Line #48 Webcomic/OtherPeoplesBusiness


1	''Other People's Business'' is the latest webcomic by Sandra Stanley. It is set in the same universe as ''Webcomic/FriendlyHostility'' and ''Webcomic/BoyMeetsBoy'' and about three years after the end of ''Friendly Hostility''.
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3	While some of the main characters do make an appearance in ''Other People's Business'', they are not the primary focus. Instead, the plot revolves round the lives of three new characters: Danny, Mercedes, and Hilary. What the main plot will actually be is hard to tell as of yet, but Sandra has given us a summary:
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5	"After a tragic event, down-on-her-luck Daniela 'Danny' Alvarez is being coaxed back into a life of normality by her best friend, sensible Mercedes, when a smart-mouthed sleazy little thief bursts through Danny's window and drags her into a world full of conspiracies, cults, and evil corporations, and accidentally gets Danny on the road to feeling human again."
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7	As of 11/2/11 the author has ended the comic in mid-story. But while the author cannot continue in comic form she will be posting a summary of the rest of the story to provide closure for her readers.
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9	!!This webcomic provides examples of:
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11	* AffablyEvil: Leon has a major case of this, torturing and murdering for a living, while still keeping a likable personality (or at least, the [[ManipulativeBastard superficial appearance]] of one) that makes him a well liked character in spite of everything.
12	* AllThereInTheManual: The majority of the comic's story and ending is only in summary text posts on livejournal.
13	* AntiHero: Hilary.
14	* BlackAndGreyMorality: Side with the the corporation that employs a family man who kills people for a living, or the career thief. Your choice.
15	* CerebusRetcon: Remember that one off joke that Satan made to Tabitha in ''Webcomic/BoyMeetsBoy'' about how she has the chance to corrupt Collin and Fox? Check out what [[FaceHeelTurn happened]] to [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Collin]].
16	* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Not in a big way, but still there. Sandra originally intended Mercedes to always look like a gorgeous cover model at all times, in every pose she makes. But it wound up making her look pretty goofy, so she decided Mercedes' new shtick was now making the most embarrassing and goofy facial expressions ever without realizing it. That and her '''giant hands'''.
17	* TheCharmer: Fox has a fair amount of this...providing he doesn't let his mouth run away with him.
18	* ContinuityNod: Especially regarding Fox - F.H. readers will know just why sleeping in Padma's shed would be such a hardship.
19	* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Creed's Board of Directors.
20	* CrapsackWorld: Has a lot of the hallmarks of one, given that the more likeable you are, the more your life is going to suck.
21	* CreepyChild: The creator says Berlinetta is one of these to anyone but her dad and grandparents.
22	** Build-a-Bear employees can now join this privileged circle, too.
23	* DarkerAndEdgier: There's really no comparison to most of ''Webcomic/FriendlyHostility,'' far less ''Webcomic/BoyMeetsBoy'', even if it is set in the same universe.
24	** [[spoiler: The world ends. Life goes on.]]
25	* DiscontinuityNod: Fox claims that there is no Devil, or at least "demons" aren't really descended from him/her. Her immediate daughter from the main cast of ''Webcomic/BoyMeetsBoy'' might take this as news.
26	* DomesticAbuse: The author insists that Collin does not seem himself as a victim, but the occasional hair pulling and bed-time stranglings from Leon seem to be a relatively usual thing. Alternately, it's a vaguely consensual BDSM.
27	* DramaticIrony: Most variants, from the readers' knowledge that Leon is probably lying to his husband, to Mercedes' dilemma regarding her choice of workplace, to realising just ''why'' Fox gives such good advice on airing grievances in a relationship before the issue gets out of hand.
28	* DysfunctionJunction: No kidding. So far, we have a character whose life has gone almost completely down the drain, a thief with a heavily-implied-to-be-murdered father, and a guy with a shady past and the scars to show for it. The creator says that kicking around in the background is a certain character who has gone from a happy-go-lucky romantic to a heartbroken mess.
29	* EroticAsphyxiation: although the erotic part may have different significance for the people involved.
30	* EtTuBrute: Betrayal and double-crossing are par for the course. A more sympathetic example is Mercedes, an underpaid culinary superstar, who ''feels'' like she's a dirty rat for considering a lucrative new job offer with her hero. LoveInterest Morris disagrees and points out that she would be sensible to consider it.
