The Wayhaven Chronicles General Discussion (SPOILER FREE FOR BOOK THREE!)

[EvilChani]

@Cat-Toes

As much as I would love this, I should warn you that her height is a bit of a sensitive subject for her.

That’s how Dezh is. Call her short and she may kick you. Or glare at you in a way that will make you head the opposite direction. My N-mancer is the same way, only she’s not as scary as Dezh, lol. The other two think it’s fun to be short because they can make everyone else do stuff for them with a simple pouty look and “I can’t reach it!”

@Cat-Toes

I actually think Cat could use a bit of this, she opens up and gets attached at the drop of a hat, and once she’s attached she will find a way to help at the cost of helping herself.

Dezh does this, anyway, she just refuses to admit it. In b1, she offered herself to Murphy because she realized they were outnumbered and didn’t want UB to get hurt. She figured Murphy would get her either way, so better to save them and worry about Murphy after UB was safe (yes, she actually believed she could free herself).

@Cat-Toes

That being said, she also feels things very deeply

So does Dezh! But she just crams those pesky feelings down and pretends they aren’t there. She’s like a freaking powder keg.

@Cat-Toes

There were four guys other than Bobby all of whom were worse, so take from that what you will.

We may have to compare notes. Dezh’s high school “romance” was a horrible thing. But she’s a tough one.

@Cat-Toes

That’s why Riley is still refusing to start a relationship with Felix no matter how much it makes me want to bang my head against something.

OMG, poor Felix!! My MC with him went right for the relationship. She’s the youngest. She’s also the laziest and least professional, lol. Adam hates her.

@Cat-Toes

Good luck to her then.

Thanks, she needs it. If she’s not completely drunk when she says it (or half-asleep or something), she’ll probably get pissed off that she said it, then yell at Mason and stomp away before he can respond. Dealing with emotions really isn’t her thing (a quote from her: “Ugh, talking about your feelings is for losers. And thirteen-year-old girls.” waits a beat “Same fucking thing.”).

[Cat-Toes]

@EvilChani

The other two think it’s fun to be short because they can make everyone else do stuff for them with a simple pouty look and “I can’t reach it!”

This is me in real life, lol

@EvilChani

In b1, she offered herself to Murphy because she realized they were outnumbered and didn’t want UB to get hurt. She figured Murphy would get her either way, so better to save them and worry about Murphy after UB was safe (yes, she actually believed she could free herself).

OMG, Cat did this too, except she wasn’t worried about saving herself. She was actually really nice to Murphy the whole time she was captured. Areylia, on the other hand wholeheartedly believed that she could save herself. She likes to think she’s as clever as Sherlock Holmes, and more charismatic. (She got a borderline God-complex going on.) To her credit, she did escape her bonds and make it to UB.

@EvilChani

We may have to compare notes. Dezh’s high school “romance” was a horrible thing. But she’s a tough one.

I gave all of my Mc’s a traumatic romantic history, except Cat who has next to no romantic history. I would consider Areylia’s to be the most traumatic, but one of my real life friends who has heard all about my MC’s, and has helped with with ideas for some of my fanfics about them says Riley’s is worse. If you’re on AO3, I have some hints to their backstories on there, nothing super in depth yet but I’m also happy to chat about them in a PM on here. (I love talking about my character’s backstories!)

Riley: The short version is that Riley had self-image issues long before she reached dating age, but when her first boyfriend committed suicide while they were living together, it shattered her self-respect. (Obviously it’s not her fault, but since when have feelings ever listened to logic.) After that she dated a guy who was only interested in her till she slept with him then left, then she dated Bobby. After Bobby she dated a guy who was very emotionally abusive, and since Riley has a hard time making friends to start with it was fairly easy to isolate her, and then the last guy was physical abusive. (And I wonder why she’s so relationship shy…)

