Listed here: the characters of Tripping Over You. The pictures are used with the creators' explicit permission; do not re-use them anywhere else without being permitted.
Beware of spoilers past this point. You Have Been Warned.
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Main Characters
Liam Schwartz
Provides examples of:
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: His and Eli's talk in the hospital shows that, despite their differences, they actually care a lot about each other; Liam even utters regret to have caused his father worries.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: There's the punch he served Milo, and during the second chapter, he insists on keeping up a hostile atmosphere between them... despite the fact that he clearly enjoyed the kiss.
- Berserk Button: Liam is always a bit irritable, but what really sets him off is homophobic slurs — and Hebert saying he wants "a little nightcap" because that's a term Liam has heard way too often from his mother.
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The Brunet to Archie's Blond, with either Milo being the Redhead (in school) or Hebert (at Archie's stag night).
- Bookworm: When he's not busy with work or learning or spending time with Milo, he's usually seen with a book in his hands, though meanwhile it's not necessarily a book he reads and more likely one of the stories he writes.
- Can't Take Criticism: Probably because every other word from his father's mouth is criticism; he reacts very touchy when Milo calls him out on his compulsive lies about their relationship, and he doesn't like it either when his therapist makes a remark on his social constipation.
- Cigarette of Anxiety: Liam is generally a smoker, but he's more prone to it when stressed.
- Coming-Out Story: The first half of Tripping Over You serves as this for him, as he decides, step by step, to be open about his relationship with Milo to his best friend, then to a few more friends from his immediate circle, and finally to his father.
- Deadpan Snarker: Liam has perfected the art of letting someone feel his disapproval or spite without even moving a facial muscle or raising his voice.
- Death Glare: He has mastered these; first time he unleashes one is right in the prologue.
- Deceased Parents Are the Best: Averted; Liam explicitly doesn't have the best memories of his mother who he says had a lot of problems which she handled with not much seriousness.
- Geek Physiques: Rail-thin, and comparatively short.
- Green-Eyed Monster:
- Largely subverted. Because of Liam's high-strung nature, Milo sort of expects him to be wary about other attractive guys around, but when the subject comes up in regards to Hebert, Liam is completely calm about it, having accepted the reality that occasionally Milo will talk to other male beings. Only thing he does is "marking his territory" by clearly introducing himself as Milo's boyfriend. He might have been way more prone to jealousy
when he was younger though. - At a later point, Milo actually fishes for Liam's jealousy in a moment of insecurity, which Liam doesn't like one bit.
- Largely subverted. Because of Liam's high-strung nature, Milo sort of expects him to be wary about other attractive guys around, but when the subject comes up in regards to Hebert, Liam is completely calm about it, having accepted the reality that occasionally Milo will talk to other male beings. Only thing he does is "marking his territory" by clearly introducing himself as Milo's boyfriend. He might have been way more prone to jealousy
- Hidden Depths: Liam with all his stuffiness and issues to express his emotions in a sensible way turns out to be just fine holding a sincere, heartfelt speech on his best friend's wedding after he had the time to work out the speech on paper before; he's better with writing than with rhetorics per se.Milo: The way you explain your thoughts still somehow — takes me by surprise. Moves me.
- High-School Sweethearts: He and Milo hit it off in the last year of College (British College, which corresponds to High School), and then go on to the next stage of adulthood together.
- Hot-Blooded: He reacts rather surly on light-hearted jabs, slight criticism, or small annoyances. Also prone to taking his frustrations out on innocent tennis balls.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's not the easiest person to be around, but he cares deeply about his friends and especially about Milo, and he really works on his social skills so he won't constantly put people off.
- Lonely Rich Kid: Definitely. Poor relationship with his successful lawyer father, carted off to boarding school, sent to a therapist because his father is incapable of dealing with Liam's emotional matters, and he has a hard time making friends.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Periodically. He had to cut his hair twice now; first because his father said his long hair made him look like a "poof", later because of an accident with paint, but he personally prefers to grow it out.
- Love Revelation Epiphany: After Milo has disclosed his feelings for him, he quickly comes to realize that he's in love with Milo too — later he even acknowledges that he might have been for years prior.
- Missing Mom: She died when Liam was around eleven or twelve years old; presumably, she drank herself to death.
- Nightmare Fetishist: Was, at age 10, fascinated with the sight of his cousin Alfons
taking out his Glass Eye, adopted an eyeless cat (sense a pattern here?), and has a knack for writing horror stories. - No Social Skills: Though he gets a bit better.
- Oblivious to Love: With Milo being all over him for a good three years before his Love Confession, making him compliments, teasing him, and constantly wanting to spend time with him, Liam is just about the last one who gets that Milo is in love with him.Liam: ... Why am I so slow?
