Theo’s mom is her best friend and she doesn’t care who knows it. Theo is also fully convinced that her mom is the smartest person she knows, which is saying something because Cecilia doesn’t have a lick of common sense but boy can she do mental math and comprehend academic texts like no other. She uses the phrases “golly gee” and “what in the H-E-double hockey sticks” unironically all the time. Theo’s biggest motivation for academic success is so that she can one day buy her mom whatever her precious heart desires. She’s a weak little bitch for this woman, and while her mom loves all of her kids equally, Theo knows that their relationship really is something special. We stan Cecilia Carter.
Howard Elias Carter — father.
The feminist part of Theo knows that she shouldn’t relish in being spoiled rotten and treated like a princess solely because she’s her dad’s only daughter. The spoiled rotten princess part of Theo doesn’t care about that one bit. Howard works in human resources and doesn’t understood a good majority of what Theo does or enjoys in life but that doesn’t stop him from being her number one fan to the point where he carries around wallet-sizes from her kindergarten, high school, and both college graduations to show off. He wore a giant foam #1 finger to all of her athletic decathlon competitions. When Theo came out to him, he bought her a milkshake and told the vendor to put three cherries on it in celebration. We also stan Howard Carter.
Camden Elias Zachary Carter — older brother, age 34.
Adopted at birth, Camden is the biological child of Cecilia’s half-sister. She became pregnant at 17 and knew she couldn’t raise a child. Cecilia and Howard were already looking in to adoption around this time and it felt like destiny. The entire family knows that their aunt Dixie is biologically Camden’s mother, but that’s as far as that familial bond goes, strained even more when the Carter’s moved from Arizona to New York and cut off most ties with Cecilia’s family.
When seven year old Camden was asked about name suggestions for his soon-to-be baby sister, he enthusiastically suggested Alvin thanks to his chipmunk suggestion. Mom and Dad shot that idea down, but it did spark the name Theodora. Despite his size, Camden is too much of a gentle giant for his own good and everyone knows it. He was totally convinced he’d be his little sister’s knight in shining armor, but turns out it’s the exact opposite. Even now, if they’re in the same room and Camden sees a spider, he’ll make Theo squish it.
Camden has been married to his college sweetheart for the last ten years and they have three daughters: Penelope (9), Janine (5), and Heather (2). He works as a special education teacher. (fc: Jason Momoa)
Donovan Isaac Thahn Carter — younger brother, age 23.
Donovan was adopted from Vietnam when he was three, after a year and a half long process. Since Camden was the one who helped name her, little Theo was allowed to help pick out the new baby’s name. She wanted to go with Donny, since her favorite thing to watch was the Johnny Bravo Christmas Special, guest starring Donny Osmond. Hey, at least she didn’t name him after a goddamn singing chipmunk.
Donovan recently graduated from art school and currently works as a freelance artist (slash barista, slash dog walker… bills gotta be paid somehow). Theo tells everybody to remember his name, because one day Donovan Carter’s artwork is going to make history. Not that she’ll say it in as many words — as she likes to say, “he might get his work on a park bench some day, you should keep an eye out.” He came out to his family as gay when he was 15 and currently lives with his fiancé in Manhattan. Like with their older brother, Theo will trash talk Donovan 24/7, and promptly ruin the life of anyone else who tries to do the same. (fc: Trần Phong Hào)
Penelope Marie (9), Janine Rose (5), and Heather Cecilia Carter (2) — nieces.
The brightest lights in Theo’s dark excuse of a life. Also the only kids that she can stand for more than a millisecond. She’ll fight any little rugrats on the playground who try and talk shit about her nieces. She puts herself through the torment of every dance recital, soccer game, and snot-filled birthday party for them. They love her; it’s her biggest pride in life.
Anna Katherine Carter (33) and Henry James Prescott (25) — in-laws.
Camden’s wife and Donovan’s fiancé, respectively. Theo loves them. She’s told them both on multiple occasions that if they ever decide to ditch her loser brothers, she’ll marry either one of them.
With over a year and half of on-dash interaction, we know a lot and are constantly learning about each other’s characters and their respective lives in NYC. But before our characters all found ACup and became acquainted, they all had (or lacked) another group of people in their lives..
