In countless universes, the same story is being told: two people become friends with a third, and then they befriend two more people. At some point, that third person destroys themself. Now, those four people have to figure out how to move on when someone who used to be a central part of your life isn't anymore, and maybe never should have been.
She's had many different names. She's been Annah, she's been Yemoja, she's been Yemaya, she's been Tiri. She's always been the nice one. The one who everyone loves. The one who gives herself up so that others can thrive. She's always fallen in love with the third person. She's always been friends with the second since either of them can remember. She's always been perfect, because someone needs to be. Usually, she's short and fat and loves cottagey things like flower crowns and bunnies and baking bread. She used to be a girl I liked. Once upon a time, a very long time ago, she was a princess who didn't have magic.
He's had far fewer names than the first one. He's been Jack, then Jake, then Jack again. He's always been defined by his love for the first one. He's usually the perfect man, the chiselled muscular blond-haired-blue-eyed one who everyone's supposed to be in love with but nobody ever is. He usually likes the ocean. He used to be a boy I liked. Once, he tried more than all the others to save the third one. Perhaps his most dangerous trait is that he believes what he's been told.
The one who it's kind of always about. Haven. Piper. Hazel. Kellandra. This one has been everything - a man, a woman, transgender, cisgender, genderqueer, nonbinary, unlabelled, hyper-labelled. They've always been a terrible friend, but of course you can't say that to them. They've always been a person who I thought I could make into a good friend. Usually, they've been created for a higher purpose. Sometimes, they're not even human. Always, they want to be human more than anything else, but it can never happen. And of course, they always destroy themself.
This one used to be me. Now they aren't. This one's changed, too, as I've changed. Skia. Zo. Avery. Arden. Daria. Piper. Usually withdrawn and quiet, not very good at being a friend, but better than the third. Dependent on the fifth, usually. When they have magic, it deals with memories. They always just want to internalize the fact that they, too, are worthy of love.
This one is the person who used to be my best friend. I still love him, I just don't talk to her very much. The fifth person is usually defined by their relationship to the fourth, rather than their relationship to the third. Sometimes, they're the one who makes the most progress with turning the third person into a real human. They're much more grounded in practical pursuits than the others, even the second one.