Create a Family With a Twist 5/1

[I_meme_it]

[name_f]Perdita[/name_f] [name_f]Sadie[/name_f] Hanover (2) is one of Ivy’s friends who she has playdates with, and met all three triplets while attending her friends’ birthday party. The two know each other because Perdita’s mom is a model like [name_f]Dede[/name_f] [name_m]Barlow[/name_m] - known for her high fashion sense of style even when she’s not on the catwalk - who chose to have her daughter using IVF, after deciding she didn’t need a relationship to become a mother. She also had been through a stressful breakup and didn’t want to have a baby exposed to such a tense environment if another didn’t work out. Exploring is absolutely Perdita’s new favourite thing (her mom already knows climbing’s coming next), but nothing can top how much she loves the family cats: two maine coon’s named [name_u]Jazz[/name_u] and Chewie…

~

@jinxed_peach
@moonwriteen
@kitkatcookie
@A.B.Galaxy
@chamwue

[wandering_willow]

[name_u]London[/name_u] [name_f]Joye[/name_f] Hanover (15) is the frequent babysitter of [name_f]Perdita[/name_f] Hanover, and her aunt. [name_u]London[/name_u] is a lot younger than her older sister, being only 15, but despite the obvious age gap the two are very close and would do anything for each other. [name_u]London[/name_u] loves to take [name_f]Perdita[/name_f] on little “adventures-“ like going on stroller rides to the park, getting ice cream, and hanging out with London’s friends. [name_u]London[/name_u] lives in [name_f]Chicago[/name_f] with her mother- her parents divorced not too long after her sister moved out of the house, which crushed [name_u]London[/name_u] as she felt it was her fault. She blamed her sister for a month or two as she was a daddy’s girl and adored her father but soon realized it was only her fathers fault and stopped blaming her sister. [name_u]London[/name_u] admires the way her sister is raising her daughter, though she knows she’d never want to raise a child alone she thinks her sister is doing what right for her and thinks that’s an admirable thing.

Much unlike her sister, [name_u]London[/name_u] has no interest in modeling- instead she wants to be a character designer and animator when she grows up. She’s only in 10th grade, her second her of high school, but she’s already seemingly got her whole life planned out. She’s known who she wants to marry since she was 12- her best friend for life and girlfriend, who she’s been in love with for forever. The two are both a part of the school’s art club and love painting and doing all art forms together. [name_u]London[/name_u] is also a member of her school’s yearbook club- her school, Wildwood High School, is very accepting and open to all students. London’s very happy about that, her middle school barred her and her girlfriend from holding hands, but her high school banned dress codes based on a student suggestion by one of London’s friends. She’s very happy to be in an environment that accepts all students.

[CherryBomb50]

Warning for temporary disappearance.

[name_u]Keeley[/name_u] [name_f]Jia[/name_f] Yeon (15) is London’s girlfriend and is making friends with the other people [name_u]London[/name_u] has befriended. [name_u]Keeley[/name_u] truly hates most dress codes and feels as long as there’s a shirt and shoes, there should be service. She also has a much older sister although some horror was brought to the community when her sister went missing. For nearly two months, nothing was known about her whereabouts until she was found. She was thankfully found safe and alive but the whole story of what happened to her when she went missing was stuff not even she remembers. Keeley’s just grateful her sister is back but finds it truly scary how she just disappeared for some time with no way anyone could contact her.

[name_u]Keeley[/name_u] herself wants to be a voice actress and always found it a way she’s entertained herself. Her dream to to voice act for a show designed and animated by [name_u]London[/name_u]. [name_u]Keeley[/name_u] also loves [name_u]South[/name_u] Korean entertainment and her voice has a Korean accent. She wants to play a Korean character and knows [name_u]London[/name_u] will design and animate the perfect one for her one day. For now, she’s also just into hanging out with friends and painting alongside the other students in her art class. The art teacher is also Keeley’s favourite teacher and has motivated [name_u]Keeley[/name_u] the most. Truthfully [name_u]Keeley[/name_u] loves her school and while she hates work, she’s at least satisfied with what she’s learned and enjoys the free liberations.

[jinxed_peach]

tw: mental illness, mentioned episode of psychosis

[name_f]Sofi[/name_f] [name_u]Kai[/name_u] Yeon [29] is the older sister of [name_u]Keeley[/name_u]. Their parents intended to be ‘one and done’ with [name_f]Sofi[/name_f] being their only child but had a surprise when [name_f]Sofi[/name_f] was in her freshman year of high school. But the family welcomed the baby with joy and [name_f]Sofi[/name_f] was very excited to be a big sister. Though things became complicated when she got older. Her mental health began to deteriorate, mostly unnoticed by her family as they were busy with the new baby.

She had things mostly under control without the help of others until recently when she went missing without a trace. There was no sign of a struggle in her apartment and given accounts of her mental health issues the police ruled it as a being a case of a runaway. Her family went on the local news several times and attempted to bring [name_f]Sofi[/name_f] home but it was mostly fruitless.

After two months the family’s phone rang. [name_f]Sofi[/name_f] had been found in the bathroom of a truck stop in the next state. She was catatonic and unresponsive as well as completely nude without any of her personal belongings. She was only identified as a nurse who was transferred to the hospital she was brought to had come from [name_f]Sofi[/name_f] and Keeley’s homestate and recognized her from her family’s news appearances. Once reunited with her family she did begin to some out of her catatonia and recognized them at least partially. From there she was placed in a mental health facility where she was treated and formally diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Though she has little memory of her episode with her daily therapy sessions she’s beginning to recalls little bits and pieces of what happened. But she’s not ready to talk about it with anyone other than her therapist at the current moment.

