Odessa [name_f]Lynette[/name_f] Faulk (19) is a creative writing student who’s just started her second year of university. She rents a small house with three others- one of whom is her best friend - and has two guinea pigs named [name_f]Maxima[/name_f] and Torren who live in her room. When she’s not scribbling down notes or new ideas, [name_f]Odessa[/name_f] enjoys playing the flute and is part of her school’s hockey team, although she’s never been too competitive.
She shares a close relationship with her dad’s, who she calls at least once a week, although the freedom of university is something she’s longed for as an only child, often subjected to worrying.
Hye-jin ‘[name_f]Cynthia[/name]’ Lee (19) is [name_f]Odessa[/name]'s (or Odie, as she calls her) best friend and oldest friend. They’ve known each other since middle school and have been inseparable ever since. She’s a music major— specifically with the violin— and wants to become a professional violinist someday. She’s somewhat of a prodigy with the instrument, which is the main reason why she wants to pursue it in the first place.
Although, recently she’s been doubting her path in life— she’s just realised she really, really likes writing and journalism as well. Maybe it’s Odie’s influence, maybe it’s being in a house full of humanities kids, maybe it’s just [name_f]Cynthia[/name] living out her parents’ dreams. She doesn’t know right now, but it’s okay— her pet Turkish Angora Snowdrop will save her.
Sojourner ‘[name_u]Jojo[/name_u]’ [name_f]Jasmine[/name_f] St. [name_m]Louis[/name_m] (20) is the housemate of Cynthua and [name_f]Odessa[/name_f], who’s studying history and has a notable presence on campus. [name_u]Jojo[/name_u]’s mother is a diplomat born in [name_f]France[/name_f] and she spent a lot of her childhood travelling, meaning she carries herself with a poise that’s easy to envy. She feels a lot of pressure to live up to her successful parents and sometimes disappears into her room studying, but the others have helped her relax over time and she’s much more laidback now.
Jojo’s been in a relationship with her former flatmate since first year but the two don’t want to rush into anything, hence why they opted to not live together. She goes to watch them play in their band when she isn’t taking time practicing nail art which she loves experimenting with.
[name_f]Cassandra[/name] ‘[name_u]Cass[/name]’ [name_f]Kathleen[/name] Parker (19) is another housemate of [name_f]Cynthia[/name], [name_f]Odessa[/name], and [name_u]Jojo[/name]. She’s not in university right now— she dropped out a few months ago due to mental health issues. But she holds her interest in fashion design and is currently working two jobs in order to buy a new sewing machine. Because of her more successful friends, [name_u]Cass[/name] has become extremely independent to the point of refusing to ask for help when she needs it— which causes major problems for everyone in the household.
She is estranged from both of her parents, and does not have contact with her two younger siblings. However, she does have contact with her older brother, who is also estranged from her parents.
Yuanjun ‘[name_u]Journey[/name_u]’ [name_f]Liu[/name_f] (21) is [name_u]Cass[/name_u]’s brothers’ boyfriend who’s modelling career is just taking off. Like [name_u]Cass[/name_u], whom he sees as a little sister figure - being an only child - [name_u]Journey[/name_u] dropped out of university, after realising he preferred music as a hobby and that academics were tainting his enjoyment of playing piano. He and his parents had numerous disagreements over this, but they’re beginning to reconcile, as [name_u]Journey[/name_u]’s proven himself while going down his own path.
He has an adopted tortoiseshell cat - [name_m]Mortimer[/name_m] - who loves curling up in the washing basket and still plays piano, having composed a piece for his boyfriend on [name_u]Valentine[/name_u]’s [name_u]Day[/name_u].
[name_f]Charles[/name] [name_u]Eden[/name] Parker (22) is [name_u]Cass[/name]’ older brother. He goes by his middle name. [name_u]Eden[/name] is an Instagram influencer and upcoming model who’s been scouted recently. Not everything was perfect though— [name_u]Eden[/name] was kicked out of the house at 19 when he came out to his parents as bisexual. Needless to say, he had to drop out of university in order to support himself through various odd jobs and opportunities.
He loves his little sister dearly and would do anything for her. The only person he loves more than his sister is his boyfriend (but obviously, in different ways.)
Marisol ‘Marzie’ [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] Reinoso (21) is [name_u]Eden[/name_u]’s best friend, having known him since they were six. Marzie’s currently studying history and working at a vintage/second hand clothing store, living close to [name_u]Eden[/name_u] and [name_u]Journey[/name_u], whom she regularly hangs out with. Childhood was rough for her, growing up in foster care, Marzie ran away to try and find her birth mother on numerous occasions, leading to her being branded as ‘troubled’ and she was generally written off, having to rely on herself to get places. When [name_u]Eden[/name_u] was kicked out, Marzie immediately offered her support, and is always there for him, even if it’s just to listen.
