Trying Human is a science-fiction webcomic by Emy Bitner.Rose Marie Williams is a secretary and filing clerk for a New York City police station and by night suffers from nosebleeds and boughts of sleepwalking. She has been being abducted by a group of aliens, including Hue, an alien who is smitten for her.The comic also follows Roger, Rose's on-again off-again boyfriend who winds up inadvertently working as an M.I.B. and Phillis, an Air Force translator in the 1940s who has a mysterious connection with EBE1, the lead alien Hue's genetic father, that somehow resulted in her death.
Arc Words: "Red" is important for as-of-yet undisclosed reasons. It's implied that it has to do with Shade, who has red eyes, or Rose, who has red hair.
Art Evolution: The difference between the early pages and the new pages is actually quite astounding.
All the current Grays are this, not just Hue. See Last of Their Kind.
Artificial Limbs: EBE1 has an artificial arm, made for him by Phillis. Notably, when Rose encounters Phillis or something resembling her on the spaceship, she says that she "makes arms" as an introduction.
Contrived Coincidence: The fact that Roger just happens to be hired by an organization dealing with aliens while Rose is abducted by those same aliens. Later revealed to not in fact be a coincidence, since both Roger and Rose were abducted and that automatically put Roger on the watch list of potential agents
Emotionless Aliens: The Greys have emotions, but they're very different from human ones, and Hue is considered defective because he acts like a human. However, if anything the others aliens are sometimes more emotional and expressive than the actual human characters.
Hugh Mann: None of the real humans running around seem to notice that Trying Human circuits don't actually work allthatwell. 7-foot-tall albinos? Normal! Guys with greenish skin, yellow-and-red slit pupil eyes, fangs, claws, forked tongues, and strangely spiky hairstyles, who demonstrate the ability to jump outrageous distances? Nothing to see here!
Immortality: Glasner is implied to have acquired Type II Immorality through contact with alien technology, since he's been around since the 1940s and seemingly hasn't aged a day.
Last of Their Kind:The Grays' 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. The original Grays were much more expressive and colorful.
Love Makes You Crazy: Dr. Glasner, though it's debatable how sane he was to begin with.
Mars Needs Women: Hue's attraction to Rose parallels EBE1's attraction to Phillis.
A lot of aliens in this series seem to be partial to humans, as well.
Eventually we find out that, yes, Mars really DOES need women.
M.I.B.: Majestic 12, not that Roger knew when he signed up.
Rescue Romance: 8 seems to be trying to induce this with Roger, since he helped her out years ago, and says that she was the one who recommended him for the job.
Though it's not their first meeting, Longus rescues Don from a couple of thugs, which kickstarts their relationship.
Spicy Latina: 8, judging by her last name and use of Spanish in a flashback, and she's more than willing to use her sexuality to get her way. In fact, she used to be a streetwalker.
Stalker with a Crush: Longus had apparently taken to "keeping an eye" on Don whenever he was off work.
Hue also fits the description. Abducting Rose in her sleep when it's not her turn to be taken, showing up at her apartment uninvited...
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Rose to Phillis, despite the former being redheaded and the latter being blonde. EBE1 has noticed.
Theme Naming: The Greys are Hue, Shade, and Tone. Only EBE1 doesn't fit this pattern, but it's because his "name" is actually a designation given to him by the U.S. Government (his real name hasn't been revealed).
Barring Quazky, all the Reptoids are named after (human) muscles or muscle groups.
Tin Man: The Greys. Even more apparent when they use the Trying Human units.
Triang Relations: Phillis, Walter and Glasner appear to be in a Type 3, while Phillis seems to at least partially reciprocate Walter's feelings. 8, Roger and Rose are in a Type 4, though 8 clearly wants to change Roger's mind about that. Meanwhile, 6, 8, and Roger are in a Type 5, with 6 at the A point.
Title Drop: The Trying Human circuit that allows aliens to mimic humans.
You Have to Believe Me: When Rose tells EBE1 she's been seeing Phillis all over the place. Not surprisingly, he thinks the experiments have made her loony.
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