[name_f]Sofi[/name_f] has since moved pack into her family’s home where they can ensure she sticks to her medication plan but are hopeful that she can return to living independently in the future.

Like she sister she also enjoys art and rekindled her passion for art while engaging in art therapy when she was in treatment. She’s supportive of Keeley’s desire to go into voice acting and would love to see her little sister in a movie or TV show someday.

[CherryBomb50]

Yusuf Kareen Ali (28) is Sofi’s friend, the first to know outside her family that she went missing, but he doesn’t know how that occurred. He’s thought about what went through Sofi’s mind at the time of the disappearance and he’s glad she’s safe, completely supporting her throughout her mental health struggles. Yusuf is a deputy so he knew about this case when it opened. Ironically Yusuf’s 23-year-old sister Hafsah went to juvenile hall at 17, something people ask him about, but he knew she was innocent and manipulated. He’s not Sofi’s boyfriend, Yusuf is actually currently married. He and his wife married 2 years ago, which was the best moment of his life. He and his wife are very close and she too has been supportive of Sofi along with being a great sister-in-law to Hafsah. Yusuf is multicultural and celebrates both Ramadan and Christmas. He’s always giving great surprises for his wife on Christmas, before they were married despite having a poor upbringing. He often made her sweet knit items but after they married, he bought her special gifts while still making her stuff. She’s caught on too and made him great stuff as well and he loves what she gives him. This year he’s going big and surprising her with a dream vacation which she has no idea about yet, but Yusuf isn’t greedy and he will be happy with whatever she surprises him with on Christmas too.

Hafsah was created by me.

[kitkatcookie]

tw: incredibly dysfunctional environment [drugs, criminal activity], parental death

[name_f]Haidee[/name_f] [name_f]Stella[/name_f] McCord (28) is Yusuf’s wife and a fellow friend of [name_f]Sofi[/name_f], who’s done her best to provide support following the disappearing incident. Working as an emergency medical technician, [name_f]Haidee[/name_f] has the right personality for handling stress - she’ll be upfront that her childhood gave her this skillset - however she does sometimes worry her cool head makes her appear disinterested or emotionally detached, something her husband works hard to ensure [name_f]Haidee[/name_f] knows absolutely isn’t the case. She’s made it explicitly clear that if [name_f]Sofi[/name_f] ever needs her, she’s just a phone call away, but doesn’t loiter or coddle her friend, respecting her independence and that recovery isn’t based on those around her. Given the circumstances, she has become a confidant of [name_u]Keeley[/name_u] as well, wanting to ensure the teen isn’t too impacted by what she witnessed and experienced [something [name_f]Haidee[/name_f] admits might be tied to her life and the circumstances she was raised in, lacking anyone to turn to in such a capacity].

The Longrove household was nothing short of madness to grow up in. Haidee’s father, [name_u]David[/name_u] " [name_u]Lonnie[/name_u] " Longrove, was a prolific car thief and brawler at local bars, who allowed his drug dealer brother - [name_u]Joseph[/name_u] " [name_u]Joey[/name_u] " Longrove - to laze about the property, exposing his two children [Haidee and her younger half-brother] to clients, several of whom were openly talking about racketeering and prostitution. Haidee’s mother passed away from an overdose when she was a toddler, and while her father never spoke of it, she has vague memories of that day, something to haunt her well into adulthood given the trauma of knowing her mom would pass away because of the company her father kept. Her unofficial stepmother was often in conflict with [name_u]Lonnie[/name_u] - due to his neglectful nature, being more focused on his criminal activity - and ran out with her brother several times, only to come back as she lacked much money and didn’t want to resort to solicitation to support them. It was because of their loud arguments that social services intervened in Haidee’s life when she was nine, almost instantly taking her away from her father and sending her to live with her maternal great-aunt, the last one of her mom’s family who was alive and in a stable state to assume responsibility of a child.

Sadly, [name_f]Haidee[/name_f] lost contact with her four-year-old brother due to this, as he was allowed to stay with his mom on the grounds she testified against their father and uncle, as well as attending parenting classes and keeping herself away from criminal associates. It would be when [name_f]Haidee[/name_f] was in college that she finally managed to track him down - with the help of her best friend, a data analyst who now works in home security - and he was in quite a rough state. At seventeen, he was often threatening to run away from home, fighting constantly with his mother and feeling condemned to limbo by their childhood, remaining in contact with their dad once he was imprisoned [Haidee had the occasional phone call but was much more protected by her great aunt, and also had less time for their dad thanks to being parentified frequently]. Through her help - having a bit of a tough love approach, given how he treated his mom, who had genuinely worked hard at turning things around - he managed to stabilise his mood more, and actively began engaging with therapy after rejecting it [not wanting to be teased or mocked by his friends].

The siblings are both now in a much better place, although they don’t have any relationship with their father, who’s still incarcerated. Haidee’s more focused on what she enjoys: scrapbooking, mosiac making, pottery and going for rides on her motorbike, the first vehicle she bought solely by herself, and takes a lot of pride in. Her great aunt always spends holidays with her and [name_m]Yusuf[/name_m], as [name_f]Haidee[/name_f] adores her for everything she did: getting her into counselling, encouraging her growing desire to pursue medicine and helping find her new interests that weren’t tied to behaving like a mini adult. This year her brother and his girlfriend will also be coming for boxing day, something she’s excited for given how much happier he is now, plus it means seeing their adorable golden retriever puppy, who everyone dotes upon and spoils. [name_f]Haidee[/name_f] does have a secret of her own she’s been keeping for [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] day…she’s pregnant!

