[name_m]Ames[/name_m] [name_m]Alistair[/name_m] [name_m]Holder[/name_m] (35) is Thea’s father and the partner of [name_m]Felix[/name_m], who absolutely adores his family, not that anyone’s been surprised by this from him. [name_m]Ames[/name_m] has always been someone at ease showing affection, something his parents joke started when his younger sister was born, and it only increased when they were joined by their younger brother as well. In spite of loving being raised with siblings, who he’s extremely close to still, [name_m]Ames[/name_m] doesn’t feel a need to push for he and [name_m]Felix[/name_m] to have more kids, especially with [name_f]Thea[/name_f] still so young and requiring so much from them, not that he minds at all dedicating time and losing sleep for his daughter.
He works as a guidance counsellor, specialising in working with high schoolers who don’t know their future paths, something he can relate to a lot. [name_m]Ames[/name_m] never felt a particular draw towards anything growing up, with his greatest skill being socialising, not that a job in PR or media appealed to him in spite of this. It was this that inspired him to want to work with others not feeling able to pinpoint their gifts and skills outside of obvious pathways, and he finds his job incredibly rewarding, clichéd as he jokes it always sounds when he talks about this.
[name_f]Anne[/name_f] [name_f]Mirabelle[/name_f] Rideau ( 16) is one of the students whom [name_m]Ames[/name_m] helped discover her passion - bass guitar. [name_f]Anne[/name_f] attended the French-American school of [name_m]New[/name_m] [name_m]York[/name_m] in Larchmont, NY and most of her songs are in [name_f]French[/name_f], however , she often felt not [name_f]French[/name_f] enough for the Quebecoise kids and not American enough for the American kids . She loved Larchmont also because of the [name_m]Lorenzo[/name_m] [name_m]Park[/name_m] , with her brother having played in the local soccer leauge. Moving left her lost and anxious , leaving [name_f]Anne[/name_f] with no friends, no purpose in life and anger isssues which resulted in two detentions within her first month of attending the high school where [name_m]Ames[/name_m] works. [name_m]Ames[/name_m] had to do a lot of work to get [name_f]Anne[/name_f] to open up and work together with the girl’s parents and the school psychologist, Especially the latter paid attention to [name_f]Anne[/name_f] 's anger issues and recommended for her to start a journal, which pretty much right away became simply a notebook with song lyrics in it. [name_f]Anne[/name_f] 's songs take a lot of inspiration from artists like [name_f]Avril[/name_f] Lavingne , [name_f]Geena[/name_f] Fontanella and others. Her band La Petite [name_m]Mort[/name_m] is just starting to emerge , but it makes [name_m]Ames[/name_m] happy to see that [name_f]Anne[/name_f] found enough friends to consider a project with them.
[name_f]Anne[/name_f] doesn’t get along too well with her brother, who she perceives as a shallow jock who treats girlfriends with condescention and sometimes even misogyny, but she gave up on warning his girlfriends because they never listen to her, assuming they’re older and wiser. [name_f]Anne[/name_f] 's best friend doesn’t play any instruments - she’s a girl from the same area and [name_f]Anne[/name_f] met her while walking her english cocker spaniel , [name_m]Scooter[/name_m] . Her friend has a bitch of the same breed, [name_f]Celia[/name_f] , and they’re both registered in AKC , so they could as well have puppies, but [name_f]Anne[/name_f] 's mother doesn’t want to even hear about it. It doesn’t bother [name_f]Anne[/name_f]. She’s happy to work on La Petite Mort’s concept and add in new members , as well as finally starting to feel at home.
[name_f]Sherine[/name_f] ’ [name_f]Sherri[/name_f] ’ [name_f]Alicia[/name_f] [name_m]Holton[/name_m] (17) is the one person associated with La Petite [name_m]Mort[/name_m] who isn’t a musician…well not in the sense that she performs in the band. [name_f]Sherri[/name_f] is the producer for the group, who does the majority of the sound mixing and ensures everything has polish when going into the various tapes they’ve been experimenting with creating for a while. This arrangement came about thanks to [name_f]Sherri[/name_f] being friends with the group’s bassist, who’s been pretty much a rock in her world thanks to recent issues she’s faced.
