[name_f]Noemia[/name_f] " [name_f]Mia[/name_f] " [name_f]Carmela[/name_f] Gonzalez (7) is the daughter of Toph and [name_f]Hannah[/name_f], as well as the enthusiastic owner of Tigra, who she affectionately refers to as [name_f]Tiggy[/name_f]. Mia’s greatest passion is gymnastics, and she has been completely dedicated to this since she was 4, having attended a lesson at the recommendation of Toph’s 19-year-old sister, who’s also involved in the sport. Participating in the Olympics is Mia’s absolute dream, but she hasn’t been able to narrow down a speciality yet, something her coach has suggested so she can further grow confidence in performing before strangers. While she’s incredibly talented, competitions make [name_f]Mia[/name_f] very nervous, not that it’s a surprise as she’s naturally a quiet girl, for how driven she proves to be when it comes to her goals; and she tends to befriend people with louder voices, who’ll openly speak out if she feels pressured. [name_f]Mia[/name_f] also loves reading fantasy stories, her mom having introduced her to this, and her current means of relaxing is curling up with [name_f]Tiggy[/name_f] and drawing her favourite characters in whatever book she’s absorbing. As the only grandchild of both her sets of grandparents, Mia’s showered in attention and affection - something she’s upfront about loving, being inseparable from her abuela (Toph’s mom) when they’re together - and her parents know sharing this will be a challenge when it inevitably happens. Toph’s already decided Mia’s going to be the chief flower girl at he and Hannah’s wedding, a decision made by the fact [name_f]Mia[/name_f] would hate the responsibility of being maid of honour or head bridesmaid.
[name_f]Jenna[/name_f] [name_f]Luisa[/name_f] Gonzalez (18) is Toph’s younger sister, and Mia’s aunt. As the middle child in her family, there is a lot of pressure on her to stand out in her family, and excel in academics. She is the most-likely valedictorian of her graduating class, and is the star of her high school’s basketball team. Because of this, a lot of university recruitment officers have come to see her to recruit her as a student-athlete. However, due to her love for her four siblings and niece, she has chosen to attend University of [name_u]California[/name_u] – San [name_m]Diego[/name_m] and stay relatively close to home while still gaining her independence. She is very close with all of her family members, but is still going through a recent breakup that ended badly due to her intense focus on her athletics and academics.
Charlotte " Lottie " Yesenia Gonzalez (19) is the final Gonzalez sibling: younger sister of Toph and older sister of Jenna, Beth, Matthew and Jayson. Attending college on a combined degree of archeology and history, Lottie jokes about the clichés of her maternal nature, but her personality’s something she’s come to take pride in. She took Jayson to his first concert with their parents permission - a smaller gig being held on campus - and tends to be the go-to for advice from her younger siblings, in part thanks to Toph having the responsibility of Mia. If you’re looking for a cool head among the strong personalities of the Gonzalez clan, Lottie is the best to bet money on [having proven herself on many family holiday’s involving long journeys and bickering about rest stops]. In more recent months, Lottie’s become a main source of confidence for Matthew, thanks to his worries about his girlfriend’s family rejecting him due to their differences in religious perspectives, and it’s a big relief to her that he and Anna have plans on getting some alone time together [Lottie’s been sworn to secrecy about the fact it’s going to be a trip visiting her, at the request of her younger brother].
Having entered her second year of studies, Lottie’s living with her partner - who uses they/xe pronouns - and quietly getting on with her degree. She doesn’t quite know what field she’s looking to enter career wise, as admittedly anything that endorses her love of history and exploration of the past is more than enough as far as she’s concerned. Like Jenna she hasn’t strayed too far from the family - flying’s merely more convenient for Matthew in terms of maximising time for his visit [and she’s pretty sure their parents would never allow a roadtrip to be coordinated until he’s at least 20] - but the two have been a little more distant recently because of the difficult breakup. Given that Lottie’s so happily settled with her partner and has managed to get a healthy balance between her academics, love of exploring woodland and forests, and commitments to her friends, there’s an awkwardness whenever the sister’s talk. She’d like to give Jenna advice and suggestions but knows now isn’t the time as the hurt is too raw, and the last thing Lottie wants to appear as is patronising or as if she’s assuming she knows best. There’s also the element of her admitting she doesn’t know if her approach to time management would work for Jenna, and letting down those she cares about is arguably Lottie’s biggest fear.
She had to contend with this when her dear friend got pregnant by a serious deadbeat - who Lottie couldn’t stand - and the two almost fell out when she tried to convince the other girl to leave her boyfriend [who clearly saw the baby as an excuse to keep financially taking advantage of her family and avoid having to make decisions about his own future, when he could claim fatherhood was most important - a bare-faced lie], which has made her warier where romances are concerned. The relationship ended after said deadbeat continuously avoided taking care of his daughter and then would try and use her to justify his lazy, mooching ways, but Lottie’s not happy about this: to the extent she knows her friend and her goddaughter deserve far better. It wasn’t a surprise to anyone bar Lottie when she was picked for that honour, and really it’s more symbolic rather than a declaration of faith, however Anna’s family appear a little warmer towards Matthew in the light of this knowledge. Lottie’s friend lives a 15 minute drive away from her and her partners’ place, so the couple visit her frequently, and have even taken the now 2-year-old on a few trips with them when they go exploring beauty spots to give her friend some much deserved me time.
