dramatis personae

please note: i did the best i could

from my knowledge, i don't remember reading the physical description of characters who weren't poppy or rune or rune's brother who looks like rune. also, cole never described any hobbies or personal interests of other characters who weren't the two protagonists, so a lot of this is me being creative and filling in the blanks. if you disagree, you're welcome to make your own headcanons on your own website.

i used a few questions from a character nanowrimo sheet to fill out stuff for the characters in an attempt to flesh them out a little more. this is supposed to be more in an interview/wiki profile style.

- rune kristiansen -

if he could change one thing about himself, what would it be? his teeth, probably. they're slightly yellow from all that smoking he does

pet peeves? when someone gives him the silent treatment, he'd rather they yell at him instead; when he asks a question but the listener doesn't respond (like, he knows they heard him); his father

hobbies/interests? photography; poppy

favorite bands/songs/type of music? indie punk music from niche european bands. his most played song at the moment is fahrradsattel by pisse

favorite movies? his taste in movies are what you call "artsy fartsy" — indie films, films that have won sundance awards, cannes film awards, etc.

favorite tv show? likes watching nature documentaries for the cinematic shots

favorite book? it took him a while to finish but he enjoyed 'of mice and men'

favorite food? lapskaus

favorite sport/sport team? football (soccer)

what would be his dream vacation? spending a couple days out at open sea on a boat with poppy

- poppy litchfield -

note: i made poppy's character the only realistic-looking one bc she's the only "real one" in the story

if she could change one thing about herself, what would it be? her cancer diagnosis

pet peeves? crying/seeing people cry; she gets uncomfortable by it

hobbies/interests? playing the cello; sometimes she'll sing; collecting boy-kisses

favorite bands/songs/type of music? def one direction & little mix

favorite movies? sad chick-flicks like 'a walk to remember', 'the notebook', 'titanic', etc.

favorite book? likes reading self-help books and biographies, her favorite recent read was 'becoming' by michelle obama

favorite food? sweet tea or arnold palmers

favorite sport/sport team? not really into sports

what would be her dream vacation? coffee shop in paris with rune

- majorie "jorie" lee -

disclaimer: cole only calls her jorie so i made up literally everything else about her name. you'll see this as a pattern for secondary characters. your welcome.

if she could change one thing about herself, what would it be? her big mouth

pet peeves? math (sucks at it); when her glasses fog up while she's eating hot food; avery bc she's trying to steal her mans

hobbies/interests? partying (she's a total party animal); making people laugh (cracking really bad jokes in the driest way); clowns, she's really into clowns and unironically wants to go to clown college in the future

favorite bands/songs/type of music? bo burnham is at the top of her spotify wrap up. her all-time favorite artist is puddles pity party (the sad clown with the golden voice)

favorite movies? top 3: 'how the grinch stole christmas', 'night at the museum', 'mousehunt'. also loves watching rupaul's drag race.

favorite book? likes to pretend to be illiterate. textbooks are a bore

favorite food? campbell soup (inspired by andy warhol)

favorite sport/sport team? she's really into unicycle hockey (both watching & playing)

what would be her dream vacation? not a vacation per se but she would love to do an escape room or go to a haunted house with the whole friend group

- ruby rocket -

if she could change one thing about herself, what would it be? her tone, it makes it harder for her bc she's already got anger issues so when she talks she can't help but sound confrontational even in casual conversation (they walk on eggshells around her bc she's got a rage that can rival rune's edgelord self)

pet peeves? everything, anything can set her off. she's a bit of a perfectionist even when it comes to other people (why yes she's a virgo, how did you know?)

hobbies/interests? does makeup count as a hobby? she's in the cosmetology club and haunts the ulta store at the next town over (they hate to see her coming) she also dyes, perms, bleaches, highlights her hair on a whim every 3-5 business days

favorite bands/songs/type of music? is more into pop and r&b music — artists like sza, doja cat, sabrina carpenter and the like

favorite movies? very girlypop teen coming of age movies like 'clueless', '10 things i hate about you', 'the whole princess diaries' series, 'legally blonde', i could go on

favorite book? 'anna karenina' by leo tolstoy

favorite food? the barbeque at a family cookout? with that good rub? mmmm

favorite sport/sport team? deacon can watch the football players, she's watching the cheerleaders

what would be her dream vacation? five star luxury hotel in monte carlo while deacon waits on her hand and foot