After coming out as pansexual, Sherri’s lost someone she was once close friends with, a girl named [name_f]Leah[/name_f]. Thanks to bigotry from Leah’s family, the dissolving of the friendship was ugly on several levels, with [name_f]Sherri[/name_f] being called a number of slurs, as well as Leah’s parents framing her as a substance abuser to their daughter. The drugs that have caused further ruckus in the eyes of the Maynards’ is weed, something [name_f]Sherri[/name_f] isn’t addicted to by any means, and she’s only smoked casually with friends.
Her parents aren’t delighted by this turn of events - she’s their only child and they have high hopes for her, which they’re transparent about - but the behaviour of the Maynards’ has overcome anything else. It’s why [name_f]Sherri[/name_f] is so determined to make something of her producing talents and also hopefully put positivity into the world somehow. When [name_f]Leah[/name_f] turned on her, it wasn’t just a betrayal, but crushing in how she’d hoped for more understanding and a chance at someone she trusted breaking away from the intolerance they’d been raised around.
It’s also why Sherri’s told [name_f]Anne[/name_f] to have some more perspective when it comes to her brothers’ girlfriends - not in a mean or condescending way, but how ideals of love and the normalisation of toxicity run deeper than what seems apparent. [name_f]Sherri[/name_f] doesn’t know what she’d do if [name_f]Leah[/name_f] reached out again, but she’s blotted it from her mind given the sheer unlikeliness of that happening in her eyes.
(tw: lung cancer ; grief after an early death - unblurred!!)
[name_m]Maurice[/name_m] [name_f]Jean[/name_f] Rideau ( 21 ) is [name_f]Anne[/name_f] 's brother and the very famous local heartbreaker. When it comes to [name_f]Sherri[/name_f] , he 's been concerned for her because he doesn’t like the idea of smoking either, just because one of his previous girlfriends who smoked from the time of 15 years old died at 19 when it was the senior year of highschool for them both. [name_f]Anne[/name_f] understands [name_m]Maurice[/name_m] 's grief and that this is the reason why he has emotionally distanced himself from other girlfriends, but the 3 ones he had since starting college deserve way better in her eyes.
[name_m]Maurice[/name_m] leads a " clean " lifestyle free from weed, alcohol or cigarette because he’s concerned about his athletic scolarship in the swimming team. His current girlfriend is a Sorority [name_f]Girl[/name_f] , working in the Recruitment Chair of the Sigma [name_f]Theta[/name_f] [name_f]Alpha[/name_f] Sorority and a Creative Writing major. [name_m]Maurice[/name_m] likes her poems and sensitivity , but he’s a typical tsundere type who would never let her know that. [name_f]Anne[/name_f] saw [name_m]Maurice[/name_m] lead his girlfriend’s to [name_f]Vi[/name_f] 's grave in Larchmont, which gives her hope that she might kind of help him manage grief and use the expertise of the psychology students in the sorority to convince [name_m]Maurice[/name_m] to go to therapy
[name_m]Domenico[/name_m] " [name_m]Nico[/name_m] " [name_m]Fabian[/name_m] Cabral (20) is Maurices’ close friend from childhood, who’s likewise very familiar with [name_f]Anne[/name_f], as his sister is her best friend [and he used to piss them both off as kids calling them the dynamic duo, which [name_f]Anne[/name_f] and his sister found very embarassing]. [name_m]Nico[/name_m] also knew Maurices’ deceased girlfriend well and has ruminated on her early passing a lot, especially how unfair it feels to him, even now. Grief and loss aren’t strange feelings to the Cabral family.
He and his sister lost their dad when they were both very young, something that [name_m]Nico[/name_m] has found re-emerges at all kinds of intervals in his life, usually when he’s not expecting it. The questions are what he finds the hardest - ‘what could have been?’ most of all - and it’s why he’s hoping [name_m]Maurice[/name_m] will engage in therapy.
Although they’ve known each other a long time, they’re not always in agreement about things, especially dating. [name_m]Nico[/name_m] truly thinks [name_m]Maurice[/name_m] just needs a step back from it all, even though his current girlfriend is a lovely person, as he doesn’t want more pressure being placed on anyone’s shoulders. This has led to [name_m]Maurice[/name_m] feeling [name_m]Nico[/name_m] isn’t being fair as he has a girlfriend, and of course the semantics of missing someone aren’t something [name_m]Nico[/name_m] feels comfortable getting into. It isn’t his place.