Matthew belongs to @wandering_willow 
Jayson belongs to @CherryBomb50
cw: deadbeat partner/father, labor and delivery complications
[name_f]Sigrid[/name_f] Maryweather [name_u]Olsen[/name_u] [19] and [name_f]Delilah[/name_f] [name_f]Olena[/name_f] [name_u]Olsen[/name_u] (Formerly [name_u]Fox[/name_u] [name_f]Moon[/name_f] Crowley) [2] are the friend and goddaughter of [name_f]Lottie[/name_f]. [name_f]Sigrid[/name_f] attended high school with her and was in adjacent grades with the other Gonzales siblings and is currently at college with [name_f]Lottie[/name_f] as well, majoring in human services with hopes to go into social work later on though she’s taking her time with getting her degree and is in no rush to graduate since [name_f]Delilah[/name_f] comes first in her life and she never wants to put her schoolwork above her daughter.
[name_f]Sigrid[/name_f] leaned on the Gonzales family a lot during her junior year of high school as she had become pregnant by her boyfriend. The timing was awful, she was a few days away from calling it quits between them. She wondered if it was a sign to try to make things work for the baby, she made the mistake of telling him about her pregnancy and he instantly sunk his hooks deeper into her and her life. He would use all the money that Sigrid’s parents gave to them for the baby on other things for himself. Unfortunately he had been raised by a similarly uninvolved set of parents so they were not bothered by their son’s actions.
One day at school [name_f]Sigrid[/name_f], being seven and a half months along at the time, had described feeling very sickly and unwell for a large portion of the early periods. She begged her boyfriend to take her home but he refused as he didn’t want to miss basketball practice. She ended up fainting in her calculus class and when she awoke she was in an ambulance being told that her water had broken and she was being rushed to the hospital. There she was told that her heart and body showed multiple signs of extreme chronic stress which is what caused her to go into labor at thirty-three weeks. She was also informed that she would need an emergency c-section as her baby was going into distress, as well as the fact that they were unsure is she could handle the stress of pushing.
During the ride to the ambulance she tried to contact her boyfriend since she had been told that he wasn’t present when she fainted nor was he alerted of what had happened, but she was unable to get through to him. Thankfully her own mother met her at the hospital and was present at the delivery, even being the first person to hold the baby girl since [name_f]Sigrid[/name_f] had run into more complications when her surgeon was closing her incision, her blood wasn’t clotting and she needed to be put out with general anesthesia while the complications were dealt with.
When she awoke she was finally met with her boyfriend. That was when she had learned that he had gone ahead and filled out the birth certificate while she was in surgery, despite him having discussed names during the pregnancy and him expressing little interest in the subject. He chose a name that they had not agreed upon but “sounded wicked cool” according to him. Being drained from the sudden labor and delivery, [name_f]Sigrid[/name_f] began to convince herself that the name was beautiful.
Her daughter was discharged a few days before she herself was due to a post-op fever making her doctors want to observe her a little longer. She asked if her boyfriend would take the baby home and look over her while she was still in the hospital, and he shockingly agreed. When [name_f]Sigrid[/name_f] herself came home she found that her boyfriend had merely picked up their daughter and then dropped her off with Sigrid’s parents before running off doing god knows what even though he was living with her family the majority of the time by then.
Her doctors had advised she take things easy following her c-section, but her boyfriend would often refuse to get out of bed in the middle of the night to aid the crying baby, leaving her to taking both the night shift and the day shift with the baby. Her grades began to suffer due to the lack of sleep and overwhelm with life. Coming home from school she was often met with her boyfriend sitting on the couch while their daughter cried, always claiming that “I can’t help her, she just wants you.” despite the baby usually needing something as simple as a diaper change.
This horrible cycle went on much longer than it should have, but she was afraid of the repercussions that might come with breaking things off. Until her father, who had been working overseas with an engineering company who was developing new technologies, came home a few months ago. He had had limited contact with his family since the projects he was working on where very classified, though he had known of the baby and her lacking father. When he arrived home a few months ago he told Sigrid’s mother to take her and the baby to a hotel for the weekend. By the time they returned there was no sign of the boyfriend. Some neighbors claim to have overheard some sounds of a struggle, followed by seeing a young man’s belongings being thrown into the street. Mr. [name_u]Olsen[/name_u] denies these claims, but it’s hard to ignore how prideful he sounds whenever the allegations come up.
Finally free from the heinous reign of her boyfriend she did something she had been dreaming of, changing her daughter’s name. She chose [name_f]Delilah[/name_f] as it had been her favorite baby girl name since she was little, and [name_f]Olena[/name_f] is both a portmanteau of her parents names as well as a name that honors her and her daughter’s Norse roots. She’s reveling in being a single mom, enjoying it much more than she had feared it would be. She and [name_f]Lottie[/name_f] are planning a girls trip for their upcoming spring break, an extended version of their explorations of beauty spots around the area.