- judson rivers -

if he could change one thing about himself, what would it be? his sense of direction. poor guy doesn't know is left from his right

pet peeves? drama, hates drama (is surrounded by it on all sides)

hobbies/interests? he's really into anime and japanese culture in general; likes going to anime conventions; cosplays as characters from anime as well as videogames; loves reading comics/manga

favorite bands/songs/type of music? mostly listens to jpop, vocaloid, or anime soundtracks. lately, he's been really into the band creepy nuts

favorite movies? psychological horrors like 'i saw the tv glow'

favorite book? mostly manga, he's knee-deep in the jujutsu kaisen fandom. you are my special~

favorite food? soul food, duh

favorite sport/sport team? likes sports in theory, as in, he's only into them when it's in a fictional context like soccer ('blue lock') or volleyball ('haikyuu')

what would be his dream vacation? studying abroad in japan. he'd probably go to a themed cafe like a cat cafe (or a maid one but only if jorie's the one writing his name on an omelet)

- deacon carswell -

if he could change one thing about himself, what would it be? nothing really, he's quite satisfied with himself

pet peeves? when people call him 'deek'. it sounds like a slur (which there are plenty of in the deep south)

hobbies/interests? loves to play & watch american football (that's how he and rune became friends, they had a misunderstanding about what kind of football the other person was talking about); he's also got a bit of a gambling problem bc he bets on fantasy football with his dad's money

favorite bands/songs/type of music? jelly roll is his favorite country rapper

favorite movies? 'rocky', it's a cult classic for a reason. he cries everytime

favorite book? at the moment, it's 'becoming' by michelle obama. poppy made him read it with her for book club and now he also feels like a strong, independent woman

favorite food? loves banana pudding. when he tasted ruby's mother's banana pudding, he loved it so much he was ready to marry her just to have access to that family recipe

favorite sport/sport team? the alabama crimson tide. roll tide all the way

what would be his dream vacation? if he got the chance to meet peyton manning (even just to shake hands), he would simply evaporate on the spot

- avery carswell -

note: in this headcannon, she joined the friend group bc she's deacon's twin sister. i legit couldn't understand why she was even in the friend group if half of them can't stand her, so this was a reasonable excuse to me.

if she could change one thing about herself, what would it be? her split ends, there's so many of them

pet peeves? two-faced people; people who act overly nice (doesn't trust it, thinks it's an act); poppy (has always been compared to her since day 1)

hobbies/interests? binging really bad reality tv, her current favorite is 'love is blind'. loved watching rupaul's drag race but dropped it immediately after jorie made a reference to something one of the queens said on season 5. her special interest is annoying jorie (while she genuinely dislikes poppy, with jorie it's more of a tom-and-jerry relationship)

favorite bands/songs/types of music? the cranberries, paramore, anything that sounds like the hex girls might've produced it. favorite song of all-time is 'celebrity skin' by hole

favorite movies? anything animated and feel-good

favorite book? she's into dark romance stuff. no, she will not be specifying which ones

favorite food? her mom's pecan pie

favorite sport/sport team? likes to watch drag racing (the one with the cars, not the queens. the confusion was how she initially stumbled on rupaul). her favorite racer is brittany force

what would be her dream vacation? she's always wanted to go to moscow. no reason in particular, she just wants to see what the other side of the world looks like

- savannah litchfield -

if she could change one thing about herself, what would it be? her body. she's self-conscious about how thin she is

pet peeves? when someone talks over her or someone else answers for her, result of middle-child syndrome (mom favors poppy, dad favors ida)

hobbies/interests? chronically online (parents think it's just a phase she's gonna grow out of so they just leave her alone in her room a lot); sometimes goes to the arcades to play old pinball games or those japanese rhythm games (has a lot of common interests with judson)

favorite bands/songs/type of music? most of what she listens to is either vocaloid or hyperpop. it just scratches the itch in her brain

favorite movies? loves studio ghibli. her favorite is ponyo

favorite book? she mostly reads fanfiction on sites like wattpad, archive of our own, even tumblr. most of the fan fiction she reads are for fandoms with content she's never consumed directly but knows about because of social osmosis

favorite food? she doesn't eat much, not bc she's some uwu smoll gorl but bc she doesn't typically have much of an appetite. if she could eat though, she would have little bites of banana bread

favorite sport/sport team? she streams the league of legends world championships. they can get pretty intense

