🕊️ create a family w/ a twist

cw: abandonment

Kerensa " Keren " Grace McCullough (20) is another one of Kelsey’s detractors, granted it’s more through association, given she’s one of Jade’s closest friends. While it didn’t exactly surprise her, given the absolute nightmare her friend endured growing up, Keren had tried to be a little more optimistic for Jade’s sake, and the disappointment was palpable once the shock of the incident had receded. She’s not a stranger to being let down herself - Keren’s parents were teenagers when they had her, and she subsequently grew up constantly waiting on a father who barely attended agreed visits and missed child support payments whenever possible. He was around enough briefly to conceive Keren’s younger sister - who’s in her first year of high school and greatly admires Haru for getting Florence Yang’s abusice ex to back off - but responsibility caused him to abscond again. This is arguably where her pessimistic streak stems from, but Keren’s tried her best to let go, as she wants her mom to feel proud for how much she did for her daughters, including facing lots of stigma and chiding from those around her, simply for putting faith in the wrong guy.

Unlike Tama, Keren - aka Crackhead 2 - is absolutely not someone you’d call timid. Although she isn’t particularly loud or outspoken, Keren carries herself with an aura of authority, and her quiet confidence is always present. Based on how people treated her mom, she’s good at dismissing opinions of no importance, but can be a little cagey: distrusting a teacher who offered her support for quite some time as she loathes the idea of being pitied or looked down on. She was always the sister more suspicious of social services and any outsiders to the family unit, partly as her mom grew up in foster homes and became estranged from her siblings due to the courts splitting them up for placements; leading to a fear in Keren that this would be considered for her family. This isn’t something she’s that open about with many people, only Crackhead 4 has the full picture of her past concerns and anxieties, as they’re adopted and subsequently know more about the system Keren feared so much herself; allowing comfort and understanding on a level she very much appreciates.

Seeing Jade with Ace is something that makes Keren incredibly happy though, and she’s also involved in artistry. Currently, she’s doing an apprenticeship in special effects based makeup and also regularly takes commissions for street art or personalised murals; using both spray paint and more traditional materials to get these works completed. Keren likes keeping herself busy and always has a book or podcast on the go, as well as a fascination with etymology that keeps her busy when she’s not with her friends. She’s more academic than her low effort approach to school implied, passing classes but sometimes scraping by when she didn’t have an interest, effort was never a guarantee. The one thing Keren wouldn’t allow is for anyone to blame her mom though: who worked two cleaning jobs to support the family and was often exhausted on an evening, in spite of trying to do ‘normal’ mom things with her daughters. Arguably she’s the route of Keren’s success, as she wants to make her proud in a way others will appreciate, as she’s very aware people will consider her achievements being ‘in spite of her background’ instead of crediting her mom for everything she’s done for her.

Coffee is her favourite thing - to drink or eat in cake - and her friends joke about how if caffeine were to be banned, Keren would rise up in rebellion to dismantle the powers that be herself. She doesn’t correct this assumption and arguably isn’t the sort of person to unferestimate when it comes to retribution [as someone who spread rumours about her once learned in the form of a terrifying passive aggressive confrontation]. Also never call her Karen without it being an honest mistake or you’ll have a while before she considers forgiveness.


Florence is credited to yours truly :cloud:

4 Likes


Archer Dennis Wolfgang (23) is Keren and Jade‘s close acquaintance but not Crackhead 4 — that’s his younger sister. Archer is the older child of Abe Wolfgang and he is very close with his cousins Ace and Sable. Archer is gay but is not currently in a relationship. Archer is a high school teacher’s assistant at the school Keren’s sister attends and he helps her and a few other students to make sure they do exceptionally well. Keren’s sister is not a bad student, she just has mild dyscalculia although it’s much lesser now than when she was younger. He knows Keren has distrusted teachers despite support and he’s used that to ease tensions and to make sure he’s working with the students and not working above them. Even as an adult, Archer never supported unfair and incompetent adults who believed they deserved respect solely because they were adults. He knew this as a child and those adults claimed he “didn’t understand” but now as an adult, his stance hasn’t changed a bit. Archer relates to Jade’s older maternal half-brother and his wife and is glad they’re doing great.

Archer has a good relationship with his parents but feels his uncle Ben needs to improve himself a lot for the sake of Ace and Sable. He is thankful Abe went against the toxic ways and broke the cycle in a sense but feels Ben has potential and a lot of the reasoning why Ben was so different from Abe was the way they were raised despite Ben being only 1 year older than Abe. Archer and his sister Crackhead 4 are very close however and even before she joined the Crackhead friend group, she’s been a fan of the number 4 and has always considered it her lucky number. Archer doesn’t have a lucky number but he does have a lucky charm — a special seashell he brought back from the beach that he rubs when he needs motivation.

Ben was created by @mynameis1.

Sable and Ace were created by @kitkatcookie.