[name_u]Hutton[/name_u] [name_u]Alva[/name_u] [name_m]Crawford[/name_m] (19) is Sigrid’s friend and Lottie’s partner. Unlike their sister [name_f]Esmee[/name_f], they’re much more subdued in activities, not involved in sports or school clubs. However, both are studious and smart in school. [name_u]Hutton[/name_u] and [name_f]Lottie[/name_f] are both trying to get on with their degrees. Hutton’s friendship with [name_f]Sigrid[/name_f] is newer and was hard to bond at first, given Hutton’s brutal honesty. Xir reaction to [name_f]Sigrid[/name_f] discussing the baby at first was a blatant question, “Fox [name_f]Moon[/name_f] [name_m]Crowley[/name_m]? Bruh.” [name_u]Hutton[/name_u] is a good person on the inside, and [name_f]Sigrid[/name_f] knows that now. However, [name_u]Hutton[/name_u] is grateful for [name_f]Lottie[/name_f] and feels like a nicer person from xir partner. [name_u]Hutton[/name_u] loves [name_f]Delilah[/name_f] Olena’s new name and much enjoys that she is an [name_u]Olsen[/name_u], the way she was meant to be thanks to her lovely mother, [name_f]Sigrid[/name_f]. Neither [name_u]Hutton[/name_u] nor [name_f]Esmee[/name_f] were involved in any personal pregnancies, but they were actually both children of two young parents. Along with their parents, they’ve given [name_f]Sigrid[/name_f], alongside [name_f]Hannah[/name_f] and Toph, advice but also respected their own unique situations. [name_u]Hutton[/name_u] loves xir parents and is grateful for everything they’ve done for [name_f]Esmee[/name_f] and xir. [name_u]Hutton[/name_u] truly finds xir parents the ultimate role models, especially with their kind nature in helping and supporting other young parents. [name_u]Hutton[/name_u] and [name_f]Esmee[/name_f] talk a lot about what it was like to be raised by younger parents and guide how they’d like to see [name_f]Hannah[/name_f] and [name_u]Sutton[/name_u] shape up their parenting.
[name_u]Hutton[/name_u] loves the woodlands and actually met [name_f]Lottie[/name_f] at summer camp as teenagers. [name_u]Hutton[/name_u] lived a few cities away from [name_f]Lottie[/name_f] at the time but always kept in touch and enjoyed summer camp with one another. They started dating after their third summer at camp. [name_u]Hutton[/name_u] loves being able to live with [name_f]Lottie[/name_f] and attend the same university together. [name_u]Hutton[/name_u] and [name_f]Lottie[/name_f] have another mutual friend from summer camp, who sadly lost touch after camp, but now they’re seeing their long-lost buddy at university together and couldn’t be more than excited to be reunited.
[name_f]Lilly[/name_f] [name_f]Estelle[/name_f] [name_u]Parker[/name_u] (left, 19) and [name_f]Cassandra[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] [name_u]Bellamy[/name_u] ‘Andy’ (right, 20) share a dorm with [name_f]Lottie[/name_f] and [name_u]Hutton[/name_u]. [name_u]Andy[/name_u] is their long-lost friend and things were awkward at first because [name_f]Lilly[/name_f] had no idea who they were, but the four of them are quite close friends now. [name_f]Lilly[/name_f] was born in [name_u]Texas[/name_u] and was diagnosed with Diabetes and really struggled with that for a while until she moved to [name_f]Manhattan[/name_f] for an islet cell transplant and she met [name_u]Andy[/name_u], and they have been friends ever since. [name_u]Andy[/name_u] is studying art and [name_f]Lilly[/name_f] is studying physics. Secretly, [name_f]Lilly[/name_f] is really jealous of [name_u]Hutton[/name_u] and Lottie’s relationship and wishes she had someone like that in her life.
McKenna [name_u]Shay[/name_u] [name_u]Porter[/name_u] [19] is a classmate of both [name_f]Lilly[/name_f] and [name_u]Andy[/name_u] in their environmental biology who actually goes by her middle name [name_u]Shay[/name_u] ever since her middle school class had an abundance of McKennas. She’s an ecology major with dreams of going into environmental science as a career, though recently there’s been a wrench thrown into her plans as she’s now four and a half months pregnant with her first child.
The father is her boyfriend of nearly five years, he goes to a different college than [name_u]Shay[/name_u], [name_f]Lilly[/name_f], [name_f]Lottie[/name_f], and [name_u]Sutton[/name_u], but it’s in the same city. They’ve been living together in a small apartment nearby and have always felt like they would be together forever, but now as the reality of being bound by blood with a child sets in, things became tense initially.
Shay’s always had a very regular cycle so when she was just a day late for her period she suspected something was off. After a store bought test confirmed her worry she rushed home to their apartment where she found her boyfriend in a bit of a state. He had just been informed that he had lost his scholarship due to his GPA falling just barely below the minimum requirement after a nitpicky teacher dropped his grade over something minute. She started to tell him that she needed to talk to him but he was agitated and didn’t want to hear it. Their discussion became more and more heated until she blurted out the fact that she was pregnant.
The room fell silent and her boyfriend brushed past her, grabbing his keys and jacket, preparing to leave. [name_u]Shay[/name_u] begged him to stay but he reiterated that he didn’t want to hear it, and he left.
She spent the rest of the night crying in their bedroom over how she had ruined her relationship and possibly a number of other things, until she tell asleep. In the middle of the night she heard a sound and jumped out of bed to meet it, hoping it was him. Thankfully, it was. He stood before her in the dark and after a moment they rushed towards each other, meeting in the middle in an embrace. Tearfully he apologized for how he had acted, slowly sinking into her and eventually ending up on his knees, embracing her about the waist. Still apologizing as he leaned his head into her abdomen, seemingly as if now expressing his regret to their child. [name_u]Shay[/name_u] sunk down to the floor beside him and repeatedly said that she forgave him before pressing a kiss to his lips The couple made up that night and their relationship has been solid since as they now prepare for their incoming arrival.