[CherryBomb50]

[name_f]Christiana[/name_f] [name_f]Polly[/name_f] [name_m]Brason[/name_m] (79) is Haidee’s maternal great-aunt and a huge supporter in her life. She knows [name_f]Haidee[/name_f] and [name_m]Yusuf[/name_m] have surprises this [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] but she doesn’t know quite yet what they are. But she’s glad they’re in a great committed marriage and [name_f]Christiana[/name_f] has always been there for [name_f]Haidee[/name_f]. [name_f]Christiana[/name_f] herself had a fiance who surprised her one [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] with a marriage proposal, which she accepted. However he ran away at the altar during their wedding and never officially married. [name_f]Christiana[/name_f] never trusted romantic relationships and that’s where [name_f]Haidee[/name_f] was the one to step in for [name_f]Christiana[/name_f] and prove that true love is real and can last. She believes the surprises [name_f]Haidee[/name_f] and [name_m]Yusuf[/name_m] have this year for one another are super special this time around and when she finds out this holiday, she’ll be happily in support of such a great couple.

[name_f]Christiana[/name_f] adores [name_f]Haidee[/name_f] and supports her younger half-brother as well, seeing he’s now in a good and committed relationship. She can’t wait to see them all again and she’s welcoming them with open arms. She can’t wait to be 80 next year but she likes living up her last year in her 70s. [name_f]Christiana[/name_f] retired over a decade ago but stays active and busy in the community and still mentors to those who need it. She still lives at a house and not a nursing home but has recently moved into a smaller and more affordable house, granted, it’s the cutest little home with everything she needs.

[jinxed_peach]

[name_f]Nadia[/name_f] [name_f]Helen[/name_f] [name_u]Blake[/name_u] [26] is Christiana’s niece and the nurse who recognized [name_f]Sofi[/name_f] from the news when she came into the hospital where she’s been working as a nurse for the last few months, transferring recently as she was offered a better job title with better pay compared to her other job. She was assigned to work on Sofi’s case though once she correctly identified her she began to spend more time with her off the clock as well, sitting at her bedside while she slept so if she woke up disoriented she could help ground her back to reality, she also helped [name_f]Sofi[/name_f] communicated with an AAC board while she was non-verbal as she was coming out of her catatonia. Her co-workers advised her not to get too attached to [name_f]Sofi[/name_f] but found herself unable to stop it from happening as she felt emotionally connected to [name_f]Sofi[/name_f] due to her experience with her own family.

[name_f]Nadia[/name_f] had been raised by a single father who had also suffered from mental health issues, though his had gone largely undiagnosed. Her mother walked out on them when she was eleven since she was unable to handle her husband’s issues, promises were made to come back and visit to see [name_f]Nadia[/name_f], but they were never kept and instead she remarried and had two children with her second husband. [name_f]Nadia[/name_f] has met her half-siblings only once.

Her upbringing is a major reason she decided to go into nursing, while she wanted to go into psychiatric nursing she was persuaded by a guidance counselor to go into general nursing since it was more employable. Though [name_f]Nadia[/name_f] has recently been considering going back to school to get her qualifications for psych nursing. Seeing her father struggle made her want to try and help people in the ways she was sometimes able to help him, although more often than not he was unable to be helped by her minimal abilities as a child.

She tends to spend hours upon hours working at the hospital instead of staying home since she prefers to be busy rather than sit alone with her thoughts, she does keep a fish tank though that keep her company at home. [name_f]Nadia[/name_f] doesn’t have a lot of friends either since she tends to isolate herself but is trying to be more social. There’s a new hire at work that she’s been trying to be more friendly with, though she’s not very sure how well her attempts at being nice are being received.

[I_meme_it]

tw: incredibly dysfunctional environment [drugs, criminal activity], parental conflict, isolation

[name_m]Alonzo[/name_m] ’ Lonz ’ [name_u]Taylor[/name_u] Rewman (23) is Haidee’s younger half-brother and adjacent relative to [name_f]Christiana[/name_f] and [name_f]Nadia[/name_f], on account of his sisters’ closeness with them. The younger child raised in the home of the Longrove brothers’, Lonz was far more tied to his paternal family than [name_f]Haidee[/name_f], primarily thanks to the fact his mother allowed for contact to be maintained following his father and uncles’ convictions. She didn’t necessarily feel 100% happy about this, but as the Rewman family were much more involved with the Longroves - her late brother was the third business partner in their criminal group - she wanted to protect both her siblings and Lonz from retaliation.

Given how well-known both his families’ reputations are, Lonz endured a lot of ostracision at school. He wasn’t bullied - as people were too scared to try that - but found himself almost entirely alone once he and his mom got away. The kids whose parents were affiliated with his own didn’t associate, due to a fear of being arrested themselves, whereas his other classmates were instructed to keep their distance. This created a build up of resentment and anger towards his mother, who he felt just accepted the way people reacted towards them, and wished she had run away when he was little, being too upset and immature to recognise the way she would have ended up supporting them would have only caused more strife.