Hoping to become a pathologist eventually, [name_m]Nico[/name_m] admits he’s focused on the peace of not having answers for everything and everyone, but enough for himself and those he cares about. His stubborn side helps a lot with studying too. He’s not religious person but definitely a spiritual person, learning a lot from his maternal granny, and has a fascination with concepts [name_m]Maurice[/name_m] calls ‘Nico’s speciality’ - basically anything to do with folklore and belief.
[name_f]Serena[/name_f] [name_f]Gabriela[/name_f] Cabral (16) is Nico’s sister and Anne’s best friend. She is a potential member of La Petite [name_m]Mort[/name_m]. She feels bad for [name_m]Maurice[/name_m] but doesn’t find his grief an excuse to use women. She is close with [name_m]Domenico[/name_m] “ [name_m]Nico[/name_m] “ and can’t let him go, having no idea how their lives are going to remain without their father. She’s scared for the family left behind after the passing of Maurice’s girlfriend. She livestreams a lot and likes to mix music. She has a peaceful aura.
Yseult Xeveria Spencer (16) is another good friend of Serena. The girls met in kindergarten and have maintained a friendship ever since. Yseult knows Anne, though not very close. When Yseult was eight, their family moved to another town, so she couldn’t be around when Serena and Anne became classmates. The friends talk a lot on the phone and online and see each other when Yseult goes back on holiday.
Yseult’s early life was rather chaotic. She was brought up in a large multi-ethnic family: her mum is Mexican and her dad is half British and half Brazilian. The Spencers have as many as six children and numerous distant relatives, including all kinds of cousins, aunts, uncles and so on. The family moved three times in her lifetime until they finally settled into their current home.
Yseult is an empathic girl whose heart is open to anyone in need. Her parents had always been very liberal and allowed their children to express themselves however they wanted as long as it was safe to do so. Yseult is a part-time dog walker and babysitter. She plans to take a gap year after school to figure out what she really enjoys doing. She would like to become a piercer or a tattoo artist, but she’s not sure yet.
[name_f]Asuncion[/name_f] [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] [name_m]Spencer[/name_m] ( 27) is the eldest [name_m]Spencer[/name_m] child and a TV actress - she starred in many children’s toys ads as a kid and most of them when the family lived in [name_f]California[/name_f]. [name_f]Asuncion[/name_f] is currently married to a modelling influencer who started in Become the Next Mister Universe - something to the effect of an exclusively male America’s Next Top Model and won. [name_f]Asuncion[/name_f] knew him long before he starred in the programme and to be fair she didn’t expect the backlash that would come to him for , quote " marrying a fat chick". She doesn’t let the internet bullying get to her and she knows that she should be the one giving herself validation. She supports [name_f]Yseult[/name_f] 's and [name_f]Serena[/name_f] 's friendship and is glad to be coming home when she isn’t filming on the set of her sitcom [name_f]Tamara[/name_f] and her Tamales - about a half-Mexican chef who is fighting to get her own cooking show. [name_f]Asuncion[/name_f] plays the reoccuring role of the mean CEO of the TV station which [name_f]Tamara[/name_f] tries to sell herself to, so her TV persona is quite snarky , no-bullshit and bold, which also kind of makes her fans scared to interract with her not to trigger her character, [name_f]Christine[/name_f] 's wrath. [name_f]Asuncion[/name_f] is still waiiting for the momenrt where the general public learns to tell the difference between the TV persona and the real her, making her social media content sweet, relatable and focused on her married life. She and her husband don’t plan on kids until [name_f]Asuncion[/name_f] 's season second of the show finishes filming in [name_f]February[/name_f] 2025, then they might start TTC for a lovely [name_m]Scorpio[/name_m] baby.
Lauriana [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f] “Lana” Quirós (24) is Asuncion’s colleague who plays [name_f]Tamara[/name_f] in the sitcom. Despite being a child actress, this role is the first major role of her career. When she was 10 years old, she voiced one of the fairies in the children’s cartoon [name_m]Forest[/name_m] of Forgotten Tales about a group of forgotten storybook characters banding together to stop an evil sorcerer who aims to erase all stories from existence. Two years later, she played the main character’s little sister in City Lights, a romantic comedy about finding love in unexpected places. When she auditioned for the role of the main character of the sitcom, her excitement had no limit. Lana’s dream come true.