They’ve chosen to keep the sex of their baby a surprise until delivery, but other than that they’re desperately trying to become well prepared. Though their apartment is small they’ve acquired multiple baby necessities second hand, including a small bassinet they they’ve set up beside their bed. Shay’s boyfriend now works three jobs to support his family and tuition costs as he’s now paying for it out of pocket. [name_u]Shay[/name_u] herself also works at a small office but has begun to worry for her job security. A co-worker of hers, as well as someone who’s become a close friend in the last few months, was fired after disclosing their pregnancy by their fairly rigid manager who claims that the termination had nothing to do with their being pregnant, though the other employees know very well that that’s not true. While on the clock [name_u]Shay[/name_u] makes sure to dress in outfits that will conceal her growing bump but as things progress along she’s unsure how much longer she can fly under the radar before she’s found out.
cw: abuse of power
[name_f]Elspeth[/name_f] " [name_f]Lizzy[/name_f] " [name_f]Georgina[/name_f] Faulkston (24) is Shay’s coworker who was fired following her pregnancy being revealed, although of course that had nothing to do with it [says her ex-manager]. To say that her firing was a shock is both a yes and no for [name_f]Lizzy[/name_f]. She had noted that there were unreasonably strict regulations within the office where childcare was concerned, and her former boss was very critical of employees who didn’t put their jobs first, even having an argument with a secretary who clocked off early [for once] to attend her son’s school play. [name_u]An[/name_u] obsession with efficiency seems to drive this mindset, as Lizzy’s ex manager also is known for their unreasonable behaviour where mandated breaks are concerned, having penalised her more than once for taking the time she was entitled to. In a strange sense, the firing was almost a relief after months of stress and working herself til she was exhausted, barely taking breaks in case she was criticised, and knowing that the business were secretive when it came to maternity cover.
Still, she can’t help but feel for [name_u]Shay[/name_u] - who’s still stuck there - and knows the wage slip makes the rules more appealing due to the stability it provides. She has advised her to get out though, just to avoid the same pointedly unfair behaviour the boss in question seemed to dispense on a target of choice: typically a younger female colleague who was less confident or established in her career. Lizzy’s boyfriend, who she’s been with for 3 years, wanted to confront said women, however she talked him out of it as she wanted to avoid any potential further discord due to her pregnancy. While unplanned, she’s adapted quickly to the prospect of motherhood, and absolutely believes in putting their unborn child before all else. Thankfully, she has managed to find replacement work as a secretary to tide them over, as [name_f]Lizzy[/name_f] hates asking anyone in her family for money and resolves to be self-sufficient.
Given how sisterly she is towards [name_u]Shay[/name_u], it’s often assumed she has a younger sibling or two, but Lizzy’s actually the younger child of her family. Her older brother is someone she loves dearly but is frequently frustrated by: he’s immature and reckless, thankfully lacking children to pull into his chaotic lifestyle, but [name_f]Lizzy[/name_f] and he often argue as she feels he expects too much of his significant other where responsibility is concerned. It doesn’t make her happy to nag or critique him but she doesn’t want him to push away someone he genuinely cares for, and she knows he also tends to feel their parents praise her boyfriend in comparsion to him. Lizzy’s boyfriend’s an EMT, who’s hoping on continuing medical education once she gives birth and they’re settled as parents, as well as absolutely being her rock. They’re a very close couple who prioritise communication and consistency in how they interact, which she always encourages of others.
[name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] [name_f]Ann[/name_f] [name_m]Sims[/name_m] (nb) is the daughter of [name_u]Shay[/name_u] and her boyfriend. Before she was born the couple set up a home birth, so they would bring her into the world in a very relaxing and intimate way. When labor started one night, Shay’s boyfriend got the birthing pool set up, but the contractions were getting stronger. [name_u]Baby[/name_u] [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] was already crowning, so Shay’s boyfriend had to deliver her by himself. [name_f]Lizzy[/name_f] was the most recent to meet [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f].
tw: toxic parental expectations, death of a sibling, survivors guilt, alcoholism, poor grief management.
[name_m]Harold[/name_m] ‘Ari’ [name_u]Wyatt[/name_u] [name_m]Sims[/name_m] [19] is Shay’s boyfriend, father to [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f], and friend to [name_f]Lizzy[/name_f]. Pictured here trying to catch up on some reading for school on his way to his job as a dishwasher. He holds himself to an extremely high standard and has ever since he was a kid. His older brother is extremely talented in many aspects and [name_u]Ari[/name_u] always found himself falling short in comparison.
Up until high school he was often running himself ragged trying catch up to the impossible standard his parents set. Until he met [name_u]Shay[/name_u], she was a transplant to the area and joined in the middle of the school year so she was often isolated, much like [name_u]Ari[/name_u] himself had felt. They hit it off nearly instantly when he offered to sit with her at lunch and the rest is history. She helped him to learn to relax and not burn so much of the candle at both ends.
