wow! characters

half of the “disaster duo.” former adventure kid, current depressed shut-in.

• 2012: gregarious, showy with a troublemaking streak, had anger issues.
  2017: pretty much #done with life, occasional jokester, still has anger issues.
• it all started when his parents divorced…
• he and Tara used to prank call the scam lines and talk local delivery services into “updog”s. nowadays his idea of fun is when he can get the kids in CoD to stop screaming profanities for two seconds, whenever he has the patience to deal (or isn’t joining them).
• once wanted to be a lifeguard; almost drowned on the first attempted rescue. plays a mean “Wonderwall,” and enjoys karaoke night at the local bar.

design notes: house-shaped pentagon, but upside-down and with the tip cut off. is red-green colorblind but used to wear those colors a lot. by 2017, showers once every few weeks.

• 𝅘𝅥𝅮 “Don’t Mess With Me” Temposhark (2012); “Everybody Gets High” Missio (2013+); “Monster” Imagine Dragons (general); “Polarize” Twenty-One Pilots (general); “Snakes” Bastille (2017); “Violence” The Unlikely Candidates (2017)
• 🗨 wow a voice

half of the “disaster duo.” begrudging waitress by day, more enthusiastic music-mixer by night, and responsible 24/7 for Nico’s will to live.

• 2012: withdrawn, albeit not entirely by choice; never seen without trusted dog Buddy.
  2017: has taught herself how to be a functional human being, and really really really wants Nico to do the same. (he doesn’t appreciate it much.)
• could go the rest of her life without seeing another lonely man’s grimy apartment. has always followed a social script and does not like deviation.
• legal first name is Ana but privately went by “Ivy” as a kid. Nico still uses it and she thinks that’s sweet.
• met Tara over unpopular opinions about anime, most of which she still remembers (despite herself). listens to murder mysteries in the car, all of which are blissfully easier to solve than Nico’s neverending mental health crises.

design notes: oval. in 2017, has a (small, heavily-covered) scar down her lower lip, and (less-covered, outside work) tattoos around her wrists and at the clavicle.

• 𝅘𝅥𝅮 “Sleepsong” Bastille (2012); “Desperado” Rihanna (2014/5); “Pin” Grimes (general) [link the cover]
• 🗨 wow a voice

Nico’s best friend, “autism sister” to the kid later known as Vexus, and general chill teen trying not to freak out about college or life or her friends’ crises or whatever.

• towers over most people, which is awkward, but tries to play nice with everyone. evidently had some issues that weren’t being addressed.
• always let her sibling win at video games; tried to beat Nico, but rarely succeeded. usually heard in the background of Nico’s vines saying some variation of “dude, don’t do it” while filming and laughing.
• voted MVP of the local robotics club, dubbed by Nico “the nerdiest nerd of all the nerds” (playfully derogatory).
• met Ava before she (Tara) went missing in late 2012; eventually presumed dead by suicide.

design notes: vaguely crescent, super lanky. side-shave was getting a “test run” in 2012. probably could’ve kept growing. wore an hourglass necklace.

• 𝅘𝅥𝅮 “Creep” Radiohead (Amanda Palmer cover); “Hollow” Cloudeater; “I Feel Like I’m Drowning” Two Feet
• 🗨 wow a voice

random little girl in a creepy-ass mansion in the middle of the woods, what could possibly go wrong? story status uncertain, but might be a ghost in 2017.

• tends to come off as a charming little girl scout with a knife behind her back, an impression she exploits for fun—minus knife, although she does love taxidermy and is happy to elaborate. big motormouth tendencies.
• one grandfather taught her how to skin a squirrel and the other read classic novels as bedtime stories. they made some mistakes with her dad; but far as Ava’s concerned, they got an A+ this round.
• probably died in 2012—although there are other versions of the story where she’s still around in her 20s. here she’s made a little name for herself in the local gay bar, in which she drinks absolutely nothing, listens to almost everyone for however long they talk, and advises people on becoming their best selves. in this AU-version-concept-thign she’s friends with Flynn and later Nico.
• has no wifi at home and acts technologically illiterate when convenient. plays a mean, vulgar game of cards against humanity, all with a straight face if she wants to.

design notes: rounded hourglass. initial default outfit was green, currently brown instead; does not dress super modern/trendy regardless. Important: has a prosthetic right (viewer’s left) foot, which may look jarringly mechanical/sleek/modern; this dissonance is intentional.