Areylia: Areylia’s last date was several years ago back when she was still in training in the city before she was officially a police officer. She actually, intentionally went on a date with a wanted violent felon because he’d been evading the police and she was absolutely certain that she (a nobody at the police academy) could solve a crime that seasoned detective’s could not. Well, she actually found the dude, but she wanted to be sure she got the right guy, so she went on a date with him to verify her suspicions, and it ended with her in the hospital. She still considers it a win, considering he ended up in prison. (I’m being intentionally vague with this as I was planning to write a fanfiction where that guy gets out a prison and Areylia has to explain this to everyone considering she didn’t even tell Tina or her mother, who she has a good relationship with. Also being vague cause this gets a little dark for a general discussion thread, but feel free to PM me!) Other than that she gets hit on all the time, and since she’s not interested ends up being very emotionally draining for her.

Lukas: This one is easier to explain quickly. He used to be engaged, but the girl left him for his best friend, so he started sleeping around a lot, but regrets it and had been trying to stop by the time the first book started.

Rhiannon and Eleanor aren’t as developed yet, but they’ll probably end up having similar levels of traumatic backstory.

[Lambkin]

@Cat-Toes

As much as I would love this, I should warn you that her height is a bit of a sensitive subject for her. She always tells people that she’s 5’0" because “technically when using mathematical rules of rounding 4’11” and 3/4 should be considered 5’0". Everyone else goes by what her driver’s licence says which is 4’11".

Bless, I love her. Don’t worry, Ellie would totally back her up and agree that she’s 5′0″. Meanwhile, Ellie is perfectly comfortable with her diminutive height and will usually employ Tina (who is 5′7″) to reach very high things in the station for her.

@Cat-Toes

Personally I think her shortness is adorable, especially since she romancing Adam who’s over a foot taller than her.

Her shortness is adorable! I am totally weak to height-difference in my ships, so I get you. The height-difference between Ellie and Mason isn’t quite the same as it is between Areylia and Adam, but Ellie and Areylia definitely face a lot of the same challenges. Mason certainly doesn’t feel inclined to lean down for a kiss on the cheek and makes Ellie work for it. So, perhaps Areylia and Ellie can commiserate with each other.

@Cat-Toes

I have this scene in my head of them in a relationship in the future where Areylia is trying to subtly give him a kiss, but not being tall enough to reach and standing on her tip toes while tugging on his shirt while he’s just standing there crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow like “what are you doing?”

Lol Adam, you very well know what she’s doing. But oh my, this is so cuuuuute! (Also, is a pixie trying to kiss a giant really that subtle though?)

@Cat-Toes

I already mentioned that Areylia (A) is tiny at 4’11", and I believe I mentioned a little earlier that Lukas (N) is 6’5", so they really are opposite ends of the spectrum. Riley (F) and Cat (M) are slightly taller, but still smallish at 5’3" and 5’4" respectively.

How rude. Lukas stole his sisters’ heights.

@Cat-Toes

That’s pretty much where I was going with Cat, but I more game we get, and the more I get in her headspace, I realize that she’s kinda sending mixed signals too since she’s kissing Mason, but not sleeping with him, and I’m actually wondering how much longer she’s going to last on that point. I think the problem for her is that she is so inexperienced that she didn’t realize how hard it would be to walk that line until after she let him kiss her, and now she’s stuck between what she’s always wanted, a serious/committed relationship and a family, and what’s she’s feeling in the moment.

Ah, Ellie and Mason are also kissing; their first kiss happened during the supernatural research scene (well, technically, the first kiss happened on the carousel). Part of it was because Ellie got caught up in the moment, but another part of it was because she remembered how Mason had answered her question the night before saying he can only hope he finds someone new to pursue, and just remembering that made her heart twist painfully in her chest, so I think that’s partly why she initiated the kiss (but let him take control). After the steam cleared from her mind though, she felt really guilty and like she was somehow being dishonest/misleading him. Luckily, BFF Nate was there to help her put things into perspective, but you can be sure that she and Mason had an off-screen chat (literally something like “Is this okay?” “Yeah.”) about if he was fine with them just kissing. Poor Cat though. That’s a struggle Ellie can understand.

