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Characters / Trying Human

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Trying Human has a cast assembled of various humans and aliens.

Beware of spoilers.

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    Humans 

Rose Marie Williams

Our main protagonist in present time. Rose started out having strange dreams and inexplicable nosebleeds. As of now, she's dealing with several alien species and her boyfriend's increasingly shady job shenanigans.
  • Amnesia Missed a Spot: While initially, Rose is not aware of what happened to her, she manages to break through the barrier around her memories more than once. The Greys' procedure doesn't quite take with her because she's of Nordic descent.
  • Beautiful Dreamer: Hue is smitten with her, even when she's unconscious.
  • Disappeared Dad: Rose's father was depressed because of her mother leaving him and drank himself to death two years back.
  • Fiery Redhead: Could be because she's been abducted by aliens recently and has had some trouble because of this, but Rose can be a bit harsh and snippy at times.
  • Foil: To her boyfriend Roger. Both were abducted by Greys from childhood on, and both have to deal with aliens more frequently and more consciously now, learning that the world is way more secretive and complicated than they thought. While it turns Roger paranoid and drives him to xenophobic outbursts, Rose faces the aliens friendly and rather curious, and she handles sudden alien-involving situations in a much calmer and more pragmatic way.
  • Forgotten First Meeting: With Hue, initially. It comes back to her, though.
  • Interspecies Romance: Seems to develop one with Hue. She's also the result of one.
  • Laser-Guided Amnesia: Rose's memories of her abductions by the hands of Greys were regularly wiped by Shade, though she remembers more easily and more clearly than most other abductees. There are also the memories of her mother which were deleted by EBE1 when Rose was young... on request of her mother herself.
  • One-Hour Work Week: Averted. Rose loses her job a few days into the plot, hence she has a lot of time to go to therapy and bother with aliens. She mentions being worried about losing her apartment, but she has a bit of her father's inheritance to help her out financially, and then Roger moves in with her.
  • Pajama-Clad Hero: When interacting with the aliens, Rose is frequently in her nightgown, especially in earlier chapters. That's because of the nightly abduction procedure.
  • Parental Abandonment: Her mother left when she was still a child, and finding out she was alive and well all the time but just didn't care enough to ever look after her leaves Rose pretty devastated.
  • Rapid Hair Growth: Alien "Mum" bit a good chunk off Rose's hair, but it grew back quickly — like it always does, according to Rose. Most likely because of her Nordic heritage.
  • Skeptic No Longer: When a therapist tells her after a hypnosis session that she was possibly abducted by aliens, Rose deems it nonsense. However, during her next abduction, she manages to wake herself up... to be surprised in the worst way.
  • Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To Phillis. Their hair aside, they look pretty much identical (and even the hairdo has some similarities); they both are connected to the Greys in some way, and they share some character features, too, though Rose is more straightforward and temperamental.

Phillis Lennox (1947)

A young woman who worked around aliens at Area 51 in 1947, but seems to have left a message that is to be found by Rose in present day.
  • Background Halo: Sort of. In some visions and imaginations of other characters (Rose, Hue, EBE1) she appears in a look that apparently belongs with the "Queen of the Moon" association; part of this is a kind of crown that surrounds her head with a circle of red lights.
  • Defiled Forever: Her word choice at the beginning of chapter 26 implies this, as she talks to EBE1 in their shared mind world while Dr. Glasner rapes her after knocking her unconscious.
    Phillis: I am being ruined out there, aren't I?
  • Died in Your Arms Tonight: The intro ends with her shot by the Area 51 staff, dying in EBE1's arms under the starlit sky. Except she survived. In a way. Probably.
  • Everyone Loves Blondes: Geez, let's see: Dr. Glasner, Walter, and EBE1 all have a thing for her, and there's a random soldier who tries to hit on her at Area 51.
  • Fluffy Tamer: She was the only one to whom EBE1 would listen when she told him "That's enough!"
  • Forgotten First Meeting: Her first contact with aliens, probably because they altered her memory. When Phillis was a little girl and was lost in the woods in the middle of winter, she encountered several Greys, though she remembers being found by a priest who brought her back home.
  • Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Blonde, and arguably the nicest person to have ever worked at Area 51.
  • In-Series Nickname: From their first meeting on, EBE1 has taken to calling her "Philena". Phillis likes it, as it sounds like a melodious contraction of her first and last name, but EBE1 has implied it's a parallelism with a (probably) mythological figure, the "Queen of the Moon".
  • Interspecies Romance: Her relationship with EBE1 is a very close one, and Phillis admits that, if he were human, she'd be in love. Whether or not they were actually partners in the romantic sense of the term is left ambiguous.
    • As of chapter 22, it's confirmed that they were lovers. In chapter 23, he takes her virginity.
  • Jacob Marley Apparel: Though not actually a ghost, Phillis appears in Rose's visions usually in the uniform she was wearing when she was shot, with a (realistic or stylized, depends on the vision) wound at her left shoulder where the bullet hit her.
  • Lost Lenore: She's the Lost Lenore for EBE1 in the present day timeline. He gives Glasner Pigment in exchange for Phillis's photo.
    EBE1: There was no one to help her when she fell.
  • Office Romance: She and Walter went on a date, and he made it very clear that he was smitten with her, but Phillis eventually distanced herself from him again, possibly because of his condescending behavior... or because of her own budding interest in EBE1.
  • Only Mostly Dead: Despite being shot in the opening scene, Phillis is still somehow alive and conscious in the modern day, albeit imprisoned in a jar by Dr. Glasner.
  • People Jars: Glasner keeps Phillis' body in one. Phillis can communicate with him through means of a printer, and recently, it seems she has built some sort of telepathic connection to Rose whom she's trying to get to help her.
  • Plucky Girl: Being the object of unwanted affection of a Mad Scientist, mentally linked to an alien, and subject of occasional and cruel experiments, Phillis can't seem to catch a break. Still, she's an upbeat and always friendly person, even in Rose's visions while Phillis herself is kept in Glasner's laboratory.
  • Psychic Link: EBE1 develops one with Phillis. It transmits pain, and with it, even physical injuries. She might also have one with Rose, in whose dreams she appears.
  • Single Woman Seeks Good Man: The reason why she hesitates to follow EBE1 to space, and also why she has already filed her resignation from the Air Force; she wants to find a man who loves her and start a family, baby and home and all.