He was becoming more and more comfortable with his status as the second best [name_m]Sims[/name_m] son, then his brother was suddenly killed in a mugging gone wrong. His family was devastated, his mother turned to drinking to cope with the loss and often times her drinking removed her verbal filter, saying things that she shouldn’t became a common occurrence in the household. One night after dinner, after his father had retreated to his den for the night to stay up reading about crime statistics, it was just [name_u]Ari[/name_u] and his mother. She looked up at him from across the table, sipping her wine, and sneered “It should’ve been you…”
While she would later claim that she didn’t remember saying that, the sentence stayed with [name_u]Ari[/name_u] from then on. He became obsessed with proving his parents wrong, falling back into old habits of killing himself for academic praise. Constantly falling just short, it made him begin to think that she was right. After four years of torture he managed to graduate as valedictorian with a full ride offered to him for college. All his parents had to say was “When are you moving out?”
He was quick to ask [name_u]Shay[/name_u] to get an apartment with him and the two were moved in nearly five months before the semester even started, just to get away from his parents.
Finding out that his scholarship had been lost was painful, especially due to how little of his GPA he had lost that made him lose it. When [name_u]Shay[/name_u] came home to talk to him he was actually in the process of pouring himself a drink, a rarity in his life since he hated seeing his mother spend so many days drunk as a skunk. He could hardly focus while she tried to talk to him, and when she said that she was pregnant he couldn’t breathe. Desperate for fresh air and some space to think was what drove him to storm out as he did, though as soon as he had gotten into a taxi he started to regret his actions. [name_u]Ari[/name_u] was sure that [name_u]Shay[/name_u] would leave him for what he had done and went to a bar to drown out his sorrows for the first time in practically his entire life. While drinking at the bar he ended up spilling his guts out to the bartender, who ended up telling him to get his act together and go make things right with [name_u]Shay[/name_u]. His inebriated state had partially contributed to why he had been so tearful upon coming home, he was usually not such an emotional person.
Despite not ever asking the bartender’s name, [name_u]Ari[/name_u] feels as though he owes a debt of gratitude to them, though he unfortunately can’t remember what bar he had gone to and therefore can’t express that.
After things were smoothed over between him and [name_u]Shay[/name_u], he started to feel very excited for fatherhood, between panicked, sleepless nights worrying how they would provide for the child. He spent a great deal of time talking to their unborn child throughout Shay’s pregnancy, promising that their life out be nothing like his own upbringing.
The couple’s choice to have [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] at home was both influenced by their desire for it to be intimate and relaxed, as well as finances considering they were barely keeping themselves afloat after [name_u]Shay[/name_u] had quit her job. They had planned for their baby to be delivered by a student midwife who would provide her services for a discount, until [name_u]Shay[/name_u] had stood up from the bed to make her way to the pool when she screamed and realized there was no time. [name_u]Ari[/name_u] managed to put his own fears aside and be strong for his girlfriend as he delivered their child. Though as she was so far into labor there was little he had to do but catch baby [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] as she came out. [name_u]Ari[/name_u] nervously asked [name_u]Shay[/name_u] if she wanted to look and find out if they had just welcomed a boy or a girl, still shaken she declined and asked him to look and tell her instead. Upon finding out they now had a daughter [name_u]Ari[/name_u] wept tears of joy. He wrapped the baby in a pillowcase that he pulled form a nearby basket of clean laundry and the couple laid together in the bed as they waited for the midwife to arrive and help with the post-delivery care of both [name_u]Shay[/name_u] and [name_f]Rosemary[/name_f], taking in their first moments as a family of three.
Their baby girl’s middle name is actually in honor of her late uncle, [name_u]Andy[/name_u], using the first syllable of his name as inspiration for the short and sweet middle. Though it’s sort of an unspoken namesake since [name_u]Ari[/name_u] still doesn’t like talking about his family. In fact, he hasn’t spoken to his parents since he moved out for college and they have no idea that he’s now a father, he intends to keep it that way. He’s perfectly happy with his own family now.
[name_f]Amity[/name_f] [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] " [name_f]Amy[/name_f] " [name_m]Matthews[/name_m] (20) is a childhood friend of [name_u]Ari[/name_u]. Though she’s no longer next door to him, she does text and call him regularly— though she does keep his girlfriend in mind.
A year younger than the eldest [name_m]Sims[/name_m] son and a year older than the youngest, [name_f]Amy[/name_f] was considered their “missing sister” for a time. Being so close to the [name_m]Sims[/name_m] meant that [name_f]Amy[/name_f] knew just how impossible the demands of Ari’s parents could be. [name_f]Amy[/name_f] mostly saw the negatives, though: her parents were very carefree and had an opposite approach to parenting than the Sims’ parents did, so [name_f]Amy[/name_f] never had a nice opinion of Ari’s parents. [name_f]Amy[/name_f] moved away from the [name_m]Sims[/name_m] during middle school, and didn’t get news about [name_u]Andy[/name_u] nor about the hardships until they caught up this year. [name_f]Amy[/name_f] isn’t too upset about the lack of contact, however, as she’s been busy with her own life.
[name_f]Amy[/name_f] is the fourth eldest of seven siblings, which is a lot, to say the least. [name_m]Born[/name_m] to an artist mother and a musician father, all the [name_m]Matthews[/name_m] siblings were raised to be in tune with nature and to follow their passions. [name_m]Just[/name_m] like her father, Amy’s passion is in music and has been playing instruments since she was very little. She started participating in bands and the like since middle school, and she’s part of a co-ed music group called [name_f]Amity[/name_f] and the Flowerbeds. Originally a joke name written in her sixth grade notebook, the band kept going by it ever since. [name_f]Amy[/name_f] did bring up the idea of changing their band name, but her bandmates said it’s too late now.
