History Webcomic / GhostEyes

** [[invoke]] [[TearJerker A particularly dramatic]] event happens because of this: [[spoiler: After Tobias confronts Emilio and stays with Rudy for the night, Rudy hears Tobias talking in his sleep, saying "Why did you do nothing when he hurt me?". The reader knows that he's speaking to Mr. Edburt, but Rudy takes it as Tobias blaming him for not being there when he needed him the most. As a result, he has a mental breakdown during which he [[{{Fingore}} messily rips out his own fingernails]] and [[DrivenToSuicide tries to overdose on pills]].]]

** No one but Tobias is able to see Mr. Edburt and [[AmbiguousDisorder his mental problems]] make him unable to communicate what's happening even to the few people who care enough to try to help him, leading to some very awkward situations.
** [[TearJerker A particularly dramatic]] event happens because of this: [[spoiler: After Tobias confronts Emilio and stays with Rudy for the night, Rudy hears Tobias talking in his sleep, saying "Why did you do nothing when he hurt me?". The reader knows that he's speaking to Mr. Edburt, but Rudy takes it as Tobias blaming him for not being there when he needed him the most. As a result, he has a mental breakdown during which he [[{{Fingore}} messily rips out his own fingernails]] and [[DrivenToSuicide tries to overdose on pills]].]]

* AbusiveParents: Tobias's father has him and [[MassiveNumberedSiblings the rest of his many siblings]] isolated in the woods, physically and emotionally abuses Tobias and tells him how he's unworthy of his love, as well as [[spoiler: threatening him [[OffingTheOffspring to kill him]] if he continues to be a "bad child". It's also strongly implied on the very next page that he might be molesting him.]]

* AnimalMotifs: Cats seem to be something of a recurring motif. Emilio is compared to the Cheshire Cat by Tobias the first time they meet and has some subtle cat traits as part of his personality, [[CatsAreMean even if they are negative ones.]] Tobias also kills a black cat with a brick at one point, [[MindScrew only to find no trace of the cat or blood whatsoever mere moments later.]] Then we get to see the same cat very much alive at the end of Part 1, in the arms of a strange person who just happens to resemble both Tobias and his father a lot...

* AmbiguousDisorder: It's very clear from the get-go that something is very wrong with [[CreepyChild Tobias]], but ''what'' exactly is anyone's guess. He has NoSocialSkills, very low empathy towards other people (Narrating that school life got easier for him when he started to think of the other students as just ''animals''), extremely low self-esteem, hears voices in his head, and kills small animals such as dogs and cats, as well as being prone to have panic attacks and suicidal thoughts. Whether this is the result of Schizophrenia, some weird form of Antisocial Personality Disorder, PTSD from his traumatic upbringing, a direct side effect of being a constant victim of DemonicPossession or a combination of all of the above is up to the reader. [[StalkerWithACrush Emilio]] is just as messed-up, if not even more so than him.
** Rudy's StepfordSmiler personality and tendency to SelfHarm also fall into this, though stuff such as BPD or Bipolar Disorder is potentially on the table.
* ArmouredClosetGay: Carmelo, the bully of the school both Rudy and Tobias attend to. [[LovingBully He has a painfully obvious crush on Rudy]], but he's deeply in denial of his own feelings, so he "copes" with them by [[TeensAreMonsters abusing him.]] He also gets really flustered and runs away when Tobias (actually Mr. Edburt possessing Tobias) flirts with him and [[LecherousLicking licks his neck]] during an audition for a school play, [[LuminescentBlush blushing red the whole time.]]

* BadBlackBarf: Mr. Edburt’s signature black goo tends to appear when things are about to go (or are currently going) horribly wrong. It leaks from his eyes and mouth, and it appears near his presence as well. Victims that survive his torment also tend to leak or throw up this mysterious substance.

* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: PlayedWith. Tobias is not outright "bad" per se; he's just a really mentally unstable kid. Still, any cute creature no bigger than a dog that gets too close to him might not be long for this world, ''specially'' if he's being possessed by [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Mr. Edburt]]. [[spoiler: It's only after he makes the jump of just stabbing animals to stabbing ''people'' that he becomes more of a VillainProtagonist.]]

* BettyAndVeronica: With the [[CuteAndPsycho unstable but sweet]] [[MoralityChain Rudy]] as the Betty and the [[NightmareFetishist completely deranged]] [[TheCorrupter Emilio]] as the Veronica, for Tobias.

