Line #29 Webcomic/ThisIsNotFiction


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ed4d405baf92af556c90d68de8d745c1.PNG]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:...Something like that. (Certain relationships--say, atop a horse--may be [[BromanticFoil exaggerated]]. Others...may [[EveryoneCanSeeIt not]].)]]
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4	''[[http://www.thisisnotfiction.com/index.php THIS IS NOT FICTION]]'' is a webcomic chronicling a high-schooler's quest to profess his love to an anonymous romance novelist. It was originally published in 2007 and eventually {{orphaned\|Series}}, but one of the creators [[ContinuityReboot rebooted]] the comic at the end of 2010, to the great pleasure of fans.
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6	''TINF'' stars Julian Drees, a diminutive 17-year-old who has developed [[StalkerWithACrush an obsession]] with Sydney Morgan after reading her novel ''This Is Not Fiction''. Witnessing his disappointment at not being able to meet her at a book signing, Julian's best friend Isaiah takes him to the [[KnowledgeBroker Godfather of Highschool]] to ask for help in determining the author's true identity. But to Julian's dismay, the Godfather is none other than his own next-door neighbour and [[FriendlyEnemy arch-enemy]], Landon!
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8	...After a bunch of hijinks that leads the trio (and on occasion, [[GirlFriday Selby]]!) to hang out together more, Julian and Landon's past friendship comes to light, and eventually, the reason why they grew apart. As the two begin repairing their relationship in the midst of their misadventures (perhaps, slowly, [[WillTheyOrWontThey kindling something else]]), it might turn out that in the end, what Juls really learns about throughout his elaborate quest is just that--friendship, and what love really is ("the real, not obsessed kind," as the comic's about puts it).
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10	Just maybe, theirs is a story about [[ComingOfAgeStory growing up]].
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12	Starting off in a now-defunct early website, it moved to Inkblazers/Mangamagazine in 2013 until the site closed down in early 2015. It has since moved to Hiveworks, and can be read [[http://www.thisisnotfiction.com/ here]]. What exists of the very first incarnation of the comic can still be read [[http://thisisnotfiction.deviantart.com/ on deviantArt]].
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14	----
15	!! This webcomic provides examples of:
16	* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Played with, although Julian's mother married a good guy, she states clearly her love for bad boys and is actually supportive of Julian and Landon's relationship, since she thinks they are dating too.
17	* AmbiguousGender: While Julian is positively convinced that Sydney Morgan is a woman, Landon and Isaiah are quick to point out that she could possibly be a man.
18	* TheArtifact: Landon's brattier personality from the 2007 incarnation--being the type to make light of and using as an insult the term "gay"--is initially carried over in a much more subdued fashion to the 2010 and onward reboot (getting rid of his ArmouredClosetGay phobic reactions), but becomes obsolete after about a dozen chapters as the revamped series GrowingTheBeard and Landon's character becomes more firmly established.
19	** The entire quest for Sidney Morgan becomes pretty much a background for Julian and Landon's WillTheyOrWontThey, with a bit of ComingOfAgeStory for Julian. It's outright recognized between the characters that Julian interest in Sidney Morgan is slowly dropping, with him becoming much more interested in simply spending time with his friends, particularly Landon.
20	* ArtifactTitle: The 2007 incarnation of the comic goes into detail about how ''This Is Not Fiction'' by Sydney Morgan is Julian's favourite book. In the reboot the book is much less important, only serving to make him fall in love with the author, and the title is never given.
21	* ArtEvolution: Inevitably a great deal between the 2007 incarnation and the 2010 and onward reboot incarnation, although the reboot itself takes large leaps between chapter 1 to 10, not to even touch its quality by 20. Not only does the art style assume a much more cartoonish look while at the same time maintaining better proportions and related improvements, the characters are slightly different in look and personality as well.
22	** Most drastically, instead of the short of stature chubby {{Tsundere}} we come to know and love in the longer-running 2010 incarnation, Julian in the 2007 incarnation is a taller, thinner, more conventional PrettyBoy (of a sort) with a deadpan personality that seems to react to Landon's existence and pestering with a FlatWhat more often than not. While Landon and Isaiah look more alike, some significant overhauls center around them as well, as seen under CharacterizationMarchesOn.
23	* ArtShift: The first chapter is in black-and-white, but the rest of the comic is in colour for many chapters--till circumstances led it to return to black and white for quicker releases.
24	* TheBigDamnKiss: After a lot of dancing around, [[spoiler:Landon and Julian]] finally kiss on chapter 23.
