New Create a Family With a Twist

[kitkatcookie]

tw: suicide, post-partum depression

[name_f]Fiona[/name_f] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] McEwell [Barnes] (44) is Valerie’s younger sister and aunt of [name_f]Amabel[/name_f], [name_u]Boston[/name_u] and [name_f]Winnie[/name_f]. Having inherited her big sister’s love of socialising, [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] was very popular throughout high school - belonging to the cheer squad, attending all the coolest parties and beginning a romance with well-liked football team member [name_u]Daniel[/name_u] " [name_u]Danny[/name_u] " McEwell - however her dreams of becoming a teacher were halted when, just before applying to colleges, she learned she was pregnant. The birth of her eldest son when she was nineteen changed the course of Fiona’s life considerably, struggling with post-partum depression as she felt her life come to a standstill while [name_f]Valerie[/name_f] began a career and [name_u]Danny[/name_u] stayed on at university to become a lawyer. [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] remained behind with her parents and felt aimless, worsened by her lack of energy and overwhelming unhappiness: confounded by the fact she loved her son and couldn’t understand what caused this.

It was her grandfather who managed to get [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] into proper therapy four months into this, and upon engaging, she found herself able to finally begin breaking out of the hopelessness dominating her thoughts; becoming an incredibly devoted mother, who was talented at crafts and ended up working on numerous projects that inspired her son to become an FX artist, working with his aunt and uncle on numerous projects. When [name_u]Danny[/name_u] graduated, the couple - who remained together against the odds and assumptions - married, settling into their own home while he began his job as a junior lawyer. [name_m]Five[/name_m] years later, [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] had her younger son and was greatly relieved when no depressive symptoms returned; although by now she knew counselling was what she wanted to become involved in.

Tragically, when their younger child
was only two and their firstborn seven, [name_u]Danny[/name_u] took his own life. Fiona’s trauma was confounded by the lack of answers: there had been no warning signs, build up or indications anything was troubling her husband. That was until she discovered a secret journal he had been keeping since high school and learned Danny’s firm had suddenly laid off a huge amount of staff due to mismanagement of funding, leaving him feeling there was no way to provide for his family unless the life insurance he’d taken out was awarded to them in the wake of his passing. This drastic spiral still haunts [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] to this day, and she’s always emphasised the importance of communication to her son’s; unable to stop herself from wondering if [name_u]Danny[/name_u] had just spoken to anyone, the tragedy could have been prevented.

Now working as a therapist specialising in pregnancy, children and family trauma, Fiona’s never lost her deep sense of compassion and kindness in spite of all she’s been through. She has two grandkids from her oldest son and adores them, having a wonderful relationship with his partner who uses they/she pronouns, and is always willing to help out her nieces and nephew if they want advice on something. [name_f]Valerie[/name_f] has been the main person [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] confides in when the past gets to her - feeling her sister understands mental health matters more than their parents, whose response is typically an attempt to smother her - and they regularly spend time together, going for picnics or long walks, usually accompanied by Fiona’s loyal little beagle named [name_f]Suzie[/name_f]. Her younger son is now on a placement, having decided against college as he can’t handle stress well (something Fiona’s always been empathetic towards), and has plans on visiting a friend studying in Australia which she’s very proud of, admitting some time to herself in the house will be lovely.

[moonwriteen]

(tw: video game addiction , intrusive thoughts, guilt)

[name_m]Ezekiel[/name_m] " [name_u]Zeke[/name_u] " [name_m]Justin[/name_m] McEwell (25) is [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] 's older son. Having lost his father when he was only 7, it was hard for him growing up without a male role model and having overheard his mom talking about her post-partum depression with a friend upstairs, he had a time in his teenage life that brought him a huge amount of guilt about the fact he even existed. As such , he engaged in various forms of escapism to cope with that feeling - the most important one being video games , which he became addicted to to the point of neglecting school and spending his time in the library playing World Of Warcraft instaed of studying. Members of his online guild and his art teacher picked up on the fact that something is wrong - especially the latter became determined to alarm [name_f]Fiona[/name_f] , as he was concerned when his favourite pupil began to turn in homework of lower quality, skipping class and being unusally apathetic during it.

Through the teacher he moved on from a dark place in his life and found the role model he had always wanted, with drawing and art becoming his true passion as he overcame addiction and became way more honest with his mother , not being plagued by intrusive thoughts about worrying her. Therapy also helped - having his therapist share her wisdom and methods really was a great asset in dealing with tempations of playing, managing triggers and channelling negative emotons.