4 Likes

cw: adoption discussions, mental health impacted by pregnancy

Arrow Zara Wolfgang (20) is Archer’s sister and Crackhead 4 - and yes, they’ve heard every joke feasible about their names. Surprisingly, Arrow’s never had any issues with this: she finds it very sweet that her mom wanted to create such an association between her children, and it helps she grew up idolising Black Canary, so much so Arrow frequently dressed up as her for Halloween [and is planning on doing this again]. Her love of comics has continued into adulthood: alongside her impressive collection of prints and omnibuses, she’s currently studying creative writing at university with an emphasis on comic books and graphic novels, faciliated by her professor who also used to be a writer for said industry. For Arrow it was a toss up between this and poetry, as she’s very much enamoured with medieval bards, frequently quoting Dante’s Divine Comedy to Keren whenever she’s in a bad mood and needs cheering up. Never let her alternative aesthetic fool you: this one can tell you endless trivia about Star Wars alien species, avidly plays D&D once a week and knows the aliases of every classic Spider-Man enemy [and some of the subsequent mantle holders as she’s no snob about modern writing either].

Typically, Arrow serves as the listening ear to all her fellow Crackheads, and friends external to this particular group as well. She’s a very patient person who’s got time for just about everyone, granted there’s a couple exceptions she’d rather not talk about, such as her paternal grandfather. While she and Archer have been shielded from the worst stories regarding his treatment of his children, they’re very aware he was a cruelly critical man, and Arrow appreciates the distance implemented by her parents. For their outward differences, she’s close with her cousin Sable thanks to their shared love of history, and the intimidating reputation the older girl carries never bothered Arrow, even when she was a little shyer. She isn’t exactly someone looking for socialising, but her reputation for kindness and patience has led to a degree of unintentional popularity, and she won’t deny it feels good to be appreciated.

Arrow was adopted under circumstances considered unusual by some. Her mom is godsisters’ with her biological mother, who was going through serious mental health problems at the time of her pregnancy - partly stemming from having undiagnosed schizophrenia - and didn’t feel able to raise a child. As pregnancy exacerbates her symptoms due to the change in chemicals [in particular, she had severe postpartum depression that led to her choosing to spend time at a specialist clinic], Arrow’s birth mother chose to never become pregnant again, but did go onto adopt two children. She admits she did consider asking for custody, but Arrow was so happily settled with her adopted family it didn’t feel right, especially as it had been quite a last minute request. Since her mid-teens, Arrow’s had consistent contact with the family, and she’s come to consider her mom’s godsister an aunt, which is more than enough for her. Her biological mothers’ kids are also aware of who she is now - one’s 14, the other’s 11 - and she’s always very happy to see them too, but it’s undeniable how strong her bond with Archer is, and she wouldn’t trade her family for anything.

Jade dating Ace was a surprise to Arrow - she’s not really nosey about relationships, partly because she’s ace and not too phased about entering the scene - but it’s never something she’s taken issues with [aside from jokingly threatening her cousin to treat Jade right, which she was terrible at, and it just made Arrow and Ace hysterical]. She’s begged them to never name any kids they could have with ‘A’ names given the influx in her family, and is firm this is not a trend she’ll give into [even if she absolutely adores the name Arabella]. Aside from her studies, Arrow works part-time at a vinyl and unusual technology repair shop, having opted for employment there because she gets free pick of the metal tapes and CDs. When she was in her teens she could drive her family mad blasting Static X from her room and it only ended when her parents got her a hamster - Lime - with emotional blackmail doing a fantastic job at avoiding a noise complaint hitting the family.


@moonwriteen
@jinxed_peach
if i’ve tagged you already and this is a repeat i am so sorry!

@CherryBomb50 i hope making Arrow adopted is alright, i just read back Keren’s description and it was specified so i wanted to keep continuity!

5 Likes

cw: mental illness
image
[name_f]Pearl[/name_f] [name_f]Elise[/name_f] Milligan {43} is Arrow’s bio mother and godsister to her adoptive mother. Though her and Arrow’s relationship has since been simplified to and ‘aunt and niece’ type. Which she is more than enough for her since she considers it a privilege to be in her life at all.

Growing up was tough for her, between the her parents and their ‘not exactly rocky but far from perfect’ marriage. Her family never really noticed her mental struggles, writing her off as ‘creative’ and ‘different’ in her childhood. Her respite from strife came in the form of her godmother and godsister who always welcomed her with open arms when she needed a safe space away from her homelife.

She chose to opt out from college, much to her parents disappointment. Instead she poured her time and money into doing a lot of mixed media art which helped keep her mental health somewhat stable, though she was often victim to the self-harming behaviors that mental illness, particularly schizophrenia. One of these behaviors included taking risks in her social life which would eventually lead to her conceiving [name_u]Arrow[/name_u].

Pregnancy brought on more extreme symptoms of her undiagnosed illness, she felt unsafe in her own apartment and suffered from delusions that lead her to stay awake for several days in her darkened apartment while trying to grapple with what aspects of her life was real and what was not. Thankfully her godsister noticed the fact that Peral had seemingly dropped off the face of the earth and went to her apartment unannounced. This was instrumental in her getting the help that she needed.