25	* BreakHisHeartToSaveHim: It looks at one point as if the series might move towards this. A StalkerWithoutACrush is spying and badmouthing Landon. Julian finds the blog and tries to find the blogger, meanwhile Landon is aware of it and tries to stay away from Julian to not have him badmouthed in the blog. It ends with them avoiding each other for a while (made worse by Isaiah who comes to the conclusion during that chapter that Landon is bad for them and by Julian's father who forbids him any contact with Landon). But Julian's protective nature regarding Landon (as well as Julian understanding that Landon's deliquent side may come from loneliness) fixes things naturally at one point.
26	* TheCameo: As the creators of ''TINF'', ''Webcomic/BestFriendsForever'', and ''Webcomic/ToddAllisonAndThePetuniaViolet'' knew one another, their respective characters make occasional cameos each other's comics (for example, Cecil from TAPV cameos in TINF, while Landon cameos in TAPV). In ''TINF'' the cameos of characters from ''[=BFFComic=]'' become borderline crossovers, however, as they wind up integrated during their occasional appearances into the plot, seeming to be 15 years (or so) older counterparts. For example, since early on in ''TINF'', Vincent has often been referenced as a well-known actor, and later [[spoiler:Teddy winds up a guest lecturer at Isaiah's girlfriend's university. And topping the both of their cameos, Louis has been appearing in the comic since the very beginning, and turns out even further integrated as someone in the publishing industry who works with Sydney Morgan. Later on he and Vincent appear together.]]
27	** Likely for reasons regarding publishing, creative differences and creative content, the characters' names and appearances are no longer the same.
28	* CerebusSyndrome: After Juls and Isaiah get caught up in Landon's scheme of trying to steal another school's mascot (due to the basketball team practically coercing him, though he never tells anybody this) and they get in trouble with the police (whereupon Juls' dad turns out to be an officer), the comic takes on a more serious tone, though still with splashes of humor in it. And as Juls' and Landon's friendship becomes repaired, Landon's obvious crush on Juls is addressed directly by Isaiah, and the storyline between the two is taken not only more seriously but becomes more important than Sydney Morgan.
29	* CharacterDevelopment: And how! Landon changes greatly from the delinquent he'd become in middle school once his and Julian's friendship begins to heal, [[http://www.thisisnotfiction.com/index.php?id=389 as pointed out by Isaiah]] (as well as his [[EveryoneCanSeeIt obvious crush]]). Julian too takes great strides from the boy he starts out at in the beginning, considering his friends more and worrying over them, especially Landon. [[spoiler:His greatest stride is placing them over Sydney Morgan, whom he seems to be getting over.]]
30	* CharacterizationMarchesOn: As noted under ArtEvolution, Julian's appearance and personality differ significantly between the 2007 incarnation and 2010 and onward reboot incarnation, going from a [[PrettyBoy conventionally attractive]] beleaguered person with a SugarAndIcePersonality to a short and chubby {{Tsundere}}.
31	** Noticeably, Isaiah is ''Landon's'' close friend in the 2007 incarnation, and initially ''hesitant'' to let Landon befriend Julian, and more prone to overlook his behavior as his friend (despite admitting to thinking Landon's selfish behavior is "sick"), in stark contrast to his revamped incarnation whereupon not only is he Julian's best friend, he's the reason Landon and Julian both meet again, and is later shown to be protective of Julian and more wary of Landon (because of his getting the trio involved in his misdemeanors).
32	** As for Landon, in the 2007 incarnation he's more-so of a BookDumb PluckyComicRelief than his ObfuscatingStupidity reboot counterpart, though both suck at putting effort into school projects. More significantly, 2007!Landon is very prone to acting bratty, calling Julian "gay" as a means to insult him for liking a romance novel, and using the term frivolously as a joke. Unlike previous plot points, early chapters of the 2010 incarnation contain [[TheArtifact remnants]] of Landon's behavior in 2007 incarnation in a lighter (less cringe-worthy) tone, [[GrowingTheBeard but these are eventually phased out]], with Landon turning out openly bisexual.
33	* DudeLooksLikeALady: Landon mistook Julian for a very pretty girl when they first met as kids.
34	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: It becomes well-established that Landon is open about his sexuality and interest in men as well as women, which makes how easily he'd do things like call Julian "gay" for being the type to visit the library in very early chapters seem jarring, as he'd be more the type to make jokes about flirting with a male librarian instead after a dozen chapters or so. This is due the reboot originally carrying over a very subdued version of 2007!Landon's personality (taking out its ArmouredClosetGay phobic aspects), before GrowingTheBeard and developing Landon into the bisexual [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Dork with a Heart of Gold]] we know and love today.