Due to the art teacher’s mentoring [name_m]Ezekiel[/name_m] eventually found his passion in special effects - finding out that it was what initially impressed him so much about video games and wanting to make special effects that do not trigger addictive behaviour nor do they cause significant risk for those dealing with conditions like epilepsy. [name_u]Zeke[/name_u] mostly works on projects like indie films - especially those who touch the topic of mental health - and has recently become great friends with the movie director of one of this projects, who encouraged [name_m]Ezekiel[/name_m] to try out boxing and build up muscle. As such, boxing has become his favourite amateur sport and he hopes he can become a local champion someday, even if his new friend is really much better at winning on the ring so far.

[WinterRose2072]

[name_m]Albrecht[/name_m] [name_u]Charles[/name_u] [name_u]Perry[/name_u] (45) was Ezekiel’s art teacher. He has been a passionate artist since he was 10 years old. He medium of choice is acrylic. In addition to teaching, he sells his own artwork online. He focuses on florals and beach scenes, but has been jumping on this ‘acrylic pour’ trend and seen a rise a sales.

He takes his teaching job seriously and approaches each and every student with care and meets them at their own level. He understands that art can be life and death for some, while others have absolutely no interest. He seems a bit cold a first, but it’s because he takes his students and his craft seriously, and he needs to be sure his students are getting quality education. Raising a child with ADHD, he has learned the importance of patience when working with teenagers. After years of teaching, he comes to work with the same passion and motivation as day one, something the other teachers admire about him.

When he is working on his own art, he prefers to wear simple clothes he doesn’t mind getting paint all over, but when he is teaching, he leans into the ‘art teacher’ aesthetic and tries to see how many colors he can wear in a single outfit. The students love to try and name all the colors he has on him.

[name_m]Albrecht[/name_m] was raised by his mom to be a true chivalrous gentleman, and she takes credit for him being able to find a wife. And he would agree that it is a miracle he could find anyone willing to put up with the crazy hours he works between teaching and art - not to mention the paint splatters all around the house.

[I_meme_it]

[name_f]Maeve[/name_f] [name_f]Harriet[/name_f] [Donahue] [name_u]Perry[/name_u] (42) is Albrecht’s wife and mother of their 3 children, who works as a storyboard and concept artist in the gaming industry; having met him at an artists convention when she was first pitching her work on a commercial level. Maeve’s job allows her to spend a lot of time with the kids, something she absolutely loves, even if it means her output is sometimes slowed down during the evening depending on what antics they’re getting up to. Her two eldest - their only son who’s almost 14 and their 11-year-old daughter who has ADHD - were thankfully not upset when, at 39, [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] discovered she was expecting once more, giving birth to the couple’s second little girl shortly before she celebrated her 40th birthday. She and their youngest are kept company by the family dog, a [name_m]German[/name_m] Shorthaired Pointer named Squiggle (her name being picked by the older two).

Being naturally adaptable and pragmatic, these changes didn’t cause [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] any stress at all, although she made it clear 3 was her limit when it came to children - partially because she feels if they had any more now they’re older, it would impact how much they’d be able to do with them physically; as her older sister developed severe arthritis when she was still in her 20s, something [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] is both aware of and empathic towards. Her sister’s son - Maeve’s youngest nephew - regularly comes over to their house now to give his mother a break if her joints are particularly sore, and Maeve’s incredibly appreciative of how her husband never objects to this or resents the situation. Granted she regularly jokes she isn’t brave enough to contemplate teaching high schoolers, as the fact her firstborn’s on the cusp of entering a world of angst and drama is not something she’s particularly excited about.

[I_meme_it]

@CherryBomb50

[CherryBomb50]

[name_f]Gretchen[/name_f] [name_f]Carlene[/name_f] [name_u]Perry[/name_u] (72) is Maeve’s mother-in-law, Albrecht’s single mother, and the paternal grandmother of their three children. She was a working woman in a time where work was hard to find for women and she fought for working women’s rights so other women could have a better opportunity than she had. She was a single mother and never discussed why she was single or who Albrecht’s biological father was to anyone but [name_m]Albrecht[/name_m] because she believed women should be able to life live without a man in front of her. When she learned she was having a son, she promised to raise him to be a good man and to never fall into the pitfalls of sexist history. However she was pleasantly surprised about how good it felt raising him and felt he opened her eyes to what it means to be a man and it made her a wiser person by being able to listen to men without discriminating them or being discriminated by them. She used to feel like she didn’t trust men but now she finally could and was much better educated.