- Parental Issues: The relationship between him and his father is tense at best, cold and distant at worst. An important Character Development for Liam is that he starts working on this and they try to be more understanding of each other.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Liam may be short and skinny in comparison to most guys around him, but he lands a pretty nasty punch on Milo's eye, serves the ball in tennis pretty violently, and he rips a door off its hinges with his bare hands.
- Real Men Can Cook: He hasn't learned to cook until the age of nineteen when Hebert insists on teaching him. A few chapters later, Liam mentions he can meanwhile cook an entirety of three meals.
- Secret Relationship: With Milo, for the first half of the comic, because he's extremely afraid of his father's reaction. Eventually abandoned when he realizes that his secrecy and lies do more harm than good to his and Milo's relationship, so he comes out to his father.
- Smart People Wear Glasses: He only wears them for reading and writing.
- Smoking Is Not Cool: Liam gets frequently called out on his smoking by Noel, his father, and Milo's mother Nora. Milo himself doesn't explicitly reprimand him for it but has requested that Liam doesn't smoke inside the flat.
- Straight Gay: Bisexual, but anyway he's not flamboyant.
- Strong Family Resemblance: A flashback about his mom shows that Liam strongly takes after her.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Over time, Liam learns to be less tense and more open to people, and while he never quite gets rid of his snarking, it now often comes second to genuine friendliness.
- Uptight Loves Wild: The Uptight to Milo's Wild, a bookworm and loner who prefers to have a grip on his life and everything clear and in order. He mellows a bit out over time, diminishing the contrast.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: In a flashback, ten-year-old Liam is shown; before his mother's death, he was apparently a lot more cheerful and sociable.
- Tsundere: Type A; Liam is aloof and snarky, but can be very sweet in the right circumstances, which is usually around Milo.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Liam and Eli have a tricky relationship. On the one hand, Liam reacts very sensitively to Eli's critics and goes to law school just to please his father, on the other he has grown so distant from him over time that he doesn't even realize when Eli is really just trying to connect to him in some way.
- Write Who You Know: In-Universe example; the protagonist of his horror story is clearly based on Liam himself, whereas a secondary character he introduces seems to be modeled after Milo.
Milo Dunstan
Provides examples of:
- Affectionate Nickname: He often calls Liam "sunshine".
- All Gays Love Theater: Works hard to become a professional actor, though his current job at the theatre is more on terms of a laborer.
- Ambiguously Brown: By
Word of God, he's half-Lebanese. - Anguished Declaration of Love: He finally gets it out after witnessing what he thought was Liam's date with a girl.
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: At boarding school, the Redhead to Archie's Blond and Liam's Brunet.
- Camp Gay: Comes with his Drama Queen tendencies and his flirty nature, though it's obviously part of his bravado: The more stressed he is, the less flamboyant and over-the-top his behavior is.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Yes, he tells Liam in the very first chapter that he's in love with him... but he has been for two or three years already, and there have been a couple situations before when he just could have said it, but didn't manage.
- Chivalrous Pervert: Despite having a liking for innuendos and teasing, he never deliberately oversteps boundaries in regards to Liam, and even keeps their relationship on chaste grounds because he thinks Liam would not be interested in sex and he doesn't want to push the issue. He's still happy enough when Liam shows to be very interested though.
- Closet Key: He's this to Liam.
- Cuddle Bug: Whenever he's in the same room as Liam, you can bet he hugs him or cuddles with him in some way, or resorts to caressing his hair.
- Endearingly Dorky: He's not afraid of being the clown, as he can always top it off with his charms.
- Forced Out of the Closet: By his former girlfriend, who was so pissed about their break-up that she outed him to the school, but while this led to years of homophobic slurs from his peers, Milo grew more confident for it.
- Geeky Turnon: He really fell for Liam as they had a three-hour discussion about time paradoxa in Doctor Who.
- High-School Sweethearts: He started dating Liam in the last year of College (British College, so an equivalent to High School), and mentions a bit after their graduation that he hopes what they have is for long-term.
- Hormone-Addled Teenager: He finds it hard to keep his hands off Liam.
- Innocent Blue Eyes: And he exploits them mercilessly.
- Large Ham: An actor, always and everywhere.
- Last Het Romance: He had a girlfriend in College, but their relationship went awry because Milo wasn't really that much into her. When he realized this, she ended up outing him to the entire school.
- Liquid Courage: Both shortly before he confesses his feelings to Liam and later on the Halloween party where he confronts him about their fight, Milo has a drink before to boost his courage. Unfortunately, it also boosts his ability to fit his foot into his mouth.
- Love at First Sight: Could be, if that look he gave Liam in boarding school when they were kids is any indication.
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: A male variant, of course, but it's implied he was that to Liam when the latter came to boarding school first, shortly after his mother's death in what he calls "the absolute worst time of his life". Milo was always there to cheer him up. The trope gets also deconstructed, though: It's clear that Milo fakes a big confidence and unending glee in order to make people around him happy, hiding his own sorrows completely.
