🌌 for charlotte & ⚔️ for cadence AND stephen
So sorry for how long it’s taken me to answer this! Life has been busyyyy (but good!).
🌌 What’s their biggest “what if” that keeps them up at night?
Mannnn I would love to say her biggest "what if" was, like, "What if I had gone to college?" or something, but instead it's probably "What if I had gotten married before Sadie?” or “What if I was married by now?” or similar. Girl is far too discerning to fall for someone like Colby (“hapless” is perhaps the right word to describe him, and Charlotte certainly isn’t hapless, or interested in people who are), but I think she’s really struggling with being “the Wagner girl who’s never even courted someone.” She enjoys being important, and as a female fundie, there's no way to be important except through marriage and childbearing...which obviously isn't her situation right now.
⚔️ How do they act when they’re furious but have to stay polite?
Cadence is a classic fundie girl. I wouldn't call her a "hardcore" fundamentalist, per se, but nor would I call her anything nearing "easygoing" or "tolerant." One thing is for sure: she’s swallowed the “keep sweet” kool-aid. With the wide church community, I imagine she leans heavily on emotional suppression and occasional passive-aggression. With her family members--particularly the younger kids-- I imagine she's a big fan of a pointedly-cited Bible verse. (Her life is set up so that she doesn't interact at length with the general public, and I can't even begin to theorize how she might react to a scary MANNISH woman doing something rude. Lol.). I think once she marries and has kids the status that that confers in the ISCS community will empower her to be a little more open with her frustrations. She’ll still keep her happy countenance, but I can see a few sharp words slipping out here and there.
I’ve always seen Stephen as a pretty chill guy—not one who is quick to anger. He’s the youngest of the oldest set/first six kids, so he probably got the undivided attention of both parents for longer than any of the other Wagners. I’m sure helped in some subtle way with emotional regulation et cetera. The behavior of his older brothers has also shaped him: Zeke was a rowdy kid until mellowing out during teenagerhood, while Sam was always lower-key until he got sent to toxic masculinity camp and developed somewhat of an anger problem. All credit goes to good ol' overcompensation! But all that's to say: Stephen spent the entirety of his childhood and most of his adolescence sharing a bedroom with at least one brother that had (has) emotional Issues. So he's developed a very calm, measured, go-with-the-flow personality in reaction; I can barely imagine how he'd act when feeling "furious"! Probably he'd attempt a courteous redirection and then take out his frustration on his keyboard later on. Good kid :)
Thank you for sending these in ❤️ I had a lot of fun ruminating over them the past few days!