For this task we’d like you to focus on your character’s family.
Some questions/prompts to consider/expand upon:
How does your character define family? (e.g. bio family, adopted family, found family, pets, etc.)
Who are the members of your character’s family?
What is your character’s relationship with their family members?
What are some of your character’s favorite family memories?
What are some family memories they’d like to forget?
Did your character go on family vacations?
Does your character have family traditions?
Does your character live close to family? Far away?
How does your character stay in contact with their family?
Does your character want a family of their own?
As with previous tasks, there’s no specific format, and it can be approached IC-ly, OOC-ly, or a combination of both. Potential suggestions for completing the task include:
Family Tree. Create a list or graphic with names and face claims (or if you don’t have a face claim in mind, a simple description of how you see the family member).
Devil in the Details. (could be combined with suggestion above) Give us the nitty gritty. Age. Job. Likes. Dislikes. Talents. Vices. Style, etc. Do you see any of these traits reflected back in your character?
Nurture vs. Nature. Is your character a polar opposite of their family? Do they have problem finding common ground? Or is your character a mini-me? Write out some headcanons about how your character’s upbringing affects who they are or aren’t in the present.
Scrapbook. Collect a group of photos that relates to your character and their family. They could be photos from growing up, a family vacation, holidays, etc. Include a brief description about what each photo captures and the thoughts/feelings they invoke for your character.
Headcanons. Have a bunch of random family headcanons? Give us a list!
Narrative. Write a solo/snapshot of specific family memory for your character.
Questions. Answer any of the questions/prompts listed above or any you feel fit the theme of the task.
Visual Aid. Create an aesthetic, moodboard, collage, etc. that supports any of the ideas above, or stands on its own.
If you choose to complete this task, please tag your post with the following:
acup: task3
acup: inspo (if you use/create a visual element)
And finally…
Usually, tasks aren’t mandatory, but they are always highly encouraged as a way for you to get into your muse’s head, develop characterization, and enrich the overall verse.
Usually, tasks have no deadline, so please feel free to go back and redo or start an older task at a later time if inspiration strikes!
Task 1 -- Task 2
And as always, if you have any questions or suggestions for tasks you’d like to see in the future, please reach out!
MIRIAM “MIMI” JOHNSON (Adoptive Mother, Viola Davis)
Louisa Alvarez was born as the result of a one night stand between Kristina Alvarez and Alex Perez. Kristina and Alex were barely sixteen when their night of passion culminated in a pregnancy, and Kristina’s strict Catholic upbringing forbade her from aborting the child. Louisa was born nine months later and immediately was put up for adoption.
It was a long road, and despite the usual record of newborn babies being adopted, that wasn’t the case for Lola. She grew up in the foster system. There were three potential matches that took Louisa in before she found her forever home. Each had its own share of hardships for Louisa to overcome, and each had a profound effect on her personality and development.
The first home took Louisa in when she was almost a year old. The family consisted of Joshua and Stacey St. Marc, who had three little boys of their own: Joey, Tommy, and Simon. Stacey desperately wanted a girl, but after having three children via C-section, was advised to go down the adoption route. Louisa’s newfound adoptive brothers found themselves very disinterested with a new sister, and instead of trying to bond with Louisa, they would avoid her completely. Joshua was a military officer who spent much of his time on active duty. When he came home, he was a stranger to Louisa. She was cranky and ill-adjusted. She barely slept through the night. After a year in the St. Marc’s care, Stacey felt she could no longer keep up with four children as a single mom for ten months out of the year, so she returned Lola to the foster agency.
The second home was warned that Louisa might come with some developmental issues, but they were adamant about having Louisa for their own. Christopher and Nicole Sanders lived in the suburbs of New York City and were extraordinarily wealthy. Nicole was suffering from post-partum of a stillborn child, and despite warnings that they needed to wait before bringing another child into their lives, nobody could sway them otherwise. They had insisted on a newborn, but Lola was too charming for her own good and the couple thought that Lola could be the kind of child that they were missing from their family. Louisa was five years old at the time. But try as she might, Lola was a replacement for a child whose legacy she could never live up to. These parents wanted to see her first steps, hear her say her first words, and rejoice in putting a quarter underneath Louisa’s pillow when she lost her first tooth. Eventually, she was returned back to the foster home after nearly two years in their care.