Doctor Vernon Glasner

The head scientist in Area 51, and a rather unscrupulous individual.
  • The Ageless: He's implied to have acquired this form of immortality through contact with alien technology, since he's been around since the 1940s and seemingly hasn't aged a day.
  • Bad Boss: Withholds leaves, sleeps with or molests female employees, gleefully lies to and manipulates male employees, bullies 6 (with a reminder that he can have 6 "unmade" any time he wants to), does Mad Scientist stuff with employees genetic material...
  • Bullying a Dragon: He has a disturbing tendency to bully EBE1. Who is telepathic and telekinetic, and not afraid to use it to retaliate the cruelty.
  • Dirty Old Man: His deceased fiancee Abigail is called his "child bride" by Walter, so she might have been a good deal younger than him, he's pretty intrusive towards Phillis before her catatonia, not to speak of the creepy way he talks to her when he's preserved her in a tank. Also, he has sex with 8 in his laboratory knowing fully well that Phillis is conscious and an involuntary witness. She's visibly disgusted.
  • Herr Doktor: A German (who apparently speaks with an accent), a scientist (of the worst sort), and, according to Walter, he used to be a member of the Nazi Party and build bombs for them during WW2.
  • Lost Lenore: In his case, his fiancee Abigail who was killed by a landmine.
  • Mad Scientist: He didn't mind hurting EBE1 in the 1940's at Area 51, willingly accepted that Phillis would be hurt in the process, too, and it's outright shown he has been mistreating Pigment, a female Grey who used to be a test subject on Area 51. Also, he keeps an Only Mostly Dead woman in a glass tank. To whom he talks in a very creepy way. He actually hinted on his plans for Phillis early on when mentioned he wanted to "pick her brain".
  • Manipulative Bastard: And Roger's lapping it up like there's no tomorrow. John, who got wise to Glasner's tricks, is of an opinion that everything Herr Doktor does is manipulation. Then again, it can be remarkably heavy-handed, like denying Phyllis' leave.
  • Omnidisciplinary Scientist: He's one of those mad scientists who have a physics/engineering background, but the plot needs them doing biology. Glasner used to build rockets and that's how he got to be in the US, like Wernher von Braun, but on page pretty much all he does is Mengele stuff.
  • Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: As of chapter 26, we know that he knocked Phillis unconscious and then raped her.
  • Scary Shiny Glasses: Brr.
  • Sinister Shades: He's always wearing shades, quite possibly because of some eye condition, but working within the Hidden Eyes symbolism, even when they're not reflecting light.
  • Tragic Villain: Lost his fiancee Abigail due to a landmine, and she was pregnant at the time... either with his child, or with a Grey-bred alien baby, he isn't sure about that point since she's been abducted several times.

Roger Copley / 12

Rose's boyfriend, former police officer and now Majestic agent.
  • Bigot with a Badge: Turns into one pretty soon after joining Majestic 12. He's prejudiced against aliens, especially Greys, for quite personal reasons, at least partially.
  • Domestic Abuser: After he comes over from Area 51, Roger begins to act like this towards Rose, lying to her about what had happened to her, treating her in a condescending manner, and just deciding over her head that he's moving in with her, not to mention that he tosses some of her clothing in the trash without asking her before. Further, he bosses her around and shouts at her for things she cannot possibly know. Then he slips into outright physical abuse.
  • Face–Heel Turn: He seems to be undergoing one since chaper 17, going from easy-going goofball fish out of water to almost sadistic glee at chasing down and hurting Hue, possibly justified slightly due to Hue not actually leaving Rose alone. And then he starts behaving increasingly paranoid and abusive towards Rose, culminating in slapping her hard across the face.
  • Generation Xerox: He's basically the present-day's version of Walter; Dr. Glasner even calls him Walter accidentally.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: He goes pretty much nuts when he sees his girlfriend with Hue. Granted, Rose and Hue were kissing at that point, but Roger has blatantly flirted with his colleague 3 (and possibly with 8) during the time he and Rose were apart. Finding Rose and Hue asleep together and obviously post-coital hasn't helped matters.
  • Eyes Out of Sight: Normally, no, but when he's being violently deranged and murderous, shadows or his hair tend to hide Roger's eyes, like with the other Majestic 12 agents.
  • Improperly Paranoid: He accuses Rose, whose memory has recently been wiped, of still remembering and seeing Hue behind his back. Rose has no idea what he's talking about, but Roger's awful treatment of her causes Hue to intervene, driving Rose back to him after all. Dr. Glasner has been feeding his paranoia, too.
  • Sanity Slippage: His paranoia may be caused by his new job in Majestic, but there are also his more and more violent tendencies which culminate in him trying to murder Hue (twice) and lashing out on Rose. As of now, the sheer presence of aliens is enough to set him off.
  • The Men in Black: At the beginning of the story, Roger gets recruted to Majestic 12, basically the Alien Police on Earth. His new job is eating away at him.