Now as an elder and a grandmother, she has just retired and is now focusing her energy on her grandchildren. She loves her daughter-in-law [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] and appreciates her hard work and also enjoys that [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] loves her job. She knows the gaming industry is predominantly male but roots for [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] to be proud of her job and accomplishments yet also likes that [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] is simply calling herself “a storyboard and concept artist” not “a female storyboard and concept artist” and wishes she could have that casual approach to her job at her time. [name_f]Gretchen[/name_f] loves her grandchildren and was happy to meet the youngest when she was born, but hasn’t forgotten her other two grandchildren and treats them all equally. She knows about the situation between Maeve’s oldest sister and her children and Maeve’s worries about her oldest son entering high school and wants to be there for [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] and let her know that leaning on others does not make her weak and she is already a very strong woman.

[WinterRose2072]

[name_m]Alberto[/name_m] [name_u]Elijah[/name_u] [name_u]Perry[/name_u] (14) is Gretchen’s eldest grandchild and Maeve’s and Albrecht’s only son. He appears to be showing a similar interest in art as his parents, though he tends to stick with drawing and doodling with pencils. Albrecht’s noticed he particularly likes the charcoal pencils he has, so he’s been encouraging his son to use those. His parents make a conscious effort to not pressure their children to taking the same career paths as them, but [name_m]Alberto[/name_m] seems to be finding his own interest in it. Like his parents, he likes having a bold and creative room at home to call his own, which is a stark contrast from his usual dark attire.

When he isn’t doodling, he likes to spend time outside in the garden. He’s asked his parents to show him how to garden and teach him how to do it. Neither of them really know how to, so he’s been going online and figuring it out on his own. He enjoys getting his hands dirty and giving life to nature. [name_f]Gretchen[/name_f] finds his new interest amusing and has even helped him on occasion. [name_m]Alberto[/name_m] loves his grandmothers and is easily influenced by her. He has learned how to stand up for the weaker students in school, as well as his younger sister who sometimes gets picked on because of her ADHD.

[name_m]Alberto[/name_m] is very much an old soul (he’s even trying to convince his parents that he should drink a black cup of coffee with them every morning), and that is part of why [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] is so worried about him entering high school; she worries how he will get along with others. He doesn’t seem too bothered though. He’s mature enough for age to know that he just is the way he is, and if others don’t like him, it’s not his problem. He’s usually pretty chill and not easily excited, but has the sweetest smile when he finds something to be excited about. He’s not an easy person to make friends with, but he is the most loyal person you will ever meet.

[szinkle]

(tw: death, bullying, foster care)

[name_f]Edith[/name_f] [name_u]Quinn[/name_u] [name_m]Acre[/name_m] (14) is one of Alberto’s classmates & sometimes she feels like the school’s punching bag.

[name_f]Edith[/name_f] is one of the kindest people you’ll ever meet. She is very empathetic and is sympathetic to others’ feeling & wishes she got the same in return. She has a very bubbly personality and loves to learn. She is actually quite smart, but tends to get distracted easily which causes her grades to slip. She is very extroverted as well and is always open to making new friends, but has trouble truly trusting others.

[name_f]Edith[/name_f] lost her parents in a terrible car crash when she was 5 and was put into the foster care system. Growing up in the system has been very difficult for her, but she tries to remind herself that she has been lucky being placed in homes with very nice families. She recently moved in with a family who lives in the same neighborhood as the Perry’s and has met [name_m]Alberto[/name_m] at the bus stop multiple times, but they do not speak much. She is still very grateful for him though because he has always stood up for her when she was being bullied for being a foster kid.

[name_f]Edith[/name_f] enjoys fashion and shopping and has recently gotten into designing, but she is not the best artist. She has seen [name_m]Alberto[/name_m] drawing in class and is jealous of his skills and has considered asking him to teach her to draw.

[I_meme_it]

[name_f]Catheryn[/name_f] ’ [name_f]Carrie[/name_f] ’ [name_f]Rachel[/name_f] [Schultz] Tellerman (46) is Edith’s latest foster parent, and one of the most experienced in the area. [name_f]Carrie[/name_f] and her husband, who came out as gender fluid 4 years ago and uses he/they pronouns, have been fostering since their late 20s; making this decision due to both having grown up in the care system themselves. They actually had their first - and only biological - child shortly after graduating from college, where [name_f]Carrie[/name_f] majored in sociology, who lives only a few blocks away herself and works as a social worker: having been inspired by the environment she grew up in.