- ida litchfield -

disclaimer: i imagined her way younger than she actually is in the book. when poppy's 17, ida is 11. in my head, she's forever 9.

if she could change one thing about herself, what would it be? papa says she's perfect just the way she is

pet peeves? when people chew with their mouth open or don't mind basic table manners (ahem, her dad). it's so rude

hobbies/interests? horses, yes she's a horse girl so sue her; they don't have a ranch in their town but she's been begging her mom for horse-riding lessons; doll collecting so she can brush out their hair

favorite bands/songs/type of music? truly believes every 'my little pony' song is a banger. is convinced the wedding aria is the best song to have ever been made

favorite movies? 'spirit', savannah recently introduced her to 'my little pony' and she likes that one too

favorite book? she likes reading 'little house on the prairie' series, 'anne of green gables', those 'american girls' series stuff

favorite food? carrot cake

favorite sport/sport team? sometimes, her dad takes her out to watch derby racing (the one with the horses) without letting her mother know. it's their daddy-daughter bonding time

what would be her dream vacation? she would love to live on a homestead even just for a week or two

- alton kristiansen -

if he could change one thing about himself, what would it be? his height. he wants to grow big and strong like his 6 ft tall 17 year old norwegian brother

pet peeves? doesn't really have any. not a lot of things bother him, goes with the flow easily

hobbies/interests? he likes making race tracks for his hot wheel cars

favorite bands/songs/type of music? he sings kids' show opening songs on repeat and it drives his family a little insane

favorite movies? he's really into 'paw patrol' and 'bluey', especially 'bluey'. 'detective pikachu' made him cry and he's super excited for the new 'sonic' movie

favorite book? he can't really read at the moment but his dad reads him children's books about disney princesses and he loves hearing them

favorite food? you can't go wrong with some good mac & cheese and dino nuggets (he loves the little shapes)

favorite sport/sport team? football (soccer) but only bc his brother likes it too

what would be his dream vacation? splash mountain. splash mountain all the way

- deana "aunt deedee" bickle -

note: i just gave her a random last name bc deedee is supposed to be poppy's aunt on her mother's side, so she needed a different surname from litchfield.

if she could change one thing about herself, what would it be? if she doesn't like something about it herself, there's nothing cosmetic surgery won't fix. eyes, nose, lips, and breasts are all tailor-made and custom designed

pet peeves? not exactly a pet peeve, but she's super obsessed with saving face and looking the very best you possibly can. will always be plucked and styled with a face beat to the heavens (that is what the makeup artists are paid for anyway). doesn't understand the concept of 'comfortable clothes'

hobbies/interests? likes to go to brunch with the girls; getting her nails done; getting her hair done; shopping (gotta love retail therapy); hosting grand dinner parties

favorite bands/songs/type of music? bossa nova, baby. what'd you think this was?

favorite movies? any foreign, pretentious, artsy film where you have to read the subtitles

favorite book? 'the 7 husbands of evelyn hugo' by taylor jenkins reid, very much into romantic noir such as 'the postman rings twice' by james m. cain

favorite food? she's a wine afficionado (do NOT call her a wine-o)

favorite sport/sport team? she doesn't really fancy watching sweaty people run around and kick/throw/catch balls, but she'll sometimes rough it to watch derby racing (the horses) with ida and her brother-in-law

what would be her dream vacation? there's really no dreaming. there's just thinking up a plan, inspired on a whim and then going