Janet Jenkins-Jimenez / 8

A Majestic agent, colleague (and admirer) of Roger.
  • All Love Is Unrequited: She has a big crush on Roger and hits on him on a daily basis, but he makes it very clear that he wants to be with Rose, not her.
  • Anguished Declaration of Love: Makes a regretful one to a dead 6.
  • Berserk Button: For all her character flaws, 8 is a capable agent, so don't ever patronize her. Even Roger, whom she is enamored with, she gets very pissed when he treats her in a condescending manner.
  • Defector from Decadence: She wanted to leave Majestic 12 for a while, but kept putting it off in the hopes that Roger would get better. When he shoots 6, she decides her time at Majestic is up.
  • Ethical Slut: 8 has no problems using her sexuality to get her way; besides of sleeping with Dr. Glasner, she blatantly flirts with Roger despite knowing he has a girlfriend. However, she also takes Roger under her wing when he's new at Majestic 12, treats her co-workers friendly, is a proud and loving mom, even though she had to give her son to a foster family, and she doesn't take well to Roger's newly violent outbursts.
    • Back in John's day, he seems to have picked her as a confidante. 8 snarked about his tendency to yell or shoot his way out of problems, and readily helped him escape.
  • Hooker with a Heart of Gold: She worked as a streetwalker, but it seems she was just a girl who genuinely wanted what was best for her baby son.
  • Meaningful Appearance: Her bangs hide her eyes. Especially in the beginning, when most she does is flirting and giving Roger more-or-less helpful explanations about the work of Majestic. The more she's presented as a person who is vulnerable, gets angry, has her own opinions and things that are important to her, the more often her eyes are shown.
  • Miss Exposition: For Roger, since he's new at the job. She explains a lot of alien stuff and MJ12 equipment to him. She was also assigned as 6's handler when he was getting his footing.
  • Missing Mom: She's this to her son Travis, because she had to cut ties with him when she joined Majestic 12, though she visited a school theater play incognito to catch a glimpse of him.
  • No Sense of Personal Space: She's always getting up into someone's personal space, be it 6, Roger, or Dr. Glasner. However, she reacts very sensitively when it's her personal space that's being intruded by Magnus. This is implied to have roots in bad past experience.
  • Rescue Romance: She fell in love with Roger when he helped her on the police department (she'd been attacked by Reptoid Magnus) and made sure she and her baby had a place to stay. It's why she suggested him for the job at Majestic, to be close to him. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite seem to take with Roger. She herself begins to regret it as Roger's Sanity Slippage appears in earnest.
  • Sleeping with the Boss: She has an ongoing affair with Dr. Glasner, though neither of them appears to care about the other in any more deep way.
  • Spicy Latina: Her surname and use of Spanish in a flashback scene suggest she's that.

6

A Majestic agent, colleague of Roger (of whom he disapproves) and 8 (whom he likes).

"Guinea" / Former Majestic 12

A former Majestic agent who teamed up with a Grey — as of now, the pair who nicknamed themselves "Guinea" and "Pig" are basically outlaws.
  • Be All My Sins Remembered: He continues to feel guilty about the abuse of Greys (even if he's done little of it), and in the on-the-run flashback, while running on little sleep and lots of adrenaline he bitterly says he'd rather Pig hated him. He also mentions he's not proud of stealing stuff along the way from Nevada to New York.
  • Defector from Decadence: He went AWOL because he strongly disagreed with the abuse Pigment suffered by the hands of Dr. Glasner, and hence took her with him as he left. As of chapter 24, which gives us his and Pig's backstory, he also took the Half-Human Hybrid Glassner made from their genes (John never agreed to this). And incubated inside Pigment. This was the last straw.
  • Freak Out: Has a bit of a one in the flashback in chapter 24, after learning several disturbing things about the Greys and their treatment on the base.
    John: You are the bad ones, not us! Not us...
  • Heel–Face Turn: After the aforementioned Freak Out, although he's never been a bad guy, per se. He still seems to perceive himself as The Atoner.
  • "Hey, You!" Haymaker: Is how he meets and greets Roger.
  • Interspecies Friendship: What relationship he and Pigment have is not explicitly stated, but they are very close, trust each other completely, and are partners since they met, pretty much. They continue to live together.
  • The Insomniac: In the flashback to his and Pig's backstory, while on the run, he got little sleep and was quite jumpy because of it, worrying Pigment. She gently encouraged him to have a nap, and when he did, she played with his hair telekinetically. Later, at Cervicis's place, he's out like light in no time, leaving the ladies to chat.
  • Limited Wardrobe: He did escape the Area 51 with just his flashgun and the clothes on his back, but a couple of years later he's still wearing a man-in-black suit.
  • Military Brat: Son of an American officer and a French military pilot, career military before he kind of stumbled into Majestic 12. Describes himself as "a bilingual army brat".
  • Monster and the Maiden: He and Pigment invert it, since he's pretty cute, but male, human, and she's an alien Grey. They have a pretty close relationship and common goals.
  • My Card: After saving Hue, he gives him a card with an offer to help and an adress where they could meet. Hue can't read English though.
  • Mysterious Protector: He and Pig used to oversee Hue and Rose from some distance, but when Hue and Quazky were attacked by Roger, they saved them without really explaining who they are.
  • Only Known by Their Nickname: He gets frequently called FJ12, "Former 'Jestic 12" in-comic. The creator's tumblr refers to him as John sometimes. In chapter 24 we learn this is indeed his name, and Pig calls him John in private.
  • Poirot Speak: English-French bilingual, he sometimes calls out in surprise in French or uses it to express his feelings (for Pig, mostly).
  • Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Another trope inverted by him and Pigment, since she's an Emotionless Girl and he's a personable, chatty bloke with a ready smile, a large supply of quips, lots of energy and enthusiasm for life in general, and a bit of The McCoy, since when he gets angry, it's for others.