Reencountering [name_f]Haidee[/name_f] was a shock to him for several reasons. When they were young they weren’t the closest, partly because his dad refused to speak of [name_f]Elise[/name_f] McCord, Haidee’s mother, and the second her name was mentioned, Lonz was sent out the room. While he’d managed to make friends by that point, they fed into his worse tendencies. By no means were they intentional poor influences or insensitive to what Lonz went through, but they blindly agreed with his misdirected anger and lack of time spent contemplating what Lonz’s mom did for him, while not really knowing how to speak to him whenever a particularly shocking or obviously inappropriate part of his childhood came up in conversation.

While he fought with [name_f]Haidee[/name_f] relentlessly for the first month she was back and siding with his mom, her time spent maturing, reflecting and learning how to communicate her feelings with the help of her great-aunt [name_f]Christiana[/name_f] (or ‘Aunt T’ as [name_f]Haidee[/name_f] affectionately calls her, and she loves the play on words), meant Lonz actually began to listen, which in turn gave him a chance to consider what his mom had been saying all those years. For how blunt she was, his sister also ensured he didn’t spiral into self-loathing, instead encouraging him to do small acts of kindness to show his apologies for his behaviour, and when he mentioned his desire to become a therapist for children of criminals, she was nothing other than supportive.

Now on the verge of graduation, Lonz is searching for placements with the help of his girlfriend, a fellow product of a dysfunctional household who he met while briefly taking a criminology course, and who he absolutely adores. They spend their Christmases with both of their mom’s, as well as Lonz’s’ girlfriends’ sister, and already have heard that [name_f]Haidee[/name_f] and [name_m]Yusuf[/name_m] are expecting!

[kitkatcookie]

tw: discussion of an affair, deceptive lifestyle, classism

[name_f]Isla[/name_f] [name_f]Tamsin[/name_f] Stephensby (20) is the younger sister of Lonz’s’ girlfriend and guest who joins the couple at [name_u]Christmas[/name_u]. Having lived a quiet life initially, everything [name_f]Isla[/name_f] knew changed when she was five, and the implosion was a sudden one. Isla’s father - who frequently travelled as the deputy manager of a sales company - turned out to have lied through the entire duration of his relationship with her mother, and it was ongoing at the time of the truth coming to light. The reason why he wasn’t married to his partner was not because of a prolonged divorce process, as he’d always told everyone in the Stephensby family and local area, but because his first marriage hadn’t even reached a point of separation. Isla’s father wasn’t just travelling for business, he was using his work to go between two families: his legal wife and son, then his partner and two daughters. His diary, which unveiled the lies when accidentally discovered by [name_f]Isla[/name_f] and her sisters’ mom, revealed he even played a bizarre favouritism game; spending more physical time with his daughters because he found their mother a more agreeable personality, but he considered his son’s mother a more respectable woman to introduce to his family.

There was often an undertone of classism in Isla’s father, which was projected in subtle tones. He disliked the fact their mom maintained her long-term nickname of ‘Stevie’ [unsurprisingly derived from her surname], and vetoed certain interests or clothing the girls’ enjoyed because he considered them uncouth - which included contemporary dance classes and anything featuring sparkles. Sometimes he even attempted to mould them into tomboys, something [name_f]Isla[/name_f] considers an echo of missing his son, and he would discourage how much they loved their maternal uncle: a mechanic, of all shocking professions, which didn’t fit the airs and graces hoped for. To a degree [name_f]Isla[/name_f] and her sister feel jealousy also influenced this, as they were more similar in nature with their mom’s family and continue to be, having laid back, easily adaptable and considerate demeanours, being happy to put others first rather than senelessly push.

The truth led to their parents instantly separating, and contact was limited given the shock forced onto the girls’ in the wake of their fathers lies. [name_f]Isla[/name_f] was hit especially hard, as he’d encouraged her love of marital arts and helped sign her up for karate classes, and completely rejected him for several years, refusing to speak to him both in person and over the phone; only sending the occasional letter to voice her anger and frustration. Things are still quite cool between her and him, as she knows her decision to choose her kickboxing career over college is something he’s embarrassed by, and his consistent inability to stand up to her grandparents is deeply aggravating for [name_f]Isla[/name_f]. They’ve never shied away from blaming her mother for the shaming their son bought with his secret life, and criticise her family often, going as far as to claim she knew he was lying and went along with it hoping to extort him in exchange for silence.

[name_f]Isla[/name_f] has used this discord to assure Lonz more about his own circumstances, pointing out often how middle class lifestyles don’t assure a lack of bad behaviour, and that instead a different selfishness can be fostered. She uses her humour to handle the madness and despair her father unleashed upon her, as well as any other discord to happen [most of which revolves around her friends and their dating lives, but it’s much more tolerable than once more encountering some evasive antics her dad’s involving himself with]. Currently she still lives with her mom, but doesn’t see any point in shaming people, especially where money’s concerned. There was never much of a relationship established between [name_f]Isla[/name_f] and her half-brother, thanks to the fury of his mother about the deception, but she tends to know what he’s up to because of the familial grapevine. He’s now an investment banker - a career their paternal grandparents gush about on Facebook endlessly, leading to numerous injokes and memes being created by [name_f]Isla[/name_f] and her sister - but numbers have never intrigued her, especially when she can be enjoying true crime podcasts or tending to her collection of house plants.