35	* EmbarrassingNickname: Julie.
36	* EveryoneCanSeeIt: By the time the story takes a turn a little more than a dozen chapters in, basically everyone knows Landon likes Julian A LOT. Julian seems to reflect those feelings back in a lightly {{Tsundere}} manner, though neither have [[WillTheyOrWontThey said anything to the other yet]].
37	* FailedASpotCheck: While stalking her in a restaurant, Julian quickly assumed that the man Sydney Morgan was with was her date, leading to several misadventures in the attempt to deduce whether or not she was married. What he didn't notice was that the man was wearing stereotypical bodyguard attire and that he wasn't actually dining with her, and he doesn't respond to Mitch and Isaiah pointing this out to him.
38	* {{Fangirl}}: Leslie, for Sydney Morgan. Julian would be too.
39	* {{Foreshadowing}}: For the identity of Sydney Morgan. Obviously major spoilers, but [[spoiler:from very early on, a page makes it apparent that Shelby and Landon are hiding something from Isaiah and Juls. Louis, in his reappearance, drags Landon away for a conversation Juls can't make out as Isaiah's girlfriend talks to Teddy. In his first appearance, after Isaiah and Juls run away from Louis within the publishing firm, Landon disappears for a long time. It happens again much later after the talk show they all went to watch where Sydney Morgan guest-starred next to Vincent. Sydney Morgan...who turns out to be Louis in disguise, protecting a young client. This is learned after Landon checks them into the expensive hotel Vincent and Louis are staying at, and assures that for Juls' sake, he could get them into a VIP party hosted by Louis wherein the real Sydney Morgan should appear, ''somehow.'' Include Landon's occasional quips back to Juls over being Sydney Morgan, passed of as jokes, and Selby's thumb barely hiding "-- Addison" as the real name of Sydney Morgan on her phone when looking up Louis, and...]]
40	* FriendlyEnemy: Julian often declares his distaste for Landon and that he is his "enemy", yet they fall back into quite good terms. [[spoiler:Their history between late middle school till Isaiah brings them together again in high school explains why their former friendship changed as much as it did though, owing to the start of Landon's delinquent behavior and Juls' policeman father.]]
41	* FullNameBasis: Sydney Morgan is always Sydney Morgan.
42	* GenderBlenderName: Sydney Morgan, to fit her AmbiguousGender.
43	* HappilyAdopted: Landon was adopted, though since his adoptive father is "too old", he refers to him as Grandpa. [[spoiler:...It turns out their relationship may be colder and more difficult at this point in his life, as revealed with the words from Landon's grandfather that Juls' father reiterates to Juls after Landon is arrested late in middle school--"Keep him for a few days, he ''deserves'' it."]] It's later revealed he really is Landon's biological grandfather, though this pales in comparison that Landon's father is [[spoiler: Famous actor Adrian Paris! Or legally speaking, Chris Addison, Grandpa's son]]
44	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Landon, who despite being well-known as a delinquent with an arrest record [[spoiler:and insisting they hide the secret of Sydney Morgan even as Selby frets about deceiving their friends, though it's possibly over anxiety about how Juls would react]]--cooks Julian deliciously elaborate food just to see his happy expression (it's implied he adds a lot of fruit to everything just for him), engages in adventures just to be beside him ([[spoiler:to the point of cornering himself into getting them all into a VIP party Sydney Morgan is supposed to attend, which troubles him]]), and tries to cheer a sad Juls up by giving him likely hard-to-acquire gifts like a ticket to a talk show co-interviewing both Sydney Morgan ''and'' Vincent Fawkes, the famous actor Juls keeps mentioning. So really, a Dork with a Heart of Gold, as Isaiah and most people come to understand.
45	* KindHeartedCatLover: Julian is constantly wearing cat-print clothes.
46	* MediumBlending: The comic itself is drawn digitally in SAI, but the chapter covers are all photographs using paper cut-outs of the characters.
47	* MythologyGag: [[http://www.deviantart.com/download/66454196/this_is_not_fiction_pg_02_by_thisisnotfiction.jpg The poem]] Landon wrote in the original comic makes a reappearance in the current version as [[http://tinf.nematodeinspace.com/?id=94 the song he writes for Julian]].
48	* ObfuscatingStupidity: Isaiah and his smile, [[http://www.thisisnotfiction.com/index.php?id=330 which he can use]] to lull people into thinking he has no problems with them.
