#protag banter

[cobaltfluff]

so i started playing persona 4

where are the QoL features

[becauseiamarobot]

EVERYBODY SHUT UP STEPHEN RUSSELL IN A NEW THIEF GAME

[plugnuts]

Sou is such a mood. just completely unbothered by everything. quiet and laid back. what a guy

[corvidcrowned]

Vns are lovely because brother there isn’t anything i love to write more than a longass conversation

[ravencromwell]

I have to add Archivist Wasp and its sequel Latchkey by Nicole Kornher-Stace. (Both those links lead to Weightless Books, an arm of the incomparable Small Beer Press that sells drm-free versions of numerous small presses' books for ease of reading and to avoid the amazon monster; to tout the awesome of Small Beer and Mythic Delirium, both primarily responsbiel for publishing Kornher-Stace would be a post of its own, but look them up if you're unfamiliar because they've provided some of the most envelope-pushing, queer-heavy scifi of the last decade.) Archivist Wasp is in the "destroyed earth" rather than the space category of scifi and...well, Amal El Mohtar can sell it better than I ever could:

An Archivist has two jobs. The first is to hunt and catch ghosts in order to learn about the precataclysm past from them; the second is to defend her life and position against “upstarts” — the other girls marked by the goddess Catchkeep’s claw-shaped scars at birth — once a year. Wasp has been Archivist for three years, and wants nothing more than to escape a dismal life of killing her sisters and obeying the Catchkeep-priest — so when an unusually powerful ghost asks her to help find his former partner in the underworld, she agrees. But, as is so often the case with the underworld, she finds both more and less than she bargained for. More than anything else, this book is sharp. You could cut yourself on the prose — Wasp’s world is one of thorns, knives, edges of thick, broken glass, a constant background-hum of pain that sometimes swells into a shout. Wasp’s perspective absolutely thrums with tension and violence, but also aches with a fierce, hollow loneliness to break the heart. The longing and gratitude for the smallest beginnings of true friendship make the betrayals more vicious, and the stakes just keep rising. I burned through this book in about three hours, desperately rooting for her. It’s also a brilliantly constructed narrative and world. The gods are cruel and absent. The underworld is a maze in layers, a twisting, turning palimpsest, one that allows Wasp to descend almost archaeologically through time by literally experiencing her ghost-partner’s memories. The pre- and post-apocalyptic worlds reflect each other in shards and fragments, all the more powerful for being subtle, for their resistance to being spelled out. It was also keenly refreshing — especially in something that’s ostensibly YA, where the Love Triangle of Doom is so annoyingly pervasive — to find a book in which all of the strongest, primary relationships are friendships; where friendship has the narrative, motive force usually reserved for sexualized romance. I very much wanted to see the A in QUILTBAG represented in this column, and this is a fine example: while the connection between the ghost and his (female) partner is intense and loving, it is never represented as sexual, and sex is in fact completely irrelevant.

Sci-fi books where a queer woman has the ghost of an annoying dead guy in her head

*Misery is nonbinary (she/they) and who’s in her head is not dead or a guy but I’m counting it, okay

[galedekarios]

it will never not be intensely funny to me that this banter between karlach and gale only triggers after the weave scene lmao

protag: mind projects a romantic walk with just the two of them holding hands tenderly / a passionate kiss

gale: i (i mean NOT me) detected a HINT ☝️ of romantic interest MAYBE 🤔

[fromthedaswithlove]

Protags as Companions

General

How would you recruit them?

What would their personal quest look like?

How would their approval raise? What would make it drop?

Approval Greetings: Low/Medium/High/Romanced

What would their iconic lines be?

Do they have location specific dialogue?

What would their party banters look like?

Warden 💙

What would their preferred gifts be?

Reaction if they are told about Morrigan’s Ritual

Reaction if they are told about the fate of the Warden

Their farewell lines

What does their Epilogue slide say?