[CherryBomb50]

Ember Lilimae Stephensby (23) is Isla’s elder sister and Lonz’s girlfriend. She can’t help but feel curiosity pertaining to her paternal half-brother, whom she admits for a long time that she didn’t know he existed. She is the type who appreciates self-improvement but admittedly hates looking back at herself at the end of the years. She feels like she hasn’t accomplished what she wanted and feels like she hasn’t found what she desires. Granted, she’s positive and she tries not to compare herself to the way her father described her half-brother. He has his own life and she has hers. She wouldn’t mind knowing his perspective and just the basic idea of what people do when she’s not around to see it. Ember’s main knowledge of him is from Isla, who is quite tactical with this type of knowledge.

Ember and Isla are very close due to how their father deceived them and they’ve had many secrets they’ve only told each other. Isla was the first person Ember told when she said she crushed on Lonz. Ember and Isla also cheered in excitement when Lonz told them how Yusuf and Haidee surprised each other. Ember is bonding with Yusuf’s sister Hafsah and Hafsah’s friend Nikki, given their shared major in mechanical engineering. Ember was pretty set on her major but was glad she still gave other possible majors a chance, like criminology, especially since this brought her to Lonz. Unlike Nikki, Ember hasn’t decided on her choice of career but knew since her teenage years that mechanical engineering would be in her future. This inspiration came from her maternal uncle, which she bonded with even more due to her father being so reluctant to that bond with him. She’s a bit insecure of the future and can fear the unknown, but feels better when she makes money doing what she loves — her side-gig on recycling fabrics and making accessories with them. She doesn’t mind at all that Isla lives with their mother but she wants to see if Isla can make a little pocket cash and believes Isla has a lot of creative talent. Ember and Lonz are bonding closer into their relationship, knowing they do need each other given hard times, but also because they genuinely love each other.

Nikki was created by @kitkatcookie.

[jinxed_peach]

[name_m]Ambrose[/name_m] [name_m]King[/name_m] [name_u]Marsh[/name_u] (formerly Stephensby-Marsh)[25] is the half-brother to [name_u]Ember[/name_u] and [name_f]Isla[/name_f] and predated them by two years before his father went off and started a second secret family where is half-sisters where born. As a child he admired his father greatly, thinking all the ‘work travel’ he did was very mysterious and important, impressing the young boy. Unaware of the classism that his father was full of.

Since his father was often gone he and his mother were very close and she shared her love for literature with him, later resulting in [name_m]Ambrose[/name_m] double majoring in [name_f]English[/name_f] and Accounting in college. The world of books and stories turned out to be a perfect hideaway for him when the world around him came crashing down and his father’s second family was discovered. Ambrose’s mother took her son and fled, changing his name back her just hers. From then on [name_m]Ambrose[/name_m] hardly saw his father anymore, from what he understood as a child the divorce was extremely messy and vicious. He saw a side of his mother that he had never seen before, and he didn’t like it, leading to him further receding into a world of stories.

After leaving home he’s still largely distanced himself from his family, though not cut them off for fear of something bad happening. He’s now built a life for himself with a steady job that his grandparents tend to brag about a little too much for his tastes, and a girlfriend that he’s been dating for two years, but has more recently started thinking about reaching out to [name_f]Isla[/name_f] and [name_u]Ember[/name_u] now as the anniversary of his parents’ divorce approaches. The subject of family has been weighing heavily on him these days as his girlfriend just found out that she’s pregnant. With his fatherhood now approaching he’s been reminiscing on the fact that he has been a lacking brother.

[CherryBomb50]

Uncensored warning for brief mentions of karoshi (death by overwork).

[name_f]Atsuko[/name_f] Rinzaki (25) is Ambrose’s girlfriend of two years and recently told him she is pregnant with their first child. She’s a proud pilot and the elder sister of [name_f]Nami[/name_f]. Atsuko’s sister [name_f]Nami[/name_f] is also currently in a relationship although she and her partner are not thinking about having kids at the moment. However they too recently celebrated their second anniversary, which [name_f]Atsuko[/name_f] loves having this to relate with her sister. [name_f]Atsuko[/name_f] loves when Nami’s friends support her and her piloting career but she does want to bond with her family more, especially her brother, who started his degree in physics. He’s a nice person but isn’t as open about who he socialises with compared to [name_f]Atsuko[/name_f] and [name_f]Nami[/name_f]. The Rinzaki family has very successful parents and from it, [name_f]Atsuko[/name_f] understands the pressure [name_m]Ambrose[/name_m] faced through his father and the toxic side of success rubbing off on people. [name_f]Atsuko[/name_f] is grateful [name_m]Ambrose[/name_m] didn’t turn out like his father but she is very emotionally mature on how she handles the reputations of people like [name_m]Ambrose[/name_m]. She’ll stand up for him and she sees the human in him as opposed to those who see him like he’s all business and no personality. [name_f]Atsuko[/name_f] feels people who work should always be perceived as human beings, not just for successful business people, but also hard factory workers in her native Japan. She is an activist against karoshi, or death by overwork, and raises awareness against Japan’s problem of giant companies working bare-minimum employees to the bone and hiding it. [name_f]Atsuko[/name_f] is calm and rational with her explanations but is pro-vocal and refuses to let people stay silenced.