Walter Edwards (1947)

A co-worker of Phillis at Area 51, and one of the first Majestic agents.
  • Asshole Victim: Some pretty nasty stuff happens to Walter in the flashbacks such as getting pimp-slapped by EBE1 and injected with... green stuff by Dr. Glasner — but honestly, what with the way he behaves sometimes, you can't deny he has it coming.
    • Then again, John and Pig seem to trust him to an extent. Then again, John is comparing Walter to Glasner here...
    John: Back when MJ12 was formed, it was ran by a man with some intergity.
  • Bullying a Dragon: After calling Dr. Glasner basically a Nazi and a cradle robber and taunting him about losing his fiancee, he shouldn't be surprised that Glasner reacts... less than enthusiastically.
  • The Men in Black: He was the first conscript when Majestic 12 was founded.
  • Nice Guy: Seems to be this in the beginning. His development sort of parallels Roger's, though, perhaps because of the job. But Walter never goes that crazy.
  • Politically Incorrect Hero: Well, his Stay in the Kitchen attitude could be explained by the 1940's setting, but him saying that Phillis shouldn't complain when he's getting "a little rough with her" is just not funny anymore and kicks the so-far seemingly Nice Guy Walter straight into Jerkass territory.
  • Wouldn't Hurt a Child: In the intro, he doesn't want to shoot the escaping Phillis despite Dr. Glasner commanding him to do so, because he has seen her with a bundle in her arms and heard a baby crying.

Donald "Don" Marden

An average NYC 17-year-old boy who just happened to catch the eye of Longus and thus was rescued from becoming a meal for Reptoids.
  • Camp Gay: Very downplayed. His mannerisms are no different from any other teenage boys', but he wears nail polisher and make-up.
  • Informed Judaism: All we have is his own word; he mentions that he's had a Bar Mitzvah and that his mother made him wear a yarmulke when he was younger, that's about it. Then again, Don is also a vegetarian, which at least spares him some of the finesses of Jewish diet laws.
  • Interspecies Romance: His relationship with Longus that only gets really established as such after Longus has told Don what and who he is.
  • Rescue Romance: Don begins to warm up to Longus again after the latter saves him from a mugging.
  • The Twink: Not quite 18 yet, a Pretty Boy, a bit naive and dorky, is gay and deals with (perceived or really experienced) rejection from his family because of it.
  • You Know I'm Black, Right?: When Quazky complains that humans are so difficult, Don politely points out that he's human, too.

    The Greys 

In General

As the name says, The Greys can be identified with the namesake trope of aliens. They are tall, have light grey skin and very large eyes, telepathic abilities and not very expressive emotions.
  • Alien Abduction: They take humans to their ship on a regular basis to examine them and take samples of their DNA which they need to breed Half-Human Hybrids, a desperate attempt to save something of their dying species.
  • Alien Blood: Blue. Their entrails are purple.
  • Aliens Speaking English: Not really speaking, as they communicate telepathically, but the human "hears" whatever language they speak. The story is set in the US, so it's usually English, but French-English bilingual John sometimes "hears" French.
  • Big Guy, Little Guy: The tall Greys (about 7 foot) are often accompanied by the small Greys (less than 5 foot) who act as assistants. The smaller Greys may be a servant race.
  • Bizarre Alien Biology: No discernible sexual organs, no sexual dimorphism, size dimorphism that has nothing to do with sex, and their mouths are vestigial - they eat liquid protein (made from abducted cows) through their skin, which also senses tastes (Hue's first contact with seawater is a surprise)
    Hue: Bitter!
Also, according to John, they only have one organ that does everything.
John: They say When Life Gives You Lemons... but... let's just say I wasn't thirsty and the Greys don't have stomachs.
  • Born as an Adult: John explains they don't grow up like humans and don't learn the way human children have to. They just download all the knowledge about the world from their Hive Mind. Although Pigment says she remembers Hue being a child, and suspects he's a Half-Human Hybrid like Ovni.
  • Brutal Honesty: They're... not really good at lying, concealing, tact...
  • Catchphrase: Greys usually say "well eve" instead of "goodbye". Catatonic Phillis has taken up on this.
  • Ditto Aliens: They clone themselves.
  • Dying Race: After their planet was destroyed; the Greys on EBE1's ship are most likely the last in the entire universe.
  • Expendable Clone: Being a clone race with a Hive Mind repository of knowledge, they treat individual lives this way and simply recycle the damaged clones instead of trying to treat them.
  • Hand Blast: Also shields. They can do all these with telekinesis.
  • Monochromatic Eyes: Although their eye colors vary: Hue's are blue, EBE1's - yellow, Shade's - red, Pigment's - pink and so on.
  • Non-Humans Lack Attributes: Pointed out by more than one person, the Greys just have a kinda U-shaped groin. They have no sexual dimorphism to speak of. Pigment flat-out says they don't have human-compatible reproductive organs, like some aliens (she probably means the Nordics).
  • Outgrown Such Silly Superstitions: Could be, as EBE1 claims the Greys have no such thing as religion. Possibly subverted though, as he associates Phillis, whom he calls Philena, with something he calls "Queen of the Moon", which appears to be a mythological figure.
  • Perception Filter: They can project "screening images", including a "nothing to see here, move along" telepathically.
  • Psychic Powers: Greys are both telepathic and telekinetic. The latter can make them appear much stronger than they actually are; indeed, they are physically weaker than humans.
  • Quizzical Tilt: One of the few outward displays of emotion used by normal Greys.
  • The Stoic: Most of the Greys don't get emotional easily, the exception being Hue. There are several hints that they do feel anger, jealousy, worries etc. but don't express it like humans do.
  • Telepathic Spacemen: Telepathy is their primary - indeed, their only - method of communication, since they have lost the use of language. This is why most of them, despite being a Higher-Tech Species, Never Learned to Read. Rose offers to teach Hue, and Pigment has some magazines in her flat.