49	* ObliviousToLove: Hilariously, [[spoiler:''Landon!'' While practically everybody realizes Landon's crush on Juls, by chapter 20, as he and Landon grow ever closer, Juls becomes more aware of and pays attention to his friends' circumstance, caring more about them than their search for Sydney Morgan. He gives subtle yet in-your-face indications of returning Landon's feelings--at one point even saying "yes you should!" to Landon suggesting he "should step up his game"--every moment of which leaves Landon confused or bemused. It's possible a part of this is due to not being able to believe Juls could love him back the same way, however.]] Later in the chapter, he finally does start to get a clue, and rather adorably.
50	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: At one point, a lot of things happen at the same time that end with Julian being ''very'' depressed. At first, both Isaiah and Landon expect him to just bounce back after a bit of pampering and teasing, only to be extremely shocked when he refuses their attempts. It takes a lot of effort on Landon's side to get Juls back to normal and finally seeing him gleeful again does visibly relieve his friends.
51	* OutOfFocus: Isaiah gets less focus after chapter 20. Due to baseball season, he starts having to train more and spend more time with his jock friends, who hate Julian, something Isaiah doesn't realizes and Julian doesn't want to tell him. After that he only appears to show his disapprove of Julian and Landon's possible romantic involvement.
52	* PaperThinDisguise: [[http://tinf.nematodeinspace.com/?id=52 There's nothing suspicious about this family...]]
53	* ReclusiveArtist: [[invoked]] Sydney Morgan, to the point of using a gay bar as her fake address.
54	* SelectiveObliviousness: Mrs Drees is so excited by the prospect of Julian having a friend that she simply ignores all of Landon's bullying behaviour and Julian's objections.
55	* ShipperOnDeck: Isaiah for [[HoYay Landon and Julian]]. He changes his mind at one point though since he feels worried, it might be unhealthy for at least one of them. But once he notices, they are already too deep into it, he dismisses trying to break them up.
56	** Julian's mom, too.
57	* StalkerWithACrush: Julian has a highly romanticized idea of meeting with Sydney Morgan, and Isaiah and Landon actually trying to aid him in being able to talk to her kicks off the plot.
58	* StalkerWithoutACrush: Landon got one who is having a whole blog dedicated to writing about what he does, all with photographs and comments about how disgusting he is. He is aware of it and doesn't care until the blog starts attacking Julian as well for always being around him.
59	* TenderTears: Julian is brought to tears quite easily.
60	* ThatCameOutWrong: Julian's quite innocent in describing how he feels about waiting around for Landon to finish writing a song ("This is awkward", "He won't go faster"), but his desperate texts are vague enough for Isaiah to assume otherwise ("Just ask him to be gentle").
61	* ToxicFriendInfluence: Everybody accuses Landon of being this to Julian, but it's actually quite the opposite, Julian is a positive influence on Landon's life. As Isaiah mentioned, the amount of times he got arrested dropped from 5 to one and the amount of cigarettes he smoked was cut in half.
62	* {{Transplant}}: Of sorts. Vincent Fawkes and Louis Lindberg are basically older counterparts from the characters of ''Webcomic/BestFriendsForever''. Since the comic was discontinued by the author, they could be considered this.
63	** This is now CanonDiscontinuity, along with the possible connection of one of the TINF characters being the baby mentioned in the ''BFF Comic'' summary. Instead, there are renamed and redone original characters in their place.
64	* {{Tsundere}}: Julian is a light example, yelling (while blushing) a lot around Landon and occasionally throwing a pillow and the like at his face, but as the comic goes on he ultimately showcases a lot of worry over him.
65	* UnrequitedLove: Landon believes this to be his situation with Julian. [[spoiler:It's not]].
66	* UnsettlingGenderReveal: [[spoiler: Sydney Morgan]], though not quite played straight. [[spoiler:She turns out to be Louis in disguise, the man who catches the trio traipsing through the publishing firm in the beginning, but he's only doing this to protect the identity of a client who can't come out in public.]]
67	* WillTheyOrWontThey: As the comic progresses, it becomes very apparent that Landon is actually something of a loser (in love), with basically everyone aware of his crush on Julian. Julian's reactions are also priceless (a lot of blushing and yelling) when people insinuate he and Landon are doing coupley things--insinuations that are often made. It comes to the point where even Isaiah assumes they're already dating, but while the atmosphere around their bickering has become lighter, they're still both dancing around the subject.
68	* UnsoundEffect: Many. "NAKED", "HACKED", and "CRIMINAL" are among the straight examples, but even the regular sound effects are normally just verbs with letters removed ("SMK" [smack], "WBBLE" [wobble], "GRB" [grab]).

Context Webcomic / ThisIsNotFiction