Penny and Aggie/Characters

Penny Levac

I don't really need the perfect shoes. It's just fun to pretend that I do.

• Ambiguously Bi (It was hinted from as early as Campaign Trail that she was possibly bisexual, but she didn't approach the issue until the start of the Grand Finale. See below under If It's You It's Okay.)
• The Charmer/The Social Expert: The Queen Bee and trendsetter of Belleville High, and not without good reason, being able to psychoanalyze and understand people. Which makes all the more terrifying when she rightfully states she doesn't get Cyndi.
• Defrosting Ice Queen/Sugar and Ice Personality
• Foe Yay: In-universe, to Aggie until they become friends, Ho Yay afterward.
• Freudian Trio: The Ego
• Guile Hero: Especially evident when dealing an implied preemptive strike against her rival upperclassman, Meg. She tries a similiar strategy when dealing with Cyndi, a considerably more dangerous foe.
• I Can Change My Beloved: The main thrust of Penny's romantic relationships with Rich, Duane, and Aggie, until the latter puts her foot down. They Get Better.
• If It's You It's Okay: Word of God says Aggie is Penny's one exception to her preference for men.
• The Kirk
• Lovable Alpha Bitch: Aggie and friends see her as a straight-up Alpha Bitch for much of the comic's run, but they're mostly wrong.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Occasionally, in the earlier arcs.

Aggie D'Amour

Sometimes doing the right thing hurts. But that's when you have to.

• The Aloner: Aggie nearly ends up as this in a dream.
• Ambiguously Gay: Not only does Karen assume she's gay for a full year, and Lisa briefly consider Sara's theory of attraction between her and Penny, but as of "There Are No Rules" Aggie herself now seriously thinks she may be gay. As of the Distant Finale she is shown wearing a male outfit and is said to be dating girls exclusively.
• Bifauxnen: In the Distant Finale.
• Cool People Rebel Against Authority/ Former Teen Rebel: Aggie actively cultivates a rebellious attitude in memory of her former hippie mother. As she matures, she learns there are other ways to speak truth to power than through protesting and modern art. She ultimately becomes a lawyer.
• Granola Girl
• Hypocrite (Preaches acceptance and understanding, but she's done things like attempting to slut-shame Lisa for being bisexual ("Any lips of any gender'll do?").
• Ineffectual Loner: For a while, Aggie has a hard time making and keeping true friends, for fear that they will replace her...
• Missing Mom: Aggie has difficulty letting go of her memory.
  • In the End You Are on Your Own: Defied. After a horrible nightmare, Aggie learns that this trope is, in the words of her mother, "bullshit."
• Single-Target Sexuality In the early arcs, she's uninterested in either gender until she meets Marshall.
• The Snark Knight
• Soapbox Sadie: Especially in the earlier arcs.
• True Art Is Angsty: In-universe, Aggie's rigid adherence to this attitude helps her to produce florid poetry and abysmal videos, and blinds her to the fact that she's quite good at drawing.

Karen Duvall

Pretty people get to do what they want!

• Big Bad: During "The Popsicle War".
• Break the Haughty: At the end of "The Popsicle War".
• Beautiful All Along: Played with. She may have gotten prettier on the surface, but it doesn't help her self-esteem or make her a better person (being the opposite, in fact), it just convinces her image is everything.
• Evil Counterpart: Regards herself as one to Penny.
• I Just Want to Be Beautiful/Power Fantasy/Be Careful What You Wish For: Being beautiful gives her everything except what she really needs.
• Last Second Chance: Pointed out by her shoulder conscience early in "The Popsicle War"; however, she chooses to ignore it.
• Manipulative Bastard
• Pygmalion Plot
• Rape Is Love: More specifically, Involuntary Hand Job Is Love.
• Shaggy Dog Story: At the end of "The Popsicle War". Not only everything she had accomplished came to nothing at the end, but she's now even more miserable than before. Granted, she brought this upon herself, but still...
• Social Darwinist
• Static Character
• Tragic Villain
• Ungrateful Bastard: The main characters help her become a beautiful woman, so what does she do? Make their lives a living hell, of course! She eventually pays for it, though.
• Villainous Breakdown: At the end of "The Popsicle War".