- Mr. Fanservice: He's shown running around shirtless or in nothing but undies several times.
- Nice Guy: In opposite to Liam, Milo is a very sunny guy who easily connects to people.
- One Head Taller: Not quite a head, but he's noticably taller than Liam.
- Parental Issues: Not as extreme as Liam, but Milo and his mom don't always get along, what with her overbearing nature and Milo not quite having come to terms with her remarrying.
- Quirky Curls: Milo's hair has always been unruly, but this becomes more apparent when he grows it out.
- Real Men Can Cook: He can, definitely more so than Liam, but doesn't often have the time for it.
- Real Men Wear Pink: Theatre aside, he sings and tap dances, and he's not afraid of putting on flashy costumes for his roles. Also occasionally just literally wears pink.
- Sad Clown: Where Liam deflects with snark, Milo deflects by putting on a bright smile and acting like everything is fine, even when his two (sometimes three) jobs and the acting school are wearing him down and he feels more and more belittled by his friends, teachers, and family.
- Shipper on Deck: For Ally and Archie; he set them up to have a train ride together and thus plenty of time to talk.
- Single-Target Sexuality: Quite possibly. He's fallen in love with Liam when he was around fourteen or fifteen years old, and despite being a massive flirt, he has never shown any serious interest in anyone but Liam.
- So Proud of You: During the time when his jobs and university increasingly eat away at his nerves, he gets that from Liam, who states he's very proud of Milo for not just quitting when things get difficult. It has a visibly uplifting effect on Milo.
- Stalker with a Crush: Downplayed. In College, he had Liam's schedule memorized and would know the extracurricular activities Liam was engaging in.
- Stepford Smiler: His default response to stress is to put on a cheerful act and insist that everything's fine, and he once goes from crying to smiling over three panels in front of a mirror. Discussed when Liam observes that his bravado stems from genuinely wanting people to be happy and that he opens up when he feels comfortable doing so.
- Tears of Joy: Due to Liam's confession that he has been in love with him for years and was just too dense to notice.
- The Tease: Doesn't seem to be able to get through a conversation with Liam without making a lewd pun, and he's not above flirting with people just for fun... or, sometimes, to annoy them.
- Transparent Closet: Liam and Archie note that his coming out in school was "more confirmation than anything", especially since Archie is sure he "had a thing for Liam for years".
- Unexpected Virgin: When they are about to have Their First Time, Liam is very surprised that Milo, despite his grand bravado, has actually no experience with sex whatsoever.
- Uptight Loves Wild: The Wild to Liam's Uptight; Milo doesn't worry much about plans and norms, is well-socialized, and a party-goer who likes to have fun.
- What Beautiful Eyes!: According to Liam, who's kind of mesmerized by "these exceptionally blue eyes".
Families Schwartz and Dunstan
Eli Schwartz
Provides examples of:
- Bait-and-Switch: Noticing his son being jittery and continuously sneaking away, Eli fears that Liam is doing drugs. When Liam reveals that what he's been hiding is a relationship with another boy, Eli is actually kind of relieved.
- Control Freak: He not only discusses Liam's therapy sessions with the latter's psychotherapist, he also insists on his adult son answering to where he's been at nearly all times. When Liam tells him he wants to quit law school and thereby deviate from the way Eli has drawn out for him (everything planned out, secure, within norms), he has a hard time swallowing that. However, it turns out this is because he's sincerely worried about Liam.
- Deadpan Snarker: Where else would Liam get it from? Especially apparent when he hides away in his own house because he's annoyed by Alfons having his new girlfriend over:Eli: [to Liam, who's visiting] Please tell me you are here to move back in.
Liam: Aw, is it really that awkward? [...] You know, you could probably stand to try dating again. It might be less weird for you when Alf —
Eli: Alright, alright. That is enough. Go home. - Hypocritical Humor: Tells Liam he's not allowed to smoke... while smoking a cigarette himself.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Liam and his father are not so different in that. Eli can appear very cold and unfeeling and initially does a lousy job at parenting; however, he wants Liam to be happy, cares a great deal about Alfons, and treats his apprentice Matt very well.
- The Lost Lenore: His wife Riva died about six or seven years ago. Eli still talks to her at times.
- Opposites Attract: From what Liam tells about his mother, she was anything but a serious, orderly person. Still, Eli is extremely hung up on her.
- Parental Sexuality Squick: Inverted; he's a bit thrown off when he's reminded that Liam and Milo are looking for a one-bedroom apartment.
- Parents as People: He put his son into boarding school and therapy after Riva's death, seemingly incapable of dealing with the situation and his kid, and his conservative, strict nature makes him rather unapproachable to Liam. However, he genuinely has his son's happiness in mind and eventually comes around to being more accepting of Liam's wishes.
- That Makes Me Feel Angry: When he learns in quick succession that Liam is dating a man and wants to drop out of law school and that his nephew has been hospitalized under suspicious circumstances, he calmly says, "This could not be any more overwhelming," while methodically sorting everything out.