Where are they during Inquisition? What would their War Table mission say? Would they be the Warden contact instead of Stroud/Alistair/Loghain?

Hawke ❤️

Are they aligned with mages or templars?

Reaction to Merrill’s blood magic

Reaction to Anders/Justice

Reaction to Fenris’ past

Reaction to Varric’s relationship with Bartrand

Reaction to Isabela’s involvement with the stolen tome

Reaction to Sebastian being a prince

Reaction regarding Carver becoming a Templar/Grey Warden

Reaction regarding Bethany going to the Circle/ becoming a Grey Warden

Do they have any specific things that would send them into a rivalry?

What does their point system look like (friendship/rivalry)?

How would they react to Zevran’s offer?

How would they comfort the mc during All that Remains?

Would their armor change during quest progression or romance?

Inquisitor 💚

What would they say during Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts?

About Hawke’s/the Warden contact’s sacrifice?

During Champions of the Just/In Hushed Whispers?

Would they play Wicked Grace?

The Well of Sorrows? Would they encourage the mc or would they agree that Morrigan should drink?

How would they send off the mc when it’s time to face Corypheus?

What do they say at the end of the party?

What would they get up to in the two years between the end of DAI and Trespasser?

How would they react to the Inquisitor dying because of the Anchor?

How would they react to the Dread Wolf reveal?

What would their letter in Veilguard say?

Rook 💜

How do they feel about Spite?

How do they deal with a Lich!Emmrich?

How would they react when Treviso/Minrathous is saved? Their reaction towards the one left in disrepair?

Is there a romance that they default to if the mc doesn’t romance them?

What would they do when the mc is pulled into the regret prison?

How would they reach to the mc redeeming Solas? Tricking Solas? Fighting Solas?

What does their epilogue look like? What are they up to in the years after Veilguard?

[jarinnards]

I really do miss the DAI formula for the dialogue wheel. I understand they didn't want to go back to silent protags like DAO, but the Inquisitor always felt so malleable and personal. For almost every line of dialogue where your character could speak, you'd be given an option for how you wanted to respond. You could interject in some companion banter and choose your own dialogue, or you could ignore them. You couldn't even be "evil" in Inquisition, but I never felt like I was boxed in or that my character was saying the same thing but worded slightly different. It felt like my Inquisitor was mine. Like they were wholly different from the character someone else was playing and it wasn't just in my head. The game reflected that. Inky rarely ever spoke without your input, and while you had to save the world, it felt very much like your reasons for doing so were your own.

I miss that.

[nejishadow]

A set not featuring a protag?? It's a miracle

Once more, getting to use people I usually don't. Like how has Ryoji been in none of these until now I couldn't decide who would be speaking for that one so. They're just there lol

Also Junpei and Yukari sibling dynamic and banter, you will always be canon to me

[enden-k]

elf s-snack?? Is he,, eating him?

hes not, he jokes/teases a lot abt eating him but doesnt do it

short summary of that story btw:

the dragon dude (zydonia; he has 7 very very long and hard to speak names in dragon language so the squad use an acronym as his name; they just put together the beginning letters of each name which make up "zydonia") nicknamed the protag (vin) "elven cupcake" as both a pet name like couples do to rile him up and as a food label. they banter and bicker since vin doesnt trust him and believes that all his bad luck and bad things happen always because of zydonia (the kind of "oh bad weather? must be HIS doing" things)

zydonia teases and bothers vin a lot but in truth hes the one who truly believes in him and makes him grow as a character and a summoner. he never stops believing in him no matter how much vin curses him until he softens and despite his jokes about eating him (he did eat elves, its not empty threats) he would never actually go through with it bc hes too fascinated by him and his refreshing behavior and eventually catches feelings

theyre the kind of "aww look my elven cupcake wrote poetry for me~" [holds up a lengthy death threat vin wrote] couple

[solrookera]

Just stumbled upon about a paragraph of my first impressions of Rook and they're so negative. I was really upset because I went into Veilguard blind, so I had no idea I'd be playing this plucky kid selected by Varric and had in mind to play an old, grizzly, scarred-up dude taking on the job because no one else would, and I ended up having to make a new Rook since Rook was too predetermined for that character to work.