When Louisa was nine, she was adopted again for a third time, by a couple who had another daughter who was thirteen years old. The Van den Bergs Meghan, but she insisted everyone call her Meggie. She was going through a phase. A rather obnoxious phase, really, in their perfect little Upper East Side prep school world. She made fun of Lola in the uniform; Lola weathered the teasing silently. When asked about charity cases that the Van den Berg family, it was stated that Louisa was it. Meggie took pictures of her sleeping and spread them around to her friends, she found her drawings ripped up and burned. Lola endured this kind of treatment for a year and a half before she absolutely lost her temper at Meghan, and hit her. She was returned (more like thrown out onto the street) and never contacted them again.
Louisa was fourteen when Mimi found her. She’d spent her days living from foster home to foster home. Her grades were horrendous and she was a brat in classes-- falling asleep, never doing her homework. All she wanted to do was paint, or more accurately, destroy. She was obligated to see a school psychologist once a week, and Lola took the opportunity to draw horror scenes of fire and darkness.
But Mimi walked in, saw Louisa lounging on the couch with a pencil stuck behind her ear and a math worksheet in front of her that she was using as a canvas for a series of patterns; flowers and birds. And Mimi knew that she wanted Louisa. The papers were signed, Mimi was warned tremendously that Louisa was a “troubled child” and they were on their way to Brooklyn, in a nice-sized apartment in Greenpoint, right by the water.
It wasn’t love at first sight for Louisa. No, plenty of people had wanted her before deciding that she needed to go back into the system. Mimi started with her name, exclusively calling her Lola. Mimi loved all kinds of classic musicals (but Show Boat was her favorite), and nicknamed her after the temptress in Damn Yankees. She said that with those eyes, Lola could get whatever she wanted. So she did.
Things changed for them when Mimi caught Lola stealing money out of her purse one day. Red-handed, Lola wanted to go and see an exhibit on Freida Kalo, but she needed money to get in and didn’t have it. Instead of punishing her, Mimi sat her down and asked her how much she needed. Mimi took twice as much money out of her wallet and told Lola to go, and buy herself something nice. That night, when Lola returned, she instead came back with a sketch of Mimi, and asked if they could go and see the exhibit together.
It was the turning point for them. Mimi showed Lola how to cook, taught her all of the classic jazz songs, and gave her the home that Lola had always desperately wanted. As time went on, their past lives came out-- Lola recounted the previous trauma she’d faced in foster care and her three previous adoptive homes. Mimi told Lola about her husband and daughter who had both died nearly ten years ago in a car accident. Until Lola showed up, she’d collected cats.
Mimi was the person who pushed Lola to get into Parsons, and the person who insisted she apply to FIT, too. She’s the one who made sure Lola knew her self-worth, and gave Lola the confidence she needed in order to overcome any obstacle. At a time in her life when Lola was supposed to resent her parents, she found herself clinging to her mother with every fiber of her being, not wanting to lose out on a second of time with her.
If only Lola knew then what would become of her beloved Mimi...
EDGAR CLARINGTON - Born in a place that was ever only worth leaving, Edgar Clarington left his abusive home behind at the age of 15. Teenage naivety led him to believe having a ‘good’ life was as simple as getting a job and working hard. It didn’t take him long to find out that minimum wage was never going to provide kind of comfort he was looking for and so, Edgar tapped into the local drug scene. The payoff and easy access was all the confirmation he needed to know he had made the right decision. It wasn’t long before Helene walked into his life and they got married... and the cycle of abuse continued. Edgar had no use for kids or the problems they came with and made it known.