[Anna_B]

How about another hypothetical? This ones a bit shorter

Wayhaven High has a mandatory club system. Everyone has to do something (sports, band, chess club, etc). When your MC was in high school, what club(s) did they participate in? Did they like it?

I feel like my MC would have done cheer and maybe a Romance book club. She would have loved the book club, but cheer would have been harder. She loved it, but she isn’t exactly athletic.

[JBento]

I’m gonna go with Science Club aaaaaand… the school paper, which is sort of a club? I guess?, because my MC was dating Bobby at the time (either a major lapse in judgement or he spent the college years constantly drunk AND high, I see no third viable option).

@Lambkin

she even has a DVD copy of a recording one of her friends took of one of the performances

Come on, we both know that if this DVD exists, Tina would make annual screenings of the thing. Hate to break it to you, but EVERYBODY already knows.

[Lambkin]

Ellie would have been in the drama club. Even though she’s not an ‘in-the-spotlight’ kind of girl, she was (and can still be) a very daydreamy sort who would read books and imagine herself as her favorite characters. She thought being in drama would be a fun way to become different characters and get in their headspaces for a little while. She was fairly good at performing, though she never took on lead roles. She was also the person who was happy to help her classmates run lines because she has a good memory. After high school, she wouldn’t have pursued anything further because it really was just a hobby for her, but at some point during her university days, one of her friends asked her if she’d play Janet in a casual production of Rocky Horror, and with some reluctance, she agreed. To many people’s delights and her mortification, she actually did really well; she even has a DVD copy of a recording one of her friends took of one of the performances that she might actually up and die of embarrassment if certain people were to ever see it.

@JBento

Come on, we both know that if this DVD exists, Tina would make annual screenings of the thing. Hate to break it to you, but EVERYBODY already knows.

Yeah, Tina definitely has seen it, so that doesn’t surprise me. But shhhh, let the poor woman pretend it doesn’t happen. Besides, it’s only certain people she doesn’t want seeing it.

[Aura]

Oooh, I love this one ~

Yuri is quite athletic. She would have definitely been into sports (and if they had wrestling or judo or some other martial art she definitely would have been in that.) The sports I can see her doing are tennis, cross country/track, volleyball and soft ball/base ball. She would have also tried out for cheer and probably enjoy helping with the routines ~

[Anna_B]

@Aura

She would have also tried out for cheer and probably enjoy helping with the routines

Cool! Maybe our MC’s would be cheer friends📣

[Aura]

I was thinking that too! Yuri is super friendly and high energy. Cheer honestly helps show that off. Plus she’s pretty acrobatic so she could help out your MC if she needed it. <3

[ViIsBae]

My character, Violet, would probably have done a mixture of marching band and (if they had it) boxing! I imagine she wanted to learn how to defend herself due to all the scraps she would’ve gotten into growing up, but was like, one of the major reasons no one messed with the school band, because if they did they knew she would’ve squared up seeing as they would’ve been almost like a second family.

EDIT: I know how it might look from my profile picture, but I swear, both I and my character were named Violet before Arcane came out.

[Aura]

Oooh, marching band! And boxing ~ Yuri would love it if they had boxing too, tbh. She’s already martial arts trained from her own background but having learned a bit more in school would have been fun!

Also, no one will judge you even if it wasn’t. Violet is a really pretty name. <3

[Lambkin]

Oh, marching band and boxing would be so cool! Is Violet very agile/graceful? It seems like being in both of those clubs would really teach coordination and awareness. (Also, I love how she is the band’s protector! )

And, @Aura is right; you have nothing to worry about. You and your character have such a nice name.

[EvilChani]

@Anna_B

Wayhaven High has a mandatory club system. Everyone has to do something (sports, band, chess club, etc). When your MC was in high school, what club(s) did they participate in? Did they like it?