[name_f]Atsuko[/name_f] has been very encouraging to [name_m]Ambrose[/name_m] regarding the separation between him and his half-sisters. [name_f]Atsuko[/name_f] doesn’t believe [name_f]Isla[/name_f] and [name_u]Ember[/name_u] would hold any grudges and to be fair, they don’t - most of their gossip on [name_m]Ambrose[/name_m] is meant in jest. [name_f]Atsuko[/name_f] completely relates to the fear of missing out and it’s been something she’s dealt with a lot growing up. She’s thankfully not faced this problem although she’s worried from time to time about juggling motherhood and her piloting career. She feels people don’t get how hard juggling a job and being a parent can be. Working parent? Stereotyped as someone who doesn’t care about their kids. Stay-at-home parent? Stereotyped as lazy and mooching off a partner. [name_f]Atsuko[/name_f] does not plan to leave piloting but she knows not to underestimate challenges regarding parenting that don’t get talked about enough. In addition, she’s also having cravings but unfortunately for her, they’re for things she can’t eat while pregnant, such as sushi! [name_f]Atsuko[/name_f] has basically promised that after the baby is born, she’ll eat all the sushi she wants. That being said, [name_f]Atsuko[/name_f] still is very excited about her baby! She feels [name_m]Ambrose[/name_m] is nervous on fatherhood, especially since it’s a new role for his family life, but she knows deep down that he’s super happy. [name_f]Atsuko[/name_f] herself changes a lot on mood, sometimes she wants to talk nonstop about pregnancy and sometimes she’d rather talk about anything but. She’s feeling ready for motherhood in her life and she and [name_m]Ambrose[/name_m] both promised to be amazing parents to the best child they could have (unless they have more later, then all the children are the best child).

The real nervewracker is [name_m]Ambrose[/name_m] trying to reconnect with his half-sisters. [name_f]Atsuko[/name_f] is telling [name_m]Ambrose[/name_m] to follow his heart but he feels a sense of wanting reconnection within the year. [name_m]Ambrose[/name_m] feels like it would be odd to just have his child with [name_f]Atsuko[/name_f] and have his half-sisters randomly find out about a niece or nephew they’ve never heard of. [name_f]Atsuko[/name_f] wonders if [name_f]Isla[/name_f] and [name_u]Ember[/name_u] even know she exists. While [name_f]Atsuko[/name_f] tends to not want people worrying about what others think, she can get nervous when she feels someone perceives her as a bad influence. If someone straight-up hates her and thinks petty of her, she doesn’t care, but she never likes to be perceived as “in the wrong” when she isn’t. [name_f]Atsuko[/name_f] knows [name_m]Ambrose[/name_m] is 100% going to be an active father to their child-to-be but she worries people won’t think that of him given his family situation, which again, she would stand up for him if she heard people say that. In the end, [name_f]Atsuko[/name_f] will give [name_m]Ambrose[/name_m] space on the decision on when or how to reconnect with [name_f]Isla[/name_f] and [name_u]Ember[/name_u], as after all, it’s his choice.

Nami was created by @kitkatcookie

[kitkatcookie]

[name_u]Bobbie[/name_u] [name_f]Natasha[/name_f] [Mccarthy] Edwards-Mccarthy (30) is someone Atsuko’s met through a pregnancy group she’s recently joined. Expecting her second child through IVF, having a 2-year-old son, [name_u]Bobbie[/name_u] and her wife have become mentors of sorts to Atsuka, providing her advice and assurance given the understandable nerves first time parents often face. Having been named for her maternal great-grandfather, who raised Bobbie’s mom following the death of her dad and mother left unable to cope from the shock and pain; which is why she’s embraced it, in spite of typically preferring vintage, eclectic names - as reflected with her own son. The [name_u]Mccarthy[/name_u] family have maintained a close bond through trials and tribulations, something Bobbie’s eternally grateful for, especially as her wife had a much trickier upbringing, and that was before she came out as gay [which actually turned into a none factor, thanks to the serious preexisting dysfunction and resentment].

Having opted for a home birth last time, Bobbie’s opting for it again due to experience, but she never looks down on anyone who wants something else. Partially it was chosen because she and her wife live in a remote area, so transport to hospital would be more stress they wanted to avoid, and it turned out better for their son in the long-term. [name_u]Bobbie[/name_u] also found it reassuring being around everything she knew well, as the birthing process frightened her more and more by the time she was preparing for labour, however now that she’s been through it, she’s prepared for round two. She and her wife have agreed that if they have a third child, [name_u]Bobbie[/name_u] won’t be the one to carry them, as her wife experiencing pregnancy is absolutely something she wants to happen now her partner feels prepared if they expand the family again.

Working as a university librarian and archivist, Bobbie’s more drawn to peaceful and easygoing pastimes. Since going on maternity leave she’s been doing a lot of watercolour painting, sewing and crotcheting, as well as enjoying swims in the lake near the family home [when her son’s out as she doesn’t want him getting any ideas quite yet when he hasn’t had any swimming lessons]. In high school she actually ran track, but the pressure of a competitive environment stressed her out way too much, and she ended up pursuing pastimes with less demand placed on them. By no means does this make her a pushover or someone easilt swayed by others, [name_u]Bobbie[/name_u] just enjoys a more harmonious environment, and has left maternity groups where snobbery about money or children’s accomplishments being used in a measuring contest became dominant. This is something she’s warned [name_f]Atsuko[/name_f] about, as she feels responsible for helping the younger woman avoid such situations.

[Lindseylloyd052399]

[name_u]Paisley[/name_u] [name_u]Rae[/name_u] Edwards-McCarthy (nb) is the daughter of [name_u]Bobbie[/name_u] and her wife, and the baby sister of their son. She was born via a home water birth, but her wife wasn’t able to make it, but Bobbie’s sister delivered baby [name_u]Paisley[/name_u] by herself, which was a free birth.