Anyway! Once I began approaching Rook the same way I approached Hawke, as a pre-established character I'd have to learn about (which are my favourite kind of protag anyway), I absolutely fell in love with them. Their pluckiness, their love of stupid puns, their fondness of chocolate, their compassion and kindness, their banter and chemistry with Solas, their tendency to hurtle head-on into danger, their relationship with Varric, the funny little hoot noises they do, their insistence on kicking every chest they find, their inability to keep still or quiet, their emotional vulnerability and cracking voice when they're hurt, their ability to keep going and going and going after they stumble and fall- just everything. I'm glad I gave them a chance despite my initial disappointment, because I enjoy Rook as a character so much.

[applesfrombanora]

You know what I love about the resident evil protags?

Villain: *talks*

Chris and Leon: *make a point to engage in banter or just talk and stall*

VS.

Villain: *breathes*

Jill and Ethan: kys

[sombrathedragon]

I think it’s finally time I do one of these..

Hey there! I’m Sombra :]

I’m Pansexual, Genderfluid, and Demiromantic!

Im a Minor! and I mainly go by She/Her but idc if you use He/him or They/them :3

I mainly draw and do art about my interests but I also reblog SO MUCH stuff sooo yeah :}

Feel free to tag/mention me in ANYTHING, I really don’t care!

I use a BUNCH of emoticons and emojis (ex: :D :] :3..) So you will see those a lot if I’m talking and not being super serious about a topic 😁

I AM NOT TAKING DONATION ASKS, SO SO SORRY !!

OBSESSIONS:

The colored ones are my current obsessions!1!1 The rest are things I either just like a little or I’ve had a past obsession of them :)

Wings of Fire! Also Greek mythology (TSOA, EPIC the Musical, Stories of the Styx, The Iliad and The Odyssey are the main parts of the obsession if that makes sense) I also love the Hades games! Musical theater and theater in general, (Hamilton, Heathers, Dear Evan Hansen, Be More Chill, Little shop of Horrors, Beetlejuice are all the big ones that I’ve watched/bootlegged :3), Critters? (Like animals and little creatures and stuff), Science! (Specifically like biology and genetics, that intrigues me :3) I also like Creatures of Sonaria and Pressure! There’s probably much more but these are the main ones :pppp

I’ve officially made 7 online moots/friends/people and 3 irl friends listen to EPIC and become part of the winion family, and I don’t plan on stopping any time soon 😈😈

KINS:

Literally the entire Arc 2 Protags from Wings of Fire

Cricket from Wings of Fire

Achilles from Hades (shh just trust me with this one guys)

Zagreus from Hades

SOCIALS:

My YouTube is SombraTheDragon and my artfight is also SombraTheDragon aha and ermmm yeah that’s it. I have a Pinterest but I like make nothing on there sooo uh yeah (◐‿◑)

I do have 5 other blogs, @wof-inbox where you can send any wof characters asks, @sombradesignswof where I upload my designs, @epicasdragons where I have my epic the musical dragon/wof designs, @wings-of-the-fallen-lives which is my Greek mythology oc ask blog, and @your-favorite-wof-dragon-is which is just a fun little blog of mine which you can insert your wof headcanons :3

TAGS:

I reblog a lot of things sooo use these tags to actually look for (some) things that are mine !! :3

Art: #Sombra arts (me)

Talking about things: #Sombra yaps (me)

Inbox messages: #Sombra inbox (me)

Oc info: #Sombra thath (me)

Things that actually made me laugh: #made me chuckle made me giggle

(Most of) My witty banter with my alter ego: #alter ego

Things I like to save :3: #Saving this !!

