Talking some GTAverse lore for my GTA AU adjacent twins, listing some name options, etc etc etc
Mel 2 name options:
*Valeria "Val" Ximenez
Solana "Sola" Ximenez
Noemi "Emi" Ximenez
Alexis "Lexi" Ximenez
Al 2 name options:
Vicente "Vic" Ximenez
Santino "Santi" Ximenez
Nicandro "Nic" Ximenez
*Aristeo "Ari" Ximenez
*favored names, may use these intermittedly throughout the rest of this lore dump!
Mother's name is Cristal Ortiz, the twins took dad's last name. In this universe, the twins do not have a relationship with their dad really at any point due to his unexpected passing, but will have a relationship with Thea 2. (there are going to be updates to Thea's core lore which includes having the same mom as the Amelia and Al, and that is also going to transfer here!) I don't believe an Adrian 2 or Bedi 2 exists in this version of the family as siblings, but I do want to make them their own characters eventually.
Early Relationships:
Cristal Ortiz - Biological mother. Largely indifferent to the twins, somewhat annoyed/resentful of being her sole responsibility. Strict in order to maintain control. Struggles to release control of the twins as they get older. She never disclosed information about their dad other than he was dead and never shared that they had an older sibling.
Logan Morency - (Matt 2) Childhood best friend, attended the same elementary - high school with the twins. Logan maintains a close friendship with the twins into adulthood. Is a bit closer to Ari than to Val.
Asha "Ash" Clement - (Mads 2) Val's best friend and right hand through high school and into adulthood. Ash establishes a small gang with Val in an effort to make money. Both Ash and Val are responsible for their homes and bond over that, finding support and reassurance with each other.
Childhood:
Valeria and Aristeo do not grow up in a loving home, though Cristal is not outwardly abusive, her indifference is noticeable. Val, like Amelia, learns how to care for herself and Ari at an early age. The shift in lore between Twins 1 and Twins 2 is that they do not have a other adults that take them in.
Cristal maintains custody of the twins solely due to stubborn obligation. She wants to maintain control of them for as long as possible as it allows her to create the narrative of their situation, leading to strict rules that the twins adhere to. She recognizes that she is not a good mother primarily because she does not feel like a mother. She can't not see the twins as anything other than like. Weird tiny roommates that she has to take care of. She keeps the kids in a day care until they are about 4 and then begins leaving them at home alone to save money. She DOES provide necessities like food, clothes, etc, but thats about it! Once the twins know how to cook/feed themselves, she stands back even more and gloats about how independent they are. They were well mannered children in the start.
Amelia had felt bitter that she had to care for Al as children. Not AT all or because she didn't want him to be cared for, but because she HAD to step up and was left to be in charge once their mother stepped out of the picture. It was anger about the situation, not at Al.
Meanwhile, Valeria and Aristeo are more of a packaged deal. Valeria and Aristeo were raised to care for each other intentionally. Ari has a much deeper sense of gratitude towards Val and tends to follow her lead as directed due to this as she was the core decision maker of the two, even as children. They both quickly learned how to make themselves as small as possible to avoid Cristal's ire, frustration, guilt trips. They played quietly, they cleaned up after themselves, they would make food for the household. (Not GREAT or exciting food at first, they likely can't touch a PB&J as adults lol) ((this also kind of plays into them not eating a lot of meat-- it was entirely a monetary thing and they just got used to not incorporating meat into their diets but do eat it on occasion))
Once they hit elementary age, they befriend Logan! Logan is also a quiet kid, a little jumpy, but the twins struggle to befriend other children because they are loud, messy, excitable-- all things they aren't really allowed to be at home. Over some time, they get to have play dates with Logan at a local park. The twins come alone, Cristal is at work or at home, Logan's mom does come to the park to monitor though. This friendship maintains and deepens over time. Logan opens up to the twins come middle school to disclose that his dad fucking sucks and the twins lament how jealous they are of Logan's mom because she Definitely loves her son.
Val does not get into sports in the same way Amelia does largely due to the lack of support; emotionally, financially. Instead, Valeria is the kid that walks the neighbor hood looking for odd jobs to do. Of the same token, Ari doesn't get into instruments in the same capacity Al does-- how the hell would they afford that? Instead, Ari gets into digital music synthesizers, remixes, and, uh. Maybe some beatboxing, tbh??
And its sudden but I'm gonna stop here for now bc my brain is fried and if I dont post this I will forget its in my drafts!!!!! enjoy this morsel, more will be posted later
