#THAT MISSTEP. THAT LOSS. GOD BONNIE DIDN'T DESERVE TO HAVE TO GO THROUGH THAT AT SO YOUNG

[dasnercaret]

adding on my extremely rambly two cents as someone who's worked with preteens, something else unique to bonnie that i realized as i was writing this is bonnie's incredible capability to not only adapt to new situations, but also use common sense in a way that's honestly very unusual and extremely mature for a preteen. the fact that bonnie is able to put a lid on their emotions in the first place and still cook for everyone and still semi-coherently express their love and care for siffrin via snacks despite the mess of tangled feelings they have as outlined above, and is able to face the king who froze their sister in time without flinching or running away as any normal kid would and absolutely should, is a true and genuine testament to their strength. they're mostly weaponizing their anger, sure, but having the mental and emotional fortitude to turn all that fear into anger in the first place is no small feat for such a young kid. they're still able to express love too - if anything, they're better at expressing it than most of the adults. and it would be so easy for a kid in that situation to shut down out of stress and fear, lash out at everyone close to them or just give up and run away from the enemy, but they don't. they're so goddamn strong.

there's a strong sense of reason in them as well - they're able to recognize when tensions are high in the party and knows how to defuse it with food and care. they may not be able to talk about certain things whether emotionally or because they're too young, but they pour all those emotions into their food instead. when the party talks about death on the second floor, they hear almost all of the discussion and are understandably and rightfully imo upset about it - no kid wants or should ever have to hear about how their family might die in the future and what to do if that happens. but instead of yelling at the party about it, they just make really good food because they know the importance of staying fueled anyways for what's to come. they're smart. they can put things together, and generally have the emotional control to stay mostly calm about it.

(generally. well. you know what happens if you confront bonnie about death on the second floor, without the familyquest.)

so like. on a writing advice note, keep in mind (alongside all of what beneathsilverstars said) that bonnie is way smarter than people tend to give them credit for. they have flashfire quick emotions as all children do, but they have the emotional control generally to handle themselves in serious situations and fight in battles semi-alongside the rest of the party. they also tend to express their care via food - giving instead of actual words, because unfortunately they also have the communication skills of a preteen and honestly the rest of the party, which is to say. Bad. so there's a lot of stuff getting repressed too (especially if they think that they can't talk to the rest of the party about it, which given the distance created between them and siffrin due to the eye thing and them and the rest of the party due to age, is unfortunately often true. :( )

OH YEAH. one more thing on a lighter note preteens also tend to give little to no fucks about social norms and boundaries. bonnie isn't exempt from this - they're willing to hug siffrin even when the rest of the party is Weird about It, and will often outright just ask stuff that the rest of the party dances around. bonnie is (understandably) hesitant to talk nearly as directly about their own emotions, but with other less serious stuff there's a lot of blurting going on. ah, kids /aff

(bonnie is also emotionally smart enough to be able to generally respect boundaries, though. so they'll respect it mostly for serious stuff, but with lighter stuff they're running roughshod all over it with the blurting)

Hello bonnie enjoyer. How does one characterize bonnie. I want to write them but I don't know when their fear turns to anger, or when their sadness quiets down. I want to know bonnie!! - @wish-upon-the-universe (when will tumblr let side blogs ask questions 😔)

i am.so sorry HHELP i honestly. dooo not know SQUEAKS. a lot of my bonnie characterization is cross referencing with the game and then hoping REALLY hard.. child characters can be hard to write SQUEAKS!! i apologize but i am also honored that i am the bonnie enjoyer o7