Hue

The black sheep among the Greys — he has feelings, and a lot of them for Rose. The two of them strike up an unusual, difficult, but deep friendship.
  • All of the Other Reindeer: He feels disconnected from the other Greys because of his more emotional nature, and he gets regularly reprimanded by EBE1 and Shade for his deviations. Also, he's mostly kept away from the examinations of abductees so he won't mess up.
  • Being Watched: He noticed Guinea and Pig watching him and Rose from a distance.
  • Crush Blush: Hue gets a blue version of this around Rose.
  • Darkest Hour: He falls into a bout of depression after he and Rose are separated and her memories of him deleted. Luckily, Quazky can snap him out of it.
  • Forgotten First Meeting: He eventually finds out that Shade has not only been altering Rose's memories, but his as well — he and Rose actually have known and liked each other for a very long time.
  • Innocent Blue Eyes: His eyes are also noticeably larger than the other Greys', emphasising his curious, innocent nature.
  • Interspecies Romance: He's in love with Rose, and when she has a full grasp of her memories, Rose seems to reciprocate. So far, they have an Interspecies Friendship, but they already kissed once, and the romantic overtones have been there from the beginning. As of chapter 23, their relationship is explicitly romantic and sexual.
    • It's hinted (and Pigment all but says she thinks that) he's a product of one between EBE and, presumably, Phyllis.
  • Psychic Block Defense: He tries that when EBE1 takes a look into his mind unbidden, though not to much success.
    Hue: STOP IT! Those are my thoughts, not yours!
  • Single Tear: When he's separated from Rose and her memories of him erased. For a Grey, crying is an unheard-of act of showing emotions, and Shade is visibly staggered by it.
  • Stalker with a Crush: Watching Rose through her window, witnessing her abductions by the hands of Shade, handling her around when she's asleep... in his defense, he's grown up in surroundings that have such abductions as a daily procedure, and he cannot possibly know human social norms.
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: Hue is somewhere between this and rebellious teen — he often contravenes EBE1's orders, and he doesn't like it when EBE1 intrudes his mind, but at the same time he is miserable about his lack of approval, feeling that EBE1 doesn't want to hand leadership over to him someday, and suspects that he would rather get rid of him. Their relationship is complicated, to say the least.
    Hue: How can I be cloned from that?

EBE1

Commander of the Greys, and Hue's genetic origin. In 1947, he was kept at Area 51, where he met Phillis Lennox and formed an intense bond with her.
  • Abusive Alien Parents: Apart from being emotionally distant and disapproving of Hue's more human-like characteristics, he's also not afraid of hitting him. On the other hand, he refers to Hue's empathy as his "best and worst quality" and worries whether Hue will find his place. His abusiveness is probably less rooted in a lack of caring — he does care — and more in a lack of understanding.
  • Artificial Limbs: After his left arm was seriously damaged in the crash of his spaceship in the 1940's and was amputated, Phillis made him a prosthesis from the metal of his ship. Notably, he has full use of the arm thanks to his telekinesis and can even feel sensations (like pain) with it.
  • Clint Squint: Contrasting him with Hue, whose eyes are bigger that the other Greys', EBE1's eyes are narrower than the others', making him seem perpetually annoyed. Even while flirting with Phillis (the only time when he acts playful and happy), he's still squinting.
  • Deadpan Snarker: For a supposedly emotionless alien, he shows pretty blunt sarcasm.
    General Merraine: This is Roger. He's joining Majestic 12 soon, so you better watch yourself.
    EBE1: I'm shaking.
  • Don't Call Me "Sir": He inverts that with Hue, as he insists on not being adressed as "Father" by him, but as "Sir" or "Commander".
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: EBE1 is a rather abrasive and unscrupulous character. Still, his feelings for Phillis are undeniable, and there are times when he shows genuine concern for Hue.
  • Interspecies Romance: With Phillis had some sort of relationship, though whether it was of romantic nature remains ambiguous. Anyhow, they were very fond of each other, and EBE1 doesn't seem to have gotten over her, over fifty years after he saw her die.
    • As of chapter 22, it's confirmed that they were lovers. Consummated even (in chapter 23).
  • Last of His Kind: The Greys' home planet burned up in one of its two suns. EBE1 was born/created shortly before it happened as a prototype form for deep space travel.
  • Psychic Link: EBE1 develops one with Phillis. The bond leads him to state, many years after he witnessed her presumed death, that he can feel her presence, even though he doesn't believe in her survival.
  • Replacement Goldfish: Could see Rose as one for Phillis. He explicitly states how similar she is to Phillis, and then kisses her. That all becomes a tad more creepy once you learn he has known Rose from early childhood on.
  • Throw the Dog a Bone: Or in this case, throw the bony guy a dog. He allowed Hue to keep the puppy they picked up in a box during an abduction of a human.
  • Tin Man: Appears to be as stoic as the other Greys, but you don't want to be around him when he gets angry.
  • When He Smiles: Phillis is very flabbergasted to see him smile, then notes if he were human, she'd be in love by now.

