[name_f]Lara[/name_f] - [name_f]Jane[/name_f] [name_f]Noemi[/name_f] " [name_f]Lara[/name_f] " [Dayton] Voyce (32) is the second oldest of the 5 [name_u]Dayton[/name_u] sisters. She owns a florist’s shop on the 8th [name_f]Street[/name_f]. She is grateful for the fact that [name_m]Pierre[/name_m] sometimes helps her out when she has busy days. Most importantly, she is grateful for the fact that thanks to him, [name_f]Sissy[/name_f] got out of an awful situation. She remains emotionally distant from her sisters , always being the shy one who doesn’t open up easily to others. She is closer to her husband’s family and got married when she was only 21, making the marriage between him and her 11 years long. They have 3 children - two sons , aged 10 and 8 and a daughter aged 6. [name_f]Lara[/name_f] is the closest to [name_f]Mia[/name_f] , especially now that she gave birth to [name_m]Manny[/name_m] and [name_f]Lara[/name_f] babysists him regularly. However, her sister-in-law is her only true confidant when it comes to the financial problems her florist’s shop is facing and the fact that it may soon go bankrupt. The sister-in-law is a Marketing major who tries to help her the best she can in finding ways to promote her small business, however many small establishments on the 8th street and beyond have trouble due to the economic crisis after COVID. . The fact that she is estranged from her sisters mainly comes from the fact that her parents didn’t accept the marriage she has with her husband - telling her that a trade school graduadate is no good for her - so she briefly lived in another state with him until her son was born and they needed the help of [name_f]Lara[/name_f] 's parents. She wishes she and her sisters were closer sometimes, but she cannot help avoiding talking about her feelings and missing calls from them , especially [name_f]Alora[/name_f]. She is of the opinion that unless talking about practical things like finances , it’s better to keep your mouth shut, as opening up to anybody only makes you look week and can be used to invalidate your life choices, like her parents did 11 years ago, even if now they know that her husband is successful in his career as an Elevator Repairer and accept him as their son-in-law.
Clarence Edward Bandini (91) is Lara’s favorite customer at her florist’s shop. He comes in every Sunday to pick out a bouquet for his wife Camellia, who is in a nursing home now with Alzheimer’s. Camellia doesn’t recognize him anymore, except for rare moments that Clarence treasures, but no matter what, he wants her to feel special and loved.
Clarence has done a little bit of everything in his life. He was born during the aftermath of the Great Depression and lost his dad and brothers during World War 2. He served in the military himself for a brief time, but it brought up too much trauma and grief (for him, his mother, and his sister), so he literally ran away and joined the circus. That didn’t last long, either, so he moved on to factory work, construction, plumbing, book publishing, selling cars, and stand-up comedy (boy, did he have a lot of material for that).
When he met Camellia in his 30s, she was an up-and-coming singer and actress, and it wasn’t love at first sight, but he enjoyed her performances very much, and he wanted to make sure she knew. So he started bringing her flowers. They became friends, nothing more, for years, and by the time it blossomed into something else, Clarence had finally found the career he would stay in for decades: hosting a radio show. Naturally, he used his platform to gush about Camellia whenever she came out with a new song or movie, and some people say he helped her become a global success. “No,” he tells them, “she did that all on her own. She’s as bright as the stars, that one.” He still calls her “my star” or “starlight”, and even with her fading memory, it brings Camellia the biggest smile every time she hears it.
@I_meme_it Sorry I cut you off! I was going to wait and let you finish but after some time of you not finishing, I decided to post. Apologies!
@avenmaide I love this man’s backstory! And his picture is awesome too! Well done!
[name_f]Marta[/name_f] [name_f]Roberta[/name_f] Bandini (100) is Clarence’s older sister and the oldest of the family. She never married but was engaged at one point to a man who would die in World War II. She had already had enough tragedy losing her younger brothers and after losing her fiancé, she decided she couldn’t marry someone else. She was overjoyed when she found out Clarence was alive after running away and supported him in whatever career he was in. [name_f]Marta[/name_f] had been making clothes for some time but wanted to make clothes more expressional so she became a fashion designer. She is the creator of Camellia’s wedding dress. She and [name_f]Camellia[/name_f] get along very great as in-laws and she would design her costumes. She loves her brother’s radio show and was pleased to be featured on it from time to time.