A anon that likes to talk to me about wof headcannons mainly: #🌅 anon

EXTRA INFO!:

I’m a Capricorn!! Birthday is Jan 6. Erm I speak Chinese, no where close to fluent whatsoever but I still can say a little :> Im also learning Spanish !!I’m like 25% Italian and 20% Ukrainian, very little German, REST IS AMERICAN BABY 🦅🦅🦅🦅🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🎆🎆🎆🎇🎆, I collect snowglobes! ( currently have some from Minnesota, Vermont, Connecticut, North Carolina, Rome, and then a bunch of other random ones :ppp) I can write somewhat of good stories! My favorite animals are literally anything that’s not a mammal (I mean I do like bats :3), but I do have a soft spot for Corvids, Kakapos, Golden Eagles, Shoebill storks, and Secretary Birds :] I have 1 dog, 2 cats, and a medium amount of fish!1!1!1 🐠 🐠🐟🐠 I’m a ambivert, And I have never gone outside the U.S.A 🥲

Anyways have fun looking at my blog!!1!1!! 😁😁😁😁

[senseandaccountability]

What's your verdict of Dragon Age the Veilguard now two months down the road? How do you think fandom has reacted to it, compared to the other new titles that you can remember (I know you're a long-time fan)?

(Two months + a fair amount of weeks at this point, sorry for the delay, anon.) This is going to be salty, I’m afraid and a bit like beating on a dead horse but you did ask, thank you for that and sorry about being whiny.

My first impression was that it’s a 6/10 game. I think now upon replaying it two times, the score is even lower. It’s a very mid game that’s also clearly a salvaged product from a long and erratic production cycle. It has some good lore, some good writing, but it’s hidden almost entirely in optional side quests, subtext and the tiny margins of the text. 

Overall its way too much of a high stakes/low tension kind of game for me. It’s fun and it never truly grabs me except for the bits that are about previous characters. I don’t care about Rook. I like them well enough for a protag, I can fill them with headcanon to make them real but I would easily sacrifice them at the end without a second thought. There’s no pull, no tension, nothing to hold on to. I've tried to write fic about Rook but I just don't know anything about this person apart from the fact that they're very young and likes to say the word team a lot. Maybe Rook works in HR.

For all its high stakes, the game also repeatedly fails to show me these stakes. It keeps telling me how important it is, how busy we are and during the Siege of Weisshaupt and Blood of Arlathan, I really do feel it, momentarily. Those quests have weight to them, and they are tied in with the overall narrative of the series. We know the wardens, we know the Dalish. They matter. 

“Sometimes it takes the wrong sort to put it right,” the game says and doesn’t even dare to show me a single shred of moral ambiguity in Rook. Call me annoying but I don’t necessarily want to feel like a hero. I don’t need to feel morally righteous about my player character. I want the narrative to be complex and challenge me and hold compassion for the world it’s telling me about, dare me to change my mind about its characters and their various plights. What if the hero is wrong? What if the world is too complex to be reduced to simple choices? What if the trusted mentor lies and the liar tells the truth? What then? Somewhere in the far distance DAV wants to offer some complexity but hey we have EVIL ANCIENT GODS TO FIGHT YO! I actually hate the tone. I said early on that it’s one of my main gripes and I stand by it.  It’s chipper and full of HR-department tidiness and in general it just doesn’t move me because it’s just telling, not showing me the emotions. THIS IS THE EMOTION CALLED DOUBT, the game screams in my face. LET'S HAVE A TALK WITH THE TEAM TO PUT IT RIGHT. Immediately after finishing DAV, I went and played Disco Elysium and the contrast was quite honestly heartbreaking. Because the tone in that funny, sarcastic and over the top writing? It’s compassionate. It wants to be truthful about what it’s like to be a human living in a broken, inhuman world. It cares. Veilguard more often feels like an action movie revenge plot where you get to punch some EVIL ANCIENT GODS in the face because they want to drown the world in demons, man, let’s just leave it at that lol omg you can even PUNCH Solas lol whatever thanks bye.  