She was diagnosed with prenatal depression and was in the process of being screen for other mental illnesses (which would lead to her official diagnosis of schizophrenia in her second trimester of pregnancy) while she and her godsister worked out the plan for her to take custody of the baby. As much as she loved her unborn child she knew that she would not be able to provide the life that they would need, the life that she had always promised to one day give a child, while she was still growing herself. The knowledge that the baby would be safe and with someone she knew and trusted allowed her to begin the healing she needed to do.

When [name_u]Arrow[/name_u] was born she held her for less than five minutes before requesting that she be taken away so she wouldn’t get overwhelmed and let her emotions try to convince her to change her mind. Before leaving with the baby her godsister promised that this would not be the last time that she saw her baby.

As her doctor had anticipated her prenatal depression continued into post partum depression and she was referred to a specialty program for women with PPD and existing mental illnesses. This was the start to her upswing.

Through the years, aided by a supportive family, team of medical professionals, and the occasional photo of baby [name_u]Arrow[/name_u], she began to get her mental health under control. It was a long and arduous journey but after many, many years, she feels confident that she knows how to manage her own life now. Though her symptoms never really go away, they are manageable and she has the support of her partner and regular therapist.

Now she lives within a days drive of [name_u]Arrow[/name_u], [name_u]Archer[/name_u], and their family with her own family and works as an art therapist. Occasionally she struggles with the guilt of ‘replacing’ [name_u]Arrow[/name_u], but she knows that if she had chosen to parent when she was not yet healthy, it wouldn’t have been good for either of them. [name_f]Every[/name_f] time she sees [name_u]Arrow[/name_u] today she knows that she made the right choice, and is happy with where her life has ended up.


thanks fot the tag!!

4 Likes

tw: mental health issues, child neglect

[name_u]Cadence[/name_u] " [name_f]Cady[/name_f] " [name_f]Bonnie[/name_f] Milligan (14) is Pearl’s elder child and first adoptee in her home. The placement was decided because of Cady’s own familial background: her mother had severe postpartum psychosis, leading to her abandoning her daughter alone for hours at a time as she went looking for imagined ‘saviours’ who could protect them from her hallucinations. After a neighbour became aware that [name_f]Cady[/name_f] was left alone for prolonged periods of time, CPS were contacted and she was taken into their care with immediate effect. Her biological mother was hospitalised and remains there now. She’s become much more stable than when [name_f]Cady[/name_f] was little, but clearly cannot live independently thanks to how severely her breakdown affected her, and the fact she asks to take custody of her child again concerned staff thanks to how her delusions persist. There was an attempt to place [name_f]Cady[/name_f] with her biological father in the aftermath, but he was openly disinterested in parenting and actually told her social worker as such, leading to it being decided an alternate option was preferential. This is how [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] ended up being contacted, thanks to her own understanding of mental health issues adjacent to pregnancy, and her interest in adopting. [name_f]Cady[/name_f] was 3 by the time this happened - having been in foster care for almost 2 years - and it would be several years before [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] adopted again, to ensure she settled properly.

Now a preteen, [name_f]Cady[/name_f] loves little more than sports: baseball, running track, gymnastics, netball - you name it, she’ll have tried it and probably enjoyed it. Team sports especially appeal to her because she’s quite an outgoing person who loves building up others and encouraging them to work together. This is only challenged by how much [name_f]Cady[/name_f] adores the family cat - a ginger tom named Marmalade, who was found by her one day when she was spending the afternoon with [name_u]Arrow[/name_u] and [name_u]Archer[/name_u]. After some deliberation, it was agreed [name_f]Cady[/name_f] could keep him - in part as the older two couldn’t bear her disappointment, as she instantly adored the grumpy beast - and [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] was happy with this suggestion, as her daughter was 10 and had proved herself responsible enough to care for him. She has a lot of friends in the neighbourhood where they live and her mom jokes you can’t find [name_f]Cady[/name_f] on a weekend because she’s attending a sleepover: not untrue, she’s absolutely mad about them. Arrow’s someone she greatly admires - it’s no secret how much [name_f]Cady[/name_f] wants a nose piercing, but right now Pearl’s firm she’s too young - and she’s pleased to have her own friend group of 4 mirroring the Crackheads [although they don’t have a nickname yet]. Her memories of childhood are mostly faint - something [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] is grateful for given what [name_f]Cady[/name_f] was witness to, from both her biological parents - but she has wondered about visiting her birth mother someday. Cady’s therapist has advised against this for the time being - because her mother’s still quite unwell - but is keeping tabs so she can make contact if it becomes appropriate and she feels ready. Still, this pales in comparison to how absolutely she loves her mom and considers her the greatest woman she knows.

7 Likes

image

Warning for terminal illness and widowing.