Namie ‘[name_u]Quinn[/name]’ Takemura (21) is Marzie’s friend, housemate, and self-proclaimed ‘bad influence’. A creative writing major, they managed to graduate early and has a few poem anthologies published. They are also running a magazine known as Unperson, a zine made by and for mentally ill Asians and their struggles with their lives because of that. [name_u]Quinn[/name]'s struggles with undiagnosed depression led to their relationship with their mother and father to disintegrate.
They have a horrible dependency on nicotine. They are also close with [name_u]Journey[/name] and [name_u]Eden[/name].
[name_f]Mollie[/name_f] [name_f]Samantha[/name_f] [name_m]Drury[/name_m] (22) is [name_u]Quinn[/name_u]'s girlfriend and fellow lover of nicotine. [name_f]Mollie[/name_f]'s just graduated with a degree in fashion communication, hoping on becoming involved in branding and advertisement, having a small Depop business already where she’s been experimenting with this. When she isn’t focusing on these ventures, [name_f]Mollie[/name_f]'s upcycling clothes - mostly just for the fun of it, as many go to her partner and friends - or travelling to Anstruther where she grew up to see her mother; a single parent who raised [name_f]Mollie[/name_f] and shares her love of sarcasm.
Recently, [name_f]Mollie[/name_f] also adopted a Turkish Angora - named [name_m]Bartholomew[/name_m] (nickname’s Mew) - whom she hides from her landlord quite effectively.
[name_f]Michelle[/name] [name_f]Dawn[/name] Drury (20) is [name_f]Mollie[/name]'s younger sister. She’s a full-time model and is currently living in New York. She wasn’t ever too close to her sister when they were growing up, but know they’ve been thick as thieves— especially since they’ve realised a lot of their interests overlap. When she isn’t on runways or magazine covers, [name_f]Michelle[/name] uploads acoustic covers on YouTube— which has granted her a substantial following online.
She lives with her significant other and their orange tabby named Marmalade.
Ashton ‘[name_u]Ash[/name_u]’ [name_u]James[/name_u] Decourcy (20) is [name_f]Michelle[/name_f]’s boyfriend and a professional photographer, who met her when he was assisting on a shoot and they immediately clicked. [name_u]Ash[/name_u] moved to [name_u]New[/name_u] [name_m]York[/name_m] from Ouray, [name_u]Colorado[/name_u] and life wasn’t always easy for him there, but he visits to spend time with his grandfather - who raised him. Ironically, he hates being on camera himself, and the most ever seen of him in [name_f]Michelle[/name_f]’s videos is a shadow.
He’s also completely weak for Marmalade and has always spoiled her. [name_u]Ash[/name_u] also enjoys climbing in industrial areas, claiming it’s for photography, but really it’s just the adrenaline he likes.
[name_u]Ashley[/name] ‘[name_u]Ash[/name]’ [name_f]Jane[/name] Decourcy (20) is [name_u]Ash[/name]'s twin sister. Yes, they go by the same nickname, which is hilarious to the both of them and annoying to everybody else. Thankfully they’re fraternal twins. She’s currently in university studying film and is on her course to become a movie director. She and her friend group often make short films for numerous festivals— which have won a few awards.
[name_u]Ash[/name] lives off campus with three of the members of her friend group.
Clarice [name_f]Rineke[/name_f] [name_m]Janssen[/name_m] (20) is [name_u]Ash[/name_u]’s best friend, roommate and cinematography student, who’s been honing in her craft while working on the group’s short films. [name_f]Clarice[/name_f] came to [name_u]New[/name_u] [name_m]York[/name_m] to study and grew up in Volendam, having traveled there with her friends over the summer at least once, where they filmed one of their successful shorts. She’s quite a deadpan person, but incredibly loyal, and is willing to help her friends out at the drop of a hat if they call her.
Clarice is also in a long distance relationship, as her girlfriend attends Radboud University in Nijmegen, but they’re going strong in spite of the space between them and she’s recently arranged for her to come and stay for a month.
Minji ‘[name_f]Florence[/name]’ Kim (19) is one of [name_f]Clarice[/name]'s and [name_u]Ash[/name]'s roommates and a performance arts major. She was once a K-Pop trainee before the pressure nearly cracked her in half. [name_f]Florence[/name] is Korean-American by birth, and she went to Korea when she was ten. She went back to the states when she was sixteen, a month before she was going to debut. [name_f]Florence[/name] doesn’t regret this decision, though, and is happy that she’s found her true passions.
[name_f]Darcie[/name_f] ‘[name_u]Domino[/name_u]’ [name_f]Kaori[/name_f] Takamoto (19) is the fourth roommate. Half-Japanese, half-white, she’s known both [name_u]Ash[/name_u]'s since they were in high school and bonded over their mutual interest in film, with [name_u]Domino[/name_u] being a screenwriting major who’s written and scripted their short films - her favourite genre being horror. [name_u]Domino[/name_u]'s a little intimidating to some, having a sharp tongue and never minces her words, but this comes with a strong loyalty to her friends.