Shade

The head scientist of the Greys. She doesn't approve of Hue's shenanigans.
  • Abduction Is Love: Oddly enough, she shows hints of this; she has grown somewhat protective of Rose since the latter was hers to abduct and examine since childhood.
  • Long Last Look: Towards her assistant Pigment, as the latter is taken away to be experimented on at Area 51.
  • Memory-Wiping Crew: She and Tone take care of compromising memories of their abductees, making sure that all they have left is a few fuzzy dreams.
  • Only Sane Woman: She thinks she's that, with her commander EBE1 having shown not much interest in the Grey experiments to save their race since the time he spent with Phillis, and his intended successor, Hue, having emotional needs and being generally rather erratic for a Grey. Shade on the other hand is a Consummate Professional.
  • The Only Way They Will Learn: Why she locks Hue out of the Greys' spaceship when she catches him visiting Rose again without permission.
    Shade: If he wants to play as a human, he can survive as a human.
  • Tin Man: Shade of all people is able to recognize that Rose has suffered emotional distress over being abandoned by her mother, despite openly acknowledging that she has no experience whatsoever with emotional needs and empathy.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: A calm, unemotional version, but she does call Fatima out on her poor parenting.

Tone

A small male Grey who assists Shade in her experiments.
  • Anything but That!: He really doesn't like having Quazky around.
  • Humorless Aliens: As most Greys are more or less, but it's exemplified in Tone, who doesn't even dish out some dry sarcasm.
  • I Regret Nothing: He got into trouble for helping Hue go to earth, but claims he would do it again — because in his opinion, Hue should just stay on earth instead of becoming their leader one day, which Tone thinks would just get them in trouble because of Hue's emotional nature.
  • Oh, Crap!: Silent and subtle, but it can be read on his face when Shade catches him as he opens a portal to earth for Hue without permission.

Pigment "Pig"

A small female Grey who used to be Shade's assistant, then a subject of experiments at Area 51 since 1978. Currently, she's residing with her human partner, "Guinea".
  • Action Girl: Very much so in the fight against Roger; she uses her telepathy to make the motorman stop the train and her telekinesis to knock Roger out.
  • Escaped from the Lab: With the help of her friend, Majestic 12, who would no longer stand by and watch Dr. Glasner doing things to her with a sadistic Mad Scientist glee. A flashback scene shows Pigment with a large, bleeding wound at her abdomen, implying Dr. Glasner cut her open at full consciousness. Later we learn that he did that and worse. Afterwards, she and Guinea are gone rogue and helping other alien refugees Starting a New Life on Earth in secrecy.
  • The Exile: In the flashback, she gets herself cut off from the Grey collective with a scathing remark or two. If she were human, there would probably have been lots of anger, but as it is, she just falls to her knees and comments on the silence in her head.
  • Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Well, Guinea is of average size for a grown-up human male, but with Pigment being about two heads shorter, she looks positively tiny next to him.
  • Interspecies Friendship: She and Guinea work together excellently and have full trust in each other.
  • Little Miss Snarker: Quite capable of delivering actiony one-liners.
    Pigment: Pick on someone your own species.
  • Monster and the Maiden: Her and Guinea's partnership inverts it, since he's pretty cute, but male, human, and she's an alien Grey.
  • Mysterious Protector: She and Guinea used to oversee Hue from some distance, but when Hue was attacked by Roger, they saved him without really explaining who they are.
  • Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: She and Guinea also invert this trope, her being a (seemingly) Emotionless Girl and him a personable, chatty, quippy guy with lots of energy.
  • Scarf of Asskicking: A long yellow one that covers most of her face and is much longer than she herself — and thanks to telekinesis, she can use the scarf like extra limbs.
  • Stylish Protection Gear: She wears a pair of pink goggles when out fighting the baddies. That might be both to protect her eyes and keep her species a secret - Pig's heroing costume seems designed to conceal pretty much everything.
  • Wound That Will Not Heal: The Glassner-inflicted one which we really should not call a "caesarian section", but it was done to deliver her Half-Human Hybrid baby, kept in check by the green serum and copious bandaging.

    The Reptoids 

In General

Two slightly varying races of Lizard Folk, intelligent, tall "lizard people". They appear to be the most aggressive and/or mischievous of the alien species.
  • Arch-Enemy: They are this to the Nordics, as their rivalry for territory on several planets culminated in a war.
  • Fantastic Racism: Mixed offspring of a Draconian and a Terran Reptoid is considered an atrocity. That could be why the apparent affection between Draconian Gracelis and her Terran servant Quazky is frowned upon by Magnus.
  • Human Shifting: Different than the Greys, they don't actually need the Trying Human circuits to appear (halfway) human, as Reptoids can shapeshift. Keeping up a human form over a long time takes a lot of concentration though.
  • Servant Race: The Terran Reptoids are this to the Draconian Reptoids; as they have been created by the Draconians, they are in their debt and are mostly treated like indentured servants.

Quazky

Hue's best friend, a snarky, quirky Terran Reptoid.
  • Attractive Bent-Gender: Shapeshifted Quazky makes for a cute girl.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Quazky is a Casanova Wannabe who likes to make lewd comments and has a bit of a temper, but he supports Hue in his quest for Rose's affection, clearly disapproves of Grey shenanigans like abducting and mind-wiping people, and generally has his heart in the right spot. When he sees Rose in tears, he also gets very protective of her and calls Fatima out on her utter failure in parenting.
  • Plucky Comic Relief: Always joking, comically failing in terms of human social norms, and a hopeless chaotic. Gets some unexpected Cerebus Syndrome when we find out how troubled his relationship with Gracelis actually is due to circumstances, and that they have a son whom they have to keep secret.
  • Property of Love: Kinda, to Gracelis, whose personal servant he is. While Gracelis is commanding, she behaves more like a bossy girlfriend who nonetheless does a lot for him, leaves him to a lot of free time, and supports his intentions. Later they turn out to have been together for a long time; they even have a son.
  • Puppy-Dog Eyes: Believe it or not, he can pull these off on Gracelis.
  • Troll: A little bit. He finds it funny to tell Hue he should better watch out if he doesn't want to lose Rose to Longus, whom he calls "a real lady-killer"... while knowing perfectly well that Longus doesn't care about women.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: His dynamic with Rose; the two of them are permanently bickering, but Quazky shows that he cares about her, and Rose admits that she quite likes him, ribald language and all.