Cataline Paula [Charleston] Tenney (24) is Cady’s track coach and Cady happens to be Cataline’s adoptive second cousin. Motivated by charity runs, Cataline has found running to be her new favourite sport. Cataline is a daughter of Pearl’s cousin and she’s helped Pearl get closer with her extended family when her immediate family ignored her mental health issues. Cataline is the eldest of three. The youngest is a girl Cady’s age and the middle is a 17-year-old boy on Chris‘s basketball team. Cataline and Chris get along as fellow coaches and Cataline is excited to see her brother play in championships. Cataline and her younger sister have bonded more as sisters lately despite the decade age gap and a lot of that is because of Cady.

Something Cataline isn’t vocal about when you first meet her is that she’s a widow. Cataline dated a guy when she was 16 who was ill with a rare autoimmune disorder he’s had since birth. During their teenage years, he was fine as long as he took his medicine and their relationship seemed pretty normal. However it took a turn for the worst in adulthood as unfortunately people will the illness don’t live very long. Despite his degeneration throughout his illness, she never stopped loving him and never saw him as lesser to her. She hated when people called him “crippling” or asked her, “Why would she want to date that sickly guy?” Even comments that meant well like, “That’s really nice that she puts up with him and all his medical drama,” were comments Cataline absolutely despised. They’ve still managed to have a relationship and do things and talk about things unrelated to illness and medical because Cataline’s boyfriend was a person too. He proposed marriage to her in college and planned to marry after college, but ended up pushing the wedding sooner given his condition. The marriage only lasted two months until he passed away. Despite his unfortunate inevitable death, Cataline is grateful she met him and had a romantic relationship with him. She truthfully never wants to remarry and if she has children in the future, she wants adoptive children only since she doesn’t want a pregnancy from someone else‘s sperm even if it’s just an anonymous donour. She goes to the same therapist about grief and stress as Cady does for her conflict regarding her birth mother.

Cataline credits Pearl for the amazing changes she’s made in her life and she says Pearl is always welcome to hang out with her cousin and that part of the family whenever she wants. Cataline lives alone but loves visitors and is good friends with another coach of Cady’s. Cataline always loves to have snacks whenever she hangs out with people and memorised every family member and friends’ fave snack. Her brother sometimes snuck her snacks into basketball practices. He’s gotten caught but Chris is cool and decided if the players want refreshments to keep them motivated for the games, then they deserve them as long as they don’t make a mess. She hasn’t seen Pearl’s godsister much outside family reunions but she wants to know more about her and how she’s helped Pearl. Cataline’s younger sister has been supportive of Cady and is in her friend group of 4. Cataline also sees Pearl’s youngest adoptive child like a sweet cute younger sib, although they’re technically second cousins.

Chris was created by @A.B.Galaxy.

5 Likes

tw: discrimination, gambling, separation

[name_f]Fatima[/name_f] [name_f]Mariam[/name_f] [name_m]Al[/name_m] [name_m]Omar[/name_m] (47) is the therapist and friend of [name_f]Cataline[/name_f], who also sees [name_f]Cady[/name_f]. She hates restricting [name_f]Cady[/name_f] from seeing her mother and wishes she could help reunite them faster, but unfortunately cannot and knows she’s doing it for her client’s safety. [name_f]Fatima[/name_f] is a very naturally emotional and empathetic person, which makes being a therapist hard for her- when she can’t help someone she’ll often go through the pain with them, and her heart will break with them. Like [name_f]Cataline[/name_f], [name_f]Fatima[/name_f] has experienced the loss of a partner- though not through death. Fatima’s husband would constantly steal money and use it to gamble and buy alcohol, until [name_f]Fatima[/name_f] decided it was enough and took her four children (all infants and toddlers) with her to raise on her own. At first, it was hard- [name_f]Fatima[/name_f] couldn’t pick up any jobs due to racial and gender discrimination, and she had five mouths to feed including herself. Her family had shunned her, as getting divorced was heavily frowned upon in their family. But, slowly but surely, [name_f]Fatima[/name_f] applied to many jobs and got one at a school as a janitor and started saving up for her very own college fund.

At first, [name_f]Fatima[/name_f] knew it wouldn’t be enough. She joined the lottery as a joke- she did it cautiously as she knew the harm that gambling had caused her family already- but was surprised when she won 200 grand! She used it sparingly and spent it on college funds- she wanted to study to become a psychologist, so she did. She bought a good home for her family and was stunned when her ex, clean from gambling, reintroduced himself to her. [name_f]Fatima[/name_f] decided not to take him back, but the two are still friends and both heavily invested in their kids’ lives. [name_f]Fatima[/name_f] and her husband still had a strong connection- after all, the emigrated from Dubai to the USA together and enjoyed a few years of peaceful marriage before his addiction spiraled out of control, but she’s happy that he is trying to redeem himself and be present in his kids’ lives.

Now, Fatima’s kids are all in high school (except the oldest, who’s a freshman in college). One of them, the youngest, is a year older than [name_f]Cady[/name_f] Milligan and is good friends with her, which [name_f]Fatima[/name_f] loves to see- her daughter says [name_f]Cady[/name_f] is the little sister she never had. All of Fatima’s kids have vastly different interests, but [name_f]Fatima[/name_f] loves them all regardless and hopes they continue to follow their dreams.