Marioara " [name_f]Mara[/name_f] " Velouette Coșovei (20) is a dear friend of Amy’s, and someone involved with her musical pursuits, albeit not as a member of the band. A graphic design and fashion major, Mara’s part to play has been branding and conceptualising EP covers or outfit ensembles for photos of the group collectively coming together. She’s never been one to care when faced by insistence what she focuses on is shallow or superfluous, although [name_f]Mara[/name_f] isn’t shy if she feels drawn to speak up about unwarranted criticism, always being firm in expressing her opinion everyone’s interests and pursuits are valid. This has been spurred by the antics of certain family members, who see it as a necessity to compare [name_f]Mara[/name_f] with her older sister, who’s currently starting her first internship as an obstracician graduate. It especially irritates [name_f]Mara[/name_f] as she feels people don’t accept she and her sister sincerely support and congratulate one another, having some archaic belief sisters must have some jealousy or underlying resentment, especially given the complexity of family as a whole.
Knowing Amy’s one of seven is something [name_f]Mara[/name_f] could not comprehend herself, and she does her best to provide a listening ear whenever her friend needs a moment to cool off. Although people can view her as a little cool and withdrawn, helped by her wall of dry comments and preference to keep her personal life private, Mara’s serious about being there for her friends, always doing her best to ensure she has time for them [that isn’t just going to live music events or thrifting as their preferred activities prove to be]. As she’s currently working a part-time job at a second-hand clothing store, this can be a little tighter, but Mara’s thorough when it comes to time management, although her sister’s enforced she takes more time to just relax, as she was starting to exhaust herself running around at the drop of a hat [not that this was easy, given her stubbornness].
[name_f]Mara[/name_f] was actually a surprise baby herself. Her parents went through IVF treatment to conceive her older sister, and assumed she’d be their only child. However, while on a visit to Romania - where Mara’s dad was born, and the majority of her extended paternal family live - they learned her mom was pregnant again, and the result was their second daughter! She’s fluent in Romanian and can cook national dishes confidently, although she’s been asking her paternal aunt to help her with more complex food prep recently, wanting to further represent her cultural heritage. At least twice a month, [name_f]Mara[/name_f] and her housemates have a potluck dinner, and she wants to introduce them more to lesser known foods [although she’s careful with her use of pepper, as not everyone’s as keen on it as Mara]. One of her housemates is the lead guitarist of Amy’s band, and they opted to move in together thanks to mutual association blossoming a close friendship - stemming from them both having strong ties to their European family cultures. [name_f]Mara[/name_f] also shares her room with her pet gecko, [name_f]Lace[/name_f], who even inspired her most recent collection for a college project.
[name_f]Baia[/name_f] [name_f]Teresa[/name_f] Ferreira (21) is [name_f]Amity[/name_f] and the Flowerbeds’ lead guitarist & Mara’s housemate.
Baia’s favorite nights are potluck nights! Growing up with a [name_u]French[/name_u] chef as a mother & spending many summers growing up in Lisbon with her father’s side of the family [name_f]Baia[/name_f] feels like she has a lot to bring to the table (no pun intended) & loves trying foods & learning about other cultures such as Mara’s Romanian roots.
[name_f]Music[/name_f] wasn’t always Baia’s calling. She spent most of her life dreaming of being a traveling journalist. When she entered high school she started struggling with anxiety and threw herself into writing as an outlet and began writing poetry which morphed into songwriting. She was always very protective of her writings, but felt close enough at one point to share one her songs/poems with a friend (now a band mate) & they encouraged her to pursue music. She began taking lessons at a local music school and picked up guitar quickly. The rest is history!
Growing up, [name_f]Baia[/name_f] and her parents shared a home with her maternal aunt & 3 cousins. [name_f]Baia[/name_f] was so excited when they moved in when she was around 7 years old, but now as an adult doesn’t look at the situation as fondly. Her parents have been very supportive of her music career thus far, but her aunt has been nothing but cynical. She calls it a “pipe dream”. [name_f]Baia[/name_f] doesn’t let that bother her too much though and still remains close with 2/3 of her cousins (the other favoring more toward their mother and does not support [name_f]Baia[/name_f] & her music).
[name_f]Belmida[/name_f] [name_f]Lua[/name_f] [name_m]Cristo[/name_m] (51) is Baia’s maternal aunt, often rather unlikable. A known cynic, she has always been so in comparison to her sister, who grew up quite naïve. While her sister is no longer naïve like she used to be, [name_f]Belmida[/name_f] never really got over her cynicism. The two sisters often clashed but deep down, [name_f]Belmida[/name_f] loves her sister and would always defend her.