Two of the children Carrie’s fostered were legally adopted by her and her husband: their non-binary child who’s just left for college themselves, who was placed with them at 7-months-old and became very attached, prompting them to decide to apply; and their 14-year-old son who arrived at the house when he was 8, having been labelled a difficult case until a lot of patience and understanding from the Tellerman’s caused him to finally begin trusting them. Their son is what influenced the local authorities to place [name_f]Edith[/name_f] with the couple, believing this marks a good sign for her developing more faith in the environment she’s living in.

Although she has no real artistic talents herself, instead having always been much better at drama and theatrics, Carrie’s very supportive of [name_f]Edith[/name_f] and has taken some initiative to help her foster daughter - reaching out to [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] and [name_m]Albrecht[/name_m] to inquire about [name_m]Alberto[/name_m] coming round to hang out (and potentially work on some drawing with Edith). She doesn’t want to intrude though and has made it clear it’s the children’s choices in what they get up to if this does happen, not wanting to interfere with Edith’s life and autonomy.

[kitkatcookie]

[name_m]Phineas[/name_m] " [name_m]Fin[/name_m] " [name_m]Travis[/name_m] McEwell (20) is a childhood friend of Carrie’s first adopted child who’s attending the same university as them - allowing for a reunion after the pair became slightly estranged due to existing in different circles thanks to being in different year groups at school. He’s also Zeke’s younger brother and Fiona’s second son. [name_m]Fin[/name_m] grew up more protected from the struggles his parents faced on account of [name_u]Zeke[/name_u] shielding him as much as [name_f]Fiona[/name_f], resulting in him not facing the same struggles, although he fought his own battles regarding dyslexia and dyspraxia - being diagnosed with both when he was eight years old. This stoked Fin’s interest in acrobatics: an activity which not only helped him improve his balance and coordination, but also got him away from the academic pressures he endured throughout schooling.

His place at university was secured by a gymnastics scholarship, although his major’s actually Religious Studies: a decision that surprised many people who assumed [name_m]Fin[/name_m] would always prioritise athletics above all else. Fin’s interest in theology originated from a close bond he formed with his RS teacher in his junior year of high school: a man who was always patient, supportive and appreciative of students who sincerely treated his subject with respect and interest. Thanks to the death of his father, religion was absent in Fin’s house for the most part due to his mom’s struggles with faith, but he found faiths aside from Christianity fascinating - especially Hinduism, as one of his best friends is a devout follower, and actually invited [name_m]Fin[/name_m] to celebrations taking place at his house throughout their childhood’s. The achievement of attending college is one he takes immense pride in, due to how difficult exams were for [name_m]Fin[/name_m], and the fact his brother in particular exprexpressed happiness in this means a great deal to him - helped by the fact he’s attending school with the majority of his childhood friends.

Audiobooks are Fin’s primary form of engaging in academic and fictional reading, and he can easily get lost in them, sometimes spending hours just relaxing and taking in information or stories to help relax. He’s also a big fan of abseiling, which is what got him to join the Climbing Society - being the only one of his friend group to do so as Fin’s by far the best one when it comes to dealing with heights - and through this he met someone he thinks he might be developing a romantic interest in. In spite of all the new things going on for [name_m]Fin[/name_m] right now, he’s never lost his strong bond with his mother and regularly visits [name_f]Fiona[/name_f], having family dinners with her and [name_u]Zeke[/name_u] as spending time with them means a lot to him. This does surprise some people as [name_m]Fin[/name_m] can seem a little precocious and flighty on first impression, but it’s more of an armor he dons when dealing with strangers.

[TeaJay]

[name_u]Rishi[/name_u] [name_m]Vihaan[/name_m] Khatri (21) is Fin’s childhood friend who’s home [name_m]Fin[/name_m] first experienced Hindu traditions and celebrations. Instead of going to a regular 4 year college [name_u]Rishi[/name_u] got a certificate in coding and applied for an internship creating and developing video games. He is currently working on a team developing a new game that’s similar to Oregon [name_m]Trail[/name_m] but instead, the gamer is traveling in space to a new settlement on an uninhabited planet. He loves sci-fi books and enjoys creating book-tok videos about his favorites.