Sara Velte

My identity is not for them to define. And it's not for you.

• Better as Friends: With Daphne by the finale.
• Coming Out Story
• Butch Lesbian/Lipstick Lesbian: Her post-coming-out look combines aspects of both.
• Freudian Trio: The Superego
• Honest Advisor/Number Two: To Penny
• Jade-Colored Glasses
• Shipper on Deck --> The Dulcinea Effect/Knight in Shining Armor
• The Spock --> The McCoy
  • Tsundere: Type A
• Took a Level in Badass: Non-violent example.

Michelle Brown

Ignorance is bliss. Well, usually.

• The Chick
• Driven by Envy: The source of Michelle's body issues, exacerbated by Cyndi's "encouragement".

(Regarding herself and Penny in a Mirror): Thinner than her. You'll always be thinner than her, now. It's all right. It's all right.

• The Ditz
• Flat Character: Subverted in "Hunger". Her therapist describes her as "not Silent Bob" and "not deep," but by the end of the brief arc she emerges as an even deeper and richer character.
• Freudian Trio: The Id
• I Just Want to Be Loved
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: In regards to Rich and Penny.
• Love Hurts
• The McCoy
• Naive Everygirl/The Pollyanna
• Stepford Smiler: Is very good at hiding her insecurities and her eating disorder, behind a peppy demeanor and a cheerful grin.
• Yes-Man: To Penny.

Lisa Winklemeyer

I'm just...open. Whatev, you know? Screw labels.

• Bald Woman: In the finale.
• Bi the Way: More or less.
• Blithe Spirit/Loony Friends Improve Your Personality: In-universe, Lisa is bound and determined to act as a good example of these tropes for everyone she meets.
• Cloudcuckoolander/Cool People Rebel Against Authority
• Deadpan Snarker
• Genki Girl
• The Herald/Sidekick Ex Machina: It's a near-guarantee that, if a sympathetic character has a dilemma in need of addressing, Lisa will be there to help them confront and/or fix it.
• Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Jokingly tells Michelle that she ships the two of them together. Plays this trope straight with her kindred spirit, Stan.
• Strange Girl: Much like her friend Aggie, Lisa deliberately cultivates a countercultural image.
• Totally Radical

Duane Teague

If you're gonna dream a hopeless dream...go all out.

• Hollywood Nerd
• Hopeless Suitor: Double subverted in regards to Penny.
• I Didn't Mean to Turn You On: To Charlotte.
• Morality Pet: To Charlotte. His kind treatment towards her led her to defrost in a big way.
• Nice Guy

Daphne Brooks

I'm not always a great person, but my friends make me better.

• Better as Friends: With Sara by the finale.
• Genki Girl
• Lipstick Lesbian

Fred Rudolph

This feeling's always been with me, that things will be all right. I like it too much to fight it.

• Large Ham
• Pet Homosexual
• Perpetual Smiler: Most of the time.
• Invisible to Gaydar/Camp Gay: The latter generally when rehearsing, performing or just tipsy.

Marshall Gryvanski

I like weights. If a weight is about to crush your heart, you can feel the pressure. You know it's coming. With people, you're never sure.

• Abusive Parents: His hedonistic mother verbally berates him in public for being an obstacle to her.
• Bishonen
• Broken Pedestal: Aggie used to have a crush on him, but this comes crashing down when he rejects her in a particularly horrible way.
• Chick Magnet: The only girl never attracted to him, even momentarily, is Penny. Even Sara finds him attractive prior to her discovering she's gay.
• Disappeared Dad: He has no idea who his dad even is.
• Kick the Dog: His rejection of Aggie qualifies as this, when he mentions her dead mother against her. He tries to apologize later, but it's too late to salvage his and Aggie's relationship.
• Let's Wait a While

Rich Diggle

I think what's important is for a man to stop takin' the world's crap and start pushin' back.