[name_u]Domino[/name_u]‘s significant other is also involved in their film production and she has two older brothers’, who taught her how to stick up for herself. One of her brothers’ is also close to Florence’s brother, as they met due to the girls’ rooming.
[name_u]Devon[/name] Xinyuan Zhao (18) is [name_u]Domino[/name]'s girlfriend and cameraperson for their films. She moonlights as an actor as well, although she thinks she’s not that good at it. She and [name_u]Domino[/name] go way back— they’ve known each other since middle school have been near-inseparable ever since. Her home situation’s sort of strange: her dad’s homophobic and but her mum isn’t. She doesn’t really care, though.
She has two younger sisters whom she vaguely dislikes.
[name_f]Avis[/name_f] [name_u]Li[/name_u] Na Zhao (16) is one of Devon’s younger sisters and the stress of her dysfunctional home life tends to be dealt with by [name_f]Avis[/name_f] using her perfectionism and insistence on organising her space with no-one’s interference. Her mum wants [name_f]Avis[/name_f] to be formally tested for OCD given her demeanor but her dad is firmly against this, refusing to entertain anything other than bis narrow-minded view of the world which he insists his daughters conform to. After a row between them over this matter, [name_f]Avis[/name_f] has vowed to keep her head down and keep out of drama, in spite of being deeply hurt by how her father responded to the mere suggestion.
She’s almost always staying or hanging out with her friends to deal with this, having a large group who are thankfully understanding and kind when it comes to her situation. The animosity between her and [name_u]Devon[/name_u] is more of an undercurrent which neither can properly explain but [name_f]Avis[/name_f] has a good relationship with her younger sister at least, who she tries to protect from things. Sometimes she wonders if she has a crush on someone in her biology class but hasn’t made up her mind, partially because she’s afraid of rejection.
[name_f]Sara[/name] Jihyun Choi (16) is one of [name_f]Avis[/name]’ friends at school. She knows all-too-well about toxic Asian parents and often provides a shoulder for [name_f]Avis[/name] to lean on when she needs. Although, it could be a little hypocritical for [name_f]Sara[/name] to do that though, as she’s treasurer for the student council, in the debate team, and also on the mathletes team. She’s overworking herself, but she’ll never admit that.
The reason she’s overworking herself, however, is due to the fact that she’s always compared to her brother, who’s a senior and got into Harvard through early acceptance. She’s always just fallen short of him, and thus she resents him vehemently. Her brother, however, is unaware of this resentment and just wants to reconnect with his younger sister.
[name_f]Liliana[/name_f] " [name_f]Lela[/name_f] " [name_f]Elena[/name_f] Vasquez de Hoyos (16) is a close friend of both [name_f]Sara[/name_f] and [name_f]Avis[/name_f] who tries her best to be there for both her pals as she can see how hard they’re both pushing themselves. [name_f]Lela[/name_f] and [name_f]Sara[/name_f] have known one another since the fifth grade as their older brothers are best friends, albeit somewhat ironically [name_f]Lela[/name_f] and her’s have a very close relationship, with her being the first family member to learn of his trans status. She’s been nothing but supportive of him and he stemmed her interest in becoming a human rights lawyer: a career path she knows will be difficult to obtain but her determination and tenacity are allowing her to push forwards regardless.
Unlike her friends though, [name_f]Lela[/name_f] is better at taking time to cool off - usually listening to vinyls with her brother or convincing their friend group to go for a picnic or impromptu urban exploration. Her parents run an internet café where she’s got major discount for her closest pals and works on weekends if they’re facing staffing issues or needs some extra cash. Lela’s also in a relationship with someone attending another high school where she lives but the couple are taking things slow and merely enjoying their little dates, usually spent at the skate parks or botanical garden’s where much desired privacy can be found.
[name_f]Avani[/name_f] [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f] [name_u]Jackson[/name_u] (17) is Lela’s girlfriend from another school. The two of them met at a house party, where [name_f]Avani[/name_f] has been smitten ever since. They’ve been especially working on communication in the relationship, as they’re pseudo-long distance. She’s quite the opposite of [name_f]Lela[/name_f]: her talents reside in making and creating, and it’s landed her a small business in making jewellery. Her greatest moments of pride are when she’s asked where she’s gotten her rings— where she replies “Oh, I’ve made them.”
She has two younger siblings. When she’s not hanging with [name_f]Lela[/name_f] or making jewellery, [name_f]Avani[/name_f] is taking care of her dog, [name_f]Gigi[/name_f]. [name_f]Gigi[/name_f] is a medley of breeds: not even [name_f]Avani[/name_f] knows what she is.