I also just find the text flat. It doesn’t have the transtextuality I’ve come to appreciate in the other DA games, it doesn’t play much with differences in dialogue for the different characters - like making one stand out as being anachronistic or having a different way of expressing themselves or being very unlike the others in some fundamental ways, it doesn't challenge and/or characterize through banter in the way the other DA games have done and it doesn’t give us companions that seek meaningful conflict or are difficult to understand. Veilguard is the only DA game where I haven’t felt any kind of strong emotional reaction while interacting with the companions, and while you could argue that this is a good thing because teamwork and professionalism or whatever, I’d say that for a text, this is a factor that makes it flat. No great piece of writing has only likable characters capable of self-reflection because no actual human being is only likable or not likable to everyone and by god are actual humans not always capable of self-reflection. In fact, some humans shy away from it for entire lifetimes.

The story of DAV is consistent in its themes, yes. It’s just that it’s also without nuance and - again - without stakes. The companion quests raise big moral dilemmas but the answers are so bland they might as well just be ignored. The outcome changes nothing, doesn’t affect the characters. There’s no price to be paid for becoming first talon, no punishment for being a lich, it’s just another wardrobe choice. Should I wear blue or black, perhaps become an immortal creature? No matter darling, you are always adorable. I think most of all the state of the game is a testament of a really fucking tragic industry that doesn’t care enough about storytelling and authenticity or its workers. I think it’s clear that the writers were trying very hard but I also think it’s clear that it wasn't the narrative the powers that be decided to focus on.  The DA fandom at large, quite frankly, has always just made me exhausted and miserable. I think a lot of the criticisms of DAV have been unhinged. I think a lot of the defences of the game have been so deranged that it makes me wheeze as I read them out loud to my husband. I’ve seen plenty of people dragging up some 17 year old noob’s post from the depths of reddit just to do some edgy take about how stupid people are for disliking the game and it’s just been so many bad faith takes. Overall, I’m truly sorry to say, I have no desire to play this game anymore nor do I feel very tempted to play the other DA games. I’m happy to see that my mutuals are having fun - I wish I felt anything stronger than oh well about the new characters, but I don’t. Maybe I will not be this actively bored in the future and pick it up again, but for now, no. I'll try to finish my fanfic and then probably be done for good with this fandom.

[galedekarios]

gale & karlach

i think out of all the dynamics between the companions, i've come to enjoy gale and karlach the most over my time with the game. karlach especially bc she's the only one who genuinely seems to care about and for gale.

she repeatedly checks in on him after the orb reveal and doesn't turn it into a joke about slurping carrots, or sipping wine, or wanting him to be gone entirely from the group.

not only does she advocate for him to stay three times, depending on which dialogue path you pick:

gale's background story reveal & the reveal about the netherese orb

Karlach: Come on. We all have our secrets - and our risks. If Gale leaves, we might as well disband completely. - Karlach: Absolutely. We're all risky in our own ways. We stick together anyway. Right? - Karlach: If having dangerous, otherworldly objects stuck in your skin is wrong, then Gale and I both have to go. We're not really splitting up, are we?

but she's also the only one who repeatedly asks him throughout the game how he is doing, to make sure how he's faring, both in general and with his debilitating condition:

act 2 - shadow-cursed lands banter

Karlach: Doing all right, Gale? Gale: Oh, you know... Still alive and kicking, despite being surrounded on all sides by an endless manifestation of darkness and decay... devnote: Almost with a sigh. That's just how things are - Grim humour to it. Karlach: I feel it too. Here if you need a pick-me-up.