• All Girls Want Bad Boys/All Guys Want Cheerleaders: Although Penny isn't a cheerleader.
• Badass Biker
• Make Up or Break Up

Stan Larson

No, wait! I don't have a complex psychology! I'm just in it for fun, chicks, praise and bling!

• The Chessmaster: Particularly in the Campaign Trail arc.
• Everyone Has Standards: His Heel Face Turn was triggered when he discovered Cyndi coerced Michelle into starving herself to death.
• Fatal Flaw: Ambition
• Handsome Lech
• Heel Face Turn
• I Didn't Mean to Turn You On: To Michelle, in that he thought she'd wanted a hook-up, not romance. Later, in a different sense, to Penny.
• Manipulative Bastard: Reforms during "The Popsicle War"
• Subordinate Excuse: To Rich, whom he has something of a crush on despite being a ladies' man.
• Was It Really Worth It?: The end of "Mister Smiles".

Jack Kirk

I think I can be a good man for her. I think so. Get close to her level, at least.

• Happily Married: With Katy-Ann by the finale.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation
• In Vino Veritas
• Insecure Love Interest: To Katy-Ann.
• Silent Bob

Katy-Ann Williams

We put so much passion into these day-to-day dramas, and the decisions that tell us who we are... those go almost unnoticed.

• Genki Girl
• Happily Married: With Jack by the finale.
• Saintly Church: A one-person embodiment and the diametric opposite of Charlotte's intolerant, near-psychotic fundamentalist nature, although sometimes her religiosity can be a source of angst as well as friction with others.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: A teenage example of the trope, she's easily the most mature character apart from Aggie's father Nick.

Brandi Jones

I understand boys. Boys show what they feel. Boys' friends are their friends. Girls are the ones to watch out for.

• Beware the Nice Ones
• Ethical Slut
• Friends with Benefits/Relationship Upgrade
• Ms. Fanservice: As drawn by Jason Waltrip.

Cyndi Kristoffer

I do like to play.

• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing
• Depraved Bisexual
• Eviler Than Thou: Karen just can't compete with her in terms of sheer depravity.
• Evil Counterpart: Karen establishes her as one to Michelle. In truth, though, she's more like an evil Penny.
• Faux Yay: Subverted when she crushes on Sara-as-Lady Macbeth.
• For the Evulz: The reason why she does what she does.
• Hate Sink: She takes the Alpha Bitch trope way too far, making her this. Especially in the "Missing Person" arc.
• Knight of Cerebus: Not at first, but grows into this as the "Missing Person" arc.
• Manipulative Bastard
• The Mole: In Penny's clique throughout the first half of "The Popsicle War".
• Ms. Fanservice
• Obfuscating Stupidity
• Put on a Bus to Hell: Her final fate. And it was good riddance.
• The Sociopath: Hell yes! She's even institutionalized for it.
• Vile Villain Saccharine Show: She's an incredibly dark and twisted character for a high school Dramedy like this one.

Samantha Evans

Maybe offence just comes naturally to a spoiled rich girl.

• Everything Is Racist
• Evil Counterpart: To Brandi.
• Sassy Black Woman
• You Watch Too Much X

Meg Macomb

I've outgrown this. I've outgrown you.

• Alpha Bitch: In her backstory.
• Evil Counterpart: To Sara.
• Fallen Princess: Unsympathetic example.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Played with. She seems to be one of the few characters to be fully aware that all the melodrama of highschool aren't the most important years of her life... immediately after this assertion, she nervously asks whether the contents of a police interrogation will be "going on her permanent record."
• Pride Before a Fall In her backstory.
• Opt Out/Know When to Fold'Em: During "The Popsicle War".

Helen Tomalin

If I'm being used...at least I have a use.