Marta’s self-named fashion design shop [name_f]Marta[/name_f] Bandini was a popular attraction in historical 7th Street but closed when [name_f]Marta[/name_f] was too old to work and did not want to pay the rent anymore. However it is still available online. Marta is anti-fast fashion and does not support overworking employees in unsafe factory conditions. Lara’s husband has a side-gig managing her fashion website’s design but does not say it is a side-gig whenever Lara’s family is around because he does not want to Lara’s family to get the wrong idea and think he’s struggling to make ends meet.
[name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] “Aurie” [name_f]May[/name_f] [name_m]Sumner[/name_m] (24) is Clarence’s granddaughter, Marta’s great niece and Lara’s employee. She and [name_m]Pierre[/name_m] are good friends, though [name_f]Aurie[/name_f] sometimes wishes they were more. However, she respects and admires Pierre’s satisfaction in life.
Aurie’s greatest pride is her little sister, [name_f]Audrey[/name_f]. She has an undiagnosed disease that affects her behavior, so although she is nearly 21, her mind is that of a 10-year-old. However, with that innocence comes an amazingly sweet spirit.
When [name_f]Aurie[/name_f], [name_f]Audrey[/name_f], and their older brother’s father passed away when [name_f]Aurie[/name_f] was seventeen, the whole family went into a state of despair. Their mother hasn’t truly recovered, and [name_f]Aurie[/name_f] has made it her personal mission to revive her mum and help her revive her passion for life.
Maturity warning: SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) and aforementioned abusive relationships.
[name_u]Lynn[/name_u] [name_f]Jennifer[/name_f] [name_m]Sumner[/name_m] (48) is the mother of [name_f]Aurie[/name_f] and her siblings. She was formerly friends with 10th Street resident Mrs. [name_m]Ritchie[/name_m], who is the mother of Sissy’s imprisoned ex-assistant teacher. Their friendship started when [name_u]Lynn[/name_u] was 10 and Mrs. [name_m]Ritchie[/name_m] was then a teenager and her tutor in school. Eventually they felt more like sisters and got through tough times when Mrs. Ritchie’s second son died at 6 months old of SIDS and only her oldest son, who is now in prison, was alive at the time her second son died. Since then, she would have two more children, her first daughter, followed by her youngest [name_m]Pierre[/name_m]. The friendship grew stronger when [name_u]Lynn[/name_u] felt like she had someone to talk to pertaining with Audrey’s condition and her husband’s passing. However the friendship ended when Mrs. Ritchie’s oldest son turned out to be a predator and was in many toxic relationships with younger women. Mrs. [name_m]Ritchie[/name_m] barely did anything to stop this and was also hiding evidence and trying everything she could to avoid her oldest son being imprisoned for it, claiming she “didn’t want any more children gone from her”. This heavily backfired because now her son is in prison, her other two children broke contact with her, and she is pleading guilty to obstruction of justice. [name_u]Lynn[/name_u] misses her husband dearly and believes he was a special irreplaceable piece of her life. When he passed, that piece of her wouldn’t come back and there she was, broken.
[name_u]Lynn[/name_u] has not remarried and isn’t trusting of most people outside her family and while her children don’t want her to get into a romantic relationship when she isn’t ready, they do wish she would be able to find more friends. [name_u]Lynn[/name_u] says making new friends at 48 is difficult and while they understand her concern, they wish she could find happiness and peace and that others would know how truly amazing she was inside. [name_u]Lynn[/name_u] is inspired by her own children and their way of coping with grief and although she will never go back to her ex-friend, she has used that as a way of being grateful that all of her children are alive and in contact with her and more importantly, none of her children are terrible people.