- Troubled Sympathetic Bigot: Downplayed, but he's made a few homophobic comments earlier in the comic and admits that he "hates" the idea of Liam dating a man when he first learns about it. However, he makes a deliberate effort to support Liam and Milo in their relationship and is actually anxious to make a good impression on Milo. It's strongly implied he's not a homophobe in and of itself; he just doesn't like it when Liam does something that's not considered regular and thus might lead him to have troubles.
- Turn Out Like His Father: He seems very worried to recognize characteristics in his son that he has known from Riva before, such as being strong-willed and willing to take a risk instead of going along with the plan. What he's actually terrified of is seeing Liam fall into a loop of depression, escapism, and drug abuse, which he watched Riva do before. It might be one of the reasons he pressured Liam to start psychotherapy early on.
- Uptight Loves Wild: He's always been a serious, responsible person, but loved Riva's free spirit from the beginning. All signs indicate that they complemented each other's personalities well, and part of the trouble in Eli's relationship with Liam comes from lacking her balancing influence.
- "Well Done, Dad!" Guy: Believe it or not, he wants Liam's appreciation as much as Liam wants his. He looks very downcast when Liam declines to spend time with him, realizing that they don't have much of an emotional bond, and when he accompanies Liam and Milo on inspecting their potential apartment, he practices his behavior before officially meeting his son's significant other so as not to bungle. Then carries on by getting Liam and Milo a sweet deal for the rent. Way to go, Eli!
Alfons "Alf" Schwartz
Provides examples of:
- Bad Liar: He's perfectly willing to cover up for Liam sneaking out to meet his boyfriend, but lying is just not his strength, leading to Eli becoming suspicious before long. He does make up a pretty nice story about how he landed in the hospital after disappearing for a weekend (he was starting a job in a pub when he got hit by appendicitis), which suspiciously avoids details on how he lost his Glass Eye during a run-in with a bunch of huge, heavily tattooed gangsters.
- Endearingly Dorky: Speaks a somewhat goofy English, dreams of success with his music, gets really awkward when he tries to lie to someone, and is perfectly sweet and charming to top it off.
- Glass Eye: On the right, though it hasn't been explained how he lost his eye (it's implied it had something to do with his sister running around with scissors in her hand). Alfons has a collection of variously colored glass eyes which he wears alternately, a fact that fascinates kid Liam to no end.
- Malaproper: Alfons' English is understandable, but not perfect. Cue "Do not worry your face". His mother tongue seems to be German.
- Mellow Fellow: He's in his twenties, apparently has never visited anything in lines of a college, has currently no job (until the pub episode), and no valid visum anymore as his "visit" at his uncle's home now lasts for several months because he doesn't get along with his dad. Despite all this, Alf is laid-back, content with his life, and seemingly entirely incapable of worrying about anything.
- Nice Guy: Always diplomatic and friendly; he supports Liam in every matter while still keeping peace with Eli, and even tries to mediate between two antagonistic groups of pub customers.
- Offscreen Romance: With the cute nurse, who's seen with him about six months after Alf has left the hospital.
- Strong Family Resemblance: He's basically an older version of Liam, with way lighter hair, a Glass Eye, a Perma-Stubble, and his nose looks like it was broken at some point. Those details aside, they could really pass for brothers rather than cousins.
- The Thing That Would Not Leave: He admits when he arrives that he doesn't know how long he'll be staying, and his visit has stretched well into the months. That said, Eli doesn't seem too put out by his continued presence, and Alfons might be helping him adjust to being an Empty Nester.
Dylan Dunstan
Provides examples of:
- Alliterative Name: Dylan Dunstan.
- Ambiguously Brown: Lebanese, according to Word of God, even though his name doesn't reflect this at all.
- Berserk Button: He gets downright nasty where his ex-wife is concerned, or even when he thinks she's somehow involved in a topic, and drives Milo to tears by lashing out at him about it.Milo: —he's just angry because he lost some made up competition with you.
- Manchild: He is mature when it is about his restaurant, but reverts to childish arguments around his ex-wife Nora, behaves more like a Cool Big Bro to Milo than a father, and resorts to insults when Milo does something he disapproves of.
- Mom Looks Like a Sister: Gender-flipped. Due to having become a father at age eighteen, he still looks young enough to be mistaken by Penny for Milo's brother.
- Open-Minded Parent: Meeting his son's boyfriend at his house (in his son's t-shirt, early in the morning), he casually asks if they're together, accepts that fact completely undismayed, and becomes friends with Liam.
- Parents as People: A much more laid-back and supportive parent to Milo than Nora, but at least on two occasions he carries out his bickering with his ex-wife on Milo's back, and for some reason, he thinks it's necessary to lie to his son about his new relationship.
- Strong Family Resemblance: He and Milo look a lot alike.
