Gwendolyn "Gwen" Stanheight's Links
Torrey is Gwen's traveling companion and close friend. The two have a little bro/older sis dynamic and generally get along... although like most siblings they are prone to bickering. Gwen is generally protective of him, and frets over his safety a lot (even if he is very capable and like, strong enough to lift an Actual Car.)
Gwen is Torrey's traveling companion. He was very excited to meet her, since she's a Guest, so she's literally from another world. He sees her a bit more as his responsibility at first, someone he needs to look after, but over time they become more of a team with a sibling-like relationship. He even comes to admire her like a big sister!
Aria is a person Gwen is completely gobsmacked over. To Gwen she is just the COOLEST, PRETTIEST Lady in the World. (I mean... she has giant wings!! She's a literal Fire Angel!) Because she idolizes her so much, Gwen tends to get really nervous and flustered around her, and poor Aria has no clue why. The more they interact, the more Gwen's able to calm down around her. They're friends, and Gwen still really admires her.
Aria thinks of Gwen as a brave kid and is extremely sympathetic to her plight. Aria wants to help out any way she can and does her best to encourage her, but feels like she's unable to do much due to her low self esteem. Aria doesn't know that Gwen thinks the absolute world of her-- in fact, she initially chalks up Gwen's strange behavior towards her as the teen finding her somehow intimidating or off-putting.
Billie has long gone missing by the time Gwen arrives in the Dream Realm. She is helping Torrey look for him, and of course wants to find him, but the more she learns about him, the more her feelings become mixed on the matter. Billie is the spirit of one of the trains on one of her favorite, now defunct roller coasters at Mystic Shores! However...from her point of view, Billie was honestly a little bit of a jerk to Torrey for seemingly no reason other than he saw Torrey as a dweeby little brother, and that makes Gwen really mad. Eventually the two meet and she is able to reconcile these feelings, but she still does not hesitate to call him out when he's being arrogant and she does not see why so many people think he's cool.
Billie is surprised and admittedly a little amused to meet Gwen, as by the time they do she's had a lot of time to build up a layer of bitterness towards him. He has no ill will towards her- in fact, he's happy that someone's been looking after Torrey in the time he's been gone. Billie affectionately teases her- ruffling her hair, calling her "Sprinkles" due to her shirt pattern, but this is only after the two have established a relationship.
Elijah is Gwen's cousin from Parma. Because of the long distance between them, they only get to meet in person once in a while. But when they do, they have an absolute blast. They both love theme parks and music, and the two of them text each other (usually about these topics) nearly every day.
Gwen is Elijah's cousin from Sarasota. She's only a year younger than he is, so although the two live far apart, they've always had a blast together whenever they are together (most often for holidays and vacation time- so Elijah associates Gwen with fun). Thanks to the internet, the two are able to communicate often- and they talk almost every day about their many shared interests. Because of this, when Gwen is in the Dream Realms, Elijah heavily misses her presence and worries about her.
Barclay is an authority figure and the only fellow Guest she's met in the Dream Realms, so she forces herself to trust him... although honestly she finds something about him rather off-putting. When he shows his true colors as a villain, Gwen is hardly shocked but still feels the sting of betrayal. She absolutely loathes Barclay for all he does to others for his own selfish gain.
Barclay sees the potential in Gwen's potential as a Guest with a powerful, raw imagination. He's smart enough to know that she would not cooperate with him if he was open about his intentions to control Mystic Shores, so he often tries to manipulate her into playing directly into his hand. Because she's so much younger than him, he underestimates her for much of the story, believing himself to be more capable than her at every turn. As for how true this is? Well, this is a story where the heroine wins :).
Seeing as Lyn is a monster that controls The Spill- Gwen would find her terrifying enough on her own. But then there's the fact that Lyn also closely resembles her and seems to have it out for her, and Gwen is basically going out of her way to avoid her at all costs. She can't help but be a little curious about her on some level, but not nearly enough to want any kind of prolonged interaction with her. She will have to eventually face Lyn, of course she will, but at the moment she cannot be far enough away from her.