HELENE CLARINGTON - Helene Tanner was born with the pride that only comes from being born into a well-to-do family. Desperate to ‘break free’ from the confines of tradition, Helene sought solace in the comfort of the nearest seedy bar. There she was introduced to an even greater comfort- drugs. They provided the escape she had been seeking her whole life and for once, Helene could forget the pain of being the daughter who didn’t live up to expectations. Comfort soon gave way to addiction, the streets turning her the kind of cold that came from being willing to do anything to score her next high. It wasn’t long before she met Edgar Clarington, a local dealer with the kind of grungy, bad boy charm that she found irresistible. Together they formed the perfect life- he allowed her her indiscretions as long as she was willing to take the fall for him. Not interested in responsibility or anything that required more care than nursing a hangover, Helene was more than happy to leave her children to their own devices.
EDUARDO NIEVES - Helene was not a woman easily tied down or maintained a role of faithful wife. Helene liked to have fun and met Eduardo at a bar in the West Side of Chicago. Eduardo was attractive and Helene had her mind set to having for a night, and maybe a few times more after. Eduardo was a young, Puerto Rican construction worker and also a fan of hooking up so it was an easy enough arrangement. After a few times of hooking up, Helene found herself pregnant and she knew it was Eduardo’s. Helene told Eduardo and assured him he had nothing to worry about. She’d raise the kid. Eduardo was fine with that, he was young and not looking to be tied down. Eduardo didn’t care much about the fate of his child and would be find with whatever Helene did. Eduardo and Helene were nothing more than a night of passion that resulted in Hunter.
ALAN WILLIAMS - During the time Hunter worked as a party promoter, Alan was a young detective with a few years under his belt. He met Hunter at a party she was promoting that his friends invited him to. Hunter caught his eye and things just easily fell into place after that. They took a liking to each other and Alan was attracted to Hunter’s wit, sarcasm, and charm. After the fourth date, Hunter told him about her life and Harper. It threw him off, but he had spent a few years dealing with cases like Hunter’s. And honestly? It only made him like her more. Soon after, he met Harper and managed to get the younger Clarington to like him because of the detective cases he’d talk about with her. After three years of dating, he proposed to Hunter and they were married. By the time Harper was in college, Alan thought it was a good time for him and Hunter to start a family of their own. Hunter wasn’t too keen on that idea and that frustrated Alan because he knew Hunter would be a great mother. After many fights, Alan eventually found solace in a female co-worker who he began an affair with. Eventually, it all came to light and Alan asked found easy enough to ask for a divorce and marry his co-worker. He now has a child and lives happily in the suburbs somewhere.
HUNTER CLARINGTON - Being the eldest, Hunter has always had to make sacrifices and compromise for the sake of Harper. For the longest, Hunter’s only focus was Harper. Then, it was Harper AND Alan. Then, it was just herself. Hunter still tends to get all mama bear with Harper, bur she likes to think she’s more than Harper’s big sister now. Hunter loves photography and toying around with photoshop for mostly comical reasons. And Hunter’s done a pretty decent job at maintaining her photo studio afloat. In a way, Hunter’s just now starting to think for herself as more than just taking care of Harper or someone who compromises for the sake of others. Now? She does whatever the fuck she wants.
HARPER CLARINGTON - Harper never experienced the innocence and playfulness that came with childhood. Maybe that’s why she’s making up for it in earnest as an adult. An avid interest in true crime and the occult make up just the tip of the iceberg. She would never admit that her fervent passion also creates a convenient wall between herself and the world around her.
When you ask Santana about family, she’ll answer that she doesn’t have one. It’s not because she doesn’t love them, the opposite really. Santana loves her family so much she just wishes they could love her back. That’s really what the issue always was. Her family was there, they were people who she was responsible to, but being there and being there is an entirely different concept, one Santana knows nothing about.
In her head, Alma, her grandmother, was her mom. Santana’s a big believer that a mom and a mother are very different things. And while Alma was never loving, she taught Santana how to be a women and who she wanted to be. Maribel and Javier only taught Santana who she didn’t want to be. Alma may have called her names, made her feel like shit, but Alma always was there to hold Santana when she cried, to clean up a skinned knee, and to play pretend with. After all, her grandfather died before she was born. Alma craved someone to take care of; Santana was that someone.