4 Likes

image
[name_m]Nizar[/name_m] [name_m]Rahim[/name_m] [name_m]Abdul[/name_m] (47) is the father of Fatima’s children but the two have no plans to get back together. [name_m]Nizar[/name_m] lost his job not too long before his theft and gambling and [name_f]Fatima[/name_f] was aware but despised that he’d use any money he did have to buy alcohol. They got into a dispute when [name_f]Fatima[/name_f] told [name_m]Nizar[/name_m] that she should handle his money and decide when to give it to him. [name_m]Nizar[/name_m] refused, saying he’s an adult, not a kid with allowance. [name_f]Fatima[/name_f] argued back that it wasn’t a case of “allowance” but rather because he is being too irresponsible with money and he can’t use it in the state he’s in. She said it was the same concept as taking away car keys to prevent a drunk person from driving. She encouraged [name_m]Nizar[/name_m] to find another job but [name_m]Nizar[/name_m] was too stubborn and their relationship collapsed.

The turning point was when [name_f]Fatima[/name_f] took the children to raise by herself. [name_f]Fatima[/name_f] again made it clear why she was taking this from him. It seemed the kids were happier with just [name_f]Fatima[/name_f] raising them, which made [name_m]Nizar[/name_m] sad but reluctantly understood and deep down he wanted to keep them happy. When they divorced, [name_f]Fatima[/name_f] got majority custody which [name_m]Nizar[/name_m] felt horrible about but was realising the reality that he had made himself too unfit to be a parent. Now that the children are much older, and [name_m]Nizar[/name_m] has been much cleaner, he’s been welcomed into their lives more and [name_f]Fatima[/name_f] has given him another chance to fix what he’s broken. There are two conditions to this: 1) [name_f]Do[/name_f] not regress to past ways, 2) [name_f]Do[/name_f] not try to get back together with [name_f]Fatima[/name_f] as a couple. He’s now become closer and wants to make up for lost time and for how he was before. [name_m]Nizar[/name_m] went back to community college and went to university to get some studies so he can find a much better job, a suggestion the eldest child said he should do.

4 Likes

[name_f]Najah[/name_f] Yeira [name_m]Al[/name_m] [name_m]Omar[/name_m] (19) is the eldest child of [name_f]Fatima[/name_f] and [name_m]Nizar[/name_m], who’s currently majoring in geology at college, inspired by her great love of the natural world and environmental causes. For how she usually seems subdued and introverted, Najah’s vocal about what’s meaningful to her: be it her love for her family or protests she attends with her friends [a blending of fellow course students and those she’s known since middle school in some cases, being at a college close to where she grew up]. Being the eldest, [name_f]Najah[/name_f] has the clearest memories of her father when he was in his worst behavioural period, meaning she had the wariest reaction to when he returned to their lives - especially given her understanding of what her mother went through in terms of stress and turmoil. She was never antagonistic or confrontational when he was present - the main source of ire for [name_f]Najah[/name_f] is everything to do with environmental issues - instead holding back for the most part until he’d proven he was actively changing and respecting her mother’s boundaries. While her quietness has sometimes caused him to think she’s still resentful of him, [name_f]Najah[/name_f] now goes out of her way to invite him to major events of her life and keep him updated in what milestones she’s passed in her life.

Currently Najah’s preparing to go on a class trip to [name_f]Iceland[/name_f], something she’s terribly excited about. She took on extra shifts at her job to provide financially for the expedition - so her parents weren’t going to endure any pressure - but didn’t mind, as her job working at a stationary store is actually one she’s fond of. This comes primarily from how well she’s bonded with her colleagues - one of whom she actually went to high school with but hadn’t spoken to much before - and they’re frequently spending time together outside of their shifts. When she isn’t tending to her collection of succulents or working at the college allotments, [name_f]Najah[/name_f] loves spending time making beaded or clay jewelry; going outdoor swimming or visiting antique shops [not that she exactly buys much but she’s gotten good at finding hidden gems for genuine deals]. [name_f]Najah[/name_f] hasn’t bothered with decorating her dorm room much, given she knows she’ll only be there for a year, but is planning out her first house share with some friends, three others alongside her: two fellow students and one of her oldest pals who chose to not go through higher education thanks to her mental health not suiting the environment.

Thanks to her inheriting the natural sense of calm [name_f]Fatima[/name_f] carries, [name_f]Najah[/name_f] is the unsurprising peacemaker among her siblings when she’s at home. They luckily all tend to be quite easygoing, but it’s undeniably [name_f]Najah[/name_f] who’s called upon if [name_f]Fatima[/name_f] isn’t around, even taking phone calls from her sibling closest on age if they’re in need of some advise about withstanding petty bickering. She also recently acquired a chameleon - [name_f]Hortense[/name_f] - who used to belong to her friends’ boyfriend, but his landlord changed and he was forced to rehome her; an opportunity [name_f]Najah[/name_f] was delighted to take on. He’s frequently visiting, and she knows there’s a likelihood [name_f]Hortense[/name_f] will return to him if he finds a new place allowing pets [he’s been honest with her about pursuing this], but the experience has made her determined to adopt a lizard of some sort if this transpires. [name_f]Najah[/name_f] herself is asexual-demiromantic - having come out to her family when she was 17 - and it was a great relief that both of her parents fully accepted this [granted she didn’t have too many reservations about this]. This doesn’t stop her from supporting the relationships around her - her siblings included - but she’s pretty firm about not pursuing dating currently, instead having all her excitement reserved for the [name_f]Iceland[/name_f] trip that she’s impatient to get going on.