31	* EyeScream: Part of Leon's gruesome, just-off-panel torture of some hapless intellectual who knew too much.
32	* FamilyValuesVillain: Leon. Murdering someone who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time? Fine. Feeding your kid pizza twice in one week? "What the hell is wrong with you?" Balanced diet is clearly a SeriousBusiness...
33	* FanDisillusionment: The shift in mood saw some FH fans leave the continuity altogether.
34	* FemmeFatale: Francine.
35	* {{Flanderization}}: One of the darkest variants possible. ''Friendly Hostility'' Collin had a bit of a violence kink and occasionally fudged the truth, despite loudly advocating a "brutal honesty" policy. In ''Other People's Business'', violence and deceit are apparently ''the'' things he looks for in a relationship, and he lies as easily as he breathes.
36	* GreenEyedMonster: Leon is angry, violent, and distant. And now also seems to be under the impression that his "girl" is cheating on him.
37	* HappilyMarried: [[spoiler:Collin]] and Leon - although the commentary indicates that all is not smooth sailing, even occasionally hinting at darker undercurrents.
38	%%* HollywoodAtheist: Danny
39	* {{Hypocrite}}: Curiously, Leon is the more standard domestic version rather than the "epic villain" version that would seem to suit him best. He bitches about how [[spoiler:Collin]] has been "cheating" on him (doing things behind his back)...in the aftermath of a murder that has been set up while lying through his back teeth to his husband.
40	* MaternallyChallenged: Danny is this with her son. Possibly one of the reasons she drank so much, or maybe ''because'' she drank so much.
41	** Later in the comic, this turns out to be a ''major'' part of her angst: [[spoiler: She despised even the ''word'' "Mommy", linking it with a total loss of a woman's own identity. She is (or at least, ''claims'' to be) glad that she is no longer her son's primary caregiver, and - ironically, given the Broken Base incident above - is quite happy to hand over the "Mommy" title to Reina]].
42	* ManipulativeBastard: Mad Bart. Leon. Most of Creed. Probably many others.
43	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Supernatural and spiritual things have been implied in the story, and just what Mad Bart is isn't exactly clear. Considering this is in the same universe as fridge demons and anthropomorphic chaos entities, it's hard to be certain.
44	* MoralityPet: Averted with Berlinetta and Leon. He obviously loves her but he lies to her just as much as he does everyone else and it emphasises how much of a creep he is.
45	* NoAccountingForTaste: Leon and Collin. Which variation of N.A.F.T. it's seen as depends on the reader.
46	* ObfuscatingStupidity: Employed all over the place.
47	* OlderAndWiser: Fox dispenses some sage advice, but boy did he have to gain that knowledge the painful way. While avoiding NotAsYouKnowThem, he's an ever-so-slightly sadder, uneasier character, while still chiming in with some PluckyComicRelief.
48	* ParentsAsPeople: Danny's fear of ''losing'' her identity as a person to motherhood is a big part of her character. Leon and Collin are twisted variants. Dixie splits her time between being a mother and the world's most terrifying restaurant owner.
49	* PowerTrio: May be formed by the three main characters, since they do fill the roles.
50	* PrivateDetective: It looks like Danny is trying to be a rare female example of this trope. She gets better at it as the comic goes on.
51	* PunchclockVillain: Likely Hilary [[spoiler: as well as the Ratterlys.]]
52	* ShipSinking: The remaining [[spoiler: Fox/Collin]] shippers appear to have either abandoned the series or retreated into an Alternate Universe.
53	* SpellMyNameWithAnS; AllThereInTheManual
54	* UnholyMatrimony: Leon and [[spoiler:Collin]] -- given that it's a relationship between a doting dad hitman and a CorruptCorporateExecutive.
55	* UnreliableNarrator: The FAQ warns you that "The characters are lying to you." Be warned. ''Especially'' when the chapter title is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "25 Lies"]].
56	* VillainsOutShopping: Leon behaves very differently around his family.
57	** The current storyline is a literal example, as we follow Collin taking his stepdaughter to the mall to buy a pilgrim costume and a stuffed giraffe.
58	* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: Averted; while ''Webcomic/BoyMeetsBoy'' and ''Webcomic/FriendlyHostility'' both had a pretty vague location, this comic is firmly placed in the Houston, Texas area, and has a few shots of specific places now and then.

Context Webcomic / OtherPeoplesBusiness