Longus

Quazky's younger brother, a Terran Reptoid who's been living and working on earth for some twenty years.
  • Big Little Brother: He's a little bit younger than Quazky, but also a bit taller, more composed, and emotionally more mature.
  • Cigarette of Anxiety: Longus smokes pretty regularly, but it's apparent that he always grabs for the cigarettes when he's nervous or otherwise stressed. Don asks him to quit it though.
  • Every Scar Has a Story: Longus has three large parallel scars on his back that he usually covers with his jacket. When Don asks about them in chapter 21, Longus tells him how he got them. Magnus clawed his back open when he found Longus crying over Brevis' corpse.
  • Interspecies Romance: He and human Don have one of the most solid and least problematic relationships in the comic. However, as Quazky points out, by standards of Majestic 12 their romance is illegal.
  • Stalker with a Crush: He has taken to following Don around after work. At least it does give him the opportunity to save Don from muggers.
  • Subordinate Excuse: He hoped that Brevis would take him into his service so they could stay close to each other. Brevis promised him that he would do so after the war, but never made it back alive.
  • Tragic Keepsake: Longus' jacket was a present from Brevis.

Gracelis

A high-class Draconian Reptoid lady who has taken a shine to Quazky.
  • Arranged Marriage: Gracelis notes that she didn't choose her fiance Magnus herself; her superiors picked him for her. It's implied they don't like each other very much, though Magnus shows a certain possessiveness of her.
  • Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Gracelis is temperamental and bossy, but also generous and caring, and using her Trying Human circuit, she appears as a beautiful blonde lady. Of course, being a Reptoid, she doesn't really have hair.
  • Pretty in Mink: She always wears a long pelt-framed coat.
  • Smoking Is Glamorous: She uses a cigarette holder in both human and Reptoid form.
  • Spoiled Sweet: Any friend of Quazky's is a friend of hers, whatever race or status they may be.
  • Subordinate Excuse: The main reason why she chose Quazky as her servant seems to be because the two of them are head over heels for each other, and their rank difference would make it difficult for them to be close otherwise.
  • Uptown Girl: To Quazky; while they mostly seem lighthearted about it, the caste-based society of the Reptoids puts an enormous strain on their relationship, such as Gracelis always having to fear for Quazky's life if someone should ever find out that they have had a child together.

Magnus

A highly unpleasant Draconian Reptoid warlord who's usually to find around Gracelis or at Area 51, working with Majestic.
  • The Bully: Towards 8; he's actually been following her through the ranks just to pester her ever again. He also tends to treat Longus like shit.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Despite not being very nice to his brother Brevis, he was genuinely upset and sad about his death.
  • Fantastic Racism: He doesn't like the different species getting "too tangled up", as he disapproves of seeing humans as anything else than food. Also despises Nordics.
  • Gold Digger: The main reason for his interest in Gracelis could very well be that she's of nobility, and marrying her will be to Magnus' advantage.
  • Hypocrite: He seems kinda disgusted by "all the sick things" Greys do to humans, but he's eating humans, and the way he's treating 8 is just awful.
  • I Have You Now, My Pretty: His behavior towards 8 flips between this and simple bullying.
  • Politically Incorrect Villain: Fantastic Racism aside, his treatment of 8 reeks of sexism, and he calls Longus a faggot when he finds him crying over Brevis' corpse.
  • Villainous Friendship: Strikes one up with Roger. Ish.
  • Would Hurt a Child: He kidnapped a younger Rose for the express purpose of avenging Brevis' death at the hands of her father. When Hue tries to intervene, saying he and EBE1 could take her back, Magnus doubles down in a truly chilling way:
    Magnus: Oh, I'll send her back. Piece by piece. Or at least the parts that spoil.

Brevis

Magnus' younger brother, a Draconian Reptoid soldier who died in war. For extra dramatic irony - he was shot by Rose's father in defense of her future mom, while chasing her to Leave No Survivors at his brother's insistence. Yeah.
  • Ambiguously Gay: He never outright said it, but he seemed to have a great deal of affection for Longus. There's also his statement that Gracelis, a highborn and charming Reptoid lady, "is not his type".
  • Headbutt of Love: Had one with Longus before departing for war.
  • The Lost Lenore: He's this for Longus, and he strongly implied to have reciprocated Longus' feelings.
  • Merciful Minion: Magnus sent him to hunt down and kill the Nordic woman Fatima, but when he'd found her, Brevis advised her to run away and hide. Unfortunately, Magnus was close at his heels.
  • Reluctant Warrior: In stark contrast to his sadistic brother, Brevis didn't seem to enjoy fighting and killing one bit.

Cervicis

John and Pigment's neighbour and friend, who babysits Ovni when they're out heroing. Other than being a Reptoid, she's just a helpful, kind Plucky Girl.