4 Likes


[name_f]Nasreen[/name_f] [name_f]Khadija[/name_f] “Diva” al-Omar (15) is the youngest child of [name_f]Fatima[/name_f] and [name_m]Nizar[/name_m]. She and [name_f]Cady[/name_f] are good friends. Not long after they met, they bonded over their love of coffee and are currently planning to start a coffee shop in town once they both get out of high school. In addition, [name_f]Diva[/name_f] is also supportive of Cady’s sports endeavors and is probably her biggest fan.

She is the most mentally stable of her siblings, who frequently turn to her for life advice and counsel should their parents not be available. After hearing about [name_f]Najah[/name_f] questioning her asexual-demiromantic orientation, she also wants to become asexual-demiromantic, as like her sister sexual relationships always have grossed her out.

When [name_f]Najah[/name_f] is away at college, she cares for [name_f]Hortense[/name_f] and often lets [name_f]Cady[/name_f] play with her.

4 Likes

image
[name_m]Hassan[/name_m] [name_m]Nabeel[/name_m] [name_m]Al[/name_m] [name_m]Omar[/name_m] (17) is the brother of [name_f]Najah[/name_f] and [name_f]Diva[/name_f]. He’s still fully questioning his own sexuality and although you can’t choose it, he feels [name_f]Diva[/name_f] is also asexual-demiromantic. He too is sporty and currently plays on Chris’s high school team The Barracudas and is excited for championships. He’s excited to see [name_f]Najah[/name_f] visit [name_f]Iceland[/name_f] with her friends but he and the family will miss her, much like they did when she went off to college, but they’re always happy for her. [name_f]Hortense[/name_f] has been a support animal for him as well and he couldn’t be more grateful.

[name_m]Hassan[/name_m] has been nervous for college and nervous even about being in high school because of his grades and credits and he’s terrified. He’s not necessarily a failing student, but he’s self-conscious about his C in algebra because he doesn’t believe his university of choice would accept that. He knows he was at a B- in the class but after failing the last test, it knocked his grade to a C. This worries him and he has a goal to at least have a B in the class when the school year ends but the tests are always what brings his overall grade down no matter how much he studies. Some may ask, “Well at least a C is a passing grade,” but [name_m]Hassan[/name_m] is very serious about good grades since he wants a good job and fears going through the monetary crisis and addictions his father went through.

3 Likes


Kayla Imani Sutton (17) is a good friend of Hassan’s. They met in middle school after she moved and have been friends ever since. Unlike Hassan, Kayla isn’t super worried about college. Her grades are average and she’s content with that. She does understand Hassan’s fear of going through what his father did but tries her best to comfort him. Kayla and Hassan have always strictly been friends and plan to keep it that way. They both agree that they’d drive each other crazy if they had to live together, let alone get married. Kayla is a journalist in the school paper and friends with Emma Wolfe. They both love attending the basketball games and cheering on the boys. It also gives Emma and Sy plenty chance to pine after each other from afar and Kayla so wishes they’d get back together. She knows Sy’s mom would never let that happen though which she hates. Kayla is Sy and Wil’s cousin as their mothers are sisters. Kayla’s mom is Bev’s older sister and was the first to cut contact. Kayla only sees Sy and Wil at school because of this and hopes they can get out from under their mother’s thumb. Kayla’s younger cousins from her other aunt live next door and she’s close to them since she’s an only child. She’s practically an older sister to them and they enjoy her company as she does theirs.

Emma Wolfe created by me
Sy Quitman created by @kitkatcookie
Bev Quitman created by @mynameis1

4 Likes


Porter Nathaniel Charleston (17) is a mutual friend of Kayla and Sy, and the middle child of his family between Cataline and the younger 14-year-old girl. For college, he’s good at grades but he’s worried about funding. However if he wins this basketball scholarship then he would get the scholarship for college. Porter really wants this because he wants to go and because he feels he owes it to his parents. He plays on the Barracudas with Wil, Hassan, and Shane and is excited for championships, being one of their best players. He talks about basketball a lot lately and thanks to his friends, often remembers to talk about other stuff to not get too obsessed. His sister Cataline, a friend of Chris, sweetly jokes she’s Porter’s “biggest fan on the court”. Porter has been rather concerned lately about Wil’s nervous energy and tries to calm him down and make him feel better. Porter doesn’t know that Wil is being pressured by Bev to throw the championships. What scares Porter is Bev’s disdain for his mother, Pearl’s cousin, who is a co-worker of Bev. Her whole entire plan to have Wil throw the championships is due to her toxic grudge against Porter’s mother and she wants Porter to lose and not get a basketball scholarship because she hates seeing her co-worker so happy. Wil has not definitely decided to throw however and does not want to do so, but he’s in a tough situation. Some of the adults, like Cataline, Corey, and Kayla’s mother are suspecting Wil is being cajoled into something awful he doesn’t want to do.