* TheCorrupter: Emilio loves [[ReluctantPsycho Tobias' psychotic side]] and wants nothing more than to see more of it. In a twist of this trope, he also wants it to be a mutual exchange of sorts, with him asking Tobias to teach him how to kill. Meanwhile, Mr. Edburt [[DemonicPossession is a much more literal]] version of this.
** While Rudy is implied [[AmbiguousDisorder to have had his own issues from the start]], it's clear that he would have dealt with them a lot better [[spoiler: had Ben never entered the picture.]]

* CuteAndPsycho: Nearly everyone, thanks to the combination of ArtStyleDissonance and [[CastFullOfCrazy a completely messed-up cast]] as mentioned above. Rudy takes the cake though, [[NiceGuy with an emphasis on the "Cute".]]
-->'''Tobias:''' I think of Rudolph as something like a cupcake... filled with thumbtacks.

* DramaticIrony: No one but Tobias is able to see Mr. Edburt and [[AmbiguousDisorder his mental problems]] make him unable to communicate what's happening even to the few people who care enough to try to help him, leading to some very awkward situations.

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Oh, Rudy...]]
** [[spoiler: Then it's happily subverted when he hears [[YouAreNotAlone both Tobias and his mom calling his name and waiting for him]] at the other side of the door, happily unaware of what he was about to do. After that he just lets the pills he was going to overdose on fall to the floor [[TearJerker and breaks down crying]].]]

* DudeLooksLikeALady: Rudy, helped by the fact that he likes [[WholesomeCrossdresser to wear feminine clothing]]. Tobias and Emilio also look very androgynous at times, with Tobias being confused with a girl sometimes by other characters.

* MoralityChain: What Mattias and later Rudy seem to be for Tobias. He's usually at his most [[WhenHeSmiles happier]] and [[PetTheDog nicest]] when he's with them, and tries to think about [[WhatWouldXDo what they would do in his place]] when he is in an awkward social situation or something worse.

--> '''Tobias:''' ''What... What is this creature and what has it done with Emilio?''

* RapeAsDrama / RapeDiscretionShot:

* ReluctantPsycho: What ultimately keeps Tobias from losing himself to his inner darkness, more so than [[MoralityChain any emotional bond]] with Mattias, Rudy, or anyone else, it's his complete and utter ''disgust'' with himself and [[IJustWantToBeNormal his honest desire to be better]]. It's too bad that both Emilio and Mr. Edburt [[TheCorrupter want to help him "fix" that.]]

[[TheWikiRule Like it's inevitable these days]], it now has [[https://ghost-eyes.fandom.com/wiki/Ghost_Eyes_Wiki its very own wiki.]]

Tobias Schneien is a fifteen years old boy who's been homeschooled his whole life until now. Raised in a church in the woods with his many siblings, tentative mother, and religious father, Tobias is wrought with severe paranoia of being in this public place with peers by himself. His only comfort here are [[HearingVoices the voices in his head]], the blade in his hands, and the God he keeps his faith in.

* AnimalMotifs: Cats seem to be something of a recurring motif. Emilio is compared to the Cheshire Cat by Tobias the first time they meet and has some subtle cat traits as part of his personality, [[CatsAreMean even if they are negative ones.]] Tobias also kills a black cat with a brick at one point, [[MindScrew only to find no trace of the cat or blood whatsoever mere moments later.]] Then we get to see the same cat very much alive at the end of Part 1, on the arms of a strange person who just happens to resemble both Tobias and his father a lot...
** By contrast, Rudy has a [[BunniesForCuteness rabbit]] motif: He's been compared to a rabbit by both Tobias and Mr. Edburt, wears a bunny hoodie when at home and sleeps with a pink stuffed bunny.
** [[spoiler: Ben makes his first real appearance in a flashback of when both him and Rudy were little kids, holding a mouse. This is rather fitting, as mice are associated with [[NiceMice cuteness]] but are also known [[YouDirtyRat as carriers of disease]], symbolizing [[AffablyEvil Ben's own double-faced nature]] and [[ToxicFriendInfluence the lasting toxic influence]] [[DomesticAbuser he still has on Rudy]]. He then [[BadPeopleAbusesAnimals breaks the poor thing's neck]].]]

--> '''Cop:''' ''(After seeing him wearing a full-body dinosaur costume)'' Is this why they call you "Dino"?
--> '''Dino:''' No. Carmelo said "Jamaraus" sounds like a kind of dinosaur and it just stuck.