act 3 - after mystra stabilised the orb

Karlach: How's the orb treating you, Gale? Gale: Oh, quite well as a matter of fact. Since it was stabilised, it's been humming along nicely. Gale: I have noticed one adverse side-effect. I seem to be losing hair in some, er, unexpected places. Karlach: I can only imagine.

i think it really bears repeating/stressing that no other companion does this. not one checks in on gale like karlach does, after his affliction has become known to his companions - with the exception of the protag potentially.

karlach also arguably has the strongest reaction in response to mystra's demands in act 2, showing again her care for gale, as well as her protective side:

Karlach: Aw, was that Gale's granddad? Player: That was Elminster Aumar - the most famous wizard in the realms. Karlach: Huh. Doesn't ring a bell. But all right! Must've had something important to say to Gale, if he came all this way. Good news, I hope. Player: I don't think it was. It turns out Gale has an explosive bomb in his chest - and Mystra has asked him to use it to blow up the heart of the Absolute. Karlach: Whoa, now. He's got a... well, I guess that would explain a little, but... Mystra... I mean, this is a lot to take in. Karlach: What's he going to do? - Player - Option 1: I think he's going to follow through with it. Karlach: Fuck me. There's devotion, and then there's stupidity. If the god of magic can't handle this without sacrificing Gale, she's no god at all. - Player - Option 2: I don't think he'd do that to himself, even if Mystra commanded it. Karlach: Good. I'm one hundred percent sure there's another way to bring down this cult. No true god would ask such a thing from her faithful. That's for certain. Karlach: Poor Gale. He must be in bits after hearing that. I'll distract him. Tell him I haven't read a book since secondary school, watch his face melt off. - Player - Option 3: I'm not sure. I think he's of several minds. Karlach: Well, tell him to pick the right one. Better yet, I'll do it. Fucking wizards, man! They always need help picking the simple, obvious option. Karlach: If Mystra can't think of another way to stop the Absolute than sacrificing Gale, she's no god worth worshipping. I'll say that to Gale - in, you know, gentle terms. - Player - Option 4: You know that bomb in Gale's chest? Mystra has asked him to use it to explode the heart of the Absolute. Karlach: She what?! Is she mad?! - Player - Option 5: Don't worry about it. Karlach: Karlach doesn't worry, she acts. So if Gale needs me, now's the time to tell me.

i particularly like that last response bc it really echoes throughout her relationship with gale ("karlach doesn't worry, she acts. so if gale needs me, now's the time to tell me.").

their banters are often playful, but also genuine. both karlach and gale tease each other, they joke with each other, showing how comfortable they are with each other despite their many differences, but there are also moments of understanding and care between them, allowing them to emphasise with each other:

Karlach: Man, it's good to be home. First round on who? Gale: She who thirsts buys drinks the first. devnote: Like it's a well-known saying Karlach: You won't pin me down with a rhyme, wizard! devnote: Jockeying with Gale (prob supposed to be Joking with Gale) Gale: She who declines gets the worst of the wines.

Karlach: Just when I was getting used to the sky again... Gale: Fear not, Karlach. Sun, moon and stars will still be there waiting for us. devnote: Reassuring Karlach: Meanwhile, this place is pretty spectacular, isn't it? Gale: No book or painting could ever do its strange beauty justice. But perhaps our stories might, when we return to the surface. devnote: Agreeing with Karlach, enjoying the sense of wonder as you explore

Gale: I've always felt flames to be a rather perfect expression of love, Karlach. Gale: Passionate, primal, capable of bestowing the most life-affirming comfort, or inflicting the profoundest damage. devnote: Listing the qualities of fire, Romantic, indulging in the poetry of the image Karlach: That's... pretty nice. Never thought about it like that. But now I will.

Karlach: Wouldn't mind a dancing axe of my own. Gale: A simple movement charm wouldn't be too hard to apply to such an object. I could conjure one up for you if you like? Karlach: Yes! I like! Gale: Very wel then. Once the city is saved, Karlach's Kinetic Cleaver will be first on my list.