Lyn has not existed for very long, but she is aware enough to know that Gwen's her lookalike and is incredibly curious about her. Once they meet she becomes fascinated and, even if she was not prompted to by Barclay, she would follow Gwen around on her adventures.
Gwen feels incredibly lucky to have a parent like Milo. She trusts him fully and knows that she can go to him about anything. He's not only her father, but one of her best friends. That's why it's incredibly hard on her when they are separated in the Dream Realms, and she feels overwhelmed in his absence. Her top goal on her adventure is to find where he was spirited away to and go back home together.
Gwen refers to Milo by the nickname "Pop".
Gwen is Milo's pride and joy. She's his only child and only immediate family, so she's one of the most precious things in his life. He is always trying to make sure that Gwen feels supported and loved, and is there for her as much as his busy single parent schedule allows. He tends to fret over her too much, though he's self aware about this and doing his best to respect her growing independence. Apart from their family link, the two share a lot of interests and sport a similar sense of humor, so the two genuinely get along. His nickname for her is "Soft Drink" as a response to her calling him "Pop".
Gwen can't quite get a read on Stan. She's grateful for all his help and advice, but finds him to be a little bit of an oddball. Gwen's also generally unnerved by his ability to show up almost anywhere and really wishes he'd just tell her how on earth he does that.
Stan is a genuinely helpful person and has pure intentions towards all the advice he gives to Gwen on her journey...though he does get a huge kick out of the fact that she seems spooked by his abilities. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't leaning into the mystery a bit for his own amusement. He isn't mean-spirited towards her by any means, and when push comes to shove he'd stick his neck out for her... he just also happens to really enjoy messing with her a bit. He's kind of somewhere between mischievous fae and uncle towards her.
Gwen's both confused and intimidated by Velma, seeing them as a kind of enigma. Since they are the leader of the Wild Rays, they're the one that Gwen has the most experience talking to. She's glad for that at least, because Velma does follow a strict line of logic...it's just unfortunately one that's incomprehensible to her.
Velma initially viewed Gwen as a potential playmate, albeit one that had a laughably poor understanding of Bumper Tag's rules. But once they found out Gwen was a Guest, they flip to being quite respectful and-- almost intimidated by her. Granted, Gwen is the first Guest apart from Barclay that Velma has ever even met, so a lot of their nervousness stems from inexperience.
Of all the Wild Rays, Tex is the one Gwen is still...a little scared of. She does not believe he has any ill-intent and holds none towards him at all! She knows he's just a playful kid with immense power. That said, she does not enjoy getting tackled and zapped, so if he ever asks her to play Bumper Tag, she is running from there as fast as she can.
Tex does not mean to cause harm to Gwen-- he just does not understand his own power. He finds her reactions to things really comical and so always invites her to play Bumper Tag whenever he sees her... with genuinely no idea that she does not enjoy the game whatsoever.
Gwen only meets Emmy after they have both had their respective adventures in the Dream Realm. They bond over that shared experience, as well as their mutual love of all things theme park. Gwen really admires how bold and brave Emmy seems, especially after what she's been through. The two have really become important to one another, and not only is she one of Gwen's dearest friends-- but Gwen has something of a crush on her.
Emmy meets Gwen after her experience in the Dream Realm. It's her that approaches Gwen, since the story of someone missing for several months then turning up unharmed is...well, familiar. As someone who has struggled with loneliness, Emmy is delighted to know Gwen-- she feels like she finally has a companion that not only shares her interests, but understands her on a deep level. Gwen makes Emmy feel like she isn't a solo traveler in the world...and that's so valuable. Emmy's friendship with Gwen is quickly blooming into romantic feelings for her-- although Emmy is less experienced with friends in general so she isn't quite aware yet that that is what she is feeling.