Maribel was always too concerned with being the doctors wife. She went to the lunches, the country clubs, the whole thing. In Ann Arbor, where they moved to after they left the Dominican Republic, the only way for the Lopezes to fit in was to become just like the rich folk there. Maribel and Javier took it a little too seriously. The doctor staying late and taking all of the big cases to get more into the University Of Michigan’s radar as best surgeon and Maribel as the doting wife.
Santana’s role? The perfect daughter...... who just happened to basically live with her grandmother and only saw her parents for Sunday church services and fancy doctor dinners. At an early age it was engraved into Santana to be perfect. She was polite. She was charming.
She was miserable.
It’s why she grew so bitter. That’s what she likes to account it to, anyhow.
Everything went to shit when her father found out that Santana was gay. Javier rarely spoke Spanish since they left the DR, but that night, he screamed. Maribel was quiet, but agreed with what the doctor said. Santana was to leave and she was no longer a member of their household. Her car? His. Her trust fund? Gone.
And Santana did what she always did when she cried; she went to see her grandmother.
All she was met with was the coldest coldness she could in a person.
The last thing she said to her parents was in a letter of apology that was never replied to.
The last thing she heard from her family was Alma writing her back: “please don’t come to my funeral.”
Santana doesn’t have a family. And honestly, she’s not sure she ever wants another one.
How does your character define family? Her family taught her from a young age that family wasn’t just defined by blood. Growing up so close to The Porter’s the concept of a found family was ingrained in her early on. She still respects Scott and Kathryn Porter as if they’re a second set of parents *cough* future in laws.
Who are the members of your character’s family? Emilio & Isabelle de Rocha (parents). Nicola has a large extended family in Brazil who she’s only met a handful of times.
What is your character’s relationship with their family members? Nicola grew up very close to her parents and with a great respect for them both. They still support her both financially and emotionally, but as their marriage deteriorates, she finds it difficult to spent extended periods of time with them.
What are some of your character’s favorite family memories? Family vacations with The Porters, visiting her maternal family in Brazil, attending all the fancy parties her parents threw.
What are some family memories they’d like to forget? Basically the whole year after her year abroad and her parents stopped trying to hide their animosity from each other.
Did your character go on family vacations? Yes, they often went on Summer and Winter vacations along with The Porter’s. The only family trips they really took alone was back to Brazil.
Does your character have family traditions? Her parents always threw a big New Year’s eve party. It was mostly her mom’s doing and it was the highlight of her social calendar. Alcohol was always flowing and the event was catered with plenty of Isabelle’s favorite dishes from back home. The first big sign of a crack in her marriage with Emilio was when they stopped throwing the party a few years back.
Does your character live close to family? Far away? Nicola is close enough where the occasional weekend visit isn’t out the the question, but she always plans them so her and Spencer can go together. Mostly so she has the excuse of staying with The Porter’s instead.
How does your character stay in contact with their family? She talks to her mom at least once a day. Sometimes it’s just a check in text and sometimes they talk for an hour on FaceTime, it varries from day to day. She talks to her dad mostly when it comes to matters of her finances, but sometimes when she’s on the phone with her mom she’ll pass the phone over and they’ll exchange pleasantries.
Does your character want a family of their own? Yes. Nicola wants to be the stereotypical pinterest soccer mom. She’s in no hurry to make this happen, she has plenty of career goals to accomplish and personal boxes to check before she thinks about a family; however, she’d be lying if she said she didn’t daydream about a day where there’s a mini Spencer running around.
Brenda has never made an effort to be in Lacey’s life, so at least Lacey can say she didn't feel any great loss when her mother took off seventeen years ago. In her eyes, tiw as actually the best thing that could happened, because it meant Ilya was her full-time guardian and she didn’t have to worry about Brenda getting her hopes up. She’s popped in and out of Lacey’s life periodically over the years, but never long enough to develop any kind of relationship. Lacey doesn’t even call her mom, she’s just “Brenda”. While she is hesitant to admit it, underneath her optimism, there are a great deal of abandonment issues when it comes to how Brenda has treated her. It’d be one thing if she had just disappeared from Lacey’s life, but the fact that she married and had three more children that she wanted has left Lacey wondering what about her wasn’t good enough to make Brenda stay.