Karlach: So, Gale - got any book recommendations for me?devnote: With concern Gale: You can read?! devnote: Taking the piss - knows full well Karlach can read, and that she's always claimed not to enjoy it Karlach: Very funny. Yes - I can read. School put me off big boring tomes. Sometimes I wonder what I'm missing. devnote: Friendly rather than flirtatious Gale: Say no more - I'll find the perfect book for you. I might even lend it to you from my library in Waterdeep. devnote: Jumping on the opportunity to give a book recommendation (a favourite hobby) Karlach: Ooh! Something with magic, please. And no devils.

even at his most vulnerable moments, karlach is there to support him:

before the stormshore tabernacle audience with mystra

Karlach: You can do this, Gale. And I'll be right here when you're done.

she allows herself to be protective of him and get angry on his behalf not after when it comes to mystra, but also when he is potentially kidnapped by orin:

karlach's reaction to gale being kidnapped

Karlach: That bloody freak won't get away with this. That's my wizard she took. And we're going to get him back.

once again, it's a good callback to her previous line: "karlach doesn't worry, she acts. so if gale needs me, now's the time to tell me."

she's willing to be needed by him - and he does need her. whether that is as a friend, or (if you chose to play so during an origin pt) as a romantic partner. it's a lovely dynamic either way.

[phantastus]

Headcannon scenario of Silent Hill protags with a s/o who likes to annoy em plz? Not bc it's out of maliciousness but it's rather mildly amusing according to s/o

Oop, sorry it took me a bit to answer this, anon!

-TRAVIS: He's a guy who under good circumstances likes having someone he can joke around with, so although he takes awhile to trust other peoples' intentions, he'd be all about having a partner who's playful. He can even put on the tough-guy "all right c'mere you little shit" scowl and chase 'em if that's what they're hoping for. Only hard rule is NO annoying him while driving-- he takes road safety very seriously!

-HARRY: I see him as someone who comes off as very serious, to the point that he almost seems like a square, but as soon as he's in a good mood the sense of humor comes out. The seriousness might make him look like an easy target to annoy, but you must remember: he raised Heather Mason. He has a straight face made of steel and underneath it, something even more terrifying: the capability to be so much more annoying than you. He will put up with prodding until it almost stops being fun and then he will turn around and deliver a dad joke so targeted that you get vaporized on the spot.

-JAMES: It depends a lot on where he is in the timeline, but he probably wouldn't like it lmao. He has a hard time reading social cues and, especially post-SH2, is both withdrawn, easily-irritated, and wary of others' intentions. So he'd spend a lot of time sitting there baffled and annoyed, wondering what the hell your problem is. THAT SAID, I think that at his core underneath all the baggage and misery, a happy and trusting James is a James that enjoys being gently and affectionately bothered. Prior to her illness, I think Mary brought out his sense of humor and they regularly annoyed one another on purpose. The trust is key though-- if he doesn't realize someone's trying to be affectionate, he just assumes they're being an asshole for the sake of being an asshole.

-HEATHER: Short answer: Heather is the s/o who is being annoying. Less-short answer: If Heather likes you, she goofs on you. That's just how she is. This is true whether you're a grouch or a fellow goof. In a scenario where Heather's got a partner with similar gremlin vibes to her own, they become completely imparsable to all those around them because they're just constantly doing weird shit to each other. If you needle her, she'll needle right back, and it will only escalate.

-HENRY: He doesn't do a lot of verbal banter, and like James, he takes a long time to really open up. In his case, he's shy and skittish and probably too worried about accidentally crossing a line to do much bothering in return. However, once he knows it's okay to "fight back", his unique brand of silent Henry retaliation kicks in. It will be quiet in the house and then you'll hear the first three notes of a song you hate play on his phone from somewhere in another room. This is your life now.

-ALEX: Alex is a big brother. He puts his s/o in a headlock and noogies them until they say uncle.