* AmbiguousDisorder: It's very clear from the get-go that something is very wrong with [[CreepyChild Tobias]], but ''what'' exactly is anyone's guess. He has NoSocialSkills, very low empathy towards other people (Narrating that school life got easier for him when he started to think of the other students as just ''animals''), extremely low self-esteem, hears voices in his head and kills small animals such as dogs and cats, as well as being prone to have panic attacks and suicidal thoughts. Whether this is the result of Schizophrenia, some weird form of Antisocial Personality Disorder, PTSD from his traumatic upbringing, a direct side effect of being a constant victim of DemonicPossession or a combination of all of the above is up to the reader. [[StalkerWithACrush Emilio]] is just as messed-up, if not even more so than him.
** Rudy's StepfordSmiler personality and tendency to SelfHarm also fall into this, though stuff such as BPD or Bipolar Disorder are potentially on the table.

* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: PlayedWith. Tobias is not outright "bad" per se, he's just a really mentally unstable kid. Still, any cute creature no bigger than a dog that gets too close to him might not be long for this world, ''specially'' if he's being possessed by [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Mr. Edburt]]. [[spoiler: It's only after he makes the jump of just stabbing animals to stabbing ''people'' that he becomes more of a VillainProtagonist.]]

* BaitAndSwitch: Pages 226 to 228 give us an intense build-up as to what happened after Tobias was picked up by Luther and [[AloneWithThePsycho Emilio was left alone with a very emotionally distressed Rudy]]. The following day, after Tobias fails to find Rudy anywhere and asks Emilio what happened, we see a flashback panel of him pinning Rudy to the ground and snatching his cutter from his hand. This being [[{{Yandere}} Emilio]], one can't help [[MurderTheHypotenuse but immediately fear the worst]]. [[spoiler: Only for Emilio [[PetTheDog to have done exactly as Tobias had asked him to do]], comforting Rudy and even [[BridalCarry carrying him on his arms]] back to the place Tobias was supposed to be at. While Emilio still wants Rudy out of the picture [[DivideAndConquer and tries to get Tobias to just stop talking to him]], he still won't harm anyone whom he knows Tobias cares for and will take care of them if that's what he wants him to do. We then see Rudy safe and sound on the very next page.]]

* CosmicHorrorStory: [[spoiler: There is... ''something'' (Be Mr. Edburt, The Mistress or a possible third entity) corrupting children by infecting them with a curse of sorts that make their eye color change [[OccultBlueEyes to an icy blue]]. These same children also tend to die later down the road in one way or another...]]

--> '''Tobias:''' I think of Rudolph as something like a cupcake... filled with thumbtacks.

--> '''Emilio:''' Oh, those eyes... Those beautiful, glacial blue eyes. So full of fear and confusion, and hostility. You look like you want to kill me but aren't sure.
* CreepyChild: The Webcomic. Nearly all named characters have [[CastFullOfCrazy something wrong going on inside their heads]], and said list of characters is almost completely composed of teenagers. The round and cutesy artstyle also means that said teens actually look [[OlderThanTheyLook much younger than what they already are]], which in turn makes everything bad that happens to them or [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior is directly perpetrated by them]] feel all the more ''wrong.''

* DramaticIrony: No one but Tobias is able to see Mr. Edburt and [[AmbiguousDisorder his mental problems]] make him unnable to communicate what's happening even to the few people who care enough to try to help him, leading to some very awkward situations.

** [[spoiler: Then it's happily subverted when he hears [[YouAreNotAlone both Tobias and his mom calling his name and waiting for him]] at the other side of the door, happily unaware of what he was about to do. After that he just lets the pills he was going to overdose with fall to the floor [[TearJerker and breaks down crying]].]]

* GenreShift: The first 28 pages of the comic do a good job at building up the atmosphere and the psychological aspect of the story, but you would be forgiven at thinking that there won't be any supernatural elements outside of things Tobias [[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness might be hallucinating]]. Then we see [[HumanoidAbomination a very tall man]] besides his bed... [[spoiler: Things just get more sinister from there, with stuff like "The Mistress" and such possibly implying that the problem might be [[CosmicHorrorStory much, much bigger]] than just a pedophilic Grey Man.]]

--> ''There once was a man''
--> ''in a perfect little house''
--> ''He once had [[AnimalMotifs a cat]]''
--> ''who caught the perfect [[AnimalMotifs mouse]]''
--> ''But the mouse would not be eaten,''
--> ''The mouse won't be put down''
--> ''[[OhCrap The mouse killed the cat and everyone in town.]]''