Nora Sinclair
Provides examples of:
- Age-Gap Romance: With Roger, who appears to be a good deal older than her. Her ex Dylan on the other hand is her age.
- My Beloved Smother: She has an unlovely tendency to constantly call Milo and nag about his job, his love life, his anything, and it was also her who got him his job at the theatre (and, by extension, possibly his acting jobs in commercials when he was a kid).
- Parents as People: She's definitely not flawless, but she loves her daughters and her son dearly and tries to be helpful to Milo as he moves into his new apartment.
- Parent with New Paramour: Well, new spouse meanwhile. Milo is not hostile about his mother's second marriage, but he feels like she started her life over again without including him this time, new baby and all.
- Teenage Pregnancy: She was only eighteen when she had Milo, which cut her acting and dancing career short.
- Why Couldn't You Be Different?: Only temporarily; she has a bit of a fit when Milo outs himself to her, but she gets over it... though she's still not exactly thrilled when meeting his boyfriend.
Roger Sinclair
Provides examples of:
- Age-Gap Romance: With Nora; she's in her mid- to late thirties, while Roger is in his fifties.
- Nepotism: He used his connections twice to get his stepson an apartment, once to get him a job at a theatre, and once to get him a role in a movie. Of course, he used to be Milo's agent, but now that he's married to Nora, Milo feels quite uncomfortable about profiting from Roger's contacts.
- Nice Guy: Seems to genuinely want to help Milo, though the latter cannot fully appreciate it as he feels a bit disconnected from his mother's new family.
- Office Romance: A variation, as he worked as Milo's agent around the time he started dating Nora, but with Milo being underage then, it's fairly reasonable to assume that Nora managed her son's acting career, so she and Roger worked together anyway.
Molly and Mina Dunstan
Provides examples of:
- Adorably Precocious Child: Mina would like to go to boarding school because she thinks it would be kind of adventurous to be away from home, and at age 13 she also wants to drink coffee, black — though she doesn't particularly like it when Milo lets her try it.
- Alliterative Family: Mina and Molly, sisters of Milo.
- Always Identical Twins: Not quite clear. They do look a lot alike, but Molly has curls while Mina has straight hair, and in some pictures, Mina's hair also appears darker than her sister's.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Molly, a bit, in regards to Liam whom she adamantly calls "Milo's boyfriend".Molly: Are you two gonna snog now?
- Hereditary Homosexuality: Possible with Mina — in boarding school, she has a pretty obvious crush on a girl on her cricket team, similar to her brother who came out around the same age (incidentally in the same school). We don't know enough to rule out her being bi, though.
- Nightmare Fetishist: Mina gets to read Liam's horror story, including a leg amputation. She's thrilled.
- Polar Opposite Twins: Molly is cheerful and upbeat and dresses more girly, including wearing her curly hair open, whereas Mina goes for simple t-shirt and jeans outfits, sports a Tomboyish Ponytail and, according to cast information, "entered her edgy teenager phase early".
- Strong Family Resemblance: You can tell by first glance that they're Milo's sisters / Dylan's daughters.
Sylvia Sinclair
Provides examples of:
- Babies Make Everything Better: ZigZagged. Nora sure seems happy to have her, but it's also shown how exhausted she is with the pregnancy and then the new baby, and Milo is kind of awkward about having a baby sister who's a full eighteen years younger than him because it makes him feel that his mother is starting a new family without him, even though he doesn't dislike Sylvia per se.
- The Baby of the Bunch: Has two sisters who are thirteen years older than her and a brother who's eighteen years older.
- Character Tics: A rather common one for a baby; Sylvia tends to put everything into her mouth that she can reach, which is for example her mother's or her brother's sweater when she's held by either of them.
- Cheerful Child: Remarkably unimpressed by people having a loud argument around her.
- Odd Name Out: The only one of the siblings whose name doesn't start with an M; possibly justified in that she's a half-sister — a Sinclair, not a Dunstan.
Friends
Hebert Dalton
Provides examples of:
- Birds of a Feather: With Matt, who, as Hebert complains, is "condescending, full of himself, and shameless about it" — so yes, of course they hooked up. Hebert doesn't seem to be aware of the similarity.
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: At Archie's stag night, the Redhead to Archie's Blond and Liam's Brunet.
- Brutal Honesty: Hebert has no brain-to-mouth filter; he regularly calls Milo out on faking a confidence and well-being when really he is miserable. Problem is that Milo doesn't find that helpful at all.
- False Friend: Not with malicious intent, but he still befriends Liam while ever again subtly trying to "fix" (or possibly sabotage) his relationship with Milo. He comes to a big Heel Realization later.
- Innocently Insensitive: His attempts to fix Liam's and Milo's relationship, his repeatedly implying that Liam is not good for Milo, and his tendency to discuss Milo's failures in class and private life stem from the genuine wish to help (and from his ill-informed belief that Liam treats Milo badly), but it's really just tearing at Milo's nerves.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Eventually realizes that his well-meant advice comes off as meddling rather than helpful and that his constant nagging is eating away at Milo's confidence.
