Line #112 Webcomic/GhostEyes


1	[[quoteright:347:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1m2speer66ftjw_3.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:347:"A human is only in its purest form when it sleeps... or is afraid."]]
3
4	Tobias Schneien is a fifteen-year-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 about 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.
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6	(Oh, and the fact that [[ISeeDeadPeople most of the voices]] he hears, as well as [[OurDemonsAreDifferent the weird tall man only he can see]], might actually be real, but that is anything but a comfort. [[DemonicPossession Far from it, actually.]])
7
8	This all begins to change when he meets an odd boy who wants to show him just how fun being a devil can be and life falls into a place Tobias feels he can never escape.
9
10	Even if he wanted to.
11
12	''[[http://ghosteyes.smackjeeves.com/comics/2562486/ Ghost Eyes]]'' is a PsychologicalHorror BoysLove webcomic written by user Mr. Circus Papa. It's also available to read on [[https://tapas.io/series/Ghost-Eyes Tapas]].
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14	----
15	!!This webcomic provides examples of:
16
17	* AbusiveParents:
18	** 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.]]
19	** Utterly averted with Rudy's parents, who are shown to be very loving and try everything in their power to make him happy, [[ParentsAsPeople even if they don't seem to know that much about his issues or how to help him solve them]].
20	* TheAlcoholic: Luther, Tobias' uncle. It says a lot about [[AbusiveParents what kind of people his parents are]] that ''he'' is the best parental figure Tobias has ever had.
21	* AnimalMotifs:
22	** 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...
23	** 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.
24	** [[spoiler: Ben makes his first real appearance in a flashback of when both he 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]].]]
25	** All members of Dwayne's gang have an animal nickname that relates back to an aspect of their appearance or personality.
26	** PlayedForLaughs with Jamaraus... Best known as just "Dino".
27	--->'''Cop:''' ''(After seeing him wearing a full-body dinosaur costume)'' Is this why they call you "Dino"?
28	--->'''Dino:''' No. Carmelo said "Jamaraus" sounds like a kind of dinosaur and it just stuck.
29	* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Adam, Rudy's little brother. [[AvertedTrope Averted]] with Mattias and with what little do we get to see of Tobias' younger siblings yet.
30	* ArmouredClosetGay:
31	** 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.]]
32	** Tobias himself is a mild example, having been raised in an abusive and religiously fanatical environment where homosexuality was seen as yet another sin from the "outside world". The fact that his very first kiss with another male was entirely non-consensual doesn't help at all.
33	* ArtShift: If Tobias has a psychotic break, a panic attack or some full-blown NightmareSequence, expect the art to either [[DeliberatelyMonochrome lose all color]] or look like [[NightmareFuelColoringBook if Tobias himself was the one drawing it]]. There's also some pages and art where the author chose to experiment and [[{{Animesque}} make it in the style of a manga or a fake anime adaptation]].
34	* ArtStyleDissonance: This is a very dark story with [[SurrealHorror surreal]], [[PsychologicalHorror psychological]] and [[ReligiousHorror religious horror]] elements. Not that you would know that just by looking at the cutesy character designs or by reading some of the LighterAndSofter pages.
35	* AssholeVictim: Dear Daniel Dorian didn’t know what he was getting into when he shoved around the child [[DemonicPossession who wasn’t exactly himself that day...]]
36	* BadBlackBarf:
37	** 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.
38	** When fighting off Mr. Edburt’s possession of Tobias’s body, Tobias gags and cries black goo while trying to ward off an unsuspecting Rudy.
39	** A notable example of this trope is the aftermath Francis faces after he gets subjected to Mr. Edburt’s interrogation. He coughs up black dust at the hospital and throws up black barf at Dwayne’s house the morning after Halloween.
40	* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals:
41	** 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.]]
42	** [[spoiler: Ben]], on the other hand, plays this trope [[TheSociopath completely straight.]]
43	* 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 in 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.]]
44	* BerserkButton:
45	** It's not a good idea [[HatesBeingTouched to touch Tobias without asking]]. Telling him that he needs help or offering it to him [[DontYouDarePityMe tends to open up a whole different can of worms for him]], too.
46	*** And for the love of everything holy, if you don't want to get stabbed in the gut or somewhere worse: Never, ''ever'', bring out [[AbusiveParents his father]] when talking to him, and you might be as good as dead if you ever imply that he deserves or is to blame for his father's punishments in any way. [[spoiler: Poor Rudy, [[MoralityChain of all people]], learns about this [[KickTheMoralityPet the hard way]].]]
47	** Call Mr. Edburt a demon, and he'll get offended and lecture you about how he is a demon ''eater'', thank you very much. [[IAmAHumanitarian Then he'll eat you]]. [[spoiler: Calling him [[UsedToBeAMan by his human name]] also seems to be a good way to annoy him.]]