[name_f]Audrey[/name_f] ‘Dree’ [name_f]Bel[/name_f] [name_m]Sumner[/name_m] (21) is Lynn’s youngest and [name_f]Aurie[/name_f] and her brother’s sister. [name_f]Dree[/name_f] is only a nickname for close friends. She is a relationship with a boy who is 23 and acts more like her counsellor and therapist than her boyfriend, and [name_f]Dree[/name_f] is oblivious to this but [name_f]Aurie[/name_f] knows the relationship should end and has tried to let [name_f]Dree[/name_f] know that. One thing [name_f]Audrey[/name_f] absolutely loves is nature and birds and she is taking a Wildlife management degree at a university in [name_u]London[/name_u] and occasionally visits her family when she can but she does have someone who helps her because of her condition and she is living on campus.
Viviane Stephanie Barreto (22) is Audrey’s friend from high school who jumped at the chance to travel the world and went with her to the same London university. They’re not roommates, since Viviane didn’t want any added stress messing up their friendship, but they cheer each other on with homework, buy each other much-needed coffee, and hang out whenever possible. Which isn’t much, since Viviane has a double major in Psychology and Artist Blacksmithing, and she is taking advantage of every side hustle she possibly can. She’s a part-time administrative assistant for an academic advisor, she models for art classes, and she sells her metal artwork online/around campus. Hopefully, it’ll be enough to scrape by for a while. Her family is extremely supportive but can’t afford to help much financially.
Her dad calls her Stevie (since he’s Stephen and he lovingly calls her his Junior), and he’s the only one who’s allowed to call her by a nickname. She corrects people on her name all the time, but tries to do it playfully and very Hermione-esque: “It’s viv-ee-AWN-uh, not viv-ee-ANN.” It’s a name that honors her mother’s Brazilian heritage. Someday, Viviane plans to see Brazil for herself, and as many countries in as many continents as she possibly can. She has absolutely zero interest in dating, and she’s not sure if it’s because she’s busy or if she’s ace/aro like her mom. But she’s not too concerned with labeling herself right now. She’s got a world of things to learn and see!
(tw: overwork, burnout , mentions of life-threatening state of depression)
Natsuko " [name_m]Natty[/name_m] " [name_f]Manami[/name_f] Kawahara (24) is a Japanese exchange student from Okinawa. She can communicate well in [name_f]English[/name_f] but isn’t confident in her speaking ability nonetheless, so she just stays silent most of the time - her natural shyness also contributes to that. [name_f]Viviane[/name_f] was made responsible to show her around campus and they became friends. [name_m]Natty[/name_m] appreciates that [name_f]Viviane[/name_f] always looks out for her - doing for her all the things she does for [name_f]Dree[/name_f] , too - but at the same time isn’t overprotective. [name_f]Viviane[/name_f] also didn’t start talking about anime , manga or J-Pop when she saw her , all three of which [name_m]Natty[/name_m] is beyond tired of hearing about. She studies in her senior year of university and is a fellow psychology major of [name_f]Viviane[/name_f] - even though they don’t go to the same clases. She thinks that mental health awareness in Japan should be increased , a belief that has been firmly held by her ever since her mom fell into depression as a result of extreme burnout and exhaustion due to 14-hour-workdays. . It breaks her heart that her mom wasn’t taken seriously nor given help until things got really out of hand to the point of being dangerous for her survival.. She thinks work ethic in Japan and the mental health stigma must change as soon as possible
Ichigo " Gogo " Sayori Kawahara (22) is Natty’s younger sister, who opted against attending university in favour of pursuing visual arts in her own way. A photographer who loves fashion and urban exploring, Gogo combines these into her portfolio and online presence, having garnered an impressive following while working as a receptionist so she can contribute to the family home and alleviate her mom’s stress. Through her job at a hotel popular with tourists - having been inspired by her sister’s travels - Gogo met her boyfriend, who’s Canadian and incredibly supportive of her passion, drive and determination. She knows his family have their reservations about her - the clichéd golddigger stereotype obviously weighing on their minds - but refuses to let this spoil their bond, having successfully maintained a long distance relationship for three years, withstanding even COVID.