- No Sense of Personal Space: Which underlines the impression that he's flirting with Liam and especially with Milo; he always seems to have his hands somewhere on them.
- Really Gets Around: He's implied to have quite a lot of one-night stands.
- Real Men Can Cook: He's kind of appalled that Liam can't cook at all, and insists on teaching him.
- Spell My Name With An S: Hebert, like the candy. With only one R.
- Stepford Smiler: Downplayed, but there are occasional signs that he feels lonely and isolated after moving from America.
- Straight Gay: Mostly, though he can act a bit simpering occasionally.
- The Tease: One of the things that make Milo insecure about Hebert — he constantly seems to flirt, though, with Milo pointing that out, that's a bit rich.
- Third Wheel: First Milo's friend over acting school, then unexpectedly makes friends with Liam with whom he plays tennis. There have been wild discussions in the comments section on whether or not he tried to flirt with either, and how much he could be a threat to Milo and Liam's relationship. Though, just between the two of them, they really seem fine; it's Hebert Milo has a problem with.
- Unknown Rival: Apparently has no idea that the advice he tends to dish out and his easy success in acting classes leads Milo to feel like he has to prove that he can keep up with Hebert.
Penny O'Neil
Provides examples of:
- The Chessmaster: Penny has a talent to manipulate people and situations in her favor — or, when requested, in their favor, but even then she manages to get some advantages out of it. She's a rare benevolent version of this trope, helping careers or relationships along, but she is not altruistic.
- Mellow Fellow: Penny is always seen with a calm, self-confident smile on her face.
- Out-of-Character Moment: The one and only time Penny is actually seen nervous is when she's about to ask Kat if she'll move in with her.
- Shipper on Deck: For Liam and Milo as well as Archie and Ally — though maybe it's not so much that she ships them; she rather notices early on that there's an interest and helps things along to gain her own benefit from it.
- Smart People Wear Glasses: Wears glasses, and is arguably the most intelligent (or cunning) person of the entire cast.
- The Social Expert: Despite being rather an introvert herself and working mostly from the home office, Penny has a good insight into people, which makes her an excellent puppeteer.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Downplayed; she's not an extreme example of a tomboy, but she's wearing the trousers variant of her school uniform whereas Kat wears the skirt variant, she doesn't wear make-up and generally seems to care less about her appearance.
- You Owe Me: She's practically a benevolent Godfather; if you have a problem with your private life or job or anything, Penny will help if you ask for her help, and her solutions will work — but just as certain will she cash in her favors at some point.
Kaethe "Kat" Drescher
Provides examples of:
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: While her hair is dyed (first blonde, later a pink-ish shade), it was originally brown, and hair aside, she fits the trope with her usually aloof manner and her calm maturity.
- Lipstick Lesbian: In a relationship with Penny, and she doesn't show any Butch features.
- The Stoic: Kat has yet to be seen losing her cool. Her facial expressions are rather limited, too, though not entirely emotionless.
- Team Mom: Because of her calmness and (subtle) caring nature, she tends to mom the people around her a bit, offering Liam a tea and talk when he seems dejected and giving both Milo and Archie some decent advice for their lives and relationships.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Girly Girl to Penny's Tomboy, though downplayed; it's mostly reflected in Kat wearing make-up and skirts whereas Penny usually goes in trousers and doesn't wear make-up.
Archie Bast
Provides examples of:
- Allergic to Love: He has a crush on Chloe, but the idea to be left alone with her on their date drives him into complete panic.
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The Blond to Liam's Brunet, with either Milo being the Redhead (in school) or Hebert (at Archie's stag night).
- Bookworm: He and Liam get along because they're both quiet, bookish guys, though Archie points out it's been literally years that he touched any other books than textbooks.
- Covered in Kisses: At his wedding reception, Liam discreetly has to point out to him that Ally's affections have left some marks on his neck.
- Endearingly Dorky: A walking bundle of awkward, and he manages to be so cute in it.
- High-School Sweethearts: He and Ally subvert this by mere minutes; after graduation, they sit on the same train home and hit it off. One and a half years later, they marry.
- Lovable Jock: Starts playing in the school's Cricket team, but remains the same sweet goof.
- Oblivious to Love: Ally clearly is already into him at boarding school, but Archie doesn't seem to notice.
Ally Mayfare
Provides examples of:
- All Love Is Unrequited: She gushes over Archie while Archie gushes over Chloe. Times are changing, though.
- Genki Girl: She gets easily excited.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Blonde, and a very nice girl with a sunny attitude and quite a spirit when it comes to stepping up for her friends.
- High-School Sweethearts: Just barely subverted with Archie by mere minutes; after graduation, they sit on the same train home and hit it off. One-and-a-half years later, they marry.