- tristan madden -

note: deedee's uber, mega rich boyfriend

if he could change one thing about himself, what would it be? his slouch. he's got a bad case of researcher's scoliosis

pet peeves? when people treat him differently after finding out about his wealthy family (who went into the banking business); when people he doesn't know namedrop him; when someone interrupts his peace and quiet while he's working

hobbies/interests? yes, he's an ichthyologist (scientist who studies fish). a lot of his activities involve traveling out to different countries, and he brings deedee along with him. while he's wading in wetland areas, she stays in a resort or hotel

favorite movies? documentaries. there are some where he was a consulting expert and deedee likes to brag that her boyfriend's been in movies before

favorite bands/songs/type of music? listens to bossa nova when he's working since it's the only music loud enough to fill space but quiet enough for him to think clearly (he met deedee admiring a particular rendition of 'the girl from ipanema')

favorite book? when he's not reading research articles unrelated to fish (he reads outside of his concentration to better understand fish ecology), he also reads the daily news for recreational purposes. he likes filling out the crossword puzzles

favorite food? interestingly enough, sushi

favorite sport/sport team? does competitive chess count as a sport?

what would be his dream vacation? since he's always traveled out to other countries, he doesn't really see going abroad as vacation. the real vacation is coming home after a long day and finding someone waiting for him behind the door

- mister and missus litchfield -

what are your occupations? mrs. litchfield is a nurse at a hospital one hour away from blossom grove. mr. litchfield works a blue collar job as an electrician (it's dangerous work but it pays the bills)

what do you like to do on your down-time? when they come home from work, they unwind together in silence bc the best thing for them after so much stress is peace and quiet (their daughters know not to disturb them). during their days off, they watch detective shows together about a murder happening in a small town. they have the same 3 shows they rewatch and cycle through once they've finished watching one

how did you first meet? they've lived in the same town all their lives, but they actually never saw themselves marrying each other initially. mr. litchfield used to be the biggest troublemaker at school and mrs. litchfield was a straight-laced goody-two shoes who served as class president during their senior year. mr. litchfield used to hate this one guy in school and when he heard that the guy was infatuated with mrs. litchfield, he sought to pursue her. but mrs. litchfield really made him work for it and by the time she finally did fall for him, he had genuinely learned to love her. that's why he's so wary of rune's intentions with poppy (he's had his own past experience being a 'bad boy')

what's your biggest concern at the moment? poppy's cancer and how to prepare everyone/everything for it

- mister and missus kristiansen -

note: they do have names in the book but i'm not about to comb through all of that just to find a single passing mention of it.

what are your occupations? mr. kristiansen works as a "technical officer" (aka something in IT) for a company in oslo while mrs. kristiansen was a schoolteacher before she retired to become a stay-at-home mom

what do you like to do on your down-time? mr. kristiansen has been working on coding a game for his sons to play when they're bored. mrs. kristiansen is involved in so many clubs, women's organizations, neighborhood groups. she doesn't like staying still for very long

how did you first meet? funny enough, it was at a funeral. the funeral was for mr. kristiansen's childhood neighbor and first love and mrs. kristiansen was there bc she was the girl's best friend at university. their initial first meeting had been very vulnerable bc neither thought they were gonna see the other ever again. but mrs. kristiansen had left something very important behind with mr. kristiansen and through a series of could-you-get-in-contact-with-your-friend-to-tell-their-friend-to-tell-them's, they were finally able to meet up again. while walking out, the rain had started to pour. mr. kristiansen hadn't packed an umbrella but mrs. kristiansen had, so she offered it to him and they walked together under the umbrella until they reached the tram. that's how they fell in love and that's also why mr. kristiansen tells rune he'll find someone else and learn to love again

what's your biggest concern at the moment? rune

- sherry litchfield (aka mawmaw) -

if she could change one thing about herself, what would it be? most people would think her health, but that's not the case with her. she's lived long enough, she's ready to retire now

pet peeves? when people don't say 'sir' or 'ma'am' or their please and thank you's. now, it's not the kids' fault their parents didn't teach them no manners, but bless their hearts

hobbies/interests? skating; paragliding; traveling; smoking (although she can't do that as much anymore bc she's got lung cancer)

favorite bands/songs/type of music? her favorite genre is dad rock. do kids still know about bon jovi or guns n roses?

favorite movies? spy movies, especially james bond movies. any action or thriller that's exciting enough to keep her awake at the theater (minimal dialogue, gratuitous explosions)

favorite book? the bible

favorite food? frank's red hot sauce. she really does put that $#!t on everything

favorite sport/sport team? roller derby. back in her day, they called her the 'the plowing field'

what would be her dream vacation? going on one grand adventure, like nicholas cage in national treasure