This is a fun one, lol.

Dezh (M): Some sort of combat club, preferably a mixed martial arts club. She’d go for boxing or fencing if there was no martial arts. I am pretty certain she’d like one of those, once she accepted the fact that it’s not about beating the crap out of people (she’s been in an actual fight club in the city since she was around 16, so she’d think this is wimpy). She doesn’t really like people and is pretty closed off, but if one of those wasn’t avaialable and she had to join something, it’d be foreign language or robotics or something like that.

Zaraya (A): She’d probably join a couple of clubs–chess and band/drama. Maybe some club that picks up trash around the town or something. Or visits nursing homes. Not sure what kind that would be, but she’s a nice one and likes people.

Jax (F): Good luck getting her to a club more than once, but if she has to join something it would be something that requires minimal work. Knowing her, she’d probably invent her own club that would center around sitting on her ass or playing pranks on people. Or maybe improv club?

Triss (N): Marching band and chorus, without a doubt. She’d join a fencing club, too, because she wants to have better combat skills. She thinks hers are better than they are, though.

[Lambkin]

@EvilChani

Zaraya (A): She’d probably join a couple of clubs–chess and band/drama. Maybe some club that picks up trash around the town or something. Or visits nursing homes. Not sure what kind that would be, but she’s a nice one and likes people.

Oh, Zaraya sounds so lovely! That second type of club you mentioned sounds similar to a community service volunteer club my high school had when I was attending; they often took on big projects and did amazing work throughout our county. I think it’s so wonderful how Zaraya was already taking care of Wayhaven way before she became the detective.

[EvilChani]

That’s really cool that your high school had a volunteer club like that!

And yeah Zaraya is a sweetie. All of my detectives except for Jax have done their part for Wayhaven, though. Zaraya was just more direct.

Dezh worked for (huge head canon here, btw!) for a guy with a farm who did wildlife rescue–she helped trap and take care of various injured wild animals, including a wolf that she loved more than anything (he died while she was in college and it killed her).

Triss was like the pied piper of kids around Wayhaven, and did little things like resolving spats between kids and their friends. And taught them basic self-defense, and what to do in case of an emergency because “Wayhaven is boring, but you never know what may happen!”

[Cat-Toes]

I love this question as well!

Areylia (A): Would also be in drama club although unlike @Lambkin’s Ellie, she would have been in lead roles. She can be quite the the drama queen, and she has Hyperthymesia (Fancy sciency way of saying super freaky memory) so remember lines wouldn’t be too much trouble. I see her performing getting really popular after she played Fantine in a production of Les Miserablés her sophmore year of high school. She also would have been on the debate team and done competitive ballroom dancing both of which she was great at as well. Possibly honors society, and I could see her running for student government which she would also be good at , but she was widely disliked in high school, and self aware enough not to run.

Lukas (N):

@EvilChani

Some sort of combat club, preferably a mixed martial arts club. She’d go for boxing or fencing if there was no martial arts

Lukas is probably the same. I see him most interested in MMA, but any of those options would work for him as well. I also see him doing riflery or drill (for anyone who doesn’t know drill is it’s basically like marching in a formation in completely silence and making a routine out of it. its more of niche JROTC thing though.)

@EvilChani

(she’s been in an actual fight club in the city since she was around 16, so she’d think this is wimpy).

Lukas is also in a fight club, but he didn’t join one until he was older. Even though the choice in the game is that the MC joins the police depart because they couldn’t join the military, I headcannon that Lukas became a police offer after serving in the marines, and I imagine him joining a fight club as a way to cope with leaving the military.

Riley (F): Riley hates interacting with people any more than necessary, and would likely not join any clubs. If forced I could see her being in robotics or possibly chess team. She would also have been invited to join honors society and turned it down. (I also head cannon her coerced into joining theatre because she needed a fine arts credit to graduate, and refused to take the class.)