Porter gets along with Kayla and Sy a lot and keeps Sy and Emma’s budding romance a secret. He’s also someone who avoids Bev due to issues between her and his mother. Porter finds Kayla to be a smart and responsible person and both bond over how Bev has messed things up and made them unintentionally unlikable to her. They still talk about positive things and they have gotten into hobbies like stargazing and caring for pets, both being hobbies Kayla’s younger cousins love. Porter also serves as a photographer for the school paper and for the yearbook. He knows the championship will be implemented in both so he’s excited but nervous. Like Hassan, Porter is also strictly friends with Kayla.

Shane was created by me.

Corey was created by @mynameis1.

4 Likes

Jessamy " Jess " Philippa Charleston (14) is the youngest of the trio, as well as a member of the quartet of friends Cady Milligan belongs to. Like her dear friend, Jess is drawn towards athletic pastimes, albeit her preferred sports are swimming and diving; the latter having taken up more interest as she’s gotten older thanks to the grace and acrobatics involved. There’s a quiet competitive streak to Jess: she aspires to excel at her chosen sports but firmly believes in supporting her teammates and does all she can to bolster the spirits of those she cares about; especially her siblings and friends. Thanks to the tragedy Cataline went through, Jess can hover about her especially, in part because of how young she was when her brother-in-law passed away, and she can’t help but wonder what could have been thanks to the couple’s happiness [not that she asks any questions as she doesn’t want to upset her sister]. She can be much more blunt with Porter about personal matters, but this is more so thanks to them being closer in age, and Cataline was firmly someone they admired as the oldest, so all petty bickering was reserved for the two of them.

Aside from sports, Jess usually can be found spending all her time with her three closest friends; the group having an unusual dynamic where there aren’t two pairings of best friends, but instead an equal bond and dynamic between all four girls’. Cady and Jess are usually found together most frequently because of the close proximity of where they live though, not to mention Cataline tutoring Cady in track. If she isn’t with her group, Jess enjoys writing poems - not that any of her siblings are allowed to read them as of now - usually focusing on nature and the world she observes around her; or reading. True crime is increasingly intriguing her, granted her parents monitor it, and she gets books from the library as one of her friends is a serious environmentalist who endorses borrowing opposed to buying; and Jess is the sort of friend who always tries to at least understand what those she cares about are interested in [not that she gets one of her friends’ love of chemistry at all, as science completely baffles her]. While she knows things are strictly platonic between Porter and Kayla, Jess has her suspicions there’s another member of their friend group he has a crush on, and she’s deadset on finding out if she’s correct - not that she actually knows if she wants to play matchmaker as she doesn’t think she’d be any good at it.


Cady belongs to yours truly :cherry_blossom:

3 Likes

Discovered by PinkHolly. Find images and videos about pink, white and flowers on We Heart It - the app to get lost in what you love.

[name_u]Chelsea[/name_u] [name_f]Mae[/name_f] [name_u]Charleston[/name_u] (21) is Jess’ big cousin. She lives in San [name_m]Bernardino[/name_m], [name_u]California[/name_u], and she is an actress and pop singer. She is currently engaged to her boyfriend, and they have a daughter together.

3 Likes

image
Trinity “ Trina “ Baylor [left] and Judith “ Judy ” Stephanie Charleston (50) are respectively the mother and aunt of Chelsea. Judy is the mother of Cataline, Porter, and Jess. Trina and Judy are also cousins of Pearl. They’ve came from a safer family than Pearl’s but given Pearl’s parents’ secretive lifestyle, Trina & Judy’s family didn’t know how Pearl’s parents were to her. They’ve only strengthened their bond with Pearl with the help of Cady and they both try to be the best cousins to Pearl as they can. Trina and Judy both live by Pearl but they still visit Chelsea and Trina is happy as can be over becoming a grandmother to Chelsea’s daughter. Trina is super supportive to Chelsea and her fiancé and is excited to see her marry him.

Judy is supportive of all her children as well and doesn’t understand Bev’s grudge against her. Judy and Bev are co-workers and Bev has always been angry with Judy. Bev hates that Judy lets Jess read true crime, even though Judy monitors it. She also hates Porter taking snacks to basketball and calls Cataline “an enabler” for making said snacks, even though the snacks are healthy. Truth is, it’s not really Judy’s children that Bev hates, Bev just likes to nitpick the whole family, but rather Judy. Judy has worked at the company for a shorter time than Bev, yet she’s been promoted more and respected more by the bosses. While this sounds unfair, it’s because Judy is always putting 110% effort while Bev does just enough to get by and leaves stuff “for someone else to take care of”, which is usually Judy stepping in. Judy is also more liberated and doesn’t like Bev’s ways of parenting. Bev was also jealous that Porter played more games this season than Wil even though they’re both in championships. Both are stellar players but Wil is better and has more experience. Porter however is rising and becoming an amazing star player of his own and everyone’s been noticing that, which bothers Bev because she doesn’t want Porter to overshadow Wil. Wil and Porter are good friends though and they’re on the same team anyway so why would there be competition against the two boys? Lately Wil has been closer to Porter than Porter has to Wil. Their friendship isn’t breaking but Porter sees Wil getting all nervous about something he doesn’t want to talk about and the energy makes it uncomfortable for Porter after a while.