48	* BettyAndVeronica:
49	** With the [[CuteAndPsycho unstable but sweet]] [[MoralityChain Rudy]] as the Betty and the [[NightmareFetishist completely deranged]] [[TheCorrupter Emilio]] as the Veronica, for Tobias.
50	** In a slightly less twisted example: [[LovingBully Abusive but more or less sane]] Carmelo is the "Betty" to [[CreepyChild Tobias']] Veronica, for Rudy.
51	* BigBad: Mr. Edburt. Alternatively, [[spoiler: the Mistress.]]
52	* BilingualBonus: Tobias is half-German and Rudy's Danish, so sometimes they speak their birth languages when they are alone or with their families.
53	* CastFullOfCrazy: And ''how!'' The main character is a seriously traumatized boy [[ReluctantPsycho who's barely holding it together]] and 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.]]
54	* ComingOfAgeStory: No matter how unusual and twisted the events and people involved in it might be, this is what ultimately Tobias' personal journey seems to be about. Questionable sanity and morals aside, at the end of the day he's just a kid trying to make sense of himself and the world around him, while also [[ForHappiness desperately searching for some happiness at the end of it all]].
55	* ConfessionTriggersConsummation: After Dwayne and Francis have their FirstKiss (first two kisses, really) they do the do at Dwayne’s house.
56	* TheCorrupter:
57	** 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.
58	** While Rudy is implied 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.]]
59	** [[spoiler: And then there's [[TheManBehindTheMan the Mistress]]. [[TheVamp Dear]]. [[HumanoidAbomination Lord]]. [[KnightOfCerebus In Heaven]], ''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]].]]
60	* 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 makes 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...]]
61	* CuteAndPsycho:
62	** 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".]]
63	--->'''Tobias:''' I think of Rudolph as something like a cupcake... filled with thumbtacks.
64	** [[{{Yandere}} Emilio]], meanwhile, has an emphasis on the "Psycho" part.
65	* CreepyBlueEyes: Tobias has them, and they appear to be the "ghost eyes" the title refers to. Scarily enough, it also happens to be a trait he shares with [[HumanoidAbomination Mr. Edburt.]] He used to have [[InnocentBlueEyes a more joyful light on them]] when [[UsedToBeASweetKid he was younger,]] though. [[spoiler: It's later revealed that all children who are marked by Mr. Edburt are either born with his eyes or develop them later in life.]]
66	-->'''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.
67	* 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 art style 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.''
68	* DeliberatelyMonochrome: When Tobias gets overwhelmed or is about to get possessed, all color tends to disappear [[PaintingTheMedium to reflect this]], with the possible exception of [[ColorCodedEyes the characters' eyes]].
69	* DemonicPossession: Mr. Edburt [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything just likes to be inside Tobias a little too much]]. [[spoiler: Tobias is also not the first child he has done this to, and might not even be the last.]]
70	* DestructiveRomance: What Emilio wishes to have with Tobias. Tobias is... conflicted about it, to say the least. [[spoiler: Rudy's past relationship with Ben was [[RapeAsDrama a much more explicit]] example of this.]]
71	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: PlayedForHorror (and [[BlackComedy some very dark laughs]]). Mr. Edburt's delight in [[DemonicPossession possessing]] and sometimes [[IAmAHumanitarian eating]] children is both very literal as it is metaphorical for [[RapeAsDrama something]] [[PaedoHunt else]].
72	* DramaticIrony:
73	** No one but Tobias is able to see Mr. Edburt and 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.
74	** [[invoked]] [[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]].]]
75	* DrivenToSuicide:
76	** [[spoiler:Oh, Rudy... 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]].]]
77	** The very first pages of the comic have Tobias mention as part of his inner monologue how he feels he should just kill himself, but that there's always something that prevents him from doing so.
78	* DudeLooksLikeALady:
79	** 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.
80	** And then there's [[AmbiguouslyHuman King]]. [[spoiler: The only reason we as readers know that he might be a "He" is because Mattias keeps calling him "Uncle".]]
81	* ForcefulKiss: Emilio to Tobias. After he had just stabbed him on the shoulder and [[LickingTheBlade licked the blood off the blade]], no less.
82	* 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 for 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.]]
83	* GrotesqueCute: A story about mentally disturbed children being stalked by eldritch horrors while falling in love shouldn't be allowed to be this ''adorable''.
84	* HalloweenEpisode: More like a Halloween story arc, but Part 3.5 still qualifies.
85	* HorrorComedy: With a heavy emphasis on the "Horror", but with long comedy intervals in between.