[kitkatcookie]

[note: this is jumping back in the timeline to before Paisley’s birth]

tw: miscarriage

[name_f]Therese[/name_f] [name_f]Angelica[/name_f] [Vincetti] Lansson (33) is another member of [name_u]Bobbie[/name_u] and Atsuko’s maternity group, albeit she was something of an outsider at first. Admittedly, [name_f]Therese[/name_f] can be somewhat of a materialistic individual, whose reaction to her pregnancy was insisting everything for her unborn child had to be the absolute best of everything, so you know she showed up with the highest end gear every week or had an expensive magazine in hand to flip through when it was break time from discussion. Therse is married to a successful advertising executive and is a former PR manager who worked in the realm of heirs, heiressss and trust fund babies; knowing all about the upper crust and their ways, in spite of coming from humble beginnings herself. Although not arrogant or condescending, shallow is something she’s unintentionally projected at times, especially when combined with her shyness that is aloof at first glance, meaning for a while in glass she was quite isolated.

Part of Therese’s opinions on her pregnancy are shaped by tragedy. She got pregnant less than a year into her marriage 7 years ago and tragically suffered a miscarriage shortly after announcing the conception, a devastating loss, intensified by the messages she had to send to friends and family, reminding her over and over of what she was enduring. It impacted [name_f]Therese[/name_f] so severely she contemplated never becoming pregnant again, and actually having her tubes tied, but she decided against this after having a long chat with her husband about the finality of such a decision. What she did do was retire early from her career, as the stress and pressure of handling often dysfunctional personalities was seriously draining on her, and she wanted to get away from the impact it had on her mental health. Now [name_f]Therese[/name_f] is involved in online marketing for ethical brands, and it’s a much smoother role.

Her current pregnancy was unplanned, and initially she was in shock to learn she and her husband conceived again, but given time it blossomed into joy and she knew she wasn’t going to let the happiness go. To an extent, her initial isolation within the maternity group was preferable, as [name_f]Therese[/name_f] didn’t feel at all comfortable going into her past trauma with veritable strangers, although over time she longed for the bonds those around her were evidently forming; reaching out just intimidated her. More recently though, she has begun involving herself in group discussions and is beginning to bond with [name_u]Bobbie[/name_u], whose realised she’s introverted, not looking down on everyone. By no means is [name_f]Therese[/name_f] prepared to divulge everything just yet, but just having an added closeness makes the pregnancy even easier to love, and she’s recently had a sex reveal: she’s having a little girl! Granted she and her husband won’t be having any gender reveal party, given how environmentally destructive some have proven to be…

[jinxed_peach]

i’m enjoying this pregnancy group idea thing so i’m gonna keep it going haha

Wendela ‘Wenda’ [name_f]Suzette[/name_f] [name_m]Burke[/name_m] [27] is yet another member of [name_f]Therese[/name_f], [name_u]Bobbie[/name_u], and Atsuko’s pregnancy group. Like [name_u]Bobbie[/name_u] this is also not Wenda’s first pregnancy, it’s her third. She and her partner, who’s non-binary and uses the moniker [name_f]Maddy[/name_f] (a combination of Momma and Daddy) with their children at home, have three kids. Their eldest is 10, born to [name_f]Wenda[/name_f] and her high school boyfriend when the pair were in their senior years. While they broke up shortly after the child’s second birthday they’re still on good terms and co-parent well. Wenda’s ex is active in his child’s live, as well as that of their half-siblings, who are 5 and 3. In fact he’ll actually be the one who will be watching the kids while [name_f]Wenda[/name_f] and her partner are at the hospital when she goes into labor.

Wenda’s aesthetics as a parent have caused a little bit of tension among her and the other moms in their group as she’s very alternative and self described ‘punk momma.’ She’s not scared to curse in front of her kids and doesn’t believe in censoring much from her kids, instead giving them the straight up truths when they ask (unless it would be traumatic, of course) also very outspoken about her political opinions and anti-capitalist stance which has lead to a major argument with another mom in the group that was broken up by [name_u]Bobbie[/name_u].

In honor of her children [name_f]Wenda[/name_f] also has a tattoo to commemorate each of them, the feathers on her collarbones and the flower on her arm are for her 10 year old and her 3 year old, not pictured is a tattoo on her other arm of that has a special meaning connected to her middle child’s name’s meaning. She’s already speaking with her tattoo artist about what new ink she’ll be getting for her newest addition once she’s ready to get tatted again.

Wenda’s been very lucky to have had very healthy and easy pregnancies each time. While her and her partner are pretty sure that this baby is gonna be their last, Wenda’s been considering becoming a surrogate in the future. Funnily enough, some months ago she and her sister were discussing having [name_f]Wenda[/name_f] carry for her until she suddenly became pregnant on her own! [name_f]Wenda[/name_f] was of course happy for her sister and agreed that it must’ve been fate as she found out that she was pregnant as well shortly after her sister. They’re due within days of each other and are hopeful that their kids will be as close as they are, and Wenda’s other kids are ecstatic for a new cousin and sibling so close together.

[moonwriteen]

[name_u]Simone[/name_u] [name_f]Georgina[/name_f] [ [name_m]Nichols[/name_m] ] Denotter (32) is another member of the group that [name_f]Wenda[/name_f] , [name_f]Therese[/name_f] , [name_f]Atsuko[/name_f] and [name_u]Bobbie[/name_u] attend. She already has one daughter , [name_f]Euphrasie[/name_f] [name_f]Dionne[/name_f] Denotter (5) who can’t wait to be a big sister.