Compared to [name_m]Natty[/name_m], Gogo is much more sociable although she’d never be mistaken for gregarious or outgoing - merely speaking her mind and knowing how to make polite conversation with ease. She tends to keep an eye on her mother covertly - not being proud of hovering but she can’t help worry given how bad things got - and reports things to [name_m]Natty[/name_m] in terms of how the family’s doing. In spite of being the baby, Gogo is very protective of her loved one’s and won’t let anyone speak badly of them. Some of her creations have reflected her family’s struggles and triumphs, albeit in a subtle manner as she doesn’t want people unfairly assuming things about her mom. For her birthday, she used the money gifted to buy an adorable tortoiseshell kitten - who’s been named [name_u]Ami[/name_u] - and is forever showing her off to her tight knit, beloved friend group, being a responsible and loving pet owner (with plans on introducing [name_u]Ami[/name_u] to a companion as soon as it’s possible).
[name_m]Hiroto[/name_m] ‘Otto’ [name_u]Asahi[/name_u] Kawahara (22) is Gogo’s estranged unidentical twin brother and Audrey’s boyfriend/“therapist”. The reason he no longer talks too his sisters is because he left when their Mom was at her worst point in her mental health and went to live just outside [name_u]London[/name_u] and did not let any of the family know of his wearabouts, which led to her having worse mental health. Recently he has been regaining touch with his family but it is still awkward.
[name_f]Benedita[/name_f] ”Benita” [name_f]Gisela[/name_f] Barreto (21) is Otto’s friend, Viviane’s sister, and also a good friend of the Sumners. She wants to maintain her friendship with all three families and can sometimes be naïve. She does not understand why [name_f]Dree[/name_f] and [name_m]Otto[/name_m] have a “counsel” type relationship or why [name_m]Otto[/name_m] left his family. [name_f]Benita[/name_f] is a very social and loving individual who would hate to see the families feud because she is on good terms with all of them. She thinks she can help [name_m]Otto[/name_m] with his family and supports whatever he does with his situation.
[name_m]Cayden[/name_m] [name_u]Riley[/name_u] McDonell (20) is Benita’s guy best friend. [name_m]Cayden[/name_m] and [name_f]Benita[/name_f] met through a mutual friend, and when they were both in high school, benita and cayden’s friend frederick or freddo for short, invited them both to the library, causing them to make friends. freddo and cayden are currently dating but it hasn’t made it awkward for the friendship group of cayden, benita, freddo, freddo’s best friend, freddo’s brother and benita’s girl best friend. cayden and benita both share a love for code development, and together they created a simple game. cayden is friends with viviane but she is not really in their friendship group so cayden doesn’t really talk to viviane, otto or the sumners but has semi met them through benita.
[name_u]Franklin[/name_u] “Franco” [name_m]Isaac[/name_m] [name_u]Madison[/name_u] (20) is Freddo’s fraternal twin brother. [name_m]Franco[/name_m] is a gaming expert and loves the coding [name_m]Cayden[/name_m] and [name_f]Benita[/name_f] do. He is friends with all of them and he supports Freddo & [name_m]Cayden[/name_m]. [name_m]Franco[/name_m] is not looking for a relationship and wants to keep his grades in university up and feels people might stereotype him as “lazy” and “geeky” for his love of gaming and a “loser” because he has no relationship, even though he has made it clear he isn’t looking for love. Still, he has proven he is a loyal friend and a social member of his group and he and the group have each other’s backs. He is also very good at calculus, which people tend to not notice at first glance. He and Freddo are very tight and close with one another and will always be.
[name_m]Frederick[/name_m] " Freddo " [name_m]Casper[/name_m] [name_u]Madison[/name_u] (20) is Franco’s fraternal twin and the older of the pair by 47 minutes exactly - a well-loved anecdote the twins’ parents have told as long as they can remember. Freddo tends to be the more sociable of the pair with seemingly boundless confidence, and has always defended [name_m]Franco[/name_m] from anyone who looks down on him, even if it’s lead to him getting into fights on a few occasions; most prominently while the pair were in high school, a time when Freddo himself admits he had consiserably less restraint. Studying [name_f]English[/name_f] Literature currently, he’s very fond of romantic poets and has always been a die-hard fan of Victorian Gothic works in particular, first becoming interested when his aunt got him Frankenstein for [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] when he was thirteen. Twins are common in their maternal family, with his mom’s two sisters being identical, and one of them actually has triplets - something Freddo admits he’s glad he isn’t, as he feels he and Franco’s bond would be altered for the worse if it was shared with a third party.