[name_f]Belmida[/name_f] is a mother of three and a [name_m]Chief[/name_m] Financial Officer (CFO) for a local company, so she’s always fiscally stable. She doesn’t want her children getting into a music career because she feels it wouldn’t last and she hates the idea of her children “mooching off her success” even though none of them do. Her children have felt like they need to “have their own success” which is what they wanted for their lives but dislike how [name_f]Belmida[/name_f] is so selfish with her life at times. [name_f]Belmida[/name_f] isn’t too knowledgeable about [name_f]Amity[/name_f] and the Flowerbeds given the fact that she and the band mutually don’t care. However she’s aware of one member consistently going in bands, those bands not working out, and that member leaving said bands. She stays out of that member’s life but her children are aware of this awkward hostility.
Despite her nature, she does genuinely want her children to be happy. She had some old friends who were happy before making bad decisions and despite the controversy those friends made on themselves, [name_f]Belmida[/name_f] still roots for them to get better. [name_f]Belmida[/name_f] is grateful none of her children have made bad decisions or ruined their lives. Her children are on various levels of closeness. The closest still talks to her and helps keep peace while the farthest lives in a different city and is disassociated with [name_f]Belmida[/name_f], but close with the rest of the family. [name_f]Belmida[/name_f] knows her children seem to be closer with her niece [name_f]Baia[/name_f] and her sister, who is Baia’s mother. She is reluctant, but she’s let that go and isn’t strictly against this.
[name_f]Angelica[/name_f] [name_f]May[/name_f] Cristo-Phillips (29) is Belmida’s daughter-in-law, mother of her granddaughters, and unsurprisingly, someone she isn’t on the best of terms with at various intervals. A beautician and hair stylist who specialises in unique dye patterns, Angelica’s absolutely aware her mother-in-law doesn’t think too much of her career, a sentiment worsened by the fact the woman who dated her husband right before [name_f]Angelica[/name_f] herself was training to become a dentist, meaning the comparisons were almost instantaneous and never flattering where she was concerned. While she was able to ignore this inane behaviour for the most part, it upset her now-husband a great deal, and this is what bothered [name_f]Angelica[/name_f] more than anything. His ex had been a very demanding woman who didn’t have much care for his boundaries or preferences, and [name_f]Angelica[/name_f] saw firsthand how it diminished his confidence, something that still hurts her to this day.
Things improved a little when Angelica’s first daughter - who’s now 4 - was born, however she didn’t let [name_f]Belmida[/name_f] become too involved given their past. She never banned contact or spoke poorly of her, but at the same time was firm that when her daughter began developing interests, [name_f]Belmida[/name_f] wasn’t to begin dictating if they were ‘worthwhile’. This was averted with her older daughter, who wants to work with animals and has an army of stuffed toys with their own names and personalities [not that [name_f]Angelica[/name_f] will let Belmida’s insistence about becoming a vet or zoologist determine the future], but her 2-year-old is firmly enamoured with fantasy, and this of course isn’t something her grandmother approves of in the slightest.
There was a standoff between [name_f]Belmida[/name_f] and the couple when their daughter wanted a magical pirate themed birthday party and, of course, it was criticised when they went ahead with this as [name_f]Belmida[/name_f] believed [name_f]Angelica[/name_f] and her husband should push their daughter away from ‘nonsense’. [name_u]An[/name_u] argument was thankfully avoided, but Angelica’s confident the issue will resurface, as her daughter’s love of imaginary worlds hasn’t faded, and by no means is she going to insist it ends thanks to the happiness it brings her. It’s a huge relief her husband refuses to be talked into anything by his mother, as she herself had an annoying experience going out with a boy who was all too happy to let his mom intrude on their relationship, ultimate leading to [name_f]Angelica[/name_f] breaking it off.
The [name_m]Phillips[/name_m] family are thankfully calm and easygoing. [name_f]Angelica[/name_f] admits she isn’t massively close to her parents, but there’s nothing wrong with it, just that they’re busy enjoying travelling in their retirement, while she’s advancing her business and spending time with her own family. Her younger sister also works at the shop she co-owns with her close friend, and their older brother’s out in [name_u]Alaska[/name_u] as part of his geological career. Angelica’s always been considered the most measured and reasonable of the siblings, which is something she takes pride in, however it also means she did get labelled ‘boring’ growing up because she was - and still is - quite the homebody.
[name_f]Emily[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] [name_m]Phillips[/name_m] (2) is Angelica’s youngest daughter. She is a fan of watching Bluey, and she loves unicorns. She recently started going to daycare, where she just met her best friend.
[name_f]Sophie[/name_f] [name_f]Alice[/name_f] [name_m]Phillips[/name_m] (4) is Emily’s older sister and Angelica’s firstborn, whose firm in her ambitions to work with animals, in spite of people insisting she’ll change her mind in a few years. She’s quite intrigued by her younger sister’s budding friendship, although Sophie’s not going to allow this new figure near her army of stuffed animals until she’s confident they can be trusted, a sentiment her close friends from school endorse wholeheartedly. Being older, Sophie’s a little more aware of the distance between her mom and grandma, even if she doesn’t know the full story. Her grandma isn’t someone the little girl’s too fond of anyways, as she finds her to have a very criticial eye when coming round to their house, although her dad’s managed to make sure [name_f]Sophie[/name_f] hasn’t voiced these opinions in front of his mother. When she isn’t playing veterinary clinic or having her toys establish a complex internal hierarchy, Sophie’s clamouring for her mom to style her hair, as she always wants to feel like a princess, even if they’re just going for a walk round the block.