[name_u]Simone[/name_u] grew up in a big but low-income family. She has three brothers and and a sister - all of them were regarded as delinquent kids who will one day become nothing but criminals. What they didn’t know is that the family was actually not disfunctional or toxic , but the [name_m]Nichols[/name_m] siblings felt like they have to have a harsh tone , an attittude and a certain type of street smaets to be able to make it in their neighbourhood. In her poor school district that she had bullying and even substance abuse were not out of the ordinary. [name_u]Simone[/name_u] broke up with her first high school boyfriend when she found out he was dealing drugs. The other guys from this "youngster gang " were trying to threaten her with the words " snitches get stiches " however one of [name_u]Simone[/name_u] 's older brothers was able to shoo them away before they did anything more dangerous. It probably helped that her brother knew karate and now, years later , works as a professional instructor for teens wanting to learn martial arts.

After the incident with her boyfriend and the youngster gang, [name_u]Simone[/name_u] 's image as a tough urban girl who’s the queen of the street and has respect there has crumbled. [name_u]Simone[/name_u] got bullied for being a weakling or a geek when she started to get better and better at chemistry due to her amazing mentor - a young and passionate chemistry teacher, Mrs. Geller. She eventually joined community college where she met her now-husband and the father of [name_f]Euphrasie[/name_f] and her uborn baby through a chemistry club. She no longer associates herself with her former neighbourhood " friends " who now act as if they didn’t bully her or threathen her just because she’s relatively rich. She however still has great bonds with her parents, siblings and Mrs. Geller , who have now either moved out of the neighborhood or even the state of Illinois altogether.

Working as a quality control specialist for food companies, [name_u]Simone[/name_u] knows what’s good for the body of a pregnant woman but never wants to give unsolicited advice. She even worked with her husband , a chemistry teacher, to establish a Food and Nutrition club in her husband’s middle school so that the kids can learn to develop healthy eating habits. All of the pregnancy club members think that what she does for her community is admirable. She even gets along with [name_f]Therese[/name_f] and much like [name_u]Bobbie[/name_u] she is able to see that [name_f]Therese[/name_f] is just shy , not shallow or intentionally ignorant. Having married into a much richer and more privileged family than her own, she knows that it can be challenging building understanding between different social classes. Her in-law’s still kind of see [name_u]Simone[/name_u] as lesser because of where she came from , only ever keeping a facade of politneness for their son and [name_f]Euphrasie[/name_f] 's sake. [name_f]Wenda[/name_f] has been trying to tell [name_u]Simone[/name_u] that it’s all because of capitalism , but she got rather angry at someone trying to turn her very personal issues into something deep or systemic , when it has more to do with her mother-in-law’s possesivness of her husband than anything else in Simone’s opinion. This caused [name_u]Simone[/name_u] and [name_f]Wenda[/name_f] to not really like each other, but [name_f]Atsuko[/name_f], [name_u]Bobbie[/name_u] and [name_f]Therese[/name_f] try to make sure that there is no bigger bad blood between them.

[kitkatcookie]

Hui-cheol " [name_u]Axel[/name_u] " [name_m]Chang[/name_m] (5) is one of Euphrasie’s school friends, who’s very recently become a big brother…for the second time! [name_u]Axel[/name_u] has two younger siblings: a brother who’s just turned 2 and his baby sister, who’s only a month old, who he’s very excited to introduce to his favourite things: superheroes and volcanos [it’s disappointing for him there isn’t a definitive volcano superhero]. His brother is very receptive to the superhero part of the equation, but a little young for sciences, a frustration [name_u]Axel[/name_u] has managed to overcome with the help of his parents. He has a large extended family who live in both the States and [name_u]South[/name_u] Korea, making regular trips to visit them with his parents, who are always endorsing the embracing of cultural heritage, and [name_u]Axel[/name_u] has come to enjoy teaching his peers about this, even if at first he didn’t want to seem boring [see: history is incredibly dull in his books]. Axel’s mom has dissuaded him from giving [name_f]Euphrasie[/name_f] older sibling instructions though, as his bombastic demeanour might make her anxious about how she handles the responsibilities, and that’s a situation she’d rather spare both Euphraise and [name_u]Simone[/name_u].

[jinxed_peach]

[name_f]Xanthippe[/name_f] [name_f]Amandla[/name_f] [name_m]Burke[/name_m] [5] is a classmate of [name_u]Axel[/name_u] and [name_f]Euphrasie[/name_f], as well as the middle child of [name_f]Wenda[/name_f] and her partner. She’s a very outgoing kid, often getting sent to the front office for ‘disrupting’ the class and is commonly regarded as the class clown. At home she’s a loving big sister to her three year old little sibling and she adores her older half-sibling who’s soo excited to meet her new little sibling later this year. She also loves superheros like [name_u]Axel[/name_u] but her real favorite thing is horses, hence the shirt. Her love was partially inspired by her name’s meaning ‘Yellow Horse’ which lead to a lot of equine themed gifts at Wenda’s baby shower, but it worked out since [name_f]Xanthippe[/name_f] absolutely adored every little thing and still has many horse themed items in her room and wardrobe. The tattoo that her mother got in honor of her is of course, a beautiful head of a stallion. She loves her mother’s tattoo and wants one just like it when she gets older.