- Insatiable Newlyweds: Implied to be this; she already started snogging the hell out of Archie during the reception.
- Meaningful Name: She sure is an ally to Milo when he has to face the homophobic bullies at boarding school.
Noel Laroque
Provides examples of:
- Gender-Blender Name: For some reason, her name is Noel, not Noelle.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: She hides hers pretty well, but Noel genuinely wants Liam's best, and she adores her later boyfriend Seymour.
- Lovable Alpha Bitch: Mostly snobbish and arrogant, but she has her moments, such as when she laughs about Liam's immature jokes or when she passionately defends her boyfriend Seymour. Also, even though she doesn't think the world of Milo, she offers her help to him when he has a make-up malfunction regarding his black eye and concealer.
- Rich Bitch: Her family is rich and prestigious as hell, and it manifests in Noel's enormous social conceit.
- Sassy Black Woman: Shows up especially with her College boyfriend as they fight and he oversteps a line — Noel doesn't take shit from anyone, and she certainly won't take orders.
- Tsundere: Much like Liam in that regard; it takes either her having reason to worry about a good friend (Liam) or her being genuinely in love (with Seymour) to show that she has a sweet side indeed.
Richard "Dick" Marre
Provides examples of:
- Ambiguously Bi: He doesn't shut up about sexy ladies and tells about a girlfriend he had after College whom he genuinely seemed to like, but on the other hand, he just can't seem to get out of Liam's personal space. Then there's the time when he mistakenly believes Liam just made an indirect confession about having been in love with him for years (Liam was actually talking about Milo there), and Dick is just like "You know what? Let's go for it!" He bungles that part, too, because he ends up confronting Vi by accident, which probably spared him some awkwardness in the end, but he was not as averse to the idea as one might think.
- Casanova Wannabe: It's hard to get him to stop talking about "the ladies", and he apparently thinks a guy will get friendzoned if he doesn't get on a physical level with a girl pretty soon, but his flirting is not as successful as he'd like it to be.
- He Cleans Up Nicely: As Liam notes, Dick can look pretty nice in a suit and when he puts some effort into his hair and shaving.
- Hidden Depths: Dick may be loud and boisterous and seem a bit simple, but he's capable of answering a slightly condescending compliment with a swift quip, and despite all his extolling of single life and the freedom to flirt with whoever he comes across, he seems a bit wistful when he tells Liam about a past relationship.
- Innocently Insensitive: When Liam is about to hold his speech, Dick's way of encouraging him is to tell him he surely doesn't want to ruin Ally's and Archie's first hour as a married couple. He doesn't realize that Liam is already dying of nervousness as it is.
- Ship Tease: A little bit with Vi.
- Sure, Let's Go with That: You gotta admire his skill to just roll with a completely warped situation: He mistakenly thinks Liam has just confessed his love for him, wants to confront him about it but gets Vi, whom he mistakes for Liam, and she mistakenly thinks his words were directed at her and notes that, while she's flattered by his interest, she has barely ever talked to him. But when she offers they sure could have a conversation, Dick is happy enough to accept that.
Viola "Vi" Butler
Provides examples of:
- Identical Stranger: She and Liam aren't related at all, but she looks basically like his twin, especially during the times he wears his hair long. This is even more pronounced as Vi prefers typically masculine clothes.
- Real Women Don't Wear Dresses: Vi is mostly seen in clothing that would look appropriate on a man, including dress shirts and suspenders; she even shows up in a suit for Ally's and Archie's wedding.
- Shipper on Deck: She not-so-subtly hints to Liam that Milo is single... except he's not. By that time, Milo and Liam are already an item; Liam's just not out about it.
- Ship Tease: She and Dick have a bit of a moment there, caused by a row of misunderstandings, but they still seem to look forward to their talk.
Matt Dooley
Click to see how Matt looks upon reappearance.
Liam's classmate from law school who occasionally helped him out with notes.
Provides examples of:
- Always Someone Better: To Liam; Matt gets along with the lessons a great deal better than he does.
- The Bus Came Back: Since Liam falls out of touch with him after leaving law school, he disappears after Chapter 8, then returns in Chapter 17 as Eli's assistant.
- Deadpan Snarker: Shows towards Liam.Liam: I don't have any friends.
Matt: Yikes. Not with an attitude like that, you won't. - Gender-Blender Name: His birth name seems to be Madison, but he shortens it to Matt while in law school and uses the latter exclusively after his transition.
- Mellow Fellow: Matt always seems completely calm and relaxed.
- Nice Guy: Lets Liam copy his notes from the law lessons. Later, he reviews and renegotiates Liam's contract pro bono.
- Old Friend, New Gender: He transitions sometime between Liam leaving law school and him getting a job, and mentions that the income and autonomy from the job have been helpful in that regard.
- Pair the Spares: With Hebert.