• 𝅘𝅥𝅮 “Swing You Sinners” Fleischer Studios; “Pavlov’s Daughter” Regina Spektor
• 🗨 wow a voice

smad little dude. Tara’s sibling, best friend of Levi’s.

• selectively mute (not deaf), which applies to 99%* of situations; to avoid people making a fuss over it, avoids everyone wholesale. (*the 1% was for family only. it’s essentially 0% nowadays.) doesn’t go out of his way to be a jerk, usually.
• sister’s dead, shit sucks, moved house, outta luck; now what? story status somewhat uncertain, but may involve revisiting Tara’s old friends (Nico & Ivy) and dealing with his new friend Levi.
• possibly vaguely aware of Dodder, if the latter stays relevant, in a “stop using my dead sister for your stupid culty self-help bullshit” way.
• used to have a long-wanted kitten, but let her out by accident and never saw her alive again. keeps at least one venus flytrap in his room, which is the only place in the new house with evidence of Tara’s existence on display.

design notes: rounded octagon. bulky vests, big sweaters, heavy boots; shielded, even in summer. wears Tara’s hourglass necklace (which is now cracked), usually tucked in his outer clothing.

• 𝅘𝅥𝅮 “Good Grief” Bastille
• 🗨 wow a voice

Vexus’ bestest best buddy pal bestie in the whole wide world, which makes Vexus a very lucky guy.

• horrifically underappreciated, in her own opinion; doesn’t bother with most people. often mistaken for a quiet, shy nerd; they misunderstand her motive.
• his kid-baby siblings drive him up a wall but he patiently takes care of them anyway, like a good obedient child who doesn’t deserve to be yelled at. hates sucking up to adults like this, but desperate times…
• may already know Vexus when $story starts, or their meeting is some type of catalyst. after Vexus played hooky, Levi assumed Vexus had the rebel credentials he looks like he has, and introduced herself. alas, some first impressions are not meant to be.
• wants to be a dentist when he grows up, because these damn dentists didn’t do his teeth right and he’s gonna show them how it’s done. med school sounds like a pain in the ass, though; he just wants to get scum-scraping.

design notes: A Nerd™; glasses and braces are key, everything else not so much. probably goes for tighter clothing. would follow the trends if she had the budget but all she’s got are these shitty hand-me-downs fuck the mainstream actually.

• 𝅘𝅥𝅮 “Hyperdontia” & “Novocaine” Ghost-P; “Hate It! Hate It! Huge Ego!” Kurage-P; “Good Time Girl” Sofi Tukker; “Everybody Likes You” Lemon Demon
• 🗨 wow a voice

charming head of independent investigations, whether as interrogator in a missing person case or (five years later) self-help guru with a near-death testimony.

• could sell ethics to the president. romanticizes romanticism, and prides himself on tendency to make the most miserable people smile.
• high school football sweetheart, still riding that high. has changed lives in the span of a night, and had his own transformed in 2013 upon falling into a multi-year coma.
• once made a college documentary about a local gated community he considered a cult. long-term story relation to the other characters is shaky at best, but he definitely had a heavy influence on at least one of them.
• nickname “Dodder” was originally derogatory, given “clingy” nature and stringy yellow hair. has since embraced it for sheer irony.

design notes: built on abrupt curves and zigzags. lost significant weight between 2012 and 2017; haggard 2017 appearance is (in-character) intentional, somewhat manufactured.

• 𝅘𝅥𝅮 [doesn’t have any songs, to memory]
• 🗨 wow a voice