• Abusive Parents/The Unfavorite: her parents favor her older sister; in her childhood her father tells her he doesn't love her "right now" when she fails to complete an age-inappropriate task.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing/False Friend: Helen is a sympathetic example of these tropes, and tends to surround herself with examples of same, some less sympathetic than others.
• Attention Whore: Downplayed eventually, in a very literal fashion. Helen desperately wants acceptance, approval, and attention, no matter the source; she believes that letting herself be used is the only way to achieve these ends. This culminates in a Heroic BSOD/Villainous Breakdown when she realizes she slept with resident skeezoids Bob and Elmer while under the influence of alcohol.
• Broken Bird See above.
• Driven by Envy/The Resenter: Helen drifted apart from Penny's group of friends in middle school, and resents them for excluding her from their clique. She is implied to have been envious of Penny's social status in childhood, as well.
• Extreme Doormat: She wants people to use her and is at a loss whenever no one needs to.
  • I Just Want to Be Loved/I Just Want to Have Friends: Very downplayed; after remembering her rape and overhearing Brandi and Stan's healthy sexual relationship, Helen realizes she has heretofore been unable to differentiate between being loved and getting screwed, and has a breakdown.
• Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: In "The Popsicle War," to some extent.
• The Mole: In Aggie's clique throughout the first half of "The Popsicle War".
• Never My Fault: Helen's need to be used often motivates her to put her morals aside.
• Professional Butt-Kisser: Of every clique she's been in:

Helen's inner monologue: Please keep believing I'm going to heaven, Charlotte.

• Rape as Drama: Taking advantage of young women too drunk to give informed consent seems to be a favorite pastime of Bob and Elmer.
• The Runaway: To Something*Positive's Boston.
• Sour Supporter/Unlucky Childhood Friend: Formerly, of the Pennies.
• Sudden Principled Stand: Helen, of all people, chews out Charlotte when the latter tries to frame Katy-Ann for a bomb threat.
• What Did I Do Last Night?: Answer: Bob and Elmer. Both at once.

Charlotte Simms

Sin is everywhere. This world is filth.

• Abusive Parents Her mother, and implied in regards to her late father.
• Adorkable: When not a psychotic fundamentalist, she can be this, especially with Duane.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: Duane's sweet behavior and attempts to make her his friend marks Charlotte's turn for the better.
• Berserk Button: Do not criticize, or attempt to entrap, Duane in front of her.
• Broken Bird
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Double Subverted. She starts out as a psychotic fundamentalist, but Duane's kindness causes her to open up and show a sweeter side of her... until she kidnaps Cyndi. However, this was due to Cyndi's actions hurting others as well as her own issues, and thanks Duane in the end for making her a better person while in prison.
• Evil Counterpart: Karen pegs her as one to Katy-Ann. Unlike the other members of Karen's Girl Posse, she gets better.
• Freudian Excuse: It's hard to blame her Fundamentalist behavior with an especially horrible abusive mother like hers. Word of God confirmed she was also sexually abused, possibly by her late father. Her issues are later exploited by Cyndi to make her commit suicide.
• The Fundamentalist: Big time, but after befriending Duane she becomes gentler and more open-minded... or so it seems, until she kidnaps and tortures Cyndi in what she believes is God's punishment for Cyndi's Manipulative Bastard actions. She still becomes way kinder after that, though.
• Interrupted Suicide
• Rape as Drama: Makes false accusations against Sara. The real thing is also heavily implied (later confirmed by Word of God) in her backstory.
• Tragic Villain: Absolutely. Unlike Karen, she gets better.

Nick and Melody D'Amour

• Happily Married: Before Melody's accidental death in the backstory.
• Hippie Parents/New Age Retro Hippies
• Posthumous Character: Melody, seen only in Flashbacks and Aggie's dream.
• So Proud of You: Nick and Melody have both, in effect, said so to Aggie.

Rob Levac

• Deadpan Snarker
• Jaded Washout: Earlier on.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: When flirting with Lynda as a teenager.
• Mistaken for Cheating: By Penny; subverted in that she's happy for him, thinking his "affair" will bring back the active, upbeat dad she used to have.

Lynda Levac

• Nerds Are Sexy: Both as a teenager and in the present.
• Soapbox Sadie: As a teen.
• Tsundere: Type A, to Rob as a teenager.

Charisma Gryvanski

• Really Gets Around: Before her more serious relationship with Nick.
• Resentful Guardian: Reciprocated, less abusively, on Marshall's part.

---

Back to Penny and Aggie