2013/boring-psych/ "Whatever you do, don't trust Project Skin Horse."]]]]
622** At the end of the "Come Swing from my Branches" arc, we have TheReveal [[spoiler:that the peppy mediator from "Brave Little Toasters", Violet Bee, [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/todays-comic-572/ is actually an Anasigma spy]], saying that "We're preparing for war. Neutralizing the swamp creature is just one front"]].
623** "After all, I'm the one who [[SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay took off your spectacles]]." Lampshaded by Nick protesting that ''his'' shocking revelation has just been trumped.
624** "I should have taken him out from the start." Said by [[spoiler:kindly old Ira, when he realises the mask isn't useful anymore and it's time for Mr. Green to act directly]].
625** "Aw, chill. I'll let you out for air once they deposit my retainer." Said by [[spoiler:[[Webcomic/{{Narbonic}} Mel.]]]]
626* WholesomeCrossdresser:
627** Tip Wilkin is fashion conscious and uses a variety of complex female outfits, but he makes no attempt to appear female. This is some kind of strange self-flagellation on part of the artist, whose ''Webcomic/{{Narbonic}}'' starred four obsessives who didn't always keep track of whether or not they were wearing pants.
628** Emphasis on the ''wholesome'' part too; Tip manages to make it seem totally normal for a manly stud to wear frilly things. Granted, he then proceeds to willfully and decadently seduce most of the female cast members, so "wholesome" may not be entirely the right word.
629* WorthIt: Echo Bravo's assessment of [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/take-him/ accidentally aiding Tigerlily Jones' escape plans]]... because [[AThreesomeIsHot he had sex with her and Imogene]] as a HoneyTrap.
630* XanatosGambit:
631** [[spoiler:H.T.]] implements one [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/ill-have-my/ during the Zombie Rights arc]]. The legislation, if accepted, frees him from Transgenic prison. If rejected, it pushes the Zombies in California into allying with zombies in the Florida Keys, and also towards extremism, furthering his anti-Human agenda.
632** [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/dr-wilkin-2/ Mister Green explains the principle]] while failing to explain how the failure of his nuclear weapon is somehow a win.
633--->'''Minion:''' We finally got to nuke something and nothing blows up!\
634'''Mister Green:''' All according to plan.\
635'''Minion:''' You meant to fail?\
636'''Mister Green:''' No, but I prepared for that contingency.\
637'''Minion:''' Then it's '''not''' according to plan!\
638'''Mister Green:''' Scheming means having enough plans to win no matter what.\
639'''Minion:''' As long as you get to be smug.\
640'''Mister Green:''' Enough plans and a nice swivel chair.
641* XCalledTheyWantTheirYBack:
642** When Dr Lee protests that you can't have a subway train that's bigger on the inside, one of the MadScientist residents replies "[[http://skin-horse.com/2012/a-masters/ Hey, lady! Euclid called! He wants his geometry back!]]"
643** When Sweetheart fights giant mutant termites, she comes up with the LameComeback "[[http://skin-horse.com/comic/somewhere-sweetheart/ Hey, ugly called! It wants its ugly back!]]"
644* YourMom: As a precog, Jonah ''really'' [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/the-frequency/ should have seen that joke coming]].
645* ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld: At the end of the MirrorUniverse arc, a group of {{Mad Scientist}}s explain that, in a world where a vast intelligent cypress has been destroying the continent, a HatePlague has destroyed most of the male human population, and the government is now run by transgenic animals, they are going to rebuild by focusing on the most pressing need: Zeppelin docks for skyscrapers.
646-->'''Sweetheart:''' I was all prepped to argue, but that does sound cool.
647* ZombieAdvocate: This is essentially Skin Horse's main purpose: to provide social services to non-human intelligences, many of which would be considered "monsters" by the man in the street. Unfortunately, many non-human intelligences view it with not entirely unjustified suspicion--even though the actual team both means well and is mostly non-human themselves, they don't really know ''why'' their agency was created, or what the ultimate agenda is, but there are hints it's Not Good.
648* ZombieGait:
649** Completely averted by Unity, unless she's screwing with her co-workers ("Snaaaaaaaacks...") or Lurching For Life.
650** Completely evoked by the swamp zombies.
651** ZigZagged by the proper zombies. They seem to be more humanlike the more they are fed.
652[[/folder]]
653

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