In spite of this he’s very close with his cousins and has introduced [name_m]Cayden[/name_m] to his extended family, being completely open about his pansexuality - having been prompted to come out by his uncle being bi and married to a man - being amused by how he responded to all these personalites and dynamics. Due to his gregarious nature, Freddo’s much more prone to talking to everyone in the group and has worried he’s neglected [name_m]Cayden[/name_m] before due to wanting to hang out with as many people as possible but his boyfriend assures him he doesn’t take offense - instead being happy Freddo’s expanded the group further due to being actively involved in the alternative scene and going to as many music events as possible. He suspects one of the newer group members has a crush on his twin but hasn’t jumped to any conclusions yet, as he doesn’t want to intrude on Franco’s happiness or upset his new friend.
tw: mentions of concentration camps
[name_m]Ezekiel[/name_m] ’ [name_f]Kez[/name_f] ’ [name_u]Milo[/name_u] Halprin (20) is another member of the friend group, whose social capacities manage to rival even Freddo’s. [name_m]Born[/name_m] and raised in Seattle, [name_m]Washington[/name_m], [name_f]Kez[/name_f] comes from a Jewish family who originated in Poland, and his heritage is something he considers highly important, due to his great-grandfather having been sent to Herzogenbusch during the Second World War. He’s studying international law, with plans on travelling once he’s obtained his degree, focusing on Eastern Europe so he can visit family and also gain some much desired adventure - as his parents were quite protective of him while he was growing up, due to his older brother having Downs Syndrome and facing a fair deal of prejudice.
In spite of sometimes feeling stifled, [name_f]Kez[/name_f] has a close relationship with his parents and loves his siblings dearly, being no stranger to arguing himself due to intervening when anyone made comments about his brother. He also has an older sister who’s currently teaching [name_f]English[/name_f] in [name_u]South[/name_u] Korea and has made plans to visit her soon, with the pair of them returning to Seattle where they can celebrate their mom’s birthday as a united family again. When he isn’t attending Debate Team meetings or listening to a music collection centered around 90s dance beats, [name_f]Kez[/name_f] can be found with his friends or urban exploring, having made an effort to get them interested in his favourite hobby (even if it has had him running from trespassing charges on a couple occasions).
~
@CherryBomb50 Late post but you didn’t cut me off, I had to pause my post as I got called away!
tw: mentioning of an abusive relationship (control and manipulation)
[name_f]Jordana[/name_f] [name_f]Phoebe[/name_f] DeLaci (21) is Kez’s girlfriend who sometimes hangs out with the group but doesn’t want to intrude, especially as she knows how awkward it can be accommodating a couple when the thought of them breaking up is always going to plague on people’s minds. The two met when they were sixteen through an online forum designed to speak about members family history with bigotry, prejudice and actual crimes perpetrated, with [name_f]Jordana[/name_f] coming to bond with [name_f]Kez[/name_f] over the fact he spoke about confronting antisemitism while supporting and respecting the space of POCs as well. She was pleasantly surprised to learn he was actually due to attend university close to the arts school she’d been accepted into, belonging to the fashion communication course where she’s known for using muted, earthy colours to create conceptual and editorial outfits; placing an emphasis on recycling materials and using this to undermine fast fashion while not being too expensive.
Although they assumed the friendship would continue, when [name_f]Jordana[/name_f] and [name_f]Kez[/name_f] finally met in person a spark developed, one which has continued flourishing over the past two years of them being together. What reassured Jordana’s dad in particular - a stay-at-home dad who defied gender stereotypes thanks to not wanting his wife’s blossoming career in translation to be stifled - is how [name_f]Kez[/name_f] never demands his daughter’s time and respects she can get busy or make other plans; a courtesy she always returns to her boyfriend.