[CherryBomb50]

Update: They do be cousins

Raina Genesis (born Ryan Gene) McEwell (20) is a fellow coder with Rishi. She is Zeke’s cousin and was born a male before transitioning into a female at 18. She is a gaming fan but supports her brother’s ideas to make games less addicting and more suitable for people who cannot take bright or flashing lights. She also supports the gaming community if it helps mental health rather than interfering with it and is thankful Zeke’s online guild helped him during a dark time for him and the family. She and Rishi are relatively new friends but both enjoy the same genres and always talk about what parts they like the best. She is proud but humble to be in the game coding community and does not act flashy about being a “girl gamer” and just focuses on the games themselves, drawing a lot of inspiration from Maeve.

Zeke was created by @moonwriteen

Maeve was created by @I_meme_it

[szinkle]

[name_u]Avery[/name_u] [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u] [name_u]Nouvel[/name_u] (born [name_u]Avery[/name_u] [name_u]William[/name_u] Nouvel) (24) is a fellow member of the trans community and was very helpful to [name_f]Raina[/name_f] when they were going through their transition having started theirs years prior also at the age of 18. They have sense become a bit close almost acting as each other’s therapists and open up to each other about their daily struggles.

[name_u]Avery[/name_u] considered themselves very lucky that their family was very excepting when they came out as transgender and knows that not everyone has been so lucky. They often volunteer for lgbtqia+ charities and homes for youth. [name_u]Avery[/name_u] has become very close with one of the girls at the home and considers them a little sister they never had.

[name_u]Avery[/name_u] currently works at an up and coming fashion magazine and loves doing something they are truly passionate about.

[I_meme_it]

@CherryBomb50 Sorry about this inquiry but I think @kitkatcookie already introduced Zeke’s sibling as [name_m]Fin[/name_m] McEwell? [name_f]Raina[/name_f] could be their cousin or we could wait to see what she says? As I don’t want anyone to have to delete anything!

[CherryBomb50]

@I_meme_it Got it!

[I_meme_it]

@CherryBomb50 I really hope it wasn’t too much trouble!

[CherryBomb50]

@I_meme_it It’s all good! I’m more worried about the errors I forgot to fix that never got fixed lol

[kitkatcookie]

Thanks so much!

[I_meme_it]

tw: homophobia, disownment

[name_u]Piper[/name_u] [name_f]Alisa[/name_f] Comerwaithe (19) is Avery’s younger sister figure and an inhabitant of FlagShip: a halfway house created for LGTBQIA+ youth who find themselves facing homeless, disowning or abuse for coming out. [name_u]Piper[/name_u] realised she was gay in her mid-teens but did her best to hide this from her mom and stepdad, who were casually homophobic on a daily basis and she knew her stepfather had actually disowned his own son before marrying her mother, after he decided to pursue a relationship with a non-binary person. For [name_u]Piper[/name_u] it really was a countdown til she came out herself - gradually making the decision it was something she had to do instead of living a lie - and all hell was unleashed.

Unsurprisingly, when she revealed her identity as a gay woman shortly before her 18th birthday, she was kicked out. [name_u]Piper[/name_u] was so confident her mother and stepfather would do this, she packed her bags in preparation for leaving. The only thing that pained her in this process was leaving behind her younger half-brother, who she’s scared will be indoctrinated in their mentality or face cruelty himself; leading to them secretly maintaing contact using RuneScape of all things, where Piper’s account provides her enough anonymity to check in and make sure he’s doing alright.

It was [name_u]Avery[/name_u] and her girlfriend who helped [name_u]Piper[/name_u] choose her new surname, wanting to distance herself from the parents who treated her with such cruelty further. Through [name_u]Avery[/name_u], [name_u]Piper[/name_u] and her girlfriend have also met [name_f]Raina[/name_f] and [name_m]Fin[/name_m], who they hang out with on a pretty regular basis thanks to being close in age - not to mention Piper’s long term use of RuneScape is something she bonded with [name_f]Raina[/name_f] over, as they’re both players on the server. Right now, [name_u]Piper[/name_u], her girlfriend and [name_u]Avery[/name_u] are actually hoping on playing matchmaker - as they’ve met a non-binary individual who’s new at FlagShip and think they might really hit it off with [name_f]Raina[/name_f], thanks to being a fellow coder.

[I_meme_it]

Bump!