--> '''Adam:''' Do it, mom! Kill him! Suffocate him with your boobs!
* MoralityChain: What Mattias and later Rudy seem to be for Tobias. He's usually at his most [[WhenHeSmiles happier]] and [[PetTheDog nicest]] when he's with them, and tries to think about [[WhatWouldXDo what they would do in his place]] when he is an awkward social situation or something worse.

** [[spoiler: Rudy, [[BewareTheCuteOnes of all people]], is shown to enjoy watching [[SnuffFilm movies of people killing themselves and being murdered]]. Ben's also this, [[TheCorrupter being the one to introduce them to Rudy and sending them to him on the first place]].]]

* PaintingTheMedium: All around the place, either to show the characters' messed-up mental state or [[SurrealHorror mess with that of the readers]]. Scribbled out panels and speech bubbles, certain words becoming coded or illegible, optical illusions, [[AnimationBump sudden animations]], characters' faces becoming a blank space...

** An example without any ambiguity happens [[spoiler: during Rudy's flashback of his relationship with Ben. He pins him to the floor, gropes him under [[WholesomeCrossdresser his dress]] and [[ForcefulKiss kiss him]], and the last we see of the two its a shot from Rudy's perspective of Ben [[SlasherSmile smiling]] before the page goes black.]]
* RedEyesTakeWarning: PlayedWith, but mostly [[AvertedTrope Averted]]. While [[CuteAndPsycho Rudy]] is not well in the head by any means, he's also one of the few characters in the comic [[DefrostingIceQueen to actually try to understand Tobias and help him with his many issues]], and their friendship is shown to be [[MoralityChain the closest thing to an actually healthy relationship both of them have]]. Rudy's family avert this further, being shown to be the only completely normal family of the entire comic so far.
* ReluctantPsycho: What ultimately keeps Tobias from losing himself to his inner darkness, more so than [[MoralityChain any emotional bond]] with Mattias, Rudy or anyone else, it's his complete and utter ''disgust'' with himself and [[IJustWantToBeNormal his honest desire to be better]]. It's too bad that both Emilio and Mr. Edburt [[TheCorrupter want to help him "fix" that.]]

** Tobias and Mattias' father, [[SinisterMinister Lucas Schneien]], seems to be between this and just plain AxCrazy. Abusive to his sons, rambles about [[TheSocialDarwinist how those who are "the weakest link"]] eventually get "eaten by demons" and [[OffingTheOffspring isn't above killing that "weakest link" himself]]. [[spoiler: When he was teenager, he murdered a girl whom he had a romantic relationship with and later on he did... [[NoodleIncident something]] to his brother's now dead girlfriend that still has him traumatized to this day.]] What keeps him from being this trope is that, for all his psychosis, he seems to truly love his wife and [[ParentalFavoritism his daughters]]. [[spoiler: According to his brother Luther, [[HeUsedToBeASweetKid he was completely different as a little kid]]. It wasn't until they both almost died in a car accident that he started talking about an "angel" (Who might or might not have been [[TheCorrupter The Mistress]]) who had appeared and saved them, with his resulting religious obsession slowly changing him into the monster he is today.]]
** [[spoiler: Ben, Rudy's ex-boyfriend, is more of a textbook example, if maybe a little low functioning one: Manipulative, quick to anger and with absolutely no empathy towards anyone but himself. He is shown killing mice and bugs at a very young age, refuses any and all psychological threatment given to him and claims to love Rudy while also [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raping him]] and [[DomesticAbuse trying to psychologically break him in the attempt that he may never be able to leave him]]. It's hinted that this is because he can't see no wrong in damaging things that "belong" to him.]]

* YaoiGenre: An undoubtedly dark and morbid take on the genre at that. It should be noted that it tends to be a Horror comic first and foremost, as any possible romance between [[PsychoticLoveTriangle the main trio]] tends to take a backseat to all the supernatural and psychological plots going on.

** [[spoiler: Ben makes his first real appearance in a flashback of when both him and Rudy were little kids, holding a mouse. This is rather fitting, as mice are associated with [[NiceMice cuteness]] but are also known [[YouDirtyRat as carriers of disease]], symbolizing [[AffablyEvil Ben's own double-faced nature]] and [[PoisonousFriend the lasting toxic influence]] [[DomesticAbuser he still has on Rudy]]. He then [[BadPeopleAbusesAnimals breaks the poor thing's neck]].]]