This fear stems from Jordana’s brother having been engaged to a woman who was incredibly controlling and emotionally abusive, threatening to run away with their young daughter or falsley accuse him of domestic violence of he didn’t choose her over his family. The couple lived in her home state of [name_u]Texas[/name_u] for two years - miles away from Manhattan, where the DuPoint family are - and almost completely lost contact with him due to her insane jealousy; thanks to his ex being close with the family still. It was Jordana’s mom who finally got him to see the engagement for what it was - a toxic cycle perpetrated by a woman never satisfied by the devotion he showed her - and now he’s living in the family home again, successfully gaining sole custody of his daughter who’s much happier too now she isn’t exposed to her mother’s outbursts and allegations.
As the third of four children, she’s enamored with all the independence and space university gives her, even in the sorority she belongs to. While [name_f]Jordana[/name_f] loves her siblings dearly - older sister and brother, as well as her younger brother who uses he/they pronouns - having them constantly wanting to borrow her sewing equipment or intruding on her time was pretty maddening, and she openly jokes her little niece is an even worse culprit (but this hasn’t stopped [name_f]Jordana[/name_f] making her a princess dress for her upcoming fourth birthday). Like [name_f]Kez[/name_f] she loves urban exploring and has gotten some of her sorority sister’s involved, an activity the society thoroughly approves of due to the edge it gives them when making a call for new members; but it doesn’t stop [name_f]Jordana[/name_f] going on special dates with her boyfriend where they check out new locations, a little ritual they consider theirs only.
Maturity warning: Abusive relationships. Also brief SIDS and virginity mentions but all mature topics in this post are aforementioned from other posts.
[name_f]Monique[/name_f] [name_f]Lize[/name_f] [name_m]Lennart[/name_m] (24) is great friends with [name_f]Jordana[/name_f] meeting her online through [name_u]Marie[/name_u], an anti-fast fashion and pro-green fashion activist who works at a thrift shop. However it was Jordana’s brother, who got out of his abusive relationship with his ex-fiancée, who she met in-person first, since they both used to live in Texas and she was a neighbour of him when he was in an abusive relationship with his now ex-fiancée. She is the older sister of [name_m]Pierre[/name_m] and was born after her estranged older brother and her other brother who died of SIDS as an infant before she and [name_m]Pierre[/name_m] were born, making her the third of the four children of Mr. and Mrs. [name_m]Ritchie[/name_m] however she is not close with either parent and believes they did nothing to stop her toxic older brother and that she and [name_m]Pierre[/name_m], the only person in the family she talks to, did everything.
She is married and took her wife’s surname but would have changed it even if she wasn’t married. She is not a virgin like [name_m]Pierre[/name_m] but she supports his decision to change his surname in disassociation from their oldest brother, an ex-teacher’s assistant who had been abusing and harassing younger women. [name_m]Pierre[/name_m] noticed this before [name_f]Monique[/name_f] since [name_f]Monique[/name_f] still resided in Texas at the time and he told her about what their older brother was doing to the women he was having relationships with. With the help of [name_f]Sissy[/name_f], one of the women who had been in the toxic relationships, and Monique’s wife, the siblings helped get the other women out. While she wanted to leave Texas, she couldn’t get past the fact that her neighbours - that being Jordana’s brother and abusive then-fiancée, were constantly arguing during the night and she was being very loud and aggressive. She and her wife knocked on his door and begged his fiancée to please stop yelling at him and using their child against him but she threatened them both however they still did everything they could and reported everything she said and often protected Jordana’s brother at their house for the nights. Eventually her brother got a restraining order against her and so did [name_f]Monique[/name_f] and her wife.
[name_f]Monique[/name_f] and her wife currently moved out of Texas and moved to be closer with [name_f]Jordana[/name_f], [name_m]Pierre[/name_m], and Jordana’s other siblings. Monique’s wife is a WOC and bonds extremely well with [name_f]Jordana[/name_f] and her siblings and is Marie’s best friend. [name_f]Monique[/name_f] and Jordana’s older sister are currently employed at a gift shop on 12th Street.
Sissy was created by @lemon_swirlxx
Pierre was created by me.
Marie was created by me.
