#cousinbesties

[hollymarlow]

Cheeky mid-week play with cousins. 🥰 . #cousins #cousinsmakethebestfriends #cousinsbyadoptionfriendsbychoice #cousinbesties #cousingoals #cousinsquad #family #wearefamily #famille #noussommesfamille #familie #wirsindfamilie #liebemachtfamilie #lovemakesafamily #livingourbestlives #love @suzygarland https://www.instagram.com/p/CnVDn2TMsv3/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ilovetodrinkwater]

Your turn! Tell us about an OC extremely close to your heart. Are you kind to them, or are they your chew toy? Do they represent something to you? What inspired you to create them?

i thought it was interesting that u said ur characters are less expressions of urself vs the worlds being that expression! i really have 1 world that i add to and some of it is an expression of my values, thoughts etc but i think it’s more of a sandbox and all my characters have some kernel of me in them. so they are all close to my heart 😭 i started developing this world around the end of high school and really started nailing it down closer to what it is now about 2 years later. the characters i used as an anchor for that early iteration of the story were initially around 15 but as i kept building(and getting older) i aged them up to around 20, which on the island where my story takes place is the time people choose their own last name, and i liked that as a point of self-evaluation and change for them all.. many of their conflicts are not quite my own but it’s been cathartic to play out their arguments in my head with feelings on all sides that i can relate to or at least sympathize with. now i don’t feel like they are the main characters but they definitely drive a part of the story’s ecosystem and are still the ones i think of first:

flori (short for florabama- her grandmothers name as well) i don’t have a settled last name for her but likely something to do with shrimp and other small things cus her mom is a tiny organism scientist and her moms parents are shrimp cultivators. she’s often irritated because in her mind everything is clear and people just don’t act the way she clearly knows is the right way for them to act. she likes butt rock. transitioning may save him but that is outside the scope of the story. she is compulsively generous(always crafting little things and making meals) but still grouchy about it. she needs to stop saying mean shit to her friends and rejoin the marching band and/or learn how to build ships in a bottle with her grandpa. she has no idea what she wants and doesn’t see much of a future for herself but feels obligated to stay

mollie graveyard-stallions(haven’t fully settled on this last name and she hasn’t either but keeping both is a fuck you to her grandma) people-pleaser delighted with the macabre but wishes she could explore it on her own terms rather than being expected to follow her mom and grandmas role stewarding elaborate, seasonlong funerary rituals for a religion she doesn’t really care about. she prefers hands-on work with the dead, especially their cemetery’s role as the place for people who die unknown or with nobody to grieve them. the other part of her name comes from her other grandma who used to be THE person to go to for horse breeding needs but since her son (mollies dad) was implicated and banished in a murder case(which floris dad/mollies moms brother was also banished for. grave-grandma is suuuch a bitch about this and doesn’t even acknowledge flori) she can’t keep up her horse empire in her old age and only keeps a few now. mollie constantly feels like the mediator at the center of everyone she loves who are all so prone to conflict with each other.

val fortunefound- the only one who has chosen her name so far. she and her cousin chose it because they are obsessed with the goal of finding treasure in the sunken neighborhoods and shipwrecks and gtfo the island, but also because they already found fortune by gtfo their shitty family’s house and raising cousins kid together. she likes being a guard dog for pretty girls and currently that is mollie, which flori is super pissed about because val was her friend first and mollie was ofc her cousinbestie and now feels like they are leaving her behind. val is very conscious of crafting an image and personality for herself and refuses to let anyone feel like they got the best of her. did she start based off of vriska from a summer camp au? Well,

this is the most i have ever shared about them hehe and i think they are pretty equally chewtoyed and cherished. i love making everyone fight though sometimes thinking about what they would yell at each other i do genuinely feel my blood pressure rise. there are also several characters who are directly based off me at different points in my life including future speculation, and ones who are directly based on people i love in their past/future. and some of them are friends with these guys :-)

[bernadette888]

Happy Birthday @biancabl2 Hope you have a wonderful day ! Can’t wait to catch up soon !! . . . . . . #birthdaygirl #twinning #cousins #family #familygoals #cousinbesties #birthdaydecorations #birthdayparty #birthdaywishes #celebrations #italiangirls #italiangirlsdoitbetter #italiangirlsbelike #actingnatural #actresses #fakeittillyoumakeit #perthblogger #perthcousins #perthfriends #perthlife #perthpeople #perthgirls #sundaypost #sundays #herestrouble #dangerousduo #troublemakers (at Perth, Western Australia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CNhY4vqja-k/?igshid=qo1jpzv9e3l0

[animal-print13]

Wishing the happiest of 26th birthdays to MY ACE BOON COON, COUSIN BESTIE CHANEL!!! 🥳🎉 Lord knows I wish I could be with you to celebrate but I’m ALWAYS with you in spirit boo! I love you more than you could ever imagine! In this new year of life, I’m wishing for it to be filled with major triumphs, newfound strengths, and endless love & laughter. You are amongst one of my absolute favorite humans on this planet, and I’m so blessed to get to call you family! I look forward to watching the the impact you make upon this world, and the many lives you continue to change as well 🥰 Enjoy your day, my pretty lady 💖💚 xo. Sookie #birthdaygirl #cousinbesties #blackgirlmagic #aquariusseason https://www.instagram.com/p/B8HlfgYJEQx/?igshid=1fehw70aorhyb

[mhilljackson]

The reason I come to New York every year. #cousinbestie #ferrari (at Angel of Harlem)

[ticcor]

Post-candy haul is the perfect time to go rollin' with the homies. #threeofthefouramigos #cousinbesties #wherethemgirlsat

[hollymarlow]

How adorable are these two little witches?! 🪄🪄 . #halloween #halloweencostume #cousins #cousingoals #cousinsmakethebestfriends #cousinbesties #cousinsquad https://www.instagram.com/p/CkYoUMHsoKG/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[saireinmapaye]

❤💙💘💝💞👭 #vsco #vscocam #vscoph #vscophile #vscosisters #cousinbesties #counsinbestfriend (at Hulo Bliss Mandaluyong)