  • Glamorous Single Mother: Has a cute little boy, Hallucis, and an egg, with two different guys she has no contact with anymore. She might not be the most glamorous single mom out there, but she can afford to pay for John and Pig's appartment when they show up, on the run and penniless, and generally help them set up shop. Cervicis also knows how to take care of a (half-) human baby, including burping.
  • Nice Girl: Friendly and helpful towards Pigment and Ovni from the moment she saw them. She has her doubts about John initially, since he's human, but lets go of them as soon as Pigment says he's all right.
  • The One Who Wears Shoes: Most Reptoids don't. She does wear platform shoes in her introductory scene.

    The Nordics 

In General

The most human-looking species of aliens, and they claim that earth's humanity descended from them. A peace-loving, very advanced species that's meanwhile going extinct though.
  • Actual Pacifist: They tried to negotiate with the Reptoids to share their planets instead of battling each other for them, and when the Reptoids attacked nonetheless, the Nordics seemed pretty helpless. The war reduced their numbers greatly.
  • Ancient Astronauts: According to the creation myth of the Nordics, they came to Earth at some point and planted the seeds of humanity.
  • Dying Race: They are not the most fertile species, and the war has taken a great toll on them.
  • Human Aliens: They are more advanced than humans and have several abilities humans don't, but going by appearance, they can pass for tall, slender humans with long blonde hair.
  • Unusual Eyebrows: The only thing that differs them visibly from humans; their eyebrows look like some sort of sensory antennae protruding from their faces to either side.

Fatima

A Nordic who used to spend some time on earth when she had to take flight during the Nordic-Reptoid war. She's Rose's mother.
  • Broken Pedestal: Rose doesn't appear to have a very high opinion of her mother to begin with, and her faith in Fatima is completely shattered when it emerges that Fatima happily left her family on Earth to return to her people, doesn't seem to care that Jacob was left devastated by her abandonment and drank himself to death, and never bothered to visit her daughter.
  • Fantastic Racism: Surprisingly low-key. You'd expect her to be hostile towards or at least afraid of Reptoids after the war and seeing what Reptoids did to her partner, but aside from using the term "lizard", she's civil, if cold, to Quazky, though she insists that he cannot enter the Nordic ship (probably so as not to upset other Nordics).
    • Shockingly shows much stronger towards her own daughter, whom Fatima considers "damaged" because she is half human.
    • She does, however, smugly call out The Greys on torturing humans in her conversation with Shade, who proceeds to explain to Fatima why, exactly, she sucks.
  • Genki Girl: Her default mode, to an extent that annoys both Hue and Rose.
  • Innocently Insensitive: Doesn't seem to get what a devastating effect it had on Rose that Fatima left her behind when she was still a child and now openly shows disinterest in Earth, contempt for humans, and a total lack of care about Rose's father and her relationship with him.
    • Also didn't understand that Jacob was not on board with her leaving him for another man on a moment's notice and wanting to take their daughter with her so he would never see his child again.
  • Interspecies Romance: For several years, she lived with a human man, Jacob Williams, with whom she had a child. She later states that Jacob's happiness and well-being are not her responsibility; this and the fact that she left him to return to Vereveil imply she possibly only hooked up with him because she was stranded there and didn't want to miss the chance to produce a child in her short fertile period.
  • Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Chances are she was this for Jacob, as after she left he fell into depression.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Her idea to wipe Rose's mind of any memory of her may have been well-intentioned, as she thought Rose would grow up happier without all the alien fuss around her, but Rose ended up pretty helpless and as yet another subject of Grey experiments in the process.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Receives one from Shade on her lack of parenting towards her daughter, concluded thusly:
    Shade: Everyone around you has wallowed in pain so that you may be comfortable, safe and happy. When is it time for you to be in pain for others?

Vereveil

Fatima's partner. Seems friendly, though he's mute due to an injury at his throat.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: He pushed Fatima into a rescue capsule when their ship was attacked by Reptoids, he himself staying behind. He survived the attack, but was severely hurt and lost his voice in the process.
  • The Speechless: Lost his ability to speak during the war. Fatima says that a Draconian Reptoid soldier "ripped Vereveil's voice right out his throat", and he has a large scar to prove it. Nordics can communicate through telepathy as well, but Vereveil has chosen not to do so ever since he lost his voice.

    Others 

The Mothman

A Mysterious Stranger who appears out of the shadows to give Rose and Hue some cryptic hints about the future. When pressured by Rose to give his name, he says "Keel", but that may mean nothing.
  • Contortionist: The way he can bend his body and not fall of a building is really only explained by Mind over Matter powers...
  • Cryptic Conversation: He has the "mysterious oracle" thing down to a pat. Part of what he says already happened, though, and Rose has no problem guessing what he means.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: Looks kind of terrifying. Is helpful, sweet and giddy.
    Mothman (giving Rose back the dress Roger tossed): I knew you would need it!
  • Dreaming of Things to Come: His shtick. Most of the things he prophesies have actually happened already, though, so Rose stays unimpressed.
    Mothman: I need to go to sleep now, but when I awaken again, I'll have new visions.
  • Failed Attempt at Drama: Rose is not paying attention.
  • Flight: Probably also telekinetic.
  • The Mothman: That's how he introduces himself. In a spooky "voice". Given that there's been sightings of him, and Rose's dad has his photo, he may be the genuine article.
  • Painting the Medium: He has a special, wobbly font to introduce himself in a properly scary "voice".
  • Shadowed Face, Glowing Eyes: Also Batman-like wings and thin, Grey-like legs, all hidden in shadows but the red glowing eyes.
  • String Theory: He appears as a picture on Rose's dad's corkboard with alien-related information.
    Gracelis: Oh, I've heard of him! He only shows up in times of great human distress.
  • Telepathy: As of yet, he only speaks telepathically. And signs off with a "well eve", like the Greys.

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