[name_f]Lana[/name_f] grew up in Los [name_f]Angeles[/name_f]. Both of her parents are educators. [name_f]Lana[/name_f] loves bright colours and creativity. [name_m]Just[/name_m] like her character, [name_f]Lana[/name_f] loves to cook, although she doesn’t always do as well as her mother and grandmother. The Quirós are a very close-knitted family who often get together for dinners. [name_f]Lana[/name_f] likes vintage fashion and enjoys thrifting. She likes Broadway musicals (her favourite one is Wicked) and classic movies from the [name_m]Golden[/name_m] Age of Hollywood.
[name_f]Lana[/name_f] lives in a sleek apartment with her orange cat [name_f]Paprika[/name_f].
[name_m]Paulino[/name_m] [name_m]Edmund[/name_m] [name_m]Spencer[/name_m] (26) was Lana’s co-star in [name_m]Forest[/name_m] of Forgotten Tales, voicing a meadow elf. He is a younger brother of [name_f]Asuncion[/name_f] and older brother of [name_f]Iseult[/name_f] of the [name_m]Spencer[/name_m] sextet. He is in the hospital for surgery after an accident gone wrong, but he’s stable and recovering. [name_m]Paulino[/name_m] is very disappointed that his girlfriend hasn’t visited him or asked anything. The couple has two rainbow fish together. She hasn’t talked lately and shuts down when people question her. [name_m]Paulino[/name_m] tries to let go, since he is focused on healing and returning for more acting. [name_m]Paulino[/name_m] can’t wait to be an uncle someday. [name_m]Paulino[/name_m] knew [name_f]Lana[/name_f] would get the lead role. [name_f]Lana[/name_f] is such a fantastic cook on and off set. [name_m]Paulino[/name_m] considers auditioning for a role in the next season of [name_f]Tamara[/name_f] and her Tamales.
[name_f]Aster[/name_f] [name_f]Jane[/name_f] Bluegren (26) is Paulino’s distant girlfriend. [name_m]Paulino[/name_m] and [name_f]Aster[/name_f] have been dating for three years, and while [name_f]Aster[/name_f] does really love [name_m]Paulino[/name_m], she has been worried about his relations with some of his co-stars in his most recent project. His chumminess with his beautiful, famous co-star has been causing her anxiety, especially since Paulino’s accident. [name_f]Aster[/name_f] had gone straight to the hospital to check on her boyfriend, but when she arrived, she found out that the co-star had gone in to check on him first and it broke her heart, especially when only one person was allowed in his room at a time. She went home and hasn’t talked to [name_m]Paulino[/name_m] since because she is so angry. Of course, she knows this isn’t a kind or rational response, but her hurt has overwhelmed her and she and their two rainbow fish, Sparkles & [name_f]Opal[/name_f], have moved back in with Aster’s old roommates.
[name_f][/name_f]
The accident and new project aren’t the only thing driving a wedge between [name_m]Paulino[/name_m] and [name_f]Aster[/name_f], though. [name_f]Aster[/name_f] has been working monotonous jobs since she got out of college, because living in the city with [name_m]Paulino[/name_m] doesn’t allow her to follow her dreams of being a marine biologist. [name_f]Aster[/name_f] was fine with this, for a while, especially because she wasn’t getting any offerings for jobs in her field, but just a few months ago, [name_f]Aster[/name_f] was given the opportunity to internship at a marine biology center in [name_f]Hawaii[/name_f]. She hasn’t told [name_m]Paulino[/name_m] yet though because she knows he can’t leave with her due to his movie that he’s filming. The distance between the two of them is not what [name_f]Aster[/name_f] wants but she also doesn’t know how to tell him.
[name_f][/name_f]
While [name_f]Aster[/name_f] is trying to figure out what to tell [name_m]Paulino[/name_m], how to get over her anger and support him during his time in the hospital, and also how to respond to the marine center, [name_f]Aster[/name_f] has been taking lots of hikes, hanging out with her old roommates (who also happen to be her besties), and leaning on her parents and older sister, who live just a few towns away. Everyone in her life thinks she should go visit [name_m]Paulino[/name_m] and take care of him, and she agrees. She still is so mad and is trying to get over it. Both of her roommates are going to visit [name_m]Paulino[/name_m] with her to make sure that they are both feeling okay after the past few months.