** [[spoiler: And then there's [[TheManBehindTheMan the Mistress]]. [[TheVamp Dear]]. [[HumanoidAbomination Lord]]. [[KnightOfCerebus In Heaven]], ''[[UltimateEvil The Mistress]]''. If we are to take her words to face value, the only character that she hadn't been able to corrupt yet is [[IncorruptiblePurePureness Mattias]].]]

** [[spoiler: Ben makes his first real appearance in a flashback of when both him and Rudy were little kids, holding a mouse. This is rather fitting, as mice are associated with [[NiceMice cuteness]] but are also known [[YouDirtyRat as carriers of disease]], symbolizing [[AffablyEvil Ben's own double-faced nature]] and [[PoisonousFriend the lasting toxic influence]] [[BastardBoyfriend he still has on Rudy]]. He then [[BadPeopleAbusesAnimals breaks the poor thing's neck]].]]

Tobias Schneien is a fifteen years old boy who's been homeschooled his whole life until now. Raised in a church in the woods with his many siblings, tentative mother, and religious father, Tobias is wrought with severe paranoia of being in this public place with peers by himself. His only comfort here are [[HearingVoices the voices in his head]], [[KnifeNut the blade in his hands]], and the God he keeps his faith in.

* CastFullOfCrazy: And ''how!'' The main character is a seriously traumatized boy [[ReluctantPsycho who's barely holding it together]] and [[KnifeNut who's a little too quick to stab things]], not being helped by the AxCrazy demon following him around and disturbing events around him [[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness that might or might not be his own mind playing tricks on him]]. Other characters include a StepfordSmiler who [[SelfHarm has a habit of cutting himself]] and [[spoiler: likes to watch movies [[SnuffFilm of rather dubious origin and content]]]], and a [[{{Yandere}} rather obsessed]] StalkerWithACrush who falls head over heels in love with the main character [[InLoveWithYourCarnage after witnessing him killing a fox.]]

* KnifeNut: Let's just say that Luther gifting Tobias with a switchblade for self-defense use might not have been his brightest idea and leave it at that. [[InTheBlood He seems to have inherited it]] from his [[{{Yandere}} mother]].

** Suzy, Tobias' mother, is a MamaBear version of this. She seems more than happy to help him "solve" any problems he might be having with his classmates, [[KnifeNut specially if it involves using a knife]]. That protection ends where his problems with [[AbusiveParents his father]] begin though, as [[MadLove she's apparently too in love with him as well]] to do anything about that, at least not directly.

* CreepyChild: The Webcomic. Nearly all named characters have [[CastFullOfCrazy something wrong going on inside their heads]], and said list of characters is almost completely composed of teenagers. The round and cutesy artstyle also means that said teens actually look [[OlderThanTheyLook much younger than what they already are]], which in turn makes everything bad [[AdultFear that happens to them]] or [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior is directly perpetrated by them]] feel all the more ''wrong.''

* AdultFear:
** While the whole "Eaten by [[OurDemonsAreDifferent a Grey Man]]" is too out there to be this trope, the idea of a child being murdered by one of their classmates [[AssholeVictim as an act of revenge or self-defence from their bullying]] can hit a little too close to home to a lot of people.
** [[spoiler: Your child [[DrivenToSuicide being about to kill themselves]] while you are right there in the other room, with you being none the wiser.]]
** [[spoiler: Being [[DestructiveRomance emotionally and physically abused, manipulated]] and then ''[[RapeAsDrama raped]]'' by someone you thought was your [[PoisonousFriend "friend"]].]]

* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Adam, Rudy's little brother. [[AvertedTrope Averted]] with [[IllBoy Mattias]] and with what little do we get to see of Tobias' younger siblings yet.

* IllBoy: Mattias, Tobias' narcoleptic brother and [[MoralityPet the only real human bond he has at the beginning of the story]]. [[spoiler: He is revealed to be visiting the Mistress' dimension when he falls asleep, [[IncorruptiblePurePureness who is still trying to corrupt him without success]].]]

The fan-made Discord server is [[https://discord.gg/KN9sXjZmMj here]]

* BadDreams: What appears to be [[DreamLand a whole separate dimension of them]], in fact. Or something. Everytime Tobias goes to sleep or falls unconscious, be prepared for things to get [[SurrealHorror really weird.]]