Aazeen ’ [name_f]Azia[/name_f] ’ Tahseenah [name_f]El[/name_f] [name_m]Omry[/name_m] [name_m]Lennart[/name_m] (24) is Monique’s wife. A Yemeni-American makeup artist, who’s still breaking into the field and primarily gets her income from sponsorship deals given on account of her successful video tutorials; Azia’s heavily involved in fundraising and spreading awareness of the war affecting the country she was born in. [name_f]Azia[/name_f] emigrated to San [name_m]Angelo[/name_m] when she was 2-and-a-half, after her father - a journalist - was offered a job regarding covering international affairs: one he accepted due to increased freedoms a career in [name_u]Texas[/name_u] would grant him and his family. The second of five children, she was the last to be born in Beihan - where her grandparents lived until 14 months ago, when they were granted asylum to live near her parents - but culture is still highly important to her.
A fluent speaker of Arabic, [name_m]German[/name_m] and [name_f]English[/name_f], Azia’s a very practical person who admits she’s not the most academic of people (especially next to her older sister, who’s a qualified optician), but she’s great at mending clothes, putting together furniture and cooking: tasks she takes primary responsibility for around her and Monique’s home. The two met when they worked in the same department store - [name_f]Azia[/name_f] on the makeup counter, [name_f]Monique[/name_f] gift-wrapping - and formed an immediate bond. It always relieved [name_f]Azia[/name_f] how her then-girlfriend never judged her or her family: who are considered unusual by those with pre-conceived stereotypes, thanks to Azia’s mother having been raised in [name_u]Germany[/name_u] thanks to her maternal grandparents moving, visiting them in [name_u]Berlin[/name_u] whenever she can.
[name_f]Kamila[/name_f] [name_f]Qadira[/name_f] [name_f]El[/name_f] [name_m]Omry[/name_m] [name_m]Lennart[/name_m] (27) is Azia’s older sister and proud optician. She was born in Beihan and is very close with born her Yemeni and German roots. She is best friends with Jordana’s older sister who is happy for the engagement. However with Jordana’s brother having an abusive ex-fiancée, it made the family uneasy on engagements so she never brought it up to them and Kamila’s first proposal a year and a half earlier was actually rejected, although the relationship continued, before finally getting accepted just recently. [name_f]Kamila[/name_f] loves 12th Street and enjoys seeing her sister and sister-in-law whenever she can. She is very tight-knit with her family, loving their cultural connections and teaches Jordana’s family some Arabic and German. While [name_f]Kamila[/name_f] is smart and successful, she still roots on her siblings and never acts like she’s better than them.
[name_m]Antero[/name_m] ’ [name_m]Tero[/name_m] ’ [name_m]Sebastian[/name_m] Mikkola (29) is Kamila’s fiancé. [name_u]An[/name_u] accomplished architect, [name_m]Tero[/name_m] met [name_f]Kamila[/name_f] while on a business trip from Jyväskylä - having been born and raised in the town of Parkano - where they bonded on the grounds of both speaking fluent [name_m]German[/name_m]. [name_m]Prior[/name_m] to meeting his now-fiancé, [name_m]Tero[/name_m] wasn’t too interested in relationships, primarily thanks to how he knew he’d be moving to the States for his job and forming a long distance relationship in his home of Finland seemed to only spell heartbreak for both parties.
It was subsequently a big surprise for [name_m]Tero[/name_m] when he met [name_f]Kamila[/name_f] and almost immediately fell for her - not just being captured by her beauty but the humility she carries herself with, something [name_m]Tero[/name_m] himself admittedly isn’t too used to thanks to him and his brothers having a much more competitive interactions.
Currently, the big question for the couple is whether to begin trying for children before or after they marry. [name_m]Tero[/name_m] knows he wants to start their family soon, partially thanks to how close he is with his niece and nephew (children of his older brother), but doesn’t want to make [name_f]Kamila[/name_f] feel pressured and completely respects her wishes. He’s also the first to admit they’re a little caught up right now in their new family member: their rescue dog [name_f]Posey[/name_f], a Dalmatian who’s overwhelmed with energy and incredibly affectionate towards her humans.