Cat (M): Cat would have been in choir or orchestra (She sings, plays violin and piano.) I can also see her doing ballroom dancing as well. I think she would also do some kind of mentor program to help a younger kid or something like that.

Eleanor (LT): I think she could actually be in student government since she loves people so much, and she would genuinely enjoy representing her fellow students. I could also see her on the swim team since she’s fairly athletic as well.

Rhiannon (LT): Chess club for sure, and likely Battle of the Books. My high school had a writer’s club, so I could also see her doing something like that. She’s also very introverted, but these kinds of clubs tend to be chill enough I think she’d handle it okay.

@EvilChani

Dezh worked for (huge head canon here, btw!) for a guy with a farm who did wildlife rescue–she helped trap and take care of various injured wild animals, including a wolf that she loved more than anything (he died while she was in college and it killed her).

Ahh, this is so sweet! I also suspected she was secretly a softie.

@EvilChani

Triss was like the pied piper of kids around Wayhaven, and did little things like resolving spats between kids and their friends. And taught them basic self-defense, and what to do in case of an emergency

I love this too! I also see Lukas doing something similar. He teaches free self-defense classes to pre-teen and teenagers on the weekend, and a lot of them started coming to him for advice.

[Anna_B]

Areylia sounds like who I want to be, but @Lambkin’s Ellie is who I really am I love acting, but I DESPISE auditions. Especially when they want you to improv something

[ViIsBae]

@Aura @Lambkin Thank you both so much for the kind words! Both of yours sound very fun as well (I am both a fan of drama and sports). And I would say she would be pretty agile yeah! Gotta be quick on your feet to dodge them hands!

[Aura]

Yuri is game to spar with people. She’s very competitive (RIP the rest of UB having to deal with her and A. Can you imagine a board game night??? xD) but also any martial art is also fun for her. Even if she loses, she’ll be in good spirits if they can have a meal after. Careful though, she’s an active girl and can eat a lot despite her small frame, haha.

[EvilChani]

@Cat-Toes

Lukas is probably the same. I see him most interested in MMA, but any of those options would work for him as well. I also see him doing riflery or drill

Ooh, Lukas and Dezh would get along great. She’s into marksmanship, and is a great shot (lots of training from… backstory…). I couldn’t see her in JROTC, though, because she sucks at taking orders. Though she went with the “my family was against me joining the army” it wasn’t so much her family (Rebecca) as it was her “family” from the fight club, who told her she’d end up court-martialed in under a year. Of course, she just wanted to join the army to get out of trouble… she was a hellion.

@Cat-Toes

I headcannon that Lukas became a police offer after serving in the marines, and I imagine him joining a fight club as a way to cope with leaving the military.

A good way to cope! Dezh joined the fight club so young when her Aikido master hooked her up with another master in the city, because he (and Rebecca, though she didn’t know her mother was involved) wanted to keep her from getting herself killed from street racing!

Oh man, that is so cool that Cat plays violin! Dezh sings (only in front of complete strangers in bars–and Tina, because Tina got her drunk enough to admit she could sing) but can’t play any instruments. She bought a guitar once, couldn’t play it, got frustrated, and smashed it into splinters, lol.

@Cat-Toes

Ahh, this is so sweet! I also suspected she was secretly a softie.

Tell her that and she’ll growl at you and try to glare you into submission. Or grumble and stomp off, if she figures you have enough proof to beat her over the head with it…

@Aura

She’s very competitive (RIP the rest of UB having to deal with her and A.

Dezh and Triss are massively competitive, too. I love writing it when A hangs out with them because it’s fun to watch them all get pissed off and try to outdo each other while N tries to keep the peace, F records it to post in on youtube, and Mason rolls his eyes and just wants to go have sex with Dezh (he does laugh at Triss and A bickering, on occasion, but the rest of the time he just doesn’t want to hear their crap!).