The single most important person in Lacey’s life. When it became clear early on that Brenda wasn’t ready to be a mother, Ilya stepped into the role of parent even though his own children were already grown. All of Lacey’s best memories involve him, and all of her graduation and first day of school photos are with her grandfather. He protected Lacey as best her could at every chance. Ilya immigrated to the US from Russia with his wife (who passed away before Lacey was born) back in the early 70s. He never was able to make it a full-time career after moving, but he was originally a baker and introduced Lacey to the craft at a very young age. Lacey knows that she wouldn’t love baking half as much if it wasn’t connected to so many happy memories. Ilya taught her everything she knows, from language to her religious beliefs to unceasing kindness, and Lacey is sure that no better man has ever existed. He passed away peacefully in his sleep a year and a half ago, and although it broke her heart, Lacey’s decision to move to New York is all because of her grandfather. He told her to always aspire for greatness and to not let anything hold her back, and she is still focused on making him proud. Her ultimate dream is to open a bakery filled with the recipes he passed down to her, because he is too wonderful a person for his memory not to live on.
Deborah Ilyinichna Mikhailov — maternal aunt.
Dory moved in to help Ilya raise Lacey when she was eleven, and she’s the closest thing to a mother figure that Lacey has ever had. Dory didn’t want Lacey to have to grow up feeling like she was missing out on anything, so she made it a point to be there for every single milestone and heartbreak over the years. Lacey loves her aunt more than she can put in to words, and although she’d never call her mom out loud, Dory is the only person who has ever gotten a Mother’s Day present from Lacey. Next to Ilya, she is the most important person in her life.They still talk to each other on the phone multiple times a day, and Dory has made multiple plans to come visit her niece. Since Lacey moved to New York a year ago, Dory’s long-term best friend Gertie has moved in to the family home to help with upkeep and to keep Dory company. Lacey gladly offered up her bedroom for Gertie, but her and Dory both decided to share instead. Dory hasn’t purposefully neglected to tell Lacey that Gertie is actually her partner of over ten years. She just assumed Lacey would realize she’s a lesbian after all this time. Oh well, she’ll figure it out eventually.
Gertrude Diane Parker — honorary aunt.
Or Aunt Gertie, as Lacey likes to call her. Dory’s gal pal. Big ol’ lesbian who invited Lacey to all of her softball games and gold matches. Only allows Cher CDs in her car. Lacey thinks that she’s the bee’s knees, and really does appreciate how Gertie took time out of her life to be by Dory’s side. She can only hope for a best friend as supportive as Gertie some day (an idiot, truly).
Victor Lorenzo Owens — step-father.
She can count the number of times she’s met Victor on one hand, same as she can the number of times she’s seen her mother since she left. He’s a nice enough guy and has always tried to be polite with Lacey on the few times they’ve been in the same state, but Lacey has no relationship with him. She does have to give him credit for giving Brenda a reason to settle down, though Lacey is always internally sad that she couldn’t manage to do the same for her.
Virginia Nadezhda Owens — half-sister (fifteen years old).
The first time Lacey realized she was a big sister was when Brenda brought her new husband and replacement daughter to Ohio for her christening. At the time, Lacey was eight and hadn’t seen her mother in two years. Not fully understanding anything, she had been angry at her baby sister for reasons she still can’t really explain. It wasn’t until about five years later, after talking with her aunt about it, that Lacey came to terms with the fact that it wasn’t anyone but Brenda’s fault that she left. Nadya (her grandfather’s nickname for Virginia, and one that Lacey has taken us as well) came into Brenda’s life at an entirely different point than Lacey, under entirely different circumstances. The sisters have met a handful of other times since then, most recently at Ilya’s funeral, and Lacey has decided that even though they live on opposite ends of the country, the Owens’ are still her siblings and that means something to her. Her and Nadya have talked over social media and recently exchanged phone numbers, and Lacey is hoping that they can maybe some day consider each other sisters.
Victor Ilya Owens — half-brother (thirteen years old).
