Characters / healing (isn't) linear

The Group

As a whole

• Badass Crew: It shows in the final chapters when they fight the SAE
• Broken Bird: All of them, but Eva in particular. Plus all of them show signs of PTSD.
• Family of Choice: The group grows to be this
• Home Base: The Living Room, especially after the Society begins attacking the survivors.
• Platonic Life-Partners: Every survivor pair (despite some of them Not Actually Being Straight), but especially Nikita and Matt.
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Literally the premise of the story.
• Took a Level in Badass: The survivors discover they have magic and utilize it appropriately when Matt is kidnapped by the Society Against Evil

Eva Gutowski

• Action Girl
• Badass Bookworm: She's really smart but can also fight for herself when needed.
• Brainy Brunette: A genius with brown hair.
• Berserk Button: Don't lie to her.
• Broken Bird: The poor girl is struggling with depression. And like the others, she is dealing with PTSD.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Throughout the book she warms up to Matt and Nikita.
• Foreshadowing: In all of her chapters it's raining which leads to her figuring out she has fish powers (AKA she can breathe under water) in chapter 16.
• Platonic Life-Partners: With Tyler.
• Will They or Won't They?: With Oli, they do.

Oli White

• Beware the Nice Ones: He doesn't usually get angry but when he does.
• The Big Guy: Tends to do literal heavy lifting and smashing when it's needed.
• Broken Bird: Still struggling to deal with what happend to him two years prior, and has PTSD.
• Cowardly Lion: Violence is only a last resort in his books.
• Gentle Giant: The Big Guy with a heart of gold.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Tyler.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness
• Will They or Won't They?: With Eva, they do.

Tyler Oakley

• Break the Cutie: After everything Tyler's been through were surpised he can still put a smile on his face
• Broken Bird: Has PTSD. Despite trying to seem put together, Matt knows that he isn't okay.
• Deadpan Snarker: He has his moments.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Oli
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Blond and the most innocent survivor.
• The Matchmaker: He is pining HARD for Eva and Oli to get back together
• Nice Guy: He's the one who brought the whole group together so they could overcome their greif, together.
• Platonic Life-Partners: With Andrea

Andrea Russet

• Affectionate Nickname: Nikita calls her "D"
• The Chessmaster: She’s a talented schemer.
• Freudian Slip: Accidentally reveals to the group that Matt died after reading Nikita's mind
• Offscreen Breakup: Her and her girlfriend Sarah break up prior her debut in the book
• Platonic Life-Partners: With Tyler
• The Quiet One

Matthew Patrick

• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Dispite their "I hate you"/"I know" banter he and Nikita to really care about eachother
• Badass Bookworm
• Big Damn Kiss: With Stephanie in chapter 29
• Broken Ace: Like everybody else he's dealing with PTSD, but also is struggling with severe anxiety.
• Broken Tears: When the group vists the cemetery he breaks down the second he see's Rosanna's tombstone.
• Cannot Spit It Out: His entire character arc after he discovers the Society Against Evil was evil the whole time and his friends may be at the center of a prophecy that'll doom the world to the return of the Cursed God.
• Captain Obvious Reveal: Despite the author's best efforts, quite a few people guessed that Matt would become the Leywalker of life by the end of the book
• Dark Secret: He's terrified to tell anybody that he died, especially Stephanie
• Distressed Dude: Gets captured by the Society towards the end of the book and the others have to go rescue him
• Dream Land: Gets a multitude of this.
• Feel No Pain: In chapter 3, Matthew recalls how he's dissociating so much that one time when he was pouring Stephanie her tea, he didn't notice he was pouring boiling hot water on his hand until she pointed it out
• Forgets to Eat: Nikita mentions how Matthew gets gradually thinner throughout the book, barely remembering he has to eat due to being caught up with research on the SAE
• Happily Married: To Stephanie.
• Insufferable Genius: A lot of the group considers him a massive smartass because of this
• The Mentor: Though YMMV on that one considering...
• Platonic Life-Partners: With Nikita
• Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Probably the best example: he's 5'10, he has dark hair, and he is sarcastic as hell.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Nikta, he often bickers with her in an attempt to hide it, but he really does love and care about her.

Nikita Dragun

• Affectionate Nickname: Andrea Calls her Kitkat and Kitty.
• Asian and Nerdy: Nikita is half Vietnamese and is actually pretty smart.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Despite their "I hate you"/"I know" banter she and Matt really care about each other
• Berserk Button: For your own safety don't mess with Matt in front of her
• Broken Tears: In chapter 18 when she has a breakdown.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: She warms up to the group in later chapters
• Foreshadowing: She's associated a lot with fire which leads to her figuring out her powers
• Fire-Forged Friends: With Stephanie
• "No More Holding Back" Speech: In Chapter 18
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Matt as much as she tries to deny it, she loves and cares deeply for him and his well-being

Friends and Family

Stephanie Cordato-Patrick

• Big Damn Kiss: With Matthew in chapter 29
• Brainy Brunette
• Defrosting Ice Queen: She initially dislikes Nikita a lot, especially in the first book but eventually warms up to her
• Fire-Forged Friends: With Nikita
• Hidden Depths: Her and Gabby already know each other through support groups, much to everybody's surprise
• Happily Married: To Matt despite everything he's been through
• Knew It All Along: Even though he tried to hide it, Steph has known for months that Matt died
• Mood Whiplash: The cliffhanger at the end of chapter 20 when she interrupts a beautiful character development moment to deliver some very bad news...

Myling

• Ambiguously Bi: Says she dated men and women but doesn't confirm she outright bi, then again Myling doesn't like labels
• Ascended Extra: She was initially just a side character to fans but the word of god had bigger plans for her
• Deadpan Snarker: Sometimes
• The Mentor: To the main six

Gabriel Zamora

• Affectionate Nickname: Gabby
• A Friend in Need: After Nikita has a mental break-down, he finds her in time to help her
• Ascended Extra: Unlike Myling, Gabriel wasn't supposed to be a major character in the latter half, but he did
• Hidden Depths: He and Stephanie have known each other for months, much to everybody's surprise

Other Characters

Iridessa

• Big Bad
• Break Them by Talking: Does this to Matthew
• Earn Your Happy Ending: She dies but gets a better after-life
• Immortality Begins at Twenty: Iridessa looks no older than 25