86	* IAmAHumanitarian: Mr. Edburt. He's actually a ''demon'' eater by his own admission, [[PaedoHunt he just likes children too much]] to pass out the opportunity to eat them.
87	* InLoveWithYourCarnage: It should be noted that Emilio [[StalkerWithACrush was already stalking Tobias]] at the time, but it's not until he saw him kill some random fox that he became downright ''obsessed'' with him.
88	* IronicNurseryTune: [[http://ghosteyes.smackjeeves.com/comics/2652447/pt-3-pg-1/ That can't mean anything good...]] [[spoiler: As if we needed more confirmation than [[TheSociopath Ben]] was bad news...]]
89	-->''There once was a man''
90	-->''in a perfect little house''
91	-->''He once had [[AnimalMotifs a cat]]''
92	-->''who caught the perfect [[AnimalMotifs mouse]]''
93	-->''But the mouse would not be eaten,''
94	-->''The mouse won't be put down''
95	-->''[[OhCrap The mouse killed the cat and everyone in town.]]''
96	* KissingUnderTheInfluence: Francis and Dwayne have their FirstKiss while they are both tipsy.
97	* MarshmallowHell: Rudy's mother, immediately upon meeting Tobias. Rudy's brother seems to encourage it.
98	-->'''Adam:''' Do it, mom! Kill him! Suffocate him with your boobs!
99	* MoralityChain:
100	** 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.
101	** [[MoralityPet A variant of this]] is what Emilio's baby sister Vanessa seems to be for him, [[CutenessProximity if his total change in behavior when he's near her]] is anything to go by.
102	---> '''Tobias:''' ''What... What is this creature and what has it done with Emilio?''
103	* MouthCam: One of the first shots we Mr. Edburt is from behind their teeth, dripping with ichor.
104	* NightmareFetishist: Quite a few.
105	** Emilio ''loves'' everything about Tobias: His [[CreepyBlueEyes eyes]], [[InLoveWithYourCarnage the way he kills animals]], his [[HemoErotic blood]]... '''Everything'''.
106	** [[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 in the first place]].]]
107	* NightmareFuelColoringBook: What [[ArtShift the art tends to shift to from time to time]] to [[PaintingTheMedium illustrate]] what Tobias or any other character might be feeling or thinking. There's also sometimes a cryptic message or word hidden on them, most often than not a MadnessMantra of some kind. [[http://ghosteyes.smackjeeves.com/comics/2615034/happen/ I LOVE IT!]], indeed.
108	* 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...
109	* PsychicNosebleed: [[spoiler: Poor Mattias seems to have a lot of this, at least when [[BigBad The Mistress]] and [[AmbiguouslyEvil King]] get involved.]]
110	* RapeAsDrama:
111	** Page 30, [[AmbiguousSituation maybe]]. The fact that we don't know for sure what Mr. Edburt did to Tobias during their "good luck ritual" just makes it [[NothingIsScarier worse]].
112	** 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 is a shot from Rudy's perspective of Ben [[SlasherSmile smiling]] before the page goes black.]]
113	* 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 averts this further, being shown to be the only completely normal family in the entire comic so far.
114	* ReluctantPsycho:
115	** 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.]]
116	** Emilio himself is something of [[MaskOfSanity a weird example]], as he's actually been shown to be a much more sane person [[SanityStrengthening after he has taken his medications]]. He even asks Tobias if he likes him better that way. [[spoiler: He keeps stalking people even when he's on his pills, he is just able to keep [[{{Yandere}} his other urges]] in check better.]]
117	* SinisterSwitchblade: 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]].
118	* TheSociopath:
119	** 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 a 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.]]
120	** [[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 treatment 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.]]
121	* SayItWithHearts: Mr. Edburt often uses hearts when he speaks, in a loving or playful manner. Rudy has also used hearts in his speech passive-aggressively [[https://m.webtoons.com/en/challenge/ghost-eyes/pt-3-268-269/viewer?title_no=147330&episode_no=324 when he was upset]] with Tobias.
122	* StalkerWithACrush: Emilio, towards Tobias. [[spoiler: Rudy and later Emilio himself reveal that he actually used to be a ''serial stalker'' long before Tobias started going to their school, with him "studying" the lives of a lot of different people, Rudy himself included. Tobias is the only person he has found truly interesting, while everyone else is "boring" to him now that he found him.]]
123	* WhamLine:
124	** "Teach me how to KILL"
125	** "Life wasn't perfect but we were doing fine until [[spoiler: the day my eyes started [[TheCorruption turning blue]].]]"
126	* {{Yandere}}
127	** Emilio is this for Tobias. [[spoiler: [[PlayedWith He only is explicitly this when he hadn't taken his meds, though.]] With them, he's just a stalker.]]
128	** 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, 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.
129	* 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.

Context Webcomic / GhostEyes