Another reason why is because, as Jess believes, Porter is falling for a fellow friend of she and Kayla. Porter is too shy at the moment to ask her out but he’s starting to show some signs he’s falling for her. Every time she talks to him, it makes his day. When he hears her name and his name in the same conversation, he feels hot and tries not to blush. When Judy asked Porter if he liked Kayla, he simply said no but when she asked if he liked the other girl, Porter paused awkwardly and then said no, but said it more nervously, followed by defensive insistence that he “really means no”. Judy’s avoided making her children feel too uncomfortable so she stops out of respect but Judy really supports this girl and her family and would be happy and accepting if they started dating.

Pearl was created by @jinxed_peach.

4 Likes

Discovered by PinkHolly. Find images and videos about summer, food and blonde on We Heart It - the app to get lost in what you love.

[name_u]Ashley[/name_u] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] [name_u]Charleston[/name_u] (18) is Trina’s daughter and Chelsea’s younger sister. She just started college in [name_u]Houston[/name_u], [name_u]Texas[/name_u], to be a nurse. She and [name_u]Chelsea[/name_u] have younger identical twin siblings, which is obvious, because her mom is a twin!

3 Likes

image
[name_m]Marius[/name_m] [name_m]Frank[/name_m] [name_u]Charleston[/name_u] (50) is Trina’s husband and the father of [name_u]Chelsea[/name_u], [name_u]Ashley[/name_u], and the twins. He absolutely adores sailing and canoeing, and many other boat activities. Like his wife, [name_m]Marius[/name_m] also loves visiting his grown children after they moved. He’s not as close to [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] as his wife but he’s respected her and his mental health. For some time, he’s tried to steer away from his sister-in-law’s drama on [name_f]Bev[/name_f] and just focus on his own children but he’s seen how rude [name_f]Bev[/name_f] is and would do what he can to stop it. [name_m]Marius[/name_m] works as a bartender, a job [name_f]Bev[/name_f] absolutely disapproves even though [name_m]Marius[/name_m] is safe and he’s not trying to influence anyone into bartending. [name_m]Marius[/name_m] isn’t as comfortable with [name_m]Nizar[/name_m] and although they’re not enemies, [name_m]Marius[/name_m] knows about Nizar’s past addictions and has politely turned [name_m]Nizar[/name_m] away from the bar for the sake of reminding him to stay clean. He’s on better terms with [name_f]Fatima[/name_f] and her children however and knows [name_m]Nizar[/name_m] is a wonderful person when he’s clean. Despite Marius’s job, the underage family members are not allowed samples, no matter what [name_f]Bev[/name_f] keeps telling herself. [name_f]Trina[/name_f] and [name_f]Judy[/name_f] always tell him about Judy’s children’s sport talents and [name_m]Marius[/name_m] is definitely rooting for [name_u]Porter[/name_u] in the championships for sure. He’s also a supporter of Jess’s swimming and diving talents and Cataline’s track talents and makes sure they feel equally supported.

4 Likes

Shared by PinkHolly. Find images and videos about fashion, hair and pink on We Heart It - the app to get lost in what you love.

[name_f]Madeline[/name_f] [name_f]Faye[/name_f] [name_u]Charleston[/name_u] (23) is Marius’ niece, as her father is Marius’ older brother. She is a dancer and model who lives in Los [name_u]Angeles[/name_u]. She is a huge dog lover, and she has two [name_u]French[/name_u] Bulldogs named [name_u]Maverick[/name_u] and [name_m]Goose[/name_m].

2 Likes


Ali Abdullah Al Omar (18) is a long-distance friend of Madeline, learning her from Cataline, who is also a long-distance friend. Madeline and Ali both attended attended Cataline’s wedding with her late husband and Cataline and Ali have seen Madeline dance long before she was famous. Ali is the second-eldest Al Omar, behind only Najah and ahead of Hassan and Diva. Ali is genderfluid, using he/they pronouns and fluctuating between being called son/child by his parents and brother/sibling by their siblings. Like their sister Diva, he is also a coffee lover but prefers tea, which the two playfully debate over from time to time. His closest person in his life is definitely Fatima and he credits her for how close they is with the family and how wonderfully kind she is at being there for them. Being closest in age to Najah, Ali has gotten close with a few of her friends. He doesn’t know every one of her friends but he’s close with about two of them and hangs out with them and Najah since Ali also cares about the environment, especially clean air.

Najah was created by @kitkatcookie.

4 Likes