[name_f]Wowreena[/name_f] [name_f]Hila[/name_f] [name_u]Ara[/name_u] (28) is Angelica’s close friend, who knows [name_f]Sophie[/name_f] and [name_f]Emily[/name_f] by association. She co-owns a shop alongside Angelica’s younger sister. Being of Pashto descent, being a third-generation Afghan, she is often getting a lot of cultural items in her home bought from fellow Pashtos. She loves the “Wow” part of her name and [name_f]Sophie[/name_f] and [name_f]Emily[/name_f] always enjoy that too.
The thing that’s been worrying [name_f]Wowreena[/name_f] lately is that Angelica’s sister seems to defend [name_f]Belmida[/name_f] more than she deserves to be defended and it’s causing some distance. [name_f]Baia[/name_f] hasn’t talked much to Angelica’s sister and the [name_m]Phillips[/name_m] family feels awkward when around her. [name_f]Wowreena[/name_f] knows her shop co-owner isn’t a “Belmida puppet” like she’s overheard one of the Phillips’ teen nieces say but she hopes that Angelica’s sister would stand up for herself and not always defend [name_f]Belmida[/name_f] just because they’re mother and daughter.
[name_f]Wowreena[/name_f] never wants to villainise Angelica’s sister — after all, they work together and she doesn’t want to hurt the shop with this internal conflict. Because [name_f]Wowreena[/name_f] isn’t a [name_m]Cristo[/name_m] or a [name_m]Phillips[/name_m], she feels like she has to be the neutral party and help the [name_m]Cristo[/name_m] siblings find common ground again. She is grateful she’s in good graces with everyone but she finds it stressful, especially since she doesn’t particularly like [name_f]Belmida[/name_f]. Growing up, [name_f]Wowreena[/name_f] was the kind of teen [name_f]Belmida[/name_f] wouldn’t have approved of her children befriending. [name_f]Wowreena[/name_f] didn’t smoke or drink but she did enjoy staying up late and was good at pretending to be sick to avoid school. In her defence, she only stayed up late on non-school nights and she skipped school to de-stress to focus on her mind and body. She’s much more mature now but she doesn’t regret how she spent her teen years although she feels better knowing she knew the [name_m]Cristo[/name_m] siblings after adulthood, not before, because then [name_f]Belmida[/name_f] would have forbade them to associate with her, hurting the friendship. A huge reason why [name_f]Wowreena[/name_f] doesn’t want to ruin friendships even if her co-owner needs to work out some difficulties. [name_f]Wowreena[/name_f] is definitely more comfortable with the [name_m]Phillips[/name_m] family and loves talking to [name_f]Sophie[/name_f] about what her favourite animals are.
[name_f]Katharina[/name_f] " [name_f]Kate[/name_f] " [name_f]Hope[/name_f] [name_m]Phillips[/name_m] (27) is Wowreena’s colleague - specifically the co-owner of their business - maternal aunt of [name_f]Emily[/name_f] and [name_f]Sophie[/name_f], and younger sister of [name_f]Angelica[/name_f]. A conflict avoidant personality to the extreme end, [name_f]Kate[/name_f] often unfairly blamed herself in her teens when relationships with boys broke down, and this tendency has carried into adulthood, meaning she never wants to take on strong personalities - especially the formidable meddlers and antagonisers of the world like [name_f]Belmida[/name_f] [name_m]Cristo[/name_m].
[name_f]Kate[/name_f] and [name_f]Angelica[/name_f] argued a fair bit as children when it came to rule breaking, as if anyone was going to tell, it was definitely going to be [name_f]Kate[/name_f]. While this simmered as the pair matured, [name_f]Belmida[/name_f] has ignited this old source of contention with a vengeance between the pair, as [name_f]Angelica[/name_f] often finds herself contending with resentment when her sister doesn’t aid her in pushing [name_f]Belmida[/name_f] back from overstepping boundaries.
By no means does [name_f]Kate[/name_f] actually side with her sister’s mother-in-law - she has very similar sentiments deep down - but coming from a family of strong personalities exaggerates her anxiety more. Part of her is also worried about [name_f]Belmida[/name_f] behaving worser where Angelica’s concerned, something she’s noticed has happened in the aftermath of her niece [the one who considers [name_f]Kate[/name_f] to be a puppet at times] trying to get involved in a disagreement between the pair. What [name_f]Kate[/name_f] hoped was that by presenting herself as a more agreeable personality on a surface level, it would convince [name_f]Belmida[/name_f] to leave her sister alone, however this unfortunately hasn’t rung true, and she feels uncertain about how to move forwards. While he was initially upset, thankfully her brother-in-law [Angelica’s husband] has come to recognise this, and as the expert where his mother’s concerned, it has caused some of the assumptions to fade away.
The person [name_f]Kate[/name_f] confides the most in is her boyfriend, who’s trans, and who likewise grew up with a parent similar to [name_f]Belmida[/name_f]: albeit for him it was his father, an aggressive, hyper masculine promoter, who demanded a lot from his sons. Kate’s boyfriend ultimately decided to cut his dad off when he graduated college, after he decided to disparage his son’s results because they weren’t the unrealistic perfection he insisted his children live up to. Odd, as some call it, he was never transphobic [for his many flaws], but [name_f]Kate[/name_f] never lets this be used to downplay how he impacted the self-esteem of the man she loves - although that word has only started to be exchanged recently, not that she’s complaining.
Belmida is credited to @CherryBomb50