Lacey still though of Brenda and Victor’s family as “the enemy” when she firstheard about Vic so, much like with Nadya, she spent quite a while not wanting anything to do with them. Still much like with Nadya though, Lacey was realized that Vic is her family too, and that is incredibly important in her eyes. Because of his current state-mandated teenage angst, Vic hasn’t shown interest in wanting a relationship with Lacey, but she did ask Nadya to give him her phone number should he ever want to reach out. Lacey thinks that there’s hope, since for last Christmas, she got a voicemail from a previously unknown number wishing her a happy holiday in uneasy Russian, said by a voice that was clearly breaking from puberty.
Valeria Tatiana Owens — half-sister (nine years old).
Lacey has only met Valeria once, at her grandfather’s funeral. They didn’t interact much, mostly because Lacey was too wrapped up in her own grief to consider that this was her first time meeting her little sister. She does remember Valeria saying she was sorry for Lacey’s loss, though she also remembers that Valeria specially said “your grandpa” rather than “our grandpa”. Just like with Nadya and Victor, Lacey doesn’t fault Valeria for their mother’s actions. She’s too young for them to have some sort of private contact, but Lacey did send Valeria a card and gifts for her last birthday, and is hoping they can connect sooner rather than later.
FIDELIA DÍAZ - Fleeing Cuba at the age of 16 was no easy feat for Fidelia. She left behind many family members and only came to Miami with a sister and brother. Fidelia was an aspiring dancer and worked towards that until she met her late husband, Porfirio. They fell in love, eloped, and moved to NYC to help Fidelia make it big. Things change, though. Children happened, life happened, and dreams had to be put aside. Once she had her second child, Maribel, Fidelia settled for being a dance instructor, instead. When Maribel turned 18, tragedy struck and her husband was killed in a car accident. It wasn’t the only thing Fidelia lost. Maribel’s ambitions of being a successful actress surpassed anything--even a daughter that came about from an affair with a movie director. Fidelia was left to raise her granddaughter on her own and never heard from her daughter again. Whenever she sees her daughter starring in a new film or show, she simply changes the channel or looks the other way. The only pride and joy in her life is Mae, who she will protect with every fiber in her being.
MARIBEL DÍAZ - Maribel grew up humbly in NYC, but her ambitions for acting and fame soon clouded those humble beginnings. Especially after the death of her father. Maribel vowed she’d do anything in her power to make it big, so when Osvaldo Flores came into the picture? Maribel saw an opportunity and took it. What she didn’t expect? To actually fall in love with him. And then the unexpected happened. She was pregnant. Maribel refused to be like her mother who gave up on her dreams. You had to make sacrifices to get to where you want to be, so when Mae was born, Maribel left. She changed her name and moved to LA. Now, she’s a pretty successful actress starring currently in a sitcom. She’s also married now with two young children. Does she think about Mae? Sometimes. Does she regret leaving her behind? Absolutely not.
OSVALDO FLORES - Born in Mexico City to a fairly wealthy family, it was easy for Osvaldo to explore his artistry because he had the money and opportunity for it. He went to an excellent film school and by the time he was in his early 30s, he already had a few successful films under his belt. While filming in NYC, he met Maribel, a promising young actress who would do anything to make her dreams a reality. Osvaldo saw this and took advantage of such ambitions. They began an affair and Osvaldo took it upon him to help put a good word in for Maribel. Then Maribel told him he was pregnant. He was married with two children and neither could risk their careers if they engaged in something more than an affair. The scandals would sabotage them both. He left Maribel to her own accords, and continued with his successful career.
MAE DÍAZ (+ Duck) - The sinking feeling has never really left Mae with knowing she was unwanted and essentially abandoned at birth. Mae absolutely loves her grandma and even calls her “ma” but Mae still has that longing for her parents. It was their abandonment that made Mae an incessant people pleaser. Mae always wants people to like her and constantly feel that if everyone else can like, she can be liked--maybe even wanted--by her own parents. Mae has aspirations for being a music teacher given that she absolutely adores children, but she constantly has questions in the back of her mind if she’s a coward for not at least trying to pursue music as an artist rather than an instructor. It’s always those insecurities that she’s not good enough that hold Mae back from going after what she wants.