[name_f]Valetta[/name_f] " [name_f]Lettie[/name_f] " [name_f]Carmela[/name_f] [name_m]Spencer[/name_m] (20) is one of Paulino’s siblings, who recognises [name_f]Aster[/name_f] isn’t a bad person by any means, and that the acting gig has caused a lot of stress for the couple. [name_m]Even[/name_m] as someone very happy being single, seeing those she loves happy is incredibly important to [name_f]Lettie[/name_f], so she’s hoping that a proper reunion will be able to start mending things between the couple. Being the second youngest means her older siblings were often there for [name_f]Lettie[/name_f], and so whenever there’s a chance to give back this energy, she’s enthusiastic.
[name_f][/name_f]
Studying counselling, [name_f]Lettie[/name_f] doesn’t have a definite plan for herself yet, but is trying to not ocerthink anything. Out of the six siblings, she’s definitely the quiet one, yet in many ways it’s why she’s such a talented and capable listener. [name_f]Lettie[/name_f] tries to also not feel she immediately has to have an answer or solution to hand when called upon, but that instead she can at least serve as a confident. Although her degree’s something she wants to put to use, she also isn’t going to be giving free therapy to her friends and family for a plethora of obvious reasons.
[name_f][/name_f]
Introverted as she can be, it’s taken [name_f]Lettie[/name_f] a while to make close friends at uni. Her first accommodation was full of people who seemed positively antisocial in how they barely spoke to her, and it was a coincidental secondary placement that’s helped her get to where she is now, living with two people she really gels with and trusts. Aster’s actually the person who encouraged [name_f]Lettie[/name_f] to not think she was jumping to conclusions in how she’s clicked with her roomies, based on her own past. It’s meant a lot to the younger woman, given her own anxieties about making new friends and truly putting herself out there among people.
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Mariah[/name_f] [name_f]Virginia[/name_f] Stapleton [ 23 ] is [name_m]Paulino[/name_m] and [name_f]Lara[/name_f] 's co-star in " [name_m]Forest[/name_m] of Forgotten Tales ". [name_m]Born[/name_m] and raised in a conservative [name_m]West[/name_m] [name_f]Virginia[/name_f] family [name_f][/name_f], she considers herself a small-town girl with traditional values and sometimes watches " tradwife " content for fun [name_f][/name_f], although working in show business herself she knows that being a TikTok content creator is much different from actually being a stay-at-home mom. Growing up in a trailer park didn’t do her any favours, she started working at 16 as a waitress while her mother worked two jobs as a teacher by day and casino worker by night to support her [name_f][/name_f], her brother and veteran father who became unable to work due to a traumatic brain injury sustained while deployed. [name_f][/name_f] [name_f]Mariah[/name_f] [name_f][/name_f] is still single and focuses on supporting her family and brother who’s still in school [name_f][/name_f], although if she knew about [name_f]Aster[/name_f] 's concerns she would apologise for making it seem like she might be flirting with [name_m]Paulino[/name_m].[name_f][/name_f] Being modest and helpful is something she values but she would never want to cause someone else relationship trouble.[name_f][/name_f]
Recently she has been very active fundraising for those suffering in [name_f]California[/name_f] and although some people on social media call her out for being a " grifter " she doesn’t care for that label of her suppousedly being not authnentic as long as the money she raises helps people. She is considering quitting acting altogether and focusing on the Film Production major she attends on the same university as [name_f]Lettie[/name_f] [name_f][/name_f]. They have some mutual friends but [name_f]Mariah[/name_f] isn’t interested in psychology, the topics of mental health in her family are largely glossed over and she has always been raised in the " pull yourself up by the bootstraps " mentality. They have some mutual friends and [name_f]Mariah[/name_f] respects [name_f]Lettie[/name_f] from the few and far between conversations that they had, including one about an influencer guy who plays volleyball and tried to date them both, yet they rejected him for being out of touch with reality and throughly consumed by social media clout. [name_f]Mariah[/name_f] is rooting for [name_f]Lettie[/name_f] 's career in counseling even though she wouldn’t use such servicees herself.