Acquaintances
Dr. John Kholberg
Provides examples of:
- Shout-Out: Jewish Doctor (if we go by name), glasses, and that beard? Come on, that face practically screams Sigmund Freud.
- The Shrink: Of the well-meaning, but ineffective variant; Liam concludes after several years of therapy that he's actually not gaining anything from it and that he's fine to just be the way he is. Verges on the harmful variant, because apparently Dr. Kholberg has never heard of confidentiality and regularly confers with Eli about Liam's therapy sessions.
- Single-Issue Psychology: Averted; Liam originally began the therapy to deal with his mother's death, but he points out that he and Dr. Kholberg haven't talked about his mother in a very long time.
- That Makes Me Feel Angry: Inverted; Liam is so pissed off that he crushes a stress toy during his session while telling about his most recent issue — upon which Dr. Kholberg asks him how he feels about this.
Dr. Doris Friend
Provides examples of:
- Armor-Piercing Question: Gently but poignantly asks just the questions Liam needs to answer for himself in regard to his motivations and intentions.
- Iconic Sequel Character: Because Liam had another therapist before her, she gets introduced fairly late, only in chapter 17, but she has been a positive influence on Liam, the new therapy visibly doing him good, and he obviously likes her.
- Meaningful Name: Dr. Friend; she apparently once made a joke that she married her husband just for the sake of getting his surname.
- Nice Girl: The nicest, managing to give her patients a safe, comfortable environment in which even Liam doesn't mind putting his feet up on the couch and admitting to his insecurities.
- The Shrink: The awesome sort; she's compassionate and attentive, encourages Liam's self-expression via writing, and currently works with him on upgrading his low self-esteem.
- The Social Expert: Should be a given seeing her job, but it stands out that she definitely has a better grasp on Liam's behavior and thinking patterns than Dr. Kholberg had.
Alf's nurse
Provides examples of:
- Hospital Hottie: A rather realistic version; she wears a job-appropriate uniform and a sensible hairdo. Still, Alfons is definitely attracted to her.
- Offscreen Romance: A good six months after Alf is out of the hospital, she is shown to be still around... and the fact that Alfons is comfortable around her in nothing but his underwear is rather telling.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: She seems to know very well that Alfons has no right to even still be in the country (his visa is expired), but asks Eli to go over the paperwork with her in discretion.
- Tattoo as Character Type: She has intricate flower tattoos all over her arms; she and Alfons bond when she tells him when and how she got them.
Chloe Randolph
Provides examples of:
- Brainless Beauty: Cute and nice, but not the most perceptive girl.
- Brick Joke: Yes, she really does like bees.
- Buxom Beauty Standard: Her well-endowed figure seems to be a big part of why Archie is so attracted to her.
- Everyone Loves Blondes: Archie has a massive crush on her in College, and later during his stag night, his friends apparently deem her the one girl among the strippers who should give Archie a lap dance.
- Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Stripper, actually, and she doesn't seem to take an issue with the job — she asks completely amiably if Archie wants the lapdance his friends paid her for, but as he declines, she's happy as well to just have a nice talk with an old friend from school.
- Oblivious to Love: It's a Running Gag that she never notices Archie's obvious crush on her.
- She's All Grown Up: Meeting her at Archie's stag night, Liam comments that she's looking good. Funnily enough, Chloe makes a comment to the effect of Archie being all grown up... whilst presenting her quite well-developed assets.
Antonia "Toni" Lucci
Provides examples of:
- Ambiguously Brown: Well, not so ambiguous — her name hints she's of Italian descent.
- Both Sides Have a Point: When Milo complains about his mother being overbearing, Toni points out that Nora has just had a baby a month ago, which definitely tends to influence one's mood and behavior.
- Hypocrite: Calls Milo out on being unprepared for dancing class — when she herself came late and with her hair down.
- Innocently Insensitive: She notes Milo has gotten much better in acting after practicing with Hebert, not realizing that this is kinda a sore spot for Milo.
- Nice Girl: When Milo bungles in acting class, she consoles and encourages him.
Seymour Wright
Provides examples of:
- As Himself: In-name only; he happened to play Seymour in the school play of "Little Shop of Horrors".
- Morality Pet: To otherwise haughty, bossy Noel, who adores him and firmly defends him against any jabs.
Mr. Renard
Provides examples of:
- Clueless Boss: He doesn't even seem to realize that Milo came to the theatre for a job as an actor, not as a laborer, and he definitely doesn't notice that Milo is miserable with the job. Subverted when Milo learns that Renard has been stringing him along and doesn't want him as an actor.
- Nepotism: He employs Milo because he's friends with Nora and Roger, and even pays him an experienced wage from the get-go.
The Landlady
Provides examples of:
- Nice Girl: She's unswervingly friendly and agrees to compensate Liam and Milo fairly for work they do on the apartment.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: For some reason, she finds it necessary to mention that there hasn't been a fire in the apartment for a full ten years.
